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First Contact

First contact

First contact can refer to:
- an astronomical phenomenon - see first contact (astronomy)
- the first meeting of members of two different civilisations - see First contact (anthropology)
- a theme of science fiction literature - see First contact (science fiction)
- the 1996 Star Trek movie 'First Contact' - see Star Trek: First Contact
- a documentary about early exploration of New Guinea - see First Contact (documentary)

First contact (astronomy)

In astronomy, during a transit or eclipse, first contact is the moment when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch. Historically, measuring the precise time of each point of contact during a transit, was one of the most accurate ways to determine the positions of astronomical bodies. Category:Astronomical transits Category:Eclipses

First contact (science fiction)

First contact is a common science-fictional theme about the first meeting between humans and aliens. There have been entire series devoted to this theme. One classic series is the "interstellar trader" series by Andre Norton. A more modern treatment, using radio rather than spaceships, is Contact by Carl Sagan. As another example, in the fictional Star Trek universe, official first contact for humans occurs on April 5 2063 (see Star Trek: First Contact). The novel The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov and films Alien and ET are good examples of First Contact stories. Since the best evidence suggests that there has never been contact between humans and extraterrestrial species, the degree of culture shock which might occur is highly speculative. Often in science fiction, the clash between intelligent species has resulted in warfare, but some science fiction writers, such as Arthur C. Clarke, have suggested that the technological gulf that would exist between two intelligent species would be so vast that Star Wars style scenarios are highly unlikely. Consider for example, how soldiers from the 16th century would fare against 21st century weaponry. Magnify the technological gap by thousands or even millions of years of additional development which may have occurred in an extraterrestrial species, and it becomes clear that the differences could potentially be so large as to make warfare absurd, and even understanding impossible. Pure statistical chance suggests that it is unlikely that two civilizations would be at the same state of technological development. In the third of his three laws, Clarke stated, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." The theme of first contact is not limited to science fiction. For example, many stories about the old American West featured a first contact between European colonists and Native Americans. (In fact, early Star Trek episodes seem to have been modeled after westerns.)

Star Trek

Star Trek collectively refers to six science-fiction television series spanning 726 episodes, ten motion pictures, in addition to hundreds of novels, video games, and other works of fiction, all set within the same fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry in the mid 1960s. It depicts an optimistic, almost utopian future in which humanity has overcome sickness, racism, poverty, intolerance, and warfare on Earth, and has united with other intelligent species in the galaxy; the central characters explore the galaxy, discovering new worlds and encountering new civilizations, while helping to promote peace and understanding. "Star Trek" (or sometimes merely "Trek") is one of the most popular names in the history of science fiction entertainment, and one of the most popular franchises in television history.

Television series

Star Trek originated as a television series in 1966. There have been five live-action Star Trek series and an animated series, altogether comprising (as of May 2005) a total of 726 individual aired episodes (not including the original unaired pilot) and thirty seasons’ worth of television.

Star Trek (1966-1969)

season Star Trek debuted on NBC on September 8, 1966, having aired in Canada some days earlier. Created by Gene Roddenberry, starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley, and co-starring James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, and (later) Walter Koenig, it told the tale of the crew of the starship Enterprise of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet and their adventures "to boldly go where no man has gone before." The first episode aired, "The Man Trap," was actually the fifth produced. Originally, Roddenberry had created a pilot entitled "The Cage," with a very different cast, led by veteran actor Jeffrey Hunter, which was rejected by the three major television networks of the time. However, the NBC network liked the pilot enough to commission an unprecedented second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before," which featured an almost entirely new cast led by Shatner. Only the character of Spock remained, at Roddenberry's insistence. "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was the third episode aired, while "The Cage" was reworked into a two-part episode, "The Menagerie." The last original episode, "The Turnabout Intruder," aired on June 3, 1969. The series subsequently became phenomenally popular in syndication, ultimately spawning the film and television sequels that followed. It has in recent years become known as Star Trek: The Original Series, abbreviated as ST:TOS or TOS, to distinguish it from its sequels. All subsequent films and television series, except the animated cartoon series of the 1970s, have subtitles included as part of their official names.

Star Trek (Animated) (1973-1974)

syndication The series was aired under the name Star Trek, but it has become widely known as Star Trek: The Animated Series (or abbreviated as ST:TAS or TAS). It was produced by Filmation and ran for two seasons, with a total of twenty-two half-hour episodes. It featured most of the original cast performing the voices for their characters. While the freedom of animation afforded large alien landscapes and exotic lifeforms, budget constraints were a major concern and animation quality was poor. A few episodes are especially notable due to contributions from well known science-fiction authors. However, the series is not considered to be canon, which has caused controversy among some fans. The episode "Yesteryear" is considered by some sources such as the Star Trek Encyclopedia to be a partial exception concerning the events depicted in Spock’s youth (although it still officially remains non-canon along with the rest of TAS). Even so, elements of the animated series have worked their way into official canon, such as Kirk’s middle name, Tiberius, first revealed in TAS and made official in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Star Trek: Enterprise also incorporated several TAS concepts into canon. So, while the series itself is not strictly canon, it has been used as "canon fodder."

