star trek next generation final episode

Star Trek The Next Generation Ending Explained: How The Series Concluded For Patrick Stewart's Picard

Decades after Star Trek: The Next Generation's ending in 1994 the series remains one of the most beloved shows in the franchise. That's thanks in no small part to the tremendous cast led by Sir Patrick Stewart , and the finale that set the stage for other adventures that followed.

"All Good Things" was quite a finish for Star Trek: The Next Generation , and a bit to take in all at once. For those that may not remember, here are the events separated by timeline, and how they impacted the futures of other Star Trek shows and movies.

How Star Trek: The Next Generation Ended

After a tumultuous trial across time and space, Jean-Luc Picard pulled through and spared humanity a gruesome fate. That's what it seemed anyway, though it turned out the whole thing was a test by Q that proved to the Q Continuum that humanity was still capable of evolving. After he thoroughly impressed Q, Picard joined his crew for a game of poker for the first time.

It really sounds simple, but when incorporating a story that shifts between three different timelines, things get a bit garbled up. Here's the action of the two-part finale broken up by their respective timelines, the episodes they referenced, and how the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale has held up over time.

The Present Timeline

The present timeline kicked off the story as Troi and Worf had just come out from a romantic excursion in the Holodeck. The two were in the midst of a discussion about asking Ryker's permission to date when they are interrupted by Picard. He can't explain why, but he believes he's traveling through time. Picard was briefly able to explain the situation but is ultimately transported through time again.

When Picard returned to the present, he informed Troi he was just speaking to previous lieutenant Tasha Yar, who had died some time ago. Picard was taken to sickbay, where Dr. Crusher evaluated him to see what was going on. She found no sign of temporal displacement but did find a defect in his mind that could eventually lead to Irumodic Syndrome. As Picard digested the news, Admiral Nakamura informed Picard there was a fleet-wide Yellow Alert.

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There are 30 Romulan Warbirds near a spatial anomaly in the neutral zone, and orders are for Starfleet to travel to the anomaly as well. Picard shifted through time again, but upon return, can more accurately recall the memories of the present and future. Crusher confirmed Picard has expanded his memories vastly in minutes, and the crew now believed what Picard said was happening.

The situation is still somewhat confusing though, as the rest of the crew can't remember the events of the past Picard has described. Ryker did point out both the past and present have similar spatial anomalies, which is about the best information they gathered in the meeting. Picard informed Riker he should be ready to take command due to the disorientation he has suffered from the time shifts, shares a kiss with Crusher, and gets to bed.

After some more time traveling Picard is transported to a courtroom in which Q presides. After a brief conversation Q informed the captain that humanity is at risk and that Picard will bring about its destruction. Picard is sent back to the present, and the captain tells Ryker to call for a red alert and emergency senior staff meeting. As the staff discussed the new information, the Enterprise approached the neutral zone with Romulan ships present.

The next scene in the present came with Picard in conversation with Commander Tomalak, who granted the Enterprise passage in the neutral zone to explore the anomaly. It's a temporal anomaly, one that is later revealed to be one capable of erasing all of mankind's existence if he can't figure out a way to stop it. To make an already long story short, Picard arranges for all ships past and present to be destroyed in the anomaly, and after the final ship is destroyed, Picard is back in Q's courtroom.

The whole thing was a test, not by Q, but the Q Continuum. In showing his ability to adapt across multiple periods, Picard proved humanity could further evolve and therefore deserved to exist. Victorious, Picard joined his crew that night in a poker game for the first time, and that is a good chunk of the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

The Past Timeline

Picard was first transported to the past back after a brief glimpse of the future and found himself in conversation with a long-gone but familiar face, Tasha Yar. Yar explained to Picard the Enterprise is a different ship, but before the reality of the conversation can set in the Captain is transported back to the present.

When he returned to the past, Picard and Tasha Yar had arrived from their shuttlecraft onto the Enterprise. It's the day Picard assumed command of the Enterprise , but something is different. Picard noticed strange beings unseen by the rest of the crew. Rattled by the situation, Picard immediately called for a red alert, which gave his new crew a jolt. Now aware of the time-shifting, Picard opted not to confide in his past crew of the situation, as not to impact the present or future.

Unfortunately Picard faltered a bit in the execution. For example, he commanded Worf later to make a level two alert, despite Yar being the security chief. Eventually, Picard is called to the bridge, only to learn multiple freighters are moving to the neutral zone in Federation and Romulan space. Picard declined Starfleet's directive to go to the location, instead insisted they continue with their current mission. Ship difficulties made that impossible at the moment, but Picard put Miles O'Brien on the problem until the chief engineer arrived.

Picard returned to the past after some time hopping only to learn the ship is approaching the coordinates given. A scan revealed there was nothing there, but that was exactly what Picard expected. Finally privy to the situation, Picard called out Q and was transported to the first courtroom scene referenced in the present timeline.

When Picard returned to the past, he requested the Enterprise be sent to the Devron system. The move is met with much concern given it's in Romulan neutral territory, but everyone goes along. I'll admit it's kind of crazy the respect Picard has from day one on the Enterprise . The past arrived at the Devron location about the same time as every other timeline, and pick up the same anomaly.

Once the past is up to speed on the whole anti-time thing, Q took Picard back into the past. I'm talking 3.5 million years into the past, where he witnessed the beginning of human life. Picard was sent back to the past knowing if he can't figure out how to stop the anomaly, humanity is lost. After a bit of action, the past ship converged in the same spot as the present and future ships and was destroyed. No one actually died, but it's not like they knew that at the time!

The Future Timeline

Star Trek: The Next Generation picked up in the future with Patrick Stewart's Picard at a vineyard. He's hanging out with Geordi LaForge, the new director of the Daystrom Institute. LaForge confessed his visit was to check on Picard's battle with Irumodic Syndrome, Picard is interrupted by the mysterious figures (who were later revealed as attendants in Q's courtroom), and shifted out of time.

Picard is eventually able to convince Geordi to take him to the neutral zone, but there's a problem. The neutral zone of the past is now Klingon territory, and relations between the Federation and Klingons are not good. Admiral Riker (yes, Admiral) isn't able to help, but Dr. Crusher can give transport via her ship of command the Pasteur .

Eventually Picard returned, but his knowledge of the time shifts concerned Geordi. Geordi thinks it's Picard's sickness, but agreed to take Picard to Data to talk out the issue. Data (who is living in a lavish house) admitted he is skeptical but said there was nothing to disprove what Picard was saying about the time shifts.

What's crazier is that Picard and Crusher were formerly married, but it didn't work out. At this point, no one in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's past believed Picard's thoughts on an anomaly, but decided to honor him with the one final mission if he believes it's important.

Worf, who is now a Governor for Klingons, could not allow safe passage in the zone and advised against the mission for their safety. Picard swayed him to help, but by that point, Crusher is about at her wits' end. After a brief power struggle, Crusher admitted she could not trust Picard's judgment and suggested the entire mission could be a construct within his aged and diseased mind. Q appears after this to mock Picard, but inadvertently (or intentionally, you never know with Q) revealed Picard's solution lies in all timelines.

The Pasteur is attacked by Klingon vessels, and only barely bailed out by Riker and Worf's ships. The crew of the Pasteur is taken aboard the Enterprise and flown out of the area. Picard is outraged, but put down with a sedative by friends who believed he all but lost his mind.

Eventually, the crew realized that the anomaly hasn't occurred yet in the future, and arrive just in time for its beginning. Just like in the two previous scenarios, the Enterprise heads into the anomaly and is destroyed. No one is killed really, and frankly, they never actually existed.

How The Episode Has Held Up Over Time

Suffice to say, a good portion of what was shown in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's future has not come to be. Data "died" ( mostly ) in Star Trek: Nemesis , Riker left Starfleet to marry and have children with Troi, and Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc Picard resigned at the admiral level. Of course, fans weren't entirely surprised by that, as Star Trek: The Next Generation 's characters did state that the future in which Picard saw was no longer guaranteed to happen.

Even so, Star Trek: Picard has honored elements of Star Trek: The Next Generation 's finale in its work. Picard did retire to a vineyard chateau and his Irumodic Syndrome did metastasize. Season 1 goes into that situation quite a bit actually, though anyone looking for answers on that should be warned of massive spoilers for the CBS All Access series. Most of the other TNG cast has yet to appear in Picard , so their fates are one big question mark. Hopefully, more easter eggs from the finale will be referenced in Season 2, but if not, at least canon already accounted for that!

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on CBS All Access . Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more Star Trek news, and the latest happenings in television and movies.

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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All Good Things... (episode)

Picard learns from Q that he is to be the cause of the annihilation of Humanity and begins an incredible journey through time from the present, to the past when he first took command of the Enterprise , to twenty-five years into the future. ( Series finale , feature-length)

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Act Six
• 1.8 Act Seven
• 1.9 Act Eight
• 1.10 Act Nine
• 1.11 Act Ten
• 2 Memorable quotations
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Story and script
• 3.3 Cast and characters
• 3.4 Sets and props
• 3.5 Production
• 3.6 Editing
• 3.7 Continuity
• 3.8 Reception
• 3.9 Apocrypha
• 3.10 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Special guest stars
• 4.5 Co-stars
• 4.6 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.7 Stunt double
• 4.8 Stand-ins
• 4.9.1 Other references
• 4.9.2 Unreferenced material
• 4.10 Timeline
• 4.11 External links

Summary [ ]

Worf and Deanna

On the holodeck , Lieutenant Worf and Counselor Troi have just finished a walk on the Black Sea beach at night. Upon exiting the holodeck, Troi gets a bit irritated when Worf refers to their romantic experience as nothing more than "stimulating" and rolls her eyes when he tries to add that it was "very stimulating". On the way back to her quarters , Troi discusses how she doesn't spend nearly enough time on the holodeck, and should go there more often. Worf is about to drop her off at her quarters, but wants to talk about their next date. He feels that they should get approval from Commander Riker before continuing their relationship and is concerned about hurting his feelings, but Troi firmly states that their relationship does not need such approval.

Worf is about to kiss Troi goodnight, when Captain Picard walks off the turbolift . In a hurried mood, he asks Troi for the date, to which Worf answers that it is stardate 47988. Picard confirms the date with himself, before he reveals to Troi that he, without knowing the reason, is somehow moving back and forth through time.

Act One [ ]

In Counselor Troi's quarters, Picard explains the experience. He had the feeling he was somewhere in the past. Troi asks for a description, but Picard says that it is as hard to remember as trying to recall a dream. He remembers that it was years ago , before he took command of the USS Enterprise -D . But then, the experience was that of him in the future, as an old man. He remembers being outside, doing something, but can not remember any specifics. Troi asks him to consider if this was merely a dream, but Picard says that the experience was much more real than a dream. The very touch and smell of things was more real than a dream. Troi asks how long he was in each period, but Picard responds that he is not sure. He remembers feeling disoriented, but this soon passed, and he felt as if everything was perfectly normal. As soon as he tries to explain something, Picard stops speaking in mid-sentence.

Picard finds himself in the future

Picard is now an old man in a vineyard , tying up some vines. As he does this, he hears La Forge 's voice, jokingly complaining about an issue on the Enterprise , " the warp core or the phase inducers … or some other damn thing " as he approaches, smiling warmly. Picard is very delighted to see his old friend and they embrace each other. La Forge is unsure of how to refer to the ambassador . Picard suggests Jean-Luc, but La Forge doesn't feel sure about calling him that, and settles on captain, like he had done twenty-five years prior, the last time they served together on the Enterprise . La Forge offers to help, and tells Picard how to help his plants grow better, saying he picked up some gardening experience from his wife Leah . Picard asks how she is, and how the kids ( Alandra , Bret , and Sidney ) are. La Forge responds that they are just fine, his wife had just recently been named Director of the Daystrom Institute , but their son Bret is applying to Starfleet Academy in the next year. It is at this moment La Forge confesses that he stopped by from Rigel III to see Picard and how he was holding up to his newly contracted Irumodic Syndrome . As they begin to head back to Picard's house for tea , Picard tells La Forge what he thought of his latest novel, but in the middle of a comment on the protagonist , he suddenly sees a strange group of people, dressed in shabby clothes, and supposedly mocking the captain. La Forge apparently does not see the people, but before Picard can say anything, the scene shifts again, to another time period.

On board the shuttlecraft Galileo , Natasha Yar , an old member of the crew, is talking with the captain about any previous experiences he has had with Galaxy -class starships. He states that he has never been aboard one, but is familiar with the blueprints and specifications. Yar comments that Picard is in for a treat, as the Enterprise is quite a ship, and the shuttle is cleared for arrival. Outside the window, the USS Enterprise is docked at McKinley Station , in orbit of Earth . The time shifts back to the "present," in Troi's quarters, and he tells her that he was just with Yar in the shuttle. Picard sits down, seemingly troubled by this.

