- For other uses, see Dixon.
- See Hill for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Dixon Hill was a fictional 20th-century detective of Earth and the lead character in a number of stories and novels in the Dixon Hill series.
Fictional biography[]
Hill grew up in San Francisco as a dockworker's son. After attending high school, Dix joined the San Francisco Police Department. He served for a few years, and was first partnered with Plunkett. Hill left the force to become a private investigator. Cynical and gruff, he did not trust easily. Mysteries enticed him, and once on the path he would continue until he solved the case. (Last Unicorn RPG - Holodeck Adventures module: Dixon Hill and The Case of the Golden Serpent)
Dix carried a Colt M1911 single-action .45 caliber pistol, as well as a spare .38 Special hidden in an ankle holster. He wore an aluminum Timex watch. His shirts were dry cleaned without starch, as he was allergic. (TNG - Strange New Worlds V short story: "The Monkey Puzzle Box")
His preferred beverage was Scotch, neat. (TNG episode: "Manhunt")
His offices were located in Suite 312, 350 Powell, Union Square, San Francisco, and his phone number was PRospect 4631. (CCG set: The Fajo Collection, card: "Dixon Hill's Business Card", ST reference: The Star Trek Encyclopedia)
Dix often displayed ingenuity. He managed to escape from an empty warehouse once by fashioning a tool out of available materials. (TNG novel: Debtor's Planet)
Alternate timelines[]
In an alternate timeline, two versions of Dix as portrayed by Picard were drawn into the temporal anomaly crisis of the 24th century. Dix was skilled in the fields of command, diplomacy, and security. Among the equipment he brought to bear in away team missions were his suit, fedora, revolver, and whisky. He carried copies of Moby-Dick and The Big Good-Bye. Another version of Dix was armed with a Tommy gun. (ST video game: Timelines)
History and specifics[]
Dixon Hill and the Black Orchid, a film based on the character, was included in Enterprise's motion picture library in 2153. (ENT episode: "Cogenitor")
In the 24th century, Broht and Forester published Dixon Hill holonovels. (VOY episode: "Author, Author") In 2385, B&F's pavilion at Holo-Palooza on Wrigley's Pleasure Planet used holographic projectors to present Dixon Hill being chased by Felix Leech. (DS9 eBook: Lust's Latinum Lost (and Found))
Zak Kebron's favorite old Earth murder mystery detective was Dixon Hill. Kebron got hooked on the series, as well as those featuring Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Nate Heller, and Elvis Cole, while rooming with Worf at Starfleet Academy. He appreciated their methodology and hardheaded approach to solving cases. (NF novel: Stone and Anvil)
Jean-Luc Picard was fascinated by the "two-fisted gumshoe" from an early age. Following the upgrade of the Enterprise-D holodecks in 2364, he was able to play the character of Dixon Hill, in stories set in San Francisco, California, circa 1941. (TNG episodes: "The Big Goodbye", "Clues"; TNG movie: Star Trek: First Contact)
Many copies of the Dixon Hill adventures were lost in the Eugenics Wars. In the years that followed, librarians were noted to discover 'new' editions of the novels which had been either mislabeled or stored in obscure archives. Jean-Luc Picard instructed his ship's computer to alert him whenever such works had been found and added into the Federation database. (TNG novel: Infiltrator)
When Picard found himself accidentally transported back in time to Cestus III, 2267, he identified himself as "Dixon Hill" to outpost commander Commodore Travers. (TNG novel: Requiem) Similarly, in 2333 Picard went undercover as trader "Dixon Hill" on the unaligned space station Oblivion. (STA novel: Oblivion)
In 2367, the hologram of Dixon Hill was adapted for use by a software defense program aboard the Enterprise. Dix helped Minuet and Data defuse a Chirkniz software virus, seeing events filtered through his perspective as a pulp noir detective. Before Geordi La Forge reinserted him into 1940s San Francisco, Picard was able to meet the "real" Dix. (TNG - Strange New Worlds V short story: "The Monkey Puzzle Box")
In 2368, the Enterprise's holodecks received a systems upgrade, and with it a new Dixon Hill adventure, which Picard saved under "Picard Dixon Hill Seven". The upgrades included new smells. Picard invited William T. Riker, Data and Beverly Crusher to test-run it for him, but they were interrupted by the arrival of The Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams. (TNG - Assimilation² comics: "Issue 1", "Issue 2")
In 2369, Robert Picard sent his brother a birthday gift: the Dixon Hill holonovel The Rich and the Dead. (TNG comic: "The Rich and the Dead!")
In 2372, Picard stated that he learned the trick of hiding a hand phaser under his desk from "a man named Dixon Hill". (TNG eBook: A Sea of Troubles)
In the 2380s, Brad Boimler emulated Picard by roleplaying Dixon Hill on the USS Cerritos holodeck, accompanied by D'vana Tendi and Beckett Mariner. (LD - All in a Sea of Wonders comic: "Issue 1")
Dixon Hill stories[]
Literature[]
- The Big Good-Bye (1934)
- The Long Dark Tunnel (1936)
- The Parrot's Claw (c. 1940)
- The Pallid Son
- The Black Orchid
- The Final Account
- Kiss Me Badly
- The Knowing Look
- Murder in Camera
- Under the Sun
- Wringing in the New Year
- A novel in which Lefty Lefkowitz murdered Jack Larsen (TNG novel: Debtor's Planet)
Holonovels[]
- The Rich and the Dead (1942)
- Dixon Hill and the Case of the Golden Serpent
- Murder at the Stage Door (nickname, TNG novel: A Hard Rain)
- The Case of the Missing Heart (TNG novel: A Hard Rain)
- The Case of the Man in the Wall (TNG novel: A Hard Rain)
- Holonovel in which Lwaxana Troi met Rex (1945, TNG episode: "Manhunt")
- Holonovel in which Guinan witnessed a mob hit on Johnny (TNG episode: "Clues")
- Holonovel involving Rhonda Howe (TNG novel: Boogeymen)
- Picard program 1, set in March 1936 (TNG novel: Debtor's Planet)
- Picard Dixon Hill Seven (TNG - Assimilation² comics: "Issue 1", "Issue 2")
Films[]
Appendices[]
Connections[]
Appearances and references[]
References[]
- TNG comic: "Reductions & Deductions"
- ST reference: These Are the Voyages...—A Three-Dimensional Star Trek Album
- TNG - The Captain's Table novel: Dujonian's Hoard
- Fact Files Issue 118: "File 56, Card 3: The Dixon Hill Holoprogram"
- ST novel: Avenger
- ST novel: Spectre
- TNG comic: "A Piece of Reaction"
- Last Unicorn RPG module: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Core Game Book
- TNG - Gateways novel: Doors into Chaos
- ST novel: Captain's Peril
- TLE novel: The Buried Age
- CCG set: Holodeck Adventures, card: "Dixon Hill"
- CCG set: Holodeck Adventures, card: "Holoprogram: The Office of Dixon Hill"
- CCG set: The Fajo Collection, card: "Dixon Hill's Business Card"
- TNG - Prey novel: The Hall of Heroes
- ST video game: Timelines
- TNG - Explorer short story: "Scramble"
External links[]
- Dixon Hill (Star Trek) article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- Dixon Hill article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Dixon Hill article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki.
- Tommy Gun Dixon article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki.