Brent Spiner has penned a darkly comedic version of himself in Fan Fiction
Brent Spiner, known for portraying the android Lt. Commander Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation to Star Trek: Picard, could have written a tell-all memoir about his life and memories from the set of TNG. Instead, the actor chose to take his talents in a different direction by writing what he called a “Mem-Noir.” While he uses real-life people in this book; they are fictionalized versions of themselves. But there is one fictional character that Star Trek fans might have an issue with being included in the way that she is—Lal.
TNG fans remember Lal as the daughter Data created in the season three episode, “The Offspring.” It was one of the most memorable stories of the third season, showing Data’s desire to become a parent and his sense of loss when he loses Lal. And Spiner has included her in “Fan Fiction,” but she’s not back as his innocent android daughter.
Brent Spiner chose to use Lal as a vastly different character in Fan Fiction
In Spiner’s novel, Lal is back, claiming to be Spiner’s deceased daughter, but she’s also a crazed fan who is trying to kill him. And that sets Spiner spinning into a weird world where he’s hiding out and calling in the FBI. Spiner acknowledges to Inverse that it might make a few fans unhappy. Lal was a loss the viewers didn’t take to very well so to use her in his book in a manner that doesn’t suit the way she was created could get a few fans a little irritated. But Spiner sees his book as entertainment.
"“I know it’s going to piss off people. But I think it will amuse a lot of people, too. And that’s really what I wanted to do; entertain people,” Spiner explains. “I didn’t want to write about my less-than-interesting life. I wanted to give them a piece of entertainment. So, I didn’t worry about it. That is sort of the way I see things — in a darkly comic sort of way.”"
Lal was one of those unforgettable characters whose time on the series was too short. Many fans wanted her to stay around to give Data an even better chance at growing and learning how to be both a parent and a little more human. But the writers chose to go in a different direction, and being that she was a fictional character, Spiner’s remake of her is fair game.
And Lal isn’t all this book is about. It’s inspired by true events and highlights some of Spiner’s interactions with fans in a truly wonderful way. So while viewers who rooted for Lal to remain aboard the Enterprise might not care for the path Spiner sent her down in his book, the bigger picture is that the book is a comedy that pays homage to fans and The Next Generation.