*** Official "STAR TREK: NEMESIS" Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Rob Gardiner]

Jack,

Can you tell me more about this? I know of the role Berman played in shaping Voyager and Enterprise but I'm a little sketchy on his role in TNG. The supplements on the DVDs barely touch on this. Does this have to do with the fact that Season 3 had a completely new writing staff? Any info would be appreciated.




I am very much looking forward to the new picture despite the bad reviews!!! And I never believed in that even/odd theory anyway.

 

[Tony Whalen]

Well said Jack!
And Bryan_P? Glad to see I ain't the ONLY Enterprise fan around here. It's FAR better than Voyager was. Voyager only had two things going for it... the Doc and Seven. (So I guess it actually had THREE things going for it then...) Seriously though... I find Enterprise enjoyable. ('sides.. it's only part way into it's second season...)
I dunno.. I see a number of folks saying Nemesis is rather lackluster. But I'll still see it and reserve judgement for myself. *I* am still lookin' forward to seeing it.

 

[Jack Briggs]

He basically took over the creative control of the franchise as Executive Producer during the 1989-1990 season. And, yes, he overhauled the creative staff. One talent, Ronald D. Moore, an unapologetic fan of TOS, would rise to the top. For the next four seasons TNG would be at the top of its game.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Knowles takes a public stand with his illiterate rants and he very much sets himself up for criticism. And with such a ludicrously amateur "review" as that, you better believe some of us are going to question his credibility.

You should read his Blade II review.

Tony, I was right there with you, but for one thing: I'm probably the only one on the forum who liked Voyager! Ah, well. Anyway, I'm definitely going to see Nemesis. What I'm really looking forward to right now, though, is the end of February and the first DS9 box!

 

[JonZ]

Of course Berman did save TNG(as well as helping create a show I LOVED the first 4 years-DS9), but that was 12 years ago, the guy has run out of ideas and Paramount needs to bring in some new blood.

 

[Tim Glover]

I, too like Voyager. At least the first season. Had some high hopes for Nemesis. Still am going to check it out tomorrow.

 

[Tino]

Over at www.rottentomtoes.com Nemesis is currently at 88% positive with the "cream of the crop" critics (57% overall).
I'll be seeing it either tonight or tomorrow. Although as I have said, my expectations have been lowered, it is getting some fairly good reviews so I am a bit more hopeful.

 

[JohnS]

A while ago, I heard that Wil Wheaton was suppose to return as Wesley Crusher.(supposidly returning from Fleet Academy, sorry I haven't watched alot of STNG)

I just checked IMDB, and he's not credited neither is he credited in his actor profile.

So, I guess they 86'd the idea of him returning.
I really would of liked to see him return.

 

[Simon Massey]

A scene was apparently shot with Wil Wheaton but didnt make the final cut

Probably be on the eventual DVD

 

[Jarrod_L]

, but it was cut for whatever reason. Evidently the film was originally nearly 3 hours. Suppposed to be on the DVD. I'd read about it on (don't laugh)Wil's website a few months ago. He seemed (at the time anyway) more than slightly disapointed.

 

[paul_v]

