Ménage à Troi is a trainwreck. You have Troi, you have the Ferengi, you have Lwaxana, and you have a truly boneheaded attempt at a comedy that only becomes enjoyable in its final scene. And let’s not even bother discussing the title.

The problems begin with the plot: some Ferengi chump decides Lwaxana is simply irresistible, so he does the most idiotic thing possible: kidnap her — along with two Starfleet officers, Riker and Troi. The Enterprise is conveniently out of communications range while this transpires (Troi and Riker are on shore leave on Betazed to, presumably, rekindle their love). This leaves our three main characters at the mercy of the vile Ferengi who are as stupid as they are ugly and annoying.

There isn’t much to say about the plot aside from warning viewers that if you have a weak constitution, you may want to avoid the Lwaxana-Ferengi foreplay scenes. Otherwise, the events are just too boring and pointless to sit through, let alone describe in print.

Eventually, with the help of Wesley, the Enterprise catches up and Riker and Troi are promptly returned. Picard then has to masquerade as Lwaxana’s jealousy lover and attempt to “win” her back by quoting Shakespearean poetry. This is the one enjoyable scene. Patrick Stewart is a Shakespearean actor by trade and he gives the performance his full gusto — and it works. It’s funny, entertaining and is the only scene of the episode that is worthwhile (as evidenced by its enshrinement in “The Picard Song“).

The only other noteworthy scene has to do with Wesley. In order to help catch up to the Ferengi ship, he had to skip taking a transport that would have allowed him an opportunity to join Starfleet Academy. As a measure of consolation, Picard reviews Wesley’s service to the ship and promotes him to a full Ensign. It’s a worthy promotion and the best part for us is that we no longer have to contend with that silly gray jumpsuit he used to wear.

Because of Picard’s performance and Wesley’s promotion, Ménage à Troi avoids being a complete failure. But by all other considerations, this episode is not worth watching.

Topics: Ferengi, Lwaxana Troi
Filed under: TNG Reviews