[TNG] Lynch's Spoiler Review: "Ship in a Bottle"
Timothy W. Lynch
week's TNG episode, "Ship in a Bottle". Those non-fictional persons wishing
to avoid spoilers are thus advised to remain clear.
Poor Barclay. Doesn't he have *enough* complexes without now being told he
might be fictional? :-)
I mean, honestly. Give the guy a break. ;-)
"Ship in a Bottle" possessed one of the strongest plots I've seen TNG come up
with in quite a while, and had some excellent performances backing it up.
More details (lots more!) after this synopsis, though:
When Barclay begins to work on finding and fixing a bug in the Sherlock
Holmes holodeck programs, he accidentally finds and releases Professor
Moriarty, who has been aware of the passage of time since being stored away
by Picard and company four years earlier, and who is very annoyed that
nothing has been done to help him. Barclay promises to talk to the captain
and puts Moriarty back into memory -- or so he thinks. Moriarty, however,
reappears upon Barclay's exit from the holodeck and begins to plan...
As the Enterprise prepares to observe a collision of two planets that will
then form a star, Picard joins Data and Barclay in the holodeck -- on 221B
Baker Street, to be precise. He speaks with Moriarty, who bitterly refuses
to listen to Picard, and in fact no longer believes that he cannot leave the
holodeck. "Mind over matter", he ventures, and steps out of the holodeck.
Much to the surprise of the crew, he lives and breathes as ordinary matter!
After Moriarty is taken to sickbay and pronounced human, Picard takes him to
Ten-Forward and speaks with him about the opportunities this century can
offer him (so long as he stays on the straight and narrow, of course).
Moriarty is initially ecstatic, but soon becomes depressed, and asks Picard
to also allow the programmed love of his life, Countess Regina Bartholomew,
to also become self-aware and leave the holodeck. Picard points out that
even if they knew how to do so, the moral questions would be too great to
allow it until it's better understood, and is later backed up by the senior
staff in that decision. Moriarty, bitter, seizes control of the ship at a
critical juncture, putting them all in danger of destruction.
Picard assigns Data, Geordi and Barclay to work on helping make the Countess
real, and also asks Geordi privately to work on giving Picard back control of
the ship. It's suggested that if the transporters could somehow lock onto a
holodeck object and beam it "off the grid", then that object might have real
cohesion once beamed. Barclay enters the holodeck to set this up, speaking
to a now self-aware Countess in the process. Unfortunately, the test fails,
with the chair they attempt to beam vanishing once the transporter cycle
ends. Strangely, however, the transporter logs show no trace of the
incident... Meanwhile, Geordi tells Picard that he believes he can give
Picard back control of the ship. Picard quickly tells the computer his
authorization codes in order to accomplish this, but the test appears to fail.
Just then, Data arrives and tells Picard his startling conclusions, which are
quickly confirmed: Moriarty managed to "leave" the holodeck because it was a
holodeck *within* a holodeck. Moriarty is in a huge holodeck program of his
own making -- and so are they. This means that only Data, Picard, and Barclay
are real -- and that Picard has just given Moriarty his voice codes, allowing
Moriarty to take over the *real* Enterprise. They begin to search for a way
to "give Moriarty what he wants", as Moriarty, now controlling the real ship,
tells Riker to work on letting the *real* transporters beam holodeck matter.
Picard reenters the "holodeck" and trades pleasantries with the Countess. He
informs her that they've found a way to make her and Moriarty real, and that
"uncoupling the Heisenberg compensators" on the transporter will allow it to
beam holodeck matter off the grid. He asks her *not* to tell Moriarty of
this finding, urging her instead to help him move the ship to a safe
distance. She, of course, promptly tells Moriarty, who calls up Riker and
wants "to talk about uncoupling the Heisenberg compensators..."
Moriarty and the Countess pack, and prepare to leave. The transporter
attempt takes place, and works -- they find themselves on the *real*
transporter pad. Moriarty refuses to relinquish control, however, first
demanding a shuttlecraft and safe passage. Riker, with little choice, grants
it, and the Countess and a jubilant Moriarty take their leave. Once clear,
he gives control of the Enterprise back to the Enterprise.
Picard then steps in, shutting down the holodeck program that *Moriarty* had
entered ever since Picard's conversation with the Countess and saving
Moriarty and the Countess in an isolated memory cube. He then shuts down the
program Moriarty created and leaves the holodeck. As the Enterprise retreats
to observe the planetary collision from a safe distance, Picard explains this
to everyone, pointing out that Moriarty's perceived "reality" right now may
be no different from their own -- and perhaps they are just a fiction playing
itself out on a box on someone's table.
