Finally finished it out on Sunday. I loved it. Was it fan service? It was indeed. But you know what? It was necessary fan service, IMO. That crew deserved a better ending, and they got one. The kid who watched Encounter at Farpoint in 1987, who recorded the audio from TV in 1989 (as our VCR was broken, and our TV was all but busted except for a grainy picture and the audio) using a tape recorder, and then listened to each episode over and over again, and stuck with this crew all the way through, came away pleased. Was it perfect? No. Were there plot holes? Yes. But was the chemistry there? The connection between that crew, and this late-40s guy who remembers them as a pre-teen? Yep, it was there, and I came away happy with the end result. Much happier with that in comparison to Nemesis. Wrapped with a bow. Done.
Moving forward, I am interested where the Next Gen crew goes, but I am NOT interested in Jack Crusher's story, or the Titan...err...you know...the newly promoted peoples' adventure. Frankly, those promotions are one of the more far-fetched pieces of the whole thing, IMO. But the ending for the Next Gen crew tugged at the heartstrings, felt good, and I'm satisfied.
Now, when will my beloved Deep Space Nine get some respect? You have Cirroc Lofton trying to pimp out Sisko Day in May, trying to drum up the buzz. DS9 was so, so unique and good. And it's really a shame they've ignored it (except for the obvious use of the changelings).