The Perfect Mate

"The Perfect Mate"
Star Trek: The Next Generationepisode
The make up designed for Famke Janssen as Kamala(pictured left)was later used on Terry Farrell inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
Episodeno.	Season 5 Episode 21
Directed by	Cliff Bole
Story by	René Echevarria Gary Percante
Teleplay by	Gary Percante Michael Piller
Featured music	Jay Chattaway
Production code	221
Original air date	April 27, 1992(1992-04-27)
Guest appearances
Famke Janssen– Kamala Tim O'Connor– Briam Max Grodénchik– Par Lenor Mickey Cottrell– Alrik Michael Snyder – Qol David Paul Needles – Miner #1 Roger Rignack – Miner #2 Charles Gunning – Miner #3 April Grace – Transporter Officer Majel Barrett– Computer Voice

"The Perfect Mate"is the 21st episode of thefifth seasonof the American science fiction television seriesStar Trek: The Next Generation,the 121st overall. The episode was credited to Gary Percante andMichael Pillerfrom a story by Percante andRené Echevarria.Percante was apseudonymof Reuben Leder, which was used by the writer in protest against re-writes. Four endings were written, with two filmed. "The Perfect Mate" was directed byCliff Bole.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of theStarfleetcrew of theFederation starship Enterprise-D.In this episode, CaptainJean-Luc Picard(Patrick Stewart) develops feelings for Kamala (Famke Janssen), a woman destined from childhood for anarranged marriagewhich hopefully might end a war between two planets. Picard steps in to help in the peace ceremony and later gives Kamala away at her wedding.

The episode was the second acting job for former model Janssen, and she would subsequently turn down the offer to join the main cast inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine.Her makeup seen in "The Perfect Mate" would end up being used onJadzia Daxin that series. Also appearing wasMax Grodénchik,who would go on to playRominDeep Space Nine."The Perfect Mate" receivedNielsen ratingsof 10.8 percent, and received a mixed reception from reviewers. On the one hand some criticism was directed at the presentation of Kamala and theFerengi,but praise for Stewart and Janssen's acting performance.

Plot

Kriosian ambassador Briam (Tim O'Connor) comes on board theEnterprisewith some cargo, ready for a peace ceremony with the Valtian. As the ship heads to the rendezvous, they save twoFerengifrom a failing ship. Despite security being assigned, the Ferengi enter the cargo bay and deactivate the stasis field on Briam's cargo, revealing a young Kriosian woman named Kamala (Famke Janssen). With the Ferengi secured, it is revealed that she is an empathic metamorph who can sense what males around her desire and react accordingly. She was being brought for an arranged marriage to the Valtian representative. Kamala generatespheromonesthat can affect males around her, which was why she was kept in stasis until the ceremony.

Briam tells Kamala to stay in her quarters, but Captain Picard allows her to travel throughout the ship, with the unaffected Lt. CommanderData(Brent Spiner) as her escort. This results in a fight nearly breaking out in Ten Forward, when Kamala begins to interact with several miners. The Ferengi seek to bribe Briam to turn Kamala over to them, but he rejects their offer. As he leaves, they attack him, causing him to fall, hit his head, and lose consciousness. TheEnterpriseturns the Ferengi over to the neareststarbaseto stand trial, but Briam is unable to participate in the ceremony. Kamala helps Picard to take on Briam's role, and the two become close. He seeks to resist her abilities and tells her to be herself, and she explains that the woman he wants her to be is who she actually is.

They meet with the Valtian ambassador, Chancellor Alrik (Mickey Cottrell), who is uninterested in the marriage and wants to pursue trade agreements. With the arrangements made, Picard visits Kamala to say goodbye; she tells him that she has permanently bonded with him instead of Alrik. Kamala explains that he has changed her for the better, and she will continue in her duty for her people to marry Alrik. At the wedding ceremony, Picard escorts Kamala down the aisle and watches as she marries Alrik. After the newlyweds have returned to the planet, Picard says goodbye to Briam in thetransporterroom. When asked how he resisted Kamala, Picard's face remains expressionless as he wishes the ambassador a safe trip home.

