Target Audience / UNCUT - Brothers (TNG S4E3)

Star Trek, the Next Generation. Starring: Brent Spiner Co-Starring: Brent Spiner And special guest star: Brent Spiner I'll give this 3 S's for three Spiners!

Paul Hess

2024-10-06 02:04:27 +0000 UTC

The the boy in quarantine story was the B-plot. 1) It provided continuity with the title "brothers" and misleads the audience into initially thinking that the story would be about those brothers, when in fact it's about Data and his brother. Lore is supposed to be a "reveal" to the audience despite the teaser spoiling it somewhat. 2) The brothers subplot provided a sense of urgency for why the crew needed to regain control of the Enterprise quickly. The kid was going to die unless they got control of the ship in the next few hours. They could only save him by finding Data fast (because of that impossible computer lockout code). It also reinforces that while Data wasn't necessarily a threat to the ship, he could at anytime be at anytime. His priority of getting back to Soong was higher than life of a dying child. 3) The conclusion of the episode where Lore reestablishes himself as a villain/antagonist gives Data a new conflict as he now has to reconcile Lore being a threat with him being his brother. The last line of the episode from Crusher is "brothers forgive", referencing the two boys having regained their friendship after their conflict. Can Data ever reconcile with his brother the way these children have?

Bryce Ronee

2024-09-07 18:45:15 +0000 UTC

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Kristopher

2024-09-02 10:54:38 +0000 UTC

Sure, but why blame the brother? The kid who ate the fruit is the one to talk to about eating strange alien plants.

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-09-01 10:15:53 +0000 UTC

It's not about the kid not memorizing all known species of fruit or whatever, just don't eat strange fruits or anything from a planet you know nothing about. As for the Boys' confusion about why the kid would eat something, he was hiding for quite a while. I'm sure he got hungry and ate whatever he could find.

Clyde Frog

2024-09-01 03:24:11 +0000 UTC

Your reactions are very fun to watch but the discussions are GOLDEN.

T’Pynyn of Vulcan

2024-09-01 03:06:31 +0000 UTC

Alien Romulus I like but the third act was a letdown

Scarpad’s Domain

2024-08-30 23:10:22 +0000 UTC

great points about how scary Data can be. It's a good thing he also happens to be one of the kindest souls we've ever seen. Amazing character.

Captain Proton

2024-08-30 21:33:15 +0000 UTC

Rick Berman was absolutely in charge of the golden age of Trek but maybe read a bit more about the guy as you give him the kudos you are giving him.

Strife

2024-08-30 18:35:10 +0000 UTC

yeah but going and eating a random alien fruit is such an unpredictable response that it's really on the brother for choosing to do that. If we held people to the standard of "if you do this one thing, someone else might have this super specific, one in a million response that gets them hurt, and that would be YOUR fault", then the only responsible way to live would be for everyone to do NOTHING.

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-08-30 18:25:13 +0000 UTC

Or Data had Geordie remove it.

Monty Crawford

2024-08-30 17:44:22 +0000 UTC

it was exactly because he couldnt have known that it was so reckless and I'm sure they've been warned on the dangers of foreign planets in a general sense

paultardspambot .

2024-08-30 11:08:10 +0000 UTC

you guys should watch Spiner's mini web series "Fresh Hell" where he plays a fictional version of himself

paultardspambot .

