First Contact Remastered , what changes could be made ?

[Uptightgirl]

DumbDumb2007 said:
If First Contact could be remastered. What changes could be made ?
I'm for lenghthening the Battle Sequence between the fleet at the start of the movie. A few more shots of teh ships in battle versus the Borg including much more footage of the Defiant fighting the Borg Ship. The Bridge set of the defiant could be rebuilt, Micheal Dorn and the extras could be brought back and the Defiant would become a scene stealer ! Make it heavy battle with the Enterprise-E getting in more Phaser and Torpedo firings and with the Klingon theme pulled from the close ups with Worf on the Bridge of the Defiant and replaced with a blending in of the Deep Space Nine theme it would be a whole new reason to but or rent the DVD.
what would really have made First Contact interesting at the movies back in 1996 would be if it had bene 2 Borg Cube ships attacking Earth. it would have blown minds at that !

I was really,really annoyed at being short changed when they showed that crappy 90 second borg battle.
I was expecting it to be a major set piece of the film lasting maybe 10 or 15 minutes and all we got was that blink and you miss it 90 seconds worth it.I was and still am so angry because of that.

Absolutely disgraceful.

And they should cut the worf deflector scene down to 90 seconds as it drags on and on and on...

 

[trevanian]

Kegek said:

trevanian said:
He made trains run on time, and he hired Piller. That's about it from where I stand.

Those are both big pluses, in my view. Berman was as good as his collaborators and his level of involvement - the less, the better - check his Memory Alpha listing and one can see an increasing number of story and teleplay credits as the years wore on. Piller essentially saved TNG and made it the show it was, and many of the Young Turks who did the best work on the show thereafter were brought onboard by him.

I agree as far as what Piller accomplished, but I do think it was at some cost. Melinda Snodgrass has focused her criticisms on Berman, but I gotta figure some of it has to relate to Piller as well. The Snodgrass line about how she was forced to emasculate 'HIGH GROUND' was something like, "having my hands tied behind my back and told to write," and the other show of hers that was totally pulverized was ENSIGNS OF COMMAND, which I assume was rewritten by Piller, unless it was his short-lived predecessor, Michael Wagner.

As much as I admire Echeverria and Moore and some early Menosky stuff, I really think Snodgrass and Beimler and Manning had the goods as well, especially Snodgrass, who made non-genre shows like the Matlin/Harmon thing actually play pretty well. Whether the conflict was all with Berman or in part with Piller, Berman definitely ranked as the guy they bitched about back then (Snodgrass was quoted pretty extensively in CFQ, though they misquoted her as well.)

 

[Kegek]

trevanian said:
Melinda Snodgrass has focused her criticisms on Berman, but I gotta figure some of it has to relate to Piller as well. The Snodgrass line about how she was forced to emasculate 'HIGH GROUND' was something like, "having my hands tied behind my back and told to write,"

Given how utterly idiotic her similarly Irish-themed "Up the Long Ladder" was, there is no guarantee that "The High Ground" was a lost classic like the more successful "The Measure of a Man."

I both respect her for the best episode of the series' run, and depise her other entry that is frankly the worst. In any event, that episode's failings cannot be blamed on Piller, though the writer's strike may have some fault. But not fault enough. Generally, I would say it's a pity she was let go.

Manning was also good. If memory serves, he got a gig on Farscape. He was one of the show's best writers, penning highlights like "Incubus", the life story of the main villain, Scorpius. It's a pity he didn't stay around on TNG. Beimler was pretty good on DS9.

 

[Amaris]

Mariner Class said:
First Fucking Contact is no exception.

This? I would buy.


J.

 

[trevanian]

Kegek said:

Given how utterly idiotic her similarly Irish-themed "Up the Long Ladder" was, there is no guarantee that "The High Ground" was a lost classic like the more successful "The Measure of a Man."

