I'm not like most women who get all teary-eyed at every emotional episode, but I don't need to be an emotionally heightened person to know this one is a tear-jerker.
The plot is very simple. Data comes back from a cybernetics conference and creates another Soognian type of android based on his own specs. He invites Troi, Geordi, and Wesley to the first revealing. They're surprised when the new android refers to Data as "father," but really they shouldn't have been since Data had long considered Dr. Noonien Soong, his creator, to be his father as he thought of Lore as his brother and Dr. Ira Graves (Soong's mentor) as his Grandfather. Data episodes are always good. I had complained in the Ira Graves episode that bringing all kinds of "family" out of the woodwork tended to water down Data's uniqueness, especially the fact that Graves could work on him so proficiently when he and Lore are supposed to be the only two functioning androids in the galaxy with the creator dead (at this point.) But Data attempting to make another android can't be seen in that fashion.
He explains it best when he's defending his actions to the Captain with the argument that all species procreate and this is his way of doing just that. In the case that he were to be damaged or destroyed, he would have an offspring to carry on this specie of 1 (4 in total - Data, Lore, Lal, and later Soong's ex wife.) I thought it was a little unfair for the characters to assume that Captain Picard was insensitive to the situation because he wasn't a parent. I'm not a parent, and I understand. I'm sure the Captain did too, but since he's the man in charge, he knew how the politics of the Federation were and that their interference was inevitable.
I wasn't really crazy about that part either. I know they needed some conflict, but this shouldn't have been an issue since Data was officially declared a life form in the best episode of the second season via a trial by the Federation JAG officer. Admiral Heftel had no business demanding that Lal be handed over for study. And they did bring this point up but, as is the case with all government interference, a governing outfit can discard rules whenever they see fit so maybe it's not as unrealistic as all that.
Anyway, this is a great use of the holodeck. Data allows Lal to choose its gender and appearance. I think people seeing it now would find it to be trendsetting stuff considering how far off the deep end America has gone socially in the past few years. But since the androids have no emotional baggage or attachment to any kind of form or sexuality, this is actually logical. Dr. Soogn was a human who created Data in his own image out of basic vanity. Data has no such inclination and allows Lal's development to progress more freely. Lal chooses the form of a human female. And they do a wonderful job of packing the episode with valuable and memorable moments.
Although Lal has all the knowledge that Data has, she still has no social skills or understanding of human behavior. There are tender moments as Data tries to explain a variety of things. Beauty, painting, table manners. You get to see the awkwardness of her trying to socialize with children who are too young and afraid of her to accept her. Seeing the tendency of children to be cruel explained by Data provides a harsh but accurate viewpoint. They take you through a lot of things that parents have to deal with. They even get to a point where she's asking so many questions that Data simply shuts her off for a while... something I'm sure every parent wishes they can do when they get to that age.
Fine tuning her motor skills provides comical moments.
As well as her time spent in Ten Forward. Data encourages her to work with Guinan to help understand human interaction. Two in a row for Guinan. Frakes directed this episode which is why his time is limited to being accosted by a confused Lal who thinks that kissing is normal social interaction for any two people. Hysterical.
It's also where to see the first signs that something has gone wrong. It doesn't seem wrong at the time... she simply starts using contractions. Something that Data could never do. At first it seems like a victory and an extension of Soong's work. But after being interviewed extensively by the Admiral and Picard and being faced with the possibility of having to leave Data and the Enterprise, things start to go wrong. She starts to develop emotions. Fear and confusion.
She's programed to return to Data's laboratory if something is wrong. Her development of emotions turns out to be a malfunction rather than a miraculous extension of Data's matrix and programming. The Admiral comes in to help Data try to repair the cascade failure in her brain and is finally moved to compassion for the situation. Finally seeing them as a father and daughter rather than property but it's too late.
Lal suffers complete neurological failure after professing her love for Data. It's quite a moment. You'd have to be heartless not to feel sorry for Data especially because he can't feel sad for himself. It also alleviates my worries about all of these new family members watering down Data's uniqueness. This was an attempt to recreate Soong's work that failed and it makes sense in the progression of the series. Data and Lore could function because Soong did the work himself and nobody - not Admiral Heftel or Commander Maddox, or even Data could duplicate it. And Graves is just best forgotten.
This was an excellent episode. The only reason I give it four and a half instead of five is because the narrative of any Soognian android being potential property for the Federation has been hit enough at this point and I found it an irritating source of conflict especially since she was intended to malfunction and "die" anyway. That was more than enough by itself along with the sweet story of emotionless Data raising a daughter.
No comments:
Post a Comment