I have to title this entry as holodeck "moments" not episodes because I'm of the opinion that the best uses of the holodeck weren't in entire episodes devoted to it like The Big Goodbye, Elementary Dear Data/Ship In A Bottle, Fistful of Datas, or Emergence. Lets face it, the science fiction behind the holodeck images coming to life or being physically dangerous is as shaky as physically interactive holodeck science fiction in general. I enjoyed most of the holodeck episodes for entertainment value, but the concept of a holodeck is better suited to more realistic functions and fantasies in my mind, not to genuine crises and dangers faced by the crew.
I'm acknowledging but excluding the training programs. Expecially like the Aikido program Tasha demonstrates in Code of Honor. There were gymnasiums for this sort of thing as evidenced later with Worf's martial arts class that he teaches, Picard playing racketball with Juno in Suddenly Human and also fencing in the episode We'll Always Have Paris which also introduces another favorite use - recreation. Romantic getaways... Paris, Geordi's date on the beach, Wesley and his first love in The Dauphin, Troi with Riker and her arranged fiance on an exotic pink-atmosphered planet. As well as other recreations like the mud baths that Lwaxana enjoys with Worf and Alexander. These are wonderful uses and I esteem these above the episodes that featured the holodeck as well.
You can't mention the holodeck without mentioning Barklay of course. I marked Hollow Pursuits as one of the first most realistic uses of the holodeck that had been done and I stand by that even though it's not in my top five because it still falls in the category of recreation which, although fun, is a little on the obvious side. The way Barklay uses the holodeck to control the ship in The Nth Degree is good stuff that I always loved, but it's a little too similar in content to holodeck figures coming to life and posing a threat.
My favorite uses of the holodeck were when it was used as a tool in creative ways. The first two runners up are from the episode Homeward where Worf's brother simulates the cave structure of a dying planet that some primitive colonists live on in order to save their lives. He and Worf guide the people through the caves while the Enterprise searches for a comparable planet for them to live on giving a high stakes function to the holodecks capacity to simulate terrain. It's one thing to see Picard going for a leisurely horse ride in the holodeck because he can't get back to Earth every other weekend. But it's another thing to make an ever changing landscape to fool a group of people who have no knowledge of any other world and all while they're having trouble sustaining the holodeck matrix during their search for another planet. One person is lost to suicide after discovering the truth of the situation. It's certainly a more realistic example of holodeck programming gone wrong as opposed to Moriarty threatening to kill Dr. Pulaski.
In Phantasms, Data's dream program helps in detecting technical problems on the Enterprise in the form of nightmares and unconscious desires to act them out. Okay, that's technically some shaky science fiction as well, but the fun part is where they plug Data into the holodeck to observe his nightmares in order to figure out what phenomenon is harming the ship. It's not the last time a technique like this would be employed, but it's one of the most unique ones.
5. My number five favorite is from The Offspring where Data's creation, Lal, chooses her appearance. I like to see the Holodeck used as a tool and often when it is empty except for the objects that are created within. It's like a drawing pad or literally a graph pad where sketches are made and ideas constructed only it's in three dimensions and you can see your creations come to life quite literally. 3D imagination as it were. She appears in four forms before deciding on the human female. It's a relatively short scene, but this is an ideal use of the holodeck in my opinion.
4. My number four favorite is Scotty on the original bridge of the Enterprise . It's a sweet but sadly realistic use of the holodeck. Yes, a lot of people would use it for recreation, romantic interludes, and even outright houses of ill-repute (as in the Holosuites of DS9.) But a lot of people would want to relive long lost memories as well. Scotty who is lonely and confused after being thrust into a distant future goes to the holodeck to drink and spend time on his old ship. Picard later finds him and it becomes more of a lovely than depressing memory. It's a beautiful moment.
3. My number three is from A Matter of Perspective. Riker is on trial for a crime of passion. They use the holodeck to recreate the testimonies from different points of view. More than just he-said/she-said, they must sit and watch what each other said as they remember it. Both sides are a little exaggerated in their own favor until Picard's supposition version unravels the mystery. I've always loved this employment of the holodeck. If not for it's use, this wouldn't have been a very entertaining episode with so simple a plot even though there was adequate science fiction in the exonerating testimony. I think it's brilliant.
2. Actually numbers two and one are nearly at a tie. I'll place Schisms at number two. Several people are abducted by aliens and subjected to different physical experimentation and harm. They are held unconscious, but they all retain some memories and deja vu with various objects that certifies a definite connection. Troi takes them to the holodeck and together they build a place that they've all been to. It's meant to be eerie and everything from the lighting to the table they create makes everything spooky. What was unique about this was the team work. They began with a general idea and worked it into this form with everyone's imput regarding progressive changes to the object. Much like the sketch book analogy I was making with Lal. This is so cool and so much better than a group gun slinging Datas, no matter how entertaining.
1. In a kind of prelude to the next episode I'll review, I'll place Identity Crisis at number one. The members of an away team that Geordi was a part of years before are disappearing. The only thing they have in common was a visit to a particular planet. Geordi reviews the video over and over while he and the last surviving member of the crew start to display strange physiological changes. He ultimately recreates the video in the holodeck and discovers a mysterious shadow that doesn't belong to anyone. How scary is that? I loved the heart pounding intensity of this discovery as well as the discovery made in Schisms. And it's yet another unique way of recreating things in the holodeck like Scotty's Enterprise.
Anyway, that's my favorite uses of the holodeck. Yours may differ.
No comments:
Post a Comment