Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Measure of a Man (Episode 35) review
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The Measure of a Man
Stardate 42523.7 (Earth Calendar Date 2365)
Episode Production Number: 135
Episode Number (Aired): 35
Original Air Date: February 13, 1989
Written by: Melinda M. Snodgrass
Directed by: Robert Scheerer
While docked at Starbase 173 for scheduled repairs and refits, the Galaxy-Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) commanding, receives a visit from Admiral Nakamura (Clyde Kusatsu). The admiral, an old friend of Capt. Picard, is the ranking Starfleet officer in the sector, and Starbase 173 is strategically important because it’s located close to the Romulan Neutral Zone.
After exchanging small talk with Picard during a tour of the Enterprise, Adm. Nakamura introduces Picard to Cmdr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy), a cyberneticist assigned to the Daystrom Institute. The ambitious Maddox is an admirer of Dr. Noonien Soong, the scientist who created Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner), and seeks to replicate his accomplishments. As brusque as he is smart, Maddox bluntly tells Picard, Data, and the Enterprise’s first officer, Cmdr. Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), that he’s going to disassemble Data, dump his memory into the starbase’s mainframe computer, and use Data’s components as a “guide” to create a copy of the android.
Though initially intrigued, Lt. Cmdr. Data is skeptical about Maddox’s plan to “build more Datas.” In Data’s opinion, Maddox has not resolved even the basic problems a cyberneticist faces when creating a positronic brain. In addition, though Data has no emotions and can’t hold a grudge, he remembers that Maddox was the only member of the Starfleet Academy’s admissions board to reject Data’s application as a cadet. The reason: Data is a machine and not a sentient being.
Maddox was overruled then, but he still holds on to the belief that Data is merely a machine, albeit a highly advanced one. His notion is that if his experiments succeed, he can build thousands of Soong-type androids.
“Imagine, a Data on every starship,” Maddox tells Picard during one of his entreaties.
Maddox, apparently, has used this enticing argument with Starfleet higher-ups, because he has arranged for Data’s transfer from the Enterprise and reassigned to his command at Starbase 173. Maddox coldly tells the reluctant android to report to him at 0900 the next day.
Data, certain that Maddox doesn’t have the knowledge to carry out his experiments successfully, refuses to undergo the procedure and resigns from Starfleet.
"I am the culmination of one man's dream. This is not ego or vanity, but when Doctor Soong created me, he added to the substance of the universe. If, by your experiments, I am destroyed, something unique – something wonderful – will be lost. I cannot permit that. I must protect his dream."
- Data, to Maddox
Capt. Picard is caught between a rock and a hard place. He realizes the benefits Starfleet will reap if more Soong-type androids are created and posted to every starship in the service. But he also respects Data as a loyal Starfleet officer and an important member of the Enterprise Bridge crew. He turns to Starbase 173’s Judge Advocate General, Capt. Phillipa Louvois (Amanda McBroom).
"It's been ten years, but seeing you again like this makes it seem like fifty. If we weren't around all these people, do you know what I would like to do?"
"Bust a chair across my teeth."
"After that."
"Oh, ain't love wonderful."
- Jean-Luc Picard and Phillipa Louvois
In the episode’s “teaser” intro, Louvois is introduced as someone connected to Picard’s past, in more ways than one. It’s suggested that Picard and Louvois had had a romantic relationship. Later, though, the two became estranged after Louvois was assigned as the prosecutor during Picard’s court-martial after the loss of the USS Stargazer, the captain’s previous command.
My Take: Though Star Trek: The Next Generation was in a state of creative flux throughout its second season, Melinda M. Snodgrass’ unsolicited script for The Measure of a Man and the resulting episode are considered among that series best all-time efforts.
Snodgrass, who practiced law for several years before devoting herself full time to writing novels and teleplays, gives viewers a multilayered story that asks the question “What makes us human?”
In The Measure of a Man, Snodgrass gives us a complex story that works on several levels.
As a Star Trek story, it gives us a brief look at Data’s backstory. In Season One, it was established that Data is the first android admitted as a Starfleet Academy cadet and had graduated with honors. In The Measure of a Man, Snodgrass introduces us to Data’s demi-nemesis, Cmdr. Maddox, who was the sole dissenter on the admissions board at the Academy.
