DS9: O’Brien’s Last Time on the Enterprise

O’Brien’s Last Time on the Enterprise

This wonderful scene comes from the first episode of DS9, the opening movie.  I always loved this scene because it bridges the gap between DS9 and TNG.  It showed that it was set in the same setting as TNG.  And, having some of the familiar sets and characters show up the DS9 episode.  This scene was deleted when the first episode was shown as two separate episodes in reruns.  I really hated seeing this scene go. However, the DVD and Netflix versions have this scene restored. 

We’ve all had that moment when we strolled through an area one last time before moving on. 

It shows that O’Brien wasn’t as close to Picard as the other characters on TNG.  He wants to go into Picard’s Ready Room, but doesn’t want to bother him.  It is a very nice touch.  He clearly doesn't think he shouldn't disturb Picard.  

It also shows you the type of person Picard is by rushing into the transporter room just to say goodbye to O’Brien.  A Captain saying goodbye to a Petty Officer shows that Picard does care about everyone in his crew.   He probably ran down to the room just to say goodbye.  I also love that it is Picard that transports O’Brien away. 

The other nice touch is how they blend the Star Trek theme with the DS9 theme. 

Here's the kicker: The black transporter operator behind the station is actually a recurring background character that speaks in a few episodes. The wiki states that she goes by Ensign Maggie Hubbell 

It was a nice touch on the writers part to have a person that's been on the show a few times show up in the spinoff as well. By the way, the actress still works today. Plus, you might remember her as one of the Others from Lost. She played Miss Klugh until she was killed.

There are other DS9/TNG crossovers.  

Damn, I miss TNG and DS9.