Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) The Perfect Mate (1992) User Reviews

Casting director really earned their money that week

[frankelee · 8/10 · 31 March 2021]

In this episode Famke Janssen appears as psychic alien beauty who can remake her own personality to suit whatever man she wishes to please. Knowing that she would have to be the focus character of the episode they did a great job with the casting, she more than holds up the episode with her acting.

It is a sort of fun premise too, she looks like a young human woman, but she isn't. She's an entirely different kind of being who simply attracts men like a machine. And as she explains, it's not some kind of subservience, or a role chosen for her, nor is it a vice, or some kind of high. It is her very nature to attract men, as she says like a Vulcan is logical or a Klingon aggressive.

Which leaves men like Riker and Picard feeling very uncomfortable, in a very enjoyable story.

Humanizing the trophy companion

[Mr-Fusion · 8/10 · 15 May 2017]

She really is the perfect mate, able to sense a man's feelings and mold herself uniquely to him. But she's also been bred for the sole function as a gift in a treaty ceremony. Naturally, questions of bondage crop up, not to mention attracting every man she comes in contact with . To makes this work, you need an actress of magnetic attraction (the alluring Famke Janssen, check)

. . . as well as that Starfleet office who's duty-bound to resist her appeal. This is a Picard episode if ever there was one, and it's a great character study that focuses on the man and not the Prime Directive-citing Captain we're used to. Their scenes together are amusing and warm, heartfelt and melancholic. The guy's restraint is a testament to his oath of diplomacy.

8/10

Excellent episode with a few flaws

[robert3750 · 6/10 · 13 August 2020]

Watching this had quite an effect on me. What man wouldn't want a beautiful, extraordinarily well educated and intelligent woman who has the ability and the desire to be exactly as he wants her to be? That's what Picard faces, and it's only his discipline and sense of duty that enables him to resist the temptation to yield to her overwhelming charms. We can see, however, that it's not the least bit easy for him, and we sense his loneliness and wistfulness as she is given to another man in order to bring peace to two systems. When watching him, I had the same wistfulness. In some ways, this is a remake of the TOS episode Elaan of Troyius, but FAR more effective, and the character of Kamala is immensely more appealing than the Elaan. I was annoyed with how clumsily the Ferengi subplot was handled. A super precious, delicate cargo has NO guards around it, and a slimy Ferengi has NO trouble at all meddling with it? Give me a break!

Picard soon joins Riker in holodeck 4

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 13 October 2021]

Enterprise transports a passenger and 'cargo' to a peace ceremony.

This is reasonably good character based episode that has some problems but just about works thanks to a number of strong performances.

The plot has good and bad points. I think it works as a character study of both Captain Picard and the guest character Kamala. However, the premise is similar to the original series episode 'Elaan of Troyus' and the Ferengi involvement is poorly written.

Star Trek one off romances never usually work for me, but I found this one slightly better than most due to the performances of Patrick Stewart and in particular Famke Janssen. They do as much as they possibly can in the short time given to this story to convince us that Picard might actually love this character. As ever though, I can never truly accept any burgeoning relationship involving a main character and ultimately want it to fail so it does not affect the status quo.

That being said, Kamala's and Picard's situation works well to drive the plot in an interesting direction. If you want to examine it deeply in the context of gender roles you could perceive problems with Kamala's depiction. A contemporary show probably would have written a male empathic metamorph with female starship Captain (or possibly use non-binary characters) just to avert accusations of sexism, but Kamala is written (and Janssen cast) with a 1990s heterosexual male audience in mind. Importantly though, the writing does at least acknowledge her situation is tragic and regardless of her personality reflecting Picard's notion of female desirability, she is presented with certain amount of freedom to choose her own path.

Visually it works well in the scenes between Picard and Kamala. I like the use of mirrors in some shots, the framing of the two in various scenes, the lighting, set design, makeup, and costuming.

As I mentioned briefly earlier it's the Ferengi scenes that really spoil it with their plot contrivances and the generally annoying characterisations.

Most performances are great, particularly Janssen and Stewart.

