10 Star Trek Moments That Always Make You Smile
8. I Should Have Done This Years Ago
Star Trek has been graced with several strong series finales, where ships return home, or are sent out on missions, or the crews even see the birth of the Federation. All of them have their wonderful charms (even those based on the holodeck), but here there is a giant, joyful smile - all thanks to a single hand of poker.
Star Trek: The Next Generation shook the world when it debuted, offering a shakey first season, then delivering one of the finest sci-fi series ever made by show’s end. All Good Things is easily one of Star Trek’s best finales, giving a true sense of closure, while leaving the door open to more adventures to come.
Poker was a recurring motif in this show, with Riker being the main proponent. While Data wasn’t innocent, the entire senior staff eventually joined those games, bar one. Having Picard join that final poker game was not just a perfect ending to the series finale, but a poignant cap on The Next Generation as a whole. The game was ongoing, as were the feelings between this crew.
As The Next Generation didn't end with the ship being decommissioned, or the crew being reassigned, that final shot of the poker table with the crew in a circle, while the Enterprise-D flew off into the stars offered the excitement of future adventures to come. While other finales sought to repeat that upbeat feeling, this was the true epitome of a generation's joy in each other.