By Micheleen Martin | Posted
Opinions always differ, but in general, the years 1994 Star Trek: Generations is considered one of the worst entries in the Trek film franchise while its 1996 follow-up Star Trek: First Contact is hailed as one of the best. You’re not going to hear any differently here. Delivering a gruesomely undignified death to James T. Kirk (William Shatner) while blatantly trying to replicate the emotional impact of the destruction of the original 1984 Enterprise. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Generations deserved all the criticism he received. Likewise, by skilfully pricking the GNT team up against the fan-favorite Borg while giving audiences the closest thing we’ve seen to a Trek horror movie, First contact earned its accolades and status as the highest-grossing Trek film before 2009’s Kelvin Timeline star trek. Ironically, despite its flaws, Generations gave one of Trek’s heroes potential he had never seen, and his follow-up cleaned it all up. It’s true-Star Trek: First Contact was the worst thing that happened to Lt Cmdr Data (Brent Spiner).
What is Star Trek: Generations Got Right
At first Generations, Data misinterprets a situation on the holodeck that puts him on less than friendly terms with Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden). For the android, it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back – he decides there’s no way forward in his quest to become human unless he finally uses the emotion chip that he recovered from his “brother” Lore in GNTis the last season. Geordi (LeVar Burton) agrees to help integrate the chip, but ultimately things go awry. Unaccustomed to emotions, Data struggles to control his actions and when the chip merges into his neural network, he has no choice but to feel those feelings. When he and Geordi are attacked by Soran (Malcolm McDowell), the android is too scared to help his best friend. While subsequently assisting Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) with his search, Data is too distressed to continue and demands to be relieved, even going so far as to yell at his commanding officer.
The new status quo for the character was a shining example of the old adage “be careful what you wish for”. While for years nearly every data-centric episode revolved around the emotion-hungry android, the Emotion Chip has created a promising new paradigm full of potential. Rather than an artificial intelligence striving to be more human, Brent Spiner’s character has become something as fascinating as it is dangerous: an artificial intelligence with the body of a superhuman, the mind of a super- futuristic computer and the emotional stability of a toddler. Unfortunately, Star Trek: First Contact was about to destroy all that potential with a few lines and a neck twitch.
What is Star Trek: First Contact Gone Wrong
At first Star Trek: First Contactit seems Data’s status quo since Generations remains the same. When the Borg again attempt to invade Earth, Starfleet—fearing that the trauma Picard suffered at the hands of the Borg will render him unfit to confront them again—orders the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone. When it becomes clear that Starfleet is losing the fight, Picard orders the ship to Earth. Admitting that he is violating their orders, the captain gives everyone on the bridge the chance to object. Data responds, “Captain, I believe I speak for everyone here, sir, when I say…to hell with our orders. It’s a moment we’d never see from the old Data, and it’s clear the emotional chip is still active.
Next is their time travel and the Borg’s infiltration of the Enterprise. When Picard, Data, and a Starfleet Best Attempt Squad ultimately fail to attack Engineering, the android tells the Captain that he is anxious. Clearly shaken, Data begins to describe the emotion, but Picard stops him saying, “Data, I’m sure this is a fascinating experience, but maybe you should turn off your emotional chip for now.” The android does just that with a little jerk of the neck. And so, just like that, Star Trek: First Contact obliterated any storytelling potential the emotional chip offered Data.
How Star Trek: Data Ruined by First Contact
You might wonder how Star Trek: First Contact giving Data the ability to toggle his emotional chip on and off ruins his potential. It’s a good question. The answer is that it takes all the stakes out of the new character development. Embedding the chip into Data was promising because it presented him with new challenges – he could run away if he was afraid, give in to temptation, react violently in anger, or give in to emotions in all sorts of ways. But what if he can just turn his emotions on and off with no more difficulty than flipping a switch? So that’s not a problem. The chip becomes nothing more than a way for Data to deliver fun lines like his improvised song “scanning for lifeforms” in Generations; or fan-service moments like his “at hell with our orders” in First contact.
In fact, as much of a bad service as Star Trek: First Contact was at Data, 1998 Star Trek: Insurgency made things worse. At the start of the sequel, when Picard learns that Data – who is away from the Enterprise on a special mission – has gone rogue, he asks Geordi if it could be his emotional chip that caused him to malfunction. The engineer replies that Data “didn’t bring it with him”. He did not bring it with him?! He’s not even attached now? He can just put it in a drawer like a set of car keys?
Star Trek: The Worst Crime of First Contact
More than for any other reason, the choice of Star Trek: First Contact making the Emotion Chip something that Data could just turn on and off was a mistake because it went against his character. The ultimate goal of data was to become more human, and humans cannot turn emotions on and off at will. The fact that Data feels emotions that he can instantly turn off renders those emotions useless in his quest. If your goal is to become more human, what good is experiencing human emotions if they become optional? Emotions aren’t like extended warranties you have to pay extra for; they are part of the package and they are not negotiable. Data would know, and he would act accordingly.
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