Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Data

When creating Data, the Next Gen staff took inspiration from several characters who came before. Pinocchio is an often-mentioned example—an artificial lifeform struggling to be a real boy. Other inspirations include a Vulcan named Xon who was planned to appear in the aborted series Star Trek: Phase II, as well as the childlike android Questor from The Questor Tapes (a movie Gene Roddenberry and Gene Coon created in the 70s).

Others view Data as The Next Generation's ‘Spock’ character. Both Data and Spock stand out with their lack of emotions, but the characters can also be viewed as opposites in a way. When the two met in the episode Unification, they discussed how their journeys mirror each other. Data was completely devoid of emotions and always wanted to become more human, whereas Spock was half-Human and struggled to follow a traditional Vulcan way of life. In this way, they couldn't be more different, each avoiding what the other wanted so much.