Each Star Trek Character Performed By Brent Spiner, Defined

Knowledge, the android performed by Brent Spiner, was beloved by the writers of “Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology.” Aside from Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), Knowledge had probably the most variety of episodes dedicated to him. Knowledge was impassive however aspired to be human, giving him a singular perspective on the human situation. He would ask basic queries like “What’s humor?” or “Describe feeling indignant,” permitting the Trekkies watching to formulate solutions of their minds. Knowledge’s questions allowed viewers to grow to be extra articulate concerning the human expertise, which is nice, simply in case we meet an android in particular person. 

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Spiner was additionally such a flexible actor that he was continuously requested to play different characters. Knowledge turned possessed by an evil alien felony within the episode “Energy Play” (February 17, 1992), as an illustration. Within the episode “A Fistful of Datas” (November 9, 1992), an Previous West holodeck program started reproducing duplicates of Knowledge, all performed by Spiner. Within the (maligned) episode “Masks” (February 21, 1994), Knowledge was possessed by a whole lot of extinct alien folks. He performed a holographic Musketeer in “Hole Pursuits” (April 30, 1990) and was possessed by Ira Graves (W. Morgan Sheppard) in “The Schizoid Man” (January 23, 1989). For a personality who had no feelings, Knowledge had a few of the most emotional roles. 

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Spiner has been a part of the “Star Trek” firmament for the reason that begin of “Subsequent Technology” in 1987, and he has appeared each episode of the collection, all 4 of its spinoff films, and he turned up on a number of episodes of “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Star Trek: Picard,” and one episode of “Star Trek: Decrease Decks.” 

Apart from these aforementioned roster, listed here are all the important thing characters that Brent Spiner has performed throughout the “Star Trek” canon. 

Knowledge, as described above, is a implausible science fiction creation. Knowledge was humane and mild but in addition chilly, as he had no feelings. Or not less than he claimed to not. Knowledge usually expressed types of perplexity, curiosity, ambition, justice, ennui, and — in not less than one case (as in “The Most Toys”) — outright rage. His feelings have been principally refined, nevertheless, a mere expression of his positronic matrix. Knowledge is usually in comparison with Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from the unique “Star Trek,” as he was additionally an impassive being on the bridge of the Enterprise. Knowledge, nevertheless, aimed to be extra human, whereas Spock all the time strove to be much less. 

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Knowledge’s backstory was laid out clearly within the early episodes of “Subsequent Technology.” He was constructed by a rogue genius cyberneticist named Dr. Noonien Soong, who was presumably killed by a marauding alien. Knowledge was found with out reminiscences on a desolated planet and activated. Having been cared for by Starfleet officers, Knowledge discovered the job to be interesting, and he was allowed to attend Starfleet Academy. Dr. Soong, it appears, was such a uniquely sensible scientist that no scientists have been in a position to reproduce an android as refined as Knowledge. This makes Knowledge roughly distinctive on the planet of “Star Trek.” It is also a helpful dramatic gadget for the “Subsequent Technology” writers, because it ensured that Knowledge clones would stay at a comparatively low ebb.

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Spiner beloved enjoying Knowledge. He additionally sort of hated it. 

Lore was Knowledge’s evil twin brother. He, too, was created by Dr. Soong, however he was programmed to really feel feelings. Sadly, Lore’s positronic mind wasn’t excellent, and he started to develop sturdy impulses towards jealousy, resentment, sadism, and violence. At first, Lore stated that Knowledge had been created first as a prototype, and Lore was the extra excellent android mannequin, however it could later be revealed that Lore was mendacity, and he was the extra rudimentary mannequin. It might additionally later be revealed that Lore was in league with a large, planet-eating Crystalling Entity that he lured to his house planet particularly to homicide the people who created him. Lore, as one can see, had no love for natural beings.

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Lore additionally had no ambitions to be human, however he did have loads of hate. Within the episode “Brothers” (October 8, 1990), Lore did categorical some unhappiness and misery when he discovered that Dr. Soong (see under) was dying of outdated age. For probably the most half, although, Lore was a bitter adolescent, irritated by all the pieces and wanting to take management of others. Certainly, within the two-part episode “Descent” (June 21 & September 20, 1993), Lore even turned the chief of a cult of Borgs who had separated from their collective. He was a darkish messianic determine. He was finally deactivated, solely returning as a imaginative and prescient in an episode of “Star Trek: Picard” a few years later. 