Act Two [ ]

In sickbay, Dr. Crusher reports that she found nothing to indicate hallucinations . There are also no indications of temporal displacement , and Crusher believes that Picard is enjoying waking people up in the middle of the night, to which he responds that he really just likes running around the ship in his bare feet. Nurse Ogawa gives Crusher bio-spectral results, but these also show no signs of temporal displacement. After asking Troi to excuse them for a moment, she tells Picard about results of a scan for Irumodic Syndrome. There were no signs of the disorder itself, but there is a small structural defect in his parietal lobe that could lead to the syndrome. Although she says that it is possible to live a whole life without developing problems, she is not confident about it. Riker enters to report that Worf has found nothing on his security scans. Worf comes on the comm to report that there is an incoming transmission from Admiral Nakamura . Picard answers it in Dr. Crusher's office, to hear that Nakamura is issuing a fleet-wide yellow alert . Nearly thirty Romulan warbirds have been diverted to the Neutral Zone from Romulus , and there is also some sort of spatial anomaly in the Devron system . The orders are to go to their side of the Neutral Zone, and to find out what the situation is, and what the anomaly is. They cannot, however, enter the Neutral Zone until the Romulans do.

Cambridge in a possible future

Suddenly, the time shifts to the future, but this time, Picard notices the difference. He says that he was somewhere else a few minutes ago, a long time ago, talking to Beverly Crusher. He notices that he was on the Enterprise , in sickbay, but conjectures that it may have been a hospital . La Forge wants to call Picard's doctor, thinking that it is the Irumodic Syndrome, but Picard says that it is not. La Forge then asks what he wants to do about it, and Picard responds that he wants to see Data , to which La Forge agrees. Then, Picard sees the strange, barbaric people again, but doesn't understand yet. Again, La Forge sees nothing, and then takes the captain to go see Data. They go to Cambridge , and Picard explains how real the experience was. Data's housekeeper Jessel offers them tea, and Picard accepts. As Picard and La Forge attempt to exchange seats with Data's cats (who seem to be sitting on every available chair, shelf, or other horizontal surface), Picard starts to compliment Data's home. Data explains that it is one of the perks of holding the Lucasian Chair at Cambridge, the home itself once belonging to Sir Isaac Newton , one of the early Lucasian professors . Data then goes on to explain the change in his hair color, and then Picard remarks that the tea is not Earl Grey , but Darjeeling tea . Data asks Picard about how long it has been since he has seen a doctor about his Irumodic Syndrome. Picard responds a week and that he has been taking peridaxon , which will not cure the syndrome. Picard starts to explain that Data, too, likely thinks that his time shifting is all a delusion, an idea which Data says had indeed crossed his mind. Yet, Data says that because there is no evidence to disprove the captain, they can run some neurographic scans with the equipment he has on campus. He tells the captain that they will get to the bottom of this. As Picard says that this is the Data he remembers and could count on, another time shift occurs.

In the past, Captain Picard just exits the shuttlecraft Galileo with Tasha Yar. Picard then commences to read the orders which placed him in command given by Admiral Norah Satie , but is interrupted several times by the strange people he saw in the future. The assembled crew look around and see no one present. As he finishes reading the orders, he goes to shake hands with Counselor Troi, but is again distracted by the shouting people he sees all around the bay. Deeply disturbed, Picard calls for red alert and orders all crew to battle stations . The crew look puzzled at each other, hardly the reaction they were expecting from their new captain, but Lieutenant Yar barks at them to follow the captain's orders and everyone quickly exits the shuttlebay to comply. Picard, alone, takes hold of himself and with concern, exits as well.

Act Three [ ]

Picard records his secure personal log entry

In the observation lounge , Picard, noting the golden models of the previous Enterprises adorning the wall which had long since been removed from the lounge in his original time frame, makes a notation in his personal log, recorded under security lockout omega 327, stating that he will not tell his crew about his time shifting, afraid of altering the timeline. Other members of the senior staff enter. Yar reports that scans showed no unusual anomalies, and Worf notes that it would be helpful if they could know exactly what they are looking for. Picard does not answer, but asks the counselor if she senses a foreign alien presence, one with great intelligence far superior to their own, but the counselor states that she only senses the ship's crew and families. Picard then asks Worf to issue a level 2 security alert , which surprises Yar, as she is the security chief. Realizing his mistake, Picard promptly corrects himself, and asks Yar to issue the alert. Chief Miles O'Brien then calls the captain to the bridge .

Starfleet has issued an alert, stating that a number of vessels, mainly freighters , are moving to the Neutral Zone between Romulan and Federation space. A large spatial anomaly has appeared in the Devron system, the same place an anomaly was detected in the present. Worf remarks that it could be a Romulan trick to lure their ships in as an excuse for a military strike and O'Brien states that Starfleet has canceled the mission to Farpoint , ordering the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone. Picard however, states that they will continue the mission to Farpoint, despite orders. Yar is surprised at this, but Picard stands firm, even when Worf tells Picard that the security of the Federation could be at stake. He tells Troi that he has no reason, but then correctly guesses that there is a problem with the warp plasma inducers . He asks O'Brien to accompany him to engineering , where he gives the chief instructions to bypass the plasma inducers. O'Brien is hesitant to make any corrections, as this is not his field of expertise, stating that it should be the chief engineer who makes these modifications. However, Picard reminds O'Brien the chief engineer has yet to arrive and puts his full confidence in the chief. As he asks for more help from Fletcher , he states that they will need to "burn the midnight oil," something which the Data of the time states would be inadvisable. He tells O'Brien not to ignite anything as it will set off the ship's fire suppression system and seal off the entire compartment but O'Brien states how it was an expression to relate that they would need to work late. Picard, amused at the reminder of Data's complete unfamiliarity with Human expressions, then welcomes the commander on board, and asks for his help on the infusor array . Data identifies the problem, noting they will need a new field induction subprocessor and states that perhaps they will have to "ignite the midnight petroleum " to fix the problem.

Suddenly, Picard shifts back to the present. He starts to describe that he remembers more each time he shifts. He states that at first, he felt that he was in the future, and then he suddenly had the experience of being in the past. Crusher then states that a scan she just did indicates that Picard has somehow accumulated over two days worth of memories in a matter of minutes, evidence that he is indeed traveling through time.

Act Four [ ]

In the observation lounge, Picard tries to put things straight. Troi does not remember any of the events in the past such as the red alert, or the diversion to the Neutral Zone. Data states that there appears to be a discontinuity between time periods as nothing that happens in one affects the others, but Riker states that there appears to be the same anomaly in the Devron system in both time frames, something too coincidental. La Forge theorizes that it may be some kind of temporal disturbance, but Crusher asks what this has to do with the time shifting. Picard says that these are good questions, but he doesn't have the answers yet. He wants everyone to prepare battle readiness reports to cope with the Romulan threat, and ends the meeting. Riker asks Troi if she wants to have dinner before the late night work, but she says that she already has plans with Worf. There appears to be some sort of tension, and this bothers Riker, who loses his awareness for a few moments. Picard then tells Riker that because the time shifts coincide with disorientation, Riker should be ready to take command during a crisis if it should arise. He then goes to his ready room , and Dr. Crusher follows. She gets him some warm milk with a dash of nutmeg , and observing that he's exhausted, orders him to sleep. Picard notices the look of worry on Crusher's face, and she brings up the issue of his possible Irumodic Syndrome. She reminds him that he has been to the future and knows the disease will occur, but Picard takes her hands in his, smiles warmly at her, and says he prefers to view the future as something that is not written in stone. Picard reminds her that a lot of things can happen in 25 years. The two share a tender, but romantic kiss. Crusher then agrees with him and leaves.

The future Admiral William T. Riker

In the future, La Forge wakes the captain, and Picard asks if they have reached the Neutral Zone. He explains to La Forge that he was in the past, and tells him they have to get to the neutral zone in this time period. La Forge asks why, and Picard tells him about the anomaly in the Devron system, but La Forge says that it may all be coincidental. Picard insists that they have to check, and La Forge agrees. However, La Forge brings up a potential problem: there is no neutral zone, ever since the Klingons took over the Romulan Star Empire , and to make matters worse, relations between the Federation and the Klingons at this point are strained. Yet La Forge says that they will need a ship to get to the Neutral Zone, and Picard asks him to contact Admiral Riker at Starbase 247 . Admiral Riker says that he cannot help. Picard asks what if the anomaly is really there, but Riker simply responds that the latest report from Starfleet Intelligence states no unusual activity in the Devron system. Picard refuses to believe this, wanting to go there to see for himself. Riker states that he will have the Yorktown conduct scans, stating that it is the best he can do. He apologizes and ends the transmission, and Picard gets upset that he cannot go. Data however, has an option. They could arrange passage on a medical ship , which has been granted permission to help Romulans fight off a strain of Terrellian plague . Picard supports the idea, and La Forge states that now they need to locate a medical ship. Picard however, can arrange this. He asks Data to find the USS Pasteur , saying that he has some pull with the captain – at least he used to. The Pasteur arrives in orbit with Dr. Beverly Crusher in command. She welcomes the three of them aboard, and tells Picard that his idea is absurd, but then again, she could never say no to him. A member of the bridge crew calls out for "Captain Picard" and both Picard and Crusher respond with a yes. Picard replies to Crusher that she kept his last name, suggesting a marriage and subsequent divorce of these two in this future timeline, hence the captain of the Pasteur is actually Captain Beverly Picard. She says that they need to get clearance to cross the border, and La Forge suggests contacting Worf. Picard immediately agrees, stating that Worf is the answer, as he is governor of H'atoria , a small Klingon colony near the border. Crusher asks Picard to get some rest, but Picard says that he is not an invalid and does not want to be patronized. Crusher apologizes, and then Picard agrees to go get some rest. As soon as he leaves, Crusher asks Data and La Forge about what they think of his story, and all three silently agree that they don't believe it. However, she states that they will go on one more mission if it is what Jean-Luc Picard wants to do. In the turbolift, Picard asserts to himself that they will indeed find the anomaly.

As he exits the turbolift, he is in the past, asking for a report. O'Brien states that they are nearing the coordinates he was given, and Picard asks Data to scan for something unusual, a strong barrier of some sort, with a large plasma field that is highly disruptive. Data reports that there is nothing there. Picard states that this is the right place, and the right time, but "he" is not here. Yar asks who, and Picard yells for Q . He states that he knows Q is there, but there is no response. Picard again asks the counselor if she senses an alien presence, and Worf asks Yar what is a "Q," who responds that all she knows is that it is a letter of the alphabet. Picard doesn't understand why history is not happening the way it should, but he suddenly shifts to the courtroom in which he had his first encounter with Q. He finally recognizes the barbaric people he has been seeing, and Q appears as he did seven years prior, stating that he thought Picard would never figure out it was Q who was behind it.

Act Five [ ]

In the courtroom, Picard demands to know what is going on. Q asks Picard if he doesn't know, based on where he is. Picard then recounts that seven years ago, the last time he was standing in that courtroom, he was accused for being the representative of a savage race. Picard stated that they had agreed that the "trial" was over, but Q says that he will not help connect the dots, thinking it would be boring. He then offers Picard the chance to ask ten yes-or-no questions, and he will answer. Q states that he is not putting mankind on trial again. He does say, however, that there is a connection between the trial seven years ago and these events. The anomaly is related to what is going on, but it is not a Romulan creation to start a war. Q also states that he did not create the anomaly, but that he is responsible for Picard's time shifts. Picard however, loses his chance to asks more questions when he asks why. Q then states that the trial never ended, and that they have been ruled guilty. Q states that the Human race has failed to expand their minds. Picard defends that Humanity is what it is, but Q states otherwise. Their trek through the stars will soon be terminated, and Humanity will be denied existence. Picard states that even Q is incapable of such an act, but Q then says that it will not be him who destroys Humanity, it is Picard. Q states that Picard is doing it, has done it, and will do it again. Q then closes the court, and Picard is sent back to the present. Heading directly to the bridge, he reports to Commander Riker that they have a much bigger problem than they thought. He calls immediately for red alert, and a senior staff meeting.

Act Six [ ]

In the observation lounge, the senior staff discusses the situation. La Forge thinks it is another one of Q's tricks, but Picard disagrees. He believes Q to be deadly serious, but both Crusher and Troi say that there is an apparent confusion in Q's statement about that fact that he has already caused, and is now causing, the destruction of Humanity. However, Data points out that the discontinuities in the three time periods make Q's statement accurate, if confusing. Now Picard wonders out loud doubtfully whether he should lock himself up in a room in all three time periods, but Riker says that action in itself might cause Humanity's destruction. Counselor Troi warns them not to second guess, and believes that the best course of action is to proceed normally and handle each situation as it arrives. Picard agrees, and then goes on to describe a curious side note. He states that Q admitted being responsible for his time shifts, and believes that there may be a way to actually save Humanity. Riker asks why, and Picard responds that Q has always had more than just passing interest in Humanity and with Picard in particular. Data agrees and points out that Q's interest in Picard has always been similar to that of a master and his beloved pet. Getting looks from all of the senior staff, Data tells Picard that it is only an analogy. An officer states over the comm that they are approaching the Neutral Zone. Data scans, and finds four Romulan Warbirds holding place on the Romulan side. The USS Concord and USS Bozeman are waiting on the Federation side. Worf hails the lead Warbird, but a time shift occurs, placing Picard in the future.

