Warp Speed to Nonsense

Warp Speed to Nonsense

Monday, June 27, 2016

ST:TNG Season One, Episode Fifteen "Angel One"

ST:TNG Season One, Episode Fifteen "Angel One"
Production Order: 15
Air Order: 14
Stardate: 41636.9
Original Air Date: January 25, 1988



Picard's log 41363.9: "So this freighter, the Odin, went missing seven years ago, and we just stumbled upon it floating in space. Looks like the escape pods were used, so we're going to the nearest planet, Angel One, to see if they might have made it there."

They talk briefly about Angel One and Data says that it is similar to mid-twentieth century Earth. They have a constitutional oligarchy that's run by elected females. Troi says it sounds like Betazed, her home.
Worf's one line for this episode is about how Klingons like strong women.
Data relays back that the Federation hasn't been to Angel One in over sixty years, and Picard says that the planet has strategic importance, so maybe they should frame this up as a diplomatic call as well as a "we're looking for crash survivors" call. He invites Troi to talk to the inhabitants.


There's no visual for Angel One, but Beata, "The Elected One" (aka head bitch in charge) answers the phone.
"Hey, Angel One," says Troi. "I'm Troi of the Enterprise."
"Hey, Enterprise. What's up?" asks Beata. She almost, almost sounds friendly.
"We were in the neighborhood, and thought we'd do a pop-in," says Troi.
Clearly, Beata hates the pop-in as much as the next person, and did I say she sounded friendly? I meant salty.
"We in no way feel neglected, Counselor. A diplomatic courtesy call is neither expected nor required."
Damn.
Troi mentions the possible Odin survivors, and there's a pause before Beata replies. Again, I could paraphrase, but her actual line is much harsher:
"A brief visit will be tolerated."
Sassy Geordi Moment: "Ever feel like you're not really wanted?"


Riker goes to the transporter room with Yar, Data, and Troi. Picard reminds them not to fuck anything up down there, because the Federation is hoping to eventually hook up with Angel One.

Picard's Log, supplemental: "So Angel One is like, a matriarchal society. The females are hunters and soldiers and are larger and stronger than males. Like Earth a while back, only reversed."

The away team beams down into the city and is shown into what I guess is council chambers to meet with The Elected One. The HBIC, Beata, is in the middle, and that smug motherfucker behind her is Trent. He's played by Leonard Crofoot, who does a really great job acting as though everyone in the room is jealous of the fact that he's Beata's little right-hand weasel.

I really like the council's uniforms. They're structurally interesting, and remind
 me of caryatids. Also, one side is blue and the other reddish, which makes me
wonder what the branches mean. It's never explained.


So they get down to brass tacks, all formal-like, and Beata says it's weird that the mighty Enterprise is off looking for crash survivors. She uses the phrase "petty task," which irks Riker.
"We don't consider even one survivor to be petty," he corrects her.
Oops, wrong move.
She replies in a sexist tone, addressing Troi: "Is this man implying that we put a lesser value on life than you do?"
Troi throws Riker some side-eye, then smooths it over by saying they stumbled upon the freighter by accident, and just happened to be in the neighborhood, checking it out.
Beata is less salty when she asks what they will do if they find survivors. Troi answers that they'll take the survivors home.
Council time! A chick named Ariel butts in to ask if they can "take these strangers at their word."
"Good question," Beata replies.
Yar gets pissed off at possibly being called a liar. "Why the fuck would we lie about that?"
"Another good question," Beata says.
Okay, I like that. I was kind of pissed off when she implied that Riker was not as good as her because of his gender, but I do like the fact that she's being fair to both sides... even if "both sides" presenting the questions are female. I wonder if she would have thought the question was a good one if Riker had brought it up instead of Yar, though...


We get a bit of an answer next when Riker decides to cut through the bureaucratic red tape and ask point-blank if there are Odin survivors on Angel One. Beata pauses then says sharply that she's "not prepared to answer at this time," whatever the fuck that means. Then she snaps her damn fingers at Trent and barks, "see to their comforts!" in a tone that indicates that she doesn't give two shits about how comfortable her guests are while staying there.
Trent shows them to a room and Yar scans for surveillance devices before they start talking. Riker asks for Troi's reaction. She says that everyone in the room seemed afraid, but not for the same reason. The away team is pretty sure that survivors are on the planet.

Upstairs, Picard and Worf are in the lift, and Worf gets some actual lines! Woo-hoo!
Picard tells him that they need to be ready to go at a moment's notices because Romulans near Neutral Zone, blah, blah, blah. This Romulan subplot, which is not actually a subplot but a Disable the Ship device, is not terribly interesting. It only figures in because they have to Disable the Ship somehow. It feels shoe-horned in, mostly because it was added a bit later in the script-writing process.


Anyway, they get off the lift, and are immediately accosted by snowballs. Wes and his friend were skiing on the holodeck and decided to have a snowball fight as they exited, which has now hit the captain instead. Which is interesting, because matter should not be able to exist outside of the holodeck. Picard starts to lecture the boys on... I dunno, not having snowball fights or something, when he says he smells something weird. Worf says the smell reminds him of a Klingon plant. Wes says he doesn't smell it, because he's congested from imaginary snow. His poor friend gets no lines, and is mostly set dressing. They might as well have put that kid in Christine Chapel's uniform.


Back on Angel One, Data has discovered a bottle of perfume, and misunderstanding, sprays that shit in his face. The others are amused and tells him that certain cultures consider perfume to be an aphrodisiac. I'm surprised that Yar displays no awkwardness here, considering that she just screwed him a few months ago. Nope, she thinks it's funny.
Trent comes in to lead them back to the council chambers, but when they exit before him, he stops and spritzes himself with the perfume.



So the council has decided to trust them, and Beata tells the away team that there was some arguing amongst them, but they feel like they have to trust the away team.
"Don't know why you wouldn't," says Riker, "but thanks anyway, I guess?"
Then she drops the bomb: yep, there are four dudes on Angel One who hopped out of that escape pod. She has no idea where they are, because they're in hiding... because they're fugitives. Her cryptic description says that they "started making unreasonable demands" and "went against the natural order."
Soooo.... they didn't want to wear a sparkly codpiece like your boy Trent?
Dramatic music! Commercial break!

Trent had his hands on his hips before Beata, but the repetition suggests that
 they're a kind of pair, at least in Trent's mind. And I'd wager that Beata often stands
like that, so he's mimicking her before she even knows it.

Upstairs, Crusher calls Picard from sick bay. Seems that Wes and his set dressing friend have come down with a respiratory ailment from some field trip they went on. Crusher can't figure out how it spreads. He mentions the Romulan thing again, and says he doesn't want the illness spreading to his crew, then he rubs the back of his neck and there's some mysterious music to suggest that he already has it too.

Hellloooooo, sexy matte painting! We'll see this a few more times, but altered.

