Why is Data so likeable?

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by Zippo and Flask, Jul 7, 2013.

  1. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    People say that but I never noticed it. She was definitely ripping into him during Peak Performance, the second to last episode of the season.
     
  2. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

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    By that point, the damage had been more than done. IMO, the character never recovered from consistently-bad first through fifth impressions.

    And the whole McCoy clone package went beyond that with the transporter aversion, amongst other touches. It was insulting in my view...they crossed the line between "homage" and "blatant, mindlessly-inappropriate rip-off". Diana Muldaur could have been a good character on the show, if they'd given her a character of her own to play....
     
  3. Captain Kathryn

    Captain Kathryn Commodore Commodore

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    I suppose his innocence. :) Also TNG for me seems a little bit serious most of the time and Data serves as some comic relief.

    He is easily my favorite TNG character.
     
  4. Jefferies

    Jefferies Captain Captain

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    I respecfully disagree. In my view Pulaski worked extremely well as a character and Diana Muldaur did an excellent job in the role. It was great to finally have a female character who wasn't just a pretty face and it was also nice to finally have a character who had a serious flaw. She was predjudiced and that offered some nice typically human conflict. Also her objection to Data was understandable in a way. I'm sure there are many people who would have severe difficulty in accepting a machine as a person. She was also a character that showed a lot of growth for the brief screen time that she had and given more time I think she and Data would have become best pals and they might indeed have worked out some kind of Spock-McCoy dynamic. After all Data might be charming and innocent but that doesn't mean he is beyond criticism. To me it was a great loss to the show when Diana Muldaur left. Also McCoy was a great and loved character with a lot of rough edges. Basing a role on him was by no means a bad idea. Crusher/McFadden by crontrast was just bland and generic. After 6 seasons of her she still seemed exactly the same character as in the first episode - annoying and boring with too much of a high opinion about herself.
     
  5. cheesepuff316

    cheesepuff316 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Because he's just awesome.... :D
     
  6. Ln X

    Ln X Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Data is the king of nerds, so that's why...
     
  7. Noname Given

    Noname Given Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I guess I'm the odd man out as I found Data to be the second most annoying character on TNG -- after Counselor Deanna Troi and her many cries of "I feel great pain/joy/anger/sadness"... etc, usually AFTER it was plainly obvious to everyone else that the being in question had such feelings (IE 'sense great anger' AFTER the 1701-D had been fired on.)

    I also found it annoying that some writers would reset Data (IE he'd be confused or say something inappropriate the same way he had in a previous episode, etc. as if he had learned nothing new about human behavior at times.)
     
  8. Pthalo BlueMoon

    Pthalo BlueMoon Commodore Commodore

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    A 100% moral decision, IMO, is one that strives to do the right thing in any given situation.

    What is that right thing? Deciding by emotion alone leaves out the consequences of one's choice. Do the right thing, as long as it feels good, without taking into account how it effects others.

    A moral choice based on logic alone does the opposite; it totally disregards the human factor. Looking at the situation, analyzing it, then deciding on a moral choice based on that loses humanity.

    I think a true moral decision needs both logic and emotion.
     
  9. Gil T.Azell

    Gil T.Azell Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Tasha Yar said it best: " My friend Data. You see things with the wonder of a child. And that makes you more human than any of us"
     
  10. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    Why is Abed so likable?

    Data, for his lack of intuitive understanding of the human condition, had a clarity of purpose and perspective that emotional creatures lack. He is a flattering mirror, he makes us see a noble, uncomplicated version of ourselves.

    To answer the question about morality, morality is logic applied to emotion.
     
  11. Pthalo BlueMoon

    Pthalo BlueMoon Commodore Commodore

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    I really like this answer. Very insightful.

    Data enables us to see past the subjective reality that emotion can present, and helps us see the truth in the world around us through a dispassionate perspective.

    You're right. Abed does the same thing. I never thought of that.
     
  12. amickschl15

    amickschl15 Cadet Newbie

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    It's his human characteristics, but his lack of emotions. I believe that Data grows constantly throughout TNG, but what I find is that I like him because he is so much like us, but then, really not at all. He is a reflection of us, (although I'm not quite that pale) but he still is very different from us in numerous ways. I find his charater quite intriguing. He walks, talks, and looks like us, but he is an Android. I do, however, argue that although Data cannot comprehend emotions like you and I, he does learn. I sometimes find that you feel emotion from him, even though he insists that he has no feelings.
     
  13. Pavonis

    Pavonis Commodore Commodore

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    Not possible. Data is just incapable of insulting people. The Spock-McCoy dynamic was based on equals who actually liked each other insulting each other regularly. Pulaski could insult Data, but playfully or not, Data could never return the favor.
     
  14. R. Star

    R. Star Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Data broke into Geordi with the lunkhead insult one episode. ;)
     
  15. Jefferies

    Jefferies Captain Captain

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    I didn't mean they would be a carbon copy of Spock/McCoy but rather that they would have formed a dynamic in which they assertively bounce their points of view of each other. The whole insult game from McCoy would not have been possible on TNG anyway because most of the time it was nothing but racist bigotry.
     
  16. Pavonis

    Pavonis Commodore Commodore

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    If they didn't intend to create a McCoy-Spock dynamic between Pulaski and Data, they shouldn't have made Pulaski a McCoy-clone. She had almost no personality of her own; it was all taken from McCoy's personality.
     
  17. Deckerd

    Deckerd Fleet Arse Premium Member

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    I remember Brent Spiner in an interview saying that Gene Roddenberry's idea of Data was that he should have a "Christ-like naivety" and Spiner said to himself, skeptically "really? was Christ naive?" In an case he owned the character from the start. The two characters who developed in the most thoughtful ways in the panorama of Trek characters were both synthetic: Data and the Doc.
     
  18. GalaxyX

    GalaxyX Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    This is exactly, word for word why he is my favorite character.

    Chuch Norris doesn't get wet;

    water gets Chuck Norris!

    *boo ching!*