Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Datalore (1988) User Reviews

"Shut up Wesley"

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 5 May 2018]

This episode of TNG brings us to the home planet where Dr. Sung created the Android entity Data. Way back when the entire population of the planet was wiped out and Data was the only one found and turned off as well.

The away team discovers Dr. Sung's laboratory and the makings of another prototype Android and when put together Data finds he has a brother named Lore.

This episode belongs to Brent Spiner who plays both Data and Lore. Lore was given human emotions and he's all too human. Like the Krells, Dr. Sung forgot about the ID. Lore has the brilliance of an exponential Einstein and the humanity of Adolph Hitler. He in fact is the reason the population is no more on his home planet.

When like in The Man In The Iron Mask the identities are switched only for the worst in this case. It is Wil Wheaton who is the first who spots behavioral anomalies, but when he brings it to Patrick Stewart who is dealing with a crisis on the bridge that never to be forgotten phrase of 'shut up Wesley' comes uncharacteristically from a usually unflappable Picard.

In fact it's Wesley Crusher and Data who save the Enterprise. Although in disposing of Lore, all I can say is good thing for him he's an Android because no carbon based life form would have survived to come back for several more episodes over the course of the series run.

Almost a great episode if not for some dodgy character moments

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 19 May 2021]

Enterprise visits the planet where Data was discovered.

This is a mostly strong episode focussed on Data's origin, introducing a good antagonist and containing a great double performance from Brent Spiner. Unfortunately some bad creative decisions spoil the latter part of the story.

The plot is highly compelling for the first part of the episode. I found it intriguing to discover Data's beginnings and quite tense waiting for Lore to show his true colours. There are plenty of enjoyable exchanges between Data and Lore plus Lore and the other crew members.

Unfortunately as other reviewers have stated the episode becomes frustrating late on with its writing of Wesley Crusher and the behaviour of senior crew members. It would be fine if we were not expected to take them seriously as leaders in the next episodes, but that is the negative effect it has on the consistency of the characters. Also Wesley does not communicate his concern particularly well which feels like a contrivance just to get those reactions from the crew. The result is that the entire premise is annoying on all levels.

The visuals are done very well with good makeup, nice set design and solid effects creating the crystalline entity.

Performances are great with Brent Spiner dominating this episode with a superb turn as two quite different characters.

This is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Completely made the Wesley character hopeless

[whatch-17931 · 7/10 · 24 February 2021]

Ironically, it's not the character's fault. Wesley is drawn fairly reasonably here, it's that the script makes all the adults utter buffoons to make Wesley look smart that ruins it. It's an early episode, but that doesn't fully excuse Picard's behavior in that he seems to implicitly trust Lore, and he actually mentions "Data" being out of character, when it's really Lore.

Curiously, Riker actually did intentionally trip Lore up early on, which certainly at least suggested Lore was being dishonest. This was at least the second time in the first season where Picard was made to look bad and Riker good, the other being The Naked Now. I seriously wondered back then if they were planning on dumping Picard.

Also, note they don't bother to retrieve Lore at the end, and this DOES have later consequences.

I suppose if I wanted to fan wank this episode, it would be that we are actually seeing "Wesley Crusher's" personal log, and how he perceived these events.

By the way, a reviewer notes Data's creator Noonian Soong's name was a homage to Khan Noonien Singh. This isn't quite right. Roddenberry had a buddy in WWII with that name that he had lost contact with. He repeatedly used the name hoping that his buddy would notice and respond, but it did not work.

Evil twin episodes are usually excellent episodes!

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 10 November 2014]

"Shut up Wesley"--one of the better lines you'll hear in this particular episode.

One of the best episodes of the original Star Trek series was "Mirror, Mirror" in which an alternate evil version of the Enterprise exists in a parallel world. Here, the new series finds a duplicate version of Data and when they assemble it, they slow come to realize that although he looks like Data, he's rather evil. In the meantime, they slowly learn that there are some other differences--as Lore is emotional, tricky and speaks with contractions. The whole evil and enemy of mankind part only comes out later. Will it be too late? Tune in and see.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" actually made several Lore episodes and this is just the first. All of them were awfully good--mostly because it was nice to see a jerk version of Data! Normally Data was so nice and cute- -but Lore is just a nasty butt-head! A welcome bit of comedy and something that make him a very enjoyable recurring character--mostly because evil is much more interesting than nice. And, considering he tries killing all the crew, that is a pretty definite indication of not-niceness!!