Enjoyable trivia: The Lore story undid an unique concept to make Knowledge an alien-crafted being. 

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As talked about, Dr. Noonien Soong was presumed useless when Knowledge was found by Starfleet officers. Within the episode “Brothers,” nevertheless, it could be revealed that he was nonetheless alive … albeit barely. The very, very aged Dr. Soong was dying, however he activated an android beacon that attracted Knowledge to his location. With out desiring to, the beacon additionally attracted Lore, and “Brothers” allowed Brent Spiner to play three completely different roles in the identical room. 

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Soong gave the impression to be somewhat bitter, in a sometimes curmudgeonly means, and spoke very frankly to Knowledge and Lore. When Knowledge asks why he was created, Soong, in a really Plato-like means, solutions with a query. Why does anybody have youngsters? Knowledge thinks it out, and involves conclusion that most individuals desire a piece of themselves to stay on in perpetuity. 

Knowledge was to be given an feelings chip by Dr. Soong, basically fast-tracking his growth towards humanity. Sadly, Lore was so bitter about his remedy by his father that he took Knowledge’s place in secret and stole the feelings chip for himself. Maybe the chip drove him somewhat extra mad. Within the ensuing fracas, Dr. Soong is knocked over, which was sufficient to kill him. A tragic finish for an formidable father. 

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Within the 2002 function movie “Star Trek: Nemesis,” Knowledge discovered of a brother he by no means knew he had. Scattered in items on a distant world, Knowledge found B-4, a Soong android prototype that he seemingly constructed earlier than Lore or Knowledge. B-4 was a rudimentary mannequin with an easier mind than his brothers, and he behaved like a toddler. For instance, when he sees Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes), he asks why the tall man has a furry face. 

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B-4, we later study, was scattered in items throughout the aforementioned distant world as bait for Captain Picard. If the united statesS. Enterprise detected a uncommon Soong android, they’d most actually be drawn there to look. Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a clone of Picard, put B-4 there as a method to lure the Enterprise to his location. Sadly, it is by no means defined how Shinzon acquired his palms on a Soong android, and the screenwriters ignore the coincidence that Shinzon, of all folks, ought to have discovered it, seeing as he already wished to focus on Picard and the Enterprise. 

Knowledge died on the finish of “Star Trek: Nemesis,” sacrificing his life to avoid wasting the Enterprise from an assault by Shinzon’s ship, the Scimitar. Earlier than he died, nevertheless, he uploaded all of his reminiscences into B-4’s mind, implying that Knowledge would, indirectly, stay on. B-4 by no means actually expressed any sort of refined feelings, although, and  hebarely appeared to understand the world round him. Maybe Knowledge’s reminiscences have been meant to make him develop up. 

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“Star Trek: Enterprise” passed off a century earlier than the occasions of the unique “Star Trek” collection, permitting Spiner to return to play an ancestor of Dr. Noonien Soong. Arik Soong appeared in a three-part story arc within the fourth season of “Enterprise” that integrated the episodes “Borderland,” “Chilly Station 12,” and “The Augments” (October 29, November 5, and November 12, 2004). Arik Soong was a considerably villainous character who was somewhat too eager on tinkering round with human genomes and making ultra-strong super-soldiers. Eugenics, to remind the reader, has been strictly outlawed on the planet of “Star Trek,” as a earlier bout with genetic manipulation created super-soliders who took over the world through the Eugenics Wars. Khan (Ricardo Montalbán) was one of many troopers. 

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Arik Soong is Noonien Soong’s great-grandfather, and his three-part “Enterprise” arc concerned an escaped band of genetically enhanced convicts — thought of to be Arik’s “youngsters” — who sought to amass a secret retailer of super-embryos saved at a Chilly Station in a harmful space of house. The convicts, referred to as Augments, ended up butting heads with Arik over their violent means. Arik, in the meantime, had already manipulated the following era of Augments to be much less violent. Arik, whereas finally eschewing violence, wasn’t an amazing man. He believed in breeding “superior” people. 

