The First Names of "The Next Generation" Quiz

Answer: Geordi

Lt. Commander Geordi LaForge (played by LeVar Burton) is said to have been named for a friend of Gene Roddenberry, whom he had known when he was a pilot in the Army Air Corps.
In Season 1, LaForge's station was at the helm of the Enterprise-D. Because of this, Gene Roddenberry found humor in the fact that a blind man was driving the ship.

Answer: Robin

Ensign Robin Lefler (Ashley Judd) was a member of the Enterprise-D Engineering staff. Introduced in the episode "Darmok", Lefler later became a love interest to Wesley Crusher. In the episode "The Game", they helped to stop an attempted takeover of the Enterprise-D by the Ktarians.
Now an acclaimed actress, Ashley Judd cut her acting teeth on "Star Trek: TNG" as Lefler. Her movie credits include "A Time to Kill", "Kiss the Girls", and "High Crimes". Her sister Wynonna and mother Naomi make up the legendary country music duo The Judds.

Answer: Reginald

The heavily-introverted Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) spent a lot of time on holodecks in his day. Initially seen as a fluke in Starfleet (his service record was not up to par), people had become accustomed to calling him "Lt. Broccoli" behind his back; Picard once accidentally called him that to his face! But his talents and his intelligence gradually became apparent; he was later intrumental in establishing long-distance communication with the U.S.S. Voyager. Barclay has now become Dwight Schultz's second well-known role in television; his first was as Murdock on the NBC TV-series "The A-Team" in the 1980s.

His other credits include "Fat Man and Little Boy", "The Long Walk Home", and over a dozen TV movies.

Answer: Alyssa

Nurse Alyssa Ogawa (Patti Yasutake) was a member of Dr. Crusher's medical staff on the Enterprise-D. A frequent recurring character, she made her debut in "Future Imperfect". Toward the end of the series, Ogawa had become pregnant; her pregnancy was instrumental in the resolution of the episode "Genesis". Unfortunately, she lost the baby in the series finale, "All Good Things..."
Nurse Ogawa is Patti Yasutake's best-known role. She has also appeared in "Gung Ho", "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot!", and "Drop Dead Gorgeous".

Answer: Deanna

Lt. Commander Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) is the Ship's Counselor on the Enterprise-D. Born on the planet Betazed, her late father, Ian Troi, was human and a member of Starfleet. Her mother, Lwaxana (Majel Barrett Roddenberry), was a daughter of Betazed's Fifth House, holder of the sacred Chalice of Rixx, and heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed (Thank you, startrek.com). Troi was promoted to Commander in the episode "Thine Own Self". Marina Sirtis, who is of Greek heritage, was born in London in 1960. Though best-known for her work with the "Star Trek" franchise, she has also appeared in "Death Wish 3" and "Blind Date"; she has also contributed voice work for the TV-series "Gargoyles".

Answer: Alynna

Vice-Admiral Alynna Nechayev (Natalia Nogulich) made her debut in the episode "Chain of Command, Part 1". She also appeared in three more episodes of "TNG", as well as two on "DS9". In "Chain of Command", she had ordered Captain Picard to investigate a possible Cardassian weapons development lab (which, of course, resulted in his abduction and torture); during this mission, she gave command of the Enterprise-D to Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox). Natalia Nogulich's on-screen acting career began with the 1979 TV movie "Mind Over Murder".

She has appeared in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation", "Hoffa", and "The Chase".

Answer: Wesley

Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) was a child prodigy, as well as son of the Enterprise-D's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Originally destined for a career in Starfleet, Wesley discovered his true path in Season 7's "Journey's End".
Wil Wheaton has been in motion pictures and television since the mid-1980s. His credits include "Stand By Me", "Toy Soldiers", and "Flubber".
By the way, the reason that the name "Wesley" was chosen for young Ensign Crusher was because it was Gene Roddenberry's middle name (as in Eugene Wesley Roddenberry). He saw it as a means of vicariously exploring the "Star Trek" universe through the eyes of a child.

Answer: Tasha

Lt. Natasha Yar (Denise Crosby) was the first Chief of Security on the Enterprise-D. She was also the first principle character to be killed (and stay dead) in the history of "Star Trek". When she died, the titles of Security Chief and Tactical Officer were passed to Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn). Denise Crosby had asked that she be written off the show while still in its first season, because she was suffering from what I call "Lt. Uhura Syndrome." In other words, she felt that she had been doing little more than saying "Hailing frequencies open, sir" (Nichelle Nichols had wrestled that same demon during "TOS"). Apparently, she later regretted the move, because Lt. Yar re-appeared in Season 3's "Yesterday's Enterprise".

This would eventually allow Denise Crosby to make recurring appearances as the half-Romulan Sela in later episodes. Tasha Yar also appeared in the two-hour finale, "All Good Things..." Denise Crosby is the granddaughter of Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby.

Answer: Gregory

Admiral Gregory Quinn (Ward Costello) was an old acquaintance of Captain Picard. But in the episode "Conspiracy", Picard and Commander Riker had suspected something was wrong with him when he fell under the influence of parasitic creatures that had taken control of his body. It turned out that the creatures' central host was contained within Lt. Commander Remmick (Robert Shenkkan).
Ward Costello made two appearances on "TNG" (three, if you count flashbacks in "Shades of Grey"). His credits include "MacArthur", "Firefox", and "Project X".

Answer: Kate

Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) was Chief Medical Officer on the Enterprise-D during the show's second season (Dr. Crusher had been transferred to Starfleet Medical during that time). Dr. Pulaski was, in essence, a female version of Dr. McCoy; both sparred with the "logical" member of the crew (he with Spock, she with Data), both had a crusty edge to them, and both disliked the Transporter.
Diana Muldaur's first appearance in the "Star Trek" franchise had come about 20 years earlier, on "TOS". She played Dr. Ann Mulhall in "Return To Tomorrow", then appeared as Dr. Miranda Jones in "Is There In Truth No Beauty?"
FUN FACT: Did you know a minimum of five actors appeared in both "Star Trek: TNG" and "LA Law"? John DeLancie (Q) guest-starred in an episode, of "LA Law", as did Gates McFadden (Dr. Crusher). "LA Law" actor Corbin Bernsen (Arnie Becker) appeared as a member of the Q Continuum in "Déjà Q", and Jennifer Hetrick (Vash) played Arnie Becker's wife (that is, when he was married). But it was Diana Muldaur (Dr. Pulaski) who was the most memorable actor to do both shows. Her character, Rosalind Shays, spent two seasons at McKensie-Brackman (1989-1991), before falling to her death down an elevator shaft.