Phantasms (23 Oct. 1993)

Data deals with his new ability to experience nightmares as the Enterprise deals with the installation of a new warp core that won't work as expected.

Director:

Patrick Stewart

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Brannon Braga

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Gina Ravera	...	Ensign Tyler (as Gina Ravarra)
Bernard Kates	...	Dr. Sigmund Freud
Clyde Kusatsu	...	Admiral Nakamura
David L. Crowley	...	Workman

Storyline

While Picard's is running out of excuses to decline Admiral Nakamura's invitation to a Starfleet flag officers banquet, Geordi's having difficulties with installing a new warp core. Dr. Soong's dream program gives Data his first nightmares; Troi advices against stopping it. She suggests therapy and a temporary interruption when the visions disturb his internal chronometer so he oversleeps, and spontaneously occur while on duty. However one element proves a real organism, so it's decided that Geordi and Picard use a device that allows them to enter Data's dreams and interact with him and other characters.

---

Plot Keywords:

nightmare | 24th century

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Release Date:

23 October 1993 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the few Trek episodes edited by the BBC. The scene in the turbolift when Data stabs Deanna was trimmed to remove the actual amount of stabbing. It had caused some upset among US audiences.

---

Goofs

The 24th century seems to use the metric system exclusively. They use Celsius and meters throughout the whole series. However, Dr. Crusher says, in the senior staff meeting, that "We'll collapse into nothing but a few pounds of chemicals", but the metric unit for mass is the gram.

---

Quotes

Counselor Deanna Troi: [citing Sigmund Freud] Dreams are the royal road to the knowledge of the mind.

---

Connections

Featured in The Lost Enterprise: Star Trek - Phase II (2001)

User Reviews

Androids and Nightmares.

ST:TNG:158 - "Phantasms" (Stardate: 47225.7) - this is the 6th episode of the 7th and last season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While Geordi is installing a new warp core on the Enterprise, Data, having experienced his first nightmare, talks with Counselor Troi who encourages him to keep experiencing these bad dreams though he's apprehensive about doing so. Soon, after another nightmare, he "oversleeps" since his internal chronometer fails. Data soon experiences strange hallucinations and begins attacking Troi!

But what is causing his nightmares? Watch this intriguing episode that delves further into Data's dreams (as began in "Birthright, Part I").

Trivia note: Clyde Kusatsu reprises his role as Admiral Nakamura (the last time we saw him was in the second season episode "The Measure Of A Man", another Data-oriented episode). Worf mentions his son Alexander. And we also see Data's cat Spot again (which Worf turns out to be allergic to), right as Data goes to bed!