At the end of the night, Marina Sirtis thanked everyone on behalf of her cast mates. She pointed out how lucky they had all been to be able to do what they love for a living and how their lives, without Star Trek, wouldn’t be as good. It’s something they share with the fans. I can’t imagine what my life would’ve been like without Star Trek and without this cast specifically.

In the final episode of The Next Generation, “All Good Things…,” Picard finds himself flashing twenty-five years into the future. The crew—his crew—has splintered. They’re all living their own lives and their days on the Enterprise are long behind them. Now, a quarter of a century in the actual future from the series premiere, the actors’ lives have changed. They’ve moved on. But, after all this time, like the characters they portrayed, they’re still happy to come back together.