Summary
- Fred, a Soong-type android in "Star Trek: Discovery," introduced charming TNG nostalgia but was quickly forgotten after season 5 premiere.
- Fans missed out on exploring Fred's intriguing 32nd-century backstory and associations with Data due to his premature demise in the show.
- Discovery had a chance to revive Fred for more depth and connections to TNG, but the opportunity to delve into his character was sadly missed.
Star Trek: Discovery introduced an android named Fred (J. Adam Brown) who bore an obvious resemblance to Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and I wish the show would have done more with him. Discovery's fifth and final season saw Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the USS Discovery embark on a fun intergalactic treasure hunt with connections to Star Trek: The Next Generation. One of my favorite elements of the Discovery season 5 premiere was the introduction of Fred, a Soong-type android resembling TNG's Data.
Data has always been my favorite Star Trek character, and I was excited to see another android like him who had lived until the 32nd century. With the introduction of more advanced and human-like androids in later Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard, Starfleet seemed to have moved on from androids that looked like Data. Still, there was always something endearing about Data's distinctive pallor and yellow eyes, and Fred was a nice callback to a simpler android. The existence of an android like Fred in the 32nd century raised a lot of interesting questions, and I'm disappointed Star Trek: Discovery didn't take the time to explore any of them.
Star Trek: Discovery Forgot Fred After Season 5’s Premiere
"Serial number AS-0572Y. A.S. Altan Soong... Whoever built Fred honored the doctor by putting his initials in the serial number."
Created by cyberneticist Dr. Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner), Data was the most successful and advanced android of his time. In Star Trek: Picard season 3, Data received the ultimate upgrade, gaining a new synthetic body and the ability to experience organic emotions. Advancements in artificial intelligence and synthetic bodies rendered Data's previous model obsolete. This raises the question of how a Soong android like Fred made it to the 32nd century. I wanted to know when Fred was built, how he survived for hundreds of years, and what events he had seen or been a part of.
J. Adam Brown did a great job performing android mannerisms as inspired by Brent Spiner, and I wanted to see more of his story. When renegade couriers Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis) visited Fred, the android was working as a fence. Having lived for over six hundred years, Fred had likely learned a lot about humanity and about his own programming. Unlike Data, he clearly had the ability to harm others, as he fired a phaser at Moll and L'ak when they demanded their items back from him. Moll and L'ak eventually kill Fred, but there was no reason that should've put a permanent end to his Star Trek story.
I particularly loved seeing Fred solve the Romulan puzzle box and read the diary within it in mere seconds, as it reminded me of all the times Data did something similar on TNG.
Having Their Own Data Would Have Worked For Star Trek: Discovery
"How effervescent to meet new clients."
Despite Fred's death, I hoped that Dr. Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) and Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) would find a way to revive him. Surely they could have, with all the 32nd-century technology at their disposal. Data was brought back to life with the technology of the late 24th century, after all. Instead of simply downloading the information in Fred's brain, Discovery's crew could have revived him and gained access to all of his memories and knowledge. Fred would have made a fun addition to Star Trek: Discovery's cast and would have been another nice shoutout to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
While it's true Star Trek:Discovery season 5 already had a lot going on, introducing a character like Fred only to immediately abandon him felt like a tease. Even if he had only popped up in a few more scenes, Fred could have provided more insight into the events of the last six hundred years and explained his connection to the Soongs and Data. Discovery has always been about celebrating hope and family, and Fred would have been a nice way to bridge the gap between the TNG era and Discovery. While I enjoyed Star Trek: Discovery's fifth and final season overall, I wish we had gotten to spend more time with the very Data-like Fred.
