star trek nemesis recap

Star Trek Nemesis

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A coup d'état on Romulus brings a new praetor, Shinzon, to power. However, Shinzon is not a Romulan, but rather a genetic duplicate of Captain Jean-Luc Picard. After being banished to the planet Remus for years, he now plots to draw the Starship Enterprise and her crew into a deadly confrontation and destroy the Federation once and for all.

• 1.1 Romulus, 2379
• 1.2 Earth (Holodeck)
• 1.3 Next stop, Betazed
• 1.4 What do we have here on Kolarus?
• 1.5 A new mission
• 1.6 Romulus
• 1.7 En route to Earth
• 1.8 The Battle in the Bassen Rift
• 1.9 Cease fire
• 1.10 The Romulans arrive
• 1.11 Spacedock: Earth
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Cast trivia
• 4.2 References to other series and films
• 4.3 Sets, props, and costumes
• 4.4 Promotion
• 4.5 Merchandising
• 4.6.1 Merchandise gallery
• 4.7 Box office performance
• 4.8 Reception
• 4.9 Deleted scenes
• 5 Apocrypha
• 6 Awards and honors
• 7.1.1.1 Cast
• 7.1.1.2 Stunts
• 7.1.1.3 Crew
• 7.1.1.4 Songs
• 7.2.1 Okudagram references
• 7.2.2 Meta references
• 7.2.3 Unreferenced material
• 7.4 External links

Summary [ ]

Romulus, 2379 [ ].

Romulan capital

On Romulus , in the capital city, two Romulan commanders are urging the Senate to accept an alliance with Shinzon of Remus , an opportunity that would make the Empire powerful enough to outmatch any foe in the Quadrant , even the Federation . Unfortunately, their proposal falls on deaf ears, as Praetor Hiren silences him, telling him that " the military does not dictate policy on Romulus " and that Shinzon and his followers will be met with all deliberate force and sent back to " that black rock they came from! " Seeing that the Praetor has made himself clear, the two commanders leave (after a covert glance at Senator Tal'aura ).

Praetor Hiren consumed by mysterious radiation

As soon as they are gone, Tal'aura stands and excuses herself for a scheduled meeting with the Tholian ambassador . As the Senate begins discussing trade relations with Celes II , a small device left behind by Tal'aura opens, sending a cascade of greenish energy particles over the room. Confused, the Praetor calls for security to bring Tal'aura back, but it is too late – the entire Senate begin to decay from inside, and the Praetor himself topples to the ground and crumbles into dust …

Earth (Holodeck) [ ]

The wedding

Captain Picard speaks about how a Starfleet captain's life is filled with solemn duties. Picard remembers commanding men in battle, negotiating peace treaties between implacable enemies and leading numerous first contact missions, but all of that pales in comparison with the duty he is performing now… as best man .

There is a wedding reception in progress for Commander (soon to be Captain) Will Riker and his new wife, Deanna Troi on Earth at the foot of the magnificent Alaskan mountains of Riker's home state. At the table, along with Picard and the Rikers, are Data , Geordi La Forge , Worf , Beverly Crusher , and her son Wesley Crusher . Picard talks about how as a best man, he is expected to be gracious and very complimentary on this blessed union but he begins jokingly complaining that they are not considering the "damned inconvenience," they are putting him through: the USS Enterprise -E is losing its first officer and counselor in one go, as they depart for Riker's new command, the USS Titan , where Picard is sure they will be blissfully happy, while he is left behind having to train his new first officer, " a tyrannical martinet who will never, ever allow me to go on away missions! " Data – to whom Picard is referring – begins quoting the applicable Starfleet Starfleet regulation , and Picard amiably tells him to "shut up." While the assembled laugh, Picard remarks that he's waited for fifteen years to say that to Data.

Picard solemnly tells Riker and Troi they still have time to change their minds, but they decide "nah." So Picard raises his glass, and expresses his sincere thanks to Riker and Troi as his indispensable guides and advisers, and wishes them both the greatest happiness in their new lives together. " You are my family ," he says. Picard, in the best maritime tradition , wishes them both clear horizons and to "make it so". He invites everyone to join in his toast , " To the bride and groom! " Everyone raises their glass in a toast and Riker leans over and kisses Deanna, his new wife.

Later, as the guests dance, Geordi La Forge is sharing a table with Guinan and asks if she has ever considered remarrying. She says no, stating that " twenty-three was my limit. " Meanwhile, a very hung-over Worf moans and grumbles that Romulan ale should be illegal, and La Forge reminds him that it is.

Back at the main table, Troi compliments Picard on his toast and she assures him she will brief his new counselor on all she needs to know, but Picard absolutely forbids it, saying Troi already knows too much about him as it is. Picard asks if he'll have to make a speech during the ceremony on Betazed . Riker tells him there'll be no speeches – and per tradition, no clothes either.

Data stands up on the dais and calls for everyone's attention. He announces that, according to his studies of Betazoid and Terran marriage traditions, both cultures find it customary to present the happy couple with a gift . Given Riker's fondness for archaic Terran musical forms, Data's gift to Riker and Troi, " in honor of their conjugation, " is him singing " Blue Skies ". The song is a big hit with the happy couple and most of the guests, while Worf sinks his head back down onto his table with a groan and mutters " Irving Berlin… "

Next stop, Betazed [ ]

" We will all honor the Betazoid tradition. "

Later, as the USS Enterprise -E is making its way to Betazed, Picard steps out onto the bridge while Troi is trying to convince Worf to honor the Betazoid wedding tradition – since, after all, he more than anyone should understand the importance of tradition. Worf appeals to Picard, saying it is inappropriate for a Starfleet officer to appear naked in public. Picard jokingly wonders what a "handsome, strapping fellow" like Worf would have to be embarrassed about. Before Worf can say anything, he is interrupted by a beeping from the tactical console, which has detected a signal coming from the Kolarin system – a positronic signature. La Forge narrows it down to the third planet in the system . Data speculates that as this signature has only been transmitted so far by androids created by Dr. Noonien Soong , Data's creator. Picard decides to set course for the planet, despite it being very close to the border with the Romulan Neutral Zone . Picard finds the planet to still be well on the Federation side of the border and believes it is worth taking a look at. Picard assures Riker that they will still arrive in time for the ceremony on Betazed where, Picard makes it clear, especially for Worf, that they will all observe the Betazoid tradition. And with that, Picard is off to the ship's gymnasium. Riker orders the ship to the Kolaran system at warp five and La Forge wonders if Data is about to discover a long-lost relative.

The Enterprise enters orbit of Kolarus III

In orbit, six separate positronic signatures are detected. La Forge recommends that they not use the transporter as there is an ion storm nearby and there's always a chance that it could come their way. With that in mind, Picard tells Worf and Data to go with him. Riker tries to tell Picard that it's his job to go down and not Picard's, but Picard invokes captain's prerogative, especially as he's been wanting to try out the Argo . Plus the fact that Picard knows that Troi would never forgive him if anything should happen to Riker. As he leaves the bridge, he jokingly tells Riker " You have the bridge… Mr. Troi, " causing snickers all over the bridge.

What do we have here on Kolarus? [ ]

The Argo flies out from the Enterprise 's shuttlebay and lands on the surface. The away team takes the Argo 's auxiliary all-terrain buggy out and Picard has fun with driving it at high speed around the local terrain . The team finds pieces of an android strewn throughout the area and, although the android is completely disassembled, its various pieces – including the head (which is identical to Data's) – are still active; an arm reaches out and grabs Worf by the foot, startling him, and the head speaks to Data. However, just as the searchers locate the final piece, they come under attack from Kolaran natives in vehicles of their own, so Picard drives the Argo back to the shuttle while Worf mans the buggy's aft phaser cannon . Data has the shuttle waiting behind a cliff. Picard jumps the buggy off the cliff and into the shuttle, where it is secured. The shuttle lifts back off toward the Enterprise .

" You know, all things considered, Data, I think you have nicer eyes. " " Our eyes are identical, doctor. "

Back aboard the ship, Dr. Crusher looks at the newly discovered android's head and decides that Data has nicer eyes. Confused, Data points out that his eyes are identical to the other android's. La Forge's scans reveal that the android is likely a prototype built by Dr. Soong, as the android has the same physical makeup as Data, but not nearly as much development in its neural pathways. Data asks the head what its name is and the head refers to himself as B-4 . Picard notes that Soong's penchant for whimsical names ("Before") continues. Data asks if B-4 knows how he got to the planet or anything about his life prior to that, but B-4 knows nothing. Picard tells La Forge to reassemble him. Data asks if B-4 knows him and B-4 tells Data " You are me. " Data corrects him and tells B-4 that his own name is Data and that he is B-4's brother. It is becoming clear that the state of B-4's positronic brain results in him being simple-minded.

A new mission [ ]

In his ready room , Picard orders Earl Grey tea from his replicator while reading a PADD at his desk . Shortly after, he receives a message from Starfleet Command and when the signal comes through, he's pleased to see the recently-returned Admiral Janeway on the screen. Janeway surprises Picard by sending him on a diplomatic mission to Romulus . The recently-installed Praetor , Shinzon , has requested a Federation envoy. As if that weren't surprising enough, Shinzon himself is Reman , not Romulan, having ascended as a result of some kind of political shake-up. Janeway says that Starfleet is just as confused as Picard must be, but needs an experienced captain on the scene, and the Enterprise happens to be the closest ship to the Romulan border. Janeway warns Picard to watch his back, and to be careful, since instability in the Empire could have consequences for the entire quadrant.

Picard steps out onto the bridge and tells the helmsman, Lieutenant Branson , to set course for Romulus, regretfully telling Riker " I'm afraid the Opal Sea will have to wait, Number One. " With Picard's command, the Enterprise warps into Romulan territory.

In the observation lounge , Data briefs the crew on what little the Federation knows of Remus and the Remans: the planet Remus is tidally-locked , leaving one side permanently facing the Romulan sun and therefore uninhabitable, and the other side in permanent dark, which is where the Remans live. Virtually nothing is known of life on the planet, except Starfleet Intelligence has conducted long-range scans that indicate the presence of dilithium mining and heavy weapons construction.

As for the Remans themselves, Data notes that they are, in the hierarchy of the Empire, second-class citizens , but Riker notes that they also have a reputation as being formidable warriors; during the Dominion War , Reman troops were used as ground assault troops (i.e., cannon fodder) in the most violent encounters. La Forge wonders how a Reman could have become Praetor, and Riker theorizes that the Remans must have orchestrated a coup d'état with the support of the Romulan military .

Picard asks what is known about Shinzon himself. Data reports that Starfleet has nothing except a portion of his military record, from which it can be inferred that he is relatively young, but a very capable commander, having fought twelve successful engagements in the war. Picard remarks that the Enterprise is truly " sailing into the unknown " and asks everyone to keep up their research.

On the way to Romulus, Data, with La Forge's help, downloads a copy of his memory into B-4. Data is hopeful that with his memories and information that B-4 will be more successful in becoming a productive member of society. To Data's silent disappointment, the results of the memory download do not appear to be successful but La Forge notes that B-4 is assimilating a lot of information and it could just take some time. Data examines the back of B-4's head while La Forge is talking, and discovers an unknown port on his neck . La Forge thinks it may be a redundant memory port, believing it could possibly be provisional memory storage in case B-4's neural pathways overload. La Forge decides keeps B-4 with him in order to see if there's more he can do for him.

Romulus [ ]

On the bridge, the crew continues to wait. Picard asks Troi for impressions, and she reports that " they're out there, captain. " Worf recommends raising shields but Picard refuses. Riker comments that " with all due respect to diplomatic protocol, the Federation Council isn't sitting out here; we are. " Picard reminds Riker that " diplomacy is an exacting occupation " and that they will continue to wait. On the viewscreen, a massive warship decloaks in front of them, easily twice the size of the Enterprise . Worf automatically begins to raise shields, but Picard tells him to stop and calls for a tactical analysis. Worf scans the ship and reports grimly that the vessel is loaded with weapons systems: 52 disruptor banks , 27 photon torpedo bays, and primary and secondary shield generators . Picard grimly sums up the vessel: " She's a predator. "

They are hailed by the warship. A Reman holding a scepter appears on screen and identifies their ship as the Reman Warbird Scimitar . Picard, thinking this is Shinzon, begins to address him, but the Reman tells them he is not Shinzon, but rather his viceroy . He relays transport coordinates to the Enterprise and promptly cuts off the transmission. The senior staff head for the transporter room.

Praetor Shinzon

They beam over to Scimitar and find themselves in a darkened room. A man hidden from view up a flight of stairs asks their forgiveness for receiving them in such a darkened room but Remans are uncomfortable in light. The man, Shinzon, finally walks into view although his face is still hidden by the darkness. He tells Picard that he imagined Picard to be taller and that Data may scan him without trying to hide the tricorder . Picard tells Shinzon he is not what they imagined him to be and Worf correctly identifies him as Human . Shinzon takes notice of Troi while Picard asks why they were summoned here. Shinzon says he's never met a Human woman before, but Troi tells Shinzon she's only half-Human. Shinzon recites many statistics about Troi, how she's from Betazed, and the ship's counselor. All this Shinzon knew, but he states he did not know she was so beautiful. Riker, obviously concerned about the remarks Shinzon is making about his wife, comments that he seems to know a lot about their personnel, Shinzon tells Riker he does indeed. He asks Troi if he can touch her hair, but Picard steps in and tells Shinzon that they came on what was made to sound like an important mission and if Shinzon has any real business to do with them, he should get on with it. Shinzon apologizes and says there is much to discuss. Shinzon proposes unity, tearing down the Neutral Zone and establishing peace. Shinzon tells Picard that he's likely thinking this is too good to be true, but that a chance for peace cannot be ignored. When Picard confirms it, Shinzon raises the light level in the room, which causes the Viceroy to step back into the shadows. No one but Picard recognizes who Shinzon appears to be. Shinzon looks just as Picard did in his early 20s. They are of the same flesh, the same blood, the same person. Shinzon tells Picard to come tomorrow to Romulus and the two of them – or rather – the one of them, will have dinner and speak more about the future then. He pulls out a knife, cuts his hand, and gives the blood stained blade to Data, knowing they'll want to scan it. He bids them farewell, returns the light back to the previous levels and he and the Viceroy leave the room and the away team beams back up to the Enterprise .

In sickbay, Beverly Crusher examines the bloodstain in the computer and tells Picard that right down to his aggressive strain of Shalaft's Syndrome , Shinzon is a clone of Picard. She notes that they probably cloned him from a hair follicle or a skin cell of Picard's. Riker wonders why the Romulans would clone Picard; Picard tells Riker that he intends to find out.

On Romulus, Suran is growing impatient with Shinzon, telling him that they only supported him because Shinzon said it was time for an attack on the Federation but now Shinzon is delaying and he wonders what purpose bringing the Enterprise here serves. Shinzon tells Suran he doesn't have to understand Shinzon's purpose and that he should really learn patience – something that spending eighteen hours a day being harassed by a Romulan guard will teach a man. Shinzon sends them away but asks Commander Donatra to remain a moment. Shinzon tells Donatra to consider the word "allegiance," and that he demands that from people who serve him. He says that Donatra serves him and he believes she does so faithfully but not so with Suran. Donatra asks Shinzon to consider the word "trust" and asks if he trusts her and to what extent. She asks what she should do to prove herself faithful as an officer and as a woman. Shinzon, however, tells her that she's not a woman, but merely a Romulan. He tells her to watch Commander Suran and if he shows any sign of disloyalty, he is to be eliminated. Then she will have proven herself. On her way out, Shinzon tells Donatra that if she ever touches him again, he will kill her. She leaves the Senate hall as Shinzon doubles over immediately after and the Viceroy touches his chest and appears to calm him. Donatra meanwhile, watches the entire incident outside the door.

In Data's quarters, B-4 seems to receive a signal. He stops petting Spot and walks over to the computer and begins working it with the apparent skill and ability of Data.

That next day, in the Senate Hall, Shinzon tells Picard he was created from a sample of Picard's DNA and that at the right time, he would replace Picard and be a Romulan spy in the heart of Starfleet. When Picard asks what happened, Shinzon explains that the plan was abandoned some time ago when a new government came to power and they deemed the idea too risky, fearing it would incite a war with the Federation were he discovered. Shinzon explains that his face isn't exactly as Picard's was because of how he's endured a lifetime of violence, with the Romulans breaking his nose and jaw. But Shinzon says that the eyes should be very similar and Picard agrees. Shinzon says a man's eyes reflect the life he's led and says Picard's eyes are so confident. Shinzon confesses he hoped to grow to a height of two meters, a feeling Picard shared. Picard asks how Shinzon ended up on Remus and Shinzon tells Picard that he was sent to the Reman mines to die. They didn't think a Human would last very long there. Shinzon recalled not seeing the stars again for almost ten years after he arrived and also how the only thing the Romulan guards hated more than the Remans was him. He would have died quickly had a man not taken pity on him and kept the Romulans away from him. The man that helped him when he was only a small child became his Viceroy after Shinzon began his rise to power. He tells Picard that everything he has done has been for the sole purpose of liberating the Remans, from building the Scimitar at a secret shipyard to assembling his army and finally coming to Romulus in force. Shinzon realized the Romulans would never willingly liberate them and so they would have to forcibly take their freedom.

