Star Trek Generations
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Carson
Produced by	Rick Berman
Written by	Rick Berman Ronald D. Moore Brannon Braga
Starring	See table
Music by	Dennis McCarthy
Cinematography	John A. Alonzo
Editing by	Peter E. Berger
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	November 18, 1994
Running time	118 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$35,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	$118,100,000 (worldwide)
Preceded by	Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Followed by	Star Trek: First Contact
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Star Trek Generations (Paramount Pictures, 1994) is the seventh feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series. It is the first film in the series to star the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The original music score was composed by Dennis McCarthy. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 399 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (500 × 751 pixel, file size: 47 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. ... David Carson is a British television director. ... Rick Berman Richard Keith Rick Berman (born December 25, 1945 in New York, New York, USA) is an American television producer. ... Rick Berman Richard Keith Rick Berman (born December 25, 1945 in New York, New York, USA) is an American television producer. ... For other persons named Ronald Moore, see Ronald Moore (disambiguation). ... Brannon Braga at a 2006 lecture Brannon Braga (born August 14, 1965 in Bozeman, Montana) is an American television producer and screenwriter who is mostly known for his significant contributions to the Star Trek series since 1990. ... Dennis McCarthy (born in 1945) is an ASCAP- and Emmy Award-winning composer, mostly for television programs and films produced in the United States. ... John Alonzo (born June 12, 1926 in Dallas, Texas, died March 13, 2001) was an American cinematographer who pioneered hand held work, lighting techniques and HD development during his career. ... Peter E. Berger is a BAFTA Award winning film editor. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... is the 322nd day of the year (323rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Paramount Pictures, 1991; see also 1991 in film) is the sixth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount Pictures, 1996; see also 1996 in film), is the eighth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production and distribution company, based in Hollywood, California. ... The year 1994 in film involved some significant events. ... This article is about motion pictures. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Dennis McCarthy (born in 1945) is an ASCAP- and Emmy Award-winning composer, mostly for television programs and films produced in the United States. ...

Plot

Captain James T. Kirk attends the christening of the USS Enterprise-B, successor to the USS Enterprise-A, which he commanded. This unfinished and unprepared Enterprise-B is commanded by the young and inexperienced Captain John Harriman. Pressed into a rescue mission during its maiden voyage, Enterprise rescues 47 El-Aurian refugees caught in an "energy ribbon." Among those rescued is Tolian Soran and Guinan. Captain Kirk appears to be killed during the rescue mission. James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner, is the main character in the original Star Trek television series and the films based on it. ... USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) In the Star Trek fictional universe, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B) was a modified Excelsior class starship, commissioned in 2293 and initially captained by John Harriman. ... The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) (or Enterprise-A), commissioned in 2286, is a Constitution class starship in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... In the Star Trek fictional universe, Captain John Harriman (played by Alan Ruck in Star Trek: Generations) is the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise-B. In 2293, Harriman commands this Enterprise on its maiden voyage out of the Earth spacedock with a complement of reporters and veteran Enterprise officers... El Aurians (sometimes known as The Race of Listeners) are a humanoid race of from the science fiction television show Star Trek. ... Tolian Soran is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, portrayed by Malcolm McDowell in the film Star Trek: Generations. ... Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg, is a recurring character on Star Trek: The Next Generation. ...

Seventy-eight years later, the USS Enterprise-D, captained by Jean-Luc Picard, receives and responds to a distress call from the Amargosa solar observatory station. The crew finds that the station has been attacked, apparently by Romulans. One survivor, Tolian Soran, returns to the station ostensibly to complete an important experiment. Soran then launches a trilithium-based projectile into the heart of the Amargosa star, causing it to nova. He takes Geordi La Forge prisoner aboard the station, and escapes with him aboard a Klingon bird-of-prey belonging to the Duras sisters. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) (or Enterprise-D, to distinguish it from prior starships with the same name) is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. ... Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional human Star Trek character portrayed by actor Patrick Stewart. ... Romulans are a fictional alien species in the Star Trek universe related to Vulcans. ... Artists conception of a white dwarf star accreting hydrogen from a larger companion A nova (pl. ... Geordi La Forge is a regular character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, played by LeVar Burton. ... Bird-of-prey is a common name for various makes of Romulan and Klingon warship in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Klingon sisters Lursa (played by Barbara March) and BEtor (played by Gwynyth Walsh) are collectively known as the Duras sisters (TNG: Redemption, Part I). Lursa (who is older) (TNG: Firstborn) and BEtor appear in three episodes of Star Trek: The Next...

