Here we have the curious phenomenon of a show that has more holes in it than a Swiss cheese being one of the most moving Star Treks ever. The scene near the end when Haftel recounts how hard Data tried to save Lal is a real tearjerker. That said, hands up all those who were waiting for Lal to start singing 'Daisy, Daisy'?
Oh.
Just me, then.
But . . .
Data states categorically at one point that he is the only one of his kind. This is a bit presumptuous, isn't it? All that happened to Lore was that he was beamed into space, not dispersed. Like Data, he's an android who is designed to withstand tough conditions, so there's no reason to suppose that he's no longer functional.
Data states categorically that he cannot use verbal contractions. This is nonsense, as we know that he can. The lesson to learn here, may I gently suggest, is that we can't simply blindly believe that everything Data says is correct.
When Lal fails to catch a ball that is thrown to her, Data smiles at her encouragingly. Data, the android who is incapable of feelings, smiles?
Data says that through him Lal has access to the sum of human knowledge. So why does he have to explain to her what a chair is?
Haftel states that Data and Lal are the only two Soongian-type androids in existence, which as I've pointed out above is not necessarily the case.
But the biggest, most obvious gooferoonie of all is . . . when Haftel was arguing with Picard and Data about Lal's future, why on earth didn't Picard invoke the Prime Directive in Lal's defence? Data, who has himself been defined by Starfleet as a sentient being (see 'The Measure of a Man') has managed to, effectively, reproduce himself. He's created another sentient being. That means there's now (by their reckoning) two of them, and since they are sentient and self-reproducing, it could obviously be argued that they constitute a new species. What do we do with new species? We Leave Them Alone, that's what we do; the whole show is based upon that premise. Leaving them alone in this instance must surely mean allowing them to determine their own destiny, i.e. letting Lal stay on the Enterprise where she wants to be. I'm amazed that the writers either overlooked this or chose not to use it.
Evolution The Ensigns of Command The Survivors Who Watches the
Watchers? The Bonding Booby
Trap The Enemy The Price The Vengeance Factor The Defector The Hunted
The High Ground Deja Q A
Matter of Perspective Yesterday's Enterprise
The Offspring
Sins of the Father Allegiance Captain's Holiday
Tin Man Hollow Pursuits The Most Toys Sarek
Menage á Troi
Transfigurations The Best of Both Worlds
Part One