Star Trek: Phase II (1978; unproduced)

Star Trek: Phase II was set to air in 1978 as the flagship series of a proposed Paramount television network, and 12 episode scripts were written before production was due to begin. This series would have put most of the original crew back aboard the Enterprise for a second five-year mission, save for Spock, because Leonard Nimoy did not agree to return; a full-blooded Vulcan named Xon was planned as a replacement, although it was still hoped that Nimoy would make guest appearances. Sets were constructed and several minutes of test footage were filmed. However, partly because of the popularity of the recently released film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Paramount decided to make a Star Trek film instead of a weekly television series. The first script formed the basis of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, while two others were eventually adapted as episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Star Trek: The Next Generation (also known, colloquially, as The Next Generation, NextGen, ST:TNG, or TNG) is set nearly a century later and features a new starship (also named Enterprise) and a new crew, venturing where "no one has gone before." It premiered on September 28, 1987, with the two-hour pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint," and ran for seven seasons, ending with the final two-part episode, "All Good Things..." on May 29, 1994. The show gained a considerable following during its initial run. Even during that time, the show was produced solely for syndication. Star Trek: The Next Generation had the highest ratings of all the Star Trek series and was the number-one syndicated show during the last few years of its original run. Many fans, both casual and "hard-core," often treat The Next Generation as a kind of 'golden age' of Star Trek, primarily because of its broad acceptance, its viewer base, and the active influence of Roddenberry (who was alive during the first part of its run).

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

golden age Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9 or DS9) ran for seven seasons and was the first Star Trek series to be established without any direct input from Gene Roddenberry. It introduced Avery Brooks as Commander (and, later in the series, Captain) Benjamin Sisko, the first African American in the commanding role of a Star Trek series. It chronicles the events surrounding the space station Deep Space Nine. In the first episode, the crew discovers the presence of a nearby stable wormhole, which provides nearly immediate travel to and from the distant Gamma Quadrant. This immediately makes the station an important strategic asset, as well as a vital center of commerce with the largely unexplored area of space. Deep Space Nine sheds some of the utopian themes that embodied the previous versions of Star Trek, and focuses more on war, religion, political compromise, and other modern issues. Although its ratings were never as high as those of The Next Generation, DS9 remains the most critically acclaimed of the Trek spin-offs.

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Gamma Quadrant Star Trek: Voyager (also known as ST:VOY, ST:VGR, VOY or Voyager) was produced for seven seasons, and is the only Star Trek series to have had a female, Captain Kathryn Janeway, as the commanding officer. Essentially, the U.S.S. Voyager and crew were "lost in space": the series follows the adventures of the starship Voyager and her crew, joined by Maquis resistance fighters, who have all become stranded in the Delta Quadrant, seventy thousand light years from Earth by an entity known as the "Caretaker." Unless they can find a shortcut, it will take them seventy years to return to known space. Although Voyagers ratings were initially solid, they fell dramatically as the show progressed. It was during this show's run that criticism towards producer Rick Berman began to mount, coinciding with the growth in popularity of online discussion forums that amplified the message of a vocal group of fans who felt Berman was no longer welcome as the franchise leader. With the threat of cancellation, the character Seven of Nine was added, replacing Kes, which, in turn, increased ratings and allowed the series to continue for four more seasons.

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Kes Star Trek: Enterprise (named simply Enterprise during its first two seasons, the first few episodes of its third, and abbreviated as ST:ENT or ENT) is a prequel to the other Star Trek series. The pilot episode, "Broken Bow," takes place ten years before the founding of the Federation, about halfway between the "historic" events shown in the movie Star Trek: First Contact and the original Star Trek series. This series depicts the exploration of space by the crew of the Earthship Enterprise, a new, NX-class starship, which is able to go farther and faster than any humans had previously gone. Star Trek: Enterprise was promoted as being more accessible for newcomers to the Star Trek franchise, as well as for taking place during the formative years of the Federation. Ratings for Enterprise were never particularly strong; and, as it had done during the initial airing of The Original Series, fan support during Enterprises second and third seasons helped keep the series on the air. During the third season Berman and Braga turned much of their leadership role to writer Manny Coto, but retained final control for themselves. Although the show gained a much more positive reaction from fans during the fourth season, Paramount cancelled the show in early 2005.

Motion pictures

NX-class starship A total of ten Star Trek movies to date have been produced by Paramount Pictures. A common urban myth among fans is that the even-numbered Star Trek films are superior to the odd-numbered Star Trek films. This rule of thumb is most easily applicable to the first few films: Star Trek II and IV are usually at or near the top of the fan favorites, while I and V are usually at the bottom (though I has since received quite a bit of positive re-evaluation in the wake of an acclaimed "Director's Edition" revision released on DVD). This is not wholly applicable, however; III followed on from the success of II, which continued into IV, and VII (Star Trek: Generations) is regarded as a firm fan favorite. Another exception is X (Star Trek: Nemesis), which is one of the most critically derided Star Trek feature films, many critics accusing it of attempting to imitate the plot (and success) of Star Trek II. Despite fetching the lowest revenue at the box office in Star Trek history, it sold well on its DVD release in 2003. Although North American and UK releases of the films were no longer numbered following the sixth film, European releases continued numbering the films.

