Star Trek the Next Generation Episode Review: The Schizoid Man (1989)
Synopsis: A dying scientist (William Morgan Sheppard) transfers his mind into Data's (Brent Spiner) body. This creates trouble on board the Enterprise as the android begins to talk and act like the scientist.
Review: I had a little bit of time before taking my daughter to her skating lesson last night so, while she had some dinner, I ended up watching this STNG episode on TV. I had seen this episode once or twice before and, much like the other times I watched it, my opinion of it was a bit mixed.
I did like how this episode allowed Spiner to showcase his talents, playing both his normal role as Data and also playing the scientist that infiltrated his mind. This led to some entertaining outbursts and a bizarre (but fun to watch) eulogy scene.
In addition, the fact it was Data who was affected did add (even if it wasn't totally fulfilled) an element of danger. He's arguably the strongest member of the Enterprise crew. Putting a warped mind into that strong body had the potential to create some real chaos.
My biggest problem with this episode, other than the fact it didn't fully capitalize on that element of danger I mentioned before, was how stupid the rest of the Enterprise crew seemed to be. It took them forever to put two and two together to figure out what was going on when it really shouldn't have taken them that long. I mean, it's not as though there was any real effort being made to impersonate the android.
Final Opinion: It's an OK episode. But, I feel as though it had a lot of unaccomplished potential and I just have a hard time getting over just how clueless his fellow crew members were.
My Grade: C
Review: I had a little bit of time before taking my daughter to her skating lesson last night so, while she had some dinner, I ended up watching this STNG episode on TV. I had seen this episode once or twice before and, much like the other times I watched it, my opinion of it was a bit mixed.
I did like how this episode allowed Spiner to showcase his talents, playing both his normal role as Data and also playing the scientist that infiltrated his mind. This led to some entertaining outbursts and a bizarre (but fun to watch) eulogy scene.
In addition, the fact it was Data who was affected did add (even if it wasn't totally fulfilled) an element of danger. He's arguably the strongest member of the Enterprise crew. Putting a warped mind into that strong body had the potential to create some real chaos.
My biggest problem with this episode, other than the fact it didn't fully capitalize on that element of danger I mentioned before, was how stupid the rest of the Enterprise crew seemed to be. It took them forever to put two and two together to figure out what was going on when it really shouldn't have taken them that long. I mean, it's not as though there was any real effort being made to impersonate the android.
Final Opinion: It's an OK episode. But, I feel as though it had a lot of unaccomplished potential and I just have a hard time getting over just how clueless his fellow crew members were.
My Grade: C
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