Conference bookie::movies

551.0. "Star Trek:GENERATIONS" by XCUSME::SAPP (Random Kindness/Senseless Acts Beauty) Wed May 18 1994 16:49

           
Article: 76540
Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.current
From: ottoh3@cfsmo.honeywell.com (Otto Heuer #3)
Subject: FAQL: UPCOMING STAR TREK MOVIES
Date: Fri, 6 May 1994 19:02:01 +0000
Sender: usenet@demon.co.uk
 
Archive-Name: faql.rec.arts.startrek.movies
 
   INFORMATION ON UPCOMING STAR TREK MOVIES (last updated 3 May 1994)
 
This posting is intended to cut down on questions that seem to pop up daily
asking what is known about the new Star Trek movies.  It is one of a number
of periodic postings posted to r.a.s.*.  For a full list of informational
postings, please read the "LIST OF PERIODIC POSTINGS" article in
rec.arts.startrek.misc.  For a list of acronyms used in this (and other)
postings, please refer to the "ACRONYM LIST" which can be found in
rec.arts.startrek.misc.
 
===========================================================================
 
			This entire article contains
 
			***** S P O I L E R S *****
 
for upcoming movies.  If you don't want to be spoiled, don't read this!

CURRENT INFO:
 
TITLE:         Star Trek: Generations
WRITERS:       Ron Moore and Brannon Braga (from a Moore/Braga/Berman story)
DIRECTOR:      David Carson (he did the DS9 pilot, "Yesterday's Enterprise",
               and episodes of Doogie Howser and LA Law)
PRODUCER:      Rick Berman
LINE PRODUCER: Bernie Williams
EXEC PRODUCER: Bernie Williams
CO-PRODUCER:   Peter Lauritson
COMPOSER:      Dennis McCarthy
SETS:          Herman Zimmerman
COSTUMES:      Bob Blackman
CAST:          William Shatner (Kirk), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Malcolm 
               McDowell (Soren), and the TNG cast are signed (assuming not
               Wheaton, Muldaur, or Crosby); Doohan and Koenig are in a
               10-minute intro/cameo.
FILMING:       through end of June 1994
RELEASE:       late-November/December 1994
BUDGET:        $25,000,000
 -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
17 July 1992 convention:  Shatner said he had submitted a script idea (not
an actual script) for ST7 to Brandon Tartikoff (sp).  After two months of
silence from Tartikoff he received a reply saying that another script idea
was being considered before Shatner's.  Then they would take a look at
Shatner's idea.  Shatner had said that Tartikoff had been very
non-committal each time he had asked about it.  But he did give the
impression that both he and Nimoy are interested.
 
Eric Stillwell has also mentioned a lot of talk around Paramount regarding
a seventh TOS movie.  Shatner has submitted a script idea (with Kirk having
a young love interest) and they are re-considering Harve Bennet's "Academy
Days" script with random actors portraying the crew at SFA.
 
The 7 February 1993 copy of the Los Angeles Times (Sunday Calendar
section, p. 24), reported that Paramount has given Rick Berman the green
light for not one, but TWO TNG movies.  A preliminary release date for the
first movie is late 1994.
 
Reports on GEnie say that Ron Moore and Brannon Braga will be co-writing
the first two TNG movies.  Hints dropped at a con in LA from Piller, Berman
and others are that the first may very well contain TOS crewmembers along
with some time travel elements.  Guinan's past may play an element in the
story.
 
4 April 1993 Pasadena convention:  Rick Berman reported that he would be
producing the next two Star Trek movies, and that they would feature the
TNG cast.  Berman says he has also talked to Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley and
if everything goes right the TOS cast will be in the next movie as well.
There are 2 movie scripts under development.  The first will be written by
TNG staff writers Ronald Moore and Brannon Braga.  The second script will
be written by former TNG writer Maurice Hurley.  Berman said one script
includes the TOS cast, but the other one could easily be modified to
include them as well.  The first movie will go into production in April
1994 for a Christmas 1994 release.
 
30 April 1993:  The British national newspaper, the "Daily Mail", reported
that Shatner and Stewart were asked to star in the same Star Trek big
screen picture.  British-born Stewart had no problem appearing in Star Trek
Seven:  The Next Generation and assumed he would receive star billing
because Shatner's role was not a substantial one.  That was light years
away from what Shatner had in mind.  Shatner, 62, told Paramount Films he
would not be a 'simple guest star' and his name would not appear below
Stewart's in the film's credits.  Also he wanted to be paid at least six
million dollars upfront, some five and a half million more than Stewart
would get.  'Shatner was not going to play second fiddle to Stewart whom he
felt was not a big name in the movie world', an executive told Bas
Bamingboye of the Daily Mail. 'He has made many millions from his share of
the profits and from the six Star Trek movies and Hollywood is all about
perception.  Shatner didn't like the idea that he was being perceived as
some second string bit-actor.' Stewart didn't have much room to manoeuvre
because he had to sign a contract to do a seventh series of Star Trek TV if
he wanted to be in the film, and of course, he wanted to.  While the studio
was livid with Shatner's egotistical behaviour, they have had to bow to
pressure because Star Trek fans are going to flock to any picture featuring
both Enterprise captains.  Although there will be equal billing, it will
work in Shatner's favour because alphabetically, he comes before Stewart.
In the movie's script Captain Kirk's cryogenically frozen body is stolen.
He is revived and forced to fight against Captain Picard.
 
Mid-May 1993:  Reports from the TNG production crew on GEnie are saying
that ST7 will have the two crews, but they will NOT meet.  The TOS crew
will be working on some problem, which will remain a problem in the Star
Trek universe until the TNG crew solve it (the TOS-fix was only a temporary
fix, it turns out).  There are two scripts being worked on:  this one with
Ron Moore and Braga, and another one with Moore and Piller (which may
involve Romulans and the Borg).  The writers felt that this was the best
way to mix the crew without messing up continuity (if the two crews met in
a time travel deal, why didn't Scotty and Spock remember it when the guest
starred on TNG?)  or streching credibility too far.
 
24 July 1993 TV Guide reports that both of the movies will include the TOS
cast.
 
Early August 1993 Cinefantastique Annual Star Trek Issue reports that two
scripts were assigned for the firt TNG movie, one to be written by Ron
Moore and Brannon Braga, and the other by Maurice Hurley.  (Note:  Michael
Piller was offered the assignment, but disliked the fact that his script
would be in competition with another, so he turned it down.)  The Moore and
Braga script "brings back the entire original Enterprise crew when the
Enterprise 1701-D crew is thrust back in time."  Hurley's script "involves
the appearance of Captain Kirk in the future as the sole representative of
the original cast" and is rumored to be a story about Guinan and the Borg
(possibly how they wiped out her people).  Berman notes that this will
*not* be a "Star Trek/Star Trek:TNG" movie, it's going to be ST:TNG movie.
The original crew will only bolster the TNG cast.  Berman also stated that
the movie will be an "epic," going far beyond the scope of what they can do
on the small screen.  Nimoy *may* direct.  Paramount is said to have booked
2400 screens for Christmas week.  (There's lots more background info on the
creation of the movie in the article.)
 
14 August 1993 Phoenix convention:  Armin Shimerman reports that there were
4, not 2, movies planned, and that Frakes wants to direct one.  He'll
probably get the 2nd one, is the current thinking.
 
Mid-September 1993 reports from CompuServe say that William Shatner and
Leonard Nimoy are not going to be considered for the first TNG movie
because they wanted too much money.  It appears that they are going with
the script done by Ron Moore and Brannon Braga.  (It seems that Maurice
Hurley didn't get his in on time.)  If I recall correctly from
Cinefantastique, this is the script where the Enterprise-D crew goes back
in time and encounters the Enterprise-A crew.
 