2024-08-30 11:06:32 +0000 UTC

Imagine Data finishes putting in that insanely long code and in response he gets... Computer "Your password strength is medium. Please include at least 1 special symbol or character" Ok so full disclosure, I thought the prank took place on the Enterprise and it had me wondering why they left parasite laden, deadly fruit where children could reach it. On a planet makes way more sense, but it makes LESS sense to blame the kid. Like seriously, "I'm very disappointed in you. How have you not memorized every single one of the tens of thousands of deadly plants and animals on every one of the hundreds of planets we've visited? And then you had the audacity to not predict your brother would randomly go and eat one such plant over a prank. You're 9 years old and I expect better than that". Like others have said, the B plot was just there as a ticking clock. When you guys were talking about the quarantine field, they had already reached the bridge, meaning they got through the forcefields. They used all but the minimal power needed for quarantine to short out the forcefields, and after that the quarantine played no role in them getting the ship back. It was all about the code. Like Josh, Data is my favourite as well, though Picard is basically tied for that spot IMO. Spiner did an amazing job with so many varied performances here. I like that Soong genuinely cared about Lore and wanted to do right by him despite everything he had done. Despite some great work from Brent however, and despite being a very well crafted episode, this one for me isn't quite in the top tier eps(I rated it B tier) is that I view it largely as connective tissue. It's the same reason Empire is my least favourite original trilogy SW movie. ANH stands on it's own, ROTJ would leave you with a lot of questions if it was the first you saw, but it's a complete story with a resolution. ESB starts you in the middle and ends there. I suppose it was great that Data got a chance to meet his "father" one last time, and they definitively wrapped up Soong's story. The emotion chip presents some interesting possibilities for Data, but that's not paid off. Lore shows up largely as a cameo in that story, and he's just out there somewhere at the end. Data doesn't get emotions. Aside from Soong dying(which we though he already had), nothing really changes. For that reason it won't rate as high for me as MoaM of Q Who or Sarek. Doesn't mean it's bad, but to be an A or S, I need the story to be at least mostly complete, not just a step along the way.

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-08-30 08:38:15 +0000 UTC

For me I find 6 the most steady with very few bad eps, but also fewer top tier eps. Just solid high quality throughout.

Timothy Nikiforovs

2024-08-30 07:27:02 +0000 UTC

He made a lotta questionable decisions, but he always respected Roddenberry's rules, even if he didn't understand them. And he felt bad those time he agreed to break them.

Nolan

2024-08-30 04:32:14 +0000 UTC

Well in theory that shouldn’t be an issue based on something from one of the movies

Derek Orr

2024-08-30 03:33:32 +0000 UTC

That was my interpretation, too

Collin Freeman

2024-08-30 02:44:42 +0000 UTC

Think of Rick Berman as the successor to Gene Rodenberry. He was in charge of Star Trek as a whole after Gene.

Regan

2024-08-30 02:32:16 +0000 UTC

I don't think that the B plot was just about having a reason that they couldn't reset everything. I think it was more about providing a sense of urgency to the episode. The ship needs to get to the starbase before this kid dies and the A plot is putting that in jeopardy.

Regan

2024-08-30 02:29:32 +0000 UTC

"Gigabyte" as the name of Data's dinosaur brother is tooooo fuckin funny.

Juan Tutrífor

2024-08-30 02:07:59 +0000 UTC

Agree about Alien: Romulus... it should have been called Alien: Crystal Lake.

Mark

2024-08-30 01:29:23 +0000 UTC

While watching, I wondered why Sickbay doesn't just have a battery backup in case of power failure. It seems pretty basic.

Justin B

2024-08-30 01:15:58 +0000 UTC

"Datalore" suffers from the first season's issues with awkward dialogue, and also part of the problem there is we (and the show) just didn't know Data that well yet.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-30 01:11:23 +0000 UTC

He underestimated his whiny brother's ability to take a joke.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-30 01:08:40 +0000 UTC

I know I have trouble with the accents on the British shows. But lately it seems like a lot of dialogue intended to be "realistic" is quiet or mumbley.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-30 01:07:42 +0000 UTC

That's often true. Real old people TV trivia here but in a recent interview with Ron Howard he said when he was a little kid on The Andy Griffith Show, he once told the director "a kid wouldn't say it like that" and that sometimes they listened to his suggestions even as like, a 7 year old. Adults forget how to talk like a kid, or want to make them into geniuses.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-30 01:06:11 +0000 UTC

About the protocol patron take.. ahhh so that’s what that shot was showing? I didn’t realize Data was supposed to be in the emergency turbo. I thought he was nodding to Capt and No 1 that he would stay on the bridge since he doesn’t need air.

