64 – The Offspring

Grade: B+

Summary

Much to the surprise of the entire crew, Data has constructed an android daughter, and named her Lal. Of course, Starfleet wants to confiscate Lal and take her back to a starbase for observation and study.

Commentary

Along with Measure of a Man, this episode is the second time when Data’s free will comes under question. Should Data have the right to create his own offspring and raise the android as his own child? Personally, I think this concept was already discussed well enough in the earlier episode, but this second episode manages to do it even better. I love it when Data asks Captain Picard how much experience the Admiral had when his first child was born.

One thing I really liked was how human the story was. These are androids, but they seem like people. The acting and characterizations are excellent, and the dialogue is among the best this series ever achieved.

I highly recommend this episode to anyone. If you’re like me, and you think that the best science fiction is more than just about outer space and aliens and futuristic technology, you will love this episode. This is a very enjoyable and emotional episode.

Of Note

Johnathan Frakes directed this episode, and it was the first time that a Star Trek actor has directed a TV episode. Before this, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had directed films, but neither had directed an episode.