FilmRoar

Following up on themes established in The Measure of a Man in the episode The Offspring Data decides to procreate and uses his own positronic brain to create a new android he names Lal (played with great effect by Hallie Todd). With the stage set the show makes no delay to delve into the first of many ethical debates prompted by the new arrival. Star Fleet is made nervous by Data’s experiment to ‘create life’ and experiment he had not advised Starfleet or Picard of because to Data he is dong what any other member of the crew has the right to do without having to ask for the captain’s permission: he is having a child.

The ethics of Data’s decision comes into question again later in the episode as Admiral Hatfel comes aboard the Enterprise to evaluate Data’s capacity as a parent and take the new android away to a research facility if he should decide that is the better course of action. I am sure that the writers of the episode meant to mirror some of the controversy towards Child Protective Services which are both praised for their mission to safe guard children from harmful environments and reviled for breaking up families, sometimes with no clear cause. The writers are likewise able to touch on other sensitive topics such as how exposed children should be to subjects of human sexuality. The situation lends itself to a hilarious encounter where ReKirk.. err. I mean Riker comes across the comely Lal and not realizing her android nature turns the charm on. Lal who is working in ten forward in an effort to learn more about human behavior takes the opportunity to pick Riker up by his uniform and plan a great big kiss on his lips. Data who observes the exchange approaches the surprised Riker and directly asks him ‘Commander, what are your inentions towards my daughter?’ Riker’s look of astounded fright and sudden decision to make a run for it alone make the episode worth watching. Incidentally for anyone who wonders why the Riker character only had one scene in the whole episode, take a close look at the opening credits and you will realize that this is the first TNG episode that was handed to Jonathan Frakes to direct. Frakes will not direct again until season 4 for the episode Reunion, but by that point he will have proven his ability as a director well enough that he will get to sit in the directors chair again for 6 more TNG episodes, 3 episodes of Deep Space Nine and Voyager each and two Star Trek movies.

One detail that particularly appealed to me about The Offspring was the liberties the story took with taking the common subject of a new child to uncommon frontiers. The ability of Lal to choose her own species and gender for example was particularly interesting. In a day when parents are tempted to meddle with the development of their unborn children it is refreshing to see a case where the child is not only allowed to develop but given the choice to decide just what kind of a person they want to become.