Fixing Star Trek Generations

Star Trek Generations should’ve been The Avengers for the mid-nineties: two hugely popular Star Trek sagas were finally combined into a single cinematic universe. Scotty and La Forge, Chekhov and Data, Kirk and Picard. In the same damn movie!

Instead, it was more of an anti-Avengers, managing to annoy fans of both Enterprise crews, leaving critics shrugging their shoulders and general audiences just plain bored. Where did it all go wrong? And was there the germ of a much better movie buried in there somewhere?

If you were Next Gen agnostic (as I was, and remain) there’s nothing here to convert you — the sight of Picard stuck in a rock, flailing his legs in the air as the villain took pot-shots at him —seemed par for the course. Meanwhile, Kirk is killed off pointlessly after about a nano-second of screen time.

Meanwhile, the TNG fans who had patiently waited years for their crew to get a movie, had to endure not only the destruction of their beloved Enterprise D, but also the sight of its captain begging Kirk to help him fight the baddie who’d given him a bloody nose.

Ultimately there are just too many problematic elements for the movie to keep its head above water:

• A generic ‘mad scientist with a superweapon’ main villain (Malcolm McDowell’s Dr Tolian Soran).
• Two boring secondary villains (Lursa and B’Etor).
• Comedy Data and his whacky emotion-chip antics.
• A dull holodeck scene on an old-timey galleon where we see… Worf get promoted. I mean really, who cares?
• A glimpse of the Enterprise B — which turns out to be just the USS Excelsior with bits of plastic glued on its hull.
• The Enterprise D getting its ass kicked by the same itty-bitty class of Klingon Bird-of-Prey that Kirk: commandeered in Star Trek III and then defeated in battle in Star Trek VI. (The skin-flint producers of Generations even re-used the exact same special effect of it exploding that was used in the previous film. Even as a kid I noticed. Everyone noticed.)
• The fleetingly cool moment of Riker saying “Fire” in battle is immediately undercut by the Enterprise D looking like it’s taking a shit as the torpedo is launched out of its rear end.
• The Thunderbirds-level visual effects of the Enterprise D’s saucer making a crash-landing. Shatner’s toupee was more convincing.

Compared to the dignified and classy TNG finale All Good Things earlier that same year, Generations is a stinker.

But did it have to be that way? While many cite the storyline (specifically, the central MacGuffin of the “Nexus”) as the main weakness, I think the story actually had great potential, had it been developed with more care.

However, some restructuring is required to explain what I mean. I’m convinced four key changes could’ve completely transformed this sub-par film into a series high-point.

1. A great villain squandered

The film tells us that the Nexus is an “energy ribbon in space” which grants all who enter the chance to live out any fantasy they desire. It is paradise, heaven, Sha Ka Ree — wait we did that in Star Trek V, oh well you get the idea. You see, Dr Soran is an El-Aurian (like Guinan) who lost his entire family when his homeworld was destroyed by the Borg. [That would’ve been cool to see, right?] Driven mad with grief, Soran wants to get back to the Nexus so that he may be reunited with them. As motivations for villains go, that is actually pretty compelling. Far moreso than, say, a plastic surgery addict who wants Revenge! (for some reason), or a Picard clone who wants Revenge! (for some reason).

Better still, Soran need not be a moustache-twirling baddie: he is — or once was — a good person, a devoted family man. He doesn’t even want to hurt anyone, he just no longer cares about the collateral damage he leaves in his wake. Rich territory here, should the film have cared to explore it.

Soran essentially has the motivations of a suicide bomber: he wants to die and go to heaven – the difference is that he knows his paradise is a real place because he’s been there already (albeit fleetingly). As Guinan herself says, she was:

“…pulled, ripped away. None of us wanted to go, and I would have done anything to get back there”

Soran is really a desperately sad individual; he has invested all his talent and intellect into the nihilistic pursuit of finding a way to stop the universe and get off.

