Ship in a Bottle (TNG episode)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Trek: TNG episode | |
| "Ship in a Bottle" | |
 Moriarty and Picard in "Ship in a Bottle" |
|
| Episode no. | 138 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 238 |
| Airdate | January 24, 1993 |
| Writer(s) | René Echevarria |
| Director | Alexander Singer |
| Guest star(s) | Dwight Schultz, Daniel Davis, Clement von Franckenstein, Stephanie Beacham |
| Year | 2369 |
| Stardate | 46424.1 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Chain of Command, Part II" |
| Next | "Aquiel" |
"Ship in a Bottle" is the 138th episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Harking back to an earlier episode of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, Elementary, Dear Data, the holodeck creation of Professor James Moriarty (played by guest actor Daniel Davis) from Sherlock Holmes is awakened from his long sleep when his program, saved and deactivated years ago, is reactivated. Moriarty, an artificial sentient being who wishes to escape the artificial world of the holodeck, was assured by the crew of the Enterprise-D that they would endeavor to find a way to free him. Finding himself still trapped within the holodeck, Moriarty is irritated at the lack of results on the part of the crew and their seeming lack of even the tiniest bit of effort. He takes control of the Enterprise-D through the computer, insisting that a way be found for him to experience life beyond the confines of the holodeck.
Moriarty confuses the crew by seemingly willing himself to existence by walking off the holodeck. He explains this to the stunned captain and Data by saying, "I think, therefore I am." The additional twist is the action by Moriarty to create a companion, the Countess Regina Barthalomew, for himself, commanding the computer of the Enterprise-D to place another sentient mind within a female character of the Sherlock Holmes novels. Moriarty then demands a solution to get Regina off the holodeck be devised.
Data eventually discovers that no one has left the holodeck, and everyone and everything except he and Picard that appears to be the Enterprise are part of a holodeck program Moriarty created: the ship in the bottle. Data finds a way to program the holodeck's holodeck, then convinces Moriarty Regina can be beamed into the real world. In fact, they simply beam her and Moriarty into the holodeck's holodeck. Moriarty, being deceived by his own methods, releases control of the ship to Picard. Believing they were in the real world, the two artificial beings embarked on a happy lifetime of exploration and adventure.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ship in a Bottle article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- Ship in a Bottle (TNG episode) at StarTrek.com
