This section contains information on Star Trek : Generations, the first of the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies.
William Shatner, James Doohan and Walter Koenig from the original series star alongside the Next Generation cast, including Whoopi Goldberg in her regular guest role as Guinan. Malcolm McDowell guest stars as Soran, the traditional mad scientist, and Barbara March and Gwynyth Walsh reprise their TNG roles as the Klingon Duras sisters Lursa and B'tor. The story was written by Brannon Braga and Ron D Moore.
Since opening, the film has grossed over $75 million dollars.
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A Few Notes and Comments
Rick Berman is the producer of the newest motion picture in the popular "Star Trek" legacy. David Carson directs from a screenplay written by Ron Moore and Brannon Braga based on a story by Berman, Moore and Braga. Bernard Williams is executive producer, and Peter Lauritson is co-producer.
"Star Trek: Generations" brings the cast of the award-winning television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to the big screen for the first time with Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden and Marina Sirtis joining Stewart aboard the Enterprise. Malcolm McDowell and original series cast members James Doohan and Walter Koenig also star.
The previous six "Star Trek" movies are "Star Trek -- The Motion Picture" (1979), "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (1982), "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984), "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986), "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" (1989) and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991). These films, along with revenues from the original television series and various merchandising deals (including more than 40 best-selling novels), have grossed more than 1 billion dollars (US$) worldwide.
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" premiered in 1987 as the No. 1 show in syndication. The show boasts an exceptional list of awards and honors including 16 Emmy Awards (46 nominations), the prestigious Peabody Award in 1988 and the 1993 Hugo Award for Science Fiction Achievement.
The "Star Trek" series, which now includes "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and the upcoming "Star Trek: Voyager," are a universal phenomenon, airing in more than 100 countries. In addition, 10 million people a year see the Star Trek exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Prior to taking command of the Enterprise in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series, Stewart appeared in such BBC productions as "I, Claudius," "Smiley's People" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." Stewart's films include "Gunmen," "Robin Hood: Men In Tights," "L.A. Story," "Lady Jane," "Dune," "Excalibur" and "Hedda." His stage appearances include his one-man interpretation of "A Christmas Carol," and he won a London Fringe Best Actor Award for "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and a Society of West End Theatre Award for "Antony and Cleopatra."
Shatner starred in all six films and in the original "Star Trek" television series, which aired from 1966 to 1969. His other films include "Airplane II: The Sequel," "Visiting Hours," "The Kidnapping of the President," "The Devil's Rain," "Kingdom of the Spiders," "Big Bad Mama," "Judgment at Nuremberg" and "The Intruder." His other television appearances include the recent "TekWar," based on the popular series of novels he has authored, and the series "Rescue 911" and "T.J. Hooker." Shatner starred on the Broadway stage in "The World of Suzie Wong," "A Shot in the Dark" and "L'Idiote."
Frakes reprises the role he created in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" of Commander William Riker, the Enterprise's executive officer and second-in-command. His other television credits include the miniseries "North and South" (Parts I, II and III) and "The Nutcracker," recurring roles on such shows as "Falcon Crest," "Paper Dolls" and "Bare Essence" and the daytime drama "The Doctors."
Spiner plays Lt. Commander Data, an android with powerful strength and an encyclopedic memory. Spiner's stage credits include the New York productions of "Big River," "The Three Musketeers," "Sunday in the Park with George" and "The Seagull" and the Los Angeles production of "Little Shop of Horrors." His feature films include "Stardust Memories" and "The Miss Firecracker Contest."
Burton stars as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge. In addition to his "Star Trek" duties, Burton presently serves as host and producer of "Reading Rainbow," the highly acclaimed Emmy Award-winning series on PBS. He won his first Emmy for his role as Kunte Kinte in the miniseries "Roots" and went on to star in the Emmy-nominated "Dummy," "One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story," "Grambling's White Tiger," "The Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones," "Battered," "Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid," "A Roots Christmas: Kunte Kinte's Gift" and the miniseries "Liberty." Among his feature film credits are "Looking for Mr. Goodbar," "The Hunter" and "The Supernaturals."
Dorn, who plays Lt. Worf, a Klingon graduate of the Starfleet Academy, was the first member of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast to work with the cast of the original series when he played Lt. Worf's grandfather in the feature film "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." His feature film credits include "Demon Seed," "Rocky" and "Jagged Edge." On television, he spent three years as a regular cast member on "CHiPs," guest-starred on such series as "Hotel," "Knots Landing" and "Falcon Crest" and had recurring roles on "Days of Our Lives" and "Capitol."
