Mind Over Matter: Dream on Data

"Data...sometimes a cake is just a cake..." 

Season seven's Phantasms is among my favourite The Next Generation episodes ever. I spent a whole weekend in my teens transcribing the script from VHS volume 79 and typing it up. In some respects it makes Schisms look like a trip out to the seaside for utter weirdness yet it has me enthralled thanks to its unique plot and imagery. Then real shame is that the basis for the story is only explored in two episodes of The Next Generation and tragically never gets any more airtime due to the demise of Data in Nemesis. 

I guess it was one if those things that really would need it's own episode to talk about and I guess coming up with plots surrounding a dream programme aren't the easiest of things to come up with. This breakthrough in Data's programming was unleashed about half a season earlier in Birthright, Part I which I now think is a great little story. While the plot around the activation of the dream programme is only explored in the first part, it's one of the strongest indicators that Data is capable of becoming so much more and gets to keep an improvement for once rather than having it bestowed as a thank you or stolen from him. 

Now, Phantasms. I would absolutely love to wax lyrical over this one... Oh go on then, I will. Twenty years since it first aired (Really?! That long?) it's one of those classic The Next Generation moments for me. As an immediate successor to Birthright, Part I,  it does the story of Data's dreams the justice they were ill-afforded and ignored by the concluding part of the sixth season instalment. Brandon Braga is of course the man behind the script while Patrick Stewart held the directorial reins for the episode. This could easily have mutated into a schmaltzy "Data-learns" story as he comes to terms with his dreams and what they mean it goes as opposite in direction as possible. 

While saving the ship from some slug-like hitchhikers, we gain a troubling entrance into Data's psyche. Perhaps placing it against the recent emotions he experienced due to Lore in Decent would be as justified as relating it back to the more understandable visions that were realised in Birthright. There it was about Soong as creator, forging Data using his own hands and then letting him loose to explore and evolve. It was evidence that Data could make significant jumps in his understanding and abilities but there is a far more poignant moment in the sequel of Phantasms. When I rewatched it I still got the tingle of amazement that this line made it into the final version. When Data awakes from his second dream sequence he speaks to Geordi in engineering and starts to say that when he woke up he..... And never finishes the sentence. 

Is it that eventually the emotion chip he finally receives in Generations (and conveniently turned on and off for First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis) would not have been required? Was Soong's surprise in his appearance to Data in Birthright to do not only with the fact that his ultimate creation had managed to access such a deeply ingrained programme that he knew it could lead to self-development of emotions without external assistance? For me it's one of the most jaw-dropping cast off lines of the entire series, even more "argh" inducing than the Picard/Crusher romance that never quite happened. Had we explored the dreams of the android some more would this have been an eventual outcome?

The benefit of hindsight, hmm? I actually think we'd never get an answer to that unfinished question and it's important to remain on target here. Phantasms perhaps highlights how far Data has come since the beginning of The Next Generation while perhaps showing that he still has a great distance still to complete. His dreams bleed into reality and while it eventually becomes clear that there is a purpose to his "waking dream state" which reveals the existence of the creatures feeding on cellular peptides, it genuinely emotes some of the most chilling sensations I've ever felt within an episode of the series, specifically the sequence with Troi in the turbolift which was originally trimmed by the BBC when they first aired the episode. While Data is able to dream and thus be a step nearer to his goal of becoming human he still has the ability to turn it on and off at his will - there is still that last hurdle to overcome where it will "play" automatically rather than being instigated when desired. While the Troi incident is naturally chilling, the reminder of the dream sequence which repeats itself through the story is as bizarrely imagined as it is apparently logical by the tale's end and it would be more than criminal to avoid at least one reference to the "Troi Cake". All signs of consumption - and did you notice that the slice Worf is eating is cut into the Starfleet delta shape?

Anyway, let's look more like at what these stories say about Data. I actually think that the dream programme is far darker than we sense here. I I personally don't think Data really understands the power of the visions even when realises the significance of the visions at the conclusion of Phantasms which ultimately leads to the salvation of the Enterprise crew. In fact it could be seen that this addition is a weakness. I look at it this way, not only does he oversleep but there is the attack on Troi to consider. In Birthright, Data is wiling to effectively self harm to experience the programme again and becomes fanatic to the point of obsession with recreating images from the initial vision. While he might see it as some kind of Holmesian mystery to solve there is genuine danger to reach that goal and learn what it might all mean. It is perhaps more of a lost opportunity in Phantasms to push Data to yet another level that would be artificially provided in Generations. Maybe this belays that Data's personal evolution is not finite and that he simply does not understand how the dream programme could aid the ongoing development of his humanity even when there is moment that could define his future and is (almost) missed. 

