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The Most Toys (episode)

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Template:Sidebar episode/temp A trader fakes Data's death to add him to his collection of rare and unique objects.

Summary

Teaser

The USS Enterprise-D is procuring 108 kilos of hytritium, a rare and volatile element needed to treat a tricyanate-poisoned water supply on the planet Beta Agni II. The seller is a trader named Kivas Fajo, his ship, the Jovis. Transport of the hytritium through the transporter is not advisable so Lt. Commander Data is making the trips via the shuttlepod Pike. As Data makes his last transport, a woman named Varria asks him to confirm the last transport with his fingerprint. Suddenly, Data is electrically shocked and disabled. Varria then scans him for what he is made of physically to plant the components aboard the shuttle. Data's last transmission to the Enterprise is for Shuttle Bay 2 to receive him.

Pike destroyed

"Data…"

The Enterprise crew monitor Data as the Pike explodes in transit, and the shocked crew assumes that he was destroyed in the explosion.

Act One

Captain Jean-Luc Picard speaks to Kivas Fajo and asks him for any information on what happened. Fajo says things looked as consistent as the other flights, and was "disappointed" at the loss of the pilot. After the information is transferred to the Enterprise, Picard tells Wesley Crusher to head for the Beta Agni II system with the 81 kilos of hytritium they obtained. Eighty-one kilos is just enough for them to complete their mission with zero margin for error, and Fajo had said the only other source he knew of was the Sigma Erandi system, three weeks away.

Aboard the Jovis, Data is stuck in the position he was in before, and then wakes up. Data asks Fajo why he is where he is. Fajo says that Data has been brought to his ship because Data is supposed to entertain him. Data says this cannot happen because he is a Starfleet officer. Fajo says that he will never be able to leave, so therefore he is no longer a Starfleet officer, especially since the crew of the Enterprise think he is dead. Fajo begins communication with Data by speaking in a highly exaggerated manner until it becomes clear that Data is a very qualified communicator and can be spoken to normally. Data informs Fajo that he does not wish to stay and upon Fajo's refusal to free him, Data advises that he will have to attempt escape. However, Data soon finds he is unable to escape as the door is too heavy and is keyed to galvanic skin responses and DNA patterns. When Data tries to lift Fajo to use him to open the door, he is hit by a force field created by Fajo's proximity-actuated field, which impedes positron flows.

Fajo takes Data on a tour of the gallery, viewing a Salvador Dali painting, The Persistence of Memory, looking at a sculpture from the late Mark Off-Zel, feeding the thought-extinct Lapling and sniffing the bubble-gum scent of the Roger Maris baseball card. Fajo asks Data to sit in the chair for display. Data refuses and says that he considers being held captive a hostile act by Fajo.

Act Two

La Forge and Wesley go to Data's quarters to clean out everything.

On the Jovis, Varria comes back into the room that Data is kept in, and Varria tells him that Fajo wants him to wear a specific set of clothes. Varria tells Data to do as Fajo says because he is as giving as he is cruel, while touching her face knowingly. Data says that he will not change as the Enterprise will be looking at the remains of the shuttlepod to know he wasn't on board during the explosion. However, Varria tells Data that they planted enough of his composite materials in exact quantites as evidence on the shuttle so that the Enterprise will not search for him and that Fajo has him. Data replies that it appears he has them both.

Later in Picard's ready room, La Forge tensely informs Picard and Riker that he has investigated the shuttle explosion and can find no explanation. The only reason La Forge can find is "pilot error", which he considers impossible given Data's exceptional abilities. Picard says he will support La Forge's continued investigations as long as the engineer thinks fit, with the caveat that he expects La Forge to be rested in time for the decontamination mission. Riker comments that Data's emotionlessness did not prevent him from stirring strong emotions within others, and after recommending Worf to take Data's place at Ops, he leaves. Picard looks at a book of Hamlet by William Shakespeare, one of the works he gave Data and reads a passage from it that reminds him of his "lost" officer.

Act Three

Fajo comes into the gallery and is angry at why Data has not changed into the robes he chose for him. Data says that he is a Starfleet officer and therefore will not change his clothes. Fajo does not understand why he is even a Starfleet officer in the first place, and then orders a flask of a finoplak, an acid powerful enough to melt clothing, but not harm Data's skin. This makes Data need to change.

