Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) The Big Goodbye (1988) User Reviews

A Newtonian truism which you've obviously neglected

[snoozejonc · 6/10 · 19 May 2021]

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.

Saved by the Beverly Crusher scenes.

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 2 March 2021]

One thing is for certain in star trek ----- The holodeck is like driving a car before seatbelts and airbags ---- There is a strong possibility of facing a life threatening situation at any moment.

Star Trek has had some masterful holodeck episodes and this episode opened to the door to give the writers a creative outlet to tell interesting stories. This episode doesn't leave much impact ---- Nothing to be gained by looking at the story itself so we are left with admiring the performances throughout the episode. I enjoyed the 1940's atmosphere.

The shining star of this episode is Dr. Beverly Crusher looking absolutely stunning. We also got a great sexual tension scene between Beverly and Picard talking about going back to the office to make out but that was sadly derailed by the 3rd wheel of 'pop culture expert' and Data tagging along.

It seems to be a common thread of season 1 episodes laying ground work for better constructed and executed episodes further in the series. Call it a world building episode perhaps?

I'll give it a 7 for Beverly Crusher being absolutely smoking hot as a 1940's glamor movie star.

Star Trek Noir

[robert_s01 · 7/10 · 18 September 2008]

"The big goodbye" introduces us to the first holodeck adventure, in this case Captain Picard posing as private investigator Dixon Hill. This episodes creates some sort of standard pattern, repeated several times on TNG as well as DS 9 and Voyager. After entering the holodeck something goes wrong and the characters have to deal with the program under different circumstances beyond playing a game (represented by the failure of the holodeck's safety program).

This concept is used to expand Star Trek's possibility and enabling a kind of genre-mix. Picard's Dixon Hill stories are examples of 1940s crime fiction and their representation on the screen are referred to as Film Noir often having the stereotype antihero in the lead (see for example Chandler's Marlowe stories or Polanski's all time classic "Chinatown"). Star Trek never focuses on the story (mostly it's a simple "how-do-we-get-out-of-here" scenario) but enables the actors to take a different approach to their characters. Those Holodeck "games" are commonly used for recreation and reflect the private interests of the crew members. Therefore the technical aspect is always neglected and from that point of view the stories are never sound (but did Star Trek ever had a technical, scientific point to it, I mean besides some utopic concepts?).

"The big goodbye" shows a relaxed Patrick Stewart, a McFadden that hardly ever looked better in a Star Trek episode (at least the early ones) and Data has some great scenes, too (although I find it hard to believe that pulling the lamp's plug out of the wall would have really surprised him, for the fact that he'd done research on that period and its customs). Wesley continues turning peaceful Trekkies into potential murderers (why didn't they take him to the holodeck and let the gangsters finish him off?) but all in all this one's fun...

Holodeck episode

[russem31 · 9 April 2006]

ST:TNG:13 - "The Big Goodbye" (Stardate: 41997.7) - this is the 13th episode to go into production but the 12th one aired on TV. It's also the first episode to really go in depth into what the holodeck can do (although seen in two episodes before this including the pilot episode "Encounter At Farpoint) - in this case, you see Picard playing what will become his favorite character, that of 1940s detective Dixon Hill in many episodes (and this character will have a welcome cameo in the feature film Star Trek: First Contact). Also, the part at the beginning where Troi teaches Picard the exact greeting at beginning of film to say to an alien species, is just like in the feature film Star Trek: Insurrection (also at the beginning when Picard is coached by Troi when he is about to meet the new alien delegates). Oh and watch out for Dr. Crusher swallowing gum!

TNG's Take on Noir

[Samuel-Shovel · 6/10 · 13 June 2019]

In "The Big Goodbye" the Enterprise is en route for a diplomatic mission to make contact with an insectoid race that has previously had issues with the Federation. This race is know to be touchy regarding their customs and language so Picard must study up on what to do and say.

To give his mind a break from his rigorous studies, Troi suggests Picard spend some time in the holodeck. It has recently received a few upgrades and Picard is excited to test it out. He chooses the time period of Dixon Hill, a noir-era San Francisco private eye. He brings Data, Crusher, and the ship's historian along with him as well.

A pervasive scan of the Enterprise by the Jarada race causes the holodeck to malfunction. Not only can the bridge no longer contact the holodeck inhabitants, but they can't find them inside to beam them out nor can they break open the doors. Inside, the crew members are caught up in some kind of noir plot. Picard is interrogated by the cops. Back in Dixon's office, the crew is accosted by a mafioso who thinks Dixon has something he's looking for. The historian is shot and starts to actually die. The doors won't even appear for them to escape. Meanwhile on the outside, Geordi and Wesley try to reboot the system while Riker stalls for the Jarada.

