Hot TV Robots: Star Trek’s Data

November 26, 2016

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Exploring the humanoid's sexual side.

In our first installment—inspired by your author’s lack of enthusiasm for HBO’s Westworld—we paid a visit to the innocent, and yet not, Android of Dark Matter.

Next up, we look at another popular artificial person on television—a certain member of the Federation of Planets, an officer in Starfleet Command: Lieutenant Commander Data of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

“I am programmed in multiple techniques. A broad variety of pleasuring.”

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, no list of android, or android sex, on TV would be complete without Data.

Created by the eccentric Doctor Noonien Soong, Data—like the Android from Dark Matter—is also very Pinocchio: all he wants is to be more human. But, as with the Android from Dark Matter, it’s where artificial intelligence and humanity meet, or don’t, that makes him fascinating.

Expertly played by Brent Spiner for seven seasons, and in several movies, Data can be innocent, playful, humorous, and, yes, even sexual.

While not a great episode by anyone’s standard, “The Naked Now” from the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation has a fan favorite scene where, under the influence of an alien substance that gives them the equivalent of a “snoot full,” he and Lieutenant Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) have a moment of human/android intimacy.

Leading up to it is the following exchange, indelibly etched into the minds of Star Trek fans worldwide:

Lt. Tasha Yar: What I want now is gentleness. And joy… and love. From you, Data; you are fully functional, aren't you?
Lt. Cmdr. Data: Of course, but…
Lt. Tasha Yar: How fully?
Lt. Cmdr. Data: In every way, of course. I am programmed in multiple techniques. A broad variety of pleasuring.
Lt. Tasha Yar: Oh! You jewel, that's exactly what I hoped!

But beyond the giggles and the smirks, there’s a tenderness to this scene that emerges many episodes later. In “The Measure Of A Man”—after Tasha Yars’ death and when Data is on trial to prove that he is, or isn’t a sentient life form—this scene is called back in a surprisingly poignant gesture.

It’s these careful and finely crafted moments with Data that put him on this list. Everyone involved with Star Trek: The Next Generation truly put some care into Data, playing with the idea of not just a machine that wants to be human, but a new and unique entity that isn’t quite one and isn’t quite the other.

A lovely example of is in “The Offspring,” when Data reproduces, creating a daughter named Lal (played by Hallie Todd).

With Lal, we see Data as a father, a creator, and as anything but a human being. The episode haunts with the poignancy that his daughter has what he does not: human emotions. When she dies at the end we all feel what Data can’t—a perfect examination of him being human-like but not human.

In the end

It wouldn’t amaze me at all to find that those interested in the possible evolution of artificial intelligence, especially as it relates to humanity, study Star Trek—Data in particular. And, if they aren’t, then they definitely need to.

Do you have any favorite sexy androids on the small screen? Share them in the comments below.

In the meantime stay tuned for Part 3: a look at that certain “alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler” robot we all know and love.

Image source: Lea Where's

M. Christian

M.Christian (they/them) loves nothing better than exploring the intersections of sex and technology—and speculating on the future of both. A highly regarded erotica writer they have six novels,12 collections, 100+ short stories, and 25 anthologies as an editor to their name. Their non-fiction regularly appears in many sites, but they're most proud of being a regular contributor to Future of Sex.

Of their erotic fiction, Tristan Taormino said that “M.Christian is a literary stylist of the highest caliber: smart, funny, frightening, sexy—there's nothing [they] can't write about… and brilliantly.”

Reflecting their unique ability to sympathetically and convincingly write for a range of genders and sexual orientations, their stories have appeared in multiple editions of Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, The Mammoth Books of Erotica, and others. Their collection of gay erotic fiction, Dirty Words, was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award.

While a majority of their stories have been collected into books like Dirty Words, their fondness for combining sex and science fiction is clearly evident in collections that include Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than The Real Thing, Skin Effect Effect, Bachelor Machine, and Hard Drive: The Best Sci-Fi Erotica of M.Christian.

As a novelist, M.Christian’s versatility is on full display with Running Dry, The Very Bloody Marys, Brushes, Painted Doll; and the somewhat controversial queer BDSM/horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth, and Me2.

M.Christian has worked on the industry’s production side as an Associate Publisher for Renaissance E Books and as a Publisher for Digital Parchment Services. The latter dedicated to celebrating the works of science-fiction legends such as William Rotsler, Jerome Bixby, Jody Scott, Arthur Byron Cover, Ernest Hogan, and James Van Hise.

Covering topics like BDSM safety, sexual education, senior sexuality concerns, queer and gender issues, plus reviewing a variety of sex tech products, M.Christian’s non-fiction has appeared on sites like Kinkly, Tickle.Life, Sexpert, Queer Majority, Sex for Every Body, and—of course—their ongoing work for Future of Sex.

If there’s anything M.Christian enjoys more than writing, it’s teaching. A featured presenter, sometimes with their friend Ralph Greco Jr, at national sex and BDSM events, they have lectured on kink play (with an emphasis on safety), polyamory, boosting sexual creativity, and erotica writing--for beginners or those wanting to go pro.

M.Christian is a cohost on two popular sex-education podcasts: Love’s Outer Limits with Dr. Amy Marsh and Licking Non-Vanilla with Ralph Greco, Jr.