The Big Goodbye ( episode ) Captain Picard and some of the " Enterprise " crew get stuck on the holodeck on their way to some important diplomatic mission . Summary . Teaser . The is en route to a meeting with the Jarada on a diplomatic mission . Captain Picard has been appointed by Starfleet to attempt to establish a relationship with them ; however , the captain must recite their complicated greeting to them , in their native tongue , without any errors , or otherwise the meeting will fail . The captain and Deanna Troi have been practicing the speech in his ready room for hours . Troi says that the captain should take a break and suggests trying the new holodeck upgrades . Picard ' s face brightens when he remembers that he ' s been looking forward to trying out the new Dixon Hill holodeck program . After entering the holodeck , Picard is impressed by the upgrades . He is met by a lady , Mrs . Jessica Bradley , in Dixon Hill ' s office , who claims someone is trying to kill her – Picard has been hired . Act One . Bradley briefs Dixon on her predicament . As she leaves his office , Picard turns to the window , and notices automobile s outside , a fascinating sight to him . He leaves the simulation for the time being . Just as he is leaving the holodeck , a Mr . Leech knocks on the door , and opens it , to find , to his surprise , that the captain has " vanished " . Picard calls a meeting in the observation lounge with all the senior staff to discuss the Jarada mission . Before starting , though , he marvels at the holodeck upgrades , and invites Dr . Crusher to accompany him next time , along with Mr . Whalen , a 20th century historian . The conversation quickly turns to the Jarada , where Riker starts the briefing , noting the requirement that Picard perfectly enunciate the greeting for a successful outcome . Commander Data further emphasizes this , starting to mention in detail the last Federation attempt , much to the captain ' s annoyance and ends the meeting since he has seen it enough . Data and Geordi La Forge discuss Dixon Hill after the meeting in a corridor , and compare him to Sherlock Holmes . This intrigues Data , and he decides to look up every piece of literature on Dixon Hill in the ship ' s computer . He then decides he should accompany the captain and Whalen on their holodeck excursion . The three enter holodeck 3 . Act Two . Kitted out in full ' 40s - style clothing , they arrive in the middle of a busy San Francisco street . Data almost immediately attracts attention by not being " from around here " , and Picard claims that Data is from South America , to which a near - by newspaper seller responds " " Yeah , he ' s got a nice tan ! " " . Reading a newspaper , Picard notes that Jessica Bradley has been murder ed , and he feels sorry that he couldn ' t do anything to stop it , despite Whalen ' s remark that she ' s only a character from a story . Two police officers arrive , and accuse Picard of Jessica ' s murder , since she had his business card on her . Back on the bridge , the Jarada send out a long - range probe , and commence scanning the " Enterprise " , disrupting the ship ' s systems momentarily , including causing the holodeck ' s doors to open and close repeatedly . The Jarada then attempt to communicate with the " Enterprise " , more specifically with the captain , but they are offended to hear that only Commander Riker is available to speak to them . He tells La Forge to go find the captain on the holodeck . Dr . Crusher enters the holodeck , with some difficulty , but thinks nothing of it . She meets up with Whalen and Data in the lobby of a police station . Data confuses her with his newly - learned ' 40s accent . Dr . Crusher seems excited by the idea of her shipmates being " on ice " and wants to know why they ' re not " all " being interrogated . In a back room of the station , Picard is being " grilled " by the two officers , Dan Bell and McNary , and loving every minute of it . Outside the holodeck , La Forge has arrived and discovered a problem with the holodeck controls , and cannot locate the captain or the rest of the team inside . Act Three . Wesley Crusher and Commander Riker leave the bridge and join La Forge outside the holodeck to try to solve the problem . Meanwhile , inside the holodeck , Picard realizes he ' s got to be getting back to the bridge soon for the greeting of the Jarada . He manages to worm his way out of the interrogation , and leaves the room . Back in the station foyer , Dr . Crusher