Guinan explains to Picard that Soran's goal is to return to the "Nexus", and that the energy ribbon is a gateway to this place where all of one's desires become reality. With Data's help, Picard determines that Soran's destruction of stars alters the local gravitation field, allowing him to alter the energy ribbon's course. Picard and Data discover that for Soran to enter the Nexus, he must bring the ribbon to him as he waits on the planet Veridian III. In order to bring the ribbon that close, Soran must cause the Veridian star to nova, which would destroy all the planets in the solar system, one of which is inhabited. Data[1] is a character, portrayed by Brent Spiner, in the Star Trek fictional universe. ...

When the Enterprise arrives at Veridian III, they are met by the Duras sisters, who offer to trade Picard for La Forge. As Picard transports to the planet and attempts to reason with Soren, La Forge returns to his duties, unaware that Soran has implanted a transmitter in his visor. The Duras sisters use the transmitter to determine a weakness in the Enterprise's shields and shortly thereafter attack. Although the Klingon ship is destroyed, the Enterprise crew is forced to evacuate to the saucer section as the warp core explodes. The saucer section crash lands on Veridian III and is unsalvageable.

Picard discovers that Soran has a trilithium weapon aimed at the Veridian star set on a timer and protected by a force field. Picard is unable to stop Soran's missile in time, and before the shockwave of the nova hits the planet, both he and Soran are pulled into the Nexus. There Picard meets Kirk, who had been pulled into the Nexus 78 years earlier. While Kirk is initially reluctant to leave the Nexus, Picard eventually convinces him that his duty to Starfleet is a greater calling. They leave the Nexus and return soon before Soran's missile is set to launch. Together, they defeat Soran by locking the launching mechanism, causing the missile to explode on the launchpad, killing Soran. Kirk suffers a fatal injury during the battle. Picard buries Kirk, then travels to the wreckage of the Enterprise's saucer section. There, he and Riker find Picard's photo album and talk about the nature of time before beaming aboard one of the Starfleet rescue ships.

Cast

Patrick Stewart OBE (born July 13, 1940) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated English film, television and stage actor. ... Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional human Star Trek character portrayed by actor Patrick Stewart. ... Jonathan Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor and director best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and David Xanatos on Disneys Gargoyles. ... This article is about the Star Trek character. ... Brent Jay Spiner (born February 2, 1949) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and movie series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Data[1] is a character, portrayed by Brent Spiner, in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. ... LeVar Burton as Geordi LaForge Geordi La Forge, a character in the Star Trek fictional universe, holds the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and is the Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise-D and later the USS Enterprise-E, both under captain Jean-Luc Picard. ... Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor known for his role as the Klingon Worf in multiple Star Trek shows and movies. ... Worf (Klingon: worIv) is a Klingon Starfleet officer in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... Cheryl Gates McFadden (born March 2, 1949 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), usually credited as Gates McFadden, is an American actress and choreographer. ... Doctor Beverly Crusher, played by actress Gates McFadden, was a character on the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV show and subsequent films. ... Marina Sirtis (born March 29, 1955[1]) is a British actress who is most noted for playing the half-human half-Betazoid Counselor Deanna Troi on the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Commander Deanna Troi, played by actress Marina Sirtis, is a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the related films which followed. ... Malcolm McDowell (born June 13, 1943) is an English actor probably best known for his portrayal of Alex in A Clockwork Orange. ... Tolian Soran is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, portrayed by Malcolm McDowell in the film Star Trek: Generations. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Scotty redirects here. ... Walter Marvin Koenig (born September 14, 1936) is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Chekov in Star Trek, and as Bester on the series Babylon 5. ... Pavel Andreievich Chekov, Cyrillic: Павел Андрейевич Чеков), played by Walter Koenig, is a Russian Starfleet officer in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... William Alan Shatner (born on March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor who gained fame for playing James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ... James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner, is the main character in the original Star Trek television series and the films based on it. ... Alan Ruck (born July 1, 1956) is an American stage, television and film actor. ... In the Star Trek fictional universe, Captain John Harriman (played by Alan Ruck in Star Trek: Generations) is the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise-B. In 2293, Harriman commands this Enterprise on its maiden voyage out of the Earth spacedock with a complement of reporters and veteran Enterprise officers... Whoopi Goldberg performing stand-up at a benefit for Rainforest Action Network. ... Guinan, played by Whoopi Goldberg, is a recurring character on Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Jacqueline Joan Kim (born March 31, 1965) is an Asian American film, theatre and television actor and filmmaker. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, Demora Sulu (played by Jacqueline Kim), is the daughter of Hikaru Sulu. ... Patti Yasutake is a Japanese-American actress. ... Alyssa Ogawa is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe, having appeared in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the film Star Trek: First Contact. ... Barbara March is an actress best known for her portrayal of the Star Trek character Lursa, one of the Duras sisters. ... Canadian actress Gwynyth Walsh was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Vancouver. ... Majel Barrett as Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek: The Next Generation. ...

