I have always thought the old 49er was a tremendously well written character. In only about ninety seconds we learn so much about him, his history, his circumstances, his health, his character. Despite his reduced circumstances, he is helpful and kind to somebody else in similar trouble, giving advice and guidance with no expectation of compensation.
I just love how Data walks in, looking like the mark of marks, and then walks out with all the money he can carry. Commander Riker created a poker monster.
Data would be invincible at poker. Instant recall of all hands, videographic replay of every person's habits playing them, the ability to see minor changes in physiology, perfect knowledge of his hands' odds, and utterly unreadable.
@@stupidnamefilter Oh, it gets worse than that. He can choose to show minor mannerisms or ticks, make emotional changes, etc. to lure opponents into traps. Ultimately what he is unlikely to do is cheat ... unless he really has to.
@@Michael-cf9cj And in this case, he would have to. He needs the funds. Also, his opponents made the mistake of letting Data deal the cards, as he is also capable of stacking the deck in his favor.
Imagine if his brother Lore was sent back into the past. Temporal agents would be locking down every variant, every timeline split for decades. Trying to hunt down an android with mental and physical abilities beyond most humonoids.
I like watching these Data solo adventures. He appears naïve and out of place, but his highly sophisticated positronic brain allows him to survive and even make new friends.
Data has a remarkable advantage. He is Humble. All those soft bodied mortals around him feel confident and at ease. A Metal Man with a storage capacity of 800 quadrillion bits, who can bend parsteel like your bathroom toothpaste, and oh yeah he can speak French.
@@tablescissors There was a brief TNG/Coneheads crossover on the net in the 90's. Basically, the Enterprise encounters the Coneheads' ship, hails, puts them on screen. Beldar opens with, "We come from France." and Picard answers with, "The hell you do! Mr Worf, arm phasers and torpedoes."
@@Elly3981he says it in this scene, its an alloy partially composed of gold. we also use gold in all our computers today but that’s irrelevant to the scene.
I've never seen Picard speak French even though he's a native Frenchman born in France, I believe. Even if he spoke only English, Picard still should have at least had a French accent. But then again, Patrick Stewart is British and probably doesn't know any French.
@@Elly3981Robert doesn’t have a French accent, neither did Rene. Frankly we are talking about late enough in history that I could see many areas not speaking their ancestral language, or not frequently enough to show up in typical accents.
I love the look on Data's face as he tells the players he is "a Frenchman". It says, "I am a master of disguise and deceit, and no one will see through my ruse." 3:56
TNG had extremely spotty acting from most guest stars, but the guest stars really nailed it on this one. The 49er, Jack London, Gul Dukat, Mark Twain, all great performance.
@@Elly3981 He sure did. And he was an emergency fill in who came in part way through the week because the original actor, who had completed part of the shooting, committed suicide. They contacted Saul Rubinek who learned the lines real quick and had to reshoot the whole thing in like 4 days.
That's a YES!! on the occasional examples of spotty acting -- especially by otherwise talented people who really should know better. One of the reasons I liked this episode so much may have been because everyone gave us their best. Who would you say did the worst job of "phoning in" a performance on ST:NG (any episode)?
@@krisaaron5771 the surgeons in s2 that tried to fix Picard's heart before Pulaski arrived to save the day. Also the guest actors in Angel One. All terrible acting.
I'm not at all shocked that Gul Dukat: escaped the fire caves, had some minor physical alterations performed to switch from posing as Bajoran to posing as human, traveled through time, made his way across the quadrant, and established a new identity as a Cajun gentleman-cardplayer. It really all fits, when you think about it.
One of the great voices, imagine a scene that somehow featured him, James Earl Jones, and Christopher Lee. They could read random extracts from the Doncaster phone book and it would sound good!
Well that's the thing. Data _wasn't_ emotionless. Over the course of the series you watch him become less awkward in his dealings with people and more human in his responses and facial expressions. Even without the use of an emotion chip, Data seemed to be slowly writing the programming for one all on his own. Through trial and observation Data knew what was appropriate in certain contexts.
he wouldnt. banknotes only said "legal tender" since the end of gold standard, before that they said "lawful money" and before that, of course, that the presenter of the note will get gold in exchange
@@thiagodeandrade7081 sure, but I was talking about whether or not the 49er could have known it, which would be probably only if it was written on the notes :) there is one exception - Greenback dollars in the 1860s. Those said it, so people wouldnt think it was some funny money. Which makes me think I am actually wrong, because the general public needed to understand the term. So maybe 49er would too.
That would be an excellent idea. Mostly cause Data is an every man so anybody can play him and make him ageless. And because he is not human we all can enjoy him attempting it and how other react to him.
I would have loved to see that. But i fear it is the constraint of star trek that makes his character interesting - that is:regarding how he is put in situations that deal with humans and lifeforms. I fear Data's own show would be repetitive. I think Data is most interesting like it is in TNG- humans/lifeforms have a drama, and Data must react and cope. It is humans/life forms which make him interesting- as we must admit we still view him as a machine- despite wanting to accept him as organic life.