Aside from the crew being a bit dumb during parts of the episode, this is an excellent show. Violent, conniving and all done with a smile on his face-- that's why we all love Lore!

Data x 2!

[russem31 · 9 April 2006]

ST:TNG:14 - "Datalore" (Stardate: 41242.4) - this is the 14th episode to go into production but the 13th episode to air on TV. This is a special episode, since it's the one that introduces Data's past - it shows his brother Lore (there will be future episodes with him in it) as well as mention Data's "father" Dr. Noonien Soong (trivia: the name is an homage to Khan Noonien Singh, the villain of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). This episode also introduces Data's off switch, as well as the Crystalline Entity (will be seen again in Silicon Avatar). And, the Chief Engineer Arguile is seen again (this is before Geordi LaForge became the permanent Chief Engineer later on in the series).

Evil twin

[gritfrombray-1 · 10/10 · 20 February 2007]

This episode demonstrated just how good Brent Spiner is and how much of an asset he would be to the show. Brent really flexed his acting abilities in this and presented a interesting peep into Data's past. If a little too secretive! But this is all cleared up later in the coming seasons. Several direct lifts were taken from a Star Trek episode too, 'The Enemy Within', where Kirk is split in two by the transporter, whilst the other Kirk has scratches on his face, Lore has a twitch on his. Not too many similarities though as this would be boring. Wesley's involvement in the story was interesting and created a 'let's listen to the kid too' scenario and the crew developed a bit of respect for him from here on. The episode sets up a long running story which continues right through the fourth season to the seventh. Lore demanded to return after this..........!

Mirror image

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 29 April 2016]

'Datalore' is one of the few season one episodes I'd never seen and, aside from a few head-scratchers, it's definitely a highlight. Dr. Soong's underground lab is found, meaning we're in for some Data backstory. Cue the intro of Lore, about as close to a brother there can be. Except it turns out he's a bad guy. Brent Spiner owns in this; it's an opportunity for him to stretch his legs. He plays each one completely differently - one naive, the other conniving. There's even a brawl in the cargo bay, straight out of The Original Series. The doubles used while a sole actor has to be in two places at once is surprisingly effective.

And then - seemingly out of nowhere - everyone gangs up on Wesley. Now on one hand, I finally get to see the origin of the "Shut up, Wesley!" meme, but everyone just sort of goes full-on dick toward him. It's a weird scene, especially since he has a very valid point.

And Lore's turn from curiosity to villain is just a tad forced, but overall, these are just a few bumps in an otherwise well-paved road.

7/10.

The Other Side of Data

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 27 July 2014]

This is an intense episode. We find out about Dr. Soon (Data's creator), Lore (his evil "brother), and the crystalline entity which, like the Borg, will make its presence known again. In this one, a trip to a planet that was once a center of agricultural is explored. It has become dead and rocky. This is the birthplace of Commander Data and upon investigation, a nearly perfect copy of Data is found. Upon resurrecting this fellow, it turns out that it is Lore, who somehow has developed an evil streak. He is probably responsible for the destruction of an entire civilization. He has hooked up with a beautiful space traveler, the crystalline entity. This thing, when it comes in contact with living creatures, destroys them. Through deception, once back on his feet, Lore disables Data and begins his plan to feed the Enterprise to the entity. Wesley Crusher has suspicions, but no one will listen to him. While there are a lot of plot holes, it is a really important part of the oeuvre. Data is really featured here and it sets up some wonderful possibilities for the future.

Wesley Saves The Day.... Again

[anarchistica · 6/10 · 17 March 2020]

This gets a pass because the first half is interesting, Worf gets his ass kicked again and Spiner does a great job.

