2x03 Elementary, Dear Data - Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Guide

Star Trek: The Next Generation

- Episode 02x03

Episode: 02x03
Title: Elementary, Dear Data
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: 129
First Aired: Dec. 05, 1988

Season 2 » Episode #03 - Elementary, Dear Data

Star Trek: The Next Generation - 02x03 Elementary, Dear Data

Summary: Stardate 42286.3 While en route to rendezvous with the USS Victory, and with a bit of time to kill, Data and Geordi enter the holodeck. Slipping into their respective guises of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson, the two begin one of the adventures of the Sherlock Holmes novels. However, since Data knows all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works on Sherlock Holmes, Geordi has the holodeck computer create a new challenge for Data, and not Sherlock Holmes. This leads to a holodeck creation that threatens the entire ship. Can their new holodeck Moriarty be defeated?

Who appeared in this episode?

Guest Stars:

Captain Jean-Luc Picard	played by Patrick Stewart
Lieutenant Geordi La Forge	played by LeVar Burton
Counselor Deanna Troi	played by Marina Sirtis
Lt. Commander Data	played by Brent Spiner
Wesley Crusher	played by Wil Wheaton
Doctor Pulaski	played by Diana Muldaur
Moriarty	played by Daniel Davis
Inspector Lestrade	played by Alan Shearman
Ruffian	played by Biff Manard

Season 2 / Episode 3: - Elementary, Dear Data

Moriarty: If I destroy these surroundings, this vessel, can you say that it doesn't matter to you? Interesting pun, don't you think? For matter is what I am not.

Season 2 / Episode 3: - Elementary, Dear Data

Doctor Pulaski: I have no idea what you're talking about.
Moriarty: Of course you do, Madam. The more you proclaim your ignorance, the more you attempt to mislead me, the more I am on to you - your every silence speaks volumes.
Doctor Pulaski: Good, then if you know what I'm saying when I'm not saying anything, what do you need me around for?

Doctor Pulaski: Thanks for the tea and crumpets, but I guess I'll be going.

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

CONT: When the holodeck is turned off, there is only one exit visible. But The Big Good-bye stated that there was more than one exit.
MISC: Geordi flips the drawing of the Enterprise vertically to reveal its image, which means that he was originally viewing it upside down.
CHAR: When a murder occurs, the police inspector calls Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (Data and LaForge). But Holmes and Watson were not members of the London Police, and had no business being at a crime-scene. This was the continuing irony of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and the sticking point for Inspector Lestrade, Holmes' Scotland Yard nemesis.
CONT: Geordi freezes the Sherlock Holmes simulation on the holodeck, yet the simulated fire in the fireplace continues to burn and flicker like normal.
FAIR: Moriarty hands Data a piece of paper upon which is a sketch of the Enterprise. Data immediately storms off the holodeck, and shows the paper to LaForge. As the paper was holographic, it should have vanished the moment it was removed from the holodeck. However, other episodes have established that some objects (such as food) are actually replicated within the holodeck, and thus are "real" (i.e. not holographic), depending on the needs of the program and its user.

TRIVIA

Picard utters the word "merde", the French for "shit". As it was said in a foreign language, it passed the TV censors.
The title refers to the expression "Elementary, My Dear Watson" which was never actually uttered by Sherlock Holmes in the original stories.
The original ending of this episode had Data and Picard privately realize that because of Moriarty's drawing surviving off the holodeck (see Goofs entry), there was a possibility that Moriarty himself could exist in the real world. The rest of the scene would therefore have been mere deception on Picard's part. No-one was comfortable with that element, so it was removed.
The producers, believing that the Sherlock Holmes character was in the public domain, were most surprised when the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle informed them that they still retained the copyright on the character. They did, however, allow the episode to be aired because they felt that the show had done the character justice. Litigation kept the sequel episode "Ship in a Bottle" off the air for nearly four years.