Episode of the Week: 4x03 "Brothers"

[Harvey]

Rob Bowman wasn't fired, he was never on staff. That's not how it works with TV directors. You're asked back by the production and contracted for that single episode. If they like your work and you're still available, you keep getting asked back... Afterwards, he worked most steadily on "The X-Files" for years, becoming their go-to director for hire.

That's true for most television directors, although series often have directing producers on staff these days. Bowman held such a position on The X-Files and now has the same function on Castle. Other examples of directors on staff would be Jon Cassar on 24 and Michael Rymer on Battlestar: Galactica.

Having said that, you're absolutely right about Bowman. He was a "director for hire" on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and certainly wasn't fired. That rarely happens on episodic television, since the schedule is over so quickly that it's probably easier to just let a troublesome director finish their work and never hire them again than it is to go to the trouble of firing them.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think you're being a bit overcritical.

Here's the thing. The locals and the crew of the Enterprise know the planet has fruit that's life-threatening when ingested and that the planet itself has no cure for it. Not only did they put an arcade in walking distance from this fruit, they apparently didn't put any warnings signs there either since any existence of such things would have been mentioned. Ignoring warning signs has a lot more weight to it than assuming that a child would know the same things that an adult knows, which is a very, very stupid assumption to make.

A lot of children in real life have bushes full of poisonous berries in their backyard. They try to eat them once when they are three, and their mother tells them no, it will make you sick. They don't try again. If six year olds can do calculus, I think they can be taught not to 'Eated the purpleberries'. In a galactic community one of the first things you must learn is not to eat strange food without being absolutely sure it's safe.

It wasn't his fault his brother got sick, but making your brother think he killed you is something that would get any child yelled at.

 

[Jeyl]

If six year olds can do calculus, I think they can be taught not to 'Eated the purpleberries'. In a galactic community one of the first things you must learn is not to eat strange food without being absolutely sure it's safe.

I wonder why Gene Roddenberry didn't step in and demand this scene be changed since it paints humanity as quite infantile and imperfect. I mean, the whole crew is rushing to save this boy's life even though death is an accepted part of life. What's the rush? Gene probably would have had Riker scolding Jake for having a brother who panics at the mere thought that he accidentally killed him, insisting that as perfect human beings they shouldn't be so attached to each other. I mean, just look at how attached Riker is to Troi. So much history, set up and moments yet they never decide to commit during the whole seven year long run.

 

[Rory1080p]

I like the episode, I guess partly cause Data is one of my favorite characters, but I think the stuff with the emotion chip was done a bit confusingly (like how Lore would need it given he already has them?)

but it was interesting to see Soong, and to learn more about Data's origins, and it brings Lore back into the show as a future enemy which is good, the sub plot with the kid was okay, I think it's meant to be a contrast to the relationship between Data and Lore which it sort of does but it isn't brilliantly pulled off.

 

[The Old Mixer]

While not explained in the episode, I think that Lore took the chip in the irrational belief that it would "fix" him...his own emotions having obviously been off-kilter, such that Soong felt the need to shut him down and build a new android.

 

[les.kelly]

i really liked the whole sequence with data taking over the ship. the super long security code, talking in picards voice, good stuff. i was surprised to learn that rick berman wrote the episode!

 

[Agent Richard07]

I didn't find out until several years after this episode aired that Spiner played Dr. Soong. Good work playing three characters like that.

 

[USS Excelsior]

Convenient that Soong didn't activate the beacon during a crisis, such as during Best of Both Worlds!