Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

All Good Things... (1994)

Colm Meaney: Chief Miles O'Brien

Photos 

Quotes 

• O'Brien : We have to realign the entire power grid. We'll all be burning the midnight oil on this one.

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : [passing]  That would be inadvisable.

  O'Brien : Excuse me?

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : If you attempt to ignite a petroleum product on this ship at 0000 hours, you will activate the fire suppression system, which would seal off this entire compartment.

  O'Brien : That was just an expression.

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : Expression of what?

  O'Brien : A figure of speech. I was trying to tell him that we'd be working late.

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : Ah. Then 'to burn the midnight oil' implies late work?

  O'Brien : Yeah, that's right.

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : Hm. I am curious. What is the etymology of that idiom?

  O'Brien : Hm?

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : How did it come to be used in contemporary language?

  O'Brien : I-I don't know, sir.

• [O'Brien's last line of the series] 

  O'Brien : We're entering the anomaly, sir.