See also
- Abdul Abulbul Amir
- "Borderland" (Star Trek: Enterprise) (Brent Spiner plays Noonien Soong's ancestor Arik Soong in this episode, as well as in "Cold Station 12" and "The Augments")
| "Brothers" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Rob Bowman |
| Written by | Rick Berman |
| Featured music | Ron Jones |
| Cinematography by | Marvin Rush |
| Production code | 177 |
| Original air date | October 8, 1990 [1] |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Brothers" is the 77th episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation , the third episode of the fourth season.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, Commander Data (Brent Spiner) aborts an emergency mission and hijacks the Enterprise in response to a homing command from his "father".
A misguided prank between two young brothers exposes the younger of them to a toxic parasite that cannot be treated aboard the USS Enterprise , but Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) is able to stabilize his condition in a controlled environment in sickbay while the ship sets out for a starbase that can cure the boy. As Commander Data (Brent Spiner) escorts the older brother to visit his sibling, he suddenly stops and returns to the bridge where, unseen by the crew, he sets a new course for the ship and triggers a life support alarm, causing the evacuation of the bridge to be ordered. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) orders Data to transfer the controls to Engineering while the rest of the bridge crew evacuates, but Data instead mimics Picard's voice and locks down control of the ship with a complex access code, preventing any interference with his actions. The crew discover Data's lockdown and manually disable the transporter's site-to-site function to prevent Data from easily moving about the ship. Once the Enterprise is in orbit about the planet Terlina III, Data creates a programmed sequence of force fields to allow him to move from the bridge to the nearest transporter room without being stopped by security, and then beams down to the planet, leaving the Enterprise still under his lockdown. Picard orders his crew to attempt to override Data's lockdown of the ship, while Dr. Crusher attempts to keep the infected boy stabilized.
Data finds himself in the home of his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner). Soong states that he called Data to him using a form of automatic recall and makes a manual adjustment on Data to return him to normal. As they talk, they are joined by Lore (Brent Spiner), inadvertently also drawn by the same recall that Data received, since Soong assumed that Lore was still disassembled. Lore expresses resentment towards his creator and starts to leave, but stops when Soong tells both of his creations that he is dying and wishes to give Data an "emotion chip" he has created. Soong decides to rest before implanting the chip, leaving Data and Lore to talk. When he returns, he proceeds to implant the chip but discovers too late that Lore had managed to deactivate Data and switch clothing with him, so that he now possesses the emotion chip. Soong tries to warn Lore the chip is not designed for him, but Lore instead injures Soong and transports off the planet.
The crew of the Enterprise find a way to beam down an away team to the planet, where they discover the dying Soong and the deactivated Data. After Data is reactivated, he cannot recall any of what he did on the Enterprise to arrive at this planet, until Soong reveals to him where he can find that information stored in his memory files. Data apologizes to Soong that he will not be able to grieve for his loss, but Soong tells him he will grieve in his own way. After Soong states that he wishes to die on the planet, the Enterprise leaves and returns to its course to the medical facility, where the sick boy is successfully treated. Data observes the brothers at play after forgiving each other for the accident, contemplating his own relationship with Lore.
Rick Berman's initial story did not involve Lore. The character was added at Michael Piller's suggestion, who believed the story needed an additional jeopardy element. Piller recalled:
We were standing around going through Rick's story and my feeling was that after reading his first draft that the idea of Data going back to see Dr. Soong and the story of the child who was hurt in the practical joke were not enough elements to hold up the episode. Once Data goes back to see Dr. Soong, it's basically a chat and without some jeopardy or another event to go on I was afraid it was going to be flat. We talked about what we could do and, ultimately, the obvious thing was that we bring Lore back. ..I knew from the moment we came up with it that Brent Spiner in three roles was going to make for an unforgettable episode and I think it was. [2]
Empire ranked "Brothers" 19th in the 50 top episodes of all Star Trek in 2016. [3]
In 2016, The Hollywood Reporter rated "Brothers" the 76th best television episode of all Star Trek franchise television shows prior to Star Trek: Discovery including live-action and animated series but not counting the movies. [4] And they ranked "Brothers" as 21st of 25 of the top episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 2016. [5]
In 2020, GameSpot recommended this episode for background on the character of Data. [6]
On February 27, 1996 "Brothers" & "Family" were released on LaserDisc in the United States. [7] "Brothers" was released in the United States on September 3, 2002, as part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation season four DVD box set. [8]
Data is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and the first and third seasons of Star Trek: Picard; and the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), First Contact (1996), Insurrection (1998), and Nemesis (2002). Data is portrayed by actor Brent Spiner.
