Product Details

• Actors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden
• Directors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert Becker, Cliff Bole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303944795
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #396,013 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Aboard the Enterprise, a young boy's practical joke backfires, leaving his brother dangerously ill. The ill boy needs special treatment to survive, so the ship rushes toward a nearby Starbase. En route, Data (Brent Spiner) inexplicably begins to malfunction, altering the ship's course and severing the life support system on the Bridge. The command crew is forced to evacuate, leaving Data alone in control of the Enterprise.

Data maneuvers the ship to a planet and then beams down, where he is greeted by Dr. Noonian Soong (Brent Spiner), the doctor who created him. Dr. Soong has summoned Data in order to implant an emotion chip. Before he can implant the chip, however, Data's evil brother Lore (Brent Spiner) arrives and disrupts Dr. Soong's plan. Meanwhile, the Enterprise crew works feverishly to regain control of the ship, as time is running out for the ill boy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Brothers" Shows Spiner's Acting Ability, January 20, 2000

By 

"alabasterwoman" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 77: Brothers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one of my favorite Next Generation episodes because it features Brent Spiner in three roles: Data, Lore and Dr. Soong. It's amazing to me, when I watch all three characters in the same scene -- all played by the same actor -- to realize that each character's personality and each performance is so distinctly different from the others. A lesser actor couldn't have pulled this off... This episode (along with ones like "Datalore" and "Masks", which allow Spiner to play multiple characters in the space of a 45-minute episode) is a gem. A must-have for all Spiner and Trek fans. Buy this one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars And you wonder why your brother hates you, July 9, 2002

By 

kallan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 77: Brothers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is one of my favourites TNG episodes. There isn't a great deal of action in it, and if you aren't a fan of Data you might not find it so interesting. But it is a good story in its own right, well-written and with some excellent set design. There is also some significant character insight and background explanation, with the seeds of future events being sown. You do need to have seen "Datalore" first.
A near-tragedy has struck the Enterprise. Jake Potts played a practical joke on his brother Willie - and now Willie is in quarantine, infected with a parasite that will kill him if he does not receive medical help beyond the abilities of the crew to provide. But as the Enterprise is en route to a Starbase medical facility, everything goes wrong as Data easily and inexplicably seizes control of the ship. I like to see what an android can really do! Despite all efforts to stop him, he pilots the ship to an unidentified planet. He beams down to the surface, where he is restored to his usual self by his creator, Dr Soong (previously unseen in the series). Soong has summoned Data via his "homing circuitry" to give him a gift - but with the unexpected arrival of Lore, Data's insane older brother, sparks begin to fly.
The framing story with Jake and Willie is somewhat irritating for the lines given to Dr Crusher and the artifical time pressure it exerts on the whole episode. Yet in showing up an alternative brotherly relationship, it does serve its purpose.

The interactions between the two androids and their creator are at the heart of this episode, though. We get more insight into Lore, into Soong, and into Data - who, surprisingly, does not come out of this episode very well, at least in my opinion. Lore is hurt, desperate and full of questions. By contrast, Soong is a megalomaniac, indifferent, at heart, to the suffering he has caused throughout his life, and blind to the implications of his own behaviour; while Data is self-absorbed and equally blind. Yes, as "Datalore" established, Lore is a monster - but he cannot help that, and he did not deserve what his father and brother have inflicted on him. Sadly, the end of the episode makes it clear that it is Data alone we are meant to feel for, with all questions about past dubious behaviour conveniently ignored. More courage from the writers on this point would have made "Brothers" an even stronger episode.
Even if the plot does not grab you, it's worth watching this episode for Brent Spiner's acting alone. He plays Data, Lore, and Soong, but does it so well that you never think of it as one actor playing three roles at the same time - you immediately accept them as three distinct characters.
Give it a try.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brent Spiner is such a great actor and Star Trek rules!, February 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 77: Brothers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Lore, Data's evil twin, comes back AND Data meets his father, Dr. Soong. Does it get any better? No! Brent Spiner shines as Data, Lore and Soong. This is one of my favorite Star Trek Episodes.