"The Most Toys" - forgot how much I loved it

[RapidNadion]

I just watched "The Most Toys" on DVD last night, and I was floored at how well it still holds up. This was one of the very earliest TNG episodes I saw when I was a kid, and the safe-for-TV-but-still-horribly-gruesome Varia disintegration scene is one I've never forgotten.

But watching it as an adult, I see there's so much more to appreciate about this script. From the crew's angst at Data's "death," to Geordi's obsessive need to solve the mystery, to Worf's awkward stand-in period at Ops ... the "B-story" is solid, and Data's interactions with his captors and passive resistance are wonderful to watch.

Taking the cake, though, are the performances by Spiner and Rubinek (Fajo). I would recommend this episode to any fellow actor as a very good example of how to interestingly play scenes. I mean, Rubinek runs the gamut from hilarious to frighteningly sinister -- he's obviously having the time of his life with this role; his sheer vitality shines through Fajo's mask at times. I can see how people would see this performance as "hammy." IMO, though, he's a master at really listening, and staying in the moment - delivering his lines as though they were really vocalizations of spontaneous thoughts. Example: the moment immediately before his "Have you killed, Data?" question. Basic stuff, I know, but it's amazing how difficult it can be for some actors to pull off. I've seen him in Frasier, in The Family Man, etc., but nowhere is he more fun to watch than in this episode.

Spiner has a great opportunity to play with a whole range of emotions here, too - from the hilarious attempted entertaining of the sock puppet ("lu-lu-lu-luu") to the look of borderline hurt at his dissolving uniform, to his subtle manipulation of Varia, to that final scene leading up to his decision to shoot Fajo ("I cannot allow this to continue"), to his evasion of Riker's question, and finally to the episode ender "I am just an android."

Sorry ... I've gushed for this whole post - I just wondered if anyone else appreciated this episode as much as I. And if it's been a while since you've seen it, may I recommend it for a re-watch.

 

[ALF]

I've gotten people hooked on TNG due to this episode.

I sometimes use "Night Terrors" and "The Nth Degree" for the same purpose. "Encounter at Farpoint" is a hard sell, though.

Yeah... in Toy everything is going great for TNG, and the ending being vague... I absolutely love that. TNG was at it's strongest when the end of the episode left bits opened up so that the audience could decide for themselves about the morality or central issues of the story.

 

[buckeyenation]

this one's an underrated gem. the part i like is after data's shuttlecraft explodes, and warf, simply says, "data".also we begin to see how close the laforge and data friendship is

 

[Mr Troi]

I thought this was a great episode but if you take it that Data attempted to kill Fajo then he didn't just evade Riker's question - he lied to him. I was very shocked by that.

 

[TheKeeper]

Saul Rubinek did a typically fine job here. It would have been interesting to see what David Rappaport (R.I.P.) would have done with it.

 

[Ghrakh]

Yes, I think this was a very good episode, and it has one of my favorite Data moments, where he pretended to be a mannequin. Fajo was pissed.

 

[docrice]

I think the sock puppet was the only thing I didn't care for this episode. Otherwise, it's one of those episodes that I generally don't pass up if I happen to come across it.

 

[Admiral Shran]

Agreed, another great outing by TNG.

This episode, IMO, did more to move Data forward in his quest for humanity than almost any other, and more so than any of the movies. The fact that he was willing to kill Fajo and then lie to Riker about it, shows this perfectly. It's what a Human Being would be willing to do in that situation.

 

[Start Wreck]

I don't understand why he would choose to kill rather than let a criminal go free. Surely letting him go would be the lesser of two evils, regardless of what he's done or might do in future?

I prefer to think something did happen during transport.

 

[Alrik]

^

I do hope that post was in jest.


Data's choice of pulling the trigger and lying about it was one of the stongest moments of developement in the entire series.

 

[Start Wreck]

^

I do hope that post was in jest.


Data's choice of pulling the trigger and lying about it was one of the stongest moments of developement in the entire series.

It might be if it made sense.
I can think of better ways for Data to become more human than deciding to murder a thief.

Besides, it didn't really 'develop' him did it? After that, he doesn't do anything like it again.

 

[TheKeeper]

It might be if it made sense.
I can think of better ways for Data to become more human than deciding to murder a thief.

Besides, it didn't really 'develop' him did it? After that, he doesn't do anything like it again.

"Murder a thief" is not a very fair description of his act. Data had to bring to justice a cold-blooded murderer, thief and kidnapper, one who had just called Data's bluff by refusing to surrender even with a disruptor pointed at him. In fact, if Data had chosen not to fire he would have proven himself unsuitable for service in a semi-military organization like Starfleet.

 

[Start Wreck]

"Murder a thief" is not a very fair description of his act. Data had to bring to justice a cold-blooded murderer, thief and kidnapper, one who had just called Data's bluff by refusing to surrender even with a disruptor pointed at him. In fact, if Data had chosen not to fire he would have proven himself unsuitable for service in a semi-military organization like Starfleet.

Starfleet doesn't use the dealth penalty, so his actions would not have been condoned as "bringing him to justice".

Data could have let him go. He may have been brought to justice another time, who knows? Data isn't the type to make rash decisions. It undermines his character.

