A Data ?

[Michael]

I recently rewatched the "Gambit" two-parter. I think it's a wonderful what-if kind of story where you can see what Data would be like as Captain. He essentially commandeers the Enterprise for two episodes and I think it's a really interesting sight. He makes for a very different kind of Captain. He even seems to use intuition in some situations.

 

[jeff lebowski]

Data didn't know enough about human behavior to be Captain. Being requires alot more than just knowing the rules. You have to know how to manage people. Data doesn't know how to do that, or at least, he didn't know when the show was on. I imagine he greatly increased his chances of making Captain with the addition of the emotion chip.

You don't necessarily need emotions to be a captain. I'm sure there have been a few Vulcan captains in Starfleet...

I didn't say you needed emotions, but they would have been a great help to Data. I said, Data doesn't know enough about behavior to manage people.

Vulcans DO have emotions. They suppress them.

 

[erastus25]

Does anybody know why Data wasn't commanding a ship by the time of the movies?
I can't help but wonder how he might done as Captain!?

JDW

You would think with all of the ships and officers lost during the Dominion War that Data should have risen up through the ranks quickly and gotten his own ship. Just a thought. I think he would have made an excellent Captain. He had two great mentors in Picard and Riker and could access the knowledge and actions taken by other greats like Kirk in an instant with that positronic brain of his.

He wasn't promoted during the war because the Enterprise was too busy in the Briar Patch or whatever it was called! They had more important things to do!

 

[highlander]

^^^^
AH, this wisdom of Starfleet.

 

[James Wright]

There was actually a ship crewed by vulcans on TOS, I can't name the episode, however I believe the starship was thr Intrepid.
Wasn't there a Vulcan Captain on the starship Saratoga at Wolf 359 & a Nebula class starship crewed by Vulcans at DS9?

JDW

 

[USS Excelsior]

There was also a DS9 episode where there was a Nebula Class starship entiretly manned by Vulcans, where they had a baseball contest with the DS9 senior staff.

 

[James Wright]

Yeah, I know that's the ship I was referring to in my post.
I have a ?
Who won the ballgame?

JDW

 

[Jaro Stun]

Data didn't know enough about human behavior to be Captain. Being requires alot more than just knowing the rules. You have to know how to manage people. Data doesn't know how to do that, or at least, he didn't know when the show was on. I imagine he greatly increased his chances of making Captain with the addition of the emotion chip.

I think in season 7s Gambit Data demonstrated, that he is a capable ship commander and that he'd make a good captain.

However, the same episode demonstrated also the reason, why Data was never given the command offer: people under his command would always doubt him and wouldn't really accept him (until he can prove himself enough, which may take some long time and would be a risk factor). In this episode the doubts were specifficaly impersonated into the character of Worf.

In Redemption, cmdr.Hobson (Data's XO on USS.Sutherland) reacted to Data the way he did, cuz' he didn't know Data, and any of his capabilities. He considered him a machine, equal to let's say, a replicator. But Worf knew (and I suppose respected) Data for a long time. Still, he doubted his every command decision.

I think a ship being run by Data would have to adjust to the situation, and it would be a long and painful process. That's why Data was never considered to be a ship CO, I suppose.

 

[HoundDog]

How long had Data served in Starfleet at the time of "Encounter at Farpoint"?

JDW

Another question. Is there any canon information about Data's starfleet career before he was assigned to the Enterprise besides this class of '78 thing?

 

[Philo]

From Memory Alpha:

One of Data's first assignments out of Starfleet Academy was aboard the USS Trieste. (TNG: "Clues") He spent three years as an ensign and twelve as a lieutenant before being promoted to lieutenant commander in 2360. (TNG: "Datalore")

As far as the class of '78 thing goes, it's possible that that's related to Data's original backstory. Maybe he was originally intended to be much older. I can see the idea of a very old being acting like a child tickling Roddenberry's fancy.

 

[James Wright]

Was the Trieste the only ship Data served on before serving on the Enterprise-D, what was his duty assignment aboard the Trieste?
Was he tranferred off the Trieste at his request or did Picard choose Data to serve onboard the E-D?

JDW

 

[HoundDog]

Was the Trieste the only ship Data served on before serving on the Enterprise-D, what was his duty assignment aboard the Trieste?
Was he tranferred off the Trieste at his request or did Picard choose Data to serve onboard the E-D?

JDW

And, to add some question: Is it established who his commanding officers had been before Picard and how they judged him?

 

[erastus25]

Yeah, I know that's the ship I was referring to in my post.
I have a ?
Who won the ballgame?

JDW

The Vulcans. The Niners scored a run in the 9th and celebrated though. The Vulcans, of course, didn't get why the feds were celebrating even though they lost.

 

[Federation Puppet]

All things considered, the amount of time Data had existed among humans prior to E@F, how is it he's still so perplexed by human behavior? By the nature of is questioning throughout the seasons you'd swear Data came online not much before the series began. I know they did this to accommodate the audience so you could see Data grow as a being and as a character, but still, it mildly irritated me. They could have given him less history. Maybe give him only 8 years online before the series started.