Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) In Theory (1991) User Reviews

A girlfriend for Data

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 12 June 2015]

Lt. Jenna D'Sora has recently split from her inattentive boyfriend and has been spending time with Data; both on duty and off. At this stage it is nothing more than friendship but it is clear that she is developing feelings for the emotionless android. Eventually she kisses him and he decides it might be interesting to have a relationship with her. Unsure how to go about developing a relationship he seeks the advice of his friends and investigates romance in fiction. Inevitably his attempts to do things properly lead to him behaving out of character with Lt. D'Sora so the relationship is doomed… he couldn't see that she fell for him as he was rather than expecting his to change.

Meanwhile the Enterprise is investigating a dark matter nebula and strange things are going on, nothing major at first; as Capt. Picard observes it is as though there is a poltergeist aboard. Things get much worse though and a crew member is killed. It appears that pockets of dark matter are causing matter to phase in and out. Having established what is causing the problem they decide to leave to nebula as quickly as safely possible; it won't be easy though and a shuttle will have to guide the ship back; a shuttle Picard insists on piloting.

This was a slightly disappointing episode even though it was some good moments; largely provided by Data's accidental humour. Brent Spider is great in the role and he is ably supported by Michele Scarabelli who plays Lt. D'Sora… however it is a pity that his relationship had to be with a one off character; we learn that Data spends a lot of time working with her but we've not seen, or even heard of, her before! The way Data tries to 'do things right' are mostly amusing although his attempt to have a lovers tiff proves more disturbing that amusing; both for the viewers and D'Sora. The secondary story concerning the nebula in introduced nicely in a gradual way but escalates to give one of the series more disturbing deaths… a crew member walks off down a corridor, we hear her scream then see her dead; only her upper body above the floor; it is as though she has been eaten by the ship! Overall this episode seems to be less than the sum of its parts; not bad by any means but it could have been better.

Our boys all grown up and going on his first date.

[thevacinstaller · 8/10 · 30 March 2021]

This episode successfully made me roar with laughter and that makes it a good trek episode.

Data gets to experience the classic 'rebound' that has resulted in millions of unsuccessful relationships on earth. I can certainly buy into a female crew member finding Data attractive ---- I myself have a huge thing for T'Pal from Enterprise and not just physical... well, okay --- some of it is physical but we could have a great time not showing any emotion to one another.

The scenes between Data and Jenna in the crew quarters are the best parts of this episode. Watching data ham it up as a Casanova cosplayer was a pure delight.

A bit of a sober end to this episode with the revelation that nothing Jenna does will have an emotional impact on data added to telling him that he was her rebound.

Spiner is always solid on TNG but you can tell he takes it to another level when provided with quality writing like this.

Good episode of Data fumbling his way around our convoluted dating procedures. Don't worry Data --- I messed up too ---- I remember this one girl showed me a picture of her hair from her high school year book and told me, "Doesn't my hair look terrible here..." and I foolishly replied, "Yes, it does" even though it looked fine to me --- Well, long story short she was testing me! She thought her hair look fabulous and now I end up looking like a big jerk. See, it's the stupid games that suck the enjoyment out of the whole thing.

It's a hilarious and sad episode. High marks for Spot being a good buddy.

When I have some, I'll let you know

[snoozejonc · 7/10 · 27 July 2021]

Lieutenant Data navigates the pitfalls of love as the Enterprise does the same through a dark matter nebula.

This is an enjoyable episode on the strength of the scenes showing Data's foray into the world of dating.

It has an A-B plot structure with the main events providing far more interest than the mostly forgettable dark matter scenes. The writers could have focussed solely on Data's love life and lost nothing.

The humour generated by Data's interactions with D'Sora works well, as does his attempts at soliciting advice from different members of the crew. All that being said it all ends rather poignantly with Data and his cat sitting alone in the dark.

Generally the visuals are strong, particularly during the interplay between characters which helps the narrative and comedy. The editing works well for comic timing.

Brent Spiner is excellent throughout and has great support from Michele Scarabelli. The cast regulars are all on good form.

In theory, anything's possible?

[russem31 · 24 April 2006]

ST:TNG:99 - "In Theory" (Stardate: 44932.3) - this is the 25th episode of the 4th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Can an android feel romantic entanglements? After receiving a passionate kiss from Ensign Jenna Anaya, Data ponders dating her.

