A Matter of Perspective 

The widow of respected scientist Dr. Nel Apgar accuses Riker of seducing her and killing her husband. Rather than turn Riker over for unfavorable trial, the Enterprise reconstructs the facts.

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Ed Zuckerman

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Patrick Stewart	...	Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Cmdr. William Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher
Craig Richard Nelson	...	Inspector Krag
Gina Hecht	...	Manua Apgar
Mark Margolis	...	Dr. Nel Apgar
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien
Juliana Donald	...	Tayna (as Juli Donald)

Storyline

Approaching the space station on planet Tanaga 4, the Enterprise gets a message from local Dr. Nel Apgar, but before she can speak it explodes. The ship is visited by the planet's chief investigator, who wants to arrest Commander William T. Riker for murder after he was overheard threatening Apgar, the accuser being his present widow, Manua Apgar. The captain refuses to extradite Riker to a legal system which operates on the presumption of guilt until proven innocent, so he allows only an investigation on board, for which Data provides ample technological assistance, reproducing the station on the holodeck. Riker had a secret mission there concerning the development of a low energy converter, and was seduced by his host's wife Manua Apgar, with whom the scientist 'cought' him. According to data from the planet, the fatal energy burst, of an unidentified nature, started from the spot Riker stood just at the time of his transporting to the Enterprise. After energy strikes on board, the ...

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Plot Keywords:

nude female model | painter's palette | man painting | audio communication | orbiting starship | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1990 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Tanuga IV Science Station model was also used for Space Station Regula 1 in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and (turned upside down) also for the Orbital Office in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).

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Goofs

One of the minor points in dispute is where Riker and LaForge planned to spend the night; Mrs. Apgar's testimony indicates that Riker invited himself as a guest on the station. Riker's testimony, however, indicates that he had already made arrangements for planetside accommodations, and a record of such arrangements should exist.

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Quotes

[Data is analyzing a painting of Picard]
Lt. Commander Data: Interesting.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Oh. Thank you. In what way?
Lt. Commander Data: While suggesting the free treatment of form usually attributed to Fauvism, this quite... inappropriately attempts to juxtapose the disparate cubistic styles of Picasso and Léger. In addition, the use of color suggests a... haphazard melange of clashing styles. Furthermore, the unsettling overtones of proto-Vulcan influences...
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [strained] Thank you... Mr. Data.
Lt. Commander Data: You are welcome, sir. If I can be of further assistance....
Captain Jean-Luc Picard:

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Connections

References Rashômon (1950)

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Soundtracks

Star Trek: The Next Generation End Credits
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User Reviews

It's been done.

This episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" begins with Riker beaming back to the Enterprise from a visit with Dr. Apgar. However, unexpectedly, as Riker beams to the ship, there is an explosion of some sort and Dr. Apgar is killed. Soon a police official arrives--demanding that Picard hand over Riker for prosecution. It seems that they think he's just murdered Dr. Apgar. What follows is a "Rashomon" style program where three different people give their impressions of what has occurred--followed by the actual chain of events as they occurred. Because the idea has been used many times before, I wouldn't say that this is a particularly good episode but it is reasonably interesting and worth seeing if you are a fan. Otherwise, you could certainly do better, as it's anything but original.