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Episode
267
Star Trek: Insurrection
The Ba’ku live an idyllic life on their planet: creative, fun and peaceful and hardly aging a day. What’s their secret? Wouldn’t the Son’a and at least one greedy Starfleet Admiral like to find out. The Enterprise crew get caught in the middle, and Captain Picard decides if it’s worth it to rebel against the orders he’s been given. It all happens when we put Star Trek: Insurrection into the Mission Log.
Haven’t listened to the pod yet, but I have a silly love for this movie. Yes, it’s flawed, yes, it’s basically a TNG two-parter. But I still love it, Frakes’ directing might have something to do with it, as well as a killer Goldsmith score.
Listened to the pod now, happy you guys also liked it. Nemesis will be a nightmare. I especially liked that John praised Zerbes performance as a guy who is in way over his head. When Ruafo does the infamous “noooo” scene and he bursts a blood vessel on his forehead, Zerbes just looks disgusted, but doesnt back down from his idiotic plan.
I always loved Trek soundtracks, but only a bit of “First Contact” caught my attention movie-wise. I do not recall anything grabbing me from this or Nemesis…
This theme is a good one, not as good as First Contact imo. The only interesting musical bit in Nemesis for me is the opening sequence
The best presentation of Goldsmith’s primary theme for “Nemesis” is heard in the end credits, a presentation that was initially meant for a main credits sequence that was cut so that the movie could jump to Romulus quicker. Also, the last third of the movie features some of the most thunderous battle music Goldsmith composed in his final decade of scoring movies.
The opening tune for Nemesis is fantastic. Unfortunately the only good thing about the movie.
The opening with the Borg cube is some great scoring, as well as the short blast of the TMP theme when the Enterprise scooped in. Goldsmith never did anything bad IMO.
Deveraux!!!! He created Kiss to destroy Kiss!! Oops, wrong movie!!!
I’m going to defend this movie too. I know it’s not perfect and its the descent into mediocrity for TNG movies but it’s still a fun movie!! It’s colourful, nice to look at and moves along at a reasonable pace (Frakes touch I assume).I also liked the Captain’s yacht too.
I found the trivia very interesting though, seems like some of those storylines aren’t dead yet.
I know this movie has a lot of haters, but the messages are really strong and pretty good.
Is it the really odd, kind of creepy looking bad guys that people have a real hard time with?
Plot holes? We got your plot holes right here in one movie, pal.
Love Donna Murphy, but there’s not enough there there.
You did a great job asking the right questions. I will say, I got totally lost on the bit with the Son’a being beamed to the holo bridge.
Both the cg ships and the village look cheap.
A joystick for Riker? (Isn’t that redundant??)
I also can NEVER swallow inflate-a-Data. Yikes! **best Leela voice** ‘Oh Lord, he’s a raft.’
Am I remembering wrongly, or does the little kid in the Baku village have a Brit accent? HOW????? No one else does.
Anyway… I honestly think this is the least and dumbest of the TNG flicks.
No, the little kid in the Baku village doesn’t have a British accent, you are incorrect.
Must have been thinking of another movie.
OK, you begged us not to send you Ru’afo’s facelift. Fine.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2cd1870aa0e4e3fade9d7ca7448a4cf7859ce599b84f5e4171e38260c7ec8dcb.jpg
WTF is that!!!!!
That is from the film “Brazil” the guys referenced. Sci-fi dystopian, British humor: a classic
Thanks.
Every S/F fan needs to see “Brazil” at some point, same as with “Blade Runner”, it’s a seminal film for the genre.
Have seen BR many times. Will seek out Brazil (some near Mexico I believe??)
Yikes
I went back and listened to the bit again, just to make sure I didn’t misunderstand, but… “multiple lifetimes of experience” seriously? Really?
So let’s see, on one hand we have a guy who’s ACTUALLY had multiple lifetimes of experience, plus has been to the Borg and back, and whose day job is to travel across the galaxy and explore things. And on the other hand, we have a woman, who lives on the same planet, in the swame village even, I mean they haven’t been exploring other parts of the planet, and who spends her days tending her garden, making quilts or whatever it is that she’s doing.
Who has more experience here?
And that’s just one reason why I and others like me don’t like this movie. And our opinions are valid even though we disagree with you guys. At least I hope they are, and we’re not just being called “haters” for no reason.
