PATRON TAKES - Star Trek TNG Season 3 Episode 16

The last weak episode of season 3, IMHO. Coming up I really enjoy every episode even if it's not universally rated as "peak Trek", though some are.

... HE'S BITING THAT FEMALE!!! *chef's kiss*

"Why is the sky black?" and "Thank you for my life." ............Those remains two of THE MOST memorable lines I've heard in all of Star Trek - for reasons both of you (TA) will experience by the time the episode concludes. And I've seen the new Star Treks', too.

It seems a little bit of lazy writing for the admiral to just regard Lal as Federation property again. Has anyone mentioned that the ceiling of the transporter pad is the floor of the TOS pad? I haven't read every comment.

What an episode! Several Predictions here. 1. You will cry! 2. You will pop when you see who directs the episode - the start of a legacy. So many great scenes, kissing Riker, Data asking his intentions! As much as the Admiral is an asshole, hearing him talk about Data trying to save Lal is heartbreaking. However you may feel about what is a sensitive subject - there's also a bit of eerie foreshadowing of the present day in that scene with a child choosing their own gender

I wasn't crazy about this episode when it came it out, and I expect you both may feel the same. I initially thought the Lal character was a bit too goofy, but I appreciate the performance more now than I did then. It hits much differently after rewatching it many years later.

While I knew how this episode ended, having seen it once before, what surprised me was the emotional sledge hammer that hit me five minutes into the episode as a result of that knowledge. The scene that was the biggest gut punch to me was when Lal's inability to process fear in Troi's quarters. Lal's line to Data that she had enough love for both of them brought me to tears. What a great episode.

(Star-Trek-Eye-Borg) I think you’ll love this episode. It has good character growth for Data, plays with all your emotions (comedy, drama, heartbreak), and the scene with Lal kissing Riker is the best. I bet you guys explode with laughter.

Prediction: Alex will cry. Josh will be the closest he’s been so far. Both of you will find mad respect for Frakes as a director! Seriously, what an amazing directorial debut for him. This episode makes grown men cry (me too, Alex. Me too.)

I agree with Admiral Haftel's position, having the only two Soong type androids on a long range exploration vessel would be risky. Also, in a scene the didn't make it from concept to the script, Haftel arrived in direct command of his unamed Excelsior Class ship, which would have served as an ititial clue to him being a hands on Admiral (like Admiral Kirk before him).

I love how this is straight after Yesterdays Enterprise. It’s another incredible episode but yet so different. It really highlights the versatility of the show. That ending is one Treks saddest.

Riker's rizz sneaks up on him in this episode.

This is Rene Echevarria's first script. He's another prolific Star Trek writer moving forward for TNG and DS9, so keep an eye out for his stories if you like this one.

This was the first episode of Star Trek I ever saw. Definitely one of the saddest in the show. I like how by the end even the asshole starfleet admiral comes around.

Before I had kids, this episode always broke me up, I really felt for Data. After I had kids, I just want to shoot Lal out of a torpedo tube into the sun. Data, you idiot, how expensive is a positronic daughter gonna be.

Here you go a Character show ... Papa Data ... hashbrown AndroidGenderRevealParty... some highs and lows in this one.

Tear jerker...

A bit odd that after measure of a man and the legal conclusion Star Fleet would still be trying to do this. But hey that's Star Fleet...

Notice how In Measure of a Man, Picard initially concedes that Data must turn himself over to Star Fleet to be studied. However, in this episode, he tells Data to ignore the admiral’s order to surrender Lal. To me, it’s an another great example this season of the writers making Picard a character who truly cares about his crew.

So Data remembers the experience of kissing Riker.

Solid character work episode. You'll find the directorial credit beyond belief, and you guys'll be excited to see an Andorian again, but probably wonder why they're green. Good performances alm around. And an Admiral coming to realize he was a heartless dipstick for once.

Jonathan Frakes directing debut with this episode - lots of humour, heart and humility. Expect more episodes to be directed by cast members from now on, to (mostly) good results..!

I like Picard’s arc in this episode. He starts out viewing Lal as an unauthorized science experiment and comes around to seeing her as Data’s child

I would be surprised if you guys didn't love this one.

There are 3 episodes of Star Trek that I have seen make people cry. This is one of them. TNG is on a roll, and the best of Season 3 is still yet to come.

Order a man to hand the Target Audience over to the state? Not while I'm their Patreon! :D

This episode made me cry. I have not spoken to my mother for 20 years. She died last year, I never told her thank you for my life.

