Star Trek: The Next Generation
"The Big Goodbye"
Air date: 1/11/1988
Written by Tracy Torme
Directed by Joseph L. Scanlan
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Picard takes to the holodeck for a little R&R, playing the role of Dixon Hill, a 1940s private detective that would be at home in a film noir, if only this episode had the gumption to actually do noir as a style rather than simply a generic concept. If the point of this episode is merely to do a period piece with 1940s costumes and sets, it's a success. If the point is to tell a compelling story, it's a failure.
The funny thing about TNG season one is its pace; at times it's almost startlingly slow, with simple, straightforward plots. "The Big Goodbye" is an example of not just slow, but also uneventful — far too much so for its own good. There simply isn't an hour's worth of material here, and the payoff is too lacking in juice and irony to be worth the wait.
It's the first Holodeck Run Awry episode — a TNG concept that would go on to become a tradition and ultimately a cliché. I should probably note, however, that "awry" is far too extreme a word for this exceptionally restrained episode. Even tough-guy actor Lawrence Tierney, as big gangster Cyrus Redblock, seems hobbled by the episode's restraint. His right-hand man Felix (Harvey Jason) is more colorful, but also far more annoying, and way too stupid to be plausible.
There is one interesting question that the episode poses: Picard exits the holodeck and leaves Hill's cop friend pondering whether his life is simply an illusion — which, of course, it is. It's a question that would surface many more times in Trek after this story.
Previous episode: Haven
Next episode: Datalore
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58 comments on this post
Fri, Oct 30, 2009, 8:03pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Apr 20, 2012, 4:52pm (UTC -5)
Incidentally, I fully agree with your two star rating for this episode. If I had to watch this or Haven for a week continuously, I would gladly choose Haven. : )
Mon, Jun 25, 2012, 9:58pm (UTC -5)
Cyrus Redblock: (to Doctor Crusher):
"Manners, good lady, are never a waste of time. Civility, gentlemen, always civility. (to his hired thug): Get that stiff outta here..."
Wed, Jul 11, 2012, 11:20am (UTC -5)
Yet, both episodes make me feel a bit uneasy, because they have NOTHING to do with what I had in mind when I wanted to watch Star Trek. The real sci-fi seems to be missing.
Sun, Oct 28, 2012, 8:18am (UTC -5)
The obvious logical hole in such a plot device aside, and the fact that one probe can cause such potentially dangerous malfunctions meaning I question whether they would have commissioned the concept in the first place, this episode is very much one to appreciate the 1940s 'film noir' episode sets as opposed to the story which is, as Jammer says, all setup with relatively little in the way of payoff.
I Did enjoy the guest cast with one glaring exception. Lawrence Tierney as Redblock and Everyman Dick Miller as the News Vendor arguing with Data's revelation that DiMaggio's hitting streak would be snapped by the Clevland Indians are both excellent. Gary Armagnac and David Selburg as Detective Mcnary and Historian Whalen are also excellent. The one bum note is Harvey Jason as Felix Leech, whose ridiculous line delivery probably knocks half a star off this one!
I'm slightly torn here, as I recognise the story's inherent weakness but did enjoy both the sets and the Guest cast- the script's rather meandering nature again holds back what could have been a very strong episode. Nevertheless again a 2.5 star rating which continues a run of fair to reasonable eps. Sadly it isn't long before two of the most notorious clunkers in the show's history...
Wed, Jun 18, 2014, 7:14pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Sep 10, 2014, 5:17pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Sep 22, 2014, 11:03pm (UTC -5)
They should have just stayed silent until Captain Picard and co. were freed.
You can tell it's an early holodeck episode as Geordi is concerned that if they simply shut off the holodeck then all the real people inside will disappear along with the characters. Scary new tech!
Sun, Jan 4, 2015, 11:00pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Aug 12, 2015, 1:27pm (UTC -5)
But really, I have some sympathy with the commentators that question whether this is what TNG should be about. Viewed as the first one and ignoring what is to come - fine. 2 stars.
