Customer Reviews

Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 83: Final Mission [VHS]

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Ensign Crusher will soon be leaving the Enterprise to enroll in Starfleet Academy and Picard asks Wesley to join him on a final mission so they can spend some quality time together before Wesley is gone. Picard has always felt responsible for Wesley, ever since having to tell his mother that Wesley's father was killed during a mission about 15 years earlier.

Despite his longing of connection with Wesley, Picard has always been awkward in expressing affection with children and he is also wary of crossing the delicate threshold of familiarity with someone of considerably lower rank. Now that time is no longer on their side, Picard hopes to have a final bonding experience.

Picard and Crusher board a miner's shuttle to mediate a conflict on a mining colony. After a series of malfunctions, the shuttle crash lands on a small moon that supports life - albeit poorly. The heat is oppressive and due to injuries sustained on their journey to a cave to avoid the sun, Picard needs water to survive. Wesley and the shuttle pilot (Nick Tate) will also need water within a few days or suffer a similar fate.

Their tricorders detect water, only to find that the water fountain in the cave is protected by an electronic sentry that they cannot figure out how to circumvent.

As Picard fades in and out of consiousness, Wesley must have a non-stop duel of words, will and guile with the mining shuttle captain who believes he can strong-arm his way out of any situation. Although he has fewer years of experience in life, Crusher has the advantage of having been aboard the Enterprise for years, being exposed to more space anomolies and varied species and cultures than this rustic ship captain has in his life time and tries to talk reason to a man with a serious machismo complex.

The mining ship captain gets himself killed in a "you know he had it coming" scene, leaving Wesley to figure out a way to save Picard and himself, with life-saving minutes ticking away. Picard and Crusher bond in a touching last few moments and just when Crusher acts less kid-like and geeky, they get ready to shove him off to Starfleet. Oh well.

Wesley Crusher, Capt. Picard and a captain crash land on a mysterious planet, which is mostly a desert. However, the craft they crashed in is damaged beyond repair, and the team begins a long march to distant mountains in search of shelter and water from the blazing sun. However, when they enter a cave, the water supply in the cave is protected by a force field, but the obsessive member attempts to disable the force field, which causes rocks falling down on the away team, and seriously wounding Picard. Wesley must get to the water soon, or Picard will die.

Woo-hoo! Yes! He's finally gone! Wussley- whoops, Wesley- is finally off the show as a regular cast member! No more of that sniveling, goody-two-shoes attitude to nauseate the NextGen trekkies! Well, except for the once-a-season guest shot, but I can handle a small bit of Wesley every once in a blue moon.

Unfortunately, the screenwriters for this show decided to send off sci-fi's most-reviled teen by once again having him single-handedly save the day (and Capt. Morehead- whoops, Picard)! Man, do those guys know how to beat a concept to death or what! I'll take the umpeenth 'Holodcek malfunction' eppie over one of Wes' solo rescue shows any day of the week!

Yep, it sure is great to see the kid finally gone after this show. Now Jean-Luc can hit on Dr. Crusher and not feel so guilty about it! Go get 'er, chrome-dome! Oh yeah!

'Late!

Even though at times the producers go to great length to avoid expressing it, the relationship between Captain Picard and Ensign Crusher is one of father-son. In this episode, that pretense is largely dropped and Wesley shows his talents in two ways.
The first is expressed when Wesley is called to the bridge of the Enterprise and informed that he has been accepted at Star Fleet Academy. Picard is going to leave the Enterprise in order to mediate a dispute on Pentarus Five and he asks Wesley to accompany him. A representative named Dirgo is to transport them and he arrives in a dilapidated shuttle. After some serious questions being raised about the sturdiness of the craft, they depart and shortly after that, the Enterprise is called away on an emergency mission. This mission contains a statement about the political climate when the episode was filmed as it involved the unwise disposal of nuclear waste.
The shuttle carrying the Picard party fails and they are forced to make an emergency landing on a desert moon. Since the shuttle carried no emergency supplies, Picard, Wesley and Dirgo are forced to trek across the desert to some distant mountains. They arrive and find some caves with a water fountain protected by a force field. When they attempt to destroy the field with their phasers, Picard is seriously injured and Dirgo is killed. This forces Wesley to find a way to the water and he is able to do so, saving Picard's life until the Enterprise is able to find them.
With the exception of the absurdity of the fountain protected by a force field, this episode is a good one in that it focuses on the relationship between Picard and Crusher. Wesley strongly defends Picard against Dirgo and when necessary, is able to adapt to survival conditions, a valuable trait for Star Fleet personnel.

Pros:
1) It's great to see Wesley finally gone. (ABOUT TIME!)
2) There are some nice moments between him and Picard.
Cons:
1) Cliche after cliche
2) Why is that fountain in a cave and guarded by a forcefield? Don't even ask . . .
If you liked Wesley, I imagine you'll like this episode where the Boy Wonder saves the day yet again. If you didn't like him, I tend to doubt you'll find much to like here, either. But whatever your opinion of Wesley Crusher, surely the writers could have come up with something better than this?