McFadden stars as Dr. Beverly Crusher, the chief medical officer. Prior to joining "Star Trek: The Next Generation," McFadden worked extensively on the New York stage. Her credits include leads in "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday," "How to Say Goodbye," "Cloud 9," "Emerald City" and the world premiere production of Derek Walcott's "Viva Detroit" in Los Angeles. Her film credits include "Taking Care of Business," "The Hunt for Red October" and "The Muppets Take Manhattan."
Sirtis is Counselor Troi, a half-human/half-alien with the ability to read emotions and sense what is happening around her. Her film credits include "Waxwork II: Adventures in Time," "One Last Chance" and "The Wicked Lady." She also toured Europe with the immensely popular "Rocky Horror Show."
McDowell's most famous credits include the films "If," "O Lucky Man," "Brittania Hospital," "A Clockwork Orange" and "Time After Time." His other films include "Gulag," "Assassin of the Czar," "Chain of Desire," "Schweitzer," "Disturbed," "Sunset," "Blue Thunder," "Cat People," "The Passage," "Aces High," "Voyage of the Damned," "Royal Flash," "The Raging Moon," "Figures in a Landscape" and "The Player."
Doohan returns as Scotty, the chief engineer on the original Enterprise. Doohan has appeared in more than 100 films and television shows since coming to Hollywood. In his native Canada, Doohan performed for more than 4,000 radio shows and 400 television programs. His motion pictures include "The Wheeler Dealer," "The Satan Bug," "Bus Riley's Back In Town" and "Fellowship." He has also appeared in the plays "The Trial of James McNiel Whistler" and "Teddy."
Koenig reprises his role as Chekov from the original series. His credits include the feature films "Moontrap" and "The Deadly Weapon" and the telefilms "The Questor Tapes" and "Goodbye Raggedy Ann." On stage, he has appeared in the Mark Taper Forum Production of "The Deputy" and toured nationally in "Actors" and "Boys in August." Koenig is also a writer whose diary of the shooting of "Star Trek -- The Motion Picture" was published with the title of "Chekov's Enterprise." He has also authored several teleplays including episodes of "Class of '65," "Family," "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Powers of Matthew Star."
Producer Berman is the executive producer of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series and creator/executive producer of the "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" series and the upcoming "Star Trek: Voyager" series. The former programming executive oversaw the epic mini-series "Space" and "Wallenberg: A Hero's Story" and such highly acclaimed series as "Cheers," "Family Ties" and "MacGyver." He has written and produced numerous series and specials for HBO and PBS. As senior producer, he received an Emmy Award for the children's series "The Big Blue Marble."
Executive producer Williams' films as executive producer or production manager include "What About Bob?," "Navy Seals," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Manhunter," "The Bounty," "Ragtime," "Flash Gordon" and "Lady Caroline's Lamb." Williams also served as producer supervisor of the classic English Television series "The Prisoner."
Co-producer Lauritson is producer of the television series "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Carson makes his motion picture directorial debut with "Star Trek: Generations." The award-winning director of British documentaries and telefilms has also directed over 50 stage productions for London's leading regional theatre companies. His extensive television credits (both in Europe and the United States) include the series "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (including the pilot), "Northern Exposure," "L.A. Law" and "Sisters."
Screenwriter Moore is series producer of the television series "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and screenwriter Braga is series co- producer.
Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Paramount Communications Inc., which is a majority-owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc.
The film opens with Kirk, Scotty and Chekov (just retired) and assorted members of the press along as observers on the maiden flight of the brand new NCC-1701B, the first USS Enterprise in 30 years not commanded by Kirk.
The Enterprise-B picks up a distress call from two ships carrying El Aurian refugees escaping from the destruction of their planet by the Borg. (TNG's character Guinan is a member of this long-lived race). The two ships are caught in the energy field surrounding a mysterious cosmic ribbon that is emitting severe gravometric radiation which is gradually destroying their hulls.
The inexperienced Captain Harrigan of the Enterprise-B starts to panic, as most of the ship's systems are not ready (in the grand tradition of the earlier Star Trek movies!). Kirk takes command, and takes the ship in towards the ribbon. Scotty manages to beam 46 survivors off one of the refugee ships before they are both destroyed.