Lwaxana’s Poolboy

2024-08-30 00:40:57 +0000 UTC

Fun fact: not sure you came across this in the Patron takes, but originally Brent Spiner was not going to play Dr. Noonian Soong. They were going to cast an older Asian actor, most likely Keye Luke (look him up - he's been in nearly everything, including TOS - Whom Gods Destroy), but I think Luke was not in good health at the time and so Brent offered to play Soong.

Collin Freeman

2024-08-30 00:11:13 +0000 UTC

Many times its not the kid actors, its the adult writers who don't know how to write appropriate dialog for kids.

Collin Freeman

2024-08-30 00:09:12 +0000 UTC

Ok, i get your analogy now, but I still disagree with her emotions being "imagined". She showed a physical response to emotions. If this was just a "loose wire", wouldnt she show joy when she feels fear or something like that? I can also just reiterate that i frequently experience tactile hallucinations. I experience touch without anyone touching me. The source is not a person, but my brain doing what it shouldnt. That does not mean that I do not feel the touch. Now, comparing a messy human brain with an adroid is a bit far fetched, but its the best way i can try to get my point across. My feelings are real. So are hers, at least how it appears to me.

Lucas Kane

2024-08-29 23:44:02 +0000 UTC

I think they crafted the situation with the little boys for the payoff line by Dr. Crusher at the end ... and for the reason Alex mentioned about not being able to regain control of the ship too quickly.

Collin Freeman

2024-08-29 23:20:51 +0000 UTC

I don't think the B-story was intended to provide an excuse for why they couldn't regain control of the ship (they mention that they can't divert power from the quarantine field, but then they immediately get around that by just leaving minimal power for the quarantine). But I do think the B-story was mostly there just to give a sense of urgency with a ticking clock.

Steven Linden

2024-08-29 23:13:33 +0000 UTC

Lor did show a little brotherly love if you think about it. He took the time after disabling Data, to dress him in the Pakled garb. Imagine Worf carrying a naked Data back into Sung's Lad. Horrifying.

Robert Bruce

2024-08-29 23:08:30 +0000 UTC

There’s one moment early on that I’m eager to see their reaction on, just that alone!!

Geoffrey Linehan

2024-08-29 22:02:04 +0000 UTC

You guys talked over the part (not knocking you just is what it is) where the enterprise saw a ship take obit and also where Lore said a Paklad ship had picked him up (I'm sure he murdered all those special guys). You guys identified many of the reasons for the B plot...but the biggest reason was to give the crew a sense of urgency in taking back the ship beyond what would normally be there (especially if you don't actually think Data is trying to be directly malicious...because in that case with no urgency just wait Data out).

Greg Quinn

2024-08-29 21:58:37 +0000 UTC

I’ve always thought season 4 is the most consistent of TNG, even more so than 3.. 5 and 6 have some of the best episodes of the series, but they also have a few of the most abysmal.

Glenn Johnson Barnes

2024-08-29 21:36:18 +0000 UTC

Lots of officers cans take over the Enterprise if they want to. Geordi could, Riker could, 50/50 on the Chief. Sure Data is a risk because he can be 'reprogrammed', but meatbags can be brainwashed, possessed by malevolent entities, and so on. At the end of the day, you have to just trust your officers. Any Ensign with access to a weapons locker can point at the warp core and blow the ship up.

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

2024-08-29 21:17:12 +0000 UTC

It also serves as a misdirect for the episode title, although you can't fault the writers for marketing mucking things up and spoiling it all anyways.

#MaxwellDidNothingWrong

2024-08-29 21:12:55 +0000 UTC

Probably watched this episode 100 times and I never realised the dinosaurs 🦕 that Data gives to the kids are the ones from Soongs lab

Jon1701

2024-08-29 20:58:04 +0000 UTC

He does an amazing impression of Patrick Stewart when setting the password. Lol Sorry But yes I agree legitimately.

Greg Quinn

2024-08-29 20:49:47 +0000 UTC

That was part of the reason, too. But if you didn't have the dying child, the Enterprise wouldn't need to be in a rush to get control of things. It added some tension.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-29 20:33:17 +0000 UTC

It depends if they get what's going on beneath the surface. I didn't get it until I was a social worker and then saw it and went "Oh S*** THATS WHATS HAPPENING!" So it's a tougher one.

