All Good Things…

DVD, TNG S7 (All Good Things…)

It's difficult to know what to say when you've watched such a moment in TV history repeated for your viewing pleasure. This was one of the few episodes of the series I saw in the 90s and I believe it may have been the first-run terrestrial UK transmission on BBC2, so although I didn't have the nostalgia at the time, I have it now in spades, and it has only deepened over the years as I became acquainted with the series I knew least - because I was a 'DS Niner' and a viewer of 'Voyager' so for me they will always be the definitive embodiment of what I want from 'Star Trek'. I knew 'The Original Series' well, that being my first exposure in the early 90s, but 'TNG' was always the one I knew about but didn't really watch. Until the 'Noughties' when it was repeated ad infinitum (pretty much, though such a broad description should perhaps be honed to a precise sentiment after watching such a time-specific episode! - I'm beginning to sound like Professor Data), and then I began to buy the DVDs in the mid-to-late noughties, and finding myself now in the position of having watched the series from beginning to end for the first time on DVD, and for the first time seeing every episode in its right and proper place. So reaching the end has the same bittersweetness as coming to the end of those other Trek series' I watched on DVD.

Endings are always sad, even when they end happily with old (or potential) grudges avoided, barriers crossed and a fresh sense of optimism seen through a prism of the Roddenberry musings on hope for the future. Maybe that hope grows dimmer in reality, but Trek shines out even brighter because of that. This is one such happy ending though still rimmed with a sadness because no longer would we see these people week after week, episode after episode. 'TNG' is the Trek that had the most endings: here we see the closing of a seven year series, but it's not a conclusion, the story could have gone on as long as they lived. In a way it did: it progressed to the film series and with 'Generations' there was the likeness of a second ending, but yet again it was like a new beginning, a new style and design and feel as it took to the big screen again. With 'Insurrection' there was a feeling of closure and that film ended with the cast all standing together and beaming up for what might have been a final time. I won't go off on a rant about how they should have continued making films every two years and how they lost momentum and understanding, and instead point out that their last film came a good four years later and that proved to be the last ending of all.

'All Good Things…' is most likely the ending people remember. The series had been a TV legend, eclipsing its predecessor in popularity and it goes out on a high. It doesn't reach the level of the 'DS9' finale, but its aims and goals and future were different to its successor. Because this series had been mainly episodic, and though greater continuity and arcs had become part of its mix it was all about the next adventure from week to week. There wasn't really any deep stuff to tie up or stories to be resolved, unless you count where the characters were in their lives. One of the few aspects of the finale, apart from it proving not to have happened, is that Worf and Deanna are much closer than ever before (much like the odd opening for 'What You Leave Behind,' the 'DS9' finale, with Bashir and Ezri), which leaves us wondering exactly what happened between here and 'Generations' that pushed the reset button, as there's no indication of the pairing in that film. Indeed, as Admiral Riker noted, he thought more and more of her as the years passed. Worf then moved to DS9 so there was never any follow-up to such a late development, another parallel with the end of a Trek series, as seen with Seven and Chakotay on 'Voyager'.

It's hardly something that detracts from the episode, but it's worth pointing out the state of play. But this episode is really about the characters. It may seem to be a Brannon Braga special, full of time travel and strange people shouting, but it's a lens through which we can examine the series and where the characters went. You can take Q's closing statement about the trial never ending and this all being a test to see if humanity (read: Picard) was worthy of their place in the universe and whether they could work out a paradox and open their minds to the possibility of space (something that has decreased over the years I must admit, with regards to the writing of the last series'), as it is almost a paradox in itself - Q seems to be saying that their exploration is their fault because they cause the anti-time anomaly, yet they enter it and die and it's the understanding of it being a paradox that means they were worthy. So 'explore yourself, not physical space' is the message, is it? As I say, you can read it as you like, it's sufficiently vague.

If you leave the ambiguous message aside you can see that this is indeed a celebration and a retrospective on the series and more specifically the people that inhabited its world for so many years. If you can remember all the references this episode has to offer you are probably an android yourself, but there are so many delightful callbacks and mentions thrown in, not to mention the magnificence of returning to the very first episode, even seeing things we hadn't seen from that episode! Certain details weren't precisely accurate: Worf's head isn't as bulging and lacking in topography, though he does wear the old sash; Denise Crosby can't hide a slightly older look to her face, though it's only obvious in the close-ups; and Riker… As soon as I saw the return to the early days I wondered who was to be shown as their younger selves. When you see Picard enter the cargo bay with all those crew members standing to attention my guess is they aren't sucking in their stomachs just for the sake of smartness! Troi, Data, Tasha, even O'Brien carry if off and make us believe we're back before no one had gone before.