There we are. Sheesh, after all the DS9 reviewing I've been doing all month,
I'd almost forgotten how much work it was to write a synopsis. :-) Anyway,
on to the meat:
This was one of the most delightfully *surreal* shows we've had from TNG in a
while. Given the basic premise in "Elementary, Dear Data" of Moriarty being
self-aware, the plot seemed to hold together extremely nicely (with perhaps
one exception: it seems obvious to me how *Moriarty* was put into the
holodeck-within-a-holodeck, but how did Picard get the Countess in there?).
Besides, if it's done well I tend to enjoy stories that get self-referential,
and this one did it in spades.
It took me a while to reason out how Moriarty and the Countess could have
been beamed from one spot to another, given the holo-within-a-holo world they
were experiencing. Eventually I figured out what Picard must have done: I
can only assume that what really happened was that Picard programmed the
holodeck to simulate for *them* what it looked like being transported, and
basically changed the environment around them rather than them themselves.
We didn't quite see it that way, but that's a very minor film cheat that I'm
more than prepared to live with.
The "play-within-a-play" theme is far from novel, but being unable to
*escape* the particular play-within-a-play you're in is much more rare, and I
can only repeat that this one seemed excellently done. I must admit that
Data's revelation midway through the show took me completely by surprise; I
hadn't guessed that they must all still be on the holodeck, but in retrospect
it does tie everything together neatly. Besides, Data's combadge hitting the
wall of the holodeck was a startling sight, and the sudden realization
afterwards of "uh-oh, I just gave Moriarty my command codes" was smartly
done, though I'll admit that's one I *had* seen coming.
The most recent show this bears any sort of parallel to, I think, is "Cause
and Effect". Both this and C&E were very plot-driven, idea-driven shows --
idea-driven enough that the characters' jobs were to find their way through
the plot rather than go through significant change or growth. As a rule, I
prefer the latter type of show, but really *good* idea-driven shows can more
than make up for "static" characters once in a while, and this was definitely
one of them.
The show was helped immeasurably by the performance of Daniel Davis as
Moriarty. I liked him very much in "Elementary, Dear Data", and I like him
at least as much now. The man has *presence*, and is someone who strikes me
as a very believable Moriarty (more so than Spiner/Data's Holmes, I have to
say). His "Mind over matter. Cogito ergo sum!" speech to himself was
powerful enough that I *could* bring myself to believe he'd somehow gotten
himself out through force of will (which, after all, was what we were
*supposed* to believe at that point), and that wasn't easy. In addition, his
reactions both to the security guards ("Policemen. I'd recognize them in any
century.") and to the Enterprise's identity as a *starship* both seemed
properly 19th-century. I found myself rooting somewhat for Moriarty here,
and that's a pleasant change. Bravo.
I can't quite say the same thing for the Countess; she was engaging enough,
but not particularly riveting the way Moriarty was. Given that her initial
value was as something of a ruse to trick Picard into helping him, I was
somewhat expecting that his attachment to her would be somewhat exaggerated
as well, and that turned out not to be the case. I've no objection to being
surprised, but I didn't see enough substance to the Countess to explain why
she was so fascinating to Moriarty. Given, however, that the storyline was
Picard vs. Moriarty in a game of wits, the Countess is very much a side
issue.
As for Barclay, it was nice to see him as a normal, ordinary officer who
isn't causing trouble with his neuroses (be they natural or artificially
induced). Yes, he's the one who started this whole mess by releasing
Moriarty, but that strikes me as a mistake lots of other people could have
made in his situation. His reactions to meeting holodeck people who really
*were* "real" were a delightful counterpoint to his original problems in
"Hollow Pursuits", and his reaction to Picard's final suggestion seemed
perfectly in character for him.
Lisa (my own personal Countess, for those new readers) had an idea very early
on, though, which is worth sharing. Wouldn't this have been a particularly
nasty practical joke to play on Barclay? To have him go "fix" a holodeck
problem, and suddenly run into someone who seems to know about the outside
world? Given Barclay's retreat *into* fiction, if the TNG crew were a little
nasty it could have been a cute comeuppance.