Themes

As in several earlier films, Generations contrasts a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants (Soran) with men who are willing to put aside everything they love and cherish to save others. Kirk makes the ultimate sacrifice, as does the Enterprise-D, in one of the most spectacular special effects sequences of the film series. A related theme is the contrast between Soran and Picard in handling personal tragedy. The Enterprise-B rescues Soran as his ship was being destroyed by the Nexus, and he became obsessed with going back into the Nexus. His wife had been killed in a Borg attack some time earlier and Soran seeks the Nexus as a means to return to his relationship with her while ignoring the fact that the "reality" that the Nexus presents is illusionary. Picard, on the other hand, learns early in the film that his brother and nephew were killed in a fire. He had placed all his hopes of continuing the Picard family line with them and laments to Troi that his life path will most likely not allow him to take on that task. However, when the Nexus presents him with a scenario in which he is married and has many children, he is able to overcome the temptation to stay in that "reality", realizing that it is a falsehood.

Lt. Commander Data also has to grapple with the effects of the emotion chip Dr. Soong had made for him, which he has La Forge install in his positronic net after a very embarrassing failure to understand humor. When it fuses with his positronic net, he is unequipped to handle the rush of unfamiliar emotional input, which threatens to overwhelm him. Recognizing and overcoming his own personal failings is his story arc, which also provides many of the comedic moments in Generations. Data[1] is a character, portrayed by Brent Spiner, in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... For other uses, see Emotion (disambiguation). ... In the fictional Star Trek: The Next Generation universe, Dr. Noonien Soong is a human cyberneticist who is the creator of the regular android character Data. ... Look up Humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Production

Rick Berman was asked to develop a Star Trek: The Next Generation movie in early 1993. Two different scripts were written, one by Maurice Hurley, script editor for season 2 of TNG, and the other by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, who had co-written several popular episodes. The latter was chosen.^[1] For other persons named Ronald Moore, see Ronald Moore (disambiguation). ... Brannon Braga at a 2006 lecture Brannon Braga (born August 14, 1965 in Bozeman, Montana) is an American television producer and screenwriter who is mostly known for his significant contributions to the Star Trek series since 1990. ...

Leonard Nimoy declined to appear in their film, and DeForest Kelley was unable to appear since his failing health prevented him from acquiring the necessary health insurance (a requirement for any actor). Their lines, as Spock and McCoy, were given to James Doohan and Walter Koenig, as Scotty and Chekov. Leonard Simon Nimoy (born March 26, 1931) is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. ... DeForest redirects here. ...

Production work on the film started immediately after Next Generation finished, with many staff members starting work on the film while still working on the television show or transferring immediately to the film production team as soon as their work on the television show finished.

The director, David Carson, had no feature film experience, but had directed several episodes of Star Trek, including the popular Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" and the Deep Space Nine two-part pilot episode "Emissary."^[2] David Carson is a British television director. ... Yesterdays Enterprise is an episode of the 3rd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Space station Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or STDS9 or DS9 for short) is a science fiction television series produced by Paramount and set in the Star Trek universe. ... Emissary was the first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. ...

"Generations" grossed $75,671,125 in the U.S. and $118,100,000 worldwide against a $35,000,000 budget.^[3] Although the film did relatively well internationally compared to previous "Star Trek" films, its final U.S. gross was seen by some as disappointing, considering the media blitz that accompanied the film and its impressive $23,116,394 opening weekend.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. (July 2007) The article could be improved by integrating relevant items into other sections and removing inappropriate items.

