Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Beverly Crusher

As he flies with Riker to the Eleos aboard the more-than-just-borrowed shuttle from the Titan-A, Admiral (retired) Picard pulls up Beverly Crusher's last known Starfleet medical profile. For the first entry under 'Medical History,' the stardate is a little hard to make out, but it's 47653.2 either way. The text reads: "Near paralysis from unidentified venom. Placed in stasis to prevent paralysis. Reconstructive surgery required."

"Unidentified" was perhaps a subtle clue to a still then undercover agent of Star Trek: Picard's season three, for we know exactly what, or rather whose, venom it was in Star Trek: The Next Generation's Genesis. 'Twas Worf, dangerously de-evolving Worf. Doctor Crusher's screams as she writhed around on the floor in agony in that episode will no doubt haunt us forever, but there was a logical and altogether more off-screen reason for Worf's vicious venom attack.

Stasis for Crusher was in the script to give Gates McFadden more time behind the camera for her Star Trek directorial debut. In doing so, McFadden also became the first female cast member to direct an episode — preceded by Gabrielle Beaumont as the first woman full stop to direct Star Trek (on Booby Trap and six more episodes of The Next Generation, then one of Deep Space Nine, and one of Voyager). The next female cast member to take to the director's chair would be Roxann Dawson for the Voyager episode Riddles.