Visiting Data's homeworld, The Enterprise away team, Commander Riker, Data, Geordi, Worf, and Yar find the laboratory of a robotics genius named Dr. Noonian Soong whose goal to develop a positronic brain was a failure. Vanishing from Earth, the lab where he constructed Data, another android is discovered, in pieces, and the homeworld is left lifeless, once a colony of scientific minds and plenty of farmland. Once reassembled on the Enterprise, this android, who calls himself Lore, was made with human qualities, but he ultimately turns out to be devious and cunning, with designs on leading a crystalline life form that was responsible for destroying all life on his and Data's planet, towards to Enterprise to "consume" all humanoid officers on board. Introduction to a *different* kind of android, quite a showcase for Brent Spiner who is free to show his dark side with Lore, including scenes where he mocks Data for being "inferior" due to his capabilities that are alien to the emotionless brother, even taking apart Worf with ease in a quick fight. What is also fun about this early first season episode is Acting Ensign Wesley Crusher's intuition that Lore, who slips something in a glass of champagne to immobilize Data as to substitute him, is not to be trusted and could have taking the Commander's place, with Captain Picard and Commander Riker both sore that he would speak to a senior officer in such a manner (he doesn't want to "keep an eye on Data" as Picard wishes, with Riker not pleased with Wes' conduct). When I was a kid, I always thought it was cool how they were able to have Spiner on screen as both Lore and Data, but especially neat is seeing Brent switch personalities, back and forth between each android. I have to imagine it was liberating for Spiner to really portray such an evil character, his face casting a sinister grin when contemplating all the horror he was preparing to unleash on an unsuspecting Enterprise crew. I thought the facial twitch Lore has was an interesting development, not to mention the way he uses can't or isn't unlike Data who is designed to say "cannot" or "is not". You just had to know that this story, including Data's "father", the whole origin of his existence, and Lore's, wouldn't end here. Data also having an "off switch", told to Beverly who will use this knowledge to help stop Lore later in the episode, is also established here.
Review of Datalore
