User Reviews

Whether you think this episode is good or bad depends on how you take Lwaxana Troi. I always love seeing her and I have processed how her character was designed on TNG. In TOS she was essentially window dressing who occasionally would give a needle to a patient. Here we get Majel unchained ---- and come on, she's basically Trek royalty.

I just love Patrick Stewarts performance of intellectually ducking Lwaxanna's advances. His attempt at not appearing uncomfortable while being uncomfortable had me in stitches throughout the scene.

Worf (still the funniest character in trek history) nearly still the show with his adoration of the fish race.

I always get a kick out of these low stakes episodes. TNG started the trek trend of having a bit of fun with the show and it lands well for me.

ST:TNG:45 - "Manhunt" (Stardate: 42859.2) - this is the 19th episode to air in the second season of The Next Generation. Welcome back Lwaxana Troi (played by the ever delightful Majel Barrett). There are many agains in this episode. Again, Lwaxana (in her first appearance since the 1st season) asks Captain Picard to carry her very heavy luggage - but this time it's Riker who carries. Again, her assistant Carel Struycken as the very funny Mr. Homn is with her - and yet again he drinks alcohol like it's water. And again, while Picard and Lwaxana eat dinner, Mr. Homn rings every time Lwaxana eats! However, Lwaxana has another trick up her sleeve - she's on "the Phase" - aka quadrupling her sex drive (or more!) . . . and guess who she's out for? Watch this funny episode.

Trivia: Dixon Hill makes his second appearance in the series. AND, not only does Majel Barrett make an appearance as Lwaxana Troi, but also as the computer voice - whom she talks to "herself" when Lwaxana asks the computer how to get to Holodeck 3!

It's always a good time to watch Captain Picard squirm due to Luxanna's constant sexual advances.

I think the episode would have benefited from more awkward scenes of Luxanna being that crazy aunt with no self awareness instead of spending time in the holodeck spinning wheels for 10 minutes.

As a younger man, I was bored whenever we got a Luxanna Troi episode but as I have become the seasoned beautiful man I am today, I find a strong headed older woman kind of sexy. Life is weird that way.

The episode suffers from some pacing issues --- especially with the introduction of much of the holodeck scenes that seem specifically designed to use up time.

I suppose there is only so much you can do with an episode that revolves around Luxanna trying to bed Picard ---- perhaps a relevent B-Plot?

Peppered laughs throughout elevate this out of bad territory to average.

I was watching through the series for the, oh... 134th time now (lol) and I noticed something I had never seen before! When Picard goes into the holodeck to escape Troi's mom, he encounters two holoentites. The first pulls a gun, and the second grabs him by the suit. The second one is Gowron, leader of the Klingon Empire, in a bit roll prior to gaining a more stable roll. Always fun seeing stuff like this for the first time! The eyes were a dead giveaway lol

You might say Lwxana Troi (Majel Barrett) wasn't very picky when it came to men, wouldn't you? Though she had her sights set on Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), when he beat a hasty retreat the Betazoid Ambassador took a long look at Wesley (Wil Wheaton), Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn), Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and finally the holodeck server at Rex's Bar. Talk about finicky! The episode seemed to reinitiate a relationship between Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), which was strongly stated in the first season episode titled 'Haven', which by coincidence, also included Deanna's mother. I find this somewhat frustrating, because no other episodes hint at an intimacy between the two, and when Riker had himself a good time in the very prior story 'Up the Long Ladder', with sexy Rosalyn Landor, Deanna didn't seem to have much of a problem with it. I'm not looking for soap opera stuff, but the lack of continuity with something like that is questionable.

Hey, I really got a kick out of Rex the bartender (Rod Arrants) when he greeted Riker and Data (Brent Spiner) as they made their entry into the 1941 style speakeasy. He said "What do you know, what do you say?" I took that as a nod to Jimmy Cagney's recurring line in the 1938 picture "Angels with Dirty Faces", in which he repeatedly would meet someone new with "Whaddya hear, whaddya say?" Slightly paraphrased by Rex, but you get the idea. Whether intentional or not, the line immediately got my attention. The other thing that got my attention was Lwxana Troi's dismissive comment about the Antedean ambassadors to the Pacifica Conference, noted in my summary line above. Quite frankly, they did look like they stepped out of an episode of "The Outer Limits". Ambassador Troi also had a habit of calling her daughter 'Little One' which I found kind of annoying. But then again, that's the way her character was written.

Unlike a handful of other reviewers here for Next generation, I don't find the holodeck stories to be that irritating. Those brief timeouts from the usual stuff happening aboard the Enterprise can be a relief, especially with the humorous episodes. They add another layer of creativity to the series that allows the writers to go where no one else has gone before.