While the choice of location for both of Data's dream experiences are firmly on the Enterprise (budget limitations i expect) is limited his dreams relate firmly to his past with fantastical embellishments - Riker's straw, Soong as a blacksmith. This latter vision has a thread carried into the sequel with the workmen i dressed in equally period garb. Interesting that such a futuristic being as Data would hark back to such an age - maybe hints of his preference for the odd Sherlock Holmes mystery coming through his android subconscious here! The very unsophisticated look of the workmen as well as Dr Freud's involvement perhaps are even further suggestions that Data's dreams and possibly his evolution are still in their infancy - he has yet to evolve to a more high-tech age and is still regarded by his now-deceased creator as a child in so many ways. 

While the workmen and Freud, like all the aspects of the dream are in some way symbolic, they are the most memorable aspects of the story. Where else would you find three manual labourers attempting to dismantle a plasma conduit in the office of a famed psychologist in the dream of an android lieutenant commander on a starship (souonds even more bizarre when you read it back). The addition of that emotion chip back in Brothers might have been a bit early given some of Data's nuances over the later seasons (particularly when fed emotions from that very chip in Descent).

Just to take a few moments to indulge in Phantasms it is more unusual when you look at the structure of the story. The Data plot is also aligned with a faulty warp core, the Annual Starfleet Admirals' Banquet and a love-struck young ensign in Engineering. It's packed to the saucer section with great moments which all intertwine into one strand at some point along the way whether we realised it or not. Data's dreams act as the core to the narrative with all these elements packed around it seemingly separate but yet all fundamental to the solution - even if that solution is keeping the captain busy for a few minutes elsewhere.

While the dream in Birthright is all about expression and growth, the second tale of Data's mental state is much darker and unnerving as a whole. Birthright is more open and inviting to Data, making him want to explore the possibilities buried within his cranium but that's totally flipped by the surrealism and haunting melodies that are played throughout Phantasms.  You're never quite sure what the visions mean right up to the close of either installment and it's the deciphering of the experience which helps us to not only, perhaps, get to grips with the story but also understand how Data deals with a new experience, function or program. How we would have seen this expanded further we will never know. Interestingly after Phantasms there is only one more throwaway reference to Data's dreams in a single line at the end of Masks near the middle of the season. 

Not only that, but while it's one of my favourite episodes I would really like to find out how the cellular peptide eating critters manifested themselves into Data's dreams in the first place. Maybe it was one of the great misfires of the latter years of The Next Generation alongside the cringe-worthy Force of Nature's warp five speed limit. I think an even more mind-bending third story would have been necessary to top these two pieces. Data as a bird and Troi as a cake? Surely Picard as the White Rabbit had to be the logical next step?

What's Today's Date? The Date?!

An odd question to ask unless you're stepping out of a turbolift in your pyjamas after discovering you're travelling back and forth through time.

That date was of course Stardate 47988 - but more significant is the fact that All Good Things..., the final installment of the triumphant return to TV of Star Trek was first aired today in 1994. For those of your about to do some quick maths - that's 20 years ago exactly.

While the US would get to see it in syndication over the next few days, we in the UK would have to wait until All Good Things... arrived on our shores through the medium of VHS. These were the days long before SKY would show new episodes the next (or same) day as the US. How did I survive?! 

I'd kept track of some of the plot points through TV Zone, Starlog and Starburst magazines and eagerly counted down the days until the release of volume 79. I was there as the shop door opened and happily parted with £10.99.

Even today I remember watching it for the first time, unwrapping the cellophane and pushing the cassette into the player. Sadly it was in two-part format which really angered UK fans - but I wasn't disappointed. For note they did release it on VHS as the movie with the Journey's End special a month or so later on a limited run at double the price (also had all the movie trailers as an extra feature). 

The season leading to this point had been mixed with Phantasms, Parallels, The Pegasus and Pre-Emptive Strike the stand out shows but there had also been a lot of average and below par stories such as Sub Rosa, Attached and Force of Nature. Maybe the time had come to call it a day after all. Dad and I settled in for 90 minutes. All went quiet. Press play.

All Good Things... also started the trend for bringing the series' full circle as both Deep Space Nine and Voyager repeated with What You Leave Behind and Endgame. Here in this story it was the end of a very special era - the show that had successfully, gloriously returned Star Trek to the small screen was coming to an end and their adventures would soon be moving to the cinema in Generations. No more would the Enterprise-D cross the TV and we'd be able to see that little man walk across the observation lounge, waiting to see just what the next hour would bring.