Sun, Oct 4, 2015, 5:57am (UTC -5)
Wed, Nov 11, 2015, 9:00am (UTC -5)
Wed, Mar 16, 2016, 3:55pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Apr 2, 2016, 11:50am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 5, 2016, 4:00am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 5, 2016, 6:38am (UTC -5)
All I can remember about S1 offhand for example:
*Dudes in togas
*Worf in a red shirt
*Space net and Q's trial
*A dude's head explodes
*Super-giant Ferengi closeups on the view screen
*Yar vs. tar. Tar wins.
There are a few really good / classic episodes in S2 and S3 and S4 are probably when TNG was unbeatable IMO.
Wed, Oct 12, 2016, 3:43pm (UTC -5)
Last Unicorn Games even published a supplement for its Star Trek RPG based on the premise imaginatively titled Holodeck Adventures.
Frankly I think the program makers should have stopped here.
Having the crew play gangsters is as old as 'A Piece of the Action' from TOS; a superior frolic to this episode but it also works here as a bit of fun.
That is all this episode really amounts to though-a gag.
There are some hilariously dated bits of nonsense-
1. Annoying wunderkind Wesley reads a couple of manuals and totally takes over from Geordi .
2. He examines the intricacies of the holodeck control panel with a binocular microscope -not a software fault then
and surely they would just replace the faulty module.
Sat, Apr 8, 2017, 1:56am (UTC -5)
Three stars.
Sun, Jun 25, 2017, 3:21am (UTC -5)
Sun, Aug 6, 2017, 2:58pm (UTC -5)
A potentially interesting episode that spins it's wheels(the interrogation of Dixon Hill grounded episode to a screeching halt) and only experiences a slight uptick at the very end with Cyrus Redblock but not nearly enough to salvage or make up for the plodding preceding forty five minutes.
The episode did effectively capture the awe of holodeck technology as this new piece of Trek technology that would go on to wear out its welcome and feel ho hum by the end of the modern Trek era
Thu, Dec 7, 2017, 9:20pm (UTC -5)
So we've had:
The Battle / Hide and Q / Haven / Big Goodbye
While none of these will go on to be even a Top 30 or even Top 40 episode, each in its own way, helped lay the groundwork of what's to come.
With "The Battle," we finally got a Federation vs. other corporeal space-dwelling beings episode. That became the bread and butter of Next Gen: Those Klingon / Romulan / Cardassian / Federation arcs and episodes.
With "Hide and Q," we got our first signal this series was actually going to do follow-up episodes and that what happened in previous episodes will possibly come up again.
With "Haven," we get a character-driven story. Our main players are being fleshed out with families and feelings and concerns that go beyond energy beings. It will make their encounters with the truly alien species all the more impressive.
With "Big Goodbye," we get our second technology driven episode, and our first one where we start to learn of the characters' interests and passions. More fleshing out.
To me, all four of these were rough drafts of better kinds of episodes to come.
All of these episodes are flawed, but they were a lifeline to a ST fan who was really beginning to despair that the show was going to be one bizarre, disjointed encounter after another with unfathomable, powerful beings.
P.S. May I mention my annoyance for this episode and the show in general and all Treks in general? These people are ALL OVER THE MAP when it comes to their understand of Earth culture. Sometimes, they seem to know the oddest, most detailed tidbits of history. Other times, they are baffled by broad swaths of Earth history anyone should know.
For instance, Worf was raised on Earth. Why would an "automobile" be a puzzle to him and more than a "chariot" would puzzle us? (Perhaps at the time, Worf's backstory didn't involve being raised on Earth).
They never really did get a dial on historical recollection by the characters.
Wed, Dec 13, 2017, 3:29pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Feb 6, 2018, 6:17pm (UTC -5)
Spiner gets to show off his gangster accent, Dr. Crusher fumbles and stumbles as a broad and they brought in the equivalent of a redshirt to get shot -- it's all pretty mindless stuff but there are some whimsical moments seeing the crew in 1940s attire.
