STAR TREK: GENERATIONS

(November 1994, U.S.)

I watched STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION only twice while it was in syndication. The first time was the pilot premiere of "Encounter at Farpoint" in September 1987. The second time was the series finale "All Good Things" in May 1994. In between, I've seen nothing else. Thankfully, STAR TREK: GENERATIONS plays out so that not much knowledge is needed of the original TV series, except that it simply existed. Anticipation was high because the movie poster promised the return of James Kirk, though we couldn't image how. How do you have two STAR TREK captains in the same movie that's supposed to be separated by an entire generation? Leave it to Hollywood to come up with something to satisfy that dilemma. That something turned out to be more original and more convincing than I would have ever imagined.

Shortly following the events of THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, Kirk, Scotty and Chekov return to attend the ceremony of the maiden voyage of the new starship USS Enterprise-B, under the command of none other than Cameron Frye himself (Alan Ruck's infamous character in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. The man proves to be just as goofy and unsure of himself as he was as Cameron). What should be just a routine flight (of course) turns into a dangerous rescue mission to save two ships from a strange energy ribbon in space. The new Enterprise captain, unprepared for this crisis, turns to Kirk for assistance. As always, Kirk saves the ship and the day, but is (presumably) killed when the ribbon causes an explosion across Enterprise's hull, where Kirk happens to be located.

Seventy-eight years later, we're reunited with the crew that fans (except me) kept up with on TV for seven years. Captain Jean-Luc Picard has just learned that his brother and nephew have been killed in a fire and it looks like he will be the last Picard in the long family line. The energy ribbon is also reintroduced, and with it, the eccentric scientist Dr. Tolian Soran (played by Malcom McDowell, in one of his finer roles since A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) who will stop at nothing to get himself back inside the mysterious ribbon called the "Nexus", even if it means destroying the Amargosa star and killing millions, including the crew of the Enterprise. Through Whoopi Goldberg's character Guinan, we learn that being inside the Nexus is like being inside a world of joy and contentment; a place where time has no meaning and one can create any sort of life or existence they wish to have (sounds great to me!). Guinan and Soran were among those rescued by Enterprise-B back in the 23rd Century and are still alive today (though I still don't understand how). Determined to stop Soran, Picard travels to Veridian III while the Enterprise engages a Klingon Bird of Prey in battle. The Enterprise is victorious, but headed for destruction as Picard is unsuccessful in stopping Soran from destroying the star. The Enterprise and her crew are destroyed along with Veridian III from the shock wave.

But wait! Not so fast! Picard is now inside the Nexus ribbon and finds himself surrounded by a loving family in a fictional world straight out of Charles Dickens. For the briefest moments, he learns what absolute joy is as he embraces what he never had before, declaring, "These are my children!" But he soon realizes this is just an illusion and that he must return to Veridian III to stop Soran. This time, though, he can seek help from someone else who was sucked into the ribbon when he was killed a century ago. You guessed it...James Kirk, and now we know how the film's script could be designed so that both captains could occupy the same time period and engage in their hallmark meeting. Working together, they stop Soran, save the Enterprise and humanity. But the price to be paid is that after many decades of following his heroic adventures, the great James Tiberius Kirk will finally die, and it will be the other great captain of the galaxy, Jean-Luc Picard who will bury him on Veridian III in a sweeping overhead camera shot that I still enjoy watching today. Honestly, if there isn't something so perfectly poignant about that, then I don't know the true meaning of the word.

It's reported that Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley declined to appear in GENERATIONS because they felt there were problems with the story and script. Considering this is not how they reacted to the story and script of STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER, I'm of the opinion that they should've come up with a better excuse. The plot point of the Nexus ribbon and its power of time and illusion is as plausible a story for uniting our two captains as anything else. For me, it's a sufficient blend of just the right amount of fantasy and mystery required to define yet another extraordinary force in the unknown universe. But more than anything else, STAR TREK: GENERATIONS provokes deep thoughts of thematic reflections that I haven't felt from a STAR TREK movie since THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. Were the Nexus a viable fantasy in life, just how would someone like myself use it? What is my idea of true joy and contentment that could tempt me away from whatever I already have in my life? This a question that one could live their entire life without ever really answering, but through the help of this film, it's one of life's mysteries that takes up our own time of thought and reflection. Maybe it's like that old STAR TREK poster you may remember when you were a kid...

Whatever the answers are, I can only say that in a world where odd-numbered STAR TREK films are often met with negative reactions, GENERATIONS is an original space fantasy tale that deserves far more credit and recognition than it's ever received (though I do find Data's entire silly experience with his emotion chip annoying and unnecessary), even from those who aren't die hard Trekkies!

Favorite line or dialogue:

James Kirk: "I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim?"
Jean-Luc Picard: "You could say that."
Kirk: "You know, if Spock were here, he'd say I was an irrational, illogical human being for going on a mission like that. Sounds like fun!"