#Manua Apgar

[startrekplotnthemes]

S3 Episode 14 A Matter of Perspective

CW: SA Mentions

Riker in this episode is accused of murder of Dr. Apgar by Tanguan investigator Krag. In lieu of direct testimony Riker's guilt is tested in the holodeck based on testimony. The episode explores themes of accused guilt and a woman falsely accusing a man of SA. Manua, Dr.Apgar's wife comes up with a narrative where Riker attempts to show his affections.

In the meta, the watcher knows that Riker is innocent. He behaves violently and directly, assaulting Manua and her husband in her version of events. The crew discovers that Dr.Apgar was attempting to kill Riker with said Krieger waves rather than Riker attempting to murder him, proving Riker innocent. Riker is proven innocent and it is a happy ending, but a contemporary understanding of the episode potentially leaves something to be desired. A woman accusing a man of such an act only for it to be a falsehood is a rather questionable plot points looking back.

[filmjunky-99]

s t a r t r e k t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n created by gene roddenberry A Matter of Perspective [s3ep14]

[thegreaterlink]

Reviewing Star Trek TNG - S3E14 "A Matter of Perspective"

This screenshot is an absolute trip.

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise drops off Riker and Geordi at the Botanica IV space station to check on the progress of Dr Nel Apgar (Mark Margolis), who has been researching Krieger waves as a potential power source. When the Enterprise returns the next day, the station explodes moments after Riker beamed back from his meeting with Apgar.

Tanugan investigator Krag (Craig Richard Nelson) comes aboard to accuse Riker of murder, since under Tanugan law he is guilty until proven innocent, and demands that he be turned over. Picard requests that they hold a trial to determine Riker's innocence.

MY REVIEW

Before we begin, I have to highlight the cold open where Data innocently talks shit about Picard's painting. I love it. Definitely the highlight of the episode.

Okay, back to the actual plot.

Here we have the first of many episodes where a main character is accused of some heinous crime and has to prove their innocence. Or as I like to call them, a slow day in the writers' room. Get used to these. You're going to be seeing a lot of them going forward.

Personally, I'm not a fan of these episodes because we always know that the accused is innocent, so there's no tension or intrigue.

Fortunately this at least has an interesting twist on it, taking advantage of the futuristic setting to have each witness's version of events play out in the holodeck.

First, we get Riker's version of events. This doesn't do the lack of tension any favours, since we know he's innocent, but okay.

I'd give you an image, but I used it for the header. In his version, Riker is neutral and business-like, Apgar is irritated by Starfleet's interruption but tries to be polite, and Apgar's wife Manua (Gina Hecht) can hardly keep her eyes off Riker, and insists that he and Geordi stay on the station despite having arranged accommodation on the planet.

Over in Riker's guest quarters, Manua essentially comes on to him, despite his insistence that she leave. Apgar enters, catches the two of them in an... awkward position, puts two and two together and tells Riker that he'll make a formal complaint to Starfleet. Though Riker notes that this last part never happened and he didn't see Apgar until the next morning.

Speaking of which, Riker's account ends with him leaving on amicable terms. Krag calls bullshit, claiming that Riker fired a phaser since the lab's ground computers detected a large energy pulse at his exact position right as the transporter was activated. Krag runs his own hypothesis, which shows Riker firing on Apgar as he was beaming out.

We then get Manua as the first witness, with much more modest clothing and demeanour than in Riker's account. Her account from before the Enterprise's arrival shows Apgar anxious over how Starfleet will respond to his lack of progress. Riker arrives, acting much more like his usual self, as well as blatantly checking her out. That night, he acts much more... predatory than usual, causing Riker (by which I mean the real Riker) to interrupt in protest, even attacking and threatening Apgar when he catches them.

Despite the foregone conclusion of Riker's innocence, it is entertaining to see Jonathan Frakes acting against type for a change.

Plus Riker gets so appalled at this attempted slander that he gives us yet another meme template.

I hope you're keeping track of these. There'll be questions later.

I'm joking.

Or am I?

Anyway, Picard calls a recess, with the evidence stacked against Riker and Troi claiming that they're somehow both telling the truth.

"We can't both be telling the truth."

"It is the truth… as you each remember it."

"But her version puts a noose around my neck."

Later comes the third witness: Tayna, Apgar's assistant, who describes what Apgar told her of the incident. Even though her account is essentially hearsay, Krag allows it since Apgar is dead.

Tayna's account is a happy medium of the two versions. Long story short, Apgar catches Riker and Manua making out, Apgar hits him and says he'll complain, and Riker threatens him. Later, Apgar tells Tayna to take his wife down to the planet and that he'll deal with Riker and continue his research. And we all know (more or less) how that went.

