Summary
- Lore was originally supposed to be a female android and a romantic interest for Data, but actor Brent Spiner proposed the idea of an evil twin.
- Lore's inclusion in "Datalore" changed the storyline significantly, with Lore becoming Data's evil brother instead of a love interest.
- TNG later introduced a female android named Lal, who was created by Data and experienced a tragic malfunction, making "The Offspring" one of the most celebrated episodes of the show.
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1 introduced Lore (Brent Spiner) as the evil brother of Lt. Commander Data (also Brent Spiner), but Lore was originally meant to be a female android. In TNG season 1, episode 13, "Datalore," Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) takes the USS Enterprise to the planet Omicron Theta, where the android Data was found by Starfleet. As the away team explores the now desolate planet, they discover the disassembled body of another android that looks exactly like Data. After the body is reassembled, he wakes up and reveals himself as Data's brother, Lore.
Soon after being reactivated in "Datalore," Lore shows his true colors, incapacitating Data and then impersonating him. From Lore's introduction onward, the story of Lore and Data becomes a play on the popular evil twin trope, but this was not the original plan for the character of Lore. The original pitch for the episode that became "Datalore" featured a female android who would serve as a romantic interest for Data. According to Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, it was actor Brent Spiner himself who proposed the idea of an evil twin.
