Star Trek: Elaan of Troyius

Episode: "Elaan of Troyius"
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 3, Episode 13
Original Air Date: December 20, 1968

via Memory Alpha

As I was firing up Star Trek this week, My Wife laughed and asked how many episodes I have left.  Now, with "Elaan of Troyius" behind me, I'm down to eleven.  That merit badge is so close I can smell it.

The episode's title is a play on Helen of Troy, the wife of Agamemnon whose abduction led to the Trojan War, aka "the face that launch'd a thousand ships."  Elaan is a princess on the planet Elas.  She has been promised in marriage to a member of the royal family on Troyius, with whom the Elasians are at war.  The Enterprise is providing the transportation for this diplomatic maneuver.  Elaan is a beautiful but strong-willed and demanding passenger.  She threatens to execute half the crew before Captain Kirk finds her softer side.

Meanwhile, there's a Klingon ship hanging around.  The star system lies on the border between Federation and Klingon space.  The Klingons seem inordinately interested in the proceedings for reasons our heroes don't initially understand.  Turns out, one of Elaan's guards is a saboteur and spy for the Klingons, too.

The clever answer to the Klingon question lies in a wedding present: a necklace of "common stones" given to Elaan by her betrothed.  Wouldn't you know, the stones are crude dilithium crystals, the fuel required for a warp drive.  Obviously, the Klingons would be very interested in any planet where such treasures are common.

*****

via Smell the Coffee

France Nuyen (Elaan) was born France Nguyen Van Nga on July 31, 1939 in Marseille, France.  Her father was Vietnamese, her mother French of Roma ancestry.  At age 16, while working as a seamstress, she was discovered on the beach by a Life magazine photographer.  Three years later, she was on the cover.

Modeling catapulted her to an acting career.  She made her film debut in South Pacific in 1958.  The same year, she had the lead in a stage production, The World of Suzie Wong, opposite one William Shatner.  Other films included Satan Never Sleeps, A Girl Named Tamiko and, 31 years later, The Joy Luck Club.  In addition to Trek, she made television guest appearances on Kung Fu and Columbo and had a regular cast role on the last two seasons of St. Elsewhere.

Nuyen has done more important work in her second career.  In 1986, she earned a master's degree in clinical psychology.  She then worked as a psychological counselor for abused women and children.