Star Trek has always been a staple in the rich diet of sci-fi lovers, though each of its incarnations has a different taste. While the majority of the space opera has received love from fans, there were times when the franchise disappointed its fans.
Star Trek Generations is one such example, where studio interference ruined the potential of a movie coming straight off of a beloved TV series. The film’s co-screenwriter Ronald D. Moore once detailed what happened behind the scenes.
How studio intervention ruined Star Trek Generations
Paramount was coming out hot off of a very successful run with Star Trek: The Next Generations. In a bid to gather an audience beyond the general Trekkies, the studio stepped in to make the first movie that followed the series, Star Trek Generations, more appealing to newcomers.
However, as screenwriter of the movie Ronald D. Moore recalled it in an interview with THR, they instead landed in a hot mess:
The big difference between ‘First Contact’ and ‘Generations’ was right at the start, there really wasn’t a list of things to do. There was no mandate. When we did ‘Generations,’ there was literally a list of things that the movie had to accomplish. It had to be a transition from one cast to the other.
You could only have the original series cast in the first 10 minutes. It had to have the Klingons in it, it had to have a big villain, it had to have time travel in it. It was all this stuff.
Paramount would go on to correct its mistakes with the next movie in the series, Star Trek: First Contact, which not only gathered widespread acclaim, but also was the highest-grossing film on its opening weekend. First Contact was even nominated for an Oscar.
LeVar Burton hated the brutal Star Trek filming regime
LeVar Burton‘s contribution to the Star Trek universe as the chief engineer of the USS Enterprise-D, Geordi La Forge, is legendary. Known for his iconic visor, the actor was lauded for his portrayal and eventually advanced to directing in The Next Generation and shows after that.
During an interview while shooting the eighth episode of the first season of Voyager, the star expressed a preference for directing rather than acting. He conveyed this sentiment to EW, as reported by Totally Kate.
Do I miss that? Nooooo, sir. I don’t have to get up at 6:00 a.m. I don’t have to get into a space suit. I don’t have to put on that visor. Miss it? No. No.
The visor, a signature accessory of his costume, enabled the character La Forge to see, despite being blind from birth. Within the universe, the visor interfaces with the optic nerves via the temples, granting the wearer direct sensory perception.
Star Trek Generations is streaming on Paramount+.
