With some of the finest conclusions ever put to screen, here are the lines that made them.
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00:00 Of course, not every final line has to be grandioso or pithy to be noteworthy.
00:05 Sometimes a good line is just a good line.
00:07 And on occasion, a final line is simply the best possible end to a bad situation for the
00:12 characters.
00:13 Whether they have left us hanging off a cliff, deep in existential thought, feeling the feels
00:18 lost in retrospection, or laughing along and everything in between.
00:23 So with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, here with the 10 best final lines
00:28 in Star Trek episodes.
00:30 10.
00:31 "Computer, end program"
00:33 Who here hasn't uttered the words "computer, end program" whilst deep in some ontological
00:38 crisis about the nature of reality?
00:41 No?
00:42 Well, that's the whimsical little existential query that Lieutenant Barclay makes manifest
00:47 at the very end of the Next Generation episode "Ship in a Bottle".
00:50 He, Picard and Data have escaped Professor Moriarty's clutches with some clever holographic
00:55 mise-en-abime, and the latter, accompanied by the Countess Bartholomew, is then set to
00:59 live out the rest of his days inside a yellow cube of active memory, in theory none the
01:04 wiser as to the true nature of the world around him.
01:07 Picard further speculates that we all might be living a simulation in a device sitting
01:12 on someone's table, and it's this that leads Barclay to speak the titular line that
01:16 concludes the episode.
01:17 Barclay was first included in this episode because it was felt that there needed to be
01:21 a character who was unaware of holographic Moriarty's creation, but when it became
01:26 unnecessary to the story, it was nonetheless decided that Barclay was the best character
01:32 to deliver the final line.
01:34 It also looks like Moriarty, presumably looking for an expansion pack, is set to return in
01:39 Season 3 of Star Trek Picard, to be played by the same actor Daniel Davis, making that
01:44 final line ever more prescient.
01:47 Number 9. Sounds to me like we've only postponed the invasion until what, the 24th
01:53 century?
01:54 With a note of dramatic irony, the last line of the Enterprise episode "Regeneration"
01:59 wraps up the events of First Contact and anticipates the arrival of the Borg in the next generation.
02:04 In the episode, a team of scientists find the wreckage of a ship that crashed in the
02:08 Arctic a hundred years prior. With it, they also discover certain cybernetic creatures
02:13 all too familiar to the audience, but unknown to the unwitting researchers.
02:18 The moment they bring the alien corpses back to the lab is enough to have any fan screaming
02:23 at the television "NO GET THEM OUT OF THERE!" in anticipation of the move the Borg are going
02:28 to pull.
02:29 Further observations from the scientists such as "I think this ship was a perfect sphere"
02:33 only adds to the dramatic tension that results from the viewer being in the position of familiarity.
02:38 It is ultimately this disconnect of information that is key to the success of the episode,
02:43 and what makes its final line so effective. It re-establishes the Borg in a position of
02:48 dominance and real threat. The viewer is then allowed to be afraid again on behalf of the
02:53 less well-informed characters.
02:55 Wibbly wobbly borgy worgy, you might say, but this episode certainly attracted its fair
03:01 share of ire for supposedly mucking around with the continuity. However, this line is
03:07 actually an attempt to explain why the Borg are on our side of the galaxy when they're
03:13 first mentioned in the Next Generation episode "The Neutral Zone". So, parsimony, not paradox.
03:19 And really, the Enterprise E crew should have done a better clean up job.
03:22 Number 8. 60,000 light years seems a little closer today.
03:27 When the Doctor is transferred back to Voyager from the Alpha Quadrant in "Message in a
03:31 Bottle", he returns with news that Starfleet now knows the crew is alive and will do everything
03:36 to get them home. Captain Janeway gives this line in reply, and we are all a little moved
03:41 as a result.
03:42 In its conclusion of the episode, the line is a major turning point for the series as
03:47 the tone shifts towards contact with and the eventuality of returning to Earth. Apparently,
03:52 this scene was intended to take place in the mess hall with the entire crew for, according
03:57 to Robert Picardo, "a big emotional moment with all these extras", but they decided
04:03 that this was too much like the Waltons, and so they scaled back their plans and the scene
04:07 took place in sickbay with Janeway, Tuvok, Chakotay and the Doctor.
04:12 Number 7. Set a course for home.
04:16 Set a course for home, spoken by Captain Janeway, ends the Star Trek Voyager pilot caretaker
04:21 that begins the series, and it equally concludes the series finale endgame just before Voyager
04:27 is seen sailing towards Earth.
04:29 This is a decidedly elegant way to bookend the series, using the five words that summarise
04:36 the crew's overarching mission. Endgame might have had a very different ending, however.
