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| Data meets his "mother" (Fionnula Flanagan) |
The Enterprise comes to the aid of Atria IV, a world whose molten core has begun to solidify. Dr. Pran Tainer (William Lithgow), the top-ranking Atrian geologist, comes aboard with his human wife, Dr. Juliana Tainer (Fionnula Flanagan) to discuss a way to inject plasma into the core to keep it liquified for centuries to come.
The meeting goes well, and Data is easily able to calculate the exact coordinates to make this plan viable. But once she is alone with Data, Juliana has a revelation for him: She was the wife of Dr. Noonian Soong, closely collaborating with him on Data's construction. She is, in effect, his mother.
But as Data spends time with her, gaining insights into a past that precedes his own memories, he begins to suspect something is "off" about her - that Dr. Juliana Tainer may not be precisely who she claims to be...
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Largely absent from this episode, though he does show support for Data's interactions with Juliana.
Data: Presented with a mother he never knew he'd had, Data reacts as one would expect: With confusion. Emotion can be read into his responses, but Brent Spiner wisely doesn't play any emotion. Data's insistence on verifying as much of Juliana's story as possible before engaging with her is not unreasonable (would that this crew were always so cautious of strangers' tales). Data asking why Juliana insisted on leaving him is also a fair question, as is his follow-up as to whether that means she values organic life above synthetic. In all cases, Data is presented as seeking information in order to understand and process a situation that doesn't quite make sense. Anything more is the other characters (and a large swath of the audience) reading emotions into his responses. Brent Spiner is excellent as ever, representing the episode's single greatest asset.
THOUGHTS
Inheritance is not just a Data-centric episode... It's Data-centric to such an extent that the other regulars are reduced to little more than set dressing. Data and Juliana are effectively interacting in an echo chamber. It would have been far more enjoyable to have seen them discussing this new relationship with some of the other regulars, to get their various reactions. Worf, who only a couple years ago was presented with a son he hadn't known he had, should certainly have something to say. Sure, Geordi offers some quick words of encouragement and Data calls on Dr. Crusher for assistance. But both of these are short bits that exist to move the plot along, with little sense of the characters' relationships with each other in evidence.
That's not to say this episode is bad. It's a respectable premise, taking a situation much like an adopted child meeting his or her birth mother for the first time and transplanting it to a science fiction setting. Data's interactions with Juliana are well-played by two very good actors. If the dialogue in these scenes matched the talents of the actors delivering it, then this could be a good episode even with the rest of the cast reduced to "extras" status.
Unfortunately, the dialogue lacks bite. Conversations that should be quick, sharp, and layered are instead merely functional. In the hands of writers Dan Koeppel and Rene Echevarria (the latter of whom is capable of far better), the exchanges between the two are bland and obvious. Even a hurtful revelation by Juliana at the episode's midpoint exists largely on its surface, when the material demands a more probing treatment.
I'm torn about a twist late in the episode. Had the character work been as strong as the episode needed, then this twist would come as an unwelcome distraction. But given the blandness of what we ended up with, the twist adds a touch of interest, if only for the dilemma into which it thrusts Data. However, this twist either needed to come earlier or not at all. By making the reveal so late, the bulk of the story plays out slowly while Data's big decision is sandwiched into two scenes.
So... Another disappointing installment of a disappointing season. The good news: Inheritance is a lot better than Force of Nature. It isn't actively bad, setting instead for a sort of tired mediocrity. Which is the bad news, not just of this episode but of far too much of this increasingly tired final season.
Overall Rating: 4/10.
Previous Episode: Force of Nature
Next Episode: Parallels
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Why Dr. Soong and his wife deactivated Data and left him behind remains a mystery. When the Soong hologram was activated, I was expecting Data to at least ask him about that.
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