The long-forgotten Trial of Humanity came back to haunt Picard as did Q - although his portrayal by De Launcie was miles away from his appearance in Encounter at Farpoint. This was a Q who's own journey through the show had finally revealed a little bit of his humanity at the least. Honestly though it's all the future stuff that sticks in my mind; bearded Picard, VISOR-less Geordi, old and bitter Riker, that super-Enterprise-D, the Klingon ships and the homage to The Original Series design in the shape of the USS Pasteur. The past was equally as brilliant taking us back before the mission to Farpoint and bringing Tasha Yar back to the bridge and back from the dead. Again.

It's also odd to think that both O'Brien and Worf made their first appearance in The Next Generation's pilot - two of the characters who would ultimately have the most screen time ever and were never intended as little more than background talking extras. Having O'Brien back for this was a nice bonus and he did get a lot more to do this time!

This was a feel good finale, a nod to the fans, giving them some nice little treats of a potential future as well as placing existence in the greatest danger ever. It had everything from the off. Let's face it, letting Brannon Braga and Ronald D Moore loose on the script it was never going to be easy to get your head round and there was almost a concrete guarantee that time travel would be involved in some manner. It's one of Q's finest moments before he was mistreated by Voyager. The changes in him were evident. Whereas he would have easily erased the crew and humanity from existence if he was the same person we saw back in Encounter at Farpoint he's giving Picard a chance to prove there is some hope for his people. 

Patrick Stewart is in every single scene here and manages the episode magnificently. He is as much a lynchpin to the events as the anti-time rift and Picard is never more in control here. Seeing the crew question him in the past is a masterstroke and reiterates how far the show and the crew have come since that first mission - just how much trust he has in them in every respect. It's a great speech that kicks off that final segment.

It's worth watching back to spot the odd reference here and there which you might miss - Earl Grey not programmed or Geordi married to Leah Brahms perhaps - every level of fandom is catered for here. It just works on all levels and actually, you don't care if the science is a bit hokum because it's purely about entertainment and throwing everything in to make this worthy of the show itself. The cast ensemble works a treat with everyone getting to shine for a moment at least - perhaps moreso in the future where time has been less than kind to some.

The mix of family, action and reflection make it the strongest of the series finales from any generation hands down. I watched it the first time with my dad and it just blew us both away becoming an instant favourite of ours. Shame we had to wait a while to see all the extra bits they sliced out to make it into a less satisfying two part story. But in the big picture it didn't matter on that first viewing. This was a massive send off for the show and we loved every second of it. No other finale can match that closing scene - the poker game led by Picard for the first and only time. It was truly over; there would be no more new TV episodes of The Next Generation - it was all going to be in Deep Space Nine's court and this new show that was coming a few months later called Voyager. On a side note today also marks the anniversary of the first airing of that show's last episode in 2001. We'll hold off until 2016 to mark that one out I think.

The Next Generation had been a bigger success than anyone had expected,  spawned two other series,  would lead to another beyond that and another four motion pictures. The Next Generation had created a resurgence in Star Trek that would have been unimaginable in the 1970s. Odd in a way when this series probably owed more to The Motion Picture,  not a fan favourite, than II, III or IV.  What of this episode's legacy? Well from my perspective it represents a pinnacle of storytelling, possibly Moore and Braga at their Star Trek best. Star Trek itself would have to survive in different forms, no longer reliant on the voyages of a starship named Enterprise - but for me this was the golden age of the franchise - there was a ton of TV, new books, games, a movie...it was all happening right about the time of All Good Things...

So what were my favourite bits here? For one you have to say the decloaking of the USS Enterprise-D refit as it obliterates two Klingon warships is just 200% pure enjoyment. The scene between Old Picard and Old Q is also a gem of a moment. Although not essential for the plot it's a little lighter point and also one of the segments clipped to fit it into a two part format. Getting to see Worf back in command red (little did we know) and the original one-piece uniforms brought back some memories. I think having watched this I then chose to skip back and watch the pilot and after the continuous build in quality over seven years it was one heck of a shock if only for Sirtis' over-emotional Troi.

Here's to the anniversary, the landmark that was the first planned series finale of Star Trek. The first of three bookended by two shows that were cut short before their time. Congratulations to The Next Generation - 20 years on and it's still just as good as the first time. Just as the Enterprise continues to fly on as the credits fade up, so would Star Trek.

"Goodbye, Jean-Luc. I'll miss you. You did have so much potential. But alas... all good things must come to an end." - Q

Relatively Speaking: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Seven

The final year of The Next Generation never managed to fully recapture the magnificence of the third and fourth seasons but that's not to say it didn't have some outstanding episodes to boot.