Worf joins his former crewmates on one final mission

Governor Worf is now on the viewscreen of the USS Pasteur . Crusher and Worf exchange quick greetings, and then Crusher asks if he has had time to read their request. Worf reports however, that he is no longer a member of the Klingon High Council , and that he must refuse, for their own safety. If they had a ship with a cloak, it would have been safer, and criticizes Riker for not helping them, but Picard doesn't care. He needs to get to the Devron system. Picard then tells Worf that the Worf he remembered was more concerned with honor and loyalty rather than regulations. But Picard remarks that this was a long time ago, and that perhaps Worf has changed. Worf gets outraged at this, and Worf reluctantly allows them to cross the border, provided that he comes with them. Picard accepts these terms. Beverly tells Picard, though, that if they run into any trouble, she is pulling them out and returning to Federation space. As soon as Worf is aboard, she sets course for the Devron system, warp 13. She allows Picard to sit in the command chair and give the order to engage, but as he does, he shifts back to the past.

Picard contacts Riker at Farpoint Station

O'Brien asks where to engage to, and Picard responds to engage to the Devron system, warp 9. Yar states that the Devron system is in the Romulan neutral zone, but Picard disregards the warning. Counselor Troi then asks Picard to speak to her privately in his ready room. Picard also asks Yar to contact Farpoint Station and states that he wants to speak to Riker. In Picard's ready room, Troi tells him that the crew is a bit confused with his irrational orders, and some don't trust him. She says that it takes time for a crew to get to know their captain, and vice-versa, but Picard stands firm that he knows what they are capable of. Troi also says that it is hard to operate in the dark, without knowledge as to what they are doing, and Picard sympathizes with this but feels that he does not have a choice. Yar then tells Picard that she has Commander Riker on subspace. Picard accepts the call, and informs Riker that they will be briefly delayed in picking him up at Farpoint. Riker asks how long, but Picard is unsure. He then tells Riker to deliver the message to the rest of the crew, and ends the call. It is at this time that Counselor Troi reveals the romance in the past that she had had with Commander Riker, but Picard states that he is confident in her abilities to deal with the situation.

Tomalak confronts Picard in the present

Suddenly, Picard is in the present, talking with Commander Tomalak . He proposes sending one ship from each side into the Neutral Zone to investigate the anomaly. Tomalak agrees as soon as he hears Starfleet has not approved the plan, and reminds the captain to only send one ship. Picard sets the course to the Devron system, warp 5. They arrive shortly, and sensors pick up a large subspace anomaly. Picard orders a full scan, wanting as much information as possible.

In the past, the Enterprise arrives at the same location, and also picks up the same anomaly. However, it is larger that it just was in the present. He orders another full scan of the anomaly. In the future, Picard orders the anomaly on screen. However, Data regretfully reports that there is no anomaly to see.

Act Seven [ ]

Continuous scans in the future report no anomalies within a light year of the Devron system. Worf also reports that several warships have been dispatched to their location to investigate a renegade Federation vessel. Crusher wants to leave, but Picard wants to try a different way to scan for the anomaly. Data suggests using an inverse tachyon pulse to scan beyond the subspace barrier. He starts modifications, but Crusher makes it clear that if they don't find anything in six hours, they are heading back to Federation space. Picard tells the ensign not to leave in six hours, but Crusher overrules him. She then asks to see him in her ready room. Picard goes, and Crusher scolds him for questioning her orders. She states that he would never tolerate that behavior on the Enterprise , and she wouldn't here. Picard agrees, but reminds Crusher about the fact that Humanity's fate is at stake. But Crusher says that he might not be saying anything that is the truth. She reveals that he has advanced Irumodic Syndrome, and that it is possible that the entire journey is in his mind. However, she reminds him that if it were anyone else, they wouldn't be here, and then she leaves for the bridge. Picard is about to follow, but Q appears again, this time in the guise of an old man. Picard demands to know where the anomaly is, but Q does not give him the answer. However, Q reminds Picard that he is not alone in this; who he is, who he was and who he will become are always with him. Picard realizes that the answer to the problem lies in his time shifting, and then asks Q if the anomaly destroys Humanity, but Q reminds Picard that it is he is what will destroy Humanity, not the anomaly.

In the present, Data has a preliminary report of the anomaly. It is a massive temporal displacement, emitting the energy equivalent to ten G-type stars. However, they cannot scan the interior of the anomaly, and cannot find the source. Picard then suggests the inverse tachyon pulse that the future Data suggested. Data is amazed at the captain's knowledge, and agrees to make the modifications. He and La Forge work on rerouting power and initiate the tachyon pulse. However, soon afterward, La Forge experiences some pain, and trouble with his VISOR . Data calls sickbay, and Crusher determines that La Forge is growing new eyes. Nurse Ogawa reports that they have reports from two crew members stating that old scars are healing themselves. Data then offers a partial explanation. The anomaly is a multiphasic temporal convergence in the space-time continuum, an eruption of anti-time . The relationship between time and anti-time is analogous to the relationship between matter and anti-matter, and upon contact, the two would annihilate each other, causing the rupture in space.

In the past, Picard explains to Data that if they scan the anomaly with an inverse tachyon pulse, they will see that the anomaly is a rupture between time and anti-time. He orders Data to make the modifications, and is still trying to figure out why the anomaly is larger in the past. He then goes to his ready room. In the future, the Pasteur is under attack from two Klingon attack cruisers.

Act Eight [ ]

The Enterprise -D in the future

Under attack, the USS Pasteur attempts to escape. Warp power is off-line, so they try to evade the attacks. The impulse drive is fluctuating, and shields are down to 30%. The Pasteur 's weapons are no match for the Klingon ships, and La Forge can't get warp power. Shields are failing, and Crusher attempts to explain that they are on an errand of mercy. The Klingons don't listen, and Worf signals a surrender. As shields fail, helmsman Nell Chilton is killed and a ship decloaks. It is the USS Enterprise -D , still in service and now upgraded as well as being heavily armed. Admiral Riker hails them, and offers to help with the Klingons. He takes out one ship, and draws the fire of the other. The Pasteur 's warp core, however, has destabilized, and there is a warp core breach in progress. Riker beams the Pasteur 's crew aboard, and then angrily scolds Worf for letting the Pasteur enter hostile territory, and putting their friends in jeopardy. Worf retaliates, saying that if Riker had helped them in the first place, none of this would have happened, before Picard breaks up the argument by reminding them that the Pasteur is seconds away from exploding, and that they need to get to a safe distance. Riker orders them out of range of the Pasteur , narrowly escaping the blast caused by the ship's explosion, and then engages the Enterprise out of Klingon space. The cloak is down, so they will go the old fashioned way and engage at warp 13 back to Federation space. Picard is outraged, and demands that they stay, yelling that everything depends on it, but Crusher administers a sedative to Picard.

In the present, Picard accidentally bumps into a crew member on his way to sickbay. Inside sickbay, several time-reversing phenomena are occurring. La Forge's visual acuity is improving by the minute, and Alyssa Ogawa lost her baby. Picard enters, and Crusher explains that the baby somehow grew backwards, until the DNA itself broke down. However, the temporal energy seems to be affecting the entire crew, causing everyone to "grow backward," and it could eventually kill all of them. In the observation lounge, Picard asks the senior staff to contact the nearest starbase to see how widespread the effect of the temporal reversion is. Data is about an hour and 45 minutes away from completing his tachyon scan, and Picard wants to find some way to collapse the anomaly, then dismisses the senior staff. After they leave, Q appears musing that Picard has a difficult decision ahead of him… an anomaly he knows nothing about but will be somehow responsible for the end of Humanity; the question is will collapsing it save Humanity or destroy it. Q decides that Picard needs the proper perspective to solve the puzzle, and clicks his fingers.

Earth, 3.5 billion years ago of the past Picard created

Picard suddenly finds himself back on Earth with Q, about 3.5 billion years in the past. Q shows Picard the sky, which shows that the anomaly is so large that it can be seen from Earth and spreads across the entire Alpha Quadrant . Picard then realizes that the anomaly is expanding as it moves back in time. Q then shows Picard a pool of green sludge, a pool of amino acids . They are about to combine to form the first proteins , however, the disturbance from the anomaly stops the combination as it happens. Life on Earth doesn't start, and the anomaly stopped the creation of Humanity. Realizing from Q's words that he somehow created the anomaly, Picard is transported back to the past Enterprise now knowing that if the anomaly isn't collapsed then Humanity will cease to have ever existed.

Act Nine [ ]

In the past, Picard wants to know how the anomaly was formed. Data says that their information is limited; they would need to be able to scan the center to get an idea of its creation. Picard asks if there is any way, but nothing aboard could do the job. Data says that a tomographic imaging scanner with multiphasic resolution could do the scan, however the device is still in the experimental phases at the Daystrom Institute .

In the present, Data uses the imaging scanner (which, by this point in time, is completed) to scan the anomaly, but gets very unusual readings. He has found three tachyon pulses with the same amplitude modulation converging at the center of the anomaly. It is as if all three pulses came from the Enterprise . Picard then deduces that three pulses from three time periods, converging at one point in space may have caused the anomaly.

In the future, Picard wakes up from a nap, and heads to Ten Forward to talk to Admiral Riker about this new information. In Ten Forward, La Forge compliments on how well Enterprise has held up over the years. Riker says that Starfleet tried to decommission her five years ago, but the advantage of being an admiral was that he got to choose his own ship. Crusher then asks Riker how long the tension between him and Worf is going to continue. Riker thinks that after twenty years, it would be too hard to stop, but Data says that the last thing Troi would have wanted is for her best friends to be alienated. Riker says that he tried to put it behind them at Troi's funeral and make peace, but Worf refused to even talk to him. As they talk about this, Picard enters Ten Forward, to the surprise of everyone there. Picard tells Riker that he knows why the anomaly is being caused. He tries to explain the creation like the problem of the chicken and the egg. Data deduces that the captain is describing a paradox . Data finds that it is possible they caused the anomaly they have been looking for, and that if they hurry, they may be able to see the initial formation of the anomaly. Riker agrees to head back, and tells the bridge to go back to the Devron system at maximum warp. As Riker leaves, he cautiously asks Worf for a helping hand on the bridge, to which Worf agrees.

Act Ten [ ]

Three Enterprise s enter the anomaly

The Enterprise enters the Devron system, and does indeed pick up a small temporal anomaly off their port bow, an anti-time eruption. Picard was right, and proposes to stop it before it can travel back through time. Riker asks Data for any ideas. Data suggests that the tachyon pulses should be shut down in the other time periods. Picard shuts down the pulse in both the present and the past, but the anomaly remains unaffected. The only way to stop the eruption is to seal the rupture at the convergence point, by using a static warp shell. In the past, Picard orders the Enterprise into the anomaly, and Tasha Yar refuses to put the ship in jeopardy. She asks for an explanation, but Picard can not give an explanation. He tells them what they have to do, take the ship to the center of the anomaly, and create a static warp shell. He tells them that they may not survive, but that this has to be done, because what is at stake is far more than any of them could imagine. He tells them about the faith he has in them, and asks for their trust in return. They agree, and make preparations to go in.

In the present, Data makes the same suggestion, and Picard orders the Enterprise in. In the future, the same is done, as the Enterprise heads towards the anomaly. Temporal energy interferes with main power once they enter, but they attempt to stabilize it. At the center, all three ships initiate the warp shell, and a new subspace barrier forms. All three time periods overlap, and there are now three Enterprises visible. The warp shell is working, but the temporal energy ruptures the past Enterprise 's warp containment system, causing an anti-matter eruption, destroying the ship. On the present ship, the containment system also goes, and the present Enterprise is destroyed. On the future Enterprise , as La Forge reports that the anomaly is nearly gone. Q also appears to Picard, telling him that he will miss him and he had potential but " then again, all good things must come to an end. " At that point, the containment system is lost, and the ship is destroyed, along with the anomaly.

" The trial never ends. "

" The continuum didn't think you had it in you Jean-Luc, but I knew you did. "

Picard is now back in the courtroom with Q, sitting with his head in his hands. Upon hearing Q's voice, he learns that the anomaly was indeed collapsed, and Humanity was saved, once again, and everyone is safe. Picard then proceeds to thank Q for helping him get out of it. Q admits that he got Picard into it (under orders from the Continuum ), but it was his choice alone to give him a helping hand. Picard hopes that he never finds himself in the courtroom again, causing Q to ask if Picard has been paying attention… the trial never ends. The Continuum wanted to see if Humanity could expand their mind and horizons and for one brief moment Picard did, when he realized the paradox. Q tells Picard that during that one moment, his mind was open to possibilities that he had never considered before. That is the journey that truly awaits Humanity, exploring the unknown possibilities of existence. Picard asks Q if there's something he's trying to tell him, and it appears for an instant that Q is going to tell Picard something meaningful, but at the last second pulls back simply stating that he'll find out… and that he'll be watching, and may even drop in from time to time. " See you… out there", the omnipotent entity states to Picard before disappearing.

" I should have done this a long time ago. " " You were always welcome. "

Back on the Enterprise , Picard is at the beginning of his journey, leaving a turbolift and walking into a corridor towards Counselor Troi's quarters. He asks the date, very much the same way he did at the beginning, and upon hearing that he is back where he started, Picard quietly laughs to himself. He goes back to bed, saying that he could use some sleep, leaving both Troi and Worf dumbfounded. As he records his log, he states that he is the only one who remembers the events of the entire journey, and that there is no anomaly in the Devron system.

