We’ve seen plenty of actors using Twitter for promotion or communication with fans. Brent Spiner may be the first one to use it as a minimalist novella.

Novella might be the wrong word for it, but I’m having a hard time coming up with the right one. What do you call a fictional autobiographical account of a washed up actor whose only gigs are Bar Mitzvah appearances as his old character Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation, who is also getting embroiled in some kind of noir-tinged murder mystery, which is told 140 characters at a time?

Spiner’s tweet odyssey started on March 28th, with the entry “I’m thinking of going into rehab. I’m not addicted to anything, but I think it’s good way to jumpstart an acting career.”

While supposedly coasting through rehab, he awakens from a delusion to discover that he has been committed to a mental institution following a breakdown at a Trek convention. He escapes by bribing a guard with an autographed Galoob action figure of himself, but finds that with the market crash, his house is foreclosed and his assets are in shambles.

He moves to a hotel under the pseudonym of Norman and finds out about the new Star Trek movie. (”He did tell me the new ST movie is already in the can. Guess I’m not in it. Directed by a Mr. Abraham or something. Try again tomorrow.”)

At the hotel, he meets an actress, Amber, and her lesbian lover, Bobbette or Bob for short. He takes a job as a driver for Harry, Bob’s octogenarian husband, and promptly becomes entangled in a love quadrangle between the three.

Meanwhile, hints of intrigue pop up when Brent finds a strange and threatening note in Amber’s apartment, but first he has to audition for the role of a dead body.

“On the floor in the audition. Pretended to be dead. Tried to clear my mind of all thought. Images of Amber. Became aroused. Not good.”

“Called Monty for audition feedback. ‘You didn’t get the part. They said you were not believable. That you were wooden.’ I have to agree.”

Oh, Data. I see you’ve finally mastered the concept of humor.

Updates on the story come several times a day on Spiner’s twitter feed. I’m kind of hoping it gets optioned into a made-for-TV movie.

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