Season seven often gets labelled as being too "family" orientated and we're not talking about a level of storytelling. Throughout these twenty-five stores there are a considerable number that feature some sort of family theme. Lore, Lwaxana Troi, Geordi's parents, Data's mother, Wesley Crusher, Alexander, Worf's stepbrother, Picard's "son" and Beverley's grandmother  all get crammed in - that's nine episodes out of the full season before anything else is considered.

Now these episodes from 1993 and 1994 are the ones I most fondly remember.They were the first episodes I bought on VHS and the year I truly got hooked into everything Star Trek on a big level. Watching them again in order made me recall just how enjoyable this season actually was. After grumbling about cosy family-related installments there's more to see. As usual the concluding part of the previous year's cliffhanger is lacking and the sons of Soong certainly don't get anywhere near even thinking about attempting to destroy the Federation  let alone actually doing it. Of all the conclusions, Descent, Part II is right up (or should that be down) there with the worst. At least Lore gets dismantled and we'll never have to worry about another Soong-type android again...oh...wait a minute....

Comparing against the sixth year of The Next Generation the first half of the year is a lot less "high concept" and more about rounding out a lot of characters and issues from the back catalogue. Geordi finally gets some kind of family (and a VISOR-free script for the most part) in Interface and Lwaxana drops in for her final Star Trek appearance ever in Dark Page however these are probably the lower keys moments of that segment. What I always think of when recalling early season seven is either Gambit or Phantasms. They are more unusual and the former should clearly have been a season cliffhanger what with Picard being dead for most of the first part. But once these gems are through and we've had our cellular peptide cake and eaten it, the year takes a deathly plunge almost right until the bitter end of the season. Why? Well, apart from the magnificent Parallels and plot-hole explaining The Pegasus it's all very...average. There's more Soong androidery going on, a pointless warp drive speed limit which is forgotten or sidestepped almost as fast as it's implemented and even more family meddling. Season five I noted heads for soap opera territory with its angst and issues but season seven almost tends to play it safe with a few absolute curve balls thrown - nay lobbed - in for a reminder of greater days.

Let's not forget too that we get the closest we've ever got to the Beverly and Jean-Luc relationship that's been hanging in the air all the way back to Encounter at Farpoint and The Naked Now. Notably while it's an enforced relationship and builds on their frequently seen breakfasts or lunches together off duty, it would be something that the finale would touch on but sadly not in the most positive of lights after 25 years. In terms of Beverly this is her strongest moment of the season especially when you consider that her other starring role comes in the dreary Sub Rosa which frequents many a "worst of..." list. As you can tell the concept of tying up loose ends and stories and relationships was clearly stamped even at this stage in proceedings.

Parallels was an instant classic which hinted at might have been's, should have been's and could be's. It's doubtless one of The Next Generation's later strokes of genius and hey, we'd never get to see Worf in command red again...oh...wait a minute.... Like the imperfect future in Future Imperfect, this episode is all about the background details, the subtle changes and the Borg-universe Riker's blatantly fake spy beard. The Troi/Worf relationship was a great idea here but should have remained securely in a parallel universe. Luckily tactical officer Crusher does but we have a great time seeing all the permutations that might have existed in the show if things were a shade different. My favourite blink-and-miss is that one of the Data's has blue eyes instead of his usual yellow. See if you can spot it. 

The next episode, The Pegasus is an all-time favourite. Secret agendas, Romulans, starships buried in asteroids and the highlight of Captain Picard Day are complimented with the addition of guest star Terry O'Quinn as Admiral Pressman. Another one of those characters I'd loved to have seen again. This has to be one of Riker's greatest moments alongside Frame of Mind and Second Chances. The interplay between Frakes and O'Quinn is priceless and seeing Riker torn between two commanders who have played significant roles in his career turns up the stakes. The whole package here is one of the best of the season and would put The Pegasus in my top ten of all time. Seeing the Oberth-class ship buried in the asteroid is one of those images that sticks in your head for a long time.

The shame of these two stories is their proximity to Homeward and Sub Rosa. Neither set my DVD player alight with wonder and they fall heavily into the mediocrity category. At this point it's almost as if you can feel the cast counting the days until the show shuts down and principal photography begins on Star Trek: Generations. The zest and intrigue that existed even at the beginning of the year certainly feels like it falters here as a sub-par ghost story mars the flow and swallows up a rare opportunity for Beverly to shine. Luckily there is light at the end of the tunnel though as Lower Decks gives something very different. While Voyager  attempted to copy the formula in its Learning Curve it never managed to hit the emotional resonance of this story. 