The Enterprise continues to explore the final frontier…

In Riker's quarters, Riker, Worf, Crusher, Data, and La Forge are playing their weekly game of poker . At the end of a round (and the usual friendly banter), Crusher begins to wonder why Picard shared the information about the future he encountered with them. La Forge says that it sure goes against the rules they've always heard about not polluting the timeline, but Data believes that this case is different. Since the anomaly never occurred, the future they encounter will be radically different from the one Picard experienced. Riker thinks that Picard told them so that they would not make some mistakes twice, as he looks towards Worf meaningfully. Worf agrees, and they silently affirm their friendship. At this point, Troi enters, and joins the game. A few moments later the door chimes again and to everyone's surprise, Picard is at the door. Riker calmly asks the captain if there is a problem. Picard says that there is no problem, but wants to join them for the game. The pleasantly surprised crew make room for him and Data gives Picard the cards to deal. As Picard starts to shuffle the deck, he takes a moment's pause to regard his crew and friends and notes that he should have done this a long time ago. Troi tells him he was always welcome, and Picard starts to deal the cards.

The Enterprise then heads off into space, to continue exploring the final frontier.

Memorable quotations [ ]

" Now that was an incredible program. " " I am glad you approve. I have always found the Black Sea at night to be a most… stimulating experience. " " Worf, we were strolling barefoot along the beach while balalaika music played in the air… ocean breeze washing over us… stars in the sky… a full moon rising… and the most you can say is "stimulating"? " " It was… very stimulating. "

" I… I don't know how or why, but I'm moving back and forth… through time. "

" Captain Picard to the bridge. Captain, we've got a problem with the warp core or the phase inducers or some other damn thing. "

" How do you like your tea? " " Tea? Earl Grey, hot. " "' Course it's hot! What do you want in it ? "

" It appears we will be required to ignite the midnight petroleum, sir. "

" Do you really think he's moving through time? " (La Forge and Data exchange dubious glances) " I'm not sure I do, either. But, he's Jean-Luc Picard and if he wants to go on one more mission that's what we're going to do. "

" Q! We're here! This has gone on long enough! "

" Q! What is going on here? Where is the anomaly? " " Uh, where's your mommy? Well, I don't know. " " Answer me! "

" This anomaly we're looking for, will that destroy Humanity? " " You're forgetting, Jean-Luc, you destroy Humanity. "

" What is a 'Q'?" " It's a letter of the alphabet as far as I know. "

" Oh, you'd like me to connect the dots for you, lead you from A to B to C, so that your puny mind could comprehend. How boring. "

"Five questions down! " " That's only four! " " Is it a Romulan plot? Is it a ploy to start a war? Those are separate questions. "

" Q's interest in you has always been very similar to that of a master and his beloved pet. That was only an analogy, captain. "

" Oh, I expected as much. You're such a limited creature – a perfect example of why we made our decision. The trial never ended, captain. We never reached a verdict. But now we have. You're guilty. " " Guilty of what? " " Of being inferior. "

" You obtuse piece of flotsam! "

" Humanity's fate has been sealed. You will be destroyed. "

" May whatever god you believe in… have mercy on your soul. This court stands adjourned. "

" It is not for you to set the standards by which we should be judged. " " Oh, but it is, and we have. "

" Has Starfleet Command approved this arrangement? " " No. " " I like it already. "

" Strange, isn't it? Everything you know, your entire civilization, it all begins right here in this little pond… of goo. "

" It's time to put an end to your trek through the stars. "

" Damn it, I'm not stupid! "

" I know it is difficult for you to understand, but we have to take the ship into the very center of the phenomenon and create a static warp shell. Now, this will put the ship at risk. Quite frankly, we may not survive. But I want you to believe that I'm doing this for a greater purpose and that what is at stake here is more than any of you can possibly imagine. I know you have your doubts about me… about each other… about the ship. All I can say is that although we have only been together for a short time, I know that you are the finest crew in the fleet and I would trust each of you with my life. So, I am asking you for a leap of faith… and to trust me. "

" Mister Data, you're a clever man. In any time period. "

" Two down, one to go… "

" Goodbye, Jean-Luc. I'm gonna miss you… you had such potential. But then again, all good things must come to an end… "

"The Continuum didn't think you had it in you, Jean-Luc. But I knew you did." "Are you saying that it worked? We collapsed the anomaly?" "Is that all this meant to you? Just another spatial anomaly, just another day at the office? " " Did it work? " " Well you're here, aren't you? You're talking to me, aren't you?" "What about my crew?" "The anomaly, my ship, my crew! I suppose you're worried about your fish too?"

"You had a hand in helping me get out of this." "I was the one that got you into it; a directive from the continuum. The part about the helping hand… was my idea."

" That is the exploration that awaits you; not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknown possibilities of existence. "

" Q, what is it that you're trying to tell me? " " You'll find out. "

" See you… out there. "

" Four hands in a row… how does he do it? " " I cheat. " (Data glares) " I'm kidding! "

" So, five-card stud, nothing wild… and the sky's the limit. "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Final draft script: 10 March 1994 [1]
• Filmed: 11 March 1994 – 5 April 1994 (17 days)
• Premiere airdate: 23 May 1994
• First UK airdate: 19 June 1996

Story and script [ ]

Winrich Kolbe directing Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie on the set of "All Good Things…"

• This episode was the series finale for Star Trek: The Next Generation .
• Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore wrote "All Good Things…" and later drafts of Star Trek Generations simultaneously. This often led them to mix the stories up.
• Early versions of this story included the Borg attack at Wolf 359 as a fourth main timeline. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 3rd ed., p. 299) According to Brannon Braga, Hugh would have appeared as well, helping to rescue Picard from the Borg in this timeline. ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years , p. 281) The story also originated from a pitch by Ronald D. Moore early in the season in which Q had gone insane, causing the universe to come unraveled. The other characters found themselves in a bizarre place, with Q as a homeless guy sitting in a corner next a garbage can muttering "I used to be a superbeing. I used to be a superbeing." Although Michael Piller did not want to do this story, he did like the idea of bringing Q back and using him to bookend the series. ( TNG Season 7 DVD – "The Making of 'All Good Things…'")
• Michael Piller had an influence on the writing of the second half of this episode. " The first draft of 'All Good Things' was very similar for an hour, but the second hour wandered around without a clear story direction, " Piller recalled. " I wanted Ron [D. Moore] and Brannon [Braga] to get more ambitious and suggested the idea of Picard working with different versions of himself in the different time periods to solve the crisis. " ( AOL chat , 1998 )
• A line cut from the 2364 portion of the episode would have established Dr. Selar as being aboard at that time, acting as chief medical officer pending Crusher's arrival. [2]
• The episode's final line – " So, five-card stud, nothing wild... and the sky's the limit " – was coined by Brent Spiner. ( Making It So , p. 375)

Cast and characters [ ]

The older crew

The actors during filming

• According to Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission (1st ed., p. 206), John de Lancie , upon hearing that The Next Generation was ending with the seventh season, approached Rick Berman . The book quotes him as saying, " I actually felt motivated and sentimental enough to go to Rick [Berman] and say, 'You know I've never asked you for a job, but I did the first episode, and I understand you're doing a two-hour last episode, and I'd love to be in that. " Rick Berman is said to have replied, " 'Say no more. You're already in it anyway, whether you like it or not.' " However, when asked about this story in a 2012 interview, de Lancie denied that he had ever approached Berman. [3]
• Denise Crosby ( Natasha Yar ), Colm Meaney ( Miles O'Brien ), John de Lancie ( Q ), Richard Sarstedt ( Enterprise -D officer ), and David B. Levinson ( post-atomic court spectator ) are the only actors, besides the regulars, to appear in both this episode and the pilot " Encounter at Farpoint ", although Crosby was a regular at the time of the pilot.
• Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard ) and Jonathan Frakes (Commander William T. Riker ) are the only actors to appear in every episode of the series.
• This is the only season finale for which Denise Crosby filmed scenes as Tasha Yar, since the character had been killed prior to the end of the first season. Yar appears in " Shades of Gray " via stock footage and Crosby also appeared in the fourth season finale " Redemption " as Sela .
• The Romulan commander used, Tomalak , had not appeared since Season 4. This was the only time that Andreas Katsulas appeared on Star Trek during his run as Ambassador G'Kar on Babylon 5 (he later played another character on Star Trek: Enterprise after the end of Babylon 5 ). With Colm Meaney guest-starring in "All Good Things…", this was a rare occurrence when regulars on competing shows Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine appeared in the same episode during the run of both shows.
• Colm Meaney commented about this episode, " It was strange, very nostalgic. I thought it was a very powerful way for ST:TNG to go out. I thought it was a great story and a terrific episode. It covered a lot of ground and left you thinking. " ("An Enlisted Man", Star Trek Monthly  issue 16 ,  ? )

Sets and props [ ]

Filming on the shuttlebay set

• Several changes were made so that the sets would appear as they did in season one for the past sequences. The striping behind the captain's chair was removed, the ops and conn chairs were returned to a more reclined position, and the equipment lockers on either side of the bridge were also changed. The captain's chair itself, as well as the rest of the command chairs, were not changed back to their season one appearance. The master systems display table in main engineering, as well as the "plugs" blocking the second set of corridor entrances, were also elements that were added after "Encounter at Farpoint" that weren't removed.
• The past Enterprise restores the wood paneling to the equipment lockers on the sides of the bridge and the reclining chairs for the ops and conn stations as well as the gold ship models in the observation lounge , which were present in the first season . However, the Captain's Chair retains the configuration introduced in the second season . Additionally, as the past Enterprise enters the anomaly, the camera angle used that contains O'Brien and Data in front of the viewscreen has the non-reclining chairs for the conn and ops position introduced in season 2 being used.
• The bird sculptures in Q's courtroom previously appeared in the pilot episode " Encounter at Farpoint ". They can also be seen in Karnas ' office in the first season episode " Too Short A Season " and in the bar on Qualor II in the fifth season episode " Unification II ".
• The two-step raised platform for the future Enterprise bridge was re-used for Star Trek Generations , and elements of that bridge had been seen before in " Parallels ".
• The bridge of the USS Pasteur is a redress of the bridge of the mercenary vessel that appeared in " Gambit, Part I " and " Gambit, Part II ".
• The console Romulan Commander Tomalak leans over to address Picard through the viewscreen is a reuse of a stock set element that previously appeared as a central console on the mercenary vessel's bridge in " Gambit, Part I " and " Gambit, Part II ".

Production [ ]

Director Winrich Kolbe and Denise Crosby on set

Brent Spiner and his costumer Deborah Hall

John de Lancie filming a special effects scene

• "All Good Things…" entered production on Friday 11 March 1994 . The episode was scheduled to be filmed over sixteen days.
• The vineyard scenes with Picard and Geordi were filmed at Callaway Vineyard & Winery in Temecula, California on 21 March 1994. ("Starfleet Moments & Memories Year Seven – A Unique Family", TNG Season 7 DVD special feature)
• Production on Star Trek Generations began while this episode was being filmed. The scenes filmed were on the Enterprise -B sets. ( TNG Season 7 DVD )
• Journey's End: The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation was mostly filmed during production on this episode too. This led to friction amongst the cast and production team, including an argument between Patrick Stewart (exhausted from having directed the previous episode, as well as appearing heavily in this one) and an Entertainment Tonight camera crew. ( [4] ; Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 3rd ed., p. 300)
• This is the only Star Trek finale of the 1990s and 2000s not to be directed by Allan Kroeker , who directed DS9 : " What You Leave Behind ", VOY : " Endgame ", and ENT : " These Are the Voyages... ". Terry Matalas later directed " The Last Generation ".
• Despite having been scheduled to be filmed over just sixteen days, this episode's shoot required a seventeenth day, which was Tuesday 5 April 1994 . On that day, filming took place on Paramount Stage 16 , representing Q's courtroom, and on Paramount Stage 18 , representing primordial Earth. As such, the only cast members to be involved in any of the day's filming were Patrick Stewart and John de Lancie. ("All Good Things…" call sheet )
• There are only three scenes in the episode that don't include Picard at all: the opening scene that ends with Troi and Worf getting on the Turbolift, a scene with Data and Geordi in Engineering and the scene on the future Enterprise in Ten Forward when the group discusses Riker and Worf's feud.

Editing [ ]

• The footage of the 2364 Riker reporting is a reused shot taken from " The Arsenal of Freedom ". In that episode, the man featured behind Riker is established as Paul Rice (played by Marco Rodriguez ) or at least the holographic version of Rice. He was digitally removed when the episode was remastered in 2014 .
• Early in the 2364 sequence, O'Brien reports that a number of ships have been reported entering the Neutral Zone. Several scenes which were ultimately deleted (but are included in the episode's remastered Blu-ray release, as well as being included in the novelization of the episode) that expanded upon this by having a section where Picard discovers a group of Terellian vessels trying to take advantage of the anomaly's healing and rejuvenation properties.

