Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Frame of Mind"

'''"Frame of Mind." Star Trek: The Next Generation.''' Week of 2 May 1993. James L. Conway, dir. Brannon Braga, script.

Jonathan Frakes's Commander Riker is placed into a virtual reality (VR) device by nefarious sorts trying to get information from him by convincing him he's crazy. Before going on the mission on which he's captured, Riker injures himself in a manner not absolutely necessary for the plot, which may be a kind of "footnote" to the script's source in 36 HOURS (1965), where World War II Germans try to get information on the invasion of Hitler's Europe by convincing an allied intelligence officer--US-Army Major Jefferson Pike (James Garner)--he's had mental problems and it's long past the invasion. "Frame of Mind" is relevant for Riker in a VR, in an episode that came out in the same week as a VR schtick in Doonesbury (see G. Trudeau under Graphics). Note image of shattering in movements from one VR to another; cf. and contrast SpFx in LAWNMOWER MAN, q.v. this Category. (With thanks to Lokke Heiss for the 36 HOURs reference 9 August 2005).