Data having a brother is an intriguing notion but the execution is sloppy. What was Lore's motivation to help the CE? Why did Soon not just reprogram him? Which episode holds the record for most plot holes? When will the writers get tired of making everyone other than Wesley act like an idiot? Ugh.

REVIEW 2022

[iamirwar · 10/10 · 3 September 2022]

This one is a Data Story which, I have learned from experience, are usually watchable. On this occasion, Data actually goes home but on arrival the away team find that the once populated planet has now been killed off, and that includes the vegetation and bacteria. What is it that could kill everything on an entire planet?

We learn that Data was found 26 years previously. Whilst Geordi's pocking around among some rocks, he finds the doorway to a secret chasm which in turn leads to quite an elaborate laboratory where Data senses something that feels familiar and dangerous.

This story introduces us to the works of Dr. Noonien Soong, Earth's foremost robotic scientist.

Amongst the epidermal mould's, the hundreds of empty beds, and the storage area, the away team find a compartment which contains the dis-assembled pieces of another Data. Considering the benefits that might provide Data with a link to a form like his own, our robotic friend decided to put all the pieces together. What could go wrong?

Twister Brother.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 2 March 2021]

I am of those trek nerds that truly savors when actors/actresses get an episode to completely 'ham it' and in this episode Brent Spiner gets to play an Android like a villain from a bond movie. It has to be a challenge to act against yourself ---- It worked here and was cut together well.

I try to keep in mind that this was Season 1 and it was a completely mess of a show behind the scenes ----- This episode would have hit so much harder had Lore been far more subtle. Perhaps this was by design?

This is not a high water mark for the bridge crew of the enterprise ---- apparently they all flunked basic observation in year 1. Well, Riker at the very least did something ---- but there was no follow up ---- He just crossed his arms and gave a riker suspicious look and that was the end of it. I also wish they had a deleted scene of Picard sitting down to read some Hamlet and suddenly realizing they just left Lore floating in space but it is in keeping with the poor bridge performance theme of the episode.

Assorted Thoughts ---

• Bev's looking radiant in this one. We get a nice mom hug.
• The is the first episode when I noticed the soundtrack. I don't know what to call the theme used throughout the episode ---- synth punk? electronic? Whatever it was --- I liked it.
• The special effect/design of the cystaline entity was great.

It's a solid 7 for absurdity and Brent Spiners over the top super villain performance.

Data Meets Lore

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 14 June 2019]

In "Datalore" the Enterprise visits the planet where Data was first discovered. An old farming colony, the planet's surface is now barren and uninhabitable. The away team discovers an abandoned underground base where an unassembled Data clone is sitting in storage.

They crew decides to take it aboard and try to put it together. After turning it on, we learn that this clone is named Lore and both robots were built by the infamous Dr. Soong. Lore reveals that the original colony was consumed by a giant crystalline being that fed off of their energy. The crew starts showing Lore around the ship. It's clear to audience members that there's something off about this Lore character.

At one point Lore poisons his brother Data and turns him off, assuming Data's identity and ship role. He reveals to Data in a monologue that he's friends with this crystalline being and plans to feed the ship's crew to it once it drops the shields. He sends a message to this being which then quickly pursues the Enterprise.

Lore (masquerading as Data) talks to the being and plans to drop the shields when teleporting something off of the Enterprise. But Wesley and Crusher have their suspicions about Data and have turned back on the real one. Data and the two Crushers pursue Lore and fight it out with him. Data tosses Lore onto the transporter and Wesley sends him out into space. With Data redeemed, the crew head back on their original flight path.

This is the best TNH episode we've had this far in Season 1. It starts off really strong with the introduction of Data's back story and an evil twin plot line. The third act gets a bit messy but I think Spiner does a great job of juxtaposing the two roles and giving them unique identities. I also enjoy the fight scene where they're just flinging giant (supposedly) heavy barrels back and forth off of one another.

There's also something so satisfying about hearing people tell Wesley to shut up. (Let's ignore the fact that he's totally right in this instance.)

