Captain's Holiday

DVD, TNG S3 (Captain's Holiday)

The crew's gentle nagging of Picard gets this adventure of to a light start and it's obviously designed as a showcase for the Captain, to loosen him up a bit, something that began in the previous episode, though in that it wasn't the real Captain acting in that way. Ironically, though Picard is on holiday he's in almost every scene so it would have been the opposite for Patrick Stewart, having to work even longer hours. There are more similarities than merely a focus on Picard - it's another situation in which he's off the ship for the duration, and another in which dodgy and more advanced aliens (wearing very similar clothing to the aliens that were studying Picard in 'Allegiance') cause trouble. The parallels are only obvious because of the episodes proximity to each other, but you can definitely see an emphasis on making Picard seem less stuffy, more adventurous and a capable individual which isn't always shown in his duties aboard ship.

An Andorian makes her first appearance in the flesh as a background figure on Risa, and an Antican can also be glimpsed. The Daystrom Institute is mentioned again and gold is still seen as valuable here - in later episodes, particularly 'DS9' it was considered worthless. Max Grodenchik makes his Ferengi debut looking like a more inscrutable version of Rom. He seems to have the same teeth and practically the same head, though the face is much harsher. This was probably due to ease of using the same mould again rather than making a new one when he was cast again.

The story was most likely a success at the time, but now the sets look a bit small and the action minimal. Vash was never fooling anyone but herself, and though she has a charming interplay with Picard, unbounded by the usual strict discipline on a starship the events are fairly forgettable. The questionable morality of Risa also makes its debut, but the joke Riker plays was undeniably amusing. Ferengi never make good villains and the flaw was that Picard was never going to trust some aliens that appear out of nowhere so they're suspicious all the way through. More should have been made of their time-travelling, but I'll admit I did enjoy the incongruity of seeing a couple of 27th Century aliens watching regally from on high as Picard and Vash dig in a cave, only to be interrupted by an ugly Ferengi. Risa didn't need to be seen again (it was visited, or at least mentioned in all subsequent spinoffs), but Vash had a bit more life to her character and her other appearances were probably better.

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