A Fistful of Datas

Worf and Alexander spend a bit of quality time together in a Western themed holodeck program.

This is a reasonably good episode if you do not take it too seriously and fancy a bit of lighthearted fun.

It is a standard holodeck malfunction story with Worf, Alexander, and Counsellor Troi stuck in a simulation that naturally gives them a threat to deal with and no safety parameters. There is nothing particularly original other than the way it incorporates Data's memory circuits into the technobabble.

There are plenty of character moments to enjoy. Worf being placed a number of fish-out-of-water situations as the Klingon sheriff of Deadwood is a funny concept and Michael Dorn is perfectly deadpan in all scenes. Brent Spiner and Marina Sirtis look to be having a ball in their roles too. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where the real Data starts using Western clichés when talking to members of the Enterprise crew.

The sets, costuming, props, and general Western movie art direction is all spot on.

For me it's a 6.5/10 but I round upwards.

This episode (like many other of the worst Star Trek episodes) is bad not because of its poor acting or nonsensical storyline, but because the plot is completely devoid of substance. The key moments of this episode (of which there are few) lack any weight or important, and are resolved immediately and seemingly without any result or consequence.

A holodeck episode means two things: something's going to go wrong, and the cast gets out of the office to stretch their legs for an episode. 'A Fistful of Datas' has a few things working in its favor. For one, it's the crew having fun with an old west tale (and making use of the backlot and SoCal sunshine); two, Patrick Stewart in the director's chair, which helps keep spirits high; three, the pitch-perfect casting of John Pyper-Ferguson, and this was probably the audition tape for his stint on "Brisco County Jr." But having Data go haywire allows Brent Spiner to mug for the camera and do funny voices. Add all this up and you've got a somewhat lighter story with a cast that's willing to go for it. It all comes together quite nicely.

7/10

The ship is experiencing down time and the crew is allowed to relax. However, Geordi and Data are anxious to use this time to tinker with the ship's systems. They want to try tying the control of the ship through Data--and it ends up corrupting the system instead. While some of this is just a minor annoyance, such as replacing the food in the replicators with cat food, Worf, Alexander and the Counselor are on a holodeck adventure in the old west--and because of the corruption, the program becomes all too real. The normal safety protocols no longer work and they could end up getting killed. Can Sheriff Worf save kidnapped Deputy Alexander before the gang of Datas blow they to kingdom come?

The word 'slight' is exactly what comes to mind with this one. It is a silly and incredibly dopey episode. Fortunately, the works better than you'd expect because the show does have a nice sense of humor--which goes into overdrive near the end. Plus, compared to another old west episode ("Star Trek: Spectre of the Gun"--which was one of the worst of the original shows), it is downright terrific!

The Enterprise is awaiting a rendezvous so Geordi and Data decide to experiment with the ship's engines interphasing them with Data's neural net. Big ,mistake, as the old adage says, if ain't broke don't fix it.

Worf and his son and Counselor Troi are in a hollowdeck program from the old American west where Worf is a sheriff and Alexander his deputy. The safeguards go off and the other characters start looking like Data.

This was a little more light than most TNG shows. Michael Dorn slowly gees int the spirit of the west and Bent Spiner does an Alec Guinness like gallery of characters.

One not to miss.