When Picard asks just how many Romulans died for their freedom, Shinzon has to admit it was "too many", but he is also glad to see that the Empire is finally beginning to realize there is a better way, the way of peace. Shinzon realizes that Picard doesn't trust him and Picard has to admit it is so. Shinzon tells Picard that if it had been him on Remus, he would be doing the exact same thing; Picard tells Shinzon if he were in Picard's position he'd know that Picard's responsibility to the Federation prevents him from letting his personal feelings affect his judgment. Shinzon remarks that all he has to go with are his personal feelings, and that he wants to know what it means to be Human. While the Remans have given Shinzon a future, he wants to know about his past. Picard says that he can tell Shinzon about Picard's own past. Shinzon asks if the Picards were always warriors. Picard says he prefers to think of himself as an explorer, so Shinzon asks if they were always explorers. Picard says he was the first of the family to ever leave the solar system ; it caused a great stir in his family, but he had spent his life looking at the stars and dreaming of new worlds. Picard says that he wants to believe Shinzon and that the Federation strongly believes that all races can be united, and that a Starfleet captain standing in the Romulan Senate is a good example of that. Picard adds that when the trust of the Romulan Empire has been earned, he will be pleased to take Shinzon's hand in friendship.

Dr. Crusher explains

Later, back aboard the Enterprise , Worf reports an unauthorized access of the ship's main computer and that La Forge is working on locating the source, but what he finds strange is that no restricted material was accessed – just basic stellar cartography and colony tracking station uplinks, for example. Picard says that they must still find the source of the break-in. La Forge also tells Picard that when the Scimitar decloaked, they detected thalaron radiation ; because it was thought to be theoretical, initial scans didn't detect it earlier. Picard remembers how research into thalaron radiation was outlawed in the Federation because it could be used as a biogenic weapon. Crusher tells Picard that merely a microscopic amount of the radiation could kill all life on the Enterprise -E in seconds.

In the Senate, the viceroy tells Shinzon that this was a mistake and they are wasting time. The viceroy reminds Shinzon that he must not forget their mission and they must act now. Shinzon says he'll spend his time how he pleases, but that he was merely curious about Picard.

In Picard's quarters, Crusher comes to visit him. They reminisce about how Picard was when he was younger, and Crusher mentions that he turned out alright. Picard says that he wanted to believe Shinzon, but the evidence of the thalaron radiation proves that whatever he is after, it is not peace. Picard tells Crusher that Shinzon is very much as Picard was when he was younger. Data signals from engineering and says he and La Forge have found the source of the unauthorized access, as well as a way to take tactical advantage of it.

In Riker's quarters, Riker and Troi head for bed and they begin kissing each other passionately. In Troi's mind, Riker disappears and is replaced by Shinzon, telling her that Riker can never know Troi as Shinzon could. Troi realizes this isn't real, but the image of Shinzon changes into the Viceroy. As it turns out, the Viceroy is creating a sort of mental link and placing himself and Shinzon in Troi's mind, a form of telepathic rape . Riker finally manages to snap Troi out of the assault, and Shinzon tells the Viceroy to find her again. Another Reman enters and informs Shinzon that they've received the transponder signal. As he leaves, Shinzon doubles over again. The Viceroy touches Shinzon's chest and tells him that Shinzon's condition is accelerating and that he has no more time for games. Shinzon tells the Viceroy to get the doctors ready.

On the bridge of the Scimitar , Shinzon orders B-4 beamed aboard. The Remans tap into him and begin a download of the files that he accessed from the Enterprise . Meanwhile, Shinzon orders a cup of hot tea.

In sickbay, Crusher tells Troi that, other than elevated readings of adrenaline and serotonin , she's all right. Troi tells Picard that she was violated and that she feels herself to be a liability, and asks to be relieved of duty. Picard denies her request, telling her if she can withstand any future assaults, he needs her by his side now more than ever with the Enterprise being so far from Federation space. Before he can say anything further, Picard is beamed away before Riker can order Worf to put the shields up. The Scimitar cloaks and moves away from the Enterprise .

Aboard the Scimitar , Picard is restrained in a medical lab. Shinzon has the doctors take a sample of Picard's blood and he points out that B-4 was bait that Picard couldn't refuse. Shinzon says that with the information obtained from B-4, he now has all of Starfleet's communications protocols and knows the exact locations of the entire Federation fleet. Shinzon says his life has no meaning as long as Picard is alive. Picard says that if Shinzon has issues with him, then Shinzon should deal with him, and leave the Enterprise and the Federation alone. However, Shinzon says that the Remans will no longer bow before anyone – not the Romulans, and not the Federation. Shinzon says that if Picard had lived Shinzon's life, Picard would do the exact thing Shinzon is doing. Picard tells Shinzon that he's a mirror for Shinzon as well, but Shinzon says that he won't be for long, and that he's about to witness the echo triumph over the voice.

On the Enterprise , La Forge tells Riker that Shinzon's cloak is perfect and that there's no way to detect the Scimitar . Riker tells La Forge to keep trying.

The emergency transport unit concealed in Data's forearm

On the Scimitar , B-4 enters and tells the Reman guard that Shinzon wants the prisoner. As the guard releases Picard, B-4 – revealed to be Data posing as B-4 – gives the Reman a Vulcan neck pinch to incapacitate him. After completely freeing Picard, Data tells Picard that Scimitar is, for all intents and purposes, an enormous thalaron generator. He also tells Picard that the information he (as B-4) gave Shinzon was false, created by himself and La Forge. He offers Picard the prototype of the emergency transport unit that La Forge gave him. Since it will only work for one person, Picard says he and Data will find a way off together.

The viceroy comes to the bridge and tells Shinzon that it's time; Shinzon goes with him to the medical lab. Meanwhile Data, acting as B-4, has Picard cuffed and taken at gunpoint away as an act to fool any passing Remans. Eventually, when Shinzon and the Viceroy arrive at the medical lab, they find the doctor just waking up and Picard gone. The Viceroy kills the Reman doctor on Shinzon's order, and the alert is sounded. Picard is freed of his manacles and given a disruptor. Once they reach the shuttlebay, Data attempts to decipher the code while Picard holds off the Reman security force by himself. Data does not have much luck initially, as Reman is a very complex and difficult language. Picard urges him on, telling him, " We really need that door open! " Finally, Data manages to punch in the right code. He and Picard enter the shuttlebay, and Picard welds the bay doors shut with his disruptor rifle. Data tells Picard that the shuttles on board are Scorpion -class attack fliers . While the Reman guards try to shoot through the door, Picard tries to become acquainted with the controls of the fighter. After being able to lift off, Data tells Picard that force fields have been erected around exterior portals, preventing them from leaving through the shuttlebay doors. Picard has Data fire through the door from which they came, and flies the fighter through the Scimitar 's corridors. They finally return to the observation deck where Shinzon had initially received them, and fly out through the window. This causes a disruption in the cloaking field, revealing the location of the Scimitar . Shinzon notices the fighter flying toward the Enterprise and orders that it be caught in a tractor beam . At the same time on the Enterprise , they see the fighter flying toward them, and Riker has Worf transport the fighter aboard into a shuttlebay. As transport completes, the Enterprise races away from Romulus at maximum warp.

Commander Suran shortly thereafter calls Shinzon and tells him his patience is wearing thin, wondering why Shinzon continues to delay further after promising that it was time for action. Shinzon tells Suran that the Enterprise won't even make it out of the Neutral Zone , and that two days later, the Federation would be crippled beyond repair. Shinzon asks if that will satisfy Suran, who says it will, "for the moment." Shinzon says that when he returns to Romulus, he and Suran will have a little chat about showing proper respect. He closes the channel. Tal'aura wonders what's happening to Shinzon's face. Before everyone leaves the Senate Hall, Donatra stops Suran and asks him if he's truly ready to have his hands drenched in blood, and explains that instead of trying to conquer Earth, Shinzon plans on annihilating it; that crime will dishonor and stain their hands with blood for many generations.

En route to Earth [ ]

Later, aboard the Enterprise , Beverly Crusher explains that Shinzon is dying from genetic degeneration because he was created with a temporal RNA sequence, which would allow him to skip thirty years of his life in order to reach Picard's actual age more quickly. But since that wasn't activated, his body is beginning to break down and the only thing that will save him is a complete blood transfusion from Picard, which would kill him. Crusher says she doesn't know how long it will take for Shinzon to die, but knows that the effect is accelerating. With this information at hand, Picard realizes that Shinzon will come for him.

In Data's quarters, Data has B-4 restrained and activates only cognitive and vocal subroutines. Data tells B-4 that because he is a danger to the ship, he must be deactivated indefinitely. However B-4 does not understand and wishes to be released but Data cannot allow it. Data asks about Shinzon's plans, but B-4 doesn't have any useful information. B-4 asks how long "indefinitely" is, and after deactivating him, Data says it is a long time.

During a senior staff briefing, La Forge calls Shinzon's weapon a cascading biogenic pulse and that the properties of thalaron radiation allow the weapon to expand its radius enough to affect a ship, or even a planet. Picard realizes that the only reason Shinzon would have built such a weapon would be to destroy Earth. If Humanity is destroyed, the Federation is crippled and would be an easy target for a Romulan invasion. La Forge also reluctantly tells Riker that there is no way to penetrate Shinzon's cloak. Crusher notes that Shinzon will likely come after Picard before going to Earth, which is what Picard is counting on. He tells the crew they're being sent to Sector 1045 to meet Star Fleet Battle Group Omega ; hopefully the fleet will be able to stop the Scimitar . Picard stands and tells the staff that under no circumstances can Shinzon be allowed to use the weapon, and that all other concerns are secondary. After Riker assures him they understand his order, Picard orders the ship to battle stations .

On the Scimitar , the viceroy touches Shinzon's chest, and tells him that he only has a matter of hours and they must begin the procedure. As it turns out, the Scimitar is cloaked and right behind the Enterprise . The viceroy tells Shinzon they will reach the Bassen Rift in seven minutes.

In astrometrics , Picard asks Data where their current position is. Data reports that they will reach the fleet in forty minutes. Picard remarks that Shinzon called himself a mirror of Picard, but Data disagrees, saying the events of Picard's life have created a unique individual. He compares Picard's situation with Shinzon to his situation with B-4; he says that while B-4 may be physically identical to Data aside from the former's less developed neural ability, B-4 would not be Data even if he did have equal mental powers. Data explains that he aspires to be better than he is, as does Picard – but neither B-4 nor Shinzon share that trait. As they begin passing through the rift, their connection to Starfleet Cartography is interrupted, and Data explains that all long-range communication will be affected. As he does so, both he and Picard realize that this is what Shinzon has been waiting for. Picard taps his combadge and orders Riker to take evasive maneuvers, but it is too late, as Shinzon has already begun firing at them. Shinzon orders his gunner to only target weapons and shields, as he doesn't want the Enterprise destroyed.

The Battle in the Bassen Rift [ ]

The next shot knocks out the Enterprise 's warp drive , causing it to revert to impulse speed. The Scimitar is visible for the briefest moment as it too drops out of warp, disappearing completely as it turns about to resume the attack .

Picard and Data arrive on the bridge as disruptor blasts continue to impact the Enterprise . Riker reports that they cannot return fire while the Scimitar is firing through its cloak, and La Forge says their warp drive is inoperable. Picard orders Worf to fire a full phaser spread at zero elevation, with photon torpedoes ready to launch at any shield impact. The Enterprise looses a corona of phaser blasts, a few of which hit the Scimitar behind it, but it easily evades the volley of torpedoes. On his bridge, Shinzon sneers, " You're too slow, old man, " and orders his crew to perform Attack Pattern Shinzon Theta.

Passing overhead, the Scimitar rakes the Enterprise 's dorsal hull with disruptor blasts, almost draining its shields in that quarter. Picard orders a full-axis rotation to port, and to fire all ventral phaser banks. The Enterprise scores several hits, but only causes minimal damage to the Scimitar . Riker orders evasive pattern Kirk Epsilon and Picard calls Troi to the bridge. Shinzon hails and asks to see Picard in his ready room.

Cease fire [ ]

In the ready room, Picard encounters a holographic Shinzon , who tells him not to bother trying to trace the holographic emitters. Shinzon wants Picard to surrender and to allow him to transport Picard aboard his ship. When Picard asks about the Enterprise , Shinzon says he has little interest in it. Picard asks Shinzon to look at him; he says that Shinzon's heart, hands and eyes are all the same as his own, and that they all have the same potential. Picard tells Shinzon that using that potential to make yourself a better man is what it means to be Human. Shinzon dismisses all of this as childish dreams he lost in the brutality he experienced in the Reman mines. Picard says that he knows that deep down, they are a better man than someone who would exterminate an entire planet's population. Picard asks if Shinzon will waste his life with in a blaze of hatred, and says he can make another choice. However, Shinzon says that he can't change what he is, and that he will show Picard their true nature; he says his voice will echo through time after Picard's fades to a dim memory. With that, the hologram disappears. Picard sighs sadly, forced to accept that he has lost his last chance to get through to Shinzon, and now has no choice but to fight him to the death.

The Romulans arrive [ ]

Shinzon returns to his bridge just in time to see two Romulan Warbirds decloak. On the Enterprise , Picard steps out just in time to see the same thing. Riker tells Picard this is happening " just when I thought it couldn't get any worse. " At that moment, they are hailed and Commander Donatra, aboard the warbird Valdore , offers her assistance to the Enterprise . Picard is amazed that they're here to help them instead of Shinzon. She explains that the Empire considers this situation a matter of internal security and she apologizes that Picard has had to get involved. Picard says when this is over, he owes Donatra a drink; Donatra suggests Romulan ale. The three ships get to work coordinating with each other to make a full attack on the Scimitar . Shinzon attacks the flanking Warbird and manages to disable it. The Valdore makes a strafing run on the Scimitar . Shinzon orders a partial de-cloaking and has the ship come to a full stop, making it looks like the Scimitar has suffered significant damage. Donatra takes the bait and has the Valdore close in. At the critical moment, Shinzon fires all weapons just as Valdore passes over them, and Valdore is disabled as well. Donatra tells Picard they have life support but are otherwise disabled. With the Romulans out of the way, Scimitar turns its attention back to the Enterprise . With shields failing and the hull beginning to fail in certain areas, Troi has an idea.

On Scimitar , as Shinzon prepares the next attack, the viceroy suddenly gasps in shock. When Shinzon asks what's wrong, the Viceroy tells him " She's here… " Troi has used the same trick the viceroy did earlier to get Shinzon in her mind. She is locating the viceroy through her mind and at the same time, guiding Worf's hand to precisely locate the Scimitar . After a few moments, she locks onto the Viceroy despite his attempts to resist, telling him to " Remember me! " At that moment, she tells Worf " Now! ", and Worf fires a full volley of quantum torpedoes toward the Scimitar , all of which score direct hits. Picard has the Enterprise continue to fire. The ship makes a strafing run over the Scimitar while slamming it with phasers and more quantum torpedoes, which finally disable the cloak. Shinzon orders the Viceroy to prepare a boarding party and to go get Picard. Shinzon orders full disruptors targeting one specific point on the Enterprise ; it is enough to disable the Enterprise 's shields, and the Reman boarding party beams to the Enterprise . Riker and Worf lead a team to confront their intruders. On the way, Worf admits to Riker that the Romulans fought with honor, and Riker agrees.

Reman boarding party

At that moment, the parties meet, and a firefight ensues in the corridor. The viceroy, after sneering at Riker, eventually ducks into a Jefferies tube ; with Worf covering him, Riker follows. They soon meet in the tube, the viceroy knocking Riker's phaser rifle away and cutting Riker's arm with his knife.

