This is an idea that has just this moment come to me, so I don't have it all worked out, but I think it could have made Nemesis a far grander, and lot more involved, plot (without featuring dune buggies or Data 2.0). From the beginning of the film, have it that the crew of the E-E have already been divided up: Riker and Troi are already married (this could be seen in a flashback at the very start) and onboard the Titan, Worf is still on Qo'noS, Crusher is now in charge of an key department of Starfleet Medical, whilst Picard, Data and La Forge are still all still on the E-E. The film would then have three distinct plots, that the crew would follow. These plots seem quite separate but are actually connected (of course). I don'thave all of these worked out, but one could be a mission to Romulus, another would be involve an important Federation world (not Earth), and the other would be a medical crisis on the Klingon Homeworld, bad enough the Empire asks the UFP for help, so Beverly and Worf team up try and solve the mystery. Everything going on in the film is being orchestrated by an extremist group on Romulus, who are tired of the peace that followed after the Dominion War and want to strike at their enemies. This group include Sela and the clone of Picard she had made (using a DNA sample she sneakily collected in "Redemption"), but this clone will be played by Patrick Stewart. Of course things come to a head and the TNG crew are back together (though not all on the same ship), as they fight to stop the separatist group from executing their plan. At the end, during the showdown between Picard and his clone, I thought it'd be a nice twist to leave it ambiguous as to whether or not it was the real Picard who was rescued in the nick of time or not--leave an air of mystery and the fans wanting a little more (rather than coming out the cinema thing, WTF was that?). Anyways, that's just a thought I had on the film.
NEMESIS is just "OK." The only part I really despise is Shinzon's drawn-out introduction, where he rants on about what a hot cougar Troi is. I always skip over that conceit. I despise the inept parallel between Picard and Data with their both having duplicates in the same movie. Both of which have origins that John Logan was too incompetent to invent and whose introduction to eachother strains all credibility: one clone just happens to conveniently find the other's on a convenient planet. The Reman and Romulan makeups look ... bad. The only unforgivable flaw is how the lighting favours the backgrounds instead of flattering the cast. They are allowed to haggard ... even old ... and this includes the girls. I find that totally unacceptable, when they are meant to appear glamorous. Otherwise, NEMESIS is not quite hateful enough for me to completely despise it. It just had the wrong priorities and deserves to have failed at the box office. P.S. I love the Argo. Love ... it ... !!! What a sweet ride ...
IMO, Shinzon should have just been a mysterious new Praetor. Not Picard's clone. There's a bit earlier in the movie where the Enterprise crew get this mission from Janeway about the upheaval in the Romulan government, and they're having this meeting and going "Hey, we don't know jack shit about this new guy". And there's a real sense of mystery there. Who is Shinzon? What are his intentions? What could it mean for the future of the Alpha Quadrant? You know, follow that up and there would be a great political thriller somewhere in there. But instead we got Dr. Evil.
Nice idea, but this pitch never would have gotten the green light. TNG movie rules dictate that Beverly must never have more than a few lines, never mind an entire storyline
I know. I always felt sorry for Gates McFadden. But since NEM was supposed to be the final film for TNG, then they should have given all the characters a proper send off. Plus it would be something new for a Trek film, a little medical mystery.
Would the reincarnation of that maco from ENT be first officer from the start? I though him to be an interesting choice as Riker replacement. Not hard on the eyes either.
I was thinking that Data would be Picard's new Numbah One, though Lt. Commander Martin Madden would make a very nice Security Chief (maybe bringing Kell Perim back as Ops Manager).
THIS. And in particular, I got flashbacks to Dr Evil in his plastic environmental suit every time Tom Hardy's ridiculous costume squeaked with even the slightest movement...
V'ger had a black hull. Kruge under his vest was dressed in black. The Whale Probe had a slick black hull. General Chang had shiny black armor. Tolian Soran wore comfortable black clothing. The Borg body suits were black. Nero wore black. Nu-Khan wore black. How can you say Tom Hardy's costume was ridiculous? It was BLACK !!!