10 Laziest Star Trek Alien Designs

7. Betazoid

Lwaxana Troi
Paramount

A telepathic species that first appeared in Encounter At Farpoint, it seems that more thought went into the length of Marina Sirtis's skant than the overall design of her race. We discussed some of the original ideas for her character in previous lists, but in practice, the Betazoids would make the perfect spy on Earth - as it's bloody hard to tell them apart.

Effectively, Betazoids are only exposed by the black pupils in their eyes. Originally, they would have an accent that may also give them away - certainly, much has been said about Sirtis's voice in the early seasons of TNG, but this was swept aside once Majel Barrett took on the role of her mother.

While many other Betazoids have appeared through the years - Stadi, Suder, and Tam Elbrun being examples here - Deanna Troi was the template for almost everything that would follow. Part-Betazoids, like Devinoni Ral and Kestra Troi-Riker, could have different pigmentation in their eyes, making them at least a small example of the wide variety that one could expect to see on Betazed - assuming the Dominion left much of the planet standing, that is.

 
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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"