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Insurrection - the good, the bad, and the very bad

To me insurrection was the TFF of the TNG films. It was a film that was so poorly written and made it should have killed the franchise.

Even though TFF was bad I think there was enough good feelings left towards TOS cast that people were willing to give TUC a chance. Shatner wasn't directing and it was clear this was the final go for the TOS crew in one film and it was 25 years. So that gave it enough for people to see it and it was successful and sent TOS cast off with some class.

I think they tried so save TNG films with nemesis but 2 out of 3 tng films had been let downs and the cast didn't have the same level of nostalgia and goodwill left after insurrection that TOS one did after TFF and therefore there wasn't a "let's give the old gang one more shot" attitude from trek and non trek fans alike. If they'd followed up FC with a well liked and successful film I think TNG could have made it to 5 or maybe even 6 films.

As it is one out last images is B4 whistling blue skies instead of the Enterprise sailing triumphantly into the sun and all the cast signatures saying good bye.
 
This was a major motion picture with a multi-million dollar budget. It was a follow-up to a highly successful film that seemed to indicate that the TNG cast could have staying power in motion pictures. And, with all that, it was weaker than 75% of the TNG episodes. It was soooooo mediocre. And, even worse, if you read about the production and development if the film, it was almost like they INTENDED it to be mediocre. It was so watered down and diluted by having everyone (writers, producers, actors, studio) inputting that they took a relatively interesting story idea ("Heart of Darkness" with Data as Kurtz meets the fountain of youth with Romulans as the adversaries, if I remember correctly) and turned it into the tepid, lukewarm, uninspired, corny mess we saw realized onscreen. They purposefully watered it down. And, it was a low point of the series. In fact, I believe it was largely responsible for the lack of success of the following film and ultimately the demise of the TNG-era franchise. It was absolutely the beginning of the end.

To me insurrection was the TFF of the TNG films. It was a film that was so poorly written and made it should have killed the franchise.

Even though TFF was bad I think there was enough good feelings left towards TOS cast that people were willing to give TUC a chance. Shatner wasn't directing and it was clear this was the final go for the TOS crew in one film and it was 25 years. So that gave it enough for people to see it and it was successful and sent TOS cast off with some class.

I think they tried so save TNG films with nemesis but 2 out of 3 tng films had been let downs and the cast didn't have the same level of nostalgia and goodwill left after insurrection that TOS one did after TFF and therefore there wasn't a "let's give the old gang one more shot" attitude from trek and non trek fans alike. If they'd followed up FC with a well liked and successful film I think TNG could have made it to 5 or maybe even 6 films.

As it is one out last images is B4 whistling blue skies instead of the Enterprise sailing triumphantly into the sun and all the cast signatures saying good bye.
Yes I remember the Heart of Darkness rumours back in 97/98 and was quite looking forward to Trek goes Apocalypse Now (especially as I was really into that film back then), but then read Stewart wanted to lighten up after the dour events Picard endured in Gen/FC, so it was all changed :(

and yeah its like TNG skipped their III/IV movies (which could've built on/been abit connected to FC) and went straight to their Final Frontier with INS. Then as with TOS cast they got another shot with their Undiscovered Country but unlike VI it wasn't good enough to compensate for the previous one..plus there was no TNG style success on TV to set up the next movie... so it was over
 
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very bad

-really didn't like Picards woman in this. I know shes supposed to be all serine, placid but damn she was boring.

While I agree she was a little drab, she was one of the highlights of the film for me. I found her utterly exquisite. Even as a 19yo. :drool:
 
The only bit of INS I really like is the bit everyone hates - the boob joke. It's funny and clever, and its silliness is a great relief from the dull pomposity of the rest of the film. I also like that it's risque and a bit of a meta dig at TNG's "evolved sensibility" - "Not that we care about such things in this day and age."


Yes I remember the Heart of Darkness rumours back in 97/98 and was quite looking forward to Trek goes Apocalypse Now (especially as I was really into that film back then), but then read Stewart wanted to lighten up after the dour events Picard endured in Gen/FC, so it was all changed :(
You should try to read Stewart's comments on the script (in Piller's "Fade In" memoir). He was enthusiastic for the Heart of Darkness idea. The only thing that could be taken as a desire to lighten the story is his complaint that "It has Picard for the third time in emotional agony; 'I must destroy my comrade.'" He was just worried he would be repeating himself.
 
