The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Data creates a child android, facing Starfleet's claim.
The episode explores the implications of advanced technology, as noted by Forbes in 2011.[1] StarTrek.com gives "The Offspring" a user rating of 4.6 out of 5.[2]
Quick Facts
- Series
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Season
- 3
- Episode
- 16
- Director
- Jonathan Frakes
- Writer
- René Echevarria
- Production
- 164
- Air date
- 12 March 1990
Facts from the source article.
Making and release
René Echevarria wrote "The Offspring" as a spec script, and the show purchased it.[3] After Echevarria completed a rewrite, staff writers made additional refinements to the script.[3] Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander William Riker, served as the director for this episode.[3] This episode marked Frakes' first time directing, and it was also the initial instance of a Star Trek cast member directing a franchise episode.[3]
In the United States on July 2, 2002, the episode became available as part of the season three DVD box set for Star Trek: The Next Generation.[4]
What the cited sources add
Nerdist also noted that the episode is the directorial debut of Jonathan Frakes.[5] Michael Dorn named "The Offspring" and "The Drumhead" as his two favorite episodes.[6] SyFy Wire highlighted the episode for its portrayal of the Picard-Data relationship, describing it as "heartbreaking".[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Knapp, "The 10 Best Singularity Themed Star Trek Episodes", Forbes (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Star Trek Offspring, The", StarTrek.com; "ST TNG: A Final Unity: Michael Dorn Interview", TrekCore; Craig, "Rebel with a cause...."; Hars, "A Chat with Patrick Stewart", Bullz-Eye.com; Evans, "Patrick Stewart On His Favorite Episode", redshirtsalwaysdie.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lou Anders, "The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword", Star Trek Magazine, July 1997, p. 30–34 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Beierle, "Star Trek the Next Generation – Season 3", DVD Talk, July 2, 2002; Beierle, "Star Trek the Next Generation – Season 3", DVD Talk, July 2, 2002; Miller III, "Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Three (Blu-ray)", DVD Talk, April 30, 2013 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "The 11 Best STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Episodes", Nerdist. facts only, no text reused. archive.nerdist.com
- "ST TNG: A Final Unity: Michael Dorn Interview", TrekCore. facts only, no text reused. gaming.trekcore.com
- Wikipedia, "The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Star Trek Picard: 10 Next Generation Episodes That Will Catch You Up On Data", GameSpot; Britt, "8 moments that turned Picard and Data into Star Trek's top bromance", SYFY WIRE, 2020-01-14; "Star Trek: Data's Most Important Episodes For Picard", Screen Rant, 2019-12-26; "Star Trek: Picard Viewing Guide - The Essential Treks to Take Before the Show", IGN, 2020-01-18; Snowden, "A complete guide to what 'Star Trek' to watch before 'Star Trek: Picard'", Space.com, 2020-01-23; Honorof, "A guide to Star Trek: P en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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