7. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - 'What You Leave Behind'
For me, Star Trek should be commended for bringing us some great series finales. It is also, however, guilty of one of the worst TV finales in history, Star Trek: Enterprise's 'These Are The Voyages...' Squandering the potential of a very strong season four by turning the finale into a 'Net Gen Holodeck clip show' was appalling. It was an extremely disappointing ending to the Star Trek television franchise. Star Trek: Voyager's series finale 'Endgame' four years earlier was better. Alice Krige was welcome, returning to her iconic role as the Borg Queen, even if there was too much Borg-ass kicking for my liking. And the USS Voyager finally got home. I would have liked more of an aftermath to this final journey...discovering what happened to crew after they made it back to the Alpha Quadrant, but at least it resolved the central premise of the show. Of course it was their predecessors that really set the bar high for how a TV finale should be done. First up on this list is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's 'What We Leave Behind'. With the seralised nature of the show and a whole host of recurring characters and plotlines that had started seven years earlier, the finale had a lot to deliver. And it succeeded. Part of that was due to the creative decision to craft an epic 10-part story. Building on the success of the previous season's 6-part opener, the 10 episodes had everything we could want. The forging of the alliance between two very different adversaries; Kai Winn and Gul Dukat. The shocking alliance of the Dominion with the Breen and the tragic destruction of the Defiant. The culmination of the Klingon story arc begun in season four's 'War Of The Warrior'. And the coward turned hero Damar forging a Cardassian underground movement. Kira aiding the Cardassians in resisting their oppressors was a brilliant touch. As 'What You Leave Behind' came on our screens there was still so much to resolve. The Pah Wrath story line had been bubbling under the radar and was set to emerge as a much bigger threat than the Dominion. But first the war itself had to come to a head. We were treated to some magnificent space battles as the Federation / Klingon/ Romulan Alliance began a desperate invasion of Cardassia. The Cardassian warships turning on their Breen / Dominion allies was a massive turning point. For your viewing pleasure, here's that very battle. Seven minutes of pure badassery! There was a brilliant mix of hope and tragedy in the finale too. Personal moments such as O'Brien telling Bashir he is returning to Earth and Sisko and Kassidy Yates's wedding, despite the Prophet's potent of doom. Odo and Kira's goodbye. The final assault on the Cardassian home world is equally as exciting and takes a shocking path as the Dominion turn their forces to bombard the planet's surface back to the Stone Age. Watching Garak finally returning to the ruins of his home world is a heartbreaking moment. And then we have a struggle that was seven years in the making. Emissary of the Prophets Sisko versus Emissary of the Pah Wraths Gul Dukat. It is a brilliant struggle and after years of sitting firmly in a grey area it is great to see the Cardassian dictator emerge as a truly terrible villain. Equally the death of Kai Winn is equally as satisfying after all the manipulation and anger she has brought. (Louise Fletcher is awesome as always). There is a sense of great change and closure by the time the credits finally roll. The war is over. Sisko has fulfilled his destiny and joined the Prophets. Odo and Garak have returned to their broken people. Bashir, Kira, Dax and O'Brien look set to continue their Starfleet (0r Bajoran) careers. And Worf has balanced his Klingon heritage with Starfleet by becoming the Federation ambassador. It definitely leaves you wanting more without leaving any loose ends. (If you did want more, there's some excellent 'season 8' books that follow...)