Stardate 41997.7
Captain
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is over-worked and over-stressed, preparing
to vocalize an important greeting to the powerful -- and perfectionist --
insect race known as the Jarada.
One
mispronounced syllable in his oratory could spark an interstellar incident.
Indeed, such a mishap has occurred in the past.
Counselor
Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) suggests that the Captain should relax for a while,
to relieve the pressure. Picard acquiesces and visits the holodeck to
participate in a holo-novel based on the 1940s private detective, Dixon Hill. There, he can participate in a Dixon Hill “mystery.”
After
a brief visit to the holodeck, Captain Picard returns to tell his command crew
about the vivid experience. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Dr. Beverly
Crusher (Gates McFadden) and ship’s historian Whalen (David Selburg) go into
the adventure/mystery too, all appropriately dressed to the time period.
A
scan from the approaching Jarada, however, causes a malfunction on the
holodeck, trapping the Captain and the others inside, and terminating the
safety protocols. Now, their lives are actually in danger from a 1940’s ganger
Cyrus Redblock (Lawrence Tierney).
Captain
Picard must outmaneuver this nemesis, escape from the holodeck, and deliver a
pitch-perfect oratory in time for the looming rendezvous.
No
complaints from me this week.
“The
Big Goodbye” is an unequivocally strong and successful episode of Star
Trek: The Next Generation (1987 – 1994). The episode won a Peabody
Award in 1987, and an Emmy for Best Costume Design as well.
More
importantly, for our purposes, “The Big Goodbye” is funny and charming, and in
its finale, it actually proves touching and thought-provoking. The subplot featured also begins a theme or
in-universe “thread” that is carried all the way through the franchise, into Star Trek:
Voyager (1995 – 2001). That thread, of course, involves the nature of “photonic”
life forms, or holograms.
Are
they programs, or are they sentient? Do they have souls? Here, we see the first
exploration of that notion.
But
before “The Big Goodbye” reaches that point, the performers and writer, Tracy
Torme, have a ball playing up “the fish out of water” dynamic that made the
recent Star Trek: IV: The Voyage Home (1986) such a hit at the box
office. There, as you recall, Kirk and his crew had trouble adjusting to 1980’s
San Francisco, and the results were often hilarious as they attempted to “blend
in.”
Here, The Next Generation cast not
only gets to dress up in film noir
gear, but play the humor straight-faced, as the characters fail to understand
all the nuances of this 20th century era.
Some
of the funniest and most romantic moments in the episode involve the
often-underutilized Dr. Crusher. Here, she gets to sample chewing-gum (!), and
ask – naively -- when Picard is hauled into the police station, why everyone
isn’t being interrogated. She wants in on the fun.
Another
great moment involving her character sees Captain Picard and Crusher first
meeting in the Dixon Hill universe, and in romantic close-up framing to boot. Here,
Jean-Luc notes that Crusher wears the clothes of the era “well.”
And
indeed she does.
This
is the kind of genuine, compelling character chemistry that the series often
lacked in its earliest days. Also a lot of fun in “The Big Goodbye” are the
jokes about Data hailing from “South America” (due to his unusual complexion),
and Worf having difficulty pronouncing the word “automobile.”
There’s even some self-reflexive humor here
involving television. Data notes that
the format of television, for instance, has an expiration date in our near
future.
“The
Big Goodbye” succeeds, however, not merely because it is funny, but because it
ultimately proves to be a meaningful story about mortality, and what it means.
One of the holograms in the Dixon Hill story, a police detective named Lt.
McNary (Gary Armagnac) learns the truth about his identity, and confronts
Picard about it. He learns, basically, that he is living inside a simulation
and that his memories of and emotions for his family are not real. Hauntingly, he asks if he will continue to
exist, when Picard and the others depart from the holodeck.
Picard
answers with genuine empathy. He doesn’t know.
The
lieutenant’s plight is the “seed” or kernel of a great, developing Star
Trek concept. As the episodes of The Next Generation continue, we see
Riker (Jonathan Frakes) fall in love with a hologram, Minuet, in “11001001.” We also see a hologram outgrow his
programming and built-in character (as a villain!) to become a curious,
sentient being in “Elementary, Dear Data” and so forth. And then, in the time
of Voyager,
the EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) played by Robert Picardo is a central
character, one who learns to become more than the sum of his programming. By
the end of that series, the case is made for the rights of holograms as
sentient, individual beings.
And
that idea is planted right here, in the 12th episode of Star
Trek: The Next Generation.
“The
Big Goodbye” is indeed a fun episode of Star Trek, and a successful one too,
despite some of its limitations. We never see the Jarada, for instance, for
budgetary reasons. One wonders if they were the beginning of the concept for
the Borg, however.
Similarly,
it seem a shame to have Wesley at the forefront of the holodeck repairs on the
Enterprise. Again, he’s a teenager who has never been to Starfleet Academy. The
Enterprise, we know from episodes such as “Hollow Pursuits,” possesses whole
engineering teams qualified to handle problems like the one that crops up here.
Lastly,
one might argue that “The Big Goodbye” is too good, too successful. The series keeps trying to recreate this vibe
of romance and comedy in future “holodeck” installments with titles like “A
Fistful of Datas” or “Ship in a Bottle.”
The holodeck, as a dramatic device, is best utilized only occasionally.
These
are minor quibbles however. “The Big Goodbye” tells a story of great humor, and
romantic chemistry, and then culminates with a meaningful thought about the
nature of future technology. This
episode represents Star Trek at its finest, and is the best installment of Early
Next Generation.
Next
week: “Datalore.”
John,
ReplyDeleteAgreed on all counts. This is a memorable episode. As you said, TNG would go to the holodeck well once too often, but it's easy to see why "The Big Goodbye" was so often emulated. Most likely it was held up as a standard as the seasons progressed, and somewhere in the translation, future prospective writers were probably told, simply, "Write a holodeck episode." Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and "The Big Goodbye" deserves to be flattered.
Steve
Good summation of a great episode. The brilliant casting of Noir titan Lawrence Tierney as the Gutman-like heavy adds real gravitas to this entry. TNG at its early best.
ReplyDeleteGreat review of one of my favorite Next Gen episodes, and the first great episode of the series. I wish we could have had more episodes written by the talented Tracy Torme, story editor from the first season who left show early on and created "Sliders".
ReplyDeleteI'll second the above poster about the spot-on casting of Lawrence Tierney.
And you are so right about Beverly Crusher being tragically underused in this series. I don't think we got another episode this strong for the character until season 4's "The Host", a really great Dr. Crusher episode and another one of my favorites from the series.