Timothy Keck

2024-08-29 20:15:07 +0000 UTC

Kid must have had good parenting. Punished himself. 😏

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:40:40 +0000 UTC

I have noticed quite a few shows seem to have muddy or muffled dialogue. Game of Thrones was one of those, and I've seen it again with HotD (pronounced "Hot Dee").

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:38:33 +0000 UTC

I'll take average to mediocre child acting over terrible child singing any day. (P.S. I think the child actors in this episode were great, and the ones in Stranger Things are fine. Also remember that the performance of any actor is ultimately up to the director. Good actors just give the director what he wants on the first take.)

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:35:53 +0000 UTC

Maybe the read the captioning, but they didn't mention it at the time.

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:34:38 +0000 UTC

Lal can believe she's experiencing fear, but she's not actually having fear. That's the difference between the voice in your head, and a separate person trying to communicate with you through that voice. You can be high AF on drugs and feel like there are ants under your skin, but that does not mean there are actually ants under your skin. An android imagining having emotions is not one that actually has emotions.

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:33:40 +0000 UTC

The "B" story was the whole setup for the final line in the episode: "Brothers forgive"... unintentionally directed at Data.

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:30:32 +0000 UTC

I always presumed they undestood what happened, and since Dr. Soong is dead, it's not likely for Data's recall circuit to be activated again. (Or is it??)

Jovet

2024-08-29 19:29:19 +0000 UTC

Brent Spiner deserves an Oscar for this episode

Christopher Dorn

2024-08-29 19:27:14 +0000 UTC

Those 'next times' really ruined everything. I was completely spoiled on every plot twist as a kid...

Joshua Langweil

2024-08-29 19:24:59 +0000 UTC

You guys usually make more of a fuss over the prosthetics. That shot where Soong is installing the emotion chip, Data's (well, Lore's) neck was open and you could see depth in the circutrity. I thought that was impressive. And I heard you both react when Lore flips his thumbnail up to expose his escape button.

StealthMomo

2024-08-29 18:43:41 +0000 UTC

The B story was in there to give them a reason they really had to hurry up and get control of the ship. The kid would’ve died if they couldn’t get to the starbase.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-29 17:06:16 +0000 UTC

I loved Alien: Romulus. First movie I've been to in theater in over a year. The director did a lot with practical effects, which was nice. He even got the effects team from Aliens to come back. Ranking-wise, I'd go Aliens (Special Edition), Alien (Director's Cut), Alien: Romulus, Alien 3 (Assembly Cut), Alien: Resurrection (Special Edition), Prometheus, Alien: Covenant.

wildhunt1973

2024-08-29 16:21:07 +0000 UTC

Ya, I've touched on this as well.

Monty Crawford

2024-08-29 16:15:10 +0000 UTC

ya, they were talking over it and didn't notice.

Monty Crawford

2024-08-29 16:14:29 +0000 UTC

🎵 Dumb ways to die... 🎵

s0rd3z

2024-08-29 16:13:34 +0000 UTC

Ya, I have to suffer watching stranger things because the kids like it. Meh.

Monty Crawford

2024-08-29 16:13:30 +0000 UTC

" Just because there are voices in your head doesn't mean that they are real, either. " No, but I still hear them. If i feel something that isnt real, i still feel it. You happen to be talking to someone with tactile hallucinations. I feel what I feel. Your analogy does not track.

Lucas Kane

2024-08-29 16:09:19 +0000 UTC

just like Picard after the borg it hilarious they just let data go back to work after hijacking the enterprise

Dark Kronis

2024-08-29 16:08:44 +0000 UTC

Definitely a sign of weak writing. Homages are fine but they crossed the line with a certain quote. I was fine until that moment.

Column Meanie

2024-08-29 16:03:16 +0000 UTC

Brent Spiner is a National Treasure

Paul

2024-08-29 16:01:56 +0000 UTC

It’s pretty obvious she’s having emotions, especially fear. That’s what causes her breakdown: emotional awareness. Even Troi recognizes it: “you ARE frighthened, arent you?” And in her dying breath Lal tells Data “I will feel it for both of us”. She has emotions and feelings, and that’s what broke her.

