265: Masks

"Masks."
 
The season seven episode "Masks" is often seen as one of the
worst episodes of The Next Generation, but it does have its fans
that love its unorthodox storytelling style.  Written by Joe
Menosky, who is well-known for his frequently unusual Star Trek
episodes, "Masks" has a lot of layers and interpretations to
explore.

In this episode of Earl Grey, hosts Amy Nelson and Justin Oser
are joined by guest Christopher D. Littlefield to talk about The
Next Generation episode "Masks." The discussion includes talking
about Joe Menosky's original concept, Data as a conduit for
multiple characters, how we interpret the story being told,
whether the episode is actually like a video game, and much more!
This is an in-depth conversation and we think you'll enjoy the
discussion, whether or not you're a fan of "Masks."
 
Chapters
Intro (00:00:00)
Listener Feedback (00:01:57) 
Welcome, Chris! (00:07:17)
Chris' Star Trek Story (00:07:41)
Initial Thoughts on "Masks" (00:09:37)
Joe Menosky and the Original Concept (00:14:37)
Very Old Archive (00:20:44)
Ship Transformation (00:24:43)
Data as a Character Conduit (00:29:27)
The Story Being Played Out (00:33:33)
Video Games, Picard, Troi, and Art Classes (00:40:34)
The Masks That We Wear (00:51:20)
Final Thoughts (00:58:41)   
Closing (01:07:28) 

Runtime: 1 hour 13 minutes 6 seconds

Hosts
Justin Oser
Amy Nelson

GuestChristopher D. Littlefield
 
Production
Justin Oser (Editor and Producer) Amy Nelson (Producer) Richard
Marquez (Producer) Tony Robinson (Producer) C Bryan Jones
(Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken
Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)
Michael E Hueter (Associate Producer) Thomas Appel (Associate
Producer) Justin Oser (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez
(Production Manager) Tony Robinson (Show Art) Brandon-Shea Mutala
(Patreon Manager)