Well look at the first 3 TNG films vs. tje first 3 TOS films.

TOS.

TMP- Can't really claim it was a raging success, but I don't think you can call it a mess either. The story was decent, the visuals were top notch, the acting was uneven, but not bad and it certainly did have the "epic" quality to it you'd expect. The biggest strike against it in many people's minds was it the pace was slow and boring, especially compared to "Star Wars" if some things had been tightened up a bit and a little more action added it probably would be much higher thought of. In baseball terms it was a solid double when many people were anticipating a home run.

TWOK- Not much to say other than 33 years after its release it is still the film most Trek fans consider to be the best and the standard that still hasn't been beaten. It saved and revived the franchise and basically had all the elements you'd want in a sci-fi adventure film. Plus Khan was totally F'n awesome. And the death of Spock couldn't have been more well done.

TSFS- A very underrated film that had the misfortune of coming between TWOK and TVH. It had it's weak moments, but it also had a lot of drama and excitement. The effects were good, the acting was good, Kruge was a good villian, it had emotional moments like the loss of David and the Enterprise. It dragged somewhat towards the end, but still was a very good film that was engaging and entertaining and it set the stage for TVH which of course was a smash, regardless of how you feel about it.

So in the first 3 TOS films you have one major hit, one good film and one that was a little disappointing but not because it was some unmitigated mess that was done on the cheap, it just had a few flaws that held it back. Plus it was set up to go right into a 4th film with little trouble.

TNG:

Generations: A film that looked like it had the elements for success, but ended up being a mess. The sea scene was pointless, the plot was full of holes, the characters all came off looking bad. Picard seemed weak, Data was a clown and every other character was pretty much a non factor. They cacked the Ent-D, but unlike the original 1701 in TSFS, it didn't go in some heroic and dramatic fashion. It just creamed by an inferior opponent. The original 1701 the gave 3 films worth of good scenes and action before it was destroyed, but not really if you can handle an "A" slapped on to the registry #. The Ent-D was offed in the first film and didn't have any really great face time on screen.
Worst of all the "EPIC" meeting of captains wasn't epic at all unless you count Picard waking up to Kirk chopping wood and then going in to make an omlette while Picard begs him for help. Compare that to Unification where they were hunting for Spock the whole episode and then at the end you hear a voice seeing "Indeed, you have found him Captain Picard" as he steps out of the shadows. Also Picard and Spock have strong opinions and they clash, but ultimately work it out.
And then of course the kill off the central character in Star Trek history in a totally disgraceful way, especially compared to how Spock died in TWOK. Plus Picarf didn't seem to be all that busted up about it. It was just like a regular crew member he barely knew died instead of a starfleet legend and hero of Picard.

FC- Generally regarded as a good film, depending on your tastes. Had good effects, story and most other areas. However a disturbing trend is emerging that these films are the adventures of Picard and Data and everyone else is minimal in importance. Also didn't set the scene for a possible follow on.

INS- Just a damn mess. Didn't feel like a film. F Murray Abraham was wasted as a bad guy, was full of corny moments and it was clear by this point Picard was now space Rambo and Data was the only other character who would have a meaningful role.

So after 3 TNG films you have two messes and one good film. Killed Kirk in an awful way, destroyed the Enterprise-D in a terrible way. Only 2 characters have any importance anymore and there is nothing to suggest what might be next as all the films were self contained and nothing from one filmed seemed to have any impact of the next one. So there was no real anticipation as to what was next.

So when you compare the first 3 films of each series head to head it's pretty clear why TOS got 6 films and TNG barely made it to 4.
 
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To me insurrection just seemed like they found an old unused script from TNG, added a few bells and whistles to it, and marketed it as a movie.

It is honestly the only one of the 10 films that, to me, didn't have a "movie" feel to it. It seemed just a jazzed up version of a TV episode. Would have been decent to watch on TV, but for a motion picture......forget it. It was crap and I really can't believe it didn't the TNG films. Although I thought Nemesis was FAR better and I think it suffered from Insurrection being lousy and people saying "I've had enough, time to move on." and not giving it a chance.