 

[TheKeeper]

Starfleet doesn't use the dealth penalty, so his actions would not have been condoned as "bringing him to justice".

Data could have let him go. He may have been brought to justice another time, who knows? Data isn't the type to make rash decisions. It undermines his character.

Data had a right, even an obligation, to end Fajo's reign of terror by the means he had at hand. No doubt if Data had a Starfleet phaser, stunning Fajo and taking him into custody would have been appropriate. If Data had surrendered out of some obligation to not kill, even in self-defense, how many other subsequent victims of Fajo would he have been responsible for?

 

[Start Wreck]

Data had a right, even an obligation, to end Fajo's reign of terror by the means he had at hand.

Well I have to disagree there. No-one has the right to take another person's life, even if that person has commited murder himself. Federation laws don't say that two wrongs make a right, so there's no obligation there.

No doubt if Data had a Starfleet phaser, stunning Fajo and taking him into custody would have been appropriate.

Exactly. But in the absense of one, murder isn't an appropriate substitute.

If Data had surrendered out of some obligation to not kill, even in self-defense, how many other subsequent victims of Fajo would he have been responsible for?

None, directly. You can't hold a man (or android) responsible for the actions of another.
As for Fajo himself, who knows what he would have done in the future? Data didn't know. Nothing is absolutely certain, except for the fact that Fajo would have been dead had Data fired.

I could accept it if it was a situation where Fajo was about to kill someone else, then and there, and Data fired to protect them -- but he wasn't. Nor was his own life in danger.

 

[TheKeeper]

Your arguments would seem to undermine any concept of justice and punishment. Why enforce any laws or dispense any penalties if there's no guarantee the perpetrator will commit further crimes?

For what it's worth, there was a TNG novel (Peter David's "Imzadi", which I won't spoil with details here) where Data faced a related problem, with infintely greater stakes. In that case, I thought Data chose to "play God" inappropriately.

I like to think that I value every person's life as much as anyone, but if I had been Data I would have vaporized Fajo in the middle of his gloating speech and been satisfied that I had done my duty to others and that the galaxy was a safer place for it.

 

[Start Wreck]

Your arguments would seem to undermine any concept of justice and punishment. Why enforce any laws or dispense any penalties if there's no guarantee the perpetrator will commit further crimes?

Not any laws or penalties, just the death sentence.

But let's assume for argument's sake that Starfleet would require him to kill Fajo in that situation -- if that's the case, then why did he lie about it afterwards?

 

[TheKeeper]

Your arguments would seem to undermine any concept of justice and punishment. Why enforce any laws or dispense any penalties if there's no guarantee the perpetrator will commit further crimes?

Not any laws or penalties, just the death sentence.

But let's assume for argument's sake that Starfleet would require him to kill Fajo in that situation -- if that's the case, then why did he lie about it afterwards?

I don't suggest he was legally obligated (by Starfleet) to kill Fajo, only that he was legally justified (morally obligated?) in doing so under the circumstances.

I suspect he lied because it was a Varon disruptor, itself illegal to possess or use in the Federation.

In addition, I note that no one present in S1's "Skin of Evil" corrected Data for saying the cruel and murderous Armus should be destroyed.

 

[Mr Troi]

Fajo's proximity device prevents anyone from touching him and it can be used as a weapon. If Data does not fire then Fajo can charge at him and knock him down and then confiscate the distruptor. Data is unable to use the escape pod because the hanger door is shut and even if he did escape, Fajo's ship could easily destroy his pod or lock onto it. It is also important to remember that Data believes that the Enterprise is convinced that he is dead. Data has two choices: surrender to Fajo or kill him.

The Next Generation teaches that all life forms have a right to life, Fajo represents one of the most violent challenges to that philosophy in the series. Data has the opportunity to end Fajo's tyranny, and an opportunity that may never come again. Data chooses to overcome his moral code for the sake of achieving something necessary. It is an unenviable position but, for what it's worth, I agree with his decision.

I posted that I thought that Data lying to Riker was shocking to me but it is not really when you consider what happened in The Measure of a Man and The Offspring. In the first episode Starfleet wished to make a law that Data was their property and they could dismantle him and in the next one they went after his daughter. Data must have believed that Starfleet would exploit any pretext to get the chance to dissasemble him and that killing Fajo could qualify as one. In Clues in Season 4, an episode about Data lying, Picard tells Data that Starfleet will have him stripped down to his wires because of his apparent insubordination. In Measure of a Man, Data tells Maddox that he cannot submit to his procedure because he is the culmination of Dr Soong's dream and if he dies something unique and wonderful will be lost. Data lies to his commanding officer in order to protect himself.

Riker knew he was lying, he could have ordered an investigation into this alleged transporter malfunction - after all if phasers were to suddenly discharge during transportation that would be disastrous for away missions. But Riker recognised Data as a comrade, a brother, he knew he was lying but he also knew that he had a reason.

 

[ALF]

Guys, Data did not lie.

Unless you count it as a lie of omission. When Riker tells him the phaser was discharged during transport, Data simply says, "perhaps something occured during transport, Commander."

He does not say, "dude, I totally did not try to kill Fajo!"