Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Data's Day (1991) User Reviews

Data Dances....and Smiles!

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 24 August 2014]

This episode reminded me of those MASH episodes where one of the characters would write to a relative about what was going on daily in their lives. In this one, Data writes to the Daystrom Institute to tell of his efforts to assimilate himself into the crew by exploring and donning human traits. He has bee chosen to be the best man at Chief Obrien and Keiko's wedding and he experiments with all the intricacies of that process, including the seeming cold feet of the bride. In one of the funniest moments of the series, Beverly Crusher is enlisted to teach him to dance. She doesn't know it's for a wedding and teaches him to tap dance. He is very adept because he need only follow her moves When she realizes he misunderstanding, she tries basic ballroom technique with varied success. He does get it, but is stiff and awkward. She tells him to smile and he gets this plastered-on, ridiculous grin as he dances, first with her and then with a holographic partner.

There is also a serious event going on. A Vulcan ambassador is on board the Enterprise, ready to beam over to a Romulan ship to begin negotiations, representative of the Federation. She is killed as she transports over and the Romulans accuse Picard of underhandedness. It is well worth watching to see how this all plays out.

Unusual day in the "life" of an android working in outer space.

[goodellaa · 8/10 · 2 June 2011]

Data is an android, or very human-like robot, that works in outer space on a ship capable of traveling with amazing speed from one star system to the next. In this fascinating episode of the well-regarded series, Data composes a communication to a fellow researcher regarding his day of interacting with a variety of characters and their situations. Besides his ongoing effort to understand the "emotions" of living creatures, he finds himself kept busy with helping two friends who may or may not be getting married, assisting with delicate interstellar diplomacy, learning to dance, among other things! Data's day is a dizzying whorl of activity, and it is fortunate that he is programmed with superhuman intelligence, charm and tenacity. A fine example of a science-fiction story. Also good for people who dislike science-fiction.

Harnessing the often overlooked magic of TNG.

[derekcharles · 9/10 · 27 October 2023]

Data's Day has been one of my favourite TNG episodes for over 30 years for one very particular reason and it's to do with a peculiar quality that TNG holds above all other shows-the desire it creates within the minds of its audience to "be there". Many of us who grew up on the revamped version of the original series watched and rewatched these episodes (one 5pm episode a day repeated at 11pm if you were watching it on Sky) right throughout our late childhood and early adolescence. In that regard, the series occupies a very special part of our memories, one couched in a sense of comfort and easy living (who else gets to watch tv at 5pm but someone who has little else to worry about?) of having the family buzzing about the house, of well rounded contentment. Complementing this was something that TNG rarely gets credit for but every fan cherished-the set design and decor. Far from the gloomy dark sets of modern tv, TNG was warmly lit in a palette of late 80's/early 90's creams and beiges, filled with spatial rooms and corridors, tidy and clean with soft carpets and long awning windows and featuring an array of facilities we would get to visit and revisit again and again. To the kids who grew up with it, the Enterprise of this series was a plush and safe space and most importantly familiar. We longed to be there and now as adults revisiting it all for the first time in decades, the nostalgia for that sense of safe comfort is palpable.

It is this strange power which Data's Day taps into. As the titular character recounts his daily business both personal and official in a letter to Commander Maddox (he of Measure of a Man), the set-up requires us to follow the oft comical android around the ship. In doing so, the episode sends us closer to our coveted destination amid the stars of our mind than any other, filling the gaps in our own private mental maps of the ship. We visit nearly all of the secondary sets and even see a few new ones such as the hairdressers and the gift replicators. We see the main characters doing a little bit of what they do on their free time and get a sense of what it really was like to live aboard the Galaxy Class flag ship of Star Fleet. If that wasn't enough, and it could have been, threaded into the mix is a delicious b-plot that serves the primary drama brilliantly in that it justifies the retrospective narrative of Data's letter to Maddox as well as Data's wandering while adding a sense of excitement to the proceedings. (Of course, the convenient absence of Troi and her empathic sense from this b-story could count as a plot-hole of sorts and is the reason this episode rates a 9 and not a 10.)

