"Star Trek: The Next Generation"
Ship in a Bottle (1993)

Director:

Alexander Singer

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator)
René Echevarria (writer)

TV Series:

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)

Original Air Date:

23 January 1993 (Season 6, Episode 12)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Diagnosing anomalies in the recreative Sherlock Holmes hologram game programs, Lieutenant Reginald 'Reg'...

Plot Keywords:

Warp Core | Space Shuttle | Number One | Star Fleet | Boothsby

Cast

Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Stephanie Beacham	...	Countess Barthalomew
Dwight Schultz	...	Barclay
Daniel Davis	...	Moriarty
Clement von Franckenstein	...	Gentleman
Majel Barrett	...	Enterprise Computer (voice)

Directed by
Alexander Singer

Writing credits
Gene Roddenberry		(creator)
René Echevarria		(writer)

Produced by
Frank Abatemarco	....	supervising producer
Rick Berman	....	executive producer
Merri D. Howard	....	line producer
Peter Lauritson	....	producer
David Livingston	....	supervising producer
Ronald D. Moore	....	co-producer
Wendy Neuss	....	co-producer
Michael Piller	....	executive producer
Jeri Taylor	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Dennis McCarthy

Cinematography by
Jonathan West		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Ramirez

Casting by
Ron Surma

Production Design by
Richard D. James

Set Decoration by
Jim Mees

Costume Design by
Robert Blackman
William Ware Theiss		(original costumes)

Makeup Department
Patricia Miller	....	hair stylist (as Patti Miller)
Gerald Quist	....	makeup artist
June Westmore	....	makeup artist (as June Abston Haymore)
Michael Westmore	....	makeup designer
Michael Westmore	....	makeup supervisor
Joy Zapata	....	hair designer
Erwin H. Kupitz	....	wig maker (uncredited)

Production Management
Wendy Knoller	....	post-production supervisor (as Wendy Rosenfeld)
Brad Yacobian	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Arlene Fukai	....	second assistant director
Adele Simmons	....	first assistant director (as Adele G. Simmons)

Art Department
Alan Kobayashi	....	scenic artist
Michael Okuda	....	scenic art supervisor
Alan Sims	....	property master
Al Smutko	....	construction coordinator
Gary Speckman	....	set designer
Rick Sternbach	....	senior illustrator
Herman F. Zimmerman	....	original set designer (as Herman Zimmerman)
Ed Miarecki	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Alan Bernard	....	sound mixer
Mace Matiosian	....	supervising sound editor
Miguel Rivera	....	sound editor
Masanobu 'Tomi' Tomita	....	sound editor (as Masanobu Tomita)
Jerry Trent	....	foley artist
Guy Tsujimoto	....	sound editor
Dan Yale	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Dick Brownfield	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Dan Curry	....	visual effects
Adam Howard	....	visual effects compositor
David Stipes	....	visual effects supervisor
David Takemura	....	visual effects coordinator
Edward L. Williams	....	visual effects associate
Gregory Jein	....	model maker (uncredited)

Stunts
Tracee Cocco	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Gausche	....	first company grip
R.D. Knox	....	chief lighting technician
Michael E. Little	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Casting Department
Helen Mossler	....	casting executive

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Matthew A. Hoffman	....	key costumer
Carol Kunz	....	wardrobe supervisor
David S. Powell	....	key costumer (as David Powell)

Editorial Department
J.P. Farrell	....	supervising editor (as John P. Farrell)
Larry Field	....	final colorist
Dawn Hernandez	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Alexander Courage	....	composer: main title theme
Jerry Goldsmith	....	composer: main title theme
Gerry Sackman	....	music editor

Other crew
Brannon Braga	....	story editor
René Echevarria	....	story editor
Lolita Fatjo	....	pre-production associate
Kim Fitzgerald	....	production associate
Cosmo Genovese	....	script supervisor
Michael Okuda	....	technical consultant
Diane Overdiek	....	production coordinator
Naren Shankar	....	science consultant
Rick Sternbach	....	technical consultant

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gene Roddenberry		creator

Makeup Department
Allan A. Apone	....	makeup artist
R. Christopher Biggs	....	special makeup effects artist
Dean Jones	....	makeup artist
Michael R. Jones	....	makeup artist
Nina Kent	....	makeup artist
Michael Key	....	makeup artist
Mike Smithson	....	makeup artist
Rick Stratton	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ron Dempsey	....	dga trainee
Bruce Sears	....	dga trainee
Richard 'Dub' Wright	....	assistant director

