episode #12: The Big Goodbye

THE BIG GOODBYE episode #12; first season / Air Date: 1/11/88
written by Tracy Torme; Directed by Joseph L. Scanlan

This was the episode where we were given our first long look at the capabilities of the holodeck, the recreational device used by the TNG crew. We were given a glimpse of it in the first episode, Encounter at Farpoint; in this one, the entire episode revolves around it. Picard is a fan of old mystery thriller tales from the 1930s featuring detective Dixon Hill (like Sam Spade). Since he is becoming fatigued trying to memorize a greeting in an insectoid language, this seems a good opportunity to relax in a recreation of that period, especially since the program had just been upgraded.
Accompanying Picard as 'Dix' is Data (who has studied the period - he was imitating Sherlock Holmes a few episodes back), a ship's historian and Beverly Crusher. They become immersed in the old San Francisco setting, Picard getting grilled by a hostile cop (William Boyett) and enjoying it immensely. But that insect race conducts a long range scan of the ship and disrupts the holo program; it locks down and the safety settings are taken off. This is not good, because Dix and his companions are soon confronted by arch-villain Cyrus Redblock (Lawrence Tierney) and his henchmen; bullets are now lethal, not just make-believe.


It was also here that we got the strongest indication of a romantic connection between Picard and his doctor (Crusher).  Of course, this was the result of placing them together in an exotic (for them) setting, allowing their romantic instincts to rise up. I almost expected them to be dating in the next episode. But, this didn't happen - once back to the routine of the starship, it was all professional. Though, we would revisit the possibilities occasionally.
I didn't like this episode very much when I first watched it back in '88; it came across as somewhat slow to me & rather pointless, even with an intriguing menace & a more intriguing denouement. But, a funny thing happened in the past 20 years; I came to appreciate all those old films from the thirties & forties, the noirs, the b&w atmospheric big city-crime-suspensers. In this episode, by rights, a viewer gets immersed in the period along with the TNG characters. Watching them get their kicks from this rare form of entertainment is priceless (Data has a couple of hilarious lines, imitating the lexicon of the period); then, when things get serious, it's suitably grim.