Star Trek: The Next Generationended in 1994 with the spectacular series finale “All Good Things…,” but the show’s characters have continued to endure. Following the adventures ofCaptain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crewaboard the USS Enterprise-D,TNGran for seven years and its cast became one of the most beloved inStar Trek. Depicting the United Federation of Planets of the 24th century,TNGlaunched a golden era ofStar Trekthat led toStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,Star Trek: Voyager,andStar Trek: Enterprise.
TheStar Trekfranchisewould not be where it is today without the success ofStar Trek: The Next Generation,which is widely considered to be one of the best science fiction series of all time.TNG’sseries finale beautifully wrapped up the show’s storylineswhile also bringing the story full circle with references to the series premiere. Even over 30 years later,“All Good Things…” remains a pitch-perfect series-enderand a fitting finale for Captain Picard and his Enterprise-D crew (even if it wasn’t really the end).
How Captain Picard Won Q’s “Trial” In Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Series Finale
As Q Loves To Remind Picard, “The Trial Never Ends”
Star Trek: The Next Generationbeganwith the feature-length premiere episode, “Encounter at Farpoint.” Not only did this episode introduce Captain Picard and his Enterprise-D crew, butit also marked the first appearance of one of the franchise’s best recurring characters in John de Lancie’s Q.A member of the mysterious Q Continuum, Q had all the powers (and hubris) of a god, and he put all of humanity on trial during his first encounter with Picard. Q popped up several times throughoutTNG’sseven seasons, and returned for one last hurrah during the series finale.
Every Q Star Trek Appearance Ranked Worst To Best
John de Lancie’s god-like Q became one of Star Trek’s most popular recurring characters, and here are all of his appearances ranked worst to best.
In “All Good Things…,” Captain Picard found himself jumping through three different time periods in the past, present, and future. He soon ended up back in Q’s courtroom, wherethe omnipotent being informed Picard that humanity’s trial never concluded.Picard must then solve a mystery involving a spacial anomaly, but this time, Q helped him by allowing him to jump through time. Picard worked with his Enterprise crew members in all three timelines, eventually discovering that the anomaly was an anti-time rift.
Q reiterated that humanity’s trial will never really end.
In each timeline, Picard ordered the Enterprise to fly into the anomaly to prevent it from destroying the universe. After all of the versions of the Enterprise explode, Picard found himself in Q’s courtroom yet again, whereQ congratulated Picard on solving the mystery.Q said that"for one brief moment,“Picard was able to expand his mind and think in all three timelines at once. Q reiterated that humanity’s trial will never really end and ensured Picard that he would be out there watching.
TNG Ended With A Poker Game That Picard Homaged 30 Years Later
The Poker Game At The End Of TNG Remains A Perfect Final Scene
ThroughoutStar Trek: The Next Generation,Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes)and the rest of the ship’s senior officers regularly played poker together, but Captain Picard never joined them. InTNG’sfinal scene, however,Jean-Luc finally joined his friends for a game of poker,lamenting that he"should have done this a long time ago.“Picard then delivered the finale’s iconic final lines:“So. Five card stud, nothing wild, and the sky’s the limit.”
While the Q storyline of “All Good Things…” felt reminiscent of all of the best sci-fi-heavy, technobabble-filled episodes ofTNG,the final scene highlighted the characters and their relationships.
Over the course ofStar Trek: The Next Generation,Captain Picard and his crew became like family, not only to one another but also to many viewers. While theStar Trekfilms sometimes sidelinedTNG’sfamily of characters in favor of sci-fi spectacle,Star Trek: Picardseason 3 brought them all back together for another poker game.
Picard Playing Poker In TNG’s Finale - What It Really Means
TNG’s finale “All Good Things” saw Captain Picard finally join his senior staff for a hand of poker, a gesture that meant more than it might seem.
The ending ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3 served as an homage to “All Good Things…” in the best way, while also showing that Picard and his crew were still a family. LikeTNG,Picardseason 3 understood that the show’s greatest strength was always its charactersand their relationships with one another.
