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DVD, TNG S7 (Dark Page)

Two for two on nightmarish 'inside the mind' stories, but that's never a bad thing, it's just a little surprising that they'd produce two thematically similar tales side by side. More than that, it fits into the season-long obsession (if that's not too negative a word), with family. With this story we get to see more of Deanna's family than we ever knew about in some touching and sad scenes, mainly inside the mind of the ageing Lwaxana. So it's another mental journey taking place, to add to so many others, but this time, because it's such a flamboyant and seemingly open character as Mrs. Troi, the dark passage is more disturbing. The opening suggested this was another in the Mrs. Troi sub-genre in which she either comes aboard the Enterprise to harass Picard, to set Deanna up with someone, or her own telepathy causes problems, but these were all part of a smokescreen that became almost literal when Deanna goes into her Mother's mind - the pain buried inside is so strong that it almost kills her rather than share such a terrible secret with her only daughter.

Majel Barrett gives a heartfelt performance that is marginally undermined by the use of the Enterprise sets to once again represent her inner mind (though good to see more of the Arboretum), but it's churlish to complain about that trope as they had to go somewhere and why not the halls of the location in which the characters are interacting outside their minds? The only time I really felt the scene could have done with a location shoot was the actual picnic and day of 'the accident' because the place didn't sell the event, though it was made up for by the anguish Lwaxana expressed. I feel 'DS9' had something to do with helping Mrs. Troi become more than a comedy figure because it was in the first season episode 'The Forsaken', in which she and Odo are trapped in a turbolift, that we really learn there's more to her than the exuberant exterior she throws in everyone's faces all the time. I'm sure it was Majel's desire to round out her character and have more serious acting to do, too, so this, coming a year later, helped her game plan proceed.

The rest of the time I was impressed that they were able to come up with a new look for the oft-tried nightmare vision of the Enterprise corridors. On this occasion we get some wide-angle lens stuff, as seen in 'Phantasms', but the lighting is what sets this version apart. There are shadows all around, and the light is harsh and bright. We see distant shadows fleetingly on the wall or the silhouette seen through a semi-transparent screen. Mrs. Troi has never been scarier (though I'm sure Picard would disagree), angrily shouting or moving strangely through her own mind. But if any younger viewers were terrified by such a friendly person (especially to their age group) becoming a monster, the episode ends pleasantly, if not happily, with the shot of Deanna and her Mother holding hands in the real world as they did in the telepathic link, then sharing the sadness of the past together and accepting the grief.

We're taken as far as you can get from the comedy Lwaxana and there's a deeper feel to the story because of that, not to mention getting to see Mr. Troi at last. He didn't look like the sort of man you could see married to Lwaxana, but then we never saw them together when they were young, and we never got to know him as a real person, just as a memory in Mrs. Troi's mind. The telepathic sequences with Picard, the wolf, or Ian Troi were all skillfully done, and the external story was comforting in that usual 'TNG' way where there's nothing untoward happening, people are just talking. It's not exciting, but it's a style of storytelling that leaves you with a warm glow. Even that aliens only seemed slightly threatening and for very brief moments when Maques stares fixedly to activate his telepathic ability.

And I hadn't even mentioned the aliens yet. Maques, not war. I liked their quirks: the way their heads looked as if their brains were pushing out the sides of the skull; the robotic voices; the hesitant speech - notice how Hedril, the child, finds it much easier to adapt to this new method of communication than her Father. That makes sense as children tend to pick things up quicker than adults. Maques was one of those rare nice alien telepaths who didn't wish to violate anyone or force his telepathy on anyone or scare anyone (even though whenever he does his telepath thing people shout at him - he can't help it if he has to look so intense when he's communicating that way!). His struggles with the language could perhaps have been played up, but the story was a serious one, as were these aliens, the Cairn. There were still fun moments to be had with all this telepathic communication flying about, and I felt for the poor redshirt in the turbolift when the two Trois got in and stood either side. I also loved Deanna's attempt at explaining Heaven to an alien - they cleverly get around it by Mrs. Troi sending an impression telepathically to Maques! And there's a few mentions of Deanna still not being married - maybe the reason Lwaxana didn't show up for the Earth wedding in 'Nemesis' is because she remembered with shame her outburst at Riker…

The most noteworthy casting of the episode is in Kirsten Dunst as Hedril, one of her earliest acting roles before growing up to be a film star and appearing in such films as the Spider-Man trilogy. It's great fun to see her as a young child. I also felt I recognised Norman Large (Maques), and I would do, as he played other, smaller roles in 'DS9' and 'Voyager' (as well as proconsul Neral in 'Unification') - the Large must be for his big, cheesy grin and big, cheesy chin! A throwaway line I thought was interesting was when someone notes that the Cairn expect to speak verbally now they're going to be part of the Federation. Is this some kind of Federation rule where non-verbal alien races have to fit in? That doesn't sound very inclusive, does it? Positively telepathist! Something else I noticed was Mr. Homn's absence, though he is mentioned. He evidently had a conversation with Deanna about her Mother because she says she contacted him. I know he's not a Hupyrian (as in the Grand Nagus' servant, sworn to speak only to him), but we've never seen him speak, and I thought he didn't. Even more confusing, he failed to tell Deanna about the family secret, though he must have known about it because he saved the special photo, despite the fact Lwaxana was dying from it! Was he sworn to secrecy?

I think the strength of the episode is that even if you know the 'punchline' as it were, it's so well directed, the actors bring their usual quality to it, and there's a chance to get into a bit of personal history, that it feels like a consistent experience, and an enjoyable, if sad, one. Plus, Worf appears to be horribly insulted, Riker almost gets punched out by a mad Lwaxana, and Deanna gets some awkward moments with aliens. I'm not being flippant, but there are a lot of moments beyond the heavy mystery, and the episode works well. This was Majel Barrett's last 'TNG' appearance, and consequently the last scene she ever shared with her onscreen daughter. I'm grateful it was a good one for them, and one that was so personal.

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