The Scimitar fires on the bridge, destroying the viewscreen and causing a massive hull breach that blows the helmsman, Lieutenant Branson , out into space. The rest of the crew hang on to whatever is nearby until the emergency force fields are put in place. Picard calls for medical teams as Troi races down to take over the Ops position in order to pilot (the conn position having been destroyed along with half the bridge). Data reports that they have exhausted their torpedo complement and phasers are down to four percent. Picard considers targeting all phasers on one spot, but with the Scimitar 's shields still at seventy percent, La Forge tells him it would make no difference. The Scimitar pulls into position so they can see it right through the hole in the bridge where the viewscreen was. Troi wonders what Shinzon is doing. Picard realizes that Shinzon is trying to look him in the eye; thinking Shinzon knows what Picard will do, Picard realizes they have a chance to get him. Picard tells La Forge to divert all power to engines and has Troi standing by. Shinzon hails and asks if Picard is still alive; Picard says he is. Shinzon suggests that Picard go ahead and surrender. Picard tells Shinzon that when he was in the Academy , during his first evaluation, he was considered to be very overconfident; Picard cuts off the channel before Shinzon can finish his reply. Meanwhile, as he was talking to Shinzon, Picard sent Troi an order via text message to prepare to engage the engines at full impulse on his command. As Picard cuts off the channel, he tells Troi to engage, and orders all hands to brace for impact. Troi takes the Enterprise to maximum impulse on a direct collision course with the Scimitar . Shinzon quickly notices what Picard is doing and orders evasive action, but not in time. The Enterprise collides with the Scimitar , and starts to plow its way through the main hull. The Enterprise suffers massive damage, throwing the entire crew off their feet and destroying several sections of the ship, while the Scimitar 's hangar and other decks are completely demolished by the saucer. Eventually, the Enterprise comes to a stop, leaving both ships locked together.

In the Jefferies tube, Riker gets the drop on the viceroy and kicks the knife away from him; at that point, their battle becomes a hand-to-hand brawl.

The Battle in the Bassen Rift

On the Scimitar , Shinzon orders full reverse on the engines, which separates the ships and destroys several decks, leaving part of the Enterprise 's saucer section in the Scimitar . During the pull away, Riker and the viceroy fall into a chasm, likely caused by the ship's separation; Riker, hanging onto a metal causeway, kicks the Viceroy's leg out from under him and sends him plummeting to his death.

With both ships separated and all other options exhausted, Picard attempts to initiate the auto-destruct sequence; however, the computer informs him that it is offline. On the Scimitar , Shinzon is told that their disruptors are off-line. Shinzon orders that the weapon be deployed and used to kill everyone on the Enterprise ; afterward, they are to set course for Earth and complete their mission. As the thalaron matrix begins to activate, Shinzon quietly says to Picard that there are some ideals worth dying for.

The activation is noticed on the Enterprise . When Picard asks how long they have, La Forge says the sequence should take about seven minutes as the thalaron radiation is relayed to the firing points; once that happens, no one on the Enterprise will survive. When Troi wonders how Shinzon can do that, knowing it will kill Picard, Picard tells her it's not about him anymore. Picard picks up a phaser rifle stored behind a wall on the bridge and orders La Forge to prepare for a site-to-site transport . When La Forge begins to tell Picard that he might not make it, Picard says that's an order. Data asks Picard to let him go, but Picard says he must do this. He leaves Data in command, and tells him to try to put some distance between them and the Scimitar . Just as the transport completes, they short out and transporters go down. Data orders Troi to assume command and takes La Forge with him. Data and La Forge head for an exposed corridor that faces Shinzon's vessel. The two old friends exchange a brief look at each other, knowing it is for the final time, before La Forge activates another force field between him and Data. As Data runs toward the hole in the ship, La Forge deactivates that force field which, as he leaps, blows Data out of the Enterprise and toward the Scimitar . When he reaches it, Data grabs hold and activates a hatch, allowing him access.

On the Scimitar , Picard heads toward the bridge, shooting any Reman he comes across. Upon reaching the bridge, Picard destroys the door and begins firing at any and all Remans on the bridge. One Reman gets close to him; he beats the Reman with his phaser rifle, which unfortunately destroys the rifle. Shinzon and Picard begin brawling, and Picard loses his phaser when it falls out of its holster. Picard gets away from Shinzon long enough to get up close to the thalaron generator, but realizes he's lost his phaser; between the generator and him is Shinzon, holding a knife. The two have another close fight, and the knife is lost into the thalaron generator, destroying it immediately. Shinzon pulls out a smaller blade, but Picard, against the wall, pulls down a pipe and impales Shinzon with it. Shinzon pulls himself along the pipe, running it all the way through himself; he puts his hands around Picard's neck, and tells him that he's glad they're together at that moment and that their destiny's complete. Shinzon dies with his hands around Picard's throat, and Picard is left frozen in shock.

"Good bye…"

Data enters the Scimitar 's bridge, goes up to the generator, and pulls Shinzon's body off of Picard. In the ultimate sacrifice, Data activates the emergency transport beacon on Picard, who disappears just as he begins to protest. Data softly says " Goodbye. " He turns toward the thalaron generator, which will fire in ten seconds; he aims his phaser at the thalaron generator and shoots it in the final seconds, which destroys the generator, the Scimitar , and himself along with it.

Data makes the final sacrifice

From the Enterprise , La Forge and Troi witness the destruction of Scimitar , shocked by what they see. They turn and see Picard standing on the bridge. Troi asks about Data, but Picard can only shake his head. The Valdore signals as Commander Donatra tells Picard she is sending shuttles with medical personnel and supplies; she informs Picard that he's earned a friend in the Romulan Empire , which she hopes will be the first of many. A devastated Picard asks La Forge to open the doors, as the Romulans won't know their procedures. He tells La Forge to " just open the doors. " La Forge gently assures Picard that he'll take care of it as Picard retreats to his ready room.

A toast to Data

Later in Picard's quarters, he hands glasses of Chateau Picard to Riker, Troi, La Forge, Crusher, and Worf. He makes a toast in remembrance of their fallen crewmate and friend. Troi begins to cry, and in Irish wake tradition, Riker, through tears, chuckles and recalls the first time he saw Data on the holodeck . Riker mentions how Data was trying to whistle but couldn't ever get the tune right, but Riker can't remember the name of the tune Data was trying to whistle.

Spacedock: Earth [ ]

The Enterprise undergoing repairs

Later, after the Enterprise is taken to Earth, the ship is undergoing extensive repairs in drydock . Picard is reading something in his ready room when Riker comes in, now wearing his captain's rank pips, and asks Picard for permission to disembark, which Picard grants. Picard asks where Titan is headed off to and Riker tells Picard they're going back to the Neutral Zone and that they're heading up a task force out there. It seems the Romulans are now interested in talking. Picard offers Riker one piece of advice and Riker is happy to take it. Picard tells Riker that when his first officer insists that he can't go on away missions to ignore him. Riker says he intends to. The two men and old friends clasp hands. Riker tells Picard that serving with him has been an honor and Picard says the honor was his. And with that, Captain Riker leaves the Enterprise to head for the Titan .

Picard goes to his quarters and talks to B-4, telling him about Data's goal of becoming more Human and that Data's wonder about Human nature allowed them to see the best part of themselves and Data embraced change because he always wanted to be better than he was. B-4 doesn't understand though and Picard says he hopes B-4 eventually will and that they will talk again. Worf calls and tells Picard they're ready to put the warp engines online and Picard leaves for the bridge. B-4 begins to mumble lyrics from "Blue Skies." Picard helps him continue by singing along a couple of lines. As he walks down the corridor, Picard smiles knowing that a small part of Data survives in B-4 and that despite all that's changed recently, things will indeed be all right.

Log entries [ ]

Memorable quotes [ ].

" A starship captain's life is filled with solemn duty. "

" Data? " " Sir? " " Shut up. " " Yes, sir. " " Fifteen years I've been waiting to say that! "

" Did you ever think about getting married again? " " No. Twenty-three was my limit. "

" Romulan ale should be illegal. " " It is. "

" But I take it there will be no speeches during the ceremony on Betazed? " " No. No speeches and… no clothes. "

" Ladies and gentlemen, and invited transgendered species… "

" Captain, I do not think it is appropriate for a Starfleet officer to appear… naked. " " Oh, come now! A big, handsome, strapping fellow like you? What can you be afraid of? "

" Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in the gym. "

" The Son'a, the Borg, the Romulans – you seem to get all the easy assignments. " " Just lucky, Admiral. " " Let's hope that luck holds. "

" You have the bridge… Mister Troi. "

" I will always be puzzled by the Human predilection for piloting vehicles at unsafe velocities. "

" It appears to be a robotic arm. " "Very astute. "

" Why do you have a shiny head? "

" B-4? Doctor Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end. "

" Why does the tall man have a furry face? "

" I am in a room, with lights! "

" Jean-Luc… how'd you like a trip to Romulus? " " With or without the rest of the fleet? "

" Diplomacy is a very exacting occupation. "

" Raising shields! " " No! " " Captain… " " Tactical analysis, Mr. Worf" " 52 disruptor banks, 27 photon torpedo bays, primary and secondary shielding " " She's a predator "

" Come to dinner tomorrow on Romulus! Just the two of us. Or, should I say, just the one of us? "

" Our eyes reflect our lives, don't they? And yours, so confident! "

" If there is one ideal the Federation holds most dear is that all men, all races, can be united. "

" Remember him? " " He was a bit cocky as I recall. " " He was a damn fool. Selfish, ambitious, very much in need of seasoning. " " He turned out alright. "

" As ship's counselor, I recommend you come and get some sleep. " " Some honeymoon! "

" Why am I here? Why have you done this? " " I was lonely. "

" What is it your Borg friends say? Resistance is futile. "

" What am I while you exist? A shadow? An echo? "

" I'm a mirror for you as well. " " Not for long, Captain. I'm afraid you won't survive to witness the victory of the echo over the voice. "

" And like a thousand other commanders on a thousand other battlefields, I wait for the dawn. "

" For now we see but through a glass darkly. "

" Can you learn to see in the dark, captain? "

" Captain Picard, Commander Donatra of the warbird Valdore . Might we be of assistance? " " Assistance? " " The Empire considers this a matter of internal security. We regret you've become involved. " " Commander… when this is over, I owe you a drink. "

" The Romulans… fought with honor. " " Yes, they did, Mr. Worf. "

" Goodbye. "

" Captain, we are being hailed. " " On screen. (looks up to see there is not screen) Open a channel. "

" You've earned a friend in the Romulan Empire today, captain. I hope the first of many. "

" To absent friends. To family. "

" Serving with you has been an honor. " " The honor was mine… captain. "

" Never saw things… " " …going so right. " " …going so right. "

Background information [ ]

• Filming on Star Trek Nemesis began on 28 November 2001 ( citation needed • edit ) and wrapped on 8 March 2002 , overlapping with the filming of the first season of Star Trek: Enterprise . ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 3, Issue 2 , p. 6)
• This TNG film featured the longest gap between it and the preceding movie, a span of about four years. This was also the longest drought in the Star Trek franchise until it was surpassed by the next film in the series, Star Trek, which was released nearly six and a half years later. However, due to its poor box-office performance and reception, Nemesis was also the last film chronologically set in the prime universe (save for the Spock Prime mind-meld 2387 flashbacks in the 2009 film).
• There are no opening credits save the title. Both the letter "R" in "Trek" and the second "E" in "Nemesis" are presented backward within the words in order to introduce the idea of a mirror image. In the audio commentary of the DVD, Rick Berman says that he "was not crazy" about the inversions.
• Brent Spiner receives partial story credit for this film, following in the footsteps of Leonard Nimoy who co-wrote the story for the final appearance of the Star Trek: The Original Series cast in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .
• The Enterprise -E is not the first Federation starship to visit Romulus . The USS Bellerophon visited the planet in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ".
• This is the only TNG film not to feature the Mintakan tapestry ( TNG : " Who Watches The Watchers ") somewhere in Picard's quarters.

Enterprise -E saucer section in "Regeneration"

• Jeri Ryan was asked to reprise the role of Seven of Nine in a cameo at Riker and Troi's wedding, but refused both because she wanted to avoid being too attached to Star Trek and she was confused as to why Seven would attend the wedding of people she did not know. ( The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years )
• The song Riker can't remember from his first encounter with Data was " Pop Goes the Weasel ," dating all the way back to the pilot, " Encounter at Farpoint ".
• A large mock-up of the saucer section of the Enterprise -E, used during the collision course sequence, later appeared in the debris field of a Borg sphere in the Star Trek: Enterprise second season episode " Regeneration ". ( ENT Season 2 Blu-ray , "Regeneration" audio commentary )
• As with the actors portraying Remans, Michael Dorn 's voice was electronically lowered in pitch in post production to give Worf a more alien sound.
• The contact lenses used in Data's makeup differed from those used in previous outings as, this time, they were more opaque yellow.
• In an interview early in the film's preproduction, John Logan stated that a Gorn would be present in Riker and Troi's wedding reception. However, no such alien appeared in the final movie due to the prohibitively high cost of creating such a creature. However, Logan's insertion of a " Tholian ambassador ," spoken by Tal'aura, survived the final cut of the movie. A redesigned Gorn later made an appearance in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ". ( citation needed • edit )
• Logan also wanted the battle in the Bassen Rift to be fought with a fleet of vessels, not just four, however, this too would have been prohibitively expensive. ( citation needed • edit )
• A scene cut from the movie's script states that the USS Hemingway towed the critically-damaged Enterprise to Earth following the latter ship's battle against the Scimitar . ( citation needed • edit )
• In the It's A Wrap! sale and auction , an unused blue casual jumpsuit that was to be used by Shinzon was put up for auction. This costume was never used, which could suggest that there was an intended scene which may have had Shinzon in a casual state.
• The film's visual effects were provided by Digital Domain .
• Before kicking the Reman viceroy to his death, Riker originally was going to quip " Don't worry, hell is dark. " Jonathan Frakes objected to the line, feeling that it made Riker seem like he was enjoying the thought of killing the viceroy rather than doing it out of self defense, but it initially remained in the movie. However, when the film's script was leaked on the internet in mid-2002, Riker's quip in particular was widely ridiculed by fans, which finally led to the line's removal. It is, however, kept in the novel.
• The leaked script also revealed that the bridge of the Scimitar would have had several warp core relays built into it, and Data would have destroyed the ship by shooting one of the relays at the climax. This ended up being removed after Rick Sternbach pointed out how ridiculous it would be to have part of the warp core routed through the bridge, and Sternbach also called attention to the fact that if a firefight broke out on the bridge (as indeed happens when Picard arrives) one misplaced shot by either party could destroy the whole ship. As a result, the script was changed so that Data destroyed the Scimitar by shooting the thalaron generator. ( citation needed • edit )
• Just after Data destroys the Scimitar , Picard appears suddenly on the bridge of the Enterprise in very much the same fashion that Data suddenly appears on the bridge after Gomtuu leaves in a brilliant flash of light in TNG : " Tin Man ".
• This is the first Star Trek film to use the 2002-2012 Paramount Pictures logo.

Cast trivia [ ]

• The only actors, beside the main cast, to participate in both this film and the first TNG film, Star Trek Generations , are Majel Barrett and Whoopi Goldberg . In both films, Barrett voiced the Enterprise computer and Goldberg played Guinan.
• Shannon Cochran had previously appeared as Kalita in TNG : " Preemptive Strike " and DS9 : " Defiant " and as Martok 's wife Sirella in DS9 : " You Are Cordially Invited ".
• J. Patrick McCormack had previously played Admiral Bennett in DS9 : " Doctor Bashir, I Presume " and Prax in VOY : " Counterpoint ".
• Bryan Singer , director of the first two X-Men films (which featured Patrick Stewart ), can be seen in one scene as the replacement tactical officer .
• Although Wil Wheaton 's ( Wesley Crusher ) only scene in the movie with any dialogue was cut from the final film, he can be seen sitting to the left of his mother at the far end of the front table during the wedding celebration (note inset photo marked "The wedding"). Several deleted scenes, including that one, can be seen in the two-disc DVD Special Collector's Edition .
• In a 2012 convention appearance, Wil Wheaton talked about his appearance in this film. According to Wheaton, he found out about it and that it was going to be the last one after a chance run-in with LeVar Burton and that it was Burton who went to the producers and asked that Wheaton be included in the film. Wheaton said that only a few days later, his agent got an offer from Paramount to appear in the film and Wheaton agreed without even knowing what he would be doing, only that he would be again portraying Wesley Crusher. Wheaton also said that he asked John Logan what Wesley was doing there, was he still a Traveler and just visiting or had he stopped traveling and returned to Starfleet? Wheaton said that Logan told him he didn't have an opportunity in the script to decide that one way or the other and it really didn't matter as far as the rest of the film went and that it would just have to be one of those things left to the audience to decide which would be the case.
• Steven Culp , who later played Major Hayes in ENT Season 3 , was filmed portraying the Enterprise -E's new first officer, Commander Martin Madden . This scene was cut from the theatrical release, but is available as a deleted scene on the DVD and Blu-ray release.
• In his appearance here, and in his recurring special guest appearances on the third season of Star Trek: Picard, Worf is the only Star Trek: Deep Space Nine main character to be seen in other live-action Star Trek productions since DS9 went off the air in 1999 . Kira Nerys, Quark and Odo (the latter using archive audio) later appeared in animated form in episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy ; Odo actor Rene Auberjonois also appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise , but as a different character.

