Picard still mourning the destruction of Data doesn't really make sense. They were never that close in "TNG." I can see Geordie being like that since they were actual friends. To me it looks like they're trying to force Picard and Data to be in Kirk and Spock-like friendship, but they never were.
Also, he was a machine. It's kind of stupid to feel that way over a machine.
The original Picard character was barely emotional and he didn't really get close to anybody. The character worked fine because it served as a pivot for an ensemble cast... but having him as a central main character in the show is extremely difficult. You'd need VERY good writers.
Obviously, modern Hollywood lacks diversity when it comes to writing: most writers are shit, racially diverse shit, but shit nonetheless. Lacking good writing, the obvious way to go is to "emotionalize" him and make him the standard white knight in modern shows.
They did the same thing in the movies. All the sudden Picard is giving emotional speeches and smashing things and shooting Tommy Guns and driving dune buggys in the desert. He got nuts!
shareFunny how we see things differently. I had the impression that Picard took great interest in Data all along, and a recent TNG binge on Netflix didn't change anything there.
But it was the movies, which I have not seen in a long while, which left me with the feeling of a profoundly caring relationship between the two.
LOL, maybe it's just my senile dementia talking. :)
Data was far more than a machine, and spent the entire tv series and movies pushing to be more than he was. I think Picard often dreams about him because he misses Data.
shareIt's respect and the camaraderie of shared service. Data started out as a machine, but became a real man, in the best sense of the word.
shareI never liked the writing of Data in this respect. The writers chose to evolve Data as far as he could go. Not near far enough. And then they invented this emotion chip. Which allowed Data to emulate human emotions. Neat. But still a computer. Still lacking of genuine free will and emotion. He's still a program. A series of algorithms, writ by him, from his contact with a mostly human Federation. Data could have easily fallen into the control of Kling-ons, or Romulans and been a very different man. A beast maybe. The minute they gave up on his pursuit of humanity and invented the emotion chip, they murdered his character.
shareHe's not just mourning the "death" of Data, he's also mourning the fact that had Data survived, he likely would have been decommissioned because of the ban on synthetics, so either way, Data, through no fault of his own, was destined to die.
Sure, early in TNG Picard wasn't what you would call a friend to Data, but by the end of the series and the movies, Picard had learnt so much about him, and kinda came to the conclusion that Data was as "human" as anyone he'd met, and he's never forgotten that Data made the ultimate sacrifice so Picard could live, and here he is moping around his chateau, waiting to die.
You either accept the TNG movies as hard canon or you don't. The movies showed a stronger bond between Picard and Data than was present in the series, because they were desperately trying to emulate the Kirk/Spock dynamic. But put that crap aside. Say status quo was present throughout. The very act of Data sacrificing himself for Picard would have fundamentally changed how Jean Luc thought of Data. All of his memories with Data would be visited under new light. Maybe, deep down, Picard always thought Data was just a damn robot. But then he sacrificed himself so that others may live. Well it don't get more human than that. That might have rocked Picard's world. Changed how he thought about everything, including himself, including Star Fleet and the Federation. (They're not putting this on screen mind you, but that's all possible.) The story elements are sound. They're just executed poorly.
shareYou are a complete moron and did not pay attention to the show or movies....πππ
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