Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after taking a 20-year break. Season One Encounter at Farpoint The Naked Now Code of Honor The Last Outpost Where No One Has Gone Before Lonely Among Us Justice The Battle Hide and Q Haven The Big Goodbye Datalore Angel One 11001001 Too Short a Season When the Bough Breaks Home Soil Coming of Age Heart of Glory Arsenal of Freedom

In “Datalore,” an encounter with Data’s more human-like “brother” showcases Brent Spiner’s acting talents and the optical FX crew’s mad split-screen skillz. While I enjoyed the plot twists and character bits as they happened, as a work of science fiction this episode offers little beyond popcorn “evil twin” fare.

The opening captain’s log lampshades an unprompted, random visit to Data’s home planet. The “Data practice sneezing” scene is silly, but the character development subtly allies Data’s desire to be human with Wesley’s desire to be respected by adults. The scene also accustoms us to the idea that Picard uses Wesley to deliver in-person messages, which kinda sorta helps explain why in this episode Wesley ends up where he needs to be to witness just enough to suspect Lore, but not enough to prove anything to the dumb-as-a-fencepost adults.