Boothby Mr . Boothby was a Human male who worked as groundskeeper at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco on Earth during the 24th century . Born around the 2260s , Boothby worked at Starfleet Academy from about 2321 and saw many promising young cadet s come and go , often offering up helpful advice and kind words . Among the cadets he had seen pass through the Academy were such prominent Starfleet captain s as Picard , Janeway , , and . ( , ) History . Boothby was disdainful of herbicides and other high - tech devices , and preferred to tend to the grounds by hand . After a big parrises squares win in 2324 , it took Boothby three weeks to repair the grounds following the celebration . In 2368 , Boothby claimed that he was cranky because he had been forced to replant the same flower bed several times . ( ) Picard considered Boothby one of the wisest men he ever knew . ( ) Boothby gave Picard a grand tour of the grounds following his arrival at the Academy . Boothby once caught Picard carving the initials A . F . into his prized elm tree . ( ) Boothby had more faith in Picard than Picard had in himself . The only thing Picard did which surprised Boothby was pinning a Ligonian within the first fourteen seconds of a wrestling match . At some point , Picard made some mistake which jeopardized his Academy career . Had it not been for Boothby ' s advice to make the right decision , he might never have graduated . Boothby ' s suggestion was apparently met with resistance by Picard , and for a time , Picard considered Boothby a vicious and mean - spirited old man and did not speak to him for months . Boothby knew Picard needed to find his bearings . Picard never told Boothby how much he appreciated his help , but Boothby claimed Picard ' s noteworthy Starfleet career was repayment enough . ( ) During Chakotay ' s stay at the Academy in the late 2340s , Boothby served as his boxing coach . A of Boothby was part of his training simulations aboard the . ( ) In the mid 2350s , Boothby brought fresh rose s to Cadet Kathryn Janeway ' s quarters each morning . ( ) Jean - Luc Picard advised Wesley Crusher to seek out Boothby when he was accepted to the Academy in 2367 . ( ) Crusher met Boothby his first week there , and he took Crusher on the same tour Picard received forty years prior . He did not remember Picard at first , but his memory was later jogged and he told Wesley that he was proud of the captain ' s accomplishments . ( ) Boothby knew all of the Nova Squadron members and realized how much the other cadets revered them . He was shaken by the accident which claimed the life of Cadet Joshua Albert . In 2368 , Picard visited Boothby following the accident . Boothby recognized Picard immediately , and wondered what happened to his hair . At this time , Picard tried to express his appreciation for his advice and guilt over never showing his thanks , but Boothby dismissed his remorse . Boothby also explained to Picard how the other cadets treated Nova Squadron with godlike respect and how Nova Squadron wanted to maintain that image , leading Picard to realize that Cadet Nicholas Locarno may have planned an unorthodox stunt leading to the accident . " Starship Enterprise " - D personnel learned that Nova Squadron was attempting a Kolvoord Starburst . Picard ' s experience with Boothby was echoed when he confronted Cadet Crusher with the news and threatened to go to the board of inquiry , but Crusher realized he needed to tell the truth himself . ( ) Alternate Boothbys . Species 8472 Replicant . In 2375 , Species 8472 established a training facility somewhere in the Delta Quadrant , recreating Starfleet Command , Starfleet Medical , and Starfleet Academy in perfect detail . They intended to instruct members of their species to act as Human s and other Alpha Quadrant species in order to infiltrate the Federation , which they saw as a threat to their existence . The leader of the group took on the role of Boothby , and met Commander Chakotay of " Voyager " when he transported aboard the facility to investigate it . Captain Janeway later negotiated a cease - fire with the Boothby replicant , where Species 8472 would receive information about the nanoprobe weaponry and the Starfleet crew would be allowed to inspect Species 8472 technology and visit their simulation of Earth . The replicant gave Janeway roses as a parting gift before " Voyager " left to continue their journey . ( ) Chakotay ' s Hallucination . Later that year , Chakotay saw Boothby in a series of hallucination s while in a vision quest induced by a group of alien s trying to communicate with him telepathically . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " Boothby ? Jean - Luc Picard , class of twenty seven . " " < br > " " I know that . What happened to your hair ? " " < br > " " Yes , there is . I just wanted to , while I was here . Look , you know as well as I do I would never have graduated if you - " " < br > " " You made a mistake . There isn ' t a man among us who hasn ' t been young enough to make one . " " < br > Appendices . Background information . Boothby was played by actor Ray Walston as well as his photo double Gene Smith in wider shots of the episode " The Fight " . Walston filmed his scenes for the episode " The Fight " on Thursday on Paramount Stage 16 with a makeup call at 7 : 45 am and a set call at 8 : 30 am . The same day , his fitting photo double James Delano was on set while his photo double Gene Smith filmed his scenes on Thursday on Paramount Stage 16 . The character was originally mentioned in but went on to appear in , ( as a Species 8472 ) and ( as a hallucination and hologram ) . Michael Piller is cited as " creator " of Boothby . ( ) Of Boothby ' s first appearance , the script for " The First Duty " describes him as , " " an older man with a rumpled appearance and an irascible disposition . . . he holds a sharp - edged gardening tool in his hand . . . " " He also appeared in early drafts of in flashbacks to Picard ' s Academy days and in the present . According to Michael Piller , " " Ray Walston lost a job he never knew he had . " " ( " " ; ) During filming of " The First Duty " , the cast and crew of " The Next Generation " constantly approached Walston with his old character ' s signature schtick of head antenna and finer - wiggling " levitation " . ( " " , p . 197 ) Ronald D . Moore considered having Boothby appear in , with the revelation that Boothby was in fact The Traveler . Michael Piller vetoed the idea as he thought it would cheat Picard by making his mentor Wesley ' s as well . ( " " 2nd ed . , p . 290 ) During filming of the episode " In the Flesh " , Walston often had trouble with remembering his lines during long one - shot dialogue scenes , but while the cameraman was changing the film for the scene in the briefing room , he stated a line from Hamlet . Robert Beltran then stated the next line , and Walston the next . The two went on for several minutes , amazing the entire cast and crew . Tim Russ remembered in an interview for the special features of the Voyager Season 5 DVD that it was so quiet beside them , you could hear a pin drop , and that when they were done , everyone broke out in applause . Boothby ' s distinctive gardeners costume comprising brown dungaree overalls with long - sleeved grey undershirt and distressed straw hat was later sold off in the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction for US $ 700 . 00 . The brown felt vest and blue - grey shirt costume as worn in " The Fight " was sold for US $ 374 . 36 . In his review of " The First Duty " , " Star Trek " author Keith R . A . DeCandido loved Ray Walston ' s portrayal of Boothby , writing , " " . . . the best guest star here is the perfectly cast Ray Walston " [ . . . ] " " It would ’ ve been easy to drop the ball when finally casting this character so revered by Picard , but instead they absolutely hit it out of the park . " " Apocrypha . Boothby has been referenced in a number of non - canon works . The " " eBook " " suggests he was born on one of the Martian colonies , a reference to Ray Walston ' s role in " My Favorite Martian " . The novel " The Needs of the Many " gives his first name as " Liam " . In the " " comic book " An Inconvenient Truth " , Captain Picard approaches Boothby to seek his opinion on Admiral Nechayev , suspicious of whether she can be trusted during his investigation of a conspiracy within Starfleet . Boothby tells Picard about the young Nechayev , but is not sure about her trustworthiness . He also tells Picard about whispered rumours he has heard of " " people inside Starfleet , a secret group that fights dirty to keep the Federation clean " " . The " " novel " The Fall of Terok Nor " reveals that Bajoran Starfleet officer Arla Rees became acquainted with Boothby during her time at the Academy . Boothby also appears in " " novel " Stone and Anvil " , dispensing advice on relationships and careers to a young Shelby . The video game " Star Trek Online " has , among others , a plaque commemorating Boothby in Starfleet Academy , which indicates he died in the year 2382 . If the player scans all plaques scattered around the Academy grounds , they receive the title of " Boothby ' s Favorite . " The character Elisa Flores mentions that a hologram of Boothby is still maintained on Academy grounds through at least 2409 . Boothby is also featured in the " Star Trek Customizable Card Game " .