I knew Riker wasn't going to be shown because for all Jonathan Frakes' greatness as an actor, he had become great in other ways too (as future Geordi says, time's been good to him in lots of places, and I read it as an admission of filling out the uniform), so it was an absolutely fantastic moment when young Riker appears on Picard's screen for a brief conversation, and his absence from the ship was true to the story. I don't know what episode the clip was taken from, maybe even the pilot, but high praise goes to whoever pulled that out of the hat! We weren't treated to a red-haired Dr. Crusher, also true to the pilot (or even the ghost of Pulaski haunting the decks of time), but those uniforms, Data's more childlike manner and the feeling of a new crew about to set out together brings the nostalgia rushing back, more so when you've seen all the episodes. We get a glimpse of how they grew as people. Not much you might suggest - but for her disappearing 'exotic' accent, Troi is the same person (less emotional - this wasn't a parody of the early episodes, so the portrayals are softened with seven years of hindsight); Data's more android but also more human at the same time. Picard is incredibly relaxed compared with his initial stiffness; Riker's become a wise leader, Worf a steadfast warrior walking the line between cultures; Geordi is, again, much the same, though he's also relaxed into himself. Crusher has gained new skills and insight into command.

With that we also see into the future, or the possible future that was averted. Data moved to Cambridge to be a Professor (the only time we saw any part of England in the 24th Century?), Beverly became a Picard, but separated, so the perfect marriage was not to be for them, though her older performance was the best of the episode in my opinion, the makeup, voice and mannerisms so realistic. She's gained her own command so we get to see a ship of the future, all shiny newness and different sounds and comfier chairs, though they must have changed the warp scale by then as they go to warp 13, and unless they've found a way to be in all places at once, they aren't going that 'fast' if such a word could cover infinite velocity! But there are significant advances: the new 'D' has a cloak and can beam an entire crew off in one go. At the same time the Pasteur looks like the design for the very old Daedalus-class vessels, said to be in operation in the 22nd Century, so there's even an out-of-universe nod back to the origins of it all, fittingly part of the future timeline for a story about time operating backwards. This is a future where the Klingons are once again warmongers, the Romulans subjugated by them, and weirdly this isn't too farfetched for the real timeline, even up to the latest film which told us Romulus had been wiped out. It doesn't take much imagination to guess the Klingons would have seized the opportunity for victory over their lifelong enemies.

I love the way Trek can slot together, even the smallest details unlooked for apparently form a bridge, like magnets drawn inexorably towards each other. It's why changing to a new timeline as the focus was met with such widespread resistance in reaction to the 2009 film and why we'd all like to see a continuation of the true line, unbroken by the foibles of Hollywood money-making. But that's another rant, and I stray from the point: there are things in this episode which would spread outward to be picked up by others, later. The biggest being the vision of the future first portrayed here. We'd seen so many alternates and parallel versions, but the style of this future was used several times on subsequent Treks, both 'DS9' and 'Voyager' with the uniforms and combadges helping to make for a cohesive sense that this was the true destiny of Starfleet's path, even if it wasn't for the events that might have shaped the character's lives.

The one thing that stood out most to me in this whole episode was the real passage of time. I could not have predicted, and certainly didn't recall that the time stream Picard visits in the future was twenty-five years after the series. I never planned to be watching it on the 25th Anniversary year, or even so close to the original September air date of the pilot. I know, technically the future portions are 25 years + 7 from its beginning, but just the number twenty-five coming up like that led me to reflect on what has happened to the actors as they are now practically the age they acted. Gates McFadden looks better in real life than her character did, but that may be down to the stern Captain's style she had about her. Most of the actors still look good for their age, though Levar Burton still hasn't got eye implants (whoops, confusing actors and characters again - but it was an amazing link to 'First Contact' that Geordi looked to have some kind of high-tech eyes instead of his VISOR), and most importantly they still seem like that family they pretended to be on screen.

