The Star Trek Writer Who Gave Data His Finest Moment
Star Trek is one of science fiction’s longest-running franchises, and even as audiences are enjoying NuTrek offerings like Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks, it’s important to remember the creators who led this Gene Roddenberry franchise to where it is. For example, Melinda M. Snodgrass is not a household name among most fans, but she wrote “The Measure of a Man,” which many consider the best episode of The Next Generation ever written. This Star Trek writer arguably has the best understanding of the android character Data (Brent Spiner), and she gave him his finest moment in “Pen Pals” when he encouraged Captain Picard to save a doomed little girl.
Data In Pen Pals
“Pen Pals” is one of those episodes destined to make you pull your hair out regarding the Prime Directive. Data communicates with a young alien girl using primitive radio signals that help him hide who he really is, and when she tells him about earthquakes ravaging her area, the android realizes that her planet is doomed. This beloved Star Trek character eventually convinces Picard to save the girl, and Data brings her to the Enterprise …an action that annoys the captain, who was fully prepared earlier in the episode to let the whole planet die in the name of the Prime Directive.
The Writer Chose Data
In addition to writing this engaging Star Trek episode, Melinda M. Snodgrass was crucial in making this a Data-centric episode. Before penning the episode, she and other writers were debating which of the Enterprise crew would make contact with the little alien girl.
Considering that most of the episode (aside from a B plot featuring Wesley Crusher learning how to give orders to people older than him) centers on the titular pen pal relationship, the choice of correspondent would determine who got featured heavily in this particular episode.
Data’s Nature
Snodgrass had already established her Star Trek bona fides by writing “The Measure of a Man,” the famous episode where Starfleet has a trial to determine whether Data is a sentient being or just a piece of Federation property. She successfully convinced the other staff writers that the android was the best choice of character to make contact with the alien girl. Explaining her thought process, she later said that Data’s nature is to answer questions, and he’d be tempted to answer anyone asking “is there anyone out there?”
Data Was Just A Child
This Star Trek writing icon insisted that Data was also the only character who would find the alien so “charmingly intriguing” that he felt compelled to respond. Of course, a big plot point is that Data is skirting the Prime Directive by communicating with a primitive species, and Snodgrass thought that it made sense for Data to break the rules like this because “he’s really just growing up” and “more of a child than Wesley.”
This insight is part of why Snodgrass is the best Data writer: she understands the paradoxical juxtaposition that he is simultaneously the smartest and most naive character on the entire ship.
An Episode You Don’t Want To Skip
Compared to other episodes of The Next Generation, it’s easy for fans to overlook “Pen Pals,” but doing so is a mistake (though not as bad as talking to some underage alien on the space radio). This episode embodies Star Trek’s moral dilemmas while still telling a fundamentally human tale, a fact made that much more ironic by the extended presence of the android Data convincing Picard to forget the rules and go save a life. Assuming you haven’t turned off your own emotion chip, fair warning: this episode will give you all the feels.
