The Measure Of A Man (episode)

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

This article is written
from the Real World
point of view

"The Measure Of A Man"
TNG, Episode 2x09 Production number: 40272-135 First aired: 13 February 1989
←	34th of 176 produced in TNG	→
←	34th of 176 released in TNG	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 176 released in TNG Remastered
←	140th of 726 released in all	→

Written By Melinda M. Snodgrass Directed By Robert Scheerer
42523.7 (2365)
	Arc: {{{wsArc0Desc}}} ({{{nArc0PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc0PartCount}}})
	Arc: {{{wsArc1Desc}}} ({{{nArc1PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc1PartCount}}})
	Arc: {{{wsArc2Desc}}} ({{{nArc2PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc2PartCount}}})
	Arc: {{{wsArc3Desc}}} ({{{nArc3PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc3PartCount}}})
	Arc: {{{wsArc4Desc}}} ({{{nArc4PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc4PartCount}}})

The Enterprise must defend Data's status when Starfleet demands his reassignment for study.

[edit] Summary

[edit] Act One

Upon arriving at the newly-built Starbase 173 aboard the Enterprise, Lt. Commander Data is approached by Commander Bruce Maddox, a Federation cyberneticist whom Data has met before: Maddox was the sole member of a Starfleet special admissions panel to oppose Data's admission to Starfleet, on the basis that Data was not a sentient life form.

Commander Maddox explains that he wants Data to help him understand better how Dr. Noonien Soong was able to overcome certain engineering challenges when designing Data's positronic brain. Data is intrigued until he discovers that it is Maddox's intention to "dump" Data's memories from his positronic brain into the Starbase 173 main computer, then deactivate and disassemble him in hopes of garnering enough technical knowledge to construct more Soong-type androids. Data concludes that Maddox does not posses sufficient technical knowledge to carry out this procedure safely, and therefore refuses to undergo it.

The Enterprise at Starbase 173

Maddox, prepared for this eventuality, produces orders from Starfleet Command separating Data from the Enterprise, transferring him to Starbase 173, and compelling Data to submit to the procedure.

[edit] Act Two

In private, Picard, recognizing Starfleet's inherent interests in the creation of more Soong-type androids, attempts to persuade Data into submitting to Maddox's procedure. Despite Picard's approach being the opposite of Maddox's – with the application of much more carrot than stick – Data counters, intimating that asking him to submit to a dangerous and potentially destructive experiment for the benefit of Starfleet is tantamount to compulsorily requiring all Starfleet officers to have their biological eyes replaced with cybernetic implants, such as the type utilized by Commander Geordi LaForge.

Swayed by the gravity of Data's argument, Picard turns for help to the Starbase 173 office of Starfleet's Judge Advocate General, headed by Captain Phillipa Louvois – who had previously prosecuted Picard with zeal during the Court Martial following the loss of the Stargazer. Louvois contends that while Data can refuse to participate in the experiment, the transfer itself cannot be stopped. Picard articulates his concern that that once Maddox has Data in his clutches, as it were, anything could happen; Louvois therefore suggests, alternatively, that Data could resign his Starfleet commission. Rather than risk his memories, Data chooses resignation to participating in the experiment.

Maddox learns with displeasure of Data's impending resignation, and angrily counters that Data is the property of Starfleet – not an individual, sentient being with rights within the Federation – and is no more able to refuse his procedure and resign from Starfleet than the Enterprise's computer is able to refuse a refit.

[edit] Act Three

Surmising that there might be established law to support Maddox's position, Captain Louvois, after some research, initially finds for Commander Maddox "based on the Acts of Cumberland passed in the late 21st century." Picard requests a formal hearing to challenge the ruling; however, because the Judge Advocate General's Office staff on Starbase 173 consists of only Captain Louvois and "one terrified little Ensign," Louvois convenes a hearing on condition that Enterprise personnel serve as legal counsel during the proceedings: Captain Picard is to defend Data and a reluctant Commander Riker is pressed into representing Commander Maddox. Riker initially refuses to prosecute on the grounds that Data is a comrade and friend; however, Louvois' direct threat of ruling summarily in favor of Maddox strongly compels him to do so.

[edit] Act Four

Riker, as prosecutor, demonstrates that Data is, in fact, a man-made, constructed being; after compelling Data to bend a rod of parsteel – despite Picard's objection, based on the fact that many creatures in the Federation are possessed of mega-strength – Riker removes Data's left hand for Captain Louvois' examination. Riker then abruptly deactivates Data, proclaiming "Pinocchio is broken; its strings have been cut."