Ebert's review is funny:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert...artrek13f.html
I'm sitting there during "Star Trek: Nemesis," the 10th "Star Trek" movie, and I'm smiling like a good sport and trying to get with the dialogue about the isotronic Ruritronic signature from planet Kolarus III, or whatever the hell they were saying, maybe it was "positronic," and gradually it occurs to me that "Star Trek" is over for me. I've been looking at these stories for half a halftime, and, let's face it, they're out of gas.
There might have been a time when the command deck of Starship Enterprise looked exciting and futuristic, but these days it looks like a communications center for security guards. Starships rocket at light speeds halfway across the universe, but when they get into battles the effect is roughly the same as on board a World War II bomber. Fearsome death rays strike the Enterprise, and what happens? Sparks fly out from the ceiling and the crew gets bounced around in their seats like passengers on the No. 36 bus. This far in the future they wouldn't have sparks because they wouldn't have electricity, because in a world where you can beam matter--beam it, mind you--from here to there, power obviously no longer lives in the wall and travels through wires.
I've also had it with the force shield that protects the Enterprise. The power on this thing is always going down. In movie after movie after movie I have to sit through sequences during which the captain is tersely informed that the front shield is down to 60 percent, or the back shield is down to 10 percent, or the side shield is leaking energy, and the captain tersely orders that power be shifted from the back to the sides or all put in the front, or whatever, and I'm thinking, life is too short to sit through 10 movies in which the power is shifted around on these shields. The shields have been losing power for decades now, and here it is the Second Generation of Star Trek, and they still haven't fixed them. Maybe they should get new batteries.
I tried to focus on the actors. Patrick Stewart, as Capt. Picard, is a wonderful actor. I know because I have seen him elsewhere. It is always said of Stewart that his strength as an actor is his ability to deliver bad dialogue with utter conviction. I say it is time to stop encouraging him. Here's an idea: Instead of giving him bad dialogue, why not give him good dialogue, and see what he can do with that? Here is a man who has played Shakespeare.
The plot of "Star Trek: Nemesis" involves a couple of strands, one involving a clone of Data (Brent Spiner), which somehow seems redundant, and another involving what seems to be a peace feeler from the Romulan empire. In the course of the movie the Romulan Senate is wiped out by a deadly blue powder and the sister planet of Remus stages an uprising, or something, against being made to work as slaves in the mines. Surely slavery is not an efficient economic system in a world of hyperdrives, but never mind: Turns out that Picard shares something unexpected with his rival commander, although once I tell you that you can no doubt guess what it is, since the movie doesn't work you very hard.
There is a scene in the movie in which one starship rams another one. You would think this would destroy them both, and there are a lot of sparks and everybody has to hold onto their seats, but the "Star Trek" world involves physical laws which reflect only the needs of the plot. If one ship rammed another and they were both destroyed and everyone died, and the movie ended with a lot of junk floating around in space, imagine the faces of the people in the audience.
I think it is time for "Star Trek" to make a mighty leap forward another 1,000 years into the future, to a time when starships do not look like rides in a 1970s amusement arcade, when aliens do not look like humans with funny foreheads, and when wonder, astonishment and literacy are permitted back into the series. Star Trek was kind of terrific once, but now it is a copy of a copy of a copy.
Copyright © Chicago Sun-Times Inc.

 

[Tony Whalen]

Actually Jarrod, I don't think that Ashley Judd was EVER involved. It was all rumours and such.

Now, as to Wil Wheaton.. yes the scenes were shot.. and I've seen a photo of him in the white-full-dress uniform with the rest of the cast (and Guinan).

I too visited Wheaton's website.. and he was actually kind of at peace with being cut out. (Believe it or not folks, Wheaton is a pretty cool guy.) I recall reading his blog about the day he found out (Rick Berman called him personally, if memory serves) and he wasn't all that upset. He got to get back into uniform, and spend time with his cast-mates again... (and get paid I'd imagine...LOL!)

I do hope they include this (and other trimmings) in the eventual DVD release.

Greg!!! I hear ya! I can hardly wait to start getting DS9 on disc! (Like I need to spend MORE money on DVDs...snicker)

 

[Ron-P]

...in which Picard has flown solo, is the dullest and drabbest of the lot. Simply plotted and feebly directed, it lacks the vigorous action that elevated Capt. Kirk's adventures...

