All Good Things...A good finale?
- Thread starter TheQman
- Start date
I think AGT perfectly encapsulated all that was good and awful about TNG. The good, obviously, was in the character moments, and there were lots of them. I especially enjoyed Brent Spiner's portrayal of Future Data. Why they didn't let him play Data that way post-Generations I'll never know.
Unfortunately, all that goodness was buried hip-deep in made-up technobabble crap. I'm not really bitter about this; as talented as Ron Moore and Brannon Braga are, in 1994 TNG was the only show they'd ever worked on, and this was the only way they knew how to tell stories.
Unfortunately, all that goodness was buried hip-deep in made-up technobabble crap. I'm not really bitter about this; as talented as Ron Moore and Brannon Braga are, in 1994 TNG was the only show they'd ever worked on, and this was the only way they knew how to tell stories.
Yeah, I think it's a very good finale. There are better ones out there (e.g. Babylon 5's Sleeping in Light), but All Good Things... was a fitting and entertaining end to the show and ushered TNG off the stage in a dignified fashion.
I did enjoy this episode, always did, but I think what strikes me, looking at this show all these years later, is that some of the "future" they set up still sorta kinda works in some fashion.
While the E-D was long destroyed - the "next episode" really if you want to count Generations as the next episode of TNG - like a series premiere or something - everything else COULD theoretically have happened. Although the Worf/Troi/Riker triangle is outdated now too, but I'm just saying SOME of the events. I mean Worf and Riker could have had a falling out if Deanna died. In the novels Picard and Crusher did get married and are expecting a kid - at this point you still really can go any direction with their marriage right? They could get divorced or something. Picard DID become an ambassador, as based on the ST:XI prequel comics. Data started dying his hair grey also stated in the novels. The more "human" Data works too since he's in B4's body and probably has had ample time to "upgrade" the old bod in that time. Geordi had the new eye implants in the future. Something that he didn't really actually GET until First Contact - so that foresaw something we didn't see on screen for at least a few years at that point, right? Worf becoming a member of the High Council and a Governor - could still happen. I mean he's back with Starfleet at this point, but that can change at anytime. With Romulus being destroyed its forseeable that the Klingons can and possibly would take over what's left the Romulan Empire, with no Romulus around, it stands to reason that the Klingon Empire would step in to fill that void. They never said that there was a Romulus in AGT.
So really, its actually sort of held up pretty well really. A few minor things here and there, but after all it was a sort of "possible" future. You could even say it was Q created.
While the E-D was long destroyed - the "next episode" really if you want to count Generations as the next episode of TNG - like a series premiere or something - everything else COULD theoretically have happened. Although the Worf/Troi/Riker triangle is outdated now too, but I'm just saying SOME of the events. I mean Worf and Riker could have had a falling out if Deanna died. In the novels Picard and Crusher did get married and are expecting a kid - at this point you still really can go any direction with their marriage right? They could get divorced or something. Picard DID become an ambassador, as based on the ST:XI prequel comics. Data started dying his hair grey also stated in the novels. The more "human" Data works too since he's in B4's body and probably has had ample time to "upgrade" the old bod in that time. Geordi had the new eye implants in the future. Something that he didn't really actually GET until First Contact - so that foresaw something we didn't see on screen for at least a few years at that point, right? Worf becoming a member of the High Council and a Governor - could still happen. I mean he's back with Starfleet at this point, but that can change at anytime. With Romulus being destroyed its forseeable that the Klingons can and possibly would take over what's left the Romulan Empire, with no Romulus around, it stands to reason that the Klingon Empire would step in to fill that void. They never said that there was a Romulus in AGT.
So really, its actually sort of held up pretty well really. A few minor things here and there, but after all it was a sort of "possible" future. You could even say it was Q created.
Yeah. That's a good point about the anti-time future. Did Q create it? Can the Continuum create an entire possible timeline? It certainly isn't the future we saw (Ent D destroyed, Troi not dead, Worf ends up with Jadzia, etc)
On the Generations commentary, Braga joked that as he and Moore were working on the scripts for both Generations and "All Good Things," Braga came to a disturbing realization: "Oh, my God... 'All Good Things' is better." Moore echoed the sentiment.
Out of all of the finales...I think I rather like this one the best. A neatly written bookend episode.
Q was great and the jumping too and from the past and present was a nice touch with nods to the shows beginning and where the crew might end up.
I enjoyed it myself.
Vons
Q was great and the jumping too and from the past and present was a nice touch with nods to the shows beginning and where the crew might end up.
I enjoyed it myself.
Vons
Code:
STAR TREK: "All Good Things... "- REV. 03/31/94 - ACT TEN 129A.
138 CONTINUED: (2)
The door CHIMES.
RIKER
Come in.
Troi ENTERS.
TROI
Am I too late?
RIKER
Not at all. Have a seat.
Troi sits, and Riker begins giving her chips.
TROI
What's the game?
DATA
Five card draw, deuces wild.
The door CHIMES.
RIKER
Come.
The doors open and Picard ENTERS. Everyone reacts in
surprise, sits up at attention.
STAR TREK: "All Good Things... " - REV. 3/11/94 - ACT TEN 130-130A
138 CONTINUED: (2)
RIKER
(continuing)
Captain. Is there a problem?
PICARD
No. I just thought I might...
join you this evening. If there's
room...
Surprised but pleased looks go around the table.
RIKER
Of course.
Picard takes a seat at the table. Data gives him the
deck of cards.
DATA
Would you care to deal?
STAR TREK: "All Good Things... "- REV. 03/31/94 - ACT TEN 131.
