Brothers (S04E03)
Airdate: October 8th 1990
Written by: Rick Berman
Directed by: Rob Bowman
Running Time: 45 minutes
From its third season onward, Star Trek: The Next Generation distinguished itself from its predecessor by insisting on a stronger sense of serialised continuity. This narrative ambition made it all but inevitable that character-centric episodes, particularly those with a profound emotional impact, would eventually garner sequels. Few characters were as iconic or as popularly fertile for exploration as the android Data. His nature and origin had already been compellingly examined in highly regarded instalments such as The Measure of a Man and The Offspring. The Season 1 episode Datalore first introduced the mystery of his creation. It is this foundational thread that Brothers, the third episode of Season 4, picks up and attempts to expand upon, albeit with mixed success.
The plot commences aboard the USS Enterprise-D with a rather contrived domestic crisis. A young boy, Willie Potts (Adam Ryen), becomes infected with a life-threatening parasite following a prank by his older brother, Jake (Cory Danzinger). Dr. Crusher assures that his life can be saved, but only if the ship reaches a starbase with advanced medical facilities within a narrow timeframe. This establishes a nominal ticking clock. However, any urgency is abruptly sidelined when Data, after intercepting a mysterious signal, begins to act peculiarly. Utilising his intimate knowledge of the ship’s systems and protocols, coupled with his formidable physical and intellectual capabilities, he executes a startlingly efficient takeover of the Enterprise. He deftly neutralises the bridge crew, overrides command controls, and veers the ship far off its critical course. Captain Picard and his officers mount a desperate, and ultimately futile, attempt to thwart their suddenly renegade crewmate. The sequence is masterfully delivers suspense, showcasing Data’s potential as a formidable antagonist and culminating in his beaming down alone to the surface of the planet Terlina III.
On the planet, Data discovers a secluded laboratory in the jungle, where he encounters an elderly man revealed to be his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong. Soong is dying and had activated the homing signal to summon Data, intending to install a long-promised emotion chip to ‘complete’ his creation. The drama intensifies with the arrival of Data’s malicious brother, Lore. Unaware that Lore had been reassembled and could also receive the signal, Soong is tricked by Lore’s impersonation of Data. Lore deactivates his brother, seizes the emotion chip for himself, and abandons the dying Soong. The Enterprise crew subsequently arrives, reactivates Data, and allows him a poignant, final farewell with his creator. With this personal crisis resolved, the ship rushes to the starbase, saving young Willie Potts. In the epilogue, observing the human brothers reconcile, Data is left to ponder whether he, too, could ever forgive Lore.
Brothers holds the distinction of being the writing debut of Rick Berman, the executive producer who would become one of the most pivotal figures of Star Trek’s golden age. It also marked the final episode directed by Rob Bowman, who had built a formidable reputation on TNG before moving to other television projects. Bowman’s directorial strengths are most evident in the Terlina III scenes, which feature Brent Spiner performing a remarkable triple act as Data, Lore, and Dr. Soong. However, while Spiner’s virtuoso performance is commendable, the ageing makeup applied to portray Soong appears somewhat awkward and mask-like. Furthermore, the entire ‘family reunion’ premise—reportedly added to Berman’s script on the suggestion of writer Matthew Piller—feels rather gimmicky, straining credibility even within the show’s own sci-fi logic.
This sense of narrative contrivance extends to the Potts brothers subplot. Its primary function is to establish a thin allegorical connection to the Data-Lore relationship and to artificially inflate the stakes with a unrelated medical emergency. It feels precisely that: artificial, and its thematic link to the main plot is both overly simplistic and minimally developed. Consequently, Brothers emerges as an episode of two distinct halves. The first part is exceptionally strong; Data’s calm, methodical takeover of the Enterprise and Picard’s frantic efforts to regain control generate genuine mystery and suspense. The second part, however, descends into a more melodramatic and frankly soapy familial confrontation on the planet’s surface, where the promised emotional depth is undermined by the schematic plotting.
Brothers is a solid but flawed episode. At the start of its fourth season, The Next Generation still appeared to be at the zenith of its powers, riding the wave of critical and popular acclaim garnered by Season 3. This instalment, however, subtly highlights the difficulty inherent in maintaining such surprisingly high standards. It attempts to blend high-tension thriller elements with intimate family drama but does not fully succeed in marrying the two. The compelling mechanics of Data’s rebellion are ultimately sacrificed for a reunion that, despite Spiner’s best efforts, feels somewhat forced and unearned. It serves as a reminder that even in its prime, the series could occasionally stumble when reaching for profound emotional beats without the requisite narrative foundation.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com
Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/
InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax
InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo
Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax
Rising Star game: https://www.risingstargame.com?referrer=drax
1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG
ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7
BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9