30th Anniversary TNG Episode Discussion Marathon

[Nate the Great]

DATA: Humans seem to take much stronger notice of actions. I require a phaser.
ARD'RIAN: What's a phaser?

What's the point of this? Phasers existed in 2274!

DATA: Hyperonic radiation randomises phaser beams. But I believe I can improvise a servocircuit which will compensate by continuously recollimating the output.

Okay, the atmosphere will scatter a phaser beam, fair enough. I fail to see how a new circuit can make a phaser focus MORE.

GOSHEVEN: I really was willing to stay here and die for this.
DATA: I know that. This is just a thing, and things can be replaced. Lives cannot.

Exactly. Another good moral.

PICARD: That's it.
TROI: I don't follow you, sir.
PICARD: Mister Worf, get me the Sheliak.

Quoting the whole thing would get too long, let's just throw up a YouTube clip.

ARD'RIAN: I guess what I really want to know is, do you have any feelings for me?
DATA: I have no feelings of any kind.
ARD'RIAN: No, of course you don't.

You know, while the installation of the emotion chip in Generations created some good scenes, I do wish that Data could have evolved them himself. Slowly of course, making mistakes in interpretation and so forth. Because scenes like this are heartbreaking.

Nitpicker's Guide

* Phil asks why the Universal Translator can't be used. Of course, a similar question could be presented: why does this translation barrier have to exist? Isn't it sufficient that the Sheliak have a different worldview and excessively bureaucratic mentality?
* If the Sheliak are so far that establishing contact takes time, how can they have real-time communication?