References to other series and films [ ]

• Admiral Kathryn Janeway 's comments to Captain Picard in the original script called for her to name "the Borg, the Son'a, the Romulans, even that pesky Dr. Soran ", referencing the main adversaries of all four TNG films. The first three made it into the final cut; Janeway and her ship were already whisked away to the Delta Quadrant when the Soran incident took place and entirely out-of-contact with Starfleet , before managing to re-establish regular contact at a later point in time.
• The film contains references to all five live-action Star Trek television series that had been released at this time. Riker employs an evasive maneuver named after James T. Kirk , the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation appears, Riker discusses the Remans' participation in the war with the Dominion , Admiral Janeway appears, and a USS Archer is listed among a Starfleet battle group.
• The name of the Romulan ship Valdore was later reused as the name of a 22nd century Romulan senator and admiral, Valdore , in Star Trek: Enterprise .
• The toast given in Data's honor posthumously by Captain Picard, " To absent friends ", was also spoken by Admiral Kirk in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , in reference to Spock 's death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . " To absent friends " is the traditional naval toast of the day for Sunday. A similar toast, " To absent comrades " was given by Kor given in Jadzia Dax ' honor in " Once More Unto the Breach ".
• The end of the film (where Shinzon decides to unleash the thalaron device to destroy the Enterprise and Data's subsequent decision to destroy it, ultimately killing him) mirrors the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , where Khan decides to unleash the Genesis device on the Enterprise , in which Spock sacrifices himself to save the Enterprise .
• Additionally, the closing scene between Picard and B-4 , in which it is hinted that Data's memory transfer to the prototype android was seemingly successful, could be interpreted as setting up a potential regeneration of Data through B-4 – just as Spock was regenerated in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – for a next outing in the film series, which however did not come to fruition, as explained below .
• The way Riker defeats Shinzon's viceroy is also reminiscent of the way Kirk defeats the Klingon, Kruge , in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .
• The closing scene with the Enterprise undergoing repairs in drydock over Earth pays homage to Star Trek: The Motion Picture , reusing music from the scene in which the refurbished USS Enterprise is first viewed by Kirk from a shuttle.

…the ultimate fate of B-4…

• Data's self-sacrifice became a major plot point for Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard which premiered in 2020, and in which Picard stated on several occasions that he still mourned his friend after two decades. It was also revealed in the opening episode " Remembrance " that B-4 had been deactivated and disassembled when it became evident that Data's memory engrams had not taken hold after all. The disassembled B-4 being put in storage at the Daystrom Institute indefinitely, effectively put an end to any possibility of Data being resurrected à la Spock as he only appeared in Picard's guilt induced dreams.
• In Picard 's season one finale " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 " however, it turned out that Data was not dead in the truest sense of the word, as his consciousness had been preserved by Bruce Maddox and Altan Soong in an artificial construct. A single neuron from the memory engrams Data had copied into B-4 was used to reconstruct his consciousness. When a dying Picard got to visit Data in the construct, he was finally able to get closure by thanking Data in person for his self-sacrifice, who himself had no memory of the event as it occurred after he had transferred his memory engrams into B-4. Aware that he was only "living" in a simulation, Data however, requests Picard to terminate the simulation, thereby making his death definitive. Picard grants Data's wish.

Sets, props, and costumes [ ]

• The Enterprise -E main bridge set was placed on gimbals during production to allow for more realistic movement during battle sequences. Hence, the typical lurching movements made by the actors to simulate weapon impacts would appear more authentic. ( citation needed • edit )
• The interiors for sickbay and the crew quarters were new sets specifically built for this film. In previous outings, redressed interiors for USS Voyager were used. Unfortunately, they had already been struck by the time filming commenced. ( citation needed • edit )
• The freestanding terminals used on the Scimitar bridge are actually reused Cardassian consoles from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . ( citation needed • edit )
• The freestanding terminals used on the Valdore bridge are actually reused Klingon consoles that were used throughout the various series. ( citation needed • edit )
• The Valdore bridge itself was actually a redress of the bridge of the Enterprise -E. ( citation needed • edit )
• The Starfleet hand phasers were reused versions from VOY : " Endgame ". ( citation needed • edit )
• The Reman costumes were later reused as Xindi-Reptilian uniforms in Star Trek: Enterprise . ( citation needed • edit )
• Director Stuart Baird requested the redesign of many aspects of the universe, such as phasers and other props, to make them seem more realistic. He also requested a darker scheme to be used in the sets, hence a complete overhaul of the LCARS displays throughout the ship. ( citation needed • edit )
• The costumes worn by the Romulan guards seen briefly in the Senate were based upon ancient Japanese armor. ( citation needed • edit )
• The Enterprise -E observation lounge features a bank of computers that later reappeared aboard Enterprise NX-01 in " The Xindi " and later still in " Observer Effect ", where it was repainted. The lounge itself was in fact a redress of the Enterprise -D observation lounge, the only TNG set not struck after completion of Star Trek Generations . ( citation needed • edit )
• While in Star Trek Generations the displays in stellar cartography were created with blue-screens and digital compositing, stellar cartography in this film simply featured a large screen with a rear-projected display. This set, along with the cybernetics lab seen earlier in the film, were redresses of the Enterprise -E's main engineering set. ( citation needed • edit )
• Also, the console in the center of stellar cartography seen in this film was a reuse of the table featured in the Son'a conference room in Star Trek: Insurrection . ( citation needed • edit )
• The pants worn by Noriko Olling in the wedding scene were earlier used by Kate Vernon in the role of Valerie Archer in VOY : " In the Flesh ". ( citation needed • edit )
• Several props, set dressings, and costumes from this film were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including Jonathan Frakes ' Starfleet uniform, [1] a Starfleet stunt phaser rifle , [2] a Reman X buckle, [3] a Reman rifle, [4] a plate and bowl lot, [5] Roger Raskin 's Starfleet uniform, [6] Romulan senate chamber set dressings, [7] Sunny Gorg 's Starfleet undershirt, [8] a Romulan wig, [9] the USS Enterprise -E set stage plans. [10] a final draft script, [11] and a Kolaran costume which was later re-used as costume for Scott Booker in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode " Demons ". [12]

Promotion [ ]

The main page of the official Nemesis website

• The film's official website, operated by StarTrek.com and located at "nemesis.startrek.com", was launched on 28 June 2002 . The website's main page contained links to the film's trailer and the option of activating the site as run by Macromedia Flash or viewing a non-Flash version of the site. The site itself, like most official sites, contained information on the film and its cast and crew, as well as images, trailers, and downloads. The American version of the site was fully activated and updated by 30 November 2002 , and by February 2003 , links to foreign-language versions of the site had been added to the homepage. On 3 June 2005 , the site was integrated into StarTrek.com's main website. [13] (X)
• The fast food restaurant Del Taco featured promotional tie-ins to the film.
• Trailers and TV spots featured Shinzon's line " Kill everything aboard that ship, then set a course for Earth " edited into " Set a course for Earth – kill everything ".

Merchandising [ ]

• The toy company Art Asylum released four action figures based on the film in the likeness of Picard, Data, Shinzon, and the viceroy. However, its replica of the Enterprise -E (with lights and sound) was finally released in February 2006 , over three years later.
• Much like the score for Star Trek: Insurrection , the original soundtrack had a lot of material left off of it. A bootleg began circulation about six months after the film was released on home video. Yet while this bootleg contained more music, a couple of vital cues were left out of the score.
• In January 2013, Varèse Sarabande released a Limited Edition 2-CD Deluxe Edition of the score which contained everything heard in the film. [14] This release also revealed it contained mixes that the bootleg had and the two missing vital cues. This set also contains "Blue Skies" as heard by Brent Spiner in the film.

Merchandise gallery [ ]

Box office performance [ ]

• Opening on Friday, 13 December 2002 , Star Trek Nemesis earned a lower-than-expected US$18.5 million in its opening weekend. It became the first Star Trek film to not debut in the number one spot at the box office. That honor instead went to the Jennifer Lopez romantic comedy Maid in Manhattan , which beat out Nemesis by less than US$200,000 ( Nemesis actually made slightly more per cinema than Maid in Manhattan , but opened in nearly two hundred fewer theaters). Nemesis went on to lose over 76% of its business the following weekend, falling to eighth place in the face of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers . At the time, reflecting the fan's perception of the movie, this was the worst revenue drop of any major studio film in box office history, though it would be surpassed the following summer when Gigli (also starring Jennifer Lopez) lost 89% of its first-week business. The movie closed on Thursday, 13 March 2003 with a total gross of US$43.25 million, the lowest of all Star Trek films.
• Nemesis was equally disappointing in the United Kingdom. Opening on 3 January 2003 , it grossed only £4,666,630 in its entire run at the UK box office, considerably down on the other Next Generation films.
• The movie has the dubious distinction of becoming the all-time worst performing Star Trek movie, with the preceding Next Generation movie, Insurrection , coming in third, and one of only four which turned in an official net loss for the studio, the biggest one as a matter of fact. Even the hitherto most reviled one, The Final Frontier , had been able to break even. See for further details, Star Trek films: Performance summary .

Reception [ ]

• LeVar Burton is on record as having said that the film " sucked. " [15] Marina Sirtis backed him up, but also quipped " it sucked less than Insurrection . " Burton and Sirtis also criticized Stuart Baird for not watching a single episode of TNG. In later years, Sirtis has been more vocal in her criticisms of Baird, referring to him as " an idiot ." [16] According to Burton and several other members of the main cast, Baird kept referring to LeVar as "Laverne" throughout production and thought the character of Geordi La Forge was an alien.
• Fans came to agree with the assessments of Burton and Sirtis: the film review website Rotten Tomatoes calculated a 37% overall approval rate for Nemesis. As of 2016, this is the second lowest of all Star Trek films, only surpassed by Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , which is widely considered to be the worst Star Trek film. [17] Released at a time when the franchise was already under fire for the poorly-received television series Star Trek: Enterprise , it added considerable weight to a fan campaign seeking the removal of the "current leadership of the franchise from their positions, including Rick Berman, Brannon Braga [note: who, incidentally, had not worked on Nemesis ] , and their entire staff".
• Patrick Stewart has divulged that Nemesis was not intended to be the last in the Next Generation series, but a subsequent, fifth, one, " While we were filming Nemesis , an idea was being developed by John Logan, the screenwriter of Nemesis , and Brent Spiner for a fifth and final movie. It was a very exciting idea for a screenplay. It would have been a real farewell to Next Generation , but it would have involved other historic aspects of Star Trek as well. " However, the dismal reception and performance of Nemesis ended all notions for an encore. [18]
• The poor performance and reception of Nemesis – hard on the heels of the equally poor performance and dismal reception of Insurrection – , combined with the failure of Enterprise , was for the franchise conglomerate the reason to cease any and all further investments in prime universe Star Trek . Pursuant the cancellation of Enterprise , the studio one-and-a-half years later sold off their entire warehouses' contents of Star Trek production stock assets in the 2006-2009 40 Years of Star Trek: The Collection , and It's A Wrap! sale and auction wave of auctions , save for a limited amount for exhibition purposes, making it abundantly clear that Paramount was done with Star Trek as has been. Not only were live-action productions suspended, the release of related merchandise was, with the exception of home media formats, also dialed down considerably; exemplary of this was the publication cessation of two of the three official Star Trek magazines in existence at that time, Star Trek: Communicator in 2005, and the franchise's flagship magazine, Star Trek: The Magazine already in 2003, leaving the originally British Star Trek Magazine the sole survivor. Still, Paramount quite literally rebooted Star Trek with the alternate universe 2009 movie Star Trek , essentially reinventing and recreating Star Trek from scratch. It would not be until 2015 that a new prime universe work, which became Star Trek: Discovery , was announced.
• The poor fan reception became part of pop-culture when Nemesis was labeled a "terrible movie" in the otherwise Star Trek -friendly and heavily referencing sitcom The Big Bang Theory , in its only reference in the season four episode "The 21-Second Excitation".

Deleted scenes [ ]

• An extended wedding scene where Picard speaks with Wesley Crusher, who confirms that he has returned to Starfleet and will be serving aboard the USS Titan .
• A private conversation on board the Enterprise following the wedding between Picard and Data over a glass of Chateau Picard where Data examines Picard's Ressikan flute and Picard confirms that not only are Riker and Troi leaving the Enterprise but Dr. Crusher is also leaving to return to Starfleet Medical . They toast to "new worlds", which is later echoed during the dinner between Shinzon and Picard.
• Early introduction of Shinzon in the film (right after the wedding reception). This is the scene that includes the dialogue from the theatrical trailers, " But in darkness there is strength… " (Viceroy) and " The time we have dreamed of is at hand… the mighty Federation will fall before us… " (Shinzon).
• A discussion between Riker, Troi and Worf in the crew lounge about spending their honeymoon on the Opal Sea on Betazed (which is later expounded on in the theatrical cut where Picard tells Riker that "the Opal Sea will have to wait, Number One" after the Enterprise sets course for Romulus). Data also enters with B-4 and attempts to show the prototype android how to eat with a spoon.
• Worf warning Picard about the Romulans following the scene in the observation lounge on course for Romulus. This scene includes Worf's dialogue from the teaser trailer, " I recommend extreme caution… "

Captain Picard enjoys the new upgrade to the captain's chair in the original ending of the movie

• A scene of Picard walking with Troi down a corridor and Troi explaining to him that he and Shinzon are two different people. This scene includes the line from the trailer, " it was like a part of me had been stolen… " (Picard).
• The second mind-rape scene of Counselor Troi in a turbolift. Parts of this scene also appeared in the trailer showing Shinzon telling Troi " Don't fear " and later her on the floor of the turbolift looking distressed
• Sickbay getting ready for battle with dialogue between Dr. Crusher and Picard, referencing Zefram Cochrane 's quote " to seek out new life and new civilizations ."
• A scene of Worf and La Forge packing up Data's personal belongings in his quarters after his memorial service. La Forge examines Data's violin and Sherlock Holmes pipe . Spot jumps up in Worf's arms, who complains that he is " not a cat person ", as La Forge quips " you are now. "
• A conversation over subspace between Picard and Crusher, where she invites him to dinner on Earth after she has left the Enterprise for Starfleet Medical.
• The original ending – a new first officer is introduced on board the Enterprise as Riker departs and a new command chair is installed on the bridge.

Apocrypha [ ]

The A Time to… series of novels depicted Wesley Crusher still as a Traveler, and that he arrived to the wedding ceremony naked as he was expecting a Betazoid wedding. To cover the snafu, Picard had a uniform beamed down for Wesley to wear during the ceremony. The novel also established that Dr. Pulaski was present at the ceremony. The novel also establishes that Worf was serving temporarily as acting chief of security/tactical officer as the Enterprise 's chief of security was on shore leave on Earth and her second in command had recently resigned. Worf was also planning to transfer to the Titan with Riker and Troi as first officer, but after the death of Data, Picard requested Worf remain aboard the Enterprise and he agreed to do so.

Also, several novels, including Death in Winter , Resistance , Q&A , Before Dishonor , Greater than the Sum , and the Destiny trilogy have continued the adventures of the Enterprise beyond the events of Nemesis and showed further crew changes, for example, Beverly Crusher returning to the Enterprise after falling in love with, eventually marrying Captain Picard and becoming pregnant with their first child. Also, Worf is shown being promoted to full commander and becoming the Enterprise 's new permanent first officer.

The comic book series Star Trek: Countdown (that also functions as a prequel to the J.J. Abrams movie ), shows that Data "returned" to life by having his neural pathways eventually overwrite B-4 and then with help from Geordi and the Soong Foundation, upgraded B-4's neural net, thereby allowing Data's pathways to be fully operational. The restored Data would eventually become captain of the Enterprise after Picard becomes the Federation Ambassador to Vulcan . However, the events of this series would be later contradicted by the Cold Equations novel trilogy where Data's and B-4's fates take different paths than what are depicted in the comic.

Awards and honors [ ]

Star Trek Nemesis received the following awards and honors.

Links and references [ ]

Credits [ ], closing credits [ ].

