What you did or didn't like about GEN...

[DonIago]

I like it. TPTB never would have gone for it, but I like it.

 

[Captain Robert April]

It also possibly illustrates how a good Star Trek story, or at least ending, doesn't necessarily make for a "good" blockbuster movie.

Y'see, in my version, nobody dies after that first refugee ship blows up. Kirk going back to the E-B and having Soran rig the deflector (and subsequently sucked into the Nexus) undoes the whole mess. Picard warning Robert and preventing the fire and eliminating that idiotic promotion ceremony, which prevents Data from tinkering with the emotion chip, is all just whipped cream and cherries on top of the sundae.

And giving the batshit crazy villain a happy ending that actually solves the problem and reasserts Kirk and Picard as heroes is just the sort of thing that'd give Roddenberry a big ol' grin.

 

[Search4]

How they could've fixed the whole thing in the reshoot.

The movie is unchanged up until the point where Kirk and Picard leave the Nexus and confront Soran. At which point, they ultimately fail to stop the mad El-Aurian, the missile still goes off and they wind up right back in the Nexus.

“Well,” Kirk remarked, “that didn’t work.”

“We’re picking the wrong time period,” Picard surmised, “but I can’t just throw him in the brig without some justification.”

“Wait a minute,” Kirk said, “didn’t you say he was on the Enterprise-B?”

“Yes, when it encountered the Nexus, and you were…”

Kirk ignored the last bit, “Captain, go back to whatever point you want before this mess started. I’ve got an idea that just might fix everything.”

Picard paused, then said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I.”

The two men shook hands. “Good luck, Captain,” Picard said.

“You, too, Captain.”

The screen goes white, as we leave the Nexus for…

Sickbay on the Enterprise-B. A frantic and bloodied Soran struggled with Chekov. “No! Don’t you see, I’ve got to get back!”

A hand clamped down on Soran’s shoulder and spun him around. He found himself staring into the intense eyes of Captain Kirk.

“Come with me,” Kirk said.

“Keptin?”

“Not now, Chekov,” as Kirk hurried the confused Soran out of the crowded sickbay.

The Enterprise-B is rocked violently by another discharge from the Nexus, as Kirk and Soran reach the main deflector control room.

“You understand what you have to do?” Kirk asked.

“Yes, Captain,” Soran said, still slightly frantic, but with a fresh determination. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, now GO!”

Kirk watched from the doorway as Soran quickly made the adjustments to the defelctor.

“Cap’n,” Scotty said over the intercom, “we need that deflector pulse in one minute or we’re all dead!”

“Now you know how it feels,” Kirk said under his breath, then louder, “Almost ready, stand by!”

Soran finished the adjustments, then stepped back, and turned to face the forward bulkhead, his arms outstretched in anticipation.

“NOW, SCOTTY!” Kirk yelled as he sprinted down the corridor.

The graviton pulse lanced out from the Enterprise-B’s deflector dish, breaking the hold of the Nexus on the ship. As the ship pulls away, one last tendril reached out and took a ragged bite out of the secondary hull.

Scotty came lumbering around the corner to see Kirk looking out into gash in the hull, just beyond the environmental force field that stood between them and the hard vacuum of open space.

“Are ye all right, Cap’n?”

“I’m fine, Scotty.”

Scotty looked out into the void. “Was there anyone in there?”

“Yeah, one of the El-Aurians.”

“Poor soul.”

“He’ll be fine.”

Scott looked at his captain like he’d just grown a second head.

“I’ll explain later.”

Harriman and Chekov came running down the corridor.

“Captain Harriman,” Kirk said, “What do you say we get this ship back to Earth and these refugees some proper medical care? I’ve got a few choice words for the headquarters genius who decided to send this ship out with only half her systems installed…”

Flash forward seventy-eight years, the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

“Message coming in for you, Captain,” Worf reported. “Your brother, thanking you for your warning about the malfunctioning heating unit.”

“Thank you, Mr. Worf,” Picard said, suppressing a smile.

Counselor Troi gave him a look, sensing his emotional uptick. “Something you’d like to talk about, Captain?”

“Later, Counselor.”

“We should start getting ready,” Riker said, “Mr. Worf’s promotion ceremony is in just a couple hours.”

Picard heard the Klingon growl.

“Number One, perhaps we should rethink the scenario for Mr. Worf’s promotion. After all, it is his party.”

Worf let out a sigh of relief. “I will have an alternative prepared within the hour.”

“No hurry, Mr. Worf, and no need for theatrics if you don’t want them. If you want to go with a simple ceremony in Ten Forward, that will quite all right.”

“Thank you, Captain. I will make arrangements with Guinan.”

“Mr. Data, how long until we reach the Armagosa Array?”

“ETA two hours, fifteen minutes at our current speed.”

