Episode #70: The Most Toys
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Episode #70: The Most Toys
THE MOST TOYS episode #22 of 3rd season / Air Date: 5/5/90
written by Shari Goodhartz; Directed by Timothy Bond
Data is believed destroyed in a shuttlecraft explosion but in reality he has been kidnapped by a devious collector (Saul Rubinek) of rare objects - of one-of-a-kind objects. In this case, he wanted the only sentient android (what about Lore? - but I digress). The collector has rare stuff like the Mona Lisa, a Van Gogh and a Roger Maris baseball card, but Data is now the jewel of his collection. Data does not respond well to the collector's demands, such as sitting in a certain chair, but the collector has ways of making Data comply; he's quite diabolical.
The Enterprise crew, meanwhile, have to get used to life without Data, but La Forge is troubled by the way in which Data was destroyed; something isn't right. Also, seems like when a regular character is killed, Worf takes their place (he took Tasha Yar's place when she died). The crew also start to suspect Fajo due to some water contamination which appears to have been caused artificially. Best moment: Picard orders Data to do something before realizing that the android has been replaced by Worf.
Rubinek as the collector, Fajo, offers an atypical portrayal for TNG - almost like a throwback to 20th century villains - the spoiled rich kid who grew up into a totally self-involved sociopath. He's slime and you want to strangle him 5 minutes after he appears, but he's also a fascinating character if one wants to explore some facets of evil. Rubinek exaggerates most of his gestures & inflections, but just enough; he's a colorful pig. Data's interaction with him is unusual for the android. There's also the suggestion of a secret society of rich sadists (a guest of Fajo's is played by Nehemiah Persoff), also a plot device of 20th-century thrillers.
The conclusion is filled with ambiguity; on the surface, it appears that Data was willing to kill his captor and his answer to Riker about this also suggests that Data is lying about his intent. But, we can't be sure. Data then appears to mock Fajo in the final scene, but, again, we can't be sure about a supposedly emotionless android. I've already commented about Data's possible emotions in The Offspring. In all, an interesting sideways foray into disturbing-thriller-territory. BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10
TNG Trivia: actor David Rappaport was originally cast as Fajo
but he committed suicide just after starting in the role, necessitating his replacement with Rubinek.
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