Masks

Brent Spiner (Data) is a great actor, that is not in doubt. Sometimes the writers rightly try to play to those strengths by allowing him emotion chips or having him play Lore or other characters with more range. In this case he's given a multiple personality disorder which could have worked had they gone to a set outside the ship and ultimately shown who was behind his personalities. As it was, it's just the core cast on the same old Enterprise sets and it played out like kabuki theater.

The basic idea of this episode is really very interesting, but the conclusion/solution is never fully fleshed out and the motivation of the "villain" such as it is, is never logically presented. In the beginning we get some really interesting ideas, like the signs and one of them meaning death, but the solution isn't so much simple as too easy. The biggest problem with this episode is that it really could have been more interesting, an alien civilization is dumping artefacts everywhere. Why? We never find out! Apparently Data is taken over by well over a thousand personalities, why? We never find out! How is Picard able to so easily trick whatever force is behind all of this? We never find out! Too many questions, no real answers.

Enterprise investigates a comet that is concealing something within its structure.

Star Trek has produced some good ideas for stories that work on screen. Unfortunately, 'Masks' has a great concept but it does not translate particularly well.

If you are a big sci-fi fan who is interested in the relics of ancient cultures and civilisations, the story here might intrigue you but for me as someone who likes sci-fi but needs a strong narrative to be compelled, I find this one is mostly a struggle to get through.

There is nothing wrong with how the episode unfolds, it just involves a great deal of heavy concept explanation from one scene to the next until the characters eventually talk themselves to a resolution. A positive aspect is that, as with all traditional Star Trek stories, it relies on characters using their intelligence to overcome the problem.

Brent Spiner is fun to watch as he attempts to be four different characters (with little preparation according to memory-alpha) and the visuals in certain scenes are exceptionally good.

One other reviewer compared it to 'The Inner Light' which is an interesting thought. What happens to Data here should be as mind-blowing as what happened to Picard, but there is no comparison in how the two stories are told.

I noticed the low rating before watching it, and therefore was primed to skip to the next episode, but it held my interest all the way through.

Highlights for me were Brent Spiner's various characters; he is definitely the best actor in this series and I enjoyed watching him dip into his repertoire of faces and voices. Also, the conversation about symbols used by ancient civilizations I found interesting.

I understand that this isn't enough for a lot of people, and I don't imagine I'll ever watch it again. If you're not a big Data fan you might want to give it a miss.

Somehow, an Aztec-like culture invades the enterprise. They start by transporting artifacts and then use Data as a conduit to express their purposes. Why go through this whole complex procedure. Why not just do their will. Data begins to exhibit multiple personalities and Picard carries on discourse with him in an attempt to figure out what is going on. At least the Captain has been shown to be a true student of archaeology, a cosmic interpreter of mythology, an intergalactic Joseph Campbell. This gives him some sort of credibility. However, the whole thing bogs down when the creature/creatures become true forces. The solution is so simplistic. The conclusion is the worst of any episode I've seen. Watch at your own risk, although Brent Spiner is quite wonderful with his use of voices and his physicality. His Commander Data is one of the most entertaining and creative characters in all of science fiction.