Almost overshadowed in the hoopla over the new Picard trailer May 23 was the reason for its timing: the 25th anniversary, in turn, of the finale of TNG, the Hugo-award-winning “All Good Things.”
Which is where I always remind fans that May 23, as with all the syndicated, off-network TNG and DS9 episodes, was not a uniform premiere date— but merely the first day of the “airing week” running Monday through Sunday, depending on each affiliate station’s choice of air day and time. I still contend we in OKC were the last in the country to see TNG each week, since our local affiliate carried it at 10:30 pm Sunday night. (Unless bumped even later, that is, by an AFC NFL game that ran long or into overtime!)
But with the 25th here—wow— memories are flooding back from the days it felt like I was madly living and writing with the creative staffs while on deadline for the updated red-cover Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion.
It was still a little over 2 months until our permanent move to Los Angeles from good ol’ OKC, which is why the anniversary moment has also conjured up the memory of this short clip of news footage from Sunday night, May 22, just before the airing of the penultimate “Pre-emptive Strike” a week ahead of the finale— on May 29. (So I’m early with this clip!)
Just think: There’s not a single You-Tube host, cordless phone, or anyone checking their Twitter feed in this entire video!