Ship in a Bottle (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
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| 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.
Data and La Forge are enjoying a Sherlock Holmes holodeck program when the two notice that a character programmed to be left-handed was actually right-handed. They call Lt. Barclay to repair the holodeck, but as he checks the status of the Sherlock Holmes programs, he encounters an area of protected memory. He activates it to find the artificial sentient Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis) character projected into the Holodeck, who appears to have memory since his creation (Elementary, Dear Data) including during the period while he was inactive. Moriarty wishes to escape the artificial world of the holodeck and was assured by the crew of the Enterprise-D that they would endeavor to find a way to free him, and is irritated at the lack of results on the part of the crew and their seeming lack of even the tiniest bit of effort. Picard, along with Data and Barclay, attempt to assure Moriarty they are still working on that goal, but Moriarty is dismissive of that. 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 Bartholomew, 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.
While assisting La Forge, Data observes that LaForge's handedness is incorrect, just as they had experienced earlier. Data determines that himself, Picard, and Barclay never left the holodeck, and everyone and everything 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 to convince Moriarty that he and Regina can be beamed into the real world, though in fact they are only "beamed" in the holodeck's holodeck simulation. Moriarty, satisfied with the ruse, releases control of the ship back to Picard, and he and the Countess use a shuttlecraft given to them by Picard to leave the Enterprise and explore the galaxy. Picard ends the simulation and returns to the real Enterprise. Barclay extracts the memory cube from the holodeck and sets it in an extended power device in order to provide Moriarty and the Countess a lifetime of exploration and adventure.
This makes a mention of "living in a box on someone's table", which of course is a play on the fact that all the characters are indeed doing just that; through the TV you are watching.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Ship in a Bottle article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Ship in a Bottle (Star Trek: The Next Generation) at StarTrek.com
