Brothers

DVD, TNG S4 (Brothers)

Brent Spiner's seemingly effortless triple role is a testament to the actor's dedication, endurance and skill. Playing one prosthetic character is generally considered a challenge, but to perform many of the scenes of an episode as two and even three and retaining the intensity of each one (not to mention the close similarity they each have) is a masterstoke and possibly the actor's finest hour on the series. Following the theme of family begun in the previous story Data returns 'home' of sorts and meets the creator he long thought dead, giving him the chance to get to know Dr. Noonien Soong a little and ask important questions such as 'why was I created?'

The story begins two-fold, one part about a dangerous prank between brothers, providing a fine link to the second part in which Data proves what a dangerous individual he is capable of being by taking over the ship in a tense and exciting mystery. I question why Picard ordered Engineering to be the place where control was routed as it seems the logical choice to go to the battle bridge. It could be that the battle bridge is only used when the saucer is detached so that's an answer to that question. Dr. Crusher has some nice scenes with the afflicted boy and each of the cast, though not prominent have something visible to do. Look out for James Lashly as bridge officer Ensign Kopf who made a bigger impact in Season 1 of 'DS9' playing Lieutenant George Primmin, Odo's great annoyance.

So much is answered about Data and Lore and their creator, yet the important things are the family side of it and Soong's desire to leave a legacy. The makeup is very good, not always easy to create an aged person, and his laboratory and home is full of interesting knick-knacks related to cybernetics that it makes you wish you could explore every nook and cranny. I thought Data ended up getting the emotion chip back from Lore (as he keeps it unused in 'Star Trek: Generations'), so now I'm not sure if he got another chip or whether he took it from Lore. The 'evil' android was as good value as his previous appearance in Season 1, so full of sarcasm and bitterness and enjoying Data's simplistic view of things. Soong is caught in the middle with two bickering children (even if only one bickers), but it's when Lore tries to dismiss his claim that he's dying that you see some of his insecurity, despite later hurling his 'Father' across the room and bringing death on sooner.

The episode ends with Lore on the loose again, but let's be honest, they should never have left him floating in space to be picked up by anyone in the first place. Why didn't Commander Maddox track down the android if he was so intent on opening one up? The answer is: because it gave us a chance to see how Data could be and what he isn't, as well as a great villain that could appear in the future.

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