episode #12: The Big Goodbye
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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.
But, since this is Star Trek TNG, this poses other tantalizing questions by the end, questions on the nature of reality - all too rare in this first season, but anticipating the later ones. This is actually a precursor to the idea of the Matrix films and similar other ones (The 13th Floor) - if computer-created characters think themselves to be real, then who is to say they aren't? There was also an even earlier episode segment of the new Twilight Zone series, Dreams For Sale. I was a bit concerned over one point, that the 4 real characters stuck inside the holodeck were in danger of vanishing with the holo ones; this now strikes me as a very dangerous form of entertainment.
One quibble - Data, being who he is - an android - should not have been stymied by the threat of revolvers, but then we wouldn't have those minutes of suspense. I did find all the performances to be very entertaining - those by the regulars and especially by Tierney as the Sydney Greenstreet-styled smooth baddie and Harvey Jason as his stooge, Leech. Watch also for Dick Miller in one scene as a holo-newspaper vendor. BoG's Score: 8 out of 10
TNG Trivia: Picard would briefly return to this private eye character Dixon Hill (in the holodeck) in the episode Clues, 4th season, and in the TNG film, First Contact (96), where-in he purposely turned off the safety protocols again to deal with some Borg drones. The imaginary character of Hill was originally meant to be named Dixon Steele, but producers were worried about the similarity to the TV series/character called Remington Steele and demanded that writer Torme change it.
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.
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.
But, since this is Star Trek TNG, this poses other tantalizing questions by the end, questions on the nature of reality - all too rare in this first season, but anticipating the later ones. This is actually a precursor to the idea of the Matrix films and similar other ones (The 13th Floor) - if computer-created characters think themselves to be real, then who is to say they aren't? There was also an even earlier episode segment of the new Twilight Zone series, Dreams For Sale. I was a bit concerned over one point, that the 4 real characters stuck inside the holodeck were in danger of vanishing with the holo ones; this now strikes me as a very dangerous form of entertainment.
One quibble - Data, being who he is - an android - should not have been stymied by the threat of revolvers, but then we wouldn't have those minutes of suspense. I did find all the performances to be very entertaining - those by the regulars and especially by Tierney as the Sydney Greenstreet-styled smooth baddie and Harvey Jason as his stooge, Leech. Watch also for Dick Miller in one scene as a holo-newspaper vendor. BoG's Score: 8 out of 10
Last edited by BoG on Thu Feb 05, 2015 6:41 pm; edited 5 times in total
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