One of the few really effective scenes is the one in Stellar Cartography, where Data and Picard do some nifty detective work to figure out Soran’s scheme. By destroying stars he is using the resulting shift in gravity to ‘nudge’ the Nexus toward a planet – where he’ll be waiting. Like a Christian fundamentalist euphorically awaiting the Rapture, Soran stands on a platform, arms raised skyward. It is the film’s most iconic image.

That’s it. That’s the story, that’s the villain.* We don’t need Chief Engineer kidnapping hi-jinx, we don’t need ten minutes of Worf getting promoted at sea, or emo-Data cussin’ like a trooper, or Jim Kirk’s Rawhide or Picard’s A Christmas Carol. We especially don’t need to see his tears over his family burning to death in a fire (blimey Charlie). Why didn’t they cut all that baggage and spend the time digging into their villain?

*I would accept secondary Romulan villains if absolutely necessary, such as Soran agreeing to give the weapon to the Romulans in exchange for them funding his research. Maybe they turn up in a giant warship to collect the merchandise just when the Enterprise is battered and defenceless. Something like that.

Fix 1. Motivation, motivation, motivation

The movie should’ve opened with Soran and his family harvesting a wheat-field in a picturesque scene. One of his sons asks him why they bother to work the ground when they can just get bread from a machine? Soran tells him that the bread they make themselves tastes real, not artificial.

Later we see Soran at dinner, laughing and breaking bread with family and friends, one of whom happens to be… Guinan. Suddenly an ominously familiar voice booms out across the land:

“We are the Borg. You will be assimilated.”

The diners run outside and look across the valley at the distant twinkling lights of a city. Hovering menacingly in the sky above is a gigantic Borg cube.

We cut to scenes of terrified people running in the streets as Borg drones materialise all around. Buildings are sliced in half by cutting beams. Entire city blocks are gouged out of the earth and lifted into the air. El-Aurian ships explode and crash to the ground. Soran is helpless as his family is picked off one-by-one and taken by the Borg.

Perfect lines of El-Aurian Borg miles long stand in rows, staring blankly at Soran, Guinan and a handful of other survivors as they scramble to board refugee ships. From space Soran looks back at his home world, the transformation into a mechanical Borg hive already in progress.

Then the ‘Enterprise B’ opening of Generations could play out pretty much unchanged, except that instead of the Enterprise responding to refugee ships in distress, it is responding to the distress calls of a colony of El-Aurian refugees that had resettled on a moon in Federation space.

[There is a huge plot-hole in Generations which bothered me right from the very first time I saw it: if Soran was rescued from a ship caught in the Nexus, why doesn’t he just fly another ship back into it? He wouldn’t care if it were destroyed so long as he got back. The film has to establish that all ships are destroyed by sub-space distortion before they can reach the Nexus.]

2. Wrath of Khan-itis

Ever since Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the films have tried to manufacture Khan-like nemeses for our heroic Captains to battle. The Next Gen films in particular have sought (in vain) to create an antagonist worthy of Patrick Stewart, someone who could pack a hefty emotional wallop for Picard: Soran in Generations; a rogue Admiral in Insurrection; his own clone in Nemesis (geddit?). The truth is there really isn’t anyone or anything Khan-like from Picard’s past to draw on – other than the Borg (later used to great effect in First Contact — although even here the Borg Queen was retconned into it to give the drama some extra emotional weight).

However, I think the writers completely missed the character with whom the (famously reserved) Picard had the strongest, and most complex emotional connection. Overlooked, no doubt, because he wasn’t Khan-like at all:

Wesley Crusher.

[I know, I know, Wesley was intensely irritating; perhaps the most irritating character in the history of Star Trek – including Neelix. But adult Wesley could be a different prospect, especially if he grew a beard (look what it did for Riker). But the main reason they should’ve brought Wesley back is, of course, because Picard got his dad killed. As Bruce Lee said: “Emotional content”.]

