We all know “all good things must end” because if you’re a certain age, you learned the phrase from the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale. So far, eight Star Trek shows have reached their conclusion.
To commemorate the end of Star Trek: Discovery last week, for this week’s Trek Tuesday, we’re looking at all eight Star Trek series finales (so far). Which one is your favorite? Now, don’t everyone say, “These are the Voyages…” at once.
Turnabout Intruder
First up is, of course, Star Trek: The Original Series. The final episode of this show was Season 3 Episode 24, “Turnabout Intruder.” It aired on June 6, 1969, after several months of delay — its original airdate had been preempted by a televised obituary for President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The episode features a story by Gene Roddenberry, a teleplay by Arthur H. Singer and was directed by Herb Wallerstein.
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While it is the final episode of TOS, it isn’t really a “series finale.” It’s just an episode of TOS. In part, this is because the cast and crew didn’t learn the series hadn’t been renewed until they were almost done working on “Turnabout Intruder.” Nevertheless, “Turnabout Intruder” was considered the worst episode of TOS ever by Hollywood‘s 2016 ranking.
The Counter-Clock Incident
Next came the series finale of Star Trek: The Animated Series. This episode aired on October 12, 1974, and was the sixth episode of TAS Season 2. It was written by John Culver (a pseudonym for Fred Bronson) and directed by Bill Reed.
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Like “Turnabout Intruder,” “The Counter-Clock Incident” isn’t so much a climax as a “standard” episode of TAS. That said, it is considered to be of similar quality to the rest of the series. In other words, no “bottom of the series ranking” for this finale. Plus, this episode fully introduced the former captain of the USS Enterprise, Commodore Robert April (James Doohan). Decades later, this character would enter the wider consciousness thanks to his portrayal by Adrian Holmes on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
All Good Things…
Now, we come to the era of intentional finales. It’s hard to mistake TNG Season 7 Episodes 26 and 27, “All Good Things…,” for anything but the conclusion of the series. The episode aired on May 23, 1994. It was written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga and directed by Winrich Kolbe.
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In this episode, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is subjected to/assisted by time travel caused by Q (John de Lancie), including a visit to the show’s premiere episode, “Encounter at Farpoint.” This creates nice bookends for the show. We also get to see Picard’s possible dark future—retirement to Earth. Fortunately, he’s able to avert this fate over the course of the episode. Right?
What You Leave Behind
The series finale of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine might be the most highly-regarded conclusion on this list. DS9 Season 7 Episodes 25 and 26, “What You Leave Behind,” was written by Ira Steven Behr and Hans Beimler and directed by Allan Kroeker. It originally aired on June 2, 1999.
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“What You Leave Behind” brought the ongoing DS9 storylines to highly satisfactory conclusions. Plus, a scene allows most of the cast and crew to say goodbye during a party hosted by Vic Fontaine (James Darren).
Endgame
The next series to conclude was Star Trek: Voyager. “Endgame” was episodes 25 and 26 of Voyager Season 7. Its teleplay was written by Kenneth Biller and Robert Doherty from a story by Rick Berman, Biller and Braga. Furthermore, the episode was directed by Kroeker, who previously directed the DS9 finale. The episode aired on May 23, 2001.
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While DS9 developed many ongoing subplots (especially in its later seasons), the Voyager finale had a unique challenge. The show’s story had started in the series premiere, and concluded in the finale. Could “Endgame” accomplish this daunting mission? The answer is “yes,” and all it took was several Kathryn Janeways (Kate Mulgrew) and a serious temporal prime directive violation. Find out more about the various technologies brought back from the Delta Quadrant by Voy on Star Trek: Prodigy.
These Are the Voyages…
The series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise might be the most controversial entry on this list. Enterprise Season 4 Episode 22, “These Are the Voyages…,” was written by Braga and Berman and directed by Kroeker. It originally aired on May 13, 2005.
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This episode features a frame set during the TNG Season 7 episode “The Pegasus.” This means appearances by William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Riker is running a holodeck program about the NX-01 Enterprise and stepping into the much-mentioned but previously unrevealed ship’s chef role. However, despite the presence of these fan-favorite characters, the episode is criticized for a lack of focus on the series cast and the death of Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer).
The Last Generation
Almost two decades later, the series finale of Star Trek: Picard arrived. The 10th episode of Picard Season 3, “The Last Generation” was written and directed by season showrunner Terry Matalas. It originally aired on April 20, 2023.
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This episode brought together the USS Enterprise-D team again (including the D, voiced by archive recordings of Majel Barrett Roddenberry). It also brought back the Borg Queen (voice by Alice Krige, onscreen performance by Jane Edwina Seymour). According to interviews with Matalas, the original script for “The Last Generation” featured a role for Captain Harry Kim (Garrett Wang). Release the Kim cut!
Life, Itself
Lastly, the most recent Star Trek series finale to be released was Discovery Season 5 Episode 10, “Life, Itself.” The episode was written by Kyle Jarrow and Michelle Paradise and directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi. It was released for streaming on Paramount+ on May 30, 2024.
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When this episode was written and produced, it was thought to be merely a season finale, not a series finale. Fortunately, the cast and crew were permitted to return to shoot a 15-minute epilogue to bring the series to a close.
All eight of these Star Trek episodes are currently available to stream on Paramount+.
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