That's most of what I had to say. There's not much to say about the
characters, since we only saw two "real" regulars for any significant time
and I've already commented on Barclay and Moriarty. So, a few short takes:
-- Moriarty got some of the best lines. Aside from the "policemen" bit I've
already mentioned, his statement about how "A deadline has a wonderful way of
*concentrating* the mind" seemed very apt for him. And, of course, we had
the requisite "I'm afraid I can't do that." to Riker. I guess Moriarty
wandered over from A.C.Doyle to A.C.Clarke for a little while during his stay
in protected memory. :-) :-)
-- I originally thought there'd be more to the "handedness" problem than
there was. Somehow, I thought Moriarty was affecting the initial simulation,
but it appears to have been a convenient happenstance. Well, I'll manage.
:-)
-- Also, it's been established before that Data's *left-handed*. Interesting
to see during the handedness discussion here that his Holmes was
*right-handed*. Boy, when Data gets into a part, he goes all the way in.
-- I wonder what would happen if Moriarty's cube ever found its way to
Bynarus, home of the Bynars. Just a thought. (How about the Borg?)
That should about do it. *Very* nice job -- a refreshing change from reruns.
Between this and "Chain of Command", I think TNG is coming around this
season. Let's hope it continues!
So, the numbers:
Plot: 9. One or two very minor things I haven't quite managed to figure
out, but all in all very impressive.
Plot Handling: 10. Fan-*tastic* job for a rookie director.
Characterization: 9. Very nice.
TOTAL: 10, once I round up for general surrealism. :-) Bravo.
NEXT WEEK
Geordi's in lust with a suspected murderer, and the FX crew has fun with
morphing.
Tim Lynch (Harvard-Westlake School, Science Dept.)
BITNET: tlynch@citjulie
INTERNET: tly...@juliet.caltech.edu
UUCP: ...!ucbvax!tlynch%juliet.ca...@hamlet.caltech.edu
"I think -- therefore I AM!"
--Moriarty
--
Copyright 1993, Timothy W. Lynch. All rights reserved, but feel free to ask...
ron c carman
>WARNING: The following post contains spoiler information regarding this
>week's TNG episode, "Ship in a Bottle". Those non-fictional persons wishing
>to avoid spoilers are thus advised to remain clear.
>Poor Barclay. Doesn't he have *enough* complexes without now being told he
>might be fictional? :-)
> I must admit that
>Data's revelation midway through the show took me completely by surprise; I
>hadn't guessed that they must all still be on the holodeck, but in retrospect
>it does tie everything together neatly.
It does indeed. It explains rather nicely why the book Picard threw
out of the holodeck didn't take a few seconds to vanish: Moriarty had
no knowledge of how that would happen, so couldn't program it properly
into the holodeck simulation.
> Besides, Data's combadge hitting the
>wall of the holodeck was a startling sight, and the sudden realization
>afterwards of "uh-oh, I just gave Moriarty my command codes" was smartly
>done, though I'll admit that's one I *had* seen coming.
Data's combadge hitting the wall was a nice touch, but it hits on
a small sticking point with me: Data should have known *all along*
that they were still on the holodeck, because he can *see* the walls
through the illusion!...
That's a very minor continuity error, however.
"Ship in a Bottle" definitely gets an 'A' from me.
RC Carman
--
/=======================================================================\
| Ron C. Carman || Quantum physicists get all the girls. |
| rcca...@mik.uky.edu || Al. Is he live, or is he a hologram? |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
David Goldfarb
just after Barclay said, "End program", the program did in fact end?
--
David Goldfarb |
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | "Hey, mister! Your ninja's dragging!"
gold...@UCBOCF.BITNET |
gold...@soda.berkeley.edu |
Bill Turner
I too enjoyed this episode. The revelation that they're still on the
holodeck caught me by surprise (yeah, the title is a hind-sight dead
giveaway), and I'll drop another nice clue that nobody else has
mentioned....
In the briefing room scene, when discussion what to do about
Morriarity, Troi is wearing a regular uniform -- my wife pointed it
out, but I said it might have been a holdover from "Chain of
Command." Another difference twixt reality and holodeck.
[Also, didn't we see something like the nested holodecks in a couple of
Dr. Who episodes? Kids, don't try materializing one Tardis around
another at home....]
--Bill Turner (btu...@cv.hp.com)
HP User Interface Technology Division, Corvallis
Michael Rawdon
>I too enjoyed this episode. The revelation that they're still on the
>holodeck caught me by surprise (yeah, the title is a hind-sight dead
>giveaway), and I'll drop another nice clue that nobody else has
>mentioned....
> In the briefing room scene, when discussion what to do about
> Morriarity, Troi is wearing a regular uniform -- my wife pointed it
> out, but I said it might have been a holdover from "Chain of
> Command." Another difference twixt reality and holodeck.
This wasn't a clue; Troi wears a standard uniform in "Aquiel" as well.