Fix 2. Cap’n Picard’s shield

First, let’s swap out Worf’s promotion scene for one of Wesley being offered the First Officer position on the USS Intrepid (a science vessel assigned to survey the moons of the Vulcan system). Captain Picard, his mother Dr Beverly Crusher and the Captain of the Intrepid are in attendance at the ceremony on the Alpha Centauri starbase.

However, during the ceremony Wesley hesitates and asks to speak to Captain Picard (and his mother) in private.

Picard: “What’s the matter Wesley? I must say this is a terrific opportunity for you. And you thoroughly deserve it.”

Wesley: “Captain is it possible… I’d like to… I’ve heard the helmsman position is available again on the Enterprise. Sir, would you consider me?”

Picard (taken aback): “Helmsman? I’m afraid I don’t understand? Wesley you’ve been offered First Officer on a fine ship. In a few years you’ll have your own command. Now, its perfectly natural to be nervous, but…”

Wesley: “It’s not that, I just… I don’t want it Captain.”

Picard: “Wes, listen to me, when I was your age I couldn’t wait to get out there…”

Beverley: “What is is Wes?”

Wesley: “I just, I don’t fit in Mom. They don’t like me. I think about coming back to the Enterprise all the time, every day. I grew up there, my friends are there, you’re there. I just…want to come home.”

Picard: “Wes, think about what you’re saying. Do you really want to be demoted all the way back to helmsman? Your career in Starfleet would be ruined. Trust me, this is for the best.”

Wesley: “But…”

Picard: “I’m sorry Mr Crusher I can’t approve this, and I wouldn’t try.”

Wesley (emotional): “Please Captain…”

Picard: “Mr Crusher, do control yourself.”

Wesley: “You just don’t want me there? Is that it?”

Picard: “What are you talking about?”

Wesley: “Because of what happened to my father? You don’t want me around? You couldn’t wait to get rid of me.”

Beverly (shocked): “Wes!”

Picard: “That’s quite enough Mr Crusher. The Enterprise is not your home. You will take the commission on the Intrepid and that is the end of the matter.”

Beverly (staring at Picard): “Jean-Luc…”

Picard: “Mr Crusher you are dismissed.”

Wesley: “…Yes Sir.”

After the ceremony Wesley glances over at his mother before turning away to board the Intrepid. Beverly Crusher chases after Picard in the corridor, demanding to know whether her son was right. Did Picard really not want Wes around? Did it have something to do with how Jack (Wesley’s father) died?

The exchange becomes heated, but as they argue, Picard suddenly notices a pink energy ribbon moving past the space station. At the same moment, Beverly — looking in the opposite direction — sees the Alpha Centauri star begin to collapse. Then the starbase shakes violently and starts to come apart.

Picard orders an emergency station-wide evacuation. As Beverley is beamed away, windows all around begin to buckle. Just as he is about to depart, Picard notices a single, solitary figure on the now-empty station, two floors up. He tries calling to him but the man doesn’t seem to hear. Picard hurries toward the man, just reaching him as the station depressurises. Far from being afraid, Dr Tolian Soran looks exultant, standing with his eyes closed and arms outstretched.

Picard reaches him, slaps his communicator on Soran and shouts, “Beam us up!”. Their eyes meet for a moment as the transporter beam energises. Soran glares angrily at Picard.

However, just then the rear wall of the station explodes outward and Picard is flung into space, where he drifts into the path of the Nexus and disappears.

Aboard the Enterprise, the bridge crew watch on in horror.

[This plot reworking is designed to achieve two things: firstly, it gets around the ponderous time-loop of trying time stop Soran launching his rocket in the desert — this way Picard gets to the Nexus alone, no time-shenanigans required; second, it massively raises the stakes for the Enterprise crew to solve the mystery because they believe they just witnessed their captain’s death.]

Next we pick-up with James T. Kirk’s Nexus experiences. He is on Earth, at the same mountain lodge as in Generations, but he’s with a much younger Carol Marcus. As in the movie, Kirk doesn’t understand how or why, but he’s so overcome with happiness he doesn’t question it. However, when he hears a child’s giggle and the patter of running feet down the corridor the spell is broken.

