The First Duty
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| Star Trek: TNG episode | |
| "The First Duty" | |
 |
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| Episode no. | 119 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 219 |
| Airdate | March 30, 1992 |
| Writer(s) | Ronald D. Moore Naren Shankar |
| Director | Paul Lynch |
| Guest star(s) | Ray Walston Ed Lauter Jacqueline Brookes Richard Fancy Shannon Fill Richard Rothenberg Wil Wheaton Walker Brandt Robert Duncan McNeill |
| Year | 2368 |
| Stardate | 45703.9 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Cause and Effect" |
| Next | "Cost of Living" |
"The First Duty" is the 119th episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the 19th episode of the show's fifth season. It was first broadcast on March 30, 1992. The episode has an average rating of 4.5/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of November 2nd, 2007).[1]
In this episode, while visiting Starfleet Cadet Wesley Crusher at Starfleet Academy, the crew of the Federation Starfleet starship USS Enterprise learn of an accident that claimed the life of a cadet.
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[edit] Plot
The Enterprise returns to Earth, where Captain Picard is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Starfleet Academy's graduation ceremony. However, the crew comes to learn of an accident during flight training that has involved Wesley Crusher, injured him, and caused the death of another squad member. Picard, concerned, orders his crew to investigate the accident, and discovers evidence that Wesley's squad were attempting to perform a banned maneuver called the "Kolvoord Starburst". Picard accosts Wesley and demands to know the truth, but Wesley refuses to answer him. Picard reminds him of his Starfleet duty.
Wesley is torn between telling the truth and the demands of his squad leader, Locarno, who insists he state that the accident was caused by their dead squad member. Locarno attempts to coerce Wesley into keeping with the lie, making Wesley question his friendship. At the tribunal, Wesley is driven by the emotions of the dead crewman's father and by Picard's trust in him, and he reveals the truth at the last moment. Locarno, realizing he cannot hide it any longer, admits that he instigated the lie and made the rest of the squad cover up his actions. Locarno is expelled from the Academy while Wesley and the rest of his squad lose the past year's academic credits. Wesley is disheartened but both Picard and Beverly Crusher encourage Wesley that he will regain the trust of his classmates.
[edit] Future character appearances
The character Sito Jaxa would later appear in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lower Decks", when it emerges that Picard requested her assignment to the Enterprise because he wanted to give her a fair chance to redeem herself.
The character of the Squadron leader, Nick Locarno, would lay the groundwork for the role of Tom Paris in Star Trek: Voyager. In fact, the same actor, Robert Duncan McNeill, plays both characters. It was originally intended for Nick Locarno to be a character on Voyager, but various outside issues (namely having to pay a royalty to The "First Duty"'s writers Ronald D. Moore and Naren Shankar for every episode of Voyager in which the character would appear)[citation needed] necessitated creating a different character, Tom Paris, whose background and personality were based in part on Locarno's. Another possible reason is that the writers viewed Locarno as irredeemable. The props crew on Star Trek: Voyager would eventually place a framed headshot of McNeill as Locarno on Admiral Paris' desk as 'Tom Paris's' Starfleet Academy graduation photo.
[edit] Impact
This episode was aired for the cadets of the United States Air Force Academy as an illustration of the institution's honor code.
[edit] Trivia
Wesley mentions a ski trip to Calgary.