• Stuart Baird
• John Logan & Rick Berman & Brent Spiner
• Rick Berman
• Gene Roddenberry
• Marty Hornstein
• Jeffrey L. Kimball , ASC
• Herman Zimmerman
• Dallas Puett , ACE
• Bob Ringwood
• Peter Lauritson
• Jerry Goldsmith
• Amanda Mackey Johnson , CSA & Cathy Sandrich Gelfond , CSA
• Junie Lowry-Johnson , CSA
• Mark O. Forker

A Rick Berman Production

• Patrick Stewart
• Jonathan Frakes
• Brent Spiner
• LeVar Burton
• Michael Dorn
• Gates McFadden
• Marina Sirtis
• Ron Perlman
• Jude Ciccolella
• Kate Mulgrew as Admiral Kathryn Janeway
• David Sardi
• Richard Oswald
• Michael Westmore
• Robert Blackman
• Matthew J. Birch
• Shannon Cochran
• Michael Owen
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robertson Dean
• David Ralphe ( #2 )
• J. Patrick McCormack ( #1 )
• Wil Wheaton
• Majel Barrett Roddenberry
• Doug Coleman
• Steve Kelso
• Brian Williams
• Sonia McDancer
• Eileen Weisinger
• Tony Angelotti
• Sandy Berumen-Justus
• Joey Box ( Enterprise -E engineer )
• Eliza Coleman
• Max Daniels
• Erica Grace
• Terry Jackson
• Mike Justus
• Bob McGovern
• Eric Norris
• Allen Robinson
• Chris Sayour
• Pete Turner ( Kolaran soldier , Reman guard , Reman guard , Reman officer )
• Irving Lewis
• John Alden ( Security officer )
• Chino Binamo
• Charlie Brewer
• Jarrid Eddo
• Mickey Giacomazzi
• Steve Holladay
• Brandon Johnson
• Dorian Kingi ( Reman soldier )
• Chris Palermo ( Crewmember )
• Clint Lilley
• Brennan Dyson
• Todd Bryant ( Stunt double for Ron Perlman )
• Joey Anaya ( Reman soldier )
• Dan Barringer ( Security officer )
• Robin Bonaccorsi
• Mark Chadwick ( Kolaran soldier )
• Darrell Craig Davis
• Dana Dru Evenson ( Security officer )
• Tanner Gill ( Security officer )
• Keii Johnston
• Tom Morga ( Boarding Reman , Reman in corridor )
• Brian Stewart
• Harry Wowchuck
• Cherie Baker
• Donald B. Woodruff
• Ronald R. Reiss
• John M. Dwyer
• Tom Southwell
• Glenn Richard Cote
• Gregory Lundsgaard
• Ken Nishino
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• Jim Argenbright as Romulan senator
• Chris Bailey as Starfleet technician
• Stuart Baird as Scimitar computer voice
• Audrey Baranishyn as wedding guest
• William Bebow as Romulan senator
• Rita Tannenbaum
• Romulan senator
• Greg Bronson as Romulan senator
• Donna Burns as Romulan senator
• Jeremy Colp as Romulan senator
• Steven Culp as Martin Madden ( deleted scene )
• David Dacy as Romulan senator
• Robin Datry as Romulan senator
• Jason Decker as Romulan senator
• Jenny Deiker
• Bruce Dobos as wedding guest
• Marcus Eley as wedding oboe player
• Jonathan Engle as Romulan senator
• Chris Eves as wedding guitarist
• David Fahning as Romulan senator
• Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan
• Sunny Gorg as operations Starfleet officer
• Nelson Grande as operations officer
• Pete Henderson as Starfleet wedding guest
• Peter Hill as Romulan senator
• Dieter Hornemann as Vulcan wedding attendee
• Cliff Howard as wedding guest
• Richard Irving as Romulan senator
• Baron Jay as command officer
• Lydia Jay as Romulan senator
• Andray Johnson as USS Enterprise -E sciences officer [19]
• John Jurgens as Reman soldier
• Andy Keith as Romulan senator
• Bradford Kelly as Romulan senator
• Michael Keppel as Romulan senator
• Michael Kurtz as Romulan senator
• Nicholas Lanier as ensign ( deleted scene )
• Jasmine Lliteras as Romulan senator
• Andrew MacBeth as operations officer
• Marti Matulis as Reman soldier
• Mykle McCoslin as sciences officer
• Bill Thomas Miller as command officer at wedding
• Kevin Moon as operations officer [20]
• Debra Naclerio as Romulan senator
• Noriko Olling as wedding piano player
• Roger Raskin as sciences officer
• Katja Rieckermann as wedding saxophone player
• Rachelle Roderick as Romulan senator
• Wanda Roth as Starfleet lieutenant
• Stephen Ryan as Romulan senator
• David Senescu as wedding trumpet player
• Bryan Singer as Kelly
• Gregory Sweeney as operations officer
• Loran Taylor as Starfleet wedding guest
• James Walker as Romulan senator
• Doug Wax as sciences bridge officer
• Tyson Weihe as Romulan senator
• Jessica Wheal as Vulcan wedding attendee
• Michael Wickson as Reman sub-commander
• Wanda Willis as wedding guest
• Anne Woodberry as wedding guest
• Spencer Wright as wedding bass player
• Young Shinzon
• Bolian wedding attendee
• Enterprise -E engineer
• Enterprise -E female relief ops officer
• Enterprise -E sciences female bridge officer
• Enterprise -E sciences male bridge officer
• Reman guard
• Reman soldier
• Sixteen Romulan senators
• Two female Wedding guests
• Two Reman surgeons
• Two Romulan Senate guards
• Valdore bridge officer 1
• Valdore bridge officer 2
• Valdore tactical officer
• Vulcan male wedding attendee
• wedding trumpet player
• wedding drummer
• Darrin Prescott
• Scott Rogers
• Rick Seaman
• Casey Erklin
• Vanessa Grayson – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
• Whitney Guss – stand-in for Gates McFadden
• Peter Iacangelo – stand-in for Brent Spiner
• Mark Rogerson – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
• Paul Sklar – stand-in and photo double for Patrick Stewart
• Scott Somers – stand-in for LeVar Burton
• Michael Avallon – Driver
• Tom Boyd – Musician: Oboe
• Christopher Flick – Foley Editor
• Leslie Cook – Choreographer
• Gilley Grey – Set Medic
• Clark James , Prop Maker ( hand phasers , phaser rifles , and tricorders ) [21]
• Steve Johnson – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Duane Katz – Rigging Technician
• Mark Kenaston – Rotoscope/Paint Artist
• Jane Kilkenny – Model Maker
• Stacia Lang – Specialty Costumer
• Derek Ledbetter – Visual Effects Compositor ( Howard Anderson Company )
• Jennifer Mann – Makeup Artist
• Bart Mixon – Makeup Artist
• David Nowell – Aerial Unit Director of Photography [22]
• Dan Patterson – Data I/O Operator ( Digital Domain )
• Cristina Patterson Ceret – Contact Len Designer/Painter
• Diane Pepper – Hair Stylist
• Ralph Sarabia – Set Painter
• Marlene Stoller – Makeup Artist: Romulan senators
• Rick Stratton – Makeup Artist
• James Thatcher – Musician: French Horn
• Joshua Thatcher – 2nd Unit Conventional Light Programmer
• Tim Walston – Sound Designer
• Karen Westerfield – Prosthetic/Beauty Makeup Artist
• Jeff Wolverton – Digital Artist/FX Animator: ending explosion effects ( Digital Domain )
• Professional VisionCare Associates – Contact Lens company

References [ ]

2379 ; ability ; adrenaline ; agent ; aging ; Alpha Priority ; Argo ; assassination ; attack flier ; auto-destruct ; Bassen Rift ; Battle in the Bassen Rift ; Berlin, Irving ; Betazed ; blood ; " Blue Skies "; boarding party ; Borg ; Cancion y Danza No. 6 ; caste ; Chateau Picard ; Celes II ; cellular structure ; cloaking device ; clone ; cognitive subroutine ; collaborator ; communication subroutine ; coup d'état ; conjugal rites (aka conjugation ); cripple ; damned ; dilithium ; DNA ; Dominion War ; donor ; drydock ; Earth ; Earth spacedock ; emergency transport unit ; envoy ; explorer ; eye ; faith ; Farpoint Mission ; freedom ; General Orders and Regulations ; generation ; gift ; Guinan's marriages ; gymnasium ; hair follicle ; hand ; handshake ; heart ; heel ; height ; Human nature ; illumination ; imzadi ; intelligence scan ; ion storm ; jaw ; Kirk Epsilon ; Kolarin system ; Kolarus Prime ; Kolarus III ; maritime tradition ; martinet ; medical tricorder ; memory engram ; meter ; Mercury ; mining ; minute ; neural pathway ; nose ; number one ; occupation ; Opal Sea ; outcast ; piano ; pictograph ; " Pop Goes the Weasel "; prejudice ; positronic brain ; positronic matrix ; praetor ; pre-warp civilization ; radiation poisoning ; rate of decay ; Reman ; Reman language ; Remus ; Romulan ale ; Romulan Neutral Zone ; Romulan ; Romulan Senate ; Romulan Star Empire ; Romulus system ; Romulus system primary ; Romulan Warbird ; Romulus ; Scimitar ; Scorpion -class ; Sector 1045 ; security detail ; self-actualization parameter ; serotonin ; Shalaft's Syndrome ; Shinzon's doctor ; ship's manifest ; shuttlebay doors ; Silver Spade ; site-to-site transport ; solar class ; solar flare ; Son'a ; Soong, Noonien ; Soong-type android ; Spot ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet Academy marathon ; Starfleet Cartography ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Intelligence ; Stellar Cartography ; subatomic level ; tactical analysis ; tea ; telepathic ability ; temperature ; temporal RNA sequencing ; text message ; thalaron generator ; thalaron radiation ; Tholian ; Tholian ambassador ; thought ; Titan , USS ; toast ; tracking station ; trade negotiation ; transgendered species ; transponder signal ; transport coordinates ; transporter ; Transporter Room 4 ; tyrant ; Valdore ; Valdore -type ; Valdore 's sister ship ; vehicle ; verb ; vote ; Vulcan neck pinch ; wedding ; wedding cake ; wedding dress ; wedding traditions ; Whip

Okudagram references [ ]

Archer , USS ; Aries , USS ; Galaxy , USS ; Hood , USS ; Intrepid , USS ; Nova , USS ; Valiant , USS ;

Meta references [ ]

Unreferenced material [ ].

Beagle , HMS ; Denab system ; Hemingway , USS ; Madden, Martin ; Talos , USS ; vintner

• Star Trek Nemesis (Special Edition DVD)
• Star Trek Nemesis (DVD)
• Star Trek Nemesis (soundtrack)

External links [ ]

• Star Trek Nemesis at StarTrek.com
• Star Trek Nemesis at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek Nemesis at Wikipedia
• Star Trek Nemesis at the Internet Movie Database
• Linux and Star Trek – a discussion with the studio Digital Domain on using Linux to render special effects in Star Trek Nemesis and other films, including anecdotes and some code used in the process
• Star Trek: Nemesis script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

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I'm sitting there during "Star Trek: Nemesis," the 10th " Star Trek " movie, and I'm smiling like a good sport and trying to get with the dialogue about the isotronic Ruritronic signature from planet Kolarus III, or whatever the hell they were saying, maybe it was "positronic," and gradually it occurs to me that "Star Trek" is over for me. I've been looking at these stories for half a lifetime, and, let's face it, they're out of gas.

There might have been a time when the command deck of Starship Enterprise looked exciting and futuristic, but these days it looks like a communications center for security guards. Starships rocket at light speeds halfway across the universe, but when they get into battles the effect is roughly the same as on board a World War II bomber. Fearsome death rays strike the Enterprise, and what happens? Sparks fly out from the ceiling and the crew gets bounced around in their seats like passengers on the No. 36 bus. This far in the future they wouldn't have sparks because they wouldn't have electricity, because in a world where you can beam matter--beam it, mind you--from here to there, power obviously no longer lives in the wall and travels through wires.

I've also had it with the force shield that protects the Enterprise. The power on this thing is always going down. In movie after movie after movie I have to sit through sequences during which the captain is tersely informed that the front shield is down to 60 percent, or the back shield is down to 10 percent, or the side shield is leaking energy, and the captain tersely orders that power be shifted from the back to the sides or all put in the front, or whatever, and I'm thinking, life is too short to sit through 10 movies in which the power is shifted around on these shields. The shields have been losing power for decades now, and here it is the Second Generation of Star Trek, and they still haven't fixed them. Maybe they should get new batteries.

I tried to focus on the actors. Patrick Stewart , as Capt. Picard, is a wonderful actor. I know because I have seen him elsewhere. It is always said of Stewart that his strength as an actor is his ability to deliver bad dialogue with utter conviction. I say it is time to stop encouraging him. Here's an idea: Instead of giving him bad dialogue, why not give him good dialogue, and see what he can do with that? Here is a man who has played Shakespeare.

The plot of "Star Trek: Nemesis" involves a couple of strands, one involving a clone of Data ( Brent Spiner ), which somehow seems redundant, and another involving what seems to be a peace feeler from the Romulan empire. In the course of the movie the Romulan Senate is wiped out by a deadly blue powder and the sister planet of Remus stages an uprising, or something, against being made to work as slaves in the mines. Surely slavery is not an efficient economic system in a world of hyperdrives, but never mind: Turns out that Picard shares something unexpected with his rival commander, although once I tell you that you can no doubt guess what it is, since the movie doesn't work you very hard.

There is a scene in the movie in which one starship rams another one. You would think this would destroy them both, and there are a lot of sparks and everybody has to hold onto their seats, but the "Star Trek" world involves physical laws which reflect only the needs of the plot. If one ship rammed another and they were both destroyed and everyone died, and the movie ended with a lot of junk floating around in space, imagine the faces of the people in the audience.

I think it is time for "Star Trek" to make a mighty leap forward another 1,000 years into the future, to a time when starships do not look like rides in a 1970s amusement arcade, when aliens do not look like humans with funny foreheads, and when wonder, astonishment and literacy are permitted back into the series. Star Trek was kind of terrific once, but now it is a copy of a copy of a copy.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Rated PG-13 For Sci-Fi Action Violence and Peril and A Scene Of Sexual Content

116 minutes

Patrick Stewart as Capt. Picard

Jonathan Frakes as Commander Riker

Brent Spiner as Data

LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge

Michael Dorn as Worf

Gates McFadden as Dr.Crusher

Ron Perlman as Reman Viceroy

Directed by

• Stuart Baird
• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Brent Spiner

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Remembering Star Trek Nemesis – 10 Years Later

| December 13, 2012 | By: John Tenuto 238 comments so far

Nemesis – Great Promise after a long wait

10 years ago, Star Trek: Nemesis premiered with great expectations. It was being directed by veteran editor Stuart Baird, responsible for such films as Superman: The Movie, and it was written by arguably one of the most in-demand screenwriters of the day, John Logan, who was just coming off an Oscar win for Gladiator . Logan volunteered to write for Star Trek because he was such a big Next Generation fan. Nemesis featured a promising story by Rick Berman, Brent Spiner, and Logan that would reveal more about the history of the Romulan Star Empire. The entire main TNG crew of actors had re-assembled, along cameos from Whoopi Goldberg and Wil Wheaton, and audiences were being told this was the "final journey" of the Next Gen crew. Jerry Goldsmith (another Oscar-winner) was also back, along with veteran makeup artist Michael Westmore. Everything was promising a big Star Trek film with success at the box office.

On television, Star Trek: Enterprise was in its second year. It had been four years since a Trek film had graced the big screen. The gap between Insurrection and Nemesis was the longest since the film franchise kicked off in 1979. It took some convincing to get Paramount to do another film with the TNG crew following what Paramount felt was underperforming box office of Insurrection. Apparently the cast even took pay cuts to make the film happen. 

I saw Star Trek: Nemesis under unusual circumstances, for me, anyway. My wife Maria Jose and I had recently had a son, Nicky, who was only six month old at the time of Nemesis ’ premiere. We both had to see the film individually on opening day, taking turns watching our new son. Maria Jose went first, to the 3:25PM show. There were few people in the theater, but that wasn’t surprising considering it was a December afternoon with students finishing their semester tests. I was confident the later show I was attending would be crowded, and while there certainly were more people there, it was not as packed as previous Trek opening days had been. I began to worry then as the entire “franchise fatigue” bells had started to ring in the media.

I was bolstered, albeit temporarily, by Nemesis earning $18 million its opening weekend, number 2 at the box office. We did our part, going again the next day with my parents. The excitement would diminish when the film earned only $7 million each week for the next two weeks and it became clear that Nemesis was not resonating with a wider audience. In the end the film grossed $67 million off a reported budget of $60 million. After factoring in the cut for distributors and cost of marketing, this would be the first Star Trek film to take a loss at the box office. While Nemesis may have gone into the black with home media, it was dubbed a ‘bomb.’

What happened?

