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Box office. $146 million. Star Trek: First Contact is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes in his feature film debut. It is the eighth movie of the Star Trek franchise, and the second starring the cast of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the film, the crew of the starship USS Enterprise -E ...
- $45 million
- November 22, 1996
- Rick Berman
- Jerry Goldsmith
- Overview
- Summary
- Log entries
- Memorable quotes
- Background information
- Awards and honors
- Links and references
"Resistance is futile."
Six years have passed since Captain Jean-Luc Picard was captured and assimilated by the Borg. Now, the Borg make a second attempt to conquer the Federation. Starfleet believes that Picard's experience makes him an "unstable element to a critical situation" and orders him to stay behind. But, when Starfleet's fight does not go well, Picard and the crew of the new USS Enterprise disobey orders to join the fight, following the Borg three hundred years into the past just as Zefram Cochrane prepares to launch Humanity's first warp-capable engine, the Phoenix, and make first contact with an alien race.
Act One Act Two
Below decks, Picard briefs Data, Worf, and a team of security officers as they arm themselves with phaser rifles (Worf informing the crew that even with a rotating modulation, they will get at most twelve shots before the Borg adapt). As the Borg have taken control of main engineering, Picard explains their objective: puncture one of the warp plasma coolant tanks. Doing so will release the plasma coolant, liquefying the Borg's organic components, without which, Picard explains, the cyborgs cannot survive. Picard also warns his officers that they should not show mercy to assimilated Enterprise crew members – indeed, killing them would be the merciful thing to do. On Earth, Commander Riker finds a drunken Counselor Troi at the town's makeshift bar. The counselor introduces Riker to Zefram Cochrane, himself intoxicated, explaining that the scientist doesn't believe their cover story – and that, in her professional opinion as ship's counselor, she thinks he's "nuts." Riker is very amused by Troi's drunken behavior, which annoys Troi even more. As Cochrane activates a rock and roll-spouting jukebox, Troi bemoans her first experience with tequila then finally passes out while Cochrane continues to dance to the music. Picard and Data hunt Borg in the corridors of the Meanwhile, two teams march through the corridors of the Enterprise-E – one led by Worf, the other by Picard and Data. Rounding a corner on deck 16, the crew finds that the usually pristine and immaculate bulkheads of a Federation starship have been replaced by the grotesque and mechanical equipment of a Borg vessel. In response, an anxious Data deactivates his emotion chip. Elsewhere, Worf and his men encounter Dr. Crusher as she emerges from the Jefferies tubes with her medical staff and patients. She notifies the Klingon that Lily has gone missing and Worf promises to watch out for the woman. Moving on, the two teams meet outside of engineering, in corridors crawling with Borg drones. At first ignoring the Starfleet officers' arrival, the Borg suddenly spring into action as Picard and Data attempt to gain entry to main engineering. A battle ensues, but the Borg quickly adapt to phaser fire and Picard calls for a retreat. The captain tells the Enterprise crew to regroup on deck 15 and warns his officers not to let the Borg touch them. Too late, however, for Data, who is captured by the Borg and taken into their hive. Rushing to a Jefferies tube, Picard sees a crewman begging for help as Borg technology starts to take over his body and, believing he is saving him from a worse fate, shoots him dead before escaping into a hatch. Inside the access tube, Lily catches Picard by surprise, turning the captain's phaser on him and demanding to be returned home. Picard tells her that is not going to be easy at the moment, but Lily informs Picard that he had better make it easy or else she will fire the phaser on him. Picard tells her to follow him and she warns the captain to go slow. Data awakes in engineering, restrained to a Borg operating table and surrounded by drones. He assures them that they cannot gain the Enterprise access codes stored in his neural net, speaking directly to the disembodied voice of the Borg. The Borg tell Data that breaking the code is only a matter of finding the android's weakness. On the surface, Riker, Troi, and La Forge attempt to convince Cochrane that the story about the Borg and their mission is true. Adjusting the scientist's telescope, La Forge gives Cochrane a glimpse of the Enterprise-E, orbiting high above Montana. The Enterprise officers urge Cochrane to continue with his plans to launch the Phoenix, telling him of the Utopian society that warp travel and first contact will bring to Earth. On the same day that Cochrane makes his first warp flight, a survey ship from a neighboring alien race will be passing through Earth's solar system: upon noticing that Humans have discovered faster-than-light travel, they will decide that Humanity is advanced enough to officially make first contact. Thus, even if Cochrane's test flight is simply delayed a few days, it will drastically alter history. If Cochrane hurries to make his warp flight as scheduled, the aliens will make contact, and Humanity will put aside its differences and unite as never before, to rebuild from the world war and, within fifty years, build a utopia on Earth. Grudgingly, Cochrane agrees. Meanwhile, the fight does not go well aboard the Enterprise. The Borg continue their relentless assimilation of the ship and its crew, taking control of more than half of the starship. In command of the bridge, Worf is informed by Chief of Security Daniels that the Borg have halted their approach after seizing control of deck 11, which contains hydroponics, stellar cartography, and deflector control; none of which are vital Enterprise systems; Worf is mystified, as the Borg would only have ceased their attack there if they gained a tactical advantage. Meanwhile, still crawling through the bowels of the ship, Picard leads Lily to a porthole looking out over Earth. Shocked to find herself in space, Lily surrenders her phaser and begins to trust the captain. Down in engineering, Data continues his conversation with the Borg Queen, who finally shows herself as a head and upper torso descending to a robotic body. Reactivating Data's emotion chip, the Queen reveals a patch of Human flesh grafted onto his android skeleton. With this new skin, Data is able to feel all new sensations and gets to experience pleasure for the first time when the Queen blows on the flesh. In a corridor, Picard describes the Federation and the Borg to Lily, who reacts in terror as they enter a section overrun by Borg. As they make their escape, Picard fires his phaser, provoking a response from two drones who pursue them into the holosuite. Activating a holonovel, Picard recreates a scene from The Big Good-Bye, using a holographic Tommy gun to blast the two Borg in a fit of rage. He goes berserk and plans on ripping apart the dead Borg with the gun before being calmed down by Lily. Nonetheless, he starts pulling open the chest cavity of one of the drones when Lily notices the Borg has partial remains of a Starfleet uniform on. Picard unemotionally informs her that the Borg was formerly Starfleet Ensign Lynch. The captain retrieves a Borg neural processor and proceeds to the bridge, surprising Lily at how emotionally detached he was at the thought of killing his own crew member. On Earth, Cochrane has grown frustrated with the high esteem bestowed upon him by the 24th century officers as they repair the Phoenix. After a run-in with Lieutenant Barclay (who, like many of the crew had already done, asks to shake his hand), Cochrane expresses his reservations to La Forge, who admits that he too is experiencing feelings of hero worship. La Forge reveals to Cochrane that the missile silo would eventually become home to a statue in his honor. The scientist quickly escapes into the woods, attempting to flee. Riker and La Forge give chase, ultimately stunning Cochrane to prevent his escape. In engineering, the operation to give Data flesh and blood continues. Exploiting a small window of opportunity, Data breaks free of the operating table and attempts to escape his captors. He is stopped, however, when a drone slashes at and cuts Data's new Human skin. Data is then forced to experience another new feeling – pain – and is left confused that, despite the fact he wants to rip the flesh off, he can't bring himself to do it. The Borg Queen then sets about seducing the android, who explains that he is "fully functional" and "programmed in multiple techniques," but it has been just over eight years since he has used them. Just as he tells the Queen this, the two fall into a passionate embrace. Picard, Worf, and Hawk on the hull of the On the bridge, Picard returns to brief his crew on the situation: the Borg plan to use the ship's navigational deflector to contact reinforcements in the Delta Quadrant which would easily conquer Earth. With no other way to gain access to the deflector dish, Picard, Worf, and the ship's helmsman, Lieutenant Hawk, don EV suits and cross the exterior hull of the ship on foot (much to Worf's dismay, as the zero-gravity makes him sick to his stomach), finding several drones constructing a beacon atop the particle emitter. Unable to simply destroy the dish due to the risk of severe damage to the ship, Picard and company work to manually release it into space. Arousing a response from the drones, the Enterprise officers battle the Borg, who are able to injure Worf and assimilate Hawk. Hawk, now assimilated, tries to kill Picard by throwing him to a wall, cracking the glass in his helmet. Just as Hawk is about to slam his foot down on Picard's helmet, Worf shoots Hawk and he flies away into space. Recovering quickly, Picard finishes his task and releases the deflector into space. Worf allows the deflector to drift away from the ship, then destroys it with his phaser rifle. Sensing the destruction of the beacon, the Borg Queen announces to Data – still undergoing the operation – that she has changed her plans.
Act Three
Aboard the repaired Phoenix, with less than an hour before launch, Cochrane mulls over some final details as Riker joins him. Cochrane admits that he's suffering from a hangover which is either from the whiskey or Riker's phaser blast (or both), but is ready to make history nonetheless. As the launch doors are opened, Riker marvels at the sight on the moon visible in the early morning sky. Cochrane, unimpressed, wonders if maybe there is no moon in the 24th century. Riker admits that there is but it just looks very much different here in the 21st century as 50 million people live on the moon in the 24th century. Riker points out Tycho City, New Berlin and Lake Armstrong, but Cochrane doesn't want to hear any of it being credited to him, as he's had quite enough of hearing about "the great Zefram Cochrane." Cochrane advises Riker that the Enterprise crew has some pretty unbelievable ideas about who he really is as he has observed them treating him as some kind of saint or visionary. Riker admits that he doesn't think Cochrane is a saint, but he most definitely had a vision - the Phoenix itself. Cochrane admits, however, his real vision is dollar signs and money. He confides in Riker that he didn't build the Phoenix to usher in a new era for Humanity - he doesn't even like to fly, preferring trains. He built the Phoenix to be able to retire to a tropical island filled with naked women, which amuses Riker, but Cochrane vehemently defends his vision as who he truly is and dismisses the historical figure that the crew sees him as while also believing he'll never be the man history knows him to be. Riker offers Cochrane a quote - "Don't try to be a great man, just be a man and let history make it's own judgments." Cochrane dismisses it as rhetorical nonsense before quizzing Riker on who said that. Riker, quite amusedly, tells Cochrane it was he himself, ten years from the present, before leaving the doctor to finish his pre-launch checklist Returning to the bridge, Picard and Worf find the situation has worsened: Daniels, bloodied, emerges from the Jeffries Tube and reports that the Borg have continued their takeover of the ship, assimilating decks five and six, with the intent of charging their way to the bridge, and the crew's phasers can no longer affect their adversaries. Despite the hopelessness of the situation, Picard orders Daniels to tell his men to stand their ground, even fight hand-to-hand if need be. Worf and Dr. Crusher argue against this, instead suggesting evacuating the Enterprise in escape pods and setting the ship to self-destruct to destroy the Borg. Picard angrily balks and decrees that the crew will stay and fight. Worf believes however that the Enterprise has been lost, but Picard retorts he has no intention of losing the Enterprise, certainly not to the Borg while he's in command. Worf, owing to all