Generations and Insurrection (Spoilers)

[Captain Nebula]

So I realized after watching Insurrection again recently that Generations and Insurrection have the exact same plot:

A madman creates a device that will kill a lot of people for no other reason but to get his lost 'wonderful life' back. Picard even saves the day and defeats the bad guy in the exact same way.

Picard: "Here Dr. Soren/Ru'afo, let me sabotage your device so that it blows up in your face."

 

[WraithDukat]

You have a point, i've never thought of that before.

 

[trekker670]

I think if you boil down a movie plot to that succinct of a overview, I think that would describe any number of movies, Star Trek, Sci-Fi, or any other genre.

 

[sonak]

I think if you boil down a movie plot to that succinct of a overview, I think that would describe any number of movies, Star Trek, Sci-Fi, or any other genre.

yep

 

[T'Girl]

A madman creates a device that will kill a lot of people for no other reason but to get his lost 'wonderful life' back.

Except, up until the end of Insurrection Ruafo and the rest of the Sona were going out of their way NOT to kill the Baku. If the plan had gone off as planned no one would have died (except maybe/eventually of old age).

There no indication that Soran ever gave a damn about anyone dying from his plan, or being allowed to die of eventual old age.

Very different plots.

 

[Lance]

It's a flaw with all the TNG movies though. The TOS movies were all relatively distinct from each other plot-wise, for better or worse. But get to the TNG features and it's like they had a prefabricated plot template and they just moved the pieces around a little bit for each new movie.

Which is why it was so easy for some internet wag to come up with the TNG movie plot generator:

http://www.impossiblefunky.com/tngpg.html

 

[Timo]

Except, up until the end of Insurrection Ruafo and the rest of the Sona were going out of their way NOT to kill the Baku.

But probably only for show. They needed Starfleet to believe in the goodness of their plan, after all.

Had they really been able to move the Ba'ku to another location, though, the Ba'ku would immediately have raised holy hell, as they were not primitives incapable of realizing what happened. So it would definitely be in the Son'a interests for the holoship to have a little "accident" of one sort or another...

Rua'fo really hated the Ba'ku for their good looks and the disgusting habit of spewing apostrophes everywhere. Making them suffer must have been a major part of his plot from the get-go, and he could spin any sort of technobabble at the ignorant Feds to justify his destructive approach to personal rejuvenation so that this suffering would be ensured. Ultimately, elimination of witnesses would be necessary, though - after all, if the Son'a didn't have to fear retaliation from the Federation's part, why would they need to beg for UFP permission to mess with the Ba'ku in the first place?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hober Mallow]

So I realized after watching Insurrection again recently that Generations and Insurrection have the exact same plot:

A madman creates a device that will kill a lot of people for no other reason but to get his lost 'wonderful life' back. Picard even saves the day and defeats the bad guy in the exact same way.

Picard: "Here Dr. Soren/Ru'afo, let me sabotage your device so that it blows up in your face."

The bad guys even say the same line at the films' climax.

Soran/Ru'ofo: "Picard! Get away from that _____!"

EDIT: Hmmm, I swear I remember Ru'ofo saying "Get away from that transmitter!" or something like that, but I can't find the line in any transcript.

 

[Stoek]

To an extent all the Next Gen movies hinge on a device of one kind or another and the need to stop it, and the diabolical villian attached to said device.

 

[JarodRussell]

To an extent all the Next Gen movies hinge on a device of one kind or another and the need to stop it, and the diabolical villian attached to said device.

So did most of the TOS films, to an extend. And all nuTrek films.

 

[sonak]

To an extent all the Next Gen movies hinge on a device of one kind or another and the need to stop it, and the diabolical villian attached to said device.

So did most of the TOS films, to an extend. And all nuTrek films.

TSFS, TFF, and TUC didn't, unless you're defining "device" so loosely as to mean "enemy ship" or something.

In contrast, GEN, INS, and NEM, three out of the four next gen movies, did rely on that, so it's accurate to say that it's more of a Next Gen thing.

 

[Opus]

TMP and TVH are pretty much the same plot too.

 

[Stoek]

To an extent all the Next Gen movies hinge on a device of one kind or another and the need to stop it, and the diabolical villian attached to said device.

So did most of the TOS films, to an extend. And all nuTrek films.

TSFS, TFF, and TUC didn't, unless you're defining "device" so loosely as to mean "enemy ship" or something.

In contrast, GEN, INS, and NEM, three out of the four next gen movies, did rely on that, so it's accurate to say that it's more of a Next Gen thing.

I would honestly include FC since the "device" in question is The Enterprise itself which the Borg are in the process of taking control of.

TMP and TVH are pretty much the same plot too.

*raises an eyebrow* A fascinating interpretation but one which I suspect you are the minority holder of.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Star Trek films also have a fondness for revenge or the lamentation of one's (usually Kirk or Picard's) mortality.

TMP: Mortality
TWOK: Revenge/Mortality
TSFS: Mortality
TVH: Mortality
TFF: Mortality
TUC: Revenge/Mortality
GEN: Mortality
FC: Revenge
INS: Revenge/Mortality
NEM: Revenge/Mortality
ST09: Revenge
STiD: Revenge/Mortality

Granted, these are probably the two most common thematic strings throughout the history of storytelling, but aren't usually addressed so matter-of-factually through immediate discourse like they are in Trek film.

*raises an eyebrow* A fascinating interpretation but one which I suspect you are the minority holder of.

Uniquely alien being comes to Earth to make contact with specific creature. When it cannot make contact with said creature, alien being threatens to destroy Earth. Enterprise crew travels into the unknown to save Earth.

 

[HaventGotALife]

The heart of Insurrection for this fan is not stopping the bad guy. It's something Picard says in the first few minutes "Can anyone remember when we used to be explorers?"

This entire movie is showing Picard and company as more than soldiers in a war with the Dominion. It was a nice counter-weight, at the time, to Deep Space Nine, a show I love, but not much exploring done on that show, at least not in the TNG way.

Picard learns about the Ba'ku, Riker tells us about the Son'a. Geordi is there to tell us what he thinks of Starfleet's plans. "I have eyes, but how can I look at another sunset knowing what my sight cost these people." The moral conundrum is this movie, not the bad guy and not wanting to age. Both deal with people obsessed with the one thing we can't have--immortality. But that's where the comparisons end.

And as for plots being distinct, Star Trek I and V are almost exactly alike, with a few pieces moved around.

 

[JarodRussell]

Except for "V'ger seeks God" and "Sybok seeks God", I see no resemblance whatsoever.