Star Trek: 10 Episodes You Must Watch Before Picard Season 3
2. Ship In A Bottle - Star Trek: The Next Generation, S6EP12
Elementary Dear Data from TNG's second season introduced Daniel Davis' take on the Legendary Sherlock Holmes nemesis Moriarty. Ship in a Bottle on the other hand expanded the character to the next level.
Accidentally created to be a foil worthy of Data, this version of Moriarty only resurfaced on-screen after behind-the-scenes agreements with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were resolved some four years later.
A take on the "Holodeck Gone Wrong" trope which ironically brought him into the franchise in 1988, the later Ship in a Bottle saw the Professor take even further control of the Enterprise-D. With Picard, Data, and Lt Barclay as unsuspecting hostages, he holds the ship to ransom in the hopes of finding a way to become real outside of the holodeck.
Davis' appearance at the end of the Picard season three New York Comic-Con trailer was a huge surprise. He was last seen on screen believing that his escape had gone to plan while, in reality, he was contained, along with Stephanie Beacham's Countess Bartholemew, in an endless simulation of the universe. Bringing Moriarty back suggests that he has somehow escaped that digital prison into the physical world.