Not a groundbreaking episode, but we are treated to comical reactions by and around Lwaxana Troi by Captain Picard, Riker, Worf and Data. Even the alien race, the Antedians, play off of Lwaxana in Act V when she matter-of-factly outs them as assassins at the last minute. The most subtle humor not to miss is when Data tries to emulate a hearty laugh with Wesley and Riker on the bridge. Later, Data's enthusiastiic response to accept Captain Picard's invitation to dessert with himself and Lwaxana is priceless.

"Manhunt" is basically another Next Gen episode catering to Mrs. Roddenberry, who is always a hoot although it doesn't really add anything particularly interesting to the show itself, although she does get to save a specific admiral's conference from being blown to smithereens by assassins (they look like Fish Creatures) masquerading as delegates with potential in joining the Federation. Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) is going through "the phase", something akin to human female menopause, except in her case overcharged sex drive (!), looking for a mate aboard the Enterprise to marry. That's pretty much it for the exception of following Picard (hiding from Lwaxana who eyes him as a possible suitor!) on the Holodeck in the fictional role of a private detective before WWII, Dix, and his desire to have a comfortable time of it before the ship reaches the planet of the conference. This is essentially an episode that is playful and undemanding on an intellectual level, allowing Barrett to have fun with her bluntly honest, toxically aggressive Lwaxana character. If anything, it was hilarious seeing Deanna squirm when Lwaxana abruptly declares her marriage to Riker without his knowledge! Worf's moments with the Fish Creature Delegates (he considers them a handsome race!), including a scene with Wesley, are some of my favorites during the episode. Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) wanting Troi to allow Picard to get out of his dinner engagement with Lwaxana, without her help, is also pretty funny (it comments on the hunt, the hunted and the hunter). The Antedeans are a fascinating creation, I must say, and their catatonic incubation period, the feeding frenzy that erupts once they awaken, and the constant references to them keeps them alive during the episode when it could have been completely overwhelmed by Lwaxana. Seeing Lwaxana talk to the computer, asking for directions to the Holodeck to find Picard (the computer is her voice!), is simply surreal...

In "Manhunt" Troi's mother returns to the Enterprise to be transported to Pacifica for an upcoming conference. She is entering a new stage of her Betazoid life and is extremely hot to trot for Captain Picard. To avoid her, Picard hides in a holodeck as Dixon Hill until they drop her off.

There's really not a whole lot that occurs during this episode. Lwaxana is her standard, grating self. The writers use the same mind reading jokes for her they did the first time around. We waste a bit of time in the holodeck to flesh out the episode. The whole subplot with the fish people gets revealed to be a terrorist plot at the end of the episode in the most casual way possible. That plot is way more interesting and we barely even touch it.

Somehow though I still think this episode is slightly better than the previous two. There are a few scenes involving Riker I rather enjoyed. And Transporter Chief O'Brien always delivers a few good lines when given the chance.

The Enterprise picking up a pair of diplomats from an unknown alien species has them also picking up Majel Barrett who is a Betazoid ambassador. And as she is going through that race's version of menopause she has a heightened sexuality.

To put it bluntly as her daughter Marina Sirtis explains, Lwaxana Troi has an itch that needs scratching.

First Patrick Stewart and then Jonathan Frakes are stalked like prey. Jean-Luc Picard takes to the holodeck to get away from her. Of course she moves in on his Dixon Hill, Sam Spade like fantasy detective program.

It all works out and even Barrett gets her itch scratched, albeit vicariously.

My least favorite plots revolve around Deanna's mom: how can an empathy be so annoying and clueless?

My second least favorite plots involve the holodeck: seems laziness on the part of the writers and producers.

Together, they add up to one of my least favorite TNG episodes.

The Second Season of Star Trek the Next Generation has often been downplayed due to multiple production and writing staff problems, and several major cast changes. Although of mixed quality, it does contain some outstanding and brilliant episodes. Senior Trekker is extremely grateful to all those people who worked so hard under difficult circumstances to keep it on our screens.

Lwaxana Troi returns to the Enterprise while suffering from an overactive libido brought on by the Betazoid version of a female midlife hormonal crisis. Someone obviously thought this would be funny at the time and, of course, Majel Barrett overacts for all she's worth. It must have helped that she was the boss's wife and her costume budget seems to have been unlimited but this was one of the least successful of what were to become her annual appearances.

We also got a couple of extra holodeck Dixon Hill scenes and something about some weird fish people (apparently played by pop stars) who were really saboteurs, but none of it stands up very well to the passage of time.

(Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5)

I can't believe anyone enjoys the holodeck episodes. I want to watch a show about space exploration. If I wanted a story with an old-time detective, I'd watch The Big Sleep; not some third rate story about Dixon Hill. The holodeck is bad enough, but combining it with Troi's Mom? That's cruel and unusual punishment. She is overbearing, obnoxious and absolutely ridiculous. She appears to be completely delusional, and should be committed to a psychiatric facility. She's running around telling people Picard wants her, then just randomly announces she's marrying Riker. And this woman is an Ambassador? Please. Usually, I slog through the bad shows to see what happens, but I couldn't do it this time. After the marriage announcement I shut it off.