Good Deanna Troi moments

[at Quark's]

Was rewatching best of both worlds, when I saw this little exchange:

RIKER: I'm leading an away team over there to get the Captain back. We'll find a way to bring them out of warp. Ensign Crusher, you continue to assist Mister La Forge. Commander Shelby, you'll take the Bridge and coordinate with Starfleet. Data, Worf, Doctor, you're with me.
SHELBY: Excuse me, sir. With my knowledge of the Borg
RIKER: Those are my orders, Commander.
TROI: Commander Riker. It is inappropriate for you to lead the away team. Until the return of Captain Picard, you are in command of the Enterprise. We're in a state of war, and your place is on the Bridge.
RIKER: Commander Shelby, you'll lead the away team. Make it so.

I realised then I would have liked to have seen more instances of this Deanna during TNG's run: cool, levelheaded, reminding the commanding officer of his responsibilities with an argument even Riker locked in a battle with Shelby had to bow down to, instead of just more of those 'I have a vague feeling...' moments. Not that there's anything wrong with those, but I would have liked it if they had balanced it out somewhat more with moments such as above. Anyone knows of such instances ? I'm not referring to episodes where Deanna is the "hero" of the episode, just such little instances when we get to see this other side of her.

 

[JamesRye]

I always liked the moment in 'The Child', where the crew are all discussing her baby and Troi states that she is ‘having this child’. No one argues with her, they all accept her decision and I think that it did her character some service.

She's also great in 'Disaster' and 'Face of the Enemy'.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I like how Troi unravels with Data what's going on in "The Loss."

 

[Tosk]

She's also great in 'Disaster'

I really hate some of the writing in that ep. Deanna apparently doesn't know that bulkheads close automatically to contain a hull breach, and doesn't know that a engine containment breach means an asplodey ship. She comes off as an idiot for the sake of telling the audience things.

 

[JamesRye]

Actually come to think of it, she's good in Night Terrors too.

 

[JamesRye]

I really hate some of the writing in that ep. Deanna apparently doesn't know that bulkheads close automatically to contain a hull breach, and doesn't know that a engine containment breach means an asplodey ship. She comes off as an idiot for the sake of telling the audience things.

Those are valid points right there, I agree with that. I guess it's lazy writing.

Her arc here is to find her spine and prove herself worthy of command, but given the intensity of her panic at the beginning, the transition never comes across as satisfyingly as it should. She does stick to her guns though.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I always liked the moment in 'The Child', where the crew are all discussing her baby and Troi states that she is ‘having this child’.

Deanna chose life.

 

[JesterFace]

I wonder when someone will comment that Deanna was at her best in the future parts of 'All Good Thigs...'

 

[2takesfrakes]

ENCOUNTER AT FARPOINT

I liked Deanna in this episode, very much. I liked her look, I like the way Marina played her ... everything. A moment that's a particular favourite of mine is when she shouts to Riker, who's about to enter a dangerous situation: "... Don't! You'll be killed!" all dramatic and shit like that, because she's still in love with her Imzadi. I liked the passion that she displayed, early on ... I liked that, a lot, really.

 

[Voth commando1]

When she took charge of the situation in Face of the Enemy.

 

[SPCTRE]

'Face of the Enemy'

That's a good episode for the character, Deanna rarely gets to do as much as she does there.

Too often the character gets reduced to reacting to things.

 

[Paradise City]

I enjoyed "The Loss". Sirtis acts out a temper tantrum very well.

 

[Sakonna]

She's fantastic in "Timescape" -- she's able to make that snap decision to save Geordi's life by freezing him in time, and post-Face-Of-The-Enemy she's now the expert on Romulans and gets to deliver technobabble about their ship.

I was also watching "Skin Of Evil" last night and thinking how I've never seen it this way before, but it's actually a great Troi episode -- her powers are really well-used in her dialogues with Armus.

It's not really what you were thinking of, but I also love her bitchy counseling session when she's possessed in "Man Of The People."

TROI: Maybe he's just tired of hearing you complain. I know I'm certainly tired of it. How do you think it feels to sit and listen to someone whine about themselves all the time?

 

[DonIago]

Not quite what the OP is looking for, and I know some think unfavorably of it, but speaking as a chocaholic with no interest in recovering, I love her little monologue in "The Game".

 

[GNDN18]

 

[Farscape One]

In "The Host", in Ten Forward when Riker/Odan walks in, her conversation with Dr. Crusher. How she uses her memories of her father singing to her as a girl, and saying to hold on to that kind of love even if it is a familiar face like Riker.

I thought it was not only a good moment of realization for Dr. Crusher, but also a very mature moment for Troi, because even though Riker's personality was submerged and it is really Odan, it is still physically Will Riker that Dr. Crusher will get it on with. Troi is quite capable of separating the situation from her own personal emotions... which this is sort of retconned in next season's "Conundrum" at the end regarding Ro.

 

[Mojochi]

Actually come to think of it, she's good in Night Terrors too.

I was going to mention that one. She's also pretty useful in Darmok as well. Her scenes with Data tend to play very well. I have always enjoyed her best when she is something of a diplomatic or first contact liaison. Even her stuff in the episode Liaisons is pretty fun. Honestly, if it hadn't been for Picard hogging most of those moments, she could've been quite established in that arena, like how she aided with the Sheliak

 

[Qonundrum]

Encounter at Farpoint: Gets to resolve the mission with her abilities as opposed to telling the bridge crew what's obvious. wish she had more moments like that, seeing a nonhumanoid alien and getting to communicate the emotion or to figure out what's going on in the way she had in the premiere.

Ensigns of Command: Has a great scene involving the basics of communication.

Hollow pursuits: Tells the bridge crew how to handle with a worker that they are having difficulty with (that and Riker gets a chance to one-up when Troi sees her image, um, misused...)

Any of her episodes in "Voyager" (she and Barclay made a great double-act)

The Game: Her chocolagasmic speech that would set anyone Kinsey 5 or lower straight

Night Terrors

Phantasms: She's now a chocolate cake with mint frosting

Q Who: Gets to describe the Borg consciousness before they get a chance to suss out enough detail on their own (ditto for Best of Both Worlds, reminding them)

Descent: Discusses with Data not having emotions but how they are used - emotions exist but how they are handled. (Just don't ask how she could sense the emotions, Data had a new microchip installed that programmed conditions (or she picked up on Lore's remote controlling him))

 

[DonIago]

Ahem. She was a cellular peptide cake. Sheesh!

 

[Sakonna]

Oh, there's also "First Contact" (the episode), she's good in that first beam down with Picard where they are introducing themselves to the female scientist and revealing to her the existence of extraterrestrial life.

Maybe her undercover operation as a Mintakan in "Who Watches The Watchers."