4 October 1993:  "Variety" (page 7):  "There's also been talk of getting
Leonard Nimoy to direct, though sources close to him say his schedule will
preclude his doing anything more involved than a small acting role with the
Vulcan ears.  The studio's been trying hard not to snub the "Next
Generation" crew or creatives, and might even do the movie through the TV
division, in hopes of keeping the budget under $30 million."
 
16 October 1993 San Francisco Creation Con:  James Doohan said that they
were considering two scripts, one with Shatner and Nimoy and one without.
The deal seemed to be that Shatner and Nimoy wanted a lot of money.  He did
say that "all the rest of us will be there" (or something like that).  I
assume he meant all of the rest of the TOS cast.  He did not mention
anything about TNG cast.
 
19 October 1993 Chicago Sun-Times:  Michael Sneed's "gossip column" says
that ST7 will "reportedly star the old originals-- William Shatner and Co.
-- not the significantly younger upstarts of the new 'Star Trek' TV shows.
So there!"
 
22-23 October 1993 Valley Forge PA Creation Con:  Brannon Braga and Ron
Moore said their script was the more likely at this moment.  They said it
was going to be a TNG movie.  Gates McFadden said that Stewart is the only
one who has signed on to do the movie so far.  DeForest Kelley said that
only Nimoy and Shatner were approached about the movie.
 
Late-October 1993:  The movie industry trade paper "The Hollywood Reporter"
has now listed the next Trek movie in the "upcoming film production"
section:  "Star Trek:  The Next Generation (Start April); Paramount
Pictures.  5555 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles CA 90038 - 213-956-5000; Prd.,
Rick Berman; Scr., Brannon Braga, Ron Moore; Dstrb, Paramount Pictures"
 
29-31 October 1993 Honolulu Creation Con:  There is definitely going to be
a seventh movie, but it is not going to be ST7, it is going to be ST:TNG I.
It will feature the TNG cast and as many of the original cast as they can
sign and will be a 'passing of the torch' kind of thing.  After that,
future movies will feature just the TNG cast.
 
Early November Variety "Future Films" section:  "UNTITLED STAR TREK NEXT
GENERATION FEATURE is how the new movie, to be released Christmas of 94, is
being referred to in its listing on the Future Films page of the new
Variety.  Executive producer, Rick Berman.  Screenplay, Ron Moore and
Brannon Braga.  This was the first appearance of the listing.  No director,
line producer, cameraman, ad, or cast members were listed, althoug they
will be added when contracts are signed.  Leonard Nimoy, favored by the
rumor mill to direct, said he wasn't approached by Paramount and stopped
waiting for them to call:  he took another directing project although he
said he certainly plans to appear in the TNG movie as Spock, "if there are
interesting things for him to do."  Since it seems very unwise to go with a
freshman director at this point, the chances are Nick Meyer will be asked
or one of the veteran TNG directors--perhaps even Rob Bowman or David
Carson--would be tapped.  In other news, Berman noted that the final two
hour episode of TNGwould set up the premise of STAR TREK:  VOYAGER, set to
debut with a two hour telefilm of its own in January of 95...  meaning, by
implication, that the series will wrap before January of 95...  suggesting
that this season will indeed be the last for TNG." (thanks Scott!)
 
20 November 1993 Omaha, Nebraska convention:  Richard Arnold reports that
Ronald Moore and Brandon Braga are the script writers and David Carson is
the director.  There are actually two primary scripts still under
consideration.  Both are action-adventure themed.  The major difference
that he would state was the one script had a heavy Whoopie Goldberg
presence in it.  TNG sets will be redressed for Voyager and redressed for
the Movies.
 
26 November 1993 New York City Creation Convention:  Gates McFadden said
that Patrick Stewart is the only TNG cast member signed for the TNG movie.
It is directed by David Carson.  Carson received the script last week.
There will be another rewrite (supposedly final) of the script before it is
handed to the cast.  The movie will involve the TOS cast.  Filming will
start 21 March and run three months.  Release date is late November.  The
TNG movie sets are being built as of right now.  There will be an
upgrade on the Enterprise bridge and some minor costumes changes due to
fact that the movie will be on a movie screen where details will be bigger
and more visible.
 
Late November 1993 news (no source):  The movie's script is still in
decision.  It'll be one of two different stories, each has spots written in
for the TOS characters.  One script has a "heavy Data theme" and the other
a "heavy Riker theme".  The only question is, which one is going to be the
first movie, and which is going to be the second.  This may be from Rick
Berman from the TNG fan magazine.
 
5 December 1993 Madison, WI Creation con:  Marina Sirtis said that stewart
is the only one signed so far.  It seems that everyone is in it right now,
and the story will be modified to accommodate whoever actually shows up.
 
7-8 December 1993 Chicago Sun-Times:  Bill Zwecker's "Celebs" column
reports that the only thing holding up Paramount's TNG movie is William
Shatner.  He's reportedly demanding $1,000,000 to play Captain Kirk.  It's
only a cameo so Paramount is balking at his price tag.
 
15 December 1993 Detroit Free Press page 16D:  "Levar Burton caught a look
at the new 'Star Trek' movie script over the weekend and reports that
'there will be a formal passing of the baton.' Translated, that means
William Shatner and James Doohan will have to squeeze into their
overburdened Starfleet uniforms again, but only for the opening sequence.
Then the action beams forward in time to focus on the new crew.  'Star
Trek:  The Next Generation:  The Movie' should start filming in April and
hit theaters next Christmas, unless all that punctuation slows things
down."
 
Mid-December 1993:  Several people reported seeing on Entertainment Tonight
(and possibly other sources) that there would be two more seasons of TNG on
TV with the TNG movies being filmed concurrently.  [This seems unlikely,
since doing *only* TNG on TV leaves the cast very little time--it seems
unlikely that they would have time to squeeze a film in there (though the
filming *IS* only supposed to take three months, so they could start the
next season of TNG a little late, possibly in January 1995 --ed]
 
2 January 1994:  The Globe (one of those "high-quality" rags like the
National Enquirer) reports that Kirk dies in the TNG film.  It starts in
the time of Kirk, Spock, etc.  They get involved in a battle of some sorts
near a space-time phenomena, and in the ensuing battle, Kirk vanishes and
is presumed dead.  Jump ahead to TNG time.  Something about a massive power
struggle invloving aliens, and the new Enterprise happens upon this
phenomena, where they find Kirk alive, but trapped inside.  They free him,
only to find he was injured in the battle that put him there in the first
place.  After some teary good-byes and cheesy dialogue, Kirk passes on, and
Picard says something like "This won't be the last great starship to bear
the name Enterprise."  The gossip rags should usually be taken with a grain
of salt, but they have been fairly accurate on the last three Star Trek
movies.
 
9 January 1994 Sacramento con:  Wendy Neuss reports that there is to be a
significant part for Guinan in the TNG movie.  The role is Whoopi
Goldberg's if she wants it.  Neuss strongly hinted that Guinan is the
common thread between Picard and Kirk.
 
13-14 January 1994 New York Daily News:  Marina Sirtis says the TOS cast
will be filming for a couple weeks in March and the TNG cast will join them
in April.  She asys the crossover only happens with two characters, but the
script will go through many re-writes, so things could change a lot.
 
15 January 1994 Daily Mail (British National Newspaper):  In an article
with the byline "By Peter Sheridan in Los Angeles", they report that Nimoy
may not be in the movie:  "He has been part of the Star Trek Legend for a
space age.  But Mr Spock will not be on board when the Starship Enterprise
heads off on its latest movie mission.  Leonard Nimoy, who has played the
pointy-eared Vulcan for more than 25 years, has refused to appear in Star
Trek VII, the next film installment in the space saga.  Yesterday the man
who wrote, co-produced, directed or starred in each of the six previous
films blamed 'creative differences' for his decision to bow out.  But
insiders claim that Nimoy was unhappy because Spock had been reduced to a
mere bit-player in the new movie."
 
