Episode title: “Datalore”
Season: 1
Basic plot: Data meets his brother. And he’s evil!
Importance: 8 (shows us the first real origins of Data, gives Brent Spiner, somewhat like Nimoy in “This Side of Paradise” and, to a somewhat lesser extent, “Mirror, Mirror”, a chance to step outside the somewhat rigid constrictions of his character. Also allows him to pull a Kirk in “The Enemy Within”, as in, play two opposing sides of himself, a good one and an evil one.
Crisis point(s) if any: Lore takes over and prepares to feed the crew to the Crystalline Entity - and it’s been trying to cut down!
Original transmission date: January 18 1988
Writer(s): Robert Lewin, Maurice Hurley (teleplay by Maurice Hurley and Gene Roddenberry)
Director: Rob Bowman
Stardate:* 41242.4
Destination: Omicron Theta
Mission (if any): Maintenance at Starbase Armus IX
Main character(s) in Plot: Data
Main character(s) in Subplot (if any):
Not appearing: Troi, O’Brien
Villain/Monster (if any): Lore; Crystalline Entity
Deaths: 0
Lives saved (episode): 2
Lives saved (cumulative): 10
Locations:
Shipboard:
Bridge
Data’s Quarters
Ready Room
Engineering
Observation Lounge
Cargo Bay
Space:
Other:
Omicron Theta
Ships/vessels (encountered): 0
Ships/vessels (mentioned only): 1 (USS
Tripoli)
Space battles: 0
Bodycount
Historical
0
Incidental
0
Direct
0
Total: 0
Running total: 86
Make it so: 1
Engage! 1
Combat factor: 0
Planets mentioned: 1
Aliens: Crystalline entity.
Mysteries: Destruction of colony on Omicron Theta
Patients in sickbay: 1 (Lore)
Data v humanity: Data really drops the ball on this one, and it’s up to Wesley to save him, so no, afraid he loses on this one too.
Data 3 - Humanity 6
Character scores:
Picard 10
Riker 25
Data 140
Troi 0
Geordi 15
Bev 20
Yar 15
Wesley 50
O’Brien 0
Earl Grey: 0
Shuttlecraft: 0
Admirals: 0
Starbases: 0
First contact: 1 (Crystalline Entity)
Humour: 3
Episode rating: 5/10
Episode score: 160
Having had a Riker, two Picards and a Troi-specific episode, it’s Data’s turn, and it will by no means turn out to be the last. This one, of course, concentrates on his brother, his evil brother Lore, and tells us not only how he was created and by whom, but how, had things been different, Data might have turned out to be a true adversary of humanity. Like they used to say about Sherlock Holmes, thank god he chose to work on the side of law: can you imagine Data as an enemy? Of course, this will happen later on in the series, when he teams up with Lore in the two-part episode “Descent”, but that’s getting a little ahead of ourselves. Picard shows admirable sensitivity in addressing the awkwardness the senior staff have about speaking of Data’s “brother”, by reminding them that we are all machines, of one sort or another.
We learn here that Data has an off switch, something which Riker will use to terrible effect in the episode “The Measure of a Man”. It’s interesting to see that both Chief Engineer Argyll and Beverly can work on Lore, as he is both man and machine. I always wonder why, if Picard was, as he says, certain of Data’s loyalty, he had to ask him the question in the first place? He obviously was not as certain as he makes out. Wesley proves pretty insufferable here, but it’s good to see he comes close to getting his comeuppance when Lore gets his hands on him. I am surprised though when Lore tells Data he can use contractions while his brother can’t; I’m sure I heard Data using those before. We also get some hints as to the existence of the alien known as the crystalline entity here, which will reappear in a later episode.
Is this what they mean by not losing your head? Sorry...
I have to wonder why Deanna is not in this episode. It seems like there would have been ample opportunity to use her talents, especially to determine Lore’s intentions. Maybe that’s why: if she had been able to tell Picard Lore was up to something, it might have spoiled the episode. Still, Marina Sirtis must have been feeling on a bit of a roller-coaster: one week she’s out, next week she’s the centre of the episode, the next week she’s not there at all. Well, not in that order, but you know what I mean. A small, almost insignificant role in the previous one. Lore’s facial tic that gives him away is a bit of a lazy plot device, almost as bad as if he were to twirl a moustache, and it’s pretty obvious how they’re going to identify him, though he does a half-decent job of covering it up by pretending he’s copying Data.
Picard: "I SAID, we will NOT do a Christmas episode, dammit!"
Both Riker and Picard show uncharacteristically poor judgement and insight when Wesley clearly has a problem with Lore. They ignore his warnings and never for once think this may not be Data who stands before them. I mean, I hate the little bastard, but it can’t be denied he has saved the day more than once, most recently when he gained access to the holodeck in the last episode. Yet they’re ready to jump on him for being rude to “a senior officer”, without considering the cause of that impertinence. Again, given how much I despise Wesley it hurts me to say this, but surely they should trust him? And their suspicion is not any further aroused by Wesley’s continued attempts - even though he knows he’ll lose his position on the bridge, something that means more to him than almost anything - to continue warning them? Not to mention Lore’s dismissive use of Riker’s surname without rank and his inability to understand Picard’s “Make it so”? Man, are they dumb.
It’s also a bit crazy how easily Lore overpowers Data. I mean, he just pushes him, and suddenly two (or, I suppose, at a stretch, three) against one becomes meaningless, and they’re all more or less hostages. Funny how it then devolves into a game of Donkey Kong! Nice how Picard apologises to Wesley for not believing him and for saving the ship. Oh no wait: he doesn’t.