6-26, 7-1. Descent.

Data and Lore, united with the Borg against the Federation!

THE PLOT

A distress signal brings the Enterprise to Ochniaka III, a Federation science outpost which has suffered a devastating attack. Riker, Worf, Data, and a redshirt beam down to investigate and discover the Borg. But these Borg are behaving strangely, showing no interest in assimilating individuals or technology. They are simply focused on killing.

After the inevitable happens to the redshirt, Data experiences his first emotion: Anger. He wrestles with one of the Borg and kills it with his bare hands, prompting the others to flee. Back on the ship, Picard and Federation Admiral Nechayev (Natalia Nogulich) prepare for a possible Borg invasion. Meanwhile, Data relieves himself of duty to run diagnostics, concerned at his emotional outburst. Finding nothing wrong, he develops a new concern. What if, much as he has evolved to the point of having dreams, he is now becoming capable of emotion? And what if the only emotions he is capable of having are negative ones?

Also troubling is his revelation to Troi. Anger wasn't the only emotion he experienced on the planet. After killing the Borg, he experienced one other feeling:

Pleasure.


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Admiral Nechayev may manage the impressive feat of being the most unlikable Starfleet admiral in Trek history (yes, including the ones who were villains), but she is an effective devil's advocate for Picard's decision to send Hugh back to the Borg without the virus. With the Borg apparently preparing a new invasion, Picard is left to watch his recordings of Hugh and wonder if his "moral choice" wasn't also the wrong choice, an effective character beat neatly paralleled by his later insistence to Data that doing something morally wrong can never serve a "greater good." Picard's decision is proved out by Hugh (Jonathan Del Arco)'s return as an ally in Part Two, but his doubts make for one of the two-parter's more effective dramatic moments.

Data: Since the series' start, Data has pursued the goal of making himself more human. Now he gets to experience emotions, but only negative ones: anger, hate, a sadistic form of pleasure. He expresses concern to Counselor Troi that, if this means he is becoming like a human, perhaps he is becoming a bad one. When we discover that the emotions are being externally induced by his evil brother, Lore, we also see the effect is like a drug. Data is pushed into craving the emotions, to the point that Lore is able to influence him by threatening to cut him off from his supply. Spiner plays Data's reactions well, from the confusion to the craving for emotion to his struggle against Lore's influence.

Dr. Crusher: With only a skeleton crew left on the Enterprise in Part Two, Dr. Crusher is left in command. She does a surprisingly capable job. Her compassionate nature will not allow her to leave the crew stranded for the time it would take to report in person to the Federation - but she obeys the spirit of her orders to report by leaving a communications buoy to send the report before turning back to retrieve the others. She works with her "second string" command crew to come up with a plan to maximize their ability to beam the rest of the crew back before the Borg can detect and fire upon them, showing a strong ability to prioritize and to coax the best performance possible out of her relatively untried bridge officers.

Lore: This many years later, it's not much of a spoiler to reveal that Lore is behind the altered behavior of both Data and the Borg. It's always fun to see Brent Spiner trot out his sneering villain routine, and Lore presenting himself as the Borg's savior allows him to indulge in some entertaining speechmaking. It is less emotionally-charged, and thus less effective, than his previous appearance in Brothers. Still, Spiner is enormously watchable, and he retains the odd knack of playing so well opposite himself that you forget in the Data/Lore scenes that there aren't actually two actors present.

Borg: The franchise's reduction of the Borg really begins here. Previous episodes have shown them as an indomitable enemy, one that is single-minded (literally) in pursuing its goal of evolution through assimilation. I Borg veered away from this, but did so in a way that was itself highly effective, exploring the ideas of individuality that go along with the Borg's status as a collective hive. Descent changes the formula again... but instead of adding, it reduces. The Borg are now Lore's henchmen, nothing more. As such, they aren't scary in the least. Even before the reveal of Lore at the cliffhanger, these Borg are simply interested in killing. An enemy that will assimilate you into itself, wiping away your identity in the process? That's scary. An enemy that simply wants to kill you? Much less so.


THOUGHTS

Another season's end, another two-part cliffhanger to tie the seasons together. The Season Five to Six transition was marked by Time's Arrow, an entertaining two-parter that nevertheless felt rather expendable. For the series' last ever season cliffhanger, the decision was evidently made to go big. Descent is scripted by two of the series' best writers: Part One, by Ronald D. Moore; Part Two, by Rene Echevarria. It brings back the Borg and Lore, tying together continuity points from both Brothers and I Borg. Part One ends with Data having turned evil, pitting the crew against Data, Lore, and the Borg all at the same time. With all these villains, it's like watching one of the 1990's Batman movies!