Late-January 1994:  Info supposedly from a recent convention says that the
next movie will include both the original cast and the new cast *however*
they will not actually meet.  The basic plot is that the Enterprise-B (on
its maiden voyage) is called to respond to some distress hail.  They find a
crazy Vulcan scientist on a planet who has made some device that creates
what he calls a vortex that is essentially a place where time stands still.
He's planning on using it for a doomsday weapon of some sort.  Kirk and
company battle him and in the course Kirk vanishes never to be seen again.
The movie the jumps ahead 75 years, the Enterprise-D is called to some
planet by a distress hail and find the same Vulcan.  There's a big fight.
Picard has to go down to the planet, and in the process gets caught in the
vortex with the scientist.  They fight it out and just as Picard is about
to kick the bucket, Kirk (who has been in the vortex all this time) jumps
out and they duke it out.  The Vulcan kills Kirk, but not before Kirk and
Picard kill him.  Kirk dies in Picard's arms and his final words are, "It's
been fun."
 
23 January 1994:  Nimoy said at a convention that the Spock character would
not be in the movie.  He said he didn't feel like the character was being
used well.
 
Late-January 1994:  A science fiction store in Cambridge (Man from Atlantis)
has what they say is a lithograph from the upcoming Star Trek movie.  It was
sort of a promotional still photograph.  It showed a rear shot of the
Enterprise-D going into warp drive, with numerous streaks of red and blue
light all around it.  Apparently the title of the movie will be "Star Trek:
The Next Generation:  The Movie" (without the colons).  The Star Trek TNG
font was changed slightly, but not too much.
 
Late-January 1994:  The National Enquirer reports that Kirk and Picard will
fight each other, with Kirk being forced into the fight.  They claim that
it comes from Nimoy.
 
30 January 1994 Los Angeles Creation con:  They now are saying that Kirk
and Picard will meeteach other at the *end* of the movie.
 
5-6 February 1994 Vancouver Creation con:  The delayed the start of filming
for the new movie from March 21 to March 25.  Michael Dorn mentioned that
Stewart is the only one signed for it so far.
 
12 February 1994 Little Rock Creation convention:  Marina Sirtis said the
only two people who have signed on for the movie are Stewart and Shatner.
 
The February? 1994 Official Star Trek Fan Club Magazine reports that the
last episode of TNG will NOT be a lead in to the movie.
 
February 1994 con guests (Herman Zimmermann, William Shatner, Linda Gomez)
are confirming the plot outlined in The Globe:  The film opens with the TOS
cast attending the commissioning of a new starship (reportedly the
Enterprise-B.)  Kirk meets Guinan and Picard in the film.  The Duras
sisters are in the movie.  Herman Zimmermann (TNG/DS9 set designer) reports
(not in The Globe) that the current film budget is $35 million.
 
February 20 1994 con:  Marina Sirtis says she only has two scenes in the
movie.  In one she crashes the ship.  The ship gets to separate.  She said
the reason no one but the captains have signed it because Paramount offered
the rest of the cast half of what they were offered for a movie two years
ago.  She says they've done better episodes (than the movie), and they
haven't done many WORSE episodes.
 
27 February 1994 San Francisco Con:  Richard Arnold said that only Stewart
had signed.  The TNG sets are getting more detailed with each episode in
1994 as they are polishing them bit by bit as the time gets closer to
filming of the movie.  He said that we will NOT see Wesley in the movie.
 
26-27 February 1994 Dever con:  Patrick Stewart said that all the cast
thought the season finale of TNG was a much better script that what they
are going to be doing for the movie.
 
4 March 1994:  Doohan said at a con that Paramount finally worked out a
price with him to be in the movie.  He also said that the entire TNG cast is
signed.
 
5 March 1994:  A first draft dialogue script dated 10/1/93 seems to agree
with what The Globe printed.  It involves the Duras sisters, heavy on the
Data theme (he gets his emotion chip and makes it with one of the Duras
Sisters (losing an arm in the process)).  The saucer section crashes on a
planet while the drive section blows up (they separated (evacuating
personnel to the saucer) when they were ambushed).  Troi was driving at the
time.  Paramount plans to redress the TNG sets to use for the movies, then
redress the sets again for Voyager.  They will build all-new sets for the
second TNG film with the 1701-E ("The big E^2?").  Kirk meets Picard in the
Nexus.  After fighting the bad guy, Soran, Kirk dies in Picard's arms.
Guinan and Soran were beamed aboard the Enterprise-B from the Nexus.  The
TOS sequence involves ships that are rescuing survivors from a Borg attack.
This seems strange since the Borg never met the Federation until Picard was
flung by Q.  (Thanks Martin!)
 
12-13 March 1994 South Bend Creation con:  Mike Dorn said he has signed on
for three TNG films.
 
12-13 March 1994:  The E cable network showed a press conference for movies
to be released in 1994, including a clip of Shatner and Stewart announcing
ST7.  The title for the movie superimposed on the screen was "ST7:
Generations".  They only showed a few seconds of Shatner speaking, but he
said something to the effect "The two captains meet and then there's
trouble."
 
19 March 1994 Pasadena convention:  Herman Zimmerman (Production Designer
for DS9) said the movie would feature a new Enterprise B sick bay, a
deflector room, an 1880 (I think) sailing ship, bird of prey and there
would be a pair of captains on the bird of prey and it will be much bigger.
On the Enterprise D there is a new stellar cartography set.  Picard and
Data looking at star maps and will be surrounded by the galaxy.  ILM has a
budget of $8,000,000 dollars for the film.  He said the studio has been
generous with the budget and the script is all action.  There will be a new
comm badge and ensigna for the film and also for the Klingons.  Other info
from the con:  Whoopi hasn't signed but they hope to have her in the film.
Wes Crusher and Q will not be in the movie.  No children in the movie.
Marina Sirtis will have a new wig for the movie.  The feature film has its
own production and art department.  Rick Sternbach may do so minor things
for the film.  The budget went from $40,000,000 to $25,000,000.
 
20 March 1994 Entertainment Weekly:  It was reported from the ShoWest
convention in Vegas, which featured Stewart and Shatner together.  Basic
plot:  Picard must rescue Kirk from a "terribly destructive phenomenon that
travels through space where past, present, and futures converge."  Shatner
will *probably* be joined by at least Nichelle Nichols and DeForest Kelley,
and maybe others.  As previously reported, definitely no Nimoy for this
one.  Nimoy is quoted as saying "I just didn't respond to [the script].  I
wish them bon voyage."  He added, "I am sad about it."  Of the TNG cast,
Frakes, Sirtis, and Whoopi Goldberg have signed on.  Sayeth Rick Berman,
"Has every negotiation been signed, sealed, and delivered?  No.  Am I
confident they'll all be in the movie?  Yes."  There will be sharper
uniforms, and one "four-letter word" in the script.  Kirk is slated to die
at the end!  However, one production source (unnamed) is quoted as saying,
"Kirk may be stuck in the 21st [I believe he meant 24th] century forever,
if Shatner has an opinion."
 