Beautiful Tragic Love Story

[pflau · 10/10 · 3 October 2006]

I don't follow Star Trek TV shows at all and I rented this episode on DVD just to see a young Famke Janssen. I had some idea of what the story was about from the IMDb synopsis but still it way exceeded my expectation. The story is typical until the very end where there is a surprising and tragic twist.. when Picard realized how his moments of kindness had unwittingly doomed another person to live out the rest of her life in tragic consequence.

This might just become one of the few Star Trek TV episodes that will stay with me for a very long time. A must rent if you're a fan of Star Trek or Famke Janssen.

Carrying a bride

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 4 June 2020]

I'm surprised that Marina Sirtis was not in this TNG story. Given the mission of of the Enterprise she would seem the perfect one for this mission.

In this story the Enterprise is conducting Famke Janssen and her planet's ambassador Tim O'Connor on the way to a marriage with the prince of snother planet to seal a treaty. There are also a pair of Ferengi who try to gum up he works.

Janssen like Troi is an empath and she was in stasis. She hasn't learned to harness her powers and all the men are giving her the once over. Jonathan Frakes has to take a figurative cold shower in one of the hollowdecks.

Patrick Stewart is by no means immune either.

Without Troi it is Data who is the only one of the crew not affected and Brent Spiner gets to be her chaperone.

With regrets the mission is completed.

Excellent Episode Featuring the Complexities of Picard

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 4 September 2014]

A "metamorph," who is someone groomed from childhood to serve a purpose, arrives on the Enterprise. She is to mate with a representative of a planet that is trying to avoid war. She is a gift. Two Ferengi nincompoops trying to kidnap her. knocking over her stasis chamber, forcing her to involve herself with the crew before she is really ready. She has the incredible ability to bond with men by being whatever they want her to be. It's very sexy and a bit dangerous. Riker is immediately taken in (surprise, surprise) but manages to keep his distance. Even Worf growls when she growls at him. Picard, doing everything he can to avoid interaction with her, becomes her soul-mate. He has such character and purpose that he is able to overcome his baser instincts and resist her. Still, they have encounters where he tries to let her know that as a sentient being, she should have rights. She tells him that this is her reason for existence. The scenes between the two of them are wonderful, tension abounding. Sadly, the guy she is to hook up with is a self-centered bureaucrat with no sentimentality or joyfulness. The Ferengi, in their efforts to do business with the escort/negotiator, almost kill him, and Picard must carry on the encounter with the two forces. I found this a very thoughtful episode with sad implications.

Picard reminds me of Horatio Hornblower

[the_oak · 7/10 · 9 November 2023]

I liked this episode. Picard's sense of duty reminds me of Horatio Hornblower. Hornblower marries a woman whom he does not love, and he does it because she loves him so dearly, and he remains true to her until she dies. These philosophical and ethical discussions is why I love Star Trek so much. Once again I need to write more to fullfil the imdb review board's demand of required characters, so you out there reading this, my fellow ape, soul, star dust creature: I'm glad you enjoy Star Trek as much as I do. I wish you a peaceful day. Say hi to your pet from me. Greetings from frozen november land in Norway.

Turned out a lot more interesting than I expected

[DrLex · 9/10 · 21 May 2016]

I apologize in advance that this will not so much be a review of this episode, as it is my opinion of what is wrong with the way many seem to be watching and rating TV shows and movies nowadays.

As for the episode itself, it was better than I expected from the single-sentence summary I read before watching it. The story has a tragic aspect to it, because it involves a woman who was specifically raised with the sole purpose of being nothing but a gift, to be handed over during the signing of a peace treaty. The story ends with a rather unexpected twist that makes it all the more tragic. What makes the episode particularly nice, is that it gives us a more personal look into Picard's personage than we're generally used to. Despite the serious subject matter, there are quite a bit of humorous scenes to lighten it up. Highly recommended.

Now, as I stated before, my only expectations of this episode were based on a single sentence that summarizes the plot. For the rest I know I am watching an early nineties show with a mid-sized budget and a tight schedule. I am fully aware it is not as refined as present-day shows written by people who studied all the flaws in all older shows in televised history. Therefore I do not expect the same rigor. There was a particular moment in this episode where I thought: "boy, that is some poor security for a 24th-century space ship." However, it was obvious that this part of the story was completely secondary to the main subject, therefore I immediately ignored it under suspension of disbelief. When going through the other reviews however, I find another recent one that completely disses the entire episode just because of that exact same shortcut in the plot.