Focused on five lesser characters within the crew it adds a different perspective to the ship, allowing us uniquely to see how "the other half lives" as well as how they in turn view the senior staff that we as viewers have come to appreciate over the course of the show. Resplendent with alternative, younger versions of some of the main cast and even including a poker game which shadows that of their superiors just a few decks away, it's one of the season's true high points. In a way this works perfectly because it's set in that last year of The Next Generation and I think we come to understand how unintentionally biased our viewpoint of the Enterprise and Starfleet might have become due to the eyes we have viewed the Star Trek  universe through. This was for me the first hint that not everything was as rosy as it was intended to be even within the fleet, especially given the path that the story ultimately takes. Originally not an episode I was a fan of but one that I would now rate a lot more highly just because of the impact and realism of military operations that it successfully portrays. JJ Abrams doesn't get within a light year of this quality.

The next few episodes are a real pick and mix of concepts though which adds to the uneven nature of the year. Remaining episodic rather than arc based as its siblings would evolve to become, The Next Generation tended to have points where it "went off on one" and I wonder if someone in the production office just thought "What The Hell" about episode 16. Data's memory loss is bizarre in Thine Own Self but does include one of my favourite makeup jobs of the whole run when the android gets a section of his skin cut away from his face. As with a few others in this season this is one of those that has aged very well and was a pleasant diversion the second time around. The trouble is these sparks of genius are permeated with some real draggers. Masks never rang true for me then and nor does it today. I actually found Spiner a bit nauseating in his portrayal of the alien characters and some of them verged on unintentionally comedic. Sorry Brent, probably one worth missing off the CV.

Eye of the Beholder is another mind-bender with a great look into the warp engines which makes up for the average plot as does the way in which it attempts to give us some history to the Enterprise before she left spacedock. Not being very old by the time we saw her in Encounter at Farpoint it doesn't leave a lot to go on but here there is at least an attempt made even if it's down to a few boxes and some discarded work tools. It's actually Troi's last time to shine in the centre of the spotlight but again, it's very tepid in its delivery. Murder, murder hunt, surreal solution, case closed. Also, is there something wrong with Deanna's face here? It looks like she's had some work done between Masks and this story. Of course that could be my imagination.

Surreal certainly applies when we reach Genesis and while I have some fond memories of watching this one the first time around it hasn't aged particularly well. It's total hokum and you kind of feel sorry for Gates McFadden who had to direct this segment. Genesis does off a rare "wow" moment when Barclay slams up against the Engineering glass as he mutates into a spider and Worf as an armoured Klingon love machine is something to behold if nothing else. Now certainly this signposts that the final season is nothing if not unusual and there are more twists and turns than you might expect. There is, saying that, an evenness through the season. There's no initial batch of stunning ideas and right-on-the-edge stories before a massive drop off that happened with the sixth season and there seem to be a lot more episodes played for fun and entertainment. With the series coming to a close it's a lot more risky in the writing with more "off the wall" than playing safe. After all, it wasn't as if a drop in ratings would kill it.

One thing that is evident towards the back end of the year is the push towards Deep Space Nine through both Journey's End and Preemptive Strike. Originally aired in the US around the same time as The Maquis two-parter, it did help reinforce the links between the two shows and added something to the backstory of not only that show but also the upcoming Voyager which would use the Federation terrorists as a major part of its setup from day one. While I enjoyed both second time around it does feel they are here just to promote the goings on elsewhere in the franchise. Both Ro and Wesley effectively are written out in these two stories although neither with any dramatic certainty. I find them both compelling episodes which (while promotional) do illustrate that events are all interlinked across the Star Trek universe.  In Ro's case it's only when she reappears that you realise she's been absent from the series since Rascals in season six and in the case of Guinan we won't see her at all this season; something you only click to when she turns up in Star Trek: Generations. Focusing on Native Americans is a good move in Journey's End as it does slap you round the face and remind you of similar incidents in our own Earth-bound past where peoples have been "relocated" due to border disagreements and the bloodshed that has so oft caused. You can understand the flashpoint of the Maquis here and it's interesting that their creation should be grounded firmly within The Next Generation when others would manage the next chapters so deftly especially in a couple of later Deep Space Nine episodes namely For the Cause, For the Uniform and Blaze of Glory. Let's also not forget that the Maquis were aboard Voyager but their weight and prominence fizzled very, very quickly after Caretaker with only Worst Case Scenario truly delivering a "maybe" storyline of what the show could have been had it spurned the disciplines of Starfleet.