due respect to the captain, attempts to reason with Picard telling him that his experience with the Borg is influencing his judgement. Picard responds by calling the Klingon a coward by wanting to destroy the ship and simply run away. Worf, insulted and outraged, snarls at Picard: "If you were any other man, I would kill you where you stand!" Unfazed by the threat, Picard angrily fires back at Worf "Get off my bridge!" and retreats into the observation lounge, alone. Dr. Crusher begins to coordinate the remaining crew in defense of the ship, but Lily argues in favor of the self-destruct. Dr. Crusher points out that when the captain makes up his mind the discussion is over. Lily, not one of the crew, doesn't accept this and follows Picard to confront him… In the observation lounge, Picard sits at the table and tries to reconfigure his phaser rifle as Lily enters calling him a "son of a bitch." The captain, with little time to spare, waves her off. Lily admits that while she may not know anything about the time where the crew comes from, she knows that everyone on the bridge believes that staying aboard the ship and fighting the Borg is suicide, they just won't tell Picard. The captain dismisses her belief with the assumption that the crew will follow his orders as they always have. Lily reminds him that his orders probably make sense most of the time. Picard's temper rises and silences her by saying the crew cannot understand the Borg as he does and no one can, he says quietly. Lily doesn't understand what Picard means. Picard explains the circumstances surrounding his abduction and incorporation into the Collective six years earlier and smugly tells her that his experiences give him a unique perspective on the Borg and how to fight them. He asks that she excuse him, as he has work to do. Lily begins to understand Picard's motivations – the Borg hurt him before and now he's going to pay them back. The captain sneers that in the 24th century, mankind doesn't succumb to revenge as they have a more evolved sensibility than what Lily can appreciate. "Bullshit!" she exclaims as she watched him earlier murder two Borg in the holosuite in cold blood with a look of enjoyment on his face. Picard is appalled she would make such an accusation and snarls at her to get out. Lily, defiant, stands her ground and wonders if he'll kill her like he did Ensign Lynch if she refuses. Picard, his emotions running high, dismisses the incident, claiming "there was no way to save him." Lily doesn't buy it and asks where his "evolved sensibility" was then. Picard tries to ignore her claims, but Lily compares him to the obsessed Captain Ahab in the novel Moby Dick. Picard is momentarily jarred, but he shifts the conversation away from the accusation saying his refusal to abandon ship is more about saving the future of Humanity. Lily presses him bluntly, screaming at him to "blow up the damn ship!" Picard now loses control entirely, yelling "No!" and in a moment of total rage smashes his phaser rifle into the display case containing models of previous starship Enterprises. As he watches the shattered models of the USS Enterprise-C and USS Enterprise-D fall and break, he is momentarily taken aback. He tells her that sacrificing the Enterprise-E would be another compromise in a long line of compromises in Humanity's dealings with the Borg. "No further," Picard intones, for he intends to make the Borg pay for what they've done. Seemingly defeated, Lily examines the broken pieces of the Enterprise-D model and gently chides the captain that his little ships are broken and begins to exit the lounge. "See you around, Ahab." As she does, the words of Moby Dick echo from his memory… "…and he piled upon the whale's white hump; the sum of all the rage and hate felt by his whole race. If his chest had been a cannon, he would have shot his heart upon it." Lily confesses she never actually read the book. With a smile on his lips, Picard explains that Captain Ahab had spent years hunting the whale that had crippled him, but his quest for vengeance eventually destroyed him and his ship. Realizing that he is indeed walking the same path, Picard sets his phaser rifle next to the broken pieces of the Enterprise-D model and enters the bridge and gives the order… "Prepare to evacuate the Enterprise." At the launch site, Riker, La Forge, and Cochrane begin the pre-ignition sequence to launch the Phoenix while on the Enterprise bridge, Picard, Crusher, and Worf arm the auto-destruct sequence. Programming the escape pods to head for the isolated Gravett Island, the captain activates the destruct order: fifteen minutes with a silent countdown. Dr. Crusher laments the quick death of the Enterprise-E and wonders if Starfleet will build another one. Picard, as hopeful as he was following the destruction of the Enterprise-D, quips that there are still "plenty of letters left in the alphabet." Worf turns to exit as Picard stops him, regretting some the remarks he made to him earlier. The captain adds that the Klingon is the bravest man he's ever known. Worf accepts the apology and they shake hands. Now alone on the bridge, his Starfleet career seemingly over and his command minutes away from destruction, Picard suddenly becomes very much aware that Data is still held in the clutches of the Collective. From mission control in Montana, Counselor Troi, on headset to the cockpit of the Phoenix, advises Cochrane, Riker and Geordi that final launch checks are complete and wishes them good luck. Riker wonders if everyone is ready to make history, which La Forge concedes that he always is. Cochrane, however, is bothered by a nagging feeling that he has forgotten something, although he dismisses it as probably nothing. As Troi begins the ignition sequence and the countdown to launch begins, Cochrane suddenly realizes what he has forgotten. As Riker and Geordi begin to abort, Cochrane finds what he's looking for in his pocket - a green disc, which he inserts into the console. As the countdown approaches zero, Cochrane orders the Phoenix launched - "Let's rock and roll!" He presses a button on the console with the disc as "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf blasts into the cockpit (and Troi's headset) at maximum volume. The Phoenix blasts off as the townspeople look on. As she begins to achieve orbit, Riker, more of a jazz enthusiast, wonders if Cochrane might turn the song down a little as Geordi reports a red light on the second intake valve. Cochrane, unconcerned, tells them to ignore it as the Phoenix completes first-stage shut down and separation. As it does, the