Canonicity and other storylines

The Star Trek canon is comprised of the five live TV series and ten motion pictures. Although the Star Trek animated series, books, comic books, video games, and other materials based on Star Trek (i.e., those licensed by Paramount Pictures) are generally considered "non-canon," there are several works which deserve mentioning, including a number of fan-made (or "fanon") productions set within the Star Trek universe. Outside of the television series and motion pictures produced by Paramount pictures, the Star Trek franchise has been officially expanded and elaborated on by various authors and artists in the so-called "Star Trek Expanded Universe," despite the fact that Paramount does not consider these derivative works canon. This expanded universe consists of the aforementioned animated series, books, comics, video games, etc. The creators of these works are generally free to tell their own stories set in the Star Trek universe, and are free to either keep an existing continuity, or use their own. (Similarly, writers for TV and film are under no obligation to pay heed to any of the derivative works, which has occasionally caused conflict.) Nonetheless, these works often expand the backstories of characters, species, planets, etc, already seen in the official live-action productions. For example, the Voyager novels Mosaic and Pathways are known to have given essential background information for characters in the Voyager live-action series. The Star Trek series has also inspired many non-official fan-made productions. For example, in recent years, so-called Star Trek "fan films" have been created for distribution over the Internet. None of these projects are licensed by Paramount, however. At one time, Paramount was against these productions, but has since reportedly loosened its stance on allowing them. See Star Trek, other storylines for more detailed information about these productions.

Uncertain future for the franchise

Star Trek, other storylines Predictions of the demise of Star Trek are nothing new. As early as 1993-1994, when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine failed to generate the high ratings of its predecessor, magazines such as Entertainment Weekly predicted the end of the franchise. The near-cancellation of Star Trek: Voyager in the mid-1990s led to more such predictions. Enterprise, which scored the lowest ratings of any Trek series to date, was widely reported in the media to be on the verge of cancellation after each of its first three seasons and a "death watch" of sorts was maintained throughout its fourth and final year. However, due to the cancellation of Enterprise and the poor box-office performance of the 2002 film Nemesis, executive producer Rick Berman has stated that Paramount intends to rest the franchise (film and television) for at least three years. Many Trek fans want Berman and the other executive producer Brannon Braga to be replaced. Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, former Star Trek writer Ronald D. Moore, and current Enterprise executive producer Manny Coto have been suggested as possible replacements, and Straczynski has expressed an interest in taking the helm of Star Trek. In an ironic twist to the fan-based efforts to bring back Trek in the 1960s and 1970s, there are groups of fans who feel that the concept has run its course and who are actively seeking the end of Star Trek. Reruns of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine are aired regularly on Spike TV in the United States. Spike TV will also begin airing reruns of Voyager in the fall of 2006, as part of its original deal for all three series. TOS, TNG, and Voyager air daily in Canada on Space: The Imagination Station, which has also purchased Enterprise for daily rebroadcasts starting in the fall of 2005. Cast members and fans have suggested that even if there are no further Star Trek series or movies, the franchise may continue in television movies, mini-series, specials, and other forms of media.

Future sequels to the original series

There is some desire among fans to bring back the character of Captain Kirk, as played by William Shatner, to give him a more dignified end than that shown in Star Trek: Generations. Recently, Shatner has made public on various talk shows his proposal for a Starfleet Academy series featuring a young James T. Kirk. He plans to pitch his idea to Paramount Pictures in 2006. George Takei and fans have made frequent attempts to convince the studio to create a series based on Captain Sulu's voyages on the Excelsior, but, despite support from fans, it has enjoyed little success. Sulu and the Excelsior originally appeared in the film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as well as in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager ("Flashback") but this did not lead to a new series. Sulu later appeared in the video game Star Trek: Shattered Universe set in the Mirror, Mirror alternate universe.

Future sequels to The Next Generation

After the failure of the tenth film in the franchise to meet expectations, the cast members indicated that they did not expect any future TNG films to be produced. Additionally, it has been reported that Brent Spiner is no longer interested in reprising the character of Data because, though every actor ages, the character, as an android, should not. However, Spiner portrayed Arik Soong, an ancestor of the creator of his character Data, in Enterprises fourth season. Later that year, Sirtis and Frakes reprised their TNG roles for the Enterprise finale. In December of 2005, Patrick Stewart, who had earlier maintained that he was not interested in portraying Picard again, revealed that serious meetings have been held with parties interested in a fifth TNG film, which would take place two to three years down the road. [http://trekweb.com/articles/2005/12/02/43903bfff2604.shtml] [http://www.sfx.co.uk/news/patrick_stewart_to_trek_again]

