Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Generations (Paramount Pictures, 1994) is the seventh feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. It is often referred to as just Generations. It is the first film in the series to star the cast of The Next Generation, and is a symbolic passing of the torch of the film series from the The Original Series cast to the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast.

There was also a Generations (game) based on the film.

Cast

Actor	Role
Patrick Stewart	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	Commander William T. Riker
Brent Spiner	Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	Lt. Commander Worf
Gates McFadden	Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	Counselor Deanna Troi
Malcolm McDowell	Dr. Tolian Soran
James Doohan	Captain Montgomery Scott
Walter Koenig	Commander Pavel Chekov
William Shatner	Captain James T. Kirk
Alan Ruck	Captain John Harriman
Whoopi Goldberg	Guinan (uncredited)
Jacqueline Kim	Ensign Demora Sulu
Patti Yasutake	Nurse Alyssa Ogawa

Plot summary

Not long after the USS Enterprise-A completed its final mission in The Undiscovered Country, Captain James T. Kirk, Captain Montgomery Scott and Commander Pavel Chekov attend the christening of its successor, the USS Enterprise-B, commanded by Captain John Harriman. On its maiden voyage, the Enterprise receives a distress call from two ships transporting El-Aurian refugees from their homeworld after it was destroyed by the Borg. Captain Harriman debates for a moment, considering the new vessel's diminished capabilities (few vital systems, such as tractor beams, had been installed, as this was something of a test run -- something of a running joke holds that everything will be installed on Tuesday), but decides to respond to the call and help the ships. Upon arrival, the crew find that the two ships are slowly being destroyed by a mysterious orange ribbon of energy: intense gravometric forces in the vicinity of the energy are rapidly compromising the ships' hull integrities, which will eventually lead to complete hull collapse, an explosion, and the death of everyone on board. Despite the crew's best efforts, one ship was destroyed before the crew could assess the situation and effect a rescue. The second ship, the Lakul, was very near destruction herself when Mr. Scott managed to activate the Enterprise's transporter and rescue less than half of the refugees; due to an unknown factor, their silhouettes were wavering in and out of our reality, making a transporter lock nearly impossible. The movie takes particular interest in two of the survivors: Guinan will appear later on the Enterprise-D as a bartender in Ten-Forward, and Dr. Tolian Soran is the primary antagonist of the movie, though his intent is not revealed until much later.

In attempting to rescue the El-Aurians, the Enterprise maneuvers too close to the energy ribbon and is caught in its gravitic pull. Due to the severe lack of hardware on the Enterprise-B, Mr. Scott comes up with a plan: if the Enterprise deflector dish were to be activated in the right way, it would disrupt the gravity field holding the ship and allow it time to escape. Kirk volunteers for the job, and hurries down to Deck 15, where deflector control is located. Kirk is successful in activating the dish, but a stray energy beam from the ribbon strikes the lower portion of the ship's stardrive section, destroying a significant portion of the hull and taking Captain Kirk with it. At this point, the crew of the Enterprise sorrowfully accepts his death, and returns to Earth.

78 years later, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D is going about business as usual. Lietenant Commander Data, in an attempt to further his understanding of human beings, and more precisely, their emotions, has implanted an emotion chip inside his head, resulting in both disturbing and humorous outbreaks alike throughout the movie. Captain Picard, meanwhile, has just recieved word that his nephew, Rennee, one of his closest family, has burned to death in a fire. This leads Picard to feelings of insecurity about his family and his role in carrying on the family line, as he has had no children in his natural life.