“Very good. You have the conn, Number One. I’ll be in my quarters, following up on that message from my brother.”

The Enterprise-D sails off, movie ends, everybody’s happy.

I don't usually read fiction about a 15 year old movie... but good show!

 

[Praetor]

Yeah, I like it, CRA.

 

[GalaxyX]

How they could've fixed the whole thing in the reshoot.

The movie is unchanged up until the point where Kirk and Picard leave the Nexus and confront Soran. At which point, they ultimately fail to stop the mad El-Aurian, the missile still goes off and they wind up right back in the Nexus.

“Well,” Kirk remarked, “that didn’t work.”

“We’re picking the wrong time period,” Picard surmised, “but I can’t just throw him in the brig without some justification.”

“Wait a minute,” Kirk said, “didn’t you say he was on the Enterprise-B?”

“Yes, when it encountered the Nexus, and you were…”

Kirk ignored the last bit, “Captain, go back to whatever point you want before this mess started. I’ve got an idea that just might fix everything.”

Picard paused, then said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I.”

The two men shook hands. “Good luck, Captain,” Picard said.

“You, too, Captain.”

The screen goes white, as we leave the Nexus for…

Sickbay on the Enterprise-B. A frantic and bloodied Soran struggled with Chekov. “No! Don’t you see, I’ve got to get back!”

A hand clamped down on Soran’s shoulder and spun him around. He found himself staring into the intense eyes of Captain Kirk.

“Come with me,” Kirk said.

“Keptin?”

“Not now, Chekov,” as Kirk hurried the confused Soran out of the crowded sickbay.

The Enterprise-B is rocked violently by another discharge from the Nexus, as Kirk and Soran reach the main deflector control room.

“You understand what you have to do?” Kirk asked.

“Yes, Captain,” Soran said, still slightly frantic, but with a fresh determination. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, now GO!”

Kirk watched from the doorway as Soran quickly made the adjustments to the defelctor.

“Cap’n,” Scotty said over the intercom, “we need that deflector pulse in one minute or we’re all dead!”

“Now you know how it feels,” Kirk said under his breath, then louder, “Almost ready, stand by!”

Soran finished the adjustments, then stepped back, and turned to face the forward bulkhead, his arms outstretched in anticipation.

“NOW, SCOTTY!” Kirk yelled as he sprinted down the corridor.

The graviton pulse lanced out from the Enterprise-B’s deflector dish, breaking the hold of the Nexus on the ship. As the ship pulls away, one last tendril reached out and took a ragged bite out of the secondary hull.

Scotty came lumbering around the corner to see Kirk looking out into gash in the hull, just beyond the environmental force field that stood between them and the hard vacuum of open space.

“Are ye all right, Cap’n?”

“I’m fine, Scotty.”

Scotty looked out into the void. “Was there anyone in there?”

“Yeah, one of the El-Aurians.”

“Poor soul.”

“He’ll be fine.”

Scott looked at his captain like he’d just grown a second head.

“I’ll explain later.”

Harriman and Chekov came running down the corridor.

“Captain Harriman,” Kirk said, “What do you say we get this ship back to Earth and these refugees some proper medical care? I’ve got a few choice words for the headquarters genius who decided to send this ship out with only half her systems installed…”

Flash forward seventy-eight years, the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

“Message coming in for you, Captain,” Worf reported. “Your brother, thanking you for your warning about the malfunctioning heating unit.”

“Thank you, Mr. Worf,” Picard said, suppressing a smile.

Counselor Troi gave him a look, sensing his emotional uptick. “Something you’d like to talk about, Captain?”

“Later, Counselor.”

“We should start getting ready,” Riker said, “Mr. Worf’s promotion ceremony is in just a couple hours.”

Picard heard the Klingon growl.

“Number One, perhaps we should rethink the scenario for Mr. Worf’s promotion. After all, it is his party.”

Worf let out a sigh of relief. “I will have an alternative prepared within the hour.”

“No hurry, Mr. Worf, and no need for theatrics if you don’t want them. If you want to go with a simple ceremony in Ten Forward, that will quite all right.”

“Thank you, Captain. I will make arrangements with Guinan.”

“Mr. Data, how long until we reach the Armagosa Array?”

“ETA two hours, fifteen minutes at our current speed.”

“Very good. You have the conn, Number One. I’ll be in my quarters, following up on that message from my brother.”

The Enterprise-D sails off, movie ends, everybody’s happy.

Dear God dude, that....is.....genius!!! lol.

That would have been a kick ass movie!!

 

[Jeyl]

I've seen the Enterprise fire a barrage of Photon Torpedoes, phasers and even it's big deflector dish. Sometimes all at the same time. So why should the Enterprise fire only one phaser shot at the old out-of-print bird of prey and all of a sudden retreat like a bi***?