I liked the Redblock character -- seemed to portray the gangster well for me -- interesting is the emphasis on manners despite the criminal acts. The little guy who just wants to kill people was stupid -- not sure for what purpose such an idiotic character was created. But the cop wondering about his family once the program terminates does plant a bit of a seed in terms of holodeck characters thinking beyond their supposed limitations. Picard doesn't have all the holodeck "answers" either.
Barely 2 stars for "The Big Goodbye" -- entertaining at times but the problem was resolved as you'd expect it to be (conveniently in time). Perhaps a learning experience about the dangers of the holodeck for the crew and obviously setting it up for more adventures where it malfunctions. There will be better holodeck-gone-wrong episodes...
Sat, Feb 24, 2018, 4:39pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 4:28am (UTC -5)
Yet in Star Trek’s world, a crew is set off in a ship with holodecks and nobody really has a clue just what they can and cannot do.
Sadly, I think I prefer Trek’s world. Granted it could allow for some accidents and mishaps, but this world just caters to the lowest common denominator of stupid and fear of lawsuits.
Yeah... I’d definitely take my chances with an occasional holodeck adventure over a constant barrage of mouth-breathing mediocrity. haha
Tue, May 8, 2018, 12:03am (UTC -5)
Sat, May 19, 2018, 4:23pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Jun 21, 2018, 12:18am (UTC -5)
Bizzare.
Fri, Nov 23, 2018, 4:22pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Feb 19, 2019, 6:43pm (UTC -5)
Comparison's to TOS' "A Piece of the Action" also seem apt. But where "A Piece of the Action" captures well the manic, brisk pace of early noirs and gangster movies - Kirk and his buddies are repeatedly hurtling from one set to the next - "The Big Goodbye" is a static and dull thing, stuck on a series of claustrophobic sets. Of course great old noirs (think "The Big Sleep", "Maltese Falcon" or "The Killing") were often clausterphobic and bound to tiny sets, but they had rapid-fire, machine-gun dialogue, zipping wittily back and forth. There's no wit or zip in Picard's holonovel. Thankfully the show would quickly swap Dixon Hill for Sherlock Holmes, the cultured British detective perhaps tonally more suited to the "sophisticated" pose struck by TNG.
Watching this again, I also noticed that Wesley attends a staff briefing in the observation lounge. This is a room for command staff, and an ensign like him should not be there at all. Throughout the first season, he is repeatedly inserting himself into plots that he has no business being in. I like the character - the idea of following a kid from civilian to ensign to more is a good one - but he's not written well at all.
Thu, Feb 21, 2019, 7:56pm (UTC -5)
This episode was okay as the main holodeck intro one (where the whole episode is basically in the alternate universe of the holodeck).
I give it a 2.25 for that.
Sat, Feb 23, 2019, 11:07am (UTC -5)
Thu, Mar 21, 2019, 12:05pm (UTC -5)
Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 4:34pm (UTC -5)
The major crisis is the Holodeck doors won't open...
and if they open the doors by force, it will kill everyone inside the holodeck.
Solution...Wesley Crusher saves the day.
Why would someone write something this awful and think it was a good idea?
Mon, Jul 22, 2019, 11:10pm (UTC -5)
Some amusing and interesting stuff with Data and the Picard-Crusher relationship, and also, great costumes. But that's not enough to sustain an ep.
The title interests me, I'm not sure what it's about, but I confess I didn't pay much attention. At the end Picard's saying good bye to his holodeck pal and hello to some aliens, but that doesn't really explain the title.
Dull. Boring. Sleep-inducing. Blah. Below average.
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 9:25am (UTC -5)
Memory Alpha says that the episode's setting and characters were based on The Maltese Falcon. However the title appears to be a reference to two other detective films:
"The title of this episode would seem to be a composite of the Raymond Chandler books The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye, featuring iconic detective Philip Marlowe."
So it's possible that the title was referencing other detective stories to throw us off the scent that they were lifting from Maltese Falcon; or else perhaps the mix of detectives and films is meant to show us that this is an homage to noir detective stories in general.
