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- Jonathan Frakes on directing Star Trek VII: Future’s End.


Following the success of Star Trek VI: Generations, fans were eagerly awaiting the next instalment in Star Trek’s film franchise. Paramount wasted no time in announcing a sequel, giving writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore the task of writing the next film.

Though a general success, there were some criticisms levied at Generations. Firstly, the joining of two crews led to the cast feeling bloated. In addition, Kelly, who had been in four and a half of the show’s eight seasons, was completely absent from the film. Of course, this was due to Christian Slater moving to Deep Space Nine, but with Marina Sirtis joining him, there was more reason to have him join the cast of the next film.


Braga and Moore wanted a return to a clear-cut villain, and they had one in mind. The Borg had not been seen since The Next Generation’s final season in 1995, and many of the fans felt that they had not been used to their full potential since their appearance in “The Best of Both Worlds”. They drew up plans for a story that dealt with the Borg, but soon the franchise head, David Gerrold, had suggestions.

His primary suggestion was to incorporate time travel into the story. The most financially successful entry in the film franchise had been The Voyage Home, which saw the crew of the original Enterprise sent back to the 1980s. Gerrold posited that the crew interact with an event that was pivotal to the in-universe history. Braga suggested that they travel back to the point of first contact between the Vulcans and Humans, the moment that “Star Trek” properly started. This was given the green light by Gerrold, and work on the script began.

Early drafts of the script had the crew of the Enterprise fighting a Borg planetary invasion, but there were many issues. Picard, who had the most personal history with the Borg, had no interaction with them. To rectify this, Picard and Riker’s roles were largely swapped, and the focus of the story was changed from action-based to character-based. Moore liked the idea that Zefram Cochrane, the man who initiated first contact, was a fundamentally flawed man, and the concept made its way into the script.

The early draft was largely workable, being used to calculate potential costs. Paramount did have one issue, however. A criticism of the previous film was that there had been no “villain”, and while the Borg were effective, they lacked a leader. Of course, the Borg were a hivemind, and as such, had no leader. However, they had explored the idea of a Borg unit being a “spokesperson” in “The Best of Both Worlds”, when Picard became Locutus of Borg. A new “spokeswoman”, in the form of Iubea of Borg, was created to give the Borg a distinct “face” in the film.


For a director, Paramount decided to have someone that really understood what Star Trek was about. Many of the cast members had directed episodes of one or more of the shows, though directing a film was a considerable step up. Jonathan Frakes was offered the position, which he accepted. To prepare, Frakes routinely arrived early to set to make sure that everything was working smoothly.

The early script had been titled “Resurrection”, though it was widely understood that this would not be the title of the film. The film went through many working titles, including “Borg”, “Generations II” and “First Contact” before settling on “Future’s End”.


The franchise had a large design shift with the release of the film. Many new ship classes were created for the film, and would be re-used in Deep Space Nine, while the uniforms changed once more, this time to a more militaristic grey-on-black top with the undershirt bearing the division colour. The Borg also underwent a re-design, one which vastly increased the time it took to apply the makeup and prosthetics.

Though the budget had increased from Generations, cost saving was still a high priority. Many of the sets used to film were re-dresses of Deep Space Nine or Odyssey sets, and the Borg were played by less than a dozen actors and actresses.


Star Trek VII: Future’s End was released on the 21st of November, 1997. This release date saw the film relatively dominant, with few well-received action films in cinemas at the same time. Reviews were generally very positive.


Plot Synopsis of Star Trek VII: Future’s End:
Captain Picard awakens from a nightmare in which he has been re-assimilated into the Borg Collective. He is contacted by Admiral Davison, who tells him that the Borg are moving to attack Earth, following increased activity on the fringes of Federation space. Picard is ordered to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone to stop any possible incursion. The Admiralty clearly feels that Picard has too much emotional baggage with the Borg in order to properly command in a battle against them.

Picard, with the blessing of the crew, defies his orders, and the Enterprise moves in to assist in the battle. Upon arrival, they see a single Borg cube holding its own against a Federation fleet. The Enterprise moves to assist the USS Valiant, saving its crew, including Deanna Troi (the commanding officer), Andrew Kelly, and Miles O’Brien. Picard takes command of the remaining fleet, getting them to co-ordinate their fire on what appears to be an unimportant part of the ship. The cube is destroyed, but launches a smaller sphere at Earth. The Enterprise pursues, following it into a temporal vortex, briefly glimpsing an Earth which is now completely assimilated.

The Enterprise arrives some three hundred years prior, the day before humanity is due to engage in first contact with the Vulcans. It is clear to the crew that the Borg intend to stop this from happening. The Enterprise destroys the Borg sphere, and sends an away team down to assess the situation with Cochrane’s ship.

Cochrane has been injured, and when Dr. Henderson brings him to, it is clear that he is not exactly the man they all thought he was. The Phoenix itself is damaged, so La Forge and O’Brien set out to repair it with local resources. Riker helps the townspeople recover, taking charge of the situation on Earth, with the aid of Kelly and Ro.

Back on the ship, Picard takes stock of the situation. Damage to the Enterprise is minimal, though many of the lower decks are suffering from electro-mechanical issues. He, Data, and Worf take a security team to Engineering to find out what is causing the problems, discovering that a group of Borg have beamed aboard and have begun assimilating the crew and ship. They are unable to take back control of Engineering, and Data is captured in the firefight. The remaining away team retreat to the upper decks, evacuating the medical bay, where Troi is acting as an emergency nurse, as they do so.