Continuity [ ]

• Past-Data seems to imply that the anomaly was formed by the convergence of the tachyon pulses from the three Enterprise s (though his exact words are "It is as if all three originated from the Enterprise") In the future, it is in fact the Pasteur , not the Enterprise , that fires the tachyon pulse. Ronald D. Moore later said of this: " This is an error that no one caught until the episode was on the air. And who caught it first? Rick Berman's ten-year-old son. Kind of humbling. " ( AOL chat , 1997 ).
• It is clear that there is no more warp 5 limit in the future. This limit was set in " Force of Nature ". In addition, ships in the future timeline are able to go above Warp 10, up to at least Warp 13. This would appear to contradict " Threshold ", where it is stated that Warp 10 is the theoretical limit. It is, however, possible that the warp scale was recalibrated in this future.
• Data begins a high-speed rant while attempting to comprehend the meaning of "burn the midnight oil." This is a reference to earlier seasons, where Data would similarly "babble". ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion ,  ? ed., p. ? )
• Due to a costuming error, Data wears lieutenant junior grade insignia in the 2364 portion of this episode. This is despite the fact that he is referred to as commander and the fact that he wore lieutenant commander insignia in " Encounter at Farpoint ", during which that part of the episode is set. Furthermore, Chief O'Brien wears a full ensign pin.
• In the future timeline, Data can use contractions, and appears to understand idioms, as he deciphers the captain's reference to "the chicken and the egg", which he was unable to in the past (as explained earlier, where he did not understand "burning the midnight oil").
• This was only the third Q episode to not have "Q" in the title. The previous episodes were " Encounter at Farpoint " and " Tapestry ". Later, the Star Trek: Voyager episode " Death Wish " and the Star Trek: Lower Decks episode " Veritas " also featured Q without having "Q" in the title, as does the entirety of Q's appearances in Picard Season Two , beginning in The Stargazer [!] .
• Picard, Data, and Worf are the only crewmembers to actively participate in all three time periods (although Riker only briefly appears on screen during the early timeline).
• This is one of three episodes where Picard is seen occupying the first officer 's chair instead of his usual command chair , the other two being " The Naked Now " and " Too Short A Season ".
• In the past timeline, Picard refers to a young Miles O'Brien and his passion for building model starship engines, a fact first revealed in the third season episode " Booby Trap " (though the former episode discussed "ships in bottles", not "model starship engines" per se).
• The USS Enterprise -D 's possession of a cloaking device gives a hint that the Treaty of Algeron 's agreement for the Federation to not use any cloaking devices may no longer be in force in the alternate timeline of the anti-time future in 2395 . Given that the Klingons have conquered the Romulans in that timeline, it could mean the entire treaty was defunct.
• After this episode, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine very briefly became the sole carrier of the Star Trek franchise with the exception of the film Star Trek Generations . This began with " Tribunal " and ended with " Past Tense, Part II " in January 1995.
• The conversation in the conference lounge around the mid point of the episode has some parallels to a similar conversation in " Cause And Effect ". In both conversations the crew discuss an impending catastrophe related to time travel, said catastrophe is apparently a result of the actions or failure to act of one or more members, and in both cases Riker argues that an attempt to avoid the forthcoming disaster may in fact be what causes it to happen.
• It is unclear how Picard ascertains which of the three time periods he is moving between is the "correct" one. He has the information that the three timelines do not have continuity and are independent of each other. Yet he discloses that he is traveling between time to the crew of 2395 and 2370, but not to the crew of 2364. One reasoning could be that when Q convenes the court, he mentions that it has been 7 years, so that could be used as a frame of reference on which of the timelines is correct, but this is not discussed onscreen.
• When Q gives an opportunity to Picard to ask 10 yes or no questions, one of the questions Picard asks is whether Q is responsible and Q answers no. But as revealed at the end, it was Q who got Picard into the situation in the first place on the orders of the Continuum.

Reception [ ]

• After production wrapped on "All Good Things…", The Next Generation had its series wrap day on Wednesday 6 April 1994 . The cast got a ten-day break before jumping back in to commence work on Star Trek Generations . ( TNG Season 7 DVD )
• In between the "Journey's End" documentary and the finale, there was a Star Trek: The Next Generation Viewers Choice Marathon that revealed the top five episodes as picked by the fans.
• During a discussion between Chase Masterson and Brannon Braga on the website "The Fandom" in August 2005, Braga stated that he thought this episode was the best Star Trek script he had ever written. [5]
• In their joint 2004 commentary for the Star Trek Generations (Special Edition) DVD , Braga and Moore admitted that they felt "All Good Things…" turned out to be better than Star Trek Generations .
• This is also one of Rick Berman 's favorite episodes. He called it "the best season-ender we ever did." [6]
• Damon Lindelof , the producer of Star Trek and co-creator of Lost , took inspiration from this episode when writing an episode for the latter called The Constant , where Desmond Hume was moving back and forth through time just like Picard. [7]
• This episode won the 1995 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
• This episode was also nominated for four Emmy Awards , a distinction it shares with only three other episodes. It won for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects and was also nominated for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) ( Dennis McCarthy ), Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series – Single Camera Production, and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Series.
• Entertainment Weekly ranked this episode #5 on their list of "The Top 10 Episodes" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation . [8]
• The book Star Trek 101 (p. 74), by Terry J. Erdmann and Paula M. Block , lists this episode as one of the "Ten Essential Episodes" from Star Trek: The Next Generation .
• In Canada, in addition to the episode's broadcast on CityTv , the episode was viewed at the Toronto baseball stadium, then called SkyDome, to an audience of 40,000 fans.

Apocrypha [ ]

• This was the only TNG episode adapted into a comic book , " All Good Things... ".
• This episode was also novelized . The novelization includes the scenes depicting Picard's discovery of a Terellian fleet attempting to use the health benefits of the anomaly.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 89 , catalog number VHR 2921, 26 September 1994 ; released as the two-part, non-feature length, version of the episode
• UK collector's edition VHS (including Journey's End: The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation ): catalog number VHR 2923, 5 December 1994
• As part of the UK VHS release Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Full Length TV Movies : Volume 10, catalog number VHR 4110, 22 May 1995
• As part of the TNG Season 7 DVD collection
• As part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete TV Movies collection
• As part of the Star Trek: Fan Collective - Time Travel and Star Trek: Fan Collective - Q collections
• As part of the TNG Season 7 Blu-ray collection
• As part of the All Good Things (Blu-ray) release
• As part of the Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection Blu-ray release

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
• Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William T. Riker

Also starring [ ]

• LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
• Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
• Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
• Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data

Guest stars [ ]

• John de Lancie as Q
• Andreas Katsulas as Tomalak
• Clyde Kusatsu as Nakamura
• Patti Yasutake as Alyssa Ogawa

Special guest stars [ ]

• Denise Crosby as Tasha Yar
• Colm Meaney as O'Brien

Co-stars [ ]

• Pamela Kosh as Jessel
• Tim Kelleher as Lt. Gaines
• Alison Brooks as Ensign Chilton
• Stephen Matthew Garvin as Ensign
• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• David Keith Anderson as Armstrong
• Aspen as Data's cat
• Bacall as Data's cat
• Bandit as Data's cat
• Teda Bracci as a post-atomic court spectator
• Buffy as Data's cat
• Caesar as Data's cat
• Cameron as Kellogg
• Tracee Lee Cocco as Jae
• Marijane Cole as a female operations officer
• Nyra Crenshaw as a male operations officer
• Crystal as Data's cat
• Brian Demonbreun as Andrew Powell
• Fido as Data's cat
• Holiday Freeman as a command officer
• Ogegko Gatoman as a post-atomic court spectator
• Keith Gearhart as an operations ensign
• Martha Hackett as Androna ( deleted scene )
• Bill Hagy as a sciences officer
• Fumiko Hamada as a command officer
• Justin as Data's cat
• Lauren C. Kim as an operations officer
• Geri Lee as a post-atomic court spectator
• David B. Levinson as a post-atomic court spectator
• Michael Moorehead as a sciences ensign
• Tom Odom as a future command officer
• Pauline Olsen as an operations ensign
• Jerry Quinn as a future Ten Forward waiter
• Joycelyn Robinson as Gates
• Marco Rodriguez as Paul Rice (archive footage; not in remastered version)
• Rick Ryan as Fletcher
• Richard Sarstedt as a command ensign/lieutenant j.g.
• Sascha as Data's cat
• Shelley as Data's cat
• Sinbad as Data's cat
• Lou Slaughter as an operations officer
• Leslie Stump as post-atomic court spectator
• Noriko Suzuki as an operations ensign
• Mary Thompson as an operations officer
• Uma as Data's cat
• Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace
• Tim Wachsner as a post-atomic court spectator
• Wendy as Data's cat
• Zeke as Data's cat
• Bridge officer (off-screen voiceover)
• Conn officer
• Docking officer (off-screen voiceover)
• Eleven future Enterprise -D crewmembers
• Female sciences officer
• Fletcher (voice)
• Four Pasteur crewmembers
• Gates (voice)
• Post-atomic court spectators
• Six command officers
• Two operations officers

Stunt double [ ]

• LaFaye Baker as stunt double for Alison Brooks

Stand-ins [ ]

• David Keith Anderson – stand-in for LeVar Burton
• Debbie David – stand-in for Brent Spiner
• Michael Echols – stand-in for Michael Dorn
• Kerry Hoyt – stand-in for Tim Kelleher
• Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
• Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes and John de Lancie
• Dennis Tracy – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
• Guy Vardaman – photo double for Brent Spiner

References [ ]

3.5 billion years ago ; 2364 ; 2375 ; 2386 ; 2390 ; 2395 ; ability ; accusation ; acetylcholine ; Alpha Quadrant ; alphabet ; alternate timeline ; amino acid ; analogy ; anomaly ; anti-time ; anti-time Data's cats ; anti-time eruption ; anti-time future ; anti-time past ; anti-time present ; antimatter containment ; ape-like race ; area of expertise ; attack cruiser ; bacillus spray ; balalaika ; battle readiness report ; battle stations ; beach ; bearing ; Betazed ; biometrics lab ; Black Sea ; Black Sea at Night ; blood gas analysis ; " bloody "; boatswain's whistle ; Bozeman , USS ; Brahms, Leah ; building blocks ; card player ; career ; chicken and the egg ; Cambridge University ; cat ; cerebral cortex ; Chateau Picard ; civilization ; cloaking device ; Concord , USS ; cooking ; D'deridex -class ; cup ; Darjeeling tea ; dash ; Daystrom Institute ; dealer ; deflector dish ; department ; Devron system ; Devron system sector ; DNA ; Earl Grey tea ; Earth ; Earth Station McKinley ; emergency power ; English language ; etymology ; expression ; Farpoint Mission ; Farpoint Station ; Federation ; Federation space ( Federation territory ); figure of speech ; fireplace ; fire suppression system ; focal point ; force field grid ; France ; G-type star ; Galaxy -class ; Galaxy class decks ; Galileo ; governor ( vah'cha ); H'atoria ; hippocampus ; hovercar ; Human history ; Humanity ; ice pick ; idiom ; infusor array ; inverse tachyon pulse ; Irumodic Syndrome ; judge ; judge's bench ; Klingon ; Klingon Empire ; Klingon language ; Klingon territory ; La Barre ; La Forge, Alandra ; La Forge, Bret ; La Forge, Sidney ; Lake Cataria ; leaf miner ; Lee ; level 2 security alert ; level 4 neurographic scan ; Livingston ; long range sensor scan ; Lucasian Chair ; Luna ; maid ; McKinley -type ; McKinley Station ; medical tricorder ; medical ship ; microscope ; mind ; mission of mercy ; multiphasic temporal convergence ; Munoz ; Negh'Var warship ( Klingon attack cruisers ); neurological disorder ; Newton, Isaac ; nightmare ; novel ; number one ; nutmeg ; ocular implant ; Olympic -class ; optic nerve ; oxygen isotope ratio ; paradox ; parietal lobe ; Pasteur , USS ; peridaxon ; petroleum ; phase inducer ; phenomenon ; plasma coil ; plot ; ploy ; poker ; pond ; post-atomic horror ; priority one message ; protagonist ; protein ; psychogenic ; puzzle ; Q ; Q Continuum ; red alert ; renegade ; replicator (aka replication system ); representative ; Rigel III ; Rippert ; Romulan ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; Romulan space ; Romulan Star Empire ; Romulus ; Satie, Norah ; secondary plasma inducer ; senile ; senior officer ; shearing force ; skunk ; sky ; Sol ; spacedock ; space-time continuum ; spatial anomaly ; species ; stakes ; star ; Starbase 23 ; Starbase 247 ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Intelligence ; Starfleet Medical ; static warp shell ; subspace scan ; surrender ; synaptic pathway ; tea ; temporal anomaly ; temporal energy ; temporal lobe ; temporal mechanics ; temporal paradox ; temporal reversion ; Ten Forward ; Terrellian plague ; Terix ; throne ( judge's throne ) tomographic imaging scanner ; trial ; tryptamine ; Type 6 shuttlecraft ; VISOR ; warm milk ; warp core breach ; warp drive ; warp factor ; warp plasma inducer ; yellow alert ; Yorktown , USS

Other references [ ]

• USS Pasteur dedication plaque: Advanced Technologies ; Aesculapius ; Agalsoff, Greg ; Apollo ; Berman, Rick ; Blackman, Bob ; Charnock, Jr., Ed ; Cooper, Ed ; Curry, Dan ; D'Angelo, Dick ; Drapanas, Wendy ; Engineering Division ; Fenin, Alex ; Fleet Operations ; Fleck, Jerry ; Fukai, Arlene ; Gausche, Jr., Steve ; George, Bill ; Howard, Merri ; James, Richard ; Knox, Ronnie ; Lauritson, Peter ; Livingston, David ; Magdaleno, Jim ; Marin County Starfleet Yards ; McCrystal, Cary ; Mees, Jim ; Neskoromny, Andrew ; Nesterowicz, John ; Nielsen, Louise ; Piller, Michael ; Purser, Tom ; Roddenberry, Gene ; Roller, Tim ; Rossi, David ; Silvestri, Steph ; Simmons, Adele ; Smutko, Alex ; Speckman, Gary ; Stimson, Mark ; Skywalker Division ; Tactical Systems ; Taylor, Jeri ; Trotti, David ; USS Pasteur dedication plaque ; Vernon, Dana ; West, Jonathan ; Westmore, Michael ; Yacobian, Brad
• Starship mission status : Ajax , USS ; Alderaan ; Alpha Laputa IV ; Ambassador -class ; Apollo -class ; Aries , USS ; Berlin , USS ; Beta Cygni system ; Bradbury , USS ; Bradbury -class ; Charleston , USS ; Constellation -class ; Excelsior -class ; Fearless , USS ; Goddard , USS ; Hood , USS ; Korolev -class ; Merced -class ; Merrimac , USS ; Monitor , USS ; Nebula -class ; New Orleans -class ; pulsar ; Renaissance -class ; Repulse , USS ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; sector ; Sector 21396 ; Sector 21538 ; Sector 22358 ; Sector 22846 ; Sector 22853 ; Sector 23079 ; Starbase 134 ; Starbase 434 ; Thomas Paine , USS ; Trieste , USS ; Victory , USS ; Vulcan Science Academy ; warp drive ; Zhukov , USS
• Spacecraft Systems Status : Bussard collector ; captain's yacht ; class M ; gross vehicle mass ; impulse engine ; main shuttlebay Mars ; navigational deflector ; observation lounge ; phaser bank ; service docking port ; shuttlebay 2 ; shuttlebay 3 ; torpedo launcher ; umbilical connect port ; Utopia Planitia ; warp nacelle

Unreferenced material [ ]

Androna ; merchant ship ; Selar ; Terrellian transport ship

Timeline [ ]

External links [ ].

