What don't I get about holodeck episodes

[Bad Thoughts]

When the Berman-era Trek series were first airing, I dreaded every preview for a holodeck episode. My enthusiasm for that episode would wane because I suspected that, one way or other, the writers would be phoning it in. The stakes wouldn't be real, the tension would be contrived, the danger would need to be generated from outside--glitches, etc. Moreover, it seemed like science fiction was rife with opportunities for simulated realities--those times when aliens might get into the crewmembers minds in order to trick them--that the holodeck was unnecessary. Admittedly, some holodeck episodes were quite good. In several cases, the holodeck proved to be a useful tool for investigation and prototyping (I actually think Identity Crisis is creepy). I can enjoy the random scene thrown into larger story, like Janeway's exploration of Victorian lit.And I think that episodes like Hollow Pursuits and Only a Paper Moon do a great job delineating between helpful and harmful types of fantasy. However, I could never shake the feeling that the writers were not putting heir best feet forward for major holodeck episodes.

As I am exposed to more opinions, I am dumbstruck by the number of fans and viewers who not only really like holodeck episodes, but think that they are some of the best. Not a majority, but there seems to be a good group of people who would consider episodes like Elementary, Dear Data, Our Man Bashir, and Bride of Chaotica as some of the best work done in the franchise. While there are things that I appreciate about each of those, I have to admit that I don't get the strength of their appeal. They lack seriousness, IMO. They don't seem them reaching the heights of Inner Light or Hard Times, episodes in which the simulated reality was more consequential. The reasoning behind the love for these episodes doesn't help: it is because they are departures from the norm and that they generally lack consequences, they are so enjoyable.

Please, what am I not appreciating about the holodeck episode? Why was The Big Goodbye, for instance, deserving of so much acclaim when what I saw was an episode in which the characters dressed up and LARPed?

(For reference,I consider an holodeck episode to be one in which the characters have several scenes in holographic environments in which they interact with AI-controlled characters.)

 

[cosmic mouse]

I like some of the holodeck eps and then others not as much... so I guess they are kind of hit or miss for me.
The Killing Game, for example, I thought was fantastic (and I do like Bride of Chaotica, but I was a Flash Gordon fan when I was like 7 or 8, so maybe that's why), but I agree with you on the eps you mentioned from TNG. The reason why Big Goodbye might be touted is because it was the first to really show the holodeck on full display, and back in the 80s it may have seemed more unattainable to engage in such an environment versus our the tech-savvy culture of today.


**not sure why those tags are there. I can't get rid of them... ??​

 

[1001001]

WThe stakes wouldn't be real, the tension would be contrived

The stakes are never real.

Whether it's a holodeck program gone mad or a Borg sphere, the "tension" is exactly the same. None.

Because it's not real.

So I let the story tell itself, try not to look too closely at things that don't matter (to me), like Warp Speeds and technobabble shit, and enjoy the ride.

I think some Holodeck episodes were really good: Bride of Chaotica, The Killing Game, the Moriarty episodes. I also really liked Emergence. I thought that was quite entertaining (Vertiform City!).

To each his/her own.

 

[eschaton]

Honestly, I feel like part of the production rationale for holodeck episodes was basically a more plausible version of why TOS had planets dominated by gangsters, Nazis, and Romans. There was all this period crap hanging around the Paramount lot, and it made for relatively cheap production. For the writers, it was fun because it allowed them to experiment with alternate genres which would have been awkward to shove into Trek otherwise, like westerns, romances, detective stories, spy movies, sports drama, etc. I think some of the actors liked it too, because it allowed for them to be campy and act outside of their character's normal range.

As to the drama, it's important to note that not every holodeck episode was based upon the safeties failing, or being trapped in the simulation. Still, ultimately as was noted, the stakes aren't any different from a normal episode, where the ship/station faces some sort of "anomaly" or malfunction which stops the normal smooth process from going forward.

I think DS9 did the holodeck the best, since it was mostly unseen except for Our Man Bashir and Vic Fontaine's episodes. That said, DS9 had its own avenues for escapism (MU episodes, and to a lesser degree Ferengi episodes), so it didn't have to rely upon the holodeck to break up routine.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Furthermore, we don't need to time travel every week, either.

