STAR TREK 7: GENERATIONS

Release Date: November 18, 1994
Screenplay By Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga
Story By Rick Berman & Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga
Music By Dennis McCarthy
Executive Producer Bernie Williams
Produced By Rick Berman
Directed By David Carson
Domestic Gross (US): $76 Million

 
Production Notes

The popular "Star Trek: The Next Generation" television series ended its seven year run in May 1994, disappointing some of that show's many fans. When the original "Star Trek" series was cancelled, Trekkers had to wait ten years before the adventures continued in the motion pictures. "Next Generation" fans, on the other hand, had only a six month wait before the first "Next Generation" film was released.

Rick Berman, the executive producer of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," had inherited the show due to Gene Roddenberry's failing health and subsequent death. Rick Berman: "A lot of the fans have been assuming that the studio decided only at the last minute to cancel this show, but in fact, it had been in the works for nearly three years. They decided to create and develop a whole new show that would run concurrently with 'Next Generation' for a season and a half, at which point they'd take 'Next Gen' off the air and the new show would inherit the throne. Obviously that new show was 'Deep Space Nine.'"

Patrick Stewart: "For me, the timing is perfect. I had been increasingly feeling that I'd already given my best work on the series. The last two years have found me feeling an intense restlessness. I needed to go on to something else. This is the toughest job I've ever done, except maybe when I worked on a building site, unloading cement blocks, that was marginally tougher."

William Shatner: "It was decided that this film would, in fact, be cross-pollinated by members of both the classic and 'Next Generation' casts. The resulting hybrid, felt the studio, would most definitely attain must-see status among Trekkers everywhere, while serving to establish 'The Next Generation' as a viable cinematic franchise all its own."

Rick Berman brought in "Next Generation" writers Ronald Moore and Brannon Braga to discuss possible plots for the feature film. Ronald Moore: "We decided to start with the original cast, in the twenty-third century, and have a mystery that sort of spans both franchises. But then we moved away from that and started looking for ways to have the two crews meet. I was really in favor, early on, of having the two crews in opposition to one another. Brannon agreed, saying that the best possible poster you could ever hope to have for this picture would show you the two Enterprises battling against each other. We all tried our best, but we were never able to come up with any scenario that made both crews look heroic. No matter how we played around with this thing, somebody was going to come off looking like the bad guy."

At this point, the writers returned to the franchise-spanning mystery concept and also incorporated the death of Captain James T. Kirk into the story. Ronald Moore: "We fully expected that the studio would say, 'No, you can't possibly kill the Captain,' because Kirk really is one of their golden characters, but they didn't have that reaction. Instead, they just asked us, 'Are you sure you want to do this?' And when we said, 'Yes, we are,' they said 'Okay, we're behind you,' and we went back to the office and waited for (William Shatner) to say, 'No.'"

William Shatner: "When Rick first called me and told me about wanting to knock off the Captain, it really didn't bother me at all. Not one bit. In fact, I got really excited, thinking 'Well, if this really is going to be Kirk's last hurrah, what better way to close the book?'" Shatner tentatively agreed to the project, pending his approval of his role in the script.

Ronald Moore: "I really felt that Kirk's death would finally bring closure to the original Trek, and as a writer on 'The Next Generation' TV series, I always felt that we should close that door, because it was starting to become a cheat to just keep ignoring the question of 'Whatever happened to Kirk?' I'd heard Gene say a couple times that he thought Kirk would most likely be dead by the twenty-fourth century, so we felt that our idea was sort of in that spirit."

Ronald Moore: "Originally, the opening was much more prolonged than it is in the final draft. There was all sorts of stuff about getting this new ship out of space dock, and when it came out of space dock we were going to have the Enterprise do a barrel roll, which I'd always wanted to see." At this point, the plan was to include all seven original series cast members.

Ronald Moore: "No matter what, the original cast members were only going to be in this thing for maybe the first fifteen or twenty pages and at the same time we were going to be introducing the crew of the new Enterprise-B and if we hadn't pared that down, those scenes would've been truly awful." Instead, the opening scenes were rewritten with only Kirk, Spock, and McCoy present on the Enterprise-B.

With William Shatner's tentative agreement to the project, drafts of the script were then also sent to Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley. Nimoy was also asked by Berman to direct Star Trek Generations. Leonard Nimoy: "When I read the script, I had a number of concerns. For one thing, Spock's role was no more than a cameo, a walk-on; he served no function at all in the story. He was simply there for his marquee value. So when I went to meet with Berman, I relayed that concern, along with others. He listened to them all, then said, 'All these suggestions of yours will require too many revisions on the script. We just don't have the time to make them.' He might have answered, 'Well, let's talk to the writers about your concerns, and see if we can find a workable solution for us all.' But he didn't. I took that as a message that it was time for me to excuse myself (from the project,) and so I did." David Carson, a "Next Generation" television director, was then selected as director of Star Trek Generations.

DeForest Kelley also declined the project, feeling Dr. McCoy had a better exit in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Instead, the Spock and McCoy roles were slightly rewritten for Scott and Chekov, and so James Doohan and Walter Koenig signed onto the movie.