20 March 1994 From a copy of the first draft dialogue script dated 10/1/93
(extra major spoilers here):  The film opens with a bottle breaking on bow
of Enterprise-B, Excelsior class, at its commissioning ceremony.  TOS crew
assembles on bridge of Enterprise-B (this script assumes everybody signs).
Enterprise-B is under command of Capt.  John Harriman.  Enterprise-B takes
maiden voyage around sol system.  While out and about, Enterprise-B
receives distress call from the transport ship Lakul, which, along with two
others, is bringing El-Aurian refugees to Earth (more on this later).
Enterprise-B responds and finds the three ships under attack by tendrils of
energy emanating from a large cloud of energy.  Enterprise-B is using a
skeleton crew and has no tractor beam.  One of the transports is destroyed.
Then the second.  Enterprise-B closes to transporter range (which happens
to also put it in range of the tendrils).  McCoy goes down to medical to
help out with the soon to be arriving survivors, and takes Chekov with him.
Uhura takes over at transporter controls (on the bridge?)  Meanwhile, Spock
goes to science station and determines the survivors' life signs are
fluctuating in and out of our continuum.  Third ship is destroyed, but not
before 47 people are rescued.  Then the Enterprise-B comes under attack by
the tendrils of energy.  Down in sickbay, one rescuee gets violent, asking
"why?"  Bones gives him a sedative.  As the ship is rocked violently, a
woman begins to fall.  Bones grabs her.  Surprise!  It's Guinan.
Meanwhile, Spock decides that using the deflector to simulate an
anti-matter burst could push them free of the energy cloud.  Kirk takes off
for the turbolift, to go down and effectuate Spock's plan in the deflector
room.  Kirk re-wires the deflector and they Enterprise-B fires its burst
and begins to break free.  One final tendril hits the ship, blasting a
portion of the saucer section.  The section Kirk was in has been vaporized,
leaving a gaping hole into space.  Everybody gets sad.  Harriman orders the
ship to return to Earth.  Fade to TNG (78 years later):  The crew is aboard
the USS Enterprise (the original sailing frigate) and dressed in uniforms
of the period.  Picard orders the prisoner brought out.  Troi and Geordi
bring out Worf, shackled in irons.  Picard then announces the charges
against Worf (basically, being a good officer and everyone's friend).  The
crew finds him guilty.  Worf is punished with...  promotion to Lt Cmdr.
During the ceremony, Data wishes he could join in the festivities, so
Geordi activates Data's newly installed emotion chip.  Data begins laughing
too loud.  Crew is called to bridge.  Holodeck program ends.  On bridge,
they learn that a Federation science station in the Amargosa System is
under attack by a Romulan Warbird.  Onboard station, Romulans materialize
and exchange fire with Federation occupants.  Dr Soran (the rescuee who
shouted "why?"  in the Enterprise-B sickbay) has not aged a day and is on
the station.  Romulan grabs a Federation ensign and demands to know where
the trillithium is.  Just then, the Enterprise comes into view and opens
fire on the Warbird.  Worf, Riker and others beam onto station.  Romulans
beam out and cloak.  Stardate at this point is 48646.3.  Soran wants power
restored to the station to continue his experiments.  Riker tells him to
wait.  Data's emotion chip overloads and Geordi cannot remove it.  We learn
that trillithium is a substance the Klingons experimented with a decade
ago, and could be thousands of times more powerful than an anti-matter
weapon.  Research was discontinued because trillithium could not be safely
stabilized.  On the station, Geordi discovers a solar probe that is
emanating a trillithium signature.  Soran knocks Geordi unconscious.
Picard comes to Troi and tells her his brother, Robert, died of a heart
attack and he'll miss the funeral.  Picard says he is getting a sense of
his own mortality based on time running out, rather than the consequences
of his actions (battles, etc.)  Suddenly, the star of the system the
station is located in begins to flare and change colors, getting darker.
Soran has launched his solar probe.  Worf et al beam back to the Enterprise
(without Geordi) as a Klingon Battlecruiser decloaks and beams Soran &
Geordi onboard, then cloaks and leaves town.  Meanwhile, the star has
exploded and the Enterprise must outrun the shock wave.  Afterwards, Picard
learns that the Klingon ship belongs to Lursa and B'Etor, the Duras
sisters.  Picard and Riker make connection between Soran and the
Enterprise-B incident.  They review McCoy's logs from sickbay, learning
that Tolian Soran suffers the same emotional trauma as other survivors from
the Lakul.  They then scan all other survivors and find Guinan on the list.
Guinan says she doesn't remember much.  She tells them the energy cloud is
called the Nexus, and that being inside it is like heaven.  A person can
live wherever, whenever and forever.  While she was on the Lakul, she was
partially absorbed into the Nexus, but then was pulled out by the
transporters from the Enterprise-B.  Apparently, it was this experience
that gave Guinan her additional "sixth sense" as it were.  She believes
Soran is trying to find a way back into the Nexus.  Meanwhile, Soran
tortures Geordi before putting a transceiver in his visor.  Also, we learn
that the Duras sisters are helping because they want a trillithium weapon,
which Soran has promised to deliver.  Data discovers the Nexus passes
through our galaxy every 39.1 years (then why has no one ever seen it
before?)  (Note:  while Data discusses the effects of the star's explosion,
he mentions that the starship Bozeman was forced to make a course
correction.  The Bozeman, if you don't recall, is the ship that collided
with the Enterprise in "Cause and Effect."  Do they mean to say that it's
still in service?)  Data then says every ship that has approached the Nexus
has been dest royed or damaged.  (There's been more?  Again, why has no one
learned anything about it then?)  Picard puts two and two together and
realizes that Soran cannot enter the Nexus via ship, but is hoping to steer
the Nexus toward him by blowing up stars along its route, thus altering its
course toward him.  He then determines that Soran will blow up the star in
the Veridian system (which is populated).  The Enterprise heads for the
Veridian system.  There, it encounters the Battlecruiser and tells it to
surrender.  The Duras sisters know they can't fight.  Soran completes his
implant in Geordi's visor and then transports Geordi to the Enterprise,
while himself beaming down to the surface of Veridian III, where he meets
with Picard.  The Duras sisters watch, impatiently, at the image from
Geordi's visor, waiting for him to go to engineering.  Meanwhile, Picard
talks to Soran.  (Note:  Picard says Soran's family was killed when the
Borg attacked El-Auria, the survivors of which attack were being
transported on the three ships in the beginning.  1) The Borg weren't in
Federation space yet.  2) Borg don't typically leave survivors.)  Data
starts picking up a transmission from the Enterprise to the Klingon ship
(dejavu?  See "The Mind's Eye.")  Meanwhile, Geordi finally gets to
engineering.  The Duras sisters see the control panels, figure out the
codes to lower the Enterprise's shields, do so, and open fire.  The
Enterprise suffers massive damage.  Worf recalls the old style
battlecruisers were mothballed after discovering they suffered from
defective plasma coils.  Riker decides a low level ionic pulse will reset
the coil and trigger their cloak.  As the battlecruiser targets the
Enterprise bridge, it begins to cloak, causing its shields to fail.
Enterprise fires torpedoes.  Klingon ship explodes, and Data shouts "Yes!"
Meanwhile on the Enterprise, the magnetic interlocks have ruptured and we
have a coolant leak.  Five minutes until warp core breach.  Crew evacuates
to saucer section, which separates.  Drive section explodes, forcing saucer
section into atmosphere of Veridian III.  Data says, "Oh, shit."  Saucer
section crashes onto planet and suffers massive damage.  Picard runs from
Soran, who shoots at him but misses.  Soran makes off for his outpost on
the planet's surface.  Back to saucer section.  Nothing works (doors,
lights, other systems).  They begin clearing debris and rescuing survivors.
Data discovers Spot has survived.  He (Data) begins to cry.  Riker, Worf
and Geordi go to the shuttlebay, where they find the doors ripped open and
only one shuttle remaining, and it's badly damaged.  As they evacuate the
saucer section, phaser fire comes from the surrounding jungle.  The Duras
sisters and their guards beamed to the surface before the explosion and try
to commandeer the remaining shuttle.  Troi determines that the Duras
sisters are experiencing a high degree of sexual arousal at this time, and
everyone decides to send Data to "service" them and get in their good
graces.  Data seduces B'Etor, calling her his "little garlic muffin."
After sex, Data returns, badly damaged.  His arm falls off.  Riker sends
Worf, Data, 11 children and the Duras sisters in a shuttle to find Soran.
If they don't find him within 1 hour, the shuttle will leave for the
nearest starbase.  Geordi disassembles Data and integrates him into the
shuttle's computer system.  Meanwhile, Picard has found Soran at his
outpost and the two fight.  Picard cannot stop Soran's probe from being
launched.  The probe hits the Veridian sun and it explodes.  The Nexus is
sent toward the planet and Picard and Soran are absorbed into it as the
Veridian system is destroyed.  In the Nexus, Picard meets his brother,
Robert, who is a 12 year old boy.  Picard follows Robert into Robert's
secret hiding place on their parent's winery.  Picard recalls that his
brother only let him visit his secret place once, and never again.  Robert
leaves to get some bread to go with the vintage wine he's stolen from their
father.  As Picard waits, Guinan appears, wearing the same outfit she had
on onboard the Enterprise-B.  She explains that when she was beamed aboard
the Enterprise-B, part of her was left behind in the Nexus - same with
Soran.  Guinan tells Picard he can visit any point in time and space.  He
wants to go back to Veridian III and stop Soran from launching the probe.
Guinan says she knows who can help.  Picard finds himself in a barn, where
Kirk is grooming a horse.  Picard explains the desperate situation to Kirk.
Kirk says he is tired of saving the universe, he's done his time, now leave
him alone.  Kirk gets on his horse and rides off.  Picard grabs another
horse and follows.  A chase ensues.  Kirk and Picard lead a ravine, then
stop.  Picard points out that Kirk was not scared by leaping the ravine,
because life has no meaning in the Nexus.  Finally, Kirk agrees his life is
meaningless in the Nexus and he agrees to return to Veridian III with
Picard.  They return.  Kirk attacks Soran and the two fight hand to hand.
Meanwhile, Picard can't stop the launch, again, but he does manage to cause
the probe to lose its guidance and crash back on the planet.  Soran shoots
Kirk, who drops.  Soran then attacks Picard, but Picard gets a blaster and
kills Soran.  Kirk dies in Picard's arms.  The shuttle arrives to find
Picard, and off they go to the saucer.  Stardate is now 48650.1.  The crew
is rescued by the Farragut.  Picard remains alone on the bridge for a
moment.  Sitting in his chair, he reads aloud from Hamlet:  "He was a man,
take him for all in all x I shall not look upon his like again."
(Referring to Kirk or the Enterprise?)  Picard beams up.  The End.  (there
seems to be a typo in the Hamlet quote).  (thanks again, Martin!)
 