Plinkett: Fire all weapons! Fire all weapons repeatedly over and over again until they blow up! Keep firing photon torpedoes non-stop! Really, they could have over-powered that little ship in a second. SHIELDS OR NO SHIELDS.

 

[Captain Robert April]

They were done in by the nefarious PLOT DEVICE!!

 

[Lord Garth]

How they could've fixed the whole thing in the reshoot.

The movie is unchanged up until the point where Kirk and Picard leave the Nexus and confront Soran. At which point, they ultimately fail to stop the mad El-Aurian, the missile still goes off and they wind up right back in the Nexus.

“Well,” Kirk remarked, “that didn’t work.”

“We’re picking the wrong time period,” Picard surmised, “but I can’t just throw him in the brig without some justification.”

“Wait a minute,” Kirk said, “didn’t you say he was on the Enterprise-B?”

“Yes, when it encountered the Nexus, and you were…”

Kirk ignored the last bit, “Captain, go back to whatever point you want before this mess started. I’ve got an idea that just might fix everything.”

Picard paused, then said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

“So do I.”

The two men shook hands. “Good luck, Captain,” Picard said.

“You, too, Captain.”

The screen goes white, as we leave the Nexus for…

Sickbay on the Enterprise-B. A frantic and bloodied Soran struggled with Chekov. “No! Don’t you see, I’ve got to get back!”

A hand clamped down on Soran’s shoulder and spun him around. He found himself staring into the intense eyes of Captain Kirk.

“Come with me,” Kirk said.

“Keptin?”

“Not now, Chekov,” as Kirk hurried the confused Soran out of the crowded sickbay.

The Enterprise-B is rocked violently by another discharge from the Nexus, as Kirk and Soran reach the main deflector control room.

“You understand what you have to do?” Kirk asked.

“Yes, Captain,” Soran said, still slightly frantic, but with a fresh determination. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, now GO!”

Kirk watched from the doorway as Soran quickly made the adjustments to the defelctor.

“Cap’n,” Scotty said over the intercom, “we need that deflector pulse in one minute or we’re all dead!”

“Now you know how it feels,” Kirk said under his breath, then louder, “Almost ready, stand by!”

Soran finished the adjustments, then stepped back, and turned to face the forward bulkhead, his arms outstretched in anticipation.

“NOW, SCOTTY!” Kirk yelled as he sprinted down the corridor.

The graviton pulse lanced out from the Enterprise-B’s deflector dish, breaking the hold of the Nexus on the ship. As the ship pulls away, one last tendril reached out and took a ragged bite out of the secondary hull.

Scotty came lumbering around the corner to see Kirk looking out into gash in the hull, just beyond the environmental force field that stood between them and the hard vacuum of open space.

“Are ye all right, Cap’n?”

“I’m fine, Scotty.”

Scotty looked out into the void. “Was there anyone in there?”

“Yeah, one of the El-Aurians.”

“Poor soul.”

“He’ll be fine.”

Scott looked at his captain like he’d just grown a second head.

“I’ll explain later.”

Harriman and Chekov came running down the corridor.

“Captain Harriman,” Kirk said, “What do you say we get this ship back to Earth and these refugees some proper medical care? I’ve got a few choice words for the headquarters genius who decided to send this ship out with only half her systems installed…”

Flash forward seventy-eight years, the bridge of the Enterprise-D.

“Message coming in for you, Captain,” Worf reported. “Your brother, thanking you for your warning about the malfunctioning heating unit.”

“Thank you, Mr. Worf,” Picard said, suppressing a smile.

Counselor Troi gave him a look, sensing his emotional uptick. “Something you’d like to talk about, Captain?”

“Later, Counselor.”

“We should start getting ready,” Riker said, “Mr. Worf’s promotion ceremony is in just a couple hours.”

Picard heard the Klingon growl.

“Number One, perhaps we should rethink the scenario for Mr. Worf’s promotion. After all, it is his party.”

Worf let out a sigh of relief. “I will have an alternative prepared within the hour.”

“No hurry, Mr. Worf, and no need for theatrics if you don’t want them. If you want to go with a simple ceremony in Ten Forward, that will quite all right.”

“Thank you, Captain. I will make arrangements with Guinan.”

“Mr. Data, how long until we reach the Armagosa Array?”

“ETA two hours, fifteen minutes at our current speed.”

“Very good. You have the conn, Number One. I’ll be in my quarters, following up on that message from my brother.”

The Enterprise-D sails off, movie ends, everybody’s happy.

If this were the TV series, that's probably how it actually would've gone.

 

[USS KG5]

Why not, you know, NOT kill the beloved and iconic character at all?

I don't see the issue with killing Kirk, it makes more sense for him to die doing his duty than of old age, and it is potentially good to see that on film.

