The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation) The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation) "The Measure of a Man" is the ninth episode of the of the American science fiction television series "", the 35th episode overall. It was originally released on February 13, 1989, in broadcast syndication. It was written as a spec script by former attorney and "" novelist Melinda M. Snodgrass. It was directed by Robert Scheerer. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Federation starship "Enterprise". In this episode, the rights of the android officer Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) are threatened
Borderland (Star Trek: Enterprise) Series" and "The Next Generation" due to ongoing low ratings. It was not originally planned to include an ancestor of Noonien Soong in the episode, with executive producer Manny Coto instead planning for the character to be Colonel Phillip Green from "" episode "The Savage Curtain". The character was to be a straightforward villain, but after discussion with "" Spiner, the character was re-written to become Arik Soong, described as a "misunderstood genius". It was Spiner's first "Star Trek" role since the film "Star Trek Nemesis" in 2002, having previously played Arik Soong's descendant Noonien Soong and his creations Data