At the same time, this episode also brings the theory of dark matter to the forefront, as it's used to explain the disappearances of objects around the ship and then a section of the ship's floor! An intriguing episode about whether beings with artificial intelligence can feel emotions (such as love).

Trivia note: Data is in another live concert (playing the oboe), as well as Keiko O'Brien. We see Data's cat Spot again (this time finally mentioned by name), as well as Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan. Also. transparent aluminum is mentioned for the makeup of the windows. And, Data FINALLY dresses up his "spartan" apartment at the advice of Jenna.

Data tries to analyze love

[robert3750 · 7/10 · 4 September 2020]

A female crew member appreciates Data's kindness and attention, and begins to have romantic feelings for him. Data responds by gathering as much information as he can on the subject and responding in kind, but of course his efforts are doomed to failure, since he can only go through the motions, without feeling any real emotion. Love isn't amenable to an analytical approach. We see from the advice given by the other crew members that there's nothing simple about the subject for them either. A good episode for its commentary on the human condition, and quite funny at times, as we see Data stumbling along the path to relationship bliss.

Wow, she kissed Data's torpedo bay

[MiketheWhistle · 7/10 · 15 April 2020]

A pretty good ep with some interesting relationship stuff. In the end it's sad although Data not having feeling is a blessing for him.

Ms. Scarabeli gave a great performance in a difficult circumstance since the character Data requires his being so "odd".

I'm just glad Data had Spot afterwards.

An impossible situation in every way.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 20 November 2014]

At the beginning of the episode, Jenna D'Sora is being consoled by Data concerning a recent relationship. Data is quite kind and thoughtful- -so much so that slowly D'Sora is starting to fall in love with him. This is really impossible, since Data is NOT human and feelings are something he simply cannot possess. However, Data is game and tries to act out the part of a lover--mostly by copying things he's read. In the end, it's finally obvious to even D'Sora that the relationship is impossible and cannot be.

At the same time, there is the requisite secondary plot. An overabundance of dark matter in the part of space they are in is causing portions of the ship to phase in and out. So, it's up to the Captain to pilot them through this part of space. Unfortunately, this plot is brief, underdeveloped and rather unnecessary.

All in all, an inconsequential episode. Not bad...but certainly weak compared to the rest of the series.

Of Data and Dark Matter Nebulae.

[XweAponX · 10/10 · 15 November 2014]

Michelle Scarabelli takes off the AlieNation "Newcomer" spots and appears as "Jenna", an eccentric crew-woman who becomes attached to Data like a tether.

It's very interesting to watch Data's process: of course he has to get everybody else's opinion before he acts. He gets great advice from Guinan and Riker.

When watching Data interact with the O'Briens in 10 forward, we see that even though he cannot participate in humor internally, he is finally able to understand how to make a joke and make it funny, even though he himself doesn't understand the joke or can actually laugh at it. That's what makes him the most humorous member of the crew, because what for for him is an innocent question can come off with hilarious results because of the way he asks it.

But this situation is a little bit more complicated than merely figuring out what humor is, this is in fact Data's first girlfriend, not counting his interaction with Tasha in season one.

In the meantime the ship is exploring a very interesting looking dark matter nebula. This provides the backdrop for Data's exploration of sex and relationships.

The two subjects counterbalance themselves in this episode. While Data's meanderings give us the humor, there is actual danger for the Enterprise that is not initially seen. Some bad things have to happen before they actually understand the level of danger they are in.

The two issues are resolved, not too well for Mr. Data. In theory, my theory: Data should not have created a subprogram to govern his relationship, he actually was doing fine without it. This is just another example of how Data's interpersonal experimentations fail with hilarious results, hilarious for us, Data of course has no feelings.

This is what he always says, but after Jenna leaves him, and he deletes the program, we are left with an image of Data picking up his cat Spot and holding it. That image says a lot. That although Data does not have feelings in the way humans have feelings, he does have some Positronic version of affection. He loves his cat, we know he loves his cat. I suppose Data has become "used to Spot's sensory input information".

Patrick Stewart "captained" this particular episode as well as Picard captains the Enterprise.