There's not really a subplot here which makes this episode extremely focused on its one storyline. Data is one of my favorite TNG characters so any episode where we get TWO of him is okay in my book.

First horribly scripted episode of the series.

[org1andrew · 4/10 · 1 March 2010]

After reading a few of the other reviews here, it came to my attention that none of them mentioned the faults that I think ruined this episode. The episode reminded me of current, bad horror films in which the characters are so stupid that it seems that they have no brain to think with.

I enjoyed this episode greatly up to the point where Lore disguises himself as Data; the initial search on the planet and the interesting story behind Data and Lore was enjoyable and interesting to watch.

However, the irrationality of the crew (particularly Picard) lacked consistency with their normal behaviour. After Wesley suggested that Lore might be disguising himself as Data, Picard seemed furious at Wesley's disrespect in talking to a senior officer. That by itself seems quite normal of Picard, but the failure to even consider in the slightest the possibility truth in Wesley's warning does not make any sense. Perhaps if Wesley was a troublemaker "boy who cries wolf" character, I might forgive Picard's overlook; but the fact that Wesley has only ever shown complete devotion to the ship combined with his obvious intelligence gives no rational reasoning behind Picard.

With any reasonable thinking, we realize that the simple inspection of Lore's body to confirm that it is Lore and not Data far outweighs the potential security risks of letting Data, who may be Lore, wander the ship freely without question. Yet, this inspection does not occur until far later when Wesley and his mother are kicked off the bridge rudely by Picard.

"Shut up Wesley!" yells Picard after Wesley suggests the possibility of a security breach. Is it not part of any star fleet officer's duty to report such possibilities? Picard even makes this sort of claim earlier in the episode to the security chief!

I do not buy the idea that Wesley was not listened to because of his age - even if the crew and Picard were so ignorant to his repeated proofs of his ability, the potential security risk could not be ignored in any rational mind.

To top off the episode with annoyance, Wesley and his mother follow Data to confront Lore at the end. While I openly consider the possibility that there was no time to call the security team, I still find it far fetched and silly. And if that was the case, how does Picard and Ryker and Tasha Yar come in afterwards ready to fight before any other security guard!?

Otherwise, the episode was well done including Data and Lore's superb acting, so I give this episode a 6/10 rather than 3/10.

Android Wars: The Revenge of Lore

[Rizar · 14 September 2009]

Picard decides to make a quick stop at Omicron Theta, the planet where Data was first found, to explore the mysterious origins of Data. Data, however, is just as interested in learning to sneeze as he is about investigating his potential home world. The 'away team' finds very few signs of life on the planet, but Geordi notices a hidden door that leads to a secret cybernetics lab.

The main twist of "Datalore" (Episode 12, Season 1, Air Date 01/18/88, Star-date 41242.4) concerns the discovery of Data's evil twin android or 'brother', named Lore, found in the lab where Data was made. Then it nicely weaves together Lore's future plans and his immediate desire to feed the Enterprise crew to a giant crystalline entity.

Lore dismisses Data's climb as an officer and history at Star Fleet Academy as 'a system designed to compensate for limited human ability' and as a sign of Data's sheepish commitment to think like a mere human.

In contrast Lore mentions his ultimate goal of assimilating the knowledge of 'thousands or millions of humans' or the knowledge of 'hundreds of millions of lifeforms of every kind' into his positronic brain. He wants to maximize his potential! His quest is just like the goal of the Borg, so this could be argued to be the first 'Borg'-themed episode (though no Borg are in it).

Lore knocks out Data with a devious trick in order to call the crystalline entity into action against the Enterprise. Lore then pretends to be Data, but Wesley seems to notice and Picard notices too when Lore fails to understand Picard's recurring phrase 'make it so'. There were other signs too, such as "Lore" (acting as Data) accidentally blabbing about the existence of android 'shut off' switches -- which is supposed to be a secret.

