Anyone remember how big of an event the series finale "All Good Things" was back when it aired?

[The Rock]

It wasn't just any series finale. It was an event!

It was such a huge event that I remember a number of sports arenas across the US showing it on their jumbotrons with packed crowds! I cannot recall any other TV shows' series finale being that huge.

I also remember local news stations doing segments about "All Good Things" the same night it aired and they even interviewed Trekkies about it. It was *that* much of a big deal back when it happened.

Despite the ST: Generations movie not being as strong of an effort as "All Good Things" seeing that on opening night was quite memorable for me because the entire crowd consisted of Trekkies and casual Trek fans but EVERYONE was into it! Some people even came dressed in TNG Starfleet uniforms!

Ah, those were fun times lol.

 

[balls]

I remember that they did a Top 5 episode countdown with Frakes around that same time. As someone that was in high school when the finale of MASH aired, it think MASH got more fanfare.

 

[The Rock]

I remember that they did a Top 5 episode countdown with Frakes around that same time. As someone that was in high school when the finale of MASH aired, it think MASH got more fanfare.

I remember that! I also remember that "Journey's End" behind-the-scenes special that aired that very same day (also hosted by Frakes who finally answered the long-asked question "Where are the bathrooms on the Enterprise-D?" ).

 

[B.J.]

I was in college, and we happened to have a pre-planned event that same evening. Everyone had their VCRs set and ready to watch after. We were at a Bennigan's for dinner after the event, and the bar area (far from the section of the restaurant that we took over) had a couple TVs. As we were talking while waiting to order, we heard the distinctive commercial bumper music sting coming from the bar. Everybody instantly started reading the menu out loud right in front of our faces just so we didn't hear or see any spoilers! You'd be hard pressed to find a restaurant or bar today that has anything other than sports playing on their screens.

 

[The Rock]

I was in college, and we happened to have a pre-planned event that same evening. Everyone had their VCRs set and ready to watch after. We were at a Bennigan's for dinner after the event, and the bar area (far from the section of the restaurant that we took over) had a couple TVs. As we were talking while waiting to order, we heard the distinctive commercial bumper music sting coming from the bar. Everybody instantly started reading the menu out loud right in front of our faces just so we didn't hear or see any spoilers! You'd be hard pressed to find a restaurant or bar today that has anything other than sports playing on their screens.

Yup, a lot of people who weren't alive back then don't realize just how popular TNG was when it was on the air. It was the only Trek show (other than TOS) that reached mainstream popularity. At its height it was a pop culture phenomenon! Non-Trekkies were watching it in droves and for that time period it was no longer considered nerdy to be a Trekkie. I was in 7th grade when "All Good Things" aired and EVERYONE in my school was excited for it.

 

[Qonundrum]

It was pretty big, especially for the sci-fi genre where so few shows hit the mainstream zeitgeist to begin with. It wasn't your typical sci-fi show either, it carefully worked along multiple genres thanks to having really good balance with its scripts...

...but especially with season 7 being hit or miss or dull or otherwise inconsistent, "All Good Things..." did pull all the stops and created a breathtaking finale with a genuinely epic tale that hit all the right notes. Nitpicks are inevitable of course, but they're not the reason to watch.

 

[JamesRye]

Yeah it was huge. TNG was a massive deal back then. Only beaten by the X Files in terms of popularity I think. Its a shame that Star Trek is now largely a memory for most people. The new shows just haven't entered the publixs consciousness. They are largely irrelevant.

I wish TNG had carried on with just a couple of the regulars and a new crew.

 

[The Rock]

Yeah it was huge. TNG was a massive deal back then. Only beaten by the X Files in terms of popularity I think. Its a shame that Star Trek is now largely a memory for most people. The new shows just haven't entered the publixs consciousness. They are largely irrelevant.

I wish TNG had carried on with just a couple of the regulars and a new crew.

Oh yes, I remember X-Files being SO popular that they had X-Files conventions! You never hear of any conventions simply for just ONE show. The only other show that I know of to have its very own convention was TOS in 1972 (the very first Star Trek convention).

I'm glad we got Picard season 3. It was basically season 8 of TNG to me. Seeing the Enterprise-D live again was such a great gift to TNG fans IMO. Not only did she fly again but she singlehandedly defeated the Borg for good in the prime timeline!

 

[Qonundrum]

Oh yes, I remember X-Files being SO popular that they had X-Files conventions! You never hear of any conventions simply for just ONE show. The only other show that I know of to have its very own convention was TOS in 1n 1972 (the very first Star Trek convention).