But why? All the ingredients were there for a good film: great actors who knew their roles, talented behind the scene Star Trek veterans, excellent special effects, and an intelligent script written by John Logan that respected the characters. The film also introduced audiences to Tom Hardy as Shinzon, and he has gone on to a very successful career, including Christopher Nolan’s Inception and The Dark Knight Rises .

Certainly some of the perceived plusses actually became minuses. Baird’s direction has been famously revealed to be unsuited to the Star Trek world. Logan’s script is very good, but it was heavily edited because of the long running time. Indeed, the film may have been more successful if they kept it to its more than 2.5 hour running time despite that meaning there would be less showings possible per day in theaters. The budgetary limitations, with the actors reportedly agreeing to less money to help the film get made, were also quite evident with the sets and some of the effects.

It did not help that the film was poorly promoted. A Del Taco promotion, a website, some television commercials, and a few toys were not enough to tell the general audience why they should see Nemesis . It also did not help that a James Bond film, a Harry Potter film, and a Lord of the Rings film all opened around the same time.

Still a worthy Star Trek movie

Yet, I liked Nemesis then, and I like it now. Data’s relationship with Picard is one of loyalty and friendship, seen excellently in the film. In fact, the camaraderie between the characters is undeniably good in Nemesis, from the wedding sequence to Data’s funeral. Picard’s solution of ramming the Enterprise into the Scimitar is fun and surprising, and there are plenty of Trek easter eggs, like Admiral Kathryn Janeway’s appearance or the name of a ship being the U.S.S. Archer, provided by Logan’s script. It was great to learn more about the Romulans and their history, something the unfilmed and edited moments from the script go into even more detail about. The film does all this with some of the best dialog of the franchise, showing a wit and literacy missing since the Nicholas Meyer scripts. Of course, Goldsmith scores again with his score.

New ships like the Scorpion attack fighter and the excellent lighting and cinematography on Kolarus III help distract from some of the other budgetary limitations. Data’s death, yet promised rebirth, offers an appropriate melancholy end to the TNG adventures. Data’s idea that what makes us human is our trying to better than we are is pure Trek, and quite right. And as sociology professors, how could my wife and I not like a film that argues that we are more the result of our social experiences than we are our DNA?

What is important is that Nemesis has a place in Star Trek history. It is the last filmed adventure of the TNG crew, at least as of this date (there is always hope!). It is an important timeline moment, with fans discussing the post Nemesis adventures of the extended universe and the pre Nemesis filmed adventures. And, ironically, the failure of Nemesis at the box office meant a radical regrouping of the film franchise resulting in Star Trek 2009. A bald Romulan leader with a long coat from Nemesis may have inspired Nero and his band in more ways than one.

When I think of Nemesis, and when I think of 2002, however, I remember a time when Picard and crew ruled the film franchise. I think of a film where I said goodbye to my TNG friends. And I think of midnight feedings of our new son, while playing the Nemesis music to stay awake.

More on Nemesis @10 to come

The next couple of days TrekMovie will be remember Star Trek: Nemesis with more looks back, including a deep dive into the merchandise. So stay tuned

POLL: How do you rank Nemesis?

You have had 10 years to reflect on it, so now how do you rank Star Trek: Nemesis ?(10 being best)

[poll id=”703″]

I saw it 3 times in theatres. Didn’t think it was that bad…

The thing I remember most about this movie premiere is how the trailers spoiled the Data flying through space ending….

I saw it when it first came out. And it was the first of the Next Gen movies I bought. They said it was not that good, but I liked it.

In my opinion, Nemesis is better than Insurrection, Generations, The Motion Picture, The Search For Spock and The Final Frontier. Maybe a 7 (in Star Trek rating movies) like The Voyage Home.

I would prefer to forget it.

It’s just another rehash of the same tired plot over and over again.

The problem with Nemesis has always been that it was a poorly-done retread of Wrath of Khan, right down to beloved character sacrificing himself to stop a doomsday weapon from killing everyone he loved, and then being miraculously reborn. It’s not the worst movie ever, but it’s certainly not a good one either.

To quote the problematic script from Nemesis:

“Cadres of Shinzon’s fearsome REMAN WARRIORS stand around the chamber. They are his sinister children of the night. Even more chilling now in the flickering torch light. It’s like something out of Tim Burton.”

And people actually think JJ Abrams killed Star Trek.

I think poor timing and too much competition killed the film. Yes, there were things that could’ve been better about it, but it was a satisfactory film.

Abysmal film. Sad to see the TNG cast have to go out on such a down note. The story stank, the characters were all wrong (Picard suddenly likes dune buggies?)… Just an all-around turd.

People call J.J.’s film empty entertainment, but it has more intellectual heft than the tale of Picard racing dune buggies to find robot parts that Shinzon left on a planet of savages as part of a redundant scheme to draw the Enterprise into peace talks.

Honestly, I think the movie was pretty good except for one part. The part where they are on the planet and data’s hand comes out of the sand, then the high speed chase where they launch off a cliff and land in the shuttle at high speed…yeah right!!!!

Other than that, I think the story was VERY well written. It was just released at a bad time and not promoted well.

The movie was better received on the European mainland, I recall.

I often think the TNG cast didn’t get the credit they deserved. We only had three years of TOS, then a layover, so of course there was a demand for more Trek! TNG had seven seasons, two other series, and then movies? It’s kinda overkill and may have lost its appeal. Paramount should’ve waited to do DSN and Voyager, till after TNG TV ended…but hey greed always wins.

Unfortunately, this movie has always been dissapointing to me – it was simply not a fun movie to watch., there was so little spirit to it.. unlike the best star trek movies

One underrated aspect is that it was the only movie that ever really showed what the Sovereign class could do in combat, even if they were matched up hopelessly against a juggernaut. Nice to see a real, dynamic combat scene rather than sit still and exchange “warning shots”

great movie. period.

and a great “remembering” from Anthony. Good article.

I remember the time fondly as well, and being excited for a new Trek movie. And I wasn’t as disappointed as many others seem to be. I thought it had some great “trek” moments, the nature vs nuture argument etc. Romulans! An exciting “space battle sequence that trumped all others that had come before it (in my opinion) The only thing that bothered me, really, was the fact that it’s climax was basically the same as each TNG movie, it was ending with a countdown leading to the deployment of a bad guy’s weapon/device. I was moved by Data’s death, even though there was the hint of resurection via B4. I remember reading that script posted online during the filming of the movie ( a far cry from today’s secrecy) and I think Baird’s directing really was the weak link here. It read really well even if the final product wasn’t great. If only TPTB had given Frakes another shot at directing i think it would have been a better feeling film to end on. A funny thing I recall is the 2nd time I went to the theater to see it, the guy a couple rows ahead was sighing so loudly during all of the thalaron radiation exposition that I’m sure the entire theatre heard him, which I’m sure was the point.

Of course it may be different for me than alot of other fans who didn’t like the movie, and that’s simply b/c TNG was my first trek, and this movie closed out the trek I knew and loved best. TNG was my “gateway trek” to all the other incarnations before and since, and so I’m not sure I could NOT like this movie simply because of my emotional attachment and bias to this crew. Flawed film? Yeah, sure. But I’m attached to it, and I enjoyed it, and I continue to enjoy it occasionally when time permits and I’m in the mood.

Thanks for the look back, John. I’d forgotten all about Nemesis and so this article ws a nice surprise and welcome break from the speculation about the new film and my wild Khan-Bot theories!

I’ve still never seen this movie. I swore off Star Trek movies after Insurrection.

Franchise fatigue. But that is only because TPTB let it happen and didn’t substantially change the way Trek was being produced for 18 years.

They should have handed over the TNG film franchise to new producers, and the Trek TV franchise should have gone to Ron Moore, not Braga/Berman.

While I did see this in our local theater with big screen, it did seem to have fewer people on opening day/week than other films. It does beat out Innsurection and Generations by far but I do not think it is better than TMP, but I am one those few that really like and understand Final Frontier. I like Nemesis since it dealt with Romulans, plus I think Cdr Donatra was pretty hot.

The rumor was that after Nemesis, the crew from ENT was supposed to get their onw film or films. That woudl have been great as we could have got a fantastic theatrical release of the Romulan war. However, things happen and we got a long break and things seemed to have changed the next film time and time again.

thanks for the compliment but John wrote article.

Best review on the web, explaining in great detail why Nemesis was a piece of trash. NSFW. From the guy who did the Star Wars Episode 1 review.

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/star-trek/star-trek-nemesis/

With everyone commenting and speculating about whether Into Darkness will still feel like Trek or stray to far it made me realize that the biggest problem with Nemesis is that it didn’t feel like Star Trek. It felt like it was made to be a direct-to-DVD generic sci-fi action film. The characters didn’t seem right, Worf sounded strange, the Enterprise sets were dark and the computer displays red. It was a slow moving film (the dinner scene between Picard and Shinzon has literally put me to sleep), and it felt small in scope.

Interviews with the cast and crew in the past decade point to Stuart Baird’s unfamiliarity and lack of interest in Star Trek. On several occasions Paramount has brought in directors who don’t know Trek and aren’t Trek fans (Meyer, Abrams, Baird) to try to engineer a hit film for a wide audience, on two occasions its worked, but unfortunately Baird was a disaster of a director and the aging TNG crew, who still had potential for great stories, were laid with the blame.

For me, Nemesis is the only Trek film that grows worse with time.

“an intelligent script written by John Logan that respected the characters.”

I’m sorry John, but that’s bullcrap. How do you call this line respectful?

PICARD: Look at me, Shinzon. Your heart, your hands, your eyes are the same as mine.

Picard has an artificial heart, and last time I checked, that was the single biggest change in his life. What makes this exclusion from Nemesis so appalling is that the story deals with the prospect of events in one’s life shaping who they are as an individual. With a clone of Picard standing right there with a REAL HEART, you’d think that would give Picard tangible evidence to prove to Shinzon that they are two completely different people. Instead, all we get is a broken nose and jaw.

I’ve been trying to figure out why Nemesis didn’t work for 10 years. I’m still not sure. Nemesis appears to be a good effort, but I feel like the TNG movie series just ran out of steam. I mean, I love Star Trek, and I didn’t even care if they ever made another TNG movie.

Perhaps the series simply lacked a story arc that created a sense of purpose that kept the momentum going over time (for example: Star Trek II through IV, Nolan’s Batman trilogy).

Great article,

I think I was 11 when I saw it in theatres, it was alright, and I probably wouldn’t be in any rush to watch it again. I think Tom Hardy is a great actor, and would love to see him rebooted as Picard someday, but I just felt he came off as too one-dimensional.

It was very refreshing to have Romulans and not Klingons for a change though. As the article says all the pieces were there for a great movie, shame it came off so sub-par.

And can anyone tell me anything good about the dune buggy scene? What did it add to the film? Why consequences were there in fighting a pre-warp civilization? What was the point?

I think Nemesis was somewhat uncreative, but I still think it wasn’t that bad. They were clearly trying to replicate Wrath of Khan and couldn’t quite pull it off, but I mean, really, who can say no to the battle at the end?

I really loved Nemesis when it came out but since then I think for me a more realistic fondness for it has emerged. I still love Nemesis but its not the greatest story. It had some genuinely great moments in it, Picard and Data were brilliant and the Data arc I think ended fittingly but there were things in it that felt forced and like you said, weren’t executed well enough due to the budget, that combined with one of the weakest Trek plots, the ridiculous sub-plot, the shoddy director, the low-budget feel and the release between three massive blockbusters, Nemesis was just not going to work.

Even if Nemesis had had the budget of Star Trek 2009, In those 4 years between Insurrection and Nemesis, Star Trek had really become its own worse nightmare, becoming more confusing for people not familiar with Trek. Its public profile was one of bewilderment and really it had become so convoluted and so introverted that it was impossible for people to just enjoy it without having to know what happened in episode 37 of TOS and even if that really wasn’t the case, the perception of Trek would have people believe it to be true.

However, Nemesis was part of 18 years of constant Star Trek, no Sci-Fi series has gone on for 18 years and been as successful as Star Trek so even though Nemesis did poorly for its time, for what it’s worth, Nemesis did pretty well coming off the back of 18 years worth of back-story at a time when Star Trek felt very tired.

I think Nemesis works better today than it did in 2002, as with most of the contemporary Berman Star Trek, it has aged like a fine wine, only getting better with every viewing as you notice and appreciate it more.

I think had they made Nemesis STRAIGHT after First Contact and not made Insurrection at all, and also let Johnathan Frakes direct again, then Nemesis may have had a good sporting chance.

That way, we would have been left with a nice, neat, “Next Generation Trilogy” to round off the TNG crew’s time with the franchise with, and we still could have moved onto JJ-Trek anyway.

But the Enteprise-E’s showdown with the Scimitar was great, Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner gave some gravitas, and as leats if still kicked The final Frontier’s ass anyday ….

Awful. Overall, this film was a mess. Stuart Baird was not a good choice for director. Could not have cared less about Shinzon…Datas “death scene” rang hollow and pales compared to the emotional inpact of Spock’s “death” in Star Trek 2. Sadly, i didn’t shed a single tear.

Even Jerry Goldsmiths musical score was lacking. It sounded like Holdsmith just phoned it in. Obviously, the film didn’t inspire him to write a memorable score…and that’s pretty bad in and of itself!

Nice visual effects though.

@17 / 22: LOL, reminds me of that scene in Galaxy Quest, “Commander Taggart has saved us!” and Sir Alexander Dane / Dr. Lazarus gets pissed that he doesn’t get any credit.

GAWD, HAS IT REALLY BEEN 10 YEARS SINCE THAT PIECE OF CRAP WAS RELEASED!?

This movie is fascist. The theme is clear by the end when Picard re-instated the Romulan Empire. It’s all a set up. NOt the values of Trek.

it killed the franchise (BTW, that was a quick ten years!!)

I loved this movie. It was classic trek. It was about the moral of the story. No, there was not as much action but since when has Star Trek been about the effects? The interplay between Capt Picard and Commander Data was on the same level as Capt Kirk and Commander Spock. If i had one complaint about the movie, i felt they rushed through the death of Data and the after effect. And to #6, it is possible that they are bringing Data back in the books (Cold Equations) but as of right now, Data is dead. So no reborn story plot. They simply hinted at the idea that B-4 might have access to the memories of Data.

I don’t think it was nearly as boring as TMP or nearly as bad as STV but it could have been so much better.

Firstly as a Trek when you saw the trailers I don’t know how anyone thought that seeing two Datas meant Lore which would have been cool. Instead they go another direction which I didn’t care for. It seemed like the only reason to do this was so they could really kill Data but not for real.

I think you might have had a better story on your hand with Lore who was established, and wrote something that saw Data die but at the same time provide redemption for Lore who has pretty much always hated and abused his brother.

Secondly the whole body part hunt on the desert planet totally stuck out to me as something these characters just wouldn’t do, it felt like an action scene just for action scenes sake. Let’s not forget all of the bad jokes that occurred as a result.

I watched it 4 times in theaters and at least 10 to 20 times on DVD. It was my second favorite TNG movie… First being “First Contact” It was wonderfuly done and i still to this day do not know why it did not do better. I think if Johnathon Frakes directed it might have done better like First contact did.

i remember the pre Nemesis buzz was quite good – it had the writer of the then recent Gladiator and getting an ‘outside’ director (first time since Trek II) who had done the solid action flick Exec Decision (and edited a ton of classic movies) boded well, the trailer with the Danny Elfman Planet of the Apes score looked like a return to First Contact style action/grittiness – the opening with the giant eye recalled Blade Runner and the saucer crash at the end with crewmembers sucked into space (JJ style) was very impressive …producer Rick Berman saying the early footage looked like a Ridley Scott movie was a good sign ( http://trekweb.com/stories.php?aid=VXZ6sPaw.tNnQ )…..and the fact it was an even number was promising (although that rule never held any water for me as id always considered III to be a good one), plus since the last one Patrick Stewart was more of a movie star thanks to Xmen ….so it felt like the stars were aligning and that Nemesis could be a crossover global hit like Voyage Home was (and to a lesser extent First Contact) – Star Trek entering the big league again

Alas it was not to be and pretty much flopped killing the movie series for 7 years. The film itself was like a combination or greatest hits of the best of the previous Treks – II (vengeful villian with a grudge specifically against the captain…kirk had a son/Picard had a clone – neither were mentioned before….shots of the crew preparing for battle….nebula battle messing up ships systems…countdown to destruction averted by death of science officer who has planted his memories in another – theres even abit of TWOK Horner-esque music where Data says ‘goodbye’ as Picard gets beamed away), III (riker booting the baddie off into oblivian…the last 5 mins with the ‘absent friends’ & revelation another holds the science officers memories that could return fully) and VI (supposed final voyage…approaching peace with a sworn enemy…ship that can fire while cloaked/end multiple ship battle) plus the whole film had pretty much the same story structure as Trek II. There was even a tip of the hat to the 1st film at the end with the Ent as TMP spacedock theme played – sort of bringing the movie series full circle.

