"The Big Goodbye" is considered in many circles to be the first truly great episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It won an Emmy for Outstanding Costume Design, and was also nominated for Outstanding Cinematography. Even more significantly, it won a Peabody Award, making the show the first hour-long first-run drama ever to do so. Certainly, I remember loving it the first time around too. Watching it again, though, I see quite a lot of flaws in this episode I didn't really notice before.
But first, the plot summary. The Enterprise is heading to a diplomatic meeting with the Jarada, an insectoid race with strict rules of etiquette, who expects Captain Picard to perfectly perform their traditional greeting in their native language. Exhausted from practicing for this big moment, Picard decides to unwind in the newly upgraded holodeck, assuming the role of a favorite fictional character, 1940s noir detective Dixon Hill. But when a Jaradan probe causes the holodeck to malfunction, Picard, Data, and Dr. Crusher (and cannon fodder Whalen) are trapped in the scenario, with their lives threatened by Dixon Hill's mob-like nemesis, Cyrus Redblock.
So, I noted that I felt more flaws in this episode when watching it this time. But there's certainly a lot here that's great too. The fictitious world of Dixon Hill is lovingly created by everyone involved, with just the perfect amount of "over the top." The script is an homage to many noir films, most notably The Maltese Falcon in its portrayal of a Peter Lorre-like character (Felix Leech) and constant references to an "item" of a significance that's never really explained. The set design, Emmy-winning costume design, and lighting design are impeccable, creating a wonderfully moody 40s environment.
And the performances from the main cast are sterling. Patrick Stewart conveys an infectious enthusiasm for the world of Dixon Hill, and true joy in getting to live it; he shows the same enthusiasm you'd imagine a Star Trek fan would feel on a visit the Enterprise. And he nails many great lines like "if I leave town, the town leaves with me." Brent Spiner delivers some masterful physical comedy in the episode, from checking to "keep his nose clean" to puzzlement over how electric lights work. He's also fun in trying to adopt the affectations of the period.
But it's Gates McFadden who really steals the show. She nails the lack of familiarity with the past, struggling to walk in high heels, aping a holographic character for makeup tips, and hilariously not knowing what to do with a stick of chewing gum. But even better than the way she plays the comedy is how she plays Crusher's relationship with Picard in this episode. The possible romantic relationship that could exist between them is played up more here than ever before.
When Picard invites Crusher to join him on the holodeck, she clearly thinks he's asking her on a date. And when he starts talking about inviting others, she wickedly eggs him on about what it was like being kissed by a holographic woman. Later, when she does arrive on the holodeck, Picard greets her with a wonderful compliment about how she looks in the period costume. But when Crusher asks to see his office and Whalen and Data invite themselves along, you clearly see her reaction to the unwanted "chaperones." In short, this episode made me a believer in a Picard-Crusher relationship even more than the Riker-Troi relationship that, after seven seasons and four movies, finally did come to pass.
In my mind, the problems with the episode come in the balancing of the two plots. Clearly, the Dixon Hill story is the "A plot" to the audience. It's certainly the more entertaining one to watch. But looking at it practically from the standpoint of the characters, it's the Jaradan storyline that should be front and center. And at the climax of the episode, the fact that it isn't strains credibility.
When Wesley finally manages to get the holodeck door open, you'd expect a team to go storming inside to rescue the crew members. But for literally five minutes of screen time, that doesn't happen. Cyrus strolls out of the holodeck only to vanish, just so we can have the villain's big comeuppance moment. Then Picard lingers on the holodeck to say goodbye to a fictional character rather than immediately go deal with the Jarada. Even if you somehow can explain the lack of rescue, you have to wonder why Picard and company aren't running off that holodeck as fast as they possibly can. I mean, if you were stuck in an elevator for hours and someone finally got the door open, would you decide to just keep hanging out in it some more?
There are also some logical problems at various moments in the Jarada story. First, we're told Picard just has to learn the greeting and nothing more. So why does he spend his time learning their alphabet and grammar as opposed to just phonetically practicing the phrases he has to speak? Second, how powerful are these Jarada that a probe they run from light years away can shake the whole ship and damage some of its systems? Third, after all the emphasis made throughout the episode on how easily the Jarada become offended, how dumb is Riker to begin a conversation with them with the words "we demand..."? And lastly, at the end of the episode, when Picard successfully delivers the greeting, why does the Enterprise just immediately leave? Wasn't this supposed to be the beginning of an actual negotiation? Isn't this the diplomatic equivalent of leaving a Chinese takeout menu taped to a front door?
Other observations:
- The rules of the holodeck are seriously fudged in this episode. The woman who kisses Picard leaves lipstick on him that remains until Dr. Crusher wipes it off later, but Cyrus Redblock vanishes within moments of stepping off. Come to think of it, how exactly does anything not vanish immediately when it leaves the holodeck? (I believe this is what is shown in a much later holodeck episode, "Ship in a Bottle.")
- Speaking of the holodeck, we're told that its sudden ability to create believable characters (rather than the soulless training simulacrum Tasha demonstrated in "Code of Honor") comes from a recent upgrade. The holodeck will go through another upgrade in just a few episodes, when the Bynars come aboard in "11001001." I've read online that the writers originally intended these episodes to be filmed and aired in the other order, explaining the malfunction here not with the Jaradan probe, but the Bynars modifications.
- The guest character of Whalen is said by Picard to be an historian and expert on the 20th century. It seems unlikely Picard would know about the hobbies of everyone on his crew -- and indeed, Picard can't remember Whalen's name at first. But if it's not a hobby, then that means Whalen's official position aboard the Enterprise is as a 20th-century Earth historian. Doesn't seem very useful to me for exploring the galaxy. (Which I guess is why we never saw Whalen again.)
- In the scene where Data is reading the stories of Dixon Hill on the bridge computer, the Blu-ray re-master is sharp enough that you can actually read a fair amount of the content -- all lovingly created even though there was no reason at the time to think that it would be legible.
- I noted how much effort and money clearly went into creating the Dixon Hill world. But it came at the expense of the Jarada. We don't see the aliens or any of their ships, further reducing the feeling that they serve any serious role in the story. No wonder Picard is in no hurry to get to them.
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