Having just watched Generations because of the other thread, I honestly can't believe that that movie -- which is older and the TNG cast and crew's first foray -- is the superior product by leaps and bounds. The special effects, the set design, the lighting, the handling of themes -- that was all more cinematic than Insurrection.

I think generations is a far better film. I think it had more plot holes and ridiculous things than insurrection but was still much better from an entertainment standpoint.
Insurrection was just filled with so much corn it was ridiculous. For the other 9 films I left thinking either "thay was pretty good" or "that was disappointing" with insurrection I just left thinking "was that REALLY a Star Trek film". It just felt like a long TNG episode and an average one at that.

Nemesis really paid the price IMHO. I don't know if the nemesis story was even created as an option for the third film. If it was it seems they were worried about doing back to back darker films. I'm not saying Nemesis was in the category of The Empire Strikes Back for Classic sci fi and it had some substantial weaknesses. Still I've seen FAR worse films (I'm looking at you Transformers) that have been hits.

IMHO insurrection was such a cluster F of a film a lot of people couldn't even get up the will to hate it. Instead they were totally apathetic and decided TNG had had its day and Nemesis paid the price despite being far better.

That's funny, isn't it? I mean, we can complain about how bad Nemesis was, but at least it wasn't bad for being stationary. To me, Nemesis was bad because it tried to be too much at once, at the end of the day. Insurrection was just several shades of beige. I'd rather that a movie fail from trying, rather than a movie fail for just coasting.

And in comparison to Generations, it's not a perfect film, but if I was trapped on a deserted island and I had one film to pass the time before rescue, I'd choose Generations over Insurrection, at the very least because it has some heart. (Or, better yet, maybe I *will* choose Insurrection so that I could just sleep until the boat arrives).
 
Having just watched Generations because of the other thread, I honestly can't believe that that movie -- which is older and the TNG cast and crew's first foray -- is the superior product by leaps and bounds. The special effects, the set design, the lighting, the handling of themes -- that was all more cinematic than Insurrection.

I think generations is a far better film. I think it had more plot holes and ridiculous things than insurrection but was still much better from an entertainment standpoint.
Insurrection was just filled with so much corn it was ridiculous. For the other 9 films I left thinking either "thay was pretty good" or "that was disappointing" with insurrection I just left thinking "was that REALLY a Star Trek film". It just felt like a long TNG episode and an average one at that.

Nemesis really paid the price IMHO. I don't know if the nemesis story was even created as an option for the third film. If it was it seems they were worried about doing back to back darker films. I'm not saying Nemesis was in the category of The Empire Strikes Back for Classic sci fi and it had some substantial weaknesses. Still I've seen FAR worse films (I'm looking at you Transformers) that have been hits.

IMHO insurrection was such a cluster F of a film a lot of people couldn't even get up the will to hate it. Instead they were totally apathetic and decided TNG had had its day and Nemesis paid the price despite being far better.

That's funny, isn't it? I mean, we can complain about how bad Nemesis was, but at least it wasn't bad for being stationary. To me, Nemesis was bad because it tried to be too much at once, at the end of the day. Insurrection was just several shades of beige. I'd rather that a movie fail from trying, rather than a movie fail for just coasting.

And in comparison to Generations, it's not a perfect film, but if I was trapped on a deserted island and I had one film to pass the time before rescue, I'd choose Generations over Insurrection, at the very least because it has some heart. (Or, better yet, maybe I *will* choose Insurrection so that I could just sleep until the boat arrives).

I totally agree.
 
Having just watched Generations because of the other thread, I honestly can't believe that that movie -- which is older and the TNG cast and crew's first foray -- is the superior product by leaps and bounds. The special effects, the set design, the lighting, the handling of themes -- that was all more cinematic than Insurrection.

I think generations is a far better film. I think it had more plot holes and ridiculous things than insurrection but was still much better from an entertainment standpoint.
Insurrection was just filled with so much corn it was ridiculous. For the other 9 films I left thinking either "thay was pretty good" or "that was disappointing" with insurrection I just left thinking "was that REALLY a Star Trek film". It just felt like a long TNG episode and an average one at that.

