Star Trek Nemesis-Main Character Developments
July 23, 2001 - 8:30 PM
When 'Star Trek: X' is released next year, it will be nearly four years
since the crew of the Enterprise-E was last seen in action. In the film, the
progress of time will also be visible, with many of the characters undergoing
major changes.
In April, 'Star Trek X' screenwriter John Logan already said that he intended
to give all the Enterprise crewmembers something to do. "We have our gang
of seven, and that's my priority," he told Kevin Dilmore at the Star Trek
Communicator. "I have to make sure that everyone gets moments of his or
her own. I'd love to work in smaller characters, but if I have the choice of
giving a good line to Barclay or to Geordi, I'm going to stick with the main
crew. I have to justify my choices very carefully."
In addition, Logan indicated that he wanted the characters to go through
substantial changes. "One of the smartest things they did in Star Trek II,
my favourite of the movies, was to give Captain Kirk glasses. It acknowledges
the passage of time, and that these characters change over time, and their
relationships with each other change. These characters have ongoing lives on
the ship, and we want to reflect that in 'Star Trek X.' We want to react to
what has gone on in other shows. I hope people will see advancements in a lot
of relationships among the characters."
According to longtime source 'Faith', Logan indeed intends to honour these
promises with 'Star Trek: Nemesis,' as the film's script incorporates at least
one major change for each of the characters. Moreover, at the end of the film,
the dynamics of the Enterprise crew are changed substantially, as more than
half the group depart from their respective positions as Enterprise
crewmembers. Below you will find information on many of the major characters
arcs in Trek X:
*
Captain Jean-Luc Picard - Similar to Admiral Kirk in
'Star Trek II' and beyond, a major theme for Picard in 'Nemesis' will be aging.
An example of this is a scene set in the new Ten Forward (sans Guinan), where
Picard and Data drink glasses of 23rd Century Irish whiskey, and Picard admits
to being "an old fart." Because of this acknowledgement, Picard is
able to take great pleasure in driving a Starfleet Jeep on Kolarin-III, the
planet where B-9 is hidden. The Jeep, mounted with a rear-facing phaser cannon,
is transported in the Argo, a new version of the standard shuttlecraft that
able to carry land-based vehicles. While Picard greatly enjoys the ride, his
away team members are somewhat less enthused with what the script describes as
his "free-spirited driving panache." At the end of film, Picard's age
is clearly shown when the replacement officers for the departing Enterprise
crew arrive, including his new first officer Commander Martin Madden. To
Picard, this crew all seem very young - "fresh-faced kids... a new
generation to teach and nurture."
*
Data - In a climactic moment towards the end of the film, Data
sacrifices himself to destroy the Scimitar and save the Enterprise. There is a
subsequent gathering at the new Ten Forward, with Picard, Riker, Worf, La
Forge, Troi, and Crusher affixing black bars to the collars of their uniforms,
to indicate they are in mourning. Picard pours six glasses of his precious 23rd
century Irish whiskey, and makes a toast "To absent friends... to
family."After the ceremony, Picard goes to B-9 and tells him about Data's
sacrifice. But then B-9 sings part of an Irving Berlin song that Data had sung
at the start of the film, during Riker's and Troi's wedding ceremony. Could the
transfer of Data's memory engrams have been at least partially successful...?
*
William T. Riker - At the start of the film, Riker and
Troi are finally married, with Picard serving as the best man. The film does
not show the wedding ceremony, but instead opens with the reception, attended
by all the Enterprise crewmembers. Some of these also take part in a
performance, with Data singing an Irving Berlin song, and Riker who (with
Troi's approval) jumps onstage to join Data with his playing of the trombone.
The audience is also told by Picard about Riker's bachelor party, which
included three Andorians, two Tellerites and a Gorn. In addition, it
"included an embarrassing quantity of Romulan ale and, subsequently,
Commander Worf's rousing rendition of the love aria from that old Klingon
favorite 'Kahless and Morath on the Bloody Plains of Honor.'" At the end
of the film, Riker finally says goodbye to the fourteen years he spent as
Picard's "Number One," and accepts command of the U.S.S. Titan.
*
Worf - During the wedding reception, Worf tells Crusher about
his past stint as a Federation Ambassador, commenting that he "was not
suited for the life of a... diplomat." Riker later tells Worf of the
three-week honeymoon, where he and Troi plan to sail on the Opal Sea in an
old-fashioned solar catamaran. Worf responds that Klingon honeymoons begin with
the Kholamar desert march, followed (for those couples that survive) by a
journey to the Fire Caves of Fek'lhr to face the demons of Gre'thor. Worf's
hatred of the Romulans is once again demonstrated when he refers to his parents'
massacre at Khitomer, and that Romulans are "animals" fit only to be
killed. However, after seeing two Romulan ships sacrifice themselves to battle
Shinzon's Scimitar, he notes that they fought with honour, and even thanks a
Romulan doctor after receiving medical attention. Crusher, meanwhile, notes
that Worf was saved from a phaser shot literally "by [his] thick
head." At the end of the film, Worf is one of the few original officers to
remain with Picard aboard the Enterprise.
*
Deanna Troi - When Riker protests Picard's decision
to join Data and Worf in the away team to recover B-9, Picard leaves command of
the bridge to Troi as a joke (she is fourth in the chain-of-command after
Picard, Riker, and Data). Later on, before Riker departs from the Enterprise,
Picard advises him that "When your first officer insists that you can't go
on away missions... ignore him." Shinzon's second-in command is the Reman
Viceroy, who has telepathic abilities. He communicates with Troi in two scenes
in a manner that she later describes as "a violation." However, she
later realises that the telepathic communication is a two-way street, and uses
it to her advantage to locate the cloaked Scimitar. After the Scimitar manages
to destroy part of the forward bridge, the viewscreen is completely destroyed.
Before an emergency forcefield is sprung into position, Helms Officer Bransen
is sucked into space. It is at this point that Troi takes the helm and pilots
the Enterprise. At the end of the film, Troi joins her new husband Riker aboard
the U.S.S. Titan.
*
Beverly Crusher - At the end of the film, Crusher
leaves the Enterprise to take a position at Starfleet Medical. She tells Picard
via subspace communication that "I'll save the last dance for you."
*
Geordi La Forge - La Forge's girlfriend, present at the
reception, is none other than Dr. Leah Brahms. While there, he asks her about
the possibility of marriage. At the end of the film, La Forge remains aboard
the Enterprise.
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