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Data from ST:TNG never looks like he doesn't have emotions.

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Stiflers Mom

Stiflers Mom

Banned
Recently watching a rerun of ST:TNG on a local tv station, and of the couple of things I noticed, one thing (apart from Worf being kind of a douche that makes me cringe) is that Data is often said to have no emotions, but he actually often doesn't act like this, imo.

There are many times when he certainly acts out of an emotional context, and one time he even is doing something out of full anger (when confronted with that collector guy, who just killed that woman, Data wants to shoot him, but gets beamed before he could finish killing him.)

Also he secretly keeps a holograph of Tasha Yar in his closet. etc etc etc



Is there any public concensus about Datas emotions?

Lore,_2364.jpg
 
F

foxtrot3d

Banned
1. Data tries to mimic emotions to appear more human.
2. Throughout the series he begins to develop some emotions i.e. his relationship with Tasha.
 
A

ahoyhoy

Unconfirmed Member
He can learn emotional responses, I think. Instances like those could just be him replicating what he thinks others would do in that situations, kind of like what a toddler might do after observing the behavior of others, but Data can't adapt his own "true" emotions (until the stupid movies come about)
 
L

Lucky Forward

Member
Spock was the same way on TOS. He often had a smirk on his lips and a twinkle in his eye. Of course, he had the half-human thing going.
 
Ovek

Ovek

7Member7
I always put it down to data becoming more human and possibly gaining his own emotions.

The latter of course was changed slightly by the emotion chip etc but it still stands.
 
E

Escape Goat

Member
He can approximate human emotion but he doesn't feel it. What we perceive as friendship he perceives as familiarity. He expects to see Picard, Riker and Geordi and when they're absent he takes note of it just as humans do.

But, its also a TV show with an actor playing an adroid designed to emulate human behavior.
 
A

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
foxtrot3d said:
1. Data tries to mimic emotions to appear more human.
2. Throughout the series he begins to develop some emotions i.e. his relationship with Tasha.
Click to expand...

That was literally the second episode and was never brought up again.
 
The Cowboy

The Cowboy

Member
No one going to point out that, that isn't Data in the pic?.
-
Anyways as other have said, Data learns and he also mimics human behaviour.
 
H

Hilbert

Deep into his 30th decade
StifflersMum said:
.

There are many times when he certainly acts out of an emotional context, and one time he even is doing something out of full anger (when confronted with that collector guy, who just killed that woman, Data wants to shoot him, but gets beamed before he could finish killing him.)
Click to expand...

I feel like you missed the whole point of that scene.
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Member
Data is constantly writing subroutines into his posotronic matrix to help him simulate appropriate emotional responses. This has been said many times pre-moshuns chip.

I though Brent Spiner and the writers really sold this character. Never had this observation before.
 
Duane Cunningham

Duane Cunningham

Member
Lucky Forward said:
Spock was the same way on TOS. He often had a smirk on his lips and a twinkle in his eye. Of course, he had the half-human thing going.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's kind of the opposite motivations, same result: Spock desperately wants to repress his emotions, Data wants to gain and understand them.

Ultimately, Data does exactly that, more or less.

And ultimately, Spock lets his emotions happen and comes to peace with his human side to some extent. He definitely is a dynamically different character from the beginning of TOS to the end of Khan.

(Unfortunately, then they decide to hit the reset button on his character development, turning him back into the early TOS version who takes figures of speech literally, etc, and just can't fathom these cwaaazy humans)
 
The Elite

The Elite

BOSS
Angry Grimace said:
That was literally the second episode and was never brought up again.
Click to expand...

I believe the Tasha relationship is brought up several times in the first two seasons. It's then brought up again when Data meets her sister. They also bring up the fact that he boned her in First Contact.
 
J

JoeM86

Member
Sloane said:
This. You could also ask why he was breathing...
Click to expand...

From Birthright in Season 6:

BASHIR: You're breathing.
DATA: Yes. I do have a functional respiration system. However, its purpose is to maintain thermal control of my internal systems. I am, in fact, capable of functioning for extended periods in a vacuum.
Click to expand...
 
F

foxtrot3d

Banned
Bear said:
Their relationship (and her death) was brought up in several episodes in later seasons that focus on Data's emotions since he holds onto a hologram he has of her.
Click to expand...

Yup, it was them basically taking one of the shittiest episodes ever and salvaging at least some of the parts to further develop Data throughout the series.
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Member
Duane Cunningham said:
Yeah, it's kind of the opposite motivations, same result: Spock desperately wants to repress his emotions, Data wants to gain and understand them.

Ultimately, Data does exactly that, more or less.

And ultimately, Spock lets his emotions happen and comes to peace with his human side to some extent. He definitely is a dynamically different character from the beginning of TOS to the end of Khan.

(Unfortunately, then they decide to hit the reset button on his character development, turning him back into the early TOS version who takes figures of speech literally, etc, and just can't fathom these cwaaazy humans)
Click to expand...


Spock was fixed up nice for VI though.
 
E

Escape Goat

Member
Anyone else think the episode where he dates that delusional woman in Season 6 was kind of sad and mean? Shes clearly messed up in the head but she thinks she wants to bone Data. Data thinks "It'll be a good experiment in intimate social interaction" and basically sees her as a way to perfect his programming. And Troi gives it her blessing. What a useless therapist.
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
Escape Goat said:
Anyone else think the episode where he dates that delusional woman in Season 6 was kind of sad and mean? Shes clearly messed up in the head but she thinks she wants to bone Data. Data thinks "It'll be a good experiment in intimate social interaction" and basically sees her as a way to perfect his programming. And Troi gives it her blessing. What a useless therapist.
Click to expand...

Maybe Troi knows the need for a rebound bone when she sees it?
 
V

vas_a_morir

Banned
genjiZERO said:
The irony of Data is that he's emotional all the time.
Click to expand...

But, he aspires to be human. He is a complicated system that is evolving, with the goal of experiencing the full human experience.

Haven't you guys seen Measure of a Man? Data is more than a robot. And he is sentimental.
 
A

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
Does data even have a robocock?
 
G

.GqueB.

Banned
The no emotions thing is so hard to do in storytelling and I never buy it. It always ends up being wildly inconsistent.

Like Taye Diggs in Equilibrium should've been hanged because of all the smirking and envy he was displaying. Either he didn't get the memo or the director just didn't care.
 
Sapiens

Sapiens

Member
The Technomancer said:
Well you just made it through the worst of it.

Well, maybe Insurrection is worse.
Click to expand...

It's been said a billion times but of the original cast films only two four and six are any good. Three has its moments but it's a very poor follow up to Khan and the whole thing is a device to bring spock back.

What is interesting is that nimoy directed three and four and the jump in quality is staggering. Four is a really tight film. Well, as long as you take it for what it is, which is a really fun fish out of water adventure.
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
Angry Grimace said:
That was literally the second episode and was never brought up again.
Click to expand...

Except when it was brought up in Measure of a Man, one of the best star trek eps and a particularly important one for data. And more obliquely in the Fajo ep when everyone thought he was dead

The Technomancer said:
Well you just made it through the worst of it.

Well, maybe Insurrection is worse.
Click to expand...

Every film after 8 is worse then 5
 
J

John Rabbit

Banned
i thought the whole point is that the robot programmed to act "human" often ends up being more human than the actual fleshbags around him.
 
Z

ZedIndyLil

Member
Among the many rough edges of Season 1 was the portrayal of Data. He was full of emotion-laden gestures and expressions then. Spiner et al. fine-tuned it and really brought things to a more plausible level in later seasons.
 
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