Written by Lee Sheldon, Joe Menosky, and Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Cliff Bole

Once in a while, the writers really seem to be able to craft a good story that leads you in one direction, only to end up in a totally different place than where you thought you’d be. This is one of those stories.

In Remember Me, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) greets her mentor Dr. Dalen Quaice (portrayed by Bill Erwin) as the Enterprise ferries him to the place where he will spend his retirement. In her melancholy over the fact that he has recently lost his wife, Dr. Crusher goes to visit her son Wesley (Wil Wheaton) in engineering where he is working on a project using the equations put forth by Dr. Kosinski in the first-season episode Where No One Has Gone Before.

Suddenly, there is a brilliant flash of light.

The first indication of trouble is when Beverly can no longer locate Dr. Quaice. Not only is he not on board the ship, but there is no record of him transporting over, no record of his service in Starfleet, and O’Brien (Colm Meaney) doesn’t even remember him being transported over.

The story begins with what seems like a mystery of the disappearance of Dr. Quaice. Is it a space phenomenon? Is it some conspiracy?

The first time a person views this episode, they will be surprised at the twists and turns it makes. However, on rewatching it, all of the clues are there and it seems so obvious…

SPOILER ALERT

While performing his experiment, Wesley created a warp bubble into which his mother was drawn. She is the one actually displaced into a different place where people are disappearing from her reality. Her thoughts at the time created this reality. Wesley, meanwhile, with the help of Geordi LaForge (Levar Burton) is racing against time to try to get her back before the warp bubble collapses.

END SPOILER

What is terrific here is that while the episode features Beverly Crusher, it’s actually a very important episode for Wesley. He gets to be reunited with The Traveler (portrayed by Eric Menyuk), a being who seems to exist on a higher plane than humans and can see that there is something special inside Wesley. Indeed, back in the first episode, they were in together, he informed Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) that Wesley was special and should be treated as such.

The acting here is terrific. McFadden plays Beverly Crusher with a whole range of emotions. At times she is frantic, at others she believes she is going crazy, while at others she is a conspiracy theorist worthy of Fox Muldar. As she tries to solve the mystery of exactly what is happening to herself and the crew of the Enterprise, she is deliberate, but she also gives her character an edge as if she is just about managing to hold herself together.

Everyone else pretty much supports her here. Patrick Stewart is good as the Captain displaying unwavering faith in his ship’s doctor but also concerned about his ship’s operation. Wil Wheaton gives one of his better performances as Wesley. He’s unsure of himself at times and lacks confidence instead of the know-it-all. It’s a refreshing change for how Wesley is displayed and gives him a sense of normalcy, despite the fact that The Traveler is there telling him that he is special.

While not a fantastic episode of the series, it’s a good mystery with good characterizations. It does drag in spots, and viewers who haven’t seen Where No One Has Gone Before might have trouble understanding quite a bit of the last fifteen minutes or so. However, it’s very entertaining.

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