[edit] Act Five

Picard and Guinan talk about Data's rights

During a recess, Captain Picard recounts Riker's devastating prosecution to Guinan in Ten Forward. Guinan aptly observes that were Maddox to prevail in the proceedings and go on to become successful in replicating Data – despite the value this would represent to Starfleet – Maddox's success would almost certainly result in the creation of an entirely new race of "disposable creatures;" beings whose welfare and needs would not require consideration. Picard quickly concludes that victory for Maddox would have far more sinister repercussions throughout the Federation; that this fledgling race could potentially become a race of slaves. This grim realization galvanizes Picard and ultimately changes his tack in the defense phase of the hearing.

Back in the courtroom, Picard begins Data's defense by quickly dismissing Riker's arguments that Data is a constructed being:

"Commander Riker has vividly demonstrated that Commander Data is a machine; do we deny that? No, because it is not relevant – we too are machines, merely machines of a different type. Commander Riker has also demonstrated that Data was built by a man; do we deny that? No. Children are 'constructed' from the 'building blocks' of their parents' DNA. Are they property?"

- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Picard goes on to grind away at Commander Maddox's views about Data; in doing so, Picard maneuvers Maddox into conceding that Data fulfills most of the cyberneticist's own criteria for sentience – intelligence and self-awareness – and dramatically coerces the scientist into admission that the remaining criterion, consciousness, is too nebulous a concept to precisely determine whether the android is in possession of it or not. Having cemented his argument for Data's sentience, Picard summarizes his final contention that to create a sentient race that is considered "property" is to sanction slavery – a profound violation of the basic principles and ideals of the United Federation of Planets:

"Your honor, the courtroom is a crucible; in it, we burn away irrelevancies until we are left with a purer product: the truth, for all time. Now someday, [Commander Maddox] – or others like him – will succeed in replicating Commander Data. It is the decision that will be made today that will determine how we regard this creation of our genius. It will reach far beyond this courtroom and beyond this one android; it will forever define what kind of a people we are – what he is destined to be. It will forever shape the boundaries of personal liberties and freedoms within this Federation: expanding them for some, dramatically curtailing them for others. Are you prepared to sentence [Commander Data] – and all who come after him – to servitude and slavery? Your honor, Starfleet was established to seek out new life: well, there it sits. Waiting."

- Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Ultimately, Captain Louvois rules in favor of Data:

"It sits there looking at me, and I don't know what it is. This case has dealt with metaphysics, with questions best left to saints and philosophers. I am neither competent, nor qualified, to answer those. I've got to make a ruling – to try to speak to the future. Is Data a machine? Yes. Is he the property of Starfleet? No. We've all been dancing around the basic issue: does Data have a soul? I don't know that he has. I don't know that I have! But I have got to give him the freedom to explore that question himself. It is the ruling of this court that Lieutenant Commander Data has the freedom to choose."

- Captain Phillipa Louvois

Data formally refuses to undergo Maddox's procedure after the ruling is given, and Maddox, in turn, cancels Data's transfer orders. Data encourages Maddox to continue his work; Data is still intrigued by some of what Maddox is proposing, and suggests he may agree to the procedure, once he is certain Maddox can perform it safely.

After the victory, Riker, deeply affected by the gravity of nearly costing a friend and colleague his life, prefers the solitude of the Enterprise's bridge wardroom to Data's victory celebration on the holodeck. However, Data seeks out Riker to express his gratitude at the personal injury Riker had endured that saved him.

[edit] Log entries

Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2365

[edit] Memorable quotes

"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?"

- Picard and Phillipa

"It brings a sense of order and stability to my universe to know that you're still a pompous ass... and a damn sexy man."

- Phillipa, to Picard

" 'When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes / I all alone beweep my outcast state.' Tell me: are these just words to you? Or do you fathom the meaning?"
"Is it not customary to request permission before entering one's quarters?"

- Bruce Maddox and Data

"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 Bruce Maddox

"You are imparting Human qualities to it because it looks Human – but I assure you: it is not. If it were a box on wheels I would not be facing this opposition."

- Bruce Maddox, to Cpts. Picard and Louvois

"Consider that in the history of many worlds there have always been disposable creatures. They do the dirty work. They do the work that no one else wants to do, because it's too difficult or too hazardous. And an army of Datas, all disposable? You don't have to think about their welfare; you don't think about how they feel. Whole generations of disposable people."
"You're talking about slavery."
"I think that's a little harsh."
"I don't think that's a little harsh, I think that's the truth. But that's a truth that we have obscured behind a... comfortable, easy euphemism. 'Property.' But that's not the issue at all, is it?"

