 " The Big Goodbye " is the 12th 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 . 