Continuation of Enterprise

There is some consensus among Star Trek fans that the fourth and final season of Enterprise was better than the previous three seasons, and that continuation of the program under the new "mini-arc" writing style introduced in season four would have stood a chance of the series acquiring better ratings during a fifth season. A campaign by Enterprise fans was mounted to have the show aired on the Sci-Fi Channel, which was rumored to be interested in the show at one point (although TV Guide reported otherwise). Berman, however, stated that Paramount is not interested in shopping the show around to other networks. One campaign, Trek United, attempted to raise funds to finance a fifth season, raising pledges and cash donations of more than $3.1 million (U.S.) but its proposal which would have seen a fifth season jointly produced by Paramount along with Canadian and British production houses, was rejected by the studio. It has been reported that the decision to cancel Enterprise after its fourth season may have been made by Paramount as early as the 2002-2003 season, while lead actor Scott Bakula has gone on record as stating that management changes at Paramount in 2003-2004 left the Star Trek franchise without strong support at the studio. In April 2005, he claimed that up until 2003-2004 Paramount had actually intended for the cast of Enterprise to become the focus for the next Star Trek film. [http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=30849]
New feature film?
Main article: Star Trek XI Most details about a possible eleventh film are either unknown or undecided. In a May 2005 interview for the UK Star Trek Magazine, Rick Berman stated that he does not expect Trek XI, if it is actually produced, to be released for several years.[http://trekweb.com/articles/2005/05/27/4297698c2c344.shtml] Some sources such as the user-edited Internet Movie Database have given the film the working title Star Trek: The Beginning, and have suggested a 2007 release, however Paramount has yet to announce any official title, or if it will actually produce an 11th Star Trek film. In a follow-up interview for the September 2005 issue of Star Trek Magazine, Berman stated that planning for the film is still "in its infant stages."[http://trekweb.com/articles/2005/09/15/4329bc20736c6.shtml] In late February 2005, Berman told Variety that screenwriter Erik Jendresen, producer Jordan Kerner, and former Paramount Television president Kerry McCluggage were attached to the project. [http://www.trektoday.com/news/230205_01.shtml] The announcement of Paramount's new DVD Premiere division, devoted to direct-to-DVD original productions and franchise spin-offs, has led to speculation as to whether a future Star Trek film might be produced in this format.[http://www.trektoday.com/news/221005_02.shtml] On December 1, 2005, it was reported via Patrick Stewart that discussions have been held regarding a possible new film featuring the TNG crew, although the actor indicated that his stage commitments would prevent him from participating in such a production until sometime in 2007.[http://www.trektoday.com/news/011205_01.shtml]
Video games
Star Trek videogames have a long history on the Personal Computer. As early as 1974, a text-based game simply called "Star Trek" was experimented with on one of the first large-scale computer networks. The first grapically driven Star Trek game was likely Sega's "Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator". It arrived in 1982, after the successsful release of the movie "Star trek: The Wrath Of Khan", and featured vector-based graphics and a viewscreen view of battles with Klingon ships. Among the first commercial games for home computers were text based adventures. The first commercial text-based Star Trek game was Star Trek: The Promethean Prophecy, which was released in 1986. Graphical adventures for the PC followed with limited success, but the first must-have title was created when the game publisher Interplay aquired the licence in 1992 and created "Star Trek: 25th Anniversary" to the delight of fans and critical acclaim. Much like the movie series, Star Trek videogames have been of a hit-and-miss nature. Among the most positively reviewed of contemporary game titles are the "Star Trek: Starfleet Command" series by Interplay; "Star Trek: Klingon Academy", also by Interplay; "Star Trek: Bridge Commander" by Activision; the "Star Trek: Elite Force" series by Activision; and the "Star Trek: Armada" series, also by Activision. Counted among the comercially unsuccessful Star Trek games are "Star Trek: Starfleet Academy"; "Star Trek: New Worlds"; "Star Trek Generations"; "Star Trek; Klingon Honor Guard"; and "Star Trek Deep Space 9: the Fallen". In 1998, Viacom entered into an agreement with Activision to produce Star Trek video games. Many games were released under this agreement, but in 2003, Activision filed a lawsuit against Viacom stating that they were not holding up to their end of the bargain because the Star Trek franchise was not as valuable as it once was. None of the games produced sold well, with the exception of the Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force games. Activision cancelled the contract and sought compensation for losses. In March 2005, an agreement was reached and all lawsuits were dropped, but the other terms have been deemed confidential [http://investor.activision.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=157785] In 2004, Perpetual Entertainment announced plans for an MMORPG based in the Star Trek universe. This will be the first game of this type to be based on Star Trek. Currently, the game is tentatively titled Star Trek Online and is expected to be set roughly 20 years after the events of Nemesis. More detailed information regarding the game can be found in [http://www.stowiki.com Stography], a wiki dedicated to the game.
Novels
Pocket Books, current publishers of officially licensed fiction based upon all the series (as well as numerous original Trek series of its own), plans to continue publishing original novels for the foreseeable future. However, soon after Enterprise was cancelled, the company [http://www.trektoday.com/news/220205_01.shtml announced] that it was halving the number of Star Trek novels it would be publishing, down to only one mass-market paperback per month, plus several trade paperbacks and hardcovers throughout the year. Although book line editors stressed that the decision to reduce the number of books was made a year earlier and was not related to popularity/ratings problems within the franchise, the announcement was seen by some as another indication that the Star Trek franchise is on the wane. Despite this, however, the company maintains that it has ambitious plans for the line, including (in May 2005) the confirmation that an Enterprise Relaunch series of novels is in the planning stages.[http://www.trektoday.com/news/180505_01.shtml]
References
Star Trek may be the most documented entertainment franchise in history. Here are a few of the major reference works related to the production and influence of the franchise.
- The Making of Star Trek by Gene Roddenberry and Stephen E. Whitfield (Ballantine Books, 1968)
- Enterprise Zones: Critical Positions on Star Trek, edited by Taylor Harrison, Sarah Projansky, Kent A. Ono, Elyce Rae Helford (Westview Press, 1996)
- Inside Star Trek: The Real Story by Herbert F. Solow and Robert H. Justman (Pocket Books, 1996)
- Beyond Uhura by Nichelle Nichols (Putnam, 1994)
- Star Trek Memories by William Shatner and Chris Kreski (HarperCollins, 1993)
- City on the Edge of Forever by Harlan Ellison (White Wolf Publishing, 1996)
- The World of Star Trek by David Gerrold (Ballantine Books, 1973; revised edition, Bluejay Books, 1984)
- Star Trek Lives! by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Sondra Marshak, and Joan Winston (Bantam Books, 1975)
- On the Good Ship Enterprise: My 15 Years with Star Trek by Bjo Trimble (Donning Starblaze, 1983)
- The Making of the Trek Conventions by Joan Winston (Doubleday Books/Playboy Press, 1977)
- Future Perfect: How Star Trek Conquered Planet Earth by Jeff Greenwald (Viking Press, 1998)
- Get a Life! by William Shatner and Chris Kreski (Pocket Books, 1999)
- A Star Trek Catalog edited by Gerry Turnbull (Grosset & Dunlap, 1979)
- The Physics of Star Trek by Lawrence M. Krauss (Basic Books, 1995)
- I'm Working on That: A Trek from Science Fiction to Science Fact by William Shatner and Chip Walter (Pocket Books, 2002)
- The Trouble with Tribbles by David Gerrold (Ballantine, 1973)
See also