TNG Didn’t Really End Because Picard’s Show Became Star Trek Movies
All Of TNG’s Main Cast Members Returned For The Films
While “All Good Things…” was an all-time great ending for Captain Picard and his crew, they all returned in theStar Trek: The Next Generationfilms.Star Trek Generationsserved as a passing of the torch from Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his Enterprise crew to Captain Picard and the Enterprise-D.Star Trek Generationssaw the destruction of the USS Enterprise-D, as well as the death of Captain Kirk,but ultimately led into, arguably,TNG’sbest movie,Star Trek: First Contact.
Jonathan Frakes directedStar Trek: First ContactandStar Trek: Insurrection.
Star Trek: First Contactbrought back the Borg and introduced theBorg Queen (Alice Krige), diving deeper into Picard’s trauma from his time as Locutus.The Enterprise-E’s voyage to the past also allowedFirst Contactto show the ‘origin’ ofStar Treklore, as it depicted Zefram Cochrane’s (James Cromwell) historic warp flight and first contact with the Vulcans.Star Trek: Insurrectionthen took things back to the basics, presenting a story that would not have felt out of place on an episode ofTNG.
Every Star Trek Movie Ranked (From Worst To Best)
There have been fourteen Star Trek movies over the last 40 years, but which is the boldest big-screen adventure to go where no man has gone before?
InStar Trek:Insurrection,Captain Picard and his crew disobeyed orders to thwart a plot to forcibly remove the Ba’ku people from their home planet. While on Ba’ku, Commander Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) rekindled their romance, leading to their marriage at the beginning ofStar Trek: Nemesis.TheTNGfilms focused largely on Captain Picard and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner)(arguably the show’s most popular characters), but ultimately failed to capture the same magic as the television series.
Star Trek: Nemesis Officially Ended TNG For 18 Years
Any Plans For More TNG Films Were Dashed By Nemesis’s Poor Performance
In 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesis,Captain Picard and his crew faced off against the new Romulan Praetor Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who was a clone of Picard. Like the otherStar Trek: The Next Generationfilms,Data played a significant role inNemesis,ultimately sacrificing his life to save Picard.AlthoughData’s android brother, B-4 (Brent Spiner), survived, with Data’s memories stored inside his positronic brain,Nemesisultimately felt like a poor send-off for a character as beloved and important as Data.
1994
$75,671,125
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$70,187,658
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Stuart Baird
$43,254,409
With its questionable plot choices and half-baked story, some strong performances (from Patrick Stewart in particular, as usual) were not enough to saveStar Trek: Nemesis.Not only did the film failat the box office, but it also received mostly negative reviewsfrom fans and critics alike. Although there had originally been plans for anotherTNGfilm,Nemesis’sfailure effectively put an end to them. Instead, Paramount chose to completely reboot theStar Trekfranchise several years later with J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009).
Why Star Trek: Picard Wasn’t A TNG Reunion At First
Star Trek: Picard Season 1 Brought In A New Cast Of Characters
Star Trek: Picardchecked in on Admiral Jean-Luc Picard in 2399, about 20 years after the events ofStar Trek: Nemesis,but most of his friends fromStar Trek: The Next Generationwere nowhere in sight. WhenPicardbegan, Jean-Luc remained deeply affected by Data’s death inStar Trek: Nemesis,andhe got pulled into an adventure involving Data’s android “daughters,” Dahj and Soji (Isa Briones).After dying from a terminal brain condition (later revealed to be caused by dormant Borg DNA) inPicardseason 1, Jean-Luc received a new android body courtesy ofDr. Alltan Soong (Brent Spiner).
10 Good Things In Star Trek: Picard Season 1
Star Trek: Picard season 1 had its flaws, but there were many good things about how it updated the story of Patrick Stewart’s TNG character.
Star Trek: Picardseason 2saw Jean-Luc and his new friends travel back in time after Q altered the future. Forced to confront his childhood trauma, Picard ended the season more willing to open up to those around him.Picardseason 2 also saw Jean-Luc embrace Q has an old friend,as the omnipotent being struggled with his own apparent mortality. Q seemingly died at the end ofPicardseason 2, but it remains unclear what that means for a Q, and that was not the last viewers would see of him.
