• Most new users don't bother reading our rules. Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ. Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
  • If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
  • Please read our Rules & Guidelines

Star Trek TNG Season 8 - All 3 Enterprise E films as 1-hour Episodes

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
SYNOPSIS

The three movies featuring the Enterprise-E appear in the format they always deserved: as episodes in an 8th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, as if it had aired on premium cable following the finale of Deep Space 9.

Each episode lasts one hour. Tone and characterization attempts to hew more closely to the show, unnecessary subplots and characters have been dropped, and the franchise concludes on a significantly different note.


INTENTION

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


RELEASE INFORMATION

Currently, the sole release is a DVD designed to feel like an extension of the existing STTNG DVDs for Seasons 1-7. A 720p release may be in the future.

Here's the current version of the DVD main menu, sans only the actual buttons:


And here's the title sequence:


And here is the delightful cover art by BionicBob, modeled after the art for the original box sets:

yKOyAZ.jpg



For some information on the guidelines used in creating the edits, click the spoiler tag.

Each episode would need to last no more than one hour, excluding ending credits (which are longer than a TV episode would have but should not be touched).

Tone and characterization would attempt to remain more consistent to the TV series.

To this end, action sequences would be minimized and used only to further a story or character arc. Minimal extraneous set pieces remain. The Next Generation solves its problems with words or with cleverness more than fisticuffs and phasers.

Scenes or characters which do not move along the story or further a character arc would be removed, even if they work well in their own right.

Any indication that Data could remove or turn off his emotion chip would be excised. The later movies regressed rather than progressed his character; this edit aims to reverse that.

Data's death would be removed and replaced with a different resolution for Shinzon. Killing a main character can be an excellent storytelling decision, but not if it is handled as sloppily as in Nemesis.

For more details on the cutlist, click the following spoiler tag.
The number of cuts is outright massive. I will hit the main points here.

FIRST CONTACT / PHOENIX
Removed any trace of Starfleet ordering Picard away from the fight, thus moving us into the main plot significantly quicker
Inserted new intro sequence
Removed all dialogue and almost all shots of Lily throughout movie
Removed Data failing to understand emotional significance of touching the Phoenix, and instead made it a shared moment between Data and Picard.
Removed horror film sequence of minor characters discovering the Borg
Removed Picard revenge arc--some audiences like it, but it makes no difference to the plot outcomes!
Removed deflector dish subplot/video game action sequence
Trimmed Cochrane
Many small trims to move along pacing


INSURRECTION / HEART OF LIGHTNESS

Skipped lengthy "Welcome to the Shire" introduction sequence
Trimmed initial chase sequence to defer the revelation until the last moment that the rogue officer is Data
Inserted new intro sequence
Removed indication that Data's emotion chip could be removed
Removed screwball and physical humor
"A British Tar" remains, but some technobabble and other elements in the scene are trimmed for pacing
All scenes indicating a romance between Picard and the Ba'ku woman are cut
Significant amounts of action cut, starting with the first phaser battle after discovering the cloaked holodeck
The Ba'ku and Son'a being the same species has been cut
The detonation of the subspace weapon now destroys the Son'a ship, thus resolving the Enterprise's action sequence in far less time
Surface battles cut to absolute minimum to advance the plot
The Son'a first officer now turns coat based on his differences with Ru'afo without requiring convincing from Picard
The story resolves with Ru'afo and his crew on the holoship. This is the poetic justice that concludes the narrative, and Action Hero Picard on the extractor is wholly unnecessary.
Picard gazes at the restored peace of the Ba'ku before departing rather than at a love interest.


NEMESIS / ROMULUS & REMUS

B-4 and all plots or scenes related to him have been cut.
After the cold open on Romulus and new intro sequence, we cut directly to Picard being contacted by Janeway.
Picard's mockery of Worf's discomfort with Betazed wedding customs has been cut, but a heavily edited version of the scene remains to foreshadow Riker and Troi's wedding.
Shinzon's request to touch Troi's hair is cut.
Thaleron radiation no longer dissolves biological matter on a subatomic level, because this makes no sense. Crusher just tells us it's Very Bad.
When Data and LaForge discover the source of the computer intrusion, Data beams on a covert op to the Scimitar. This is achieved by an extreme crop of his disguised trip to the Scimitar in the original. Thus he is on the ship to rescue Picard. (As a sidebar, the implication is that the standard issue Federation uniform for covert ops is an orange jumpsuit.)
The rape scene is made much shorter and is (hopefully) no longer outright offensive and exploitative. Picard also no longer asks Troi to endure more of these attacks (ugh!)--he just says he still needs her on duty.
The entire ramming scene and latter action sequences of the movie have been cut. Troi's ploy to locate Shinzon's viceroy with telepathy is now the decisive means by which the Enterprise destroys the Scimitar.
Thus, the movie closes on Riker and Troi's wedding (which, like most of the movie, has many small trims). In closing, we hear Data singing as we see a family growing up and parting ways.