- Lists of Star Trek episodes:
- List of Star Trek: TOS episodes
- List of Star Trek: The Animated Series episodes
- List of Star Trek: TNG episodes
- List of Star Trek: DS9 episodes
- List of Star Trek: Voyager episodes
- List of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes
- Star Trek: New Voyages
- Star Trek Further Reading
- Chronological list of Star Trek stories
- List of Star Trek characters
- List of Star Trek races
- Wikipedia:WikiProject Star Trek
External links

- http://www.startrek.com — The official Star Trek home page
- http://www.memory-alpha.org/ — Memory Alpha, a Star Trek Wiki
- http://startrek.wikicities.com/wiki/Main_Page — A Star Trek Wikicity
- http://www.trekology.com — How Star Trek and other sci-fi space adventures persuade audiences
- [http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/cri/cri-jrnl/web/crj0147a.html Strange New Worlds: The Humanist Philosophy of Star Trek] by Robert Bowman, Christian Research Journal, Fall 1991, pp. 20 ff.
- [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/S/htmlS/startrek/startrek.htm Encyclopedia of Television]
- [http://www.ditl.org/ Daystrom Institute Technical Library] — A wealth of Star Trek related information
- [http://www.staryards.com/ Starfleet Command Staryards] — A technical database of Canon and non-Canon Star Trek spaceships
- Category:Science fiction television series Category:Science fiction by franchise Category:Space opera Category:Star_Trek_games zh-min-nan:Star Trek ja:スタートレック simple:Star Trek

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact (Paramount Pictures, 1996; see also 1996 in film), is the eighth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. In it, the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation again encounter their adversaries, the Borg, and this time attempt to prevent the Borg from changing history by conquering the Earth of the 21st century through the use of time travel. The film is directed by Jonathan Frakes from a script by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore, with music composed by Jerry Goldsmith.

