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Star Trek: First Contact is a meta movie about the creation of the Trek franchise

John Hodgman joins the Galaxy Brains podcast to explain

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Graphic frame surround a photo of the Borg Queen from the from the movie, Star Trek: First Contact

The 25th anniversary of Star Trek: First Contact , easily the best Next Generation movie of them all, has prompted many articles, essays, and podcast episodes about why this particular movie worked, and the other Picard-led films were varying levels of bad. Was it the Borg? The time travel element? The humor? Jonathan Frakes’ direction?

The easiest, most likely answer is that it was the only one with a truly excellent script. The ingenious idea of splitting up the crew, the breathless pacing, and the clever action set pieces set it apart not just from the other TNG movies, but from many of the other Star Trek films too.

But what has always piqued my interest most is the performance of Academy Award nominee James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane, the irascible, alcoholic inventor of warp drive that is sort of the MacGuffin of the entire film. The story revolves around whether or not he can get it together and go on his historic warp flight. I’ve always thought of Cochrane as a stand-in for Star Trek’s own inventor, Gene Roddenberry, and that First Contact is really a movie about the creation of Star Trek itself — a kind of futuristic roman a clef about a deeply flawed man who changed the world.

A far-out theory? Welcome to Galaxy Brains , guys. C’mon.

On this week’s show, Jonah Ray and I are joined by comedian, author and long-time Star Trek fan John Hodgman to discuss whether or not Star Trek: First Contact is a sneaky Gene Roddenberry biopic.

As always, this conversation has been edited to sound less weird.

Dave: I think a lot about Gene Roddenberry as the creator of Star Trek when I watch this movie. Zefram Cochrane in the context of the meta movie that we are watching is the creator of Star Trek. He says the words “Star Trek” in the movie. He invents warp drive. He meets a Vulcan for the first time. He’s this volatile human being with a lot of flaws, who meets his very logical person, and they have a moment of understanding. I always have thought of Zefram Cochran as basically just a stand-in for Gene Roddenberry. Gene Roddenberry has been said by many people, including his assistant Susan Sackett, in her book , and a lot of other people who’ve worked with him that he was kind of a volatile, difficult man. And that’s kind of what Zefram Cochrane’s arc is. He starts off as this guy who’s just trying to make money and make a buck. Star Trek was a means to an end for Gene Roddenberry. But then it becomes this cultural phenomenon, and he changes the world in a lot of ways. Do you see any of this parallel or am I completely off base? John Hodgman: To continue your sports metaphor, you are on base. You are safe. Dave: I know you love baseball, John. John Hodgman: I love you, love baseball, and I love it. You just threw a home base. I mean, you did a good job. Touchdown, indeed. Yeah. I’m not completely familiar with the behind the scenes true life of Gene Roddenberry, but I’m certainly familiar with his deification, you know, and the shadow as a creator that he cast and whether certain storylines would be considered “Gene enough” or “not Gene enough.” Yeah, there’s definitely I mean, whether it’s acknowledged or not, there’s definitely a feeling of, you know, don’t meet your heroes. They’re flawed people. They’re human beings. That’s not even subtext in the movie. Jonah: It’s text. More than 10 years prior to this was, I think, the big cultural shift in the culture of Star Trek, which was the Saturday Night Live sketch, with William Shatner yelling at the fans to get a life . It did remind me of that thing of just these all the nerds coming up to Cochrane and, you know, being excited and him going like, What’s wrong with you? Dave: He’s a statue, and he’s so horrified to get the statue at some point since he doesn’t see himself as that important. And I think that’s probably true of most people that we deify. John Hodgman: I mean, Gene Roddenberry created a calm, egalitarian socialist utopia of tolerance, probably because that didn’t exist in his own mind. That was a projection of something that he wished for, that he didn’t have peace of mind. Jonah: Something that Dave and I talked about earlier is maybe money did fucking make him an irritable drunk. Maybe he really thought, like if only money didn’t exist , I wouldn’t have to worry about this stuff all the time . There is something to that, like getting rid of money. John Hodgman: Yeah, right? I was just going to say it’s part of our cultural moment now. It’s like, well, after we shut down the economy for a year and people don’t feel like going back to work at those shitty jobs, we’re all of a sudden thinking, like, is there another way to do this? Dave: And Gene Roddenberry also created a world where sex was completely different than how we perceive it now, and the idea of sexuality is more just like, yeah, we have sex and we can have sex with lots of different people or aliens or whatever. It was more chill in that respect. And that was something that he was projecting in the real world, too. John Hodgman: Yeah, he wanted to have sex with everybody. He wanted everybody to have green skin. He wanted to have sex with them.

