I just thought of Time's Arrow. Certainly not one of the stronger two-parters that TNG had, but it had some good Data moments. His severed head in the teaser was a great start; and conclusion, for that matter, in part two. I liked it when he had to play poker to get money, and of course the relationship he developed with Guinan from the past was fun too. Phantasms was interesting too with Data's dreams. Very bizarre at times.
When I finally realized the Bob Wheeler character was played by Brent Spiner, and then saw the Night Court episode with the Old Trekies vs the New Trekies seen here , this summed up my delayed reaction when I finally got it! The irony made it that much more funny!
I just re-watched 'Ensigns of Command' and I'm surprised it didn't get mentioned here. I forgot how good this episode is. I wouldn't say it is Data's defining episode, but he definitely makes a big leap forward in this one. I don't think his 'command' episodes come across as well without this story behind them.
My favorite Data episode would have to be Elementary, Dear Data. Mostly because I enjoy Sherlock Homles tales but also because it showed off the great friendship Geordi and Data had.
My favorite, probably The Offspring, but there's many I like nearly as much Most underappreciated, Pen Pals
Me too! One of four TNG-eps that do always have me in tears at their end. Just for the record, the other ones are "Skin of evil" (Tasha's funeral!), "The inner light" (Picard playing the flute at the end) and of course "All good things" (when the camera circles away from the ship at the very end). Give me those eps in a row, and i'll be a crying mess for the rest of the day!
Not only is Data my favorite TNG character, he's my favorite Trek character period and one of my favorite characters from any kind of fiction. "Brothers", "Measure Of A Man" and "The Offspring" are my top Data episodes, but I enjoy it every time he's in the spotlight. Two episodes that no one has mentioned yet are "Silicon Avatar", which has some great Data moments, and "In Theory". Data's attempt to pursue a romance with Jenna runs the gamut from heartwarming to hilarious to heartbreaking in a very short time.
That was one of the reasons I really like 'Ensigns of Command', minus the 'hilarious' part. You really feel bad for MacKenzie at the end, when Data just gets in the shuttle and leaves. Brent Spiner did a great job communicating the fact that Data had second thoughts about the goodbye, but just did his thing anyway. Data might even rival Riker and other human characters for 'hook-ups', would have to go through and do a tally to support that though. I can think of at least four. He definitely does better than Geordi!
It's hard to pick a single episode because Data has so many great little moments in episodes even if they aren't great episodes. I might add to the obvious ones, Deja Q.
I've always had kind of mixed feelings about "Measure of a Man." It's a good episode in many respects, but perhaps I'm in the minority when feeling it's not one of the series' best. The chief problem for me is that while Maddox is a very interesting character, his belief that Data isn't sentient is pretty silly and almost impossible to defend (as Picard demonstrated by asking for proof that he was sentient), and so I have trouble believing that either his life or his career in Starfleet is in any real danger. Even Maddox seems to realize this fairly quickly, since his legal case switches from "Data is non-sentient" to "Data is property." Perhaps it would have worked better if it were suggested that other officers shared Maddox's views when Data entered Starfleet Academy, but it's implied that probably wasn't the case. I'm glad that he was still mentioned by name in "Data's Day."
^ 'Data's Day' is almost more about Maddox than Data, even though we never see the character. The episode demonstrates Maddox's "change of heart" more than it demonstrates Data's willingness to accept it. Data's POV regarding his own sentience isn't the point of this episode; educating Maddox is the point.
Courtroom dramas suck, usually, because they're nothing but cheap talk. Sooner or later, though, TNG was going to have to have one and it turned out not to be as insufferable as it could've been. As a Data episode, its strength is in the realisation that even in the "enlightened" future, people's rights can be - inadvertantly - oppressed. Even an entire class of people, whether based on status, or physicality, whatever. And that this possibility was approached so early on in TNG's run is "fascinating" to me. This should've never even been brought up, in-universe, considering how accepting and tolerant ALL of Humanity is - and not just in STARFLEET. The other aspect that makes "Measure of a Man" work is the test of friendship and that it was done with the right tonality. It wasn't some cheesey, family friendly, wholesome entertainment manner - Riker's been ordered to make it possible for STARFLEET to strip Data of all of his rights. If not, then Data would just lose them by default. And there are many aspects of Real Life that this could be an analogy for, like intervention for addiction, for example. Or even just about how blurred the lines are between professionalism and fraternisation in the workplace. All kinds of possibilities are touched on by this that give added meaning and depth to an episode that, even superficially, is "about something." At the end of the day though, yes, we're subjected to an episode that's all talk, but how interesting it is that someone's very existance might depend so greatly on "just talk." And, personally, I love how the JAG Officer just wants to rape Picard, every other time she runs into him, this episode. She's no Bev, but she was kind of cool ...
I remember when Riker flipped the "off" switch and Data shut down, demonstrating that he is just a machine, the first thought that came to my mind was, well you can stick a human with a needle full of drugs or chloroform them and they'll effectively turn off too. They might still be breathing but they're out like a light.
Well, TNG also had "The Drumhead", and for my money it and "Measure Of A Man" are two of the series' best. True, they could have been huge bore-fests, but top-notch writing and acting made for compelling drama.
Brothers, Clues, and Thine Own Self come to mind. I really like the teaser of Thine Own Self - great opening. I guess I'm partial to the later seasons, though. I think the writing was better and the characters more fleshed out by the actors playing them. Measure of a Man was of course great, but somehow I think of it as a Picard episode. Spiner was incredible. Very funny in "A Fistful of Datas" as well, but I guess that was kind of a Worf and Alexander episode. Data played off the whole cast very well - particularly LaForge and Worf.