Television Review: Inheritance (Star Trek: The Next Generation, S7X10, 1993)
Inheritance (S07E10)
Airdate: 22 November 1993
Written by: Dan Koeppel & René Echevarria
Directed by: Robert Scheerer
Running Time: 46 minutes
While The Measure of a Man was arguably the best instalment of Season 2, it was certainly the most important, delivering a courtroom drama so intellectually rigorous and emotionally resonant that it eradicated lingering scepticism about the series’ viability. That episode did more than just prove Data’s personhood; it established him as the series’ anchor, the android whose relentless striving to become human served as the connecting tissue that transcended the episodic nature of the show. By the time we reach the final season, specifically with Inheritance, the narrative returns to that core thematic well, stripping away the high-concept philosophy to explore the intimate, familial grief that underpins Data’s existence. Drawing on the context of previous reviews of episodes like Datalore and Descent, Part II, it becomes clear that the writers were attempting to flesh out the immense family tree that has grown around Data—father, brothers, daughter, and now, a mother—though one could argue this late-stage addition feels like a convenient retcon or a touch of soap-opera melodrama designed to inject life into a series running on creative fumes.
The episode begins with a planetary crisis aboard the USS Enterprise: the planet Altrea IV has its core turning solid, rendering the planet uninhabitable and potentially causing a cataclysmic explosion. The solution involves liquifying the core using phasers, a process supervised by two planetary scientists. These are Dr. Pran Tainer (William Lithgow), and his wife, Dr. Juliana Tainer (Fionnula Flanagan). Initially, Juliana appears to be a weary human scientist, and she and her husband work alongside Geordi LaForge and Data to stabilise the situation. However, the plot soon pivots from scientific peril to personal revelation. Juliana reveals that she was married to Noonien Soong, Data’s creator, and claims to be Data’s mother. She recounts that she was present during Data’s creation, a revelation that challenges Data’s understanding of his own origins. She explains that she was the one who insisted Data’s memories be wiped, fearing that if he retained them, he might turn “bad” like his brother, Lore—a reference that ties neatly back to the events of Datalore and the terrifying potential of Data’s duplicate. As Juliana and Data begin to socialise, a genuine bond forms, but the emotional stakes are raised when Juliana is devastated to learn of the death of Lal, Data’s android daughter, an event shown in The Offspring.
The narrative takes a sharp turn during their underground work when an earthquake strikes. Juliana sustains an injury that reveals she has lost an arm, and upon further investigation, it turns out she is, in fact, an android. She is left unconscious, and it is up to Data to uncover the truth. Through a chip in her brain, Data receives a holographic message from Noonien Soong himself. This is a brilliant piece of storytelling that reveals the staggering deception involved in Juliana’s life. Soong explains that he created a copy of Juliana after the real Juliana was mortally wounded and fell into a coma during the attack of the Chrystalline Entity that devastated Omicron Theta. Soong devised complex biotechnological tricks to make the copy look and age like a human woman. Before Juliana is repaired and reactivated, Data faces a profound dilemma: does he tell her the truth, that she is a copy and her memories are stolen, or does he allow her to live in blissful ignorance? This dilemma is the emotional core of the episode. It explores themes of identity and the value of experience—is a life lived under a lie still a life worth living? Ultimately, when Juliana departs the Enterprise, Data chooses to withhold the truth, a decision that suggests his desire for her happiness outweighs his need for factual accuracy.
The introduction of a “mother” figure for Data is a somewhat surprising effort by the TNG creators to provide additional character background relatively late in the series. Scriptwriters Dan Koeppel and Rene Echevarria achieve this by bringing Juliana into the fold, and somewhat ironically, Data becomes the protagonist with the most family members depicted throughout the run—father, brothers, daughter, and grandfather. At first glance, adding a mother looks like a retcon or a melodramatic addition for cheap emotional payoff. However, when viewed through the lens of Data’s isolation—a theme heavily emphasised in reviews of The Measure of a Man and Descent, Part II—it adds a necessary layer of complexity to his character. It forces us to question the nature of memory and connection. If Juliana is a copy, is her love real? Does it matter if she doesn't know? This philosophical angle elevates the episode above standard Star Trek technobabble.
Of course, the episode is not without its flaws. There is an almost perfunctory B-storyline involving the planetary crisis and the character of Pran Tainer. Pran serves as a third wheel to the emotional drama between Data and Juliana, and his presence is largely filled with generic technobabble dialogue. It feels like window dressing, a plot device required to get the characters to Altrea IV rather than a compelling narrative in its own right. This B-storyline often distracts from the heavier themes at play, reducing the stakes of the planetary disaster to a mere backdrop for the character study.
Despite these limitations, Inheritance generally works very well, primarily through the acting prowess of Brent Spiner. Spiner excels in his double role, not just as Data, but as the holographic Noonien Soong. He captures the brilliance, the weariness, and the paternal concern of the creator, creating a spectral presence that haunts the episode. His rapport with Fionnula Flanagan is formidable; Flanagan delivers a performance of credible vulnerability, making Juliana a sympathetic figure even as her android nature is revealed. The chemistry between Spiner and Flanagan grounds the episode in a reality that the script sometimes struggles to maintain.
Another strong point of the episode is the handling of Data’s final dilemma. The scene where Data consults with Captain Picard, Counselor Troi, and Dr. Crusher is a great example of ethical discussion. Picard argues for the truth, seeing it as the fundamental right of every sentient being. Dr. Crusher offers a more pragmatic, medical perspective. However, it is Troi who provides the insight that resonates most deeply. She suggests that telling Juliana the truth might rob her of a fundamental part of her life and happiness, effectively denying Data’s own path to humanity. Data ultimately opts for Troi’s suggestion, choosing compassion over rigid truth. This decision reinforces Data’s character arc; he isn’t just a machine processing logic, but a being capable of empathy and moral choice, however non-human that choice might be.
In the end, Inheritance is a solid episode that showcases many of the things that made Star Trek: The Next Generation great—intelligent science fiction wrapped around a compelling human (or non-human) drama. However, it also begins to give away the creative exhaustion that started to affect the show’s authors near the end of its run. The reliance on a “family secret” plotline and the somewhat clunky B-storyline suggest that the writers were running out of fresh ideas for the show's flagship character. Yet, even in its final seasons, TNG retained the ability to explore the profound loneliness of existence and the ways in which we construct our identities, even when those identities are built on a foundation of lies. It is a bittersweet farewell to the Soong family saga, one that leaves us with more questions than answers, which is perhaps the most appropriate way to say goodbye to a show that spent seven years constantly asking them.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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