When his plans to take action by way of genetics did not work, he figured he’d must construct a really perfect human. An android perhaps. It might take a very long time to excellent, although. Perhaps a number of generations … The Soongs that got here after Arik have been all android fans.

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Enjoyable trivia: The Massive Present was in one of many Arik episodes. 

Evidently Noonien Soong additionally had a organic son, along with the three androids he constructed. One can infer that the Soongs have been all possessed of some egomania, seeing as they wished all their androids to resemble them. And who’s to say that Noonien Soong did not additionally genetically manipulate his son to look similar to him? Certainly, there’s each cause to imagine that Altan is a clone of Noonien. 

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Altan Soong appeared within the closing episodes of the primary season of “Star Trek: Picard,” and he was seen residing on a personal androids-only planet. The primary season of “Picard” passed off a number of a long time after the occasions of “Nemesis,” after the Federation had lived by means of a number of cataclysms. A type of cataclysms was a mysterious android rebellion whereby brainless slave-bots had all of a sudden taken up weapons and began killing their masters. The androids in query weren’t sentient, which made their rebellion very unusual. A vaguely outlined galactic treaty was instantly signed, banning the additional growth of synthetic life kinds. It can later be revealed that the robotic rebellion was orchestrated by a shadowy cabal of Romulans who hated androids. All of it had one thing to do with a robotic Cthulhu from one other dimension. 

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Anyway, Altan, eager to defend androids, moved to a secret world the place a whole lot of androids lived in an Edenic paradise. He was a mild man, and he did not have so much so as to add to the plot. Altan constructed a super-advanced android golem that would home a complete human consciousness, which he would use on Picard. Sure, Picard is an android now. Additionally, Altan will later reveal that he constructed an android referred to as Android M-5-10 (extra on that later). 

Within the second season of “Star Trek: Picard,” the title Admiral travels again in time to the 12 months 2024 to resolve a fancy thriller a few cut up timeline. He had seen an alternate future whereby people had grow to be violent, genocidal tyrants who have been killing off each different species within the galaxy. In that alternate future, people’ genocidal philosophy stemmed from the concepts of 1 Adam Soong, who — like Arik on “Enterprise” — believed that people have been genetically superior to different life kinds. 

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Picard met up with Adam in 2024, and he was certainly tinkering with human DNA to create a superior human, experimenting on his personal cloned daughter, Kore (Isa Briones). Adam was already an outcast in a lot of the scientific neighborhood for his horrid eugenics-based concepts, however he was decided to finish his experiments. Kore, we are going to later study, was solely the newest “daughter” in a protracted string of failed cloning experiments. Adam would additionally try to foil an area mission led by Renée (Penelope Mitchell), an ancestor of Picard’s, as she was to find one thing on the moon of Europa that will make his genetic nonsense out of date. Adam, as a result of he was the villain of the season, would naturally be stopped. 

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Adam would even be given a file folder full of data as to how he might jump-start a brand new eugenics program, and it is implied that he would have direct involvement within the creation of Khan. 

Within the third and closing season of “Star Trek: Picard,” Jean-Luc and Riker would want to interrupt right into a Starfleet black web site to search out out extra particulars as to why a band of malevolent Changelings kidnapped his preserved corpse (he is an android now, bear in mind?). Whereas Riker trekked by means of the black web site, he discovered that its safety programs had been wired into the mind of a supra-advanced android saved there. The android was referred to as Daystrom Android M-5-10, and it simply occurred to appear to be a 75-year-old Brent Spiner. A hologram of Altan (from the primary season of “Picard”) explains that this android is the most effective one but, as it’s accommodates all of the reminiscences, feelings, and experiences of Knowledge, Lore, Noonien Soong, B-4, and even Knowledge’s short-lived daughter Lal. 

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It is also seen as superior as this new android would lastly know what it could be wish to be outdated (which was a intelligent method to forged a 75-year-old Brent Spiner once more). Sure, it was even programmed to really feel again ache. 

This new android would have some internal mind conflicts as to which of its many personalities would dominate — it regarded briefly as if Lore would take over — however Knowledge received out ultimately. By the top of the third season of “Picard,” everybody was calling this new android Knowledge. He additionally had a full vary of feelings. This was, it appears, as shut as Knowledge will ever come to being human. After a number of generations and not less than two deaths, Knowledge lastly lived his dream.