10 Best Riker Episodes In Star Trek

The sixth season of the Next Generation contains some of the darkest entries in the series. From Chain of Command to Schisms, scarier elements were being added to shake up the cast and crew, challenging them to rise above the risk of getting stale. Frame of Mind manages to do this in spades, threatening not just to rise above any staleness but to have the audience questioning what reality really is by the end.

The episode uses a play that Riker is rehearsing to slip between reality and the nightmare, never quite allowing the audience to get comfortable. As Riker's mind starts to come unhinged, we feel his horror with him. Frakes delivers some of his best acting in this episode, breaking down and standing strong at all the right places.

The guest stars, including an early appearance by the wonderful Susanna Thompson, help to keep Riker in a state of confusion, both encouraging and chastising his search for truth. The reality shattering moments are truly unsettling and his dismantling of the set is cathartic for character and audience alike. The script idea came from Brannon Braga, settling on Riker for the lead character as he thought that by this stage in the Next Generation's run, Riker was starting to get underused.

There was a deliberate decision to have the word 'crazy' utilized a lot as, though health trends would change over time, it was a triggering word even for 1993. Along with Face of the Enemy, this stands out as one of the darkest entries in the sixth season.