Brent Jay Spiner is an American actor best known for his role as the android Data on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), four subsequent films (1994–2002), and Star Trek: Picard (2020–2023). In 1997, he won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact, and was nominated in the same category for portraying Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day, a role he reprised in Independence Day: Resurgence. Spiner has also enjoyed a career in the theater and as a musician. He's also known for voicing The Joker in the animated series Young Justice (2011–2022).
"Inheritance" is the 162nd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the tenth episode of the seventh season.
"Homeward" is the 165th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the 13th episode of the show's seventh season.
"Datalore" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, originally aired on January 18, 1988, in broadcast syndication. The story was created by Robert Lewin and Maurice Hurley, and turned into a script by Lewin and the creator of the show, Gene Roddenberry. It was Roddenberry's final script credit on a Star Trek series. The director was originally to be Joseph L. Scanlan, but following delays in pre-production caused by script re-writes, it was reassigned to Rob Bowman.
"Lonely Among Us" is the seventh episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which originally aired on November 2, 1987, in broadcast syndication in the United States. It was written by D. C. Fontana, based on a story by Michael Halperin. It was the first episode of The Next Generation to be directed by Cliff Bole.
"Borderland" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise. It originally aired on October 29, 2004, on UPN. The script was written by Ken LaZebnik, and was directed by David Livingston. The episode featured the first appearance of Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Brent Spiner in Enterprise. It also featured guest appearances by Bobbi Sue Luther and WWE wrestler Big Show.
"The Augments" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, the eighty-second episode overall. It is the last of a three-story episode arc, preceded by "Borderland", and "Cold Station 12". "The Augments" was directed by LeVar Burton, from a script by Michael Sussman. The series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. In this episode, "Augments", genetically enhanced humans, and Doctor Arik Soong, their surrogate father, escape Cold Station 12 after stealing frozen Augment embryos from storage. Soong plans to hide out with the Augments and raise the embryos, but Malik, their leader, is tired of hiding and attempts to instigate a war between Starfleet and the Klingons.
"Remember Me" is the 79th episode of the syndicated American science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the fifth episode of the fourth season.
"The Arsenal of Freedom" is the twenty-first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, originally aired on April 11, 1988, in broadcast syndication. The teleplay was written by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler, based on a story by Beimler. The episode was directed by Les Landau.
"The Schizoid Man" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 32nd episode overall first airing on January 23, 1989. The teleplay was written by Tracy Torme based on a story by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler, and directed by Les Landau.
"Descent" is the 26th episode of the sixth season and the first episode of the seventh season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 152nd and 153rd episodes overall.
"Unnatural Selection" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 33rd episode overall. It was first broadcast on January 30, 1989. It was written by John Mason and Mike Gray, and directed by Paul Lynch.
"Birthright" is a story spanning the 16th and 17th episodes of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 142nd and 143rd episodes overall.
Several characters within the Star Trek franchise, primary and secondary, often made crossover appearances between one series and another. This included appearances of established characters on premiere episodes of new series, a few long-term transfers from one series to another, and even crossovers between Trek films and television. A few crossover appearances, such as that of Spock on The Next Generation and the time-travel of the crew of Deep Space Nine to the era of The Original Series were especially lauded by both fans and critics.
The sixth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on September 21, 1992, and concluded on June 21, 1993, after airing 26 episodes. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise-D.
The seventh and final season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation commenced airing in broadcast syndication in the United States on September 20, 1993, and concluded on May 23, 1994, after airing 26 episodes. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise-D.