- Guinan and Picard

"We were...intimate."

- Data, when asked about his connection to Tasha Yar

"You just want me prove that Data is a mere machine; I can't do that because I don't believe it. I happen to know better – so I'm neither qualified, nor willing. You're going to have to find somebody else."
"Then I'll rule summarily based on my findings. Data is a toaster. Have him report immediately to Commander Maddox for experimental refit."

- Riker and Phillipa Louvois

"Your Honor, a courtroom is a crucible; in it we burn away irrelevancies until we are left with a purer product: the truth, for all time."

- Picard, in his summation

"... Starfleet was founded to seek out new life – well, there it sits! ...waiting."

- Picard, in his summation

"That action injured you, but saved me; I will not forget it."
"You are a wise man, my friend."
"Not yet, sir. But with your help, I am learning."

- Data and Riker on his reluctant acceptance of Maddox's advocacy role

[edit] Background Information

[edit] Story and production

"The Measure Of A Man" was writer Melinda Snodgrass's first television credit. She drew from her own experience as an attorney in writing the episode. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
Snodgrass commented, "Everyone seems to view [the episode] as a Data script, but it's really a Picard script. Data is the catalyst, but the stress is all on Picard." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

[edit] Continuity

The Daystrom Institute, first mentioned here, was a homage to the character of Richard Daystrom from TOS: "The Ultimate Computer". (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
Data's rights as a sentient being would again be challenged a season later, in "The Offspring". In both episodes, Picard acts as Data's advocate.
This episode references Data's intimate relations with Natasha Yar, seen in "The Naked Now", and shows that Data keeps a picture of Yar. Although some fans have speculated that the pair may have also had a romantic relationship, there is no other canon evidence to corroborate this theory.
After his trial, Data showed Commander Bruce Maddox that he nonetheless remained open to future collaboration with him. He would indeed collaborate with Maddox by recording a log of a day in his life in "Data's Day".

The rarely seen "interim uniform" worn by admirals in the 2nd season

The court room set is a redress of the battle bridge set. The set features a map of the galaxy previously seen in "Conspiracy" and a chart which shows the current location of 24 starships.
This episode features the first appearance of the officers' regular poker game, with Data, Riker, Geordi, Dr. Pulaski, and O'Brien.
The episode features the rare "interim" pattern Starfleet admiral uniform which was only seen twice in the second season of TNG. The uniform departed from the first season "pip triangle" admiral insignia and introduced the "boxed pip" version which would be the standard Admiral insignia for the rest of Next Generation and all subsequent series. The second season pip insignia was worn vertical while later seasons showed the insignia flat against the collar.

[edit] Reception

Entertainment Weekly ranked this episode #6 on their list of "The Top 10 Episodes" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation. [1]
Producer Maurice Hurley commented, "Stunning. That's the kind of show you want to do...It just worked great, everything about it. And it dealt with an issue in a very interesting way. I thought Whoopi's place was good in that. She's a wonderful actress." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
Director Robert Scheerer called the episode one of the best of The Next Generation. He explained, "It has to do with the content, what it had to say, how it deals with it, the depth that it goes and the way it's resolved. I love that show. It is indeed my favorite show. I guess you would have to say that what I enjoyed is the dilemma that they're put in to, especially Jonathan and Patrick having to deal with Brent not as a dear friend but as someone whose worth has to be resolved. And Jonathan had to take the other side. It was all just beautifully crafted. It was not typical episodic television and had a great deal to say about man, humanity, what our problems in the world are today and hopefully what we can do about it in the future." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)

[edit] Video and DVD releases

Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 18, catalog number VHR 2471, 12 August 1991.
As part of the UK VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - Data Box: 6 November 1995.
As part of the US VHS collection Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Data Collection: 19 August 1997.
UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 2.3, 3 May 1999.
As part of the TNG Season 2 DVD collection.

[edit] Links and references

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Special appearance by

Diana Muldaur as Doctor Pulaski

[edit] Guest stars

Previous episode:
"A Matter Of Honor"

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 2

Next episode:
"The Dauphin"

Hubs	Entertainment \| Gaming \| Sports \| Toys \| Biggest wikis \| see all...
Featured	Cocktails \| Recipes \| Green \| Help Videos
Wikia is hiring	Gaming Intern \| Sales \| General hiring
About Wikia \| Contact Wikia \| Terms \| MediaWiki \| CC-BY-NC \| Advertise on Wikia \| Privacy