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Throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) was the only android in Starfleet, and that remains true by the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3. Created by Dr. Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner), Data was an incredibly advanced one-of-a-kind android lifeform. While Soong had created other androids, such as Lore and B-4, none were as successful as Data. On the USS Enterprise-d of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Data proved to be one of the crew's most important members, saving the ship on more than one occasion.

After sacrificing himself in Star Trek: Nemesis (and dying again in Picard season 1), Data returned in Star Trek: Picard season 3, with a newly upgraded synthetic body. Now with the ability to experience physical touch and organic emotions, Data finally achieved his lifelong dream of becoming almost human. Although Data's status within Starfleet remains unclear at the end of Picard season...

Data's trial in "The Measure of a Man" raises questions about sentience and human rights in a sci-fi masterpiece. Melinda Snodgrass's legal background influenced the script, paving the way for an award nomination. The extended version adds depth to the episode, showing the crew's loyalty to Data and addressing key themes.

A list of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation likely includes "The Measure of a Man," and there is indeed a lot to love about this classic episode. In its second season, Tng was still finding its footing, and Tng season 2, episode 9, "The Measure of a Man," proved that the show was a worthy follow-up to Star Trek: The Original Series. This masterclass sci-fi drama raises important questions about humanity by placing the android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) on trial. As Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) fights for his crew member and friend,...

Dr. Bruce Maddox's controversial presence introduced a key character in Tng and returned in Star Trek: Picard Season 1. The Daystrom Institute's first mention was crucial, playing a major role in Picard Season 1, anchoring the storyline. Tng's iconic poker game debuted in "The Measure of a Man," becoming a recurring motif in Star Trek, connecting past and future.

Star Trek: Picard would not have been the same without these three elements from a classic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The story of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) began with the premiere of Tng, where he took over command of the newly commissioned USS Enterprise-d. Twenty years after his final big screen adventure, Jean-Luc Picard returns in Star Trek: Picard, now a retired Admiral living on his family's vineyard. Jean-Luc then gets caught up in new adventures with both old and new friends, as he confronts his past and looks toward his future.

Picard and Riker faced off for the first time in Data's trial, putting their friendship and loyalty to the test. Riker had the tough job of arguing against Data, highlighting his inner conflict and struggle during the trial. Despite their differences in the trial, Picard and Riker ultimately come together to fight for the Federation in Star Trek: Picard season 3.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) face off against one another for the first time in one of Lt. Commander Data's (Brent Spiner) best episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. As the First Officer of the USS Enterprise-d, it's Commander Riker's job to support Captain Picard, only discussing any disagreements in private. Picard and Riker become close friends in Tng and even more so in Star Trek: Picard. Still, throughout Tng, they maintain the boundaries of Captain and First Officer, working together to find solutions to various problems.

Dr. Bruce Maddox wanted to dismantle Data, viewing him as property, on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Maddox realized Data's sentience and became friends with him. Maddox continued Data's legacy by building more androids in Star Trek: Picard like Data's 'daughters', Dahj and Soji.

Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, Dr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy) was a cyberneticist who became fascinated with Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and his positronic brain. Maddox had studied the work of Data's creator, Dr. Noonian Soong (Brent Spiner), and wanted to build more androids like Data. As the second officer of the USS Enterprise-d, Data had already proven himself to Starfleet Academy and to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). When Data first entered the Academy, Bruce Maddox was the only one to object, claiming that Data was not sentient.

Whereas Dr. Soong viewed Data and his other androids as his children, Maddox...

Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) from Star Trek: The Next Generation is a beloved character for many reasons, and he has become a particularly important figure for people with autism and other forms of neurodivergence. The Cleveland Clinic defines neurodivergent as a term describing "people whose brain differences affect how their brain works." Similarly, Data was different from many of his peers among the USS Enterprise-d crew. Not only was he an android, but his behavior and ways of thinking differed from that of his coworkers and friends. Much like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) before him, Data became a relatable character for many people who felt like they did not fit in.

Though the crew did not usually treat Data differently, outsiders sometimes treated him as something "other." The most notable example comes in the Tng season 2 episode "The Measure of a Man," when Data's identity as an individual is put on trial.

Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Finale - "The Last Generation"Star Trek: Picard saw the demise of several beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation recurring characters over its three-season run. Picard season 1 leaned into some of the darker trends of modern television, including a willingness to permanently kill off characters with fairly little provocation. It seems unlikely that killing off main cast Tng legends like Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) or Worf (Michael Dorn) was ever seriously on the table, but the show's supporting cast wasn't so lucky.

Star Trek: Picard season 2 leaned away from the death of legacy characters a bit, as it told a somewhat self-contained time travel story that didn't actually involve any of the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast with the exceptions of Q (John de Lancie), Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), and Brent Spiner as Noonian Soong's ancestor, Adam Soong. Picard season 3 ramped up the tension and the stakes considerably,...

23rd century scientist Doctor Richard Daystrom (William Marshall) is a hugely important figure in Star Trek history, who still influences the United Federation of Planets in the 25th century. An esteemed expert in computer science, Doctor Daystrom's intelligence and influence were compared to that of Albert Einstein. So esteemed was Daystrom that his name adorns one of the Federation's most prominent research facilities, the Daystrom Institute, and one of its most secretive storage facilities, Daystrom Station.

It was Richard Daystrom who invented the duotronic technology that was used aboard the USS Enterprise and other Constitution-class starships. Daystrom made this game-changing discovery at the age of 24, and spent the intervening years developing multitronics with the intention of creating artificial intelligence. It was Daystrom's work in multitronics that brought him aboard Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 24, "The Ultimate Computer".

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Warning: Spoilers for Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 6 - "The Bounty"The resurrection of Data (Brent Spiner) in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 6, "The Bounty," tragically reversed what the android achieved in his best Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. A new hybrid version of Data, Lore, B-4, Lal (Hallie Todd), and Dr. Altan Inigo Soong is revealed to be the hyper-intelligent A.I. responsible for securing Starfleet's highly classified Daystrom Station. When viewers last saw Data in Picard's season 1 finale, he requested to experience death, but in being resurrected, it appears that Starfleet has ignored that wish.

Worse still, in installing this new synthetic hybrid of Soong's androids and their descendants in Star Trek: Picard's Daystrom Station, Starfleet and Section 31 have finally got what they wanted from Soong's work. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Offspring", Data constructed his own daughter, Lal (Hallie Todd). When Starfleet Research learned of Lal's existence,...

Blue is the kind of buddy everyone needs.

When two intruders barged into Nina Teller and Leroy Buchanan’s home in West Philadelphia in February, their brave dog did what he could to defend them.

“I told Blue to get after the guy,” Buchanan told Penn Vet, the veterinary school that cared for the dog, of the terrifying moments in his kitchen. “He locked onto the guy’s leg and that’s when he fired his gun.”

Both of the men ran off that day, but not before wounding the dog.

“It was pretty scary and I was shaken up,...