Star Trek The Next Generation: Data was going to save JFK

Star Trek: The Next Generation was going to see Data do something silly.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s season five finale, “Time’s Arrow”, Data finds himself time traveling back to a point when Guinan was on Earth, far before the events of Star Trek: Enterprise. Taking place in the 19th century, Data gets a chance to do the fish-out-of-water story, only during the gold rush of California.

The idea was to end the episode on a cliffhanger to assure fans that the show hadn’t been canceled. Despite reassurance to the contrary, fans believed the Next Generation was being canceled in favor of Deep Space Nine, and the two-parter that ended season five, and began season six was their way of reassuring fans they were fine.

This meant the time travel idea had to be something that stuck and could carry over. Of course, this meant that a running gag nearly came to fruition.

Data saves the President.

According to Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, the idea was to have Data go back to the 1960s and save John F. Kennedy from being assassinated.

(Via Memory Alpha)

"While debating the setting, it became a running joke among the staff that Data would go back in time to save John F. Kennedy from assassination. Coincidentally, the producers received a spec script with a very similar premise only two weeks after this episode’s script was completed"

The idea is rather silly and frankly laughable but had it been played for laughs, it may have worked. Regardless, the idea needed some significant weight and it appeared no one was willing to write it in a way that would be interesting; as any attempt to make it comical or over the top may have angered too many people.

Ultimately the version of the episode came about, and Data ended up going back in time and meeting Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) instead. They can’t all be winners.