• In the book "Captains' Logs" it was revealed that an idea for the film's poster would have featured the Enterprise-A and Enterprise-D locked in combat.
• William Shatner has said that the line "Who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise?" was the hardest line he ever had to deliver.^{[citation needed]}
• Soran's line, "They say time is the fire in which we burn...", is based on a line from a poem by Delmore Schwartz called Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day. Permission was sought to use this line in the film and Schwartz' name appears at the end of the credit. Malcolm McDowell was so taken with this line that he had it engraved on the watch he wears (as Soran) in the film.
• Kirk's original death scene (in which he is shot by Soran) went over poorly in test screenings,^{[citation needed]} and was re-filmed to be more heroic for the theatrical release.
• The release of the Collector's Edition DVD of Star Trek Generations was delayed 3 weeks in September 2004 because of a misprint on the packaging. The back cover stated that the movie trailers were among the bonus features included; however, Paramount was not able to obtain the clearance to include them. Although the discs were recalled to fix the error, many copies with the misprint found their way onto store shelves.
• Generations marks the final Star Trek appearances of William Shatner (James T. Kirk), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott) and Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov) (excluding archive footage in "Trials and Tribble-ations" and "These Are the Voyages..."), along with the final appearances of original Enterprise-D sets and Geordi's VISOR. However Leonard Nimoy, who chose not to participate in Generations, will appear in Star Trek, which is the eleventh film in the series.
• Picard's scene with Guinan is the first time her quarters are shown and the first time she is seen without a hat.
• Paramount's Generations website was the first site on the internet to officially publicize a major motion picture.^[4] (Not only did the first Star Trek movie featuring the Next Generation characters pioneer a new means of promoting a movie, so did the first Star Trek movie featuring the original series characters: Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the first film promoted by a McDonald's Happy Meal.)
• A deleted scene involved La Forge being tortured by Soran, using nanites to start and stop his heart. This explains Soran's cryptic response to Lursa's asking about La Forge's interrogation: "His heart just wasn't in it." The scene was rumored to be pulled because of how disturbing it was, but further review of the deleted scene shows that La Forge is wearing the original Generations uniform variant which never made it on screen (replaced by the DS9 and VOY uniforms because of cost and look which was a cross between the Star Trek II - VI uniforms and the TNG Uniform). It is likely the scene was pulled more because his uniform was inconsistent with the later shot footage.^{[citation needed]} Early prints of the film shown in some theaters on opening weekend still included the scene.
• In this film we see a change to the ST Insignia. It was changed from the circular backing to the rectangular backing. This insignia change was seen in ST: DS9 as well as ST: Voyager.
• A modified version of Voyager's transporter sound can be heard in Star Trek Generations.
• When Worf explains how trilithium works, all of his lines are overdubbed. The original line had Worf mention that trilithium is a very powerful explosive (as it says in the novelization). However, this was overdubbed with another line in which Worf says that trilithium is a 'nuclear inhibitor' which can stop all nuclear reaction in a star.
• The design of the Excelsior-class starship is slightly different in this film. The model of the Enterprise-B was equipped with a slightly larger secondary hull, featuring pieces which could be easily removed so that simulated battle damage would not affect the starship model. (However, in the scenes where the Enterprise-B is firing into the Nexus, a CGI model was used - the first time CGI had been used to portray any Starfleet vessel in a Trek film.)
• The Enterprise-D engineering set is equipped with an extra corridor in this film which was never seen in the series. The corridor is actually left over from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (which used the same engineering set); Kirk and Scotty are seen running down the corridor after they hear of the transporter accident.
• A line spoke by Riker at the end of Generations, some fans believe, might indicate he's still part of the Q Continuum. "Speak for your self Sir. I plan to live forever"

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Delmore Schwartz Delmore Schwartz (December 8, 1913 - July 11, 1966) was an American poet from Brooklyn, New York, called the greatest of American writers, whose work has a place in the hearts and minds of the everyman, adrift in the anguish of modernity (J. Kredell: A Smudge on the American... Calmly We Walk Through This Aprils Day is a poem by Delmore Schwartz. ... Size comparison: A 12 cm Sony DVD+RW and a 19 cm Dixon Ticonderoga pencil. ... Movie trailers are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown; they are commonly known as previews of coming attractions. ... The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. ... William Alan Shatner (born on March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor who gained fame for playing James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise in the television show Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven of the subsequent movies. ... James Tiberius Kirk, played by William Shatner, is the main character in the original Star Trek television series and the films based on it. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Scotty redirects here. ... Walter Marvin Koenig (born September 14, 1936) is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Chekov in Star Trek, and as Bester on the series Babylon 5. ... Pavel Andreievich Chekov, Cyrillic: Павел Андрейевич Чеков), played by Walter Koenig, is a Russian Starfleet officer in the fictional Star Trek universe. ... Trials and Tribble-ations is a fifth season episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine that was written as a tribute to the original series of Star Trek. ... These Are the Voyages. ... A VISOR as worn by Geordi La Forge. ... Leonard Simon Nimoy (born March 26, 1931) is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. ... This article is about the 2008 film. ... Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Pictures, 1979; see also 1979 in film) is the first feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series and is released on Friday, December 7. ... The USS Excelsior (NCC-2000), an Excelsior class starship. ... Computer-generated imagery (commonly abbreviated as CGI) is the application of the field of computer graphics (or more specifically, 3D computer graphics) to special effects in films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media. ... Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Paramount Pictures, 1979; see also 1979 in film) is the first feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series and is released on Friday, December 7. ... Q In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Q are a race of near-omnipotent, near-omniscient god-like beings from a parallel existence called the Q Continuum. ...

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Star Trek Generations

• Star Trek Generations at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek Generations at Rotten Tomatoes
• Star Trek Generations at Box Office Mojo
• Official Star Trek Generations web site
• Star Trek Generations article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki