- 14 hours ago
With some of the finest conclusions ever put to screen, here are the lines that made them.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Of course, not every final line has to be grandioso or pithy to be noteworthy.
00:05Sometimes a good line is just a good line.
00:07And on occasion, a final line is simply the best possible end to a bad situation for the characters.
00:13Whether they have left us hanging off a cliff, deep in existential thought,
00:17feeling the feels, lost in retrospection, or laughing along and everything in between.
00:22So with that in mind, I'm Ellie with TrekCulture, here with the 10 best final lines in Star Trek episodes.
00:30Number 10, Computer End Program.
00:33Who here hasn't uttered the words, computer, end program,
00:36whilst deep in some ontological crisis about the nature of reality?
00:42No?
00:42Well, that's the whimsical little existential query that Lieutenant Barclay makes manifest
00:47at the very end of the Next Generation episode's Ship in a Bottle.
00:50He, Picard, and Data have escaped Professor Moriarty's clutches with some clever holographic mise-en-Ã -bim,
00:56and the latter, accompanied by the Countess Bartholomew,
00:58is then set to live out the rest of his days inside a yellow cube of active memory.
01:03In theory, none the wiser as to the true nature of the world around him.
01:07Picard further speculates that we all might be living a simulation in a device sitting on someone's table,
01:13and it's this that leads Barclay to speak the titular line that concludes the episode.
01:17Barclay was first included in this episode because it was felt that there needed to be a character who
01:21was unaware of holographic Moriarty's creation, but when it became unnecessary to the story,
01:28it was nonetheless decided that Barclay was the best character to deliver the final line.
01:34It also looks like Moriarty, presumably looking for an expansion pack, is set to return in season
01:393 of Star Trek Picard, to be played by the same actor Daniel Davis, making that final line ever more prescient.
01:47Number 9. Sounds to me like we've only postponed the invasion until what, the 24th century?
01:53With a note of dramatic irony, the last line of the Enterprise episode Regeneration
01:58wraps up the events of First Contact and anticipates the arrival of the Borg in the next generation.
02:04In the episode, a team of scientists find the wreckage of a ship that crashed in the Arctic a
02:09hundred years prior. With it, they also discover certain cybernetic creatures all too familiar to
02:15the audience, but unknown to the unwitting researchers. The moment they bring the alien
02:19corpses back to the lab is enough to have any fan screaming at the television,
02:24NO, GET THEM OUT OF THERE, in anticipation of the move the Borg are going to pull.
02:28Further observations from the scientists such as, I think this ship was a perfect sphere,
02:33only adds to the dramatic tension that results from the viewer being in the position of familiarity.
02:38It is ultimately this disconnect of information that is key to the success of the episode,
02:44and what makes its final line so effective. It re-establishes the Borg in a position of
02:48dominance and real threat. The viewer is then allowed to be afraid again on behalf of the less
02:53well-informed characters. Wibbly wobbly Borgie Worgie, you might say, but this episode certainly
02:59attracted its fair share of ire for supposedly mucking around with the continuity. However,
03:06this line is actually an attempt to explain why the Borg are on our side of the galaxy when they're
03:13first mentioned in the next generation episode, The Neutral Zone. So, parsimony, not paradox.
03:19And really, the Enterprise E crew should have done a better clean-up job.
03:22Number 8. 60,000 light years seems a little closer today.
03:27When the Doctor is transferred back to Voyager from the Alpha Quadrant in Message in a Bottle,
03:31he returns with news that Starfleet now knows the crew is alive and will do everything to get them
03:36home. Captain Janeway gives this line in reply, and we are all a little moved as a result. In its
03:42conclusion of the episode, the line is a major turning point for the series, as the tone shifts
03:47towards contact with and the eventuality of returning to Earth. Apparently, this scene was
03:53intended to take place in the mess hall with the entire crew for, according to Robert Picardo,
03:59a big emotional moment with all these extras. But they decided that this was too much like the Waltons,
04:05and so they scaled back their plans, and the scene took place in sickbay with Janeway, Tuvok,
04:10Chakotay, and the Doctor. Number 7. Set a course for home.
