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On Guinan and her role on the Enterprise
GUINAN --------------------------------------------------------
Questions regarding "Counselor Guinan" aren't new; they began at
her arrival. Her sage-like qualities have left our Ten-Forward
hostess dishing up advice and dessert into the same bowl, with the
crew appreciating her recipe for both. From the Captain to the new
Ensign Crusher, her contact with the crew is far-reaching--perhaps
even more than Troi's--bringing us to the question of her role on
board the Enterprise and its impact on the Troi character.
From the beginning, Troi's ability to empathically sense emotions
has brought her character as much harm as it has brought good to
the captain and the ship. Gene Roddenberry, in creating Troi, had
constructed a very difficult character to script because her
ability to empathize with others was central to her role, creating
major plot problems. It seems that in several cases, her presence
would have allowed her to solve the storyline before it had a
chance to fully develop; in some episodes she was unable to sense
what was going on because of intense headaches, shielding, or some
other obscure reason. These solutions allowed for a more plausible
plot-line, but they affected the Troi character in an unforseen
way: what will the counselor do now? In what context can her
persona be redefined or broadened?
Clumsy aspects of the Troi character become more apparent when
contrasted with Mr. Spock from the classic Trek episodes. Looking
back at Spock's role, we see a Vulcan science officer who was
second in command of the ship. We were allowed to learn about
Vulcans while he was performing his command/science duties. He
didn't have to walk around all the time being a Vulcan, doing
Vulcan things--his distinctive heritage was a fascinating aside to
the key position that he played, establishing a rich history with
progressing episodes. Marina's Troi suffers not from a lack of
expertise, but from a centrality not found in the expertise itself.
The centrality mentioned here really translates into screen time
demanded by the role itself (e.g., Captain Picard would be at the
top of the list, with Chief O'Brien being at or near the bottom).
It is here that Marina literally has a character liability in that
there are only so many feelings to be felt in any given show!
Imagine Spock trying to establish his character just around his
differences or abilities as a Vulcan--how many necks could be
pinched or minds melded in any given episode? Recall the
difficulties, during season one, in deciding whether or not Troi
was even a Starfleet Academy graduate; she was deemed a civilian
with her empathic powers and psychological training resulting in
her appointment to the Federation's Flagship. Marina's Troi is
very engaging; she adds spice and spunk to the character pool but
she lacks an expertise that commands screentime like Mr. Spock had
in the classic Trek.
Enter: Guinan. As a member of the Listener life-form, she was
selected specifically by Picard for the position she currently
holds. The ST:TNG writer's guide tells us that Listener life-forms
are so called because their interaction with others encourages
honesty in speech. The guide also comments that "she is a born
catalyst, able to fit into a customer's mood." From Jean-Luc to
young Wesley, the producers of ST:TNG have shown Guinan engaged in
more "conversations" with crew members than Troi, so it seems.
Guinan possesses a serenity, a wisdom, and a level of patience that
confirm her age to be measured in the hundreds of years. Her
presence is quite calm and unfettered, and may even be called
powerful. Practically speaking, she has simply lived through more
experiences than Troi could ever read about in textbooks.
This experience stands out not only in the type of advice given by
each woman, but the circumstances under which they occur. While no
one would doubt Troi's concern for the individual she is
counseling, it is important to remember that her JOB is that of
counselor. She has a duty to report to the captain anything which
could affect the safe operation of the ship, noting important
information in the crewperson's file. Troi's advice has been, on
occasion, confrontational and definitely duty-bound. Guinan has
the luxury of being able to serve up her advice when she feels it
appropriate, sometimes choosing silence when circumstances warrant
it--Troi realistically cannot do this at times. One could even say
that the advice given by each is of two different brands. Guinan's
advice is bound to be steeped with history, perspective and
understanding; while Troi's is sure to be direct and laced with
pragmatism. Each fills a separate need, leaving plenty of room for
both on board this Galaxy Class starship.
So, are there two counselors on board? Probably. The work at hand
includes the creation of more distinctions for both actresses to pursue
and discover in the roles they play. It is not even neccesary that they
interact more on the show; the lack of interaction is actually
interesting in and of itself! An important step here would be the
elimination of line swapping. It is well known that in certain
episodes, scenes scripted for Troi were given to Guinan with little
revision. A slightly (yet understandably) jealous Marina has openly
commented about this at STAR TREK conventions. Not much is known about
Whoopi's feelings on the subject. The level of career success she is
now enjoying has probably overridden any concerns she has over a few
swapped lines on STAR TREK. Whoopi's contribution to the show has been
authentic and quite substantial in some cases, and we would like to see
her around for many episodes to come. We (IMZADI Staff) think there are
real possibilities for a great friendship between these two gifted women
if some of these concerns can be addressed with patience in future
episodes.
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