(The original "Work in Progress" thread follows below; this first post has been updated to reflect the edit in its finished state.)
 

TM2YC

Take Me To Your Cinema
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
14,869
Reaction score
2,383
Trophy Points
228
I must be a glutton for punishment but I fancy giving a new Nemesis fanedit a watch. I'll take a look at the workprint if you like. After just watching the great 'Wrath of the Augments' I'm keen to see another edit that turns badtrek into goodtrek and excited to see another new opening sequence.
 

Zarius

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
7,019
Reaction score
864
Trophy Points
153
I'd like to take a gander too. Are the commercials from the time period the movie was released?
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,390
Trophy Points
168
Fascinating. ;-)

Never enough Star Trek fan edits! I look forward to seeing your version. :)
 

TM2YC

Take Me To Your Cinema
Staff member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
14,869
Reaction score
2,383
Trophy Points
228
Zarius said:
I'd like to take a gander too. Are the commercials from the time period the movie was released?

It didn't sound like there would be actual advert-breaks but if Menbailee wanted to include them, I'd guess enough other editors would be happy to oblige with trailers for their own edits or maybe even fake commericals.
 

Zarius

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
7,019
Reaction score
864
Trophy Points
153
TM2YC said:
It didn't sound like there would be actual advert-breaks but if Menbailee wanted to include them, I'd guess enough other editors would be happy to oblige with trailers for their own edits or maybe even fake commericals.

It's just from the way he worded the post he was indicating ther'd be commericals...still it'd be a bonus treat if that were part of the package. I think there's a cut of a Star Trek: New Voyages episode with 60s commecials.
 

RollWave

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
368
Reaction score
1
Trophy Points
26
It's not gonna be on tv though so it was a really arbitrary feature or limitation or whatever unless he actually added the commercials. But if he did, I would probably give him 1 thumbs up for novelty and 9 thumbs down for forcing me to fast forward during the edit.
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
TM2YC said:
It didn't sound like there would be actual advert-breaks but if Menbailee wanted to include them, I'd guess enough other editors would be happy to oblige with trailers for their own edits or maybe even fake commericals.

I'm cracking up. I had no intention of adding commercials or the fades in and out that you'd associate with TV, but by virtue of the length and the intro I did have in mind for it to feel like a reasonably decent episode rather than a failure of a movie, with the conceit that it was intended as a pilot for a continued TNG.

Now that you mention it, maybe an alternative version with commercials would be fun if we had the commercials to fill it up with, but I'm not going there yet.

Creating the intro is the primary task left for the edit, along with the usual business of cleaning up cuts or audio fades that previewers find awkward. I'll send some PMs to those interested in previewing.
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
Thanks to some feedback from BionicBob and some local friends, the edit has come a long way with relatively minor changes in actual screen content and time. Modifications to the final battle sequence were most significant.

Here's the intro sequence I cooked up. With relatively little footage of the Enterprise E, it's difficult to make it whoosh toward the screen in a way reminiscent of the D, and I also wanted to keep a constant starfield. So I turned the black space in some of the clips I used into a "green screen" for a starfield.


Discounting credits, the movie is now less than an hour. I'd appreciate feedback on the updated workprint (maybe from the reviewers who didn't get to watch it the first time) and will probably be considering this edit finished soon.
 

Gaith

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
5,785
Reaction score
291
Trophy Points
123
^ Hola dude, that's a noble effort in terms of integrating the starfields, but I'm afraid it just doesn't work, and the shots of the E are too brief. My personal advice would be to buck Trek convention and make an opening sequence integrating footage of the characters, ideally from FC and INS, along with hero shots of the ship. If you're gonna make a very short TNG movie - which I fully support - why not make something unique while you're at it? :)
 

Dethryl

Well-known member
Messages
164
Reaction score
0
Trophy Points
16
I liked it, but I agree with Gaith that it feels kind of empty. I like his idea of having character shots. If, as you suggest, it is a pilot for a new series, mixing up the intro credits would be a way to distinguish it from other Trek. Keeping the classic theme is good.
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
This edit has been finished for a while and it has passed the most important test: screening for Trek-fans who refused ever to watch the original. Thanks to Bionicbob for spotting some humorously rough moments in the first workprint, and to Ziester for some good observations, some of which I was able to integrate. So why isn't it out yet? Because I realized it was part of a bigger project. More on that in a new thread.