Cast

Plot summary

Following the destruction of the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: Generations, the bridge crew, with the exception of Worf, was transferred to a new Sovereign class starship, the USS Enterprise-E. Shortly before the beginning of the film, a Borg cube ship has entered Federation space on a course for Earth; the Enterprise has been assigned to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone during this. Due to Captain Jean-Luc Picard's past experience with the Borg, Starfleet considered him too unstable to lead a ship into battle against them. At the beginning of the story, Picard chooses to disobey his orders and takes the ship to Earth, where the Starfleet contingent has met the Borg (see Battle of Sector 001). Upon arriving, the Enterprise takes part in the fighting and transports aboard survivors from the heavily damaged USS Defiant, including its commanding officer, Lt. Commander Worf. The cube ship is defeated by the fleet, but shortly before its destruction ejects a sphere ship, which the Enterprise pursues. The sphere heads toward Earth and opens and travels through a tunnel through time, through which the ship follows. The two arrive in 2063, and the Borg ship begins to fire on a camp in the northwest region of the United States. The Enterprise destroys the sphere; however, unknown at this time, a number of Borg drones including the Borg Queen managed to transport into a Jeffries tubes in the ship's engineering section. Jeffries tube Jeffries tube Picard, realizing that the Borg were attempting to destroy the Phoenix, Earth's first warp-capable vessel, has an away team, including himself, transport in civilian clothes to the missile silo housing it. Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge and an engineering team work on the damaged vessel while Commander William T. Riker attempts to convince Dr. Zefram Cochrane, designer and pilot of the ship, to go through with the flight tomorrow, knowing that the time of his warp test is imperative to establishing first contact with the Vulcans. At the same time, Captain Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher return to the Enterprise with Lily Sloane, Cochrane's assistant, who was injured in the attack. Meanwhile, the Borg begin to assimilate the equipment and crewmembers that they encounter on the Enterprise, taking over main engineering and moving upward through the decks. Realizing their presence, Picard leads the remaining officers against the Borg, during which Lt. Commander Data is taken by the Borg and Picard encounters Lily in a Jeffries tube, whom he informs as to what's happening. The two flee from a group of drones and take refuge in a holodeck, which Picard loads with a scene from a Dixon Hill holonovel in a crowded nightclub and configures it with safeties off. He then obtains a Tommy gun and kills the Borg with it; his manner indicates to Lily his great hatred for the Borg. He takes a chip from within a drone which stores the matters on the collective's schedule. The two return to the rest of the crew and find that the Borg are building a communications antenna on the Enterprises navigational deflector to call for assistance from the Borg of this time. Picard, Worf, and Lieutenant Hawk don space suits and magnetic boots and venture out on to the hull armed with phaser rifles. They make their way to the deflector dish and begin to switch on the three manual controls that release the central part of the dish. The drones building the antenna begin to move against the three. They manage to assimilate Hawk; Picard moves over to Hawk's control and activates it while Worf kills Hawk. The released plate, carrying several Borg and the antenna, begins to move away from the Enterprise and is destroyed with a rifle when a safe distance away. Meanwhile, the Phoenix has been repaired and Cochrane convinced to make the attempt. The vessel is launched on April 5, 2063 as it is supposed to be and exits Earth's gravity without incident. On the Enterprise, the Borg have continued to climb upward. Worf advocates setting the ship's self-destruct function and leaving in lifeboats. Picard refuses to allow the Borg to cause the loss of the Enterprise. The two argue this heatedly until Lily convinces Picard that his hate of the Borg is clouding his reasoning. He agrees to destroying the ship. As the crew are abandoning the ship, he doesn't join them, instead going down into engineering to recover Data. Meanwhile, Data has been taken to the Borg queen, who has been attempting to entice him to join her through replacing pieces of his skin with human skin and connecting them to his nervous system, helping him in his goal of becoming human. When Picard enters main engineering, the Borg queen says that Data may leave with him if he wishes; Data refuses. The queen then has Data deactivate the self-destruct program, which he does, and fire on the Phoenix; he fires, deliberately missing the Phoenix, however, and then kills the queen by breaking open a tube carrying a coolant that dissolves organic tissue on contact. The death of the queen causes the collective onboard the ship to fail. Picard saves himself by climbing up on tubes dangling from the ceiling until the gas has drained from the room. Data, his patches of real skin gone, reveals that he had not long considered her offer of joining her. The Phoenix test is a success. Shortly after Cochrane returns, the Vulcan survey ship T'plana'hath lands in the camp to make first contact with humans, having detected the warp signature from the Phoenix. The Enterprise crew returns to the ship, and it returns to its own time using the means that the sphere ship did.
Notes/trivia