Yes, a Ferengi simply walking into a cargo bay that was earlier on explicitly requested to have increased security, is sloppy writing. But no, this does not break the entire episode as the reviewer insinuates. Maybe if this episode would have been released today this would be unacceptable, but it is 24 years old. If you're going to apply present-day expectations to something from a quarter century ago, it may be better not to watch it at all.

This is not the first time I bump into a review like that. Even beyond TV and movie reviews I notice this same kind of behavior being on the march: creating completely unreasonable expectations based on either incomplete information or inappropriate frames-of-reference, or both; and then being extremely disappointed when those expectations are not perfectly met. That is one sure way to be disappointed with pretty much everything. If you want to go back to enjoying things, make minimal assumptions about them. Take things for what they are, not what you thought them to be based on whatever rigid models or misleading advertisements (like movie trailers, which I avoid if I can). Of course, whoever wants to turn themselves into a complete sourpuss, is free to ignore this advice, but I would appreciate it if one would not try to spread this kind of acidity across the world.

The trouble with Ferengis.

[russem31 · 27 April 2006]

ST:TNG:121 - "The Perfect Mate" (Stardate: 45761.3) - this is the 21st episode of the 5th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While the Enterprise hosts a Ceremony of Reconciliation between the Valt minor and Krios Systems to try to put an end to their centuries-long war, they rescue two Ferengi who's ship is about to explode. However, the Ferengi aren't who they seem to be, and neither are the Kriotians.

Guest starring Famke Jannsen (of "X-Men" fame) as the irresistible and mysterious Kamala (especially to Riker and more so Picard) and Max Gordenchik (who plays Rom on Deep Space Nine) as the Ferengi Par Lenor.

Trivia note: we see Picard's love for "tea Earl Grey hot".

REVIEW 2022

[iamirwar · 6/10 · 19 September 2022]

Krios and Valt Minor have been at war for over a century now but they have agreed to a ceremony of reconciliation to be held onboard the Enterprise. Captain Picard accepts a mysterious cargo to be transported on behalf of Ambassador Briam. But now we have a couple of Ferengi who have sent out a distress call. When their ship explodes, the Captain has no choice but to transport them to the Enterprise... oh oh, Ferengi... Mysterious Cargo... We already know they're up to no good... but what of this mysterious cargo?

I am surprised that the Captain didn't make stricter enquiries about the cargo before he allowed it to be beamed aboard.

I predict a love story. Possibly one of the oldest, most predictable love stories every written.

A beautiful woman fought over by two brothers. War resulting from that conflict.

Already Riker is staking his claim. Personally, I think he should have been kicked out of Star Trek after the 'The Outcast' incident. I just hope that no other crew member will attempt to put their toe in the water.

If a face could launch a thousand ships. I got fed-up with this episode half way through... apart from the trill spots down her back and the fact that she is beautiful, there was nothing else to this story to hold my attention. The character of Kamala appears to be everything to all man. A bit of a floozie with the miners, and also with Worf.

I could never work out why the producers allowed so many 'soap-opera' like stories. Was this a vein attempt to cater for the female audience? Were they trying to emulate other tv shows that were popular at the time? It should be remembered that the original series also included love-centred stories.

For me, there was nothing of interest here. Indeed, it was very cringe-worthy. I just cannot see the point.

This also reminds me of the Red Dwarf episode; Camille.

This Episodes Clue: Dumah.

Famke Janssen

[campbel-11998 · 10/10 · 14 October 2019]

In her first role, Famke matches quiet intensity with Patrick Stewart with ease. The chemistry with these two was superb, as well as Famke's scenes with the other Costars. While the role depended on her beauty, she brought a grace to the show that had me hoping for a future reunion that never occured. The ending gave me the feeling I get when reading the final pages of a fine novel. I felt I was leaving something behind.