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“Star Trek: First Contact” is one of the best of the eight “ Star Trek ” films: Certainly the best in its technical credits, and among the best in the ingenuity of its plot. I would rank it beside “ Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ” (1986), the one where the fate of Earth depended on the song of the humpback whale. This time, in a screenplay that could have been confusing but moves confidently between different levels of the story, the crew of the Enterprise follows the evil Borgs back in time to the day before mankind made its first flight at warp speed.

That flight, in 2063, was monitored by an alien race, the Vulcans, who took it as evidence that man had developed to the point where it deserved to meet another race. But now the Borgs, starting from the 24th century, want to travel back through a temporal vortex (how I love the “Star Trek” jargon!), prevent the flight and rewrite history, this time with Borgs populating the Earth instead of humans.

The latest edition of the starship is the “Enterprise E” (and there are plenty of letters left in the alphabet, Capt. Picard notes ominously). It is patrolling deep space when it learns the Borgs are attacking Earth. The Enterprise is ordered to remain where it is--probably, Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) notes bitterly, because he was a prisoner of the Borgs some six years ago, and “a man who was captured and assimilated by the Borg is an unstable element.” These Borgs are an interesting race. They are part flesh, part computer, and they “assimilate” all the races they conquer into their collective mind, which organizes their society like a hive. There is even a queen ( Alice Krige ), although she is not fat and pampered like an ant or a termite, but lean, mean and a student of seduction. One of the movie's intriguing subplots involves Data ( Brent Spiner ), the Enterprise's android, who is captured and hooked up to a Borg assimilating machine--which fails, because it can't crack his digital defenses. Then the Queen tries some analog methods all her own.

The central plot takes place as the Enterprise follows a Borg ship back through time to Earth, which, the Trekkers are dismayed to learn, is now populated by Borgs. To turn history around again, they need to be sure man's first warp flight succeeds. Earth is recovering from World War III, and a brilliant inventor named Cochrane ( James Cromwell , the tall farmer from “ Babe ”) has adapted a missile for this historic flight.

He leads a commune that seems to be part hippie, part survivalist, and spends much of his time listing to rock 'n' roll and drinking, to the despair of his associate Lily ( Alfre Woodard ). These two do not believe the weird story they get from the starship crew, and at one point Lily nearly fries Picard with a stolen gun. (He: “Maximum setting! If you had fired, you would have vaporized me.” She: “It's my first ray gun.”) The plot moves deftly between preparations for the Earth launch, Data's assimilation tortures on the Borg ship, and a fight against a Borg landing party on the Enterprise, which Picard personally directs, overruling doubts expressed by his second-in-command, William Riker ( Jonathan Frakes ) and their own assimilated Klingon, Worf ( Michael Dorn ).

Some of the earlier “Star Trek” movies have been frankly clunky in the special-effects department; the first of the series came out in 1979 and looked pale in comparison to “Star Wars.” But this one benefits from the latest advances in f/x artistry, starting with its sensational opening shot, which begins so deep inside Picard's eyeball, it looks like a star-speckled spacescape and then pulling back to encompass an unimaginably vast Borg starship. I also admired the interiors of the Borg probe, and the peculiar makeup work creating the Borg Queen, who looks like no notion of sexy I have ever heard of, but inspires me to keep an open mind.

“Star Trek” movies are not so much about action and effects as they are about ideas and dialogue. I doubted the original Enterprise crew would ever retire because I didn't think they could stop talking long enough. Here the story gives us yet another intriguing test of the differences among humans, aliens and artificial intelligence. And the paradoxes of time travel are handled less murkily than sometimes in the past. (Although explain to me once again how the Earth could be populated with millions of Borgs who are expected to vanish--or never have been--if the Enterprise succeeds. Isn't there some sort of law of conservation of energy that requires their physical bodies to come from, or be disposed of, somewhere, somehow?) “STFC” was directed by Frakes, who did some of the “ST Next Generation” shows for television, and here achieves great energy and clarity. In all of the shuffling of timelines and plotlines, I always knew where we were. He also gets some genial humor out of Cromwell, as the inventor who never wanted fame but simply enough money to go off to a “tropical island with a lot of naked women.” And there is such intriguing chemistry between Picard and the Woodard character that I hope a way is found to bring her onboard in the next film. “Star Trek” movies in the past have occasionally gone where no movie had gone, or wanted to go, before. This one is on the right beam.

