From: jwindley%cheap.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Jay Windley)
Subject: Re: MOST OVERRATED EPISODE
Date: 25 Jan 93 16:23:30 MST
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept

In article <rawdon.727752237@cs.wisc.edu> rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu writes:
>I would say "The Measure Of A Man".  Now, the idea (is Data sentient?) is
>fine, and the acting was excellent, but the episode suffered from amazingly
>inept plotting, such as:
>
>- Riker as prosecutor!  (This is so dumb no more need be said.)

This arises from the circumstances of the last point (the venue of the
hearing).  Although the military and similar organizations have
officers who specialize in legal counseling, there are admittedly some
circumstances which require any able officer to assume various roles
in court martials.

In this respect, Starfleet seems to resemble the navies from the age
of sail.  The officers of the ship would prosecute, defend, and judge
shipmates as if they knew what they were doing.

In short, it's not implausible that a line officer should prosecute in
a hearing in an organization such as Starfleet.

>- Is Data sentient?  Gee, you mean that Starfleet not only let him in, but
>  ALLOWED HIM TO ADVANCE TO COMMAND RANK before deciding that this ought to be
>  determined?

Due to the varying species who belong to Starfleet, they may not have
a cut-and-dried definition of sentience.  Data was probably admitted
and promoted according to the "quacks like a duck" rule of thumb.  He
behaved in a sentient matter, therefore he was sentient.  This went
unchallenged until it became desirable to take Data apart.

>- Maddox's unbelievable change of heart at the end of the episode.

Agreed.

>- A case of such potentially monumental import being decided in the boonies of
>  the Federation.

Lots of organizations have ideas of jurisdiction which would make this
plausible.  My church requires that a tribunal for reinstatement be
reconvened in the same jurisdiction in which the defendent was
excommunicated, regardless of his or her current residence.

This may have been a deliberate ploy by Picard.  By registering his
complaint in a certain unstaffed jurisdiction (instead of, for
instance, on Earth), he may have thought to avoid dealing with big
Starfleet legal guns.  By having the tribunal staffed with
legally inexperienced officers (i.e., Riker), he may have counted on
his superior litigatory skills to give him an advantage.

But to the point: the idea of the venue being independent of the
ramifications is not all that alien of an idea.

"Measure of a Man" was one of my favorite episodes.  This is in spite
of the shortcomings noted above.  I like it because it is a Melinda
Snodgrass script, and she has, IMHO, a good grasp of the TNG
characters.  She gives stories a certain realism -- the Good Guys[tm]
are not "squeaky clean" heroes and the Bad Guys[tm] are not evil,
slobbering monsters.  The conflict is more subtle, more believable,
and all around better fiction, in spite of the imperfections.
-- 
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         Jay Windley  *  University of Utah  *  Salt Lake City
                    jwindley@asylum.cs.utah.edu
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