7. Data's Attempts At Humor - Star Trek: Generations
Paramount PicturesWe finally get to the Next Gen movies, which are every bit as cringeworthy as their predecessors, particularly when it comes to anything having to do with Data. In the case of Generations, all the cringiness has to do with Data's emotion chip, which he decides to install after a trick played on Doctor Crusher reveals that no one on this damn ship has a sense of humor. The chip then malfunctions, revealing that Data too has absolutely no sense of humor. Just about every scene in this movie involving Data (except the last one, which is rather sweet) fits into this category: he pushes Dr. Crusher into the drink. He tries out a nasty drink in Ten-Forward. He gets far too riled up over the destruction of the Klingon vessel, leading us to think he's been drinking. But two scenes take the cringemaking prize here. The first involves Data's attempts (and we mean "attempts") at humor with Geordi on the array, including such comic gems as "Open sesame!" and "Mr. Tricorder," just before the emotion chip fuses. While we understand the scene is not
supposed to be funny, it's still massively difficult to sit through. A scene that
is supposed to be funny and simply isn't is Data's rendition of "Tiny Little Lifeforms," a tune he makes up on the spot on the Bridge and plays using the brand-new and never-heard-again key tones of his console while (you guessed it) scanning for lifeforms. It's dumb, it's painful, and no amount of Brent Spiner's acting ability can redeem it.