Kirk (stunned): “Is that… David?”

Carol: “Of course Jim, he’s so excited to see you!”

Kirk (angry, backing away): “No. Stop this. David is dead. This isn’t real.”

Carol: “Don’t you want to at least see him?”

Kirk: “No! Get away from me.”

Kirk runs out of the house into the snow: “Let me out! Show me the way out!”

The scene instantly changes and Kirk is now in the burning engineering section of Picard’s former command the Stargazer. He has stepped into Picard’s Nexus experience, a perpetual nightmare in which Picard desperately tries to save the life of Jack Crusher (Wesley’s father) over and over again.

Just like the real incident, Jack is being crushed under a burning gantry. No matter what Picard does, he is never able to pull Jack clear in time. Kirk tries to convince Picard that is it isn’t real, but Picard is lost in his own memories made real by the Nexus.

Finally, Kirk decides to help Picard. In a flash of inspiration Kirk tears shielding panels off the nearby warp reactor and turns the core up to maximum. Every metallic object in the room is pulled toward the core, including the gantry which is lifted clear of Jack’s body. “If you can’t move Mohammed then you have to move the mountain” muses Kirk.

Jack Crusher wakes up and thanks Picard, before asking him about Wesley. This causes Picard to at last snap out of it and accept the scene for the charade it is.

Picard: “This is ego. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you Jack. For your sake, but especially for Wesley’s.”

For the first time he seems to see Kirk.

Picard (awed): “… James T Kirk. Yes… yes! You are real; I know how you got here.”

Kirk: “You have me at a disadvantage Sir. But I think I know why I’m here: to meet you.”

Picard: “Why do you say that?”

Kirk: “Because I think you know the way out.”

Picard suddenly remembers something Guinan told him about how to exit the Nexus: you just have to tell it where you want to go. Where should he go?

Picard (musing): “…you have to move the mountain”

Kirk: “Huh, what’s that?”

Picard: “A madman has developed a weapon capable of destroying stars, and I think it’s got something to do with this place. Captain Kirk, will you help me stop him?”

Kirk: “What are we waiting for?”

[…]

They figure out Soran’s next target is the Vulcan star, but they get there too late: Soran has already launched his weapon.

The Enterprise and dozens of Federation ships warp into the Vulcan system as the Star begins to collapse, trying to evacuate the Vulcan homeworld.

[Scenes of desperate people running to get on ships mirrors the film’s opening, but this time Soran himself is the threat.]

Soran stands on a sparsely populated moon of Delta Vega on the system’s outer rim.

Picard realises that Wesley’s ship the Intrepid, is helping with the rescue operation on that moon.

The Intrepid stumbles upon Soran, who fires one of his torpedoes at the ship, crippling it, and the order is given to abandon ship. Wesley is thrown into space in an emergency wrap-around spacesuit, holding on to injured crew mates. The Nexus reaches Soran’s moon just before the shockwave causes it to explode.

The Enterprise is badly damaged during the rescue operation and emergency repairs are underway. The warp drive is out of action and another shockwave is headed straight for them.

Riker directs engineering to get the shields back up but Picard overrules him and instead orders that the priority should be to repair the warp drive.

The ship gives an almighty rumble and suddenly lists over.

Picard: “Geordi! I need warp speed now damn it!”

Cut to Wesley tumbling in space, cradling an unconscious shipmate. Wesley tries to hold on as billion pieces of rock from the moon fly toward them. The fragments tear through the Intrepid’s hull and on towards him.

Wesley turns his head away.

Suddenly the Enterprise D warps into space directly in front of him and absorbs the full impact of the debris field. The ship is pulverised by the impact, which smashes into the saucer section. The bridge is hit directly and the port nacelle is destroyed. Wesley stares up at the giant insignia: NCC-1701-D.

