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With some of the finest conclusions ever put to screen, here are the lines that made them.
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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 Programme.
00:33Who here hasn't uttered the words, computer, end program,
00:37whilst 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 on a bim,
00:56and the latter, accompanied by the Countess Bartholomew,
00:59is 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
01:21who was unaware of holographic Moriarty's creation.
01:25But when it became unnecessary to the story,
01:28it was nonetheless decided that Barclay was the best character to deliver the final line.
01:33It also looks like Moriarty, presumably looking for an expansion pack,
01:37is set to return in Season 3 of Star Trek Picard,
01:41to be played by the same actor Daniel Davis,
01:43making that final line ever more prescient.
01:47Number 9
01:47Sounds to me like we've only postponed the invasion until what?
01:52The 24th century?
01:53With a note of dramatic irony,
01:55the last line of the Enterprise episode Regeneration
01:58wraps up the events of First Contact
02:00and anticipates the arrival of the Borg in the next generation.
02:04In the episode, a team of scientists find the wreckage of a ship
02:07that crashed in the Arctic a hundred years prior.
02:10With it, they also discover certain cybernetic creatures
02:13all too familiar to the audience,
02:16but unknown to the unwitting researchers.
02:18The moment they bring the alien corpses back to the lab
02:21is enough to have any fan screaming at the television,
02:24NO, GET THEM OUT OF THERE!
02:25in anticipation of the move the Borg are going to pull.
02:28Further observations from the scientists such as,
02:31I think this ship was a perfect sphere,
02:33only adds to the dramatic tension that results from the viewer
02:36being in the position of familiarity.
02:38It is ultimately this disconnect of information
02:41that is key to the success of the episode,
02:43and what makes its final line so effective.
02:46It re-establishes the Borg in a position of dominance and real threat.
02:50The viewer is then allowed to be afraid again
02:52on behalf of the less well-informed characters.
02:55Wibbly-wobbly-borgy-woggy, you might say,
02:58but this episode certainly attracted its fair share of ire
03:02for supposedly mucking around with the continuity.
03:05However, this line is actually an attempt to explain
03:09why the Borg are on our side of the galaxy
03:12when they're first mentioned in the Next Generation episode,
03:15The Neutral Zone.
03:16So, parsimony, not paradox.
03:19And really, the Enterprise E crew should have done a better clean-up job.
03:22Number 8.
03:2360,000 light years seems a little closer today.
03:26When the Doctor is transferred back to Voyager
03:29from the Alpha Quadrant in Message in a Bottle,
03:31he returns with news that Starfleet now knows the crew is alive
03:35and will do everything to get them home.
03:37Captain Janeway gives this line in reply,
03:39and we are all a little moved as a result.
03:42In its conclusion of the episode,
03:44the line is a major turning point for the series,
03:46as the tone shifts towards contact with
03:49and the eventuality of returning to Earth.
03:51Apparently, this scene was intended to take place
03:54in the mess hall with the entire crew,
03:57for, according to Robert Picardo,
03:59a big emotional moment with all these extras.
04:02But they decided that this was too much like the Waltons,
04:05and so they scaled back their plans,
04:07and the scene took place in sickbay
04:09with Janeway, Tuvok, Chakotay, and the Doctor.
04:12Number 7.
04:13Set a course for home.
04:16Set a course for home, spoken by Captain Janeway,
04:19ends the Star Trek Voyager pilot, Caretaker,
04:21that begins the series,
04:23and it equally concludes the series finale endgame
04:26just before Voyager is seen sailing towards Earth.
04:29This is a decidedly elegant way to bookend the series,
04:33using the five words that summarize
04:35the crew's overarching mission.
04:38Endgame might have had a very different ending, however.
04:41As producer Rick Berman has discussed,
04:43when the story for the final episode was being outlined,
04:46many directions were considered for Voyager's ultimate fate,
04:49including one that would have seen the crew remain
04:51in the Delta Quadrant.
04:53According to Berman,
04:54they held onto this idea for at least a month,
04:56and had intended to make the point
04:58that the meaning of all this was the journey.
05:00In the actual episode,
05:02this is echoed in Harry Kim's impassioned speech,
05:04as he realizes that the destination is of less importance
05:08than the people he shares it with.
05:09Either way, the line may well have remained the same.
05:13It does seem fitting for both situations,
05:15however, it probably wouldn't have had such an emotional impact
05:19if Voyager hadn't have made it home.
05:21Number six, where there'll be no Tribble at all.
05:24At the end of the second season episode
05:26of the original series, The Trouble with Tribbles,
05:29Kirk is wondering how the crew have rid the Enterprise
05:31of certain squeaky little populators.
