Jack R. Crusher

Species:	Human
Affiliation:	Federation Starfleet
Rank:	Lieutenant Commander
Status:	KIA (2354)
Died:	2354
Spouse(s):	Beverly (wife)
Children:	One son, Wesley
Played by:	Doug Wert

Lieutenant Commander Jack R. Crusher was a Starfleet officer and good friends with Jean-Luc Picard, serving under his command on the USS Stargazer. He was husband to Beverly Crusher and father to Wesley Crusher. He was killed on an away mission in 2354. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Family", "True Q")

Personal

A deleted scene from TNG: "Family" would have revealed that, during his boyhood, Jack Crusher was given his first flying lesson by his grandfather, Richard Wesley Crusher. The same scene would have also established that Jack had several ancestors whom he considered "heroes". One ancestor fought in the American Civil War – on the Confederate side – in the opening battle of the conflict at Bull Run. Another ancestor died in the surprise attack on Station Salem-One.

Jack was introduced to Beverly sometime in the 2340s by mutual friend Walker Keel. (TNG: "Conspiracy") It took months for Beverly to figure out her attraction to Jack. (TNG: "The Price") He proposed to her in 2348 through a gag gift, a book entitled How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage. (TNG: "Family")

An invitation to their wedding was part of material which was created for the Picard family album in Star Trek Generations, but not used on-screen.

Their son, Wesley, was born in 2348. Jack recorded a holographic message to Wesley shortly after his birth, intending it as a present for when Wesley reached his eighteenth birthday. Jack wanted to make a series of messages, but only completed one. (TNG: "Family")

When his son Wesley was young, Crusher taught him about baseball. (TNG: "Evolution")

The family took a camping trip to Balfour Lake sometime before 2354. During the trip, Wesley amused himself by throwing manta leaves into the bonfire. (TNG: "Attached")

When Beverly told the story to Picard, she started to say that Jack had done something in response to Wesley, but she did not get to finish the story.

The Crushers spent much time with Jean-Luc Picard, resulting in Picard developing an attraction towards Beverly. He never acted on his feelings even after Jack's death, feeling to do so would betray his friend. (TNG: "Attached") In an alternate future timeline, Jean-Luc and Beverly did get married but subsequently divorced. (TNG: "All Good Things...")

Jack and Beverly may have both been assigned to the Stargazer at the same time, which would explain how they would both spend lots of time with Picard during his command. It has never been explicitly stated that Beverly was a Stargazer crew member, however. She most definitely was not a part of the crew by the time of Jack's death, since Picard needed to bring Jack's body home.

Death

Crusher was killed on an away mission while serving on the Stargazer. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "The Bonding") His death was considered an accident. (TNG: "Attached") It also involved a choice of life and death made by Picard, which resulted in Wesley having to make a similar choice at his "psych test" during his first application to Starfleet Academy. (TNG: "Coming of Age") Picard personally returned Jack's body to Beverly and Wesley. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") Picard accompanied Beverly to view Jack in the morgue on Starbase 32. When Beverly was mentally assaulted by the Ullian Jev in 2368, she was forced to revisit this event. (TNG: "Violations")

When Beverly asked Picard to describe Wesley, he said, "He's his father's son. Honest, trusting, strong." (TNG: "Evolution")

In 2367, Beverly brought several of Jack's personal belongings out of storage and aboard the USS Enterprise-D, including How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage and the computer chip containing the holographic recording. She gave it to Wesley and he watched the recording on the holodeck. (TNG: "Family")

In the aforementioned deleted scene from "Family", Jack's hologram revealed that his ancestors included not only one who "fought for the Confederacy at Bull Run" and one who died at Station Salem-One, but also a horse thief on Nimbus III.

While on a vision quest on the Native American world of Dorvan V, Wesley saw his father. The vision told him that the quest which Wesley had been on – following Jack's death – was now ended, and that Wesley must now find his own path. (TNG: "Journey's End")

Chronology

• Early 2340s: Introduced to Beverly Howard by Walker Keel.
• 2348: Marries medical student Beverly Howard. (TNG: "Family")
• 2348: Wesley Crusher born. Jack records a message to Wesley, which will be replayed nineteen years later. (TNG: "Family")
• 2354: Dies on an away mission while serving on the USS Stargazer. Jean-Luc Picard returns his body to Beverly and Wesley. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint", "Violations")

Appendices

Appearances

• TNG:
  • "Family" (as a hologram)
  • "Violations" (as a corpse in a flashback vision by Beverly)
  • "Journey's End" (in a vision by Wesley)

Apocrypha

In the Peter David novel Q-Squared, Trelane reveals to an alternate Jack Crusher that he only survives in one timeline of all the timelines that exist in the multiverse order; in other words, he is alone, compared to the infinite copies of his friend, Jean-Luc Picard, and his ex, Beverly Howard. Through a series of events manipulated by Trelane, this Jack Crusher goes insane and kills himself, destroying the only living version of Jack Crusher in all existence.

External link

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