In hindsight theyd have probably been better off doing another Borg movie (they had Klingons as villains in III, V, VI & even VII) so maybe they couldve done the Borg again and had Seven of Nine join the cast (Jeri Ryan on the posters like the cover of Hive comic – http://scifanatic.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/idw-sthive-t.jpg ), maybe exploring the borgs origins Prometheus style, perhaps even tying them to Vger somehow…(anyway the borg were far more Picards ‘nemesis’ than any juvenile whiney clone)

i guess if Nemesis had been a First Contact sized hit wed have had TNG 5 in around 2004 or 2005 and then maybe a final 6th one like the original crew in 2007 or 08…(no JJ Trek)

I liked the movie because it was Star Trek but it was not a great film,that said , what annoyed me the most was to see how much of a wuss my friend Worf had become over the years…In the first season of TNG he was a bas ass, then as years went by he became a whiny bitch and in Nemesis When B4’s arm grabs him his reaction is pathetic….he reacts like a little girl,what happened to you Worf???What happened to the proud warrior?

I hadn’t realized there was an original 2.5 hour run time.

Man, I would pay good money to see that released on Blu-Ray. (Along with the “Star Trek V – Final Frontier” director’s cut we’ll also probably never see.)

the Lore aspect certainly has alot of promise and would have been great to see played out for one final chapter on the big screen, but again, it depends on moviegoers familiarity with the Data/Lore story arc, and even the most “insidery” of Trek movies has had to cater to the movie-going general public because its such a different venue than weekly TV. But Lore would have been interesting. It would have been a more obvious story about duality if it had been Data/Lore and a Picard/Shinzon that were both the same age, which at one point, I believe, was intended and Patrick Stewart would have played both roles. That way, Picard and Data would both be dealing w/ duality at the same time which means their respective situations would be mirrors of each other, etc etc. A Picard and Data vs. Shinzon and Lore smackdown would have made for interesting viewing!

Hey there is going to be a star trek movie about Romulans ! really ? thats cool there one of my fave species cant way to see this ! wait what do you mean its about a clone of picard and the remans ……..who the hell are the remans did you just pull them out your arse ?.

Cmd Donatra was cool character, in fact i the remans thing could have worked , just remove the b4 and the clone stuff , and make it about reman rebellion or something.

Unfortunately they cut out some dialogue between the characters and I didn’t like the car scene.

A big part of what made Trek II, III and IV work so well was the continuity from one movie to the next even though the plots were very different. The TNG movies stand so far apart from each other – no recurring, underlying themes or story points that carry from one to the other. I wish they had looked at that kind of approach when they made these movies – I think they would have been more successful and the TNG universe wouldn’t have died the way it did. There could have been one or two more.

Would like to see a TNG movie in Abrams style but with the gravity of the TV series. EPIC!!

I read the Facer’s annotated leaked scripts for Nemesis and ENT:Broken Bow. The movie was exactly as stupid as those evicerating comments showed and I always suspected the box office numbers were affected by the leak.

I’ve seen Nemesis in pieces since – but I don’t think I’ve ever watched it from beginning to end. And that is coming from a lifetime star trek fan.

I might be the only one, but take out the seat belt joke and I think this would have been a perfect ending after the Data memorial instead of the B4 scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b8jsrDl89M

I agree. It was a big mistake of the TNG movies that they had no connection to each other and there was no moving forward of the characters. Riker should have gotten his own ship after Generations (with Deanna on board). Worf should have had a role as klingon ambassador (last seen on DS9) and maybe some other trek series characters should have joined the party. But SO the movies have been more or less bigger episodes ignoring age and other developments in the trek universe

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Star Trek: Nemesis

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Watch Star Trek: Nemesis with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

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Nemesis has an interesting premise and some good action scenes, but the whole affair feels a bit tired.

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Stuart Baird

Patrick Stewart

Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Jonathan Frakes

Commander William T. Riker

Brent Spiner

Lieutenant Commander Data

LeVar Burton

Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge

Michael Dorn

Lieutenant Commander Worf

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Star Trek: Nemesis

• The Enterprise is diverted to the Romulan homeworld Romulus, supposedly because they want to negotiate a peace treaty. Captain Picard and his crew discover a serious threat to the Federation once Praetor Shinzon plans to attack Earth.
• After a joyous wedding between William Riker and Deanna Troi, Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew stumble upon a positronic signature which results in a prototype version of the android Data. Then the Enterprise is invited to Romulus to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romulans by their new leader, Praetor Shinzon. However, Shinzon is revealed to be a clone of Picard who was raised on Remus, a slave planet to the Romulans. Later on, Picard discovers that this peace treaty was nothing more than a set-up on account of the fact that Shinzon needs Picard in order to survive. But little do the Enterprise crew know that Shinzon also plans to do away with the Federation by unleashing a weapon that could destroy a whole planet. — Blazer346
• On their way to William Riker and Deanna Troi's honeymoon on Betazed, the Enterprise heads near the Romulan Neutral Zone, and picks up a prototype version of the android Data. Immediately, they are diverted to Romulus, where the new ruler, Praetor Shinzon, a human cloned from Captain Picard who lives on the slave planet Remus, appears to want peace with the Federation. But then the crew detects a break-in on their computer systems, and Picard is captured by the Remans because Shinzon needs him as his only matching supplier of genetic material. Picard and the Enterprise crew escape, only to find themselves battling Shinzon's completely cloaked Warbird, who goes after the complete destruction of Earth. — 42/103
• The Romulan military offers the Imperial Senate plans to join forces with the Reman military and invade the Federation, but the Praetor (Alan Dale) refuses to cooperate. A green Thalaron radiation mist is released into the room, and everyone is killed. Meanwhile, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E prepares to bid farewell to longtime first officer Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), who are soon to be married on Betazed. On route, they discover a Positronic energy reading on a planet in the Kolaran system near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Lieutenant Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), and Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner) land on Kolarus III and discover the remnants of an android resembling Data. When the android is reassembled it reveals its name is B-4 (Brent Spiner), and the crew deduce it to be a less-advanced earlier version of Data. Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) orders the crew to conduct a diplomatic mission to Romulus. Janeway informs Picard that the Romulan government has undergone a military coup and is now controlled by a Reman named Shinzon (Tom Hardy), saying he wants peace with the Federation and to bring freedom to Remus. This is a surprising development as the Romulans had regarded Remans as an undesirable caste used principally as slave labor, due to their long history of prejudice. Upon their arrival on Romulus, the crew learns that Shinzon is actually a clone of Picard, a remnant of a secret experiment conducted by the Romulans to take Picard's place in Starfleet as a spy; however, he and the project were abandoned after a political change in the Romulan government left him cast away to Remus as a slave. It is there that he meets his Reman brethren and effects his rise to power. It was also on Remus where Shinzon constructed his flagship, a heavily armed warship named Scimitar, with completely undetectable cloaking devices, an arsenal of weapons, and virtually impregnable shields. Though the diplomatic mission seems to go smoothly, the crew discovers that the Scimitar is emitting low levels of extremely dangerous Thalaron radiation, the same substance used to assassinate the Romulan senate as seen in the film's beginning. Several unauthorized computer accesses take place aboard the Enterprise, and Counselor Troi is mentally attacked by Shinzon while she is making love to Commander Riker. Picard is captured by Shinzon and is informed that he is slowly dying from the accelerated aging from his cloning process, and thus needs Picard's blood to live. Shinzon also transports B-4 aboard the Scimitar, revealing that Shinzon was behind the placing of B-4 on Kolarus III in order to lure Picard to Romulus. However, B-4 reveals himself to actually be Data - he rescues Picard, and they make their escape back to their ship. Realizing that the Scimitar is a Weaponized Thalaron emitter with enough power to destroy all life forms in a fleet of ships as well as an entire planet, Data deduces that Shinzon is using the warship to conquer the Federation and destroy Earth. The Enterprise races back towards Federation space, but is soon ambushed by the Scimitar, disabling the Enterprise's warp drive in the process in her first volley of torpedoes. In the ensuing assault, the Enterprise is outmatched. Two Romulan Warbirds arrive and assist in the assault, but Shinzon destroys one Warbird and disables the other. Refocusing his attention on Picard, Shinzon damages the Enterprise to a significant degree. Refusing to surrender, Picard uses his heavily damaged ship to ram the Scimitar, but only succeeds in slightly damaging it. Picard even tries to initiate the Enterprise's self-destruct sequence, but finds it disabled from the attack. Meanwhile, Shinzon initializes the Scimitar's Thalaron weapon in a desperate attempt to take the Enterprise down with him. Picard boards the vessel alone and faces Shinzon. Unable to stop the weapon from activating, Picard kills Shinzon by impaling him through the abdomen with part of a metallic support strut. Data arrives with a single-use personal transporter, using it to quickly beam the captain back to the Enterprise before sacrificing himself to destroy the ship, shutting down the weapon in the process. While the severely damaged Enterprise is under repair in a space dock in near-Earth orbit, Picard bids farewell to newly promoted Captain Riker who is off to command the USS Titan, to begin a true peace negotiation mission with Romulus. Picard then meets with android B-4, whereupon he learns that Data had succeeded in copying the engrams of his neural net into B-4's Positronic matrix not long before his death.

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Star Trek Nemesis/Recap

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Series: Star Trek the Next Generation Episode: Fourth TNG movie (tenth overall) Title: Star Trek Nemesis Previous: Star Trek Insurrection Next: None (TNG)/ Star Trek (overall) Recapper: Hello999

This is a recap of Star Trek Nemesis . See the main page for a list of tropes appearing in this film.

After a nontraditional Title-Only Opening , we zoom in on the fair planet Romulus. It seems the Romulan military has a problem. They support some guy named Shinzon from a planet called Remus and the Romulan Senate doesn't like Shinzon very much. But the military also has a solution to this little quandary. After they leave the Senate chamber, a special effect goes off and kills everyone Professor Quirrell style.

Meanwhile, Riker and Troi are getting married. Sorry, Worf/Troi shippers , it was never going to happen. It seems this marriage somehow causes Riker to get his own ship. the Titan . Troi will be serving with Riker on the Titan while Picard is getting a new First Officer and ship's counselor. It's the end of an era, but presumably every time the Enterprise ends up in a mildly interesting situation, it will just happen to be on the day Riker and Troi stopped by for a visit. At least that's the way it works with Worf. Later on the Enterprise , Worf picks up a positronic signature from some planet near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Data surmises that it must be coming from an android. Apparently, the presence of a single android on some random planet is a Big Deal and the the Enterprise sets off on this mission which is clearly worthy of the flagship of Starfleet. Arriving at the planet, it's specifically mentioned that it's home to a pre-warp civilization. Who knows why this gets mentioned, considering it will have no impact on the plot and will also create a major Plot Hole . So anyway, Picard, Worf, and Data fly down to the planet to try out some wacky all-terrain vehicle, a mode of transportation which seems considerably less useful than your average shuttlecraft. They find the parts of a Soong-type android which resembles Data, but then they get attacked by some random aliens for no explained reason. A car chase ensues and they return fire with their phasers because, as always, the Prime Directive is optional whenever it's slightly inconvenient. It's not like the whole plot of the previous movie involved Picard risking his life to defend the Prime Directive. Oh, wait.

Back on the Enterprise , the android's head tells them his name is "B-4" and Geordi concludes that he is a prototype of Data. B-4 is somewhat like Data was during the early episodes of Next Generation . The main difference is that while Data was academically intelligent while having a sense of childlike innocence, B-4 just acts like he is mentally retarded. They immediately decide to assemble him. After all, two disassembled Soong androids couldn't possibly both turn out ot be Evil Twins of Data, right? Right? Meanwhile, Picard receives a message from Admiral Janeway . The joke that she must have been Kicked Upstairs is by now rather tired, so we'll instead make the joke that all those Insane Admirals at Starfleet Headquarters noticed she was one of their kind. Yay, originality! Janeway sends Picard on a diplomatic mission to Romulus, explaining that some mysterious Shinzon guy has just taken over as Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire and has requested a Federation envoy. On the way, Data explains that Remus is the sister planet of Romulus. You know, the one that's never been mentioned before. It's home to the Remans, a race which the Romulans use for slave labor and, during the Dominion War , Cannon Fodder (they mention this trope by name, incidentally). Of course, this has never been mentioned before either. Oddly, it's been reported that Shinzon is a Reman, but nothing else is known about him. Anyway, Data decides it's a good idea to share all his memories with B-4. He doesn't see any problem with this because he is such a Straw Vulcan and the writers seem to have forgotten about the existence of his emotion chip. You know, the one which had its own subplot three movies ago.

At Romulus, an uber-warship called the Scimitar decloaks and hails the Enterprise . We get our first view of the Remans, who Look Like Orlok . They send transporter coordinates and Picard beams over with Riker, Worf, Data, and Troi. It turns out Shinzon is not a Reman, but a human — a bald human who looks like Tom Hardy . He starts hitting on Troi and helpfully explains that she is The Empath for the benefit of anyone in the audience who isn't a Star Trek fan. Shinzon talks of peace, but he is Obviously Evil and comes off like a first-year student from Evil Overlord School. He hints that he is the same person as Picard, gives them some of his blood, and invites him to dinner . Back on the Enterprise , Crusher tests the blood and, of course, it's a match — Shinzon is a younger clone of Picard. Down on Romulus, Shinzon is bossing the Romulans around, threatening to kill anyone who displeases him, and the usual villain stuff. You know, in case we weren't clear on him being the bad guy. At dinner with Picard, Shinzon explains that he is the product of a Romulan plot to replace Picard with a spy. After the project was abandoned, Shinzon was sent to die in the mines of Remus, but he survived and rallied the Remans to liberate themselves by overthrowing the Romulan government. The movie tries to convince us that he is a Well-Intentioned Extremist despite the fact that the previous scene just showed him acting like a cliché Card-Carrying Villain for no reason. Shinzon insists that he and Picard are Not So Different since they are, after all, literally the same person. Picard is Genre Blind enough to consider that Shinzon might be all right, but he's at least not stupid enough to trust him blindly.

Back on the Enterprise , the crew has discovered someone is getting information out of the main computer and that the Scimitar is emitting some ultra-dangerous form of radiation. Meanwhile, Riker and Troi decide this is a great time to have sex with each other. But Shinzon's viceroy has mind powers and Shinzon wants to have a little fun. So, with his viceroy's help, he invades Troi's mind to literally Mind Rape her! You know what? Maybe Shinzon is the bad guy of this movie. Just a hunch. After Shinzon has gotten his jollies, he goes to the Scimitar bridge and beams over B-4, who is, of course, working for him. Shinzon then has Picard beamed over and imprisoned in a thingy . They take some of Picard's blood by force and Shinzon explains that B-4 has given them the information from the Enterprise computer. You see, Shinzon has a bad case of Cloning Blues and for some reason, this makes him want to go to war with the Federation. His reasoning doesn't seem to be entirely coherent and he's clearly got a few screws loose. But after Shinzon leaves the room, B-4 reveals that he's actually Data having pulled a Twin Switch . He knocks out the only Reman guard left in the room and sets Picard free. Data explains that he's given Shinzon false intel on the Federation and that the dangerous radiation they detected is coming from a Weapon of Mass Destruction . Later, Shinzon and his entourage enters the cell to do something with Picard, but finds him gone. Shinzon, of course, orders they kill the Reman guard lying on the floor . He calls the Remans his brothers, but apparently it's in a very tough love sort of way. Picard and Data head for a shuttle bay and encounter resistance from Reman guards who can't shoot straight . They board a two-person (how convenient) Space Fighter and escape back to the Enterprise . The second Picard and Data are aboard, Riker orders the ship to warp out of there.

Some Romulan complains to Shinzon on a viewscreen about him not carrying out his evil plan fast enough. Shinzon lectures him about patience, acting like he has some serious Chessmastery going when, in fact, everything he's done is random generic villainy. After they shut off the viewscreen, the Romulans discuss the fact that Shinzon is planning to destroy Earth. The Romulans want the Federation defeated, of course, but they think genocide might be a little too evil for them . Meanwhile, Dr. Crusher has discovered that Shinzon is unstable and not just mentally. He's dying and only Picard's blood can save him. Data interrogates B-4 and it's predictably useless. B-4 doesn't even seem to understand that he was working for Shinzon and Data shuts him off for his own good. Geordi has determined that Shinzon's weapon could be used to destroy a whole planet and Picard realizes that he must be going after Earth, saying "I know how he thinks." Well, that's great. Would you bother enlightening us, Jean-Luc? No? Very well, let's review: Shinzon likes the Remans and hates the Romulans for enslaving them. So what's he going to do? Get revenge against the Romulans? No, that would make sense. He's going to help the Romulans destroy their greatest foe, the Federation. And the Remans, his "brothers" whom he's supposedly doing all this for, will not benefit in the slightest and will get treated like a bunch of disposable followers. Can you say " Motive Decay "? Anyway, the Enterprise is going to be meeting up with the fleet at some place in Federation space. Of course, the Scimitar is cloaked and in pursuit. As they fly through an emerald green nebula, Picard mildly angsts about Shinzon proving that he would be a genocidal madman if only his life had been different. Data tries to make him feel better by pointing out that B-4 is identical to him aside from being stupid and nothing like him at all .