Production

Writing

The story for "The Perfect Mate" was created byRené Echevarriaand Reuben Leder and then written as a teleplay by Leder and executive producerMichael Piller.A great deal of edits were made to the script by a number of staff members, and Piller felt that it was a difficult one due to the subject matter. As Piller explained to Echevarria in a memo, he felt that Kamala had to be a well-rounded character which would be loved by the viewer in order for the episode to work.

Fellow executive producerRick Bermanrecalled heated discussions over the content of the script,and following re-writes to the draft, Leder elected to be credited only under thepseudonymGary Percante. This was the only time during Piller's tenure as executive producer that a writer chose to be credited under a pseudonym. Piller subsequently praised the episode, saying: "We have Beverly argue the point that Kamala's mission amounts to prostitution, and we have Picard taking the other tack; that whether or not we approve, we can't change or interfere with the way these people are. And if you accept[Gene] Roddenberry's vision, which we are built on, you have to respect that. "

Two of the scenes seen in "The Perfect Mate" built upon references in earlier episodes. The morning meeting over tea between Picard and Crusher seen here was previously mentioned in "Qpid",while in"Family"there was the mention of Picard takingpianolessons as a child. In "The Perfect Mate", he relates that these were only briefly taken because his mother wanted him to.Four endings were written for the episode, with two filmed. Piller preferred a "trick ending" in which Picard daydreamed of objecting to the wedding, but ultimately with Kamala rejecting both him and Alrik having been enlightened by Picard's influence.

Casting

Famke Janssen had worked as a model before appearing in "The Perfect Mate".

Prior to working onThe Next Generation,Famke Janssenhad worked as a model in Europe for seven years.Her first acting role was on the television seriesFathers and Sons,withStar Trekrepresenting her second acting performance.Two days after auditioning for the role of Kamala, she was on set filming the episode.She later described how this did not give a great deal of time to prepare for the role, and that new script pages would be delivered on a daily basis through the seven day shoot which she found difficult due to her lack of fluency in English at the time.However, she said the cast were friendly and described them as a "family". Regarding the make-up, she said that on the first day they created a stencil through which they applied the spots on the following six days. Janssen said that Kamala was "very intelligent and educated".Berman described Janssen as "about as beautiful as any woman any of us have ever seen and she gave a delightful performance".

Following her appearance in the episode, Janssen was offered a five-year contract to appear in the main cast asJadzia DaxonStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,but turned it down as she did not want to be tied to a long term series contract,and felt it would have made her lazy as an actor. The makeup worn by Janssen was used on the actor cast in that part,Terry Farrell,although without stencilling.This was as a result of Berman's rejection of the originalTrillmakeup from "The Host",with Kamala's makeup suggested as a replacement.At the time of an interview withStarlogin 1993, Janssen said that she would be happy to return toThe Next Generationto portray Kamala once again.She did not return to the series, but went on to appear asJean Greyalongside Stewart in the 2000 filmX-Menand subsequent films in theseries.She found working with Stewart easy when they were reunited, because of their previous work on "The Perfect Mate".

"The Perfect Mate" was one of several episodes ofThe Next GenerationwhereMax Grodénchikportrayed a Ferengi. He would subsequently audition for the role ofQuarkonDeep Space Nine,but this went toArmin Shimerman.Grodénchik then portrayed "Ferengi Pit Boss" in the pilot ofDeep Space Nine,"Emissary",who was subsequently written to become the brother of Quark,Rom.Michael Snyder went on to appear as another Ferengi inThe Next Generationepisode "Rascals".

Themes

Robin Roberts discussed "The Perfect Mate" in her 1999 bookSexual Generations.She explained that the premise of a perfect mate had been seen elsewhere in science fiction, such as inThe Stepford Wives,and said that she found it disturbing when works of the genre depicted this as a role model for women.She called "The Perfect Mate" the exemplification of the "depiction of woman as a passive reflection of a male partner".She compared theFederationnon-interference in a people who treat women as gifts to the involvement of the United States in theGulf Warin defence of Kuwait, a country which limits rights for women.

In Chris Gregory's 2000 bookStar Trek: Parallel Narratives,he compared "The Perfect Mate" to theStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisode "Elaan of Troyius"and theancient Greekpoem theIliad.He said that the influence of Picard caused Kamala to abandon any potential sense of happiness and replace it with an increased sense of self-awareness and remove the ability for her to legitimately love Alrik.

