Star Trek's Lore Was Originally A Female Android (And A Love Interest For Data)

In the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Datalore" (January 18, 1988), Trekkies were introduced to Lore (Brent Spiner), functionally Data's evil twin. Data (also Spiner) was said to have been built by a cyberneticist named Dr. Noonien Soong, and he had previously assumed he was the only android of his kind, but the investigation of a ruined human colony revealed the pieces of Lore, hidden away in a cave. Lore, when reassembled, reveals that he is emotional and even aggressive, the opposite of Data. He also claims that Data was built first as a prototype, making Lore the more perfect model. It would be revealed later that Lore was actually the imperfect prototype, and Data was the improved model. 

Lore only appeared in four episodes of "Next Generation," but he was always up to no good, either conspiring with a massive, planet-eating crystalline entity or leading a religious cult of Borg outcasts. Data always aspired to be a moral human being. Lore didn't seem to have morals programmed into his brain. Brent Spiner did an exemplary job of playing both parts, often within the same scene. 

In Larry Nemecek's amazing sourcebook "The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion," the author describes the development of "Datalore," noting that it was perhaps one of the most altered episodes of "NextGen in the show's history. The initial concept for "Datalore" was dramatically different, and it underwent many, many rewrites before Spiner suggested that Data be given an evil twin. The initial concept, it seems, was that Lore was to be a female android, and wasn't going to be Data's sibling. She was to be his android lover. 

It was director Rob Bowman who finally got the episode to screen.

"Datalore" was part of NextGen's first season, which was a notoriously turbulent time during production. A lot of scripts were being changed at the last minute. Some scripts were being changed after they had already been approved (specifically by Gene Roddenberry's famously scummy personal lawyer Leonard Maizlish). Executive producer Rick Berman recalls the tumult, and Nececek noted: 

"By the end of season 1, this episode was being cited by Berman as the one that changed the most from its inception. Lore was originally a female android, a non-lookalike love interest for Data. Her job was to go out and repair dangerous situations, à la Red Adair, the oil well firefighter. It was Spiner who suggested the old 'evil twin' concept." 

Paul Neil "Red" Adair was a famous firefighter, known for putting out burning oil wells. 

Nemecek provides no additional information as to what Data's firefighter android lover would have been like, what her name might have been, or if the makers of "Next Generation" intended for her to be a regular part of the cast. "Next Generation" wouldn't see another android character beyond Data and Lore until the episode "The Offspring" (March 12, 1990) wherein Data built his own android child, a young woman he named Lal (Hallie Todd). 

Nemecek also noted that "Datalore" swapped spots with the show's previous episode — "The Big Goodbye" — on the shooting schedule, freeing up an extra day of shooting. The eight-day schedule allowed director Rob Bowman and Brent Spiner to workshop the episode and get the script polished. It also helped that Spiner played both roles so well. Despite all the dramatic changes, "Datalore" emerged fully formed. For a first-season episode, it's remarkably strong. 

Nemecek's book also pointed out that one of the original ideas for Data was that he was constructed by an unnamed alien species. This species, described in an early director's handbook as being "Earth-Asian," was said to have implanted Data's brain with memories of his birth colony, shortly before its annihilation. In this estimation, Data was to be played by an Asian actor (Kelvin Han Lee was in final consideration for the role), and have explicit memories of his homeworld. Indeed, he was originally written to carry around the memories of the alien colonists as a basis for his personality. That idea was eventually dropped.  

It wasn't until after Spiner was cast that his white skin and yellow eyes were decided on; some early makeup tests saw Spiner as having pink skin and trying out orange eyes. 

It's been said that Data was a creative amalgam of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) from the original "Star Trek," the 1971 TV series "The Questor Tapes," and the unused Vulcan character Xon from the unmade "Star Trek: Phase II." 

When the idea that Data had been built by aliens was abandoned, a second origin was invented. One in which Data was constructed by Starfleet Command, specifically to serve as an officer on board a starship. The ultimate origin, that he was a unique pet project of a rogue genius, was perhaps the best choice. It allowed Data to be isolated as a character, unsure if he'd ever find other androids like him. It would be dramatically boring if Starfleet could churn out a whole army of Datas on a whim. It also gave Data's character some mystery, a mystery that was beautifully explored with the Lore episodes, and with several other stories that talked about his origin.