This series finale goes where no other TV series has ever gone before!
First of all, for the benefit of all those who watched the series for part or all of its seven year run, the final episode shows in great detail the lives of all the main characters 25 years after the show has ended! This is a great homage to the fans -- answering the question all fans have whenever any series ends, "What happened to them?" Great makeup for every one, especially Doctor Crusher and Whorf as they age!
Second, it not only shows in detail what happened to them 25 years after the series ends, this episode also integrates that future into the story! Not only that, as we find out, it's a vital key in the puzzle of the entire episode! Kudos to the genius plotters and writers of it! It's a fanatic fan's dream come true!
Third, the pacing, editing and development are so well done -- the pace gradually increases over the two hour length until the final denouement. The whole mystery shifting between three time periods. You can't take your eyes away! Wow! So well done!
Fourth, it recycles all the characters from the series, from the beginning to the end. Sadly, Whoopi Goldberg is conspicuous by her absence. But we get Colm Meaney, Denise Crosby, and the great "Q" himself: John de Lancie!
Fifth, the 'injoke' nature of the trial-- "We've watched you for seven years," and "Your trek has ended." These are great references to the series itself. But even if you didn't watch the seven years, and this is your first introduction to 'Star Trek: The Next Generation," the trial is a winner!
Sixth, the focus of the episode is the amazing acting of Patrick Stewart, here being showcased as three differently aged Captain Jean-Luc Picards. Watching him, you know which of the three time periods he's in. He's fantastic as the old Picard, and of course, all the others!
Seventh, the meaning of the episode. When the aged Q touches noses with the aged Picard talking about how the beginning (of your life) shapes the future, that's the truth!
Eighth, John de Lancie with Q's great delivery of lines like "You obtuse piece of flotsam!" and that mankind came from the proto-soup he calls "goo," which he pronounces "goo -- ooo."
I've watched this episode half a dozen times, and even read the novelization, but I still keep forgetting what causes the anomaly. But so what? Time versus anti-time being triggered by a tachyon pulse? Hey, I love it because it's so well done, well written, well acted and respectful to all the fans of the program. Yes. I'll give it a 10.
First of all, for the benefit of all those who watched the series for part or all of its seven year run, the final episode shows in great detail the lives of all the main characters 25 years after the show has ended! This is a great homage to the fans -- answering the question all fans have whenever any series ends, "What happened to them?" Great makeup for every one, especially Doctor Crusher and Whorf as they age!
Second, it not only shows in detail what happened to them 25 years after the series ends, this episode also integrates that future into the story! Not only that, as we find out, it's a vital key in the puzzle of the entire episode! Kudos to the genius plotters and writers of it! It's a fanatic fan's dream come true!
Third, the pacing, editing and development are so well done -- the pace gradually increases over the two hour length until the final denouement. The whole mystery shifting between three time periods. You can't take your eyes away! Wow! So well done!
Fourth, it recycles all the characters from the series, from the beginning to the end. Sadly, Whoopi Goldberg is conspicuous by her absence. But we get Colm Meaney, Denise Crosby, and the great "Q" himself: John de Lancie!
Fifth, the 'injoke' nature of the trial-- "We've watched you for seven years," and "Your trek has ended." These are great references to the series itself. But even if you didn't watch the seven years, and this is your first introduction to 'Star Trek: The Next Generation," the trial is a winner!
Sixth, the focus of the episode is the amazing acting of Patrick Stewart, here being showcased as three differently aged Captain Jean-Luc Picards. Watching him, you know which of the three time periods he's in. He's fantastic as the old Picard, and of course, all the others!
Seventh, the meaning of the episode. When the aged Q touches noses with the aged Picard talking about how the beginning (of your life) shapes the future, that's the truth!
Eighth, John de Lancie with Q's great delivery of lines like "You obtuse piece of flotsam!" and that mankind came from the proto-soup he calls "goo," which he pronounces "goo -- ooo."
I've watched this episode half a dozen times, and even read the novelization, but I still keep forgetting what causes the anomaly. But so what? Time versus anti-time being triggered by a tachyon pulse? Hey, I love it because it's so well done, well written, well acted and respectful to all the fans of the program. Yes. I'll give it a 10.