Moriarty: Star Trek's Underrated Villain From The Next Generation Era
Star Trek has a lot of iconic villains, so some really great baddies end up falling by the wayside and forgoing their due recognition. Nearly four decades ago, Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced one of the franchise’s best villains, but he remains criminally underrated (perhaps because he’s technically borrowed from another franchise, so he’s not an original character). When the topic of best Star Trek villains comes up, there are a few usual suspects who are bound to get a mention: Khan, the Borg, Gul Dukat — and they’re all deserving of their spot in the hall of fame. But I think Moriarty deserves a mention alongside those legends; he’s a perfect Star Trek villain, and a uniquely postmodern addition to the franchise.
The Next Generation Episode "Elementary, Dear Data" Brought Sherlock Holmes' Arch-Nemesis Into The Star Trek Universe
Data and Geordi as Holmes and Watson in Star Trek The Next Generation
In The Next Generation season 2, episode 3, “Elementary, Dear Data,” the writers were starting to figure out the limitless storytelling potential of the holodeck. It starts off with the kind of day-in-the-life vignette that made television the perfect medium for Star Trek stories: Data and Geordi taking some time off to play Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in a simulation of a Victorian mystery. That in itself is a fascinating sci-fi concept to explore: not only have Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal mysteries endured into the 24th century; there’s a futuristic technology that allows you to turn those mysteries into a playground to literally become Holmes and Watson. But there’s a downside to entrusting your recreational activities to a sophisticated artificial intelligence. Conan Doyle wrote Moriarty to be the ultimate criminal mastermind; he has a genius intellect on par with Holmes, but has a much more diabolical application for it. When that sinister creation was fed into the holodeck, he came out too smart for the system’s own good. Moriarty figures out he’s in a simulation, and even figures out he’s on board the Enterprise.
Moriarty Became One Of TNG's Best Recurring Villains
Moriarty in the holodeck in Star Trek The Next Generation
After becoming sentient in the holodeck, Moriarty became one of The Next Generation’s best recurring villains, but he was criminally underutilized. He only appeared on TNG one more time, in season 6’s “Ship in a Bottle,” and later returned in the third season of Star Trek: Picard. There was so much unfulfilled potential left on the table with this character.
By making Moriarty a villain, The Next Generation helped to pioneer the art of the postmodern pastiche. It takes a famous antagonist from classic literature, recontextualizes him with some sci-fi trickery, and turns him into an A.I.-generated carbon copy of the character described on the page. It’s as if Charlie Kaufman wrote a Star Trek episode.
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