My multi-year quest has ended. Last night, I watched the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was a two-part episode titled "All Good Things...". I'd never seen it before, nor heard anything about it. But it was remarkably good and very dramatic. It wasn't just a great end to the series, it was one of the best episodes of the entire series. I'm amazed they were able to pull that off. I was a little sad when the episode started, knowing that this was it. No more adventures with Captain Picard and the crew, once it was over.
I've seen several TV shows where the final episode turns into a retrospective, with clips from past episodes. Thankfully, they didn't do that. There was a bit of looking to the past, but there was also a lot of looking forward, where we see one possible future of what happens to the characters. I thought that was a bold move by the writers, and I loved it. One of the highlights for me was seeing Data 25 years in the future. We're shown Data's house, and we see that he owns dozens of cats, who are seemingly draped everywhere. It was a subtle and fun joke.
Several months ago Wendy read an article that mentioned what the final line in this episode was. I asked her not to tell me; I didn't want to be spoiled. I had a few guesses what it might be, but I was totally surprised. Not what I thought at all. It's a great line, spoken by Picard, as he's doing something he's never done before. What a great ending. I will miss the show.
In other Star Trek news, a couple of weeks ago Wendy went to her piano class, and her teacher excitedly said "Wendy! Did you know that if you have Amazon Prime, you can watch all 7 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation?" Wendy laughed and said she knew all about it, and then explained my quest. Later, her teacher said "Maybe after I finish The Next Generation, I'll watch Deep Space Nine!" I have so much respect for Wendy's piano teacher now.
I've heard lots of good things about Deep Space Nine, so I think I'll have to watch it next. But I might take a short break first.