05:34No one seems to want to answer
05:35until Scotty finally admits that he beamed them all
05:38to the engine room of the departing Klingon vessel,
05:41adding the now iconic line,
05:43where there'll be no Tribble at all.
05:44The bridge bursts into fits of laughter,
05:46and you'd be a cold-hearted viewer
05:48if you didn't at least crack a smile.
05:50This episode is regularly voted
05:52as one of Star Trek's all-time bests,
05:54and as the final line would indicate,
05:57it particularly stands out
05:58for its deliberate comedic style.
06:00It did divide the original series' producers
06:03and writers, however,
06:05many of whom, including Gene Roddenberry,
06:07weren't overly keen on the less-than-serious subject matter.
06:11Disagreements about the show's tone
06:13between Roddenberry and the then-more-comedy-orientated
06:17series producer Gene Coon
06:19are cited to be one of the reasons
06:22for the latter's departure from the show
06:24midway through the second season.
06:26After all these years,
06:27the episode and its memorable final line
06:29continue to show that Star Trek does well
06:32when it's having a little fun.
06:34Each of the subsequent series,
06:35and even the darker Discovery and Picard,
06:38have had their fair share of comedy.
06:40Gene Roddenberry also later chose
06:42The Trouble with Tribbles
06:43as one of his favourite episodes.
06:46Number 5.
06:47Let's get the hell out of here.
06:48The last line of The City on the Edge of Forever
06:51goes to Captain Kirk.
06:52He has been forced to allow
06:54and to witness the death of Edith Keeler
06:56so as to prevent catastrophic changes
06:58in the timeline.
06:59The line encapsulates both Kirk's sadness
07:02and his frustration.
07:03Now considered one of the greats,
07:05the episode's script, final line,
07:07and production faced more problems
07:08that McCoy hopped up on Chordrazine.
07:11The pitch and original script
07:12were the work of noted science fiction writer
07:15Harlan Ellison,
07:16but contained some very un-Star Trek ideas,
07:19including drug dealing
07:21and murder between the Enterprise crew,
07:23arguments,
07:24Spock calling humanity barbaric,
07:26Kirk suggesting that Spock should be lynched,
07:29execution by firing squad,
07:31and it would have cost a small fortune to film.
07:34The script was sent for multiple rewrites
07:36by various parties and lasted for months
07:39and resulted in years of animosity
07:42between Ellison and Gene Roddenberry.
07:44In the end,
07:45it was also the most costly episode
07:47of the first season.
07:48In Ellison's first script,
07:50Kirk hesitates and does not prevent Keeler's rescue.
07:53It is Spock who intervenes at the last moment.
07:55The episode's final line
07:57was also initially problematic for broadcaster NBC
08:00on account of its infernal obscenity.
08:02After some persuasion from Roddenberry
08:04and William Shatner,
08:05the line and its offending term were permitted,
08:08becoming one of the first uses of the word hell
08:10as such on American television.
08:13Number four.
08:14Just give it some thought.
08:16Captain Janeway's deliciously sardonic F.U.
08:19to the now not-so-cocksure Kuros of the think tank
08:22comes in the Voyager episode Think Tank.
08:25Kuros appears on the bridge in isomorphic form
08:27to make one last desperate plea
08:29to Seven of Nine to join his crew.
08:31But Janeway reminds him that a good guest knows
08:34when he's outstayed his welcome.
08:35Clearly in trouble,
08:36his holographic form falters
08:38and Janeway delivers her final blow.
08:40Voyager then warps away
08:42as the Hazari vessels continue their triumphant attack.
08:45They have all out-thought the think tank.
08:47This line is a brilliant conclusion
08:49to an excellent episode full of twists and turns,
08:51strong characters,
08:53and underscored with enjoyable camp comedy.
08:56Kate Mulgrew as Janeway plays against Jason Alexander
08:59of Seinfeld fame,
09:00who gives a brilliant performance
09:02as the conniving Kuros.
09:04Mulgrew delivers the line
09:05with a brilliant touch of rising intonation
09:08and a wry smile.
09:10Jason Alexander is also an unabashed mega fan of Star Trek
09:14and has stated that part of the reason he became an actor
09:17was because of watching William Shatner
09:19as James Tiberius Kirk.
09:21He had always wanted to appear on the show,
09:23but as an alien, not a human.
09:25When just that opportunity arose
09:27for the episode of Voyager,
09:28he even brought his children to set to see him,
09:31adding that he was thrilled with the episode.
09:34Number three.
09:35Well, I guess we're about to find out.
09:37This line forms the dramatic conclusion
09:39to the season six Deep Space Nine episode
09:42Favor the Bold.