"What are your intentions with my,daughter" I'm sure this isn't the first time Riker has heard this lol

Jonathan Frakes directorial debut! And he gets a great one (hence his scarce appearance in the episode) This is heartfelt episode that brings me to tears. no matter how many times I see it. Hope you guys feel the same way about it. Amazing job by Jonathan Frakes!

A child choosing their sex and appearance. Another example of Trek being ahead of its time!

This is another popular episode that doesn't make it for me. It just feels like a rehashing of Measure of a Man, where for the 2nd time Starfleet forgets that androids were granted autonomy. This time around, the android of interest is not Data, but a new character we just met this week, while the episode itself provides none of the courtroom intrigue that elevated Measure of a Man to legend status.

Data doesn’t seem to have much luck with family, lost his brother, his lover and now his daughter… glad he doesn’t have emotions

This episode will break you.

Lal is played by Hallie Todd, and she really sells this episode..funny, touching, with just a hint of a mechanical movement. Her mother was Ann Morgan Guilbert who played Millie on the old Dick Van Dyke show, and in the 90’s played Grandma Yeta on The Nanny.

Another great episode, data gets a chance to shine again with a shory about kids and his legacy, and how the admiral says at the end about how fast his hands moved, there aren’t many episodes like this that use family/kids as a big gut punch but there is a few, banger no 2 let’s keep going

Admiral Haftel was played by Nicolas Coster, who had a recurring part as Blair’s father on “The Facts of Life”. Blair’s mother was played by a recurring Marj Dusay, who played Kara the brain thief on Spock’s Brain (“Brain and brain, what is BRAIN!?!”)

I'm um... not a fan of this episode. It's one of the many tropes I really can't stand in an episodic series. YMMV, (probably will) but I am not a fan. Coming off episode 15, this was bound to be a letdown.

Why was Lal limited to choosing between real species in the Star Trek universe for her appearance? If I were Lal I would have ended up looking like Legolas with angel wings.

There are multiple heart-wrenching scenes in this episode, but the line about Data's hands moving faster than you can see is what gets me. Fantastic choice from the show creators to tell it, not show it this time.

"..not while I'm his captain" Picard with the moral backbone made of adamantium.

Many admirals in Trek are awful, but Haftel has my vote for the worst. He uses being a father as a shield, but acts nothing like one. He doesn't even get a comeuppance at the end. Just laments it wasn't meant to be, and doesn't acknowledge his actions contributed to her death.

Don't look up Jonathan Frakes' info on IMDB or anywhere on the internet and social media after this episode! Doing so would be the result of violating the Prime Directive! That will be all, guys.

Many will remember this as Jonathan Frakes’ directorial debut but also of note is this is the first episode written by Rene Echevarria, who, much like Ron Moore, will go on to pen a multitude of classic TNG and DS9 episodes, and is probably best known for drafting many of the more emotionally resonant episodes of the show, this being no exception.

I’m a dad of a young daughter. I find this one hits much harder now than previous viewings.

Another obnoxious Starfleet officer. At least he redeems himself... this one always draws a tear or 20 from me.

My favorite part of this episode is the change of heart you see in the Admiral. At first, he views Data and Lal as nothing but hardware (like Maddox in Measure of a Man), but by the end, he’s moved by Data’s attempts to save his daughter.

I'm not crying. It's all the damn space pollen.

Greeting from Youngstown, Ohio. I love when Data takes Picard to school on his reproductive rights! Rarely do we see Picard get owned on philosophical or moral issues!

Such a touching, sad, and beautiful episode. Who has tears?

I predict some sort of reaction at the appearance of the Andorian body option, followed by tears at the end. This episode even made its own Badmiral tear up.

Anytime we get used to the idea of Starfleet being the “good guys”, an evil admiral shows up to remind us that it’s just like any other corrupt organization. What kind of monster decides to take away someone’s daughter away for study?

The TNG episode that makes me cry every time. Only strike against it for me is that it goes over some of the same terrain as Measure of a Man. But from ‘his hands were moving so fast’ to the end I’m a blubbering mess.

This episode made me cry. I liked the callbacks to Measure of a Man but this one seemed even more poignant to me. Fully invested.

This one is such a charming and poignant story. Data having a child is a natural progression of his character. The performance of Lal by Hallie Todd is worthy of an Emmy. As a kid I found her performance humorous. As an adult with an autistic little sister the performance hits home. You instantly feel sympathy for this child-in-adult form discovering the world around her. In many ways TNG did Forrest Gump four years before that film was released. The final scene with Lal is gut-wrenching. An excellent outing for first time director Frakes. Also, welcome Rene Echevarria to the writing team. You will see his name attached to many of the greatest episodes of TNG and DS9.

Who's going to cry first, Josh or Alex?