Riker asks Data how to use the E to find Ramsay, the head survivor, and the other guys. Data replies that he needs access to the Angel One computer library. All of Beata's next few lines are super-sexist.
"Hey, can Data use your library?" Riker asks Beata.
She shakes her head. "Our libraries are far too sophisticated for a man to comprehend."
Riker actually rolls his eyes so hard that he turns his body away from her. I do too. What a shitty thing to say.
Data, who does not find sexism logical and really just wants to get this shit taken care of, tells her that although he is male, he is actually an android. It's a rather clever tack for Data to take.
Beata is impressed and gives her permission, but not before taking another jab at males: "Is that so? Maybe you can teach our males a few things."
Like what? Civil rights and equality?
Trent looks annoyed that this android-come-lately gets access to something that he doesn't, and also, that Beata is now more taken with the away team. I get the feeling that, if given the chance, Trent would open a little hotel by the highway and murder girls in the shower while wearing Beata's clothes, all the while talking to her corpse up at the big house. Because according to the attitudes on this planet, the men wouldn't hurt a fly.


Later that night, Data has figured out that Angel One does not have platinum, and asks Geordi and Worf to scan the planet's surface for that element. Clever Data.
Riker returns to the away team's quarters and Troi says that clothes were dropped off for him. It's the sparkly blouse and leggings that all the men wear on Angel One, and it's kind of the male version of Leia's metal bikini.
"Please tell me you're not wearing that," says Troi.
"Yeah," says Riker. "I requested an audience with the Head of State, so I can do the diplomacy thing, and when I do diplomatic missions, I wear the indigenous costume to honor them."
Troi and Yar are mildly disgusted, but then he suggests that they might be jealous, which pisses them off.
Yeah, Riker. Anger your teammates, one of which is your former lover. That sounds like a great idea.


Upstairs in the ready room, Crusher scans Picard and tells him to go to bed, because he's sick.
"Screw you, I'm the captain," he protests, shaking from fever and chills.
"Screw your screw you," she shoots back. "I'm CMO, and I override you."
(Hopefully it takes this time. We've seen her pull rank on him before a few times, and neither time, he refused to step down. This seems like a very tenuous thing, the CMO outranking the captain on medical situations. He has to agree to it, or it doesn't work.)
On the bridge, not only does Worf get another line, he gets a Sassy Moment too:
Worf: "I think I'm going to sneeze."
Geordi: "A Klingon sneeze?"
Worf: "Only kind I know."
Fortunately, Picard agrees to temporarily give up command. He puts Geordi in charge, who sits impressively in the Big Chair, and when Worf says he found traces of platinum on the planet and asks if he should beam the away team there.
"Make it so," says Geordi coolly. And not to be outdone, he gets a Sassy Eyebrow.


Riker comes out in his "diplomatic" costume, and the girls can't help but laugh at him. He seems to find it ridiculous also, but is trying to be all, "I value all cultures equally highly." He says it's comfortable, which is the best he can muster in the face of having to wear such a thing. In the meantime, the Trekkie Bears in the audience have all had a sploosh moment while watching this episode.

Also, recognize that lamp? It and several others were the only good thing to come
 out of that POS episode "Code of Honor."

Riker goes for his audience with Beata, and she tells him he looks handsome. At the audience is also Mistress Ariel from the council. He's kind of cold when he accepts Beata's compliment, and then tells them both that the E found Ramsay. Beata says she's impressed. Ariel says she's suspicious. She says she "hears the words, but not the sincerity." Beata reveals that Ariel was one of the dissenters at the council meeting. 
Ariel doubts him because it's been seven years since the Odin escape pod found its way to Angel One, and now the "great Enterprise" has come looking for it. Riker repeats to her what she just said about hearing words and not sincerity. She excuses herself and leaves. Beata excuses Trent, leaving just the two of them. He says they want to start the search right away. She, now suddenly attracted to him, suggests that Yar and Troi can do it without him. He calls Yar.
"In the interest of diplomatic relations, I'm going to stay here with Mistress Beata."
"Sorry?" she asks.
"I said, I'm going to bang Beata for the good of the universe," he repeats.


Yar has the E beam herself, Troi and Data to where the platinum was found. It's an outside location with a cave. Ramsay gets up from a picnic table and toasts them.
"Whut up, Enterprise?"
Dramatic music! Commercial break!


Picard calls Geordi for an update. Bad Picard, he's in his room, but working from his desk. Geordi reports 82 more cases of the illness and more Ship Disabling in the form of Romulans... somewhere. Worf sneezes several times, and Geordi tells him to go to sick bay.
Engineering calls and says they're having problems with some fool thing, and Geordi says he's right on top of that, Rose. But on his way off the bridge, Worf stops him to say that "with all due respect sir, there are people to do that for you now."
Yep, Geordi forgot he was in charge and can delegate that task. I kind of like that. Geordi is all go, go, go and help, help, help... so much so that that's the pattern he automatically slips into without thinking. Also: once again, they've called the pilot instead of the shift chief. Or maybe the shift chief called him. Is Geordi really that good, or do the rest of the people in Engineering really suck that much?
In the end, Geordi calls back Engineering and is all, "Handle it, 'kay?"


Back on the surface, Ramsay asks the away team how they found him, and Data replies that he has some platinum on him, which does not actually occur on Angel One.  Ramsay says it's his pilot's pendant, which he kept for sentimental value. So far, this guy sounds exactly like the dangerous criminal that Beata described.
Troi asks him why she senses no excitement from him about being able to go home.
Truth Bomb #2: the Odin survivors actually like it on Angel One. They have wives and children with the natives. They don't view this as "going home."
Dramatic music!

Back in Beata's bedroom. Riker asks why they were so hesitant to tell them about Ramsay and Co, and she replied that those guys are anarchists, and she had to make sure that the E crew were not here to aid and abet them. They discuss the Prime Directive, and he says he isn't allowed to interfere in her culture.
She makes another sexist comment about how on Angel One, men enjoy the pleasures of life while the women work hard to provide it. This time, he kind of calls her out on it, but in such a way that her hackles don't rise.
They kiss, he hesitates. This is not how "diplomatic courtesy call" is described in the Starfleet handbook. He shrugs it off.


But oh damn, they're cock-blocked by Trent, who brings in this thing that Riker brought down with him. He gives the thing to Beata, then looks at her expectantly, as though maybe they'll ask him to join them. She flatly tells him to GTFO, and he looks disappointed, turning and leaving to check Craigslist for hotels for sale.
The thing turns out to be an Albeni Meditation Crystal, which lights up and makes a throbbing noise. You know that thing is probably going to fall off the bed and break while they're going at it.


Over in Ramsay's camp, he tells them that when they first arrived on Angel One, everything was great. But then they noticed the sexist attitude that the women had toward the men. Men do not get votes or opinions. It contrasts sharply with Beata's description of men "enjoying life while the women worked." Despite these issues, Ramsay and the others want to stay. Data points out that the Odin was not part of Starfleet, and as such, the PD does not apply to them. Ramsay can stay if he wants.


