Friday, June 13, 2008

5.19 The First Duty

Rating: 2

As the Enterprise heads toward graduation ceremonies at Starfleet Academy, news arrives that graduate Wesley Crusher has been injured – and his good friend killed - while on a practice mission. Initially, it appears that one of the five pilots involved was to blame, but all four surviving pilots have conspired to hide something.

Comments

This is not one of the most memorable episodes. All the punches are telegraphed, there’s no suspense (since we, the audience, are shown early on that the cadets are hiding something), and Will Wheaton insists on playing his Wesley role as something he would probably call ‘stoic’, but everyone else would call ‘prozac’.

Robert Duncan McNeill (Locarno) would later assume the very similar role of Tom Paris on VOY.

Memorable Moments

•    The graphic of a Starburst maneuver is clever, as is watching McNeill audition for his future role on VOY.

Quotable Quotes

Picard: Do you remember the first time you came aboard this ship? Your mother brought you on the bridge.
Wesley: Yes, sir.
Picard: You even sat in my chair. I was annoyed!

1 comment:

  1. I disagree. This is one of my favorite episodes of ST:TNG. Shows Star Fleet Academy, Picard reminding Wesley what he stands for, Sito Jaxa, fellow squadron member who will have an opportunity to redeem herself in a later episode, "Lower Decks."

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