Brothers (Star Trek: The Next Generation) Brothers (Star Trek: The Next Generation) "Brothers" is the 77th episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series "", the third episode of the . Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship USS "Enterprise"-D. In this episode, Commander Data (Brent Spiner) aborts an emergency mission and hijacks the "Enterprise" in response to a homing command from his "father". A misguided prank between two young brothers exposes one of them to a toxic parasite that cannot be treated aboard the USS "Enterprise", but Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) is able to
Star Trek: The Next Generation viewers. "TNG" premiered the week of September 28, 1987, drawing 27 million viewers, with the two-hour pilot "Encounter at Farpoint". In total, 176 episodes were made (including several two-parters), ending with the two-hour finale "" the week of May 23, 1994. The series was broadcast in first-run syndication with dates and times varying among individual television stations. Several "Star Trek" series followed "The Next Generation": "" (1993–1999), "" (1995–2001), "" (2001–2005), and "" (2017–present). The series formed the basis for the seventh through the tenth of the "Star Trek" films, and is also the setting of numerous novels, comic books,