Geordi calls Crusher to check on his Ship Disabling plot. Crusher says they have over 300 sick crew members, and she can't find a cure because the virus mutates every twenty minutes.
Yar calls and asks for a beam-back to their previous location, where they will collect Riker and then beam back. Geordi reports on the illness and the Romulan whatzits, then they sign off. Then Yar asks Ramsay how he knew to expect them, and of course he says he can't answer that, because everyone on this planet must be mysterious AF in order to keep the suspense alive.
As soon as they beam away, Ariel steps out of the cave and kisses him. Of course she's his wife. Then we get the most soap opera screencapture ever.


We go back to Beata and Riker's love nest, and she says some more sexist bullshit about how nice it is to be with a man who knows what he wants (instead of a woman telling him what he wants). Bitch, whose fault is that?
"Women, by our very nature, want only what's best for our men."
I'm vomitting. She says that she knew Riker was "bright enough to understand." Now I'm dry-heaving.
"Men are not objects to be possessed," he tells her.
She tries to play it off by saying that it's only a figure of speech.
Uggghhh.
They're cock-blocked again by Trent, who rings the doorbell this time. He comes in with the away team, and says they came back without the fugitives.
"WTF?" asks Beata. "You said you'd take them away!"
"They won't go," explains Tasha.
Truth Bomb #3: because Ramsay and his guys aren't leaving, the state is going to execute them.


Crusher enters Picard's bedroom, where he's finally in bed. She's got a Thermos full of nastiness that's guaranteed to make him feel better, but because she's not Mary Poppins, there will be no spoonful of sugar. She asks if he's wearing cologne, like something Klingon. He says he smelled it just after Wes and Set Dressing exited the holodeck, but before he got sick. Crusher has a revelation, saying that the scent encourages a person to breathe in deeply, then becomes the virus in the body. She rushes off to make an inoculant. Friends, isn't it awesome how, in the future, once you know what causes an illness, you can automatically figure out the cure? Like, without any research in between? It's like on House, where it's never Lupus, unless it is.


Back on the surface, Data gives Riker and the others the low-down on the Ship Disabling. They talk about this for a while, but it isn't important, because we'll never hear about the crisis again. Riker votes to leave so they can take care of the Romulan thingy. Troi says it isn't right to leave when Beata is going to execute those guys. He argues that Beata has to find them first, and Troi suddenly says that something is wrong, which was kind of not necessary, as Beata and Trent waltz in with Ramsay, his guys, and their wives.
Ramsay yells at Riker for giving them up, but Beata says that she had Ariel followed. She's going to kill everyone involved the next day.
Dramatic music! Commercial break!

When we return, Beata is filling out execution forms. She is approached by Riker, who asks why she is doing this.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," she snipes.
"Why, because I'm a dude?" he asks.
Go Riker, go!
"You won't get very far with that attitude," Beata answers.
Not on Angel One, you won't. Try literally anywhere else in the universe.
They strike a deal: if Ramsay, the others and their families will agree to get on the E and leave forever, she won't execute anyone.

So they go to talk to Ramsay. For some reason, there are more guys in that holding cell than there should be. Looks like it had progressed past just four guys and their wives and families. A bunch of other people think Beata's regime is shitty.
Riker tells Ramsay they're to take everyone away, and Ramsay replies with thanks but no thanks. Angel One or death.
"WTF?" asks Yar.


"Get in my spaceship!" barks Riker. "You don't have a choice anymore!"
"Um, PD violation?" Data reminds him. "You can't just steal people, bro."
"I'll take a court martial over not being able to sleep at night any day of the week," Riker says stubbornly.
No, dude. That's not how it works. You don't get to kidnap others just to feel better about yourself. They get a say in it too. And frankly, by not offering them the choice, you're no better than Beata. Ramsay doesn't appear to be, either. Sure, he's speaking for the whole group, and maybe they said he could, but this is a new offer. He hasn't talked with anyone else since the away team showed up, and it's possible that that guy in the back is willing to leave and take his family with him.
Anyway, Riker calls for a beam-up, but the group gets more time to talk, because Crusher answers and says that everyone is sick as shit, and nobody is allowed to beam up. 
I guess Crusher doesn't have Insta-inoculant after all. It's foolish of me to think she might have one this early in the game, though, as we still have eight minutes or so left in this episode, and the miracle cure cannot be found for at least another six minutes. It has to take at least until Beata (or whoever the executioner is) has time to swing an ax at a neck. Suspense: you have to drag that shit out.


In the end, Riker decides to send Data back, because he can't get sick. Data's new orders are to take the E to the Neutral Zone, and I guess just make it look like the almighty Enterprise is going to blow everyone out of the water? When Data beams up, we see some of the other guys in Ramsay's group, and one of the them is comforting another, who is freaking out about his possible fate. I like that. Good job, extras.
Anyway, dramatic music! Commercial break!


The next morning, Trent enters the away team's quarters. He and Riker exchange some side-eye, then he nervously announces that Mistress Beata has invited them to witness "the reaffirmation of Angel One's Moral Imperative."
Oh, doesn't that sound fancy! Not like an execution at all! How fun!
"Fuck off, Trent," says Yar.
"Yeah, seriously: fuck right the fuck off," Riker answers.
Data calls. Seems his instructions to get the ship to the NZ "in time" was cleverly calculated. He figured out how long the outpost and ship involved could stand a Romulan attack, and how long it would take to get there. Crusher has 48 minutes left to come up with her Insta-inoculant before he has to leave.
"You're the shit," Riker tells him.
"Yeah, let's go to this head-chopping," says Riker to his team.


Beata gives this nice speech about how sad she is that her efforts to stop Ramsay's "heretical teachings" and "radical voices" have failed, and how she now has no choice but to execute them all. Bitch, just say what you mean: wah-wah, I don't want equality! I like my life the way it is, with my fuck-boy obediently doing everything I say!
Anyway, somebody puts a black vase on this dais between two tower-things, and then Trent lowers his hand over a crystal ball, and the towers power up and disintegrate the vase.
Wait, she's not even doing it herself? She's making Trent do her dirty work? That's fucking worse! She controls this guy's every move, and now she's making him execute people for her, to keep the status quo. Go jump in a lake, Beata.
She then has the nerve to point out that their method of execution is humane. Yeah, you know who else has humane execution methods? The Edo, from "Justice." Also, the Eminians from "A Taste of Armageddon." Just because your method of murdering people is nicer than some others, doesn't make it okay.


Riker asks for a moment to hop on his soapbox before they start killing people.
"I think you're not afraid of revolution so much as evolution," he says. "You think that Ramsay started this shit, but given that he has ready followers, that tells me that this has been going on for a while now. Your people want change, and you propose to silence it with death, but that's only a Band-Aid. It's gonna cycle back around again, and you'll have to deal with it once more until the quiet whispers become roars, and the people demand change. What more, Ramsay and his followers will become martyrs, and you can't kill martyrs."


