TNG Flashback: Captain's Holiday

Early in the third season on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart was lobbying the writers (including new writer Ronald Moore) to give Captain Picard more "shooting and screwing" to do. This led to more active roles in general for the captain in episodes like "Sins of the Father," but it led very specifically to the episode I'm reviewing today, "Captain's Holiday."

After a stressful treaty negotiation is concluded, Captain Picard is in serious need of a vacation, and the crew conspires to make him take it. He heads to the pleasure planet of Risa, but the trip isn't exactly relaxing. He meets the cunning (and conning) Vash, an archaeologist who may have discovered where to find a powerful artifact lost by a time traveler from the future. The two go searching for the artifact, the Tox Uthat, together -- but they're pursued by a Ferengi that Vash recently double-crossed, and by a pair of aliens from the future. All are seeking the Tox Uthat for their own purposes, and it's up to Picard to determine who, if anyone, should end up with it.

"Captain's Holiday" is a fun adventure tale with a Maltese Falcon kind of flavor -- particularly in how the actual object of the hunt feels unimportant in its specifics, and in the way the Ferengi adversary Sovak (played by Max Grodenchik, who would later play Rom on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) feels inspired by the Peter Lorre character. Show runner Michael Piller likened the script to an installment of Magnum P. I. in its first draft, noting that the writing was fine, but that it didn't feel particularly like a Star Trek episode. Ronald Moore solved this to his satisfaction with the suggestion that the artifact being hunted come from the future rather than the past.

What really makes this episode shine is how light it is, and how well the comedic moments land. They start even before Picard makes it to Risa, with the whole crew conspiring to send Picard on holiday. (Well, not the whole crew; Riker deadpans that "...there are two ensigns stationed on deck 39 who know nothing about it.") Dr. Crusher badgers, Riker talks up Risa (to Troi's chagrin), and Troi even threatens a visit from her mother, all to get Picard off the ship for a few days. The comedy continues in Picard's education about "jamaharon," his first meeting with Vash, and his swashbuckling encounters with Sovak.

Of course, the episode is also a romance, and that aspect wouldn't work at all if there wasn't a lot of chemistry between the characters. Jennifer Hetrick makes a big impression as Vash (enough to appear in a later Next Generation episode, as well as a Deep Space Nine). Even though Picard is all nobility and Vash is half-truths and duplicity, they make a good couple. And it's just plain fun to hear someone refer to our dear captain as Jean-Luc, rather than calling him by rank.

The resolution of the adventure is fun, with double-crosses, counter-double-crosses, and whatever you'd call the layer beyond that. There was apparently supposed to be a direct implication of a time loop at the close of the episode, with the future Vorgons returning in the final scene to bookend their appearance in the teaser. The writers wisely decided this would be a bit too strange, and in the end opted to give Picard a wry line observing that, given that time travel was involved in their adventure, they might end up experiencing it all again.

Other observations:

• Speaking of that teaser with the Vorgons, I believe this may be the first time in Star Trek: The Next Generation where the episode does not begin with the crew of the Enterprise. It's an intriguing hint of what's to come, a literal teaser.

• Composer Dennis McCarthy makes extensive use of his "Captain Picard theme" (the series theme he originally composed before Jerry Goldsmith's movie theme was used in its place). This is one of the very few times McCarthy repeats any thematic material.

• Risa was a fun playground for the makeup and costume departments, with mixed results. It's fun to spot the Andorian in the background, for example... but the strange shower curtains the Risians wear look ridiculous. There's plenty of skin for everyone, from Picard's revealing Speedo to Vash's one-piece with a provocative slice exposing the navel.

• This was the first episode directed by Chip Chalmers, who would direct many later episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. He reportedly soldiered through this episode with a severe fever, collapsing between takes while the crew set up the next shot.

I think this episode rates a B+, and a rather high one at that, almost good enough to crack the next grade. It's a very solid entry for the season.