04:41 As producer Rick Berman has discussed, when the story for the final episode was being
04:45 outlined, many directions were considered for Voyager's ultimate fate, including one
04:50 that would have seen the crew remain in the Delta Quadrant.
04:53 According to Berman, they held onto this idea for at least a month, and had intended to
04:57 make the point that the meaning of all this was the journey. In the actual episode, this
05:02 is echoed in Harry Kim's impassioned speech as he realises that the destination is of
05:07 less importance than the people he shares it with.
05:10 Either way, the line may well have remained the same. It does seem fitting for both situations,
05:16 however it probably wouldn't have had such an emotional impact if Voyager hadn't have
05:20 made it home.
05:21 Number 6. Where there'll be no Tribble at all.
05:24 At the end of the second season episode of the original series, The Trouble with Tribbles,
05:29 Kirk is wondering how the crew have rid the Enterprise of certain squeaky little populators.
05:34 No one seems to want to answer until Scotty finally admits that he beamed them all to
05:38 the engine room of the departing Klingon vessel, adding the now iconic line, "Where there'll
05:43 be no Tribble at all."
05:45 The bridge bursts into fits of laughter, and you'd be a cold-hearted viewer if you didn't
05:49 at least crack a smile.
05:50 This episode is regularly voted as one of Star Trek's all-time bests, and as the final
05:55 line would indicate, it particularly stands out for its deliberate comedic style.
06:00 It did divide the original series' producers and writers, however, many of whom, including
06:06 Gene Roddenberry, weren't overly keen on the less-than-serious subject matter.
06:11 Disagreements about the show's tone between Roddenberry and the then more comedy-orientated
06:17 series producer Gene Kuhn are cited to be one of the reasons for the latter's departure
06:23 from the show midway through the second season.
06:26 After all these years, the episode and its memorable final line continue to show that
06:31 Star Trek does well when it's having a little fun.
06:34 Each of the subsequent series, and even the darker Discovery and Picard, have had their
06:38 fair share of comedy.
06:40 Gene Roddenberry also later chose The Trouble with Tribbles as one of his favourite episodes.
06:45 5.
06:46 Let's Get the Hell Out of Here
06:49 The last line of The City on the Edge of Forever goes to Captain Kirk.
06:53 He has been forced to allow and to witness the death of Edith Keeler so as to prevent
06:57 catastrophic changes in the timeline.
06:59 The line encapsulates both Kirk's sadness and his frustration.
07:03 Now considered one of the greats, the episode's script, final line and production faced more
07:08 problems than McCoy hopped up on Caudresin.
07:11 The pitch and original script were the work of noted science fiction writer Harlan Ellison,
07:17 but contained some very un-Star Trek ideas, including drug dealing and murder between
07:22 the Enterprise crew, arguments, Spock calling humanity barbaric, Kirk suggesting that Spock
07:28 should be lynched, execution by firing squad, and it would have cost a small fortune to
07:33 film.
07:34 The script was sent for multiple rewrites by various parties and lasted for months,
07:40 and resulted in years of animosity between Ellison and Gene Roddenberry.
07:44 In the end, it was also the most costly episode of the first season.
07:48 In Ellison's first script, Kirk hesitates and does not prevent Keeler's rescue.
07:53 It is Spock who intervenes at the last moment.
07:56 The episode's final line was also initially problematic for broadcaster NBC on account
08:00 of its infernal obscenity.
08:02 After some persuasion from Roddenberry and William Shatner, the line and its offending
08:06 term were permitted, becoming one of the first uses of the word "hell" as such on American
08:12 television.
08:13 4.
08:14 Just give it some thought.
08:16 Captain Janeway's deliciously sardonic "F-you" to the now not-so-cocksure Kuros of the Think
08:22 Tank comes in the Voyager episode "Think Tank".
08:25 Kuros appears on the bridge in isomorphic form to make one last desperate plea to Seven
08:30 of Nine to join his crew, but Janeway reminds him that a good guest knows when he's outstayed
08:35 his welcome.
08:36 Clearly in trouble, his holographic form falters, and Janeway delivers her final blow.
08:40 Voyager then warps away as the Hazari vessels continue their triumphant attack.
08:45 They have all out-thought the Think Tank.
08:47 This line is a brilliant conclusion to an excellent episode full of twists and turns,
08:52 strong characters, and underscored with enjoyable camp comedy.
08:56 Kate Mulgrew as Janeway plays against Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame, who gives a brilliant
09:01 performance as the conniving Kuros.
09:04 Mulgrew delivers the line with a brilliant touch of rising intonation and a wry smile.
09:10 Jason Alexander is also an unabashed mega-fan of Star Trek, and has stated that part of
09:15 the reason he became an actor was because of watching William Shatner as James Tiberius
09:20 Kirk.
09:21 He had always wanted to appear on the show, but as an alien, not a human.
