Star Trek Generations is best remembered for one major character death, but there was a more significant body count in the first Star Trek: The Next Generation feature film. Directed by David Carson and written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, Star Trek Generations hinged on the historic meeting of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner).
Captain Kirk’s death was the other twist that made Star Trek Generations a must-see event. Just as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is best known for the death of Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Star Trek Generations is the second Star Trek movie whose reputation is defined by the death of an iconic Star Trek: The Original Series character.
There were higher body counts in the sequels Star Trek: First Contact, which saw the Borg attempt to assimilate the USS Enterprise-E, and Star Trek: Nemesis, which saw the Enterprise nearly destroyed by Shinzon (Tom Hardy) and the Remans, and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) sacrifice himself to save his ship.
While Captain Kirk is the headlining death in Star Trek Generations, several other deaths preceded Jim’s in the movie.
Robert, Marie & Rene Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s family was killed off-screen in Star Trek: Generations. Introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4 episode, “Family,” Robert Picard (Jeremy Kemp) was Jean-Luc’s estranged older brother who ran the family vineyard in France. Robert, his wife Marie (Samantha Eggar), and son Rene (David Birkin) were killed in a house fire.
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Killing off Picard’s family was Patrick Stewart’s idea so that he could play Jean-Luc as he faces a great personal loss. Robert, Marie, and Rene’s deaths changed the course of Jean-Luc’s life. As Star Trek: Picard later revealed, Jean-Luc led the life of a winemaker that he originally didn’t want when he took over Chateau Picard after he quit Starfleet in 2385.
Lursa & B’Etor
Lursa (Barbara March) and B’Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) met their end thanks to a photon torpedo from the USS Enterprise-D. The Klingon sisters kidnapped Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and used his VISOR to lower the Enterprise’s shields for their attack.
Members of the House of Duras, Lursa and B’Etor helped make Lieutenant Worf’s (Michael Dorn) life miserable in Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s Klingon-centric episodes. Although the Starship Enterprise crew was able to retaliate against Lursa and B’Etor’s Bird-of-Prey, the Klingon sisters were the cause of what was Star Trek Generations‘ most significant ‘death’ besides Captain Kirk.
USS Enterprise-D
The beloved USS Enterprise-D also ‘died’ in Star Trek Generations. Lursa and B’Etor’s torpedoes damaged the Enterprise’s warp core, necessitating a saucer separation before the core exploded. Shockwaves from the destruction of the stardrive forced the Enterprise’s saucer to crash-land on Veridian III.
Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) was at the helm of the saucer and blamed for the Enterprise’s crash-landing for years, but it could be said that Troi was also instrumental in ensuring there was no loss of life when the Enterprise hit the ground on Veridian III.
The Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D was the flagship of the United Federation of Planets, but was only in service for seven years before it was lost in Star Trek Generations. However, the D was resurrected in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Rebuilt by Commodore Geordi La Forge, the Enterprise-D, led by Admiral Picard, saved the galaxy from the Borg one more time.
Dr. Tolian Soran
Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) was the main villain of Star Trek Generations. An El Aurian scientist who went mad after being pulled from the Nexus, Soran spent decades trying to return to the space ribbon’s dream reality. Soran planned to destroy the Veridian star system and kill millions so he could return to the Nexus.
Conceived in the vein of Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), Soran began the clean sweep of every Star Trek: The Next Generation movie villain dying at the end of each film. To Malcolm McDowell’s delight, however, Soran holds a unique place in Star Trek history, as the heavy who caused Star Trek Generations‘ most important death.
Captain James T. Kirk
Captain James Tiberius Kirk perished at the end of Star Trek Generations when he fell from a bridge and was pummeled by rubble after he and Picard stopped Dr. Tolian Soran from destroying the Veridian star. Kirk’s dying words to Captain Picard were, “It was fun…” before glimpsing the afterlife made him gasp, “Oh my.”
Star Trek Generations originally had Soran kill Kirk by shooting him in the back, but the scene was reshot after it tested badly.
Star Trek Generations teased Kirk’s demise in its prologue, when the Captain went missing and was presumed dead in 2293 after he saved the USS Enterprise-B from the Nexus. However, Kirk was pulled into the Nexus, and 78 years passed when he emerged in the 24th century alongside Picard.
Remarkably, William Shatner’s version of Captain Kirk was never resurrected in canon the way Spock was in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Captain Kirk’s death in 2371 in Star Trek Generations continues to be upheld, and likely always will be.
- Release Date
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November 18, 1994
- Runtime
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118 Minutes
- Director
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David Carson
