Which episode would make a good film?

[RAMA]

STNG had some good production values for the time, but what would have benefitted from the scale of the big screen?

1) The Chase: I wrote a synopsis for a movie version of this. The only time I ever did so. This episode really is the core of Trek both in themes and adventure.

2) Conspiracy: An intra-galactic conspiracy needs an equally big palette to build on.

3) Any of the Klingon saga episodes. It could have been a 3-part movie series.

 

[Shikarnov]

I think The Best of Both Worlds is an obvious choice. There are so many great moments in that episode that I can't imagine it failing. But it'd have to be done right; a large amount of that episode's drama comes from the audience's investment in Captain Picard and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Starfleet as a whole. If Picard's assimilation and Starfleet's defeat at Wolf 359 are going to affect people, they'll need a proper in-movie setup.

I'd love to see a trilogy of Klingon affairs... Sins of the Father, Reunion, and Redemption. I don't know how well a focus on Worf would play on the big screen, but elements like the Duras' family betraying Khitomer, assassinating K'mpec, Gowron's ascension, and ultimately the Klingon civil war could make for a very interesting political drama.

Contagion was another great episode. Starts off with a bang -- literally -- then a gripping cat and mouse chase. The ending might be somewhat lukewarm for general audiences though. The Enemy, Who Watches the Watchers, and The Defector all get my vote as well, even though I know Who Watches the Watchers would never sell in the South.

ETA: A shout out for Disaster. On the big screen, it could really hammer home how bad off the ship is, and juxtaposed against wonderful tension breaks like "I am pushing!!!" we could have a winner.

 

[Admiral Shran]

"The Best of Both Worlds" hands down. It's already a two-parter but is still lacking in some core fundamental areas (which is why I would give it a 9/10 instead of a 1010). 1.) Actually show the Battle of Wolf 359 in all it's special effects heavy glory. Let us see Starfleet getting the hell kicked out of it. If we're going to invest so heavily in the destruction of all those ships, we need to actually see it. 2.) Show the ramifications on Earth. How does the Federation government and the upper ranks of Starfleet respond to the threat? Is fear gripping the populace when the Cube literally enters Earth orbit? Is there terror in the streets? Amazingly the episodes never even address this rather necessary part of the story! In fact, the closest we ever get to learning what was happening on Earth at the time is later on DS9 when we're told that a state of emergency was declared.

 

[Ghel]

Agreed. BOBW by far is the immediate choice.

 

[MacLeod]

As others have said BOBW is the first one that springs to mind, but has already been said it needs some tweaking.

 

[TwoJakes]

First choice would be The Measure of a Man, gotta love a court room drama that focuses on civil rights. Not a big FX fest.

Second choice would be The Wounded, I think this would make a fine movie. A chance to dig deeper into Capatin Maxwell's motivations.

 

[tomswift2002]

In a way you could say that The Best Of Both Worlds and The Measure Of A Man have been released as theatrical films.

But one episode that could've, and I think even the writer's agree, should've been released theatrically was All Good Things.

Another could've been Masks. The extra time could've been used to expand the culture and Brent Spiner could've done a lot more than we saw.

And Birthright should've seen a theatrical release. Imagine, a TNG/DS9 crossover on the Big Screen! Plus, we could've maybe seen more of Data and Bashir working together.

 

[tomalak301]

Yesterday's Enterprise

Then we could have delved deeper into the Klingon war with the Federation, might have seen Worf on a Klingon Battle Cruiser, and it might play really well on the big screen.

 

[Galileo7]

Yesterday's Enterprise

Then we could have delved deeper into the Klingon war with the Federation, might have seen Worf on a Klingon Battle Cruiser, and it might play really well on the big screen.

Agree, "Yesterday's Enterprise".
It would have been far better than GENERATIONS with Kirk on board the 1701-B [instead of having the 1701-C] encountering the 1701-D. Kirk would have went out with glory as captain on the bridge of the 1701-B after Harriman's death[like Garrett's] thus correcting history.

 

[Shikarnov]

1.) Actually show the Battle of Wolf 359 in all it's special effects heavy glory. Let us see Starfleet getting the hell kicked out of it. If we're going to invest so heavily in the destruction of all those ships, we need to actually see it.

I was actually thinking the same thing... But I'm not sure the battle would be all that meaningful without a main character being involved. I was thinking the theatrical BOBW should put some emphasis on Admiral Hansen. Build him up a bit so that, when he goes down with the fleet, it really hurts. Otherwise, to all except the die-hards, it'll just be a bunch of random ships blowing up.

2.) Show the ramifications on Earth. How does the Federation government and the upper ranks of Starfleet respond to the threat? Is fear gripping the populace when the Cube literally enters Earth orbit? Is there terror in the streets? Amazingly the episodes never even address this rather necessary part of the story! In fact, the closest we ever get to learning what was happening on Earth at the time is later on DS9 when we're told that a state of emergency was declared.

I love this idea. And I think it should be exaggerated a bit by the Borg actually beginning their attack on Earth when they get to orbit. I never understood why they just hung out there doing nothing until the Enterprise arrived.

