Final Mission
- Episode aired Nov 17, 1990
- TV-PG
- 46m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
3.3K
YOUR RATING
Before leaving for Starfleet Academy, Wesley Crusher accompanies Captain Picard on a dangerous mission.Before leaving for Starfleet Academy, Wesley Crusher accompanies Captain Picard on a dangerous mission.Before leaving for Starfleet Academy, Wesley Crusher accompanies Captain Picard on a dangerous mission.
Joyce Agu
- Ensign Gates
- (uncredited)
Rachen Assapiomonwait
- Crewman Nelson
- (uncredited)
Majel Barrett
- Enterprise Computer
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Michael Braveheart
- Crewman Martinez
- (uncredited)
Tracee Cocco
- Ensign Jae
- (uncredited)
Denise Deuschle
- Science Division Officer
- (uncredited)
Randy James
- Jones
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode was created expressly with the purpose of providing an appropriate way for Wil Wheaton to leave the show. Wheaton had asked to leave The Next Generation so he could pursue offers to appear in feature films.
- GoofsWhen Wesley stops in the desert to start a tricorder scan for energy readings, automobile tracks are clearly visible in the sand where Wesley and Dirgo stand as the camera sweeps behind Picard.
- Quotes
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Oh, I envy you, Wesley Crusher... You're just at the beginning of the adventure.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Young Sheldon: A Live Chicken, a Fried Chicken and Holy Matrimony (2020)
- SoundtracksStar Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage
Featured review
Finding and Crossing the Line of Plot Convenience
Star Trek is not hard sci-fi, so you can't expect it to impress you with how it contrives to create drama and danger while simultaneous maintaining scientific realities. This episode makes it clear how far you can push things before the danger and drama lose their edge, and the fakeness overwhelms things.
The Enterprise has to save a planet from a derelict garbage ship carrying extremely radioactive materials, but to do so threatens the crew. Fair enough, but the writers make the difficulty that the Enterprise needs to tow the ship from the endangered planet all the way to the solar system's sun, forgetting how inertia works. They also supposedly need to navigate the barge through an astroid belt, forgetting space ships can go around things. I think even science fantasy of the breeziest variety endanger their storylines when they forget things that basic, inertia and 3-dimensional space are too basic to ignore. It's all made up anyway, make up something that at least gets by elementary school level physics!
The main plot is actually Picard and Wesley crash landing on a planet and needing to get to a water fountain surrounded by a force field. It's a very TOS plot, a bad cavern set, a nonsensical problem. I actually remembered it from watching this show 30 years ago as a kid, so I give it points there, it's not a bad setup for this show, kind of memorable. But it's also a little inactive and dull.
The two plots combine to one pretty poor overall episode. At least Wesley leaves the show for awhile!
The Enterprise has to save a planet from a derelict garbage ship carrying extremely radioactive materials, but to do so threatens the crew. Fair enough, but the writers make the difficulty that the Enterprise needs to tow the ship from the endangered planet all the way to the solar system's sun, forgetting how inertia works. They also supposedly need to navigate the barge through an astroid belt, forgetting space ships can go around things. I think even science fantasy of the breeziest variety endanger their storylines when they forget things that basic, inertia and 3-dimensional space are too basic to ignore. It's all made up anyway, make up something that at least gets by elementary school level physics!
The main plot is actually Picard and Wesley crash landing on a planet and needing to get to a water fountain surrounded by a force field. It's a very TOS plot, a bad cavern set, a nonsensical problem. I actually remembered it from watching this show 30 years ago as a kid, so I give it points there, it's not a bad setup for this show, kind of memorable. But it's also a little inactive and dull.
The two plots combine to one pretty poor overall episode. At least Wesley leaves the show for awhile!
helpful•55
- frankelee
- Sep 4, 2020
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Filming locations
- El Mirage Dry Lake, California, USA(Desert Planet)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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