7.7 — “Dark Page”
Plot: Lwaxana Troi visits the Enterprise as part of an assignment to instruct a telepathic race how to speak out loud to humans. A darkness seems to accompany her. Soon she is lost in dark dreams where only her daughter can pursue her.
Thoughts: It’s nice to see Lwaxana! This is not a result I would have predicted based on her early appearances in TNG 1.11 “Haven,” TNG 2.19 “Manhunt,” and TNG 3.24 “Ménage à Troi.”
But, delightfully, Lwaxana has changed from the most frivolous character in the series (the way she was written said so much about the early season producers’ attitudes about women, and about Deanna Troi in particular), to the deepest character in the series. This is almost entirely thanks to TNG 4.22, “Half a Life,” which must be ranked among the best episodes of TNG, and raised the bar for every subsequent Lwaxana appearance. It is so much more fitting for Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, the mother of Star Trek, who truthfully never got material this good in the Original Series. Now that her wigs are less outrageous I see Nurse Chapel peeking through, and it is comforting. This value is being passed on to DS9, where Lwaxana will make two additional appearances. This is her last appearance in TNG.
The usual sources (Memory Alpha, IMDB) are quick to point out that this is the only episode of TNG where Lwaxana appears without Mr. Homn. I am surprised. I feel like we moved past the one-joke Homn some time ago.
Ah, but this episode. The alien who can’t talk (Maques) is funny. The actor is heroic in his commitment to the thankless task of miming a lot of silent telepathy, without much script support.
As an exploration of uncovered trauma, I feel like the dream sequences were done 1000% better than last week’s “Phantasms.” This is a meaningful subject and an interesting means to explore it.
The teleplay itself is far from graceful. I’m supposed to believe that the captain of the ship comes into Troi’s quarters to help her sort through her mother’s journal? I dont’ know if that’s creepier if he is on duty, or off duty. Earlier he preremptorily pulls Deanna away from her mother’s bedside while Lwaxana is seemingly on the verge of death without apology, so she can play second banana in his interrogation of Maques.
Crusher’s bedside manner could not be worse, and her best friend’s mother is dying! But we’ve belabored this before.
Some things I noticed in high-definition: the makeup blend on Maques head prosthetic was done differently in every scene. In one scene there is no blend (must have been behind schedule!), in another it is done invisibly, and there are several inbetweens.
I could be wrong (I didn’t go back to check), but I would swear that Lwaxana changes costume while in her coma.
I enjoy the scene with Deanna’s father. We’ve seen this scene done several times with different crewmembers, but this iteration was graceful and affecting.
Hey, it’s Kirsten Dunst!
Thinking about old Lwaxana episodes reminds me that TNG isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be. Does anyone have the stomach to watch “Haven” with me again? We could do it as a double feature with “The Outrageous Okona.”
3 out of 5 growling wolves
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