Meanwhile, Worf is assigned to Data's Ops duties and Deanna Troi is concerned for his emotional well-being as Worf was close to Data and this is the second time Worf has replaced a crewmate who has died. Worf points out that promotion due to the death of a crewmate is common on a Klingon vessel and adds that he honors the death of those he is replacing by performing the duties as well as his predecessor.

On the Enterprise, La Forge is sleeping, he goes over and over again what Data said, waking up with the realization that he did miss something. He reviews the audio logs from the shuttle flight with Wesley and discovers that Data failed to transmit a status message, several seconds before the explosion. Although trivial, it was a procedural error that Data would have never committed. Geordi suggests that Data saw something amiss, but Wesley points out that it also would have been unlike Data to not report a problem. From this, Geordi concludes that something was wrong with Data himself, though there's nothing else to support that.

Later that evening when Fajo tries to "show off" his new "acquisition" to his friend and competitor, Palor Toff, Data stands still and shows no signs of activity. This angers Fajo as he is made to look a fool in front of his friend.

Act Four

As the crew of the Enterprise delivers the hytritium to the water table on Beta Agni II, the substance responds much more quickly than expected, and Picard orders Riker, Worf, and Dr. Crusher beam down to investigate.

As Data is viewing the "Mona Lisa" on the Jovis, attempting to imitate her smile, Fajo enters quickly and again asks Data to sit in the chair in which Fajo intends to display him, and Data refuses. Fajo then gets a Varon-T disruptor from a hidden shelf, an illegal weapon in the Federation. Fajo shows his true colors as a vicious, cruel, and immoral creature. When Data continually refuses to sit in the chair, Fajo threatens to kill his assistant Varria with the weapon, even though she has been with him for 14 years. Data realizes he can prevent this ruthless act by sitting in the chair, and does so.

The away team find several holes in their investigation: tricyanate is not indigenous to the planet and the only counteragent is the rare hytritium compound conveniently provided by Fajo. Worf's tricorder readings reveal that the poisoning was indeed artificial, but Crusher finds this difficult to believe – the poison used to contaminate the water table is very unstable and difficult to transport. However, the poison is also difficult to counteract, as hytritium is the only antidote. Hearing this, it dawns on Riker how "lucky" they were to find it, and in exactly the right amount.

In a briefing in the observation lounge, Riker points out that Fajo was in the right place in the right time to provide them with the hytritium they so desperately needed. It is speculated that Fajo poisoned the water to then sell the Enterprise crew the hytritium to make a profit, but Crusher points out that, due to the expense of producing tricyanate, the venture would not be profitable, leaving them to wonder what his true intentions were. Addressing the computer, Picard requests a bio on Fajo, and it includes a list of priceless artifacts in his collection, which include numerous "rare and valuable objects". The computer only names four of his treasures, including van Gogh's The Starry Night, before being cut off by the captain, who, like everyone else, identifies what has likely been added to the collection – a sentient, fully-functional artificial lifeform, one who apparently "died" in an accident. When La Forge asks what could have happened if Data was not on the shuttle when it exploded, Picard taps his combadge and orders Wesley to set a course for the site of the shuttlecraft explosion at Warp 8. They pursue the Jovis, sending a coded message to all Federation outposts Fajo could have reached since leaving the Enterprise.

Meanwhile, Varria comes to Data's aid. She realizes that Fajo does not value her no matter how loyal she is.

Act Five

Varria assists Data in escaping even though the escape is a dangerous one because there is no way to communicate to the Enterprise that he is alive, the escape pod will sound an alarm once activated, and there are guards everywhere. Unfortunately, Varria is caught by the guards and then by Fajo and he shoots her with the Varon-T after hesitating for only a moment. Her death is excruciating and painful to witness as she is destroyed from the inside out. On hearing her scream, Data exits the escape pod he was preparing for launch, and picks up Varria's discarded disruptor, aiming it at Fajo. Fajo proceeds to taunt Data, saying that if he does not return to his chair with no escape, he will start killing others, and their blood will be on Data's hands as well. He continues by saying that if only Data's programming allowed him to feel rage over Varria's death, he could kill him and stop it – but he has no feelings; he is only an android.

