FFF # 84 - Sci Fi 1994: Stargate v. Star Trek Generations

On this episode of Fabulous Film and Friends we are looking back at two middling, lackluster sci-fi adventures from 1994 that have mysteriously stood the test of time: Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Kurt Russell, James Spader, John Diehl, Jaye Davidson, Viveca Lindfors, Erick Avari, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, Leon Rippey, French Stewart, and Djimon Hounsou, which was released in October of ‘94 then Star Trek: Generations which was released a month later, was directed by David Carson and starred Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFaddon, Malcolm McDowell, Walter Koenig, James Doohan and William Shatner.

I’m Gino Caputi your host, and back for more, especially if Star Trek is to be discussed I have series regular and IT tech Burton Brown, and representing the fresh eyes of the younger, non-cynical generation, author hypnotherapist Joe Field.

The synopses:

In Stargate, a crack squad of US Special Forces led by Colonel Jack O’Neill with an assist from archeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson travel through a mysterious circular dimensional portal that was discovered in Giza Egypt in 1928 and kept a secret by the military until the mysteries of the portal could be unlocked. Once on the other side, Jackson and O’Neil discover they are on the planet Abydos with a culture very similar to ancient Egypt. There they befriend the locals and do battle with the god Ra, revealed to be an alien who has enslaved humans on this planet and is intent on destroying the human race on Earth through the Stargate.

In Star Trek Generations a single-minded, pleasure-seeking and murderous Dr. Tholian Soran attempts to destroy an entire solar system in order to get back into a heaven-like, temporal portal in the universe called The Nexus. It is up to the crew of the Starship Enterprise D, led by Captain Jean Luc Picard to stop Soran. Unfortunately, Picard proves to be too weak for the task and finds his ship and crew destroyed, the mission failed and he himself is trapped in the Nexus. Except…Captain James T. Kirk is also in the Nexus having landed in it 78 years earlier the Enterprise B encountered The Nexus on a rescue mission. Picard and Kirk join forces, leave the Nexus and stop Soran through the power of team work.

San Francisco Chronicle Film Critic Mick LaSalle, when summarizing the 1994 Year in Film wrote, “In 20 years will anyone still be watching Stargate? Or Star Trek Generations?”

I agreed with him wholeheartedly that these films were nothing but forgettable, but here we 30 years later and are still watching these works. Add to that, Stargate has had five spinoff TV series on the subject and they’re still planning cinematic reboots. Star Trek Generations was listed implausibly as a one of the great epics in the 2004 book Epic movies and will forever be remembered as the film that killed off Captain Kirk.

So, the burning question is WHY?

Find out!

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