My formal education into the Star Trek universe continues, as Professor Mr. MMOgamerchick adds Star Trek: Generations to the rigorous curriculum. While he might not be the biggest fan of Captain Picard and The Next Generation, he will admit to enjoying the movies based on this era. Thus we took an evening off earlier this week to veg out in front of the TV and watch the film. Despite the negative reviews I’ve heard from people, I actually didn’t think it was too bad!
The plot itself is nothing to rave about, but it had me hooked from the moment the film began with Kirk, Scotty and Chekov aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-B during her maiden voyage. My hubby had explained to me beforehand that the hallmark of this movie was the scene Captain Picard gets to meet Captain Kirk, in a symbolic “passing of the torch” moment of sorts. Secretly, I think he just wanted me to watch this movie to see Picard grovel in front of James T. Kirk. Anyway, disaster strikes when the Enterprise encounters two ships trapped in a mysterious energy ribbon. They manage to rescue some of the ships’ passengers and escape…but at the cost of Captain Kirk’s life, or so it appears. Even so, I swear I almost cried when they zoomed in on Scotty’s face and the realization dawned on me that for the characters of this time, this was essentially how they lost their hero.
Skip forward to the future, where Picard et al. are having a ceremony on a ship somewhere on the high seas:
Me: “What’s up with the ship and those uniforms?”
Hubby (in his sage Yoda voice): “Well now, what do you think?”
Me: “Did they go back in time? Another case of cultural contamination? Cosplay?”
Hubby: “No, no, and no. Come on, think about it. What have I told you before? Anytime you see something that seems out of place or doesn’t make sense in The Next Generation, it’s…”
Me: “Oooh, the holodeck! Got it.”
So, that was my first exposure to the holodeck on-screen, everyone. And despite my husband’s cynical views, I actually think it’s great. Continuing on with the story, Picard and his crew end up finding themselves at odds with the villain Dr. Tolian Soran, a crazy scientist played by the awesome Malcolm McDowell. In the true fashion of all Star Trek villains, Soran harbors an evil and deadly plot that involves the destruction of an entire star system and millions of innocent lives. Now it’s up to Picard to save the day…with the help of a legendary captain who has been presumed dead for seventy-eight years.
Well, that was fun. Sure, it had its moments of pure cheese, but there were a lot of memorable scenes too. Kirk’s demise was so heartbreaking, it’s no wonder McDowell received death threats from crazy Trekkies for his character’s part in it (even though the thought of that is full of lulz). This was also a good introduction for me into the TNG characters. Perfect timing too, as I’ve finally finished watching all of Star Trek: The Original Series. Man, Data cracked me up with his new emotion chip. I had a good time overall, and I look forward to getting some ST:TNG together so I can start watching.
