Synopsis:

The three movies featuring the Enterprise-E appear in the format they always deserved: as episodes in an 8th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as if it had aired on premium cable following the finale of Deep Space 9. Each episode lasts one hour. Tone and characterization attempts to hew more closely to the show, unnecessary subplots and characters have been dropped, and the franchise concludes on a significantly different note.

Intentions:

I wanted to create a more satisfying conclusion for the Star Trek: TNG characters and franchise than the movies originally offered. The TNG movies (even First Contact) never felt so much like movies as glorified episodes, and for fans like myself, disappointing episodes at that. However, beneath the many frustrating elements, each movie contained enough solid material for an hour-long story. I tried to bring out that story and to give our central characters the justice they were due.

Change List:

The number of cuts is outright massive. I will hit the main points here: FIRST CONTACT / PHOENIX - Removed any trace of Starfleet ordering Picard away from the fight, thus moving us into the main plot significantly quicker Inserted new intro sequence - Removed all dialogue and almost all shots of Lily throughout movie - Removed Data failing to understand emotional significance of touching the Phoenix, and instead made it a shared moment between Data and Picard. - Removed horror film sequence of minor characters discovering the Borg - Removed Picard revenge arc--some audiences like it, but it makes no difference to the plot outcomes! - Removed deflector dish subplot/video game action sequence - Trimmed Cochrane - Many small trims to move along pacing INSURRECTION / HEART OF LIGHTNESS - Skipped lengthy "Welcome to the Shire" introduction sequence - Trimmed initial chase sequence to defer the revelation until the last moment that the rogue officer is Data - Inserted new intro sequence - Removed indication that Data's emotion chip could be removed - Removed screwball and physical humor - "A British Tar" remains, but some technobabble and other elements in the scene are trimmed for pacing - All scenes indicating a romance between Picard and the Ba'ku woman are cut - Significant amounts of action cut, starting with the first phaser battle after discovering the cloaked holodeck - The Ba'ku and Son'a being the same species has been cut - The detonation of the subspace weapon now destroys the Son'a ship, thus resolving the Enterprise's action sequence in far less time - Surface battles cut to absolute minimum to advance the plot - The Son'a first officer now turns coat based on his differences with Ru'afo without requiring convincing from Picard - The story resolves with Ru'afo and his crew on the holoship. This is the poetic justice that concludes the narrative, and Action Hero Picard on the extractor is wholly unnecessary. - Picard gazes at the restored peace of the Ba'ku before departing rather than at a love interest. NEMESIS / ROMULUS & REMUS - B-4 and all plots or scenes related to him have been cut. - After the cold open on Romulus and new intro sequence, we cut directly to Picard being contacted by Janeway. - Picard's mockery of Worf's discomfort with Betazed wedding customs has been cut, but a heavily edited version of the scene remains to foreshadow Riker and Troi's wedding. - Shinzon's request to touch Troi's hair is cut. - Thaleron radiation no longer dissolves biological matter on a subatomic level, because this makes no sense. Crusher just tells us it's Very Bad. - When Data and LaForge discover the source of the computer intrusion, Data beams on a covert op to the Scimitar. This is achieved by an extreme crop of his disguised trip to the Scimitar in the original. Thus he is on the ship to rescue Picard. (As a sidebar, the implication is that the standard issue Federation uniform for covert ops is an orange jumpsuit.) - The rape scene is made much shorter and is (hopefully) no longer outright offensive and exploitative. Picard also no longer asks Troi to endure more of these attacks (ugh!)--he just says he still needs her on duty. - The entire ramming scene and latter action sequences of the movie have been cut. Troi's ploy to locate Shinzon's viceroy with telepathy is now the decisive means by which the Enterprise destroys the Scimitar. - Thus, the movie closes on Riker and Troi's wedding (which, like most of the movie, has many small trims). In closing, we hear Data singing as we see a family growing up and parting ways.

Additional Notes:

- Each episode would need to last no more than one hour, excluding ending credits (which are longer than a TV episode would have but should not be touched). - Tone and characterization would attempt to remain more consistent to the TV series. - To this end, action sequences would be minimized and used only to further a story or character arc. Minimal extraneous set pieces remain. The Next Generation solves its problems with words or with cleverness more than fisticuffs and phasers. - Scenes or characters which do not move along the story or further a character arc would be removed, even if they work well in their own right. - Any indication that Data could remove or turn off his emotion chip would be excised. The later movies regressed rather than progressed his character; this edit aims to reverse that. - Data's death would be removed and replaced with a different resolution for Shinzon. Killing a main character can be an excellent storytelling decision, but not if it is handled as sloppily as in Nemesis.

Other Sources:

The introductory sequence to the original series (specifically from Best of Both Worlds) served as the basis for the new introductory sequence, and the DVD menu from Season 3 served as the inspiration and partial source for the Season 8 DVD menu.

Special Thanks:

Thanks to BionicBob for a beautiful cover!