09:25 When just that opportunity arose for the episode of Voyager, he even brought his children to
09:30 set to see him, adding that he was "thrilled" with the episode.
09:34 Number 3.
09:35 Well, I guess we're about to find out.
09:38 This line forms the dramatic conclusion to the Season 6 Deep Space Nine episode "Favor
09:43 the Bold".
09:44 As Sisko prepares to retake the station from the Dominion, he first quotes an old saying,
09:48 "Fortune favors the bold", wondering whether his gamble will pay off.
09:53 In any case, with the Cardassians and the Dominion preparing to take down the minefield
09:57 at the entrance to the wormhole, they have little choice but to go then and there.
10:01 The audience is left with a "to be continued" and one of the greatest Star Trek cliffhangers
10:06 of all time.
10:08 This two-parter forms the end of an epic six-episode story arc, a rare, if not unique, form of
10:14 storytelling for Star Trek at the time, that sees the beginning of the Dominion War and
10:19 the occupation of the station.
10:22 It turns out that we very nearly didn't have this line, however.
10:25 The writers had intended for this story arc, which continued the events of the Season 5
10:31 finale, would be completed in four episodes.
10:35 Realising they needed more room for the plot, this was increased to five with "Favor of
10:39 the Bold" as the last episode and then eventually to six with "Sacrifice of Angels".
10:43 And we're kind of glad they did because even the colloquial tone of Sisko's "well, I
10:49 guess we're about to find out" just adds to the tension and definitely anticipates
10:54 the monumental space battle that would take place in the following episode.
10:59 Number 2 So, five card stud, nothing wild, and the
11:03 sky's the limit.
11:05 How do you end seven seasons of a much-beloved television show in style?
11:10 With Picard finally joining the poker game and dealing the cards, of course.
11:13 All good things must come to an end, until about a week and a half later when you start
11:17 work on the movie.
11:18 The series finale of The Next Generation is as near to perfect as you can dare to get.
11:23 Its clever premise is an epic romp across time that allows for as much nostalgia as
11:27 the old-age makeup it requires.
11:29 The final scene and line are unparalleled in both their effective simplicity and emotive
11:34 clout.
11:35 Picard has spent the best part of the episode travelling back and forth through time and,
11:39 with a little help from everyone's favourite letter of the alphabet, trying to prevent
11:42 the destruction of humanity, and most of the galaxy, by a powerful anomaly.
11:47 Before saving the day, although technically he started it, he is subject to the destruction
11:51 of three enterprises.
11:53 When Picard returns to the present, it is little wonder, therefore, that all he wants
11:57 to do is kick back a little with his senior officers, all of whom are clearly now also
12:01 his friends.
12:02 "I should have done this a long time ago," he laments, and Troy reminds him that he was
12:07 always welcome.
12:08 Apparently, the fact that Picard never joined a game of poker across the seven seasons was
12:13 not a deliberate move on the part of the writers.
12:17 They simply just never found the time to include him in one of those scenes until the finale.
12:22 1.
12:23 Mr. Worf, Fire
12:26 These are the decisive final words of what is one of the greatest episodes of Star Trek,
12:31 The Best of Both Worlds Part 1.
12:33 The line itself may be rather laconic, but it certainly does the job.
12:37 It is made memorable, of course, by what comes immediately before it.
12:41 "I am Locutus of Borg.
12:43 Resistance is futile.
12:45 Your life as it has been is over."
12:47 Picard has been assimilated and Riker gives the order to fire the deflector weapon.
12:51 Nowadays, the next episode will play as automatically as a Borg's resonance signal, but at the time,
12:58 people had to wait a whole summer to find out the conclusion of Riker's fateful words.
13:03 Shockingly, actually, in retrospect, at the time, Patrick Stewart was going through contract
13:10 negotiations and so there was actual doubt as to whether he would be returning.
13:15 And so the ambiguity of that line is even more deliberate with the writers holding onto
13:21 the possibility of killing off Picard.
13:24 And that in itself caused a considerable amount of buzz amongst fans at the time.
13:29 Furthermore, this was only the second two-part episode in Star Trek history, the first having
13:33 been the Menagerie I and II.
13:35 It was also the first end-of-season cliffhanger for the franchise, and in this, the next generation
13:40 really began to thrive on its own merits.
13:43 Those final three words solidified the next generation's place in the Star Trek canon.
13:48 It was now firmly carrying the torch.
13:51 And that concludes our list.
13:52 If you have another example, then do let us know in the comments below.
13:56 And while you're there, don't forget to hit that like button and the notification bell
13:59 as well.
14:00 Don't forget to also head over to Twitter and follow us there, and Instagram as well.
14:05 And I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
14:10 I've been Ellie with Trek Culture.
14:11 I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.