Lacan's nightmare

[nanton-35268 · 6/10 · 27 June 2023]

The whole episode circles around the question if Picard can resist The Perfect Mate. A woman with emphatic abilities and lifelong training to be Lacan's (the great psychologist) dream or nightmare. A woman with the ability to give any man what he desires. And here is the thing. What we learn in Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac is that if you get what you desire, you are not able anymore of sexual intercourse. That is the reason even Riker can resist and Picard also. Unlike Riker, Picard as a highly reflective and intellectual person knows this. Which gives the whole episode another level of tragedy. Therefore Kamala, having ended her phase in assimilation of Picard but getting married to someone else reduces her life now to an object, like a gift, completely. She is now only that. A breathing gift. Nothing else. Before that she might have had a chance of at least loving her unknown husband due to what she is. That is why Picard, at the end, reacts with disgust to the question how he could resist her. He is torn apart by the first directive and compassion. Because she is damned of a life without love and sexual passion.

Cringeworthy

[zombiemockingbird · 1/10 · 11 April 2023]

I was really uncomfortable with this episode. Basically, this 'gift' woman was nothing but a sex slave. A woman who does whatever a man wants, and changes herself to whatever a man wants. She has no feelings of her own, does nothing for herself, it's unconscionable. Then every man on the ship is tripping over their tongues following her around, including Picard, which was disappointing, unprofessional and inappropriate. Why on earth would the writers, or anyone think this story line was okay? Added to this total garbage are random Ferengi's wandering around the ship (an episode starting with Ferengi's is usually a sign of a bad episode). Is there no security on the Enterprise at all? And Picard never seems to have any idea what's going on, which is beginning to be kind of disturbing. I turned it off after about 10 minutes; maybe it got better, but I doubt it.

"You know what's remarkable about empathic metamorphs?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 7 March 2024]

This would have been a good episode to test Commander Riker's (Jonathan Frakes) active libido but since he fell in love just a few stories prior in 'The Outcast', he only got to spend a brief moment with the metamorph Kamala (Famke Janssen). Instead, the lovely mutant turned her attention to Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), who had all he could do to hold it together against Kamala's extensive battery of beauty, guile and pheromones - "I'm just trying to be as dull as possible". In a way, this was surprising for a Next Generation story since the series often stood at the forefront of cultural shifts in attitudes, but this one seemed like a throwback by offering a desirable woman as a sex object to be coveted by all the males aboard the Enterprise. Which by the way, included all those brutish looking aliens in Ten Forward acting like construction workers upon eyeing Kamala. That never happened before on Ten Forward with so many of an alien species, I had to wonder what was up with that.

A couple of goofball Ferengi almost threw a monkey wrench into the works by virtually assaulting Kriosian Ambassador Briam (Tim O'Connor), intent on garnering a trade agreement between his planet of Krios and Valt Minor, the rift between the former warring planets to be mended with the bonding of Kamala to the representative from Valt. Going by appearances, this was a union that wouldn't have worked under any other circumstances, but Kamala's inbred sense of duty had her fulfill the mission she was born to do. You could almost sense the Captain's disappointment with the outcome, but the Prime Directive wouldn't have it any other way.

A side note: The pronunciation of Kamala's name in this story was at odds with the way our current Vice President wishes to be called. I don't know, I just find that interesting.

Amazing!

[Bluesteelb-197-329664 · 10/10 · 24 June 2020]

I do not know why there is so much hate about this episode; Famke Janssen does an absolute amazing job in one of her earliest roles. She is so believable as this character. I get people have trouble with this episode as it's basically about a women being property to a man but it's an episode that relates to what actually happens in different cultures other than the American culture; she is also a alien race!! Overall, Famke Janssen was amazing, hypnotic and a shame she wasn't in more episodes to flesh out her character.

By far my favorite episode

[williams9 · 10/10 · 30 June 2021]

The Perfect Mate is perhaps a misleading title. The emotional depth of this episode is remarkable and the performance of Famke Janssen is outstanding. The deep emotion that must be dealt with is loss. These are emotions familiar to the characters of Next Generation but presented in such a remarkable and different way. I felt that the use of the Ferengi was a little clumsy here. Another plot might have allowed us to spend more time with Famke.

Great depth and thoughtful story. Well done.

Can Picard resist the 'perfect' woman?

