THE PLOT
After attending a cybernetics conference, Data begins work on a personal project, one which he is proud to unveil: Lal (Hallie Todd), an android Data has designed after himself, using techniques he learned at the conference to transfer his own brain patterns to her. He refers to Lal as his child, and when Picard objects to Data creating new artificial life without consulting him, Data is legitimately confused. After all, no other crew members on the ship consult the captain "about their procreation."
What Data hasn't counted on is the reaction of Starfleet. Admiral Haftel (Nicolas Coster), of Starfleet Research, arrives to evaluate the situation. But Haftel has already decided what he's going to do, and nothing will shake him from his course. He orders that Lal be turned over to him, so that Starfleet can monitor her development without Data around to interfere - issuing a direct threat to Picard's career if the captain dares to object!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: "There comes a time when men of good conscience cannot blindly follow orders." Picard, always a thoughtful man, listens to Haftel's arguments to take Lal away from Enterprise. He even acknowledges the merits of several of them. But he also knows that this is not the time. Haftel is right that a parent must let his or her child go eventually... but the situation here is equivalent to stripping a child away from its parent at Age 5, something Picard can see that Haftel cannot. Picard also directly references his earlier defense of Data, in which Data was found to be a sentient life form, stating that he will not order a member of his crew to turn over his child to the state - which, given that Data has been ruled sentient, is what Haftel is ordering.
Data: Brent Spiner delivers a typically outstanding performance. Data states that he is incapable of feeling love for his child, but his bond with Lal is very real, as he describes how guiding her through her formative experiences makes him almost feel that he is "learning things over again." At the same time that he acts as a legitimately good father, he also retains a slight separation, so that we sense that Data is studying the experience of fatherhood almost like a lab experiment even as he engages with the experience. The episode's final shot, as Data takes his station and goes about his work with no sign of emotion, is very well-judged and acted.
Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Admiral Haftel sees Lal as a valuable piece of research, something he wishes to lay claim to. From the moment he hears about Data's creation of her, Haftel squares up for a territorial battle with Picard. He arrives on the Enterprise with his decision already made, basically acting the part of a one-dimensional ass... right up until the end, when he is miraculously completely humanized. Nicolas Coster, a veteran actor on both big screen and small, does what he can with an anemically-written role, and is particularly good in his final scene. But like so much about this episode, Admiral Haftel's evolution seems to occur haphazardly according to the demands of the plot. The guy in that last scene? He just doesn't seem to be the same person giving Picard ultimatums earlier in the episode.
THOUGHTS
How do you follow up arguably the best episode of the series? Apparently, the answer is to attempt to recapture something of the previous season's best episode. The Offspring picks up on many of the questions posed by The Measure of a Man, both with regard to the full measure of Data's humanity and with regard to Starfleet's treatment of non-organic life. It's an earnest episode, an honest effort.
It's not actually very good.
I know that The Offspring has many champions in Trek fandom, including both Michael Piller and Michael Dorn. But I can't escape the sense that the elements just don't come together as they need to. The first half is often tedious. The second half, once the admiral arrives to provide some conflict, is much better - but even here, the conflict feels manufactured and the resolution far too convenient, neat, and tidy.
A part of the problem is endemic in television of this time period. Lal is a one-shot guest character. She will never be seen, and is unlikely even to be referenced, again. The "status quo uber alles" format of television circa 1990 means that we know good and well how this episode has to end. That makes it very hard to form an attachment to Lal. A multi-episode arc, in which Picard successfully defeats Haftel's ultimatum and Lal remains on the ship for some time thereafter, to be eventually written out, would be far more effective and make the bond between Data and Lal seem far more real. But that simply was not what television of this period tended to do.
The last Act, while effective, also renders the Picard/Haftel conflict moot. Given the similarities between the conflicts in this episode and in The Measure of a Man, a point could be drawn about Starfleet's treatment of artificial life versus its supposed charter... but save for a nod or two in Picard's speeches, the script just isn't interested in going there, leaving it all feeling just a bit shallow.