In the end, Picard & Co. are able to escape the holodeck after the mafioso tries to leave the holodeck for the hallway of the Enterprise and fades away into nothing. Picard's interaction with the Jarada goes smoothly and everyone cheers.

Holodeck episodes are always a bit clunky. So many weird coincidences and happenstances must occur for the stakes to be high. Here the holodeck gets so jacked up that the crew outside can't even figure out where Picard is to beam him out. They also can't open the doors manually without risking the chance that everything inside will revert to the atomic level.

All this is highly convenient for the plot of this episode to remain in the noir-era holodeck. Meanwhile outside, Riker and the rest of the bridge crew basically twiddle their thumbs and wait for engineering to figure it out. It's also convenient that the Jarada refuse to talk to anyone but the captain, causing a ticking clock on how long the Enterprise can go without the captain.

So yes, the plot here is a bit if a problem but the episode still has its moments. I love noir movies and books so a genre-crossing episode like this is right up my alley. I probably like this episode more than I should. My favorite scene was where Picard and Data are absolutely charmed by the henchman who threatens to shoot them, not yet realizing the gravity of their situation.

This is the first episode where we really play around with the holodeck for a good chunk of the runtime. The bridge crew doesn't really have a lot to do while their captain is stuck in there. That's unfortunate. I think a better secondary plot could have really beefe this episode up. A nice space battle that Riker must command while his captain's away could have been just what the doctor ordered.

Still, not a terrible episode. It's a nice change of pace from the standard episodes of Season 1.

Hello Holodeck!

[gritfrombray-1 · 10/10 · 1 August 2007]

This episode introduced the Holodeck to the TNG world. The Jarada have to be contacted and a precise greeting must be delivered or it would greatly insult them. A tired Picard decides to take a trip into the Holodeck and a wonderful adventure begins. The settings are superb and almost movie like. Alas, the Jarada probe sent shortly thereafter damages the holodeck and all it's safety devices stop working. Picard and now guests must outwit the mobsters of gangland 40s America and return to the Jarada rendezvous. Picard greets the Jarada correctly and a new day dawns between Humanity and the Jarada. This gem of a first season episode set the holodeck for many interesting and unusual adventures to be had there

The Big Goodbye

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 4 June 2012]

Fun diversion from the norm allows the Picard character to have some much deserved fun as he uses the Holodeck to recreate a 40s crime detective hero, Dixon Hill, while the Enterprise is on a course to rendezvous with a class of aliens with a unique language. This species expects the greeting from their visitor's top ranking officer to be pronounced perfectly without a single syllable out of place. Their scan of the Enterprise, a surprise Commander Riker and the crew weren't expecting, causes the Holodeck Picard, historian Whalen, Data, and Dr. Crusher are in to malfunction, leaving them trapped in the program. Even worse, Dixon's arch nemesis, criminal kingpin, Cyrus Redblock (the perfectly cast Lawrence Tierney) demands to know where his special object of substantial worth is located (a homage to the Maltese Falcon), showing up uninvited and at the most inopportune time for the Captain. Cyrus Redblock's trigger-happy gunsel, Felix Leech (Harvey Jason, with a voice mimicking Peter Lorre) shoots Whalen (David Selburg), and the bullet is real enough to cause massive internal bleeding. Redblock promises to shoot Beverly Crusher if Dixon doesn't give him what he's after. Picard, thinking on his feet, might have another proposition, by trying to convince Redblock that he's actually from another time and place! While Picard and company are stranded in the Holodeck program, Wesley and Geordi attempt to locate the malfunction within the computer and fix it so that it releases them. Cyrus and Felix desire to visit Picard's world, not knowing what's in store for them. "The Big Goodbye" is a Holodeck-themed episode that gives us a tour of all it can do; this episode establishes the breakthroughs in the Holodeck technology, with Picard jovial and enthusiastically informing his Bridge crew of its many wonders. This is also an episode that lets us return to a former world, certainly of fiction, yet including real things quite alien to the Enterprise crew members who trip to the Dixon Hill era of American life. Relics to them (cars, talks of baseball, newspapers, wardrobe of that particular period, the lingo, etc.), are brought to life, the 40s period beautifully presented for our amusement. The outside Enterprise drama, a rush against time before the Enterprise meets the rendezvous point, is less important even though the episode tries to build suspense in Picard's absence within the Holodeck. Seeing Picard (and, especially Data) interact with 40s caricatures is quite funny (such as Data's speaking of DiMaggio's streak ending to the Indians as newspaper salesman Dick Miller (!) scoffs at such crazy talk (Miller delivers those lines as only he can; a cameo quite inspired and memorable), and this episode is certain to be an audience-pleaser much in the same fashion as the Sherlock Holmes-themed episode "Elementary, My Dear Data."