25-27 UK convention:  The second TNG movie is a Borg script.  Shatner,
Koenig, Doohan, Goldberg, and everybody from TNG are signed for "Star Trek:
Generations".  57-day shooting schedule.  ILM is doing the effects.
Overall budget went from $50 million to $40, to $35, to $30.  It stands at
$25 at the moment.  This is due to Viacom trying to recoup some cash it
used to take over Paramount.
 
27-28 March 1994:  "HOLLYWOOD -- Malcolm McDowell will star as the willain
Soren in the upcoming feature 'Star Trek:  Generations.' McDowell will do
battle with both Capt Jean-Luc Picard of 'Star Trek:  The Next Generation'
fame -- played by Patrick Stewart -- and Capt James T Kirk, played by
William Shatner of the Original TV Series.  The feature, due to begin
principal photography Monday, brings together two generations of 'Star
Trek' casts through a 'unique astronomical phenomonen,' Paramount confirms.
Among cast member from the Original 'Star Trek' TV series who will reprise
their roles are James Doohan as Scotty, and Walter Koenig as Chekhov.
There will be no Mr Spock in this 24th century adventure.  The 'Next
Generation' TV cast members who will make the hyperspace leap to feature
film will be Jonathan Frakes (Riker), LeVar Burton (La Forge), Michael Dorn
(Worf), Gates McFadden (Crusher), Marina Sirtis, (Troi), Brent Spiner
(Data), and Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan).  The film will be directed by David
Carson, whose many TV and legit credits include directing the two-hour
pilot episode of 'Deep Space Nine,' a 'Trek' spinoff.  Rick Berman
produces.  Brannon Braga and Ron Moore have pulled scripting duties."
--Kathleen O'Steen, Reuters/Variety
 
Late March 1994:  Multiple sources have reported a script where Kirk is
cryogenically frozen and thawed by aliens to fight Picard.  This sounds
like something Paramount would intentionally leak out to throw people away
fromthe real storyline.
 
30 April 1994 From a copy of the final draft dialogue script dated 3/14/94
from CI$ via AOL (extra major spoilers here):  The film opens in a midwest
wheat field.  Scott and Chekov are waiting for Kirk to land (skydiving).
Kirk lands, they remind him of a ceremony they must attend.  They go to the
christening ceremony of the Excelsior-class Enterprise-B, and ride along
for the maiden voyage (Sulu's daughter Demora is the helmsman).  They pick
up a distress call, from 2 ships of refugees caught in an energy ribbon.
The new Enterprise-B is the only ship in range.  They investigate, one ship
blows up, they beam some off the other one, and it blows up.  The
Enterprise is then caught.  Chekov goes to sickbay to help, meeting some of
the survivors including Guinan and a Dr Soran, who wants to go back into
the energy ribbon.  Kirk devises a torpedo modification that will maybe get
them unsnarled.  He goes to do the modification, the torpedo works, and the
ship is freed, but an energy tendril slaps the ship as it escapes.  Kirk
doesn't respond to hails, they investigate and find his portion of the ship
has been smashed off.  <Jump to 24th century>  The TNG crew is on a 19th
century sailing ship (in the holodeck) hazing Worf, as he has been promoted
to Lt.Commander.  He walks the plank, everyone laughs, Data asks why, Bev
says it's funny, Data throws her overboard, nobody laughs.  Data decides
its time for the emotion chip.  Picard gets a message from home:  his
brother and nephew have died in a fire.  He realizes he's the last Picard,
and questions the life choices he's made.  A stellar observatory is in
distress.  The Enterprise investigates.  It was attacked by Romulans,
looking for some stolen trilithium.  Dr Soran is stationed there.  During
the investigation he kidnaps Geordi, while Data cowers in fear.  Soran is
in cahoots with Lursa & B'etor.  He launches a torpedo that destroys the
local star, and gives them the designs for it.  They interrogate Geordi,
finding nothing.  Guinan tells Picard about the energy ribbon, that in it,
time stands still, you can live forever, in whatever reality you choose.
She says that when they were beamed out of it, some part of them was left
behind.  That's how she knows things about time and people.  She says Soran
is trying to get back in the Nexus (inside the ribbon).  The crew find out
that the Nexus is coming through our galaxy again, like a comet, and that
the star's destruction will change it's path.  Realizing that a ship
nearing it will be destroyed, they figure out that Soran is trying to get
it to come to him, on a planet.  They guess that he's going to destroy
another star to accomplish this, which will end 250 million lives.  They
fly to this planet where the Klingon sisters have taken Soran and Geordi
and Picard arranges a swap of himself for Geordi.  The sisters have fixed
Geordi's VISOR to transmit, however, and through it they find the shield
frequency of the Enterprise.  Picard is transported to the planet where he
talks to Soran, in a forcefield, who is preparing to launch the killer
torpedo.  The sisters toss a few torps through the Enterprise's shields,
detonating them on the hull of the Enterprise.  The Enterprise destroys the
Klingon ship, sisters and all, but is fatally damaged herself.  All
personnel are evacuated to the saucer, and the ship separates.  As the
saucer tries to fly away, the battle section explodes, knocking the saucer
toward the planet.  At this point Data says "Oh, Shit!"  (remember that he
has the new emotion chip).  The saucer crash lands in the rainforest.
Picard is unsuccessful in stopping Soran, the torpedo is launched, and the
star is destroyed as the Nexus arrives.  Picard finds himself in an idyllic
home, surrounded by kids calling him Father, and a loving wife.  This is
the reality that would make him happiest, apparently.  He gets lost in the
fantasy, but sees an Christmas ornament on their tree that looks like an
exploding star, and it snaps him out of it.  Guinan appears and tells him
that he's in the Nexus.  He asks if he can leave, she says any time, and he
can go anywhere at any time he wants to be.  He says he'll go back a few
minutes and stop Soran.  Guinan points out that he didn't stop Soran
before, how could he now?  He says she's right and asks her to help.  She
says she can't because she's not in the Nexus, just this part of her that
was left behind years ago.  But she knows someone who may be able to help:
James Kirk.  Picard visits Kirk's reality (Kirk's Iowa farm).  After much
talk, Kirk realizes that this is not real, and agrees to help Picard.  They
find themselves fighting Soran.  Kirk fights while Picard tries to
deactivate the torpedo.  Kirk knocks Soran out, turns his back to him to
help Picard, Soran revives and shoots Kirk in the back, then drops the
weapon while watching the torpedo launch and fall into the jungle,
deactivated.  Picard and Soran rush for the weapon, Picard grabs it and
kills Soran.  Picard goes to Kirk's aid.  Kirk:"Did we do it?  Did we make
a difference?"  Picard:"Yes.  Thank you."  Kirk:"Least I could do...  for a
captain of the Enterprise."  Picard:"Try to hang on."  Kirk:"It was fun."
Kirk dies in Picard's arms.  The movie ends with the senior officers
picking through the debris of the destroyed Enterprise.  Troi and Data find
Spot, alive, and Data cries while holding her.  He thinks his emotion
program has malfunctioned, but Troi says it's working perfectly.  Picard
and Riker search through the ready room, for Picard's family photo album.
They find it and step into the bridge area.  Riker says she (Enterprise)
died before her time.  JLP gives him a speech about quality of life vs
quantity.  Picard:"We are, after all, mortal."  Riker:"Speak for yourself,
Sir.  I kinda planned on living forever.  I always thought I'd have a crack
at this chair one day."  Picard:"You may still... somehow, I doubt this
will be the last ship to carry the name Enterprise.  Picard to Farragut.
Two to beam up."  THE END [Data provides comic relief through the whole
script, getting used to having emotions.  He recalls every joke he ever
heard, and finally gets them.  The cover of this script said "FINAL DRAFT,
MARCH 16, 1994".  It may have changed already, and will change again.]
(thanks again, Martin!)
 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you know of any other topics that should be included in this list, feel
free to email me at one of the addresses below.  Be aware that about 10% of
the mail I send out bounces, so if you don't get a reply from me, it isn't
because I'm ignoring you.  :-)
 
