Star Trek: Generations

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Following in the not-so-grand tradition of "evens-are-good, odds-are-bad," Trek #7 is only a so-so entry in the long-running franchise. The plot revolves around a mad scientist (aren´t they always?) who is intent upon regaining access to The Nexus, an ethereal ribbon of energy within which Time has no meaning, and one can live forever. Picard and company must stop this evil genius at any cost before more star systems are destroyed. Interlaced within this marginal plot are some humorous scenes with Data and his hyperactive emotion chip, some dramatic moments of loss from Picard, and not one, but two death scenes for the original captain of the Enterprise, James T. Kirk. An enjoyable romp with two generations of Trek, and a deliberate baton-passing from the one to the other, but otherwise a relatively weak chapter in the legacy.

The best Treks have always featured a known villain or a villainous race (i.e., the Borg, Khan, the Klingons, etc.) in direct opposition to the Enterprise crew, and that is really the weak point of this film. New conflicts are always welcome in the series, where exposition and build-up can be done on a weekly basis. However, when you only have two hours in which to tell a story, exposition on the part of the villain takes up precious time; in the end, either the back story of the villain will see little screen time, or the rest of the plot will suffer. The former is chosen in Generations, and Dr. Soran´s impact is lessened by it. Like any Bond film, a Trek is only as good as its villain.

Star Trek films are traditionally special effect bonanzas, and this one is no slouch. The centerpiece of the film is the crash-landing sequence of the Enterprise-D´s saucer section. This sequence was a long-time favorite demo for electronics dealers and laser enthusiasts in the early days of AC-3, and it just looks and sounds that much sharper on DVD. On that note, on to the DVD presentation.

The transfer is wonderful. The colors are rich and smooth, and the picture is very sharp. At moments in the film, there appears to be a slight graininess to the transfer (the First Contact DVD suffered from this same phenomenon), and minute artifacts do appear, but they are few and far between. Overall, this is an admirable transfer that is considerably better than the laserdisc.

The sound is nothing short of awesome. The Dolby Digital soundtrack on the DVD is slightly more discreet and directional than its laser counterpart, due to an apparent reduction in bass. The original Generations LD--one of my favorite demonstration discs--always suffered from one drawback, and that was that the intense subwoofer activity (especially during the crash-landing sequence) always seemed to drown out the dynamic and directional sound. Perhaps it is my imagination, but it seems that Paramount´s DVD remaster has a somewhat "softened" quality to the low-frequency sound, allowing for clearer reception of the surround sound.