The Enterprise is called to Starbase 173, a base established just outside the Neutral Zone in the wake of the renewed problems involving the Romulans. It appears to be a straightforward supply run, and a chance for Picard to catch up with a friendly adversary in Phillipa Louvois (Amanda McBroom), a Starfleet JAG officer who was overzealous in her prosecution of Picard following the loss of the Stargazer.
While giving a Starfleet admiral (Clyde Kusatsu) a tour of the Enterprise, the admiral drops a bombshell on Picard: Commander Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy), a Starfleet science officer, has been granted authorization to study Data. The first step in his process is to disassemble Data. When Picard objects, Maddox presents official Starfleet orders reassigning Data to him.
Now Data's only hope lies in an official hearing, in which Picard vigorously attempts to prove that Data should be considered sentient. He faces just as vigorous a prosecutor, however... in the form of Commander Riker!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: The courtroom setting of the second half really suits Patrick Stewart's theatrical background. When he presents his case, first questioning Data, then grilling Maddox, Stewart dominates even more than usual. Picard's connection of this one case to heavy future implications is particularly well-done.
Riker: This is an outstanding episode for Riker. I do question whether he would really be called upon to prosecute, against his own ship's interests. Surely a representative of the Starbase, if not Maddox himself, should be called in? But I can't argue too much against this plot turn, as it's far more dramatic to have Riker doing it. This is by far Jonathan Frakes' best performance to date. He does an excellent job showing the conflict within Riker. The scene in which he questions Data, then ultimately switches him off, is the single most memorable moment in an episode with several memorable moments.
Data: At the center of the episode is Data, waiting calmly while Picard, Riker, and Starfleet's Judge Advocate General determine his fate. He isn't entirely passive. He finds Maddox's proposal interesting, and asks the right questions to find out if Maddox is actually ready for the work he wants to do. When he determines that Maddox is not ready, he refuses, then explores his options. Even before Picard makes an issue out of them in the case, the items Data chooses to pack for his retirement are revealing: his medals (pride in a job well done); a book that was a gift from Picard (friendship), an image of Tasha (fallen comrade, former lover). Not, as Picard lets sink in without sledge-hammering it home for a change, the valued possessions of a simple computer.
Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Brian Brophy is Commander Bruce Maddox. Years ago, Maddox was the only member of the review board to vote against admitting Data to Starfleet, on the grounds that Data is not sentient. In the initial briefing with Picard and Data, Maddox insists on addressing only Picard and on referring to Data as "it." It is clear in several scenes that Maddox's actions are motivated largely by his fears that his life's work will amount to nothing if he isn't allowed to proceed, and he regards Data's arguments about the "ineffable quality of memory" as absurd. Brophy does a good job of making Maddox pompous but believable. He isn't likable, but neither is he cartoonishly evil. Just a man with a narrow world view who has carefully convinced himself that what he is doing is not only good for him, but right.
SHUT UP, WESLEY!
A Wesley-light episode, though he does get to annoy at Data's retirement party by lecturing Data on the correct way to unwrap presents. I've known plenty of people thrifty enough to be careful when unwrapping gifts in order to preserve the paper for reuse. There's nothing "wrong" with doing so, and nothing inherently more festive about shredding the paper. If Data chooses to save the paper, then...
"Shut up, Wesley!"
THOUGHTS
The teaser gives us the show's first command crew poker game, something which would become a recurring feature. Here, the scene is important in showing what Data tells Maddox in a later scene: that there is more to an experience than the dry information. Data had absorbed all the rules of poker, but is not prepared for Riker's simple (and fairly obvious) bluff. Because the rules of poker had not prepared Data for the most important part of the game - playing the players - he was unable to win. This is the essence of Data's refusal to submit to Maddox's experiment. Maddox's research simply isn't at a stage where the essence of Data's memories, the thing that separates a memory from simple information, would not be lost in the process.
This alone is an example of the kind of thoughtfulness that puts The Measure of a Man so far above most Trek episodes. This isn't just a script that was cranked out to fill an episode quota. Writer Melinda M. Snodgrass has put real thought and care into crafting it. The result is easily the strongest Next Generation episode of Season Two thus far. It is also the first Next Generation episode to earn full marks from me, making this the series' first:
Rating: 10/10.
Previous Episode: A Matter of Honor
Next Episode: The Dauphin
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