Star Trek: A Future Imperfect (Part 2)
Star Trek: The Next Generation - S7E24 - Preemptive Strike
Story:
Ro Laren and Vosima are assigned to infiltrate the Maquis terrorist organization that is battling Cardassian forces in the Demilitarized Zone that is the border worlds between the Cardassian Union and the Federation. Many Federation colonies have been attacked by the Cardassians while the Federation does nothing in order to preserve the treaty and prevent another war.
The duo eventually grow to see the Maquis' point of view and end up supplying the Enterprise with misinformation about Maquis operations in order to allow them to proceed unimpeded. Ro is eventually discovered to be a triple agent but thanks to Vosima's intervention, is able to escape and rejoin the Maquis while Vosima remains behind on the Enterprise to continue hampering Federation efforts to stop the Maquis from within.
Background:
The episode was one of two that TNG would do to set up the events of its upcoming spin-off/replacement Star Trek: Voyager (the other being "Journey's End", it featured retuning character Ro Laren, once again portrayed by Michelle Forbes (who likewise agreed to return for a substantial role in Star Trek: Generations).
The episode would end up setting the stage for both Voyager and Generations with both Edward Norton and Forbes calling it the best episode in which their characters appeared.
A moment in the episode which gathered considerable praise from critics was the argument between Vosima and Captain Picard, with Vosima insisting that the Federation is no better than the Borg if its willing to allow the atrocities in the DMZ to continue, comparing their disregard for the lives in those colonies for the disregard the Borg have for individual drones. Ending with the now infamous exchange between the two:
Vosima: Is that it Captain? Is that what the Federation truly thinks? That the individual matters only so long as collective remains happy? That those lives are irrelevant?
Picard: We cannot save those people without risking the lives of millions more! You have no idea how much I wish I could help them! But I can't. Their lives are not irrelevant, not a single life in that demilitarized zone is irrelevant.
Vosima: To quote Lt. Ro "You could've fooled me."
Picard: I will not be lectured by a Borg as to what is right and what is wrong, NOW GET OUT!!!
The exchange's audience reception however was much more divided. The fanbase had been polarized to an extent not seen ever before in the franchise's history, with some calling it a betrayal of Gene Roddenberry's original vision of the future, while others defending it as a harsh dose of reality, that even though human kind has largely moved past its flaws, prejudice would still exist in one form or another.
Picard's final words in turn were criticized by some as out of character, that he was too enlightened to be so prejudiced while others saying that it fits naturally with the way he acted towards Hugh in "I, Borg".
In any even the episode was shortlisted for a nomination in the Best Dramatic Presentation category of the Hugo Awards but the nomination and win ended up going to the show's series finale "All Good Things".
---
Star Trek: Generations
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Produced by: Rick Berman
Screenplay by: Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Story by: Rick Berman, Leonard Nimoy, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Director of Photography: John A. Alonzo
Editing by: Peter E. Berger
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
Release Date: November 18th, 1994
Budget: $45 million.
Box Office (worldwide): $140,406,937
Cast:
Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley as Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan as Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker
Edward Norton as Vosima
Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn as Lt. Commander Worf
Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
Malcolm McDowell as Zachary Hale
Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren
Robert Beltran as Chakotay
Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat
Story:
The story of the film involves the crew of the enterprise attempting to stop a radical Maquis crew led by Zachary Hale and consisting of Vosima, Ro Laren and Chakotay from using Trilithium weapons to destroy Cardassian colonies in order to provoke a war between the Federation and the Cardassians, in part to get the Federation to actively defend their colonies instead of placating their enemies in the name of peace, and in part to get his revenge for his ancestor's defeat at the hands of James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise-A.
The movie is interspersed with flashbacks showing the crew of Enterprise-A, capturing Hale's ancestor as he attempted to overthrow a Federation colony, and exiling him to a penal colony which would end up in the Cardassian DMZ.
The film ends with the death of Hale and Ro Laren (sacrificing herself to stop Hale's mad scheme), with Chakotay escaping and Vosima being captured by the Enterprise (to set up their appearances in Voyager).
Background:
The film was conceived to serve as bridge not only between the TOS and TNG crews but also between TNG and Voyager. Director Leonard Nimoy insisted on large parts for the TOS crew necessitating, not only long flashbacks but also in the film's main timeline.
The film would receive mixed to positive reviews, with some people saying that it ended the pattern of odd Star Trek films being bad or subpar, while others saying that it was the most mediocre film of the series.
The film would retroactively receive 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus reading "expertly done action and several dramatic moments, do just enough to redeem a derivative plot and an underdeveloped villain."
The story was indeed criticized for being substandard and very action-heavy for a Star Trek film, and even though McDowell's performance was warmly received, the character of Zachary Hale was criticized as a retread of Khan from Star Trek II.
However the dramatic moments, in particular the moments of dramatic reincorporation and parallels between the events in the flashbacks and the main plot were praised by critics and audiences as the highlight of the film while the Vosima/Ro romance was polarizing to audiences with some seeing it as adding much weight to Ro's death scene, while others calling it a cheep ploy to get the audience to feel more emotion at her death. Still both sides agreed that Forbes and Norton had chemistry in their roles and their romance was believable if not all that unnecessary, with Norton's performance during her death scene being considered the best in the film.
Both Norton and Beltran had already agreed to be in Star Trek: Voyager, reprising their roles as Vosima and Chakotay respectively as part of the main cast, when the movie was in pre-production and as such they were able to begin filming the series almost immediately after being done filming Generations. The production of Voyager however would be a peculiar situation to say the least, especially when the lead actress was on the verge of quitting on her first day of filming.