Here are more of my favorite gems:

(1) I love the initial exploration of Dr. Noonien Soong's cybernetics lab. We get an excellent back story to Soong and it sets a cool 'lab experiment' ambiance throughout the episode. Soong is close to a mad scientist type character, which is fully true in the failed creation of Lore (the rejected first successful attempt at making a positronic brain). Lore is not to be trusted and seems sarcastic as he comments about the colonists fear of his all-too-human characteristics, but perhaps the colonists actually saw him exhibiting some of the enjoyably devilish human qualities like deceit!

Soong had failed several times to make a 'positronic brain', a term coined by Isaac Asimov (explicitly referred to in the episode, and it's true). Lore's nickname for him is 'often wrong' (a joke Data fails to get). Dr. Soong had promised many advancements on the positronic brain, but he failed to deliver most of them. Most in the scientific community thought he gave up on the possibility of its success. But Soong went to a far off colony (Omicron Theta) to continue his work in a secret underground lab.

This back story seems like something right out of a Michael Crichton novel, with the exception of scale. Crichton's novel 'Jurassic Park' gave the private and elusive scientists many more resources through business backing. The episode seems to underestimate the scale of resources needed to create an android, and it fails to comment on the specialization of technical skills. It also has the chief engineer of Enterprise put Lore back together again, but perhaps it's simple to figure out such connections by comparison and contrast to Data.

And on re-watching parts of the episode, I wondered whether the colonizers could have helped Dr. Soong create Lore/Data. Data says the 'principle interest' of the colony was 'science'.

(2) Picard and his crew discuss the possible reasons behind the creation of androids: to make humans feel more comfortable around machines and to allow scientists to prove they could create a machine that wasn't pathetically clumsy.

(3) Picard assures his officers that it's fine to openly discuss the awkward machine nature of Data/Lore. Picard makes the argument that humans are a kind of electrochemical machine, so it's acceptable to refer to Data/Lore as machines of a different sort. This comes back in a major way in Season 2's 'Measure of a Man' episode.

(4) We hear that Data was given the memories of 411 fellow colonists. But Data only has their knowledge. He lacks certain types of experiences and other 'basic human information', such as using contractions, understanding sneezing and emotions (such as knowing how the word 'sweet' applies in the phrase 'home sweet home'), whistling ('Encounter at Farpoint'), succeeding with humor (especially in 'Code of Honor'), defeating finger traps ('The Last Outpost'), or understanding social interactions and petty bickering (especially in 'Haven').

(5) Lore bests Data in many human traits. Lore can use contractions and he understands humor. Yes, he is much more 'human' in the broad range of human qualities than poor Data, who worries if there's even a chance he might be interpreted as boasting ('The Naked Now').

For example, Lore (a) engages in deception to make humans feel comfortable around him (pretending to not quite remember a simple deduction from the Pythagorean theorem, and lying about being built first), (b) he masters sinister backstabbing and conspiracy for mass murder (communicating with the crystalline entity to help entice it consume all the colonists on Omicron Theta in revenge for their rejection of him), and (c) he has grand goals for assimilating massive amounts of knowledge (like the Borg).

I think Data is one of the greatest of all Star Trek creations (right there with Kirk/Picard, the Vulcans, the Klingons, and the Borg), and he constantly gives this series fertile creative material. Brent Spiner's acting (as Data/Lore) was top notch in every way. That guy has an extreme devotion to the character. It never ceases to amaze me how faithful he tries to remain to the character's android heritage!

Datalore

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 19 June 2012]