This article is Copyright 1994 by Otto Heuer.  It may be freely
redistributed in its entirety provided that this copyright notice is not
removed.  It may not be sold for profit or incorporated in commercial
documents without the written permission of the copyright holder.
Permission is expressly granted for this document to be made available for
file transfer from installations offering unrestricted anonymous file
transfer on the Internet free of charge.  
 
		--Otto "HACK-MAN" Heuer
 _____  _________  _                         _____   _____   _____   _____ 
|  ___||  _______|| | Otto E. Heuer, CEO    ||___|| |_   _| |_   _| ||___||
| |__  | |___  ___| | FSD, Inc.             |  o  |   | |     | |   |  o  |
|  __| |___  ||  _  | "The innovator for    |__O__|   |_|     |_|   |__O__|
| | _______| || |_| | software solutions."            C, Pascal, Fortran, BASIC
|_||_________||_____|         Assembly Language, Snobol, Ada, APL, Prolog, LISP
Unix, MS-DOS, ProDOS       .  .   .   .... .  .   .   .   .   .   . Audio/Video
ottoh@cfsmo.honeywell.com  :..: .:.:. :    :.' .. :`.': .:.:. :`. :   Star Trek
hackman@pnet51.orb.mn.org  :  : :   : :... : `.   :   : :   : :  `:  Apple IIgs
    

    
    It hits the theaters Nov 18th according to the previews and it 
    looks exciting.
    
    Dave
    

    The "unofficial" script can be found in 12dot2::Star_Trek.

> The "unofficial" script can be found in 12dot2::Star_Trek.

$ type 12dot2::Star_Trek.
%TYPE-W-SEARCHFAIL, error searching for 12DOT2::STAR_TREK.;
-RMS-E-FND, ACP file or directory lookup failed
-SYSTEM-F-INVLOGIN, login information invalid at remote node
$ type 12dot2::Star_Trek
%TYPE-W-SEARCHFAIL, error searching for 12DOT2::STAR_TREK.LIS;
-RMS-E-FND, ACP file or directory lookup failed
-SYSTEM-F-INVLOGIN, login information invalid at remote node

    I think idot2::star_trek is a notesfile.
    
    
    
    kim

    <<< TURRIS::DISK$NOTES_PACK:[NOTES$LIBRARY]EASYNET_CONFERENCES.NOTE;2 >>>
                       -< EasyNet Conference Directory >-
================================================================================
Note 799.21                 The STAR TREK Conference                    21 of 21
NETRIX::thomas "The Code Warrior"                    13 lines  29-MAR-1994 17:36
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can now access this conference via TCP/IP as well as DECnet.

DECnet		12DOT2::STAR_TREK
		DEC:.LKG.12DOT2::STAR_TREK	   (if you are running VMS V6.1
						            and DECnet/OSI V5.7)

TCP/IP		star_trek@12dot2.lkg.dec.com

You need either DECnotes V2.5 on your VMS system, one of the Teamlinks
Conferencing clients, or the DECnotes clients from the DECnet/OSI for
DEC OSF/1 V2.0 release to access DECnotes over TCP/IP.

Micro-review: Excellent movie, with good writing, plot, and interaction.

Let me preface this review by saying that I was looking forward to this
movie simply because the rumors said that Kirk dies, and I have been looking
forward to that for a long time.  But the movie turned out to be a solid
entry in the Star Trek universe, and a good bridge (no pun intended) between
ST:TOS and ST:TNG.

Non-spoiler material first.

Plusses:

1) The script: I found the script believable, with a credible bad guy (Malcom
   McDowell who is wonderful as always) and good interaction between the
   characters.  The meeting between Kirk and Picard was handled well, and 
   the conversation (shown in the commercials) worked.  Even Kirk's line
   "I suppose the situation is grim.  Sounds like fun" works in the context
   of the situation, even though it doesn't work in the commercials.

2) Special effects (with one caveat, covered in the spoiler section) were
   very good.  I particularly enjoyed the sequence where Data was showing
   Picard the path of the Nexus.  That was an awesome room!  The battle
   scenes were also top-notch.

3) Stewart and Spiner are head and shoulders above the others in terms of
   acting (which we already knew) and they showed it off in this movie.  Both
   of them had chances to really shine, and they took full advantage.  But
   even Shatner (whom I consider an abominable actor) didn't do too badly.

4) The movie worked.  They didn't make the mistake of "destroy the universe,
   no, not big enough" and yet I thought the tension was there.

   My wife (who is sitting here critiquing my critique) disagrees with that
   last point.  She says she didn't feel the tension, even though she says
   that the movie also worked for her.

Minuses:

1) The entire movie was too dark.  Rooms were poorly lit, people were often
   in shadow, and in general I had trouble seeing the movie.  I would be
   interested to see if other theaters had this problem.

2) The Captain of the Enterprise-B was a real wimp.  Unprepared, incompetent,
   got rattled under pressure, etc.  I couldn't see him as anyone that Star
   Fleet would pick to command a Galaxy class starship.

3) There was very little of the ST:TOS group in this movie.  Chekov and
   Scotty had little more than cameos, and the rest of the crew was not
   even present.  Sigh.

But on the whole I enjoyed this movie *A LOT* more than I thought I would,
and recommend it as a very good movie, and not just a good Star Trek movie.
They have broken the "odd-numbered movie stinks" jinx.