There’s also a tip of the hat to Star Trek: The Original Series in Snodgrass’ script. Cmdr. Maddox is said to be assigned to the Daystrom Institute. This is a reference to Dr. Richard Daystrom, the brilliant-but-disturbed scientist from The Ultimate Computer. The Daystrom Institute became a running gag throughout the series; it’s mentioned again in several episodes over the next five seasons.
Keeping with Star Trek’s tradition of mixing social commentary with an entertaining science fiction scenario,The Measure of a Man dares to raise the following issues:
What does it mean to be sentient?
Does the creation of artificial intelligent androids mean the creation of a new race?
Does a military organization (or semi-military, as Starfleet claims to be) have arbitrary control over its officers at all times?
Would a race of Datas, pressed into service to perform missions too dangerous or too unpleasant for humanoid lifeforms, be considered slaves?
Director Robert Scheerer brings Snodgrass’ thought-provoking teleplay to life by brilliantly striking a delicate balance between character development and the always tricky delivery of a social message. Scheerer gets great performances from the series’ regulars, especially Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, who are reluctantly pitted against each other in a regulations-mandated trial to determine if Data has rights under Federation law.
Guest stars Brian Brophy and Amanda McBroom are terrific in their roles as Cmdr. Maddox and JAG Capt. Louvois. Brophy’s character is hard to like, even detestable, but the viewer also sees that he’s driven by what he thinks is a higher purpose.
McBroom is also interesting to watch, especially in scenes where she’s alone with Patrick Stewart’s Picard. Their dialogue suggests that they had been lovers before the Stargazer court-martial and that Capt. Louvois temporarily resigned from Starfleet after Picard’s acquittal.
Though Season Two still bears some scars from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s tumultuous beginnings,The Measure of a Man is one of the series’ best episodes. It’s currently available in various home video formats (including the now obsolete VHS videocassette). The best version available as of this writing (June 2013) is contained in Disc Two of the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Two Blu-ray set.
Not only is the original episode, remastered in high definition, included as the fifth episode in Disc Two, but two versions of The Measure of a Man: The Extended Edition are included in the extra features.
Based on the unedited first cut of The Measure of a Man, the Extended Edition is essentially the same as the edited version which aired, with a few minutes of footage which focuses on character development. One version is presented in HD, the other is a hybrid consisting of HD and standard definition footage.
Stardate 42523.7 (Earth Calendar Date 2365)
Episode Production Number: 135
Episode Number (Aired): 35
Original Air Date: February 13, 1989
Written by: Melinda M. Snodgrass
Directed by: Robert Scheerer
While docked at Starbase 173 for scheduled repairs and refits, the Galaxy-Class USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) commanding, receives a visit from Admiral Nakamura (Clyde Kusatsu). The admiral, an old friend of Capt. Picard, is the ranking Starfleet officer in the sector, and Starbase 173 is strategically important because it’s located close to the Romulan Neutral Zone.
After exchanging small talk with Picard during a tour of the Enterprise, Adm. Nakamura introduces Picard to Cmdr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy), a cyberneticist assigned to the Daystrom Institute. The ambitious Maddox is an admirer of Dr. Noonien Soong, the scientist who created Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner), and seeks to replicate his accomplishments. As brusque as he is smart, Maddox bluntly tells Picard, Data, and the Enterprise’s first officer, Cmdr. Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), that he’s going to disassemble Data, dump his memory into the starbase’s mainframe computer, and use Data’s components as a “guide” to create a copy of the android.
Though initially intrigued, Lt. Cmdr. Data is skeptical about Maddox’s plan to “build more Datas.” In Data’s opinion, Maddox has not resolved even the basic problems a cyberneticist faces when creating a positronic brain. In addition, though Data has no emotions and can’t hold a grudge, he remembers that Maddox was the only member of the Starfleet Academy’s admissions board to reject Data’s application as a cadet. The reason: Data is a machine and not a sentient being.
Maddox was overruled then, but he still holds on to the belief that Data is merely a machine, albeit a highly advanced one. His notion is that if his experiments succeed, he can build thousands of Soong-type androids.
“Imagine, a Data on every starship,” Maddox tells Picard during one of his entreaties.
Maddox, apparently, has used this enticing argument with Starfleet higher-ups, because he has arranged for Data’s transfer from the Enterprise and reassigned to his command at Starbase 173. Maddox coldly tells the reluctant android to report to him at 0900 the next day.
Data, certain that Maddox doesn’t have the knowledge to carry out his experiments successfully, refuses to undergo the procedure and resigns from Starfleet.