warp nacelles deploy from the port and starboard sides of the craft. Riker brings the warp core online as Cochrane marvels at the sight of the Earth out of the window. Geordi promises him Escorting Lily to her escape pod, Picard hands her a PADD containing orders for Commander Riker, informing him and their crew on the surface to find a quiet corner of North America and to stay out of history's way. Lily wishes Picard good luck and does he, but she quickly realizes that the captain has no intention of leaving the ship. He explains to her that when he was held captive on the Borg ship years earlier, the crew risked everything to save him and that there is one member of the Enterprise crew still aboard and he owes him the same. Accepting his decision, Lily tells Picard to go find his friend and boards her pod as dozens of escape craft disengage from the Enterprise and travel towards Earth. Picard advances to engineering where he comes face-to-face with the Borg Queen. She recalls the last time they met – during his assimilation – and notes how Picard can still hear "their song" - the call of the Collective. Picard, incredulous, begins to remember the Queen but cannot understand how she survived the destruction of the Borg cube that invaded the Federation six years earlier. The Queen, disgusted with Picard's limited understanding, admonishes him for how small he has become and how Data understands her and calls to the android. Picard turns to see a new Data, plugged into a Borg alcove, with half of his face now sporting organic Human flesh. The captain demands to know what the Queen has done to him, but she simply states she has simply given him what he's always wanted - flesh and blood. Picard requests that the Queen let Data go as he is not the one she wants. As she quizzes the captain on whether he's offering himself to the Borg, Picard has a sudden realization that it wasn't enough that the Borg assimilate him six years earlier, he had to give himself over to the Borg to satisfy the Queen's intentions. She angrily rebukes his claim, stating that she has overseen the assimilation of countless millions and that Picard was no different. The captain accuses her of lying, stating he knows that she wanted him to be more than just another Borg drone, she was seeking a Human counterpart to herself to bridge the gap between Humanity and the Borg, but that plan failed as Picard resisted. The Queen laments that Picard couldn't begin to understand the life he denied himself. Picard makes his offer - Locutus rejoins the collective willingly without any resistance in exchange for letting Data go. The Queen commends Picard's nobility and releases the forcefield containing Data and allows him to leave. However, Data remains motionless. The captain orders Data to go but he refuses, stating he does not wish to leave. With a glint of satisfaction, the Queen informs Picard that she doesn't need him as she's already found her equal - Data. She orders him to deactivate the self-destruct sequence and he obliges. Picard desperately tries to convince Data not to do it, but he ignores him as the ship's computer acknowledges that the auto-destruct sequence has been deactivated. After deactivating the self-destruct sequence, the Queen orders Data to now enter the encryption codes on the main computer, which will give the Queen command of the Enterprise. Data, again, obliges as Picard woefully notes that Data will not listen to him. Data, instead, leaves the captain and takes his place at the Queen's side, telling her that Picard will be an "excellent drone" as Borg drones take hold of the betrayed captain. Aboard the Phoenix, Geordi reports everything is looking good and the ship is prepared for warp speed as Riker warns that they had best break the warp barrier in the next five minutes if history is to fulfill itself. Cochrane orders Riker and La Forge to jump to warp with a familiar command - "Engage!" Riker and Geordi allow themselves a grin at the parallel as the Enterprise begins to bear down on the Phoenix. Back in engineering, Picard is confined to an operation table as Data targets the Phoenix with quantum torpedoes, which the Queen orders destroyed. The torpedoes are launched from the Enterprise as a delighted Borg Queen taunts the captain to watch as Humanity's future comes to an end, not noticing Data quietly moving towards a plasma coolant tank behind her. Picard can only watch in horror as the torpedoes close in on the Phoenix until they finally… miss their target. The horrified Queen and smirking captain realize that Data has deceived the Borg, not joined them. Data mockingly repeats the Borg's mantra back to the Queen - "Resistance is futile!" and thrusts his fist into the coolant tank, enveloping him in the deadly gas as Picard scrambles for cover. The Phoenix engages it's warp drive as Cochrane hangs on for dear life. On the Enterprise, Picard utilizes some suction hoses from the ceiling to escape the lethal plasma coolant. Just below him, the Queen grabs hold of his foot, impeding his climb to safety. Picard struggles against her grip until Data – his new skin dissolved – emerges from the plasma coolant and grabs hold of her. After a desperate struggle, Data pulls the Borg Queen into the deadly gas. Screaming in pain and rage, the Borg Queen's flesh quickly disintegrates. With her control of the Borg on the Enterprise destabilized, drones all over the ship collapse and die. After a few moments traveling faster than the speed of light, Riker aboard the Pheonix orders throttle back. As the Phoenix drops out of warp, it begins it's return journey to Earth. Cochrane, amazed at his experience, notices how small Earth looks from the cockpit window. Riker reminds him that it's about to get a whole lot bigger once history takes it's course. Picard vents the plasma from engineering and descends to the deck, which is littered with Borg corpses. Finding the metallic skeletal remains of the Borg Queen still clinging to life near the warp core, Picard breaks her spinal column and terminates her once and for all, finally allowing him some form of closure. The captain finds Data not far away; knowing that the melting of his Borg-given Human skin has left some of his inner circuits revealed but caused no real damage, he quips that he probably doesn't feel as bad as he might look, allowing a small chuckle at the irony. The android expresses a sense of sadness at the death of the "unique" Borg Queen and the glimpses of Humanity she brought him. He admits that he was tempted by her offer for a mere 0.68 seconds, but also notes that this involved much