Though such a premise could have leant itself to being nothing more than a tedious season filler, Data's Day instead seemed to bring the best out in cast and crew alike. The interactions between Spiner and Burton, the great Meaney and Chao, Sirtris and McFadden are fantastic and director Robert Wiemer assists them greatly with some inspired staging. It results in some of the funniest interchanges in the entire series with Spiner at the center of it all. Whether it be Data's delivery of the "good news" to the chief or the slow turning reveal of his fixed dancing smile, this show will have you howling with laughter no matter how many times you've seen it. In between will be the type of smiles that only the contentment of being in one of your favourite places can bring.

Not just space battles!

[gritfrombray-1 · 10/10 · 7 May 2007]

Colm Meaney and Rosalind Chao make an excellent couple and are also brilliant actors. The on/off wedding plans are fun to watch and Data running between the two is a great laugh. His genuine lack of understanding of Keiko's indecision and Miles angst is great Data character stuff. The Romulan side story is interesting but certainly does not detract from the two leads here. Data turning to Beverly and pleadingly asking her to teach him to dance is fun and it is funny when she teaches him tap dancing, Data reveals he is now ready to dance at the wedding! Beverly is aghast and tells him that there won't be any tap dancing at the wedding! He eventually gets it right! The Romulan plot is uncovered and the O'Briens wedding goes without incident and Data dances with the bride. Great to see that life in Star Trek isn't all space battles and aliens. Our own Colm Meaney getting a more integral role in the show was good to see as well.

Change of Pace

[gmlcgohbw · 10/10 · 16 August 2019]

A well designed episode featuring several stories into one magnificent episode. Romulan intrigue marriage jitters and an Android becoming more human. Worf is very funny. Riker is well written for this story. Enjoy!

Many TNG firsts.

[russem31 · 22 April 2006]

ST:TNG:85 - "Data's Day" (Stardate: 44390.1) - this is the 11th episode of the 4th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Though this series is well into its journey (already in its 4th season), there are still a few new things the show can introduce us to. This includes Keiko Ishikawa (the future Mrs. O'Brien of TNG and DS9, played by Rosalind Chao), the arboretum (where Keiko is a botanist), the day and night watches of the Enterprise, the hair salon (including Mot the barber), the gift shop (where someone materializes a bunny doll), Beverly Crusher as the "Dancing Doctor" teaching Data to dance, Data's cat Spot, and the first wedding (which is also the first human wedding Worf has attended).

Also, Data notes that he has contemplated marriage, he recounts being introduced to Sherlock Holmes by Picard, as well as writing Bruce Maddox (from "The Measure Of A Man") a letter about his latest "human" experiences.

All in all, many firsts.

I've written a letter

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 31 May 2020]

This whole episode is done in the style of a flashback as Data writes to a fellow at the Denkstrom Institute his efforts to master more human emotions. A lot of humans can't master those, Nevertheless Data tries on.

Of primary concern is the impending wedding of Chief O'Brien and Keiko. In fact Brent Spiner is to be acting father of the bride. But Rosalind Chao gets a case of jitters and Data makes a mess of things with both.

The real mission of the Enterprise is to deliver a Vulcan ambassador to the Romulans for peace talks. When she seems to have met with an accident it is Data who assembles the facts and he truth.

With that deadpan delivery Brent Spiner in the narration makes this a most enjoyable story.

A Day in the Life

[Samuel-Shovel · 8/10 · 17 December 2019]

In "Data's Day" we watch an ordinary day in the life of our favorite android. He's penning a letter to Maddox at the Daystrom Institute about struggling to understand human emotion. Through the day we watch Data try to help a friend with her cold feet before a wedding, interact with a Vulcan ambassador, and learn how to dance with the help of Dr. Crusher. Meanwhile Picard plunges the Enterprise into the Neutral Zone for reasons entirely unclear to the audience.

This is a fun Data focused episode. I know we get a lot of those but rarely do we just follow around one specific character like we're seeing the episode through their eyes. Most of what we get is pretty good. I like the Vulcan-Romulan subplot, the wedding of Keiko and O'Brien, and Data's personal log. I could do without the dancing tutorials though... A fun episode regardless. Not exactly action-packed but a slower paced episode every once in a while is appreciated.