3. How [not] to Kill Kirk

By killing Kirk, Generations wanted to give the film some extra emotional weight, similar to other moving deaths of iconic characters such as Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Han Solo in The Force Awakens. However, the end of Kirk is so unsatisfying and inconsequential that it falls as flat as the ignominious scrubbing out of Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi or Data in Star Trek: Nemesis. It feels cheap, lazy and actually disrespectful.

This is how the legendary Captain James Tiberius Kirk — the youngest Captain in starfleet history, the only person to ever beat the Kobayashi Maru, saviour of Earth and the human race many times over, who made first contact with the Romulans, travelled through time, righted wrongs on countless worlds and even beat God in a fistfight, the man who “turns death into a fighting chance to live” — meets his end? Crushed under a rickety bridge?

If cinema jail existed, the producers of this film would have gotten life sentences.

In fact, storytelling-wise (if they really had to kill Kirk in this lousy flick) it would’ve been much cleaner had Kirk simply died heroically saving the Enterprise B. Flash-forward 80 years and a new captain of a new Enterprise has to tangle with the Nexus and Soran. But of course, they wouldn’t do that because the whole point of this film is to have Kirk and Picard meeting on screen. After all, you couldn’t make Heat and not have that scene of De Niro and Pacino drinking coffee.

So, fine, fling Kirk into the future if you must, but at least do something interesting with that plot contrivance. An un-dead Kirk revived far in the future lets the character (and the film) reflect on his legacy. Do denizens of the 24th century think of Kirk as being as much of a joke as people in the 21st century seem to?

Popular opinion on Kirk has shifted in recent decades to the point that J.J. Abrams saw Kirk not as the ‘amalgam of Picard and Riker’ (as the Next Gen writers thought of him), but as being only Riker-ish. Chris Pine’s version of Kirk is therefore a reflection of that misapprehension: he’s brash and impulsive, an intergalactic womaniser, a cheat, a bar-room brawler. Generations should’ve played up to that; wouldn’t it have been interesting if — much to Admiral Kirk’s dismay — that’s exactly how the Enterprise D’s crew also see him?

Fix 3: How about… not killing Kirk?

I get the impulse — if you’re not going to off him, then what do you do with his character? He can’t Captain the Enterprise because Picard is the Captain (besides, it would be completely absurd for a character from a bygone era to somehow suddenly know their way around a Next Generation starship), so then what? Should he follow Picard around like a lost puppy until the end credits? I think, to a certain extent, the writers felt cornered into killing him. It sure wasn’t Bill Shatner’s idea!

The other side of that is I (and I think a lot of other fans) really did want to see Kirk on the bridge of the Enterprise D, doing something important, interacting with Picard, Riker, Data, Dr Crusher, Worf and the rest. And I wanted to see them show him a bit of respect dammit. Heck, I wanted them to be in awe as they watched Kirk do what only Kirk can do: beat the Kobayashi Maru, one last time…

So, Kirk emerges from the Nexus with Picard, leaving the Next Generation crew stunned and amazed to see who just beamed aboard.

But the reverence of Kirk doesn’t last long: he’s out of his element, redundant. He doesn’t know how anything works and feels as helpless as a fresh-faced ensign. Worse, people keep sceptically implying that perhaps history has been wrongly crediting him for the actions of others. Female officers are warned about him. He’s a has-been, a lecherous creep, a joke. “I heard he tried to take back command of the Enterprise A in 2293 while Captain Spock was busy foiling the assassination of the Federation President.”

He sits alone in Ten Forward nursing a drink, staring out the window, waiting for the Enterprise to arrive at a starbase.

This is where we find him when the Enterprise warps in front of an exploding moon to shield Wesley Crusher.

The Enterprise sustains heavy damage and the bridge is a wreck. Command officers including Captain Picard and Commander Riker suffer severe injuries and/or are barely conscious.

Shortly after Wesley is brought onboard and the damage to the ship is assessed, a Romulan Warbird de-cloaks with the intention of taking possession of the weapon they funded Soran to build. Their next target: the Terran star. It turns out a sample of this was still being clutched by Wesley as he was rescued by the Enterprise — and the Romulans were watching.