• " All Good Things... " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " All Good Things… " at Wikipedia
• "All Good Things…, Part I" (X) at StarTrek.com
• " All Good Things… " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "All Good Things..." script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• " All Good Things... " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

Sir Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard in "All Good Things..."

Writer Brannon Braga

For the first time ever on TNG , "All Good Things..." features the Enterprise-D flying vertically into battle

Star trek: the next generation 's series finale at 30 (exclusive), "all good things..." co-writer brannon braga on how he and former writing partner ronald d. moore made tv history..

Thirty years ago today, Star Trek writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore found themselves shouldering the unique responsibility of simultaneously writing The Next Generation cast's first Trek movie while also scripting their last episode of television.

For others, the dual writing duties would likely feel (at best) overwhelming. But that wasn't the case for Braga.

"We didn't flinch," Braga tells the Television Academy in an exclusive interview celebrating the 30th anniversary of TNG 's series finale, "All Good Things...," which aired in syndication on May 23, 1994. "I can't speak for Ron, but I don't recall us ever saying, 'Should we be doing this?' We were deeply immersed in these characters. And I think there was something cool about doing a two-hour finale and the movie at the same time, because they were very different stories."

But both "All Good Things..." and what would go on to be the seventh Star Trek feature film, Generations , were similar in that they dealt with one of Trek 's most popular plot and thematic devices: time. Ironically, time was also foremost on the then–writing team's minds as they juggled both scripts — with roughly three weeks allotted to write the series finale. Moore and Braga were in the middle of rewriting a draft of Generations when they were tapped by the late TNG showrunner (and Braga's mentor) Michael Piller to script "All Good Things...." The riveting two-part episode features Captain Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) moving back and forth across three different time periods — with the help of his omnipotent nemesis, Q (John de Lancie) — on a mission to save the galaxy from an anti-time anomaly. As Picard struggles to restore temporal order to the universe, he must interact with three different versions of his beloved Enterprise-D crew — past, present and future — in ways that remind the considerate and accomplished starship captain to better appreciate how vital the here and now is, even in the time travel–heavy world of Star Trek .

Whereas Generations would garner mixed reviews from both audiences and critics upon its release in November 1994, "All Good Things..." quickly became a fan-favorite and is regarded by many as one of the most creatively successful series finales in TV history.

"It proved ultimately to be what the movie should have been," Braga explains. "The movie had a lot of cooks in the kitchen. There were many studio mandates. It was conceived to be a 'passing of the baton.' On 'All Good Things...,' [Paramount] largely left us alone. We were left to do what we do, and I think you can feel the benefit of that in the final product."

In honor of the 30th anniversary of "All Good Things...," Braga takes us behind the scenes of the writing process, shares which pivotal scene he and Moore watched being filmed and why a fourth timeline featuring the Borg was ultimately cut from the story.

Television Academy: Traditionally, the showrunner writes the series finale, but not in TNG 's case. Do you recall when you and Ron were assigned the finale, and maybe what Michael's thinking was at the time with that assignment?

Brannon Braga: I don't know the exact timeline. But I do know that we received the movie assignment sometime in the seventh season of Next Gen . Because I remember we were pretty much in the throes of our 26-episode season and how excited we were. And that's a much longer development process, a movie. It's slower and bigger and more complicated. And, in the meantime, you're racing along with the TV show. I also remember not being too worried about [writing both the movie and the finale] because the TV schedule was such that the movie was a marathon, and the TV show was a sprint. And you just had to get the TV episodes written. So in some ways, I don't think we lost a step.

As for why we were chosen, I think [ TNG executive producer] Jeri Taylor was probably already working on Star Trek: Voyager . And Michael, I believe, was also developing Voyager , but he still had a hand in Deep Space Nine .

When during TNG 's run was it discussed that the seventh season would be its last, at the height of its ratings popularity?

Those conversations were happening really early. And the reason I remember that is because Michael Piller asked me to go [write on] Deep Space Nine at the end of season six of Next Gen . Piller wanted me to come over, and he really thought I would fit well with the concept. And I really liked Deep Space Nine . I love its concept, and I was really enchanted with the idea of working on that kind of Star Trek . But because he gave me the option, I declined. And the reason I gave him was, "I want to see Next Gen through to the end." And that's because I knew, at that point, that season seven was going to be the last season. But I didn't know about "All Good Things..." at that point. I didn't know that I would be working on the final episode. I just knew that I had to see Next Gen through, emotionally.

You and Ron seem to have taken the news rather well, of writing the last episode of Next Gen while in the middle of writing that cast's first movie.

I remember feeling excited. We didn't flinch. I can't speak for Ron, but I don't recall us ever saying, 'Should we be doing this?' We were deeply immersed in these characters. Ron had been writing the show for five seasons. I'd been writing it for four. That's nine seasons, collectively. And we were just in the middle of it. And I think there was something cool about doing a two-hour finale and the movie at the same time, because they were very different stories. For the finale, we were going to tell a movie-sized story with significant developments in the characters.

It's funny that "All Good Things..." was the easiest of the two. We wrote that much more quickly, I think we had three weeks on that script. It felt easier, because the movie had [input from] William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, the studio and [ TNG producer] Rick Berman. The movie had a lot of cooks in the kitchen. A lot of mandates. It was conceived as a "passing of the baton." It had to have [Captain] Kirk, it had to have the Klingons. And Leonard Nimoy, at one point, crossed paths [with directing Generations ].

What was the notes process like on the finale, or did the studio pretty much leave you alone?

[Paramount] largely left us alone. The studio wasn't giving us notes. We were left to do what we do, and I think one can feel the benefit of that in the final product. Rick gave us notes, I'm sure, but not many. And it was his suggestion for Picard's last line, in the poker scene, the "sky's the limit" line.

Speaking of that last scene, where Picard joins the crew's traditional poker game for the first time, I know that also was the last scene shot for the show. Were you able to go to set for that?

That was the one time Ron and I went to the set. We didn't go to the set often, because there was usually no time when you're doing 26 episodes. You're either writing or in the writers' room. But we went down for certain scenes. We went down to meet Stephen Hawking, who was in another poker scene [the season six episode "Descent, Part I"]. But for the finale's poker scene, we just wanted to be there, because we knew it was the final scene. It was the last scene to be shot. It was a strange mixture of emotions, because there were tears. Some people were very moved, because this was the end of seven years. The show was enormously popular at the time. It was taken off air at the height of its popularity, which was a smart move in some ways.

But despite the bittersweetness of it all, they were reconfiguring the sets for the movie. The movie started shooting in a week. There was a compartmentalization going on. The show was the show, and the movies were the movies. They were just different. But it was a very emotional moment. And I think that almost always comes across on-screen. I think you sense the authenticity of what the actors are going through in that scene. To me, that scene boils down to the subtlety of Patrick's performance. And I would credit Marina Sirtis [who plays the Enterprise 's empathic counselor Deanna Troi] with her delivery of the "You were always welcome" line to Patrick. It was very moving. Marina's a great actress, very instinctive.

The anomaly Picard and the Enterprise crew must stop concerns anti-time, which is a very clever concept and plot twist. How did you and Ron come up with that?

I distinctly remember sitting in Ron's office and coming up with the phrase "anti-time." That came out when we were writing; I think I was typing and Ron was pacing, which was usually the case. We hadn't really figured out all the particulars or what we sometimes called "technobabble," but in this case, I think it was conceptual. The conceit was coming up with the anti-matter equivalent of time. And it was just one of those things where you suddenly had something to hang your hat on, like, "If it's like anti-matter with time, I think I know how we can explain what's happening and why it's dangerous, because you don't want time and anti-time to collide, much like you don't want matter and anti-matter to come together, either.

In an early version of the story, instead of using Dr. Beverly Crusher's (Gates McFadden) medical ship, the Pasteur , the crew in the future timeline were going to take the mothballed Enterprise from a museum—  

Yes, and that was cut from an early draft. We really wanted to do it, too, but we ended up on Beverly's medical ship instead. But that's not what it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be stealing the Enterprise out of a museum, which I think Terry [Matalas, Braga's former writer's assistant] ended up doing a version of on [the final season of] Picard . By the way, if you think about it for a second, it's much better, because you've got the three Enterprise s working together. That's perfection. With all due respect to Beverly's medical ship, it would have been more emotionally satisfying if it were the Enterprise .

There was a fourth timeline involving the Borg that stemmed from the events of TNG 's third season finale, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I." Do you recall any scene specifics?

I may be misremembering, but it may have had to do with an assimilated Earth.

I believe it was a timeline where the Borg had won. But I know we added it because we thought we needed additional stakes, that the time anomaly might be too abstract. And we were eager to bring the Borg back, because we hadn't really dipped our toe into the Borg, full throttle, like we did with "Best of Both Worlds." I don't remember specific scenes, unfortunately. But I do remember it didn't last long. It wasn't working. Michael didn't want it. It became pretty clear, pretty quickly, that three was the right number. But that was something Ron and I carried into the development and script for Star Trek: First Contact [the 1996 sequel to Generations ].

I am surprised you didn't ask me about the "people getting younger" subplot that Michael Piller wanted to do.

Whoa, I didn't even know that was a thing, and I've watched this episode a ton. Can I ask you about that now?

I'm going to tell you about it. So there was a subplot that took place in the present-day storyline, where we were going to have all these ships that came and gathered around the anomaly, because it turns out that the anomaly had some anti-aging effect. It was de-aging people, and ships were gathering from all over to soak in the rays of the anomaly.

So that explains, in part, where a pregnant nurse on the Enterprise becomes "un-pregnant" and loses her baby. And why Geordi LaForge's [the blind engineer played by LeVar Burton] eyes start acting up.

Right. Those are little remnants of the storyline that got cut. And I think the reason it got cut out was it didn't have to do anything with anything. Ron and I were resistant to it, because we didn't think it really serviced the main plot of the episode, the emotional story for the characters. And, of course, Michael Piller would end up taking those ideas and using them in [the 1998 feature film] Star Trek: Insurrection .

How was it when you first watched the final episode? Do you remember where you were?

I had seen early cuts of the episode, but the first time I saw it was at the premiere on the lot that Paramount did. And Michael wasn't generous with his compliments. So when he did compliment you, it really meant something. And I remember every one, because he was a real mentor to me. And I owe so much to him. And he complimented us at the after-party. He was happy. And it was his legacy, too.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Finale Remains Perfect

Deal us in.

Three decades ago, one sci-fi series rose above the rest to approach the impossible label of perfection. When Star Trek: The Next Generation aired its triumphant finale on May 23, 1994, it was almost an entirely different series than when it began in 1987. Back then, Next Gen was an awkward remake of The Original Series . When Next Gen ended, it was Star Trek, transforming a 1960s curio into a format destined to survive and evolve for another quarter century.

To say there is no modern Star Trek without The Next Generation is obvious, but what gets missed in countless reassessments is that most adoration for Next Gen can be qualified non-linearly. Just as Captain Picard discovers that a time paradox is the key to saving the galaxy, the success of the TNG finale “All Good Things...” didn’t just come from the fact that it ended a hit show on a high note; instead, it revised Next Generation history to make the beginning of the show feel as good as the ending.

“All Good Things...” was presented as a two-hour finale, just like TNG’s pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint.” Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) finds himself jumping between the present, a past before when we meet him in “Farpoint,” and a future where he’s a doddering old man with memory problems. Borrowing from Kurt Vonnegut’s classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five , Picard is unstuck in time. It’s soon revealed that the meddling space god Q ( John de Lancie ), intent on teaching Picard a lesson before it's too late, is behind these time shifts. The entire history of everything is on the line as Q reveals a spatial anomaly centered around Picard that threatens to wipe out humanity.

