DataLore

This is actually an interesting discussion, or rather a sharing of loving one actor’s work. It brings me back to my wonderings how and why Brent as Data and also as Lore struck a chord with me. I’m pretending Brent never did anything else but Star Trek, and it still leaves me with an impressive catalogue of characters Brent played. Anyway, Data and Lore, this time especially Lore.

Data and Lore, in that exact order

There’s one scene that resonates most with me. It goes something like this: Data: I am not less perfect than Lore.
Lore: *babbling and complaining to Soong about how Data is Soong’s favourite and so on and so forth…*
Data: I am not less perfect than Lore.
Lore: *turns to Data and mimicks Data mockingly and with mocking voice* I am not less perfect than Lore.

It was then that it struck me how Lore felt. I love the beauty of his anguish, his brotherly love and envy at the same time. What also stuck in my mind was Lore’s reaction when Soong told him he might not be able to ask him anything anymore since he was dying. Lore was sincerely shocked saying things like: “You’r e not that old” and “You look fine”. Lore’s complexity, the fact something in his source code and possibly some external interference have caused Lore to be the “evil twin” brother fascinates me. The way Lore is, miserable and misguided, sensitive and vulnerable, makes me want to look at his source code and see if I can stabilize him. He does deserve that much.

My loving for Lore is a combination of my fascination with what I desribed above and Spiner’s performance as Lore. Very recognizable, maybe Spiner drew from his own brotherly feelings. I know for a fact he has a brother.

Dr. Noonian Soong at old age. In fact probably about a few
hours before his death. Just guessing here.

What always puzzled me was Spiner saying it was easier to play Lore (compared to Data) because he was closer to him. I can see that and yet and can’t help but feel a little worried.

I said this to my bf not too long ago. If I was on the Enterprise I would put a lot of time and patience in exploring and explaining emotions to Data. What I did not mention to him was I would probably also get into cybernetics to try and fix Lore. To make the story complete, I would become just as mad and obsessed as Dr. Soong. I could actually write that story; bits and bops have already taken shape in my head.

This is a discussion about Brent, Data and Lore and why they're attractive: Discussion