Hard not to like a Data episode

[george20016 · 8/10 · 15 April 2021]

No intense moral conundrums or highly involved technobabble in this one, but it's a good star trek episode nonetheless. Maybe I just have a soft spot for fish-out-of-water type characters, but seeing Data's reactions to human situations is always fun. B plot makes sense and holds your attention well enough. Any character development Data experiences is somewhat minor, but that seems to be his mo for a lot of the series, and it's reasonable. There are a couple contrivances (Data is a close friend of some woman, and she needs specifically HIS help to tell her fiancée to cancel the wedding?) but if you can turn up your suspension of disbelief meter a bit, it's one of the more entertaining episodes.

The world according to Data

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 12 July 2021]

A day in the life of Lieutenant Data shows all events from his perspective.

This is an enjoyable episode with a good insight into how Data perceives everyone around him and social interactions.

The story is slightly offbeat as it come from a very subjective point of view, complete with voiceover. This style is good, but I found the subject matter to be a mixed bag of interest.

I like the Romulan plot which is full of great intrigue, but the Keiko/O'Brien relationship issues, albeit okay by the usual standard of Trek romance, is not particularly interesting.

The best aspect is that we spend lots of time with Data and learn more about his character. He is always good value for screen time and this episode is a good example. We see him interact with almost everybody and formulate calculations about their behaviour and emotional states. It ends with him making a profound observation on humanity which is quite memorable.

Visually it works pretty well with nothing out of the ordinary aside from a pretty fun dancing scene.

Brent Spiner carries the episode strongly and is supported well by other cast members. Colm Meaney has more purposeful screen time than previous episodes and he proves quite watchable. Rosalind Chao for me gives a mixed performance. I think her first scene is pretty awful as she sounds like someone reading lines, but she is good in the follow up scenes.

For me it is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Dancing Data

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 24 March 2021]

This is a nice little peak into the constant confusion data must be in trying to understand human behavior. Data deserves a boy scout patch for continuing to maintain communication with Maddox ---- the man who considered Data to be property and is intent on creating more androids. If I was an android I would give the guy the middle finger --- maybe data is playing the long game and looking to influence Maddox direction.

My best girl Bev gets a good showing. Shows off her tap dancing skill and her hair is bouncy and glorious and the scene with data was hilarious.

I also enjoyed how the writers showed the limitations of Data in the scene with the Romulan spy. Any of the bridge crew would have picked up on her being a spy after the question about the enterprises defences but Data couldn't get past his logic. Sometimes Data can reach Wesley Crusher/Burnham superhero level, so it's good to see his limitations actually having real consequences.

After watching this episode, I now want the same episode but with Worf as the star. Maybe he is writing his brother Kurn about having to plan a bachelor party for a crew member and being horrified by the lack of torture and fasting.

Solid episode.

REVIEW 2022

[iamirwar · 7/10 · 7 September 2022]

Dear Commander Maddox.

There was a time before Molly. A time when Keiko wasn't married. I sometimes forget that Chief O'Brian isn't a permanent member of the crew. It's only a couple of months since I sat through the entire DS9 back-catalogue, so I am still surprised that after four seasons of TNG, Colm Meany is only a guest-star.

This episode is like a day in the life of Data episode. A Light-hearted romp... Dr. Bev is something of a twinkle toes on the dance floor. Worf tends to regard drinking glasses as the ideal wedding gift. Deanna Troi has her cleavage on displayed within her teil dress this week, and a possibly untamed ornithoid is running around sick bay.

The Vulcan Ambassador is taking us close to the Neutral Zone???

The overall episode is a little light-weight and it certainly won't figure in any seasons best categories, but it is laying the seeds of future adventures.

A boring episode somewhat redeemed by the fact that it's Data

[a-gordon-2374 · 4/10 · 26 March 2022]

The only thing going for this episode is that it's a Data episode.

Otherwise, it's a slog. Nothing interesting happens and there are many failed attempts at humor. I think there would have been better ways to do more character development on Data than some "dear diary" type episode.

Not sure why this is so highly rated.