Shatner also had concerns about the film when receiving his script. William Shatner: "My friend James Tiberius didn't quite seem himself. He had no overall theme, no thrust, nothing that made this part uniquely and absolutely Kirk's. With that in mind, I began meeting with Rick and the writers, suggesting a few changes and rewrites." The script was modified until it met Shatner's approval and he officially signed onto the film.

William Shatner: "Surprisingly, I still felt very little remorse about the captain's terminal status. In fact, I was a lot more worried about working with Walter Koenig and Jimmy Doohan, two men who have made it clear on any number of occasions that my name is generally near the top of their sh-t lists."

William Shatner: "As shooting progressed, I even managed to talk both Walter and Jimmy into posing for a picture of the three of us holding hands, a mind-boggling occurrence in the annals of Trekkerdom. As we sat there smiling, Walter said to me, 'Any picture of the three of us holding hands has got to be worth at least five hundred dollars at a convention, signed, fifteen hundred.'"

Walter Koenig: "I was under the delusion that I had contributed more than I had. . . .My part was very small, and, I think, forgettable. The movie is about 'The Next Generation.'"

Director David Carson: "We hired some great young actors to appear in the bridge sequences (on the Enterprise-B) and they did great in auditions. But when they did their first rehearsal with Shatner, they suddenly didn't give very good performances. I thought to myself, 'These are not the people I auditioned.' After Bill left, I got together with the other actors and said, 'You kind of went limp on me.' . . . One of the actors said, 'Look, you're British. You don't understand what it's like for somebody my age, who grew up watching 'Star Trek,' to stand on the bridge of the Enterprise with Captain Kirk.' He told me that he had worked with stars before but that this was a very emotional experience. Knowing these people were literally in awe of Bill made it easier for me to deal with them as actors."

However, most of Kirk's scenes in the movie take place with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, captain of the Enterprise-D, portrayed by Patrick Stewart. Patrick Stewart: "It had been an argument of mine from the early days of 'The Next Generation' movie that it should include as many of the original 'Star Trek' members as we could get. I felt having members of the original cast would provide the opportunity to present something really intense and dramatic. I felt that having the two Captains share screen space was something audiences would enjoy seeing."

As originally filmed, Captain Kirk's death scene was somewhat different than what is seen in the released film. Most notably, Kirk died as a result of a phaser blast in the back from Soran (Malcolm McDowell.) When that scene didn't go over well with test audiences, the actors were brought back on location and a new ending was filmed. In the new ending, Kirk died as a result of falling with a collapsed bridge - a metaphor for the bridge of a starship, where many felt Kirk should have died in the first place.

William Shatner: "Kirk's dying words read, 'It was fun,' and I quickly determined to make it very clear that Kirk was speaking not only of his escapade with Picard, but of his entire life."

Patrick Stewart: "I've been thinking, even from the first day (Shatner and I) started rehearsing together, 'I really like working with this man,' and increasingly, as we got through our scenes, I found myself thinking, 'What a shame. I really wish this hadn't been so brief.' You know, there's an undeniable chemistry between us, there's something happening here, and even though I know the death of Kirk is supposed to be terribly final, I can't help but think, 'Come on now Patrick, this is Star Trek. Anything can happen, anything.'"

James Doohan: "I'm just not that sentimental about all of it. I had my concerns about doing this, but I think we're making a very good film here. It has something for everyone. I think the fans will be very pleased, and that's all that matters."

Walter Koenig: "I don't think 'Next Generation' fans will be disappointed at all, in the way the characters are developed and what they have to do. There's a lot of fun stuff in it. It's very visual, and I think there is something in it that's reminiscent of Star Trek V, but not in a bad way."

William Shatner: "I did it. I killed Kirk and I think I killed him well, using all of the emotions I'd denied for so long in allowing the man to battle, then ultimately accept his impending death, while simultaneously peering into the greatest mystery of all."


Film Quotes


Kirk: "Risk is part of the game if you want to sit in that chair."

Kirk: "The first thing you learn as Captain is how to cheat death."*

Kirk: "You say history considers me dead. Who am I to argue with history?"

Kirk: "I was like you once - so worried about duty and obligation, I couldn't see past my own uniform.
And what did it get me? An empty house."

Kirk: "Maybe this isn't about an empty house. Maybe it's about that empty chair on the bridge of the
Enterprise. Ever since I left Starfleet, I haven't made a difference."

Kirk: "Close to retirement?"
Picard: "I'm not planning on it."
Kirk: "Let me tell you something: Don't. Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't
let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship because while you're there, you can make a difference."

Kirk: "Who am I to argue with the Captain of the Enterprise?"

Kirk: "I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim."
Picard: "You could say that."

Kirk: "Sounds like fun."

Picard: "I changed my mind. Captain's prerogative."

Picard: "Good luck Captain."
Kirk: "Call me Jim."

Kirk: "The 24th century isn't so tough."*

Kirk: "Did we do it? Did we make a difference?"
Picard: "Oh yes, we made a difference. Thank you."
Kirk: "The least I could do . . . for the Captain of the Enterprise. It was . . . fun. Oh, my."
(Kirk dies.)

Picard: "Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives, but I'd rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey, reminds us to cherish every moment because they'll never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we've lived."