more deliberation than the captain might suspect. Picard extends his hand to Data and helps him to his feet. They both take a look at the Borg assimilated engineering and exit. In Montana, a crowd of observers, including Cochrane, Lily, Picard, and the other Human members of the Enterprise's senior staff, watch the historic landing of the first extraterrestrial craft to openly and publicly visit Earth. Cochrane, amazed, marvels to Riker that the aliens really are from another world as Riker reminds him that they're going to want to meet the man who flew that warp ship that drew them there. Cochrane approaches them as the alien leader makes his way forward and removes his hood, revealing a set of pointed ears and extends his hand in greeting: "Live long and prosper." Cochrane attempts to return the gesture, but cannot get his fingers to mimic the alien's. Instead, he offers him the Human equivalent - a handshake. "Thanks." he says. Picard, happily noting that all is proceeding as it should, notes to his crew that the time has come for them to make a discreet exit and let history unfold as it should. With that, Riker taps his combadge and orders the Enterprise to stand by to beam them up as the captain heads for Lily. She notes that the time has come for him to go and remarks how she envies him and the world he's going to. Picard responds how much he envies her that she gets to witness Humanity's first steps into a new frontier before telling her that he'll miss her. With a kiss good-bye, the Enterprise crew departs unnoticed. Back on the bridge, Worf tells Picard that the Enterprise's warp signature was obscured by the moon's gravitational field and thus was not detected by the Vulcans, while La Forge can recreate the temporal vortex that brought them there by reconfiguring their warp field. Data, with his damaged face, informs the captain that helm stands by for his orders. Picard, confident that the future they know will be waiting for them, has Data lay in a course for the 24th century. On Earth, as Lily watches in the sky as the Enterprise disappears through the vortex, a happily blitzed Cochrane unsuccessfully tries to get the Vulcans to drink and dance along to "Ooby Dooby" by Roy Orbison.
"Captain's log, stardate 50893.5. The moment I have dreaded for nearly six years has finally arrived. The Borg, our most lethal enemy, have begun an invasion of the Federation, and this time, there may be no stopping them."
"Captain's log, April 5, 2063. The voyage of the Phoenix was a success – again. The alien ship detected the warp signature, and is on its way to rendezvous with history."
"I've just received a disturbing report from Deep Space 5. Our colony on Ivor Prime was destroyed this morning. Long range sensors have picked up the–"
"…Yes, I know, the Borg."
- Admiral Hayes, informing Picard of the Borg incursion
"Bridge to Captain Picard."
"Go ahead."
"We've just received word from the fleet. They've engaged the Borg."
Development
With the success of Star Trek Generations and its worldwide gross of US$120,000,000, Paramount Pictures development executives approached producer Rick Berman in February 1995 to ready the next installment in the Star Trek franchise. During an impromptu meeting with writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, Berman revealed his interest in a time travel story. "All of the Star Trek films and episodes I have been most impressed with – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, "Yesterday's Enterprise", "The City on the Edge of Forever", and I could give you half a dozen more – have all been stories that deal with time travel. In a way, Star Trek Generations dealt with time travel. Nick Meyer's wonderful movie Time After Time, dealt with time travel. The paradoxes that occur in writing, as well as in the reality of what the characters are doing and what the consequences are, have always been fascinating to me. I don't think I've ever had as much fun as being involved with "Yesterday's Enterprise," and having to tackle all the logical, paradoxical problems that we would run into and figure out ways to solve them." The Moore/Braga writing team, however, wanted to tell a story focusing on the Borg. Moore recalled the first meeting: "We were standing outside on the Hart Building steps. Rick had just come back from that studio meeting, and stopped us and he said, 'I really want you guys to think about it… I want to do a time travel piece.' Brannon and I added, 'We want to do something with the Borg.' And right on the spot, we said maybe we can do both, the Borg and time travel." Brainstorming sessions began between the writer/producers' day jobs on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. Again, Moore recalled: "…We started talking about the places and times that had been done on screen or had not been done on screen. Certain things we just crossed off, because they would be too hokey. We could go to the Roman Empire which would be cool in a lot of ways. But Picard in a toga? You don't want to do that. Put him in a spacesuit." Though other time periods in history including the American Civil War were bandied about, eventually the Italian Renaissance time period was seized upon. An early story draft entitled Star Trek Renaissance expanded upon this idea. According to Moore, the story would have found Picard and company searching history for a group of time-traveling Borg. Happening upon a Renaissance village, the crew would hear stories about strange creatures taking over neighboring villages: "We begin to realize that these horrific monsters… were the Borg. We track them down to a castle near the village where a nobleman runs a feudal society. We suspect the Borg are working in there, but no one can get in. So Data becomes our spy, impersonating an artist's apprentice… Data became friends with Leonardo da Vinci, who at the time, was working for the nobleman as a military engineer… you would have sword fights and phaser fights mixed together, in fifteenth-century Europe… it risked becoming really campy and over-the-top." The producers realized that the time period was expensive to realize on screen, with audience knowledge of and identification with the period very low. (AOL chat, 1997) Ultimately, a time period after modern history was selected: The birth of the Federation. According to Brannon Braga: "The one image that I brought to the table is the image of the Vulcans coming out of the ship. I wanted to see the birth of Star Trek. We ended up coming back to that moment. That, to me, is what made the time travel story fresh. We get to see what happened when