How would you fix Generations without a complete rewrite?

[Riley]

Generations remains the most frustrating of all Star Trek films because it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that came at the very height of Star Trek's popularity. It should have been an instant classic and honored both casts and crews.

Let's say you've got access to the Nexus and can go back and change the film's writing and production. To keep it interesting, though, you have to retain the following elements: the Enterprise-B, Kirk being absorbed by the Nexus, Soran's vendetta, and the destruction of the Enterprise-D. You do not, however, have to retain Kirk's death.

The first change I'd make would address a problem I had before the movie even came out: the movie should have used the surviving 1701 crew members in the 24th century. So when we're on the E-B, it's Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty who are aboard for the tour. Those four are arguably the heart of TOS and therefore make the most sense seeing off a new Enterprise.

Spock, McCoy, and Scotty witness Kirk's "death" and we jump to the future.

When Picard gets a call in the holodeck, it's not about his family dying: it's a priority one communique from Starfleet Command. Ambassador Spock has gone AWOL from Romulus and SC wants Picard to find him.

Spock comes to Picard when a Romulan ship de-cloaks. Picard is stunned at the sight of Spock on the ship's bridge. Spock beams aboard and tells Picard he believes James T. Kirk is still alive. Spock explains the history of the Nexus and explains that Kirk was absorbed into it 80 years prior. Spock also explains that a man named Soran knows the Nexus and has a method of accessing it, but that they need the help of the Enterprise-D and also Scotty's genius and McCoy's knowledge of Kirk's biology.

Picard agrees to help despite Starfleet's orders to bring Spock back to Earth for a debriefing. The E-D picks up Scotty (who has been working with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers) and McCoy (retired but still alive and kicking). Unlike the original version, Soran is not out to destroy stars to bring the Nexus to him. The Nexus can be tracked, but the only way to access it is to enter and convince a person already within to willingly leave, thereby allowing someone else to take their place. The Enterprise-D finds the Nexus and is ready to proceed when the Romulans, who discovered what Spock was up to, arrive and attack. The ship separates with Riker taking the stardrive section into battle with the Romulans as the saucer proceeds to the Nexus. Picard, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty beam into the Nexus and find Kirk. They explain where he is and he returns with them while Soran remains in the Nexus.

The stardrive is in a pitched battle with a Romulan BoP when the saucer returns and joins the battle. The Romulans are driven off but the saucer is heavily damaged in the battle. The families and crew on the saucer use shuttles and transporters to beam to the stardrive. The saucer enters a nearby planet's orbit and crashes.

We jump ahead three months. The Enterprise's stardrive is in spacedock after a refit, including the fitting of a newly-designed saucer section and nacelles. Kirk has been debriefed by Starfleet Command and is offered reinstatement of his commission. He decides to decline and first acclimate to his new time. Spock, Scotty, and McCoy promise to help him do so but Kirk first wants to witness the relaunch of the Enterprise-D. In a scene mirroring the beginning of the film, Kirk and his friends watch the recommissioning of the Enterprise-D. Kirk's new life is left open-ended as the focus is now solely on the crew of the Enterprise-D and their own new start.

 

[Lance]

Finding a way to retain Spock, McCoy and Scotty in the 24th century segments is a particularly neat idea as those are the three whose characters had been reestablished in the TNG television series as still being around, so there's some continuity to the TV show in having them there as well.

I'd definitely find a way to use the Duras sisters more effectively. Also to have them battle Worf directly. The 'Sins of the Father' plot line really doesn't reach a satisfactory conclusion and the sisters die too easily so maybe adding a segment post crash whers the crew are trekking through the wilderness and encounter them one more time face to face.

If I had more time I'd have more. Lol.

 

[Paul755]

Honestly, the only thing I would change is Kirk’s death. I’m fine with everything from Scotty and Checkov being on the E-B to destroying the E-D.

Have Kirk live and re-do the last scene with Picard and Riker. Make it Picard and Kirk instead.

 

[Butters]

It should have been an instant classic and honored both casts and crews.

It is and it did. Ok, it could have had more of the original cast doing a bit more at the start. And maybe Kirk’s nexus fantasy could have been more relevant, like he was back on the TOS bridge in the midst of a battle, but he knows it’s not real, or he’s back with Carol, and has the chance to be a proper father to a young David.