More logical would have been for the film to parallel Kirk's "two deaths" (heck no problem with the first one - that sequence was fine) and have him make a choice to die on the Enterprise, even if it was Picards. Then of course you could make the saucer crash the centrepiece of the STORY not just a big action sequence, as the Ent-D is written out but her crew saved because of Kirk.

If the film had a story about handing over to younger hands, being too old to do any good, feeling time haunting you (which it pretends to have at the end) it would potentially have been really classic trek.

BUT- in any circumstances they would have to drop the Nexus, it was just rubbish. To think the same production team that made several really brilliant seasons of TNG could be given this kind of opportunity and turn in such a lame script, well.

 

[Captain Robert April]

As more than one reviewer has noted, it's pretty clear that Berman just figured they could do the same thing they did for all those years on TNG, put it on the big screen, and call it a movie. It doesn't work that way.

 

[GalaxyX]

Why not, you know, NOT kill the beloved and iconic character at all?

I don't see the issue with killing Kirk, it makes more sense for him to die doing his duty than of old age, and it is potentially good to see that on film.

More logical would have been for the film to parallel Kirk's "two deaths" (heck no problem with the first one - that sequence was fine) and have him make a choice to die on the Enterprise, even if it was Picards. Then of course you could make the saucer crash the centrepiece of the STORY not just a big action sequence, as the Ent-D is written out but her crew saved because of Kirk.

If the film had a story about handing over to younger hands, being too old to do any good, feeling time haunting you (which it pretends to have at the end) it would potentially have been really classic trek.

BUT- in any circumstances they would have to drop the Nexus, it was just rubbish. To think the same production team that made several really brilliant seasons of TNG could be given this kind of opportunity and turn in such a lame script, well.

I'm not a fan of character deaths. Even the ones I don't like. Pointless. I liked to be entertained. Watching characters get killed only to "elicit emotional responses" from the audience is LAME.

 

[Diddle]

What I liked about it was the "Ohhh shit" scene with Data and Kirk's second death (I'm not sure if I like the WAY he died, though, bridge on the captain, etc) (and also, don't get me wrong, I wasn't cheering when he died, I just liked the little scene afterwards when he sort of disappears and Picard leaves the commbadge there), and what I didn't liked was essentially everything else.

 

[Agenda]

One question. Why does Picard bury Kirk? Maybe Starfleet doesn't want him to be buried there.

 

[Diddle]

I don't think he was buried, I guess technically he wasn't even there... I mean, he sort of disappeared, didn't he?

 

[Agenda]

I seem to recall him putting rocks on the body? Maybe not...

 

[GeorgeKirk]

One of the things I loathed about GEN (besides all the stuff that everyone else has already mentioned) was the unrelenting cheapness of the studio. The movie's budget was cut multiple times, which was the reason for all the reused FX footage. It was so bad that they had to put LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes into Colm Meany and Avery Brook's ill-fitting costumes. I mean, how sad is that? There wasn't even enough of a costume budget to clothe two of the principals. We're not talking about extras here, we're talking about principals. And yeah, I know that they wasted a ton of money on those Cap'n Crunch uniforms that didn't get used, but really, fabricating a couple of DS9 uniforms for Frakes and Burton shouldn't have been impossible.

We talk a lot about Rick Berman's incompetence, or how Brannon Braga and Ron Moore were overworked and had never written a feature film before, but Paramount's Salkind-level cheapness has to be listed as a major reason for GEN's failure.

 

[DonIago]

I seem to recall him putting rocks on the body? Maybe not...

I never thought the pile of rocks was large enough for a body. I assumed it was just a memorial/cairn/etc.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

It was so bad that they had to put LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes into Colm Meany and Avery Brook's ill-fitting costumes. I mean, how sad is that? There wasn't even enough of a costume budget to clothe two of the principals. We're not talking about extras here, we're talking about principals. And yeah, I know that they wasted a ton of money on those Cap'n Crunch uniforms that didn't get used, but really, fabricating a couple of DS9 uniforms for Frakes and Burton shouldn't have been impossible.

I've never heard a reason why, after sinking all of that money into those uniforms (which, presumably, would also have been used on Voyager instead of the DS9 uniforms), they decided against using them.

The TNG uniforms were barely usable by that point (they worked on television's video resolutions, but they were too worn down to look good at movie resolution). The sets were ragged, hence the subdued lighting to try and hide the more obvious flaws. The limitations of the film, from a production standpoint, were generally addressed creatively, but the unused uniforms has never made much sense.

For what it's worth, I actually like that unused uniform design.

 

[Amaris]

Which uniforms are you folks talking about? I didn't know there were alternate uniforms.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

If you'll notice, they put some of the DS9 style uniforms on the cast. Those are the ones that had a black body and brightly colored shoulders.