Visiting Data's homeworld, The Enterprise away team, Commander Riker, Data, Geordi, Worf, and Yar find the laboratory of a robotics genius named Dr. Noonian Soong whose goal to develop a positronic brain was a failure. Vanishing from Earth, the lab where he constructed Data, another android is discovered, in pieces, and the homeworld is left lifeless, once a colony of scientific minds and plenty of farmland. Once reassembled on the Enterprise, this android, who calls himself Lore, was made with human qualities, but he ultimately turns out to be devious and cunning, with designs on leading a crystalline life form that was responsible for destroying all life on his and Data's planet, towards to Enterprise to "consume" all humanoid officers on board. Introduction to a *different* kind of android, quite a showcase for Brent Spiner who is free to show his dark side with Lore, including scenes where he mocks Data for being "inferior" due to his capabilities that are alien to the emotionless brother, even taking apart Worf with ease in a quick fight. What is also fun about this early first season episode is Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher's intuition that Lore, who slips something in a glass of champagne to immobilize Data as to substitute him, is not to be trusted and could have taking the Commander's place, with Captain Picard and Commander Riker both sore that he would speak to a senior officer in such a manner (he doesn't want to "keep an eye on Data" as Picard wishes, with Riker not pleased with Wes' conduct). When I was a kid, I always thought it was cool how they were able to have Spiner on screen as both Lore and Data, but especially neat is seeing Brent switch personalities, back and forth between each android. I have to imagine it was liberating for Spiner to really portray such an evil character, his face casting a sinister grin when contemplating all the horror he was preparing to unleash on an unsuspecting Enterprise crew. I thought the facial twitch Lore has was an interesting development, not to mention the way he uses can't or isn't unlike Data who is designed to say "cannot" or "is not". You just had to know that this story, including Data's "father", the whole origin of his existence, and Lore's, wouldn't end here. Data also having an "off switch", told to Beverly who will use this knowledge to help stop Lore later in the episode, is also established here.

"Mr. Data, welcome home."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 4 September 2023]

I was bothered by the writing of this episode regarding the makeup of the dual Data characters. If Lore was made first, and all too perfectly human at that, why was it that version that was comfortable with using contractions in his speech, while Data as a character could not? Also, the facial tic; that made Lore less than perfect too. If Dr. Noonien Soong created Data to be less perfect in order not to terrify the citizens of Omicron Theta, it might have been better if the characteristics of the androids were reversed. Anyway, that's my take.

Oh yeah, and another thing. At one point before shutting Data down, Lore suggests that Data not be jealous of his abilities. How and why would jealousy be programmed into an android or robot? I guess it could be done, but why would a scientist do that? Perhaps a question more suited for present day with the advancement in the technology, but I just don't see the benefit. Maybe I'm overthinking this whole thing.

In any event, a pretty decent episode with Brent Spiner performing double duty as Data and his evil counterpart. Though I would question what advantage Lore found in having that crystal entity destroy everything it came in contact with. No rationale for that was ever mentioned, so there's another anomaly I'd point out, along with why the crystal form wouldn't have done the same with Lore. It must have been fine on its own before Lore was ever created. And for once, even though I find the character of Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) somewhat annoying, I did think the Captain (Patrick Stewart) was out of character when he told the youth to shut up. His mom, I could see.

Big brother.

[amusinghandle · 7/10 · 26 December 2023]

For the first time in Season 1 --- music is actually used effectively in this episode and the tone fits the scene. When you get tied-down to a chair and forced to watch S1 at gunpoint you start to realize how improved the music, camera angles, performances, dialogue, well EVERYTHING from S1.

This episode fits right in with a hammy 80's action show with an over the top villain. I believe the intention with Lore is to make him scary/psychopath but I just find him hilarious and appreciate him on a ironic/campy level.

I would love to read 'Wesley's' dear diary after this situation. "Captain Picard told me to shut up even though my suspicions were proven right, I then transported Lore out into space and Picard didn't even apologize or thank me ---- so, I decided not to tell him that he forgot to transport lore into a holding cell...."

For season 1 this is actually pretty decent. The pacing is solid with each scene leading to the next. The evil brother thing? Well, it feels like something taken from a daytime soap opera but it was fun.

"The Next Generation" or "The Wesley Generation"?

[wwcanoer-tech · 5/10 · 21 December 2021]

It's always a joy to watch Brent Spiner do such an incredible job playing two characters.

It makes sense that Wesley will be the one to realize that Lore has replaced Data but they wrapped that up with pure nonsense in both how Wesley tries to warn the crew and how Picard responds. Spoils what should have been an excellent episode.

Lore calling the crystalline entity to kill the villagers and Enterprise doesn't make a lot of sense. That the entity couldn't get through the shields is suspect, especially because it doesn't even try. Picard agreeing to a show of power by blowing up a tree was bizarre. That Picard doesn't question how "Data" can communicate with the entity is out of character. (So, is Picard a buffoon or a superb thinker. The writers flip back and forth on that.)