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: First Contact (1996)

Rated PG-13 For Some Sci-Fi Adventure Violence

112 minutes

Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard

Jonathan Frakes as William Riker

Brent Spiner as Data

James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane

Alfre Woodard as Lily Sloane

LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge

Alice Krige as Borg Queen

Michael Dorn as Worf

Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher

Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi

Directed by

Jonathan Frakes
Ronald D. Moore
Brannon Braga

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Star Trek: First Contact

1996, Sci-fi, 1h 50m

What to know

Critics Consensus

While fans of the series will surely appreciate it, First Contact is exciting, engaging, and visually appealing enough to entertain Star Trek novices. Read critic reviews

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The Enterprise and its crew follow a Borg ship through a time warp to prevent the Borg from taking over the Earth in a past era. Stuck in the past, Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) helps a pioneer of space travel (James Cromwell) in his efforts to create the first warp drive while Capt. Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner) battle the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) as she tries to take over the Enterprise.

Rating: PG-13 (Some Sci-Fi Adventure Violence)

Genre: Sci-fi

Original Language: English

Director: Jonathan Frakes

Producer: Rick Berman

Writer: Gene Roddenberry , Rick Berman , Brannon Braga , Ronald D. Moore , Brannon Braga , Ronald D. Moore

Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 1996 wide

Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2011

Box Office (Gross USA): $92.0M

Runtime: 1h 50m

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Production Co: Paramount Pictures

Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Dolby A, DTS, Surround, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

View the collection: Star Trek

Cast & Crew

Patrick Stewart

Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Jonathan Frakes

Commander William Thomas Riker

Brent Spiner

Lieutenant Commander Data

LeVar Burton

Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge

Michael Dorn

Lieutenant Commander Worf

Gates McFadden

Commander Beverly Howard Crusher, M.D.

Marina Sirtis

Commander Deanna Troi, Counselor

Alfre Woodard

Lily Sloane

James Cromwell

Dr. Zefram Cochrane

Alice Krige

Neal McDonough

Lieutenant Hawk

Robert Picardo

Emergency Medical Hologram

Dwight Schultz

Lieutenant Reginald 'Reg' Barclay III

Patti Yasutake

Lieutenant Alyssa Ogawa, R.N.

Gene Roddenberry

Rick Berman

Brannon Braga

Ronald D. Moore

Screenwriter

Marty Hornstein

Executive Producer

Peter Lauritson

Co-Producer

Jerry Goldsmith

Original Music

Joel Goldsmith

Additional Music

Matthew F. Leonetti

Cinematographer

John W. Wheeler

Film Editing

Junie Lowry-Johnson

Herman F. Zimmerman

Production Design

Ron Wilkinson

Art Director

Deborah Everton

Costume Design

Unit Production Manager

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Critic Reviews for Star Trek: First Contact