The Enterprise later receives a distress call from a research station orbiting the star Amargosa. Upon arrival, the crew finds what appears to be a deserted station, decimated by Romulans. Lieutenant Commander Worf (having recently been promoted) locates a survivor -- Dr. Soran -- and returns him to the Enterprise. Soran emphatically assures the crew that he is fine, but that he must return to the station to complete an experiment, to which Captain Picard responds that he may return to the station as soon as they are finished checking it over. Soran returns to the station not long after (in direct defiance of Picard's request, of course), and locates Lieutenants Data and Geordi LaForge running tests on the ship. It seems that they have found an odd radiation emission that is blocking their tricorder readings, and ask Dr. Soran to help them shut it off so they can complete their scans and be gone. Soran agrees -- then punches Geordi to the floor, knocking him unconscious, and pulls out a rather nasty-looking firearm. Data cowers in terror (his malfunctioning emotion chip literally paralyzing him) as Soran holds him at gunpoint and makes several adjustments. Commander Riker and Worf return to the station to retrieve Geordi and Data after all fusion ceases in the sun, causing a level 12 shockwave which will destroy everything in the system. They encounter Soren and he fires on Riker and Worf. Within moments, the Enterprise notices a long-outdated Klingon Bird-of-Prey decloaking near the station; it beams Soran (and his captive, Geordi) off the station and vanishes. The Enterprise rescues its crew members from the station and escapes with the shockwave literally a second behind them.

The scene switches to the bridge of the Bird of Prey, where Soran's rescuers are revealed: vicious Klingon sisters Lursa and B'Etor, who demand payment from Soran in exchange for their services to him. Soran demands that they uphold their end of the agreement by taking him to the planet Veridian III, at which time he will give them the access code to a highly important data chip he has given them. The sisters reluctantly agree, and Soran goes off to torment Geordi -- calling him abnormal and subtly insulting him in other such ways, Soran steals his VISOR and adds a special camera to it, which transmits directly to the Bird of Prey.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise locates the Bird of Prey upon learning that Soren intends to destroy the Veridian star. Picard demands the return of Geordi and Soran's location, to which the sisters demand something in exchange. Picard offers himself, thus setting up something of a prisoner exchange, to which the sisters gladly agree; they send Geordi and Picard transfers to the part of the planet where the sisters beamed Soran. After a slightly halting start, Geordi resumes his duties aboard the Enterprise, first going to his quarters to freshen up, then returning to Main Engineering. The extent of the sisters' plan is known as soon as Geordi's gaze innocently passes over a display containing information about the Enterprise shielding, including its operating frequency; the sisters adjust their weapons to that frequency and open fire, their shots passing undiminished through the Enterprise shields. When it appears that the Klingons have won, Data (His emotion chip causing his voice to elevate with glee) activates a signal which activates the Bird of Prey's cloak -- the process of which also lowers its shielding, permitting the Enterprise to fire photon torpedoes at it and destroy it quite spectacularly.

The Enterprise, however, is far from out of trouble. The Bird of Prey's final shot had destabilized the warp core, causing an overload that would soon lead to an explosive breach. Since there is no way to stop it, Commander Riker (acting as captain in Picard's absence) orders the ship's stardrive section to be evacuated, and the saucer section to separate from it and make all possible speed away from it before the progress. Scarcely has the ship disconnected and begun to move away, before the warp core detonates brilliantly. The explosion creates a shock wave, which forcefully strikes the saucer, destroying helm controls and the impulse engines, sending it plunging toward the planet. A harrowing three minutes later, in which the saucer soars to the surface of Veridian III and slides along the ground for quite some time, removing all vegetation and a significant amount of soil from a long swath, the section shudders to a halt. It is quite obvious that the Enterprise will never fly again.

In the ensuing time, Picard has been making conversation with Soran, who reveals his plan to return to the Nexus -- a mysterious plane of existence in which time has no meaning, in which one may live in pure bliss forever, doing as he pleases and never wanting to return to our reality. It was determined earlier by Guinan that the energy ribbon encountered by the Enterprise-B is the portal to this Nexus; since it is an energy field, it is subject to the gravitic pull of other objects in the universe. This is Soran's objective in destroying the Amargosa star and in his planned detonation of the Veridian star: by altering the gravity affecting the ribbon, he hopes to move it to a point from which he can come into contact with it and re-enter it. Picard tries to talk him out of his insane plan, pointing out that Veridian IV supports a sizeable civilization, but Soran will not listen. To further complicate matters, he has erected an energy field around his worksite strong enough to deter any foreign bodies attempting to enter -- as Picard so aptly demonstrates when he runs headlong into it. However, the field has a gap beneath a small rock arch, through which Picard attempts to enter the bubble; Soran notices him and attempts to shoot him, but Picard escapes just in time and attempts to engage Soran in hand-to-hand combat. Soran knocks him partway down the mountainside and runs to the top of the cliff, where he throws his arms out and his head back in preparation for his entrance into the Nexus. His missile launches and detonates just as the energy ribbon becomes visible in the sky; the light dims eerily as the star dies, and both Picard and Soran are pulled into the Nexus. The Enterprise, however, was not so lucky: it was destroyed in the shockwave along with the planet. All hands were lost.

