LogFAQs > #969515715

Yeah, I knew she played the computer, but, with the exception of The Practical Joker, it's hard to describe that as a character.

Episode 11: The Big Goodbye

First holodeck malfunction story. Probably a better reason for genre episodes than having remarkably human aliens.

Picard seems quite in awe at the complexities of Jarada language. Quite uncomfortable with the role of Hill, at first, but Stewart eventually gives a delightful performance of a hard boiled character without losing any of his gravitas. Him geeking out at how advanced the holodeck is is adorable. Has no idea what to do with his and Crusher's mutual attraction. Sells the bizarre greeting very well.

Riker gets increasingly irritated by the general shenanigans going on. Not the wisest move to be even a little aggressive to Jarada. Loved Picard's story, though. Still can't tell if it's Riker or Frakes who's happiest to be here.

La Forge tries to tell a joke to Data, but it's early days yet for the android. Gets on well with Wesley.

Yar gets to look agitated in the background.

Worf is briefly confused by cars.

Crusher is trying so hard to get a moment alone with Picard. Her frustration is visible every time its ruined. The teasing of these two is fantastic. Can't really handle being in a detective story as well as the others. Just plain uncomfortable with the whole thing.

Troi gets to be more useful than usual, suggesting that Picard needs some fun and pointing out that Wesley is worried for his mum.

Data is a gem. Absolutely enthralled with the Chandler esque world and loving every second of being there. The lamp bit is a true delight. Spiner is a comedic genius and effortlessly switches between different modes in his performance.

Wesley was actually alright. He approaches the problem with a degree of apprehension, as opposed to his usual smug confidence. I still think that at his best he'll only be tolerable, but that's how he is in this one.

Whalen exists only to demonstrate that there are real stakes when holograms go rogue. The fictional characters are the expected tropish fun, with a few points of interest. Redbrick, aside from being a great presence, has a couple of cute meta moments, such as calling Picard a character and congratulating the well made fiction. Leech is obviously insane, so, its interesting that, while he clearly doesn't like the idea, he seems the most persuaded by the idea of being fictional. McNary sells his final musings of whether his world persists far better than I would've expected.

The director had an immense amount of fun with the holodeck scenes. Absolutely shot like a film noir, with brilliant closeups (particularly when Crusher and Picard are flirting), use of angles (the interrogation scene) and the omnipresent lighting contrasts. Good use of background detail, too. The guy getting more interested in Crusher as she struggles with makeup and Picard finding another socket whilst Data fiddles with a lamp. Even the way Data loiters in the background when Crusher first enters only to notice her and walk up recalls the inevitable coincidences and chance meetings that characterise this sort of pulp. Using the contrast of light and shadow in hard boiled stories to accentuate the fading of the world as the holodeck doors close is a work of absolute genius. I like the consistency with which the briefing scenes are lending themselves to tracking shots. Anytime Picard goes on a rant, the camera insists on giving Stewart the attention he deserves. Two bum notes: Picard explaining how the holodeck functions is a little too expositiony and the Jarada are wasted as a ticking clock.

The episode is obviously meta, but not just in the relatively banal sort of doing fiction within fiction or in Redbrick's knowing comments. There's a deeper exploration of acting itself here that centres, not just on the three regulars involved in the main plot, but on the approaches their actors are taking to the roles. Starting with Data, we have Spiner, who is a very good comedic actor, which is a role that requires one to transition between several different, often incredibly silly, roles on a rapid basis. As such, Data, after absorbing the entire series' contents, easily flits between knowing gangster stereotype and confused non human depending on what's funnier. He is the most at home in this world.

Picard is played by Stewart, who is from a more traditional school of acting that encourages learning a part by heart, whilst also allowing oneself to adapt the part to the audience, such as, by exaggerating an emotion and occasionally embracing melodrama so that the back row get just as good a show as the front. Picard is initially lost as he hasn't learnt the role yet, but he learns quickly and, eventually, plays the private eye with a bombast and gravitas that wouldn't normally exist in this genre, but is a necessary adaptation to the character when you have a thespian playing a starship captain playing a private eye.

I'm not too familiar with McFadden's work outside of Star Trek, but she's apparently a pretty good comedic actor in her own right. Regardless, though, she's playing Crusher as a method actor might (though that doesn't necessarily mean she is a method actor), which is less about conveying an author's intended emotions and themes, and more about treating the character themselves as the point. This is why Crusher comes across, to me, as the only one in the cast (maybe including Riker) who could exist in real life. That's not to suggest that the other characters are bad or somehow worse than her. They're simply different. What this translates to is McFadden playing Crusher visibly struggling to play a standard dame. The only times her character feels comfortable is when she's directly interacting with the main cast I.e. the "real" parts of the story. And it makes sense. A standard escapist fantasy is rarely the appropriate place for a deep character study. So, Crusher struggles to even apply makeup or chew gum in the appropriate fashion.

And all that this exploration of acting and performativity leads to is the final scene where Stewart strings a silly syllable soup with supreme sincerity. The point of acting, especially in a fantasy or Sci-fi context, is to sell the absurd. Naturally, he gets a round of applause in universe for his work.

Pretty fantastic start to this type of story.

No prizes for guessing who Datalore will be focusing on.