Stardate: 42286.3
Original Air Date: December 5, 1988
Writer: Brian Alan Lane
Director: Rob Bowman
“I have felt new realities at the edge of my consciousness readying to break through.”
The Enterprise-D has arrived at coordinates 3629 by 584, three days early for a rendezvous with the USS Victory (which has not yet arrived). The ship is helmed by Captain Zimbata, Geordi’s former boss. At the moment, Geordi is enjoying a classic model ship after the original HMS Victory, Horatio Nelson’s flagship vessel at the Battle of Trafalgar. In the ensuing downtime, Data and Geordi enter the holodeck to play a mystery game, one of Data’s favorite Arthur Conan Doyle mysteries. Data and Geordi act out the roles of Sherlock Holmes (Data) and Dr. John Watson (Geordi) on the foggy streets of London alongside Inspector Lestrade, but it quickly becomes apparent that Data has memorized all the Sherlock Holmes stories. He instantly solves mystery involving a photograph which was to be used against the King of Bohemia as blackmail.
Geordi immediately stops the holodeck (“holo-novel”), frustrated at the lack of challenge. Then the computer creates a new mystery as Dr. Pulaski joins with Data and Geordi, but Data once again “solves” a mystery as the computer merely pieces together two parts of another Holmes story. At the same time, Dr. Pulaski doubts if Data is capable of deductive reasoning, so Geordi asks the computer to devise a villain capable of defeating Data (at the same time, Worf notices a strange energy burst on the bridge).
Along the way, they lose Dr. Pulaski in the holodeck and soon encounter “the one worthy opponent,” Dr. Moriarty who demonstrates that he has been aware of the computer, calls for the “arch,” and hands Data a drawing of the Enterprise. When Data and Geordi leave the holodeck, the computer refuses to terminate the program claiming it has been overridden. And the crew becomes aware that the artificial intelligence in the holodeck has developed a level of consciousness as Moriarty kidnaps Dr. Pulaski and takes control of the Enterprise.
The episode culminates as Picard dons a top hat and joins Geordi and Data in the holodeck. They confront Moriarty and engage in a dialectic about the nature of life and intelligence: “Is the definition of life ‘cogito, ergo, sum?’” Picard convinces Moriarty there is no way of converting him to living matter outside the holodeck, and that Picard does not plan to destroy him. In return, Moriarty gives back control of the ship to Picard, and Picard promises Moriarty that he will be saved in the computer’s memory banks until a later date in which Moriarty might be reawakened as a living form of artificial intelligence not unlike Data… will we see Moriarty again in the future?
My Thoughts on “Elementary, Dear Data”
“The game is afoot!” In this classic episode, the holodeck runs amok and artificial intelligence goes rogue. “Elementary, Dear Data” offers a charming little crossover between classic Sherlock Holmes mystery and futuristic sci-fi Star Trek adventure. But on a much deeper level, there is an interesting examination of the limits of life and intelligence buried in this mystery as Moriarty suddenly becomes conscious. Is it right to consider Moriarty a living being of some sort? Should we truly empathize with him? Sometimes boldly going forth and seeking new forms of life leads the Enterprise crew no further than their own holodeck. In the end, Picard’s benevolence is a surprisingly powerful decision. Any other effort to terminate Moriarty would have just been cruel.
Writer/Director
“Elementary, Dear Data” was written by Brian Alan Lane and directed by Rob Bowman.
Star Trek Trivia:
- Apparently Geordi has an “assistant” named Clancy as confirmed in this episode. She was played by Anne Ramsay.
- As an Ensign, Geordi served under Captain Zimbata of the USS Victory.
- Inside Sherlock Holmes’s room, Data makes note of several objects of significance: the emerald tie pin presented to Holmes by Queen Victoria after he solved the theft of the Bruce-Partington plans, a copy of Whitaker’s Almanac, which provided him with the key to the secret code in “The Valley of Fear,” the snuff box of Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond Von Ormstein, the famous Holmes violin purchased in a pawn shop in Tottenham Court Road for 55 shillings which he considered to be a very good investment.
- This episode was inspired by the Season 1 episode “The Big Goodbye.”
- The Moriarty character appeared in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Final Problem.
- Actor Daniel Davis plays Moriarty in this episode.
- This episode was nominated for two Emmy Awards.
- Interestingly enough, the original HMS Victory is still an operating vessel in the Royal Navy. As of 2024, it is the oldest naval vessel still in commission (at 246 years of service).
Great Books Guy 
Even for my shared issues about holodeck episodes, it’s always notable when Trek’s dramas about the qualifications of life can find something significantly new. Thank you for your review and trivia.
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