Picard and Troi escape through the Borg-infested area, making their way back to the bridge. In Engineering, Data finds himself strapped to a table, and is greeted by Iubea of Borg, a “mouthpiece” of the collective. Iubea explains that the Borg have decided that the assimilation of humanity is of utmost importance, given their “unique” talents for innovation and strength in the face of absolute adversity. Data is “biologically and technologically unique”, and the Borg wish not to assimilate him, but to win him over, by playing to his desires to become human.

On Earth, Riker has difficulty in earning the trust of the local populace, his refusal to say where he is from does little to help. La Forge and O’Brien have some difficulty in repairing some of the Phoenix’s systems, as they are unfamiliar with the technology. Cochrane reveals that he is only the pilot, not the engineer. He points them to Ruby, the woman who built the ship. This, combined with Cochrane’s drunkenness has shaken much of the crew, as they are forced to face the fact that one of Earth’s greatest heroes was not at all what they had been taught.

On the Enterprise, Worf suggests that they travel outside the ship in EVA suits to detach and destroy the deflector dish in order to stop the Borg from calling for reinforcements. Picard agrees, so he, Worf, and the navigator, Lt Hawk, travel out to do so. Troi takes command of the crew still on the ship with the help of Guinan. The mission to destroy the deflector dish is a success, but Hawk is assimilated and then killed by Worf. However, in the time that it took, the Borg have taken more decks, and it is clear that it is only a matter of time before the Enterprise is lost completely.

Worf suggests that Picard destroy the ship to prevent the Borg from altering history, but he refuses, calling Worf a coward. Picard returns to his ready room to prepare for battle, but Guinan confronts him. She tells him that refusing to sacrifice the Enterprise would hand victory to the Borg, dooming humanity to assimilation. Picard reluctantly agrees, realising that he is letting his past with the Borg control him. He activates the self-destruct system, telling the remaining crew to evacuate, remaining to rescue Data.

Back on Earth, La Forge and O’Brien have repaired the Phoenix with the help of Ruby and Lt. Barclay. Riker, with the help of Ro, has finally managed to earn the people’s trust, and asks for them to come and watch the launch. Cochrane invites Riker and LaForge aboard the Phoenix for its maiden flight, as the rest of the original crew were killed in the Borg attack.

Picard arrives in Engineering, meeting Iubea and seeing Data with many human skin-grafts. Picard offers his reassimilation on the condition that Data is released. Iubea accepts, though Data refuses to leave. As the Phoenix prepares to activate its warp drive, Iubea commands Data to fire two torpedoes at the ship. At the last second, the torpedoes veer off course, revealing Data’s treachery. Data ruptures the warp core’s coolant tank and rescues Picard. The leaking coolant dissolves the organic components of the Borg on the ship, as well as Data’s grafts.

The Phoenix returns to Earth, and the crew of the Enterprise watch from afar as a Vulcan ship arrives, making first contact with Cochrane and Ruby. After the ensuing celebrations, the Enterprise returns home, as Kelly comments that “Y’know, I was really hoping that I’d seen the last of Temporal Investigations”.


Cast of Star Trek VII: Future’s End:

• Captain Julien Picard – Patrick Stewart​
• Commander William Riker – Jonathan Frakes​
• Lt. Cmdr. Data – Brent Spiner​
• Commander Deanna Troi – Marina Sirtis​
• Dr. (Cmdr.) Amelia Henderson – Stephanie Beacham​
• Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Kelly – Christian Slater​
• Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge – LeVar Burton​
• Lt. Cmdr. Worf – Michael Dorn​
• Lt. Ro Laren – Michelle Forbes​
• Lt. Reginald Barclay – Michael Jeter​
• Lt. Hawk – Adam Scott​
• Chief Miles O’Brien – Colm Meaney​
• Zefram Cochrane – James Cromwell​
• Ruby Sloane – Alfre Woodard​
• Guinan – Whoopi Goldberg​
• Iubea of Borg – Claudia Black​

The film was very well received, being the best performing film in the franchise to date, both critically and financially. Any doubts that the The Next Generation crew could not hold the films on their own were gone, though the film was not without its flaws. Chief among the criticism was that the size of the cast meant that many were left with little to do.

The acting was praised as a step above that of the previous film, with particular praise being given to Alfre Woodard and Claudia Black. Paramount soon ordered a sequel, with Braga and Moore given the task to write once more.

Star Trek VII: Future’s End is often considered one of the best Star Trek films, with The Wrath of Khan. The Borg were largely seen as having been “fixed” by the film, with their change in tactics between their first appearances being explained as the Federation proved resistant to the initial “decapitation” tactic.


So, this is finally done. Future's End is probably closer to OTL than many of you were expecting, but I didn't quite have the heart to get rid of First Contact completely. I think it's the best of the Star Trek films, but I've tried to fix a few of the problems. Namely, no Borg Queen. Her replacement, Iubea, is very similar to Locutus, but a little more personal. My interpretation of Borg tactics is that they rarely go for the "assimilate everyone" approach, and that the "decapitation" they tried in the Best of Both Worlds usually suffices. However, humanity and the rest of the Federation has proved a tough nut to crack, so they're trying wild approaches like full on-assault and going back in time to assimilate them before they become an issue.

Somewhat related is my reasoning for why humanity is "special" in Star Trek, or rather, what our "hat" is. The Vulcans are logical, the Klingons are warriors, any for me, humans are the risk-takers. They'll try something new just because it hasn't been done before. That's why we're so good at innovation. Something being "good enough" isn't good enough if we think it can be made better. We're not a race that is happy with stagnation, and the Borg want in. In many ways, the parallels between humanity's role in the Federation and the Borg become more pertinent.

Not sure how long the next update will take me, or whether The Beginning of the End of History will kick off before the next update. Regardless, work is being done on the next season of Doctor Who, so we don't have a delay between the update and the synopsis.