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.
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.