"The Big Goodbye" is the twelfth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode first aired in broadcast syndication on January 11, 1988. This was the second writing credit of the series for Tracy Tormé following the episode "Haven". Rob Bowman planned to direct the episode, but he was switched to "Datalore" due to delays in its production. With Bowman working on another episode, Joseph L. Scanlan became the director.
References were deliberately included in "The Big Goodbye" to the 1941 film The Maltese Falcon.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 28, 1987, to May 23, 1994, in syndication, spanning 178 episodes over seven seasons. The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it was inspired by Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the latter third of the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet starship, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), in its exploration of the Alpha quadrant and Beta quadrant in the Milky Way galaxy.
Re-creation of the TNG starship bridge for Star Trek: The Exhibition
Bridge stations within the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), as seen at Star Trek: The Experience
Denise Crosby and Gates McFadden were in Season 1 as Tasha Yar and Doctor Crusher respectively, but were removed for Season 2. McFadden then returned for Season 3 as a regular and remained as such for the rest of the series, while Crosby appeared sporadically.
LeVar Burton starred as Geordi La Forge in all seven seasons airing between 1987 and 1994, and four TNG movies premiering between 1994 and 2002. In the second season, the character became Chief Engineer aboard the Enterprise D, remaining so for the rest of the series.
