5 Worst Things Data Ever Did On Star Trek, Ranked

Of all the officers aboard the Enterprise-D, few are as charming and likable as Starfleet's first android, Data (Brent Spiner). For someone who is physically incapable of feeling emotions, Data proves time and again that he's one of the kindest, most thoughtful, and overall best characters on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" – not to mention a loving cat dad and ride-or-die bestie of Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton).

Still, for such a cute little robot boy, even Data has had his cancellable moments. He's supposed to be programmed to follow social norms, and yet he's constantly violating them. Sometimes, he's like the awkward friend you love but just can't take out in public. But at his worst, Data is capable of some dark behavior that goes far beyond off-putting comments and poor judgment. Look closer at all those charming cat dad moments, and you might just clock that Spot's gender changes without so much as a word on the subject from Data. The fact that none of Data's friends even mention the subject only reinforces the silent suggestion that Data may have accidentally killed his fur baby and then quietly replaced him with a lookalike.

But Data's sketchy behavior goes far beyond hypothesized, off-screen, cat-related crimes. In many ways, he's almost shameless. Here's our breakdown of the worst things Data ever did, ranked from just embarrassing to the absolute worst.

At one point or another, most adults have done something mildly to horrifically cringeworthy while under the influence. That's exactly what happens to Data in "Masks," after coming into contact with a comet containing an 87-million-year-old, technologically advanced library. After getting blasted with a funky light while scanning the comet, Enterprise almost immediately begins to change, transforming little by little into a recreation of an ancient temple with distinctly Mesoamerican vibes — and taking Data along with it.

At first, the effects on both the ship and on Data are minor. Strange artifacts are cropping up all over the ship, while Data kicks up his clay skills a notch by sculpting a mask that just happened to pop into his positronic brain. But while Geordi is scanning his android pal to check for any comet effects, Data asks what it feels like to lose his mind. Within a matter of seconds, Data declares he is different as a strange symbol appears on his forehead. And with that, his body is taken over by multiple personalities playing out a ritual revolving around the ancient civilization's gods as the ship around him transforms into an ancient temple. From that point forward, the rest of the episode is just Data throwing out one hammy impersonation after another, like a theater kid performing his own one-man play.

As far as we know, Data couldn't help any of this. But intent versus impact — and there's no denying Data's theatrics had an impact. And someone should tell him cultural appropriation is no laughing matter, especially if you look really goofy in that mask.

Aside from Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) and Geordi La Forge, just about everyone aboard the Enterprise-D was getting some action — especially the android. But most Starfleet officers usually have the good judgment to avoid dating their coworkers. Take Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), who avoids dating his imzadi and future wife Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) for years to avoid fraternization problems, instead preferring to hook up with every new alien species that crosses his path. While Starfleet only forbids dating within a direct chain of command, it's just messy business to date colleagues in any military operation.

But Data doesn't really concern himself with professional romantic boundaries, hooking up not once, but twice with his colleagues. Technically, Data's messy fling with Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) begins with a drunken hookup. But after her controversial death, it's heavily implied that things continued well into sober territory despite Yar being a senior officer to Data at the time. Even if there's no legal impropriety on her part, it certainly represents questionable judgment from both parties. And Data is not just any typical Starfleet officer — he's a literal android who would absolutely know their relationship would certainly have fallen into an ethical gray area.

He repeats the pattern again in "In Theory" with Jenna D'Sora (Michele Scarabelli), a lieutenant junior grade security systems specialist. Once again, neither is under the other's direct command, so it's technically legal — but you just know it made ship-wide staff meetings with both officers in attendance pretty awkward after their breakup. And positronic or not, there's no way that man doesn't have information on rebounds in his database.

As uncomfortable (and unsexy) as it was to hear Data talking about being "fully functional" to a grinning Yar, it's far worse to see him getting all hot and bothered by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) in "Star Trek: First Contact." And according to longtime "Trek" director Jonathan Frakes, Data and the Borg Queen most certainly did the deed.

The whole filthy business takes place in the latter half of the movie, after Data finds himself kidnapped by the very saucy Borg Queen. In her efforts to crack his encryption and get her sleazy little paws on the Enterprise-E, she's willing to try just about anything. Tapping into Data's burning desire to feel human, the Borg Queen activates his emotion chip and grafts a patch of skin to his endoskeleton, the ultimate android foreplay. When she directly asks about his sexual capabilities, Data gives what we can only assume is his favorite pickup line, telling her he is "programmed in a variety of techniques."

Now, we know the emotion chip — not to mention the stress of being kidnapped by a hot, scary babe — had our little Pinocchio turned upside down and every which way. But the mask defense can't help him here, especially since we learn the whole act was just a ruse when he turns on her. It sure seems like he could have turned on her sooner but made sure to get some action in first.

By far one of the most irresponsible things Data does is habitually conduct experiments on his own brain, which can (and do) lead to chaos and potential danger for his fellow crewmen. Data used company time to alter his own consciousness on multiple occasions throughout "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Some of these experiments are merely concerning, like when Data transfers his child's memories into his own positronic brain after she fails to thrive in "The Offspring" or when he accidentally turns the holodeck into a Data-themed "Being John Malkovich" in "A Fistful of Datas." But occasionally, his experiments are downright reckless, like when he intentionally chose to keep his dream program running in "Phantasms" despite full awareness that he's having some dark nightmares. Deanna Troi would later regret encouraging this reckless decision when it caused him to stab her while sleepwalking.

The worst experiment by far was Data's emotion chip. Despite knowing just how dangerous this chip could be from his past issues with Lore (also played by Brent Spiner), Data chooses to reinstall the darned thing in "Star Trek Generations." This leads to a string of unprofessional, obnoxious, and unhinged behaviors, not the least of which is his singing about little life forms while scanning a planet.

For a guy who is seemingly governed by data and information rather than emotions, Data sure is prone to emotional outbursts — even if sometimes they're warranted. Still, you can't go around shooting people no matter how much they might benefit from a run-in with the agonizer. But once again, that's exactly what Data did when an absolute space tool kidnapped him to place in his collection of intergalactic toys in "The Most Toys."

After Data's shuttle presumably explodes, his crew thinks that he died. That's convenient for the guy who staged it, an entitled Zibalian collector named Kivas Fajo (Saul Rubinek). Fajo then forces Data to sit in a chair without moving, killing his own assistant Varria (Jane Daly) and telling Data he'll continue to kill others until the android complies. In the ensuing melee, Data gets a hold of the disruptor, aiming it at Fajo. At that precise moment, the Enterprise arrives to beam him up. Back on board his own ship, Data catches side-eye from Chief O'Brien (Colm Meaney), who reveals Data's disruptor — set to kill — appeared to have accidentally discharged during transport before O'Brien managed to deactivate it. "Perhaps something occurred during transport," Data replied.

As a Starfleet officer, Data would certainly have the legal and ethical standing to kill someone in self-defense. But at the moment the disruptor discharges, Fajo is unarmed. Even more alarming is Data's reaction to O'Brien's revelation. Without hesitation, Data blatantly gaslights O'Brien with his feigned ignorance despite knowing he'd meant to kill Fajo. This tells us two things: First, that Data would absolutely break his programming to kill someone and second, that he's just as capable of lying as his brother, Lore. Now that's positronically ruthless.