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It's always enjoyable to see the family members of familiar
Star Trek characters, because it gives new dimensions to people usually seen in work mode. In "Manhunt," the familial arrival is Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), mother of counselor Deanna Troi. Barrett, the widow of series creator Gene Roddenberry and the only actor to appear in every
Star Trek series, had made one previous appearance in
The Next Generation, and this character would turn up again in later episodes. In this outing, she is beamed aboard the
Enterprise, which will transport her to a Federation conference where she is a delegate. The
Enterprise is also carrying a pair of delegates from the planet Antede Three--but they have chosen to spend the flight in suspended animation because it's the only way they can endure space travel.
Though they provide the plot's jeopardy at the end of the show, the real focus is on Lwaxana, who is going through what Deanna refers to as "the phase"--a period of heightened sexual hunger. The story is meant to be comic, based on the turnabout notion of this female sexual predator chasing Picard and Riker. Given that the episode aired in 1987, it seems retrograde in its depiction of men trying to put off this forthright vamp. It doesn't help that Barrett, never a great actress, reads all her lines as though they were written by Oscar Wilde, when the script doesn't even rise to the level of Neil Simon. --Marshall Fine
From the Back Cover
Ordered to transport delegates to a Federation conference on Pacifica, the Enterprise beams up two representatives from the planet Antede Three. Unaccustomed to space travel, the Antedians arrive in a self-induced comatose state to deal with the trauma of their voyage.
The crew is surprised by the unexpected arrival of another conference invitee: Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett). Lwaxana's daughter Deanna (Marina Sirtis) warns Picard (Patrick Stewart) that Lwaxana is in "the phase"-the period in which a Betazoid woman's sex drive increases tenfold!
While Lwaxana relentlessly pursues Picard, the Antedians return to consciousness with a deadly secret mission: to destroy the Federation conference!
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