Brothers (6 Oct. 1990)

After an accident aboard the Enterprise leaves one of its children in grave danger, Data commandeers the Enterprise, driven to take him to an unknown origin, where an interesting figures awaits.

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Rick Berman

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data / Lore / Dr. Noonien Soong
Wil Wheaton	...	Ensign Wesley Crusher
Cory Danziger	...	Jake Potts
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien
Adam Ryen	...	Willie Potts
James Lashly	...	Ensign Kopf

Storyline

En route to the medical facility at Starbase 416 to obtain urgent treatment for a child who's been injured, Lt. Commander Data inexplicably hijacks the Enterprise. He transports himself to a planet and finds his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, alive and well. Data has no recollection of events prior to arriving on the planet. The elderly doctor has activated a homing device in Data as a way of bringing him home. They are both surprised however when Data's brother, Lore, also appears. The Doctor had no idea Lore had been reactivated and the homing signal intended only for Data obviously called Lore home as well. The doctor tells them that he is dying but that doesn't stop the brothers from bickering. The reason the doctor called Data home was to provide him with a new chip to give him emotions. Lore has his own plans however.

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Plot Keywords:

actor plays three characters | actor plays multiple roles | brother brother relationship | 24th century | father son relationship

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1990 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brent Spiner plays three roles (Data, Lore and Dr. Noonien Soongh) in this episode. All of the scenes where Spiner acts opposite himself were filmed on a closed set to help him feel more comfortable.

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Goofs

In order to lock out the ship's functions, Data inputs a very long code. The next scene shows the data stream on the console with some numbers missing. - What Data says: One, seven, three, four, six, seven, three, two, one, four, seven, six, charlie, three, two, seven, eight, nine, seven, seven, seven, six, four, three, tango, seven, three, two, victor, seven, three, one, one, seven, eight, eight, eight, seven, three, two, four, seven, six, seven, eight, nine, seven, six, four, seven, three, six, lock. - What the console says: one, seven, three, four, six, seven, two, one, four, seven, six, charlie, three, two, seven, eight, nine, seven, seven, seven, six, three, tango, seven, three, two, victor, seven, three, one, one, seven, one, eight, eight, eight, seven, three, two, four, seven, six, seven, eight, nine, seven, six, four, three, seven, six, lock.

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Quotes

[Soong has presented to Data an emotion chip, which he has developed to equip him with simple feelings]
Lore: You'd be surprised, Data. Feelings do funny things. You may even learn to... understand your "evil" brother. To forgive him.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation: Encounter at Farpoint (1987)

User Reviews

The family theme continued - great performance by Brent Spiner.

ST:TNG:77 - "Brothers" (Stardate: 44085.7) - this is the 3rd episode of the 4th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation and one of my favorites for the series.

The episode concerns Data, who suddenly has a program override, thereby commandeering the Enterprise, taking it to a distant planet. When he beams down (after encrypting the Bridge so no one can override his commands), he finally emerges from his override to see he's in the presence of his "father" Dr. Noonian Soong. The reason he called Data here is because he has a last gift for him - an emotion chip (which will not be integrated into him until Star Trek: Generations).

However, also beckoned by the signal Dr. Soong sent out is Lore (whom we last so in the 1st season episode "Datalore"). And of course, this is where things go wrong.

This episode marks Brent Spiner's strongest performance in the series (and perhaps the movies too) because he plays THREE characters - Data, Lore, Dr. Soong and manages to make each different and unique, thereby making US believe these 3 are interacting with each other. Brilliant to say the least.

Trivia note: Data still can't whistle the song from the pilot episode "Encounter At Farpoint".