Nemesis really paid the price IMHO. I don't know if the nemesis story was even created as an option for the third film. If it was it seems they were worried about doing back to back darker films. I'm not saying Nemesis was in the category of The Empire Strikes Back for Classic sci fi and it had some substantial weaknesses. Still I've seen FAR worse films (I'm looking at you Transformers) that have been hits.

IMHO insurrection was such a cluster F of a film a lot of people couldn't even get up the will to hate it. Instead they were totally apathetic and decided TNG had had its day and Nemesis paid the price despite being far better.

That's funny, isn't it? I mean, we can complain about how bad Nemesis was, but at least it wasn't bad for being stationary. To me, Nemesis was bad because it tried to be too much at once, at the end of the day. Insurrection was just several shades of beige. I'd rather that a movie fail from trying, rather than a movie fail for just coasting.

And in comparison to Generations, it's not a perfect film, but if I was trapped on a deserted island and I had one film to pass the time before rescue, I'd choose Generations over Insurrection, at the very least because it has some heart. (Or, better yet, maybe I *will* choose Insurrection so that I could just sleep until the boat arrives).

Not even a contest. Generations, and for that matter the other two TNG movies are all far superior movies than Insurrection. The all have their problems but like you said at least they tried to be something.

I remember watching it at the cinema with the words 'Is that it?' going round in my head.
 
Insurrection has a nice soundtrack, which I have listened to way more times than I have ever seen the movie.
 
I think generations is a far better film. I think it had more plot holes and ridiculous things than insurrection but was still much better from an entertainment standpoint.
Insurrection was just filled with so much corn it was ridiculous. For the other 9 films I left thinking either "thay was pretty good" or "that was disappointing" with insurrection I just left thinking "was that REALLY a Star Trek film". It just felt like a long TNG episode and an average one at that.

Nemesis really paid the price IMHO. I don't know if the nemesis story was even created as an option for the third film. If it was it seems they were worried about doing back to back darker films. I'm not saying Nemesis was in the category of The Empire Strikes Back for Classic sci fi and it had some substantial weaknesses. Still I've seen FAR worse films (I'm looking at you Transformers) that have been hits.

IMHO insurrection was such a cluster F of a film a lot of people couldn't even get up the will to hate it. Instead they were totally apathetic and decided TNG had had its day and Nemesis paid the price despite being far better.

That's funny, isn't it? I mean, we can complain about how bad Nemesis was, but at least it wasn't bad for being stationary. To me, Nemesis was bad because it tried to be too much at once, at the end of the day. Insurrection was just several shades of beige. I'd rather that a movie fail from trying, rather than a movie fail for just coasting.

And in comparison to Generations, it's not a perfect film, but if I was trapped on a deserted island and I had one film to pass the time before rescue, I'd choose Generations over Insurrection, at the very least because it has some heart. (Or, better yet, maybe I *will* choose Insurrection so that I could just sleep until the boat arrives).

Not even a contest. Generations, and for that matter the other two TNG movies are all far superior movies than Insurrection. The all have their problems but like you said at least they tried to be something.

I remember watching it at the cinema with the words 'Is that it?' going round in my head.

Agreed. I remember being embarrassed when comparing it to the epic specticals of contemporary and competing franchise films like The Matrix and The Phantom Menace. It was so little and insignificant.
 
Having just watched Generations because of the other thread, I honestly can't believe that that movie -- which is older and the TNG cast and crew's first foray -- is the superior product by leaps and bounds. The special effects, the set design, the lighting, the handling of themes -- that was all more cinematic than Insurrection.

I think generations is a far better film. I think it had more plot holes and ridiculous things than insurrection but was still much better from an entertainment standpoint.
Insurrection was just filled with so much corn it was ridiculous. For the other 9 films I left thinking either "thay was pretty good" or "that was disappointing" with insurrection I just left thinking "was that REALLY a Star Trek film". It just felt like a long TNG episode and an average one at that.

Nemesis really paid the price IMHO. I don't know if the nemesis story was even created as an option for the third film. If it was it seems they were worried about doing back to back darker films. I'm not saying Nemesis was in the category of The Empire Strikes Back for Classic sci fi and it had some substantial weaknesses. Still I've seen FAR worse films (I'm looking at you Transformers) that have been hits.

IMHO insurrection was such a cluster F of a film a lot of people couldn't even get up the will to hate it. Instead they were totally apathetic and decided TNG had had its day and Nemesis paid the price despite being far better.

