20. Stretched To Death (Star Trek: Insurrection, 1998)
Star Trek’s cinematic adventures really seemed to be scraping the barrel by the time this meditation on peace, harmony and plastic surgery limped in.
Still, it managed to contain one of the series’ more satisfyingly creepy deaths, with two acting powerhouses going up against each another (and then, presumably calling their agents to find out why they’d agreed to it in the first place.)
F Murray “I won an Oscar, me” Abraham is evil villain Adhar Ru'afo a surgery and youth-obsessed alien attempting to harvest the life-giving properties from the planet of the Ba’ku. He’s initially helped by misguided Admiral Dougherty (Antony Zerbe).
But when the Starfleet fool realises the true evil of Ru’afo’s plot, he tries to back out and is killed thanks to a little face-stretching tech from the alien’s favourite chair.
Michael Jackson be warned…
Trek Trivia: Zerbe was the producers choice for Dougherty, but star Patrick Stewart had lobbied for his old mucker Brian Blessed to get the role. It would have been a lot shoutier…
19. Is There A Doctor In The House? (Star Trek: First Contact, 1996)
First Contact is an almost unrelentingly grim and action-fuelled film (that's not a complaint), but it does allow for a few bursts of humour.
In one quick moment that gives a nod to the Trek TV series, Star Trek Voyager’s Holographic Doctor is activated as Dr Crusher (Gates McFadden) and her team attempt to flee the encroaching Borg drones.
Ordered to “do a dance! Tell a story! I don't care! Just give us a few seconds!” the Holo-doc proceeds to offer the invading Borg a cream for “skin irritation” caused by their electronic implants.
Trek Trivia: The Holographic Doctor gets to utter Dr McCoy’s immortal line of “I’m a doctor, not a…” (in this case, a “doorstop”).
It’s a tribute to the fact that he won the role on Voyager partly because he ad-libbed another (“I’m a doctor, not a light bulb”) during his audition.
Next: What does God need with a spaceship? Brand New Enterprise
Comments
mattburgess
May 4th 2009, 16:33
Star Trek Generations, and the Enterprise-D is moments from being destroyed by a vastly inferior klingon warbird. But thanks to a nifty little trick by Data, they force the warbird to drop its own shields, and in one brilliant, heart stopping, breath taking moment, Commander Riker gives the order: "Fire!" A single, fateful photon torpedo later, and the warbird is a complete wreck. Brilliant! (Never mind the fact that Riker has previously asked for a spread of torpedos)
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jhr01
May 5th 2009, 21:42
6. “This Far. No Further!” (Star Trek Generations, 1994) The scene involving Patrick Steward and Alfie Woodward's Lily Sloane is from First Contact, not Star Trek's Generations! Shame on you Total Film!!!!
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jwhite
May 7th 2009, 21:26
Argh! My bad. I'm turning in my phaser and heading to the Agony Booth for a sesh. Error fixed!
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Juliette
May 8th 2009, 19:53
Brilliant article, thanks! Though I think Spock's death has to be No 1 for me, and I also have a soft spot for Chekov's 'Now would be a good time!' in Star Trek IV
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stewart
May 10th 2009, 18:08
A really good article, thanks! Personally I thought your number 3 was probably the number 1 - Kirk destroying that which he coveted above all else - and of course the exchange between Kirk & Bones that followed. I felt that Star Trek III was the best of the lot - despite the critics harangueing it no end, and largely because of the scenes from that filn that you included in this article!
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