@@cetyl2626 Just about any AI chatbot today is Data... it is the circumstances and polarity with the persons he interacts with that make him interesting.
The price of gold was about $19 in 1890. $3 appears to be a low offer, although a composite of beryllium, silicon and carbon 70 (whatever that is) would cast doubt on its value. Of course Data knew he was nontheless about to make an enormous profit on his investment…
At least he won the game, if not those Fellas or whoever won the game would have his communicator badge although they would not know how to use it! Unless it started making noise when they heard a voice out of it!
3:17 😂 the way he looks and says that, if he'd had ears and a tail you know they'd been instantly upright. "Oooo, easy Money?!" And that last... "I'll give you three dollars for it." "I accept-I'll have it back by the end of the game."
See, this is why I can't accept that Data was devoid of emotion. If that wasn't some type of elation then I have failed as a human being at reading people
@@absolutcabbagery3661 Yeah, Data very much has emotion. He just thinks that, because it isn't messy and unpredictable like humans' (and Lore's artificial emotion), it must not be the real thing. He expresses sentimentality towards Tasha, distrust towards the Romulan spy posing as a Vulcan ambassador, wrath towards Fajo, happiness in this case, etc.
As I recall, in TNG data plays poker because it helped him understand the concepts of lying and deception. He wasn't naturally gifted at it. So this is just him relying on his experience playing with the sharks on board the Enterprise. He was taking a real gamble here (you should pardon the expression).
When you're doing a space show with aliens, it's easy to bring actors back. LOL! They probably watched the dailies and said" you know, I like him. we'll bring him back as an alien one of these days "
I love how they personally attacked him in the new DS9 documentary and then applauded Garak and Bashir for being gay lovers. Star Trek is so progressive!
I love how later another character explains he's playing good cop/bad cop with the native american guy, at least it's implied, it would part of their card shark strat for one of them to be the scary one and probably which one would be a read of who their opponent fears more, the french or the natives, which is a pretty Early California kind of campfire question. God, such good writing.
What i love about this season finale , Michael dorn came to a convention in my city. He wouldn't tell us the fate of data in the show. Some questions went by, then someone asked him.. "now that brent spiner is leaving the show..what will he do?" Michael dorn replied.." what?? Brent leaving..why would he do that? Where is he goi...?" Michael stopped mid sentence..and said..oh..you got me. Okay..no more tricky questions..and we all laughed.
We'll never know if Data was just using his great poker skills or did he use superhuman abilities to outright cheat. So confident he'd come out ahead he would pawn his communicator badge knowing he would win it back.
I don't think he'd cheat, he's pretty morally upstanding. That is to say, he'd definitely be counting cards, keeping track of his odds, and minmaxing his chances of winning... but those are skills that any human is capable of learning, and he's just naturally good at it because he's a supercomputer. It's not cheating, it's strategy. But he wouldn't use deceit, trickery, or keep track of the order of the cards in the deck to know for sure what everyone else is holding. He also literally has the perfect pokerface. Completely unreadable in every sense of the word.
I beginning to believe that Data didn't have to cheat, but detected his opponents cheating, so used it to his advantage: ua-cam.com/video/38L1ANYMrnQ/v-deo.html
One, he knew what century he was in. He knew he had so much more accumulated analysis of poker in his head than anyone did then. Two: I firmly believe Data would cheat to win if necessary. He's done it. I don't think he HAD to here, but he likely would have if it were possible.
I like ST NG a lot. This is one of my favorite segments. As this show proceeds, it is shown that the fellow with the beard and the American Indian are partners at the poker table. More common than one might expect. More effective, I've heard, than most other sorts of fleecing. A couple of conmen.
One of my favorite episodes. The story line is not over done yet has a right interesting twist with crossing Time in history with the characters they choose and then the interaction with the card table game , just great.!
IF I remember right, Data cleans the clock with everyone at the table in a very short manner. I don't remember how much he won besides his com badge back.
I remember he handed the porter a big wad of cash to buy him supplies and pay for his room, bought suitable clothing, and got that Native American's hat to boot!
Gul Dukat became immortal when the pah wraiths took him in those fire caves and this episode actually shows the secret mission where he tries to sabotage the future of the federation by beating an android at poker but his skills weren't up to the task.
I haven't seen this since it first aired, but somehow this scene still plays through my head pretty regularly. He then walks out with their clothing on.
@@skulver The bellhop said "It's six bits a day, or four dollars a week." Six bits is the equivalent of 75 cents. So the price for a week at the daily rate would have been $5.25. The term "bit" comes from the old Spanish real coin, also known as a "piece of eight". In the early years of America, using foreign silver coinage was quite common, and Spanish coinage was frequently used in the American West. The piece of eight was so called because it was frequently subdivided (literally cut into pieces) into up to eight segments to make change, and each segment was called a "bit". So two bits was a quarter, four bits 50 cents, etc.