I haven't read her version of GROUND, but I know it had none of the heavyhanded Irish stuff that went into the aired ep. She wanted to do a story where it was like America striving for independence, and putting Romulans and Feds in the role of French and English. Basically, Picard would have had to realize that he was in the wrong, and that the Roms were right. Since I think Picard is the trek character most in need of humbling (perhaps monthly reminders of QWHO?), I think it would have been awesome. I think it was discussed in STARLOG, possibly in CFQ. It remains for me one of the better unmade notions.

 

[Kegek]

^
Mmm. That does sound intriguing. TNG was badly in need of episode's like TOS's "Errand of Mercy" - where our heroes learn a lesson rather than preach it.

 

[Deleted 2]

Didn't Ronald D. Moore once express in an interview that Piller was adamant about sticking to Roddenberry's "rules" for TNG, even though he had his doubts about them on a personal level?

 

[trevanian]

Hurley said that, Piller probably did too, though I appreciated it when they stepped away from that stricture. Shoot, from where I stood (then & now), the rivalry between Shelby and Riker seemed awfully 20th century US business and unenlightened, but I went with it because it worked.

 

[trevanian]

Kegek said:
^
Mmm. That does sound intriguing. TNG was badly in need of episode's like TOS's "Errand of Mercy" - where our heroes learn a lesson rather than preach it.

That's my take on Q WHO -- the whole episode is really about Picard getting hot chocolate spilled on him, only the result is that a number of crew members get 'burned.'

 

[Vonstadt]

Put a time marker at the beginning of the battle scene? Why? The audience isn't stupid. The Borg were at Earth; when the E-E crew were listening, it was implied that they were not.

Um..all right. I'm not sure I fully understood what you just wrote entirely. But if the Borg were at Earth when the crew was listening /before/ they decided to breach their orders...wasn't the E out in near the Romulan Neutral Zone?

I mean if the Borg were already at Earth and /then/ the E decided to jaunt off to join the battle...its a very good thing the neutral zone is that close to the Earth :P

Don't get me wrong I generally enjoyed ST:FC and in no way implied the audience was stupid. Just the OP asked what I would add....and a little title showing the passage of time for me would've added to the depth and scope of the battle.

To be honest it was the /only/ thing I could really think of changing. I like the movie...just always bothered me how quickly it seemed the E shows up in the Sol system.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

^Yeah, it was a bit quick...

 

[Aldo]

Vonstadt said:

Put a time marker at the beginning of the battle scene? Why? The audience isn't stupid. The Borg were at Earth; when the E-E crew were listening, it was implied that they were not.

Um..all right. I'm not sure I fully understood what you just wrote entirely. But if the Borg were at Earth when the crew was listening /before/ they decided to breach their orders...wasn't the E out in near the Romulan Neutral Zone?

I mean if the Borg were already at Earth and /then/ the E decided to jaunt off to join the battle...its a very good thing the neutral zone is that close to the Earth :P

Don't get me wrong I generally enjoyed ST:FC and in no way implied the audience was stupid. Just the OP asked what I would add....and a little title showing the passage of time for me would've added to the depth and scope of the battle.

To be honest it was the /only/ thing I could really think of changing. I like the movie...just always bothered me how quickly it seemed the E shows up in the Sol system.

You didnt read what he wrote very well (and yes, I understood it too).

When the battle started it was implied the cube was not near Earth. By the time the E reached up to the battle it was near Earth.

 

[Vonstadt]

Aldo said:

Vonstadt said:

Put a time marker at the beginning of the battle scene? Why? The audience isn't stupid. The Borg were at Earth; when the E-E crew were listening, it was implied that they were not.

Um..all right. I'm not sure I fully understood what you just wrote entirely. But if the Borg were at Earth when the crew was listening /before/ they decided to breach their orders...wasn't the E out in near the Romulan Neutral Zone?