That's funny, isn't it? I mean, we can complain about how bad Nemesis was, but at least it wasn't bad for being stationary. To me, Nemesis was bad because it tried to be too much at once, at the end of the day. Insurrection was just several shades of beige. I'd rather that a movie fail from trying, rather than a movie fail for just coasting.

And in comparison to Generations, it's not a perfect film, but if I was trapped on a deserted island and I had one film to pass the time before rescue, I'd choose Generations over Insurrection, at the very least because it has some heart. (Or, better yet, maybe I *will* choose Insurrection so that I could just sleep until the boat arrives).

I don't know the primary people who wrote and created nemesis, aside from berman, but they had an unenviable task of taking a franchise that has missed two of their last three, with the most recent film being so bad that many people wondered if it was a even a movie and/or couldn't even get mad enough to hate it because it was so lifeless and they just said "game over" for ST films. And they were told back's against the wall..... Gotta have a big hit. can't blame them for borrowing so much from TWOK because they felt they had to go for it and why not try to echo what many consider to be the best ST film. Of course it didn't work but to me it was like telling the new coach the Detroit Lions hired often the year they went 0-16 "ok gotta at least make the playoffs, maybe even win a game in it this year"

I don't think the Lions did that with, I think it was Steve Marucci, but if they did of course he's going to try everything in the book.

Nemesis never had a chance despite it's potental because of insurrection.
 
I think generations is a far better film. I think it had more plot holes and ridiculous things than insurrection but was still much better from an entertainment standpoint.
Insurrection was just filled with so much corn it was ridiculous. For the other 9 films I left thinking either "thay was pretty good" or "that was disappointing" with insurrection I just left thinking "was that REALLY a Star Trek film". It just felt like a long TNG episode and an average one at that.

Nemesis really paid the price IMHO. I don't know if the nemesis story was even created as an option for the third film. If it was it seems they were worried about doing back to back darker films. I'm not saying Nemesis was in the category of The Empire Strikes Back for Classic sci fi and it had some substantial weaknesses. Still I've seen FAR worse films (I'm looking at you Transformers) that have been hits.

IMHO insurrection was such a cluster F of a film a lot of people couldn't even get up the will to hate it. Instead they were totally apathetic and decided TNG had had its day and Nemesis paid the price despite being far better.

That's funny, isn't it? I mean, we can complain about how bad Nemesis was, but at least it wasn't bad for being stationary. To me, Nemesis was bad because it tried to be too much at once, at the end of the day. Insurrection was just several shades of beige. I'd rather that a movie fail from trying, rather than a movie fail for just coasting.

And in comparison to Generations, it's not a perfect film, but if I was trapped on a deserted island and I had one film to pass the time before rescue, I'd choose Generations over Insurrection, at the very least because it has some heart. (Or, better yet, maybe I *will* choose Insurrection so that I could just sleep until the boat arrives).

I don't know the primary people who wrote and created nemesis, aside from berman, but they had an unenviable task of taking a franchise that has missed two of their last three, with the most recent film being so bad that many people wondered if it was a even a movie and/or couldn't even get mad enough to hate it because it was so lifeless and they just said "game over" for ST films. And they were told back's against the wall..... Gotta have a big hit. can't blame them for borrowing so much from TWOK because they felt they had to go for it and why not try to echo what many consider to be the best ST film. Of course it didn't work but to me it was like telling the new coach the Detroit Lions hired often the year they went 0-16 "ok gotta at least make the playoffs, maybe even win a game in it this year"

I don't think the Lions did that with, I think it was Steve Marucci, but if they did of course he's going to try everything in the book.

Nemesis never had a chance despite it's potental because of insurrection.

I totally agree with this assessment. Nemesis tried much to hard to make up for the shortcomings of Insurrection. And, as a result, it failed Ina few key areas where it was trying too hard and failed to just service the story and characters.
 
The Good
- The welcoming of new alien societies into the Federation was not only a good way of showing what the mission of the Federation is all about, but it also addresses current events on how this it's much more important than ever. The Borg have recently dealt a crushing blow to the fleet and we're in the middle of a war with the Dominion.

