The Schizoid Man
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 23 January 1989
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- 42437.5
- DIRECTED BY
- Les Landau
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 131
WRITTEN BYTeleplay by Tracy Tormé; story by Richard Manning & Hans Beimler
The Enterprise answers a call for help from a brilliant but dying scientist who claims a special link to Data, and soon afterwards Data starts behaving very strangely.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
The Enterprise answers a call for help from Dr Ira Graves, a brilliant scientist living on a remote world with his young assistant, Kareen Brianon. An away team including Data, Troi, Worf and the Vulcan physician Dr Selar find that Graves is dying of Darnay's disease. The prickly old man takes a shine to Data, boasting that he taught Data's creator, Noonien Soong, which in his view makes him Data's grandfather. Graves dies, and Data delivers a strangely emotional and self-important eulogy. Back aboard, Data starts whistling and behaving with uncharacteristic arrogance. Picard and Troi realise that Graves has transferred his mind into Data's body. Unused to the android's strength, Graves injures Kareen, then knocks Picard out when challenged. Faced with what he has done, Graves finally leaves Data's body and places his knowledge in the ship's computer, though his consciousness is lost, and Data becomes himself again.
- 01The title comes from an episode of The Prisoner, and the producers tried unsuccessfully to cast that series' star, Patrick McGoohan, as Graves.
- 02Dr Selar appears on screen only in this episode, though the character is mentioned in several later ones.
- 03Picard's defence of Data as more than a machine anticipates the arguments of “The Measure of a Man” later the same season.