YMMV / Star Trek The Next Generation S 7 E 16 Masks

• Bizarro Episode: Pretty much the strangeness of season seven exemplified, second only to "Sub Rosa."
• Broken Base: Opinions are on the episode are split, both among creators and fans. One side feels it's profoundly silly, the other feel it's a great break from the usual fare; in addition, it allows Picard to indulge in his first love: archeology. Behind the scenes the same thing holds true, much of the cast and writers room felt like it was all over the place tonally and was difficult to film, while Ronald D. Moore has defended it for having more layers to the premise than people give it credit.
• Corpsing: Picard holding a phallic-shaped object and emphasizing the word "enormous" puts a shit-eating grin on Riker's face.
• Ham and Cheese: You are Patrick Stewart. You have a dodgy script that isn't likely to be filmed very well. You also have a prop with a distinctly phallic shape. What do you do? a) Try manfully to turn in a good performance; b) Sleepwalk through the episode, or c) Hold the prop with its base right in front of your crotch, emphasise the words that make the best euphemisms in that scene, and make Jonathan Frakes crack up?
• Narm Charm: The episode is one of the most absurd ones of the show, and even Brent Spiner admits his performance is all over the place (he went from "Thine Own Self" to this episode and had almost zero time to prepare for the half-dozen characters he had to play). But there is something very Star Trek about the characters trying to decipher the alien mythology and the absurdity of the premise created some rather creative set and prop designs, with a climax where Data is cackling in the persona of a God while Picard is stoically acting in the role of a rival god.
• Nightmare Fuel: Data "losing his mind" before becoming Ihat is downright chilling, especially the Slasher Smile he wears.
• Values Dissonance: Upon discovering the first alien artifact in her quarters, Troi is pleasantly intrigued by the idea that it was left there as a present by a secret admirer. Today, a stranger breaking into your home to deposit a cryptic present would be recognized as creepy at best and stalking at worst.

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