I mean if the Borg were already at Earth and /then/ the E decided to jaunt off to join the battle...its a very good thing the neutral zone is that close to the Earth :P

Don't get me wrong I generally enjoyed ST:FC and in no way implied the audience was stupid. Just the OP asked what I would add....and a little title showing the passage of time for me would've added to the depth and scope of the battle.

To be honest it was the /only/ thing I could really think of changing. I like the movie...just always bothered me how quickly it seemed the E shows up in the Sol system.

You didnt read what he wrote very well (and yes, I understood it too).

When the battle started it was implied the cube was not near Earth. By the time the E reached up to the battle it was near Earth.

*sigh* Then you didn't read my original post That isnt in dispute...I got that too.

As for his post I said I wasn't sure I understood. But if what you say is right then I got the jist of it.

My point was, Yes I understood that in the battle as my original post stated...the Borg were sighted at the Typhon Sector and met somehwere in bewteen by the fleet. There werte several scenes to indicate there was sometime before the interception. My favorite moment in FC comes so early on when Picard is listen to that beautiful piece of opera and Rikier appears in the reflection of the window to announce the beginning of the battle...pure art work of a shot!

My problem was nothing filmed to show the passage of time to show it takes a bit to get from the neutral zone to Earth. This is something I have heard before, so I can hardly be the first to suggest it.

All I am saying is I do not believe it is as clear as it should be there was a rather significant passage of time before the E arrives. The damage seen on the Defiant is a clue but once morein the episodes we have seen the Borg inflict such damage in a matter of minutes.

Once more I think a small legend would add depth to the scope of the battle is all. *shrugs* Doing so only adds and hardly insults the level of intelligence of the audience. Especially since this is a minor thing I've heard from other before, so it was not entirely made clear by the filmmakers.

Whether I read him right or not it doesnt change my point :P and it seems I did understand him...I'm not correcting him...I am still answering the OP

It is the change I would make to make it not seem like the E arrived so bloody soon :P

Other than that minor thing, let me re state I love the movie. If this was an injury metaphor this would hardly be a hemorage...its a splinter :P

Vons

 

[USS Valkyrie]

The only thing I would be interested in seeing is a couple of more space shots from the battle, just to extend it a little, and I also wish that they would replace the unfinished, improperly done Enterprise E model with the CGI version that was used in Nemesis. According to Jon Eaves, this is how it was originally supposed to looke to begin with. I've heard that Eaves wanted to do this with the Enterprise E model anyway, so I may not have anything to worry about.

 

[trevanian]

I've seen the -e miniature in person, and if that thing was improperly done, I wonder how it was supposed to be better. ILM had almost no time to do the paint job, but it was a helluva model (by way of comparison, the FARRAGUT type ship, which was also on the same stage, looked like it was a blue cardboard cutout from Tower Record displays.)

I don't love the design, but geez, those shots of the ship early in the spacewalk in FC are pretty damned terrific.

 

[Vonstadt]

I loved the walk along the bottom of the saucer!

 

[Oso Blanco]

Uptightgirl said:
I was really,really annoyed at being short changed when they showed that crappy 90 second borg battle.
I was expecting it to be a major set piece of the film lasting maybe 10 or 15 minutes and all we got was that blink and you miss it 90 seconds worth it.

I agree that the battle sequence could have been a little longer, giving the other starships more screentime. But 10 or even 15 minutes would be too long! We've had that kind of space battle in Star Wars over and over again and it bored the hell out of me. I'd rather have more dialogue instead of endless battle and action scenes ala Star Wars/James Bond.

 

[DumbDumb2007]

As the end credits rolled on FC back in 1996 I got up and said to myself," That's it ?" I thought where was the huge epic battle with the Borg Ships at the end of the film ? I felt like it was only 3/4's of a film.

 

[Squiggy]

This is what the Star Wars prequels have done to America.

 

[Starbreaker]

Heaven forbid we have to sit through a though provoking film about humanity's future. More EXPLOSIONS!!! Like ANDROMEDA!!!!!!111