Data, however, concludes that he has to stop Fajo, and, seeing no non-lethal option, draws the disruptor at his suddenly-panicking captor, but is beamed back to the Enterprise. Chief O'Brien detects the weapon in mid-transport as having been discharged and remotely deactivates it as a precautionary measure. Data hands it to Riker and tells him to arrest Fajo for murder, kidnapping, and theft. When Riker asks about the discharge, having noticed Data's pose on arrival, Data pauses and suggests something may have occurred during transport.

Data visits Fajo in the brig and informs him that all the items he stole from others are being returned. Fajo asks Data if it satisfies him to knowing that he has lost everything. Data simply replies that he has no feelings as he is only an android.

Log entries

Memorable quotes

"It took… great effort, effort… to bring you …here."

- Kivas Fajo, to Data


"Am I to infer that you intend to keep me captive?"
"Captive, captive. Oh, it's such an inappropriate description."

- Data, after being kidnapped by Kivas Fajo


"He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

- Picard, quoting Shakespeare in remembrance of Data


"Kivas finds a way to get what he wants from his people. His rewards for loyalty are lavish. His punishments for disloyalty are lavish. You won't find anyone here on this ship to help you escape. Face it, android. He has you."
"It appears…he has us both."

- Varria and Data, regarding Fajo


"Pilot error?!"
"I know it's hard to accept, but even the best pi…"
"Captain, it's not only hard to accept – with Data, it's impossible! I mean, I can't even begin to calculate the odds, it's…well…well if Data were here, we could ask him."

- La Forge, refusing to believe the explosion could be Data's fault and Picard


"I understand how much we want… even need, to explain an accident like this… sometimes there just aren't any explanations."

- Picard, attempting to console La Forge


"For an android with no feelings, he sure managed to evoke them in others."

- Riker to Picard, after witnessing La Forge's outburst


"What a marvelous contradiction. A military pacifist."

- Kivas Fajo


"You belong in Starfleet about as much as I belong in a verbal contract."

- Kivas Fajo


"I've been concerned about you."
"About me?! Why?"
"Because I know how I'd feel if I was asked to replace Data at his station."
"Promotion due to the death of a crewmate is…commonplace on Klingon ships."
"I know – but this isn't a Klingon ship. And Data was your friend. And it's the second time you've replaced a crewmember who's died."
"I honor Data's memory, as I did Lieutenant Yar, by performing their duties as they did."
"In true Klingon fashion."

- Troi and Worf, en route to his first shift as Data's successor


"It's a mannequin of some sort."
"This is not a mannequin. This is Data. This is formerly Lieutenant Commander Data of the Federation Starfleet. The only sentient android in existence."
"It doesn't seem particularly sentient right now."
"That's because it's playing a stupid little game with us."
"Well, someone has certainly played a game on you, Fajo." (Laughs)
"I don't find this amusing."

- Palor Toff and Kivas Fajo, inspecting a non-responsive Data


"He falls well!"
"I apologize for this."
"Do not be upset, my friend. I am having a delightful visit." (to Varria) "Come along, Varria! You're much more fun than Fajo's new toy!"
(to Data) "You'll regret this."

- Palor Toff and Kivas Fajo, after Fajo's failed attempt to rouse Data to respond


"Mr. Crusher, put us into close orbit. Mr. Data, scan… (It suddenly dawns on him – and the rest of the bridge crew – that Data is not there) my apologies, Mr. Worf."

- Picard


"Fajo was in the right place at the right time, just when we needed him most."
"You're suggesting he created the problem just to solve it?"
"Possibly."
"What, to make a profit from his sale of hytritium?"

- Riker, Picard, and La Forge, on Kivas Fajo


"Kivas Fajo… a noted collector of rare and valuable objects, including the Rejac Crystal, The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, the Lawmin Galactopedia, the Moliam Andi tapestries…"
"Computer, that is sufficient."
"Rare and valuable object…"
"What if…Data wasn't on that shuttle?"

- Picard, Riker, and La Forge (with help from the Enterprise computer), putting the pieces together


"It's your fault. You knew the price for disobedience, and so did she. Well…there's always another Varria."

