Star Trek: Generations (1994)

With the help of long presumed dead Captain Kirk, Captain Picard must stop a renegade scientist willing to murder on a planetary scale in order to enter a space matrix.

Director:

David Carson

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek), Rick Berman (story)

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Malcolm McDowell

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Stewart	...	Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Riker
Brent Spiner	...	Data
LeVar Burton	...	Geordi
Michael Dorn	...	Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Beverly
Marina Sirtis	...	Troi
Malcolm McDowell	...	Soran
James Doohan	...	Scotty
Walter Koenig	...	Chekov
William Shatner	...	Kirk
Alan Ruck	...	Capt. Harriman
Jacqueline Kim	...	Demora
Jenette Goldstein	...	Science Officer
Thomas Kopache	...	Com Officer

Storyline

In the late twenty-third century, the gala maiden voyage of the newly-christened U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B boasts such luminaries as Pavel Chekov, Montgomery Scott, and the legendary Captain James T. Kirk as guests. But her maiden voyage turns into a disaster as the unprepared starship is forced to rescue two transport ships from a mysterious energy ribbon. The Enterprise manages to save a handful of the ships' passengers and barely succeeds out intact, but at the cost of Captain Kirk's life. Seventy-eight years later, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D crew find themselves at odds with renegade scientist Dr. Tolian Soran, who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme, and he has been dead for seventy-eight years.

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Plot Keywords:

female empath | half human half alien | empath | human alien hybrid | captain | 

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Taglines:

Boldly Go

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action and some mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Klingon

Release Date:

18 November 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Trek VII

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$75,668,868

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$120,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fifty days before shooting began, the Captain's chair on the bridge set was stolen. A new one had to be used, one made of fiberglass around foam on an old first season frame.

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Goofs

The El-Aurian refugees rescued by the Enterprise-B are ostensibly fleeing from the Borg. Guinan mentions in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Q Who (which first introduced the Borg) that she wasn't on her homeworld when the they attacked, yet she's among the survivors who are rescued. Furthermore, the Federation never knew of the Borg until "Q Who": did no one between 2293 and 2371 ever ask these refugees what they were fleeing from?

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Quotes

[first lines]
[the journalists are all talking at the same time, trying to get their questions in]
Journalist #3: How does it feel to be back on the Enterprise bridge?
Journalist #1: Captain Chekov, what are the most significant changes...
Journalist #3: Captain Kirk, can I ask you a few questions?
Journalist #1: Did you participate in the redesign?
Journalist #3: We'd like to know how you feel about being...
Kirk: I appreciate the...
Harriman: Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. There will be plenty of time for questions later. I'm Captain John Harriman and I'd like to welcome you all ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

When Worf explains the workings of 'trilithium', all his words were overdubbed. In the filmed scene (and in the novelization), Worf simply says that trilithium is a very powerful explosive. In the actual film as seen in theaters, Worf's overdubbed lines now say that trilithium is a "nuclear inhibitor" which can stop all nuclear reactions within a star.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Star Trek: Generations/The Swan Princess/Miracle on 34th Street/The Professional/To Live (1994)

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Soundtracks

The Enterprise B / Kirk Saves the Day
(uncredited)
Composed, Conducted and Produced by Dennis McCarthy

User Reviews

An engaging adventure with exciting action and an interesting story.

*** out of ****

Star Trek: Generations stands out, in my mind, as the most underrated of all the Trek installments. Fans of the original series may not like the transition from old to new, but I personally prefer the crew of The Next Generation, and having been familiar with these characters through the show's seven season run on TV, seeing them on the big-screen was a welcome sight. Personal preference aside, Generations does a fine job of delivering an engrossing tale packed with exciting action and understated humor.

The plot involves an energy ribbon called the Nexus, a place where time has no meaning, where you can live out your greatest joys without fear or worry.

A near deranged scientist, named Soran (Malcolm Mcdowell), has amassed a horrific plan to enter the Nexus, one which could cause monumentous destruction and kill hundreds of millions. It becomes a race as the crew of the Enterprise-D struggles to find Soran before disaster strikes.

Generations has a fair share of problems, but for the most part, it's a very entertaining adventure boosted by excellent special effects and good performances. The film's highlight is the spectacular crash of the Enterprise, one of the most harrowing, exhilarating action sequences of any of the Star Trek films. Then, of course, there's the meeting between the two captains, Picard and Kirk, a memorable union that symbolically passes the torch and ends on a poignant note, which is enough to ignore the plot holes in the climax. Definitely recommended, Generations is a good stand-alone film and makes for an enjoyable warm-up to the superb First Contact.