Beata considers, then gives the signal for Ramsay to be taken to the dais. But before Trent can bring his hand down over the crystal ball, Ariel yells, "Beata!" and Beata grabs Trent's hand. She decides to reconvene the council to talk about it.

Upstairs, Crusher calls the bridge to let Data know that she has the Insta-inoculant. They have seventeen minutes left on the clock, and about one and a half left of this episode. Right on time. Data calls Riker, who says they should lock onto the group and prepare to beam them out, just in case.
Beata and the council return, which was pretty quick.
"Okay," says Beata. "We have a solution. Nobody dies today, and you can have your kids back. But we are going to exile all of you to a remote location. Your lives will suck, but you can be together."
She and Riker smile at each other.
"Maybe we can't stop evolution," she says, "But we can reduce it to a slow crawl."
She has time for one more sexist remark before Riker and the others beam out: "For a man, you can be very clever."


Riker, Yar and Troi are greeted off the lift by Crusher, who inoculates each one as they enter the bridge. Picard is in his chair again, but with half a voice. He gives Data the coordinates for the NZ, which Data plugs into the computer.
"On your mark," says Data.
The noise that issues from Picard's throat is a squeak and he looks to Riker, who smiles.
"Engage," says Riker, and they leave.


Like many season one episodes, this one falls into the realm of "just okay." I kind of like that they tried to flip the subjugation of women on it's head, and make women the suppressors, but frankly, they could have done it with any oppressed group, as subjugation of any group is hideous and un-fucking-comfortable.
The thing that really kills me about this episode is Beata's last comments. She kind of buys Riker's suggestion that what they're witnessing is the evolution of their culture from the subjugated to equality for all... but then she attempts to "slow it down" rather than stop it altogether which, as Riker pointed out, probably would not have worked, anyway. Her solution was a bit "separate but equal" without actually being equal, because she said that the place they were being exiled to was remote and their lives would be difficult. I suppose it could work out alright, as more people emigrate to the aforementioned remote area when they decide that they'd like to live differently, and two societies develop, one matriarchal, and one of equality.
No, the part that sticks in my craw is Beata's "slow it down" assertion. She wants to keep things the way they are, insisting that men are not as smart as women, or don't know what they want, or are "enjoying life while the women work." It works for her because she's the Head Bitch in Charge. Things are going her way. If things change, she could find herself being de-throned, no longer able to make off-color jokes about guys. Instead of embracing Ramsay's group and allowing things to take their natural order, she's decided to shut them up in an area where people will probably not venture to hear what the group has to say. She's segregating the population. "You don't have any rights now. You want equal rights. You may get those rights eventually, but not now. For now, I'm going to send you away." By "slowing it down" she's refusing to give equal rights. She's giving some, but not all of the rights that she currently enjoys.
Part of me knows that, logically, if you make a change too fast, it will not stick. There will be backlash, and things will move back into the status quo. That's human nature. But it always seems so shitty to me that, especially where rights are concerned, the oppressed must wait for the day when the oppressor says, "Sure, you can have all of the rights that I enjoy." 
On that day, there is no longer "oppressed" and "oppressor," just "people."

Red deaths: 0
Gold deaths: 0
Blue deaths: 0
Obnoxious Wes moments: 0
Legitimate Wes moments when he should have told someone to go fuck themselves: 0
Sassy Geordi moments: 2 - counting that eyebrow
Sassy Wes Moments: 0
Sassy Worf Moment: 1
Sassy NPC Moments: 0
Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: 2
Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: 3

*******

Was checking out at the store the other day when I spotted something in the "impulse buy" section of the check-out: Girl Scout cookie tea.
"The hell?"
I grabbed two boxes, because how could you not?
I tried the Samoa this week, which has a black leaf base, with caramel and coconut flavors. The tea itself gives a bit of the chocolate taste, and the coconut and caramel were awesome. The box suggested trying this tea with milk, but that's not really my thing. I just sweetened it, and it was great. Fair warning: this tea can be over-brewed, so watch your brew time.






Charlie, 6 weeks

Monday, June 6, 2016

ST:TNG Season One, Episode Fourteen "Datalore"

ST:TNG Season One, Episode Fourteen "Datalore"
Production Order: 14
Air Order: 13
Stardate: 41242.4
Original Air Date: January 18, 1988


So ThinkGeek has come out with a line of one-piece swimsuits that look like TNG uniforms, and everyone lost their shit. They ran out of Command and Science hella quick, but it appears that they're getting more in mid-June.
Pro-tip: do not pretend that you're going to call for a beam-up. You will bruise your boob.



*******

Picard's Log 41242.4: "Swingin' by Data's old neighborhood, so we're gonna check it out. We're supposed to be someplace else, but Data is all mysterious, and I can't pass up the opportunity to be a real-life Dixon Hill about it."

Picard and Riker talk briefly about Data not being on the bridge for this momentous occasion, and Picard says that Data said he wanted to be alone. He suggests that maybe this is a bigger moment for Data than they thought.
Nope. Dude is in his quarters, trying to teach himself how to sneeze.


And frankly, he needs more practice. He just kind of yells "Ahh...chooooooooo!"
Wes asks if Data has a cold, and they discuss the fact that colds no longer exist, because we have to be reminded of that every other episode. Also, did you know that Beverly's husband is dead? #TNGtruisms
Wes tells Data that they're approaching his home planet, and isn't that exciting? Data replies that he finds his homecoming and sneezing to be of equal importance.
Okay, weirdo.
Up on the bridge, Riker asks him if he wants to bring the E into orbit, and Data politely turns him down, which is also kind of strange, because I don't think I've ever heard Data turn down a superior officer's suggestion before. He's being kind of blase about going home. Is he hiding something from the E crew?
Is it Mom's Friendly Android Company?
Or maybe his parents are something embarrassing, like ATMs.
Is he secretly made from the exhumed body of some guy named Steve, who was then stuffed with electronic components? Wait, no. That's cyborgs.
Maybe the E crew, like myself, is trying to assign feelings to Data when he has none.


He tries to have a feeling when he sees the planet approaching on viewscreen, but instead they all get into a discussion about how Data has the memories of the 411 colonists who died on the planet. They ask him if he remembers farmland, and he says he does, but the scans show zero life-forms.
Picard says he wishes he could lead the away team, but then his first officer would pitch a fit, and Riker asks him how Starfleet would view it if he did let him go. See, these are the questions that an organization asks itself after some dumbass routinely gets his senior staff trapped on hostile planets week after week.
...and then all of the senior staff except for Picard, Troi and Crusher get onto the lift to beam down.



Riker's Log 4124.5: "Seriously. No life life here. Not even soil bacteria."

Somehow, Riker forgot to add the last digit of the date. It's okay, buddy. I bet you're still writing 2363 on your checks, aren't you?

Geordi does a scan and says that the soil was once rich farmland, like 20 or 30 years earlier. Data says that gels with the math, because he was found 26 years ago.
Wait, found? What?
Yep. Everything was already dead or dying, and a Starfleet ship found him. he also says he thinks he got the colonists' memories in a hurry, but he doesn't know why he has them. Whoa. Dude has no past, but he has the memories of some 400 dead people.
They get to the spot where the Tripoli crew found Data, and he doesn't remember anything before that.


Geordi's VISOR tells him that the rock face is a facade, and Data recalls that there's someplace back there where the colonists were going to hide, but they were afraid of being discovered, so they just gave him all of their memories. Geordi pushes a rock, and a door swings open. The door leads to caves, the cave leads to bunkers. The bunkers lead to a sweet lab. Data says he kind of remembers his functions being tested here.



Riker sees some drawings on the wall that he attributes to kids, but which were most likely made by one storyboard artist, especially given they all appear to be by the same hand, and that the names signed on the drawings are Josh, Josh M, Joe M and John B.
"Hey, can you, real quick, do some drawings for me? Like four of the same thing?"
"Like this?"
"That's pretty good, But you used foreshortening and perspective. Make it look like little kid drawings... no, go worse than that... worse... stick figures, dude. Make stick figures."
"Okay?"
"Yeah. Now sign your name at the bottom, but print it. Cool, that's good, Josh. No, don't sign the same name!"
"You said to sign them! Okay, look: I'll add an initial."
"Okay, that's greaaaa - you signed Josh again, dammit!"
"I'll make it say Joe. Look, I'll turn that S and H into a big E. And then - oops, almost signed Josh again. I'll make this one John, okay?"
"Fine. Good enough."


Data says he remembers that the lab belongs to Dr Soong, and everybody's like "Whoooaaa," because Dr Soong disappeared after he tried to create Asimov's positronic brain and failed hard. They guess he came to this planet to try again, and he clearly succeeded this time, because here's Data standing right in front of them. Query: if Data is as curious about his own beginnings as he seems to be, why did he not look up robotics history? Shouldn't he also know about Dr Soong already? Shouldn't this be an "a-ha" moment for him as well?
Tasha and Worf are sent out into the corridors to explore, and Riker, Data and Geordi check out the lab. They find body part molds, and Data tries on the face mold, which of course fits him perfectly.


It totally doesn't remind me at all of this creepiness:


You know what I'm realizing now?
Two things:
1. Data is one of those "comfort characters" for me. When I see him, I am put at ease. Characters like Data, Spock, and Remus Lupin are comfort characters to me. Like the mashed potatoes of fiction, as it were. I just feel better when they show up.
2. Data goes from "comforting" to "disturbing as hell" very easily. Small tweaks in his appearance or mannerisms make me want to run for the hills. Such as Data wearing that mold of his own face (wtf kind of serial killer shit is that?) or Q dressed as Data.

Yar calls in to say that there's room in those bunkers for hundreds of people, but there's no one there.

Geordi opens a wall panel and finds gold body parts. Data picks up the head. Is nobody else getting a "Cabin in the Woods" vibe from this?



Data says it's important for him to take the parts back to the ship to be reassembled, because he never thought he'd find another being like himself, and he's dying to know more about it. Riker agrees to beam the parts back to put the new guy together.

Gonna make a small complaint here: Yar and Worf beamed down because they were logistically important to the story. Can't just beam down into unknown territory with security. But then they're given almost no lines and sent off on a fool's errand. Again, it's logistically sound that they should be sent off to check out the corridors, but story-wise, why the hell were they even along? A pair of security yellows could have done the same job. Instead, we take along two characters who rarely get any screen time, and then they get less. Denise Crosby gets so little to work with, and Michael Dorn is in the make-up chair for hours each day, and what does it amount to? Practically nothing. Yar got one decent-sized part in a crappy episode, and Worf is this show's Nurse Chapel. He gets like, one line every episode. I'm really jonesing for the Worf-heavy episodes of the later seasons.

Picard's Log 41242.45: "The away team beamed down to a lifeless planet and came back with body parts. Seriously: is no one creeped out by this?"

You guys, look! I found the four missing from Riker's log! It was hiding in Picard's log the whole time!

A team of engineers and blue shirts work in sick bay to examine and assemble to new body. Data lurks in the corner, watching them. Crusher comes up to him, says he's wanted in the observation lounge.
For some reason, someone has turned the lights way the hell down in sick bay, making the glow from those body-part canisters cast looming shadows on the wall behind them.
Argyle, making his second and last appearance as chief engineer, awkwardly asks Data if he can have his help later if they need to compare construction.



Data goes to the observation lounge, where Riker, Geordi and Picard are talking. They then also proceed to very awkwardly ask him questions that shouldn't be awkward at all.
Repeat after me friends:
"Data, can we have your help if we can't figure out the construction of this new android?"
"We aren't certain how to move it from inert to sentient."
"Does it appear to be made the same way you were?"
Maybe the characters are feeling awkward in asking these questions because Data is their friend and they don't want to hurt his feelings in pointing out that he's a machine, but here's the thing - it's not a secret that they're hiding from him. He already knows. Also, dude does not have feelings. He aspires to them, but none are there yet. Be straight-forward.
Actually, you know what this reminds me of? That TOS episode "The Apple," where the E crew tries to discuss sex without actually saying it.
Picard gets tired of the run-around and tells Riker and Geordi to just say what they want to say, which is fortunate, because their hedging was really starting to bug me.

Also, the observation lounge table is magnificent. I want one.


He points out that they're uncomfortable admitting to the fact that Data is a machine, but also reminds them that humans are machines "of an electro-chemical nature." They agree that this is sensible, and move on. Data is curious as to why he was created to look human. I have no idea why he's never posed this question to anyone, in the 26 years of consciousness that he can rightly remember. I'm pretty sure most people could have given him a guess, which Geordi does now: "Because people are more comfortable with robots that approximate humans."
Riker switches over to the drawings that they found in the lab, and he's sticking by his "proud parents" explanation as to why they were there.
Data is paged back to sick bay.
There, he very quietly shows Crusher where to press in the middle of his back to turn him on and off. He also has an "android alarm clock" which times how long he is unconscious.
I feel like the next two lines should be reversed to make more sense.
Crusher: "I won't tell anyone. You have my word."
Data: "If you had an off switch, would you tell anyone?"
Either way, Data has a point. Hell no, you wouldn't tell anyone you had an off switch.


Argyle approaches and from their discussion, the plan is to open up Data, mess around inside of him, do the same stuff to the other android, then close both back up. The chief seems concerned that using soldering tools might hurt Data, but Data assures him otherwise. It's kind of nice that his friends and coworkers are concerned for his safety and feelings, even if a lot of it is unwarranted from Data's point of view. It's human nature.