And like most of those movies, it's all rather silly. The Borg want to assimilate, and consider most organic life irrelevant, killing largely as a side effect? That's chilling. The Borg are under the control of Lore, who they refer to as "The One" while using their strength specifically to kill? That just turns them into supervillains.

None of which stops this two-parter from being entertaining. The story may be fundamentally silly, but it moves along at a fast pace. As is almost customary with these season-bridging two parters, Part One is slightly better than Part Two, with more momentum as it builds to the cliffhanger. Still, both parts provide solid entertainment, and make good use of the entire ensemble.

It's also fun to see all the continuity points get used: The emotion chip from Brothers, the state of the Borg in the wake of I Borg. Even the metaphasic shielding from Suspicions gets a nod in a moderately effective game of cat-and-mouse Crusher plays against a Borg ship.

It's all resolved far too easily, and this 2-parter marks the reduction of the Borg from indomitable foes into... Well, thuggish henchmen. Still, while it may be pulp silliness, it's fun to watch, and thus merits a good score.

Still, for all the determination to make this two-parter an "event," it is a bit sad that this really isn't any better than Time's Arrow was.


Overall Rating: 7/10.

Previous Episode: Timescape
Next Episode: Liaisons


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4-03. Brothers

Data and his father.

THE PLOT

The Enterprise is rushing a boy to a nearby Starbase after a practical joke played by his brother goes badly awry, creating a medical emergency. They are less than 24 hours out when Data abruptly changes. He goes silent, and then relentlessly takes control of the ship. All attempts to stop him fail, as he overcomes every action Picard takes with seemingly no effort at all. When he reaches his destination, he uses a series of force fields to block security as he walks to the transporter room (in, incidentally, a genuinely cool scene), and then simply beams down to the planet below.

When Data regains his proper consciousness, he is startled to find himself no long aboard Enterprise, and he has no memory of his actions. Any questions he may have are quickly silenced when he sees where he is: The laboratory of his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong (also played by Brent Spiner). Soong used a homing device to call Data back to him. He is dying, and he has one last gift for his creation: An emotion chip, to allow Data to experience the simple emotions that have so far been denied to him.

But Soong's signal has called someone other than Data to the planet. Lore, Data's evil predecessor, survived being beamed out into space, and has joined the family reunion...


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Intently focused on getting the ship back under his control. He responds to the takeover of the Enterprise with speed and determination that would almost certainly have trumped any human hijacker. Despite this, when he sends the Away Team after Data, his instructions - "Bring him home" - make it clear that this incident does not change his view of Data as a member of his crew.

Riker: Continues to be the designated "stern authority" for the ship's general population. Riker is the one who talks to the boy whose practical joke created the medical emergency. He is careful in handling the boy - He's not too harsh, just stern enough to make the point. He is also quite stern with Data when they recover him from the planet, though he does allow Data time with Soong when the android requests it.

Data: This episode is a field day for Brent Spiner, who gets to play three roles - four, if you count the "possessed" Data who takes over the ship at the episode's start. Spiner is terrific, as expected. The first 15 minutes shows us a Data devoid of the usual human warmth. He barely says a word until speech is needed to trick the computer into locking out Picard. He moves quickly and emotionlessly through the ship like an unstoppable force of nature (or technology, as the case may be). The Terminator on a starship, only without the body count. Once Soong re-activates Data, and his more familiar personality emerges, it's really startling just how different Spiner's truly machine-like Data of the beginning was. Spiner remains very good at showing Data as a full character without breaking that character by showing genuine emotion. The final shot of the episode, as Data reacts without reacting to the statement that "Brothers forgive," is a particularly fine nonverbal beat, the perfect one to close out the episode.

Lore: In Datalore, the "evil twin" was almost certainly intended to be a one-shot character. But it was a rare episode and character from the dire first season that actually worked. The creation of the more human, but sociopathic, Lore was genuinely memorable, and brought out a whole new side of Brent Spiner's acting. It was probably inevitable that the opportunity of the character would be picked up down the road, and this episode does that. Writer Rick Berman pares back on the outright "ee-vil" nature of Lore, instead presenting his misdeeds as a reaction to layers of resentment that have built steadily through the years. Lore's genuinely emotional reaction when Soong announces he is dying is a particularly strong moment.