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 15 July 2015]

Once again the Enterprise is involved in the end of a conflict; this time by transporting Ambassador Briam, representative of the Kryotion people, and his gift to a formal meeting with the representative from Valt Minor. It should be a routine but along the way the Enterprise rescues a pair of Ferengi not realising their situation was engineered to get them aboard the Enterprise to steal the ambassador's gift. Their plan fails but it does lead to the gift becoming unboxed. This leads to a dilemma for Picard as the gift is in fact a woman. She is Kamala, a very rare metamorph. Metaporth's have an empathic ability to detect men's desires and respond to them; they are also highly alluring making it hard for men not to throw themselves at her. When the ambassador is injured Picard must fill in and this means spending a long time with Kamala and the more he tries to avoid giving into her attractions the more fascinated she becomes with him.

This might not be an action packed episode but it is an interesting story nonetheless. With the arrival of the two Ferengis I thought we were going to get a more light-hearted episode but once Kamala appears things get more serious. There is the inevitable discussion of the rights and wrongs of transporting a sentient being to be given as a gift; even if that being has no objection and even sees it as their purpose in life. Kamala's allure leads to some fun moments as she affects Riker, a group of miners and even Worf. However it is her scenes with Picard that are most interesting as he strives to ignore her charms. All this leads up to an ending that isn't exactly happy but it is the right resolution to my mind even if it isn't quite what most viewers will want. Famke Janssen does a solid job as Kamala and Patrick Stewart is on top form in their scenes together. Overall a solid character driven episode.

Kamala's fate has echoes of Sita?

[robgoodd · 9/10 · 4 April 2009]

Anyone interested in this "tragic" aspect of the Kamala character doing her duty should read the Ramayana and ponder over Sita's fate. We see that Kamala happily goes to her fate, though it seems to us sad for her and Picard. Once she has bonded "accidentally" with Picard, who is a man whose highest principle is his duty, she can then fulfill her duty also, knowing she can do it regardless of whether she is personally happy. I am reminded of the way Sita embraces her Dharma (duty) in the Indian epic the Ramayana. Sita represents so much more than the single episode Star Trek character Kamala: Sita loves Rama totally and follows him into exile in the forest, gladly proving her honor once she is freed from the demon Ravana, and so on, yet in the final episode she is swallowed up again by her Mother Earth, after denying a romantic "happily ever after" ending. The Ramayana is one of the greatest epics of all time, anywhere, and one wonders if the writers of this STNG episode had Sita in mind. It is rare to find contemporary female characters who encompass so much understanding, who are with men, but also have their own agency. With such a denouement in this STNG episode, one senses that the Kamala character hints at a female agency that is strong and independent, while still apparently fulfilling a role subservient to males.

A Senior Trekker writes...................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 13 February 2022]

The Fifth Season of TNG contains some remarkably strong episodes while continuing to push the boundaries of what could be achieved within an episodic television format. It is notable for the tragic loss of its creator, Gene Roddenberry, who died on 24th October 1991 at the age of 70. His influence upon the positive depiction of humanity and diversity in Science Fiction endures to this day. Senior Trekker continues to score all episodes with a 5.

A difficult story to watch at times, this episode has the Enterprise transport a particularly special female "empathic metamorph" to be given up in marriage in order to broker a peace agreement between warring nations. Oh dear. We may have thought that this sort of story had already been done to death with the obvious conflict between human values of personal liberty and the customs of other races but this one manages to shed fresh light on the subject.

What if the individual who is the subject of the treaty really believes in their role and goes into the arrangement willingly? It may be necessary for the viewers to stand back and suspend judgement; it's certainly a well-realised episode, beautiful to look and sufficiently thought provoking to hold our attention throughout.

Famke Jannsen, in one of her break-out roles, looks absolutely divine throughout, assisted no doubt by the costume department's excitement at the opportunity to produce their second spectacular wedding dress of the season. But it is because of her remarkable talent and compelling presence that she turns her scenes with Patrick Stewart into the seeds of a real tragedy.

Despite the amusing presence of Max Grodenchik as a Ferengi scoundrel, some entertaining scenes illustrating Kamala's effect upon male crew members and a delicious performance by Mikey Cotteral as the odious Chancellor Allrik, this is essentially a bitter-sweet story. An unforgettable one at that.