The options for seeing characters out of their element (acting like Humans from another era/acting like different versions of themselves):

*Time travel
*Mirror universe
*Other alternate timelines
*Parallel development planets
*Holodecks

Am I missing any?

Imagine TCOTEOF with Kirk, Spock and McCoy trapped in the holodeck instead of back in time, and programming-wise, the only way to escape the holodeck alive is to allow holo-Edith to die. The program is destroyed in the process of escaping, save for a badly corrupted image of her that Kirk keeps in a small holophoto frame.

 

[Kor]

It's like watching somebody play a video game for an hour.

...Oh wait, this phenomenon actually exists on Youtube.

Kor

 

[Takeru]

What annoyed me about holodeck episodes was that there was almost always a malfunction. Just once I would have liked to see an entire episode of the characters just having fun in the holodeck and playing a holonovel as intended with no threat to the ship or the players.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

But what would be the stakes?

Would it be a character study? A B-story to an A-story which features another main character in peril elsewhere?

 

[E-DUB]

"Our Man Bashir" worked because the holodeck scenario was coupled with real-world danger to the characters. Ditto the Moriarty episodes. One of my favorite uses of the holodeck was when Janeway unleashed the macrovirus creatures against the "beach party" program. Looked like a sixties horror movie.

 

[Vger23]

I think it's just a chance to see everyone in a different environment and playing a different role potentially. In a 26 episode season, you (and the cast and writers) probably needed a little break in the norm.

I look at them just like any other outing...some good, some meh, some bad.

 

[Takeru]

But what would be the stakes?

Would it be a character study? A B-story to an A-story which features another main character in peril elsewhere?

It would just be the characters having an adventure, there'd be no stakes outside of the holonovel and there don't have to be. Making it a holonovel without any real stakes would also allow for the characters to fail completely which would make the episode actually less predictable.
If the characters are in mortal danger because the holodeck has once again turned into a death trap you know they're getting out of there, if they are in no danger because the holodeck works as intended there's a real possibility they screw up, the bad guys win and the computer tells them "game over, exit to the left".

Obviously that wouldn't be an option for every other episode because the episode would be a complete throwaway filler when looked at it from a story or character development point of view but for an once every two seasons breather between plot heavy episodes it would have been fine.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

I imagine it would have to be a story that explores an aspect of a character's psyche via the events of the holoprogram.

 

[Shawnster]

What annoyed me about holodeck episodes was that there was almost always a malfunction. Just once I would have liked to see an entire episode of the characters just having fun in the holodeck and playing a holonovel as intended with no threat to the ship or the players.

This. Overall. Any entertainment device that malfunctioned as much as the holodeck would have been uninstalled ages ago.

The first Barclay episode - "Hollow Pursuits" pretty much fits this bill. We had a lot of time in the holodeck with no malfunction.

An entire episode with O'Brien and Bashier and their adventure at The Alamo would have worked well. Or a Klingon version of such a story and one of our main characters keeps pausing the adventure to protest or needing explanation. Kinda like what happens in "flashback" episodes in order to give everyone something to do.

I liked the Dixon Hill story and an entire episode of Picard playing gumshoe would have been entertaining.

 

[Armus]

I enjoyed the TNG and DS9 holodeck episodes, especially DS9's.

The Big Goodbye was a nice homage to Raymond Chandler type detectives plus it had Lawrence Tierney. It was fun to see the crew's early reactions to the level of reality present in the holodeck.

Our Man Bashir likewise was a fine homage to 60s Bond, the cast was delightful playing 007 characters, even Terry Farrell. Avery Brooks was brilliant as Hippocrates Noah.

"There comes a time when a house has been so damaged by termites that you must not only kill the termites, but demolish the house and build again!"

 

[Mojochi]

Honestly, I feel like part of the production rationale for holodeck episodes was basically a more plausible version of why TOS had planets dominated by gangsters, Nazis, and Romans. There was all this period crap hanging around the Paramount lot, and it made for relatively cheap production. For the writers, it was fun because it allowed them to experiment with alternate genres which would have been awkward to shove into Trek otherwise, like westerns, romances, detective stories, spy movies, sports drama, etc. I think some of the actors liked it too, because it allowed for them to be campy and act outside of their character's normal range.

