FULL DISCUSSION - Star Trek TNG S2E6 - The Schizoid Man

It's probably been mentioned but Data starts whistling as Graves did. In Encounter at Farpoint when we first see Data he is attempting to whistle and says he can't do it despite a lot of effort. Very cool little detail and an example of what makes the writing on this show so great. Also on the bridge Graves makes a callback to the song and the Tin Man saying words to the effect that you're not a man without heart.

On a side note, it is astonishing how many of your questions and comments will be addressed and revisited as the seasons unfold. You are asking all the right questions and making all the right connections. Almost like you were their target audience or something. (see what I did there? 😉)

They only show Geordie knocked out but I always thought, by implication, there was another engineer there with him but we never see him onscreen. Perhaps they filmed a long shot that showed another person on the floor and it got cut for time? I'm fairly certain Picard wan't referencing himself as well when he called sickbay. [Edit: Just went back and watched the scene. After Picard is knocked out you can see two other sets of legs.]

I'm with you, I like this episode a lot. But it wouldn't quite make my top tier list, only because of the quality of some of the others. Also I think the beard scene at the start was to help explain why it took the crew a little longer to catch on: They knew Data had been acting a little funny lately in his pursuit of being human, and just chalked it up to that at first.

The one call back I wish they'd have pulled was from season 1 episode 1. When Data (with Ira inside) starts to whistle I wish they'd have had Riker hear/see that to show he's on to the switch. Since in the first episode Riker whistles in the holodeck and Data looks over and says "Remarkable".

It’s weird but a part of me wants Ira to succeed and get his “2nd life” with his “girl”. He’s capable of so much more feeling than Data he should get a chance to make a go of it. But that’s also his downfall he’s only been an Android for like a day, Data is aware of his strength and short comings Ira is like a raw nerve in a indestructible machine.

The strange thing about this episode is that they really pushed how a near warp transport could affect the people who were transported, but then it never gets mentioned again, even when Data starts acting strange. You'd think that someone would have suggested it as a possible reason, at least in passing.

I wouldn't worry about Riker not seeming to have much to do. Most of these early season 2 episodes haven't really featured away missions. Those are where Riker gets utilised the most, because he usually leads them.

I'm not sure why the writers chose to introduce Dr Selar instead of sending Dr Pulaski to Graves' World, but I do like the acknowledgement that the chief medical officer is the head of a team and not the only doctor on board. The Galaxy Class ships have a crew of over a thousand people. Of course the CMO isn't the only doctor. Even on the Constitution Class ship of TOS they showed this when they had Dr Mbenga treating Spock in "A Private Little War".

After Picard is knocked unconscious, you can see a third body on the floor with him and Geordi, so Graves had already knocked out two people.

you guys mentioned Tracy Tormé here. are you aware he recently died? rip

Glad you liked this one, but I have trouble remembering I've actually seen it many times. Other episodes I can remember word for word, but not this one. In my seasons rankings I have this down for "Time Filler With Good Moments".

I just saw on Facebook its brent spiners birthday. Happy birthday to a great actor

Suffice it to say, this was an early fine performance from Spiner and a fine heavyweight performance from W. Morgan Sheppard... who seems a lot older here than he actually was... having been in his 50s here. It was kind of his niche to play elderly men even though he himself wasn't elderly. Selar was a small delight in this episode too.

To me this season isn’t just a bad one. It’s more like a roller coaster ride. It contains some of my favorite episodes and some of my least favorite. But it has a higher amount of the bad ones than later seasons, I’d say.

Interesting to see how we get more and more of the crew telling us how they really feel about Data’s “humanity.” In both the Sherlock Holmes episode and this one, we see Geordi arguing in favor of Data’s emotions, etc, and Picard admitting he is definitely more than a machine. He even calls Data a “life form.”

I was surprised that neither of you was inspired to stroke your beard thusly.

Hey this is cool timing .. it's Brent Spiner's birthday today 🥳

"Straight Data" reminded me of Sacha Baron Cohn's one character....

No spoiler. But 4:50 for those in the know. That's all.

"That could be an interesting story." Yeah! And ... *bite on my tongue*

Speaking of a scene to give it away to the crew (especially Riker)....Data can't whistle. Remember? That should have been the moment.

I remember seeing Brent spinet on night court,he was hilarious and now on tng he makes Data his own character,instead of being the new Spock

Okay, going forward, the moment any of the crew sees Data acting weird, it needs to be an immediate Red Alert lockdown. It's always going to be bad news.

Riker brings the jazz, anything else is a bonus ☺️

This feels like a season 1 episode to me. It takes far too long for the crew to realise what is happening to Data. Graves' part also seems too short for an actor like Patrick McGoohan, who was the first choice to play the part.

Glad to hear you like Data and Riker. By this point in the series, I was all-in with all of the characters. Don't worry, plenty of more episodes to come. And to quote Commander Uhura "Be careful what you wish for. You may get it."

Also, remember that when Data mentions his off button to Graves and how it "robs [him] of his consciousness". This means that all the time Graves was in his body, Data was "off", and could not possibly have any memory of his actions while under Graves' influence.

Agreed on Brent's great performance, and the performance of the actor who played Dr Graves. To me the best part was the introduction of Suzie Plakson into the franchise. Hot hot hot hot.

Re-watching TNG as an adult gives a new appreciation for Brent Spiners work. Truly underrated as an actor.

Don’t be too concerned about cast members not being featured much, with 7 seasons they all get multiple opportunities to shine. Sometimes you get back to back episodes that feature one character heavily - it’s just the way it is. There isn’t a strict “rota”, which is a good thing as you don’t know what to expect.

I agree with you that Graves coming to the realization himself at the end that he had to leave Data's body was kinda weak to solve the problem. I think if they just had organized that scene a little differently it would have been more convincing. Graves tries to justify the injuries he had caused with excuses. If they had put the revelation that he had actually injured Kareen quite severely at the end and make THAT the final thing that convinces him that he has to leave the body because he can't handle the strength of an android body and is afraid he might hurt the woman he loves so much again would have been stronger imo.

This was an early episode I remember catching, before I'd *really* got into TNG (age 11-12). I remember all the wham lines, but the story was lost on me back then. Obviously, the "cable" channels over here have been repeating the franchise non-stop for YEARS, so this is far from the first time I've seen it since back then, but I don't really have much else to say. Except, "When I stroke the beard... thusly..." 😂😂

I....I want to say something PROFOUND because I am first! ..........................yeah, I got nothing.