- Kivas Fajo, to Data, after murdering Varria


"Murder me – go ahead, it's all you have to do. Fire! If only you could… feel… RAGE over Varria's death – if only you could feel the need for revenge, maybe you could fire…But you're… just an android – you can't feel anything, can you? It's just another interesting… intellectual puzzle for you, another of life's… curiosities."

- Kivas Fajo, taunting Data over his "inability" to kill him


"I cannot permit this to continue."

- Data, preparing to kill Fajo


"Mr. O'Brien said that the weapon was in a state of discharge."
"Perhaps something occurred during transport, Commander."

- Riker and Data, after Data fired on Fajo


"You have lost everything you value."
"Must give you great pleasure…"
"No, sir – it does not… I do not feel pleasure – I am only an android."

- Data and Kivas Fajo, in the Enterprise brig

Background information

The Most Toys remastering

Re-editing the remastered episode in 2012

Production history

Story and production

David Rappaport

David Rappaport, the first Kivas Fajo

  • David Rappaport continued to suffer from acute depression and committed suicide two months later, dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Los Angeles park on 2 May 1990. [2] His death occurred just five days before the episode premiered. Rick Berman related, "Of course it left us very sad." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., pp. 125-6)
  • On recasting the role on such short notice, Director Timothy Bond recalled, "The guy who ultimately played the part, Saul Rubinek, is somebody I went to school with. It just happened that he was passing through town as he was just about to start Bonfires of the Vanities, the ill-fated film, and he's a Trekkie. He called me and asked if I could get him in to see the sets. I said I would try and would call him on Monday. So I called him and said, 'How much do you want to see these sets?' He never does guest spots on television, but I persuaded him to do it." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 197) Bond also commented, "Recasting changed the character, because David Rappaport was quite small. The requirement, dramatically, is that people had to be afraid of him. That was very trick[y] for someone of David's size to pull off, and we had to do it through a different approach in the photography and the sense that he could always get a weapon and blow people away. David underplayed it, but I always had guys in the background who were pretty beefy. As a matter of fact, when I first started working on the episode, I had this idea – which I still think is brilliant, but they wouldn't let me do it – to build his spaceship to his scale, so the ceiling would be about four feet from the floor. When anybody got in, they would have to bend over. It would have made it a nightmare shoot, but I thought it would have been a powerful visual. When we lost David, thank God we didn't have the small sets." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 197)
Persoff and Spiner

Brent Spiner with guest Nehemiah Persoff

  • In a scene present in the script but not the final episode, Fajo sends Varria to test Data's sexual abilities (in which Data references his only sexual encounter from TNG: "The Naked Now"). However, Data learns of Fajo's intent, leaving Varria utterly humiliated, which would later fuel her desire to betray Fajo in the climax. [3]
  • Writer Shari Goodhartz related, "I asked Brent Spiner whether he thought Data purposefully pulled the trigger or not, and he was adamant that Data did fire the weapon, which was my intent as well, but the powers-that-be wanted that kept ambiguous, so it was. If I had a chance to do it over, with all the experience I have behind me now, I would argue passionately for Data's actions and their consequences to have been clearer, and hopefully more provocative." [4]
  • On the floor of the shuttle bay room on board the Jovis, there is a repeating pattern of what appears to be Zibalian language writing. However, on closer inspection, two of the sets of characters are the Japanese words ケイ and ユリ (Kei and Yuri), who are the two protagonists of the anime The Dirty Pair. This is one of many references to this anime, of which the writers and staff of the show were huge fans. [5]

Continuity

  • This episode features a shuttlepod Pike, named after Christopher Pike, second captain of the USS Enterprise. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd ed., pp. 126)
  • Lt. Tasha Yar is mentioned in this episode when Troi expresses concern to Worf that he has now replaced two deceased officers.
  • Worf also mentions that he has manned the Ops position before in a direct reference to the first season when he acted as relief Conn and Ops officer should Geordi or Data be unavailable.
  • Fajo suggests that Data has no sense of modesty. In fact, he does have a modesty subroutine as established in "Inheritance".
  • Although Fajo is Zibalian, actor Saul Rubinek mistakenly says "Zimbalia" when Fajo is describing to Data how his youth was "wasted on the streets on Zimbalia."

