Stardate: 41997.7
Original Air Date: January 9, 1988
Writers: Tracy Tormé
Director: Joseph L. Scanlan
“It was raining in the city by The Bay. A hard rain. Hard enough to wash the slime.”
According to Riker’s first officer’s log, The Enterprise-D is set to make a “brief but necessary” contact with a race of aliens called the Jarada (pronounced “Hah-rah-dah”), a reclusive, insect-like race known for their idiosyncratic attitude toward protocol. Their language is quite unusual, even the slightest mispronunciation of it is regarded as a deep cultural insult. The Jaradan are strategically important to the Federation, previous attempts at contact fell apart after the slightest mispronunciation of greeting which caused a rift for twenty years. While Picard stresses over preparations for his meeting with the Jarada, counselor Trois suggests that he take a break inside the holodeck. Reluctantly, he departs for the holodeck and instructs the computer to run the “Dixon Hill, private detective” program which takes place in San Francisco in 1941 (Dixon Hill is one of Picard’s childhood heroes).
Thus begins a hard-boiled, short film noir in the vein of Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett. Playing the role of Dixon Hill, Picard is called upon to solve a mystery after a wealthy socialite Jessica Bradley is found murdered. Other crewmen join Picard for their own amusement: Data downloads all of Dixon Hill stories and decides to join Picard, along with Mr. Whelan, a “fiction expert” and Dr. Crusher, as well. However, back aboard the main ship, the Jaradan start to grow hostile and they decide to unexpectedly scan the ship which causes a few minor malfunctions to various machines, including the preventing of entry or exit from the holodeck. With time running out, Geordi, Wesley, and Riker search in vain for an anomaly hidden within the holodeck while the simulation goes haywire and Whelan is shot by the mafia.
As Whelan lies bleeding on the ground, Wesley races to fix the holodeck. If not done properly, Wesley could accidentally erase the whole program including everyone trapped inside. He decides to reset the program which allows Picard and the others to negotiate their escape from the mobsters the holodeck (they begin to disappear once out of range of the holo-emitters) and Picard is able to successfully complete his Jaradan greeting which they receive with honor.
My Thoughts on “The Big Goodbye”
Much like the many transporter malfunctions in TOS, “The Big Goodbye” introduces the first of many holodeck malfunctions in TNG. I thought this was a fun, unique story, reminiscent of the TOS classic episode “A Piece of the Action.” Maybe it’s only because this episode is contrasted with the prior string of rather mediocre season one TNG episodes, but I still enjoyed this amusing little throwback sprinkled with allusions to Raymond Chandler (not least of which is the episode title which alludes to Chandler’s The Long Goodbye and The Big Sleep). The plot of this episode is fairly predictable –an important meeting is delayed by a holodeck malfunction. However, I have to admit that the ‘Wesley Crusher is a genius’ schtick has gotten a bit tired by now.
Writer/Director
This episode was written by Tracy Tormé, a former SNL writer and scriptwriter for a variety of other shows including as a creator of the successful Fox science fiction show Sliders. “The Big Goodbye” was only one of four episodes in the first season of TNG for which a writer received sole credit. Tracy Tormé’s first script credit in TNG was “Haven” and by episode 20, “Heart of Glory,” he was an executive story editor. At the end of the first season, he was one of only a few writers who were invited back for the second season. He was joined by Maurice Hurley, and the team of Richard Manning and Hans Beimler. Among those that were not invited back included Gates McFadden who, like Marina Sirtis and Denise Crosby, felt her character needed strengthening.
This episode was directed by Joseph L. Scanlan, a director who worked on many different shows before he passed away at the age of 91 in 2020.
Star Trek Trivia:
- Lawrence Tierney, who appeared in film noir movies in the 1940s, makes a guest appearance in this episode as Cyrus Redblock, the head tough guy mobster in the holodeck simulation. He also played Joe Cabot in Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs (1992).
- Other gangsters in this film were played by Harvey Albert Jason and William Boyett.
- This episode introduced the concept of the holonovel.
- The “Dixon Hill” computer-holodeck setting reappears in two later episodes in TNG and also in the film Star Trek: First Contact (1996).
- This episode won an Emmy Award for Best Achievement in Costuming as well as a Peabody award for excellence in television production.
- We never actually see the insectoid race of Jarada in this episode.
This was an interesting episode when I first saw it. As for issues with certain fans about how the holodeck can be a problem for watering things down in the Trek universe, I have agreed with that to a point and yet can appreciate how simulations for exercises and experiments can be most beneficial. Thank you for your review and trivia.
“GLORIA! From CLEVE-land!” I don’t know why, but Whoopie’s delivery of her lines in this episode never fails to amuse me. This is a favorite to re-watch, but there’s one plot hole — a HUGE gap between the shots fired into the room and the car taking off. Plus, the angle of the shooting is impossible.