I have a long day tomorrow so I am doubling down on my watching. Fortunately this is a rare double decent episode streak in season 2. Despite having a generally workable story and a good performance from Brent Spiner if suffers from Okanaism a bit. What I mean by that is that Ira Grave, the genius they are rushing to try and save at the beginning is described by everyone he meets as brilliant. But everything he does is stupid and self defeating. I guess he is supposed to be suffering from some disease, but they imply it is more physical than mental. This episode also serves as a good prelude to Measure of a Man, my favorite early TNG episode.
The Enterprise is rushing to rescue a stricken freighter when they receive a distress signal from a planet occupied only by one of the Federations greatest geniuses, Ira Graves. The doctor is worried she is more needed for the freighter so a Vulcan doctor is sent with Worf, Troi and Data to try and help Graves. When they arrive, after a "near warp beaming," they are greeted by Graves young assistant Kareen. Graves is upset to be disturbed and expresses both a hatred of doctors and a extreme level of sexism not often matched even in TOS. Women to him it turns out are not people, they are women. Wow. Good thing Starfleet is determined to help this guy, I am sure he isn't evil at all. The doctor learns he is dying and soon. In private conversation with Data Graves reveals he worked with Soong, Data's creator. He insists on being called grandpa and discusses transferring his mind into Data.
Suddenly Data emerges from the lab. Graves is dead and Data is determined to mourn him. On the ship Data drones on and on about how great Graves was as his funeral to the point that Picard has to tell him to shut up. On the bridge Data can't keep his mouth shut when the captain is taking Kareen for a tour. Picard pulls him aside and insists that Geordi perform a diagnostic to find out what's wrong. It doesn't work but Troi puts him through a psych eval and finds two minds, not one. While she is figuring out what the results mean Data/Graves is in 10 Foward telling his whole plan to Kareen. She for some reason isn't pumped about giving up her body to live as a robot forever and Graves loses control and breaks her hand.
Kareen tells the captain what happened and he meets up with Graves/Data in engineering. After insisting everything is fine and that he isn't having problems injuring people Picard finds Geordi and another engineer unconscious. Picard manages to convince Graves it isn't going to work and after knocking Picard out Graves goes to Data's quarters and transfers his mind into a computer leaving Data back to normal. When Picard wakes up Pulaski refuses to tell him where Data is for no reason other than to show Pulaski at her best is as bad as Data when he is possessed by an insane genius.
Review: A good, exciting story over all with some serious issues with its main character. Other than transferring his mind into Data, which was clearly a bad plan to start with, Graves can't do anything to keep himself hidden. Starfleet needs to stop letting its eccentric geniuses have their own planets, they just end up going crazy. I am going to subtract a point for Pulaski being a jerk for no reason at the end.
7 out of 10
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