How to Fix Star Trek Generations [Article]

[Lance]

Kirk just isn't integrated into the story enough. That's one of GENS's fundamental problems. I know the story was basically constructed as being "the first TNG feature, with special guest William Shatner!", but that's a definite problem in itself: you just don't book someone like William Shatner as a guest star in Star Trek and then relegate him to the position of a glorified cameo.

For me, the best thing about Generations was the appearance of Kirk, Scotty and Chekov. My favorite scene was the opening scene, with the TOS trio aboard the Enterprise B on her maiden flight. And I enjoyed the other scenes that Kirk was in.

And therein lies the problem with Generations.

The presence of the TOS characters in the movie reminded me of what was so lacking about TNG. The TOS characters put the TNG characters to shame. Kirk, Scotty, Chekov and the rest of the TOS crew had colorful, dynamic and memorable personalities, whereas the TNG crew (with the exception of Picard) were bland, dull and rather forgettable characters.

The movie could have overcome that, though, with a better story and a more inspired acting effort by the TNG cast. But that didn't happen. GEN came across more like a glorified 2 hour TNG episode with guest appearances by Shatner, Doohan and Koenig. As a saving grace, it would have made a decent 2 part episode.

The appearance of Kirk and crew in a TNG movie was a double edged sword imo. It could have enhanced a good movie, or it could have stolen the show from a relatively weaker cast. For me, it did the latter.

There's such a disconnect in the movie between those early scenes on the Enterprise-B, and the main body of the film. It feels like somebody stitched together two completely unalike scripts in some kind of bizarre Franken-like monster.

 

[Dukhat]

GEN's version of Kirk's and Picard's fantasy only makes sense if the Nexus made it happen based on your thoughts as you were entering the Nexus or just fulfilled random fantasies.

Picard had just had the shock of his life when he found out his brother and nephew were killed in the most horrible way imaginable. So much so that he began doubting his life in Starfleet which he sacrificed a possible family for. He regretted not settling down, and continuing the Picard family name. So his Nexus fantasy revolved around that. Easy enough.

Kirk, on the other hand, had already returned to Starfleet after being retired, because he seemed to want to command a ship again precisely because he didn't like retired life. So his Nexus fantasy should have been that he was back on the bridge of the Enterprise, going where no one has gone before, not back to the same place he left! His fantasy makes no sense, unless one views it as part of Picard's fantasy as well.

 

[Lance]

^ Completely agree.

 

[BillJ]

Kirk, on the other hand, had already returned to Starfleet after being retired, because he seemed to want to command a ship again precisely because he didn't like retired life. So his Nexus fantasy should have been that he was back on the bridge of the Enterprise, going where no one has gone before, not back to the same place he left! His fantasy makes no sense, unless one views it as part of Picard's fantasy as well.

Probably wasn't any money for it.

 

[Franklin]

Kirk, on the other hand, had already returned to Starfleet after being retired, because he seemed to want to command a ship again precisely because he didn't like retired life. So his Nexus fantasy should have been that he was back on the bridge of the Enterprise, going where no one has gone before, not back to the same place he left! His fantasy makes no sense, unless one views it as part of Picard's fantasy as well.

Probably wasn't any money for it.

Wonder if the set from "Relics" was still around.

The other problem with it could've been needing Nimoy, Kelley, and the others on the bridge to make the fantasy complete and believable. After all, Kirk would surround himself with the old crew, wouldn't he?
I'm not sure any of the rest of the TOS cast would've wanted to show up just to be people who aren't even real in a few minutes of a Kirk fantasy. After all, Nimoy had already turned down a chance to be in it because he said the part really didn't need to be Spock.

 

[Khan 2.0]

Probably wasn't any money for it.

The ENT B bridge was just the A set redressed wasn't it? (maybe not even redressed) easy to have had that as the ENT A bridge. Kirk on it alone like in This Side of Paradise(in his proper uniform, not the waistcoat).

 

[Dukhat]

Probably wasn't any money for it.

There was plenty of money in the budget. The problem was that most of it was wasted on the pointless Worf-promotion holodeck scene and the stellar cartography room.

The other problem with it could've been needing Nimoy, Kelley, and the others on the bridge to make the fantasy complete and believable. After all, Kirk would surround himself with the old crew, wouldn't he?
I'm not sure any of the rest of the TOS cast would've wanted to show up just to be people who aren't even real in a few minutes of a Kirk fantasy. After all, Nimoy had already turned down a chance to be in it because he said the part really didn't need to be Spock.

No problem there, either. If Kirk's fantasy was to be back on the bridge of the Enterprise during TOS, all they had to do was hire Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Simon Pegg (or seriously, just other younger actors to portray those parts). It couldn't have been any worse than the log cabin retirement scene.

 

[2takesfrakes]

With the TNG cast still alive and kicking, they could always come out with a "Collector's Edition" STAR TREK: Generations using let's say a Picard voice-over to clarify certain points about the Nexus ... maybe even change certain aspects, just through changed dialogue. I wouldn't mind it if they experimented with something that way, provided The Q weren't inolved, or implicated in it, in any way.

 

[eyeresist]

The other problem with it could've been needing Nimoy, Kelley, and the others on the bridge to make the fantasy complete and believable. After all, Kirk would surround himself with the old crew, wouldn't he?

Picard could have found Kirk wandering around Alien-Planet World with a phaser in one hand and a tricorder in the other, on one last endless away mission. Gorn!

 

[Maurice]

With the TNG cast still alive and kicking, they could always come out with a "Collector's Edition" STAR TREK: Generations using let's say a Picard voice-over to clarify certain points about the Nexus ... maybe even change certain aspects, just through changed dialogue. I wouldn't mind it if they experimented with something that way, provided The Q weren't inolved, or implicated in it, in any way.

Only a handful of Trekkies would care. Not worth the cost.

And voice-over frequently feels like turtleneck pulled up over a hickey: it fools no one.

 

[Franklin]

Probably wasn't any money for it.

There was plenty of money in the budget. The problem was that most of it was wasted on the pointless Worf-promotion holodeck scene and the stellar cartography room.

The other problem with it could've been needing Nimoy, Kelley, and the others on the bridge to make the fantasy complete and believable. After all, Kirk would surround himself with the old crew, wouldn't he?
I'm not sure any of the rest of the TOS cast would've wanted to show up just to be people who aren't even real in a few minutes of a Kirk fantasy. After all, Nimoy had already turned down a chance to be in it because he said the part really didn't need to be Spock.

No problem there, either. If Kirk's fantasy was to be back on the bridge of the Enterprise during TOS, all they had to do was hire Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Simon Pegg (or seriously, just other younger actors to portray those parts). It couldn't have been any worse than the log cabin retirement scene.

Wonder what the reaction would've been if Berman had recast the TOS crew.

 

[Dukhat]

Wonder what the reaction would've been if Berman had recast the TOS crew.

But in the context of the Nexus fantasy, the focus wouldn't have been on them; it would have been on Kirk. They would just have been fantasy people in the background like Picard's imaginary family was.