Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 70: The Most Toys [VHS]

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When I first started watching this episode, I thought that it was going to be routine with little or no redeeming value. However, as the story developed, I became involved in this story of a creature totally devoid of conscience.

Saul Rubinek, a well-respected actor of stage and screen, is brilliant in the role of Kivas Fajo, a collector of one-of-a-kind items. He considers Data, as well as all that he desires, to be nothing more than acquisitions, deserving only for display in his compound. Fajo will stop at nothing to keep his "possessions".

His most malevolent act made me want a speedy demise for this heinous beast.

"Monsters" don't always have multiple legs or horns

His crewmates think he has died in a shuttle accident; but Data has been kidnapped. A wandering trader, Kivas Fajo, engineered the shuttle explosion to cover his acquisition of Data for his collection of unique, priceless objects. Data is used to being able to handle any situation. But when he discovers that Fajo seems to have thought of every contingency to block his escape - and worse, that his captor has absolutely no morals whatsoever - he is forced to realise how desperate his situation is. But how far can an emotionless android be pushed?
"The Most Toys" is a very well constructed episode; tight and well-written, even the brief scenes adding something important to the whole. The acting is excellent, from Brent Spiner, Saul Rubinek, and the actress who plays Varria. There are some affecting moments: Geordi's comment on what he thought Data's fate would be; Worf's reflection that his promotions have come after his colleagues' deaths; Varria's explanation of why she keeps working for Fajo; Fajo's realisation that he can still be surprised, by himself as well as others. There is a claustrophobic feel to the scenes on Fajo's ship, and as avenue after avenue is closed to Data, as the tension mounts, you can really understand why the climax develops as it does.
The last few minutes of "The Most Toys" are shocking in more ways than one. That the implications of this story were never explored is a fault of Star Trek: TNG as a whole, not of this episode.