Intriguing

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 1 June 2020]

The main plot of this TNG episode which is the dangers the Enterprise encounters exploring a nebula takes a backseat to a romantic encounter Data has with Ensign Michelle Scarabelli.

Scarabelli has had a breakup and she's finding Brent Spiner intriguing if not attractive. As for Data we have it on the authority of the late Tasha Yar from season 1 that Data is a fully functioning android in all respects.

I think you'll find this episode intriguing too.

Non stop laughter

[alci350 · 10/10 · 26 February 2022]

Top notch acting by Brent Spiner and the hilarious script makes this one hard to forget. The line Picard delivered to Data about understanding women was funny, I was in tears from laughter. And he was so right too! I love it.

Data, in Love....Sort of

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 29 August 2014]

This offering is really ludicrous. While Commander Data is a fascinating creation, for someone to want a romantic involvement has got to push the envelope. A young ensign, on the rebound from a relationship with a jerk, finds Data's byplay amusing and fun. She actually kisses him on the lips. He processes this and decides it would make an interesting investigation of human dating ritual. Of course, he now feels he needs to look into historical depictions of the process of couples getting along. In a priceless scene, he shows up at her quarters, announcing, "Honey, I'm home." He then dotes on her for a while and then creates a confrontation where he treats her badly. In his search, he has found that often relationships thrive after a fight. This episode also involves a kind of entity that is aboard the ship and part of an area of space where the Enterprise is vulnerable. Data continues to do what he does, ignoring his new experiences, and helping to save the Enterprise. A very odd episode.

A great romantic episode!

[nicofreezer · 9/10 · 24 November 2021]

Data is the best character in TNG , and he prove it once again in " In theory" , he decide to have a girlfriend, and it was hilarous , touching , intelligent Directed by Patrick Stewart.

Season 4 continue to deliver as the best of the first 4 Seasons, now ready for the final, to see Worf seek redemption.

So So Stupid

[GoldenGooner04 · 7/10 · 10 February 2022]

Since season 3, TNG tried to bring "humour" into the series, just like TOS, but Data I am shocked, How quickly you forget, you bonked the very hot Tasha, come on, how can you forget that !!

Maybe watching this episode with the gf was not a good idea, as just heard the comment "I wonder if he has a button to make it longer" and then "at least you can switch him off, when he annoys you" OOPS !!!!

One question the scene where she kisses him, then he looks down, is he looking at well you know, I mean he did tell Tasha he was in full working order (oh ar Mrs)

Not a good effort.

[gmoore44 · 5/10 · 2 August 2019]

The premise of this episode is that Data wants to try a love relationship. He's incapable of love, and the one who's infatuated with him, seems quite clueless. Now I would think that somebody who has graduated from Star fleet Academy, and knows about Data, would have known that any kind of romantic relationship was doomed. Acting like a love struck schoolgirl makes her character very 2 dimensional. What's saves it from being a total flop was the far more interesting plot line of the dark matter nebula.

"Honey, I'm home."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 8 February 2024]

This had the makings of a hilarious episode, but it only partially achieved its potential. That's because a potential romantic relationship between Data (Brent Spiner) and Lieutenant Jenna D'spora (Michele Scarabelli) had no chance at getting anywhere beyond first starbase. Obviously, Commander LaForge (LeVar Burton) was the last person Data should have sought out for relationship advice, so in addition, he approached every member of the bridge crew, with Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) offering his own salient response. As a result, every time Data attempted to set the tone for a romantic interlude, it was done with his uniquely android approach, purely theoretical and impossible to attain with emotion or conviction. Meanwhile, unexplained events aboard the Enterprise, including the death of a crew member, were apparently caused by the ship passing through the Mar Obscura, an unexplored dark nebula that at one point, appeared to be infecting the vessel like black mold. Like Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes), I didn't think the Captain should have been the one to take the shuttlecraft out to steer the Enterprise away from the dark nebula, but the last second explosion of the shuttle was not approached with the same amount of tension as other near catastrophes the series offered. As for Lt. D'spora, she quickly got over her short-term infatuation with Data, coming to realize that a relationship was never in the cards anyway, leaving the android officer non-plussed to say the least. Which allows me at this point to quote one of our finest philosophers and analysts of human behavior, Yogi Berra, to observe - 'In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is'.