Thank you very much, Innovative Lifeform, for uploading this interesting video so that we can see it again in the very near future. ™ Please have a nice day today. ™
@@kelli217 The power source on a personal communicator is strong enough to power a personal force field. (As shown in the holodeck episode, fist full of datas I think.) This is something star trek never did well: Energy density. The battery on that thing is by definition a weapon. Also it's an incredible energy projector, it's like a planet's worth of transmission gear and precision all semi-automated. Though generally of course you're right, short of accidently making it explode, there's not much this era could do with it. Even with focused study. It's not even magical appearing, it's just a brooch basically. XD
Always thought it was funny that data can not use contractions for most of his life, but he can effortlessly imitate any earth language and dialect including the glutaral phlegmy sounds of the French language which actually uses far more brain power for humans than simple word swaps in place of two other words.
Love the portrayals of Jack London (the actual Jack London was cute) and Mark Twain ("Perhaps it's worth giving up cigars for after all.") in this two parter.
You cut out right before a major gaff. The anti was 4 bits, (50 cents) Data got 3 dollars for his communicator, he throws 1 dollar in the pot and dosen't take his change. Riker would be so ashamed. 🙅♂️
You should played the entire scene until Data cleans out the poker players and even wear their clothing items. They thought Data was a sucker and he played them all and won big.
Man I love whenever Marc Alaimo shows up in Star Trek. He played a lot of great characters before landing one of my favorite villains of all time with Dukat on DS9.
I'm reminded of the scene in City on the Edge of Forever from the original series. McCoy goes back in time and loses his phaser, and some random guy picks it up and accidentally disintegrates himself (and it).
I haven't seen a comment on this. But the very brief moments of Data's humanity that shines through, like when Data perks up hearing about Poker. "Poker?"
lol Not-Dukat being from New Orleans makes me think he is just looking for Sisko in the past. Wow my bald french teacher, all that hair pulling wasn't in entirely vain...
Data's stories all explore cyberpunk themes, (the genre not the video game) but it's fun and funny. I eventually realized those are my favorite episodes in the series.
No one ever mentions the clothes Data is wearing. Jack London (bellhop) is the only one who even makes a comment about Data's uniform are pajamas. As Johnny Carson used to say, you buy the premise, you buy the bit.
The 1840s? Three or four slugs of the booze they called whiskey back then and it would explain why they were not surprised about Data's pale white completion.
Watching DS nine for many years. I have always thought that Marc Alimo voice was familiar, but I could not place his face… No, it all makes sense because I used to watch TNG for many years before DS.. the Frenchman is played by Mark Alimo
@@rockthecasbah420 He never had it again after that. I've watched carefully for it. It's possible the guy from New Orleans refused to sell it back to him.
@@ReptilianLepton and in the essence of a "bit" is that they would actually cut a silver dollar into 8 pieces equaling 12.5 cents or a bit hence the idea of two bits being a quarter.
I never understood that, It's probably impossible to be a fully intelligent being and incabable of lying. Data obviously must lie in certain situations during his career like covert operations and so would have to be able to fabricate truths.
Data can deceive opponents. He has Morality programming, not specifically "unable to lie" programming. In fact "Clues" hinges on him not telling the full truth to the crew because it would put them at risk.
It's interesting, why not just steal money? Cheating at poker isn't any different. Data has a disturbingly human ability to rationalize self serving behaviors.
@@missmorbid1439 His absolute mastery of dexterity calculation and perception makes poker a deterministic victory for him. All cards might as well be marked for him. I mean, I get it, it's a show, but carrying the data (ha) given forward, he can't not cheat. Everything for him is in crazy slow motion.
@@Innomen Oh, I thought you meant counting cards. I don’t see how that’s cheating either way, he’s not giving himself more information than the other players and he’s not stacking the deck. Besides, everyone on the ship plays poker with him, and he does lose, like how he lost to Riker.
Can't believe Gul Dukat tried to scam Data and spoke French at him.
bahaha, those damn cardassians. Sneaky fellows.
@@egocrusher8 I think the Pah Wraiths bet on the wrong person to be their representative against Star Trek Team.
Holy shit... I did not see this until you pointed him out.
I imagine Mr. Alaimo must have enjoyed playing a different role, for one scene anyway.
@@mattalley4330 He also plays a cop with Jeffrey Combs in the Sisko lives in the past and is a writer episode
I have always thought the old 49er was a tremendously well written character. In only about ninety seconds we learn so much about him, his history, his circumstances, his health, his character. Despite his reduced circumstances, he is helpful and kind to somebody else in similar trouble, giving advice and guidance with no expectation of compensation.
Yes. Makes one shudder in disgust when comparing TNG to STD or STP
And a great actor to portray him!
Iam sure after his encounter with Data he got well, struck it rich and became famous.
Funny, but his lines have stuck with me more than almost any others from the series.
@@mattplata7469 sadly he met up with an ophidian
I just love how Data walks in, looking like the mark of marks, and then walks out with all the money he can carry. Commander Riker created a poker monster.
