Plot Synopsis: 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.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser begins with Work and Troi coming back from a date on the holodeck. Things are looking good for a kiss when Picard comes running down a corridor in his robe telling Troi he is moving back and forth through time. Plot A is about Picard and the time traveling, there is no plot B. Mid-sentence he is suddenly an old man in his family vineyard and getting visited by Geordi, who says it’s been 25 years since they were all on the Enterprise. They chat for a bit, Geordi confessing he’s visiting because he heard of the terminal Irumodic Syndrome Picard has. Some weird folks in shabby clothes show up, and then he is suddenly on a shuttle with none other than Natasha Yar, who is taking him to the Enterprise for the first time! Picard keeps shifting between the three time periods, and the only common thread is that something odd is happening in the Devron System. In the past and the present he’s in command of the Enterprise, but in the future he has to assemble his old crew, get a ship, and get out to the system even though everyone thinks he’s crazy. It’s not until the 39th minute that the architect of these events reveals himself: Q! Picard learns that the trial from Encounter at Farpoint never ended, and humanity is guilty. Not only that, Picard himself is the one who wipes out the human race. The plot from here on is well-paced, each scene leading to the next in a finely honed plot-driven episode that ends in a very, very satisfying send off for the crew of the next generation.
Favorite Scenes: You know, there are a few episodes where the entire thing is one favorite scene. This is one of them–it’s that good. Patrick puts in some great moments in the future with his performance. Watch at 33:10 and see him stick out his tongue like an old man! The midpoint courtroom scene with Q is a great one and worth watching. I’m going to include several of my favorite quotes from this episode. It might seem a bit lengthy, but if you’ve been with me over the past 175 episodes, I ask that you indulge me one last time:
(In Cambridge) Jessel: If you’re really his friend, you’ll get him to take that grey out of his hair. Looks like a bloody skunk!
Q: 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.
Picard: Guilty of what?
Q: Of being inferior… You obtuse piece of flotsam. You are to be denied existence. Humanity’s fate has been sealed. You will be destroyed.
Picard: Q, I do not believe that even you are capable of such an act.
Q: I? There you go again, always blaming me for everything. Well this time I’m not your enemy. I’m not the one that causes the annihilation of mankind. You are.
Worf *on viewscreen*: Dor Sho GHA! You have always used your knowledge of Klingon honour and tradition to get what you want from me.
Picard: Because it always works, Worf! Your problem is that you really do have a sense of honour and you really do care about trust and loyalty. Don’t blame me for knowing you so well.
Beverly: All right. Set course for the Devron system, warp thirteen.
O’Brien: We have to realign the entire power grid. We’ll all be burning the midnight oil on this one.
Data *walking by*: That would be inadvisable.
O’Brien: Excuse me?
Data: If you attempt to ignite a petroleum product on this ship at zero hundred hours, it will activate the fire suppression system, which would seal off this entire compartment.
O’Brien: That was just an expression.
Data: Expression of what?
Picard: I sincerely hope that this is the last time that I find myself here.
Q: You just don’t get it, do you, Jean-Luc? The trial never ends. We wanted to see if you had the ability to expand your mind and your horizons. And for one brief moment, you did.
Picard: When I realized the paradox.
Q: Exactly. For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you had never considered. That is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknowable possibilities of existence.
Picard: Q, what is it that you’re trying to tell me?
Q *nearly whispers in Picard’s ear*: You’ll find out.
Picard: So. Five card stud, nothing wild…and the sky’s the limit.
Use of Cast/Characters: It’s difficult to imagine an episode that uses each of the cast better than they are used here. Every one is a part of the plot, and each one contributes. In the “future” Picard is a retired ambassador, Geordi married Leah Brahms, has three kids and writes novels, Data is a professor at Cambridge University, Riker is an admiral and estranged from Worf, Beverly Crusher is a starfleet captain and Picard’s ex-wife, Worf is an emeritus member of the Klingon high council, and Deanna is dead. The crew have to work together and eventually coordinate their efforts across three different time periods, and in the end they do it. Because at this point, we can believe they are just that good. Picard is the focus point, and his “chicken and the egg” moment is what the Q continuum needs to somehow determine that humanity continues to be worth taking up space. John deLancie, Denise Crosby, Colm Meaney and Andreas Katsulas all guest star and do stellar jobs. Even Majel Barrett is present as the voice of the computer one final time.