Column Meanie

2024-08-29 15:59:41 +0000 UTC

In the writers' room: "Yeah, that's a really cool practical joke plot! How are you going to tie in the kid's injury?" "Um... shit"

Evan Guthrie

2024-08-29 15:58:58 +0000 UTC

@Column Meanie Isn't that the short definition of Fan fiction?

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:57:29 +0000 UTC

S3E16 "Offspring" PICARD: A malfunction. Emotional awareness. DATA: It appears to be a symptom of cascade failure. Lal was not programmed nor designed for emotional awareness. With that in mind, it is just too big of a hurdle for her to actually develop real emotions. Going beyond her programming in using contractions is one thing, emotional awareness is something else. Just because there are voices in your head doesn't mean that they are real, either.

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:54:24 +0000 UTC

Agreed, the one who should be on trouble is the one keeping deadly parasite fruit in areas accessible to nine year old children, not another the brother doing an unrelated prank.

Phillip Grischa

2024-08-29 15:52:33 +0000 UTC

I just checked memory alpha and there is no mention of an emotional illusion. Where did you get that info?

Lucas Kane

2024-08-29 15:48:03 +0000 UTC

Banger episode. Brent Spiner hits a Triple Home run. I can't wait to get home to watch it

Firekrys FWO

2024-08-29 15:44:38 +0000 UTC

1:17:58 Lal did not have emotions. It was an "emotional illusion." Her feelings were not real, the perception of having feelings was a manifestation of her dysfunction.

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:43:42 +0000 UTC

1:12:12 Runtime of the show probably prohibited that sort of thing.

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:37:16 +0000 UTC

Visually, it was excellent. But everything else about it was idiotic: The mapping personnel getting lost. The lack of reasonable skepticism about an alien snake. The abortion that was forgotten about 5 seconds later. And, the most cliché circular spaceship-rolling-over-a-character ever. I never watched Covenant and never will. I assume Prometheus's problems were from deciding to change it from a stand-alone film to a three-parter in the middle of production. 🙄

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:27:23 +0000 UTC

It wasn’t a bad film. Best Alien film since Aliens. That said, the homages turn in to blatant ripoffs to the point of annoyance.

Column Meanie

2024-08-29 15:22:03 +0000 UTC

56:45 On the Enterprise, they talked about another ship entering orbit. That was your hint at what was about to happen/who was going to appear.

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:21:50 +0000 UTC

The older brother is brilliant. It’s a great practical joke. The younger brother is an idiot for falling for it and downgrades to Darwin fodder for eating a poisoned pear.

Column Meanie

2024-08-29 15:20:36 +0000 UTC

Is anyone else reminded of Majora's Mask whenever it shows the day with the sound effect?

THE LORE!!!

2024-08-29 15:19:59 +0000 UTC

As I told you in the AMA yesterday, I knew you'd like it. Edit: I predict you won't like the next one.

Lucas Kane

2024-08-29 15:19:49 +0000 UTC

51:51 Yeah, hopefully Maddox doesn't get a hold of that button to bring Data (and Lore) to him! LOL

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:17:05 +0000 UTC

Most of them ain’t great either

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-08-29 15:15:57 +0000 UTC

When you think about Brent Spiner's acting chops.... THIS is the episode I think of. This is also the "terrifying Data" episode you think of.

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:15:26 +0000 UTC

mind blown

Narnman

2024-08-29 15:14:11 +0000 UTC

That teaser was one of the worst. hahaha

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:12:40 +0000 UTC

You guys can be rough on those kid actors. They can't all be the cast of Stranger Things. :)

Joe Concepts

2024-08-29 15:10:02 +0000 UTC

question do you guys need to have the subtitles on? Ah btw here was something in the paper recently about why some might struggle to hear tv dialogue https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13769225/little-known-condition-explain-need-subtitles.html "Common but little-known condition could explain why you need subtitles to watch TV - despite having good hearing"

Narnman

2024-08-29 15:06:22 +0000 UTC

38:11 Josh is already crying.

