265. PhantasmsFORMULA: Birthright Part I + Night Terrors + 4 cups of flour...
WHY WE LIKE IT: Nice surreal imagery. Spot's expanded role.
WHY WE DON'T: The technobabble/voiceover resolution.
REVIEW: Data revisits his dream program and gets his first nightmare, providing lots of memorable imagery, like the phone in his chest cavity (the "Bender Moment"), Crusher sucking the brains out of Riker, and of course, the mint frosting Troi cake. (Why is Worf eating her? Has Data sensed an attraction between the two already?) Going into Data's mind using the holodeck is a nice idea, and the dreams are simple enough that it never gets pretentious. I'm wasn't sure about the Freud character at first, since he seems like a collection of clichés, but seeing him explain his own appearance in Data's dream was worth it.
Now, I wouldn't call this a comedy episode exactly, but it is light-hearted with plenty of funny bits. Picard's dread at attending the Admirals' banquet converting itself into being a busybody in engineering. An allergic Worf having to tell Spot that he is a good cat, and a pretty cat ("I will feed him."). Ensign Tyler's crush on Geordi (evidence still points to him being involved with Aquiel, folks). Best of all is Troi's amusement at Data looking forward to a new neurosis. I love the part where she offers to set up sessions for him. "Daily?" "Whoooah there big fella!"
Despite the comedy, the episode does turn on the creepfest, with Data stabbing Troi in the turbolift and the interphasic parasites themselves being pretty damn gross. I bet Barclay was wetting himself in his quarters during this episode. It unfortunately fizzles out at the end when some technobabble magics the parasites away and we're told in voiceover that everything's back to normal. Troi delivering a Data cake in the conclusion isn't as sharp as I'd like it either.
LESSON: A cellular peptide cake recipe.
REWATCHABILITY - High: There are so many fun character moments in Phantasms that the pat ending and the usual "aliens we can't see" plot can't detract from its rewatchability.
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