Summary

• Troi wore civilian clothes for most of TNG to put her patients at ease as the ship's counselor and indicate her position.
• Captain Picard allowed Troi to wear civilian clothes on the bridge due to her empathic abilities and his disregard for unnecessary regulations.
• Troi's evolution as a character and desire for more responsibilities led her to wear a Starfleet uniform, making her feel like a commanding officer and allowing her to take command when necessary.

For most of the run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) didn't wear a traditional Starfleet uniform. Despite being one of the main characters who spent much of her time on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, Troi wore various civilian outfits throughout the first several seasons of TNG. It was not until the last couple of seasons, when Troi began taking on more responsibilities on the ship, that she regularly began wearing a Starfleet uniform. TNG never offered an official in-universe reason for why Troi wore civilian clothes for much of the show's run.

Counselor Troi served as an advisor to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), often sitting to his left on the main bridge. As a half-Betazoid, Troi could sense the emotions of those around her, making her an invaluable asset in confrontations with unknown alien species. She also worked as the ship's counselor, offering counseling sessions for the many officers and civilians on the USS Enterprise-D. By the last seasons of TNG and the subsequent films, Troi began advancing her career and took on more duties aboard the ship.

Why Troi Didn’t Wear A Starfleet Uniform For Most Of TNG

Although Star Trek: The Next Generation never offered an official explanation in regard to Troi wearing civilian clothing, there are a few different possibilities. As the ship's counselor, Deanna likely wore civilian clothes to put her patients more at ease. A young Starfleet officer or a civilian on board might feel intimidated speaking to a high-ranking officer and be less inclined to open up about their emotions. Deanna's outfits may also have been an indication of her position as the ship's counselor, in much the same way that Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) often wears a blue coat over her uniform.

Because of her empathic abilities, Troi held a higher position on the Enterprise than many ship's counselors would. Under normal circumstances, she likely would not have been a bridge officer, but Picard valued Troi's ability to sense others' emotions and asked her to act as his advisor. Captain Picard was never a stickler for unnecessary regulations, so it would make sense that he allowed her to wear civilian clothes even while on the bridge. As a real-world explanation, some of the people behind the scenes of TNG thought Marina Sirtis looked better in the one-piece outfits rather than the standard Starfleet uniforms.

How Troi Wearing A Starfleet Uniform Showed Her Evolution

When Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox) takes command of the Enterprise in TNG season 6, episode 10, "Chain of Command," he insists that Deanna Troi change into a standard Starfleet uniform. This may just be because Jellico is a stickler for regulations and protocol, but Troi seemed to like wearing the uniform, as she would wear it more often from this point on. For much of TNG, Deanna Troi didn't have much to do. The writers sometimes seemed to struggle to come up with story ideas for her character, and Troi was often relegated to pointing out the obvious.

As Deanna evolved in later seasons, she grew as a character and began to take on more responsibilities on the Enterprise. In TNG season 7, episode 16, "Thine Own Self," Troi tells her future husband Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) that she wants to become a full Commander and take on more command duties. In wearing the Starfleet uniform, Troi likely feels more like a commanding officer and is perhaps also taken more seriously as a commander. Troi finally takes the bridge officer's test in "Thine Own Self," which allows her to take command of the Enterprise when necessary. This development not only made Troi a more interesting character but was also a welcome change for actress Marina Sirtis.

Marina Sirtis Liked Playing Troi Better Wearing A Starfleet Uniform

Marina Sirtis has expressed in multiple interviews that she didn't always love the way Deanna Troi was portrayed as a character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, including the way she dressed. In an interview with BBC in 2001, Sirtis spoke about how happy she was when Troi began wearing a Starfleet uniform, saying:

"I was thrilled when I got my regulation Starfleet uniform, or the regulation space suit, as we call it. First of all, it covered up my cleavage and, consequently, I got all my brains back, because when you have a cleavage you can't have brains in Hollywood. So I got all my brains back, and I was allowed to do things that I hadn't been allowed to do for five or six years. I went on away teams, I was in charge of staff, I had my pips back, I had phasers, I had all the equipment again, and it was fabulous. I was absolutely thrilled."

Although Deanna Troi appeared in only one episode of Star Trek: Picard season 1, she made a more significant return in Picard season 3. Despite being largely absent for the first half of Picard season 3, Deanna proved to be instrumental in the final few episodes, as she helped thwart the Borg/Changeling plot. Troi got to be a hero in the final few episodes of Picard season 3, using her Betazoid powers to help save the day. The Deanna Troi of Picard season 3 has grown a lot since her earliest days on Star Trek: The Next Generation and the character will always be an important part of the Star Trek family regardless of her outfit.