Props

Reception

Other information

Video and DVD releases

Links and references

Starring

Also starring

Guest stars

Special appearance by

Uncredited co-stars

Stunt double

Stand-ins

References

1962; 2352; ability; accident; adult; aft; agent; alarm; "all the time"; alloy; alternative; amusement; analysis; Andorians; Andorian traders; android; area; "at all"; "at my disposal"; "at night"; "at war"; audio transmission; authority; away team; Bosotile; Beta Agni II; Beta Agni system; "beyond comparison"; bid; biographical file; bioplast; blood; cage; bluff; body; brainpath; captivity; cargo bay; clean water; computer analysis; case; casino chips; century; chair; charge: chewing gum; choice; circa; class-2 probe; close orbit; cobalt; collection; collector; colony; "come along"; "come on"; comparison; "Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The"; computer; computer analysis; concentration; confiscation; containment field; contamination; contradiction; coordinates; cost; course; creature; crisis; critic; "crown jewel"; crystal; customer; Dalí, Salvador; day; deadly force; death; debater; debris; decency; defense; denkir; departure; departure sequence; desire; "dismissed"; disobedience; disruptor; distance; DNA pattern; docking; dozen; dream; Earth; emergency beacon; "empty threat"; enemy; engine; Enterprise shuttlebay 2; envy; error; escape pod; escape sequence; evasive maneuvers; evil; explanation; explosion; exploration; extinct; face; Fajo's father; fate; Federation; Federation law; Federation Starfleet; feeling; Ferengi; finoplak; flight; flight pattern; friend; fun; galvanic skin response; gift; Giles Belt; "go ahead"; "go on"; gram per cubic centimeter; greed; Grissom, USS; guest; Hamlet; hand; harm; "hello"; hour; huckster; hundred; hytritium; "I don't know"; immorality; imprisonment; "in any case"; "in effect"; "in existence"; "in fact"; "in orbit"; "in order to"; "in the long term"; "in the meantime"; "in the right place at the right time": "in transit"; inflection; information; inhibition; intelligent lifeform; investigation; Iraatan V; Jovis; kidnapping; kilo; kilometer; Klingon; lapling; Lawmin Galactopedia; Legion of Honor; level 1 precautions; level 2 query; liberator; life; light year; link; load; logic circuit; loyalty; Lya IV; malfunction; mannequin; margin for error; Maris, Roger; maximum speed; memory; memory cell; mercy; military; Milky Way Galaxy; mind; mission; mistake; mister; modesty; Moliam Andi tapestries; molybdenum; Mona Lisa; month; murder; naked; name; natural disaster; Nel Bato system; New York Yankees; object; "of course"; Off-Zel vase; Off-Zel, Mark; "on board"; "on my way"; "on your part"; odds; outfielder (OF); outpost; owner; pacifist; parameter; parts per million; pearl; perfection; perimeter; Persistence of Memory, The; phaser; Pike; pilot; pilot error; pillow; pity; place; playing cards; pleasure; positron flow; price; problem; profit; promotion; protocol; prototype; proximity-actuated field; punishment; puzzle; question; rage; reality; reason; Rejac Crystal; relationship; repent; respect; revenge; Rodulan; role; room; rule; sabotage; saboteur; sale; scent; second; Sector 30; "see you later"; self-defense; sensor; sentient (sentient android); "shame on you"; shipment; shuttlepod; Sigma Erani system; Sirrie IV; skill; skin; sleep; smell; solvent; species; square kilometer; Stacius Trade Guild; "stand by"; standard procedure; Star Cross; Starfleet Decoration for Gallantry; Starfleet Medal of Honor; Starfleet uniform; Starry Night, The; station; street; subsurface water; surrender; "tell me"; Tellurian spice; "thank you"; theft; Theta Zibal III (Zibalia); time index; timing; "to the letter"; tongue; top speed; trace element; trader; trading card; training; transporter; transporter room 3; treasure; tricorder; tricyanate; trip; tripolymer composite; toy; value; van Gogh, Vincent; Varon-T disruptor; vase; Veltan sex idol; verbal contract; visit; voice; voice contact; vulnerability; water; water supply; water table; weapon; week; west; "what the hell"; wish; year; youth; Zibalian

Other references

Unused production references

Celsius

External links

Previous episode:
"Hollow Pursuits" 		Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 3 		Next episode:
"Sarek"
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