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We end this series on CBS All Access with this movie, otherwise known as Star Trek X: The Search for Data. I’ve written about this one before. It’s one of my entries in my Guilty Pleasures series.

I love this intro, especially the music.

How convenient that tharalon radiation is green. The Romulan Empire has always been assigned a green motif.

Oh, crap. Denna Troi is going to cry again.

Considering that Romulan ale is illegal, it sure pops up a lot among Federation personnel.

I guess Worf has been studying up on ancient Earth composers since the last mission.

Worf is a prude.

“You have the bridge . . . Mr. Troi.”

Why didn’t they catch shit for this line?

I feel for Picard here. I plan to buy a Jeep Wrangler next month.

We’re within several kilometers of the signals.

That’s not very precise.

It appears that B-4’s clothing is actually a part of him rather than something he wears.

Suddenly they can pinpoint the signal to within a few meters?

There’s no way that jeep would make that jump. It’s too far.

So much for the Prime Directive.

The Enterprise is always the closest ship.

There’s no way the Federation flagship goes to Romulus unescorted. Many episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation made mention of how the Romulans were going to capture the Enterprise and dismantle it to learn its technological secrets. Going in alone seems naive.

So Data no longer uses his emotion chip?

Considering how strong B-4 is, it was rather reckless to assemble him. They didn’t need him to be assembled in order to speak with him.

They’ve been waiting for 17 hours? That seems like a waste of time, and not just for the Enterprise. As we eventually see (SPOILER ALERT!), Shinzon is in a time crunch.

Is Ron Perlman in every movie?

It’s not dark enough that Picard shouldn’t already recognize Shinzon.

They should have known he was evil the second they saw he was Bane.

Was Picard always bald?

The busted lip and crooked teeth are a nice touch. They’re subtle and non-distracting, yet hint that he’s lived a rough life.

Oh, Dina Meyer. Even as a Romulan . . . .

The Romulans must be thinking, “Out of the frying pan; into the fire.” That’s assuming they fry food. Who knows?

Picard’s clone was intended to be the perfect nemesis (get it?!) for Picard in order to relive the magic of the Wrath of Khan. They didn’t quite achieve that. Shinzon’s statement of motivation later in the film isn’t as convincing.

When I saw this dinner scene, I knew Tom Hardy would be something special.

Shinzon’s backstory is some kind of rough.

A Starfleet captain standing in the Romulan Senate!

Well, only Nixon could go to China.

This scene with Picard and Crusher in the ready room reminds me of a strange, human (American?) custom. We often sit on desks. Think about how rude that is.

Boom-chicka-wow-wow.

The whole psychic sex thing is stupid. What was the point? Was it just a set up to explain (SPOILER ALERT!) how they eventually pierce the cloak? All that dumb for just a single photon torpedo. Why not use what they did in Star Trek VI?

So Shinzon also prefers hot tea. Does that mean genetics determines what you drink. Am I a Picard?

Worf! Shields up!

Because you don’t want there to be any chance of getting Picard back? No wonder you haven’t gotten a command yet, Riker. Someone inform Starfleet command before he takes command of the Titan!

I always noted that for a Reman, no/stop was accompanied by the color purple, and okay/yes by the color yellow (unlike humans, that use red and green). Of course you should expect those differences to exist from culture to culture, but not all shows appreciate that kind of detail.

Picard gets to pilot another vehicle unsafely.

Good thing those hallways are Original Series level of stupidly big. Otherwise, they could never have flown that ship through the hallways.

Leave it to Dina Meyer to be the ethical Romulan.

I guess it makes sense that a Romulan ship can now fire while cloaked, but that’s a big ship expending huge amounts of energy on weapons and shields.

Dina Meyer to the rescue! “You heard the lady! Let’s get to work!” She should have returned in Picard.

Now that Shinzon is in the final stages of his genetic breakdown, his complexion is now identical to that of a Reman.

The Scimitar’s bridge has even more wasted space than the hallways.

*sigh* Here we go. We have to give Riker his moment of glory. I never liked the character.

What the hell? A character that never had a speaking role and we’d never seen before this movie gets killed off? I never saw that coming. The poor guy doesn’t even have a picture on IMDB.com. Here you go, buddy.

Ramming speed! Everyone talks about it; only Picard has ever actually done it, and it was pretty cool. The look of confusion on the Reman helmsman’s face at 1:28:33 was priceless.

I have a lot of respect for psychologists, but the day one is put in command of a naval vessel is the day that navy loses the war.

Why doesn’t Data use his super-strength to screw with the ship’s arms. According to Geordi’s analysis, mess up just one arm, and the thalaron weapon may not work.

I’ve seen people on social media ask, “Do you think you could beat up your younger self?” Picard gets to find out, though he has an added advantage. Shinzon is a bit sick.

I don’t buy Shinzon’s death here. He could just stop running forward and not get stabbed. Plus, that bar had a blunt end. It wouldn’t have stabbed him. Maybe it would have busted a rib or something.

Like Khan, Shinzon assumes he’s killed his nemesis (get it?!). He dies before he realizes that Picard escapes.

On screen.

Ha!

Oh, is Deanna going to cry ag…. Yep. There it is.

Data was trying to whistle, Pop Goes the Weasel, dipshit. I hate Riker.

Wait. Why is Worf still on the ship? Why isn’t he on his way back to Deep Space 9? Is the Enterprise just going to drop him off like a taxi? I think they have actual space taxis for that.

I also like the ending music that segues into the Original Series theme, and then ending with the Next Generation theme.

Maybe they should have done the same signature thing that they did with the end of The Undiscovered Country. If Avengers: Endgame could steal it, why couldn’t Star Trek steal it from themselves? It seems the appropriate thing to do.

And that concludes my viewing notes for Star Trek X: The Search for Data.

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