Dear TNG,
Thank for actually using science to show What Little Datas Are Made Of...



...instead of strapping Data and the other android's parts onto a playground merry-go-round and spinning it real fast.


After closing up, Picard and Riker pop in for a visit. Data is up and running again, but the other android is still just lying there. Picard wonders which one was built first.
New android opens his eyes and says, "He was built first, but they decided he was imperfect, so they made me to replace him."
He says his name is Lore, and smiles at them like a creepy doll you stumbled upon in your grandmother's attic one afternoon.
Strange music! Commercial break!


Data talks to Picard in his ready room, and there's some dancing around of chosen words. Picard doesn't like that Lore referred to Data as "imperfect."
"Naw, it's cool," says Data. "He might have just meant that he has skills that I don't."
Picard keeps calling Lore "it," and Data asks if he should be placed into that category as well. That's about as salty as Data gets, you guys. He says it in that quiet, concerned, straight-forward voice that makes his shipmates sit up straight, like he slapped them.
"No, you're right. Lore is a he, and you are a he," Picard back-peddles. "Um, so hey. You guys are pretty close to being brothers or something..."
"If you're asking who I'm loyal to, it's you and Starfleet," Data answers.
"Cool, thanks."


Data exits the ready room to find Lore, now dressed in an Ops work uniform, sitting at the con while the bridge crew explain to him how to steer the ship. Worf is put off by Lore, as he gives Riker the side-eye. Riker then recites a mathematical formula, which Lore automatically begins to finish, but then trails off with "something, something, I once overheard someone talking about that..." and pretending like he doesn't math at all.
You're an android, motherfucker. Nobody's gonna buy that you don't math.
Data's pretty pissed that Lore is in his seat... well, as pissed Data gets, which is not at all. "You don't have clearance to be on the bridge."
Wesley smilingly tells Lore that the ship has a lot of rules that he'll have to learn. Lore cheerfully says he's happy to please humans. He calls Data "brother." Data seems mildly disturbed that Lore seems so eager to please.


Data walks Lore to his quarters.
"So, that math question totally tricked you into giving away that you're smarter than you pretend to be," remarks Data.
"Yeah, I didn't peg Riker for being that clever," Lore answers. "In the future, I'll be more careful."
Say fucking what? What's that sound you hear? Is it your Crazy Person Alarm? Because mine is going off full-blast. Bitch has another personality!
Lore wants people to believe that he's dumb and subservient to humans. Walks like a duck, talks like a duck, computes hypotenuses like a duck...
"Also, you seem to think of Wes as being a little kid, but he's hella smarter than you think," adds Data.
Lore humbly thanks him for the information, then drops this shit on him:


Data is left standing in the corridor with his best WTF? face.
They enter his quarters, and Data sits at the computer console to look up Dr Noonien Soong. Lore makes a joke about the doctor being referred to as "Often Wrong" Soong, then says it all turned out okay because their "father" ended up creating them, which proved that he had been right all along.
He then asks Data when he can expect to get a Starfleet uniform of the same rank. Data replies that he earned his after nearly twenty years of hard work.
Lore scoffs, saying that system is designed for lesser beings, and that they are superior, so they should just get to skip to the end. He peters on the edge of being... racist? I don't know what to call it when an android talks shit about humans.
Data confronts Lore about lying to the others over who was created first, and Lore goes into some exposition about how he lived with the colonists, but they became jealous of his capabilities, and asked Soong to make a "less perfect" android.
He points out that he can use contractions, and Data cannot. Then this suave motherfucker tries to gaslight Data.
"You know I'm going to the captain with all of this, right?" asks Data.
Yaaasss, bitch. Yaaaasss. Do not take shit from Lore.



But Data is a nice guy, and doesn't suspect that Lore is a fucking asshole. So when Lore politely asks if he can use the computer to learn more about the ship, Data says, "Sure! Also, will you tell the captain about the colony?"
"Why the fuck not?" laughs Lore.
Data leaves to go on duty.
And Lore starts reading at that super-fast pace that Data does.
Last week, reader Mark brought up the question of why Data reads rather than downloading information into his brain, which would be quicker and easier. I thought about it and decided that, even though I don't think the answer is ever given directly, it wouldn't be that far of a stretch to assume that Soong designed Data and Lore to read over popping open a USB port because reading would make them seem more human in nature.

Picard's Log 41242.5: "Lore gave us some info on what happened to the colony: that crystal thing from the kids' drawings is some kind of huge entity that eats all living things, feeding off their energy. Lore was left alone because he was in pieces in the lab. And Data was left alone because he had not been switched on."

Riker asks Picard if that crystal thing might be real. Picard says that there are vast reaches of space where Starfleet hasn't been, so it's possible that they just haven't encountered it yet.


Yar tells Data that Lore left his quarters a while ago to look at some micro-tools, and Data replies that that seems innocuous enough, because those kids of tools were used in their construction, so the human equivalent would be a person going looking for antiseptic. Nevertheless, he decides to check it out. When Crusher questions his motives, Picard comes to Data's defense, saying that a good officer keeps an eye on his guests. After he leaves, Yar steps forward and asks, as security chief, how much Picard trusts Data now. The whole bridge crew turns to look at her like, "Damn, gurl!"
"Completely," says Picard loudly. "Also, that was a totes legit security question."

Lore has gone back to Datas quarters. He pours two glasses of champagne, and is anyone really shocked when he dumps a date-rape drug into one of those glasses and offers it to Data, who comes in a moment later?
Lore spouts some crap about how learning to be more human means observing their customs and how humans toast with champagne at special occasions, blah, blah, blah. Data drinks it because he's trusting, and after he hits the floor, Lore exposits that he was the one who set the crystalline entity on the colony, and won't the entity be pleased when he feeds it everyone on the E?


On the bridge, Worf tells Riker that he sees Data transmitting something. Riker doesn't think  it's anything, but asks Wes to go check on Data, anyway.
Lore is in Data's quarters, dressed in Data's uniform and sending a message to the Crystalline Entity, telling it that he can identified as "the machine Data." He ends the message just as Wes walks in and sees Data on the floor, dressed in Lore's work uniform.
"WTF?" he asks.
"Lore attacked me," Lore says smoothly. "I had to subdue him."
Lore has this weird facial tic that occurs sometimes, and it happens now.
Wes frowns at him.
"I've been practicing his facial tic," he covers. "Lore got angry when he realized that we have been tracking his movements."
"Ummm, okaaay," says Wes. "But maybe don't imitate Lore. If you had used a contraction, I would have thought that you were him." He leaves to report back in on the situation, but his expression leaves little doubt as to his suspicions.


Lore then uses a tool to fix his facial tic, and gives one to Data instead.

