Tuesday – June 3 2014 --The Character Data from Star Trek the Next Generation has spawned a series of similar characters-- Melvyn Polatchek “This incomplete but brilliant character seems to be replicated on a number of TV shows. “ There are a number of TV characters that may remind us of Lieutenant Commander Data of ”Star Trek the Next Generation”. Data himself seems to be a replacement for the character Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy. the science officer of the original series. Spock had trouble relating to other crew members on a human level. His central modality, born of his Vulcan heritage, is a dedication to logic above emotion that was a source of frequent humor and occasional strife. Data, an android, wonderfully played by Brent Spiner, was programmed for extraordinary intelligence as well as other skills useful for a first officer on a starship. His ongoing quest was to become more human than his original design. He even had an emotion chip implanted to assist his quest. He was brave, lovable and loyal. This incomplete but brilliant character seems to be replicated on a number of TV shows. The first that comes to mind is Adrian Monk of the TV series ‘Monk’. Monk, played brilliantly by Tony Shaloub has among his other troubles OCPD, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. In combination with his brilliant mind and observational powers he is an unstoppable force in solving crimes all the while dealing with his OCPD. The OCPD is often played for humor which may be uncomfortable at times. Though rather oblivious to the humanity of others, he is a brave, lovable and loyal character. The next character that reminds me of Data is Temperance Brennan of ‘Bones’, played by Emily Deschanel. Temperance, nicknamed Bones by her partner, FBI agent Seeley Booth, is a brilliant forensic anthropologist. She joins with Booth, played by David Boreanaz, to solve crimes using her team of ‘squinterns’ to ascertain cause and time of death and eventually to nail the murderer. (See the pilot show for the definition of squintern. Try not to mind the gory parts). Bones has grown up emotionally and spiritually deprived and although she is able to love—eventually marrying Booth—she has great trouble expressing herself in other than the most literal terms. She thinks empiricism trumps all other modes of thought. This results in many humorous and often touching scenes. Like the others, Temperance is a fierce warrior when she needs to be. Like Data and Monk her social clumsiness is endearing. Her persona anchors an interesting and successful show. She is also brave, lovable and loyal. Last on my list of TV descendants of Mr.Data is Sherlock Holmes of Elementary. Sherlock is played by Johnny Lee Miller with his partner Watson played by Lucy Liu. Holmes, of course, traces his roots back to the Arthur Conan Doyle character, but he reminds me of Data, Bones and Monk with his brilliant mind and powers of observation and concentration. He deviates from the other three in that while he also has great trouble relating to other humans he cares not a wit and defies Watson’s attempts to make him more human. This is a twist on the formula. It gives the viewer something of a moral dilemma. Still, like the others he is brave and loyal. Unlike the others he is not very lovable. (Analogies rarely hold perfectly) It is possible the arc of the show will have Sherlock begin to struggle to better his humanity. I see glimpses. Is it possible that Monk, Bones and Holmes would have been written without the hovering Data. I suppose. Still, with the similarity of the brilliant incomplete personalities of the characters, I wonder.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 11:00:39 +0000
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