It's an odd thing when you can reflect on a season in pairings and I can easily do that with these 25. The good episodes here are overshadowed by a mass of the average and poor sadly which is never how we would have hoped the swansong of The Next Generation would have gone considering its back catalogue. How many of these would have made it into the Top 25 featured in Starlog would be minimal with only a handful if that standing any chance of making the grade. Case in point being Firstborn which is abruptly followed by Bloodlines, both of which I still find instantly forgettable season fillers.  Alexander (again absent since Rascals) taking centre stage just doesn't interest me and nor does Picard's "son" linked in with some plot harking back to The Battle and DaiMon Bok. These two do make you think how much time has been given up to rounding off storylines and making sure everyone gets some kind of screen-time no matter who they are. While this is great for a sense of completion and going full circle it doesn't make for good storytelling. Leave all that rounding off and time travel jinx for the finale thank you very much.

Talking of rounding off, what would The Next Generation  be without at least one final holodeck-based story. Why this device hasn't been condemned due to a slightly concerning safety record is always a good Star Trek debate but in Emergence its a help not a hinderance - and just in keeping with the theme of the season, it's totally bizarre mixing several programmes into one and ending with the ship giving birth. At least you can't say the final season was in any way predictable. It's actually quite a fun little outing with some great quirks - the gangster and his brick for one; the Orient Express in Data's The Tempest, Worf firing up the engine and the odd assortment of a gunslinger, a knight and a farmer all together in one carriage. That ticket collector wasn't taking any nonsense either.

Looking at characters as we briefly did earlier, it is a year of returns and farewells. One person who does step back aboard the Enterprise on more than one occasion and would also graduate onto Deep Space Nine was Admiral Necheyev played by Natalia Nogulich. First appearing in Chain of Command, Part I back in season six her next appearance rounded off the year in Descent. Season seven would see her return twice and as with her scenes in Deep Space Nine they were linked in to the Maquis threat as she turned up in Journey's End and Preemptive Strike. What put me off a little bit was how she'd chewed out Picard back in Descent for allowing Hugh to go free and the captain had taken serious offence because he had believed his actions were right. When Necheyev arrives in Journey's End she's presented with canapes by Picard which just seems like he's sucking up to the teacher. Not Jean-Luc's greatest moment! I have to say though that Necheyev is a great character and her repeated appearances here do give the franchise and the Star Trek universe at this time a nice touch of continuity that this admiral seems to have been tasked with dealing with the Federation terrorists. Once she'd turned up in The Maquis, Necheyev would make one more "appearance" in The Search, Part II. A great addition to the guest cast and not an admiral to take any rubbish even from the captain of the flagship.

Now, I think that's everything covered isn't it? Oh yes...All Good Things... - nearly forgot(!)

What more could you ask for from a finale? Double-length, time travelling, Q, new ship designs, more playing around with the timeline, the end of humanity - it has it all really and it seems like everyone has a damn good time while they are doing it. You can kind of forgive some of the more lame episodes from the final year because it feels that every last iota of energy and storytelling genius was rammed into this segment to make it as good as it is. The Next Generation will always be the series that revived Star Trek's fortunes on TV and while there were some less than successful moments on the whole the quality was there more often than not. The final year is very much about saying goodbye and making sure all the loose ends and questions are answered while also tempting viewers with storylines that would be carried into the continuing Deep Space Nine and soon to launch Voyager.  All Good Things... is the culmination of that, a tour de force of cast and behind the scenes crew in every sense.

I have a soft spot for this final year of The Next Generation because of it being the one that I bought most of my videos from when they first came out - I had some cash, I was working part time and I'd truly discovered Star Trek. It's not my favourite year - that honour goes to season four on re-viewing reflection but it's a mark better than the fifth, first and second. It's odd to think that when I turned the DVD player off after All Good Things... it will be a while before I do a full end-to-end in-order watch again. Next up on the marathon are Generations, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis before we run into the seven years of the superlative Deep Space Nine. Warning, there's some highs and lows of extremely un-Vulcan-like emotion to come, but it'll be worth every second.

178 and Out: Saying Goodbye to The Next Generation

Seven seasons and 176 episodes of exploration, incident with the Borg, alien conspiracies, Romulan revelations, civil wars, comedic sidesteps and an occasional misfire later and there is only one thing left - All Good Things... 

One of the finest stories produced and without question the best of the series finales from any generation, All Good Things... is often cited as bringing us full circle, rounding off the series by returning to the beginning as well as showing how the characters might evolve in a possible future. But what does this episode tell us about the journey that we started back in Encounter at Farpoint? What ultimately do we realise about this show? 

The one thing that usually sticks in your mind is that final scene; Picard joins the senior staff poker game after seven years. It's the family feeling in a sense. For so long these characters have lived and occasionally died on our screens together. We have watched them develop and grow not only as single people but as a group, a crew - a family that watches out for each other. Picard realises there what he has missed and how these people have been an intricate part of his life for such a long time. You suspect this was the same for the actors when they filmed this which was, also, the final scene shot of the show. Indeed, the Picard story that pervades the whole 88 minutes of the feature length conclusion strongly emphasises this in whatever time line you choose. In the present his orders and situation are unchallenged. There is no doubt that what he is describing is happening and the crew are behind his resulting actions 100%. No-one questions that they are in danger, especially when Q is revealed to be involved at the halfway point.

