ALL GOOD THINGS... (7th season; episode #177) Written by Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore; Directed by Winrich Kolbe
The final episode of the TNG series was designed to cap off the show in a grand, spectacular manner. It was twice as long as a regular episode and just as dense, with a complex, convoluted storyline that one had to follow closely or get lost. A ton of money was spent to get it right (something like $20 million from what I recall). A legitimate criticism may be that it's a bit on the slow side but, on the other hand, it did take the best elements of the show's 7-year run and threw them together into a cosmic labyrinth of a story.
The narrative in this last one turned out be unusual for the series. The episode jumps back and forth between 3 time periods: the present one, where-in Picard and his crew have been on the Enterprise-D for 7 years; a future one - 25 years in the future where the crew have gone on to separate lives and Picard is quite elderly; and a past one, at the point that Picard was about to take command of Enterprise-D. This also functions as a reunion of sorts, appropriate for a finale, with Q returning for one last go-around playing mind games with Picard and Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) popping up again, as well. The focal point of the story's dilemma turns out to be another time anomaly, nothing really new for the series, but the writers managed to add on just enough distinctions to make this one unique.
In the plot, Picard finds himself jumping among the 3 time periods mentioned above. This recalls, for me, the film Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), the sci-fi story from Kurt Vonnegut, where-in the main character jumps back 'n forth between the past, present and future, being unstuck in time. In Picard's present, a spatial anomaly is detected in the Devron system, soon involving the Romulans. The past & future counterparts of Picard are also aware of this anomaly because of Picard's time jumping, so all 3 versions of Picard determine to make their way to that region.
In the future, a much older Picard is suffering from 'Irumodic Syndrome' which is similar to senility. He has to collect all his far-flung past crew for one last mission to the Devron system. In the past, Picard is startled to find himself with Tasha Yar in a shuttlecraft, on his way to boarding the Enterprise-D for the first time (from Picard's present-day perspective, Yar has been dead for about 6 years). This takes place just before the events of the pilot episode, Encounter at Farpoint. Though events are similar, Picard behaves strangely to the new crew and soon decides to proceed to the Devron system rather than Farpoint.
Some of the more interesting scenes take place in the future, where we find out what paths the crew members have taken. Data, for example, is a professor at Cambridge University, living in Isaac Newton's old house. Dr. Crusher is in command of her own medical ship the Pasteur. Riker is now a gruff admiral. Worf is now governor on some Klingon colony. Troi has apparently passed away some years ago, causing tension between Riker & Worf - a final follow-up to the possible romantic angle begun for Worf & Troi in the last season. The scenes in the past are also intriguing because it offers another final glimpse of the first season of TNG, when Yar was still operating as security chief. The one responsible for Picard's time tripping - no real surprise here - is Q, book-ending his role in the pilot episode. Q's intent, it seems, is to simply continue the trial which began in the pilot, but it soon becomes apparent that there are more cosmic and mind-bending lessons to be learned. There are similarities here to an old Dr. Who episode, especially the memorable scene where Q takes Picard to yet another time period - the very dim past - and shows him the spot where life first began on Earth. It's staggering to realize that, as Q puts it, a pond of goo begins the entire life cycle which will result in the galactic Terran civilization. It seems so fragile - run a hand through it and you may prevent a billion years of evolution and the births of billions of human beings. In the end, the test Picard must pass is in wrapping his mind around a time paradox - this represents an expanded line of thinking, according to Q. It's amusing when Q runs through a few examples of negative thinking in his view, such as Picard's preoccupation with Riker's career and Troi's emotional input - we remember these instances if we watched the older episodes.
As mentioned, you need to pay attention to fully appreciate this episode. The skipping around between 3 different time periods escalates as the episode progresses and it could be headache-inducing. It also includes a lot of the standard techno-babble (they just couldn't do without it) by Data & La Forge near the end to explain the Time Anomaly. We also have some space battles and spectacular explosions by the end, just to make sure the tale has everyone's attention. But, the most memorable scene may be the very last one, when Picard finally sits down to join the other officers for their weekly poker game. This scene has 7 years of history attached to it and ends things perfectly. You actually feel you didn't waste your time watching all the episodes for the previous 7 years. Engaging. BoG's Score: 8 out of 10
Extra Trek TNG Trivia: this episode won the Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation. The title is derived from the biblical inspired proverb "All good things must come to an end."
BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus
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