Frame of Mind

DVD, TNG S6 (Frame of Mind)

At what point Riker was in reality, I'm not sure, but if I understand correctly, everything we see until he wakes up on the bed, hooked up to some instrument was fantasy, cooked up in his brain by Mr. Suna (I thought they said Son'a when it was first spoken), assuming that was his real name. So the viewer's first inclination to believe this isn't reality, soon confirmed when shown he's acting in a play, was actually more correct than they realised. I enjoy these sleights of hand with reality and fiction, one of Brannon Braga's specialities, and I'm invested in this particular episode more than I might have been as it was one of those few that I tuned in for on TV in the 90s and was once again impressed by.

Jonathan Frakes shows he can act as well as any of the crew by playing an actor, playing someone who isn't acting, and playing his normal character. As always with these uncertain reality episodes I'm a little suspicious when they've apparently got back to real reality, so it wasn't so much of a surprise that when Riker thinks he's been rescued, in a sequence where he's literally propelled along by Mr. Data's superior strength, as well as Mr. Worf's not inconsiderable power, it proved false. It's close enough to the end that you think it could be real, but he's fooled again. Even when we've definitely returned, the lighting back to normal, no scary angles or discordant music, Deanna and Picard looking on concerned, I can't help but wonder: is he really out of it? Is reality real?

I couldn't agree with Troi's suggestion it's good to have fun with our 'dark side' - presumably if it's the dark side then it's evil and terrible, not the sort of thing you want to have fun with. I suppose she means in the way of enjoying the thrill of a good scare rather than running amok with a blade, but I can't say I approve of horror films in general. Saying that, this does have a sinister feeling of horror throughout, but it's the psychological kind rather than the visual. That guard was massive - he'd have to be for Riker to look up to him but because of the lack of detail in the set it was difficult to judge scale so it makes Riker look smaller, rather than Mavek seeming larger than average. They'd done the reality within a reality before with Riker in 'Future Imperfect' but I think it's more successful here because it's impossible to tell which bits are real. Because none of it is.

Susanna Thompson returned to 'TNG' after being in 'The Next Phase' last season, long before she took on her best known role as the Borg Queen, and it has to be said, she's a rather insignificant character, especially since she turned out to be an invention of Riker's mind. Still, it's a good spoon moment, predating 'The Matrix' by a number of years! David Selburg as Dr. Syrus was a familiar face, usually chosen for his reassuring voice, he'd been in 'TNG' already and would go on to 'Voyager' and 'Enterprise' too, though he's not so easy to spot with the wig and forehead in this one. All very interesting, but let me ask you something. Is this really a review or is it all in your head?

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