Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) played a major role in all four Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, and my favorite scenes showcase the android’s best and often surprisingly human qualities. Throughout TNG’s seven seasons, Data served as the second officer on the USS Enterprise-D under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). As an advanced android, Data wanted nothing more than to be human, and he spent much of his time on the Enterprise in pursuit of this goal.

Thanks in part to Brent Spiner’s wonderfully subtle performance, Data quickly became one of TNG’s most beloved characters. Considering how popular Data became, it’s no surprise he played such a large role in all four Star Trek: The Next Generation films. The TNG films turned Captain Picard into a true action hero and explored his complex friendship with Data. Star Trek: Generations may be most remembered for killing off Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), but the film also explores Data’s journey with his new emotion chip.

In Star Trek: First Contact, Data goes one-on-one with the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), who tests the android’s loyalty to Starfleet and his friends. Data then kicks off the events of Star Trek: Insurrection, as it’s his “malfunction” that clues Picard and his crew into the plight of the Ba’ku. Finally, Data meets another one of his brothers in Star Trek: Nemesis and proves just how human he is by making the ultimate sacrifice.

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Data Scans For Lifeforms In Star Trek: Generations

“Life Forms, You Tiny Little Lifeforms, You Precious Little Life Forms, Where Are You?”

I loved Data’s quest to find his humanity on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but I wanted him to discover his emotions on his own, without the help of an emotion chip. Unfortunately, much about Data’s emotion chip storyline in Star Trek: Generations did not work for me. Still, the inclusion of the chip led to a couple of scenes that work well, including one particularly hilarious moment on the Enterprise bridge.

Just before Data arrives on the bridge, he visits Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) in sickbay to apologize for freezing earlier out of fear. Geordi ᴀssures Data that he doesn’t blame him, adding that the android is “behaving like a human.” This remark makes Data particularly happy, and he carries that joy with him to his posting on the bridge.

As Data goes to take his place at the operations station, Commander Riker asks him to scan for lifeforms. Data replies that he would “be happy to,” earning a surprised look from Riker. Data continues, saying, “I just love scanning for lifeforms,” before breaking out in an adorable song as he completes his scan. By this time, everyone on the bridge has stopped what they were doing to stare at Data. It’s a short but delightful scene, and Data’s joy is truly infectious.

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Data’s Conversation With Artim In Star Trek: Insurrection

In Which Data Learns The Importance Of Play

While I find parts of Star Trek: Insurrection charming, it ultimately feels more like an extended episode of the television series than a blockbuster film. Still, Data gets several of the movie’s best moments, including his friendship with a young Ba’ku boy in TNG named Artim (Michael Welch). Having been raised in a society that has rejected technology, Artim is initially frightened of Data, but he warms up to the android throughout the film.

After Captain Picard and his crew learn of the plot to relocate the Ba’ku, they defy direct orders to help the Ba’ku people escape, leading them away from their village and into nearby caves. At one point, the group stops to rest among the planet’s foothills, and Artim finally works up the courage to ask Data about being an android. Data reiterates his lifelong desire to become more human and says that he has often imagined what it would be like to experience childhood.

When Artim asks Data if he ever plays, just for fun, the android replies “androids do not have fun.” Artim looks at Data and then, as if to say, “Well there’s your problem,” replies: “Look, if you want to know what it’s like to be a child, you need to learn to play.” It’s a sweet moment that nicely sums up Data’s lifelong journey. Plus, the scene leads to an adorable moment at the end of Star Trek: Insurrection in which Data and Artim play in some hay bales.

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Data Finds Spot Among The Wreckage Of The Enterprise-D In Star Trek Generations

Data Cries Upon Finding His Beloved Cat Is Safe

After the main storyline of Star Trek Generations has come to a close, Data and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) scan the wreckage of the Enterprise-D’s saucer section after it crash-landed on Veridian III. Data expresses how difficult it has been adjusting to the many feelings brought on by his new emotion chip. When Troi asks why he decided to keep the chip, Data says that, after experiencing “261 distinct emotional states,” he has slowly begun learning how to control his feelings.

Their conversation is cut short when Troi detects a faint life sign beneath some debris. Data moves pieces of metal paneling out of the way to reveal his cat, Spot, who miraculously survived the crash. Upon first seeing Spot, Data immediately smiles, overcome with joy at seeing his feline friend again. As he presses his face into his cat’s fur, Data begins crying. When Troi asks Data if he is okay, the android replies that he is “uncertain,” because he is happy but still crying.

Troi ᴀssures Data that his emotion chip is “working perfectly” despite Data’s misgivings that it may be malfunctioning. It’s a sweet scene that serves as a nice coda to Data’s emotional journey throughout Star Trek Generations. Spot has always been a big part of Data’s journey to discover his humanity, so it’s fitting that the two reunite after the events of the film. Data’s emotion chip storyline had its ups and downs, but his reunion with Spot is a lovely reflection of the android’s humanity.

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Data’s Sacrifice In Star Trek: Nemesis

Data Proves His Humanity In The Ultimate Way

Star Trek: Nemesis missed the mark for me in a lot of ways, but Data helped keep the movie from being a total slog. I considered putting the scene where he poses as B-4 and rescues Picard from the Schimitar on this list but ultimately decided Data’s death was the more powerful scene. With the Enterprise-D and the Schimitar both crippled, Picard’s villainous clone Shinzon (Tom Hardy) plans to power up his thalaron radiation generator, killing everyone on both ships.

Knowing that it will likely be a one-way trip, Picard transports to the Schimitar alone and kills Shinzon. As Picard stands frozen in shock, face to face with his ᴅᴇᴀᴅ clone, Data appears in the room. Refusing to abandon his captain (and friend), Data had lept through space from the Enterprise to the Schimitar. The android uses an emergency transporter to send Picard back to the Enterprise before he fires his phaser at the thalaron generator, destroying the Schimitar and himself along with it.

While I wish Star Trek: Nemesis had given Data a more significant memorial (like Spock at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), his death is still a powerful scene that illustrates his humanity. I’m not sure I would have included this scene on the list if Star Trek: Picard season 3 had not found a way to bring Data back. But when considering that storyline, Nemesis serves as a decent ending to Data’s Star Trek: The Next Generation journey, while also planting the seeds for his eventual resurrection.

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Data’s “Resistance Is Futile” Moment In Star Trek: First Contact

Data Turns On The Borg Queen At The Last Moment

After the Enterprise travels to the past to stop the Borg from preventing Earth’s first contact with the Vulcans, the hive-minded drones invade the Enterprise and capture Data. The drones deliver Data to the Borg Queen, where he ᴀssures her he will never give up the Enterprise encryption codes. As the Borg Queen tries to seduce Data, she grafts organic skin onto his body, and he appears to be tempted by her offer.

In the end, though, Data remains true to Captain Picard and his crew, just as we always knew he would. When the Borg Queen orders Data to fire torpedoes at the Phoenix (thus preventing first contact with the Vulcans), Data appears to comply. At the last second, however, the torpedoes miss, and Data recites the Borg’s mantra back at the Queen, saying, “Resistance is futile,” before he smashes a nearby coolant tank. It’s a triumphant, cheer-worthy moment that underlines why Data is so important to the Enterprise crew.

Later, Data admits that he was tempted by the Borg Queen’s offer for 0.68 seconds, which is an eternity for an android. Still, this means that Data spent most of First Contact manipulating the Borg Queen, even as she thought she was manipulating him. I may not enjoy the Star Trek: The Next Generation films quite as much as the television series, but Data undoubtedly makes them worth watching.