The Big Goodbye

Picard takes a break from duties by spending time in the Holodeck.

This is a fun episode that is a little bit disappointing but contains good character moments.

Being a film-noir fan I love the premise, but unfortunately the plot doesn't make the most of the opportunity to do something more entertaining. I am also a fan of the original series episode 'A Piece Of The Action' so I expected something equally as enjoyable, but unfortunately the plot doesn't give the characters as much to do.

That being said, it is amusing to hear Picard's perfect English diction tackling hard-boiled pulp dialogue, Data doing a great hoodlum voice and Dr Crusher dressed as a forties femme fatale.

Personally, I think it would have been brilliant if the writers had thrown Picard into a Holodeck adventure with little or no back and forth to the bridge and less reflection on the factors that make it a computer program.

The visuals are done well. There is decent art design during the Dixon Hill program, but personally I think these scenes would have been far better if shot in black and white.

Performances are all good particularly Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner and the guest actors such as Lawrence Tierney. This so far is my favourite Gates McFadden episode as her physical performance of awkwardness is very enjoyable.

While preparing for an intricate diplomatic mission, Picard takes some time to relax in the holodeck as his favourite literary character, private eye Dixon Hill. Of course, things go wrong which threatens not only the captain, Data, Crusher and a 'redshirt' but also the mission.

Finally, the series explores the potential of the holodeck by delivering a story that blends sci-fi Trek silliness with countless film noir homages. Great support from Tierney and Miller and plenty of comedy courtesy of Spiner's Data imitating every gangster movie you've ever seen. Not only does it ask questions as good sci-fi should but it's also a huge amount of fun.

Writing in 2021, it is great to see that I am not the only person taking a retrospective look at Star Trek, the Next Generation. When this series was first released in 1987, a little less than twenty years after the end of the Original Series, many people thought that, without Captain Kirk and his crew, it couldn't really be Star Trek. However, original creator Gene Roddenberry, was fully invested in the casting, writing and overall look of the new series, so let's see how it shaped up:

A superb Holodeck episode which further excursions into this ultimate fantasy world will struggle to match. The enthusiasm with which the writers, set dressers, costume designers and cast (both regular and guest) inhabit this stylised, 1940s detective "noir" is palpable.

We, the audience, bought into it then and buy into it now: the overall quality of the episode easily overcoming its absurder moments and some rather glaring plot holes.

Dr Crusher gets to do some real doctoring. She actually seems to care about the injured guest crewman Whalen (aka Mr Redshirt) and works hard to save him. If only other writers had done her character justice like this.

The philosophical question of what happens to these imaginary characters when the holosuite is switched off is a serious science fiction trope to which Patrick Stewart does justice with some serious actor-ing. He manages to suffuse the words "I don't know" with all the immensity of the infinite unknown. Of course, the writers get their own back on him in the final scene with one of most ridiculous pieces of long-winded alien gibberish ever set to page but his Shakespearian training means that the "Klaxon speech" is delivered perfectly.

(Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5)

And thus, it is born, the holodeck - which, outside of time travel, has got to be Star Trek's go-to plot device (who am I kidding, this is kind of a time travel story). But as cynical as that sounds, I'm sure this was pretty cool back in '88 before it became (almost) groan-inducing. And really, it's one of the reasons I dig the Enterprise-D. the wish-fulfillment possibilities are endless.

Anyhoo, stressed out while prepping for a diplomatic mission, Jean-Luc uses the holodeck to disappear into a detective novel; which means trading in a starship set for a dingy P.I. office, period suits (which everyone wears the hell out of) and '40s cliché dialogue. Naturally, the computer wigs out, a man is shot with no access to sickbay, and in walks the big bad guy (Lawrence Tierney, lending his signature terrifying toughness to the show).

Despite the mild silliness and the completely uneven pacing, I do like this episode. The pulp environment is a fun one and it does give Data an opportunity to overdo the period mannerisms while Dr. Crusher tries to blend in as a dame. And it's kinda nice to see Picard get really excited about something.

7/10

An excellent intro to the holosuite. The Big Goodbye was the first fun episode of TNG where they tried something that was different to Stae Trek. The cast, especially Brent Spiner, really ate up the material here. I am glad they brought in this idea and used it again in later episodes such as Elementary, Dear Data and A Fistful of Datas. Great stuff!