Picard "awakes" to find himself celebrating Christmas with the family he never had -- a wife, children, even his nephew Rennee, who had died earlier in the movie. He submits happily to the charm of the situation, even beginning to accept it as reality -- until he notices an ornament on the Christmas tree which appears to contain a small, repeating explosion. As the blast is reminiscent of the explosion of the Veridian star, it seems to trigger a memory of reality in Picard's mind, at which point he walks to an office of sorts -- in which he witnesses the same phenomenon on a decorated tree outside the window. An image of Guinan appears behind him, imprinted upon the fabric of the Nexus from her brief stay before being rescued by the Enterprise-B. She points out that he is indeed caught in the Nexus, and that, should he wish it, he can escape to any point in time he desires. Picard chooses to return to just before Soran launches his deadly rocket, to which Guinan retorts that even if he did really want to leave the Nexus, the situation would turn out the same -- he would need some help. Fortunately, she knows just the person.

It would appear that Captain Kirk did not die in 2293, as was popularly thought, but was pulled into the Nexus himself; from the point at which Picard met him, Kirk thought he had just arrived as well. Kirk proved significantly harder to convince of the truth than did Picard, as he had returned to a point in his history at which he had made a choice he had regretted since -- the decision to return to Starfleet, rather than stay on Earth and marry his love. He prepared an elaborate breakfast for the lady, then went upstairs to her bedroom; Picard followed, only to find himself and Kirk in a stable. Kirk rode out to a ravine he had enjoyed jumping over during his time on Earth; upon doing so, however, he noted that it didn't terrify him as the real thing had. Picard catches up to him at this point, after Kirk has had a minute to mull things over; Kirk noticed his former bride-to-be on another horse at the top of a hill, and observes, "She isn't real... is she? None of this is real." At this point, he was completely convinced that Picard was telling the truth, and agreed to help him return to Veridian III and defeat Soran.

Time suddenly reverses, and various shots from the Enterprise's bridge are shown as the ship crashes all over again. The scene in which Picard confronts Soran begins to play again -- but Kirk is present where Picard once was. Kirk seems to have a much easier time holding Soran at bay while Picard attempts to reach the missile and deactivate it. Soran cloaks the missile, but is pushed off the edge of a small cliff; he manages to grab a rope to save himself, but drops the remote which controls the missile in the process. Picard and Kirk, thinking that Soran is out of the running for the moment, attempt to retrieve the remote, but Soran hinders them with his strange gun and causes the bridge on which the remote fell to partially collapse. Kirk tells Picard to hold Soran off while he retrieves the remote; Picard does so for long enough that Kirk is able to de-cloak the missile, but the bridge can take no more stress and collapses, sending Kirk spinning to the rocks below. Picard rushes to the missile, where he fiddles with a few controls but is apparently unable to deactivate it before Soran corners him and orders him at gunpoint to step back from the missile. Picard obeys and runs off to a safe distance, while Soran hurries to see that the missile is still capable of launch -- only to be blown up moments later. Picard had simply activated the locking clamps on the missile, meaning that it would explode upon attempting to launch.

Captain Kirk was not quite so lucky as his counterpart, however. By the time Picard reached him and managed to clear away enough of the rubble that covered him, Kirk was nearly gone; his last words were, "It was...fun -- Oh my..." Picard retrieved his body and buried him on top of the mountain, placing his Starfleet insignia respectfully atop the grave. It was only a short while after that when an Enterprise runabout came to take him back to the destroyed ship. After gathering as much as they could take from the Enterprise, including a happy reunion between Data and his cat Spot ("I am happy to see Spot..." Data says, confused, "And I am crying. Perhaps the chip is malfunctioning," to which Councellor Troi replies "I think it's working perfectly..."), the crew beamed aboard Federation rescue vessels and left the system. The closing lines of the movie were as follows:

Cmdr. Riker: "I'm gonna miss this ship. She went before her time." (The two begin to move from Picard's ready room to the demolished bridge.)