Reception

"The Perfect Mate" aired during the week commencing May 10, 1992, inbroadcast syndication.According toNielsen Media Research,it was watched by 10.8 percent of all households watching television during its timeslot. This was the lowest first run episode of the season.It was the lowest rating since "In Theory",broadcast during thefourth season,and no episode broadcast afterwards during the course of the season received ratings equal or lower.

Starlogreported in 1993 that the reception from female fans ofStar Trekwas mostly negative due to the manner in which Kamala was presented,while some reviewers offered a similar opinion. Michelle Erica Green, in her review forTrekNationin 2013, praised the chemistry between Stewart and Janssen but called it "a terrible episode, an enormous setback in terms of how Next Gen presents women in the 24th century, and the fact that I appreciate several of the performances doesn't mean I don't wish it had never been produced." She questioned that if Kamala's gender was switched about whether the arguments presented in the episode would have remained, and felt it was a missed opportunity to tackle social issues.Keith DeCandidodisliked the episode in his review forTor.comin 2012, giving it a score of two out of ten. He opined that he would "expect a storyline rooted in tiresomely traditional gender roles from a show airing in the late 1960s. Not so much the early 1990s." He said that Janssen was "flat", and did not have any chemistry with Stewart. DeCandido also criticized the Ferengi "at their absolute worst" and the absence ofDeanna Troifrom the episode.

However, other reviewers received the episode more positively. Zack Handlen gave the episode a rating of a "B+" in his 2011 review forThe A.V. Club.He called the Ferengi "as awful as ever", but otherwise praised the episode. He said that Janssen was one of the reasons why it worked, with the evolution of Kamala through "The Perfect Mate" showing "a sense of someone coming into their own as a sexually aware, potentially powerful individual." Handlen compared the situation to the "Elaan of Troyius",and found the imprinting of Kamala on Picard an unexpected twist.It was ranked in 47th place out of the top 100 of the entire franchise inCharlie Jane Anders' list forio9.In theToronto Sun's list of the top fifty moments of the franchise, Janssen's appearance as Kamala was placed 13th.

In 2019,Screen Rantincluded this episode on a list of bad one-off romances on the show; in part they were confused by the pair later being cast as Professor X and Jean Grey in theX-Menfranchise.

In 2021, writer Robert Vaux, forCBR,said that Famke Janssen was a "terrific" co-star for Patrick Stewart, and highlighted this episode among a trio of season five episodes (along with "Darmok"and"The Inner Light") that he really shone in.

Home media release

"The Perfect Mate" was first released onVHScassette in the United States and Canada on October 7, 1997.The episode was later released in the United States on November 5, 2002, as part of the Season 5DVDbox set.The firstBlu-rayrelease was in the United States on November 19, 2013,followed by the United Kingdom on November 18.

See also

• "Precious Cargo" (Star Trek: Enterprise)The first meeting between Kriosians and humans.
• "Polymorph" (Red Dwarf)The crew encounter a lifeform able to alter its form in response to emotional and situational cues.
• "Camille" (Red Dwarf)The crew encounter a Pleasure GELF, a lifeform able to alter how it is perceived based on the desires of others.

References

• Erdmann, Terry J.; Block, Paula M. (2000).Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion.New York: Pocket Books.ISBN978-0-671-50106-8.
• Gregory, Chris (2000).Star Trek: Parallel Narratives.New York: St. Martin's Press.ISBN978-0-333-74488-8.
• Gross, Edward; Altman, Mark A. (1993).Captain's Logs: The Complete Trek Voyages.London: Boxtree.ISBN978-1-85283-899-7.
• Nemecek, Larry (2003).Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion(3rd ed.). New York: Pocket Books.ISBN0-7434-5798-6.
• Reeves-Stevens, Judith; Reeves-Stevens, Garfield (1994).The Making of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.New York: Pocket Books.ISBN978-0-671-87430-8.
• Roberts, Robin (1999).Sexual Generations: "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and Gender.Urbana: University of Illinois Press.ISBN978-0-252-06810-2.
• Westmore, Michael (2000).Star Trek: Aliens & Artifacts.New York: Pocket Books.ISBN978-0-671-04299-8.

External links

• "The Perfect Mate"atIMDb
• The Perfect MateatMemory Alpha