- Although there is no evidence for it in the movie, an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise filmed several years later called "Regeneration" is based on the premise that the Borg sphere was not totally destroyed; debris eventually made its way to Earth and landed in a frozen Arctic environment. Nearly a century later, Borg drones would be recovered from the crash site, as the subject of the Enterprise episode.
- Footage from this film was reused in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly". The reused footage was integrated with newly created scenes to present the Mirror Universe version of Earth/Vulcan first contact (in which Zefram Cochrane shot and killed the Vulcan captain, and the assembled humans stormed the spacecraft and stole its technology). None of the original actors actually returned to shoot new footage; creative re-editing was used (for example, when Cochrane is shown firing his rifle and the Vulcan captain is hit, they are only seen from the neck down, as different but identically dressed actors are playing them).
- In the opening battle scene, Admiral Hayes (the commander of the Starfleet task force fighting the Borg) speaks to the commanders of the Starfleet vessels Defiant and Bozeman. We then hear a voice reply "Acknowledged"; there is some debate over whether this is Worf (in command of the Defiant) or Kelsey Grammer in a cameo appearance as Captain Bateson of the Bozeman. Grammer was not listed in the credits, although it is common for actors to record brief cameos such as this and not receive credit.
- In a bit of irony, Patrick Stewart's character, Captain Picard, is compared unfavorably to a later Patrick Stewart character, Captain Ahab, from the novel Moby Dick. It is this very comparison (made by Lily, during Picard's tirade against the invading Borg) that motivates Picard to take a course of action that will help him avoid being compared to Ahab. (Patrick Stewart played Captain Ahab in a made-for-television adaptation of the novel in 1998.)
- "First Contact" is also the name of an episode from the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- Although the role of Zefram Cochrane was actually written for James Cromwell , Tom Hanks was originally considered for the role, but the filming of this movie coincided with the filming of That Thing You Do! (1996) which prevented him from taking the part.
- For inspiration prior to filming, director Jonathan Frakes says he viewed the films Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Blade Runner (1982), and Jaws (1975).
- The Borg makeup and suits had to be constantly touched up. Several of the Borg actors lost a considerable amount of weight while in costume due to the heat of the sets and temperature in Los Angeles during the shooting.
- At the end of filming, actor/director Jonathan Frakes got the nickname "Two takes Frakes" because of the efficiency of his style.
- Cameo: Ethan Phillips The actor who plays Neelix in Star Trek: Voyager plays the Maître d' of the holodeck scene club.
- Cameo: Ronald D. Moore The screenwriter appears in the holodeck club scene.
- Cameo: Brannon Braga The screenwriter appears in the holodeck club scene.
- Cameo: Dwight Schultz reprises his role as Lt. Barclay from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- When Dr. Crusher says "In the 21st century, the Borg are still in the Delta Quadrant", it was intended as a teaser for upcoming episodes of Star Trek: Voyager, in which The Borg were featured prominently.
- The program menu in the holosuite depicts various holodeck programs from previous episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Specifically: Cafe Des Artistes is from "We'll Always Have Paris". Charnock's Comedy Cabaret is from "The Outrageous Okona". The Big Goodbye is from "The Big Goodbye", "Manhunt", and "Clues". Emerald Wading Pool is from "Conundrum". Equestrian Adventure is from "Pen Pals".
- Cameo: Robert Picardo reprises his role as the Emergency Medical Hologram from Star Trek: Voyager.
- The eyepieces of the Borg flash the Morse code of the names of people associated with the production.
- The opera that Picard is listening to is Berlioz' "Les Troyens". The song is "Hylas' Song" from the beginning of Act V. Hylas is a homesick young sailor being rocked to sleep by the sea as he dreams of the homeland he will never see again.
- The character of Ensign Lynch is a reference to Internet critic Timothy W. Lynch, who watched and reviewed every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
- Reginald Barclay shows LaForge a coil of copper wire to ask if it would work to fix the plasma coil. It is the same prop used in Forbidden Planet (1956) where a crew-member asks Commander Adams if it would work in building the transmitter.
- The Enterprise-E is a Sovereign class starship. The previous Enterprise-D, was a Galaxy class starship.
- In an earlier draft of the script, the character of Lily was originally named Ruby. In the theatrical version, Ruby is now a holographic character in "The Big Goodbye" holonovel. Additionally, the Enterprise-E was depicted as being part of the Nova Class of starships instead of the Sovereign Class. The Nova class starship was later introduced in the Star Trek: Voyager episode of "Equinox" as the USS Equinox.
- The display cases in the Enterprises briefing room contain gold models of all six Federation starships to bear the name Enterprise.
- The first Star Trek movie to receive an MPAA rating higher than PG (It was PG-13).
- The titles Star Trek: Borg and Star Trek: Resurrection were considered. The Resurrection title was almost a lock until the studio realized Fox had earlier registered the name for their upcoming Alien movie.
- The "first contact" in this movie takes place at a "missile silo in Montana". Montana's missile base is Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, Montana, which has been the site of many famous UFO sightings since the 1950s, but there are countless missle silos peppering the Montana countryside.
- The character of Zefram Cochrane originated in the Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis" (1967). There are differences between the Cochrane from the series and from this movie, but they are both regaled as pioneers in the field of space-flight. (Star Trek literature claims that this is, in fact, the same person, however his more youthful appearance in the original series is attributed to "The Companion.")
- ILM animators created several new classes of Federation ships for the huge animated computer-generated imagery sequence against the Borg. Classes include the Akira, Saber, Steamrunner and Norway. The Norway class of starship is seen for the first (and only) time in this film; the CGI model of the ship was subsequently lost due to a computer glitch, and so the class never appeared again in any other Trek show or film.
- It's also worth noting that some jokers at ILM snuck the newly finished CGI model of the Millennium Falcon, used in the Special Edition release of the Star Wars Original Trilogy, into the opening battle with the Borg cube. It can be seen flying in the distance in a few shots.
- James Cromwell became the first actor in Star Trek history to actually utter the phrase "star trek" (although in the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, John de Lancie (as Q) said, "It's time to put an end to your trek through the stars").
- Footage of the Warp Ship Phoenixs launch was later reused in the opening sequence for the new Star Trek series Enterprise in 2001. James Cromwell reprised his role of Zefram Cochrane in the Enterprise episode "Broken Bow". In the episode, Cochrane is seen as a recording from the dedication of the "Warp 5 Complex".
- All the scenes filmed inside the silo and of the Phoenix were taken at the Titan Missile Museum, located in Green Valley, 20 miles South of Tucson, Arizona. This site is the only Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silo complex in the world that is open to the public. The 110 foot tall Titan II rocket has been "de-militarized" (no fuel or nuclear payload) and, per the SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) and START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), one of the two silo doors must remain blocked open for Russian satellite verification.
- In earlier versions Picard's character was supposed to be the one helping Zefram Cochrane on Earth, with Riker fighting the Borg on the Enterprise. The main story was also focused on the happenings on Earth. After Patrick Stewart objected to that, the characters of Riker and Picard were swapped. This also resulted in making Picard more of an action hero and the story more focusing on happenings on the Enterprise.
- Actor Michael Zaslow, the first actor to have been killed off in the Star Trek universe, has an uncredited appearance as Eddie, the bartender
- Cochrane asks Geordi, "Don't you people in the 24th century ever pee?" This is a jovial reference to the fact that toilets are never shown on screen in the Star Trek universe(although they do appear in some blueprints).
- Earlier drafts of the script called for the Defiant to be destroyed in the battle with the Borg, but screenwriter Ronald D. Moore objected to the needless destruction of the ship from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in a story that didn't even involve the Deep Space Nine characters (apart from Worf). It would also prove to be inconvenient for the television show, so the Defiant was eventually allowed to survive the battle.
- The Defiant, introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, was built for the sole purpose to fight and defeat the Borg. This movie features the only time the ship fights the Borg.
- Once the creative team decided they were going to make a time travel movie, two of the time periods they considered the Enterprise and her crew visiting included the American Civil War and Medieval Europe and would have included a castle that would have partially been assimilated by the Borg.
- Was released the same day that actor Mark Lenard (Sarek) died.
- Is the first Star Trek film in which none of the original Star Trek (1966) cast members appear.
- Early rumors had suggested that Lieutenant Hawk (Neal McDonough) would be the first gay crew-member in the Star Trek franchise. While the rumors were proven to be false, Andy Mangels' and Michael Martin's novel Section 31: Rogue, portrayed Lieutenant Hawk as a gay character, although the Star Trek novels, comic books and video games are not considered canon. (Rumors later suggested the character of Malcolm Reed on Star Trek: Enterprise would be gay, and later that the producers had nixed the idea.)
- When Picard appears out of a hatch to see the surprised faces of his crew pointing guns at him, he says "Reports of my assimilation have been greatly exaggerated". This is paraphrased from Mark Twain's famous saying "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated". References to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968):
- The deflector dish is labeled AE35, the name of a component of a satellite dish in 2001.
- After Cochrane sarcastically asks Riker, "Don't you have the moon in the 24th century?" Riker mentions that there are over 50 million colonists on the moon, as well as a list of cities on the moon, including Tycho City. Tycho was the crater on the Moon (named after 16th century Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe) where the monolith was found in 2001.
- The Borg are given a four-note musical motiv in this movie that is a synthesized and slightly altered, "creepy" form of the central five-note motiv from Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss, which served as the main theme music for 2001. This served as a double reference, by suggesting a creepier version of the alien presence from 2001, and by suggesting that the Borg fulfill all the negative possibilities of Also Sprach Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche.
Errors and inconsistencies in the film

