| Jack Crusher | |
| Full Name: | Jack R. Crusher |
| Gender: | Male |
| Species: | Human |
| Died: | 2354 |
| Marital status: | Married to Beverly Crusher from 2348 to time of death |
| Children: | One son, Wesley Crusher |
| Actor: | 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").
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 a year later. 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").
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").
- 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 crewmember, 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.
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 results 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 Dr. Crusher asked Captain 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 Enterprise-D, including How to Advance Your Career Through Marriage and the chip containing the holographic recording. She gave it to Wesley and he watched the recording on the holodeck (TNG: "Family").
While on a vision quest on the Native American world of Dorvan V, Wesley saw his father. The vision told him that Wesley's quest which started after Jack's death 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 eighteen 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").
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 Jack Crusher that he only exists 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, Jack Crusher goes insane and kills himself, destroying the only version of Jack Crusher in all existence.