Okay the bit in the TNG finale that really rubs me the wrong way (and it is just the one bit – given the constraints that finale did come out pretty damn alright) is the bit ten minutes from the end where the earliest of the three timelines hits its climax as Picard tries to persuade the pre-pilot crew to go into the big light thing to save the day. According to its writers the finale is all about the changes and developments and relationships between the characters, and the 'jumping through time' construct is a really great way to do that, but why have a third timeline in pre-pilot times?
There's an obvious place to go to highlight the development: these people don't know each other yet. They don't trust each other yet. They're all kinda stand-offish and abrasive and unsure. The crew isn't complete yet and the ship isn't broken in yet. All these things that let you say, "damn, it sure was episodic but you can't say that crew/ship didn't gel very successfully over seven years".
But then, ten minutes from the end, in the climax, Picard says "look, I know nothing, but I know you guys are great, so trust me" and it... works? And the plan works too? Why? How?
It makes me feel stupid for thinking things have changed. The crew trusts Picard enough in the future to start fights with angry Klingons, but it turns out they trusted him about as much before they knew him? The jumped up future Enterprise is damn fine, but the ship was just as capable on day 1? The only growth moment they highlight is Data, who delivers the same information three times, but with a slightly less robotic affect each time, which, uh
Ah, but this is Picard's story, so maybe the change is that he trusts the crew now. But was that ever in doubt? I don't remember any story where he's struggling to trust the people around him, so why the big long speech so close to the end? Who's it for?
Did we really do the nostalgia run just so we could see Denise Crosby, Colm Meaney, that bloody miniskirt, and that trial set again?