Why On Earth Did 'Webster' Make A 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Crossover Episode?

TV & Film

Jun 7

There have been a lot of strange crossovers throughout the history of pop culture. Lurch from The Addams Family met Batman. Timmy Turner met Jimmy Neutron. Sonic met MegaMan and also met Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The Power Rangers even met the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. However, perhaps the strangest one that has ever been filmed was that time Webster was on the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

So, who exactly is Webster? Webster is the titular character from the family sitcom of the same name. It follows the ex-NFL player George Papadapolis (played by the late Alex Karras), his wife Katherine (played by Susan Clark), and their adoptive son Webster (played by Emmanuel Lewis). Webster joins the family under tragic circumstances. One of George’s old teammates dies in a car crash, leaving behind his seven-year-old son named Webster. Since George is Webster’s godfather, he takes the boy in and becomes his legal guardian. Most of the series follows the hilarious hi-jinks of George’s pint-sized godson.

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How on Earth did Star Trek: The Next Generation fit into this? Both shows were produced by Paramount and were both filmed on the same studio lot in 1989. Worf is the only one from TNG that appears in this episode, “Webtrek”, so more than likely, it was due to Michael Dorn having some downtime, nobody else needing the Enterprise-D bridge set, and the people in charge of both shows thinking: “Why not?”

“Webtrek” begins with Webster playing a computer game called “Galaxy Man.” Lightning strikes outside the house, and Webster is suddenly transported onto the bridge of the Enterprise-D. The red alert sounds as Webster is scanned by a random Starfleet officer. Worf is at his usual station and asks how he got aboard. Webster blames it on his joystick, which is still in his hand. The joystick is taken away by other Starfleet officers for repairs. Worf recognizes Webster as an “Earthling” with an unusual style of dress, to which Webster replies that he likes to stay “one step ahead of the fashion” and “No one else will be wearing this until 1990.”

However, Worf quickly informs the young boy that 1990 was more than 300 years ago and that he is now in the 24th century. This leads to “hilarious” discussions and misunderstandings about the 20th century between Worf and Webster, including dancing being seen as a prelude to battle. Webster dances and gets a phaser jabbed into his side. He then talks about how his Uncle Phil is a great dancer, leading to a clip of the aforementioned Uncle Phil. Turns out, this is just a clip show with a Star Trek: The Next Generation framing device. Other clips are shown, including Webster visiting a dude ranch, a helicopter tour, and Webster playing baseball. It all culminates in Webster’s joystick being repaired and him being sent home by pressing a button on said joystick (after Worf jokingly told him to “click his heels and say ‘There’s no place like home.’”

Webster wakes up to find it was all a dream…or was it? The only evidence of his trip to the 24th century is a tag that read “Repaired and Inspected by No. 6 – The Starship Enterprise.” This is an unusual piece of pop culture history that continues to baffle Star Trek: The Next Generation fans to this day. One thing is for sure, the cast and crew probably had at least a little bit of fun producing this episode.

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Source: Trekcore

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