Episode #138: Ship in a Bottle
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Episode #138: Ship in a Bottle
SHIP IN A BOTTLE (6th season; episode #138)
Directed by Alexander Singer; writer: Rene Echevarria
This episode is a direct sequel to the 2nd season episode Elementary, Dear Data, which introduced the Moriarty hologram. In that older episode, La Forge had instructed the computer to create a mystery which would confound even Data; in response, Moriarty (the fictional foe of Sherlock Holmes) came to be - a program which became self-aware (ah, so that's how it's done). The Moriarty hologram is so smart it even managed to threaten the Enterprise back then and knew that a 'real' world existed outside the holodeck. His goal is to live in that real world; knowing that he exists inside a holodeck was intolerable for him. Fortunately, Picard was able to convince Moriarty (Daniel Davis) to step back and be stored in the computer's memory until 24th century scientists could figure out what to do with him, er, it.
Moriarty returns here, materializing while Lt. Barclay (Dwight Schultz) is looking into a glitch in a hologram program. Moriarty is upset that Picard had apparently forgotten about him and left him in a kind of limbo inside the computer; he demands to speak to Picard. All is already not what it seems, as Moriarty is able to materialize inside the holodeck even after the program is commanded to turn off. Anyway, Picard, Data and Barclay meet with Moriarty inside the holodeck; Picard explains to Moriarty that his situation has been looked into but no one has any answers yet; Picard also points out that Moriarty, being a hologram, still cannot leave the holodeck - if he tries, he will dematerialize. But, Moriarty defiantly proclaims that his mind will triumph over matter; he steps out into the ship's corridor and, to the astonishment of the three officers, continues to exist. "I think, therefore I am!" Indeed.
It's very fitting that an episode which features the villain from the classic mysteries of yesterday is itself a great mystery. How is it that Moriarty can exist outside the holodeck? (I won't reveal it here, for those who haven't seen this). Needless to say, there's a great sleight of hand here and Moriarty proves to be as brilliant as ever. He manages to gain control of the ship again - a dangerous move because the Enterprise is near an area where 2 planets are about to collide - and demands that the crew figure out a way to also make it safe for his hologram love (Stephanie Beacham) to leave the holodeck. Nothing is as it appears to be as the story proceeds to a conclusion that leaves the audience with a final tantalizing thought - but that would be telling.
TNG Trivia: this episode has the longest pre-credits teaser, at well over 6 minutes. The self-aware hologram here is a precursor to The Doctor hologram on the ST Voyager series.
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