THOUGHTS

After three years acting as a producer for the series, Rick Berman makes his TNG writing debut with Brothers. Not that Berman hadn't had substantial (and steadily growing) input into scripts prior to this point. But Brothers marks the first time that he receives solo credit as a TNG writer. Despite Berman's current (only partially deserved) reputation within Trek fandom, the resulting episode is not just good, but very good.

Attention is captured right away, as we see Data "taken over" just before going into credits. The first third of the episode is dominated by Data's takeover of the Enterprise. A bravura set piece, as we see Picard and his crew attempting every act they can think of to reclaim control of the ship, only for Data to anticipate and outmaneuver them at every turn. It is among the best openings of any Trek episode I can think of.  Credit to not only Berman and Spiner, but also to director Rob Bowman, who keeps this all moving quickly and keeps it all visually dynamic.

The bulk of what follows is very talky, with conversations between Data and Soong and Lore and Soong, but it remains good. Brent Spiner differentiates all three roles with unique acting tics for each character. Lore's distress that his "father" is dying plays as genuine - but is replaced by something crafty (fueled by resentment) when Soong reveals the chip he has created for Data. The interplay between the three characters works and, just as the back-and-forth between Soong and Data begins to get old, Lore is dropped into the mix to add some tension and danger.

The episode ends in a way that begs for a follow-up. Lore's next return will definitely be something I'll be looking forward to.


Overall Rating: 9/10

Previous Episode: Family

Next Episode: Suddenly Human

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1-13. Datalore

THE PLOT

The Enterprise pays a visit to the world where Data was discovered. The entire Earth colony that once resided there has disappeared. Beaming down, the Away Team discovers a hidden laboratory, concealed within what is made to appear to be a natural structure. This laboratory is where Data was constructed. And in a storage area, they find a disassembled twin of Data's - Data's "brother," Lore.

Putting the pieces together, the Enterprise crew manage to revive Lore. But it isn't long before Data worries that Lore can't be fully trusted. It's clear that Lore has more ease in "acting human" than Data does, but his private comments reveal that he doesn't respect humanity. When Lore makes contact with a dangerous Crystalline Entity, he renders Data unconscious and takes his place on the Enterprise bridge. His plan? To deliver the entire crew of the starship to the Entity, in return for their knowledge to advance his own ambitions of power!


CHARACTERS

Capt. Picard: Noting the discomfort of his officers in directly addressing Data's status as a machine, he quite sensibly clears the air. The advantages of having a more intellectual captain are demonstrated as he puts all at ease by drawing an equivalency between the machine that is Data and the machine that is man. Quick to erupt when Wesley breaches protocol to air his mistrust of Lore, but equally quick to forgive all when that breach of protocol helps to save the ship.

Data: His memory contains the accumulated knowledge of the colonists on the world where he was created. Data's first conscious memory is of being discovered on that world, 26 years earlier. Prior to this episode, he did not know the identity of his creator, nor did he realize that there was any other being like him. Insofar as it is possible for Data to be excited, he is excited at the prospect of having a "brother." He assists in assembling and reviving his brother, and initially attempts to act as a guide to Lore, to integrate him into life on the Enterprise. But, as he assures Picard early on, his loyalty remains to the ship and its crew.

Lore: Brent Spiner pulls double-duty, playing both Data and the "evil twin," Lore. Spiner's abilities as a physical actor serve him in good stead, making it very easy for viewers to differentiate between the two characters. As Lore, Spiner brings a slightly different pitch to his voice, a different tilt to the head, a near-eternal hint of a smirk, even a different walk. When Lore impersonates Data, Spiner doesn't simply "play Data" in these scenes... He plays Lore playing Data, giving us a Data who is slightly "off." It's an excellent performance by probably the strongest member of the Next Generation ensemble. If the Emmys didn't spurn science fiction as a matter of course, Spiner's work on this show, and in this season particularly in this episode, would have been worthy of a Supporting Actor Emmy.


SHUT UP, WESLEY!