The ending of the episode is one of the highlights of the series, though it is but a game of cards. It symbolises the equality and care they had for each other and that seemingly was there in real life. You also sense moments of love welling up as they realise this is their last episode. They were probably tired after a long season, and went straight into making the first film, but nothing could disguise that there was a finality about the performances, a warmth between characters that was almost tangible. That end scene has it. The moment Beverly walks into Picard's Ready Room and replicates some hot milk, chatting to him as she leans on his desk, had it all over and made me wish they'd had more of that in the films. I think there was a similar scene in 'Nemesis' but I can't remember if it was in the film or a deleted scene - most likely, as any family moments were cut as short as possible to the detriment of the whole. That's not the case with this episode. This was made with love and a sure hand. The story's a bit messy in its way, but time travel always has that to it. It isn't quite the perfect send-off for the ship and crew, taking on some adversary in a life and death struggle (the template for each of the film adventures), instead it's one of the mysteries that they occasionally explored, but what else could it have been? A story where they sat round reminiscing about past adventures? Ugh! Imagine 'Shades of Grey' times two! We were indeed spared an ill fate!

A series cannot be easily quantified and explored in one review, and the episode that marks its passing cannot easily be put in context. It's enough to say that this episode was very good and works very well as the first last time. Perhaps 'A Generation's First Conclusion Began…' until the future. Its legacy was stupendous, the golden era of Trek, surfing the wave of this moment, but while watching this you're not thinking about what was to come for the characters. It's neatly summed up when they talk about the possible futures that await and say how it will now be different, as much the writers gearing up for their new film and the possibilities that came with it. No, you're thinking about what had been and what good feelings you've had with these people over so many episodes.

I must mention a few things that stuck out to me in the episode before I close out the light and shut down the Holodeck of entertainment that was 'TNG.' It's not exactly the series' greatest hits, but the references are there to serve the story and remind where it came from. There's very little wrong with the production as a blowout feature-length finale - it even has ships exploding and a three-nacelled Enterprise-D flying through the fire, which for the series that celebrated the slow, the cerebral and the thoughtful was an achievement. It wasn't like they didn't have the time, of course, with the episode being double the usual length. I'd actually admit that some moments drag a little when you know the solution, but we're soon taken to another outpouring of joy as Picard meets Tasha or sees the 'D' for the 'first' time (though they take mere seconds to watch in awe, compared to the more stately 'Motion Picture' flyby of the original Enterprise), or Picard irascibly (and bearded, like a mad McCoy - am I sensing some love for 'The Motion Picture' here or is it my imagination?) talking up Worf's great qualities to force him to allow them through to the Neutral Zone. Picard of the future was more like Picard of the first season: superbly irascible, tenacious and impatient, and what's more, his present self got to wander the ship in Gandalf's gown, so he did it all! There are so many moments, big and little that bring it all home to you about what the history of all this means.

Saying that, it might have been better not to have shown the credits for Q, Tasha Yar and O'Brien in the opening as they would have been incredible surprises seeing it for the first time with no prior knowledge. These days that's hard - impossible if people actively want to know, and keeping surprises on TV and in film is a thankless task, but at the same time I can see why, at the time, they wanted people to have their credit and prepare us for their appearance, with really only Guinan's presence missed (made up for in the first film). Tasha has a lot more to do than I remembered, as does O'Brien, fresh from Season 2 of 'DS9,' but still the moon-faced, simple, dependable man that went from a bit-part in the pilot to a full-fledged character on his own series. I recognised small links that probably had nothing to do with referring back to this episode, but they were there anyway: in 'DS9' Sisko walks into the same trap Worf does about saying the right thing to his girlfriend. When he and Deanna exit the Holodeck, he says it was stimulating, as if the beautiful beachfront walk was a bracing hike for a warrior, Deanna questioning his choice of words. So he adds that it was 'very' stimulating. A bit like Sisko when he says it's 'a big step' and his friends joke that at least he didn't say it was a 'very' big step. There's also Q talking about giving Picard the answer to his temporal crisis, A to B to C, just as later, Captain Braxton of the future says something very similar regarding time to Janeway on 'Voyager'.

Another thing Q says is that he judges Picard and his crew to have squandered the last seven years. If you were being harsh you could say that about 'Voyager,' and if you were being a lot less harsh you could say it about 'Enterprise,' but 'TNG'? No, it grew, and though greater things grew out of it, it was the testbed for the 24th Century, the golden flower which sparkled. Some petals dropped off here and there, but it was a new and unique organism that progressed and learned and made the mistakes so that 'DS9' didn't have to, and could take what they came up with and run with it. But this is 'TNG's time in the spotlight, and the more I see it, the more it grows on me. It has aged now, just as its stars have, and has even got as far as being re-released with updated effects as the Blu-Rays begin to come out. It is as 'TOS' was to this series when it began and so it can be taken with that perspective. What better praise can be given than to say that it ended well?

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