In the past timeline, these focal relationships have yet to be forged and we can see the hesitancy, the uncertainty of what is being asked by their captain from the second he steps off the shuttlecraft and launches the Enterprise into a red alert due to his visions. Here his explanation, which he cannot give, is necessary to settle their doubts when going against Starfleet orders or calling out for Q to reveal himself for the first time. The final speech that Picard gives as they are about to take the new flagship into the anomaly is one of the best of the series. It is the realisation of the whole series as he knows what they can and will become as the mission continues. In fact the key to the enjoyment of the scenes in the past is very much around the "insight" we have into these characters futures and their development especially the more simplistic Data. 

The future is a reflection on the relationships of 25 years past. They have developed but not in the best of ways in all cases. It shows that these familiar characters are indeed flawed in ways that we may never have imagined, particularly where Worf and Riker are concerned following Troi's off-screen death. While this was a recent addition to the series (only rising from the page in Parallels) it plays a major part here especially in the future storyline. Also the cute touch with Data worth noting is his throwaway line that his housekeeper makes him laugh. Emotions have finally become a piece of his personality as are contractions.

In regards to Picard however their belief in him is perhaps more motivated by sympathy than anything else. They follow his requests but do it to humour initially rather than because it is of vital importance and crucial to the existence of humanity. The future is almost a Scrooge-like vision where nothing has worked out for the best and several of the crew have taken knocks through their lives. What remains throughout is that dedication to a solution. No matter the experience of the crews from the three timelines, they all seek a solution and without fully being aware, work together to collapse the anomaly. While the future isn't as dark as one of the lighter moments of Deep Space Nine, it's not the perfect, conflict-free world that Roddenberry envisaged. The Klingons have conquered the Romulans, not everyone gets on, the Picard's have divorced, Jean-Luc has a serious mental illness; it all seems like it's been for nothing and the utopia is not everlasting - and add a third nacelle onto that for good measure. Yes, it's all done for "fun" because this is a timeline that won't occur (also see Star Trek: Generations) and that's made perfectly clear in the final scene. 

The family that was created back in Encounter at Farpoint is ultimately more than one time period could handle and one that will endure for a long time to come no matter where they end up in the big scheme of things. Their link back to this period on the Enterprise is key to who these people are, were and will become. Perhaps in a way the finale is reminding us that while The Next Generation would cease to make any new TV episodes it too, like its characters would continue whether it would be in reruns, comics, novels or the four movies that would follow. It is a legacy that has prospered more inspite of Insurrection and Nemesis rather than because of them. Ironic that the more popular series of the two that became movies was not as successful on the big screen as The Original Series.

But while this is the key to the whole, what else do we see in All Good Things... that ensure its a fitting conclusion? What brings the show back to its origins and also shows how far it's come? 

Onscreen the acting has come on in leaps and bounds. Time has been kind to Troi for one. In Encounter at Farpoint, Sirtis was almost unwatchable and over time she certainly got a lot better as the writers understood the character and established stricter guidelines especially around those Betazoid telepathic abilities. Sadly on the rewatch though I felt my original and younger eyes were probably a little over-kind as Sirtis only occasionally shone and often took a secluded background role. At least All Good Things... made us realise that her attire had been seriously upgraded over the seven seasons from the skant uniform that is pulled from the wardrobe here. Lucky for Troi they didn't choose to put this past installment within the first season or there would have been a serious clothing disaster. The acting advances are certainly the most notable with everyone a lot more relaxed after growing within these roles. Picard is a lot less shouty and maybe a trick was missed in the past scenes to let him revert to that characterisation. 

Makeup-wise though I'm glad we get to see how the pilot might have looked with seven years more experience. Worf for one is a serious difference. While the gold sash returns we don't get his original Klingon look. The beard is a little less full, the hair trimmed, the moustache a little shorter and the skin tone lighter. The forehead is distinctly refined and the character much more than a growling background crewman that he was at the beginning. Hard to comprehend that eventually Worf would rack up more hours on Star Trek than anyone else. Second place on that list goes to Chief O'Brien who also appeared in Encounter at Farpoint but listed as "Conn" rather than the character we would come to know over time and Deep Space Nine. 

