After 17 Years Together, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Entire Crew Abandoned Worf

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The crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation seemingly left Worf (Michael Dorn) behind after he served with them for 17 years on the USS Enterprise-D and E. Star Trek: The Next Generation originally ran on television for seven years, from 1987 to 1994, and was followed by four feature films released between 1994 and 2002. The beloved characters from TNG reunited once again in season 3 of Star Trek: Picard.

The film Star Trek: Nemesis marked the end of both the Star Trek: The Next Generation movie series and the time spent together as a close-knit crew for Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his team. By the film’s conclusion, three important members of Picard’s crew had left the USS Enterprise-E, each moving on for their own reasons.

As a long-time Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, I was thrilled to finally learn what happened to the crew after Nemesis. It took almost twenty years, but Star Trek: Picard, Lower Decks, and Prodigy all picked up the story in the 24th century and gave us some answers. One of the coolest reveals? Worf actually took command of the Enterprise-E after Picard retired!

Worf Had No Star Trek: TNG Friends Left When He Became Captain Of The Enterprise

The events of Star Trek: Nemesis happened in 2379. Shortly after, in 2381, Worf became Captain of the USS Enterprise-E because Jean-Luc Picard was promoted to Admiral. Picard then took on a mission to help the Romulan people, whose star was about to explode. This mission, which occurred in 2387, is depicted in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek film.

When Captain Worf surveyed the bridge of the USS Enterprise-E, he noticed none of the crew members he’d served with for the past 17 years. By the time he took command in 2381, everyone who had been part of the original USS Enterprise-D crew – the one from when Star Trek: The Next Generation began in 2364 – was gone.

In Star Trek: Nemesis, Data (Brent Spiner) sacrificed himself to protect the Starship Enterprise from a weapon created by Shinzon (Tom Hardy). After this, newly married couple William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) left the Enterprise. Riker took command of the USS Titan, and Troi accompanied him on his new assignment and aboard the starship.

Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard showed that Dr. Beverly Crusher and Captain Picard fell in love again in 2381 and had a son named Jack Crusher. After an event put Picard in danger, Beverly left Starfleet to secretly raise Jack on her own.

Season one of Star Trek: Picard showed that Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) survived the attack by artificial lifeforms on Mars in 2385. This confirms details from the Star Trek: Picard – Countdown comic series, which established that La Forge left the USS Enterprise-E alongside Admiral Picard. Geordi was in charge of building the fleet to rescue the Romulans at the Utopia Planetia Fleet Yards on Mars.

Captain Worf found himself leading a new crew on the USS Enterprise-E. The third season of Star Trek: Picard suggested that his time commanding the Enterprise-E ended when the ship mysteriously disappeared, and Worf maintained it wasn’t his responsibility. This event likely occurred before the launch of the USS Enterprise-F in 2386.

Worf Left Star Trek: The Next Generation First (But Always Came Back)

The crew of the USS Enterprise-E might have felt justified in leaving Captain Worf by himself on the ship, considering he had previously left them. As seen in seasons 4 through 7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Worf served as a Strategic Operations Officer under Captain Benjamin Sisko, played by Avery Brooks, on the space station.

As a huge Star Trek fan, I always knew Worf would end up back on the Enterprise. Even though he spent a lot of time on Deep Space Nine, he always managed to return to his position as Security Chief on the Enterprise-E whenever a new Next Generation movie was happening. Deep Space Nine had already finished its run by the time Nemesis came out, but there he was, right back on Picard’s bridge, and he stayed there until he finally earned his own command.

Worf wasn’t the first character to leave the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Before he joined Deep Space Nine, several others had already departed: Lieutenant Tasha Yar was killed during a mission, Chief Miles O’Brien transferred to Deep Space Nine, Lieutenant Ro Laren joined the Maquis, and Wesley Crusher became a Traveler.

It felt right that Captain Worf was the last member of the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew on the USS Enterprise-E before it disappeared. As the first Klingon in Starfleet, Worf was deeply devoted to the Enterprise, and he likely felt a great sense of accomplishment becoming its Captain after Picard. It was a role even Will Riker and Data never achieved.

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2026-05-21 15:09