It's funny that people describe the Enterprise not being on the screen long enough--it's on screen for exactly the same intervals as in the TNG opening sequence. I'm definitely going for an introduction that feels as much like a direct continuation of the TV series as possible.

Official release will happen in tandem with my edit of Insurrection (and maybe First Contact?) but anyone wanting to preview the edit ahead of time is welcome to PM me.
 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
After the pathbreaking Star Trek: The Next Generation aired its series finale, fans expected a sequence of movies, but the series instead was surprisingly picked up by HBO for a test run of an 8th season. Or at least that's what happened in the alternative universe from which this series of edits comes. Higher production values, slightly more mature content, and less restrictive episode time lengths all sounded very promising to fans as season 8 started.

"The Fountain" was the first regular episode after the new series pilot, "First Contact." In a universe where this episode somehow mutated into a movie known as Insurrection, it included an unimpressive romantic subplot, long stretches of surprisingly boring action sequences, banal physical humor, and disappointing character regression for Data. With these elements absent, the story plays like a reasonably solid episode of Star Trek: TNG. Its plot can easily be resolved without Picard turning into a Hollywood cliche of an action hero, and with the set pieces properly trimmed, what's left onscreen is even fun to watch.

"Romulus & Remus," titled Nemesis in a less fortunate universe, was the final episode in the short-lived Season 8; HBO rapidly recognized that Berman and Braga no longer had the chops for what had made the series such a success. More on "Romulus & Remus" in its own thread:
http://www.fanedit.org/forums/showthread.php?11506-Star-Trek-TNG-Romulus-amp-Remus-(Nemesis-edit)

"The Fountain" and "Romulus & Remus" will definitely be released together. I'm currently deciding on whether to release "First Contact" simultaneously as well. I don't currently plan to edit Generations because Kirkless Generations has already been done, and I don't think my cut would be drastically different. Generations thus remains the movie that bridges the end of the syndicated series and the beginning of the short-lived HBO series.

"The Fountain" is essentially complete and ready for viewers of the workprint. It's currently 1 hour and 8 minutes (credits included). "Romulus & Remus" has been complete for a while, whereas "First Contact" has a plan whose execution is just getting started.
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,390
Trophy Points
168
MORE TREK!!!!

Yippeeeee!!!! :cheer2:
 

Dwight Fry

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
4,245
Reaction score
1,564
Trophy Points
123
bionicbob said:
MORE TREK!!!!

Yippeeeee!!!! :cheer2:

Wrong franchise, Bob!

heres-what-jake-lloydthe-boy-who-played-anakin-skywalker-in-star-warslooks-like-today.jpg
:-D
 

bionicbob

Well-known member
Donor
Faneditor
Messages
8,265
Reaction score
2,390
Trophy Points
168
Dwight Fry said:
Wrong franchise, Bob!

heres-what-jake-lloydthe-boy-who-played-anakin-skywalker-in-star-warslooks-like-today.jpg
:-D

How will I ever live with myself?

A quick slingshot around the sun and....

MORE TREK!!!

Fascinating.


 

Menbailee

Well-known member
Faneditor
Messages
178
Reaction score
11
Trophy Points
28
Coming to DVD in September 2014.

Objectives:

To turn three problematic movies into an entertaining, short-lived season 8 of Star Trek: TNG.
To increase character and thematic consistency within the three-episode arc and with the first 7 seasons
To provide more satisfying closure for fans of the series
Also: Data lives!

All three edits are complete. They will be released on one DVD, and maybe with a 720p release.

Here's the current version of the DVD main menu, sans only the actual buttons:


And here's the title sequence:


I'll probably also post the "cold opens" for each episode. First Contact gets its main story started much, much more quickly without wasting time on Starfleet ordering Picard out of the fight.

Reviewers are welcome. This project has come a long way since a rough cut of Nemesis.

Many moments are cut which are good on their own, but which are not needed for the storyline or which only work as part of a subplot or character that was cut. The biggest example would be that Lily is now entirely absent from First Contact.

The sequence is intended to occur directly after the ending of DS9. There's much more to say, but I'll see what questions pop up in the thread.
 

DANLAV05

Well-known member
Messages
350
Reaction score
111
Trophy Points
43
This sounds like an extremely cool project!! I can't wait to see it
 
Top Bottom