Data's Day
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Trek: TNG episode | |
| "Data's Day" | |
 "Dr. Crusher attempts to teach Data how to dance in "Data's Day". |
|
| Episode no. | 85 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 185 |
| Airdate | January 07, 1991 |
| Writer(s) | Harold Apter Ronald D. Moore |
| Director | Robert Wiemer |
| Guest star(s) | Colm Meaney Rosalind Chao April Grace Sierra Pecheur Alan Scarfe Shelly Desai |
| Year | 2367 |
| Stardate | 44390.1 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "The Loss" |
| Next | "The Wounded" |
Data's Day is a fourth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Data records the event of a single day of his life, which include Chief O'Brien and Keiko's pre-wedding jitters, learning to dance and investigating the loss of a Vulcan Ambassador in a transporter accident.
The episode begins as Data is composing a letter to Commander Bruce Maddox (who was first introduced in The Measure of a Man), detailing a normal day in his own life.
One of the several sub-plots is the impending wedding of Chief O'Brien and Keiko, which Keiko decides to call off. Data delivers this news to Chief O'Brien, believing that since he wants to make Keiko happy, he will want to call off the wedding. This, of course, has disastrous results. Geordi, though, assures Data that the wedding will proceed as planned.
Data then decides to acquire a gift for the couple, and helps Worf do the same.
The other important sub-plot includes a Vulcan Ambassador, T'Pel, who had arranged a secret meeting with a Romulan ship. Data is assigned to escort her while she is onboard.
Chief O'Brien then asks Data to convince Keiko to go through with the wedding. He fails yet again, and talks to Counselor Troi to try to understand Keiko's decision.
Data then asks Dr. Crusher to teach him how to dance. He quickly learns how to tap dance, but has to be informed afterward of the fact that style is inappropriate for social dancing. When Dr. Crusher attempts to instruct the android ballroom dancing, Data is much more challenged. Dr. Crusher is then called away to sickbay to deliver a baby, and Data is left alone with a holographic partner.
The Enterprise then meets a Romulan warbird, and despite Picard's unease about the situation, T'Pel transports aboard. However, something interrupts the transporter signal and the Ambassador is killed.
Finding no flaw in the transport system, Data uses the principles of Sherlock Holmes to come to the conclusion that T'Pel was not really killed-the Romulans beamed her off the ship themselves and left behind genetic material designed to fool the crew into thinking that she died in the transporter beam.
Picard turns the ship around, and intercepts the Romulans in the middle of the neutral zone. He confronts the Romulan commander, and learns that T'Pel is actually a Romulan spy. Before shots are fired, two more Romulan warbirds appear next to the first one, and Picard retreats back into Federation space.
Data then approaches Keiko to make amends. She informs him that she is not angry at him, and that the wedding will proceed as usual. O'Brien and Keiko are married by Captain Picard.
Later, in sickbay, the Captain and Data visit the newest member of the Enterprise crew--a baby born while the Enterprise was in mortal peril.
[edit] Trivia
- This episode marks the first appearance of Spot, Data's pet cat.
- This episode takes place on Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.
- Gates McFadden and Brent Spiner both stated that they did their own dancing in this episode, except for one overhead shot where Spiner requested a double, as he did not feel confident enough to pull it off. McFadden did the choreography, as she was a well-known Hollywood choreographer long before Next Generation.
[edit] External links
- Data's Day article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- Data's Day at StarTrek.com