Capt. Picard: Someone once told me that time is a predator that stalks us all our lives (referring to something Soran said earlier). But I'd rather believe that time is a companion that goes with us on the journey, and reminds us to cherish every moment -- because they'll never come again. (Examining the Picard family crest on the front of his recently-recovered photo album.) What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived. After all Number One, we're only mortal.

Cmdr. Riker: "Speak for yourself, Captain -- I plan to live forever. (Moves towards the damaged captain's chair.) I always thought I'd get a shot at this chair someday..."

Capt. Picard: (moving to stand next to him) "Perhaps you still will. After all, I doubt this will be the last ship to carry the name Enterprise. (Pauses for a moment to look around one last time, then taps his comm unit.) Picard to Farragut: two to beam up." (The two are transported to the Farragut, and the rescue ships warp out of sight.)

Themes

As in several earlier films, Generations contrasts a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants (Soran) with men who are willing to put aside everything they love and cherish to save others. Kirk makes the ultimate sacrifice, as does the Enterprise-D, in one of the most spectacular special effects sequences of the film series. A related theme is the contrast between Soran and Picard in handling personal tragedy. The Enterprise-B rescues Soran as his ship was being destroyed by the Nexus, and he became obsessed with going back into the Nexus. His wife had been killed in a Borg attack some time earlier and Soran seeks the Nexus as a means to return to his relationship with her while ignoring the fact that the "reality" that the Nexus presents is illusionary. Picard, on the other hand, learns early in the film that his brother and nephew were killed in a fire. He had placed all his hopes of continuing the Picard family line with them and laments to Troi that his life path will most likely not allow him to take on that task. However, when the Nexus presents him with a scenario in which he is married and has many children, he is able to overcome the temptation to stay in that "reality", realizing that it is a falsehood.

Lt. Commander Data also has to grapple with the effects of the emotion chip Dr. Soong had made for him, which he has La Forge install in his positronic net after a very embarrassing failure to understand humour. When it fuses with his positronic net, he is unequipped to handle the rush of unfamiliar emotional input, which threatens to overwhelm him. Recognizing and overcoming his own personal failings is his story arc, which also provides much of the comedic moments in Generations.

Notes

Leonard Nimoy was originally slated to direct the film, but he pulled out before signing his contract. It is thought that he did not like the screenplay and wanted it altered, but producer Rick Berman refused any further changes. Berman said that he would have made the changes but there was not enough time to because the special effects and other production companies had already been booked. All of Spock's lines in the film were subsequently given to Scotty (explaining Kirk and Scotty's rather odd friendly banter and teasing. DeForest Kelley was also slated to appear, but was eventually replaced by Walter Koenig and all of McCoy's lines were given to Chekov (explaining Chekov's presence in sickbay).

The film's production team included a great number of people who had worked on The Next Generation television show, many starting work on the film while still working on the television show or transferring immediately to the film production team as soon as their work on the television show finished. The director David Carson had directed a handful of episodes of Star Trek including The Next Generation episode Yesterday's Enterprise and the Deep Space Nine two-part pilot episode Emissary. The script was written by The Next Generation staff writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore who had written a number of popular episodes and the finale, All Good Things....

William Shatner has said that the line "Who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise?" was the hardest line he ever had to deliver.

The three starships which evacuate the Enterprise-D survivors at the end of the film are:

USS Farragut, NCC-60597, Nebula class
USS Valiant, NCC-20000, Oberth class
An unknown Miranda-class starship

Because of the time-travel elements involved, some Trek fans believe that all events following Picard's return from the Nexus — including Deep Space Nine, Voyager and the later The Next Generation-based films, take place in an alternate universe from the one seen at the start of Generations. This can only be considered conjecture as no later film or television series ever confirmed this. In addition, the time-loop demonstrated here appears to have been self-contained, in a similar fashion to The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" which did not per se create an alternate universe.

