Two Paramount executives are talking about the success of their new TV series Star Trek - The Next Generation.
Tom: Man! Next Gen is really doing well. I want to get something on the big screen. We could make a packet!
Roger: You're right! But Tom, all of the movies so far have featured Shatner and Co. Those guys are getting really old! How are we going to sell these guys as kick arse action heroes when they're limping around with walking sticks. What are we going to make this movie about? A perilous journey to the local supermarket for more horlicks and a packet of Sultana Bran?
Tom: Don't worry Roger I've got it all figured out. We'll have some sort of dylithium anti-matter time distortion thingy that results in both crews being together at the same time. Then we'll kill all of the old crew in some sort of glorious battle, perhaps with the Klingons, leaving the new crew to continue on without any ties to the past. We can have some nice special effects along with some cool explosions. It'll be great!
Roger: Yeah, I get you. We can kill Kirk and have the audience crying buckets! Tom, you're a genius!
So there you have it. The inside scoop on how Star Trek Generations was born!
Generations, the seventh movie is the Star Trek series, opens with Kirk, Scott and Chekov the special guests on the maiden voyage of the new Enterprise B. This trip is to be a short one, one of the final shakedown flights, an excuse for Star Fleet to introduce its new flagship to the galaxy. Alas the test run turns into a desperate rescue mission when the Enterprise races to the aid of some refugee ships trapped in a mysterious energy ribbon called the Nexus. They manage to rescue some of the refugees but just they are about the escape the Nexus, the Enterprise is hit by an energy bolt and Kirk is lost.
| "KIRK: Scotty keep everything together until I come back! SCOTTY: I always do!" |
Seventy Eight years later Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise D rush to the aid of an observatory which is under attack They arrive after the attackers have fled but find one survivor, a scientist named Tolian Soran. Soran is returned to the Enterprise but pressures Picard into letting him return to the station as he claims that he has important, time sensitive experiments to continue on board. Picard refuses to let him return until the station has been thoroughly searched by an 'away team'.
Soran finds a way to sneak aboard the station without being detected and attacks Data and Geordi who have discovered his hidden laboratory. With the Enterprise crew mates disarmed and disabled, Soran launches a specially modified probe into a nearby star causing it to collapse. Soran then escapes, taking Geordi with him, to a hidden Klingon ship. The Enterprise is forced abandon pursuit as the crew rush to rescue Data before they are destroyed by a shock wave caused by the collapse of the star.
The crew begins an investigation into Soran and soon discover that he was one of the refugees rescued by the Enterprise B seventy eight years earlier. They also discover that Guinan, the bar keep, was also among the lucky few that escaped the Nexus. Picard questions her about Soran and discovers the reason for the destruction of the star. The crew must now rescue Geordi, find Soran and stop him from killing millions of people.
Well folks, what we have here is a 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced transfer that I feel will please all who see it.
The sharpness of the transfer is good with many fine details evident throughout. Shadow detail is also good as is the black level.
The level of colour saturation in this transfer is quite high. This is most evident when the Enterprise D is in orbit around the Amargosa star. In these scenes the interior of the ship is lit with a warm yellow/orange light. Under these lighting conditions a small amount of "fringing" is evident. An example can be seen when the ships counsellor, Troy and Picard are talking in his ready room. The use of edge enhancement is also obvious at this point. The other place in which this minor "fringing" was noted was during the opening credits. The blue text suffered from this artefact to a minor degree. I viewed these sections on two different display devices and the fringing could be seen on both. The problem is minor and I didn't find it distracting at all.
I didn't notice any MPEG artefacts but Film-To-Video artefacts are present and take the form of aliasing, moiré effects and telecine wobble. Aliasing occurs often but is always minor and in many cases away from the main point of interest. Moiré effects also occur but are again relatively minor. They are also less frequent. I also noted one occurrence of telecine wobble which can been during the opening title sequence. There is another possible example of this during a later scene involving Kirk but it could also have been caused by camera wobble.
Film artefacts occur often but are mostly very small and easily ignored.
This is a dual layer disc and the layer change takes place on a cut from one scene to another. It is noticeable but the change is negotiated quickly and I didn't feel that it disrupted the flow of the movie.
There are four audio tracks on this disc. Three are Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks and the fourth is a Dolby Digital 2.0 surround track. The 5.1 channel tracks are English, French and Italian. The surround track is in Spanish. I listened to the English track only.
This is a very good audio transfer. Active, dynamic and clear with only one minor blemish. A small period of vocal distortion when Riker addresses Picard on the bridge of the Enterprise D.
All of the channels in your system get some work in this transfer. The soundstage is nice and full with panning and split channel effects occurring frequently making this an enjoyable multi-channel experience. In some dialogue only sections the mix becomes somewhat more 'centre centric' but the surrounds do carry some ambient sounds to help keep you immersed in the on-screen action. The subwoofer is kept busy adding punch to both the score and effects without over powering either.