"I am experimenting with friendly jibes and insults."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 January 2024]

I always enjoy the Data-centric episodes where Brent Spiner gets to contemplate the mystery and complexity of being human. Since his demeanor is almost always deadpan, the situations he finds himself in are always humorous, magnified in this episode when he provides his own voice over narration. The scriptwriters inject a noteworthy statistic, mentioning that this story took place on the 1550th day the Enterprise was commissioned, which works out to four and a quarter years, essentially corresponding to the length of time the series existed. The side story of Vulcan Ambassador T'Pel mysteriously dying in the transporter managed to throw off the credibility of the story when Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the rest of the crew didn't get too worked up about it. Under normal circumstances, an event like that would have thrown virtually the entire Federation into a panic, so you had to know there was some kind of answer forthcoming that would have accounted for the tragedy. However, the best was reserved for Data, tap dancing his way to a good time with Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden), and attempting to intervene in the marital preparations for crew member Keiki Ishikawa (Rosalind Chao) and transporter Chief, Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney). I had to question that relationship coming out of nowhere, I think it would have been preferable if a few episodes had the two meet for the first time and develop a romance instead of just springing it on the unsuspecting viewer. That quibble and the lame explanation for Ambassador T'Pel actually being Romulan Selok and surviving the faulty transporter just didn't work for me. At least Sherlock Data managed to figure out how the subterfuge took place. Even so, it was a little disconcerting to have the Enterprise run off by the approach of three more Romulan warbirds, but under the circumstances, discretion was the better part of valor this time around.

Way to go Sherlock!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 18 November 2014]

This episode consists of Data making a personal log in order to send to Dr. Maddox--the android scientist who would like to one day make his own version of Data. In it, Data talks about two main topics--- the upcoming wedding of Keiko and Mile O'Brien as well as the odd occurrences surrounding the Vulcan ambassador's time on the Enterprise. As for Keiko and Miles, Data is completely clueless that Keiko's hesitance to marry is based on a case of nerves and he feels that he must fix this 'problem'. And, the mystery concerning the Vulcan ambassador's death--which, to me, was a VERY simple mystery to solve and which I figured out INSTANTLY. The crew, inexplicably, was clueless and Data only figured it out when he began thinking like Sherlock Holmes. Way to go, Sherlock!

So is this worth seeing? Yes. However, the second plot involving the Romulans and Vulcan ambassador was very weak. As for the rest, it's mildly diverting and nothing more--enjoyable but not exactly memorable.

A Senior Trekker writes.......................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 25 January 2022]

Season 4 contains the 80th episode of The Next Generation, at which point it surpassed the output of the Original Series. A number of extended themes played out during this season delving into both the political backdrop and the personal lives of the crew. These continuing storylines proved extremely popular, however they did not detract from the use of Science Fiction to tell interesting stories. Senior Trekker continues to score every episode with a 5.

This episode proved the popularity of character-driven stories - if that still needed to be demonstrated by this stage. I can remember the enthusiastic reception that greeted this cluster of fourth season episodes, especially because of the way my children, then aged 7 and 8, knew all the personalities and so looked forward to Star Trek night.

Making a wedding the focus of the show was a bold move because, as stated before, many feared that the series might become too soapy. All the same, with a great script and A-listers as Colm Meaney & Rosalind Chao it could hardly fail. Gates McFadden got a chance to show off her dancing and choreography skills and Brent Spiner kept his performance relatively subtle as the diary format introduced each of the character vignettes. (Apparently, they did all their own dancing too).

The B story of Romulan spy T'Pel/Selok was necessary by the standards of the day and was well-integrated into the main plot. British actor Alan Scarfe, who played Admiral Mendak, added a softly spoken menace to a duplicitous adversary, returned later Star Trek appearances and can be seen in a number of other science fiction television shows.

This is a delightful, go-to episode that provides the televisual equivalent of a box of chocolates after a particularly difficult day.

I am still aspiring to data level of forgiveness.

[amusinghandle · 7/10 · 17 February 2024]

I think we need an episode like this for every character but it would probably be pretty boring.

Picard - Drinks tea. Reads some high society literature.

Geordi - Reads engineering manuals, works on perfect hairstyle.

Troi - Reads from psychology textbook, eats chocolate, attempts to mend onsie with weird collar design

Y'know --- If a guy wanted to dissemble me and treated me like a piece of property I would not maintain a correspondence with them. Data, you are leading the way in the art of forgiveness.

This is pretty light material but it was certainly entertaining to watch Data fumble around with the intricacies of human behavior. He probably should have had a chat with Picard about his intuition question about the Romulan spy ---- whoops!

His smile really creeps me out. I think I am going to have a nightmare tonight.