 

[Phoenix219]

Yesterday's Enterprise

Then we could have delved deeper into the Klingon war with the Federation, might have seen Worf on a Klingon Battle Cruiser, and it might play really well on the big screen.

I would have loved to see this as a big budget TOS movie instead of Generations. The framing device could have been related to STVI, the entire original crew could have been in place, and their impact could have been the ST6 ship being ambushed on the way to the peace talks from TUC (or at least been connected to an event shortly afterward that was vital to the peace process.) They absolutely wasted this concept and storyline on Enterprise C. It could have been epic.

 

[Phoenix219]

I was actually thinking the same thing... But I'm not sure the battle would be all that meaningful without a main character being involved. I was thinking the theatrical BOBW should put some emphasis on Admiral Hansen. Build him up a bit so that, when he goes down with the fleet, it really hurts. Otherwise, to all except the die-hards, it'll just be a bunch of random ships blowing up.



I love this idea. And I think it should be exaggerated a bit by the Borg actually beginning their attack on Earth when they get to orbit. I never understood why they just hung out there doing nothing until the Enterprise arrived.

Yeah, in that regard, the Whale Probe was more dangerous then the Borg....

 

[BillJ]

"Q, Who", "Yesterday's Enterprise", "The Best of Both Worlds", "Descent" (with a competent writer).

 

[Shikarnov]

^ You know, @BillJ thinking of Q-Who and The Best of Both Worlds in the context of an arch or trilogy gets me thinking: Where was Q during the Borg attack? I mean, he knew they were about to invade -- "It is identical to what happened to the outposts along the Neutral Zone" -- and deliberately threw our heroes into Borg space to show them what was coming.

It seems reasonable that he'd be interested in the outcome, since he obviously cared enough to issue a warning. But he was nowhere to be seen. In such a setup, I'd like to have him see the story through to the end. Maybe Q could replace Guinan's role in the BOBW portion.

-----

INT. CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM

Riker enters, frustrated, not sure what the hell he's going to do, not pleased with the way he handled the meeting... once more he looks at --

ANGLE - THE DESK

with no one behind it...

RIKER:
What would you do?

PICARD VO:
(In a snarky tone)
Well, since you asked, Number One.

With a flash, Picard appears behind his desk; a paper battle plan unfurls behind him, and he stands up with an equally antique wooden pointer.

RIKER (annoyed, interrupts):
I really don't have time for this Q.

Another flash, Q replaces the image of Picard.

Q:
Oh come now, Riker, I'll grant that you're no Jean Luc Picard, but even your pea brain should be able to figure this out.

RIKER:
(leaning forward, serious)
This is not a game, Q. The Borg know everything the captain knows; they know every move. This is his ship, his crew.

Q:
(meeting Riker's gaze with mock seriousness)
"It's not a game, Q." (laughs) Oh, of course it is -- (with emphasis) Mon Capitan. The only real question is who's calling the shots. You...

A flash and Locutus appears.

Q VO:
Or him?

Flash. Locutus vanishes. Riker reappears sitting in the Captain's chair.

CRUSHER VO:
We are now approaching the Wolf system, Captain.

RIKER:
On my way.

 

[Vandervecken]

STNG had some good production values for the time, but what would have benefitted from the scale of the big screen?

1) The Chase: I wrote a synopsis for a movie version of this. The only time I ever did so. This episode really is the core of Trek both in themes and adventure.

2) Conspiracy: An intra-galactic conspiracy needs an equally big palette to build on.

3) Any of the Klingon saga episodes. It could have been a 3-part movie series.

Couldn't agree more about Conspiracy and the Chase is a great idea! But Conspiracy would be my first choice too.

The Most Toys, A Matter of Time, and Devil's Due. Kivas Fajo escapes and wants revenge! teams up with Berlingoff Rasmussen and Ardra. I am thinking Fajo springs the other two.

Descent part 2. Someone activates Lore and all hell breaks loose.

Or maybe Lore springs those three pirates/thieves!

 

[Mojochi]

The Wounded. Frankily, the notion of a rogue Starfleet captain putting the entire Federation on the brink of war has a great deal of potential to be drawn out into a full length film

 

[DonIago]

Besides the episodes already cited, I think a moviefied version of Parallels could be quite fun to watch. Expanded budget could mean more significant differences between the alternate realities and more time to explore them.

 

[BillJ]

The Wounded. Frankily, the notion of a rogue Starfleet captain putting the entire Federation on the brink of war has a great deal of potential to be drawn out into a full length film

I think you would have to pad that out quite a bit and the end product would probably end up being more focused on Maxwell than our heroes.

 

[Terok Nor]

Sub Rosa
Code Of Honor
The Outrageous Okona
Aquiel
Shades Of Gray
Up The Long Ladder

 

[Crow T. Robot]

Yesterday's Enterprise

Yeah, that would be my choice as well. It would be fun, offers potential for at least two space battles which the general audience likes, and some fun for the actors as they get to take their characters down a different path than what they might have been used to by then.