That's the gist of it

The options for seeing characters out of their element (acting like Humans from another era/acting like different versions of themselves):

*Time travel
*Mirror universe
*Other alternate timelines
*Parallel development planets
*Holodecks

Am I missing any?

Yeah, TNG's The Royale, which, like it or not, was one of the most ingenius ways to write what is essentially a holodeck episode, without the holodeck. I guess Future Imperfect revisits that idea too, the alien simulation. Q-pid as well

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Ah yes, alien simulations/hypnosis, etc, and culturally contaminated societies.

 

[Admiral Archer]

Considering that my very first fanfic I ever did was about a Starfleet Captain visiting a holodeck program of his family's ancestral home on Earth, I have to say that I appreciate holodecks more than most. I never did get the hate for holodeck episodes, because they were an integral part of the era of Trek to which I was introduced.

 

[cosmic mouse]

It's like watching somebody play a video game for an hour.

...Oh wait, this phenomenon actually exists on Youtube.

Kor

also in my best friend's living room...

 

[eschaton]

What annoyed me about holodeck episodes was that there was almost always a malfunction. Just once I would have liked to see an entire episode of the characters just having fun in the holodeck and playing a holonovel as intended with no threat to the ship or the players.

Plots involving the holodeck without endangering the crew happened lots of time.

TNG: In 11001001, the whole Minuet thing is just there to distract Riker. Data gets comedy tips from Joe Piscopo in The Outrageous Okana. And the holodeck is used to help solve a crime in A Matter of Perspective.

DS9: Other than Our Man Bashir, every time DS9 more than dipped its toe into the holosuite, there was no danger involved. Take Me Out to the Holosuite is just about a baseball game - that the crew loses. And there is nothing involving Vic Fontaine which involves any danger to the ship. First, he helps Odo get laid. Next, he helps Nog recover from PTSD. His final major outing, Badda Bing, Badda Bing, involves his virtual nightclub being endangered, but it doesn't really even involve his "life" being threatened. It's the crew having fun in order to help a friend out.

VOY: This series is - far and away - the one which abused the holodeck. However, it used the holodeck in more creative ways than just "the safeties are off!"

• In Lifesigns a Vidiian medic is uploaded into a holoprogram, and has a quasi-romance with The Doctor.
• In Alter Ego an alien hacks into Voyager's holodeck and develops and obsession with Tuvok.
• In Real Life The Doctor creates a holo-family - and his daughter dies (he loses!).
• Worst Case Scenario involves the discovery of a Maquis mutiny holoprogram (at least the first half - then it goes off the rails).
• Pathfinder involves Barclay simulating the Voyager crew.
• Fair Haven is Janeway banging a hot Irish hologram.
• In Human Error Seven uses the holodeck to explore her feelings - including hot Chakotay fantasies.
• In Author Author we see The Doctor write a holonovel with thinly-disguised expys of the crew.

Basically, holodeck episodes are like all Trek episodes. Usually the ship and/or crew are in some sort of mortal danger. However, if they are not, it's either a lighthearted comedy, or a "character focus" episode.

 

[The Wormhole]

Holodeck episodes in general basically just fill the role similar to the Parallel Earths from TOS. It's partially about saving budget, instead of creating alien props, costumes, or indeed, alien prosthetics, they can typical modern day costumes, sets and props which they may even luck out on and be able to use ones from another show or movie and save money. Back in the days when the show was putting out 26 episode seasons, regular holodeck episodes were pretty much a budgetary requirement to getting through the season. It's probably why when we do see recurring holodeck programs, it's in period settings (Sherlock Holmes, Dixon Hill, Vic Fontaine, Janeway's gothic romance, Captain Proton, Fair Haven).

but there seems to be a good group of people who would consider episodes like Elementary, Dear Data, Our Man Bashir, and Bride of Chaotica as some of the best work done in the franchise.

To be fair, those are fun episodes.