Star Trek Character of the Day

Star Trek Charater of the day is Data played by Brent Spiner

Data:



Bio:
Data is an android built by Dr. Noonien Soong. Data is possessed of capabilities of strength, agility and computation that far exceed those of humans, or most other living beings, but he would in his own words "...give it all up to be human." This draws a parallel which is voiced by Commander William Riker, who calls him "Pinocchio" on a number of occasions.He was found in 2338 on Omicron Theta, a planet believed to be his place of creation. This was also the home, for a time, of the scientist Dr. Noonien Soong, Data's creator, and in whose image he is made.Data's brain circuitry is positronic [based on positron (anti-electron) decay]. This idea was first postulated by Science Fiction author Isaac Azimov in the 20th century, but long thought to be impossible. Dr. Noonien Soong was responsible for finally making the technology work, and used these "positronic brains" of greater or lesser complexity in all his android models. Known other Soong-type androids and their stati are as follows: Lore: deactivated, B-4(A.K.A. Ken*) : functioning, Dr. Julianna Tamber : functioning, Lal: deactivated.Data, perhaps in gratitude to the Starfleet officers who found him, joined Starfleet. His application for entry to the academy was the subject of objection by member of the review board Dr. Bruce Maddox: that Data "was not a Sentient Being". Since Dr. Maddox was the only objector, and his objection was dismissed by the rest of the review board, Data's entry was granted.Data distinguished himself on many occasions, and was decorated for Valor and service many times. He was assigned to the new Federation Flagship, the USS Enterprise-D, at or shortly after it's commissioning date, and is present from the very first records concerning that ship's missions.In 2365, Dr. Maddox again pressed his claim, that Data was not a Sentient Being, this time legally, when he forced a hearing on the matter after Data attempted to resign from Starfleet to stop a transfer order and experimental refit. JAG officer Captain Phillipa Louvois presided, Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard acted as counsel for the defense, and Enterprise XO, Commander William T Riker, represented for the plaintiff. Dr. Maddox's claim was that since Data was not sentient, he was therefore property, and could neither resign nor refuse the transfer. Data's sentience was proven to within a reasonable question, and his own search for what Captain Louvois termed as his "soul" continued.Data's personal growth proved to be continual, but sporadic, until the momentous occasion when built an emotions-chip that he reverse-engineered from a damaged one. His creator had made the original for him, but his brother, Lore, stole it while impersonating him, and the chip was damaged when Lore was forcibly deactivated.Data was destroyed in the year 2378 while rescuing Captain Picard from a Romulan prototype warship, commanded by a renegade romulan-created clone of Picard.*Ken is a name used for the android officially named "B-4" by Star Trek Fans who recognize that Dr. Soong's other androids have names that mean types of Knowledge. Data means information, Lore means myths and legends, Ken means understanding that is not comprehended intellectually. Exceptions to this "knowledge" rule are as follows: Julianna was made to be like, and named after, Dr. Soong's wife who had died, and Lal, which is Hindi for "Beloved", was contructed by Data on board the Enterprise-D in 2366.Show runner Gene Roddenberry was close friends with Kim Noonien Singh whose name he used several times in several formats for both Star Trek movies and the series. Data's Father's name is a derivative of Kim Noonien Singh.Data's head is 500 years older than his body because of a temporal disturbance taking him back to the late 1800's where he literally lost his head in an explosion. Once his head was found and after his head was blown off, LaForge was able to reattach it to Data's body.


Brent Spiner



Bio:
Brent Spiner, whose primary claim to fame is his portrayal of the beloved android Data on the television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987), was born and raised in Houston, Texas. His parents, Jack and Sylvia Spiner, owned and operated a furniture store. Jack died of kidney failure at age 29, when Brent was 10 months old. When he was 6 years old, his mother married Sol Mintz, who adopted Brent and his older brother Ron. Although his mother divorced Mintz after 7 years of marriage, Brent retained his adopted father's last name until 1975 when he took back his birth name.Spiner first began pursuing his interest in acting while in high school. There his inspirational drama teacher, Cecil Pickett, gave a great start to the careers of a remarkable group of aspiring young actors (and directors), including Spiner, Cindy Pickett (Cecil's daughter), Randy Quaid, Dennis Quaid, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl and Thomas Schlamme, all of whom later attained success in Hollywood. After graduation, Spiner followed his mentor to the University of Houston and other local colleges, while also launching his professional acting career in theater (The Houston Music Theater and other regional theater) and in film (My Sweet Charlie (1970) (TV), which was shot on location in Texas). After a couple of false starts in New York and Hollywood, Spiner eventually established himself as a stage actor in New York, appearing in a number of off-Broadway and Broadway plays, such as 'A History of the American Film' (1978), 'Leave It to Beaver Is Dead' (1979), 'Sunday in the Park with George' (1984), and 'Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' (1985). While in New York, he had a bit part in Woody Allen's Stardust Memories (1980) and starred in an independent film called Rent Control (1984). The play 'Little Shop of Horrors' brought Spiner to Los Angeles in 1984, where he eventually took up permanent residence.In 1986, after a number of character parts in television series and movies, such as "Robert Kennedy & His Times" (1985), Crime of Innocence (1985) (TV), Manhunt for Claude Dallas (1986) (TV), and Family Sins (1987) (TV), Spiner snagged the role that would bring him international fame: Data, the endearing android, whom Spiner played "by tapping into his inner child." "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987), the sequel to the original television series "Star Trek" (1966), became hugely popular, moving to the big screen for four films (so far) after its 7-year run on television. Aside from these films, Spiner has made cameo appearances in a number of films directed by his friend and old schoolmate Thomas Schlamme, such as Miss Firecracker (1989), Crazy from the Heart (1991) (TV), and Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long (1995) (TV), and has appeared in small roles in more recent films, such as Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and The Master of Disguise (2002). Arguably his most popular film portrayal was Dr. Brakish Okun in Independence Day (1996), a role that elicited his unique eccentricity and sense of humor.