Data would be invincible at poker. Instant recall of all hands, videographic replay of every person's habits playing them, the ability to see minor changes in physiology, perfect knowledge of his hands' odds, and utterly unreadable.
@@stupidnamefilter Oh, it gets worse than that. He can choose to show minor mannerisms or ticks, make emotional changes, etc. to lure opponents into traps. Ultimately what he is unlikely to do is cheat ... unless he really has to.
@@Michael-cf9cj And in this case, he would have to. He needs the funds. Also, his opponents made the mistake of letting Data deal the cards, as he is also capable of stacking the deck in his favor.
Imagine if his brother Lore was sent back into the past. Temporal agents would be locking down every variant, every timeline split for decades. Trying to hunt down an android with mental and physical abilities beyond most humonoids.
Even the Hat
I like watching these Data solo adventures. He appears naïve and out of place, but his highly sophisticated positronic brain allows him to survive and even make new friends.
My life is pretty similar but without the friends.
Data has a remarkable advantage. He is Humble. All those soft bodied mortals around him feel confident and at ease. A Metal Man with a storage capacity of 800 quadrillion bits, who can bend parsteel like your bathroom toothpaste, and oh yeah he can speak French.
I don't watch star trek, but would a show based around data be a good idea?
Yea he needed his own spin-off series.
@@Sammy_82 Star trek TNG in a way IS written based around Data :D
Love the conviction with which he says "I am a Frenchman." Surprised I haven't seen that in an out of context compilation or something.
Data lied! But I guess it's ok because he's protecting the Prime Directive?
Also, I wonder if the writer's meant that as a reference to The Coneheads.
@@tablescissors There was a brief TNG/Coneheads crossover on the net in the 90's. Basically, the Enterprise encounters the Coneheads' ship, hails, puts them on screen. Beldar opens with, "We come from France." and Picard answers with, "The hell you do! Mr Worf, arm phasers and torpedoes."
@@HariSeldon913 you just made my day, thank you 😂😂😂
Or a meme even.
@@HariSeldon913 That's grand, love that.
Data: *No accent or manerisms in english*
Also Data: *Sassy in french*
it IS the only way to speak french.
@@tuseroni6085 Hahahaha!
@@tuseroni6085 you can only be sassy in french, the same way you always sound angry or disgruntled in german.
His French accent isn't so good
@@Shiirow make that double for Russian
“I accept”
I love Data’s total confidence in knowing that three dollars is all he needs to completely rinse these guys.
USD 3 was worth a lot more in the 19th century
@@SoranPryde I think it would be around $80 in today’s money. I have no idea how much Data’s combadge would have been worth though.
@@emlowz I don't know if its ever made clear what the combadges are made of. I doubt they are made of gold or silver.
@@Elly3981he says it in this scene, its an alloy partially composed of gold. we also use gold in all our computers today but that’s irrelevant to the scene.
@@Elly3981 the first time we see the Ferengi in season 1, they comment about the combadges being made with gold too. So yeah... gold.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think Data speaks more French in this one episode than Picard does in his entire time on screen.
I've never seen Picard speak French even though he's a native Frenchman born in France, I believe. Even if he spoke only English, Picard still should have at least had a French accent. But then again, Patrick Stewart is British and probably doesn't know any French.
OUI
@@Elly3981he says “merde” a couple of times in the early seasons, and has a very brief chat with Minuet on the holodeck, but that’s about it
We wouldn't know either way, as the universal translator makes us hear everything in English
@@Elly3981Robert doesn’t have a French accent, neither did Rene. Frankly we are talking about late enough in history that I could see many areas not speaking their ancestral language, or not frequently enough to show up in typical accents.
Marc Alaimo is such a joy to watch act as any character.
He has one of the great voices of TV. So deep and rich, he could read the phone book and it would sound dramatic!
he's also quite the chameleon, playing several different characters in the ST universe
"Poker?" It's almost like you can hear his excitement. haha
Riker would be proud.
Imagine letting Data loose on 1970's Vegas. The mob couldn't fuck with him and he would break the bank at the casinos.
@@kentvesser9484Didn't he kind of do that in that 1st season episode where they got trapped in the novel recreation?
3:44
Gambler: Ah. My parents are from Bourgon. I was born in New Orleans.
Data: So we are almost brothers. I am happy to meet you.
Also noteworthy: Data's French was more grammatically correct.
So much awesome right here....
@@Swindle1984 Gambler was Cajun French. Like Quebecois, there is drift in the grammar and vocabulary
I have always wondered what they said since I was a little kid. Thank you sir!!!
@@dodgeplow Yes. But Brent Spiner doesn't speak French, so the fact he did it so well is funny.
Who played the role of the 49er?
He sold that character and made it real within seconds. Wonderful acting.
I believe that would be Jack Murdock.
@@BeautilufMusic - thank you so much!
was thinking the same thing, for a second I thought he was the real deal and not an actor xD
He even caught drug-resistant tuberculosis to sell the cough. :)
@@kentvesser9484 now that's some dedication. some real christian bale style method acting
I love how Data is detailing the elements of the material and the guy bites it _"GOLD"_
Data "It is gold"
Data knows French yes, but he is also fluent in Stupid.