The Scimitar attacks and this is the start of the endless action scene which literally takes up about a third of the movie's running time. After firing at the Enterprise for awhile and disabling her warp drive, Shinzon sends over a hologram of himself to gloat in Picard's face. Picard tries to convince him that he doesn't have to be evil, but Shinzon likes being evil and tells him to shove it. At this point, two Romulan warbirds arrive, siding with the Enterprise against Shinzon. The action resumes and soon enough both Romulan ships have been disabled. Some more stuff happens. Troi uses her powers to get a lock on the Scimitar , some Remans board the Enterprise to shoot at the spaces between characters who can't die, Riker has a fistfight with a Reman on some random scaffolding inside a Jefferies tube, and the Scimitar blasts a big hole in the front of the Enterprise s bridge. By now, the Enterprise is pretty much a sitting duck, so Picard decides to ram her into the Scimitar , totaling the bows of both ships. Presumably Guinan is dead now, but no one mentions this. Shinzon breaks the Scimitar free and decides to use his superweapon to kill everyone on the Enterprise . " How can he? He'll kill you, " asks, of all people, Troi. "It's not about me anymore," replies Picard, who can apparently read the screenwriter's mind. Picard has himself beamed over to the Scimitar since This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself . Disregarding this, Data goes after him. Picard bursts onto the Scimitar bridge and takes out the Reman guards, who continue to show no sign of having had marksmanship training. A fistfight between Picard and Shinzon ensues, ending with Shinzon getting Impaled with Extreme Prejudice . Just as we're celebrating that idiot being gone, Data runs in, beams Picard back to the Enterprise , and sacrifices himself to destroy the superweapon, completing the rip-off of Wrath of Khan s climax.

Back on the Enterprise , everyone mourns the loss of Data and a Romulan ship offers to render aide. Sometime later in orbit over Earth, Riker's new ship is heading off to open negotiations with the Romulans. Too bad Romulus will get blown up in the next movie anyway. But wait! B-4 still has Data's memories. The movie ends strongly hinting that B-4 will eventually turn into a new Data. Will he? Well, this is the inauspicious end of the saga of Star Trek the Next Generation , so we'll never know. The Star Trek Expanded Universe says yes, however. The greater mystery is whether this is a good thing. Data was the greatest character in all of Star Trek, but if he was revived it would just be a ripoff of The Search for Spock .

• 1 Low Tide in Twilight/Characters
• 2 Double Standard Rape (Female on Male)
• 3 Metamorphosis (manga)

Star Trek X: Nemesis Review

03 Jan 2003

116 minutes

Star Trek X: Nemesis

Rules are made to be broken, and it seems Star Trek — now one of film’s most lucrative franchises — is no exception. For decades, fans have worked on the “odd ones bad, even ones good” principle, and most of the time it’s been reliable. But Nemesis , the tenth in the series and by all accounts the last to feature the complete Next Generation crew, flies in the face of convention, being a resolutely “middling” entry.

Screenwriter John Logan provides little in the way of innovation, bolting the television series’ familiar characters on to a couple of plot devices that might have been found in the bottom of Gene Roddenberry’s wastepaper basket sometime during the late ’60s.

First there’s the promise of a Romulan peace treaty which — and we’re really not revealing anything here — turns out to be phony. Then there’s a riff on the “split personality” plot perennial with Picard encountering a cloned version of himself (played with admirable lack of restraint by a scenery-masticating Tom Hardy), who has the somewhat predictable ambition of reducing the Earth to “smithereens”.

All of which is all very well if a tad unimaginative, but Nemesis ’ real weakness is an unaccountable talkiness which results in the first half of the film moving with all the alacrity of a doped tribble. It’s a flaw that’s exacerbated by what appears to be the contractual demands of the cast to split the big scenes evenly.

Still, things start to pick up in the second half: Stuart Baird (veteran editor of Superman and director of Executive Decision ) directs with a sure if uninspired hand, and there’s a ‘shock’ ending that will give anyone who saw Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan a dose of déjà-vu.

Perhaps Trek’s problem is that after ten movies over 23 years, the sense of ‘event’ that once greeted the early entries is now a distant memory. Nevertheless, for fans, Nemesis will be a welcome, if somewhat bittersweet, final return to familiar territory.

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Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Star trek: nemesis.

On their way to Riker's and Troy's honeymoon, the Enterprise is sent near the neutral zone to Romulan space, and picks up a prototypic twin of android Data. Immediately they are further sent to Romulus, where a new praetor, Shinzon, a half-Reman cloned from Captain Picard, appears to want peace with the Federation. But then the crew detects a break-in on their computer systems, and Picard is captured by the Romulans because Shinzon needs him as his only matching supplier of genetic material. Picard and the Enterprise can escape, only to find themselves battling Shinzons completely cloaked Warbird, who is after the complete destruction of earth.

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What to Watch

‘Star Trek: Nemesis’

The movie that almost killed the franchise,  Star Trek: Nemesis isn’t good per-say, but it is important for completists. And, as a bonus, it includes an early career turn by Tom Hardy as a villainous Romulan named Shinzon who has a very, very big secret. Hint: there’s a reason he’s bald, like Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). With more distance from the movie’s release,  Nemesis is a pleasant enough diversion, and a piece of  Star Trek history it seems like the  Picard series may loop back to.

Where to Stream:

Star trek: nemesis, more recommendations, our guide to the best movies and tv shows streaming online, updated daily..

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Recap / Star Trek Voyager S 4 E 4 Nemesis

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This episode provides examples of:

• All Just a Dream : Chakotay was being brainwashed to hate the Kradin through a simulation that depicted them as monsters. Everything that happened from his viewpoint, until Tuvok found him, never did.
• And This Is for... : The Defenders that Chakotay speaks to all have loved ones killed by their Nemesis. Namon: How many beasts will you send to the Wayafter, Rafin? Rafin: I couldn't say. Namon: Me, I'll nullify one for each brother and cousin that I've lost. And then one more after.
• Antagonist Title
• Artistic License – Gun Safety : Enforced. As Chakotay falls further under the brainwashing, he's walking around with his finger on the trigger of his rifle .
• Bait-and-Switch : The Voyager crew meticulously avoids stating the name of the faction they're meeting with, so the audience assumes that they're talking about the Vori, and that the Kradin are the villainous monsters. Then we get The Reveal , where the ambassador's delegation is a bunch of Kradin. This conflict isn't as simple as we'd thought.
• Beauty Equals Goodness : Subverted when it turns out that the Human Aliens are the bad guys, and their butt-ugly enemies are the ones helping Voyager .
• Berserk Button : Chakotay attacks the Kradin commandant who's hauling off Karya to the extermination facility . This marks his 'graduation' from the brainwashing, showing he's ready for battle.
• Blood Knight : Namon, who's clearly thirsting for Kradin blood. He gets to kill the Kradin who plugs him.
• Brainwashed : Chakotay, as it turns out.
• Brainwash Residue : The episode ends on a bit of a bitter note after Chakotay's rescue from the brainwashing camp. The Kradin ambassador who fought to secure his release comes to see him in sickbay, happy that he's in good health. Chakotay has to excuse himself, finding it hard to see him as anything other than a monster as he was made to believe by his captors.
• Captain Crash : As it was shot down, at least it wasn't Chakotay's fault.
• Civil War : The Clash .
• Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp" : The Vori dialect uses esoteric synonyms for common English words: "glimpse" instead of "look," "nullify" instead of "kill," "sphere" instead of "planet", "new light" instead of "morning" , "backwalk" instead of "fall back", and so on. Their speech is immediately comprehensible but sounds strange. The more time Chakotay spends with them, the more he starts talking like them.
• Cruel and Unusual Death : Chakotay is staked out in the sun to die, but is saved by Brone.
• Deadly Euphemism : Death is referred to as "nullification" by both sides.
• Death Glare : Before getting brainwashed, Vori say of him, "His glimpse is too tame to be a Krady." When Rafin's friend is killed, he picks up his own steely-eyed gaze, as does Chakotay by the time his indoctrination is complete.
• Delirious Misidentification : While under the Vori brainwashing, Chakotay sees Tuvok as a Kradin.
• Demonization : A common theme of this episode.
• Does This Remind You of Anything? : The handsome, human-looking, bare-armed Defenders wearing camouflage greens (as opposed to the usual Space Clothes ) and using assault rifles (as opposed to energy weapons) make this episode look like a gung-ho action movie of The '90s , which fits with the propaganda theme. It also has echoes of the brutality, dehumanization, and veteran PTSD/ inability to adjust to life after war of The Vietnam War , right down to unusual jargon.
• Due to the Dead : The Vori turn their dead face-down, while the Kradin are shown to leave their victims "neck-strapped and upturned," in violation of Vori customs . Brone: We beg peace from the Power that made us Vori, and we commend our brother Namon to the gloried Wayafter.
• Evil Sounds Deep : The Kradin speak with deep, distorted voices. Later subverted in both senses; the Kradin were trying to help find Chakotay, and when they appear outside the brainwashing simulation, their voices are perfectly normal.
• Evil Wears Black : The Kradin soldiers wear black, making us assume that they're evil.
• Execution by Exposure : Being left "neck-strapped and up-turned" is considered both torturous and sacrilegious, as it violates Vori funerary customs. Chakotay finds himself in this position after attacking the Kradin who drag Karya away.
• Fanservice : Any episode that opens with Chakotay Bound and Gagged is off to a good start. It gets better in the middle of the episode, when he's staked to the ground spread-eagle while wearing a muscle shirt.
• Fantastic Slurs : The Vori refer to the Kradin as "Krady beasts."
• Final Solution : Captured civilians who are too old to work are taken away to the Extermination Facility.
• Fire-Forged Friends : Deconstructed Trope ; Chakotay is made to empathize with various Defenders and Vori civilians who are then killed, so he'll feel anger towards their killers.
• Foreshadowing : When Chakotay first arrives, he notes that the Kradin might be just as scared of the Vori as vice versa. This sets up the reveal that the Kradin are at least no worse than the Vori, if not the actual "good guys."
• Going Native : After Namon dies, Chakotay is given his camouflage uniform under the justification that his bright red Space Clothes will stand out in the jungle. Which is true, but it also labels him as a Defender rather than a stranded alien, and causes him to subconsciously identify with the Defenders. He also starts talking more like them . More significantly he's given Namon's rifle for self defense .
• Good-Looking Privates : A girl from the village says that the Defenders, which Chakotay has joined, "glimpse great" in their jungle combat gear. They're actually the villains of the story.
• Gun Accessories : Namon has a big flashlight attached to the carry handle of his rifle.
• Hand Signals : The Vori Defenders use them.
• He's Dead, Jim : Namon.
• Human Aliens : The Vori—though, as Chakotay's interactions with them were during and just after his brainwashing, this may just be a facade.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight : Chakotay sees Tuvok as a Kradin commando, and nearly shoots him before Tuvok talks him down. Tuvok: You are Commander Chakotay of the starship Voyager. You are a scientist, an explorer. You are not a killer.
• Improperly Placed Firearms : The Defenders use bullpup assault rifles including the British SA80 , while Kradin soldiers use a Kalashnikov type , both modified with plastic coverings. The Kradin aircraft are CGI-modified Harrier jets.
• Innocent Flower Girl : Karya greets Chakotay by placing a garland of flowers around his neck.
• The Kradin ambassador says, "I'm only sorry we weren't able to rescue you sooner from our nemesis . (Chakotay walks out) Have I said something wrong?"
• "Welcome to Larhana settlement, gloried defender. You are brightly greeted." At the end of the episode, Chakotay is shocked to get the exact same greeting from the same girl he'd seen being dragged off for execution.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique : Chakotay suffers this off-screen, courtesy of the (illusory) Kradin.
• Just One Man : Tuvok rejects the idea of a Voyager away team blundering about a war zone, and suggests that one man go in with a team of Kradin commandoes. Paris: Fine with me. When do I leave? Janeway: Something tells me that's not what Tuvok has in mind. Tuvok: Naturally, I am the logical person to carry out this mission. Paris: Naturally.
• Kick the Dog : Deliberately Invoked by the "simulation" Chakotay finds himself in, where the Kradin seem to do nothing but commit war crime after war crime, including desecrating the Vori's dead, rounding up civilians for slave labour and eventual execution, and even threaten a young girl , all so that Chakotay and the other recruits would come to hate them.
• Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better
• Mutual Kill : Namon shoots the Kradin who shoots him. They both die.
• Never Say "Die" : Vori are not killed. They are nullified .
• New Meat : Novice Rafin, who has never killed anyone and has "the trembles" at the thought of confronting the Nemesis.
• Nicknaming the Enemy : The Nemesis . Also referred to as "Krady beasts." In a moment of Dramatic Irony , it turns out the Kradin use the same term for their enemy.
• Not Quite Dead : The Kradin bomb the Larhana settlement, force-marching away the survivors as slave labor, and send off Penno and Karya to be executed. Tuvok takes Chakotay back to the settlement to find it restored and everyone still alive. He receives the exact same greeting from Penno and Karya as before.
• Obviously Evil : Subverted with the Kradin.
• Off-the-Shelf FX : The Kradin look suspiciously similar to Yautja . They also bear more than a passing resemblance to the Nausicaans.
• Pistol Whip : Chakotay yells at one of the Kradin about Karya's ailing grandfather and gets a rifle to the face.
• Predator Pastiche : Vori mind control makes the Kradin look very similar to the Predator. And the episode focuses on soldiers fighting each other in a jungle to boot.
• Propaganda Machine : Chakotay thinks the stories of the Krady beasts are due to this. He doesn't realise that he's actually experiencing the process himself.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil / Mars Needs Women : The Kradin are said to "make playthings of our sisters".
• Rousing Speech : Brone gives one after the Seventh Contingent is found massacred and their bodies desecrated.
• Separated by a Common Language : The universal translator that Chakotay has renders the Defenders' language into approximate English, but uses different base words: "clash" instead of "war", "savory" instead of "tasty", fly "so close to the sphere" instead of "low to the ground", and "Nemesis" instead of "Enemy".
• Series Continuity Error : At the briefing, Janeway asks Neelix what he knows about the war taking place on the planet, and he gives details about it in a manner that suggests he's well familiar with the conflict. Apparently the writers forgot that Neelix's knowledge of the Delta Quadrant had previously been established to end at the far side of the Nekrit Expanse , and that was about ten thousand light-years behind them. Although the nature and phrasing of Neelix's information suggests he got it all from the Kradin ambassador.
• A Shared Suffering ( Invoked Trope ): Having fought the Cardassians who were trying to take his own homeland, Chakotay identifies with the Vori Defenders. He tries to coach them out of their Black-and-White Morality , but ends up adopting it himself due to experiencing their privations first hand.
• Sighted Guns Are Low-Tech : When Rafin is showing Chakotay how to use their weapons, they both aim the rifle when shooting at targets. After Rafin gives a badass speech, he then shoots several targets without using the sights.
• Son of a Whore : The Defenders refer to the Kradin as "motherless beasts".
• Strange-Syntax Speaker : The Defenders have a Chaucer -like dialogue. Whether this is due to translation issues, or something to do with the brainwashing process, is not revealed, but Chakotay is shown talking the same way as the brainwashing takes effect .
• Teach Him Anger : Brone does this to novice soldiers, but the actual target is Chakotay.
• The Unreveal : We don't know for certain if the Kradin really are the good guys, as both sides accuse each other of the same atrocities . However, seeing as the Kradins help Voyager out without strings attached and the Vori brainwash random strangers to fight and die for them, the Kradins would appear to be at least better.
• The friendly ambassador Treen who's been informing Janeway about their Nemesis beams aboard, and he's a Kradin.
• Chakotay walks into a Vori village that he saw destroyed in a Kradin attack — and it's very much not destroyed, proving that what he experienced wasn't real.
• Star Trek Voyager S 4 E 3 Day Of Honor
• Recap/Star Trek: Voyager
• Star Trek Voyager S 4 E 5 Revulsion

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