Paramount Pictures
Starring: Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Marina Sirtis
Also Starring: Monster, Brandy
Directed by: David Carson

Cat Out of the Bag Alert!  This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Generations meet when Starship Enterprise Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) enlists the aid of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) to help him stop a madman from destroying a star and killing millions.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): As in the television series, Data (Brent Spiner) owns an orange cat named Spot. Spot was played by a series of tabby cats in later episodes and is a ginger tabby in this film. Spot first appears when Data is talking to Geordi (Levar Burton) in Data’s quarters. Spot jumps up on the table and rubs against Geordi and then against Data. Data then sets the cat on the floor.

Late in the film Data is helping Troi (Marina Sirtis) look for survivors when the Enterprise crash lands. They discuss the emotion chip which Data has had installed. Troi finds a weak life force on her tricorder and Data hurriedly removes the debris from the area. To his surprise he finds Spot, dirty but otherwise unhurt.

Data hugs Spot and starts to cry. He is confused as to why he is crying when he is happy to see Spot and speculates the emotion chip may be malfunctioning. “I think it’s working perfectly,” Troi smiles.

Spot was played in the film by cat actors Monster (in the first scene) and Brandy (in the later scene) and were provided by Critters of the Cinema.

Final Mewsings: Cats bring out the emotions in many of us.

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