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Old 01-23-2019, 11:18 PM
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Nate the Great Nate the Great is offline
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GRAVES: It's an ancient little tune called 'If I Only Had A Heart.' A plaintive lament sung by a mechanical man who longs to be human. It's his only wish.

You know, this thing of whether the Tin Woodman is a real mechanical man like Tik-Tok or is actually a magically animated puppet is a bit befuddling. I'm inclined to believe the latter. The Tin Woodman is not mechanical and doesn't want to be human (he was a Munckin to start with, remember?), he just wants to feel emotion.

DATA: I believe I have a few words to say, sir. (steps up to the case) Just look at that face. The face of a thinker. A warrior. A man for all seasons. Yes, Ira Graves was all that and more. But he was not perfect. Perhaps his greatest fault was that he was too selfless. He cared too much for his fellow man, with nary a thought for himself. A man of limitless accomplishments, and unbridled modesty. I can safely say that to know him was to love him. And to love him was to know him. Those who knew him, loved him, while those who did not know him, loved him from afar.

The phrase "laying it on with a trowel" comes to mind. Then again, how many men get to write their own obituary?

DATA: When you get to be my age, you will understand.
WESLEY: Your age? Data, chronologically, you're not much older than I am.

Data was constructed in 2336 or thereabouts, Wesley was born in 2348. I'm not sure if twelve years counts as "not much older".

DATA: That is ridiculous. I am as healthy as a Rigelian ox.

I never noticed this repetition before. It's a shame that Selar heard it the first time and Pulaski the second time, or else this would've been a useful Chekov's Gun. And did the audience need one more piece of evidence to figure out what's going on?

DATA: May I ask a question?
LAFORGE: I think you just did.
DATA: Quite correct. Then may I ask another question after this one?
LAFORGE: You can ask me anything you want.
DATA: Why am I lying on the floor in this undignified position with the four of you standing over me, displaying expressions of concern?
PICARD: I've heard more than enough. You're you again.

Great scene.

Memory Alpha

* First appearance of an away team/landing party that contains no humans: Klingon, android, Vulcan, half-Betazoid.
* Only in-person appearance of Dr. Selar, although she'll be namedropped here and there for the rest of the series. For the future adventures of Selar most people will think of the New Frontier series, but may I recommend the novel The Eyes of the Beholders? Plus she appeared in the Strange New Worlds short story "Q'uandary" where she serves as midwife for Q's wife (who I call Lady Q in honor of I, Q) in the background of "The Q and the Grey".

Nitpicker's Guide

* Since Pulaski's initial turbolift journey is backed by her narration, she doesn't have the chance to tell the computer where she wants to go. You'd think they could toss in a "Bridge" before the narration starts...
* Supposedly the Enterprise went into warp the instant that the away team materialized, and yet they use their commbadges to talk to the ship after arriving. Since when can communicators reach ships that aren't in orbit?
* In Volume II Phil uses the term "cabbagehead" for "idiot", a term that I haven't encountered in years. And the Amazing Thing I Learned Today is that this bit of slang dates all the way back to the Victorian era.
* Phil wonders about the bedside manner of a Vulcan doctor. I have to admit that while sounding vaguely racist, this idea might have some merit. Wouldn't a Vulcan doctor prefer to either serve on a Vulcan-only ship or focus on medical research?
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