1984 Interview with Angelique Pettyjohn

Recently I have been posting articles from issue #17 of the magazine  Enterprise Incidents, published in May of 1984 (see the cover here). I am still mining this issue, this time with an interview with actress/model Angelique Pettyjohn that portrayed the exotic drill thrall Shahna from the episode "The Gamesters of Triskelion." (Read her Wiki entry here.)

With a script that just as easily could have been written for "Lost In Space," (with some more dumbing-down) it is nevertheless fun to watch, as Kirk once again uses his sex appeal on an innocent alien woman to achieve escape. Another notable example of this was when he blew the mind of Kelinda in "By Any Other Name," and I'm sure you could think of a few more without really trying. "Cheesy" is the word of the day on this episode. But even bad Trek is good, and this is not as bad as some others.

The character of Shahna is best remembered by the casual viewer of the show as the "green-haired girl in the tinfoil bikini" that critics hold up as a typical example of the exploitation of women in the original series. It's true that the actress was a Vegas showgirl, and her impressive physique was put on full view in the now-famous silver halter that would have looked right at home on a Vegas stage. The voluminous green-tinted wig completed the outfit, and you just know the producers -particularly Roddenberry- were all giggity over her, so for once the detractors who call TOS sexist were somewhat justified. (One has to wonder why a warrior such as Shahna would take such time to tease her hair and apply all that make-up just to go out and fight the other thralls.)

Angelique did some other TV shows and B-movies, and  later went on to act in some adult films, and sadly passed away in 1992 of cancer.

This article reveals the poor layout that was sometimes a problem in the magazine once it went national, with most of the pages mostly empty space with one small photo. But it is a nice interview, and it's just for you Shahna fans out there that were so struck with her as a kid! Me, I was too enthralled (ouch!) with the fact that Uhura got to go on an adventure to be very smitten with Shahna. But I can certainly understand the attraction she must have had on a lot of adolescents, and I won't claim there weren't a few hormones stirred up by her "Jiffy-Pop" outfit!

(Click on images to enlarge; once open, you may have to click on it again to view full-size.)

 

 

 

 

Below, a couple of publicity photos taken during the filming.

"One quick flip over the hip, and it's roll in the hay time!"

 
Shahna appears to be directing traffic in this photo, and in that getup she would be a traffic-stopper; but more likely causing some accidents!.

Bonus: Below, from a coloring book put out as a tie-in with ST:TMP (featured only on the covers)  are a couple of pages with activities that will amuse you for hours on end. Or, the kids in your life. Print them out and color away!