TNG Flashback: A Matter of Perspective

Mysteries in the broad sense were part of most episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (and indeed, Star Trek in general). The crew was routinely confronted with puzzles they had to figure out. But rarely did the series ever tell a mystery, a whodunnit crime with an unknown perpetrator. "A Matter of Perspective" was such a story.

Riker leads an Away mission to review an alien scientist's experimental research on a new power source. When he beams back to the Enterprise at precisely the moment the research station explodes, the local authorities accuse him of murdering the scientist by firing his phaser into the station's reactor at the moment of transport. A hearing is convened to determine whether Picard will allow Riker to be extradited for trial. Riker and two key witnesses each use the holodeck to recreate their account of events leading up to the explosion, each with some degree of shaded truth, and some painting a compelling picture of Riker's guilt.

Show runner Michael Piller thought very highly of this episode, at least on paper. He was proud of how well constructed the mystery is -- and generally I would agree that it is. Motives, red herrings, clues, and twists are all well incorporated, and almost every moment of the episode of fraught with meaning. But Piller also acknowledged that the episode wasn't quite "compelling television" in its final execution, and he's right there too. It's not bad, but it's not a high water mark for the show.

Personally, I attribute this to the fact that it's an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and not a one-off mystery. We the audience all know that Riker didn't commit the murder of which he is accused, so there's very little tension in the exploration of the crime. In fact, the episode wastes a bit of time in the opening minutes trying to make Riker look suspicious; his behavior is uncharacteristically shifty and evasive, and the crew looks at him with a bit too much shock when he's accused of murder.

Also, there are a few holes in the mystery that I think Piller didn't recognize. For example: Riker can't have fired his weapon while beaming out, or he would have arrived on the Enterprise with a phaser in his hand. Chief O'Brien can testify that he did not. Or later on: the lab assistant, Tanya, presents key information in her testimony that she somehow managed to witness even while her back was turned.

But in many ways, this episode is less about the mystery than it is about the conflicting accounts of events leading up to the explosion. This kind of "drama of conflicting perspectives" was made famous by the Japanese film Rashomon, and I have no problem with it being reused. Many writers do, and often make no attempt to hide the source of their inspiration. The writers use the device here, and use it very well.

You can clearly see in the episode how each version of events is shaded from what must have been the objective truth. The scientist's wife, Manua, has a version that artificially plays up the loving relationship between the couple. The assistant, Tayna, has a version in which the scientist is a veritable action hero. Even Commander Riker's version seems like less than the unvarnished truth. He styles himself as such a boy scout in his account, it's ridiculous. The scientist's flirtatious wife Manua throws herself at him. He doesn't even raise a hand to fight back when the scientist tries to punch him. But we've all been watching this show for two-and-a-half years; we know Riker is a total horndog, and that something isn't quite right here. It's clever writing, and somewhat brave in allowing one of our characters to look less than heroic.

Other observations:

• If an episode is called "A Matter of..." something, it's about Commander Riker.

• Captain Picard gets yet another hobby in this episode. On top of the already established fencing, Shakespeare, and horseback riding, we see him dabble in painting. He's quite the Renaissance man. (Though Data doesn't think he's a very good painter.)

• There's a very obvious stunt double in the scene where Riker punches the scientist -- the worst doubling seen on the show in a long time.

• The idea of presenting trial testimony on the holodeck is a clever one that makes perfect sense. I would kind of question it if all testimony wasn't presented this way.

• But on the other end of the spectrum, I question that the holodeck recreates the lab with such fidelity that the experimental device being developed there actually functions. It's especially suspect given that the scientist was trying to hide the fact that his device actually worked. Why would he have given someone else schematics proving that?

• A science consultant was brought in by the writers to help them work out how the holodeck could create a radiation generator when it's not supposed to make anything harmful. The consultant came up with the idea of energy originating from the planet, and the simulated device simply refracting it into dangerous radiation. Satisfied with this gimmick, the writers actually named the radiation after the consultant -- Krieger.

• The "next time on Star Trek: The Next Generation" promo for this episode totally gives away the mystery, if you know what you're looking for. One of the final shots shows what really happened, as revealed at the end of the hour.

• This episode is the source of the popular "Double Facepalm" meme:

• ...or at least, sort of. This image is actually Photoshopped (though admittedly, very well). Picard's facepalm comes from the previous episode, "Deja Q," and is dropped into the rest of the image from this one.

In all, I'd say there's enough clever thought behind this episode to make up for its lack of real dramatic tension. I'd rate it a B.