Instead of Nemesis plot it could have been....

[USS Excelsior]

About the Conspiracy aliens making a comeback, and the villains would be the infiltrated Starfleet Officers.

The main villain could have been a compromised Admiral Janeway with some of her crew, and in the spirit of fanwank, have a showdown between Voyager and the Enterprise at some point.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I know I'm in the minority, but I loved Nemesis.

I think it's just fine as it was.

 

[sbk1234]

It sounds like, if done correctly, it could have been a good flick. However, I'm always concerned that having a plot so closely related to a specific episode of the series could be alienating to the general audience, (TWOK and First Contact not withstanding.) It also seems to me like they just can't come up with an original idea.
I realize this is all just fantasizing at this point, but I would have rather just seen an original TNG flick if they were to do another.


However, I'd still see it and buy the DVD.

 

[DBall]

...a DS9 movie.

 

[Broccoli]

Was "Conspiracy" all that popular an episode? If they were going to do a follow-up to an episode, wouldn't it be logical to use one that was popular and well-received? I mean, I'm sure that's partly why First Contact was developed the way it was.

Also, I am sure the staff would want to avoid returning to that episode given the troubled and controversial production of it.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Oddly enough I watched Insurrection last night and Nemesis tonight- thoroughly enjoyed them both.

 

[Peter the Younger]

A looong time ago, I posted my own alternate version of NEM. Can't find it on the boards anymore, but it's archived here. I always thought it would have been more interesting to make Shinzon - and the Remans - more sympathetic, and to parallel Picard and Shinzon's story with Data and Lore.

 

[FormerLurker]

When you think about who(what?) the Conspiracy aliens were supposed to be, First Contact is the Conspiracy alien movie.

 

[Broccoli]

When you think about who(what?) the Conspiracy aliens were supposed to be, First Contact is the Conspiracy alien movie.

You win the thread.

 

[JarodRussell]

However, I'm always concerned that having a plot so closely related to a specific episode of the series could be alienating to the general audience, (TWOK and First Contact not withstanding.)

You simply CANNOT alienate the so called general audience with something like that. General audience doesn't care at first, so IT ALREADY IS ALIENATED TO BEGIN WITH. When does the audience start to care? When the trailer and promotional campaign is good. When the critics praise the movie.

That's how every original movie works. The audience is ALWAYS forced to get to know a new universe, new characters. There's no difference to a movie that continues a previous episode. All you need to do is to explain everything that is needed to know. First Contact did the same. Borg are bad. They assimilate. Picard has history with them. All you need to know. TWOK: Khan is bad, genetically engineered, he hates Kirk. All you need to know. Carol Marcus could have appeared in an episode in the TV show. Not important, the relationship with her and Kirk is explained in the movie.

 

[knine]

If they were going to do the Romulans in Nemesis, they should have started by looking at the episode AFTER Conspiracy which is one of the better season one episodes IMHO.

 

[Kai Winn]

i thought of the conspiracy aliens as false trill symbionts, evil ones, the way the pah wraiths are false prophets. same sort of hideous parasite that makes the hosts act strangely.

 

[FormerLurker]

Yeah, but that queen bug they exposed after melting Remmick was just nasty.

 

[JarodRussell]

i thought of the conspiracy aliens as false trill symbionts, evil ones, the way the pah wraiths are false prophets. same sort of hideous parasite that makes the hosts act strangely.

I think that's how it was explained in one of the novels.

 

[Warp Coil]

i thought of the conspiracy aliens as false trill symbionts, evil ones, the way the pah wraiths are false prophets. same sort of hideous parasite that makes the hosts act strangely.

I think that's how it was explained in one of the novels.

The DS9 relaunch novels re-introduce the "Conspiracy" aliens and tie them into the history of Trills.

As for NEM, I really think the Romulans deserved to take center stage and become the villians of the film. Unfortunately, that's not that happened in NEM. The Romulans were pushed aside in favor of the Remans and a Picard clone. Too bad.

 

[Anticitizen]

Bah. I think later Trek's (including NuTrek) weakness is that it has become Battle Trek. Every storyline has to be about villains and photon torpedoes. I love TWOK with all my heart, but I think that the fact that it featured a strong villain convinced the TNG filmmakers that Trek movies need to be about the good guys versus the bad guys. In my opinion, TWOK was powerful because of its strong themes of intelligence versus experience, life and death, sacrifice, etc - not 'killing bad guys'. The TOS movies did it right - there's a fair amount of cool space combat, but that's secondary to the real themes and stories that were being told. TMP had zero combat, TSFS was about loss and sacrifice and what we hold important, TVH featured no weapons fire whatsoever, TFF ended not in the Klingon bird of prey being destroyed but a mixer and celebration between the two crews, and TUC was about the foundation of peace and a rejection of warfare and strife (even if they had to blow up someone real good for it).

Even DS9, which prominently featured a seasons-long all-out war, tendered themes of 'this is why war is bad and undesirable', not 'let's kill the bad guys'. War was a tragedy, the last thing anyone wanted, and the losses taken were taken seriously - we saw characters going over published lists of friends and family killed in the war and responding with mourning, etc.

The thought processes for the TNG films and NuTrek seems to be: who can the Enterprise fight and blow up? Picard turns into John Rambo. Kirk has devolved from 'give me your hand!' to 'I got your gun LOLZ!'

Instead of death and destruction as a centerpiece, the primary asset that any Trek film should hold central, to my mind, is a sense of wonder. I know I'm probably in the minority here, but TFF is my second favorite Trek film. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are free of Sybok's mind control, but when given the decision on how to proceed - after a cut to the plaque on the ship's wheel in the observation lounge, written 'TO BOLDLY GO' - they decide to do just that, unwilling to pass on the opportunity to see Strange New Worlds...

...and now I'm ranting Short version: These are not the James Bond films (which I also love). I go to James Bond to hear stories about the good guys killing the evil villains. I go to Star Trek for a different sort of medicine.

 

[JarodRussell]

Yeah, TNG would have deserved a movie like TMP, TVH or TFF, movies without the typical good vs. bad storyline.

 

[SPCTRE]

As for NEM, I really think the Romulans deserved to take center stage and become the villians of the film. Unfortunately, that's not that happened in NEM. The Romulans were pushed aside in favor of the Remans and a Picard clone. Too bad.

Exactly! When I first heard NEM would be about the Romulans and feature one of the greatest antagonists since Khan, I was thrilled. I've always enjoyed the Romulan episodes in TNG, Face of the Enemy is one of my alltime favourites.

Once I saw the antagonist was essentially human, and not even his henchmen were Romulan, I was thoroughly disappointed.

 

[Chicagoan]

Once I saw the antagonist was essentially human, and not even his henchmen were Romulan, I was thoroughly disappointed.

But aren’t the Romulans essentially human, as well? Although having a Conspiracy-parasite plot would have the advantage of being something truly alien, that’s what the pre-Queen FC was like. For the sake of the film, they needed to humanize the Borg with a Queen. Look at the other Trek villains: Khan’s human, Chang loves human literature (though he might claim otherwise ), and V’Ger wanted to join with humanity (tactile contact!). The problem with Nemesis was that it wasn’t human enough—I think Anticitizen pretty much nailed the head on this one.

 

[Broccoli]

Exactly! When I first heard NEM would be about the Romulans and feature one of the greatest antagonists since Khan

Emphasis mine.

In fairness to Nemesis, TPTB have been basically saying that about the villains since Star Trek III.