Humans shook hands with their first aliens." A revised storyline was constructed, this time called Star Trek Resurrection. Utilizing elements laid into place by Gene Roddenberry's original concepts for the Star Trek universe and the Star Trek: The Original Series second season episode "Metamorphosis", Resurrection closely resembled the final film. In the story, the Borg attack Zefram Cochrane's Montana laboratory, severely injuring the scientist. With Doctor Crusher fighting to save Cochrane's life, Captain Picard assumes his place in history, rallying a town around reconstructing the damaged warp ship. As the action unfolded, Picard would have become romantically involved with a local photographer and X-ray technician named Ruby, who helps the captain reconstruct a key element of the ship. Aboard the Enterprise, Commander Riker would be engaged in combat with invading Borg drones. The Borg in Resurrection would remain faceless automatons. With a draft of Resurrection sent to studio executives, generally positive notes were returned. However, one Paramount executive pointed out the weakness of the Borg as being that they were "basically zombies." Despite the Borg's inception as a faceless swarm, the writers chose to incorporate a figurehead into the Collective. The Borg Queen was created, a logical extension of the insect-like qualities incorporated into the Borg's characterization. Having read the early script pages too, Patrick Stewart, however, was dissatisfied with the film. Stewart suggested that the Picard and Riker stories be switched. Thus, the focus of the film was transferred to the action aboard the Enterprise with a B-story on the planet's surface. Elements like Ruby the photographer and an injured Cochrane were ultimately scrapped. As was any prospect of a love affair for Picard. Ronald D. Moore described the thought process: "Let's get simple. Bring Cochrane into the story. Let's make him an interesting fellow, and it could say something about the birth of the Federation. The future that Gene Roddenberry envisioned is born out of this very flawed man, who is not larger than life but an ordinary flawed Human being." With that adjustment in the structure of the film, Berman suggested the addition of a holodeck sequence: The "cocktail party". In August 1995 an early draft of the script, still titled Resurrection, was circulated to key members of the production staff, headed by Martin Hornstein and Peter Lauritson. Using this script, the production heads would budget the film, ultimately falling into the US$45,000,000 range. Key positions were filled as preproduction began. With several members of the cast volunteering for the director's chair, Jonathan Frakes won out. According to Frakes, the film was offered to A-list directors who had little interest in the franchise; as a result he was offered the job "a month later than would have been ideal." Frakes appointed Jerry Fleck, a veteran of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as first assistant director and John W. Wheeler as editor. Veteran costume designer Deborah Everton was assigned the task of creating all non-Starfleet clothing, plus redesigning the Borg with Michael Westmore. Everton's credits at the time included The Abyss and The X-Files TV series; she later costumed Ronald D. Moore's Battlestar Galactica miniseries. Robert Blackman returned to once again redesign the Starfleet uniforms, this time to complement Frakes' darker color palette and stand up better to big screen scrutiny.
Production
In the spring of 1996, newly-recruited director Jonathan Frakes and producer Rick Berman cast their three "guest stars". Two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks, an admitted Trekker, was slated to play Zefram Cochrane but he was busy with his directorial debut. The role went to James Cromwell, a veteran of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Oscar nominee for his role in the 1995 movie Babe. According to Jonathan Frakes: "In spite of having been nominated for an Academy Award, he actually came in and read for the part… He nailed it. He left Berman and me with our jaws in our laps." Cromwell later reprised his role as Cochrane in the Star Trek: Enterprise first season episode "Broken Bow". For the role of Lily, Frakes' immediate inclination after reading the script was to cast actress Alfre Woodard. Woodard, an Oscar nominee herself and multiple Emmy Award winner, was Frakes' self-proclaimed "godmother": "The first time we got through the script, I think everyone's first words were 'Alfre Woodard'." A challenge for Frakes and Berman, though, was ultimately solved in the casting of South African-born actress Alice Krige as the Borg Queen. Both Frakes and the Moore/Braga writing duo would later recall a sense of uneasy sexiness in Krige's portrayal of the Queen, aided by the application of a wet sheen to her skin by the make up department. Other guest players were added to the Resurrection call sheets as they were added to the script, including Trek vets Dwight Schultz as Barclay, Ethan Phillips as the holographic maitre'D, and Robert Picardo as the EMH of the Enterprise-E (not to be confused with The Doctor). Phillips' role went uncredited, a request made by the actor to confuse fans who may or may not recognize him from his role as Neelix. Other cast additions included Patti Yasutake's final appearance as Nurse Alyssa Ogawa, having first appeared back in TNG's fourth season. Don Stark was cast as Nicky the Nose, most memorable in his role as Bob Pinciotti in TV's That '70s Show – he also appeared in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine second season episode "Melora" as Ashrock the Yridian. Jack Shearer appears as Admiral Hayes, later reprising the role (Hayes apparently escaping the destruction of his ship) in Voyager episodes "Hope and Fear" and "Life Line". Actor Eric Steinberg portrayed Paul Porter, taken early in the film but appearing throughout as a partially assimilated Borg drone in engineering. Brannon Braga is clearly visible as an extra in the holodeck nightclub as the Borg enter the scene, though writing partner Moore's appearance was never shot – despite sixteen hours of waiting with his then wife Ruby, an anniversary present. Rumors persist (citation needed • edit) that both Nichelle Nichols and Kelsey Grammer (captain of the USS Bozeman from "Cause And Effect") have uncredited "voice cameos", though these claims are unsubstantiated. Production on Star Trek Resurrection began on 8 April 1996, but within a month, a new title had been chosen. Mere weeks prior, 20th Century Fox had