Audience reviews for star trek: first contact.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard and crew were second fiddle to Captain Kirk in their first feature film together in 1994's 'Generations', but that wasn't at all the case in 'First Contact'. Putting a newfound focus on the new crew and a new real sci-fi adventure proved to be what was needed to make the best Star Trek film in years. Re-introducing the Borg was a good choice as the conflict with the Klingons seemed to be getting a bit tiresome. Plus, with improved 1996 special effects, the filmmakers were able to fully realize the Borg as terrifying science fiction species. And that brings me to my favorite elements to First Contact, it's true sci-fi aesthetic. Sure, you still get a classic Trek adventure, but I don't think the other films in the franchise capture the science fiction side to the series as well as First Contact does. The main crew are joined by now-prominent actors, James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard, and Neal McDonough. McDonough plays a throwaway crew mate on the bridge, but Woodard and Cromwell are given plenty to do. Unfortunately for Cromwel and other members of the Enterprise crew, their 21st century earth bound mission is not as compelling as what is going on in space. While Woodard spends most of the film attempting to understand what's going on, she serves as a great counterpart to Picard's spiraling emotion. With Picard's unfortunate Borg history, he has a tough time comprehending any other strategies besides what his own mind tells him. Woodard is the only one that can get to him. Their bond and blossoming relationship is the type of thing previous films have been missing. Or really any well-written female characters at all. After taking a few films off, Jerry Goldsmith returned to score First Contact. Goldsmith has always had a keen sense of when to hammer in that heroic side to the Star Trek theme at just the right moments, First Contact does so impeccably. The CGI is also surprisingly polished. The mixture of practical and digital is seamlessly handled. Though Star Trek films seem to have the same structure, First Contact steered away from some flaws of the previous entries. Keeping the fun tone while throwing in some homages to Alien and Terminator with the Borg's presence was a perfect way to kick off The Next Generation's own film without having to rely on old characters. Star Trek First Contact is easily one of the best instalments of the franchise to date. +Real sci-fi +Borg were a nice change up +Woodard and Cromwell +Focus on the team instead of the old crew +Score +Homages to classic sci-fi films -Earth bound material is a bore 8.3/10

First Contact is a brilliant film that has highly entertaining from start to finish. This, for me, is yet another great sequel in the franchise, and one of the finest entries in the series in the 90's. The cast all bring some great to the film, and overall, this is the most ambitious, film in the series, only topped recently by Star Trek Into Darkness. This possesses everything you'd expect from a very well crafted Star Trek film, and it has a well crafted storyline, good action scenes, and enough thrills from start to finish to satisfy genre fans. What First Contact does well is to amp up the stakes in terms of scope, and it furthers the formula even more into new territory that delivers a terrific film going experience. This entry is one of the best Star Trek films I've seen, and it is a well directed affair, one that is thoroughly exciting from the first frame onwards. Even for non Star Trek fans, this is worth seeing because it's a film that has some well executed action scenes, and it's a fine example of genre cinema. Aside from the recent Star Trek films, this is one of my favorites, and the way that the story is told, mixed with engaging performances, makes this a must see film that will even appeal to genre skeptics. Even if you're not big into this particular genre, Star Trek First Contact is a strong picture that elevates the genre significantly. I enjoyed this film, even more so than other previous entries, and it ranks as one of the very best films in the Star Trek series. With a well crafted story, great effects, wonderful performances, this is a memorable and thrilling genre film that should be enjoyed by anyone that is looking for a highly entertaining Science Fiction film to watch.