is getting some unwanted attention from a desk sergeant . She ' s distracted from him by Picard ' s return , and they both look at each other for a lingering moment . At her request , they all head back to Dixon Hill ' s office before leaving the holodeck . However , Leech is waiting for them when they arrive , and he pulls a gun on them . Back on the other side of the holodeck doors , Wesley and La Forge are searching for the problem . Wesley proposes the problem started with the Jaradan probe , which may prove difficult to fix . Yar communicates from the bridge , saying they have arrived in the Jaradan sector , and that there has been no further communication from Torona IV , so Riker decides to wait . Leech continues to detain the crew members , and demands to know what Picard has done with a certain " object " Dixon Hill was hired to find . Whalen acts tough in front of Leech , and Leech fires a shot at him . Whalen falls backwards , and initially everyone thinks he ' s just acting . But everyone is shocked as Whalen is genuinely bleeding and turning pale ; the holodeck safety protocol s that prevent injuries must have been deactivated by the Jarada scan . Dr . Crusher rushes forward to tend to him . Act Four . Crusher announces that if Whalen isn ' t taken to the sickbay immediately , he will die . When Leech comes closer , Picard rushes at him , knocks the gun out of his hand and punches him , letting him run out of the office . The captain then tries to call for the holodeck exit , with no response . Data goes to try another exit point , but to no avail : the computer is not responding to their commands . On the bridge , the " Enterprise " has arrived at Torona IV already , without resolving the holodeck problems . Riker announces to the repair team that they ' re running out of time before the greeting will be expected to be given to the Jarada . Back in the holodeck , Dr . Crusher is struggling to keep Whalen alive while Picard and Data search in vain for a solution from their side . At that moment , Leech returns with a thug and a large man announcing himself as Cyrus Redblock . Redblock proceeds to look around Dixon ' s office , searching for " the object " . He tries to get Whalen removed from the room , but Picard objects . Leech strikes Picard on the face with his gun , cutting his mouth . Officer McNary walks into the office at that moment , and is surprised to find Cyrus Redblock and his cronies there , too . He ' s quickly disarmed by the thug . Redblock then notices Data , and asks where he comes from . Picard decides to reveal where they all came from , but Leech is unconvinced . Data then exacerbates the situation by revealing that none of the others ' characters are actually real , a comment that seems to enrage Leech . Redblock wants to test Picard ' s theory by shooting one of them . He instructs Leech to shoot Dr . Crusher . Act Five . Just before Leech pulls the trigger , Picard says that he has the item . Redblock is intrigued , and calls off Leech . Picard then tries to bargain with Redblock to try to save Whalen . Back on the bridge , Commander Riker attempts to contact the Jarada , only to receive an earful of angry insectoid - buzzing sounds in return . Hoping for better luck with the holodeck controls , he contacts La Forge and Wesley . Wesley comments that the problem can be fixed , but if it is not done properly , the holoprogram could abort and everyone inside the holodeck could vanish . Riker gives the order to proceed with the repair . Inside the holodeck , the " Enterprise " crew members are trying to explain their situation to Redblock and his team , however there are problems with the vocabulary . Leech is getting ever more edgy , and demands that he should be allowed to kill Data . At that moment , the holodeck scenery changes to a windy , snowy alien environment , much to the astonishment of the holodeck characters . Just as suddenly , the group are returned to the office , still shell - shocked by the sudden change . The holodeck exit appears and opens , revealing the " Enterprise " corridor . Picard remarks to Redblock and Leech that that is the way into their world . Redblock and Leech decide to attempt to leave the holodeck , but dematerialize just outside the doors . Data picks up Whalen and takes him to sickbay , accompanied by Dr . Crusher . Lt . McNary , who has befriended Picard throughout the episode , realizes the possibility that his own reality is in doubt . He asks Picard , " " When you ' ve gone , will this world continue to exist ? Will my wife and kids still be waiting for me at home ? " " Picard responds with the only honest answer he can find " " I don ' t know . . . " " . Picard then rushes to the bridge , where he recites the greeting perfectly , much to the relief of everyone on board . The " Enterprise " then leaves Torona IV . Memorable quotes . " " What a language ! " " " " But you spell knife with a " k " . " " " " I spell " knife " with an " n " . But then , I never could spell . " " " " I lost a bet . " " " " You ' ll have to call again , I was just leaving . I ' m uhh . . . not dressed properly . " " " " The sense of reality was absolutely incredible ! When that woman kissed me , it was so . . . " " " " Exciting ? " " " " Real ! " " " " Hiya doc . What ' s cookin ' ? " " " " Y ' know , I had some trouble getting through . Where ' s Captain Picard ? " " " " He ' s on ice . " " " " Pardon ? " " " " He ' s being grilled . " " " " What is he , a fish ? " " " " He ' s being interrogated . They think he committed a murder . " " " " And when I looked down into the street , I actually saw automobiles ! " " " " Auto - mobiles ? ! " " " " Often a prime ingredient in teenage mating rituals . " " " " Teenage mating rituals ? " " " " If on the other hand , the Captain makes even the slightest error . " " " " The Captain is well aware of the gravity of the situation , Commander . " " < br > " " We are all aware of the tape of the last starship to come into contact with them . It graphically demonstrates what happened when that captain offended them . " " < br > " " Captain Picard is familiar with that , Data . " " < br > " " Should we not rerun it ? " " < br > " " I can ' t communicate with them , I can ' t access the program and I can ' t open the doors . " " " " You better not leave town ! " " " " If I leave town , the town leaves with me . " " " " But . . . they ' re not real ! " " " " I am NOT Dixon Hill ! I just look like Dixon Hill ! " " " " He speaks the truth , sir . From your point of view , he is only a facsimile , a knock - off , a cheap imitation . . . " " " " . . . thank you , Data ! " " " " If you are going to go through yourself , sir that is not possible . " " " " One look at you , sir is proof that anything is possible . " " " " So , Data , How was It ? " " " " It was raining in the city by The Bay . A hard rain . Hard enough to wash the slime . " " " " " Data . " " " " Sorry , sir . " " " " Helm , take us out of orbit . And Mr . La Forge ? " " " " Yes sir ? " " ( with gangster accent ) " " Step on it . " " Links and references . References . 1924 ; 1931 ; 1934 ; 1936 ; 1941 ; 1944 ; 1946 ; 2026 ; 2344 ; . 45 automatic ; AD ; alcohol ; " Amazing Detective Stories " ; American flag ; ashtray ; automobile ; balcony ; baseball ; bi - converter interface ; bicycle ; ' ; blinds ; blood ; ; bow tie ; boxing ; ; bridge ; British ; brunette ; business card ; c - note ; California ; Camden City ; car ; carpet ; chair ; chewing gum ; cigarette ; Cleveland ; Cleveland Indians ; coat rack ; Colt Detective Special ; computer ; ; copyright ; couch ; desktop monitor ; ; ; earring ; Earth ; Esky ; Fairmont Hotel ; feather ; fiction ; filing cabinet ; fire hydrant ; fish ; French language ; Galaxy class decks ; gangster ; Garden City ; genre ; ghost ; gun ; Halloween ; hat ; ; ; ; Holodeck 3 ; holodeck repair tools ; Holodeck safety protocol ; horse ; internal bleeding ; Jarada ; Jarada contact ; Jaradan language ; Jaradan probe ; Jaradan sector ; jewelry ; Kaferian ; kiss ; LCARS ; lighter ; lipstick ; Livingston ; London ; London Kings ; ' ; Lord Halifax ; make - up ; manhole ; mating ritual ; ; McNary ' s kids ; model ; " modus operandi " ; money ; moonlighting ; mop ; murder ; ; necktie ; newsstand ; ; New York ; NRA ; number one ; observation lounge ; obsession ; " Out of Nowhere " ; painting ; ; police ; Powell Street ; Precinct 12 ; private investigator ; pronunciation ; purse ; ; ready room ; ring ; rocketry ; ; sailor ; San Francisco ; scotch ; smoking ; snow ; snowstorm ; socialite ; South America ; standard orbit ; status report ; stepdaughter ; stiff ; stockings ; suspenders ; tan ; telephone ; Torona IV ; ; traffic light ; trenchcoat ; truism ; turbolift ; typewriter ; umbrella ; Union Square ; United States dollar ; unnamed plants ; vendor ; ventilator ; viewscreen ; VISOR ; water cooler ; Walther PP ; wristwatch Library computer references . Script references . Communism ; Homicide Squad ; McCarthy , Charlie ; McCarthy , Joseph