Now, throughout this whole thing there's been a subplot where the technical team (Geordi, Data and Wesley) have been checking for evidence of Riker's innocence. There have also been two radiation attacks which melted away part of the hull. Analysis has found that there's been the exact same time intervals between them and that they're precisely in time with the Krieger wave generator on the planet's surface. With this knowledge, Picard has determined the cause of both the radiation bursts and the explosion, as well as who killed Dr Apgar.

Picard reconvenes everyone back on the holodeck, claiming that despite all the testimonies they've yet to see what really happened.

Okay, a whole lot of shit happens in this last big explanation, so I'll do my best to keep it brief by just explaining the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

inhales

Tayna's version of events is correct.

Apgar had already finished the wave generator and was lying about his lack of progress, since he was more interested in the potential financial gain which the Federation couldn't offer.

The holodeck simulation of the wave generator (which is apparently also fully functional somehow) has been focusing the energy from the generator on the planet, damaging the ship.

Apgar had attempted to kill Riker by aiming the wave generator at him, but the energy beam bounced off his transporter field and hit the converter, destroying the station.

With the new evidence presented, Krag agrees with the conclusion that Agpar accidentally killed himself while trying to kill Riker, and offers his apologies. Yay!

A bit messy to be sure, but it all worked out in the end. The writing could've been punched up in some places, maybe by giving Tayna and Manua different motivations for testifying, like if Agpar and Tayna were having an affair or something and Tayna wanted to cover it up. Just a thought.

6/10 - I've seen worse.

[jimintomystery]

TNG: “A Matter of Perspective”

When Commander Riker is accused of destroying an orbital station at Tanuga IV to murder Doctor Nel Apgar, the Enterprise crew attempts to clear his name by reenacting witness testimony on the holodeck.

The conceit of this episode is that the holodeck is essential to Riker’s extradition hearing.  Picard wants a chance to establish Riker’s innocence before turning him over to Inspector Krag, but Krag insists interrogation can only happen down on the planet because he “must recreate, step by step, moment by moment, all the events leading to the explosion.”  At this point the holodeck is presented as a solution, but I’m not sure why. The implication is that the Tanugans don’t have holodecks, but do have some other process for presenting depositions that is just as precise but confined to the planet’s surface.  But all the holodeck does is act out the witnesses’ statements, so I’m left to conclude a standard Tanugan criminal trial involves an acrophobe performing a puppet show.

The big concept is to depict the altercation between Riker and Apgar prior to the explosion from three different perspectives, with details changed to reflect the biases in each deposition.  All the actors do this well--I particularly like Mark Margolis portraying Apgar as a fussy little man in Riker’s deposition, a devoted husband in Manua’s, and a fierce ass-kicker in the version Apgar himself told to his assistant. 

What’s troubling, though, is how the episode deals with Manua saying Riker attempted to rape her.  It’s odd to me that neither Krag nor Picard follow up on that, as if affirming Riker’s innocence regarding the explosion somehow “proves” the rest of his story is true.  We “know” Riker didn’t assault anyone on the station mainly because he’s the good guy on a TV show.  From a Watsonian perspective, though, that’s not enough to dismiss Manua’s rather serious accusation.  I guess Tanugan law might say she hasn’t got a case, but I would expect Starfleet regulations to demand an inquiry nevertheless.

The solution to this whodunit involves a cute plot device: The holodeck’s simulation of the crime scene--Apgar’s lab--is so precise that it is fully functional.  That works for this plot, but raises a lot of weird questions about the increasingly magical nature of the holodeck.  If it’s this easy to replicate Apgar’s work with holograms, and so trivial to operate a holodeck, why is Starfleet funding what appears to be a rather costly station made of expensive real matter?  Apparently they could’ve parked a starship at Tanuga IV and let him conduct his research in a holodeck, and achieved the same breakthroughs with far less hassle.

[sokorra]

The Rewatch: 139 A Matter of Perspective

The Rewatch: 139 A Matter of Perspective

Series: Star Trek: TNGEpisode: 3.14 A Matter of Perspective (02-12-1990)Rating:  3.5/5Redshirt Status: 0/1.5/23 Notable Guest Stars: Craig Richard Nelson – Krag.  He had an recurring role in the TV series Square Pegs, and appeared in the 1989 film Honey, I shrunk the Kids.Mark Margolis – Nel Apgar.  He earned a Emmy nomination for his role in the TV series Breaking Bad.Gina Hecht as Manua…