I mean, she hasn’t even learned how to swim yet, for God’s sake! That is just dumb.
Sorry for going on a rant, I will stop now.
Anij has made artisanal candles numbering in the millions. Does that help?
Picard has learned to accept children.
And to deal with Wesley.
That’s gotta be worth at least a few hundred points extra.
Don’t forget, they had technology and space travel and chose to give it up. We don’t know what her experience was prior to landing on the planet and staying put
Listening now…I like the mention of the Amish and a simpler life. Especially if the Baku had the tech before, but really it’d be better if the Baku has an ace up the sleeve in terms of technology to resist… or maybe even super psycho kinetic powers…hmmm anyway, one thing that I noticed on re-watch was how cheap the plastic sets of finale Jungle Gym battle look. The controls Picard accessed looked like Claire’s boutique trinkets. Plastic crap for kiddos hair or Toys R Us junk. Compare that to the Genesis device control box Khan accessed for self-destruct. Geez TNG, step up your game. But yes, it did seem like a tv episode. Slow ship movement and chase. DS9 tv epsisodes w Defiant are spectacular in comparison. Also, the plastic surgery gimmick was just silly. Non-threatening. Not intimidating at all. Here’s a thought 25 years later…. the Cardassian Gul Madred from “Chain of Command”!!!! David Warner would have been a spectacular villain. The Cardassians were much more engaging than the never before or again seen Son’a. They are a nothing species. .ugh….Cardiassians, DMZ, forced relocation, the Maquis (Lt Ro), wow this stuff just writes itself. Add Section 31 needing new bio-tech to help w casualties and losses during the Dominion War….and the ends justifies the means…now I gotta google where DS9 was at the time this movie came out…<<>>
<> DS9 Section 31 was introduced in “Inquisition” on Apr 4, 1998. The amazing DS9 episode “The Siege of AR-558” aired Nov 18, 1998. One of the grittiest depictions of war and especially ground combat ever featured on Trek. Insurrection premiered in theaters 3 weeks later of Dec 11, 1998 and Nog was dealing w PTSD/amputation issues on Dec 30, 1998 in “It’s Only a Paper Moon”. This could have been a great way to feature the Cardassians and Jem Hadar/Vorta, bolster the reason for Section 31 to be controlling Admiral Dougherty and pulling the strings behind the “dick move” to forcefully relocate the Baku. Imagine having maimed Federation troops begging for a chance to get to Baku to grow back limbs or heal… I agree plastic surgery had apparently advanced very far, same for prosthetic limbs….but….still, people want “the real thing”……I just really wanted a TNG movie to follow up on some cool story or villain from the series. I had kicked around in my head “Pen Pals” what if the planet Data and Picard saved by breaking the Prime Directive went on to become interstellar jerks? Or “The Hunted” super soldier Roga Danar… Captain America type guy became a warlord? lol…ahhhh the stuff I think about….
That could have been fun. God knows they have left a lot of folks in very iffy situations.
Who enjoyed the recap sneaking in “Nemesis” “Voyage Home” “Into Darkness” “Insurrection” “First Contact”..hmmmm gotta re-listen now…
pretty fun
I believe there was a reference to each of the movies, except for “Wrath of Khan” and “Search For Spock” as those would be difficult to make work for an Insurrection recap.
Captains log, stardate 50893.5. The moment I have dreaded for nearly six years has finally arrived……Nemesis is next
I admit, I enjoy this movie… My main thought is it that the Prime Directive is so convenient. In this case, Captain Picard clung to the directive as a moral guide to save the lives of 600 Baku (which is right and good) by disobeying orders. In Homeward, however, Captain Picard attempted to use the same directive to condemn a race of people to certain death but was forced to relocate them because Worf’s brother’s actions. The exploration of the Prime Directive is essential to the Trek experience – in cases like this, it is easy to rally around, but it could also just as easily be used to justify doing (or not doing) something that doesn’t set well with people who value life.
One of those how can I make this apply to my current situation directives
The problem with this episode is not the theme, which is based on an idea you must do what is right no matter what. The problem with this episode is everything else. There are cringe-inducing romance scenes between Troi and Riker and Picard and Anij. Then there are the famously noted horrific jokes. And data with this head floating around is just absurd and just takes me right on the movie. And Opera? oh my God!