My apologies to those who love this episode. But for me, this one feels like a wan retread of ground already covered, not even all that long ago. Some good scenes and performances, and of note for being the first episode to be directed by Jonathan Frakes, but "OK at best" on its own merits.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
After attending a cybernetics conference, Data begins work on a personal project, one which he is proud to unveil: Lal (Hallie Todd), an android Data has designed after himself, using techniques he learned at the conference to transfer his own brain patterns to her. He refers to Lal as his child, and when Picard objects to Data creating new artificial life without consulting him, Data is legitimately confused. After all, no other crew members on the ship consult the captain "about their procreation."
What Data hasn't counted on is the reaction of Starfleet. Admiral Haftel (Nicolas Coster), of Starfleet Research, arrives to evaluate the situation. But Haftel has already decided what he's going to do, and nothing will shake him from his course. He orders that Lal be turned over to him, so that Starfleet can monitor her development without Data around to interfere - issuing a direct threat to Picard's career if the captain dares to object!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: "There comes a time when men of good conscience cannot blindly follow orders." Picard, always a thoughtful man, listens to Haftel's arguments to take Lal away from Enterprise. He even acknowledges the merits of several of them. But he also knows that this is not the time. Haftel is right that a parent must let his or her child go eventually... but the situation here is equivalent to stripping a child away from its parent at Age 5, something Picard can see that Haftel cannot. Picard also directly references his earlier defense of Data, in which Data was found to be a sentient life form, stating that he will not order a member of his crew to turn over his child to the state - which, given that Data has been ruled sentient, is what Haftel is ordering.
Data: Brent Spiner delivers a typically outstanding performance. Data states that he is incapable of feeling love for his child, but his bond with Lal is very real, as he describes how guiding her through her formative experiences makes him almost feel that he is "learning things over again." At the same time that he acts as a legitimately good father, he also retains a slight separation, so that we sense that Data is studying the experience of fatherhood almost like a lab experiment even as he engages with the experience. The episode's final shot, as Data takes his station and goes about his work with no sign of emotion, is very well-judged and acted.
Pompous Space Bureaucrat of the Week: Admiral Haftel sees Lal as a valuable piece of research, something he wishes to lay claim to. From the moment he hears about Data's creation of her, Haftel squares up for a territorial battle with Picard. He arrives on the Enterprise with his decision already made, basically acting the part of a one-dimensional ass... right up until the end, when he is miraculously completely humanized. Nicolas Coster, a veteran actor on both big screen and small, does what he can with an anemically-written role, and is particularly good in his final scene. But like so much about this episode, Admiral Haftel's evolution seems to occur haphazardly according to the demands of the plot. The guy in that last scene? He just doesn't seem to be the same person giving Picard ultimatums earlier in the episode.
THOUGHTS
How do you follow up arguably the best episode of the series? Apparently, the answer is to attempt to recapture something of the previous season's best episode. The Offspring picks up on many of the questions posed by The Measure of a Man, both with regard to the full measure of Data's humanity and with regard to Starfleet's treatment of non-organic life. It's an earnest episode, an honest effort.
It's not actually very good.
I know that The Offspring has many champions in Trek fandom, including both Michael Piller and Michael Dorn. But I can't escape the sense that the elements just don't come together as they need to. The first half is often tedious. The second half, once the admiral arrives to provide some conflict, is much better - but even here, the conflict feels manufactured and the resolution far too convenient, neat, and tidy.
A part of the problem is endemic in television of this time period. Lal is a one-shot guest character. She will never be seen, and is unlikely even to be referenced, again. The "status quo uber alles" format of television circa 1990 means that we know good and well how this episode has to end. That makes it very hard to form an attachment to Lal. A multi-episode arc, in which Picard successfully defeats Haftel's ultimatum and Lal remains on the ship for some time thereafter, to be eventually written out, would be far more effective and make the bond between Data and Lal seem far more real. But that simply was not what television of this period tended to do.
The last Act, while effective, also renders the Picard/Haftel conflict moot. Given the similarities between the conflicts in this episode and in The Measure of a Man, a point could be drawn about Starfleet's treatment of artificial life versus its supposed charter... but save for a nod or two in Picard's speeches, the script just isn't interested in going there, leaving it all feeling just a bit shallow.
My apologies to those who love this episode. But for me, this one feels like a wan retread of ground already covered, not even all that long ago. Some good scenes and performances, and of note for being the first episode to be directed by Jonathan Frakes, but "OK at best" on its own merits.
Overall Rating: 5/10.
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