The Measure of a Man (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

"The Measure of a Man" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 35th episode overall. It was originally released on February 13, 1989,^[1] in broadcast syndication. It was written as a spec script by former attorney and Star Trek: The Original Series novelist Melinda M. Snodgrass. It was directed by Robert Scheerer.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, the rights of the android officer Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) are threatened by a scientist who wishes to dismantle him to produce replicas of him. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) fights in a Starfleet court for Data's right of self-determination, not to be declared mere property of Starfleet, while Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is obliged to argue on behalf of the scientist.

The script was accepted due to the impact of the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, and resulted in Snodgrass being recruited as a staff writer and script editor. She would remain on the staff until the end of the third season. "The Measure of a Man" has been seen as highlighting themes of slavery and the rights of artificial intelligence. Similar subjects were discussed in a follow-up episode, "The Offspring". "The Measure of a Man" received Nielsen ratings of 11.3 percent on the first broadcast. It was received positively by the cast and crew because of the subject and has been considered by critics to be the first great episode of The Next Generation. It has also been included in lists of the best and most groundbreaking episodes of the series. An extended cut was released in 2012, with 12 additional minutes of footage.^[2]