-- Ken Moreau

Mega-Spoiler below (and it is not the one you think it is):


4) The crash scene of the Enterprise-D was IMHO very poorly done.  Yes, they
   left a trail of devastation miles long, and yes, it took them a damn long
   time to stop, but the effects people consistently forgot how *BIG* the
   saucer section really is.  In multiple shots we had trees taller than the
   saucer section.  Come on, people, the saucer section is dozens of decks
   high, so she is at least 200-250 feet tall (anyone with a Tech Manual
   want to give the exact height?).  And yet there were multiple what seemed
   to be pine trees being smashed by the leading edge and falling on top of
   the saucer section.  *WRONG*!

   Finally, we had the glass ceiling of the bridge being smashed, and Riker
   looking up into the sky.  I don't think so.  Again, anyone have a Tech
   Manual saying exactly where the bridge is located on the Enterprise-D,
   and whether she has a glass ceiling to the outside?

-- Ken Moreau

    Well, I just have to add in my .02!!
    
    I liked the movie, however, I've seen as good or better on the TV.
    Maybe I was expecting too much.  It wasn't a bad movie, it just didn't
    leave me with that "WOW" feeling.  I thought the special effects
    were good, especially the NEXXUS. (Our movie wasn't dark as noted
    in the last note...or I didn't notice it being overly dark.  I usually
    notice that kind of thing).
    
    Data made the movie for me.  I thought he did a fantastic job of acting
    and I thought the writers were very consistent with the good and bad
    points of Data getting an Emotion Chip.
    
    I thought the Kirk/Picard scenes were down well.
    
    I was really disappointed with Troi.  She had a very minor role and I
    think they could have done more with her character.  I would have liked
    to see her interact more with Riker and/or help Picard out more with
    the NEXXUS.
    
    spoilers:
    
    I hope I did the spoiler right!!
    
    I was disappointed that Picard never said "Engage" or "Make it so".
    Its kind of like going to a Bond movie and not hearing "Bond, James
    Bond."  I also was disappointed that they made him out to be kind of
    whimpy in this movie.  Between his crying, getting beat up by the bad
    guy and rummageing around a destroyed Enterprise I kept waiting for the
    Picard on the TV.  I think its fine to give the hero a softer side, 
    but I think they could have balanced it out more with his stronger,
    charismatic side.  I saw hints of his normal character but overall, I
    didn't think he was "himself". 
    
    I thought the whole idea of Gynanne (sp??) being in the NEXXUS was 
    ridiculous.  I think the writers missed a good opportunity to put in
    little clues for Picard to figure it out (he already started when Rene
    gave him the gift).  It would have kept the audience going more too.
    
    I was also disappointed that they destroyed the Enterprise yet again.
    How many times is this?  I think its about the third.  So now we know
    the next flick will start out with a new Enterprise.
    
    Overall I did like the movie and I'd say go see it.  I, personally,
    was just expecting more from the characters and more indepth writing.
    
    Renee

    
    I feel a lot like the reply in .7.  I was kind of disappointed in this
    movie.  
    
    I felt that the movie was somewhat "dark" where I saw it too.  There
    were a lot of scenes with low lighting.  I don't know if this was done
    on purpose to create a special feeling or what, but I found myself
    annoyed with it.   
    
    the rest behind form feed just in case
    
    
    
    I thought the scenes with Shatner were exactly the way I expected.  I
    couldn't wait until they passed.  It's funny..I really like the old ST
    episodes but for some reason I just can't take Shatner in the movies.
    
    I hope they have written Kirk out for good except for a casual mention
    or two while discussing history.
    
    I thought the whole movie was one extended show of TNG and didn't have
    that WOW movie feeling.  I agree with the previous noter that the
    characters just weren't developed at all.  Except for Picard and Data. 
    Troi and the others, even Riker, where very underdeveloped. I suppose it 
    was done the way that it had to be in order to "transfer" the story line 
    over.  
    
    I even got tired of the scenes with Data which surprised me because I
    really enjoy Brent Spiner and his acting abilities.  It was funny at
    first but then it was getting old.
    
    The special effects were nothing overly special and I thought stunt
    doubles and blue screens were fairly obvious throughout the movie.
    
    I guess overall it was o.k.  but I was disappointed, it wasn't quite
    what I expected.  I hope the next one has more character development
    and some Umph to it.
    
     

    
    Joyce whatsername on Boston's Channel Four didn't like it all that much
    but she showed her awareness level when she pronounced Data's name 
    wrong ... she said what amounted to : 'Dahtah'
    

    I really liked it. It's a great romp. It had a lot more humor than I
    expected. I don't see how anyone who wasn't a fan of the series, though,
    would get much out of it.

    I thought the scenes when they were actually in the Nexus went on a bit too
    long and weren't very interesting, but they were the only dull spot. The
    rest was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure.

    Re:.6

    I noticed the odd (dark) lighting in some scenes, but I had no trouble
    seeing anything. It was mostly in the captain's cabin and ready room and
    seemed appropriate to his melancholy mood. With the view he had out the
    window, I'd dim the lights too, if I were feeling sad and pensive.

    

    Well, it's been a while since I've seen any of the other Star Trek
    films, and while I've seen them all, I'm not a Star Trek devotee by any
    means.  Didn't watch very much of the original series, didn't and don't
    follow the New Generation or Deep Space 9.  I'd catch 'em in reruns
    (always the same episodes, though :).  I think the old crew was OK, and
    the New Generation fairly bland.  Too much nice nice everywhere.  
    
    All that said, I really rather liked the movie.  In fact, I think it's
    my favorite Star Trek movie, thus far, even counting Wrath of Khan,
    which seems to stick out in my memory as being the most fun.  (I didn't
    like the first movie -- zzzzzzz -- and the others were all equally OK,
    even the ones other people didn't like).  
    
    The movie seemed to give the New Generation crew a chance to be a bit
    less bland and a bit more...oh, I dunno, interesting.  For
    nostalgia, we even had three of the old crew to make funny remarks and
    help save the day before toddling off into Old Crew retirement (or, in
    Kirk's case, to come back and help save the day later on).  There was
    the typical alottment of plot devices one could see from a mile off,
    and a few problems with scale and logic, but all were pretty minor. 
    I still had a lot of fun.  It was nothing like seeing Star Wars for the
    first time, true, but then again, nothing is.
    
    Malcolm MacDowell (who indeed does look like a lost brother of Sting,
    which is probably the best he's ever looked), gets to be an interesting
    if not terribly threatening (in a true villianous sense) bad guy. 
    There are a group of nasty Klingons with Kleavage (the leaders of the
    pack, as it where, are female Klingons), in a typically Kool Klingon
    Kloaked ship (which I've always been partial to, myself).  There's
    spiffy special effects.  There's a big crash.  There's a fancy
    Christmas scene.  Picard weeps (albeit unconvincingly).  Data gets
    humor (debatable), but has the funniest moment in the movie (to me)
    when he does to Crusher just what she's always kinda needed (in my
    opinion :).  There's a Star Trek staple, the Weird Energy Thingie,
    which looks sorta neat from the outside.  There's some really cool
    blowing things up scene.  There's some tension, even though I pretty
    much could see where the plot was going.  And, there's the worst-kept
    secret part, of which I thought they shoulda kept the original ending.
    
    My biggest quibble: not enough ships in space scene. I miss dogfights
    in space, no matter how implausible.  I wish the Klingons had something
    more threatening to do, or at least prolonged what they did.  And I think 
    it's nigh-time, in the 25th century, for someone to install airbags and 
    seat belts on the ships.  Where's the Department of Transportation when
    you need them?  I think more nameless crewmembers have been killed
    during those "bridge shakes/things blow up/people get tossed around"
    scenes than from countless photon torpedos. :)  It did drag a bit in
    places and there was a feeling the writers sort of wormed their way out
    of a troublesome plot with a resolution that felt a wee bit too "easy".
    But, again, minor nits.  I didn't expect much and was pleasantly
    surprised.
    
    One of the better sci-fi movies I've seen in a long while.
    