In Ten Forward, Kirk is amongst dozens who look up in fright as the huge Romulan warship de-cloaks off the port bow.

Dr. Crusher tries to contact the bridge but gets no response. Then she receives a message from sickbay: they have her son and he’s alive. She immediately rushes off, asking crewmen to help care for the sick before turning to Kirk: “Hey, Kirk, make yourself useful and help. That’s an order Admiral.”

On the bridge, Data sits at his post, half his face missing. He is staring at the viewscreen as the Romulan Commander orders the Enterprise to surrender and transfer over all materials concerning the Exodus torpedo, or else they will be destroyed. They have five minutes to comply.

Data tells the computer to beam Captain Picard and the injured bridge crew to sick bay, but there is no response. He then calls for a medical team to be sent to the bridge. When the turbolift doors open and the medics rush over to Captain Picard and Riker, Kirk follows them out: “What can I do?”

Data says the situation appears to be hopeless; the Enterprise is crippled and drifting in space. Some junior officers still at their posts cry out that they must surrender.

Kirk watches as Picard and Riker are taken away to sick bay. He walks around to the captains chair and stands there, looking at it.

The Romulan commander’s voice cuts through the silence again, insisting on the Enterprise’s surrender.

Kirk: “Do Romulans still execute their prisoners in the 24th century?”

Worf nods.

Kirk: “Then let them eat static. What’ve we got left?”

Worf: “Not much Admiral”

Kirk finally sits in the captain’s chair, feeling that old familiar weight of responsibility: “Just the way I like it”.

Romulan Commander: “USS Enterprise, this is your final warning. You must signal your surrender immediately.”

Kirk: “That’ll be the day.”

[…]

In sickbay:

Dr Crusher: “I’m not happy about this. He needs rest. Is reviving him absolutely necessary?

Ensign: “Commander Riker said it was urgent Doctor”

Dr Crusher (administering a hypospray): “Alright, stand aside Ensign. Jean-Luc, can you hear me?”

Picard (barely conscious): “What… what is it Beverly?”

Ensign: “Sir, we are under attack from a Romulan Warbird. Admiral Kirk has an… unconventional idea to save the ship but requires your command codes…”

(The ship rocks from another blast. Alarms sound.)

Ensign: “The plan is to…”

Picard (suddenly alert): “Computer, transfer all Enterprise command functions to Admiral James T. Kirk, effective immediately. Authorisation Picard Alpha One.”

4. Soran’s backflip

Crafting a satisfying comeuppance for a villain is always tricky. Ideally, we want to see their anguish as they witness their own dastardly plans fall apart. The moment of defeat should hurt.

Or, in the case of Generations, just have the guy blow up on his launchpad, with the blast propelling his mannequin double into an unintentionally funny backflip. I guess they ran out of time writing the script.

“Quick, how do we kill Soran?”

“Uh, he falls off a rickety bridge?”

“We did that already with Kirk”

“Which one’s Kirk again?”

“The old dude”

“You mean the French guy with the English accent?”

“No that’s Picard”

“Right, right. Uh, Soran. I dunno, he blows up somehow?”

“Perfect! You’ve done it again.”

Fix 4. The fire in which he burns

Instead of foiling Soran’s scheme, a more original resolution would’ve been to explore what his victory might look like…

As the moon Soran’s standing on is destroyed by the shockwave and he’s absorbed into the Nexus ribbon (it would’ve been more effective if we actually saw the transition from his perspective), Soran once more finds himself standing in a golden field, surrounded by his family. He feels the wheat brush through his fingers before reaching out to embrace his eldest son, tears in his eyes.

However, when they break apart he’s confused to find his son looking sadly up at him.

Soran: “What is it?”

Boy: “Father, why didn’t you try to find us?”

Soran: “What do you mean? I did find you, I’m here.”

Boy (shakes his head): “You only found yourself. Wherever we are, it is far away from here.”

Soran (sobbing): “No. No! It isn’t true! I found you. I found you!”