Summary

• Data's attempt at humor often results in unintended funny moments, such as his response to Guinan's critique of his timing: "My timing is digital."
• Data's literal interpretation of language leads to humorous situations, like turning his face away when Guinan tells him "Don't look at me" or throwing cards over his shoulder when asked to discard them in a poker game.
• Data's detailed and precise explanations, whether providing exact times or lengthy definitions with synonyms, add to his endearing and funny character.

Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) may have been a supposedly unfeeling android on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but he still managed to be one of the funniest characters on the show. Data spent much of his time aboard the USS Enterprise-D observing the humans around him, hoping that he could learn more about what it meant to be human. Along the way, it became apparent to everyone but Data that he was already human in all the ways that mattered. One of the human traits Data had difficulty grasping was humor, and he explored this in an early episode of TNG.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 4, "The Outrageous Okona," Data consults with a comedian (Joe Piscopo) on the holodeck to learn how to be funny. His results are less than successful when he tries out his new jokes on El-Aurian bartender Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg). Guinan does her best to help Data, but humor is subjective even for humanoids, making it a particularly difficult concept for Data to grasp. Despite this difficulty, however, Data was often funny, sometimes without even meaning to be. While this could have made it feel like the characters (and audience) were laughing at Data rather than with him, it almost never comes across this way.

10 Data's Response to Guinan

TNG Season 2, Episode 4 - "The Outrageous Okona"

As Data tries to understand humor in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Outrageous Okona," he is often funny when he's not trying to be rather than when he is. For example, when he practices one of his jokes with Guinan, he fails to make her laugh. Guinan offers a possible reason for Data's failure saying: "You spoiled the joke. It could have been your timing." Without missing a beat, Data responds: "My timing is digital." This, in turn, makes Guinan laugh, much to Data's confusion. Throughout the episode, Data comes across as funny and charming, and it never feels like Guinan or anyone else is laughing at his expense.

9 Data's Dinner Time Request

TNG Season 1, Episode 10 - "Haven"

While Data's characterization would change some from his earliest appearance, the Data of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1 had the same fascination for humanity he would have throughout the show. In TNG season 1, episode 10, "Haven," Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), the mother of Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), visits the Enterprise for her daughter's arranged marriage. During a dinner with the Trois, Deanna's fiancée's family, and the Enterprise crew, Data circles "the room like a buzzard," as Captain Picard puts it. As the two families at the table begin to argue, Deanna quickly loses her patience and storms out. Data, on the other hand, requests that the arguing continue, asking: "Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing."

8 Data Watching Captain Picard Sleep

TNG Season 5, Episode 7 - "Unification, Part 1"

After Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy) goes missing, Captain Picard and Data travel to his last known location on Romulus. To travel to Romulus undetected, Picard calls in a favor from the Klingons, who can take him and Data there in a cloaked ship. While en route, the Klingons put Data and Picard in the same quarters with only one bed. As Data doesn't sleep, Picard takes the bed and tries to get some shut-eye. He finds this difficult, however, when Data stands perfectly still in the middle of the room, staring straight at Picard. The android protests that he's not looking at Picard as Data's positronic brain is busy organizing files. Still, he slowly turns around to give Picard some privacy, but Picard decides he won't be able to sleep anyway.

7 Data's Critique of Captain Picard's Painting

TNG Season 3, Episode 14 - "A Matter of Perspective"

Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 3, episode 14, "A Matter of Perspective," opens with several of the Enterprise crew taking part in a painting class. As Captain Picard works on his painting, Data arrives to inform him that the ship has arrived at its destination. Data remarks that Picard's painting is "interesting," prompting Picard to ask what the android means. Data responds:

While suggesting the free treatment of form usually attributed to Fauvism, this quite inappropriately attempts to juxtapose the disparate cubistic styles of Picasso and Leger. In addition, the use of colour suggests a haphazard mélange of clashing styles. Furthermore, the unsettling overtones of proto-Vulcan influences—

Picard stops Data before he can continue to point out the flaws in his painting, and assures the android officer that he will not be needing any more assistance.

6 Data Does A Poetry Reading Of "Ode To Spot"

TNG Season 6, Episode 5 - "Schisms"

Many of Data's interactions with his cat, Spot, are endearing and funny, but perhaps none more than the poem Data writes about his beloved pet. Early in TNG season 6, episode 5, "Schisms," Data delivers a poetry reading, reciting at least nine of his poems, though the only one the viewer gets to hear is "Ode to Spot." With its overabundance of scientific and genuine heart, "Ode to Spot" perfectly suits Data and feels just like the type of poem the android would compose. Aside from an interruption when Counselor Troi has to wake a dozing Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Data's fellow crew all patiently listen to his poetry, ing their friend in his quest to explore his creativity.

5 Data Learns To Dance From Dr. Crusher

TNG Season 4, Episode 11 - "Data's Day"

One of Data's best episodes, the aptly titled "Data's Day," follows a day in the life of everyone's favorite android. As Data prepares to give his friend Keiko Ishikawa (Rosalind Chao) away at her wedding to Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney), he acts as a go-between between the groom and bride-to-be. This leads to several awkward moments as Data misinterprets the emotions behind Keiko and O'Brien's words. In preparation for the wedding, Data asks Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) to teach him how to dance. Although Data can imitate Dr. Crusher's movements, he struggles to find a rhythm and regularly steps on Crusher's feet.

Gates McFadden choreographed this scene, and she also did all of her own dancing, as she had been a well-known Hollywood choreographer before starring in TNG.

4 Data's Advice to Worf

TNG Season 7, Episode 2 - "Liaisons"

When a visiting Iyaaran ambassador named Byleth (Michael Harris) insists that Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) be his guide on the Enterprise, Worf struggles to accommodate the difficult ambassador. At a banquet held in honor of the cultural exchange, Data offers Worf some advice, telling the Klingon that he should find things that he and Byleth have in common. Worf replies that "Ambassador Byleth is demanding, temperamental, and rude." Data cheerfully responds: "You share all of those qualities in abundance. Perhaps you should try to build on your similarities." Data quickly wanders off, as if he knew his words would upset the Klingon, as Worf stares briefly at the knife he has been using to carve meat.

3 Data's New Nickname for Geordi

TNG Season 4, Episode 11 - "Data's Day"

Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Data's Day" has many hilarious moments throughout, but one of the funniest lines comes when Data visits his best friend, Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) at the barber. When Geordi jokingly asks Data if he's there to get his hair cut, Data responds: "My hair does not require trimming, you lunkhead." At Geordi's surprised reaction, Data explains that he is "experimenting with friendly jibes and insults" as another way to emulate humanity. Brent Spiner's delivery truly sells this moment, as Data's usual lack of any inflection makes the line so much funnier.

2 Every Time Data Takes Things Too Literally

Data often misses the meaning behind idioms like "burning the midnight oil" or "the early bird gets the worm."

Throughout Data's journey to study humanity, he sometimes takes the words of his human crewmates too literally. For example, in TNG season 4, episode 25, "In Theory," where Data has a love interest, the android asks Guinan for dating advice, and she responds: "Don't look at me." This prompts Data to physically turn his face away from her, although she just meant that she couldn't offer advice on that matter. In the opening scene of TNG season 4, episode 6, "Legacy," the main crew sit down for their regular game of poker. When Riker performs a card trick, he asks Data to throw certain cards away. Data responds by literally tossing the cards over his shoulder.

This tendency to take things literally is one of the traits that has led some autistic and neurodivergent Star Trek fans to relate to Data as a character.

1 Every Time Data Delivers An Exact Figure, Definition, Or An Excess Of Information

Data's just trying to be as accurate as possible.

Another one of Data's qualities that leads to some funny moments is his tendency to provide an excessive amount of information when he's asked a specific question. If someone requests an estimated time of arrival, for example, Data will respond with an exact time down to the second. Data does this so often that when he fails to provide the seconds amount in TNG season 4, episode 10, "The Loss," Commander Riker asks: "What, no seconds?" Data responds: "I have discovered, sir, a certain level of impatience when I calculate a lengthy time interval to the nearest second." Data then adds that he would be happy to provide the seconds, but Riker assures him that "minutes is fine."

In a similar vein, whenever someone asks Data for a definition or he encounters a word he doesn't know, he will provide the dictionary definition as well as a sometimes lengthy list of synonyms. These quirks of Data's are always endearing, and even when his fellow Enterprise crew seem impatient or irritated, they clearly care about their friend. Brent Spiner's Data became one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's most beloved characters for a reason, and despite his belief that he cannot understand humor, he never fails to make us smile.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+.