Blu Ray Version: There are two different episode promos for this one, unique in the history of TNG. The character of Rice from the episode where the season one footage of Riker was used was digitally deleted in this version, which is good. The matte painting of Cambridge was retouched with a more natural sky and looks gorgeous. Supposedly there are deleted scenes somewhere, but I haven’t found them.
Nitpicks: Pause at 25:15. Notice the incorrect rank insignia on Data? In minute 52, I’ve always thought Andreas Katsulas was overplaying things a bit as Tomalak–he was on Babylon 5 at the time and playing a much different (and awesome) character and I think it rubbed off. Past-Data seems to imply that the anomaly was formed by the convergence of the tachyon pulses from the three Enterprises but in the future it’s the Pasteur, not the Enterprise that does it. Finally, why are the Romulans massing along the Neutral Zone? Is it because of the anomaly? I don’t think it was ever sufficiently explained.
Overall Impression: Jean-Luc Picard becomes unstuck in time and manages to save all of humanity, with a lot of help from his friends. This episode really has everything a fan could possibly want in a series finale. What more could anyone ask for? The entire cast is used very well, favorite characters return, there’s a great and compelling plot, memorable lines, explosions, a red shirt dies, it ticks every box. I simply cannot help but rate this episode 5 out of 5 stars. Oh, and if you’re feeling nostalgic like I do after this episode, try going back and rewatching Encounter at Farpoint. It will make you smile.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: Settle in, there is lots of stuff here. It was admiral Norah Satee that issues the order for Picard to initially take command of the Enterprise, whom we should remember from The Drumhead. Admiral Nakamura is command in the ‘present’–we saw him as far back as The Measure of a Man, as well as Phantasms. We revisit that O’Brien used to build model starships in bottles, which we originally learned back in Booby Trap.
Unsurprisingly this was not just the most watched episode of season seven, but of the entire series. Just as this episode deals with three time periods, this episode is the result of the coordination of three writers: Brannon Braga, Ron Moore, and Michael Piller. Each has an indispensable contribution, so…thank you gentlemen! Ron was interviewed with Brannon and he said, “You know we spend a year of our lives working on the first movie, Generations, and about two weeks working on the finale (of TNG) and I don’t think there’s any question in my mind which one turned out better.” Braga agreed. He went on to say that this was his favorite episode of the series.
FYI, Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes are the only two actors to appear in every single episode of the series. The bridge of the Pasteur is actually a redress of the mere ship’s bridge from the Gambit two-parter. Want to know what footage of season one Riker was used from the earliest time period? It was from The Arsenal of Freedom. This episode was adapted into a comic book and a novel! This episode won a Hugo award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and it was nominated of four Emmys. Entertainment Weekly named this #5 in the top ten episodes of the series and the Star Trek 101 book named All Good Things as one of the ten essential episodes from TNG.
Denise Crosby has said that when she was asked to come back and play Tasha for the episode, she readily agreed and didn’t even prepare, because “I knew how to play Tasha.” Then she says she has the scene with Patrick in the shuttle craft and realized she had no idea how to play her! She felt completely lost, and had to work hard to get feeling like Tasha Yar again. Dorn tells how for that final shot he was telling himself this would be no big deal, they would start shooting the movie right after, etc. However after the shot of them sitting around the poker table, they all spontaneously held hands and right after the director said cut the wardrobe person came up and took off his baldric–Dorn lost it. He said he’s never cried as hard as he did right then. After filming on this episode wrapped, the cast got a grand total of 2-3 days off before they started shooting Generations. Marina said it didn’t hit her until Generations finished filming, but the last day of shooting the movie she couldn’t leave the stage, she just stayed there until the crew finally kicked her out when they turned off all the lights. That final line, “the sky is the limit” was written by Brent Spiner. When it comes to Star Trek, even the sky is no limit.
Kevin Feige, the guy essentially in charge of Avengers: Endgame said his inspiration for the plot was All Good Things. Endgame was set several years later, spanned several different time frames, that it ignored causality, etc. That’s where he said he got the idea! So even decades later TNG is still influencing all of Hollywood.
Missable/Unmissable? Utterly unmissable! To all who have read my reviews over the past 10 years(!), thank you. This has truly been a labor of love. I’ve loved it, and like any woman who has been in labor, I’m very glad it’s over. Picard out.
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