The refugees include TNG's Guinan and a distraught scientist called Soran (played by Malcolm McDowell). Soran appears to be in shock, insisting that he must return to the ribbon.
Having rescued the refugees, the Enterprise-B must now escape from the ribbon's energy field before the hull collapses. Kirk leaves the bridge, going down to reconfigure the main deflector dish to simulate a photon torpedo.
He manages this just in time, and the Enterprise escapes. However, a stray bolt of energy from the ribbon hits the ship as it escapes, completely destroying several decks around Kirk's location. Kirk is missing, presumed dead.
The story picks up 78 years later, with the crew of the Enterprise-D giving Lieutenant-Commander Worf a rather silly promotion party on the Holodeck. As a result of a prank in poor taste, Data decides that to understand human emotions he needs to install the emotion chip that was designed for Lore. He does this, and as a result has considerable problems learning to come to grips with his emotions, enabling Brent Spiner to have a lot of fun acting out of character thoughout the story.
Shortly afterwards, the Enterprise-D picks up a distress call from a scientific research station around the Amagosis star. There, they find most of the station's crew have been killed by Romulans. Surprise, surprise, Soran is one of the few survivors, and comes aboard the Enterprise. Guinan recognises him and explains to Picard that Soran is obsessively dangerous. Guinan's people, the El Aurians, are familiar with the mysterious ribbon - it is called the Nexus, emerges every 40 years, and is the doorway to a timeless paradise.
Soran returns to the station, and manages to stun Geordi and Data. He then launches a Trilithium-based stellar probe into the Amagosis star, and contacts a Klingon Bird of Prey captained by Lursa and B'Tor, the Duras sisters from TNG. As the Enterprise crew watch in horror, the Amagosis star undergoes a stellar collapse and a massive shockwave rips out towards them. Riker and Worf transport to the station to find Geordi and Data, before the shockwave destroys the station.
After a firefight, Soran escapes onto the Klingon ship, kidnapping Geordi, and Riker and Worf manage to save Data. On the Klingon ship, it emerges that Soran has promised to sell Lursa and B'Tor the Trilithium-based stellar destructor, and that they had stolen the Trilithium from the Romulans for him. Soran tells the Klingons to set course for the nearby Viridian solar system - they engage their cloaking device and warp off.
After the Enterprise-D escapes from the shockwave just in time, Picard and Data manage to work out Soran's plan - to destroy the nearby Viridian star in order to divert the ribbon's course so that it intersects with a populated planet in the Viridian system, enabling Soran to enter the ribbon - but all those on the planet will perish! They warp off in pursuit.
On arrival in the Viridian system, the Enterprise hails the cloaked Bird of Prey, and Picard offers to swap himself for Geordi, on proviso that Picard can meet Soran and try to stop him. Soran has already beamed down to the planet, so Picard follows him. Lursa and B'Tor let Geordi go back to the Enterprise, now temporarily commanded by Riker. Unbeknown to Geordi, Soran has modified his visor - Lursa and B'Tor see everything he sees! After a while, Geordi goes down to Engineering and looks around. One of the Engineering displays shows the Enterprise's shield modulation frequency. This information allows any enemy to penetrate the Enterprise's shields - and Lursa and B'Tor see it!
Opening fire upon the Enterprise using phasers tuned to the modulation frequency, Lursa and B'Tor manage to cut through the shields, causing severe damage to the Enterprise. However, using Worf's knowledge of a design defect in the elderly Bird of Prey, Riker orders the launch of a photon torpedo configured to overload the Klingon shields, followed by a sustained phaser blast that destroys the Bird of Prey while its shields are down.
However, despite all Geordi can do, the Enterprise suffers a major plasma leak which leads to the start of a ware core breach. Riker orders the saucer section of the Enterprise to detach - getting all the ship's personnel into the saucer just in time. The main part of the Enterprise explodes (sob!), causing the saucer section to plummet uncontrollably to the planet. It crash lands, causing considerable devastation, but the survivors start clambering out onto the upper surface of the saucer.
Meanwhile, down on the planet, Picard repeatedly tries to stop Soran, managing to break through Soran's forcefielded perimeter, and fighting him on a bridge, but ultimately Picard falls down a rock face and is hurt.