Art Department
Lloyd A. Buswell	....	construction foreman (seasons 1-7)
Sharon Davis	....	graphics assistant
Dragon Dronet	....	weapons, specialty props and miniatures
Jim Dultz	....	assistant art director
Gregory A. Weimerskirch	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Marty Church	....	foley mixer

Special Effects by
Edward J. Franklin	....	special effects
John Palmer	....	special effects coordinator
Robert Cole	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Les Bernstien	....	motion control
C.W. Fallin	....	motion control operator
Don Greenberg	....	visual effects compositor
Simon Holden	....	digital compositor
Bruce Jones	....	visual effects producer
Gray Marshall	....	motion control operator
Karl J. Martin	....	digital artist
Chris B. Schnitzer	....	motion control technician (seasons 6 and 7)
Steven J. Scott	....	digital compositor
Ken Stranahan	....	visual effects
Greg Stuhl	....	miniatures: Greg Jein, Inc.
Peter Webb	....	digital compositor
Peter W. Moyer	....	visual effects compositor (uncredited)

Stunts
Rick Avery	....	stunts
LaFaye Baker	....	stunts
Chuck Borden	....	stunts
Ericka Bryce	....	stunts
John Cade	....	stunts
Tony Cecere	....	stunts
Erik Cord	....	stunts
Alex Daniels	....	stunt creatures
Nick Dimitri	....	stunts
Chuck Hicks	....	stunts
Terry James	....	stunts
Maria R. Kelly	....	stunts
Steve Kelso	....	stunts
Dan Koko	....	stunt double: Jonathan Frakes (1987-1991)
Lane Leavitt	....	stunts
Scott Leva	....	stunts
Tom Morga	....	stunts
John Nowak	....	stunt double
Rex Pierson	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunts
Michael J. Sarna	....	stunts
Patricia Tallman	....	stunts
Gary J. Wayton	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Block	....	director of photography: second unit
Brian S. Cooper	....	electrician
Adam Glick	....	set lighting technician
Frederick Iannone	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera

Editorial Department
Alan Chudnow	....	assistant editor
Tim Tommasino	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Scott Cochran	....	scoring mixer: advertising music
John Debney	....	conductor

Other crew
Gregory Benford	....	scientific consultant
Hala Gabriel	....	production accountant
Dolores Hundley-Arce	....	assistant accountant
Suzie Shimizu	....	production accountant

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Moriarty tells Picard that Sherlock Holmes was written by an Englishman. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (the creator of Holmes) was Scottish, not English.

Quotes:

Moriarty: I am a man out of time, Captain. And that isolates me.

A Mind-Bending Episode, Not the Best But Still Amazing

Barclay inadvertently unlocks Sherlock Holmes' arch nemesis, Professor Moriarity, from the holodeck. He seeks an audience with Capt. Picard to discuss his self-awareness situation. His demands to be able to leave the Holodeck are not taken seriously enough and takes control of the starship. If the professor and his love, the Countess Barthalomew, are not allowed to leave the ship on their own, he will destroy the Enterprise and its crew.

This episode doesn't stand out as one of the most memorable in the series, but it's still a fine episode in its own right. And why shouldn't it be, featuring Dwight Schultz as Barclay, easily my favorite recurring secondary character. And Moriarty is a respectable character. (The Countess Barthalomew, unfortunately, comes off as being very poorly written. She is very dense, comparing outer space to Africa and talking about the joy of wearing trousers. I can't imagine an educated woman would be this daft.)

Philosophy professors could sit back and play "Next Generation" episodes for semester after semester with a little commentary to fill in the history. This episode is very scientific (including discussion of "uncoupling the Heisenberg compensators" on the transporter, whatever the heck that means). Underneath all that, it's simply a fleshing out of Descartes' "Cogito Ergo Sum" doubting method. (Moriarty actually quotes Descartes in the episode.)

Descartes asked, how can we know what is around us is real and not simply in our mind? Future philosophers modified this to the "brain in a vat" hypothesis -- given constant stimuli, would a brain know it wasn't in a body if the input told it that it was? Here we have Enterprise crew who may be on the Enterprise or may simply be in the holodeck. How can they tell if what they see is real or is simply fed to their senses? Just as philosophers determined that we likely cannot tell, so, too, does the crew find that reality and simulated reality are virtually the same.

I watched this episode at around three in the morning after drinking some whiskey. It really made my brain work extra hard, which is something that isn't safe if you're not used to exercising it. But that's what really sells this episode -- the deeper message under the basic plot. But when you walk away from your television, you might ask yourself if your life is real, or is it merely a very long dream created by Gene Roddenberry?