04:16Set a course for home, spoken by Captain Janeway, ends the Star Trek Voyager pilot
04:21Caretaker that begins the series, and it equally concludes the series finale Endgame
04:26just before Voyager is seen sailing towards Earth. This is a decidedly elegant way to bookend the
04:33series, using the five words that summarise the crew's overarching mission. Endgame might have had a
04:39very different ending, however. As producer Rick Berman has discussed, when the story for the
04:44final episode was being outlined, many directions were considered for Voyager's ultimate fate,
04:49including one that would have seen the crew remain in the Delta Quadrant. According to Berman,
04:54they held onto this idea for at least a month, and had intended to make the point that the meaning of
04:59all this was the journey. In the actual episode, this is echoed in Harry Kim's impassioned speech,
05:04as he realises that the destination is of less importance than the people he shares it with.
05:09Either way, the line may well have remained the same. It does seem fitting for both situations,
05:15however, it probably wouldn't have had such an emotional impact if Voyager hadn't have made it
05:20home. Number 6. Where there'll be no Tribble at all. At the end of the second season episode of the
05:26original series, The Trouble with Tribbles, Kirk is wondering how the crew have rid the enterprise of
05:32certain squeaky little populators. No one seems to want to answer until Scotty finally admits that
05:37he beamed them all to the engine room of the departing Klingon vessel, adding the now iconic
05:42line, where there'll be no Tribble at all. The bridge bursts into fits of laughter, and you'd be a
05:47cold-hearted viewer if you didn't at least crack a smile. This episode is regularly voted as one of
05:52Star Trek's all-time bests, and as the final line would indicate, it particularly stands out for its
05:58deliberate comedic style. It did divide the original series' producers and writers, however, many of
06:05whom, including Gene Roddenberry, weren't overly keen on the less-than-serious subject matter.
06:11Disagreements about the show's tone between Roddenberry and the then more comedy-orientated
06:17series producer Gene Kuhn are cited to be one of the reasons for the latter's departure from the show
06:24midway through the second season. After all these years, the episode and its memorable final line
06:30continue to show that Star Trek does well when it's having a little fun. Each of the subsequent series,
06:35and even the darker Discovery and Picard, have had their fair share of comedy. Gene Roddenberry also
06:41later chose The Trouble with Tribbles as one of his favourite episodes.
06:46Number 5. Let's get the hell out of here.
06:48The last line of the city on the edge of forever goes to Captain Kirk. He has been forced to allow,
06:54and to witness the death of Edith Keeler so as to prevent catastrophic changes in the timeline.
06:59The line encapsulates both Kirk's sadness and his frustration.
07:03Now considered one of the greats, the episode's script, final line and production faced more
07:08problems than McCoy hopped up on Cordrazine. The pitch and original script were the work of noted
07:14science fiction writer Harlan Ellison, but contained some very un-Star Trek ideas, including drug dealing
07:21and murder between the Enterprise crew, arguments, Spock calling humanity barbaric, Kirk suggesting
07:27that Spock should be lynched, execution by firing squad, and it would have cost a small fortune to film.
07:33The script was sent for multiple rewrites by various parties and lasted for months,
07:39and resulted in years of animosity between Ellison and Gene Roddenberry. In the end,
07:44it was also the most costly episode of the first season. In Ellison's first script,
07:50Kirk hesitates and does not prevent Keeler's rescue. It is Spock who intervenes at the last
07:55moment. The episode's final line was also initially problematic for broadcaster NBC on account of its
08:00infernal obscenity. After some persuasion from Roddenberry and William Shatner, the line and its
08:06offending term were permitted, becoming one of the first uses of the word hell as such on American television.
