The Dauphin (18 Feb. 1989)

Ens. Wesley Crusher suffers from the pangs of first love when the Enterprise is tasked to transport a young woman, Salia, back to her home where she is to become the leader of her people. ... See full summary »

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Scott Rubenstein,

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lieutenant Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher
Diana Muldaur	...	Doctor Pulaski
Paddi Edwards	...	Anya
Jaime Hubbard	...	Salia (as Jamie Hubbard)
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Guinan
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien
Peter Neptune	...	Aron
Mädchen Amick	...	Teenage Girl - Anya
Cindy Sorenson	...	Furry Animal (Anya) (as Cindy Sorensen)

Storyline

Ens. Wesley Crusher suffers from the pangs of first love when the Enterprise is tasked to transport a young woman, Salia, back to her home where she is to become the leader of her people. Traveling with her is her guardian and teacher, Anya, who is more that just a bit overprotective. Wesley very much wants to be with her - and her likewise with him - but there are few opportunities and Anya continually interferes. Guinan and others provide him with advice. When Salia reveals her true self to him, he re-evaluates his feelings.

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Plot Keywords:

24th century

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

18 February 1989 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Features the first morph in the Star Trek canon.

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Goofs

When Wesley and Guinan are talking in Ten-Forward, a little black dot appears on the screen in the lower right-hand corner and remains there for the rest of the shot, blinking only once.

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Quotes

Anya: Salia, do an old woman a favor and obey me for the rest of this trip.
Salia: You are no more an old woman than I am a leader.
[Worf appears at their quarters to escort Anya on a tour of the ship]
Anya: You *are* a leader. And I... am older than you could ever imagine.

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Connections

Edited into Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shades of Gray (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title"
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User Reviews

The Dauphin

It is kind of unfortunate for the Beverly Crusher character that she wasn't on board the Enterprise when her son met his first love and had his first kiss. "The Dauphin" is a great episode for the Wesley character as he tries to maintain his duties helping Geordi make some routine adjustments in Engineering after meeting eyes with a lovely young woman named Salia (the stunning Jaime Hubbard, with a knockout smile and warm presence), raised in isolation by an allosomorph (shapeshifter), Anya (Paddi Edwards), who has been preparing her for a planet in a generational civil war to lead them into a hopeful peace. Salia was born from parents who were from opposite sides, so after their deaths, she was taken from her homeworld and sheltered light years away, Anya raising her for this specific purpose. Salia has reservations (who wouldn't?) and reluctance about the whole idea of becoming some leader of an entire planet, supposedly the last chance for a peace, the beacon of hope for centuries of war. Wesley becomes a monkey wrench in these plans, stirring the anger of Anya who serves as a Mama Bear Protector (and can shift into a giant furry creature with bulging red eyes, bear claws, and fangs), as Salia begins to contemplate the idea of exploring galaxies, enjoying the sights and sounds of other worlds…introduced to her by Wesley on the Holodeck and throughout the ship. So Picard is in a pickle and he has asked Wesley to stay away from Salia (…as Anya has insisted Salia stay away from Wesley). That will not be easy. Good moments between Wesley and Guinan (especially the end) talking about first love and how empty it can feel once that person that built such a strong bond with him is now gone. This episode also makes a statement (when Salia reveals what she *really* looks like) about love not being about what you look like as much as who you are, although Wes is rather taken aback by Salia's secret regarding the ability to take forms of any lifeform she so chooses. Worf's scenes with Anya, over which is a superior fighter and protector, make for some nicely intense back-and-forth, but their truce is perhaps even more special when both acknowledge their similarities. More or less an episode dedicated specifically to Wesley, this will probably most appeal to fans of the character (or the actor) than casual Next Gen fans.