He watches helplessly as Soran manages to launch another Trilithium-based weapon towards the Viridian star. The star is destroyed, deflecting the ribbon towards the planet. The ribbon comes closer and closer, and finally hits the mountaintop where Soran is waiting, screaming in triumph. We see the planet destroyed as the shockwave from the star hits it - and a close up as the shockwave destroys the crashed saucer section of the Enterprise, including all the crew!
At about this stage, we remember that it's a Brannon Braga story, and begin to have slight doubts about whether they could really trash the Enterprise and kill off all the crew, especially in the middle of the film!
Sure enough, we find that Picard survives, entering into the strange unreal paradise inside the Nexus. Picard perceives a warm cosy Victorian Christmas environment where he has several nauseating children (including his dead nephew) and a lovely wife. After a short while, he realises that it's not real, and breaks out of the illusion.
A projection of Guinan appears to him, and advises him that he can do anything and go anywhere in the Nexus. He decides to have another go at beating Soran, but realises he needs help. Guinan takes him to another recent arrival in the timeless world of the Nexus - Captain Kirk! He is in an American wilderness fantasy, chopping wood nearby a log cabin with majestic forests, mountains and grassland all around, with one of his old girlfriends around, and horses for him to ride. Apparently, he has only just arrived after being sucked into the Nexus when the deflector deck on the Enterprise-B exploded.
Kirk takes a lot of convincing that his beautiful fantasy is indeed a fantasy (considerably longer than Picard, we can't help but notice!). Picard and Kirk go riding, with Picard trying to convince Kirk to help him, and Kirk coming out with some brilliant lines such as:
Eventually, Kirk realises the Nexus is a fantasy - it's better than life could really be - and agrees to help Picard. After all, he says, "How could I refuse an order from the Captain of the Enterprise!"
The two choose to leave the Nexus at the point where Picard has transported down to the planet, and after the Enterprise saucer section has separated from the doomed ship. Events replay as before, but Soran now has two Captains to deal with. As before, Picard manages to fall off a rock face, but Kirk manages to knock Soran off a very steep cliff, where he dangles on a rope.
However, Soran has managed to start the countdown and lock the missile inside a force field, and Picard and Kirk need the controlling handset - which has fallen from Soran's hand onto a dangerously swaying bridge. Kirk goes to fetch it, but Soran shoots at him and blows the bridge in half. Kirk is trapped on half of the bridge, but the handset is still precariously balanced on one of the girders of his half of the destroyed bridge. He inches down towards it, and eventually manages to reach the handset and release the forcefield. As he does so, the bridge collapses and falls several hundred feet down the mountain side, along with Kirk. Picard then manages to get to the missile platform, and frantically starts reconfiguring the missile's guidance panel. Soran scrambles into view, and orders Picard away from the missile. Picard obeys, and Soran comes up to see what Picard's done. Too late, Soran sees that the locking clamps are locked down, as the countdown hits zero. Picard ducks for cover, as the missile explodes on the launch pad with a spectacular bang, atomising Soran.
Picard finds the dying Kirk pinned under the bridge metalwork, and Kirk dies in heroic movie-style. Picard buries him and walks off the mountain. Some hours later, he is picked up by a shuttle from the Enterprise's saucer section. The crew have survived (this iteration!) with many injuries but very few deaths.
In the postscript, several Federation starships come to assist the Enterprise crew. Picard makes a final log entry, revealing that the Enterprise's saucer section is too badly damaged to be salvaged - the Enterprise-D is dead!
Meanwhile, Data is leading a search in the wreckage of the crew quarters, scanning for the lifesigns of any remaining survivors. Detecting a faint life sign, Data turns over some wreckage and discovers his beloved moggy, Spot. (Having seen this film in the cinema, I can reveal that there was considerably more emotion from the audience when Spot is found alive and well than when our beloved Captain Kirk died!).
Picard and Riker sift through the wreckage on the bridge and the Captain's ready room, and muse that the Enterprise-D died before her time. Picard suggests that it's unlikely to be the last ship to bear the name Enterprise! The film ends with Picard and the others leaving the crashed Enterprise-D, going back to Earth in one of the starships that come to assist them.
One comment heard at the Cinema after seeing Generations:
It is rumoured that Generations originally
had Picard say the immortal line:
when the bridge crushes Captain Kirk!. Even if this isn't true, it's still a superb joke :-)...
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