The Big Goodbye

Besides loving Trek and Science Fiction, I also love a good mystery. The first season episode, The Big Goodbye, is a 20th century mystery story with 24th century characters. Captain Picard loves reading the fictional adventures of one Dixon Hill. Luckily for him, some 24th century Starfleet vessels, like the Enterprise, are equipped with a Holodec (think Virtual Reality Cave without the need for special goggles/glasses). Picard invites Beverly Crusher, Data and the ship's historian to share the holodec adventure set in 1940's San Francisco. Well as you can imagine, not everything goes according to the script. It also allowed viewers a tiny peak at Picard and Crusher when they weren't in uniform. You could feel the tension when Picard firsts spots Beverly Crusher, dressed in 1940s garb. It was well acted, if a bit more understated that the scenes in The Naked Now.

I haven't read too many Star Trek Next Generation novels, but if you liked The Big Goodbye, I suggest reading,

"A Hard Rain (Star Trek The Next Generation)" (Dean Wesley Smith)