And the Son’a with their faces being pulled out like they’re in a horror movie or was mentioned – like in Brazil? And Brazil it works because the whole movie is just bizarre. And the plastic surgery is a social commentary on the upper class. Here they just seem incredibly out of place.
And the entire Insurrection is not really an Insurrection against the Federation as much as it is against a single General who misled the Federation or talk them into it or something. With a visual effects so television like, it is hard to get excited about an insurrection with guns made out of plastic. And there’s that maddening delay between firing the phaser and watching the stream of light hit something. And nobody gets their face dirty for their clothes dirty. It is completely ridiculous. Compare to Star Trek 2009 or the new Battlestar Galactica. There the visual design is realistic and interesting.
So this movie fails on character development and visual design and of course poor CGI. It is dull and boring, with laughably bad action sequences.
I’m so happy you guys enjoyed this one. I don’t get the complete hatred that so many fans have for this movie. I too have an iffy relationship with this movie. I initially liked it when it came out, (liked it, not loved it), but over the years the constant complaining from fans for this movie has soured me. But like both you guys said this go around I found a lot to like about this movie.
Plot holes, sure. Future issues, a plenty. However, this episode, (sorry Movie), was about as close to an episode of TNG as you could get.
I think if people watched this movie as if it was a long, expensive episode there would be a lot less hatred.
Trek is always suffered from a dual standard whenever they make movies. Some fans will complain than they are not enough like an episode of Trek and just a lot of action, (see First Contact and Nemesis). Then others whine and complain that there is too much action and adventure and that is not Trek either.
“I think if people watched this movie as if it was a long, expensive episode there would be a lot less hatred.”
I also think there’s a preconceived idea that as this is an ‘odd numbered’ Trek film then it will suck too buy a certain percentage of the audience, so they’re predetermined to dislike what they see on screen. The next ‘even numbered’ film will blow this idea completely out of the water though!
I also like this movie when it came out and I still like it. I never understood the dislike I heard for this movie. Also referring to some odd-number movie curse.
It is an engaging and very Star Trek story, even up to the lousy, jerk admiral.
I love the scene in which Anij tells Picard about the amount of trust that he engenders in people. Very Picard in a nutshell. One of the few times I have actually wanted to see a romance in Star Trek, it usually seems forced, but it was natural here.
The ability of Michael Dorn to portray Worf enduring humiliation and teasing has always impressed me. Worf’s expressions when Riker sees him and his pimple and says “Klingons don’t do anything small, do they?”
It is so nice to see Levar Burton without the grill across his eyes.
I love the music for this movie and sometimes listen to it.
I didn’t love the joystick control of the Enterprise. Thought it was kind of silly.
Ken’s certainly a sneaky one, dropping in the titles for each of the Star Trek movies, the only ones I don’t recall being included being “Wrath of Khan” and “Search For Spock” though I imagine those two would be particularly challenging to insert while still staying on topic for Insurrection.
I know this will go down like a bag of mouldy bananas with some, but I love this movie, and I love Nemesis, and I prefer both of them infinitely to First Contact.
This film is fun, and God forbid that should be a thing. It’s
light, but has things to say, and sandwiches very neatly between the rather contrived ‘look how grown up we are’ darkness of its predecessor and successor. Plus it has Gilbert and Sullivan, and that’s always a winner in my book.
I think its biggest problem is that title, as it’s inaccurate and doesn’t really lend itself to the tone of the film. Star Trek – Prime Directive seems a little too on the nose, and Michael Piller’s preferred Star Trek – Stardust doesn’t trip well off the tongue (although I rather like it). Any other (sensible-ish) suggestions?
And one thing, something that I’ve never seen addressed anywhere – what’s with the publicity stealing all its notes from The Undiscovered Country?
And one thing, something that I’ve never seen addressed anywhere – what’s with the publicity stealing all its notes from The Undiscovered Country?
Oh yeah!!!! The Poster is very similar only the ship/face are in opposite position!
Well spotted!
I’ve only watched this movie once before and I don’t remember it being so enjoyable. Insurrection is much more put together than Generations and it feels like a longer episode of TNG, which is all I wanted since All Good Things. It tackled TNG type issues while giving us character development and some really funny moments.
I don’t really have much to say so I’ll leave a picture of our favourite Lt jr grade:
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f79be6acc5c9c2a4ad5c54a433e1b27859e19d7439279ec82ef279d4f1867f32.jpg