Really though, I’d just be happy to see the deleted scenes, the orbital sky dive. And of course, no recycled footage.

 

[Relayer1]

I think the first post is as good an attempt to 'tweak' it as is possible. At least it minimises the effects to continuity going forward.

To be frank, it's just such a rotten movie, it's irredeemable.

 

[Kerock]

But the crash of the saucer section was so cool...the way is just kept going and going and carved out that long scar in the side of the planet.

I remember sitting in the theater in awe and dismay watching the destruction of the Enterprise. It was kind of hoaky that they brought down the enterprise so easily after all the battles it had been in. You'd think the shield modulation would be a little more classified then just displayed on the wall.

 

[thribs]

At least we have that Crossover novel which has that pretty awesome scene of Scotty stealing the Yorktown in order to save Spock.

I would have had him take a little more care with his priceless artifacts. Skip to 1:52.

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[Roysten]

Reading Xon-Ur's idea I could definitely see myself enjoying that film, I worry though that it would be seen as fan service and "a bit of a romp".

Generations was a sombre film about loss, which was maybe a bit heavy considering All Good Things ended on such s high note. I think that one of issues was that TNGs' themes don't translate well to the big screen, hence the more bombastic nature of FC, INS and NEM.

Personally I was ok with the balance between old cast and new. I wouldn't change the opening sequence. I'd have like more sense of "family" from the TNG crew, it was crying out for a fun poker scene or similar. For the fans it would have been nice to see more of the ent-D, perhaps a new cool expansive set. The crash eas awesome but the "battle" againsr tbe bop could have been lifted, perhaps wkth a Vorcha thrown in for a more exciting scene. I was fine with Kirk's death, the fact it's understated works for me.

 

[Butters]

That battle scene was perfect as it was. An exchange of fire between two ships, without the gratuitous cgi of the new movies.

They were difficult to create back then, whereas they’re taken for granted now.

 

[Roysten]

That battle scene was perfect as it was. An exchange of fire between two ships, without the gratuitous cgi of the new movies.

They were difficult to create back then, whereas they’re taken for granted now.

Agree on the cgi front, it wasn't the quality or style of it there just wasn't enough going on. I loved the battle at the end of TUC, it was of a similar quality visually but just better.

In GEN beyond that imo mediocre battle and fantastic crash the climax was a fist fight between 3 old blokes. Don't get me wrong - I like GEN and always enjoy rewatching it, but if I got to change it i'd add the "family" feel - more Worf, Geordi, Troi and Crusher, and revamp the "climax" scenes at the end.

 

[Qonundrum]

Things I'd change:
1. Shorten the Christmas stuff. It makes sense for Picard to subconsciously want a family (I can relate) but he's not the type and the movie has plenty going on
2. Make Soran more evil - a lot of deleted scenes made him appropriately villainous in his quest, but the makers seemed to go from "Do we make him sympathetic or evil or both?" to "Just make him sympathetic", which I think was a mistake. Especially as he interacted with more of the crew than the Duras Sisters had.
3. Not use the Nexus to create an attempted time loop if they failed again (or say it in the movie that going back in time to that point would be the best option in case they fail they can keep trying - which then wrecks the flick for other reasons)
4. Guinan keeps bleating "Don't go in there! He mustn't go there! Nobody can get there, we were ripped from it by the Borg somehow!" then somehow goes into "When you get in you won't want to leave". How's she so sure?
5. Guinan has dozens of real candles lit? How come the ship doesn't automatically put out the fire like it had in "Up the Long Ladder" because of a fire safety hazard?
6. Emotion chip was heavily damaged in "Descent". But Emotion chip in "Brothers" was a lot smaller so maybe the fix required soldering another circuit to it, in which case how's it going to fit? No worries, it gets fused and he can't deactivate it... until later movies where he turns it on and off at will inexplicably, or acts as if he never had it. Oops.
7. Put back the original ending!! Especially the new version of the original ending that is not on the DVD but had the incidental music (might be authentic) and completed editing applied. Soran's villainy is at its pinnacle, Kirk's death (spoiler alert?) has a lot more gravitas to it than a protracted speech, and if we hadn't before now we really want Soran to be treated to justice.
8. El Aurians entered Federation space so close to Earth after all this time and nobody noticed and the Borg didn't trot after them and nobody on the ship spilled the beans despite everyone calling them "refugees"? I'd tinker with a couple lines there, too.