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 10:19am (UTC -5)
In any case, the titles of both of the Marlowe novels are euphemisms to death - - the big sleep, the long goodbye. The episode gives some poignancy to Hill's friend who asks whether he'll still exist when Picard turns off the program, and so I think what this episode is "about" is about death and stories - - how we are attracted to stories where people encounter death but have mastery over it (detectives). Whether those stories stay with us when we leave them. I'm not saying it's successful at that.
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 10:26am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 10:32am (UTC -5)
I should also say that because Picard is so enthusiastic, it should be a better detective/noir story than it is, so I take back that "part of the point" line. So okay it's not a good homage and it's anemic and all but I still find the effort kind of charming, and as I said I still really like Tierney here.
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 11:00am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 11:05am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 23, 2019, 11:17am (UTC -5)
Sun, Oct 6, 2019, 8:33am (UTC -5)
1. Picard and Troi practicing the speech in the beginning. I’m *pretty* sure that insecticide aliens from far beyond the moon don’t write their language in the Roman alphabet, so what’s up with the goofy pronunciation drilling? Picard’s script should just be written out phonetically. But then, oh shoot, there goes the dramatic reason that Picard needs to de-stress in the holodeck.
2. Crusher imitating the dames on the holodeck with the powder compact, acting like she’s never put makeup on before. Meanwhile her own cheekbones are contoured til the spacecows come home.
Mon, Oct 26, 2020, 6:29am (UTC -5)
Matthew correctly points out that the doc imitating the other holowoman is pretty odd considering that she and Deanna wear more make up then most drag queens.
Sat, Feb 13, 2021, 10:36am (UTC -5)
It's an idea that's just never worked for me. Archeology? Sure. Horseback riding? Eh, maybe. 400 year old pulpy hard-boiled detective fiction? I'm not buying it,
Sat, Feb 13, 2021, 11:03am (UTC -5)
We saw how Picard was when he was young and his friends knew him as Johnny. I can totally believe a bar-fighting young Picard mightt get hooked on such a thing.
Sat, Feb 13, 2021, 11:42am (UTC -5)
I don't recall having the same feeling when I watched The Big Goodbye when it was first broadcast, though, so it was one of the characterisation attempts that was tried and discarded. (Another example of this is how grumpy, humourless and patrician-like Picard is portrayed as in the first half of S1, which mellows swiftly.)
It doesn't help that I have never found the 1940s private detective very engaging. Some people love the hard-boiled stuff, of course.
I felt there was the same mismatch when Janeway was portrayed having holodeck past-times as a) a governess; and b) Leonardo Da Vinci's assistant. Neither struck me as plausible from a character point of view, nor as very compelling viewing.
Watching The Big Goodbye yet again in 2021, what struck me most was the time difference between the era portrayed in the episode (1940s) and its broadcast date (1980s) being not far off the time difference between the original episode broadcast date (1980s) and now (2020s). A cruel realisation of the merciless march of time.
Tue, Feb 16, 2021, 2:13pm (UTC -5)
Although never seen, I gues sthat the ladies on enterprece has some sort of automatic devive that appies the make up as Beverky obvioulsy lacks the practice. Otherwise I would not have found this scen funny. (Tasha Yar also have a distinct make even more contradicting her character.) Crushers reaction / reflection of the working girl sitting next to her was amusing.
Not mixing the acting conducted by Wil Wheaton with his character Wesley, TNG lost very much making Wesley a wiz kid / Smart Aleck .
There are several loopholes and the story is quite poor but I laughed severy times to Picard / Data and Crusher.
Not wasted time,
Sat, Mar 27, 2021, 7:34am (UTC -5)
One would think that holodecks would be far more addictive than they're mostly portrayed. Perhaps this is subtly depicted by the fact that they keep them in use despite them having an atrocious safety record... to put it mildly.
Mon, Jun 7, 2021, 2:39am (UTC -5)
Thoughts:
1. Why did Picard rave on about the holodeck in the staff meeting? We already knew about its marvels from “...Farpoint”. Show, don’t tell.