A crystalline composite of silica, beryllium, carbon 70 and...
I love the look on Data's face as he tells the players he is "a Frenchman". It says, "I am a master of disguise and deceit, and no one will see through my ruse." 3:56
I thought he said that because someone assumed he was a Frenchman and Data didn't fully grasp the meaning of his label.
TNG had extremely spotty acting from most guest stars, but the guest stars really nailed it on this one. The 49er, Jack London, Gul Dukat, Mark Twain, all great performance.
Yeah its a shame alot of actors didn't take star trek seriously and where even embarrassed be on it especially the orginal series.
Don't forget the actor who played Fajo the collector. He totally nailed his part too.
@@Elly3981 He sure did. And he was an emergency fill in who came in part way through the week because the original actor, who had completed part of the shooting, committed suicide. They contacted Saul Rubinek who learned the lines real quick and had to reshoot the whole thing in like 4 days.
That's a YES!! on the occasional examples of spotty acting -- especially by otherwise talented people who really should know better. One of the reasons I liked this episode so much may have been because everyone gave us their best.
Who would you say did the worst job of "phoning in" a performance on ST:NG (any episode)?
@@krisaaron5771 the surgeons in s2 that tried to fix Picard's heart before Pulaski arrived to save the day. Also the guest actors in Angel One. All terrible acting.
I'm not at all shocked that Gul Dukat: escaped the fire caves, had some minor physical alterations performed to switch from posing as Bajoran to posing as human, traveled through time, made his way across the quadrant, and established a new identity as a Cajun gentleman-cardplayer. It really all fits, when you think about it.
"and established a new identity as a Cajun gentleman-cardplayer" ... Only to get beaten again.
I recognised Marc Alaimo's voice straight away!! Iconic!
One of the great voices, imagine a scene that somehow featured him, James Earl Jones, and Christopher Lee. They could read random extracts from the Doncaster phone book and it would sound good!
this episode is Season 5 episode 26 if anyone is looking for it :)
Finally, thank you
thank you sir
Thank you very much. Gratefully appreciated
Holy shit, it's the actor that plays Dukat. I'd recognize that voice anywhere.
so thats where the Pah Wraiths sent him!!
For an emotionless android, Data's face certainly lights up when he says 'Poker?'.
He also looked upset when the miner said it was too late for a doctor.
Well that's the thing. Data _wasn't_ emotionless. Over the course of the series you watch him become less awkward in his dealings with people and more human in his responses and facial expressions. Even without the use of an emotion chip, Data seemed to be slowly writing the programming for one all on his own. Through trial and observation Data knew what was appropriate in certain contexts.
TNG nearly did a smash zoom thingy Data was so excited by his standards.
Data learned humanity well, even the addictions.
"No form of legal tender"
Wonderful how the man understood him.
He was speaking English, and the porter turns out to be Jack London, a fairly competent wordsmith in his own right...
he wouldnt. banknotes only said "legal tender" since the end of gold standard, before that they said "lawful money" and before that, of course, that the presenter of the note will get gold in exchange
@@christopherdean1326 I had forggoten the bell boy was Jack London. However, the man understood him.
@@bobzeepl Fair enough, but the expression predates its use in banknotes, right?
@@thiagodeandrade7081 sure, but I was talking about whether or not the 49er could have known it, which would be probably only if it was written on the notes :) there is one exception - Greenback dollars in the 1860s. Those said it, so people wouldnt think it was some funny money. Which makes me think I am actually wrong, because the general public needed to understand the term. So maybe 49er would too.
Data should have had his own show, he was always revealing new facets and capabilities
That would be an excellent idea. Mostly cause Data is an every man so anybody can play him and make him ageless. And because he is not human we all can enjoy him attempting it and how other react to him.
I would have loved to see that. But i fear it is the constraint of star trek that makes his character interesting - that is:regarding how he is put in situations that deal with humans and lifeforms. I fear Data's own show would be repetitive. I think Data is most interesting like it is in TNG- humans/lifeforms have a drama, and Data must react and cope. It is humans/life forms which make him interesting- as we must admit we still view him as a machine- despite wanting to accept him as organic life.
@@cetyl2626 Just about any AI chatbot today is Data... it is the circumstances and polarity with the persons he interacts with that make him interesting.
The price of gold was about $19 in 1890. $3 appears to be a low offer, although a composite of beryllium, silicon and carbon 70 (whatever that is) would cast doubt on its value. Of course Data knew he was nontheless about to make an enormous profit on his investment…
That's okay, he knew he was gunna scam them outta significantly more than that guy did him.
The "carbon-70" he refers to might be some sort of fullerene - "buckyballs" are also referred to as C-60.
@@drtidrow excellent point I forgot about Buckminster Fuller, long time ago👍 How much is an ounce of C60?
At least he won the game, if not those Fellas or whoever won the game would have his communicator badge although they would not know how to use it! Unless it started making noise when they heard a voice out of it!
You quoted the price of an ounce of gold. There was very likely way less than an ounce in the device. So $3 may not have been that low of an offer.
Oh that voice of Marc Alaimo is so instantly recognizable. A wonderful actor.
3:17 😂 the way he looks and says that, if he'd had ears and a tail you know they'd been instantly upright.
"Oooo, easy Money?!"
And that last... "I'll give you three dollars for it." "I accept-I'll have it back by the end of the game."
See, this is why I can't accept that Data was devoid of emotion. If that wasn't some type of elation then I have failed as a human being at reading people
@@absolutcabbagery3661 Yeah, Data very much has emotion. He just thinks that, because it isn't messy and unpredictable like humans' (and Lore's artificial emotion), it must not be the real thing. He expresses sentimentality towards Tasha, distrust towards the Romulan spy posing as a Vulcan ambassador, wrath towards Fajo, happiness in this case, etc.
As I recall, in TNG data plays poker because it helped him understand the concepts of lying and deception. He wasn't naturally gifted at it. So this is just him relying on his experience playing with the sharks on board the Enterprise. He was taking a real gamble here (you should pardon the expression).
Gal Dukat, even as a card shark poker player, still has that commanding voice.
When you're doing a space show with aliens, it's easy to bring actors back. LOL! They probably watched the dailies and said" you know, I like him. we'll bring him back as an alien one of these days "
@@catherinesanchez1185 That is exactly what happened. Boardrooms watch star trek too you know.
I love how they personally attacked him in the new DS9 documentary and then applauded Garak and Bashir for being gay lovers. Star Trek is so progressive!
I love how later another character explains he's playing good cop/bad cop with the native american guy, at least it's implied, it would part of their card shark strat for one of them to be the scary one and probably which one would be a read of who their opponent fears more, the french or the natives, which is a pretty Early California kind of campfire question. God, such good writing.
I think the Indian fellow's line is one of the funniest moments in Trekdom. "Pale face!"
"ill give you three dollars for it"
"No, you will give me 300. You just dont know yet"
"It's too late for that" :( this show sure knows how to throw in some sad jabs
Yeah, that is the cough of tuberculosis in all likelihood.
What i love about this season finale , Michael dorn came to a convention in my city. He wouldn't tell us the fate of data in the show. Some questions went by, then someone asked him.. "now that brent spiner is leaving the show..what will he do?"
Michael dorn replied.." what?? Brent leaving..why would he do that? Where is he goi...?" Michael stopped mid sentence..and said..oh..you got me. Okay..no more tricky questions..and we all laughed.
I think I would have responded by saying "Night Court".
TNG had such excellent writing and acting. they really set the bar for TV
so did colombo
When Data said "Poker" I could feel Rikers smile and influence.
We'll never know if Data was just using his great poker skills or did he use superhuman abilities to outright cheat. So confident he'd come out ahead he would pawn his communicator badge knowing he would win it back.
I don't think he'd cheat, he's pretty morally upstanding.
That is to say, he'd definitely be counting cards, keeping track of his odds, and minmaxing his chances of winning... but those are skills that any human is capable of learning, and he's just naturally good at it because he's a supercomputer. It's not cheating, it's strategy.
But he wouldn't use deceit, trickery, or keep track of the order of the cards in the deck to know for sure what everyone else is holding.
He also literally has the perfect pokerface. Completely unreadable in every sense of the word.
I beginning to believe that Data didn't have to cheat, but detected his opponents cheating, so used it to his advantage:
ua-cam.com/video/38L1ANYMrnQ/v-deo.html
One, he knew what century he was in. He knew he had so much more accumulated analysis of poker in his head than anyone did then.
Two: I firmly believe Data would cheat to win if necessary. He's done it. I don't think he HAD to here, but he likely would have if it were possible.
Can't beat the math.
Riker trained him well.
I like ST NG a lot. This is one of my favorite segments. As this show proceeds, it is shown that the fellow with the beard and the American Indian are partners at the poker table. More common than one might expect. More effective, I've heard, than most other sorts of fleecing. A couple of conmen.
I quit a high stakes game because I realized that 2 of the players were cheating. Warned the man who invited me to play...he ignored my advice.
Data: I am a frenchman...
Picard: NO YOU CAN'T DON'T EVEN TRY
That was Riker's line.
@@SPDFRK HAW HAW
@@SPDFRK Yeah, but >>JEAN>LUC>PICARD(!!!)
Says the guy with the French name and a British accent.
>_> POKER?
I just love that look in Data’s face xD
One of my favorite episodes. The story line is not over done yet has a right interesting twist with crossing Time in history with the characters they choose and then the interaction with the card table game , just great.!
IF I remember right, Data cleans the clock with everyone at the table in a very short manner. I don't remember how much he won besides his com badge back.
Data (Brent Spiner) acquired enough to manage in late nineteenth-century (1800s) San Francisco. Most workers then earned round $3-5 USD weekly.
I remember he handed the porter a big wad of cash to buy him supplies and pay for his room, bought suitable clothing, and got that Native American's hat to boot!
Gul Dukat became immortal when the pah wraiths took him in those fire caves and this episode actually shows the secret mission where he tries to sabotage the future of the federation by beating an android at poker but his skills weren't up to the task.
Marc Alaimo, cannot beat that face or that fantastic rich tone to his voice.
Gul Dukat as a western gentleman is amusing
Data is so confused until he hears about poker. I love seeing his face light up
3:45 you ain't seen nothing yet, Gul Dukat.
Marc Alaimo is such an underrated actor and undervalued supporting actor
The clip ends before it even gets to the bit it's supposed to be.
One of my all time fav TNG episodes
"Pale...face" cracks me up all the time!
I know I speak for many when I say Mr Data is a HUGE part of our childhood. We love him care about Mr Data 🤗
I have long wondered whether the "I am a Frenchman" bit was meant as a reference to the Coneheads.
I'm with you on that. I think it is, too.
I love how in early episodes Data is very bad at lying, until later episodes like this
I agree, but yet even in this episode we see that he is lying. So I would offer that while he's getting better at lying, he's still easy to read.
He's not lying, he's "using cover" :)
Data's ROI on that $3 was ridiculous.
i love the "i am a Frenchman" as an excuse for his strange outfit
You need to add a part two showing the cleanout.
Data being all nice and friendly... right before he takes all their money!!
I haven't seen this since it first aired, but somehow this scene still plays through my head pretty regularly. He then walks out with their clothing on.
Data's compassion is so heartwarming "you need medical attention" Such a good dude.
You forget just how good the TNG was.
@@skulver The bellhop said "It's six bits a day, or four dollars a week." Six bits is the equivalent of 75 cents. So the price for a week at the daily rate would have been $5.25. The term "bit" comes from the old Spanish real coin, also known as a "piece of eight". In the early years of America, using foreign silver coinage was quite common, and Spanish coinage was frequently used in the American West. The piece of eight was so called because it was frequently subdivided (literally cut into pieces) into up to eight segments to make change, and each segment was called a "bit". So two bits was a quarter, four bits 50 cents, etc.
If that guy did the bite test for if it's gold it wouldn't have passed. Gold is soft and his communication device is probably harder than that.
the gold part will still be gold. he'll have a com badge with a tooth imprint
@@psyantologist I doubt that in the era of STNG; likely a much harder alloy by then.
You can use it to kill Cybermen
I missed so many great episodes. It's just not the same watching it like this. I need a saturday night 7pm, circa 1989.
The 49er's delivery of his lines was great.
* card sharp. Card Shark was the 1970s game show. Card Sharps filed down on edge of the card so they could feel it during shuffling.
I find it interesting that, when speaking French, Data sounds much more expressive than when he speaks English.
Thank you very much, Innovative Lifeform, for uploading this interesting video so that we can see it again in the very near future. ™
Please have a nice day today. ™
I like how the bellhop later becomes Data's assistant.
3$ for the most powerful piece of technology on the planet. Hell of a deal.
Most powerful piece of technology on the planet, and completely useless without another one in range.
@@kelli217 The power source on a personal communicator is strong enough to power a personal force field. (As shown in the holodeck episode, fist full of datas I think.) This is something star trek never did well: Energy density. The battery on that thing is by definition a weapon. Also it's an incredible energy projector, it's like a planet's worth of transmission gear and precision all semi-automated. Though generally of course you're right, short of accidently making it explode, there's not much this era could do with it. Even with focused study. It's not even magical appearing, it's just a brooch basically. XD
@@Innomen A broach yes. Worth 3 shiny dollars.
"Most powerful piece of technology on the planet"
You're forgetting 2 things: the phaser on Data's hip, and Data himself.
@@sentinel76 Very true.
Always thought it was funny that data can not use contractions for most of his life, but he can effortlessly imitate any earth language and dialect including the glutaral phlegmy sounds of the French language which actually uses far more brain power for humans than simple word swaps in place of two other words.
Poker?
Definitely one of the best episodes.
Love the portrayals of Jack London (the actual Jack London was cute) and Mark Twain ("Perhaps it's worth giving up cigars for after all.") in this two parter.
You cut out right before a major gaff.
The anti was 4 bits, (50 cents) Data got 3 dollars for his communicator, he throws 1 dollar in the pot and dosen't take his change. Riker would be so ashamed. 🙅♂️
You should played the entire scene until Data cleans out the poker players and even wear their clothing items. They thought Data was a sucker and he played them all and won big.
Why would he, he got 291000 views for a five minute clip of a show from 20 years ago . Very clever indeed
Man I love whenever Marc Alaimo shows up in Star Trek. He played a lot of great characters before landing one of my favorite villains of all time with Dukat on DS9.
2 things: 1) Data is carrying a phaser. Imagine if a pickpocket took that off of him. 2) Dukat is one of the card sharks. Fitting.
Too be honest. If I had the phasers. I'd just start stunning everyone and robbing their money.