Who Invented This Thing?

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 27 July 2014]

The Holodeck is certainly one of the most interesting entities in science fiction history. I guess if we can accept warp drive and all its implications, we can also accept a programmed fantasy room. I don't recall ever hearing even a theory of how this thing works and how individuals can program it to live their every wish. One can only imagine what sorts of programs one with a little bit of a jaded imagination could cook up. It certainly allows for some interesting avocations as well as being a practical tool. In this episode, Picard ends up trapped in the Holodeck as he tries to relax during intense negotiations with an insect-like race. The thing flat out malfunctions, leaving him unable to escape from a 1940's gangster program (in the Sam Spade tradition). Data and Wesley are given the task of figuring out what is going on. The Holodeck does allow the characters to expand their ship-bound situation and spread their wings. One question one may ask is why Picard is fooling around with this when he has such a serious meeting set up that may change the course of history. Oh well, picky, picky, picky.

Hammett and Chandler by way of Roddenberry

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 28 April 2016]

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

Good intro to holodeck

[rcyoung-02426 · 7/10 · 24 April 2023]

Some of the best episodes of TNG are the holodeck episodes. While this episode provides a great introduction to it, there are quite a few glaring flaws that prevent this episode from being a must see.

The Enterprise is sent on a diplomatic mission where Captain Picard has to master a difficult language to ensure that Starfleet and the new race establish cordial relations. However, he is stressed and tired from all of his efforts.

In need of some rest and relaxation, he enters the holodeck, where he chooses to engage in his favorite program, a noirish thriller, where he plays a detective named Dixon Hill, in 1940's San Francisco.

Unfortunately for him, this world is turned upside down, after the enterprise is scanned by aliens., leading to a malfunction within the normally safe holodeck that can potentially injure or kill Picard.

While this episode is a ton of fun, the problem with it, is that there are quite a few glaring plot holes. I've never really liked the idea of the holodeck safety being turned off. Seems a bit absurd. Like if someone programmed my XBOX to kill me everytime I died in a video game.

Still, it is a fun episode, and Lawrence Tierney, who was in many film noirs over the course of his career, also stars in it. I'd give it a recommend.

Two firsts

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 17 May 2020]

In this TNG story two firsts occur. The Holodeck breaks down for the first time and we also learn of Captain Picard's taste for 20th century pulp detective fiction and is favorite was San Francisco based Jason Steel.

But a probe from an alien race they are supposed to be making contact with puts a few things out of whack on The Enterprise including the Holodeck and Patrick Stewart,Gates McFadden, and Brent Spiner are trapped with Holo safeguards released.

Good thing Dr. Crusher was one of the people trapped because of the lifted safeguards. And Data is quite the curiosity to say the least.

That Holodeck isn't well maintained on the Enterprise.

Awful Holodeck Episode #1

[anarchistica · 3/10 · 17 March 2020]

Ever wondered what i would be like if some of the crew of the Enterprise got stuck on the holodeck in a gangster program? Me neither. TOS had a bunch of these awful "planet of this week's leftover costumes" episodes and later series unfortunately have them as well. It's just not very interesting to watch a collection of clichés.

Invasion of the English Student!

[Rizar · 14 September 2009]

'The Big Goodbye' emphasizes a detective story more so than any of its embeddings in the Star Trek world. It has dark humor, good acting, subtlety, and interesting character development. It unluckily aired after three mediocre episodes, so it gets on my nerves with its lack of SF and tangential storyline going into the 'rabbit hole' far away from Star Trek.

I liked the detective story for its own sake since I'm a huge 'Maltese Falcon' and film noir fan. The dark humor is witty: 'oh I'd like to be interrogated under the lights; why does he get to have all the fun' (from Dr. Crusher; these are my favorite types of lines in the episode).

The plot: Picard's next mission is to try to initiate diplomatic relations with the Jarada, a touchy and formal race that requires a precise greeting given in their language. If the Captain makes the slightest error, then the Jarada will take offense and refuse any further diplomatic negotiations.

But Dr. Crusher recommends to Picard that he take his mind off perfecting the difficult greeting. He likes the idea and decides to go play make-believe in the holodeck room, using his favorite Dixon Hill reality hologram program. During his game, the Jarada scan the ship and create a series of malfunctions that lock the Captain in a Holodeck room -- allowing him to use most of the episode playing Dixon Hill.

