Ship In A Bottle is strong followup to Season 2′s Elementary, Dear Data. The writing, the characterizations, and the plot are all very well crafted. On the whole, the episode isn’t quite as good as Elementary, Dear Data, but it doesn’t miss by much. I am going to assume that readers of this review are familiar with Elementary, Dear Data, but if you aren’t, then I highly recommend watching it, or reading the review, before proceeding any further.

The episode begins with Data and LaForge back on the holodeck, back in 22B Baker Street, back as Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes. Data as Holmes is in the final stages of deducing the culprit of a murder when his final solution is suddenly disproven — by a holodeck malfunction.

I know what you’re thinking: here we go with yet another Holodeck malfunctions episode. Trust me, that’s not what this is. The malfunction this time is a minor thing whereby a left handed character is suddenly portrayed as right handed. It’s seems barely noteworthy — which is probably why they call in Barclay to troubleshoot the problem.

Incidentally, this is probably Barclay’s most enjoyable performance to date — or at least his least annoying. Here he just ambles along with his typical nervous mannerisms. But he isn’t exhibiting any silly psychological issues this time around. The effect is a very solid, entertaining supporting character.

While working on the Holodeck, Barclay discovers the Moriarty program. It seems that while he had been stored in memory, Moriarty has had a concept of passing time — something that must have been distinctly unpleasant. His anger and indignation at the apparent lack of progress in figuring out a way for him to exist outside of the Holodeck is understandable. And, being the evil genius that he is, he decides to act on that anger.

When Picard returns with Data and Barclay to confront Moriarty, something remarkable happens: Moriarty decides he has nothing to lose, so he walks out of the Holodeck … and survives. It is, to Picard, Data, and Barclay, nothing short of a miraculous event. But after a checkup in Sick Bay, and once over with LaForge’s VISOR, it seems that reality cannot be ignored. Moriarty is able to exist outside of the Holodeck.

But during a conversation with Picard in Ten Forward, Moriarty reveals a further agenda: he wants the Countess Regina Bartholomew to be imbued with the same self consciousness that he has, and for her to be brought out of the Holodeck as well. When Picard balks at the idea — citing the reasonably sound concerns about ethics, morality, and even plausibility — Moriarty takes matters even further into his own hands by somehow taking control of the ship’s computers.

To add to the threat level, there is an impending danger. The Enterprise was in the midst of a mission to observe the collision of two gas giant planets that were to create a new sun. With Moriarty in control, the ship is in jeopardy of succumbing to the overwhelming gravitational tides. Once again, Moriarty has nothing to lose, so he risks everything to achieve his goal. Fortunately, LaForge manages to provide Picard with a means of regaining control so, using his command code, he does so.

But there is a twist.

And the twist itself is almost perfect in its plausibility and execution. It’s a “gotcha” that can really get you, and it doesn’t feel like a cheap ploy because it also happens to be a “gotcha” for the characters.

Picard, Barclay, Data, and even Moriarty himself, never left the Holodeck. They literally are on a ship in a bottle.

Moriarty’s plan was to make the trio think they had, make them think the computers were locked out, and make Picard give his authorization codes in order to really gain control of the Enterprise. And once Picard uttered his code, Moriarty does take control. And the danger from the planetary collision is real. So the race is on to give Moriarty what he wants before it is too late.

Picard’s final solution is another twist — but this one is a bit easier to see. Picard reprograms the Holodeck’s simulation of the Holodeck. The ruse succeeds and Moriarty and the Countess end up locked in a computer circuit that has a self sustaining simulation. In a sense, the universe in which Moriarty is locked will seem very real to him and the Countess.

It’s a very well crafted story, but what really drives this episode are the characters. Moriarty’s performance is just as good as it was in Elementary, Dear Data. Data isn’t quite as good, but Picard’s performance picks up the slack, as does that of the Countess. And Moriarty’s struggle to gain freedom is resonant. He may be the episode’s “villain” but we can clearly empathize with his desire for both freedom and companionship.

In many ways, Ship In A Bottle takes the “Prometheus Unbound” story to its logical conclusion — given that the society has enough technology to clean up its own mess. And the final solution is provocative in its implications, given explicit attention by Picard:

And… who knows — our reality might not be all that different from theirs. All this … might be nothing more than an elaborate simulation being run inside a little device… sitting on someone else’s table…

Ship In A Bottle is a very good episode. It was good to see an open ended plot point from Season 2 given some attention. And the extension of that episode, in both story and theme is something that the series needed at this point.

Topics: Moriarty
Filed under: TNG Reviews