By Drew Dietsch
| Published
Marina Sirtis will unquestionably be most remembered as Deanna Troi, the Betazoid counselor on Star Trek: The Next Generation. With seven seasons of television, four feature films, and an incapable-of-growing-up fanbase, Sirtis will always be linked to Deanna Troi. It will assuredly be the role that is at the forefront of her career when the time comes to give her our remembrance.
But, here’s the thing: Marina Sirtis played a much better role on television than Deanna Troi. The only reason it doesn’t get the accolades and attention it deserves is because you don’t get to see her face during her performance. Because the best role Marina Sirtis ever played on TV was not Deanna Troi, it was Demona on Gargoyles.
The Best Marina Sirtis Role Is Demona From Gargoyles
Marina Sirtis lent her voice to the character of Demona on Gargoyles, an animated series on the Disney Channel that ran for three seasons from 1994 to 1997. The story of the show is about a race of nocturnal bat-winged creatures who awaken in modern day New York City after a spell has left them slumbering for a thousand years. They befriend a police officer and become protectors of the city’s citizens at night.
However, Demona as a character was not part of the spell that put the other gargoyles to sleep. Because of this, she has lived all these years developing a hatred of humans. When the gargoyles initially awaken, she presents herself as an ally but quickly changes colors when she realizes the gargoyles will not join her in a quest to dominate the humans.
It’s a meaty role considering the Saturday morning cartoon nature of the show Gargoyles, but it’s also where Marina Sirtis gets to flex the kinds of acting muscles she rarely ever got to showcase on the space show that made her famous.
The Next Gen Crew Break Bad
Marina Sirtis wasn’t alone on Gargoyles when it came to other Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members. Jonathan Frakes was the lead villain of the show, David Xanatos, and Michael Dorn even shows up as an antagonist during his initial appearance as the gargoyle Coldstone. Basically, these folks got to break from the usually stiff moralism of their Star Trek characters and play as villains on this animated show.
It’s because of this that you can feel the freedom in Marina Sirtis’ performance as Demona. I doubt she got the opportunity to play villainous characters in any medium, so Sirtis relishes the evilness in Demona as well as the more complicated parts of her story. It makes for such a rich performance every time she shows up. And just hearing her and Frakes turn on the sinister vibes together is better than any scene they ever had together as Troi and Riker.
Sorry, Trekkos, but Marina Sirtis deserved a better character than Deanna Troi. Demona from Gargoyles is proof. Instead of rewatching “The Loss” again, you should check out Gargoyles and give Demona her flowers. When it comes to the best Marina Sirtis character, Deanna Troi gets stomped by Demona.