Star Trek: The Next Generation - S7E24 - Preemptive Strike
Story:
Ro Laren and Vosima are assigned to infiltrate the Maquis terrorist organization that is battling Cardassian forces in the Demilitarized Zone that is the border worlds between the Cardassian Union and the Federation. Many Federation colonies have been attacked by the Cardassians while the Federation does nothing in order to preserve the treaty and prevent another war.
The duo eventually grow to see the Maquis' point of view and end up supplying the Enterprise with misinformation about Maquis operations in order to allow them to proceed unimpeded. Ro is eventually discovered to be a triple agent but thanks to Vosima's intervention, is able to escape and rejoin the Maquis while Vosima remains behind on the Enterprise to continue hampering Federation efforts to stop the Maquis from within.
Background:
The episode was one of two that TNG would do to set up the events of its upcoming spin-off/replacement Star Trek: Voyager (the other being "Journey's End", it featured retuning character Ro Laren, once again portrayed by Michelle Forbes (who likewise agreed to return for a substantial role in Star Trek: Generations).
The episode would end up setting the stage for both Voyager and Generations with both Edward Norton and Forbes calling it the best episode in which their characters appeared.
A moment in the episode which gathered considerable praise from critics was the argument between Vosima and Captain Picard, with Vosima insisting that the Federation is no better than the Borg if its willing to allow the atrocities in the DMZ to continue, comparing their disregard for the lives in those colonies for the disregard the Borg have for individual drones. Ending with the now infamous exchange between the two:
Vosima: Is that it Captain? Is that what the Federation truly thinks? That the individual matters only so long as collective remains happy? That those lives are irrelevant?
Picard: We cannot save those people without risking the lives of millions more! You have no idea how much I wish I could help them! But I can't. Their lives are not irrelevant, not a single life in that demilitarized zone is irrelevant.
Vosima: To quote Lt. Ro "You could've fooled me."
Picard: I will not be lectured by a Borg as to what is right and what is wrong, NOW GET OUT!!!
The exchange's audience reception however was much more divided. The fanbase had been polarized to an extent not seen ever before in the franchise's history, with some calling it a betrayal of Gene Roddenberry's original vision of the future, while others defending it as a harsh dose of reality, that even though human kind has largely moved past its flaws, prejudice would still exist in one form or another.
Picard's final words in turn were criticized by some as out of character, that he was too enlightened to be so prejudiced while others saying that it fits naturally with the way he acted towards Hugh in "I, Borg".
In any even the episode was shortlisted for a nomination in the Best Dramatic Presentation category of the Hugo Awards but the nomination and win ended up going to the show's series finale "All Good Things".
---
Star Trek: Generations
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy
Produced by: Rick Berman
Screenplay by: Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Story by: Rick Berman, Leonard Nimoy, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga
Director of Photography: John A. Alonzo
Editing by: Peter E. Berger
Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
Release Date: November 18th, 1994
Budget: $45 million.
Box Office (worldwide): $140,406,937
Cast:
Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard
William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy as Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley as Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan as Captain Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker
Edward Norton as Vosima
Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn as Lt. Commander Worf
Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
Malcolm McDowell as Zachary Hale
Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren
Robert Beltran as Chakotay
Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat
Story:
The story of the film involves the crew of the enterprise attempting to stop a radical Maquis crew led by Zachary Hale and consisting of Vosima, Ro Laren and Chakotay from using Trilithium weapons to destroy Cardassian colonies in order to provoke a war between the Federation and the Cardassians, in part to get the Federation to actively defend their colonies instead of placating their enemies in the name of peace, and in part to get his revenge for his ancestor's defeat at the hands of James T. Kirk and the USS Enterprise-A.
The movie is interspersed with flashbacks showing the crew of Enterprise-A, capturing Hale's ancestor as he attempted to overthrow a Federation colony, and exiling him to a penal colony which would end up in the Cardassian DMZ.
The film ends with the death of Hale and Ro Laren (sacrificing herself to stop Hale's mad scheme), with Chakotay escaping and Vosima being captured by the Enterprise (to set up their appearances in Voyager).
Background:
The film was conceived to serve as bridge not only between the TOS and TNG crews but also between TNG and Voyager. Director Leonard Nimoy insisted on large parts for the TOS crew necessitating, not only long flashbacks but also in the film's main timeline.
The film would receive mixed to positive reviews, with some people saying that it ended the pattern of odd Star Trek films being bad or subpar, while others saying that it was the most mediocre film of the series.
The film would retroactively receive 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus reading "expertly done action and several dramatic moments, do just enough to redeem a derivative plot and an underdeveloped villain."
The story was indeed criticized for being substandard and very action-heavy for a Star Trek film, and even though McDowell's performance was warmly received, the character of Zachary Hale was criticized as a retread of Khan from Star Trek II.
However the dramatic moments, in particular the moments of dramatic reincorporation and parallels between the events in the flashbacks and the main plot were praised by critics and audiences as the highlight of the film while the Vosima/Ro romance was polarizing to audiences with some seeing it as adding much weight to Ro's death scene, while others calling it a cheep ploy to get the audience to feel more emotion at her death. Still both sides agreed that Forbes and Norton had chemistry in their roles and their romance was believable if not all that unnecessary, with Norton's performance during her death scene being considered the best in the film.
Both Norton and Beltran had already agreed to be in Star Trek: Voyager, reprising their roles as Vosima and Chakotay respectively as part of the main cast, when the movie was in pre-production and as such they were able to begin filming the series almost immediately after being done filming Generations. The production of Voyager however would be a peculiar situation to say the least, especially when the lead actress was on the verge of quitting on her first day of filming.