Jovet

2024-08-29 15:02:58 +0000 UTC

Always enjoyed this episode Spiner is wonderful

Darren Seal

2024-08-29 14:56:53 +0000 UTC

Did you guys know that Brent Spiner, the actor who portrayed Dr. Noonien Soong, also played the role of Lieutenant Commander Data?

Deep Red

2024-08-29 14:56:26 +0000 UTC

18:10 Exact reaction I expected from you guys!

Jovet

2024-08-29 14:42:56 +0000 UTC

Not the best movie, but thought they could’ve at least went somewhere with what they set up until Alien: Covenant was like nah forget all that

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-08-29 14:33:23 +0000 UTC

6:30 Prometheus was awful. Absolutely abysmal.

Jovet

2024-08-29 14:31:23 +0000 UTC

One of my favorite TNG outtakes comes from this episode with Patrick Stewart joking about how good god Brent Spiner needs more time to read his lines.

Tony B

2024-08-29 14:12:12 +0000 UTC

Well the older brother is definitely a dumb kid.

Joe Concepts

2024-08-29 13:49:57 +0000 UTC

Great episode once I got past the plot contrivance of the Enterprise as a daycare. I’m nervous leaving my animals with a sitter when I go on vacation, and they’re not likely to be blown out an airlock…

Glenn Johnson Barnes

2024-08-29 13:46:06 +0000 UTC

Also, an addendum, this is more directed at the season as a whole, I think season 4 will probably go a lot better for you guys, because it hasn't been hyped up in your mind.

Steven Johnson

2024-08-29 13:40:40 +0000 UTC

Brother is a solid episode. One of those episodes where the technical craft is being used almost exclusively for character drama. Think about it, this isn't a big space battle or some weird interdimensional portal or something... It's one guy, playing three distinct characters, in the same room, and the craft is using a myriad of editing tricks to make you believe there are three of him on screen. Whether it's bodies doubles, split screen, over dubbing, over the shoulder. This is a rare example of the direction in TNG actually standing out in a nuanced and clever way.

Steven Johnson

2024-08-29 13:39:35 +0000 UTC

Maybe we can make it a movie night when it comes to streaming. I'd love to do AVP Requiem too. Just for the giggles.

Steven Johnson

2024-08-29 13:37:22 +0000 UTC

oh yeah I wanted to say, how about that continuity with Riker being able to instantly know how to turn Data back on since he learned that in "Measure of a Man"

Prof Moff

2024-08-29 13:26:31 +0000 UTC

I thought the same thing haha like what did the prank have to do with the kids idiotic decision? He should’ve dared the kid to eat it or something at least

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-08-29 13:20:39 +0000 UTC

Family part 2, Data wrangling...

Brendon Waldron

2024-08-29 13:13:27 +0000 UTC

First, obviously, no update to the scoreboard but I have a comment. The practical joke was AWESOME, I mean fantastic. The fact the little kid ate the fruit has nothing to do with the joke. Let me get this straight. the little kid thinks he killed his brother and the first thing he does is chow down on fruit. I say the little kid should die based on Natural Selection. We don't want that kid growing up and having children like him dumbing down the human species.

Prof Moff

2024-08-29 13:08:00 +0000 UTC

Seems a lot of people do enjoy it FWIW

Josh (Target Audience)

2024-08-29 12:46:00 +0000 UTC

I like the misdirect of this episode with the title. You think it's about the dumb kids (no offense meant all kids are dumb) then ends up being about Data/Lore. Spiner playing three different characters, great example of just how unstoppable Data can be if he wants to be. Great episode and S tier for me which I do not hand out often.

s0rd3z

2024-08-29 12:36:02 +0000 UTC

On break at work. I can't wait to get home for this. Also, I recently rewatched some more of STAR TREK CONTINUES with a HUGE guest actor... I'm adding that series to my personal STAR TREK Canon. It's too good to not watch with TOS. It's downloadable I think, so I'm going to add it to my Plex to have a permanent version... just in case their channel ever vanishes.

