All episodes Season 6 S06E12 1993-01-25 60 min 1980s Syndication

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Ship in a Bottle

TV Flash files “Ship in a Bottle” as hour 138 of 178 in the TV Flash guide — Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) on Syndication, season 6, episode 12, aired 1993-01-25, 60 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S06E12: listed hour 138 of 178 in the Star Trek: The Next Generation guide, hour 12 of 26 in season 6. It aired 1993-01-25 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Chain of Command, Part II” (S06E11). Next is “Aquiel” (S06E13).

Star Trek: The Next Generation — Ship in a Bottle (S06E12)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

Data is playing Sherlock Holmes on the Holodeck, a glitch appears and Lt. Barclay is called to investigate and he discovers protected Holodeck files. Professor Moriarty is then released and demands to see Captain Picard. Against the laws of physics, Moriarty is able to leave the Holodeck and takes control of the Enterprise.

Viewer FAQ

Where does Ship in a Bottle sit in the Star Trek: The Next Generation guide?

S06E12 is listed hour 138 of 178 — hour 12 of 26 in season 6, season 6 episode 12.

When did Star Trek: The Next Generation S06E12 air?

Ship in a Bottle aired 1993-01-25 and is listed at 60 minutes.

Should I skip season one?

You can sample it, then jump. The pilot and early hours wobble; fandom's own catechism is that the series finds its voice mid-run. Stewart's Picard is already the instrument.

In the series

Why this series still plays

Peak optimistic space opera with philosophical teeth — Stewart's Picard is a master class in quiet authority, and Data, Worf, and the Borg made franchise television feel weekly and serious. First-run syndication revived Trek without Kirk. Start with mid-run classics if the pilot feels stiff; Make it so is still a management style.

First-run syndication is a window, not a shrine. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) regenerated Gene Roddenberry's universe without Kirk by putting Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard on a new Enterprise and selling **178 hours across seven seasons** outside a single network night. Rex can keep the original series in amber. This was franchise television learning to drop weekly at scale: idea-driven starship hours, a more ensemble bridge, prestige sci-fi as appointment TV that did not need a peacock to…

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