When Patrick Stewart announced his return as Jean-Luc Picard in 2018, he stated that he had previously viewedStar Trek: Nemesisas the end of his time with the franchise.
Patrick Stewart had no plans to return toStar Trekuntil he heard the pitch forStar Trek: PIcardand reflected on the inspiration Picard as a character has brought to so many people. Still, even after he returned toStar Trek,Stewart worried that aTNGreunion would feel like a rehash of a series that still stands on its own.In the end, showrunner Terry Matalas helped convince Stewart otherwise, and went on to deliver a season that both honored what came before it and charted new ground forTNG’scharacters.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Was The True Ending TNG Always Deserved
Picard Season 3 Reunited Picard & His TNG Crew Aboard The Rebuilt Enterprise-D
While theStar Trek: The Next Generationfilms may have given Captain Picard and his crew a lackluster ending,Star Trek: Picard season 3remedied that by delivering another near-perfect finale.Picardseason 3 beautifully built on everything that came before itand wrapped up several of the storylines thatStar Trek: The Next Generationand its subsequent films had left unanswered. WhilePicardseason 3 was certainly filled with nostalgia, it also delivered a compelling storyline that honored and even improved uponTNG’scharacters.
Star Trek Picard Season 3 Ending Explained (In Detail)
Star Trek: Picard season 3’s finale concludes the story of TNG in grand style and sets up the next generation’s legacy, along with a big surprise.
Admiral Picard learned of Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the son he never knew he had, and began building a relationship with him.Picard also got the chance to defeat the Borg once and for all,finally laying to rest his most traumatic experience.Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) returned to Starfleetafter a long absence, reconnecting with Jean-Luc as the two began to navigate having a son together.
Data returned, now with an upgraded synthetic body.
Captain Riker and Counselor Troi reconciled after difficulties in their marriage, proving they were still one ofStar Trek’sgreatest love stories. Data returned, now with an upgraded synthetic body, complete with the memories of his android brothers and the ability to experience organic emotions.Data also reunited with his best friend, Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton),who had started a family of his own. Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) found a new career working with Starfleet Intelligence, and a new partner-in-crime in Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd).
Never one to miss a party, Q popped up at the end ofPicardseason 3 to inform Ensign Jack Crusher that his trial was only just beginning.
EvenCommander Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes)got to hash out her unresolved emotions regarding Picard, as he finally confronted her about her betrayal. AndnoTNGreunion would be complete without the return of the USS Enterprise-D,which got to save the galaxy yet again after being painstakingly restored by Geordi La Forge.Star Trek: Picardseason 3 truly gave everyTNGcharacter a proper ending and brought the whole family back together for one final poker game.
Will TNG Continue In Star Trek: Legacy?
It Seems Doubtful At This Point, But Anything Is Possible
AfterStar Trek: Picardseason 3 came to an end, fans began speculating whether or not the story would continue. With Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) in command of thenewly rechristened USS Enterprise-G,Picardseason 3 provided the perfect setup for a spin-off. Unfortunately,the long-rumoredStar Trek: Legacynever made it off the ground,despite fans rallying behind the idea. Still, it remains to be seen whetherStar Trek: Legacyor another project featuring any returningTNGcast members will ever make it to a screen.
Many of the cast and crew have stated their desire to return for moreStar Trek,including several of the originalStar Trek: The Next Generationcast members.
WhileStar Trek: Picardseason 3 provided a wonderful coda for Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, it would be nice to check in on Data and his newfound humanity, for example, or Geordi and his daughters. Some of the ideas originally proposed forLegacycould perhaps be incorporated into a made-for-streaming film, butStar Trek: Section 31’spoor reviewsdo not bode well for that particular option. While the door remains open for Jean-Luc Picard and hisStar Trek: The Next Generationcrew to return, they did get two perfect finales, which is more than many television shows can say.
