The single greatest cliffhanger of all time.
Try to imagine it. It’s the spring of 1990, and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” has been on the air for three seasons - and is about to break the Original Series’ record by having a fourth season.
Denise Crosby (Lt. Tasha Yar) left the show before the first season was over. Gates McFadden was summarily fired and replaced for season two, only to return in season three at the insistence of Patrick Stewart. So change had always been a possibility.
There was no internet. Which meant no spoilers like we now know them. No set reports. No speculation amongst the fans outside of conventions or groups of friends. Which meant no way to cope with the anxiety, no bulletin boards to post “AHHH! WTF?” on while you waited.
We may know now how it all turned out, but back then? I’ve got friends who where trekkies in the day, and the summer of 1990 was full of anxiety!
Oh no this one’s even worse
I felt that there was a built-in contradiction in a character that we’d said was like Mozart in his appreciation of higher mathematics and physics, yet was just on the same career path as any Starfleet cadet. I didn’t get it – if Wes is truly special and gifted, what the hell is he doing at the Helm? It seemed like he was only going to the Academy to live up to the memory of his father and the expectations of Picard, not because it was his best destiny.
“Journey’s End” also seemed like an opportunity to see someone walk away from Starfleet with their head held high and just say “It’s cool, but not for me.” I was tired of everyone in the 24th century saying, “All I want to do is wear the uniform and serve on a starship.” Hey, it’s cool, but it’s not for everyone. So I pushed to have Wes realize his destiny was elsewhere and have him walk away.
— Ron Moore on Journey’s End
