Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
I thought they rocked! I just wish I knew what the hell happened to them after the episode...I mean, why not post one on each ship?
Did anyone else like the exocomps?
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Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
I think it helped bring another side to Data. He had Lal, his daughter, but then he had the Exocomps who were like kids to him.
A
Amaris
Guest
Sorry, BolianChief, I didn't like the exocomps. Too R2D2 1980's cuteness.
J.
J.
I like the story that they allowed but then I thought it was a nice tie in to Measure of a Man. For the exocomps themselves, they're not too bad but maybe they could have been better.
I hated them and the way they looked. One of my least favorite episodes.
I liked the episode. It discussed the issue of artificial sentience with a non-anthromorphised subject... just technical tools that had exceeded their programming.
Yes, 'The Measure of a Man' covered this ground earlier and better, but this episode brought up an interesting side question: What if the artificial life was a toaster, or an engineering tool - something practical we wouldn't think of as alive? Unlike Data, who is at least 'metaphorically alive' with his human-like appearance, name, rank, off-duty hours and so on.
Yes, 'The Measure of a Man' covered this ground earlier and better, but this episode brought up an interesting side question: What if the artificial life was a toaster, or an engineering tool - something practical we wouldn't think of as alive? Unlike Data, who is at least 'metaphorically alive' with his human-like appearance, name, rank, off-duty hours and so on.
I thought the concept had potential, but the execution was off. There should have been a distinction between life and sentient life somewhere in there. They proved that the exocomps had self-preservation instincts and intelligence, so I can accept that they might be alive. However, the episode never convinced me that the exocomps had sentience, so I didn't buy Data's decision to risk Picard and La Forge for the exocomps. That would be similar to me putting my two best friends in danger to try to save two lions. The risk far outweighs the potential gain.
The fact that it took me a good few minutes to remember which episode we were even on about here will tell you that it didn't exacly leave a lasting impression on me. Emminently forgettable. Not primarily the fault of the exocomps, but as others have pointed out, too similar to Measure of a Man, which was a lot, lot, better.
Thespeckledkiwi
Vice Admiral
See I don't see at is Measure of a Man, simply because it was them fighting for Data. Data was essentially alone in the universe as the only fully sentient robotic creature, so why wouldn't it be unique for him to find other 'lifeforms' like him.
I think the Comps could've been done differently but it was an interesting storyline to say the least.
I think the Comps could've been done differently but it was an interesting storyline to say the least.
It's interesting how people's perceptions of episodes differs. I really liked this episode - I thought the basic storyline was solid, the exocomps had a cute Silent Running-esque vibe to them, and Data's reactions were plausible and consistent. I also liked Data and Riker's argument. I thought the ending was fairly moving too.
/shrug. Different strokes I guess.
/shrug. Different strokes I guess.
The exocomp self-sacrifice was pretty good. I would have liked to see the concept explored a bit further.
If they had given them some appendages and an interface of sorts to look at it would have made them seem less hokey.
They would ba a valuable asset for every Federation starship.
If they had given them some appendages and an interface of sorts to look at it would have made them seem less hokey.
They would ba a valuable asset for every Federation starship.
Yeah, the Federation did kind of stumble into a place where they are creating an artificial sentience every couple of years. By the time of Voyager it seems they had taken the pragmatic approach to emerging intelligence -- as long as it does its job, leave it alone and don't philosophize.
^Really? It seems like VGR made a bigger deal out of holgraphic rights than any other series. By contrast, on DS9 they had Vic Fontaine acting as a self-aware hologram with free will, but treated the matter very casually, never getting caught up in the subject of his sentience and rights.