"I am the culmination of one man's dream. This is not ego or vanity, but when Doctor Soong created me, he added to the substance of the universe. If, by your experiments, I am destroyed, something unique – something wonderful – will be lost. I cannot permit that. I must protect his dream."
- Data, to Maddox
Capt. Picard is caught between a rock and a hard place. He realizes the benefits Starfleet will reap if more Soong-type androids are created and posted to every starship in the service. But he also respects Data as a loyal Starfleet officer and an important member of the Enterprise Bridge crew. He turns to Starbase 173’s Judge Advocate General, Capt. Phillipa Louvois (Amanda McBroom).
"It's been ten years, but seeing you again like this makes it seem like fifty. If we weren't around all these people, do you know what I would like to do?"
"Bust a chair across my teeth."
"After that."
"Oh, ain't love wonderful."
- Jean-Luc Picard and Phillipa Louvois
In the episode’s “teaser” intro, Louvois is introduced as someone connected to Picard’s past, in more ways than one. It’s suggested that Picard and Louvois had had a romantic relationship. Later, though, the two became estranged after Louvois was assigned as the prosecutor during Picard’s court-martial after the loss of the USS Stargazer, the captain’s previous command.
My Take: Though Star Trek: The Next Generation was in a state of creative flux throughout its second season, Melinda M. Snodgrass’ unsolicited script for The Measure of a Man and the resulting episode are considered among that series best all-time efforts.
Snodgrass, who practiced law for several years before devoting herself full time to writing novels and teleplays, gives viewers a multilayered story that asks the question “What makes us human?”
In The Measure of a Man, Snodgrass gives us a complex story that works on several levels.
As a Star Trek story, it gives us a brief look at Data’s backstory. In Season One, it was established that Data is the first android admitted as a Starfleet Academy cadet and had graduated with honors. In The Measure of a Man, Snodgrass introduces us to Data’s demi-nemesis, Cmdr. Maddox, who was the sole dissenter on the admissions board at the Academy.
There’s also a tip of the hat to Star Trek: The Original Series in Snodgrass’ script. Cmdr. Maddox is said to be assigned to the Daystrom Institute. This is a reference to Dr. Richard Daystrom, the brilliant-but-disturbed scientist from The Ultimate Computer. The Daystrom Institute became a running gag throughout the series; it’s mentioned again in several episodes over the next five seasons.
Keeping with Star Trek’s tradition of mixing social commentary with an entertaining science fiction scenario,The Measure of a Man dares to raise the following issues:
What does it mean to be sentient?
Does the creation of artificial intelligent androids mean the creation of a new race?
Does a military organization (or semi-military, as Starfleet claims to be) have arbitrary control over its officers at all times?
Would a race of Datas, pressed into service to perform missions too dangerous or too unpleasant for humanoid lifeforms, be considered slaves?
Director Robert Scheerer brings Snodgrass’ thought-provoking teleplay to life by brilliantly striking a delicate balance between character development and the always tricky delivery of a social message. Scheerer gets great performances from the series’ regulars, especially Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes, who are reluctantly pitted against each other in a regulations-mandated trial to determine if Data has rights under Federation law.
Guest stars Brian Brophy and Amanda McBroom are terrific in their roles as Cmdr. Maddox and JAG Capt. Louvois. Brophy’s character is hard to like, even detestable, but the viewer also sees that he’s driven by what he thinks is a higher purpose.
McBroom is also interesting to watch, especially in scenes where she’s alone with Patrick Stewart’s Picard. Their dialogue suggests that they had been lovers before the Stargazer court-martial and that Capt. Louvois temporarily resigned from Starfleet after Picard’s acquittal.
Though Season Two still bears some scars from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s tumultuous beginnings,The Measure of a Man is one of the series’ best episodes. It’s currently available in various home video formats (including the now obsolete VHS videocassette). The best version available as of this writing (June 2013) is contained in Disc Two of the Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season Two Blu-ray set.
Not only is the original episode, remastered in high definition, included as the fifth episode in Disc Two, but two versions of The Measure of a Man: The Extended Edition are included in the extra features.
Based on the unedited first cut of The Measure of a Man, the Extended Edition is essentially the same as the edited version which aired, with a few minutes of footage which focuses on character development. One version is presented in HD, the other is a hybrid consisting of HD and standard definition footage.
Recommend this product? Yes
© 2014 Alex Diaz-Granados. All Rights Reserved
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