Phantasms

"Phantasms" is an episode about dreams and symbolism - specifically Data's. He's having nightmares for the first time and it's interfering with his daily life, even compelling him to stab a fellow officer. Data claims to be seeing unsettling images from his dreams while he's awake, which baffles the crew. The dream imagery is well-done, and the way the A and B stories connect at the end is neat.

This is not the most scientifically plausible episode, nor does it have a powerful thematic message. But "Phantasms" is a fun mystery with some truly great moments.

Writes.

We know, from "Birthright" part one... that Data dreams. The mechanism for this is well founded in Star Trek Canon.

And it is within that realm that this episode takes place.

Data dreams, but can he actually have nightmares? That is what this exploration is.

And they are certainly very disturbing dreams. Dreams that start appearing when Data is awake!

Usually nightmares are a reaction to impending peril, and this is also the case.

The enterprise has a brand new warp core from the planet Thanatos seven. It is a very unusual looking warp core. And it is within that system that the peril ensues.

Data's nightmare is telling him exactly what is going on, and it is up to him to figure out the nature of this threat. And it is one of the most interesting threats ever faced.

The solution to this threat is also unique, and within the dream as well.

The dream sequences in this episode are very well done, it is well worth watching at least once.

Meanwhile, Geordie has a nightmare of his own that he has to deal with, but as it turns out this "nightmare" turns out to be very helpful in distracting Captain Picard, as Geordie tries to figure out this conundrum.

And of course, we have a great Sigmund Freud... sometimes a cake is just a cake and sometimes a knife is a warp core "brace"...

Almost 26 years since I first watched this episode and sadly time has not been kind to it,why ?...because when you see the writer is Brannon Braga,you know-as with a lot of his later work-that it's going to be as incomprehensible/confusing/stupid as it's possible for him to make it. Braga did a few great stories but this is not one of them and it ranks alongside the stinker that was "Ermergence" as an episode I'd gladly never watch again.....3 stars is being kind.

An intelligent script, handled very well by Sir Patrick Stewart. The dream sequences are quite trippy, and some scenes are genuinely funny like the spot scene with Worf and Data.

I think this is fairly enjoyable episode with some humorous moments and decent imagery.

I can't say the plot had me gripped. It is a clever concept but it's not told with any suspense or urgency. There is a lot of technobabble that pays good attention to the sci-fi detail, but it does not exactly make for cinematic story.

The best parts for me are the little injections of humour, like all of Worf's scenes and most of Picard's attempts to dodge the Admiral's conference.

Visually it has lots of fun with Data's symbolic dreaming and all these sequences are done very well. It feels a bit repetitive at times with Data going through them initially and then seeing similar things during the analysis scenes, but it's not to the point of annoying.

Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis stand out.

I think it's a 6.5/10 but I round upwards.