Early drafts reportedly featured more of the original series cast, but limited screen time convinced many of them to back out of the project. In the original script, it was not going to be Scotty or Chekov at the christening, it was going to be Dr. Leonard McCoy and Spock. However, Leonard Nimoy read the script and considered Spock's presence to be that of a walk-on role. He declined and so did DeForest Kelley, who said "I had a great final appearance on The Undiscovered Country, why muck it up?"

Major plot elements were inspired by writings of Delmore Schwartz and Schwartz was given screen credit.

Kirk's original death scene (in which he is shot by Soran) went over poorly in test screenings, and was re-filmed to be more heroic for the theatrical release. Another deletion was an orbital skydive sequence, in which Kirk skydived from orbit while Chekov and Scotty waited below. These scenes can be seen on the DVD special edition. Captain Kirk's love of orbital skydiving is mentioned in many of the novels written by William Shatner most prominently in Captain's Peril when Picard and Kirk skydive from Bajor's orbit.

The Next Generation episode "Relics" (filmed just two years before Generations and coincidentally written by Generations co-writer Ronald D. Moore) did not anticipate Scotty's appearance at the christening of the Enterprise-B, so Kirk's disappearance here is a retcon. In that episode, Scotty, upon hearing the name Enterprise from Riker, naturally assumes that "...it was Jim Kirk himself who hauled the old girl out of mothballs to come looking for me". Scotty's voyage on the USS Jenolen and later disappearance would have had to occur after witnessing the loss of Kirk. It's assumed by fans that Scotty was probably in a state of extreme disorientation after having been suspended in a transporter buffer for 75 years. Or, he may simply have assumed that Kirk would somehow have survived, as Kirk was known to do.

The death of Kirk was naturally wildly controversial among Star Trek fans, with many refusing to accept the events of this film as canon. Among those who would not let Kirk die was William Shatner himself; over the next decade he would go on to co-write a number of original Star Trek novels that surmised that Kirk somehow survived the events of this film (referred to by fans as the "Shatnerverse" books). There has also been a fan movement in recent years to convince Paramount to revive Kirk, with a number of writers suggesting how the nature of Kirk's death in Generations allows for a possible revival.

In the summer of 2004 reports began circulating that the producers of Enterprise were in talks with Shatner for him to reprise the role of Kirk, but it was assumed that it would be some alternate universe version of the character. Despite the overwhelming fan response in favor of Mr. Shatner's return as James T. Kirk, Paramount and Mr. Shatner were unable to come to an agreement for reasons unknown. It has since been confirmed by Shatner that Kirk's return would have involved the alternate version of the character from the original series' "Mirror Universe". Although this idea did not go ahead, it did inspire the two-part episode "In a Mirror, Darkly".

The release of the Collector's Edition DVD of Star Trek: Generations was delayed 3 weeks in September 2004 because of a misprint on the packaging. The back cover stated that the movie trailers were among the bonus features included; however, Paramount was not able to obtain the clearance to include them. Although the discs were recalled to fix the error, many copies with the misprint found their way onto store shelves.

This film marks the final Star Trek appearances of William Shatner (James T. Kirk), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott) and Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov).

Picard's scene with Guinan is the first time her quarters are shown and the first time she is seen without a hat.

This film marks the final appearance of the original Enterprise-D sets, and Geordi's VISOR.

The film was the final appearance of the Enterprise-D until the Enterprise series finale in 2005, which takes place during the TNG episode "The Pegasus".

Paramount's Generations website was the first site on the internet to officially publicize a major motion picture. ^*

Tim Russ, the actor who played Tuvok, a main character of the subsequent Voyager series, makes an appearance in the film as Enterprise-B's Tactical Lieutenant, delivering a number of lines in scenes on the bridge.

A deleted scene involved LaForge being tortured by Soran, using nanites to start and stop his heart. This explains Soran's cryptic response to Lursa's asking about LaForge's interrogation: "His heart just wasn't in it."

Errors and inconsistencies in the film

Montgomery Scott has also appeared in "Relics" where he is seen rescued from a transporter by Enterprise-D. There, he seems like he is not aware of Kirk's death. See the article of that character for more discussion.

