Talk:Betazoid

Menopause vs puberty
The Question has been raised:

When Betazoids reach the age of 40 years, do they undergo menapause or puberty? Startrek.com is vague, but it says they reach "maturity" at age 40.

Well, it can't be puberty, since both Lwaxana and Deanna had children before they were 40. Unless they age very slowly...but I don't recall ever hearing that. I always understood "age of maturity" as a polite way of saying menopause. Adam Bishop 02:52, 26 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I changed the word to "maturity" until we can resolve this. I really think that it's more like puberty, since Lwaxana is far more sexual in here dottage. She could have been 40 when she had her daughters... And Deanna's child could have been a fluke... Sigh, I'll investigate. tjdw


 * As mentioned in the article, it's a period of increased sex drive called the Phase. See "Manhunt" (TNG). - Montr&eacute;alais 01:16, 1 Sep 2003 (UTC)
 * Yes, a period of increased sex drive. The Phase occurs around the same time that menopause does in humans, but it can't be menopause because Lwaxana had her third child well after entering it. For all we know Betazoids don't experience menopause. Noneofyourbusiness 17:12, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Telepathy and half-betazoids
I may be wrong, but from what I've understood by watching TNG, full Betazoids are both telepaths and empaths (like Lwaxana), and half-Betazoids are just empaths (like Deanna). I seem to remember that in the first episode with Lwaxana, she made fun of her daughter because she could only sense emotions, and not thoughts as well. And Lwaxana stopped a sabotage attempt on the Enterprise just by casually reading the saboteur's mind, in that episode, I believe.

I could be wrong, though. It's been a long time. Dehumanizer 00:01, 31 Aug 2004 (UTC)
 * The telepathic powers aren't as strong as the empathic ones in hybrids, but they are capable of limited telepathy with people they know well (Deanna speaks telepathically to Riker in the series premier). Lwaxana first appeared in the episode about Deanna's betrothal, she foiled the sabotage plot in another one. Noneofyourbusiness 17:04, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Eye color
I have again removed the bold part of the following text:
 * Externally, Betazoids are nearly indistinguishable from humans, the only difference being that the iris of a Betazoid's eyes, is completely black. 

as well as the associated references section. I appreciate that the assertion has finally been sourced, but I remain quite skeptical. I'm not convinced that memory-alpha, the Star Trek wiki, meets Wikipedia's standards of verifiability of reliable sources. Consequently, I have requested comment here. Tom e rtalk 16:39, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

One RfC response
Memory Alpha cannot be considered a reliable source unless the information specific to this article has an independent source to corroborate. --Hemlock Martinis 20:13, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

Second RFC response
I have to agree with Hemlock Martinis. Memory Alpha is essentially the Wikipedia of the Star Trek universe, so we need to apply the same rules to anything posted there that we would apply to anything posted here. That means applying WP:V, and the claim has no V. Without a better citation, preferably from something like the Star Trek bible or some Paramount/Roddenberry-authorized book, the eye color statement should be removed. --Aaron 20:29, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

It's true

 * The Betazoids do indeed have black eyes. That information is on the official site, not to mention any episodes of a Star Trek series in which a Betazoid has appeared. The actors wear black contacts. People who don't watch ST and therefore don't know anything about the mythology shouldn't mess with this article. -- Freemarket 12:27, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
 * I've been watching Star Trek for eleven years, but that doesn't change the fact that articles have to be sourced. Now that the article's been sourced properly, the dispute is over. --Hemlock Martinis 14:01, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Deanna's Accent
Didn't Lwaxana mention in one episode that Deanna had picked up her accent from her father? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 4.252.243.115 (talk) 11:38, 6 December 2006 (UTC).

Marina Sirtis's natural accent is British. I assume if Troi spoke with a British accent, people would assume she was French, since Capt. Picard and all his relatives speak with a British accent and they are French. :D —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.132.223.22 (talk) 16:16, 1 July 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately I cannot source this information since I saw it in an interview with Marina Sirtis as part of a Star Trek marathon on television 10 or more years ago, and I agree that proper citations are necessary. However, I distinctly recall Sirtis saying that Troi's accent was a fabricated one made for TNG and that she worked with a language coach to learn to speak that way. Personal observation: Neither Brad Dourif (Betazoid Crewman Lon Sutter) on Voyager or Majel Barrett (Lwaxana Troi) on TNG and DS9 speak with that accent. -CEO

Dump Question
Is it ever explained in ST how telephaty is supposed to function ? Sorry.

Recursiveness
Has anyone else noticed that Betazed redirects to Betazoid, yet Betazed is linked multiple times in this entry? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.253.186.20 (talk) 05:42, 6 November 2007 (UTC)
 * See this link —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.234.134.38 (talk) 01:35, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Assessment
I have added a quality assessment rating and importance rating to this article. Feel free to change them as the article improves! Also, feel free to add more issues to the list below, and strike them out ( strike ) when they're completed. — OranL (talk) 19:50, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

Notable issues

 * The article's lead section needs to be a summary of the article. The rest of the lead needs to be broken up into sections.
 * The article has no secondary sources.
 * It could use a picture for illustration of the species, the planet, or both.