In the past, Picard is tasked with convincing characters who barely know him that he’s their beloved leader, while in the future, the close-knit TNG family has splintered. To save the day, Picard has to heal old wounds and get a fractured Enterprise crew back together for one last ride. In the end, Picard must order three versions of the Enterprise — past, present, and future — to their utter destruction. But it’s okay, no one really lost their lives. The anomaly is erased, and Q dryly tells Picard, “If it puts your mind at ease, you've saved humanity... once again.”

Q has one last test for Picard.

Part of what makes “All Good Things...” so on-brand for TNG is that there’s no real villain, and once the quest is over its stakes seem ridiculously low. You’re never actually worried the episode will end with humanity getting wiped out by a time anomaly, meaning the true stakes of the episode are emotional. The journey was about understanding the Starfleet family that’s formed over the last seven years.

If this sounds overly sentimental, you’re not wrong, but what made “All Good Things...” a successful finale is that it celebrated what Next Generation had become: a warm, allegorical, pseudo-family show about people more than sci-fi concepts. That Picard, Geordi, and Data share an epiphany about a time paradox, and that realization saves the day, feels like a denouement that could have occurred in any episode. But in the final analysis, the show was about this generation of heroes, and how they came together as a family, not a crew.

“That to me is one of the best series finales ever,” Marvel’s Kevin Feige said in 2018. “Picard went and played poker with the crew, something he should have done a long time ago, right?” It’s certainly a memorable moment for fans. The stiff, distant Picard had grown closer and more vulnerable over the years, but he’d never joined his crew’s card game, a tradition first introduced way back in one of TNG’s best episodes, Season 2’s “The Measure of a Man.” But now, as Picard sits down and looks at his crew, he realizes it's okay for him to be happy. There are no hard decisions to make, and he doesn’t need to slip into his signature stoicism to seem strong. He can just be there with the people he loves.

The final shot of the crew in “All Good Things...”

This moment was echoed in the 2023 series finale of Picard , and for good reason. Since the end of The Next Generation , the series' reputation is greater than the sum of its parts. While the first two seasons have standout moments, the show didn’t find its feet until 1990. Even its final season wasn’t its best, even if the finale is excellent.

As the most venerable and flexible sci-fi franchise of them all, Star Trek has proven that characters and tones can change radically while still feeling like part of a cohesive whole. But as an ensemble show about people, The Next Generation became something special in its finale. The Enterprise doesn’t warp into its next adventure; it just gently cruises through space. Fans didn’t want the show to end, but not because they craved more adventures. We just wanted to keep hanging out with these people, because the true triumph of The Next Generation is that it felt like home.

• Science Fiction

Star Trek: Picard's Final Scene Comes Full Circle With The Next Generation

Contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Picard" Season 3, Episode 10, "The Last Generation"

The finale of "Star Trek: Picard" was the culmination of what began 36 years ago on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," reuniting the core cast of the beloved space exploration drama for one last adventure through the stars. After averting Earth's destruction and defeating the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) for good, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his old friends are finally able to relax, and they do so in the most fitting way possible.

As the credits roll on the final episode of "Star Trek: Picard," Admiral Picard plays a game of poker alongside William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Data (Brent Spiner), Worf (Michael Dorn), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), and Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). The camera lingers on their game from above, as if to freeze them in the moment of their favorite pastime for posterity.

It's a fitting end for these characters, not only because poker was (with the exception of Picard) their favorite way to kill time in the dark reaches of space on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," but because the final episode of that series, too, ended with a game of cards between the senior officers of the USS Enterprise.

All good things end with a poker game

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" ran for seven seasons from 1987 to 1994, giving fans some of the most beloved entries in the "Star Trek" franchise, and the final days of "The Next Generation" were exhausting and bittersweet. Its final episode, "All Good Things," found Captain Picard adrift in time and faced with one last trial from the immortal trickster Q (John de Lancie). After facing Q and solving the time loop, Picard returns to the Enterprise, where he and his crewmates play a game of poker.

Though the crew indulged in games of five-stud throughout "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Picard never joined them until that final scene, where the captain expressed regret for not doing so sooner. The finale of "Star Trek: Picard" therefore brings these iconic characters full circle to the show that first brought them together, and it seems Jean-Luc Picard has retained his love for the game, and, of course, for spending quality time with the people (and Klingons and Betazoids) closest to him.

For a series that started with Picard isolated in his family vineyard, it's heartwarming, and even poetic, that it ends with a game of five-stud poker alongside his old friends. All good things must come to an end, but the final shots of "Star Trek: Picard" prove that, sometimes, endings are just as sweet.

Giant Freakin Robot

Forgotten Star Trek Episode Has Better Music Than the Films

Posted: June 28, 2024 | Last updated: June 29, 2024

Even the biggest haters of Star Trek: Voyager had to admit that the music was excellent. That was because most of it came from Dennis McCarthy, the Emmy-winning composer who essentially created the signature sound of modern Trek from the ground up. He even did the music for Star Trek: Generations but later admitted that he ended up putting even more effort into the forgotten Voyager episode “Ex Post Facto” than he did into the first TNG feature film.

Dennis McCarthy

Before this Star Trek: Voyager tale can reach its crescendo, we need to review how McCarthy shaped the music of the franchise. His musical career began in 1980, and he scored many now-obscure TV shows (what, you don’t remember hit series like Goodnight, Beantown or The Barbara Mandrell Show?).

Fortunately for Trek fans, he also got some sci-fi experience by composing music for V: The Final Battle, the V series, and the ‘80s Twilight Zone.

This paved the way for his Star Trek career as he would work on The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise, creating truly unforgettable music.

That’s not just our fanboy opinion, either: the composer won a Primetime Emmy for his Deep Space Nine theme (which is so good that we never skip the intro). On top of that, he was nominated for nine other Emmys based on his Trek work.

Star Trek: Generations

While Dennis McCarthy would go on to compose for Voyager and Enterprise, the culmination of his work for this franchise was arguably scoring the music for Star Trek: Generations. While the movie had flaws big enough to fly a starship into, the music was (ahem) pitch-perfect. It was a great way to bring TNG to the big screen and a great honor for McCarthy, the series’ best composer, to provide the soundtrack.

Making Up For The Dog

After composing the music for Star Trek: Generations, he worked on 64 different Voyager episodes, bringing new tunes to the depths of the Delta Quadrant. The fourth episode he worked on was “Ex Post Facto,” a noir-flavored murder mystery that admittedly had more style than substance.

McCarthy really poured himself into creating the music for this episode, and he later brought up a striking irony about how hard he worked on this score.

According to the veteran Star Trek: Voyager composer, “I even worked harder on ‘Ex Post Facto’ than I did on [Star Trek: Generations].”

Ironically, McCarthy didn’t work so hard on this episode because he liked it but because he was worried that audiences wouldn’t like it. In his words, “that episode was a murder trial with the dog as the surprise witness! I really had to sell that.”

A Beloved Score

To really put that comment in context, we should point out that his score for Star Trek: Generations is generally beloved and acclaimed. He won an ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) award for that movie in the category of “Top Box Office Films.” Presumably, it occupies a crowded shelf filled with the other eight ASCAP awards he received for work for Paramount on the different Star Trek television series.

Scores Are More Important Than You May Realize

Hearing this tale of Star Trek: Voyager’s “Ex Post Facto” music, we’re going to pay close attention to the score next time we rewatch the episode. Generally speaking, we agree that the episode was weak sauce, filled with over-the-top noir influences and a particularly awful portrayal of Tom Paris as a womanizing jerk. Beyond all that, though, is the passionate music of a man who devoted his life to Star Trek, and fans everywhere should never waste an opportunity to honor Dennis McCarthy for everything he gave to this franchise.

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Screen Rant

Every star trek character killed by ron moore.

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Every Star Trek Character Played By Suzie Plakson

Tony todd’s 3 star trek roles explained, star trek’s 10 greatest klingons.

• K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) - Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 4, Episode 9, "Legacy"
• Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) - Star Trek: TNG, Season 7, Episodes 25 & 26, "All Good Things..."

Writer and producer Ronald D. Moore racked up an incredible body count, killing off several big-name Star Trek characters during his tenure on TNG and DS9 . Given the high stakes of a life in Starfleet, death is a constant companion to every serving officer. It's not just the ill-fated Star Trek redshirts either, as many regular and recurring characters have also fallen in action. Many regular and recurring characters have given their lives, from the sacrifice of Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock all the way to the death of Lieutenant Hemmer (Bruce Horak) in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

Ronald D. Moore has been the writer and orchestrator of many of these dramatic deaths between joining Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1989 and leaving Star Trek: Voyager in 1999. Tellingly, Moore's last story idea for Star Trek was Voyager , season 6, episode 3, "Barge of the Dead", which killed off Miral Torres, mother of Lt. B'Elanna Torres. Moore's frustrations with Voyager inspired Battlestar Galactica , and forced him to leave the franchise he'd been an integral part of for ten years. As well as leaving behind some of Star Trek 's best episodes, Ronald D. Moore also left a trail of bodies in his wake.

Ronald D. Moore's First Star Trek Episode Foreshadowed His DS9 & Battlestar Galactica Future

Ronald D. Moore learned lessons on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine that ultimately led to his Battlestar Galactica reboot.

8 Honorable Mention: Captain Lisa Cusak (Debra Wilson)

Star trek: ds9, season 6, episode 25.

Captain Lisa Cusak (Debra Wilson) was not a big-name Star Trek character, but she had a profound effect on the crew of the USS Defiant in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . In DS9 season 6, episode 25, "The Sound of Her Voice", the crew respond to a distress signal from the captain of the crashed USS Olympia. As the Defiant makes its way to the source of the signal, Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) is able to respond to Cusak, and they bond over their similar family backgrounds. Cusak also chats with Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), becoming a friend and confidant.

Debra Wilson is a prolific voice actor who also played Captain Trij in Star Trek: Prodigy and Z'oto in Star Trek: Lower Decks .

Devastatingly, Sisko, Bashir, and O'Brien eventually locate Cusak's body on an L-class planet in the Rutharian sector. The USS Olympia's captain had been dead for three years, and the environmental distortions caused by metreon radiation enabled her to converse with the Defiant crew in the future. "The Sound of Her Voice" is a powerful example of how Ronald D. Moore can make the audience care deeply about a character so that their death hits so much harder .

7 K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson)

Star trek: tng, season 4, episode 7, "reunion".

Ambassador K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) was the first Star Trek character to be killed by Ronald D. Moore. The former lover of Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), K'Ehleyr, made two appearances in Star Trek: The Next Generation, in season 2, episode 20, "The Emissary", and season 4, episode 7, "Reunion". As the mother of Worf's son Alexander , K'Ehleyr's death is particularly harrowing and oddly mirrors the death of Marla Aster (Susan Powell) in Ronald D. Moore's first Star Trek script, TNG season 3, episode 5, "The Bonding". The death of K'Ehleyr fundamentally impacts Worf, too, forcing him to take the life of Duras (Patrick Massett).

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

Although it was initially Star Trek: The Next Generation 's producer Michael Piller's idea to kill off K'Ehleyr, it was Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga who had to pull the trigger. Reflecting on the power of K'Ehleyr's death in "Reunion", and its effect on both Worf and the audience at home, Ronald D. Moore is quoted in the book, Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. Read Moore's quote about killing off K'Ehleyr below:

"...it worked because you cared about her, and we made an effort not to do it capriciously and for no reason, just to get her off the show so Worf wouldn't have to deal with her. [...] Anybody who watches that episode is moved and outraged by the killing of K'Ehleyr. You're mad, and you have that same need for vengeance that Worf does."

What do a Vulcan, a Klingon, a Q, and an Andorian have in common? Actress Suzie Plakson has played them all in her Star Trek guest appearances.

6 Anti-Time Future Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis)

Star trek: tng, season 7, episodes 25 & 26, "all good things...".

Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga killed off another of Worf's romantic partners in the Star Trek: The Next Generation finale, "All Good Things". In the scenes set in the TNG finale's anti-time future, it's revealed that Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) died from an unknown illness. Deanna's death drove a wedge between Worf and Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), leaving them estranged for over 20 years. The audience never see Deanna die, but the fact that the aftermath is still felt decades later is another example of his skill at delivering cruel Star Trek deaths .

Moore and Braga's decision to kill off Troi in "All Good Things" was an astute shorthand to reveal not just the stakes of averting the anti-time future, but to also reflect how important she was to Worf and Riker.

Thankfully, Star Trek: Picard revealed that Deanna Troi was alive and well over 20 years after the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation . However, Moore and Braga's decision to kill Troi off in "All Good Things" was an astute shorthand to reveal not just the stakes of averting the anti-time future, but to also reflect how important she was to Worf and Riker. There's a genuine relief once Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) returns to the present to see that Deanna and Worf are still together, and crucially, that Troi is still alive.

5 Kurn (Tony Todd)

Star trek: ds9, season 4, episode 15, "sons of mogh".