The crew of the Enterprise alternate randomly between the TNG and DS9 Starfleet uniforms. This is because early filming was done with the newer uniforms, but the producers decided the uniforms looked bad on a large screen, so the rest of the film was shot with older uniforms. For the sake of continuity, many scenes were shot with actors in both stages of uniform, suggesting that crew compliance with the new uniform regulations was optional, at least for a time being. Because of this error, new uniforms designed to look better on a large screen were designed for First Contact, and shortly thereafter were adopted for use on DS9 and would serve as the Starfleet uniform in some episodes of VOY and in future motion pictures. On an additional note, it has been said that the wardrobe department were afraid of the older uniform's rear zippers being more easily noticed on the big screen compared to on television.

It is entirely possible that Soran is not aware of the full properties of the Nexus, and furthermore, that many ships are destroyed before they even reach the entrance to the Nexus. He likely did not want to risk getting killed in the attempt of entering the Nexus. Lastly, someone even as resourceful as Soran would have difficulty gaining a ship and crew necessary to perform such a feat, given that any claims he would make about it would be questionable. It appears as though the only people he can manipulate into following his plan are the Klingons, by bribing them with a weapon, and they seem very apathetic to the concept of the Nexus itself as an aim.

After firing the weapon from Veridian III's surface at the star, Picard instantly sees the change in the star's reaction. Because of the speed of light, he should not see anything for a few minutes (assuming the star is a similar distance away from the planet as our Sun and Earth). Plus, the missile itself would take several minutes just to reach the star (even at the speed of light), which means that after it breaks orbit with its chemical propellant, it would have to engage a warp-propulsion unit.

Review of the scene on DVD shows that after Picard watches the missile launch towards the sun, the following shot where the sun begins to collapse does not contain the rocket propellant contrail seen in the sky in the previous rocket launch shot, possibly indicating that some time has passed between the launching of the rocket, and impact with the Veridian star — an amount of time that may have been prohibitive to depict on screen.

Early on in the film, Picard informs us that the overload of the emotion chip installed in Data fused the device into his neural net, preventing him from de-activating it or removing it. At the end of the film however, Deanna Troi questions Data on why he chose not to remove the chip. While this may indicate that she was unaware of his condition regarding the chip, Data's response seems to suggest that the chip is actually in fact still able to be removed, contradicting previously established information.

However, in Stellar Cartography, Data asks to be deactivated until Dr. Crusher (presumably with the assistance of Geordi LaForge, who was in the custody of the Klingons and Soran at the time) can remove the emotion chip. Therefore, it seems possible that the emotion chip may simply be more difficult to remove, and require extraordinary means, unlike its previous installation. By the time of First Contact Data can deactive his emotion chip at will and by Insurrection he has the option of removing his emotion chip entirely (Picard asks if Data's malfunctioning could be the result of his emotion chip, but Geordi claims, "He didn't take it with him.")

In the scene prior to Picard beaming down to Veridian III, he agrees to a prisoner exchange with Lursa and B'Etor in which he will take the place of the kidnapped Geordi LaForge. He requests that he be beamed aboard the Klingon vessel and then transported to the surface "so that (he) may speak with Soran." When he beams to the surface, he materializes in a Federation-type transporter beam - not Klingon. This is inconsistent with the Klingon transporter beam seen earlier in the movie. The argument could be made that Picard was directly transported from the Enterprise to the surface. If that was the case he would have still been wearing his comm badge. When he materializes on Veridian III, he is not. One possible explanation is that he was transported into the Klingon pattern buffer, the comm badge was dematerilized, than forwarded down to the planet, as transporters have been shown to have the ability to remove weapons in the past. (However, note that this would *still* have resulted in Picard's arrival in a Klingon beam, not the Federation beam.

The shot of the Klingon Bird of Prey exploding following its battle with the Enterprise-D is the same shot used in The Undiscovered Country when the Enterprise-A destroys General Chang's Bird of Prey in the film's final battle. As well, earlier in the film, the sequence of the Enterprise-B warping by is a reuse of the Excelsior from the previous film. This is easily seen by freezing the film and noting the lack of detail changes made to the Excelsior filming model made for this film.

External links

Official Star Trek: Generations web site
Five-Minute Star Trek: Generations — Parody version
Bring Back Kirk

1994 films | Action films | Adventure films | Star Trek films | Sequel films