Julia Houston on 'Vamps' in Trek

Julia Houston, About.com's guide for Star Trek Fans, has posted a new edition of her weekly column. This week's article, entitled 'Star Trek V...for "Vamp", takes a look at female stereotypes, the 'the virginal damsel in distress (hero), and the evil sorceress/seductress (villain)', and how the latter is still alive and well in Star Trek.

Thus, unlike the silly girl mewling to be saved, the evil vamp has some potential to last well into the next thousand years. She's smart, usually has a sense of humor, and if she's done well, she can scare the pants off you.literally. Make her obsessed with men and you give her easy motivation. Make her a lesbian and no one is safe. Make her create order out of chaos and you have --

The Borg Queen.

But not just the Borg Queen. Star Trek has a long and extremely entertaining line of vamps stretching back to its very beginning.

The first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," centers around a female character who at first appears to be the evil seductress and then turns out to be the virgin in distress. Vina initially appears to entice Pike into her bed, magically donning various guises -- the country girl on a picnic, the Orion slave girl -- and hiding a malicious intent. In the reworked version, "The Menagerie," the revelation that Vina is actually a virgin in distress is even sufficient redemption for her to win Pike (though he's somewhat the worse for wear).

All through TOS, Captain Kirk's open sexuality works wonderfully against a host of vamps. In fact, he's often called -- in the line of duty, mind you -- to out-vamp the vamp.

For the full article, drop by here at About.com's Star Trek Fans.

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