9. I cannot take credit for this one, I saw it in a youtube review of the movie:
Getting Kirk onto the Enterprise-D, regardless of how (the movie sorta blew it with consistency), would have been a fan-favorite.

9b (or 7b, in a way). What I would add to that:
The author may have been thinking of using the Nexus, but hadn't said so explicitly but it is a straightforward enough inference. Maybe have Kirk be the one to stay on the ship as the others go to escape pods but none are left. Kirk feeling out of time and place as opposed to "the 24th century is not so bad!", because he based that assumption only by beating up Soran when most villains weren't like that.

 

[Paul755]

The biggest issue with Generations is the huge, massive plot hole that even Moore acknowledges doesn't make sense...

If Picard can go anywhere or anytime, why didn’t he just go back to when they rescued Soren and arrest him. Then boom, problem solved. Neither star gets destroyed, the E-D lives, Geordi doesn’t get captured/tortured and the Duras sisters perhaps get some kind of redemption during an episode of DS9 during the war.

 

[Starfury]

If Picard can go anywhere or anytime, why didn’t he just go back to when they rescued Soren and arrest him. Then boom, problem solved. Neither star gets destroyed, the E-D lives, Geordi doesn’t get captured/tortured and the Duras sisters perhaps get some kind of redemption during an episode of DS9 during the war.

Might have something to do with Starfleet Officers trying to keep the timeline as intact/clean as possible. So Picards instinct was to make a very small jump back in time. After all, he couln't know that the Enterprise was destroyed. He was on the planet while it happend.

 

[Dukhat]

If Picard can go anywhere or anytime, why didn’t he just go back to when they rescued Soren and arrest him. Then boom, problem solved. Neither star gets destroyed, the E-D lives, Geordi doesn’t get captured/tortured and the Duras sisters perhaps get some kind of redemption during an episode of DS9 during the war.

Might have something to do with Starfleet Officers trying to keep the timeline as intact/clean as possible. So Picard's instinct was to make a very small jump back in time. After all, he couldn't know that the Enterprise was destroyed. He was on the planet while it happened.

I'm almost willing to bet that if Picard was suddenly given a way to time travel to any point in time at any location, the first thing he'd do is rescue his brother and nephew from burning to death in that fire, which he learned about ONLY AN HOUR BEFORE, intact/clean timeline be damned. Well, I mean that's what Picard would have done had this movie been written with an ounce of sense.

 

[Galileo7]

At the end, Kirk lives on in the 24th century reuniting with older Spock and Scotty["Relics"]. The 1701-E is another Galaxy class in drydock.

 

[BillJ]

Kirk dies in the Enterprise -D.

 

[Galileo7]

Kirk dies in the Enterprise -D.

This would have been more acceptable because Kirk actually gets to be on the 1701-D, like Scotty in "Relics", and interact with the NG crew.

 

[suarezguy]

McCoy and Spock already got good farewells in TNG episodes; Kirk likewise did in TUC but if he still has to come back, fine to have him be without his crew.

I would have tried to make Soran less evil, more conflicted & sympathetic, and as part of that have him do something more sensible than feeling the need to go to the Nexus from a planet rather than a ship, but to succeed he still somehow needs the Klingons' help. Also have Picard and Kirk have a lot more difficulty in deciding to leave the Nexus and have Picard realize and decide more on his own without having Guinan-Echo present and telling him what's happening and what he should do.

 

[Kerock]

The biggest issue with Generations is the huge, massive plot hole that even Moore acknowledges doesn't make sense...

If Picard can go anywhere or anytime, why didn’t he just go back to when they rescued Soren and arrest him. Then boom, problem solved. Neither star gets destroyed, the E-D lives, Geordi doesn’t get captured/tortured and the Duras sisters perhaps get some kind of redemption during an episode of DS9 during the war.

Time paradox, if he goes back and prevents Soran from destroying the star then later in the future Picard would not have a reason to go back and prevent him from destroying the star so since Soran would not have been prevented from destroying the star in the past he would destroy it anyway.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I would get rid of the Kirk subplot and have Soran responsible for killing Picard's Nephew and brother. Picard discovers this and goes into the nexus to prevent.