@@mrchow489 Not very Starfleet of ya...
It's data. No freaking way they would be able to pickpocket data. (Oh my god, I'm such a nerd.)
I'm reminded of the scene in City on the Edge of Forever from the original series. McCoy goes back in time and loses his phaser, and some random guy picks it up and accidentally disintegrates himself (and it).
“Can you help out a 49er? We just need a quarterback and an offensive line and some rule changes and a head coach.”
Well played
Why is Dukat disguised as a human in the past? Is this his hobby?
He is secretly moonlighting as a Dr. Who villain.
Plus, if he wants to fool the Kai he needs practice acting non-Cardassian...
That French overdub sticks right out :p
I love how Data perks up when hearing about poker.
I haven't seen a comment on this. But the very brief moments of Data's humanity that shines through, like when Data perks up hearing about Poker.
"Poker?"
*Lady Gaga* ua-cam.com/video/4SrH99yjx7E/v-deo.html
Data has the ultimate "poker-face": reading an android would be inpossible! 😀
Tell that to riker
"Poker?" LOL!
No wonder gull dukat’s voice was so familiar when I started watching DS9. The actor’s name is Marc Alaimo. Here playing the Frenchman
lol Not-Dukat being from New Orleans makes me think he is just looking for Sisko in the past. Wow my bald french teacher, all that hair pulling wasn't in entirely vain...
He really should have started introducing himself as Jean Luc Data and talked with an english accent.
Data's stories all explore cyberpunk themes, (the genre not the video game) but it's fun and funny. I eventually realized those are my favorite episodes in the series.
No one ever mentions the clothes Data is wearing. Jack London (bellhop) is the only one who even makes a comment about Data's uniform are pajamas. As Johnny Carson used to say, you buy the premise, you buy the bit.
I always find it funny when people earnestly mistake a Starfleet uniform for pajamas. Like who goes to sleep wearing a badge and polished shoes?
The 1840s? Three or four slugs of the booze they called whiskey back then and it would explain why they were not surprised about Data's pale white completion.
The 49ers' needed help even back then 😏😒
Watching DS nine for many years. I have always thought that Marc Alimo voice was familiar, but I could not place his face… No, it all makes sense because I used to watch TNG for many years before DS.. the Frenchman is played by Mark Alimo
Once again Marc Alaimo, aka Gul Dukat, steals the scene. I'm watching this now after seeing all of DS9 and like, whah!! how did i miss this!!
Did data ever recover that communicator?
our boy Data cleaned out that whole table lol he def got it back
@@rockthecasbah420 He never had it again after that. I've watched carefully for it. It's possible the guy from New Orleans refused to sell it back to him.
Isn’t 25 cents a lot of money for a haircut back then?
In 1893, yes. But it's a reference to "shave and a haircut - two bits!"
@@ReptilianLepton and in the essence of a "bit" is that they would actually cut a silver dollar into 8 pieces equaling 12.5 cents or a bit hence the idea of two bits being a quarter.
Holy shit how many roles does marc play 🤣
I love how his face lights up: "Poker?!"
Dukat!
Data tells everyone he's a Frenchman. His name is Sung. That's Chinese. I didn't think Data could lie. Is that just a Vulcan thing?
Just a Vulcan thing.
I never understood that, It's probably impossible to be a fully intelligent being and incabable of lying. Data obviously must lie in certain situations during his career like covert operations and so would have to be able to fabricate truths.
Technically Data doesn't have a nationality, per se. Even though his creator, Noonien Soong, has a Chinese name, he's clearly not Chinese.
The Vulcans merely claim lying is illogical. They'll happily lie, if there's a logical reason to do so.
Data can deceive opponents. He has Morality programming, not specifically "unable to lie" programming.
In fact "Clues" hinges on him not telling the full truth to the crew because it would put them at risk.
..."I am a Frenchman" ......Priceless!! :)
Gul Dukat: 'swamp-ass franch, yall'
Data: 'fuckin paris yo'
With an IQ of about 3000 Data had every card easily memorized this was a massacre
It's interesting, why not just steal money? Cheating at poker isn't any different. Data has a disturbingly human ability to rationalize self serving behaviors.
Data doesn’t usually lie or cheat, what makes you say he’s cheating?
@@missmorbid1439 His absolute mastery of dexterity calculation and perception makes poker a deterministic victory for him. All cards might as well be marked for him. I mean, I get it, it's a show, but carrying the data (ha) given forward, he can't not cheat. Everything for him is in crazy slow motion.
@@Innomen
Oh, I thought you meant counting cards. I don’t see how that’s cheating either way, he’s not giving himself more information than the other players and he’s not stacking the deck. Besides, everyone on the ship plays poker with him, and he does lose, like how he lost to Riker.
@@missmorbid1439 it is still considered cheating in games.
stealing money might be noticed. a card game where he decides to use his abilities instead of handicapping he can win big
2:35 Data does a callback. Sweet.
watched this episode last night on amazon. here it is on my recommendations the very next day.