The conventions were very rare at the time, in America. I'd gone to a few in the late-80s that were solely for Doctor Who, and even then one of those had Trek as well (1991, where I'd met Nichelle Nichols and she would surely not say a single syllable to a single audience member asking and prodding and begging for the scoop for the then-upcoming film), but as more BBC sci-fi was aired, there were some small but stable audiences and those conventions expanded. But these were still few and, apart from DW, Trek, and X-Files, conventions themselves were fledgling and only ramping it up by the mid-90s. It's not like sports where every week everyone goes to a stadium to punt their favorite shows...

But, yeah, Trek in the early-90s easily held its own with such a huge fanbase. It was a different time. I've never made it out to many conventions since then, sadly...

I'm glad we got Picard season 3. It was basically season 8 of TNG to me. Seeing the Enterprise-D live again was such a great gift to TNG fans IMO.

Same here. The time and effort to recreate the "D"'s bridge set design, with actual display technology, was really great. (I pretend that the 6500K accent lights weren't available until Wednesday, hence their using 3000K for the all-beige look. The net effect on screen still carries the right tone and doesn't detract, which is amazing given how massively iconic the 1987-94 set was.)

It found a balance for appealing to long-established fans while trying to open up "our crew" to fans of just the PIC spinoff as well as casual channel-flippers. What really impressed me was how it retroactively gave the TNG feature films a gravitas and reverence, for lack of better word, that simply did not exist for them at the time - partially because many movies from the 90s all had a certain whimsy that... wasn't my thing. But the nonchalant destruction of the "D", which looked cool but still lacked the dramatic power of TSFS's coda for the original/refit Enterprise, was given a loving tribute and innovative recreation where a lot of thought was put into it - thought that gave it more depth than its destruction had. Ditto for Kirk's body, all boiling down to following up on the Prime Directive and in a very satisfying way. Ditto for the Borg returning, though I miss their original look the most as those did look the most cybernetic and creepy. I don't remember all the references, but I recall all 4 had some mention and in a thoughtful way. Even in reviewing, it's not all "memberberries" and despite noticing how they were reusing the tone/feel of TWOK for the opening of season 3, it still works in its own merits. There's a fine line and like fine wine, this one aces it. Yeah, they redo the AGT poker ending, but it doesn't detract from how the 1994 finale felt.

PIC/3 was definitely what TNG needed to give the only other Trek crew to reach the mass public zeitgeist the reverence they deserve.

 

[Finn]

Yup, a lot of people who weren't alive back then don't realize just how popular TNG was when it was on the air. It was the only Trek show (other than TOS) that reached mainstream popularity. At its height it was a pop culture phenomenon! Non-Trekkies were watching it in droves and for that time period it was no longer considered nerdy to be a Trekkie. I was in 7th grade when "All Good Things" aired and EVERYONE in my school was excited for it.

Really? Where did you live? I was in the 8th grade. Only a couple folks I knew watched it. they were confused by it. I don't remember it being an event like with the Seinfeld finale or when they announced Kramer's first name.

 

[The Rock]

Really? Where did you live? I was in the 8th grade. Only a couple folks I knew watched it. they were confused by it. I don't remember it being an event like with the Seinfeld finale or when they announced Kramer's first name.

Florida.

 

[Finn]

okay

 

[somebuddyX]

It was on Saturday night at prime time here in Sydney instead of 1030 on whichever week day it was normally. I remember that was a big deal. "Caretaker" got the same treatment later on.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Yeah it was huge. TNG was a massive deal back then. Only beaten by the X Files in terms of popularity I think. Its a shame that Star Trek is now largely a memory for most people. The new shows just haven't entered the publixs consciousness. They are largely irrelevant.

I wish TNG had carried on with just a couple of the regulars and a new crew.

It's the fact that new Trek (Prodigy Season 2 aside) have been on Paramount Plus, a streaming platform that is probably considered smaller than any of the major names, especially considering it doesn't get bundled with anything in the way that the Disney owned platforms do, or how Roku streaming sticks have designated platform buttons for like Netflix, Hulu, etc. on their remotes.

It's not that the Trek is irrelevant, just that the platform they're on is not one of the major players in what amounts to digital cable.

 

[Artoo Atari]

Actually I don't remember much about it other than watching it. However, I do remember the summer of '90 when my friends and I were left hanging about the fate of Picard/Locutus.

 

[JLA]

Nearly 31 years ago. Where does the time go?

 

[Moonglum]

Nearly 31 years ago. Where does the time go?

Straight into the temporal dumpster!

 

[Uhura's Song]

I remember. It was HUGE.

TNG will always be my Trek, and my favorite. Though TOS & DS9 give it a run, and maybe SNW. The TOS movies are better, of course.

 

[PatB1974]

My friends and I got together and had a viewing party for it. Afterward we ate nachos and played some D&D. Those were fun times! It was the year after I graduated high school.

 

[Picard1994]

Yeah I remember it well. I was 24 then so still just a child. But I remember it like it was yesterday.