- A member of the crew reports that the Borg have taken over deck 26, but Picard tells Lily there are 24 decks.
- When Picard is showing Lily the view of Earth, we can see Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomons, but New Zealand is missing.
- There is a scene where the Enterprise-E is flying past Earth. But North America is facing the sun, which is impossible since the beginning scenes with Cochrane when Riker and Troi meet him are at night.
Trademark litigation
Paramount was sued over the film in federal court by the heirs of William F. Jenkins, a science-fiction author who wrote under the pen name "Murray Leinster". Jenkins had published a short story in 1945 entitled "First Contact", which may have been at least one of the original sources of the term, and his heirs who held the rights to the story claimed that "Star Trek: First Contact" infringed their trademark in the term. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Paramount's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the suit (see [http://wikisource.org/wiki/Estate_of_William_F._Jenkins_v._Paramount_Pictures_Corp. Estate of William F. Jenkins v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 90 F. Supp. 2d 706 (E.D. Va. 2000)] for the full text of the court's ruling). The court found that regardless of whether Jenkins first coined "first contact", it since became a generic (and therefore unprotectable) term that described the overall genre of science fiction in which humans first encounter alien species. Even if the title was instead "descriptive"—a category of terms higher than "generic" that may be protectable—there was no evidence that the title had the required association in the public's mind (known as "secondary meaning") such that its use would normally be understood as referring to Jenkin's story. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court's dismissal without comment.
External links

- [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/MOV/008/index.html Official Star Trek: First Contact web site]
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- Category:1996 films Star Trek 08 Star Trek 08 Star Trek 08 Star Trel 08 08 Star Trek 08 ja:スタートレックファーストコンタクト

First Contact (documentary)

First Contact is a remarkable documentary which recounts the discovery of a flourishing native population in the interior highlands of New Guinea in 1930 in what had been thought to be an uninhabited area. Inhabitants of the region and surviving members of the Leahy brothers' gold prospecting party recount their astonishment at this unforeseen meeting. The film includes still photographs taken by a member of the expedition and contemporary footage of the island's terrain.

External links

- [http://dannyreviews.com/h/First_Contact.html Bob Connolly's Review]

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First contact

First contact (astronomy)

First contact (science fiction)

Further reading

See also

Star Trek

Television series

Star Trek (1966-1969)

Star Trek (Animated) (1973-1974)

Star Trek: Phase II (1978; unproduced)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

Motion pictures

Canonicity and other storylines

Uncertain future for the franchise

Future sequels to the original series

Future sequels to The Next Generation

Continuation of Enterprise

New feature film?

Video games

Novels

References

See also

External links

Star Trek: First Contact

Cast

Plot summary

Notes/trivia

Errors and inconsistencies in the film

Trademark litigation

External links

First Contact (documentary)

External links

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