They can't stay consistent. Lore tells the entity that the shields will drop in order to beam the tree (Where is the tree anyways?) so it should attack the moment the shields drop. Even if it could be automatic, surely that's coordinated with the bridge (at least my recollection from other episodes), so how does Wesley initiate beaming Lore off the ship when the shields are up? And why didn't the entity attack?

Why would they simply leave Lore in space, until picked up by some vessel that he will no doubt commandeer for evil?

Why did the entity suddenly leave? Did it grab Lore? If it did, wouldn't Lore want to attack the ship that just ejected him?!

It's SciFi entertainment so we accept a lot of necessary nonsense but many of these problems that annoy viewers are fixable. This could be so much better. Just think, to really pit the strategy of Lore against the crew could be far more interesting than a quick fight in the the transporter room.

The curious case of the missing farmland

[snarky-trek-reviews · 4/10 · 18 February 2021]

If an Android practices sneezing in his quarters, but only Wesley is there it see it, does he still sound like a mediocre actor in need of lessons? Seeing as how we find out Data was activated 26 years ago, spent 4 years at Star Fleet Academy, 3 as an ensign, and 10 to 12 as a Lieutenant you'd think this whole fascination with humanity thing would have run its course already.

Down on the planet Geordi uses his special powers to analyze the soil and discover a secret laboratory. They find another Data inside said lab, give us a nice shot of his rump, and then skip the rest of the unboxing so we can get down to the business of assembling him back aboard the Enterprise.

Data gets called to the debriefing so Picard can give the audience a lesson in comparative anatomy before being called back down to what definitely isn't sickbay so Crusher can shut him down and cut him open. Chief Engineer Argyle is back but Dr. Crusher will lead the reassembly in what looks more like surgery than engineering in order to drive the point home that Data is more man than he is machine. Before we know it we've got our new Android up and running and he says his name is Lore. Splendid!

Picard calls Data to his ready room in order to question is loyalty while Lore, Wesley, and Geordi give the audience a lesson in helm control. Riker tricks Lore into revealing that he has an 8th grade level understanding of mathematics so Data scolds him before singing the praises of one Wesley Crusher. I'd also like to point out that its the black man in the scene who likes the sound of Lore referring to Data as "My Brutha" because I think it's funny to point that out.

Meanwhile, Data and Lore banter in his quarters. Lore admits to lying as soon as he was activated so Data gives him full access to his computer. On the bridge, Tasha uses her "turbo sensors" (I am not joking, that's what she says) in order to figure out that Lore is snooping around looking for ways to incapacitate Data. She then goes on to question Data's loyalty in front of the bridge crew and Picard is totally cool with it. So cool with it that he sings her praises.

Once Lore pulls the switcharoo that nobody saw coming he begins to explain the plot and the case of the missing farm land is solved. Since there are still about 15 minutes of episode left, Lore sets up Wesley "Scrappy Doo" Crusher to save the day.

The farm gobbler shows up looking pretty wonderful for late 80s VFX so Geordi uses his super power on it and reports back to the bridge. Wesley starts to show some maturity and acts on the obvious so Riker and Picard discipline him accordingly.

After Riker puts his gullibility on full display, Lore kicks Data in the head a few times before heading back to the bridge and suggesting the implementation of Star Fleet protocol 47A: "Beam a tree out into space and shoot it with phasers to demonstrate one's power". Picard concurs so Lore heads to the turbo lift to fight with Worf. I'm sure the writers would have created turbo phasers, turbo transporters, and turbo replicators if they had been giving the chance.

I'm also sure the Writers didn't consider the racial implications of one of the whitest character on the show delivering a beat down to one of the blackest. I mean, you could just see it as an Android fighting a Klingon which is really pretty epic, but I've wrested with my White Fragility enough to know that I HAVE to see race here order to prove I am not racist. You see how irritating that is?

I digress.