So my take on "The Big Goodbye" (Episode 11, Season 1, Air Date 01/11/88, Star-date 41997.7) is that it misuses Star Trek themes to essentially employ a detective story for most of the episode, giving it an odd invasive quality into the personal time of the characters.

I noticed a few things of interest to me and the Star Trek world:

(1) Picard notes that the Holodeck is often used for crew training and relaxation. I'd rather see crew training and SF, and not personal Captain play time.

(2) I noticed the limited way in which Data learned all of the Dixon Hill stories; he had the computer spin through all the pages. We also see his brother learn from the ship library in the next episode, 'Datalore', in a similar way. So Data apparently doesn't have all of the ship's library of information already in his neural net and he doesn't have Internet-type connections to the ship computer library.

(3) I also noted that a fake bullet caused real blood to flow from a ship historian (Mr. Whalen). I don't buy that a hologram bullet could puncture skin, so this goes to show that much of the "hologram deck" is actually a recreated world of physical characters and substance (perhaps programmed and designed from teleport and food dispensing type technology). It seems they violate the disconnect from holograms and physical people, so it's not really much of a hologram room at all: it's a teleport/materialization room (with a little hologram technology around the edges)! If so, how could a computer control safety settings and prevent a metal bullet from harming you? Does it usually create Styrofoam bullets?

But I'd rather Star Trek stories arise more naturally and through the context of the Star Trek world, and not from out of context reasons, such as 'let's do a western', 'lets toss in Sherlock Holmes', 'let's do a film noir theme'. Sometimes the holodeck really works, as in '11001001', but sometimes it just allows the writers a way to seemingly broaden the appeal of the show and turn it into a side quest or a short film festival.

I wish the Enterprise crew would spend their personal time in the holodeck in private and didn't allow us to spy on them; if NASA did this it would bring shame and dishonor on science, civilization, and common decency. Sometimes the holodeck side quests really work, if they have strong SF elements. But this episode was more like a week off Star Trek for me, as if an English student took over the show!

A somewhat entertaining, but ultimately disappointing episode.

[tannerie · 7/10 · 23 February 2023]

I just finished watching this episode for the first time today, as I'm watching TNG through for the first time since I was a child and while it has some interesting moments, it's ultimately a disappointing and very uneven episode...

It feels like the actors shot or rehearsed a lot of scenes that we didn't see and most of the more interesting characters in the holodeck were largely underutilised.

Indeed it's strange that the main characters and overall story didn't establish that the story and World in the holodeck only exists and continues as long as there's a person in there, "playing" though it, giving it a point to exist and continue, like when we play games in real life!

And so pauses when there's no one present to experience it.

But instead, the holodeck's seems to carry on regardless without anyone being present at all!

For example, Picard as Dixon, meets a woman, interacts with her no further, then upon returning, reads in a newspaper that she is dead and he says, "Damn I should have helped her!", when the World didn't give him time to!

The reason for the malfunction then was very silly and arbitrary - instead of a random scan causing the trouble in the holodeck, it would have been better if the "historian" had instead been the engineer who upgraded it and we saw them doing something wrong - then when he got shot, it would have been much better if Doctor Crusher had had to bring him to a 1930's hospital in the holodeck and has to save him with "barbaric and old fashioned " surgery!

Upon which being saved by Doctor Crusher, he should have then had to fix whatever was wrong with the holodeck, rather than it being the crew outside who released them...

While the detective warned Picard not to continue working with the lead mobster, but when they met, much too late in the episode, he acted like they'd never met before!

In particular at the end, when the detective asked "will my wife and kids still exist when you're gone?!" and Captain Picard says, "I really don't know!", it would have been much better if he said "Don't worry, they and you will be fine and you won't even know I was gone!

You'll all be waiting here for when I return for us all to have many more adventures together!"

While the diplomatic mission with the alien species was so brief, it might as well not have been there, to in particular leave more time to flesh out the story happening in the holodeck!

All in, as said, it felt a very incomplete and rushed episode which I wanted much more from and is probably the most disappointing episode I've watched so far 😯😐😀🤘 .

Another rather strange thing was hearing British actor Patrick Stewart, playing a British/French character say Zee instead of Zed, when practicing the alien greeting!

Indeed I know Star Trek is a U. S. based series of films and TV shows, but I'm sure that even in 400 years that Europeans won't be speaking in U. S. English, so European people speaking English within the show should still be using British English!

Where's a 19th century fiction expert when you need one?

