Plot Synopsis: In his latest attempt to understand humanity, Data accepts the affections of a crewmate and pursues a romantic relationship with her. A dark matter nebula the Enterprise is exploring is causing strange things to happen on the ship.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser doesn’t give us much–almost as if it’s teasing us! Data and Jenna–a saucy little Starfleet officer just aching for some android attention–are working on photon torpedoes and he reminds her how pathetic she is for thinking about going back to the same ex-boyfriend for the third time. Data is supportive to her, and this seems to turn her on; meanwhile the Enterprise is getting ready to enter a dark matter nebula. Plot A is about Data’s fumbling and awkward attempts at being a rebound boyfriend, plot B is about the nebula. Plot B begins very subtly: the first weird thing the crew experiences is at 8:40, with Beverly picking up a hypo spray that somehow fell to the floor. Meanwhile Jenna makes a move on Data, so he proceeds to ask everyone on the ship for advice regarding her; the funny ones are from Worf, Riker and Picard. Plot B doesn’t kick in until well into the 25th minute, when the planet in the nebula they were going to investigate has disappeared, then reappears. Turns out there are dark matter deformations the ship is passing through that are…deadly! Plot A is really enjoyable and creative and resolved realistically, plot B seems to be there only because they couldn’t write enough material for plot A.
Favorite Scenes: There are multiple funny little scenes in this episode, well worth watching, most of which are due to Brent Spiner. For example, Jenna is telling Data a story about her childhood and he gives a classic ‘Data’ response, which somehow results in her kissing him:
Jenna *excitedly*: I wish we were back there now, you and I!
Data: The unidirectional nature of the time continuum makes that an unlikely possibility.
Having it written here makes it fall flat but trust me, it’s good. A few minutes later Data is telling Guinan about the event, and we get another example:
Guinan: Well…what do you think of her, Data?
Data: I find her to be a competent officer. Highly motivated…though somewhat lacking in her understanding of the theory underlying the dilithium-matrix application.
Another little scene is when Data is asking for advice on women. He goes through most of the crew until he gets to Picard, who abruptly takes control of the matter.
Data: Captain.
*Picard freezes, and anticipating with dread what’s coming next*
Data: I am seeking advice in how to–
Picard: Yes I’ve heard, Data. I will be delighted to offer any advice I can on understanding women. When I have some, I’ll let you know.
The best scene in the episode starts around the 28th minute, with Data trying to be a dutiful and solicitous boyfriend. The whole scene is hilarious, and is one of the funniest scenes in the entire series.
Use of Cast/Characters: This is a Data episode, pure and simple. It’s a whole lot of fun to see him in uncharted waters, getting neck deep in a relationship he has no clue is a bad idea from the outset. There is lots of characterization, including his painting, it’s just awesome. Picard doesn’t do much in this episode until the end. He does pilot the shuttle and save the Enterprise I guess, but he also wrecks the shuttlecraft. It does support his piloting skills that we first saw back in Booby Trap, but it also confuses things later on in Chain of Command II where Riker is supposed to be awesome at piloting. Riker doesn’t have a lot to do except put in his two cents about Data’s relationship. Worf comes up with the idea of the shuttle craft and has one slightly funny scene with Data. Troi and Geordi have a total of one scene, same as Riker. Beverly has the least of anybody, blink and you’ll miss her. Guinan has one scene as well, and nobody but Data has any character development. Chief O’Brien and Keiko do have a brief scene. Michele Scarabelli plays Jenna and she does a good job–she plays a woman on the rebound pretty well, and is believable to watch. You’d recognize her if you liked the Alien Nation TV series, she’s in all the episodes as well as the TV movies.
Blu Ray Version: Nothing particular to note this time around. The nebula actually looks pretty great, there are multiple beautiful shots.
Nitpicks: Why, toward the end of the episode does O’Brien suddenly have trouble locking on to Picard on the shuttle? I suppose we could make up an explanation if we had to, but it just seems like an obvious ploy to ratchet up tension in a relatively weak scene. Also, for that final maneuvering scene I would have moved the crew to the central part of the ship, in case the edges caught some impacts from near misses (which happened).
Overall Impression: This is just a fun episode to watch. It’s one of relatively few episodes where Data takes multiple things literally, and it’s fun to watch in the context of his first real relationship. Brent’s comedic performance is one of my favorites for him. Unusually, plot B doesn’t get going until after plot A has mostly resolved itself; usually they are interwoven throughout the episode. Plot B is almost an afterthought; it’s so forgettable I usually think plot B involves the kid from Hero Worship next season. This is very close to 4 stars, but for some reason it doesn’t quite make it. I rate this episode 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: Patrick Stewart named this as one of his very favorite episodes. I’m sure the fact that this is the first episode he directed had something to do with it. Check out the interview with him here. This is the second episode (out of 10!) featuring Spot, Data’s cat. We also see Data painting for the first time in quite a while. Anyone else catch the reference to transparent aluminum, it was first mentioned in Star Trek IV. Also, did you notice that when Data first says “You’re not my mother!” he uses a contraction? He also says, “Honey I’m home!” and “I’ll join you.”
Evidently Ronald Moore, who wrote this episode along with Joe Menosky, hated plot B but had to write something because they were told they had to do something with the ship. No wonder it sucked. Data is singing a snippet from La Boheme, Puccini’s famous opera, in Jenna’s quarters. I thought about putting in the translation of what he’s singing, but it honestly isn’t important.
Missable/Unmissable? This is an episode that I’d recommend to anyone, please watch it. I can’t say it’s unmissable, but it’s good. The next one is an absolute winner.