(Unless, of course, they really ARE still on the holodeck at the very end of
"Ship In A Bottle"! :-)
Personally, I think that this was a good move by the creators. Troi's old
outfits always looked so darned *silly*.
>[Also, didn't we see something like the nested holodecks in a couple of
>Dr. Who episodes? Kids, don't try materializing one Tardis around
>another at home....]
It happened in "Logopolis", Tom Baker's last story.
--
Michael Rawdon raw...@colby.cs.wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Department, Madison, WI
"...I guess I'd rather have mediocre Star Trek then none at all."
- A friend, about the ST:TNG episode "Legacy"
Iain Odlin
> ... Data's comm-badge hitting the wall...
This bugged me. It bugged me in "Encountre at Farpoint" too. Why in Hell
would the computer ever let us "see" the wall? Could it not simply "grab"
the comm-badge (or rock, etc) and let you see an image of the comm-badge
continuing in accord with the laws of physics?
[This problem has been on my mind for a while. I always wondered how the
holodeck (definitely limited in area) could let Data and Geordi run about
looking for Pulaski and at the same time have Moriarty and Pulaski having
tea -- all in the same room. The computer would *have* to be able to do
what I suggested above.]
The obvious answer is, of course, that the computer can do it, but doesn't
when it is dramatically necessary to make a point. [Reminds me of the
role playing game "Teenagers From Outer Space" wherein you have things like
Guards with the skill "Ability to flip gracefully through the air after a
nearby explosion +3" and such-like. One of my characters had the limited
ability to utilize stray bits of natural phenomena (wind, light rays, etc)
to make dramatic countre-points to what he was saying ("You are all going
to die" coupled with the lights dimming and thunder rolling... ;).] But
still...
Still and all, I think "Ship in a Bottle" was one of the most interesting
episodes of TNG I've seen, and it is the only episode thus far to have an-
swered all the questions I had the *instant* I gave them voice; a most
pleasant surprise.
--
--------------------------------- Iain Odlin ---------------------------------
10 Crosby Street, Level 3, Portland ME 04103
od...@reed.edu
---------- Famous Last Words, #23: "What could possibly go wrong?" ----------
Wendell Bates
really only two points that nagged my brain. Firstly, I had thought from
Encounter at Farpoint that Data could see the holodeck walls. Did he turn off
his "holovision" or something? Maybe that's why he couldn't see it until the
middle.
Secondly, didn't Barkley put Moriarty back into protected memory when he
left? If so, how did Moriarty come back so that he could do all this repro-
gramming of the holodeck?
A final "pointlette" I've had since Elementary Dear Data is since Moriarty
was created by Geordi asking the computer to program a foe that could match
Data, why couldn't they reproduce the effect? Now, Picards says that after 4
years, the best minds in the Federation still don't know how it happened.
Doesn't the holodeck or the main computer that's running it keep a log of its
functions? They should be able to backtrack that to recreate, or at least find
out what happened. But I won't hold that one against them.
So, after those two points above are subtracted from 10, Ship in a Bottle gets
an 8 from me.
Cya when I Cya,
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Wendell Bates - >Doc< The Pennsylvania State University
---------------------------------------------------------------------
|wrb4@psuvm (BITNET) | Q: "What must I do to convince you |
|wr...@psuvm.psu.edu | people that I am human?" |
|wrb4%ps...@psuvax1.uucp | |
|w...@psulias.psu.edu | Worf: "Die." |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Judson
writes:
# I must admit, Ship In a Bottle was one of the better ones for TNG.
# There were really only two points that nagged my brain. Firstly,
# I had thought from Encounter at Farpoint that Data could see the
# holodeck walls. Did he turn off his "holovision" or something?
# Maybe that's why he couldn't see it until the middle.
This was discussed in earlier posts. The concensus seems to be that
after the holodeck was upgraded, by the Binars and somebody else,
this "fixed" Data's "problem" of being able to see the walls.
# Secondly, didn't Barkley put Moriarty back into protected memory
# when he left? If so, how did Moriarty come back so that he could
# do all this reprogramming of the holodeck?
My theory is that Moriarty made himself disappear before Barclay got the
chance to "end his program." This is why he disappeared in an unusual
manner.
# A final "pointlette" I've had since Elementary Dear Data is since
# Moriarty was created by Geordi asking the computer to program a foe
# that could match Data, why couldn't they reproduce the effect? Now,
# Picards says that after 4 years, the best minds in the Federation
# still don't know how it happened. Doesn't the holodeck or the main
# computer that's running it keep a log of its functions? They should
# be able to backtrack that to recreate, or at least find out what
# happened. But I won't hold that one against them.
Perhaps when Moriarty was first created there were external forces in
space which could not be duplicated.
