The Enterprise is testing out a new warp-core before heading on to a banquet at a nearby starbase but is experiencing disruptions in the core's stability preventing the ship from making the travel.
Meanwhile, and more focally, Data has been having a series of unusual, nightmare-like, dreams that he's having trouble interpreting. In the dreams he encounters a series of bizarre images focused around his crewmates as well as a group of hostile workmen throwing pick-axes at an exposed Enterprise conduit.
Data first enlists the help of a holographic representation of Sigmund Freud before getting help from Counselor Troi who feels that Data's new dream program is simply causing him to manifest a human-like neurosis and wants to begin counseling him on a regular basis. Data is excited over the prospect.
A short-time later Data "over sleeps" and misses the start of his shift and begins having "waking dreams" and eventually attacks Troi in a turbolift with a knife-like engine component, saying it was an uncontrollable urge brought on by his dream program. Data is held in his quarters pending an investigation.
Troi's injuries are healed but while working on her Crusher finds an odd rash on Troi's shoulder where she was attacked and analyzing it reveals an alien parasite that's undetectable by human and ship senses, only seen under a certain type of scan. Crusher finds the parasites on much of the rest of the crew and knows of no way to remove them. The parasites are feeding on the cellular integrity of the crew and eventually will kill everyone.
Geordi and Picard surmise that Data's somehow able to detect these creatures on a "subconscious" level and want to view Data's recurring nightmare in order to perhaps glimpse some more clues on how to deal with the situation. Data is hooked up to holodeck so Picard and Geordi can explore Data's dream.
In the dream, Geordi and Picard see the same imagery Data had been experiencing and Geordi recognizes the workmen as attacking the new warp conduit. When the workmen are confronted by Picard and Geordi they begin to attack but are stopped when Data -experiencing things as part of his dream- lets out a shrill tone which seems to harm the workmen. Data realizes what is going on and is able to rouse himself from the dream state.
He has Geordi connect Data to the ship's general comm system where Data emits a supersonic pulse/tone that's able to eliminate the attacking creatures. The crew is restored to health; it's discovered one of the new engine components was contaminated with the the creature and is what brought them on board. To Picard's hidden delight, the time to replace the engine part will mean they will miss the banquet.
Troi makes amends with Data in having them share in a cake baked in his likeness, mirroring a similar image Data had seen in his dreams of Troi.
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I suppose a decent-enough episode as far as things go (better than Liaisons?). I think part of is boring as it's another exploration of Data's dream program and again we see how fickle life is on a starship considering how easily everyone could have been killed due to some pretty lack-luster decontamination procedures when it comes to new engine components from alien worlds.
The episode tries to make some use of, at the time, upcoming effects largely when it comes to showing us the phone cradle inside Data's torso inside his dreams, giving us a wide-shot of Spiner's head on the phone-torso.
Interestingly, in the same episode we're prevented with a pretty lame practical effect of Troi's body being part of a sheet cake. Granting there's only so many ways this could have been pulled off on a syndicated TV series in the mid-1990s but it's painfully obvious that Sirtis is simply sitting in a hollow table with a head-hole cut in it like a magician's assistant and a cake is placed close to her neck. But the angle and obviousness of the illusion is pretty strong. I'd think there'd be more creative ways for them to pull off the look. Heck, it'd make more sense to simply have her lie on the table and simply give her a costume/make-up to look like a fancier "3D cake" and then use camera/angle trickery to show the removed pieces of the "cake.:"
Dream-Worf's delight over the "mint frosting" of the cake, naturally, is a hoot.
I believe this is the first time we're actually shown how the holodeck truly does manipulate its illusions to create the environment. It's easy to think when we see two people enter the holodeck they're always look at the other, actual, person. But this would bring in lots of limitations as the two people move further away from one another inside the illusion but are still restrained by the physical boundaries of the holodeck. How does the holodeck make the illusion hold?
Well here we're shown. It simply makes the "real person" disappear (holographically hiding them) and uses a holographic version of them for any interaction. We're shown this when Data and Geordi begin Data's dream program and the "actual" Data sitting in a chair near the holodeck entrance is holographically removed and a holographic version of Data walks in from around the corner, stopping to stand where the "real him" is.
The use of Freud in the episode is humorous, particularly as he flirts with saying imagery in Data's dreams represents a phallic symbol while holding a cigar. Data's description of the "knife" and his urges with it flirts very close to the sort of imagery Freud would likely jump at as having sexual undertones.
Interesting that Data thinks a holographic version of Sigmund Freud would offer him any psychological benefit over the actual psychologist he works with every day. No sleight on Troi, just really a question on why he wouldn't seek help from an actual professional? It couldn't be because of potential embarrassment -a reason why Barclay was reluctant to visit Troi- since he's an android. Is the holodeck really programmed to offer any real medical or psychological advice? If so why do they need actual psychologists?!
... Is Troi is psychologist or psychiatrist?
Anyway, stuff is about to get deep people. Hang on.