After reading more reviews like this snippet off cnn.com. I think I may just wait for the DVD.
Peace Out~

 

[Jarrod_L]

Ohhhhh...I see. It's been a few months since reading about it.
It's too bad about Wes being cut from the movie, however. Although I never *loved* young Crusher as a character, I didn't loathe him like many do. In fact, some of his later appearances during the program's run were pretty decent. I especially liked the episode where he & Picard crashlanded on a desert world together & the captain was severely injured.
That one & the one with Wes & the guy from Voyager at the Academy.
....hmmm,....sorry, I've been obsessively watching the new DVD releases of Next Gen....didn't mean to go off on an unrelated topic...
Um, er....the movie's trailer looks good, and I'm going to go see it this weekend. While I wasn't that big of a fan of Insurrection upon viewing it in the theater a few years ago, I recently watched on DVD & enjoyed it. While I'm not expecting Lord of the Rings type excitement about Nemesis, I'm certainly hoping for an entertaining flick.

 

[Nelson Au]

Regarding Wesley's return to this film, Nemesis. What confounds me is that Wesley is last seen on the Next Generation quiting Starfleet Academy and going off to another plane of existance with the Traveler character on the Next Generation 6th or 7th season episode, ( The title escapes me). At least that is how I interpreted that ending. So is he still human, or more? It is too bad his scenes were cut.

Nelson

 

[JayJ]

Knowles takes a public stand with his illiterate rants and he very much sets himself up for criticism. And with such a ludicrously amateur "review" as that, you better believe some of us are going to question his credibility.

Yes, of course. Aint-it-Cool is a public forum where people who have seen movies can submit their own (gasp!) opinionated reviews. No one there claims to be a professional critic, which the point of the entire enterprise.

Apparently his credibility is determined by whether or not he likes the latest "Star Trek" movie. If he had raved about it, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

In other news...if anyone saw Patrick Stewart on "Conan" last night, he was very entertaining and told the story of tearing up while he and Jonathan Frakes rehearsed Riker's goodbye scene, then falling into Frakes' arms, leading both to joke about the scenario and Stewart capping it with "Where no man has gone before." Pretty funny stuff.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

To the fans of Wes C. / Wil W.:
The Enterprise crew makes their first appearance in the film during a dinner banquet. Keep your eyes on the FAR LEFT of the looooong dinner table and you'll get a nice surprise.

 

[Norm]

I think I will skip this like I skipped Bond I'm not giving my money automatically to Hollywood just because I'm a fan of the title/series. They know they have a built in audience, so they just keep putting out the same crap without much effort! Until Berman is gone I'm done with Star Trek!

 

[Terry St]

I usually like Ebert's reviews. I often disagree with them, but typically they're worth reading. His Nemesis review was a waste of ascii though.

There is a scene in the movie in which one starship rams another one. You would think this would destroy them both, and there are a lot of sparks and everybody has to hold onto their seats, but the "Star Trek" world involves physical laws which reflect only the needs of the plot.

Hmm... Science Fiction movies are unrealistic? GAWSH!!!
(I repeat myself only because Ebert did it first.)


----

Normally I try not to be this much of an arse, but Ebert really should be ashamed of writing this review. This movie has equal odds of being either "The Wrath of Khan" or "The Final Frontier". Well, which is it? All Ebert tells us is that he's personally grown tired of Star Trek. I'm sorry, but I'm just not that concerned about one fat man's disenchantment with all things "Star Trek". I wanted to hear about the bloody movie!

Please bear in mind that I'm not a rabid Trek fanboy. I loathed voyager and am almost at the same point with Enterprise. However, I'm not tired of shields failing, unrealistic physics, or corny lines. What I'm tired of is the action formula that Trek fell into sometime during DS9's run. Namely, the formula that makes a contrived action/SFX climax mandatory. Star Trek doesn't need to get rid of all the familiar plot devices, aliens with knobby forheads, etc. to be fresh. It just needs some good stories to tell and the balls to drop the formula.

 

[StevenA]

I think Ebert hit the nail square on the head.
I am so burned after seeing this dreadful film today. After Insurrection and now this, I'm one Star Trek fan who's had two hard punches to the stomach too many. :frowning: