The First Duty

This Story: Season 5 Episode 19 (production code 219)
TNG Overall: Episode 119
Trek Overall: Story 216, Episode 221
Airdate: 30 Mar 1992
Written by Ronald D. Moore & Naren Shankar
Directed by Paul Lynch

Notes

• Wil Wheaton returns to the series as Wesley Crusher.
• Robert Duncan McNeill made his first appearance in the franchise here. His character in this ep (Nick Locarno) was supposed to be one of the cast of Star Trek Voyager, but it was decided to create a new character with the same backstory (as I believe a way to get out of paying royalties to the writers of this episode).
• Both Nick Locarno & Sito Jaxa made appearances in Star Trek: Lower Decks, with Locarno being the main antagonist of Season 4 of that show.  There were jokes made about how Tom Paris & Nick Locarno looked exactly alike.
• McNeill made appearances in Star Trek Lower Decks as both Tom Paris & Nick Locarno.
• Sito Jaxa also appeared in a Season 7 TNG episode (amusingly titled) “Lower Decks“, when Picard requested her to give her a chance to redeem herself.
• Boothby finally appears after having been mentioned prior.  He was played by Ray Walston who I know well from other things including the most excellent “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” as well as “My Favorite Martian“.
• The first appearance in Trek history of Starfleet Academy, despite being mentioned several timers going back to the original series.
• Events from Encounter at Farpoint & Where No One Has Gone Before are referenced here.
• While not a sequel, thematically the Deep Space Nine episode “Valiant” has the same basic storyline as this one. Both were written by Ronald D. Moore.
• The mostly awful episode “Code of Honor” is referenced here.
• The model of the Enterprise in Wesley’s quarters is a real life replica from the Franklin Mint.
• Michael Piller noted that “the Air Force is showing this episode today to say “Look! That’s what it’s all about.”” (“Departmental Briefing Year Five” (“The First Duty”), TNG Season 5 DVD special feature) The episode was aired to cadets as part of an introduction to the honor code.  (This note is a direct lift from the Memory Alpha page linked to below – but it was so good, I wanted to copy it as is, and not try and alter it and change the meaning).

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