{"id":4535,"date":"2015-03-17T13:00:36","date_gmt":"2015-03-17T20:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=4535"},"modified":"2015-03-09T09:54:19","modified_gmt":"2015-03-09T16:54:19","slug":"mark-watches-the-next-generation-s01e12-the-big-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2015\/03\/mark-watches-the-next-generation-s01e12-the-big-goodbye\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘The Next Generation’: S01E12 – The Big Goodbye"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the twelfth episode of the first season of\u00c2\u00a0The Next Generation<\/i>, Captain Picard\u00c2\u00a0tests the new holodeck upgrades and SHENANIGANS. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Star Trek<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This was an unexpected delight.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unexpected because I did not think the show would throw in a story like this barely halfway through the first season. This is the kind of story that an episodic show like\u00c2\u00a0The Next Generation<\/i> waits years to give us. But here it is, and it\u00c2\u00a0works<\/i>. It works because Tracy Torm\u00c3\u00a9\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script is unafraid to be geeky, hilarious, and deeply\u00c2\u00a0odd<\/i>. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of shit here about the nature of computer-created beings that makes this kind of sad and uncomfortable, and I like that. I like that we\u00c2\u00a0have<\/i> to think of those things as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re watching it.<\/p>\n

But right from the start, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Big Goodbye\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is about having fun. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sticking to the assertion that this is basically how the future does cosplaying and roleplaying because ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T THAT EXACTLY WHAT THIS IS??? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the joy we see here: these characters get to\u00c2\u00a0be<\/i> other people within the holodeck. For Captain Picard, that means he gets to lose himself in the world of Dixon Hill, Private Eye. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. A EARLY 1940S NOIR UNIVERSE. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an absolute treat to watch Picard have so much fun here, and you know, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty rare that a show would put it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lead into something so\u00c2\u00a0geeky<\/i>. I know that word has had negative connotations in the past, but I love it personally, and I think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an unabashed geekiness to seeing Data, Mr. Whalen, Dr. Crusher, and Picard explore Earth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s past.<\/p>\n

They clap when people threaten them. They are\u00c2\u00a0thrilled<\/i> by the very thought of someone being interrogated. THEY ARE ENDLESSLY PLEASED BY THE VIOLENCE AND GRITTINESS AROUND THEM. That juxtaposition works wonders in terms of the humor and surreality of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Big Goodbye,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d especially as the by-the-book mystery unfolds before them. And look, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot here that excited me, but I think the application of this technology is what made me the most happy. This is a great example of why I was drawn to science fiction over fantasy as a youth. I loved shit like\u00c2\u00a0this<\/i>. I adored the experience of looking to the future and imagining the potential of technology and human interaction. I definitely do not consider myself of the camp that believes that technology (smartphones, online dating, and the like) has ruined us or made us worse as a race. I mean, look what I do for a living. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t imagine ever believing this was possible twenty years ago. I could not tour without the myriad of technologies and gadgets and mediums that I have available to me.<\/p>\n

When I first started reading science fiction heavily, I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get over the sense of wonder over this kind of shit. I still can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. I know\u00c2\u00a0Star Wars<\/i> was supposed to take place in the past, but my brain couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think of it that way. That was a future. A world where the Force was real\u00c2\u00a0could<\/i> be possible, I reasoned. And why couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a holodeck eventually be real? Why couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interstellar space flight be real?<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s with this basis that Torm\u00c3\u00a9\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s script then introduces the inevitable horror: what if you\u00c2\u00a0couldn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> leave a computer-created world? What if it was so real that you suffered physical and emotional pain that\u00c2\u00a0wasn<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/i> simulated? While I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Big Goodbye\u00e2\u20ac\u009d went too far in depicting this (I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve definitely seen more brutal applications of this trope), I appreciated that the crew reacted\u00c2\u00a0believably<\/i>. Picard starts to demand to leave the holodeck; Data attempts to reason with the computer matter-of-factly as if the computer\u00c2\u00a0can<\/i> be reasoned with. And christ,\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i> is fascinating, too, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? Data is an android arguing with a giant computer. THE IRONY IS NOT LOST ON ME. But what else can they do? With the computer non-responsive, its safety measures malfunctioning, the only thing they have left to do is stall until someone on the outside figures this all out.<\/p>\n

So what do they do? Confuse the computer. They begin to tell all of these fictional characters that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not real. Of course it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a bad plan because the computer isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really programmed for the breaking of the fourth wall. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why it allows them to stall; the computer kind of freaks out, manifesting that in Cyrus Redblock\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rage. Which is weird to think about because Redblock isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t real! At the same time, Lt. McNary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s big goodbye to Picard is eerie because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, is the computer asking him those questions? I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite understand the holodeck technology enough to know whether there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an actual AI attached to it, but it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make the scene any less touching regardless.<\/p>\n

I never doubted that Picard would escape the holodeck and deliver the greeting to the Jarada correctly. The same goes with Wesley, who would clearly solve the problem of the malfunctioning holodeck. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why many of those scenes were so short and superficial. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the focus of this story, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mind that they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t developed all that much. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m much more in favor of the script giving time to Dr. Crusher and Picard\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s CONSTANT unresolved sexual tension. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ABSOLUTELY CANON, WE ARE NOT IMAGINING THIS, SOUND THE ALARM. Good lord, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, that scene in the police station was\u00c2\u00a0too much<\/i>.<\/p>\n

All in all, a remarkably solid and entertaining episode of the show, made better by how risky it felt.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Big Goodbye\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The Mark Does Stuff Tour 2015 is now live and includes dates across the U.S., Canada, Europe, the U.K., and Ireland. Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches will be the remainder of\u00c2\u00a0The Legend of Korra<\/i>, series 8 of\u00c2\u00a0Doctor Who<\/i>, and Kings<\/i>. On Mark Reads, Diane Duane’s Young Wizards<\/i> series will replace the Emelan books.
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!
\n– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running,\u00c2\u00a0 I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
\n<\/a>– Please check out the\u00c2\u00a0 MarkDoesStuff.com<\/a>. All Mark Watches videos for past shows\/season are now archived there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"