If Data hadn't died in Nemesis

[Malleus]

If Data wasn't scripted to die in Nemesis, would the film have been better received by movie-goers and critics? A-plot: Picard merely goes up against an inexplicable clone with a badass superweapon ship, fights that clone aboard the latter's ship, and then that ship gets destroyed due to the thalaron technology. B-plot: Riker and Troi confront Picard's clone while trying to keep level heads over their planned marriage (and avenge the mind rape). Berman and co. could have had the bonus of having Shinzon and his goons from the future on a two-pronged vengeance mission, with the second prong against Riker when he will have finally commanded the Titan (future Riker having done something bad to Picard's clone).
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[Peach Wookiee]

Re: losers

spocksucks, that has earned you an infraction for trolling. Comments to PM.

 

[blueshirt]

I think Data's death was only 1 of the poor elements or missed opportunities in "Nemesis."

Star Trek has overdone the doppleganger and its variations as a plot device, even if such stories usually were good -- from "The Enemy Within" and "Mirror, Mirror" to Thomas Riker and Lore.
I just didn't think Shinzon and B-4/B-9 (I can't even remember which he was at this point) really brought anything insightful to the movie.

If Brent Spiner wanted to be written out, I'd've rather Data take the Lucasian chair as he did in "All Good Things," as that ending requires far less doubletalk and excuses should Spiner want to come back.
Also, "Nemesis" was a great opportunity to explore the Romulans as a major villain, and it was ignored. Following the Dominion War, does the Romulan Star Empire open up and embrace detente with the Federation or return to isolation? And how does Spock's reunification movement affect that outcome? Certainly there were allegories to explore with China emerging after Cold War.
And I'd like to think the Enterprise could have a couple space battles with a Romulan warbird or 2 in the context of that story as well.

The Riker-Troi wedding was the part of the movie I enjoyed most, actually. And I had no problem with so many of the characters moving on from the Enterprise, as it was obvious this would be the last TNG movie, anyway.

 

[Mr. B]

I think his death would have been more acceptable if it wasn't so absurd and unnecessary to the plot.

 

[TariAdama]

I HATED DATA DYING IN NEMESIS!!!!

 

[K-Star]

They REALLY could've come up with something better... and NOT killed him off. And if they absolutely HAD to have killed him off, they could've done a much better job! I didn't feel anything! I didn't even cry! Hell, the leaked script had a better ending than the actual movie did! I actually DID cry a little when I read it (the fact that he died had been spoiled before then too, since it took a while for me to even like Star Trek enough to want to watch Nemesis), but no such luck when I saw the movie!

(But I gotta admit, when I saw he was alive in Countdown... Words cannot describe how happy I was!)

 

[DiSiLLUSiON]

I liked Data very much. And I'd like to see the death of Data as a message -- just like the Destruction of Vulcan; no more reset buttons. But I do very much dislike the imprinting on B9 and the implication Data will be back that way. It makes his death completely meaningless.

However, I don't think those people who dislike this movie would have liked it more if Data had not died. That's trying to draw lines where none exist. I don't think there would be much that would make the movie-goers and critics more supportive of the movie; they are almost universally acclaiming it (96% on RT) already.

 

[BriGuy]

In dying, Data achieved what he sought all along - to be human.

His sacrifice and death were cheapened by the all-too-convenient presence of a new body in the form of B4 that they could just download his memories into, and was basically going to become Data 2.0.

It would've been better without the B4 becoming Data, but perhaps being shown to be more than an empty dolt and folllowing in his brother's footsteps on his own journey. The memories download would not make him Data, but give him the inspiration and motivation to be more than the sum of his programming.

 

[cultcross]

In dying, Data achieved what he sought all along - to be human.

How so?
In that humans do really stupid things when there are obvious alternatives that don't involve them dying?

 

[Colonel Midnight]

I was glad to hear Data kicked the bucket himself in NEM (haven't seen the movie yet - probably never will for other reasons). Never thought he was that great of a character overall, just TNG's version of a Spock knock-off. *shrug*

Cheers,
-CM-

 

[Klaitu]

I think that a lot of people who hate Nemesis so much hate it because Data dies, and that's the only reason they hate it.. and they can't get over it.

Personally, I liked Data, he's probably my favorite TNG character, but at some point, Data can't be Data anymore because Brent Spiner isn't a robot, he ages.

Furthermore, I think Data's plot nugget of "I want to be a real boy" was entirely mined out after he installed that emotion chip.

Data had nowhere to go but down, so he might as well go out in a blaze of glory.

That being said, they could have found a better way to kill him off, but at least he didn't fall off a cliff like Kirk did. What a letdown.

 

[GalaxyX]

I think that a lot of people who hate Nemesis so much hate it because Data dies, and that's the only reason they hate it.. and they can't get over it.

I'm one of those people. The movie was pretty bad, but I would have forgiven a lot if they hadn't killed off my favorite character.

 

[Hyperspace05]

I think that a lot of people who hate Nemesis so much hate it because Data dies, and that's the only reason they hate it.. and they can't get over it.

No - I hate it because they didn't REALLY kill Data. They didn't have the GUTS to do that. They tried to keep their cake AND eat it too - in the most obvious way possible.

Do you have any doubt B4 would have become Data the next TNG movie? (if one had ever been made) Of course not... And that is just indication of the systemic problems at work in the TNG era movies.