REVIEW 2022

[iamirwar · 8/10 · 10 September 2022]

When a female crew member is infatuated with Data, he decides to give a romantic relationship a try. Seriously?

There are so many great things they could have done with the character of Data, but this idea was not one of them. Jenna must be a bit of cold fish if she can become infatuated with an android. As I understand it, Data does not have full anatomical proficiency, so how would that even work? Jenna should get herself a dog.

"A very passionate kiss in the Torpedo bay?" That could so easily be misunderstood.

The story does have a certain amount of intrigue. I fear that there will be no aliens in this one, no fights with the Romulans... not even a fluctuating illuminatory burst. Although things are beginning to disappear or furniture being moved about. But the central question is how a 'romantic relationship' could work between a human mortal being and an android.

It's certainly an amusing tarradiddle, a yarn, a parable. A collection of words on a page aligned in such order as to create a televisual play of science fictional proportions. But this was always going to end in tears.

It's possible that the B-story would have made a much better episode in its own right.

This Episodes Clue: Susan Francisco.

A light subplot episode with an interesting problem

[Thecuchix · 8/10 · 13 August 2023]

The Enterprise is investigating an nebula cloud, meanwhile, a tripulant is having feelings for Data, who sadly, he can't feel emotions as it was telled for many episodes but for some reason, the topic come back again.

It was sad Tasha Yar was not even mentioned since this was kinda his first love, really, I can't get why it was ignored, maybe just because it was not official?

And the rest of the plot is about an anomaly who is making things to "blink", to disapear for a couple of seconds, like Epistle 3's Borealis, I don't know, the more I see this series, is hard to ignore the fact Half-Life was inspired in lot of SCI-FI stuff in general.

Cringe

[edward-a-bowden · 3/10 · 1 November 2021]

What a horrible episode. They should have left Data's romantic efforts in season one with Tasha Yar, but no, they wasted a whole episode on it here.

Worse still, the woman who has romantic designs on him is a complete mess, mentally and physically. Fortunately she dumps him at the end because of his lack of emotion - well duh!

Lucky escape!

Begging for it to be over

[christopherdhamel · 3/10 · 26 August 2020]

A brilliant acting performance form Brent Spiner, as usual, but just a dreadful episode that was agonizing to watch. One of the only episodes where I just wanted it to be over. The main plot was forgettable, and the side story was unforgettable, but not in a good way. As Riker would say, sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you. The bear got this one.

Dating Data

[Samuel-Shovel · 2/10 · 14 February 2020]

In "In Theory" Data has a romantic relationship with a member of the Enterprise crew. Meanwhile the ship is in mortal danger of excessive dark matter in the nebula it finds itself in. If the crew cannot navigate out of the nebula, it might mean their doom.

I hate when a seemingly dangerous aspect of an episode is but on the back burner for a ostensibly more interesting character plot. Data dating this crazy lady is far less important than the mortal danger the ship is in. People are dying here, yet we're focused on Data's awful dating techniques.

And the end result? Picard navigating the ship to freedom. It shouldn't be Picard or Riker. It should be Data and his superior reflexes and data processing skills. He would be a thousand times more suitable for the job. The writing in this one is atrocious, without me even getting into how bad this romance subplot is. It's all bad.

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

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 4 February 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.

There is a lot of humour in this story of Data's attempts to have a proper relationship with a human woman but ultimately I find it extremely sad. Even more so upon re-watching. Fine performances, particularly that of Canadian actress, Michelle Scarabelli, underline the terrible cost of investing one's feelings in a person (or in this case a machine) that cannot return those affections.

By the way, where was the counsellor when this particular human crew member was so obviously in need of support? The character of Jenna De'Sora also came across as a competent, professional officer so it was a shame that no opportunity came up for her to reappear at a happier stage in her off-duty life.

We also have to mention how the B plot of this episode was decidedly weak: a weird nebula that moved matter around like an out-of-control transporter, resulting in the horrific death of a poor, unregarded yellowshirt. Somebody turned a page and it was all forgotten. I didn't exactly expect to see bits of her flesh being removed from the bulkhead* but Georgina Shore as Lt Van Mayter at least deserved a mention in the credits.

(*thank you for that image, Discovery)