# The Star Trek TNG Finale First Aired 30 Years Ago Today **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [May 23, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974 "2024-05-23T15:08:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/41 "2024-05-24T18:54:07Z")
This thread did remind me of a sad event from the series. In the episode “The Most Toys,” little person actor David Rappaport (_Time Bandits, The Wizard_) had originally been booked to play the role of Kivas Fajo and completed a couple days of shooting. Over the weekend, he attempted suicide and the role had to be recast. Rappaport did end his own life a few months later, just a few days before the episode aired. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/42 "2024-05-24T20:44:53Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > In the episode “The Most Toys,” little person actor David Rappaport “Not the smallest man in the world… but f\*\*\*ing close.” Saul Rubinek ended up doing nice work in that episode and I think it still holds up well. At the time I felt the ending of TNG was something of an anti-climax, but I’ve come to appreciate it. I still re-watch choice episodes occasionally. “Yesterday’s Enterprise” is a favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/43 "2024-05-24T22:16:26Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > They really should have had Pulaski fall down an open turbolift shaft in her final episode. [+1](https://youtu.be/Mj8FIbuoWPY?si=7Bpasx3os-eiKsg_) Although, in fairness, I have to observe that Pulaski at least appeared to be marginally competent. I’m pretty sure Dr. Crusher’s medical degree came from the University of American Samoa Correspondence Medical School. Fortunately, the scripts mostly just had her subduing people with a hypospray which she kept peculiarly close, and say, “I don’t know anything about physiology!” The brought her back on _Generations_ just to [throw her off a boat](https://youtu.be/d6dktRBH59U?si=KI2SXWTgftw0XhM7) and then ignore her for almost the rest of the film, which was kind of a waste of one of the best actors in the cast. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/44 "2024-05-25T01:29:46Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Fortunately, the scripts mostly just had her subduing people with a hypospray which she kept peculiarly close Following in the grand tradition of TOS, what a friend of mine used to call “The Bones McCoy School of Hypo-Fu.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/45 "2024-05-25T05:09:31Z")
I fondly remember _Captains Holiday_ from season 3. It’s a fun Picard adventure in the tradition of Indiana Jones. We learn Picard has a interest in archeology. They even give him a Marion Ravenwood type character as a love interest. The best Star Trek episodes need that spark of adventure and excitement. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/46 "2024-05-25T06:12:44Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The brought her back on _Generations_ just to [throw her off a boat](https://youtu.be/d6dktRBH59U?si=KI2SXWTgftw0XhM7) I’ve been on [that boat](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Washington)! It even spent this past winter docked in my town. Anyway, I thought the TNG finale was nearly perfect. My only issue was I thought the solution to the “paradox” was incredibly obvious. I liked the show, but never thought of myself as a Trekkie (Iwas a Star Wars kid). When TNG showed up on Netflix a few years ago I watched some episodes. I had seen every single one. I watched a bunch of DS9 and almost all of Voyager. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2024, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/47 "2024-05-26T01:24:55Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > They even give him a Marion Ravenwood type character as a love interest. And then Patrick Stewart went and had an affair with her in real life. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/48 "2024-05-27T12:52:53Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I loved the bit where Jellicoe ordered Riker to re-do the crew’s duty schedule, and Riker just sort of…didn’t. Because he thought the schedule was fine the way it was. And we were supposed to be mad at Jellicoe when he disciplined Riker for this. ⁢ As I remember it, he asks about it, and Riker says he wants to discuss it with him before implementing, as he would normally do with Captain Picard if he had misgivings about an order. I actually find that bit to be the part that turns people off of Jellico. It seems at best a pointless change, and at worst a way to give everyone very messed up sleep schedules. Consider how you feel when you’re jetlagged: would you really at your best to go into a dangerous situation? Yeah, Riker is clearly too used to Picard and having a lot more autonomy under him. But we learn from very early on that this is exactly why Picard wanted him as First Officer. He wanted the type of XO who would push back. If all of Jellico’s orders seemed reasonable, I think people would have had less of a problem with him. But they also had to have an order the Riker would reasonably balk on. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/49 "2024-05-27T13:23:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I actually find that bit to be the part that turns people off of Jellico. It seems at best a pointless change, and at worst a way to give everyone very messed up sleep schedules. Consider how you feel when you’re jetlagged: would you really at your best to go into a dangerous situation? Uh huh. I am sure the members of the court-martial will prove extremely sympathetic and understanding after you explain it to them. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/50 "2024-05-27T13:37:06Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Uh huh. I am sure the members of the court-martial will prove extremely sympathetic and understanding after you explain it to them. The officers on the court-martial will rule however the parasites controlling their brains so decide. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/51 "2024-05-27T13:43:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It seems at best a pointless change, and at worst a way to give everyone very messed up sleep schedules. Consider how you feel when you’re jetlagged: would you really at your best to go into a dangerous situation? FWIW, my Captain hated the watch schedule[\*] that my XO set, precisely because it messed with his already-tenuous ability to sleep, but he didn’t pull rank because duty schedules are the XO’s responsibility. [\*] it wasn’t strictly the watch schedule (we were on 6 h watches like all US subs), it was that, for some dain-bramaged reason, the XO wanted us in the “Foxtrot” time zone (Kazakhstan or something), even though we operated in the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/52 "2024-05-27T14:11:07Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Uh huh. I am sure the members of the court-martial will prove extremely sympathetic and understanding after you explain it to them. The members of the court-martial would probably be furious at Jellicoe for wasting their time, and give Riker a slap on the wrist. Court-martialing your (highly decorated) XO because of some scheduling bullshit? Why not just shout, “I’m an incompetent officer who can’t earn my wardroom’s respect!” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/53 "2024-05-27T14:53:02Z")
If we think about it, Jellicoe,\[1\] a respected skipper if Picard and Starfleet Command are any judges, did not do that, did he? He even gets Riker to follow orders and implement the schedule change. He later relieves Riker of duty, but not because of that. * * * 1. A reference to the Royal Navy Admiral? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/54 "2024-05-27T17:24:57Z")
The Jellico stuff is a good example of why, in the real world, officers and crews don’t stay on the same ship for years and years at a time. 3-5 years is the absolute maximum, and over 3 years is considered a _long_ tour of duty onboard. On submarines, it’s not unusual to see some positions (notably the XO) turnover after just a year and a half. Keep everyone together for 5 years and more? They’re going to get comfortable, and they’re going to get pretty set in their ways. They really will have a hard time adjusting to a new CO. It really is harder to teach old dogs new tricks. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/55 "2024-05-29T11:46:43Z")
Interesting post script: this week with its finale Discovery will be the longest running Star Trek series by time even though it aired 111 less episodes than TNG did (there were years Discovery aired no episodes at all) DSC (65 eps): Sep 24, 2017 – May 30, 2024 / 2,440 days TNG (176 eps): Sep 28, 1987 – May 23, 1994 / 2,429 days DS9 (173 eps): Jan 3, 1993 – Jun 2, 1999 / 2,341 days VGR (168 eps): Jan 16, 1995 – May 23, 2001 / 2,319 days ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/56 "2024-05-29T12:56:21Z")
By that logic, Leonard Nimoy was Spock for roughly 17,000 days. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2024, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974/57 "2024-05-29T14:15:41Z")
Logic is pretty figures that tell LIES! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-star-trek-tng-finale-first-aired-30-years-ago-today/1001974.md?page=2)