• aeronmelon@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      This might be legit. Brent Spiner said in interviews that he was consciously keeping track of Data’s growth during the series. He intentionally made him feel like a blank canvas that behaved in an uncanny way at first, and slowly introduced more and more human mannerisms and warmth to his character.

      Without instruction, for seven years & four movies. He was probably doing the same thing during Picard.

      • 5too@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        I feel like the time(s?) he played future Data he “jumped ahead” on the mannerisms too.

      • limelight79@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Can I note that Data served many years in Starfleet prior to the start of TNG? He wasn’t activated the day before the Encounter at Farpoint mission started. He would have had years of experience working with humans by that point.

        • deltapi@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          Sure, but in an ensemble cast I doubt that he would have had an in-depth back story given him prior to the episode where they find Lore and reveal that Data has all the colonists’ memories, etc.

        • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Yes, but the crews didn’t accept him as much as enterprise crew did, making it hard for him ti experience and grow.

          • aeronmelon@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            Agreed. I think Enterprise was the first time people collectively treated Data like anything other than a machine. A case of nurture when is came to the professional culture of Picard’s command.

            Then Pulaski comes onboard from another ship and immediately regards him as a walking computer. This was probably the first time Data stood up for himself as well. Over time, Pulaski adopted the respect the rest of the crew had for him.

          • limelight79@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I mean maybe not, but I find it hard to believe he’d get promoted to lieutenant commander if he couldn’t lead. So people had to have trusted him, like the guy eventually did in the episode where he had command of that ship.

            • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              heh. Pretty sure a rock with googly eyes would be a better leader than half the Admiralty. Just saying. plenty of turdlings getting promoted who shouldn’t have been. And plenty more were promoted merely on competence with little regard for leadership.

              He also got plenty of awards for bravery and courage. There are tons of socially awkard leaders. Like Gen. Sherman (union army, civil war,) Brilliant tactician, socially worse than the average redditor.

              (anybody else remember pet rocks from the 90’s? those were fun.)

              • limelight79@lemmy.world
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                20 hours ago

                Aren’t we talking about Star Trek? Most of the admirals are pretty competent in ST, when they aren’t being occupied by an invading force or something.

                • FuglyDuck@lemmy.world
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                  17 hours ago

                  I mean, just as examples, we’re talking about an organization that put civilian families- including children- onto ships that are routinely attacked or otherwise facing casualties.

                  And let’s not talk about OSHA standards that clearly don’t exist. Virtually every non-combat casualty of been prevented with a modicum of regard for safety (wearing PPE, having a safety plan that includes questions like “what could go wrong”, and addresses them, etc)(let’s not talk about seatbelts and surge protectors,)

                  Or that JAG admiral who failed to even consider a legal test to determine data’s sentience- a legal test that not only would literally have to exist, but be taught to basically everyone in starfleet; because the prime directive requires that they not fuck with sentient life.

          • MDCCCLV@lemmy.ca
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            1 day ago

            Well he started with refusing to wear clothes so much Soong had to hardcode an anti nudity patch.

    • ummthatguy@lemmy.worldM
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      2 days ago

      You’ll see him mimicking behavior throughout the series. One of my favorite examples is in Starship Mine aka “Star Trek does a Die Hard” with Data’s attempts at small talk.

      • aeronmelon@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I’m convinced that a lot of his footage in that episode was Spiner goofing off or intentionally blowing takes and they just used whatever they could.

        There’s an outtake of the scene when he’s “being Hutchinson” to Troi Crusher and Riker. In the episode it’s the same scene cut short because the extended scene quickly devolves into crude humor that couldn’t be aired on network TV at the time - both Frakes and Sirtis McFadden gasping at what Spiner said.