Crusher approaches Wes at the conn. "How did Data say he took out Lore again?"
Wes shrugs. "He said he switched him off."
When Lore enters the bridge a moment later, Crusher confronts him: "Hey, you told me that your off button was a freaking secret."
Way to keep that secret, Crusher.
"Oh, um, I decided to come clean about that, because I trust the bridge crew," Lore lies.
Worf and Yar report that something's headed their way, and the Crystalline Entity rolls up on them hella fast.
Lore whispers that it's beautiful and Wes gives him some serious side-eye.


Ooh, early CGI!


Geordi runs off to check it out, and reports back that it's just some huge fucking crystal, and he can't make heads or tails of it. Yar says that it isn't answering their hails.
Picard asks Lore if he can go ask Lore about it.
"Maybe," says the faux-Data.
Wes is over this shit, and recommends that Picard not let him roam the ship. When Picard goes to reprimand him for being rude to a superior officer, Lore smooths things over by saying Wes is just being a good little cadet, and that he can come watch Lore interrogate Data.
Wes gets a Sassy Moment: "Not if I have a choice."
Riker is super-pissed at Wes, because he's training Wes, and this shit makes him look bad. He barks at Wes that he will also go along, to make sure the ensign is being respectful.
Weigh in now, friends: does Riker suspect Lore also, or does he think that Wes is just being a douche-bag to Data?
He points Wes to the lift like a parent pointing a naughty kid to a time-out chair.


Lore takes Wes and Riker back to Data's quarters, where Data is still unconscious on the floor. Now watch this bullshit unfold:
"See how he still has his facial tic, even though he is knocked out? Stand back, he may become violent if he senses that you are nearby."
Lore flips Data's off switch repeatedly, making it look like Data is having some kind of seizure. But because the thing is in Data's back, his torso is hiding the fact that Lore is playing with the switch.
"Lore, it is Data. I need to ask you some questions."
He tells Wes and Riker that "Lore" senses them, and that he cannot control the other android, so they should leave, and he'll record everything that "Lore" says. After they're gone, Lore kicks the unconscious Data in the head a few times, exposing some circuitry. Not for any reason, though. He's just a dick.


Riker and Wes return to the bridge, and Riker gives a description of what happened.
"Dude," interrupts Wes, "I totally think that was Data and the floor, and Lore trying to trick us all!"
Picard starts to yell at Wes, but then the crystal moves in for the kill and brushes against the shields.
Lore comes back to the bridge. "I can talk to it!"
"Since when?" demands Picard. But he lets Lore open a channel anyway.
"Hey, crystal," announces lore. "This is Data. Back the fuck off. These humans are powerful."
The crystal backs up, and everyone is awed by Data's fantastic powers.
"I think we should fly away fast," suggests Lore. "Then we can beam a large tree into space and blast it apart, so the crystal knows we mean business."
He calls Will "Riker" rather than "Commander" which is weird, but Lore doesn't know that.
"Make it so," says Picard.
Lore is confused.
"Fucking do it," Picard repeats.
Seriously, how was he confused by that? It's pretty straight-forward.
Picard frowns as Lore gets on the lift.



Wes tries to argue his point again.
"Shut up, Wesley!" barks Picard.
He sends Yar after Lore to watch what he does.
Crusher attempts to light into Picard for yelling at her kid. He brushes her off.
Wes tries again, and this time Crusher tells him to shut up.
WES STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
"Everything I've said would have been taken seriously if said by an adult officer!"
Fuck yeah, it would have!
Crusher actually rolls her eyes!
He asks to return to his quarters, and Picard not only grants it, but tells Crusher to go with him.
"You're putting me off the bridge?" she demands.
Whoa, shit. Picard tells her quietly that he wants her to watch her kid in all of this mess.



Worf and a pair of security yellows stalk down the corridors as red alert blares. Worf enters the lift and sees Lore is there, but Lore yells, "Emergency close!" before the yellows can hop on board. Lore quickly disarms Worf and taunts him. Worf takes a swing, but YOU CAN'T BEAT UP A FREAKING ANDROID. Instead, Lore beats the shit out of Worf. That sucks. Worf finally got some screen time, and he got his ass handed to him.


Wes talks Crusher into going back to Data's quarters and switching him back on. She protests, and he sarcastically suggests that she tell him to shut up again. She replies that he's being "very unfair."
In what fucking way is he being unfair? Because his ass noticed something that no one else did?
Crusher flips the switch. Data sits bolt upright, and they explain the situation. He says he will rectify things.


Lore is down in the cargo bay, talking to the crystal through a panel, which replies back in a weird sound that I can only describe as being "crystal-like," which doesn't make any freaking sense. He tells the crystal that he will beam a tree out into space, and in order to do that, the deflector shields will have to go down, leaving the crystal plenty of time to swoop in and take the crew. 
Data, Wes and Crusher sneak into the cargo bay. Crusher has a phaser hidden in her coat. She steps behind some cargo. 
Lore turns when Data steps into view.
Data has a Sassy Moment: "Ohhh, Brother. You make me wish I was an only child."
That is... weird, and oddly emotive for Data, but whatever.
Lore sees Wes lurking near the door and tells him that he's about to die. Crusher steps out with her phaser in hand and threatens him for threatening her kid. Lore pushes Data into Crusher, swiping the phaser. Then he promises to torture Wes to death if she doesn't leave the cargo bay. Data promises to keep Wes safe, and Crusher backs out.
But then that lousy asshole shoots her as she reaches the door. She runs off with her arm on fire.


Data takes the momentary distraction to wrestle the phaser out of Lore's hand and they go over into a stack of cargo containers. They play Donkey Kong.


Data shouts to Wes to turn on the transporter, and he manages to toss Lore onto the pad. Lore stands and aims the phaser at Data, but Wes hits the Energize button, and beams Lore the fuck into space.


The cargo bay doors open, and Picard rushes in with Crusher, Riker and Yar. Crusher crushes Wes in a hug. Picard tells her to go to sick bay, now that she knows Wes is safe. She's ditched her coat, but there's a hole in her uniform, and big ol' burn there.
Wes reports that Lore is gone for good, and Yar sees on the panel viewscreen that the crystal is moving off, away from them.
Picard asks Data if he is alright. Data answers in the affirmative, and his face twitches.
"Get rid of that twitch, put on a uniform, and get your ass back to the bridge." Picard spots Wes. "You too. Tell them what happened, and that everything is fine now."
Okay, I guess that was his way of saying, "Sorry I wouldn't listen, and you were right the whole time"?
Picard watches the crystal thing move away from the ship. He and Riker are the last ones to leave. As they head for the door, Picard asks, "Have you ever wondered if Data is more human or less human than we want?"


"Fucking agreed," replies Picard.