08:124. Just Give It Some Thought Captain Janeway's deliciously sardonic F.U. to the now-not-so-cocksure
08:21Kouros of the Think Tank comes in the Voyager episode, Think Tank. Kouros appears on the bridge
08:26in isomorphic form to make one last desperate plea to Seven of Nine to join his crew, but Janeway reminds
08:32him that a good guest knows when he's outstayed his welcome. Clearly in trouble, his holographic form
08:37falters, and Janeway delivers her final blow. Voyager then warps away as the Hazari vessels
08:43continue their triumphant attack. They have all out-thought the Think Tank. This line is a
08:48brilliant conclusion to an excellent episode full of twists and turns, strong characters,
08:53and underscored with enjoyable camp comedy. Kate Mulgrew as Janeway plays against Jason Alexander
08:59of Steinfeld fame who gives a brilliant performance as the conniving Kouros. Mulgrew delivers the line
09:05with a brilliant touch of rising intonation and a wry smile. Jason Alexander is also an unabashed
09:12mega-fan of Star Trek and has stated that part of the reason he became an actor was because of
09:17watching William Shatner as James Tiberius Kirk. He had always wanted to appear on the show but as an
09:23alien, not a human. When just that opportunity arose for the episode of Voyager, he even brought his
09:29children to set to see him, adding that he was thrilled with the episode. Number 3. Well, I guess
09:35we're about to find out. This line forms the dramatic conclusion to the season 6 Deep Space 9 episode
09:42Favour the Bold. As Sisko prepares to retake the station from the Dominion, he first quotes an old saying,
09:48Fortune favours the bold, wondering whether his gamble will pay off. In any case, with the Cardassians
09:54and the Dominion preparing to take down the minefield at the entrance to the wormhole,
09:58they have little choice but to go then and there. The audience is left with a to be continued and
10:04one of the greatest Star Trek cliffhangers of all time. This two-parter forms the end of an epic
10:106 episode story arc, a rare if not unique form of storytelling for Star Trek at the time,
10:17that sees the beginning of the Dominion War and the occupation of the station. It turns out that
10:23we very nearly didn't have this line, however. The writers had intended for this story arc,
10:28which continued the events of the season 5 finale, would be completed in 4 episodes. Realising they
10:35needed more room for the plot, this was increased to 5, with favour of the bold as the last episode,
10:40and then eventually to 6 with Sacrifice of Angels. And we're kind of glad they did,
10:45because even the colloquial tone of Sisko's, well I guess we're about to find out, it just adds to
10:52the tension and definitely anticipates the monumental space battle that would take place in the following
10:58episode. Number 2. So, 5 card stud, nothing wild, and the sky's the limit. How do you end 7 seasons of a
11:07much beloved television show in style? With Picard finally joining the poker game and dealing the
11:12cards, of course. All good things must come to an end, until about a week and a half later when you
11:17start work on the movie. The series finale of The Next Generation is as near to perfect as you can
11:22dare to get. Its clever premise is an epic romp across time that allows for as much nostalgia as
11:27the old age makeup it requires. The final scene and line are unparalleled in both their effective
11:32simplicity and emotive clout. Picard has spent the best part of the episode travelling back and
11:37forth through time, and with a little help from everyone's favourite letter of the alphabet,
11:41trying to prevent the destruction of humanity, and most of the galaxy, by a powerful anomaly.
11:46Before saving the day, although technically he started it, he is subject to the destruction of
11:51three enterprises. When Picard returns to the present, it is little wonder, therefore,
11:56that all he wants to do is kick back a little with his senior officers, all of whom are clearly now
12:01also his friends. I should have done this a long time ago, he laments, and Troy reminds him that
12:06he was always welcome. Apparently, the fact that Picard never joined a game of poker across the seven
12:13seasons was not a deliberate move on the part of the writers. They simply just never found the time
12:18to include him in one of those scenes until the finale. Number one, Mr. Worf, fire.
12:25These are the decisive final words of what is one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek.
12:31The best of both worlds, part one. The line itself may be rather laconic,
12:35but it certainly does the job. It is made memorable, of course, by what comes immediately before it.
12:41I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. Picard has been
12:47assimilated and Riker gives the order to fire the deflector weapon. Nowadays, the next episode will play
12:53as automatically as a Borg's resonance signal. But at the time, people had to wait a whole summer to find out
13:00the conclusion of Riker's fateful words. Shockingly, actually, in retrospect,
13:06at the time, Patrick Stewart was going through contract negotiations, and so there was actual
13:12doubt as to whether he would be returning. And so the ambiguity of that line is even more deliberate,
13:20with the writers holding on to the possibility of killing off Picard. And that in itself caused a
13:26considerable amount of buzz amongst fans at the time. Furthermore, this was only the second two-part
13:31episode in Star Trek history, the first having been the Menagerie 1 and 2. It was also the first
13:36end-of-season cliffhanger for the franchise, and in this, the next generation really began to thrive
13:42on its own merits. Those final three words solidified the next generation's place in the Star Trek canon.
13:48It was now firmly carrying the torch. And that concludes our list. If you have another example,
13:53then do let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, don't forget to hit that like
13:58button and the notification bell as well. Don't forget to also head over to Twitter and follow us
14:03there and Instagram as well. And I can be found across various social medias just by searching
14:08Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Trek Culture. I hope you have a wonderful day,
14:13and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.
Be the first to comment