    
    *** out of ****
    
    
    kim
    

    
    I liked it to, but I have a little nit..best do a form feed
    
    
    
    
    What ever happend to checking the air to see if it's breathable?  and
    what about when the Enterprise got a whole blown in her and everyone
    runs out to see if Kirk is alive - they are all standing there, looking
    out into space - and all their hair is in place and eveyone can breath?
    Should'nt they have been sucked out to?
    
    and Picards Fish tank had fish that didn't move
    
    Lkp

[spoiler warning]

> ... and what about when the Enterprise got a whole blown in her and everyone
> runs out to see if Kirk is alive - they are all standing there, looking
> out into space - and all their hair is in place and eveyone can breath?
> Should'nt they have been sucked out to?

	There was some dialog that the force field was in place.

	This is nothing new, when shuttle craft take off people are
	often in the bay with it watching it take off, even though
	the bay doors are open because a force field is in place.

>    What ever happend to checking the air to see if it's breathable?  and

They did... they said it was a class M planet, which means the air is
breathable...

BTW, earth is a class M planet.  ;-)

/scott

    
    I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.
    
    What tends to irritate me about Star Trek in general is that in all
    this time it has never managed to shed two principal problems with its
    stories.
    
    1) 	The main characters never suffer the logical consequences of their
    	actions.  It would be easier to stomach this if Star Fleet were not
    	expected to be a military organization.
    
    2)	The writing tends to be too partial to deus-ex-machina.  They
    	apparently believe they can get away with this more because they
    	have the leeway to rewrite phyics, but for heaven's sake, they
    	don't even rewrite it consistently.
    
    The number of Star Trek stories I have seen that are utterly free of
    these defects is vanishing small.  There is exactly one episode of the
    old series.  There are none in my memory of The Next Generation (though
    some of the episodes have merits that allow them to rise above them).
    Deep Space Nine appears ready to fall prey to it, too, after a
    promising beginning.
    
    Of the films, only Wrath of Khan and this new film appear to have
    gotten out from under it, and the new film only just.  And it appears
    to have done so by the same mechanism Wrath of Khan used, exploiting
    what is probably the greatest strength of Star Trek: how well we know
    the characters.  In Wrath of Khan, aside from many other virtues that
    Trek stories often lack, we believe in the ending because it hinges on
    things we know to be true asbout Kirk and Spock.  We know Kirk is a
    veteran starship captain and that he is a genius among them.  We know
    Spock has the strength of will to sacrific himself.  So it works.
    
    Things we know about Kirk and Picard allow us to believe the whole
    second half of Generations.  Without them, it would have had to stop
    dead about halfway through and they almost overdid it with Whoopi
    Goldberg's foreshadowing.  It was nice, having established a completely
    bizarre phenomenon in the first part of the story, to have had it
    become at least partially understood and dealt with in the second.
    
    Writers for Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, new Trek films, hell,
    practically anything in the way of episodic drama take note.  The
    whizzbangs and the gadgetry and the wonders of the future are not an
    inexhaustible well, but the characters, ah, there we can dip again and
    again.
    
    A lot of people complained about the small roles the old crew had, and
    the minor parts of many of the new crew.  As measured in screen time,
    there's no arguing that, however, I couldn't help but admire how well
    integrated everyone was, no matter how briefly.  Walter Koenig never
    had it so good as Chekov, as far as I'm concerned.  He was only in the
    first ten minutes of the film but they showed him as he's supposed to
    be -- a long time military veteran who can be useful in a crisis. 
    Scotty the same way.  As for the Next Generation folks, both Marina
    Sirtis and Gates McFadden did well with small parts because the things
    they did made sense.  In fact, I wish they had sort of toned down
    Data's part -- that whole sequence where he's excessively giddy was
    completely unnecessary.
    
    And I have to put in a word about the sound.  Science Fiction films
    tend to sweep in the technical end of the Academy Awards because they
    are so frequently employing the cream special effects talent and
    cutting edge technology.  I have no doubt that Generations will be up
    for awards in sound.  I went to see it in a THX-equipped theater and
    there were moments where the power of the sound effects left me weak in
    my seat.
    
    Possible spoiler post-FF
    
    It's really too bad those Klingon sisters, who were among the most
    interesting aspects of the Deep Space Nine supporting cast, had to be
    on a ship destined to be blown out of space.  Or were they :-)
                                               

re: .6
(spoiler)


>4) The crash scene of the Enterprise-D was IMHO very poorly done.  Yes, they
>   left a trail of devastation miles long, and yes, it took them a damn long
>   time to stop, but the effects people consistently forgot how *BIG* the
>   saucer section really is.  In multiple shots we had trees taller than the
>   saucer section.  Come on, people, the saucer section is dozens of decks
>   high, so she is at least 200-250 feet tall (anyone with a Tech Manual
>   want to give the exact height?).  And yet there were multiple what seemed
>   to be pine trees being smashed by the leading edge and falling on top of
>   the saucer section.  *WRONG*!

They were not on Earth. They were on a different planet... don't you think it
possible that trees might just grow larger on that planet??? Anyways, who
really cares??? "Look it up in the tech manual!" My god man! It's only fiction!

>   Finally, we had the glass ceiling of the bridge being smashed, and Riker
>   looking up into the sky.  I don't think so.  Again, anyone have a Tech
>   Manual saying exactly where the bridge is located on the Enterprise-D,
>   and whether she has a glass ceiling to the outside?

relax... it's just a movie... 

/scott

Re: .16

	Me thinks you are forgeting that 1/2 the fun of a Sci-Fi film
	is nit-picking it's technical flaws.......

    
    I thought the crash was super!  It made everything seem more real to
    me.
    
    

.6>Finally, we had the glass ceiling of the bridge being smashed, and Riker
>  looking up into the sky.  I don't think so.  Again, anyone have a Tech
>  Manual saying exactly where the bridge is located on the Enterprise-D,
>  and whether she has a glass ceiling to the outside?
    
    It is so made.
    
    The bridge is indeed right on "top center" of the E, and has a
    transparent top to it. They've done this consistently throughout TNG.
    
    I didn't notice it being "too dark" as some have complained. Lots of
    plot holes, bad science and missed opportunities. But a GREAT Stellar
    Cartography room! And some decent acting by Shatner. Nice swan song for
    the House of Duras (las Klingons con Kleavage :-) who could have ruled
    the galaxy had they only split when they had the chance.
    
      John

  This movie has become one of my favorite movies of all time. In most cases
Star Trek movies are fair to good and I like them just because I am a Star Trek
fan but this one went way beyond where any Star Trek film has gone before. 

  I felt that they did a good job of blending the old Star Trek and the new not
only in effects but in acting as well. The mood of the original cast tended to
be light and a bit cynical as opposed to the more dramatic and emotional
atmosphere of the new cast. In a way, the old cast was more '60s while the new
cast was more '80s. They did a fine job of capturing this even without Bones
and Spock. 

  The story was well written, the acting and direction were tight, the plot
kept moving, and once again they avoided falling into the "Star Wars" trap of
over doing the shoot'em ups. Vintage Star Trek. 

  Contrary to what a lot of trekies are saying, the movie is not full of flaws.
Most of the "nits" are so obscure that if you have any kind of life at all you
will not notice them.

  I don't give this rating very often but for me this was one of the very
few ***** out of 5.

  George

    
    Well I rented this movie over the weekend.  I didn't enjoy it as much
    as I thought I would.
    
    On the other hand, my husband (who got me interested in Star Trek and
    loves both the shows, along with the original movies) liked it more
    than I did.
    
    I thought it was drawn out.  I enjoyed some parts of it and was
    clutching my pillow when they first crashed down on the planet but
    after waiting, and more waiting, and more waiting for them to stop I
    just lost alittle interest.  Data's jokes were ok, some really funny
    and some not so funny.  I too enjoyed what he did to the Dr. and think
    she deserved it too.  The characters were underdeveloped.  Both the
    Captain's acting I have seen much better.  Course all my opinion.  I
    enjoyed the other movies much better.  
    
    two out of four for me,
    
    cj