THE Fans

2024-08-29 12:19:42 +0000 UTC

I was looking forward to Alien Romulus. I guess I'll pass.

Ca$hWednesday

2024-08-29 12:11:57 +0000 UTC

UNCUT - Brothers (TNG S4E3) | Star Trek Journey 184

Comments

Star Trek, the Next Generation. Starring: Brent Spiner Co-Starring: Brent Spiner And special guest star: Brent Spiner I'll give this 3 S's for three Spiners!

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Sure, but why blame the brother? The kid who ate the fruit is the one to talk to about eating strange alien plants.

Your reactions are very fun to watch but the discussions are GOLDEN.

Alien Romulus I like but the third act was a letdown

great points about how scary Data can be. It's a good thing he also happens to be one of the kindest souls we've ever seen. Amazing character.

Rick Berman was absolutely in charge of the golden age of Trek but maybe read a bit more about the guy as you give him the kudos you are giving him.

Or Data had Geordie remove it.

it was exactly because he couldnt have known that it was so reckless and I'm sure they've been warned on the dangers of foreign planets in a general sense

you guys should watch Spiner's mini web series "Fresh Hell" where he plays a fictional version of himself

For me I find 6 the most steady with very few bad eps, but also fewer top tier eps. Just solid high quality throughout.

He made a lotta questionable decisions, but he always respected Roddenberry's rules, even if he didn't understand them. And he felt bad those time he agreed to break them.

Well in theory that shouldn’t be an issue based on something from one of the movies

That was my interpretation, too

Think of Rick Berman as the successor to Gene Rodenberry. He was in charge of Star Trek as a whole after Gene.

I don't think that the B plot was just about having a reason that they couldn't reset everything. I think it was more about providing a sense of urgency to the episode. The ship needs to get to the starbase before this kid dies and the A plot is putting that in jeopardy.

"Gigabyte" as the name of Data's dinosaur brother is tooooo fuckin funny.

Agree about Alien: Romulus... it should have been called Alien: Crystal Lake.

While watching, I wondered why Sickbay doesn't just have a battery backup in case of power failure. It seems pretty basic.

"Datalore" suffers from the first season's issues with awkward dialogue, and also part of the problem there is we (and the show) just didn't know Data that well yet.

He underestimated his whiny brother's ability to take a joke.

I know I have trouble with the accents on the British shows. But lately it seems like a lot of dialogue intended to be "realistic" is quiet or mumbley.

About the protocol patron take.. ahhh so that’s what that shot was showing? I didn’t realize Data was supposed to be in the emergency turbo. I thought he was nodding to Capt and No 1 that he would stay on the bridge since he doesn’t need air.

Many times its not the kid actors, its the adult writers who don't know how to write appropriate dialog for kids.

I think they crafted the situation with the little boys for the payoff line by Dr. Crusher at the end ... and for the reason Alex mentioned about not being able to regain control of the ship too quickly.

Lor did show a little brotherly love if you think about it. He took the time after disabling Data, to dress him in the Pakled garb. Imagine Worf carrying a naked Data back into Sung's Lad. Horrifying.

There’s one moment early on that I’m eager to see their reaction on, just that alone!!

I’ve always thought season 4 is the most consistent of TNG, even more so than 3.. 5 and 6 have some of the best episodes of the series, but they also have a few of the most abysmal.

It also serves as a misdirect for the episode title, although you can't fault the writers for marketing mucking things up and spoiling it all anyways.

Probably watched this episode 100 times and I never realised the dinosaurs 🦕 that Data gives to the kids are the ones from Soongs lab

He does an amazing impression of Patrick Stewart when setting the password. Lol Sorry But yes I agree legitimately.

That was part of the reason, too. But if you didn't have the dying child, the Enterprise wouldn't need to be in a rush to get control of things. It added some tension.

It depends if they get what's going on beneath the surface. I didn't get it until I was a social worker and then saw it and went "Oh S*** THATS WHATS HAPPENING!" So it's a tougher one.