09:43As Sisko prepares to retake the station from the Dominion,
09:46he first quotes an old saying,
09:48fortune favors the bold,
09:50wondering whether his gamble will pay off.
09:52In any case, with the Cardassians and the Dominion
09:55preparing to take down the minefield
09:57at the entrance to the wormhole,
09:58they have little choice but to go then and there.
10:01The audience is left with a to-be-continued
10:04and one of the greatest Star Trek cliffhangers of all time.
10:07This two-parter forms the end
10:09of an epic six-episode story arc,
10:12a rare, if not unique, form of storytelling
10:15for Star Trek at the time
10:16that sees the beginning of the Dominion War
10:19and the occupation of the station.
10:22It turns out that we very nearly didn't have this line, however.
10:25The writers had intended for this story arc,
10:28which continued the events of the season five finale,
10:31would be completed in four episodes.
10:34Realising they needed more room for the plot,
10:37this was increased to five,
10:38with favor of the bold as the last episode,
10:40and then eventually to six,
10:42with sacrifice of angels.
10:43And we're kind of glad they did,
10:45because even the colloquial tone of Sisko's,
10:48well, I guess we're about to find out,
10:51it just adds to the tension
10:52and definitely anticipates the monumental space battle
10:56that would take place in the following episode.
10:59Number two.
11:00So, five-card stud, nothing wild,
11:02and the sky's the limit.
11:04How do you end seven seasons
11:06of a much-beloved television show in style?
11:09With Picard finally joining the poker game
11:11and dealing the cards, of course.
11:13All good things must come to an end,
11:15until about a week and a half later
11:17when you start work on the movie.
11:18The series finale of The Next Generation
11:20is as near to perfect as you can dare to get.
11:23Its clever premise is an epic romp across time
11:25that allows for as much nostalgia
11:27as the old age makeup it requires.
11:29The final scene and line are unparalleled
11:31in both their effective simplicity and emotive clout.
11:35Picard has spent the best part of the episode
11:37traveling back and forth through time,
11:38and with a little help from everyone's favorite letter
11:40of the alphabet trying to prevent
11:42the destruction of humanity
11:43and most of the galaxy by a powerful anomaly.
11:47Before saving the day,
11:48although technically he started it,
11:50he is subject to the destruction
11:51of three enterprises.
11:53When Picard returns to the present,
11:55it is little wonder, therefore,
11:56that all he wants to do is kick back a little
11:58with his senior officers,
12:00all of whom are clearly now also his friends.
12:02I should have done this a long time ago,
12:04he laments,
12:05and Troy reminds him that he was always welcome.
12:08Apparently, the fact that Picard
12:10never joined a game of poker across the seven seasons
12:13was not a deliberate move on the part of the writers.
12:16They simply just never found the time
12:19to include him in one of those scenes
12:21until the finale.
12:22Number one, Mr. Worf, fire.
12:25These are the decisive final words
12:27of what is one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek,
12:31The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1.
12:33The line itself may be rather laconic,
12:35but it certainly does the job.
12:37It is made memorable, of course,
12:38by what comes immediately before it.
12:41I am Locutus of Borg.
12:43Resistance is futile.
12:44Your life as it has been is over.
12:47Picard has been assimilated,
12:48and Riker gives the order to fire the deflector weapon.
12:51Nowadays, the next episode will play as automatically
12:54as a Borg's resonance signal,
12:56but at the time, people had to wait a whole summer
12:59to find out the conclusion of Riker's fateful words.
13:03Shockingly, actually, in retrospect,
13:06at the time, Patrick Stewart was going through
13:09contract negotiations,
13:10and so there was actual doubt
13:13as to whether he would be returning.
13:15And so the ambiguity of that line
13:18is even more deliberate,
13:20with the writers holding on to the possibility
13:22of killing off Picard.
13:24And that in itself caused a considerable amount of buzz
13:27amongst fans at the time.
13:29Furthermore, this was only the second two-part episode
13:31in Star Trek history,
13:33the first having been the Menagerie 1 and 2.
13:35It was also the first end-of-season cliffhanger
13:37for the franchise,
13:39and in this, the next generation really began
13:41to thrive on its own merits.
13:43Those final three words solidified
13:45the next generation's place in the Star Trek canon.
13:47It was now firmly carrying the torch.
13:50And that concludes our list.
13:52If you have another example,
13:54then do let us know in the comments below.
13:56And while you're there,
13:57don't forget to hit that like button
13:58and the notification bell as well.
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14:10I've been Ellie with Trek Culture.
14:11I hope you have a wonderful day,
14:13and remember to boldly go
14:15where no one has gone before.
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