TNG S7E6 "Phantasms" Review By AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

Everyone remembers the one where there's a telephone inside Data's abdomen, along with all kinds of other disturbing dream imagery. But do you remember much else about the plot? No? That's because there really isn't much else to it. Basically, everything on the ship is broken, and it can all be traced back to some invisible space leeches that turn out to be really easy to get rid of once they are identified. But that's the B plot at best, what the episode really is about is Data. But this is where it really starts to fall apart, actually.



The idea is that Data is subconsciously picking up on the presence of the leeches, even though he can't see them and remains consciously unaware of them. Their presence is manifested in his dream sequences, which is a new program that he is running. Ok, I can buy that Data could simply add a dream program to his positronic net or whatever. I can even see why he would do this. If his quest is to understand humans, or to be more human, certainly the third of our lives that we spend exploring our own subconscious would be of interest to him. So I could see writing a program to randomly generate imagery or scenarios while he is "asleep."

But what I can't quite understand is the idea that Data has a subconscious (Or why he sleeps in his uniform. I mean, even if he isn't required to change clothes for hygiene reasons, it'll still get wrinkled, right?) In order for this episode to work, we need to believe that Data's subconscious has actually identified the leeches as both the source of the problem with the ship's systems and as infecting the crew, and has even unlocked the best method to get rid of them. But all of this is unknown to Data. His subconscious has all this info, but hasn't processed it to the point where awake Data is aware. I just don't buy that. I don't think that Data would add a program that would identify features in the waking world and only process them while asleep.

But I don't think we're supposed to think too hard on this one. It's just a fun episode with weird and creepy imagery. Old-timey miners tinkering with the ship, Crusher drinking from Riker's brain with a straw, Data being disassembled, and Troi as a cake... with mint frosting. And of course the telephone, with Freud calling. There are other light moments that are also hilarious, like Data asking Worf to look after Spot, and then getting carried away with the instructions for his care, even insisting that Worf must "Tell him he is a pretty cat. And a good cat." All this while Worf holds the feline dangling at arm's length. Good stuff.

Nailed it!

But none of that is enough to overcome the sort of idiotic nature of this episode. It's just... stupid. I could appreciate a deeper dive into how Data's brain works, especially since the exploration of his quest to become human has been an ongoing plot throughout the series. But this just isn't the way to do it, and any insight into Data's personality is lost in this silly rendering. This episode would rank a horrible rating, but somehow it is still a little fun, and definitely memorable, so it is at least Meh. And it ends with a classic cake wreck.

Published February 24, 2019