Now the character of Q is central to the episode but it depends which version you watch as to how you view his return for the finale. If you watch the two part edition (which was the first one released in the UK), then you get the feeling that Q is meddling in the timestream and playing Picard along at some sort of game to find out what is happening but in the feature length version it becomes clearer that the omnipotent being is actually helping the Enterprise captain to work out the puzzle without letting the Continuum know. It's impressive that a series of such small cuts to the final version could change the perception of one character so dramatically. Q in that two part snip is much closer to the meddling, arrogant individual that we saw back in Encounter at Farpoint with his more playful elements swept aside. Yet he still has some love for humanity as shown through his assistance in Picard's temporal shifting to realise the paradox. This only really shines in the full version which restores not only the correct portrayal of Q but also some clips which just help flesh out the story - Geordi is married to Leah (Brahms) and has three kids; Picard chastises Worf about honour to get passage into Klingon space and in the past Troi reveals that she and Riker had a past relationship. The editing of the show makes  such a difference to the story and our viewpoint of Q. Indeed the full version rounds off the character nicely while the cut version just makes it look like he's been reset to 1987.

While All Good Things... tracks back to the trial that kicked off the series it also shows that Q has become a splintered limb of The Next Generation family and wants them to succeed and not be erased from history even though the Continuum have decided otherwise. His transfer across to Voyager seemed to have worked a treat in Death Wish but after that the stories didn't do De Launcie credit. Over the course of the series Q has helped, hindered and played with the crew but always with their "best interests" at heart. While it is Picard who is moving through the three time periods Q is ultimately the one who controls whether they win or lose. In reality is it Q deciding the fate of humanity rather than Picard?

There's only so much however that you can show has developed and really you would have to sit and analyse the pilot and the finale beside each other. Yes, the acting is a light year better in all respects, Riker is a little greyer and more beardy; Data less wooden and Troi a lot less emotional, but there's more as well. Notably Picard doesn't insist on communicating to all decks via print out as he does in Encounter at Farpoint when being chased by the Q barrier. Respectfully some of the set changes that have occurred over the years are reflected as well although because (I believe) the chair went walkies, we don't get to see Picard's flip-arm captain's seat back in action. The observation lounge does get it's wall of Enterprise's back for a guest appearance as are the original style bridge wall panels back in place for the past timeline. In its way, the finale is both a warm hug of nostalgia just as much as it is a grandiose finale to wrap up Star Trek's successful sequel series.

Now I'm not super-picky but there are a couple of things that do bug me about All Good Things... timelines - Data's rank pips for one are incorrect in the past and how come there are three inverse tachyon pulses apparently emanating from the Enterprise's when one of them was fired by the Pasteur? Why can't they see the anomaly when they arrive in the future if it's travelling back through time? It would just be really really small - or would it paradoxically not appear still or...Brannon Braga has a lot to answer for..as does whoever chose the cuts to get it into two parts. Nevertheless it's a top slice of The Next Generation from start to finish and it not only covers the theme of family, the passage of time but also that things aren't constant. Times change, things won't be the same for both the cast and the audience watching. This stage of the voyage is complete.

So this also marks the last small screen meeting I'll be having with this crew for some time and it's crammed with great moments that turn a great finale into a classic. While the Enterprise conversion is questionable, it's good to see it's arrival and not on a "2D" plane as you would expect - space is after all three dimensional (see also Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan).  Picard ordering Earl grey on the replicator only to find that it's not programmed is also a great nod to one of the series' "trademarks" and character nuances - and if we're listing nods of the hat, how about the design of the Pasteur as a homage to the original design plans for the NCC-1701. Colm Meaney's return is a nice turn too and ensures that the character he played back in Encounter at Farpoint was O'Brien after all and not just an unnamed officer as he was back then. 

Anyway, while we get to comprehend how much these guys have been part of our lives for so long we realise how far they've come from that first season, from Patrick Stewart living out of a suitcase for six months, from Tasha getting splatted by Armus or how synthezised the music was back in the late 80's against the orchestral maneuvers of the later episodes. All Good Things... is a celebration of their achievements because there was no way they would make it to 80 episodes, or 100 - ever. It was doomed to fail because it couldn't be like the original and for that precise reason it probably succeeded. The background, morals and beliefs that dripped through every pore of The Original Series was there but updated and appropriate for the decade. The Next Generation allowed Star Trek to grow and by providing it with the opportunity to sign off in style (unless you were robbed with the two part version) as they deserved. It would be an achievement that none of the series to date would manage. No other show has hit 178 episodes (Deep Space Nine came close) or has such love from the whole of the Star Trek fanbase.

So thank you, Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's been a pleasure. For the first time ever I've managed to go through every episode in order from start to finish. Time to get the Deep Space Nine DVDs lined up for the next stage...