announced the title of the fourth installment in their Alien film franchise: Alien Resurrection. A number of new titles were proposed for the film including Star Trek Destinies, Star Trek: Future Generations, and Star Trek Regenerations. The titles Star Trek: Borg and Star Trek Generations II were even chosen as working titles for the film until Star Trek: First Contact was finally selected, made official in a 3 May 1996 fourth draft script. (Star Trek: Borg went on to become the title of a video game, released not long after.) Minor details in the script, even as shooting was under way, continued to evolve. Early drafts were vague regarding the fate of the Defiant, DS9's resident warship. Having read the script, Deep Space Nine producer Ira Steven Behr's only note was an objection to the apparent destruction of the Defiant. The writers added the clarification "adrift but salvageable" and no mention of the ship's near annihilation was made in the TV series. Minor details in the script's pages included the ill-fated Enterprise crew member Ensign Lynch, named after a friend of writer Brannon Braga, but thought by many named for Internet critic Timothy W. Lynch, who reviewed every episode of TNG and DS9. Gravett Island was not a real Earth location, but a fictional one named after Jacques Gravett, Ronald D. Moore's then assistant. Rumors circulated during production, even reported by some LGBT publications, that another ill-fated Enterprise crewman, Neal McDonough's Lieutenant Hawk was gay. No reference is made in the finished film to this fact; the producers have denied the rumors. Regarding the film's emotional battle played out between Picard and Lily, Brannon Braga recalled: "I'd have to say that scene was nailed and perfect only about a week before it was filmed." (citation needed • edit) Location shooting dominated the early schedule for the Star Trek: First Contact production team. First up were scenes set in Bozeman, Montana, shot in the Titan Missile Museum outside Tucson, Arizona for a duration of four days. The production then moved to the Angeles National Forest in the San Gabriel Mountains not far from Los Angeles. Two weeks of nighttime shooting followed, with a large village constructed by Herman Zimmerman's art department to represent exterior Bozeman. Minor details in the sets included the 52-star American flag referencing an early TNG episode, "The Royale". A full-size section of the Vulcan lander was brought to this location for the film's finale. The film then moved to Los Angeles Union Station's art deco restaurant where the Dixon Hill holonovel sequence played out, including over 120 extras in period costumes and two Borg drones. Everton designed the costumes for Picard, Ruby, Sloane, and the other speaking parts, while many others were rented. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 13, p. 67) Production finally moved to Paramount Pictures studios in Hollywood on May 3 for a half day of shooting on the three story Enterprise-E engine room set. Cameras were then moved from Stage 14 to Stage 15 where scenes were shot on the bridge, observation lounge and ready room sets. Jonathan Frakes recalled: "It was as if we had gone back in time. It was the same sort of fantastic, cynical, fearless, take-no-prisoners abuse your fellow cast member that has kept us together all these long years." The next two months were dubbed by the crew, "Borg Hell", with scenes shot on stages 14, 15 and 8 that included heavily made-up Borg extras, stunts, pyrotechnics, and one large deflector dish. Likely the film's most labor intensive sequence to shoot was the battle on the Enterprise hull, on the film's largest set. The deflector dish itself, while massive, was shot at angles intended to exaggerate its size – the manual input computers were labeled "AE35", a subtle reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey. The sequence also required Patrick Stewart as Picard, Michael Dorn as Worf, and Neal McDonough as Hawk to wear restrictive environmental suits that incorporated internal lighting and cooling systems. With the addition of flying rigs and complex stunts, tempers on the set were pushed, as was Patrick Stewart's endurance; the actor suffered breathing problems in his spacesuit, halting production for an entire day. Problems also arose in the realism of the sequence, with smoke rising from the set, then quickly falling, contrary to the physics of real life zero-G. This required Frakes to shoot around the smoke, or shoot takes short enough to prevent the falling smoke to be seen. Writers Moore and Braga agreed that, had the film been produced only a few years later, the entire sequence was likely to have been less complicated if shot with computer-generated sets. Despite the complications, Star Trek: First Contact wrapped production on 2 July 1996 (two days over schedule), with the flashback that opened the film. Fittingly, the sequence required Patrick Stewart to don the Starfleet uniform he had worn for at least five of the seven seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation. According to Ronald D. Moore, everyone involved with the film knew it was going to be a hit.
Box office performance
premiered in American cinemas on 22 November 1996, number one at the box office. With a budget of around US$45,000,000, it opened nationwide on 2,812 screens at US$30,716,131 and went on to eventually garner US$146,027,888 worldwide. By comparison, Star Trek Generations, with a budget of US$35,000,000, opened at US$23,116,394 on 2,659 screens, but only grossed US$118,071,125 worldwide. It made First Contact the highest grossing Star Trek film ever, surpassing the hitherto highest grossing film 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – though it remained the second-most profitable one after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – until the release of 2009's Star Trek and its two sequels. In the United Kingdom, despite becoming the first Star Trek movie not to reach the top of the box office since The Wrath of Khan, the film was a success earning £3,555,980 for its opening weekend and £8,735,340 overall. It was the highest grossing Star Trek film overall in that territory until the release of Star Trek. The film, however, was considered by most to be not only a financial success, but a critical one as well, beating out both The Wrath of Khan and The Voyage Home respectively in this regard, as of 2020 only to be surpassed by 2009's Star Trek by the slimmest of margins. See Star Trek films: Performance summary for a detailed overview.
received the following awards and honors.
CreditsUncreditedReferences1940s; 2053; 2063; 2073; 2367; 2372; 2373; 21st century; 24th century; access point; actuation servo; Ahab; alien; Alpha team; alphabet; ammonite; analgesic cream; antiproton; April; assimilation; atmospheric pressure; atomic weapon; Australia; auto-destruct; auto-destruct sequence; barbecue grill; Basic Warp Design; Battle of Sector 001; battle stations; beer; Berlioz, Hector ; bicycle; "Big Good-Bye, The"; biohazard; bionics; Bizet, Georges; blood; blueprints; Borg; Borg Collective; Borg drone; Borg hive; Borg Queen; bridge; bullet; "bullshit"; cafe; Café des Artistes; Calico M960; campfire; cannon; captain's log; carbon monoxide; cell membrane; Celsius; Champs-Elysees; chapter; Charnock's Comedy Cabaret; checklist; chest; chorus; chronometric particle; cigarette; class 2 comet; cockpit; collective consciousness; comet; command authorization; coolant tank; counselor; course; cover story; cripple; critical velocity; cybernetic device; cybernetic lifeform; damage; Deep Space 5; defense checkpoint; deflector control; deflector dish; Delta Quadrant; detective; Dixon Hill; dog; dollar; doorstop; dress code; dust; Dyson; Earth; ECON; economics; Emerald Wading Pool; Emergency Medical Hologram; emotion chip; endoskeletal structure; engineering detail; engineering tool; USS Enterprise-E chef; environmental conditions; environmental controls (environmental system); environmental suit; EPS; EPS conduit; Equestrian Adventure; escape pod; external sensors; extraterrestrial; Federation; First Contact; flattery; fluorine; force field; fractal encryption code; French; front line; fuel manifold; fuselage; glasses; Gravett Island; H; H-46; H-47; H-48; H-49; H-50; H-925; H-926; hate; heart; hemisphere; henchman; hero worship; high school; historical figure; holodeck; holodeck safety protocol; hologram; holosuite; horse; hour; hull; humidity; hydroponics; hypospray; injection; inoculation; intermix chamber; internal sensors; interplexing beacon; intoxication; irritation; Ivor Prime; Jefferies tube; Jesus; jukebox; Kaplan; kilopascal; kiss; Klingon; Lake Armstrong; laser; leader; Leo; Les Troyens; lie; life support; light speed; linguistic communication; long range sensor; Ludwig; Luna; "Magic Carpet Ride"; main engineering; maglock; marble; maximum warp; meade; medical tricorder; mek'leth; memory chip; methane; meter; Mintakan tapestry; Moby Dick; money; Montana; Montana Lions; "Moonlight Becomes You"; monument; nanopolymer; neural net; neuroprocessor; New Berlin; New Guinea; no smoking sign; North America; nuclear missile; number one; missile complex; "Ooby Dooby"; opera; ocular implant; outer hull; Orbison, Roy; Paris; particle emitter; particle weapon; particles per cubic meter; patrol; peep show; phaser; phaser rifle; Phoenix music player; plasma coolant; plasma injector; pool; positronic net; power grid; Prime Directive; primitive culture; pulse emitter; quantum torpedo; radiation poisoning; radioactive isotope; rage; ramming speed; ray gun; ready room; red alert; replicator; rhetorical nonsense; Romulan Neutral Zone; saint; satin; Schlitz; scotch; security team; sensor; sensor sweep; sexuality; shakedown; shields; "shooting blanks"; sickbay; skin; skirt; Skylab; Smithsonian; smoking; sober; Sol; Sol system; Solomons; Sovereign class decks; space walk; space sickness; spinal tissue; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet Command; statue; Statue of Liberty; stellar cartography; Steppenwolf; stomach; structural integrity; subspace transmitter; Sumiko III; sunglasses; survey mission; Swedish; telescope; temperature; temporal vortex; temporal wake; tent; tequila; theta radiation; Thompson submachine gun; throttle assembly; time travel; Titan II; titanium; toast; train; transporter room; tricorder; truck; Tycho City; Typhon sector; ultraviolet radiation; vaporize; vice admiral; "Vallon sonore"; visionary; Vulcan; warp barrier; warp core; warp drive; warp field; warp plasma conduit; warp signature; warp threshold; whale; whiskey; white; Wizard of Oz, The; World War III; year; "Z"; Zefram Cochrane High School; Zefram Cochrane's statue; zero-gravity combat training; zombieSources•Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed.), Larry Nemecek, Pocket Books, 2002. •Star Trek: The Next Generation Sketchbook: The Movies, John Eaves & J.M. Dillard, Pocket Books, 1998. •Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Pocket Books, 1998. •Star Trek: First Contact (novelization), "A First Look at Star Trek: First Contact", J.M. Dillard, Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, 1996. •Star Trek: First Contact (Special Edition) DVD, Ronald D. Moore & Brannon Braga, audio commentary. •Star Trek: First Contact (Special Edition) DVD, Michael & Denise Okuda, text commentary.Star Trek: First Contact: Directed by Jonathan Frakes. With Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton. The Borg travel back in time intent on preventing Earth's first contact with an alien species.
Nov 22, 2016 · When Star Trek: First Contact hit theaters 20 years ago on Nov. 22, 1996, it went on to earn $146 million worldwide against a $45 million budget — making it at the time the second-highest ...