2. The players could disappear along with the program? Oh please. Bad science of the worst kind.
3. The Harada were ultra-sensitive to language, yet Riker opens communication with “We demand...”?
4. Several reviewers dismiss the Leech character. Didn’t anyone realise he was obviously based on Peter Lorre? Badly done though, I’m not surprised you might not have seen it!
5. When Hill’s cop buddy character asks Picard if his family will still “be there “ when
Picard leaves, Picard says “I honestly don’t know”. Could he not have given reassurance to a computer simulation and replied “Yes of course”? After all, Picard knew the guy wasn’t real.
All in all, a nice bit of TNG R’n’R that doesn’t require too much analysis. Not quite 3 stars but nearly.
Mon, Jun 7, 2021, 5:53am (UTC -5)
In Farpoint all we saw was an environment, a pleasant forest and a stream. In Big Goodbye we see actual persons rendered, which is a huge leap.
From Picard's reaction, I suppose we are meant to understand that at this moment in history, this isn't just some standard technology that exists everywhere (as it must have been by DS9 where even Quark's dive bar has one). Given that the Galaxy Class starship is some brand new design perhaps this was a fancy new capability of that breed of starships.
Tue, Jun 8, 2021, 2:42am (UTC -5)
Interesting insight. I think you may be right. The problem though is - by this point into the mission, wouldn’t the crew already know the capabilities of the new holodeck? I’d have written it more like this:
PICARD: My command duties have left too little time for recreation, regrettably. I haven’t had the opportunity to explore our fascinating new holodeck. So I am sure you can imagine my reaction to what it can do when I finally got the chance. The smells! The characters! Just so lifelike! [and so on].
Tue, Jun 8, 2021, 5:52am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jun 15, 2021, 10:30pm (UTC -5)
Other things:
Why wasn't the possibility of beaming Picard and co. out mentioned?
Seems like it should be a breach of regulations for the captain not to bring his communicator even on the off chance that internal comms fail.
The holo-lipstick stays on Picard's face but the gangsters (eventually, slowly) dissolve. (The lipstick can be explained by the use of replicators, but the gangsters not immediately disappearing when they cross the threshold seems impossible to explain.)
Why doesn't the holoprogram automatically pause when the user leaves? Felix enters Dix's office and keeps talking after Picard leaves the first time until he manually turns it off.
Are door malfunctions common enough on the Enterprise that Crusher walks right through them without contacting engineering? If my elevator doors did that, I'd turn around and call the super. And why did the doors open for her and not for anyone later? Did the Jarada's scan cause a deteriorating malfunction, and if so, why didn't it mess with the program itself?
Seems like Whalen should have died in the time it took to leave the holodeck (Crusher was losing his pulse!). Also seems like Crusher should have been able to do more for him; maybe she needs more training in field medicine.
The applause at the end was incredibly cringey.
All the other ridiculous stuff has been mentioned: the overdone enthusiasm over upgraded holodeck technology, the immediate warp out after the greeting, Wesley!!, the stupidity of the possibility of living people disappearing if the holodeck is turned off, the lack of a failsafe/emergency shut down, etc.
A few positives: Crusher/Picard sexual tension picking up from The Naked Now (and her rolling her eyes when Whalen wanted to come along), and the Data from south America gag (but did no one in the 40s know about albinism?) and the whole newspaper scene. And the weird concern for holocharacters' feelings at the end might be explained as a consequence of the upgrade's verisimilitude, which might have interesting implications for how the crew interacts with and is affected by their holodeck experiences.
Not great. First episode my non-ST-watching spouse has disliked (of Farpoint, Naked Now, WNOHGB, the Battle, Hide and Q, and Haven).
Wed, Nov 24, 2021, 8:18am (UTC -5)
Wed, Apr 6, 2022, 12:59pm (UTC -5)
You can recreate any environment from thousands of civilizations across thousands of years, but you choose one from a few decades before the show was filmed, in the very place it was filmed. What utter laziness. The writers weren't even trying here.
NO stars. Not even zero. This is not Star Trek.
Thu, Jul 28, 2022, 2:21pm (UTC -5)
Sat, Dec 24, 2022, 3:21pm (UTC -5)
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