#
# So, after those two points above are subtracted from 10, Ship in a
# Bottle gets an 8 from me.
I still give it a 10. In fact, I rate it as one of the best, or even
the best episode.
#
# Cya when I Cya,
# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Wendell Bates - >Doc< The Pennsylvania State University
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------
# |wrb4@psuvm (BITNET) | Q: "What must I do to convince you |
# |wr...@psuvm.psu.edu | people that I am human?" |
# |wrb4%ps...@psuvax1.uucp | |
# |w...@psulias.psu.edu | Worf: "Die." |
# ---------------------------------------------------------------------
--
You know what would make a good story? Something about a clown
who makes people happy, but inside he's real sad. Also, he has
severe diarrhea.
Jack Handy
Michael Y Ko
memory, it was continuously running without being part of any holodeck
simulation. However, Barclay loaded his program into "regular" memory where
programs are used. Once Moriarity was in the regular memory, I guess he could
do what ever he wanted because he was not "under" the control of the computer.
He had his own consciousness.
Michael Teller
>In article <93033.09...@psuvm.psu.edu>, Wendell Bates
><WR...@psuvm.psu.edu>
>says:
>
>I must admit, Ship In a Bottle was one of the better ones for TNG. There were
>really only two points that nagged my brain. Firstly, I had thought from
>Encounter at Farpoint that Data could see the holodeck walls. Did he turn off
>his "holovision" or something? Maybe that's why he couldn't see it until the
>middle.
A lot of people have been asking about this problem with Data and the
holodeck and a possible solution just occurred to me. Although I don't remember
any on show mention of it, maybe when the Holodecks were refitted by the Binar
to make them more realistic they were able to overcome Data's ability to see
the walls. Any comments from the people on the net who I am sure no more about
this than I?
-Teller
> Wendell Bates - >Doc< The Pennsylvania State University
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>|wrb4@psuvm (BITNET) | Q: "What must I do to convince you |
>|wr...@psuvm.psu.edu | people that I am human?" |
she listens like her head's on fire..
>
> A lot of people have been asking about this problem with Data and the
>holodeck and a possible solution just occurred to me. Although I don't remember
>any on show mention of it, maybe when the Holodecks were refitted by the Binar
>to make them more realistic they were able to overcome Data's ability to see
>the walls. Any comments from the people on the net who I am sure no more about
>this than I?
> -Teller
Where was it ever mentioned that Data could see the Holodeck walls?
just another theatre geek
>> A lot of people have been asking about this problem with Data and the
>>holodeck and a possible solution just occurred to me. Although I don't remember
>>any on show mention of it, maybe when the Holodecks were refitted by the Binar
>>to make them more realistic they were able to overcome Data's ability to see
>>the walls. Any comments from the people on the net who I am sure no more about
>>this than I?
I find it HIGHLY ironic that people conversant in computer technology
(and presumably creeping featurism and upgrades) are arguing that holodeck
capabilities have stayed the same for over six years.
--
Roger Tang, gwan...@u.washington.edu
Producer Emeritus, Asian Theatre at the UW, Uncle Bonsai Memorial Fan Club
"The definition of balls is for a non-singer to go karaoke singing
with the cast of a musical revue."
Reg Derv
> In article <93034.1530...@wuvmd.wustl.edu>, C096...@wuvmd.wustl.edu (
> >
> > A lot of people have been asking about this problem with Data and the
> >holodeck and a possible solution just occurred to me. Although I don't remem
> >any on show mention of it, maybe when the Holodecks were refitted by the Bin
> >to make them more realistic they were able to overcome Data's ability to see
> >the walls. Any comments from the people on the net who I am sure no more abo
> >this than I?
> > -Teller
>
>
> Where was it ever mentioned that Data could see the Holodeck walls?
It was mentioned in 'Encounter at Farpoint' where he throws a
boulder/rock at the wall, and see this ripple effect... Also, the topic
of Data overcomming seeing the walls, was addressed over a week 1/2
ago... But for those who don't stay current, There are two epissodes
where the holodeck was 'Upgraded', the first was in '100110001(sp?:)' by
the binnaries (sp?:) and I seem to recall another, can't remember the
name... But, Data CAN NOT see the walls.
^^^
Below is an address where you can reach my dog, Atrov, who receives
health care in Canada.
Andrew Chasse --- sizone!pond...@ee.ryerson.ca