[amusinghandle · 6/10 · 25 December 2023]

With the enterprise having 1000 + people aboard --- I guess it is no surprise that they have a 19th century fiction expert aboard. You never know when that could prove useful.

I wouldn't call this episode good but the distinctive sets / costumes / language of the 1940's is a welcome change of pace.

The dixon hill plot is pretty bare bones. He's a detective, right? Shouldn't he being doing actual detective work to resolve this?

Credit to Patrick Stewart for going all in on making those ridiculous noises at the end of the episode. That's the stiff upper lipped british performer professionalism we all have come to expect.

Bev Crusher is the best part of this one with her comedy scene/timing --- I was generally worried about her falling.... is it easy to fake falling when wearing high heels?

"It was a nice place to visit,... but I wouldn't want to die there."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 2 September 2023]

With Next Generation there was no need to travel back to Earth's past as in the original series story, "City on the Edge of Forever", or travel to a distant planet whose inhabitants mimicked 1920's gangsters like in 'A Piece of the Action'. All you had to do was visit the holodeck and punch in your preference for an out of time adventure. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) takes the plunge in this one, hoping he could find some relaxation before attempting to placate an insect-like race making contact with the Enterprise-D some twenty years after being disgraced by an improperly nuanced statement. It's a more or less fun story overall, made amusing by Data's (Brent Spiner) attempt to mimic Cagney's shoulder shrug and trying to emulate 1940's gangster speak. I couldn't reconcile how crew member Whalen (David Selburg) might have died by taking a bullet from henchman Felix Leech (Harvey Jason), especially when later it was demonstrated how Cyrus Redblock (Lawrence Tierney) and Leech both disintegrated when they left the confines of the holodeck simulation. But I guess one isn't supposed to think about stuff like that. I find myself in agreement with a handful of other reviewers here who felt that Gates McFadden absolutely 'crushes' it with her femme fatale portrayal, leaving almost nothing to the imagination as to where her relationship with the Captain would like to go. It was nuanced in earlier episodes, but this one takes it to another level. Eventually, Picard makes good with the insect mind Jarada and all's well back on board the Enterprise, making this one of the better episodes so far in the series up to this point.

Not the holodeck!!!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 10 November 2014]

While I am sure that holodeck episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Gereration" were pretty popular (since they repeated this gimmick in many episodes of "Deep Space 9"), I always hated them as they never really seemed to fit in with the other shows and seemed very contrived. Some, like this one, were bad--and some were horrible (such as the Moriarty and baseball team episodes in both shows).

Picard is supposed to do some complicated diplomatic mission with some annoying insect people. The problem is that a holodeck malfunction keeps him trapped with a few other cast members in a pulp fiction novel. In many ways it's like a Raymond Chandler novel--which has ZERO to do with a sci-fi show! Some people might have enjoyed it--I would much rather see film noir OR sci-fi--not both at the same time. Pretty dumb and unfortunately the first of many.

By the way, if you do watch, note Laurence Tierney as the heavy and Dick Miller as a newspaper salesman.

more of a small hello

[snarky-trek-reviews · 4/10 · 12 February 2021]

An overworked Picard sings the praises of the holodeck as though it's a revolutionary piece of technology that is not common place in the 24th century. Perhaps those aboard 1701-D are more advanced than any other in the quadrant. Whatever the case, Picard invites Dr. Crusher to join him along with an extra we've never met before and wont meet again just incase someone gets shot when the holodeck safeties fail. Data tags along as well which leads to a very well executed sequence (the highlight of the episode in fact) in which Data moves a lamp from one side of the room to another.

Shenanigans ensue both inside and outside the holodeck but never fear, Wesley Crusher will save the day. Even LeVar Burton looks irritated when he's forced to pass what should be his moment along to that not-quite-Starfleet-uniform-wearing twerp. Turns out that if Wesley shuts off the power or whatever everyone inside the holodeck might vanish. Riker doesn't think too hard about the fact that these new fangled holodecks are basically a death trap and gives the go ahead. After a brief snow storm and some holographic self awareness, Picard heads to the bridge to deliver his small hello. Off to the next adventure.

Verdict: Forgettable

A Senior Trekker writes.........................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 26 December 2021]

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)

Tired, predictable cliche: somebody left off the "safeguards"

[nanonta · 5/10 · 12 December 2021]

Deep Space 9, after several seasons, finally had a reasonable plot explaining why they could escape from the holideck but did not want to: If they did the Vic Fontaine (James Darren) character would be lost. Earlier Deep Space 9 holideck/holosuites plots were about as predictable as the TNG holideck plots which used the same trick again and again.