Brent Spiner’s Lt. Commander Data finds a kindred spirit in Sherlock Holmes on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the android is never more human than when he embodies the world’s greatest consulting detective. Data’s fascination with Holmes begins in TNG season 1, when Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) references the detective. Data then immediately reads every Holmes story by Arthur Conan Doyle and takes on the persona of Holmes. Data takes this love even further in TNG season 2, episode 3, “Elementary, Dear Data,” when he and his best friend Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) embark on a Holmsian holodeck adventure.
Despite being an android who insists that he cannot feel, Data often appears more human than many of the actual humans that surround him. When Data takes on the persona of Holmes, he truly throws himself into the part, clearly enjoying himself. Brent Spiner, too, throws himself into the role, using a different inflection for Holmes that still feels undeniably like Data. Data seems to express emotions several times throughout TNG, but “Elementary, Dear Data” focuses on the character’s happiness and highlights Data’s very human friendship with Geordi. The entire thing is a true joy to watch.
Data’s 10 Best TNG & Star Trek Picard Episodes
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s beloved android Lieutenant Commander Data features prominently in some of Star Trek’s most enduring episodes.
Sherlock Holmes Brings Out Data’s Humanity
“Deduction, pure and simple. Well, not that simple.”
From Data’s obvious excitement about all of the trinkets in Sherlock’s apartment to his disappointment when Geordi leaves the holodeck, Data expresses so much emotion throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s “Elementary, Dear Data.” He even talks back to Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) when she insists that Data wouldn’t be able to solve a real Holmes mystery. Data soon proves Pulaski wrong, but the doctor doesn’t get to see it, as she has been waylaid by Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis). After Data’s encyclopedic knowledge of every Sherlock Holmes story made the holodeck’s mysteries too easy for him to solve, Geordi asked the Enterprise computer to create an “adversary capable of defeating Data.”
In order to defeat Data, the new Moriarty gains access to the ship’s computers and soon learns that he is a hologram on a starship. Data immediately recognizes the threat Moriarty now poses to the Enterprise and he and Geordi inform Captain Picard. Data goes from being giddy at the opportunity to solve a Holmes mystery to being concerned for the Enterprise and its crew. He then helps Captain Picard stop Moriarty and save the ship, but it’s everything that comes before that highlights Data’s humanity. He makes a perfect Sherlock Holmes, and Brent Spiner effortlessly switches from Data to Holmes at all the right moments.
Moriarty Returned (Sort Of) In Star Trek: Picard Season 3
“Can someone explain why a 19th-century holo-villain is guarding a 25th-century black site?”
Star Trek: Picard season 3 reunited the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the USS Enterprise-D crew wouldn’t be complete without Data. Despite the fact that Data died in both Star Trek: Nemesis and Picard season 1, Picard season 3 sees the android resurrected yet again. This newly upgraded version of Data has a more advanced synthetic body that ages just like a human, and he can also experience real emotions. When Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Captain Worf (Michael Dorn), and Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) search Daystrom Station, they hear violin music and whistling, before eventually encountering Professor Moriarty.
Riker recognizes Moriarty, as well as the tune that keeps playing, and realizes that Data must be on the station somehow. Riker, Worf, and Raffi then find the new Soong-type android that Starfleet has co-opted to be the security for Daystrom Station. The part of Data that lives on in this android used music and familiar imagery, including Moriarty, to reach out to his old friends. While the sentient version of Moriarty seen on TNG does not technically return in Picard, some version of the Holmes villain lives on within the mind of Data. Data achieved a certain level of humanity on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his time as Sherlock Holmes was an important part of his journey.
- Cast
- Patrick Stewart , Marina Sirtis , Brent Spiner , Jonathan Frakes , LeVar Burton , Wil Wheaton
- Seasons
- 7
- Franchise(s)
- Star Trek