The Bad
- Despite this, Picard doesn't really seem to care about it. The way he refers to the 'council' seeking new allies in a time of war makes this whole event seem like more of a nuisance to Picard rather than a historical one that it should be. The fact that this entire event is played for laughs doesn't show Picard as someone who believes in the Federation's mission, especially when he makes that 'out of character' joke. ("Does anybody remember when we used to be explorers?" YOU DID THIS KIND OF STUFF ALL THE TIME!)

The Very Bad
- Picard decides that inconveniencing 600 self-absorbed people is not worth giving the Federation a means to end the war that doesn't involve violence. Think of all the systems that would flock to the Federation's side with the promise of longer healthier lives? Instead, the war continues to go on and Starfleet will eventually resort to the exact opposite of what this operation could have done. Genocide. I hope it was worth it Picard.
 
What war? There's no war.

There are negotiations with the Dominion instead, and "Statistical Probabilities" put an end to those as long as the war lasted. So apparently the war is over now.

This is also evident from such things as there being no war (or the heroes would be fighting it or then griping about not fighting it), there being no war (or those on the opposing side, such as the Son'a, would not be considered allies), and there being no war (because Worf is taking a holiday, Data is taking a holiday, and the other heroes are going to spend the next few months on some archaeological dig while their ship supposedly just rusts in orbit).

That's one thing the movie excels in: it totally avoids getting trapped in any specific point of the timeline. There are zero references to known major events elsewhere in the Trek universe, and the "major events" introduced in the movie itself are not particularly definite (ongoing negotiations, spells of non-exploration of indeterminate length). There's even a notable absence of stardates!

Timo Saloniemi
 
This is also evident from such things as there being no war (or the heroes would be fighting it or then griping about not fighting it), there being no war (or those on the opposing side, such as the Son'a, would not be considered allies), and there being no war (because Worf is taking a holiday, Data is taking a holiday, and the other heroes are going to spend the next few months on some archaeological dig while their ship supposedly just rusts in orbit).

Even Deep Space Nine took some time off when the conflict with the Dominion was at it's highest. Also, if there was no war, Worf would not still be serving on Deep Space Nine.

That's one thing the movie excels in: it totally avoids getting trapped in any specific point of the timeline. There are zero references to known major events elsewhere in the Trek universe, and the "major events" introduced in the movie itself are not particularly definite (ongoing negotiations, spells of non-exploration of indeterminate length). There's even a notable absence of stardates!

That's probably why this movie failed. Being so detached from what was going on in the Trek universe it just became an irrelevant entry where nothing happens to the characters or the whole universe. i.e. the criticism that this is just a typical tv episode.
 
Even Deep Space Nine took some time off when the conflict with the Dominion was at it's highest.

...Basically because DS9 was irrelevant to the war effort, what with the wormhole being off limits to both sides. With the war concluded, even if the wormhole didn't open for traffic (other than Odo), DS9 would revert to the position of being the next-door neighbor of Cardassia Prime and thus of some importance. But it was a backwater before the show and would remain a backwater after the show unless the Prophets decided to allow traffic to flow again.

Also, if there was no war, Worf would not still be serving on Deep Space Nine.

Why not? It's not as if he'd still be likely to agree to become Ambassador when he sobered up after the victory party...

That's probably why this movie failed. Being so detached from what was going on in the Trek universe it just became an irrelevant entry where nothing happens to the characters or the whole universe. i.e. the criticism that this is just a typical tv episode.

Nothing happens in ST:FC, either: the Borg threat is negated, Picard stops being Ahab, and a reset button pressed.

Timo Saloniemi
 
The quality of the special effects in this movie are pretty jarring. On the one hand, you have pretty cool effects like the Son'a ships firing on the Enterprise while the engines are burning deuterium, then effects the look totally shitty, like the Enterprise leaving orbit from the Ba'ku planet at the end. Then, you go from a pretty neat effect like Data removing his cloaking suit to a super shitty effect like the Collector activating its sails.

This movie was released around the time I was really starting to get into Trek (I'd been a regular watcher of DS9 since the beginning, Voyager, watched all the TOS movies as well as GEN and FC) and I just couldn't get myself excited about it. I was 16 when First Contact released, and I thought that movie blew Space Jam out of the water. It was all I could talk about. Insurrection released, and I think my biggest reaction to it was "meh."
 
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