138 CONTINUED: (4)
PICARD
Oh... thank you.
Picard starts to shuffle the cards.
PICARD
(continuing)
I should have done this a long
time ago. I was quite a card
player in my youth, you know.
TROI
You were always welcome.
Picard nods. His experience has left him with a new
appreciation of his feelings for these people... his
crew... his family...
PICARD
So. Five card stud, nothing wild.
The sky's the limit.
As Picard continues dealing, we PULL BACK for one final
look at this family of characters...
CUT TO:
139 EXT. SPACE - THE ENTERPRISE - PRESENT (OPTICAL)
The great ship moving off into the distance...
FADE OUT.
END OF ACT TEN
END OF EPISODE
END OF SEASON
END OF SHOWA very simple scene. And very effective. Best ending of all the Trek shows IMHO.
All Good Things is so good, it should have been the first TNG movie. There you get to see how it all started, where they are now and how a possible future might look like. Q is at his best in this episode.
That would have been an excellent introduction for the big screen.
What I like especially about All Good Things how it uses all the missed opportunities from the pilot. You get to see how Picard boards the ship for the first time, gets to know the crew. In Encounter at Farpoint, they skipped that part, which is - in my opinion - why the pilot pretty much sucks.
It also wouldn't have hurt to show Picard and Co play Poker at the beginning of Generations, instead of the silly costume show on the Holodeck.
That would have been an excellent introduction for the big screen.
What I like especially about All Good Things how it uses all the missed opportunities from the pilot. You get to see how Picard boards the ship for the first time, gets to know the crew. In Encounter at Farpoint, they skipped that part, which is - in my opinion - why the pilot pretty much sucks.
It also wouldn't have hurt to show Picard and Co play Poker at the beginning of Generations, instead of the silly costume show on the Holodeck.
It was a great finale - the best one in Trek, and I say that despite my great love for DS9. (I loved TOS, too, but it didn't really have a "finale" - just a last episode - and I liked VOY a lot but its finale was wretched.) In fact, it's one of the great TV finales, IMO. It wrapped everything up beautifully, but set the stage for more adventures at the same time. It was near perfection.
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I agree that it is Trek's best finale. Nough said.
A great Finale to be sure, but depressing in that you know after this, it's all over. No more TNG, just memories. Almost like watching a really good friend walk in front of a moving car, and there's nothing you can do about it.
"All Good Things..." is most definitely, hands down the best of the finales. I am a fan of TOS, DS9, and Voyager all, but none of them had a finale that can come anywhere close to AGT, IMHO.
While at the time I was excited at the idea of a TOS/TNG crossover in the first movie, in retrospect I believe they should have skipped the "passing the torch" movie and just done a damn good TNG story like "All Good Things..." The TOS crew had been given their moving farewell in TUC, and we'd had enough guest appearances on TNG for the torch to have been passed. They should have just let TNG stand on its own, and I think we'd have ended up with something far more satisfying.
While at the time I was excited at the idea of a TOS/TNG crossover in the first movie, in retrospect I believe they should have skipped the "passing the torch" movie and just done a damn good TNG story like "All Good Things..." The TOS crew had been given their moving farewell in TUC, and we'd had enough guest appearances on TNG for the torch to have been passed. They should have just let TNG stand on its own, and I think we'd have ended up with something far more satisfying.
Withers
Captain
I wrestled around with which finale is actually my favorite (it was between All Good Things and What You Leave Behind). I'm a big fan of both of these series equally so, for me, the question of which one ended more perfectly came down to which left me with a better feeling.
It was All Good Things. I loved What You Leave Behind... but it ultimately made me kind of sad. The crew was breaking apart, Jake was being left without his father for, potentially, ever and all that jazz. It was a great finale and I love watching it but it was just so sad. All Good Things wasn't like that. You got the sense that (as obviously they did) this crew would stick together, that somewhere out there, they were still having grand adventures and all that rot. It exemplified how the Captain had come full circle by joining his crew playing poker, it was an excellent showing for Q (who would go on to lose much of that sinister nature), and an all around interesting story.
I would have liked that as the "ending" of their voyages rather than what we got in Nemesis which seemed...anti-climactic by comparison.
-Withers-
It was All Good Things. I loved What You Leave Behind... but it ultimately made me kind of sad. The crew was breaking apart, Jake was being left without his father for, potentially, ever and all that jazz. It was a great finale and I love watching it but it was just so sad. All Good Things wasn't like that. You got the sense that (as obviously they did) this crew would stick together, that somewhere out there, they were still having grand adventures and all that rot. It exemplified how the Captain had come full circle by joining his crew playing poker, it was an excellent showing for Q (who would go on to lose much of that sinister nature), and an all around interesting story.
I would have liked that as the "ending" of their voyages rather than what we got in Nemesis which seemed...anti-climactic by comparison.
-Withers-
Exactly: perfect ending, perfect bookend to the series. They even show that however the Troi/Worf romance plays out (or doesn't), Worf and Riker will remain friends. You can draw your own ending. Picard and Crusher could get together. Q's trial tghat began the series comes to a conclusion. Doesn't get any better....and....all the regulars have large roles (save Troi to a certain extent). In fact, even O'Brien had some nice, substantial stuff!
My daughter put it best this morning as we wrapped our re-watch of TNG with AGT: "Dad, they had the PERFECT ending to TNG with AGT! Why all the awful movies? They wrapped everything up! I loved it!"
I just liked how it wrapped everything up without actually ending anything. The only thing left unfinished in my opinion that still bothers me a little bit is what ever happened with the homing beacon sent from starfleet by the alien parasites that took over starfleet????????
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