Kid must have had good parenting. Punished himself. 😏

I have noticed quite a few shows seem to have muddy or muffled dialogue. Game of Thrones was one of those, and I've seen it again with HotD (pronounced "Hot Dee").

Maybe the read the captioning, but they didn't mention it at the time.

The "B" story was the whole setup for the final line in the episode: "Brothers forgive"... unintentionally directed at Data.

I always presumed they undestood what happened, and since Dr. Soong is dead, it's not likely for Data's recall circuit to be activated again. (Or is it??)

Brent Spiner deserves an Oscar for this episode

Those 'next times' really ruined everything. I was completely spoiled on every plot twist as a kid...

The B story was in there to give them a reason they really had to hurry up and get control of the ship. The kid would’ve died if they couldn’t get to the starbase.

Ya, I've touched on this as well.

ya, they were talking over it and didn't notice.

🎵 Dumb ways to die... 🎵

Ya, I have to suffer watching stranger things because the kids like it. Meh.

" Just because there are voices in your head doesn't mean that they are real, either. " No, but I still hear them. If i feel something that isnt real, i still feel it. You happen to be talking to someone with tactile hallucinations. I feel what I feel. Your analogy does not track.

just like Picard after the borg it hilarious they just let data go back to work after hijacking the enterprise

Definitely a sign of weak writing. Homages are fine but they crossed the line with a certain quote. I was fine until that moment.

Brent Spiner is a National Treasure

In the writers' room: "Yeah, that's a really cool practical joke plot! How are you going to tie in the kid's injury?" "Um... shit"

@Column Meanie Isn't that the short definition of Fan fiction?

Agreed, the one who should be on trouble is the one keeping deadly parasite fruit in areas accessible to nine year old children, not another the brother doing an unrelated prank.

I just checked memory alpha and there is no mention of an emotional illusion. Where did you get that info?

Banger episode. Brent Spiner hits a Triple Home run. I can't wait to get home to watch it

1:17:58 Lal did not have emotions. It was an "emotional illusion." Her feelings were not real, the perception of having feelings was a manifestation of her dysfunction.

1:12:12 Runtime of the show probably prohibited that sort of thing.

It wasn’t a bad film. Best Alien film since Aliens. That said, the homages turn in to blatant ripoffs to the point of annoyance.

56:45 On the Enterprise, they talked about another ship entering orbit. That was your hint at what was about to happen/who was going to appear.

The older brother is brilliant. It’s a great practical joke. The younger brother is an idiot for falling for it and downgrades to Darwin fodder for eating a poisoned pear.

Is anyone else reminded of Majora's Mask whenever it shows the day with the sound effect?

As I told you in the AMA yesterday, I knew you'd like it. Edit: I predict you won't like the next one.

51:51 Yeah, hopefully Maddox doesn't get a hold of that button to bring Data (and Lore) to him! LOL

Most of them ain’t great either

When you think about Brent Spiner's acting chops.... THIS is the episode I think of. This is also the "terrifying Data" episode you think of.

mind blown

That teaser was one of the worst. hahaha

You guys can be rough on those kid actors. They can't all be the cast of Stranger Things. :)

38:11 Josh is already crying.

Always enjoyed this episode Spiner is wonderful

Did you guys know that Brent Spiner, the actor who portrayed Dr. Noonien Soong, also played the role of Lieutenant Commander Data?

18:10 Exact reaction I expected from you guys!

Not the best movie, but thought they could’ve at least went somewhere with what they set up until Alien: Covenant was like nah forget all that

6:30 Prometheus was awful. Absolutely abysmal.

One of my favorite TNG outtakes comes from this episode with Patrick Stewart joking about how good god Brent Spiner needs more time to read his lines.

Well the older brother is definitely a dumb kid.

Great episode once I got past the plot contrivance of the Enterprise as a daycare. I’m nervous leaving my animals with a sitter when I go on vacation, and they’re not likely to be blown out an airlock…

Also, an addendum, this is more directed at the season as a whole, I think season 4 will probably go a lot better for you guys, because it hasn't been hyped up in your mind.

Maybe we can make it a movie night when it comes to streaming. I'd love to do AVP Requiem too. Just for the giggles.