Ronald D. Moore clearly loves to torture Worf, as he also killed off his brother Kurn (Tony Todd) in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4, episode 15, "Sons of Mogh". Unlike the deaths of K'Ehleyr and Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Moore does something more philosophical when it comes to Kurn's death . Ostracized from the Klingon Empire due to his brother's refusal to back the Klingon and Cardassian War , Kurn sought to end his life with honor rather than live in disgrace. While Worf is initially willing to murder his brother, he is barred from doing so by Captain Sisko.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Unable to convince Kurn that he can weather the storm of the House of Mogh's disgrace, Worf eventually seeks other means to help his brother. At the end of "Sons of Mogh", Kurn is genetically altered and given a new identity - Rodek, son of Noggra. The deception involving Kurn and Rodek is never mentioned again in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , even after Worf is welcomed back into the Klingon Empire. Presumably, Rodek was never altered back into Kurn, meaning that for all intents and purposes, Ronald D Moore killed Worf's brother in DS9 's "House of Mogh".

Legendary horror actor Tony Todd played three different characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager.

4 Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim)

Star trek: ds9, season 3, episode 13, "life support".

Not content with killing off Worf's love interests, Ronald D. Moore is also the man who killed off Vedek Bareil (Philip Anglim), love interest for Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 13, "Life Support", Bareil is critically injured in a shuttle accident on the eve of crucial peace talks between Bajor and Cardassia. Bareil's dream to finally obtain peace, and reparations for the Cardassian Occupation of Bajor is achieved, but at the cost of his life.

While breaking the story of "Life Support", the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writers' room considered killing off Chief O'Brien, as Colm Meaney was rumored to be departing the show.

Bareil was killed off because Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's writers didn't believe his relationship with Kira was working. However, as he did with K'Ehleyr in Star Trek: The Next Generation , Ronald D. Moore ensured Bareil's death had meaning, and wasn't a sensationalist way to get rid of a character . By dedicating his last days to helping Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) with the Cardassian peace talks, Vedek Bareil leaves a lasting legacy, even if DS9 's villainous religious leader takes all the credit.

3 Kor (John Colicos)

Star trek: ds9, season 7, episode 7, "once more unto the breach".

Ronald D Moore can also count Klingon Dahar Master Kor (John Colicos) as one of his confirmed kills, having written Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , season 7, episode 7, "Once More Unto The Breach". In the episode, Kor convinced Worf to vouch for the old Klingon warrior to join the IKS Ch'tang. However, Kor's advancing years meant that he made critical mistakes, bringing him great dishonor. Kor's rivalry with General Martok (J.G. Hertzler) meant that the old warrior was relieved of duty for his errors, but he eventually proved himself in a daring final act.

Ronald D. Moore based the story of "Once More Unto the Breach" on the mystery surrounding Davy Crockett and the Battle of the Alamo.

Kor was the sole pilot of the IKS Ning'tao, and flew it into the heart of enemy territory, keeping ten Jem'Hadar ships distracted so that Worf, Martok and the Ch'tang's crew could rendezvous with the USS Defiant. When John Colicos first returned to Star Trek in "Blood Oath", he was adamant that Kor should not die . Five years later, Ronald D. Moore gave Kor a death befitting a Star Trek legend and heroic Klingon warrior.

Star Trek has many great Klingon characters from Kor to Worf and Kruge to Torres. But who are the best Klingon warriors that Qo'noS has to offer?

2 Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly)

Star trek: ds9, season 7, episode 22, "tacking into the wind".

The tumultuous friendship between Lt. Commander Worf and Chancellor Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) comes to a brutal end in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7, episode 22, "Tacking into the Wind". With Gowron becoming increasingly reckless and vindictive, Captain Sisko and Worf realize that extreme measures must be taken if the Federation Alliance is to win the ongoing Dominion War . In the original draft of "Tacking into the Wind", Gowron survived his encounter with Worf, but Moore felt that there had to be more of an impact that reflected the past decade of Klingon storytelling. In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion Moore stated:

"Yeah, these guys are corrupt, and Worf has put up with that for a long time. They talk a good game about how honorable they are, but they're not capable of living up to their ideals. That's an important thing to say, so let's say it ."

Therefore, Worf finally challenging Gowron to a duel was him confronting the Klingon Empire's corrupt ideals. Worf killing Gowron in battle is a huge moment for his arc in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , as it allows him to reconcile his complicated relationship with the Klingon Empire, while placing it in the hands of his most trusted ally, General Martok. Once again, Ronald D. Moore's eye for a good story informs the killing off of an iconic Star Trek character .

1 Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner)

Star trek generations (1994).

Arguably, Ronald D. Moore's gift for marrying devastating character deaths with a strong story abandons him in Star Trek Generations . Co-written with his frequent Star Trek collaborator Brannon Braga, Generations used the mysterious death of Kirk to bridge the gap between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation . The central idea was that the mystery surrounding the Nexus and Kirk's death on the USS Enterprise-B would then be solved by Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D.

Kirk sacrificing his life to save the crew of a starship Enterprise that isn't even his own is heroic.

The problem, however, is that Kirk's actual death on Veridian III doesn't have the impact or meaning that it should have. Kirk sacrificing his life to save the crew of a starship Enterprise that isn't even his own is heroic. However, rather than send Kirk back to that heroic moment at the end of Star Trek Generations , Moore and Braga opted for him to be crushed under a bridge and buried under a cairn. It's never been clear in the established Star Trek canon which of Kirk's deaths remains on the official record, but Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga's first attempt in Generations ' prologue is definitely the most heroic one.

Star Trek Generations is currently streaming on Max.

• Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

Final mission (1990), full cast & crew.

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Published Jun 21, 2024

How the Picard Season 3 Soundtrack Unlocks All of Star Trek

For World Music Day, let's look at how Picard's final score stretches across the entire final frontier, from familiar themes to deep sonic cuts.

StarTrek.com

The music of the Final Frontier is one of the most grounding aspects of the entire Star Trek phenomenon. Rather than sounding overtly futuristic, the musical world Trek has always been the opposite — old-fashioned and classic. When Nicholas Meyer hired James Horner to compose the music for The Wrath of Khan , he asked for a score that was "nautical, but nice." This single phrase perhaps best describes a large swath of famous Star Trek scores; the music is rooted in an antique style, combined with a buoyant sense of optimism. The music of Trek looks forward, partly, by looking back. In real life, Star Trek scores have been played at the commissioning of space shuttles, at least one U.S. Presidential Inauguration , and on March 11, 2024, Jerry Goldsmith's themes from Star Trek: First Contact were played during a ceremony in which Sweden was inducted into NATO.

Sometimes, it seems the classical music of Star Trek is oddly more pervasive in everyday life than Star Trek itself. Yes, there have, of course, been examples of non-classical music in Star Trek ; from Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," to Enterprise 's "Faith of the Heart," Kirk blasting The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," and, in 2023, musical theater and pop stylings throughout " Subspace Rhapsody " in Strange New Worlds . But, for almost six decades, classical scores have been the sonic glue binding the Trek universe together. From Original Series composers like Alexander Courage and Sol Kaplan, to Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner in the classic films, to Dennis McCarthy in The Next Generation era, Michael Giacchino 's scores for the Kelvin Universe films, to Jeff Russo in Discovery and Chris Westlake in Lower Decks , Nami Melumad on Strange New Worlds and Prodigy , each Trek score often contains a piece of another. But, perhaps more than any orchestral Star Trek event to date, the soundtrack for Star Trek: Picard Season 3 bridges various eras simultaneously, but also created edgy, new directions for Trek scores that had never been tried before.

The Picard Season 3 score — composed by Stephen Barton and Frederik Wiedmann— is a rosetta stone of nearly all of Star Trek music, ever. Here's your guide to why this 2023 score is so unique, how it's the perfect place to start your Star Trek musical education, and why, if you haven't already, consider spinning this one on vinyl .

"All Good Things…Must Come To An End"

"The Last Generation"

While it's somewhat obvious that Star Trek: Picard Season 3 is a direct follow-up to Picard Season 2, a huge thrust of the series is also a coda to the era of The Next Generation TV series and four feature films. So, throughout this score, there are various musical references to the hugely famous main theme from Star Trek: The Next Generation composed by Jerry Goldsmith. But, within this musical cue, there's an Easter egg to 1979. As many fans know, the immortal TNG main theme was actually first composed by Goldsmith for the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture . And while the bombastic march opens that film, and every episode of TNG, a slower more ballatic version of the theme was created for the classic track "The Enterprise ," in which Scotty and Kirk view the newly refitted ship for the first time.

'The Next Generation'

In Picard Season 3, this dreamy arrangement of the TNG/TMP theme is on full display in the back-to-back tracks "Hello, Beautiful" and "Leaving Spacedock," in which Picard and Riker take a shuttle to the U.S.S. Titan -A, and we hear the gentle strings of "The Enterprise " from 1979. However, as this musical moment continues, and Commander Seven takes the Titan out of spacedock, a new musical theme emerges, which showrunner Terry Matalas has called " The Titan Theme, " since it plays in many instances in the series that focus on the scrappy starship itself. And yet, by the end of Picard Season 3, the Titan becomes a new version of the Enterprise . So, when Riker and Picard roll-up on the Titan and hear the TNG/TMP main theme, it's not just a neat Easter egg, the music becomes a foreshadowing element that helps tell the story.

Deep Cuts Reveal Myriad Star Trek Legacies

"The Next Generation"

Just as Beverly Crusher sends Picard a transmission as a myriad codec, the Picard Season 3 soundtrack contains a myriad of references to all sorts of other Star Trek music. Some of these cues are somewhat obvious. The end-credits for the series borrows from the First Contact main themes, first introduced in 1996, while Jeff Russo's arrangement of the TNG main theme, crafted for Picard Season 1 and Season 2, still exists as part of the brief title card at the top of each episode. But, once you start digging into the episode-by-episode tracks, deeper cuts start to reveal themselves, ever so slowly.

In "Old Communicator," ominous woodwinds play as Picard riffles through his stuff, to find his TNG-era red uniform. These notes are reminiscent of Ron Jones' music for " The Best of Both Worlds " in The Next Generation , reminding us of that time Jean-Luc lost a uniform just like this when he was assimilated by the Borg. But, for composers Barton and Wiedmann, this is just the first of many musical cues from the past.

"The Bounty"

When the Titan arrives at the Fleet Museum in the sixth episode, " The Bounty ," we get a track called "Legacies," which has rapid-fire sonic Easter eggs like no other piece of Star Trek music before or since.

As Seven and Jack observe the various ships in the museum, each one gets his own theme; for the Defiant , we hear Dennis McCarthy's main theme for Deep Space Nine , for the movie-era Enterprise -A, an arrangement of the Alexander Courage TOS theme, and as Seven waxes nostalgic about the U.S.S. Voyager , a triumphant and bittersweet rendition of the Jerry Goldsmith main title from Star Trek: Voyager plays. Impressively, these musical cues are packed into three minutes and fifteen seconds, meaning "Legacies," tells the story of four starships, through music, in a very short amount of time.

Did we say four ships? Yes! Because in addition to the Defiant, Enterprise -A, and Voyager , the medley of "Legacies" eventually concludes with Leonard Rosenman's 1986 themes from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . And that's because Jack realizes that the captured Klingon Bird-of-Prey, which Bones christened the H.M.S. Bounty all those years ago, has a cloaking device that the crew of the Titan can use. And so, this wonderful nod to Rosenman's music not only references The Voyage Home , but also moves the present tense of the story forward.

That Cinematic Feeling

A Musical Legacy: Scoring the Final Season of Star Trek: Picard

On the liner notes to Picard Season 3, Terry Matalas specifies that the score for this season was designed to remind fans of the big, epic music from the films. Even though this was a season of a TV series, the sound of Picard Season 3 is cinematic. "I knew early on that Picard Season 3 needed to sound like the great Trek film scores that came before it," Matalas writes in the liner notes. "[When] I was five…the track 'The Enterprise ' was imprinted onto my brain."

And so, in collaboration with composers Barton and Wiedemann, Matalas steered the music of Picard Season 3 into a massive tribute to the entirety of previous Star Trek film scores. This was accomplished by the sonic Easter eggs we've just pointed out, but this feeling also exists more broadly throughout the entire soundtrack. The dark track "Dominion" isn't one that contains any sonic Easter eggs, but is unique to this soundtrack, as is the heroic hero theme for the Titan , heard in "Leaving Spacedock" and throughout the all ten episodes of the season.

But, the brilliance of the Picard Season 3 soundtrack isn't that it simply checks-off various Star Trek musical boxes. Instead, it seamlessly blends the old with the new. In "Legacy and the Future," longtime fans will be reminded of Denis McCarthy's tender music from 1994's Star Trek Generations , but as the track builds, we move from the immortal Alexander Courage fanfare, and into the new , future-facing music created for the Titan , which is destined to become Captain Seven's ship, the Enterprise-G , boldly headed into the future.

And so, the Picard Season 3 soundtrack isn't just a series of nostalgia hits. Its music allows us to revisit stories from across the whole timeline of Star Trek , but, also, imagine an unfolding new future, full of wonder, hope, and adventure.

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Ryan Britt is the author of the nonfiction books Phasers on Stun! How the Making and Remaking of Star Trek Changed the World (2022), The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (2023), and the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read (2015). He is a longtime contributor to Star Trek.com and his writing regularly appears with Inverse, Den of Geek!, Esquire and elsewhere. He lives in Portland, Maine with his family.

In addition to streaming on Paramount+ , Star Trek: Picard also streams on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, and in Canada can be seen on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Picard is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.