Man, the episodes that I don't like feel like a slog. They seem to take forever to watch initially, and forever to review. I thought for quite some time about why I don't like this episode. Data is one of my favorite characters, and this episode features him heavily, so why is it such a chore to watch? 
In trying to determine why, I talked to my friend DM about this episode. He was pretty sure that the issue was that Gene Rod had a hand in writing this episode, and historically, I have disliked Gene's episodes the most. I admitted that it makes me guilty to admit that the creator created episodes that I don't like, but we reached the conclusion that Gene was fantastic world-builder... but not the best story-teller. Gene was a "bigger picture guy," but the episodes he worked on personally either didn't make sense, had huge plot-holes, or were heavy-handed. I also don't feel great admitting that I disliked the last episode that he worked on before he died in October of 1991.
But when I really, really thought about it, it wasn't Gene's involvement. He shared writing credits for this episode with three other people, so maybe it was someone else's contribution?
No, my problem lies with Lore. 
I fucking hate Lore.
Yeah, I know. "You're supposed to hate Lore. He's the villain."
But there are a lot of villains that I really like, some more than the protagonist. I like a villain that's unapologetically evil, but it should be tempered with a sense of humor, preferably dry. Lore has a dark sense of humor, but it doesn't quite reach me. I don't find his jokes funny. He finds them funny.
Then I thought maybe it was because Lore was an "old-fashioned" villain. There was this viewing of "Much Ado About Nothing" where there was commentary offered up afterward, and they talked about how Prince John was just kind of a dick for no reason. Well, Shakespeare could get away with a motive-less villain in a comedy because too much motive would weigh the play down and make it less funny. But the commentary made another really good point: we now expect more of our villains. They can't just be guys who tie girls to train tracks and twiddle mustaches. They need to have a compelling reason for this shit, a backstory that points out where they went wrong. Lore didn't seem to have this. The most he had was complaining that the colonists were "jealous" of him. Had he developed a deep hatred of humans because some colonists didn't like him? Was that the reason why he gave them up to the Crystalline Entity?
But that didn't make any sense, either. What was he getting out of his relationship with the crystal? He was just feeding it snacks for no reason.
So I mulled it over. I watched the episode again, carefully, trying to figure it out.
And then it hit me: Lore is a sociopath. His motives are as simple as control and destruction. He doesn't need some deep psychological hurt to drive him to do shitty things to other people. He is a shitty person, so he does shitty things. The colonists weren't jealous - they had figured out his game and demanded that Soong take him apart for their own sanity. But before he's able to do that, Lore gets revenge by feeding them all to some alien.
This is why I hate Lore. It's because I fucking hate sociopaths, and I think they all deserve to have their sorry asses beamed out into space.
In all, this episode isn't awful. Sure, the evil twin thing is a bit soap opera-y, but I think Data's origins are kind of cool.

Red deaths: 0
Gold deaths: 0
Blue deaths: 0
Obnoxious Wes moments: 0
Legitimate Wes moments when he should have told someone to go fuck themselves: 2. And he totally DID tell them to go fuck themselves!
Sassy Geordi moments: 0
Sassy Wes Moments: 2
Sassy Data Moment: 1
Sassy NPC Moments: 0
Number of times that it is mentioned that Data is an android: Tough to say, as this whole episode was about Data being an android
Number of times that Troi reacts to someone else's feelings: No Troi this week

Fun Facts:

- We finally settled the "Data and using contractions" debate, which turned out to be more like Spock smiling in the first pilot episode of TOS, where an important characterization was not added until after the fact. It turns out that the contractions thing was not a rule until this episode, when the writers needed more subtle ways to tell Lore and Data apart. One was the facial tic, and the other was the thing with the contractions. For the first thirteen episodes, this was not an issue, and Data frequently used contractions. But here, they made it canon that Data has not reached a level of "development" where he can use contractions correctly. As it turned out, this was a big enough question that Brent Spiner stopped production in the middle of filming, and had a meeting with Gene and the writers on the bridge set to determine the situation once and for all.
- Initially, Lore was proposed as being a female android, and was supposed to be a love interest for Data. Brent Spiner suggested the evil twin trope instead.
- An early script had Riker falling for a female officer named Minuet, who turns out to be an android.
- Data and Lore were played by four people: Brent Spiner, a stunt double, and two photo doubles.



- This is the first mention of Asimov's Laws of Robotics, something the showrunners wanted in their new series.
- Due to some scheduling difficulties, this episode was swapped with "The Big Goodbye," and "11001001." Because of special effects, and wanting to get them right, "Datalore" was granted an extra day of filming. Rob Bowman was meant to direct "The Big Goodbye" but was held up by filming of "Datalore." Continuity mentions in each episode received changes. "11001001" was supposed to have taken place before "The Big Goodbye" and events in that storyline were supposed to have caused the malfunction to the holodeck, but because that story had not yet taken place, it was determined that Jaradans had scanned the ship and caused the malfunction. Picard mentions in the last scene of "Datalore" that the ship is due for a computer refit, which then takes place during "11001001."

*******

Lipton makes everything, you guys. Like, every flavor and every kind of leaf. That doesn't necessarily mean it's good, but they pretty much make every kind of tea you can think of, so if there's something you want, they probably make it.
I was doing regular grocery shopping the other day when I came upon a display of BriskMate* canned tea. I've been kind of suspicious of mates since I found out how much caffeine they have, and my first discovery of it happened later at night. It makes sense that I got no sleep that night, as it turns out that caffeine has a half-life of six hours. As in, if you have an iced coffee drink at noon, by six pm, the caffeine loses half it's power. It's still full-strength until 6 pm. That's some crazy shit.
The BriskMate came in three flavors, and I picked up one can, flipping it over to read the ingredients. 
Sucralose. Gross. I hate fake sugars because they taste awful and make me feel bad later. But sucralose was listed fairly far down in the ingredients, and the main sugar listed was HFCS. HFCS isn't great either, but it doesn't make me feel like crap and it tastes a damn sight better.
In the end, I grabbed one of each with the attitude of "Meh, it's inexpensive."
The first one I tried was the Dragonfruit. I have no idea why companies make things that are dragonfruit-flavored. Have you ever had dragonfruit? It's just kind of sweet. It doesn't really have much of a taste.
This stuff tasted like fruit juice, but not a specific one like grape or apple. Like a general fruit juice. The leaf base turned out to be green, and it was lightly detectable under the juice flavor. But it mostly tasted like juice. 
And that caffeine? Your average can of cola contains forty or so mgs of caffeine, and this mate, which comes in the size of a can of Arizona tea, contains 50 mgs, so not too much more. Coffee can have 100-200 mgs, depending on what you drink and how much.
There wasn't any kind of "on switch" that got flipped after drinking this tea, but I felt pleasantly alert all day. And I couldn't taste the sucralose under the fruit juice flavor.
tl:dr: it's not terrible, and if you drink it early enough you won't be awake all night.

*Mah-tay. I'm too lazy to re-discover how to get my keyboard to do the accents over the letters. so now you know - I drank a mah-tay, not a mate.







Gracie, Charlotte, Petunia, 6 weeks