Back on the bridge Picard pimp slaps Wesley with his mouth. His mother quickly follows suit despite some initial misgivings. And while it's clear at this point that Lore is something of a psychopath, his disposition towards Wesley is in line with yours and mine so I think we should let his psychopathy slide and find a way to integrate him into the Enterprise crew.

The episode concludes with some android on android action. The troublesome little man-child saves the day because of course he does. All is forgiven as Wesley reassumes his rightful place as the star of the show, his mother is sent back to sickbay where she belongs, and the Crystalline Entity retreats because it can see the credits closing in at warp speed.

As bad as this episode is, it is necessary viewing to properly understand several episodes in later seasons as well as an important recurring character.

Verdict: "SHUT UP WESLEY"

Reviewer's note:

In fairness to Wesley, this is the first episode where I begrudgingly start to relate to his character. Perhaps the writers thought if they dumped on him enough the audience would start to endear themselves to him out of pity. Or perhaps while I was growing up I never felt like the adults were listening to me when I understood the plot better than they did. In either case, Wesley isn't wrong. The bridge crew should have been wise to what Lore was up to from the get go. Their stupidity and naivete, especially that of Riker and Picard, suggests to me that they deserved to die at the hands of the Crystalline Entity. Of course that would have put a damper on the rest of the season.

Simply put

[dreamarena · 4/10 · 28 March 2022]

This episode is an example of the extreme ineptitude of the entire senior staff. The premise is interesting but it just digresses into utter idiocy on the crews part. Being carefree with an unknown person and ignoring any signs of trouble or malicious intent.

Q & A

[skinnybert · 4/10 · 4 September 2022]

Q. What do you think Star Trek should mostly be?

A. Challenging situations solved by thoughtful people B. People doing gosh-wow things in a spaceship

This episode has one amazing strength: Brent Spiner, who is such a talented actor, we can almost watch this.

But not quite: stupid premise, stupid events, annoying scripting -- it's not even worth going into detail. The Data character is already a stretch too far, made enjoyable by Spiner's talents; stretching it further was never a good idea, and this episode falls into the realm of Bollywood plot (which would at least be enlivened by dancing and songs).

Instead, "Datalore" completes a trifecta of terrible TNG (along with "The Big Goodbye" and "Angel One"): a terrible misstep that should have been left behind ... but this is TNG, so they returned to the same premise in later seasons. An insult to Star Trek fans, but a great episode for Spiner.

A Senior trekker writes......................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 26 December 2021]

Writing in 2021, it is great to see that I am not the only person taking a retrospective look at Star Trek, the Next Generation. When this series was first released in 1987, a little less than twenty years after the end of the Original Series, many people thought that, without Captain Kirk and his crew, it couldn't really be Star Trek. However, original creator Gene Roddenberry, was fully invested in the casting, writing and overall look of the new series, so let's see how it shaped up:

This is the Evil Twin episode which gives Brent Spiner the chance to show off as two contrasting characters: Data, the serving android crew member and Lore, his creator's discarded prototype. Surprisingly cunning for a reject, the counterfeit manages to deactivate his twin and deceive to the entire senior staff...............except for clever teen, Wesley.

We get to hear the immortal lines: "shut up Wesley" uttered more than once, suggesting that the writing team (which at this stage still gave a credit to Gene Roddenberry himself) already had an inkling of how unpopular the child-genius character was becoming. The Soong-Data backstory, of which we will hear so much more in the future, is laid down here and the concept of the crystalline entity is interesting. So, we do get some decent Sci-Fi here, after all.

Despite the resounding silliness of the main plot.

(Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5)

So ridiculous, it's insulting.

[dab1968 · 4/10 · 13 October 2021]

How can such an advanced human race, and a superior intellect android, make such ridiculously terrible decisions with a shipload of lives in the balance? Every part of this episode is riddled with idiotic decisions made with absolutely no regard for protocol or safety. It's as though they started with the outcome and then wrote the episode in order to arrive at that outcome, regardless of the quantity of bad choices necessary to do so. I guess Starfleet is actually even more stupid than humans currently are. I'm sure the fanboys love this episode, but I doubt if any of them realize what it really represents.