Renaming this section after arguably the episode's best line, helpfully said twice in the course of the episode. Of course, this being the first season, when Gene Roddenberry's need for Wesley to act as a male Mary Sue was it its apex, it can only be delivered in the context of Picard being 100% wrong - and unreasonable, to boot - and Wesley being 100% right. Yes, Wesley the Wise is the only member of the Enterprise crew to even consider the possibility that Lore is impersonating Data. Even after Lore fails to respond to Picard's traditional "Make it so," or after he calls Riker by his last name rather than as "Commander Riker," the bridge crew only become vaguely aware that it might be a good idea to send a very small security detachment after him.

Fortunately, Wesley is on-hand to save the ship by beaming Lore into space. Doubly fortunate, since the Enterprise crew is apparently incapable of intra-ship communications to alert security crews on all decks to be alert for an intruder who looks like Data. And having these nonexistent security crews who cannot possibly be put on alert guard a sensitive area like the transporter room... Well, that would be just crazy, wouldn't it?


THOUGHTS

After being a generally dire program for the first half of its first season, Next Generation has been steadily improving over the course of the season's second half. Hide and Q and Haven were flawed episodes, but highly watchable and entertaining. The Big Goodbye was genuinely quite good. Now Datalore continues this steady run of improvement, presenting a well-paced and thoughtful script that plays to the strengths of most of the performers.

Some of the series' flaws are still in evidence. From a 20+ year on perspective, the technical limitations of early TNG are very evident, particularly in some of the very obvious split-screen moments in which Brent Spiner plays opposite himself. To harp too much on this point would seem churlish... but it is worth noting that there were studio-bound planet sets in '60's Trek that were at least as well-done as the one seen here, while the laboratory beneath the planet is far too obviously a redressed Enterprise set, with no attempt made to disguise this by even dimming the lighting.

Lighting in general remains a problem for this show, with every set consistently overlit when a bit of darkness would do a world of good. Note the brief scene after the first commercial fadeout, the scene in which the Chief Engineer is trying to assemble Lore. For a rare change, someone actually has turned down the lights, and it's so much more effective for it. If only this show was willing to do that more often! As it stands, the series always seems to be floodlit.

So why do I pick Datalore as the episode to complain about the overlit sets that are apparent in every episode? Well, honestly in large part because this episode doesn't offer up much else to complain about. It's a good one, almost a great one. It's an important episode, in that it introduces some major elements that would recur: Lore, Dr. Noonian Soong, and the Crystalline Entity. It's also very well-structured.

The first half of the episode is carried by the discovery of Data's origins, and of his twin. Once Lore is revived, we know we're in familiar territory - the "evil twin" episode - and that it's only a matter of time before Lore is impersonating Data. If that had been the extent of the story's invention, the second half would have fallen down considerably - as has happened in many other episodes.

But then the script throws us a curve ball, by introducing the Crystalline Entity. It doesn't come out of nowhere. It answers a mystery introduced in the teaser, in fact - What destroyed the colonists? By linking Lore to the Entity, the threat level is raised considerably. We have seen the dead world, so we know what the Entity can do. By making Lore its accomplice, we also see just how evil Lore is. At the same time, if Lore is communicating with it, guiding it to sentient life it can destroy, then the Entity is also intelligent - making it that much more dangerous. One plot strand serves the other plot strand, making the episode as a whole that much tighter and that much more effective.


THE PICARD SLEDGE-HAMMER

Regrettably, it ends with another battering by The Picard Sledge-Hammer, as the moral of the story is imparted to us by Picard musing about how Data and Lore reflect the nature of humanity. Really, honestly, we got it. We're not lobotomized, we got that the "more human" Lore is really humanity's greed and ambition, and the "struggling-to-be-human" Data is actually humanity's higher qualities, particularly loyalty in this episode. We don't need that shoved down our throats with a sermon in literally the final minute of what has been an excellent episode. Say what you will about the Kirk/Spock/McCoy "comedy" tags that make me groan often at the end of TOS episodes... At least they aren't spelling out "the lesson of the day" for "the children." I half-expect Worf to pop up in the background and grunt something about how, "Knowing is half the battle."


Nit-picking about the dreadful closing seconds aside, this is by far the best Next Generation episode yet. A superb dual performance by Brent Spiner, a taut script, and an ingenious story structure make this the first "great" episode of this series. A bit of grumbling about technical limitations and overlighting to one side, I have no problem in awarding this a very high:

Rating: 9/10.

Previous Episode: The Big Goodbye
Next Episode: Angel One


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