More interesting than a romance

[mattwilliamdavies · 8/10 · 24 April 2022]

Very thought provoking, but I don't think you can class this as a romance. Famke Janssen's character's personality is no more real with Picard than when she switches effortlessly between three different personalities in 10 Forward. The writers seem to want us to understand she is just a mirror (the director even shows that in some shot framing), but also want us kind of forget it later in her stunning scenes with Picard.

What I think it is instead is an interesting insight into Picard, what he wants and his seeming inability to get it due to his sense of duty. You see a relaxed Picard here which is new, but I like to think he knows on some level it isn't "real" and he is making her in his image. Interestingly he basically ruins her life though.

Famke Janssen somehow makes this all work which is no mean feat.

Very good ep.

Astonishing episode

[rskolek · 10/10 · 3 June 2020]

I think this is one of those episodes that speak very deeply, provided that you are at the moment receptive to it. The Tapestry can influence you deeply when you are at the crossroads; this one can speak to you when you have been alone for a long time.

While this is a rather simple plot, it is a great opportunity to explore Picard's character.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 November 2014]

The Enterprise is transporting a diplomat and his 'cargo' to a meeting which is intended to restore amicable relations between two warring planets. However, this cargo comes in a package which is damaged by some nosy and especially annoying Ferengi who are aboard. Inside the package is a woman! She is a genetic anomaly--a women who is perfectly suited to please a man. She is empathic and lives to please her mate and the plan is to give this woman to their former enemy to seal their agreement. But there is a HUGE problem-- the woman is like walking sex! She emits very powerful pheromones and men respond to her like dogs to a pork chop!! So, she eventually needs to be confined to her quarters because her suspended animation container was destroyed. And, the Captain and this incredible woman become very friendly.

This episode gives Patrick Stewart a great opportunity to flesh out his character and seeing the stolid captain struggling so hard to be in control is wonderful--as well as the times he lets down his guard. A very unusual and worthwhile episode.

The Perfect Mate

[svenderik63 · 10/10 · 18 November 2012]

While i do get the apparently tragic end where Kamala tells Picard that she has made a special bond with him it left me wondering if this was the truth or it was what she knew - being the perfect mate - he wanted to hear. Picard asked how she was, when she was alone - this she could not answer at first. But later, after having thought it over, she admitted that she had never been alone. There had always been someone around to educate her in something.

Having a mate like this would demand a man like Picard to make drastic changes in his life. He would always have to bring her along on his travels or settle down and pursuing a career. With at spouse as beautiful and devoted as Kamala this would at first seem tempting, but what happens when there's nothing more for Kamala to learn from Picard. It's hard to believe a woman like her would settle down in a relationship. The character of Kamala might be designed in a way so this scenario never occurs and explain the bonding theme, but she does say that she's still an empath and will be able to give the ambassador the happiness thats part of deal between the two parts in the conflict even though she says she has fallen for Picard. Again i wonder if she says this because it's the truth or because it's precisely what she knows Pichard wants to hear.

I think Picard, being an intelligent and self controlled man, realizes the eneveteable doom a relationship with Kamala represents. While he's tempted by the incredible beauty of Kamala and her apparent promise of a long and happy life should he choose her, he also somehow knows that he can never be satisfied with a spouse that does not bring anything new to the relationship.

In my time i have meet a couple of women with this exact personality. An almost perfect ability to adapt to whatever group of people they were in. Like the character of Kamala this ability always freaked me out. I don't remember i have ever come across a movie that described this ability as loving and loyal to the woman as this episode of Star Trek does. It's by far the best i have seen.

/Svend Erik

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy

[rolee-1 · 3/10 · 19 March 2016]

This is one of those episodes that makes me think badly of Star Trek (old, new, newer) despite the fact that I do like a good many episodes. They run the security of the ship, a quasi-military ship, with less rigor than a college frat party. I know that in this instance it moved the plot along that they let a couple of Ferengi loose on the ship, but the sloppiness of it really spoils the rest of the episode. They could have accomplished the same effect in a different way if they had thought about the plot for another twenty minutes, but that seems too much to ask. Next Generation is better than the original in this respect most of the time, but it too has lapses. If it weren't for the sloppiness, I would have given the show an 8.