Product Details

• Actors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden
• Directors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert Becker, Cliff Bole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: May 31, 1995
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303406378
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #383,378 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Taking a page from Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa's classic film about conflicting perspectives, this Next Generation episode finds Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) caught between different points-of-view about whether he murdered a scientist (Mark Margolis) after a failed effort to seduce the latter's wife (Gina Hech). The facts: while visiting the married couple and observing the Federation researcher's work on a new source of energy, the Enterprise's first officer has an argument with the scientist, who is then killed while Riker beams out of the scene. But what really happened? The situation looks cut-and-dry to Tanugan Inspector Krag (Craig Richard Nelson), who arrests Riker but is then convinced by Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) to re-create the varying testimonies in the ship's holodeck. For Trek fans, the episode clearly echoes a show from the original series entitled "Wolf in the Fold," in which engineer Scotty is accused of a heinous sex crime while visiting a planet. The plot is intriguing, the suspense is fine, and the suggestion of a dark streak in Riker will not be lost on fans of the series. --Tom Keogh

From the Back Cover

Following a visit to the Tanuga Four science station, Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) beams aboard the Enterprise moments before an explosion kills Dr. Apgar (Mark Margolis), the director of the research facility. A short time later, the Enterprise crew is stunned when Tanugan Chief Investigator Krag (Craig Richard Nelson) arrives to take Riker into custody. The charge: murder.

Refusing to release Riker without sufficient evidence, Picard (Patrick Stewart) proposes a trial. In order to recreate the events leading up to the explosion, the holodeck is programmed with entries from Apgar's journal and the testimonies of Riker, Apgar's wife Manua (Gina Hecht), and Apgar's assistant. Contrary to Riker's story, the other accounts assert that the commander threatened Apgar and tried to seduce Manua. Unless the crew can uncover new evidence, Riker will be transported from the Enterprise...for the very last time.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lies and Deception aboard the Enterprise, February 1, 2002

By 

picardfan007 (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 62: A Matter Of Perspective [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Spoiler Alert for TREK Fans
Read no futher if you want to see the ending...

This one is an otherwise run of the mill episode made interesting by three different points of view of the same story.
We have Riker charged with murder when in fact it's the scientist's experiment that is responsible for the radiation that destroyed the station and almost finished the Enterprise.

We get the wife of the fellow developing this "Kreiger" ray project...she claims Riker made unwanted advances when it was actually her was doing all the advancing. The unethical assistant said he was also going after Krieger's wife. It all turns out to be false when the radiation from his experiment is putting holes in the Enterprise hull and insides of the ship.

It's all put to rest when the radiation bursts are 5.3 hours apart. It's at just such an interval when the station blew up.

All in all it's a good episode. It's worth it to put this one in your collection.

4.0 out of 5 stars Spoilers- Good episode with perhaps a mid sized plot hole..., June 8, 2007

By 

toolkien "toolkien" (Elkhorn, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 62: A Matter Of Perspective [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I like this episode and is in the top quarter of all episodes.

But, if it is suspected that Riker used his phaser to shoot the generator, wouldn't such a "progressive", peaceful future track the use of a lethal weapon? People are accessable at the touch of a communicator "badge", trackable on board the ship via same, and apparently all have to log their activities (officers anyway), and in general live under a huge microscope. Yet, in an age of high technology, a lethal instrument that could easily have a computer chip to log every stardate it was fired has no such thing. Just doesn't fit in the whole Star Trek collectivist milieu.

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent blend of mystery and science fiction, February 21, 2004

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 62: A Matter Of Perspective [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This episode is a classic whodunit, where three witnesses give accounts of the events that lead up to an explosion and the death of a scientist. Riker and LaForge visit a scientist, Dr. Apgar, whose work on a new energy source is being funded by the Federation. LaForge beams back to the Enterprise from the satellite and hints to Captain Picard that there are difficulties. When Riker attempts to beam back to the Enterprise, there is a problem and as soon as the beaming starts, the satellite inexplicably explodes, killing Dr. Apgar.
Shortly after this, the chief investigator from the planet arrives on the Enterprise and demands that Riker be turned over to him to face charges for murder. Picard refuses and is forced into the position of being an impartial arbiter over whether the evidence indicates that Riker should stand trial. To resolve the issue, the events, based on the testimonies of Riker, Mrs. Apgar and Dr. Apgar's assistant are recreated in the holodeck.
The testimonies are quite different. According to Riker's testimony, Mrs. Apgar threw herself at him and according to Mrs. Apgar's testimony, she was subdued and it was Riker who forced himself on her. However, in the end, the difficult point is that the evidence conclusively indicates that there was an energy surge similar to a phaser blast from Riker's exact position right before he beamed to the Enterprise. It turns out that the explosion was not an accident, but due to the actions of someone attempting to commit murder.
The unique point of this episode is the use of a holodeck to recreate the events significant in a murder investigation. It was interesting to follow through the testimony and try to concentrate on the key points to determine who is guilty, (I got it wrong).
Murder mysteries will be around as long as there are self-aware creatures who can die. This is one that is resolved through the use of technology, and the blend of the two genres of murder mystery and science fiction is very well done.