Against Starfleet orders, the USS Enterprise travels to Earth, where several Starfleet vessels are battling a Borg Cube. The Cube is destroyed but a small sphere escapes and heads towards a temporal vortex, travelling back in time. Realizing the Borg plan to use time travel to change Earth's history, the Enterprise enters the vortex and follows the sphere back in time. Checking the date, Picard (Stewart) discovers it to be April 4th, 2063, the day before Earth first makes contact with alien life. The Enterprise crew track down Zefram Cochrane (Cromwell), the inventor of the warp drive, to ensure his historic first warp flight goes ahead. With the Original Series' crew finally retired, it came time for the Next Gen bunch to step up. Would they be able to carry on the Trek franchise on the big screen? The evidence of the previous film, 'Generations', would suggest not. It had become evident that, of the cast, only Stewart possessed the gravitas to carry a major motion picture. Most fans' biggest gripe concerned the manner in which Data (Spiner) had been transformed into a highly irritating comic foil thanks to the implementation of an "emotion chip". Thankfully, both of these issues are addressed in 'First Contact'. Picard is pushed to the forefront, making it very much Stewart's movie. Data's emotion chip is disabled early on at his captain's request and the groan-inducing comic situations are cast aside. The decision to base the first all-TNG movie around a plot involving the Borg was a no-brainer. Ever since the TV series' pivotal two-parter, 'The Best of Both Worlds', they had become most Trek fans' favorite villains. With the Federation signing peace accords with seemingly every former aggressor, the unfeeling Borg became the perfect antagonists. In 'TBOBW', set six years prior to this film, Picard had been held captive by the Borg, who attempted to assimilate him. This element makes 'First Contact' essentially a revenge movie. Explicit reference is made to 'Moby Dick', (a sci-fi cliche at this point), with Picard cast in the role of Ahab. The captain, out of character, allows his personal vendetta to get the better of him, putting those under his command at risk. Stewart shows us just what a great actor he really is, blowing everyone else off the screen. Allowing cast members to direct had negatively effected the series in the past. The entries helmed by Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner lacked the class of those directed by the legendary Robert Wise and the talented Nicholas Meyer. Many groans were heard when Frakes was named as director but his detractors were left with egg on their faces. The actor does a fantastic job here, making his directorial debut. As Meyer did with 'Wrath of Khan', Frakes changed the entire visual aesthetic of the series, implementing a new, darker look, in keeping with the nature of the Borg plot. The color-coded uniforms are replaced by a more somber grey-toned outfit and the decks of the Enterprise appear as though Starfleet are attempting to cut down on the energy bill. Cromwell had just become a star thanks to the surprise hit 'Babe'. His character, a drunken genius, could have been the one element which brought the movie down, given the comic nature of the role. Had someone like Rob Schneider been cast in the part, (quite possible in the mid-nineties), the result would have been a horror show. Cromwell handles the comic element in just the right manner, keeping the film out of camp territory. 'First Contact' features one of the most impressive effects shots you'll see in any sci-fi movie. It occurs when we're first introduced to the Borg Queen (Krige), as her head and shoulders are lowered down onto a mechanical body which then walks across the set. Unlike today, when CG is over-used to an annoying degree, the effect was achieved by combining CG with practical FX and reportedly took a total of five months to complete. After the bumpy start of 'Generations', 'First Contact' inspired a fresh confidence in fans that Trek could continue successfully as a big screen franchise. Sadly, they would never have it so good again.

Star Trek really isn't my thing, but this was a pretty cool film. I wish the story focused on one arc instead of splitting them, however. The main problem seemed to be with the Borg rather than with the astronaut, but they focused on them both even though the latter didn't have too many problems. As a result, both arcs were weaker than they would've been otherwise. A movie about First Contact alone, or about the Borg alone, would've been interesting-there was no need to combine them.

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First Contact In The Star Trek Universe Explained

After the end of World War III, humanity will be left scattered and destitute. Colonel Phillip Green will lead a freelance army of eco-terrorists, controlled by drugs, to the slaughter of 37 million people. Nuclear bombs will be dropped, and much of the planet's surface will be seared by radiation. All the governments will have fallen, and torturous kangaroo courts will take the place of truth and justice. People will move into small enclaves throughout the world, modestly enjoying their limited resources and waiting for a proper economic system to restart.

In the middle of this terror, Earth will also experience its greatest day. On April 5, 2063, an engineer named Zefram Cochran will invent a craft that can, thanks to an energy field capable of warping the fabric of space, fly faster than the speed of light. On the maiden voyage of Cochran's ship, the Phoenix, a passing starship piloted by space aliens will change course to investigate. A cadre of Vulcans will land in Bozeman, Montana and introduce themselves to humans . Humans, realizing they are not alone in the galaxy, will begin a new age of togetherness and peace, understanding they are but new citizens in a much larger community. Over the years, warp technology will be used as the basis of a new age of exploration, allowing humanity to build enormous crafts capable of reaching other planets.

Over the course of the next century, Vulcans will prepare humanity for the next leg in the evolution of their civilization: Traversing the stars. We see the fruits of this, and examples of additional First Contact with alien species, in the new series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

First Contact as an institution

These details are all laid out explicitly in Jonathan Frakes' 1996 film " Star Trek: First Contact ." And, as with all lore introduced in "Star Trek," it became an oft-referred-to part of the franchise's lexicon. More importantly, however, first contact is — in the grand arc of "Star Trek" — the origin of Gene Roddenberry's benevolent vision of a peaceful future.

In the future of "Star Trek," humanity doesn't steadily and instinctually improve as a natural and expected outcropping of its history to date. "Star Trek" is not a story of how Earth nations decided to spontaneously get along, or how humans elected to rid themselves of prejudice merely out of the goodness of their hearts. "Star Trek" argues that humanity is capable of acting that way, yes, but that, when left to our own devices as a species, we lilt toward destruction and entropy. Gene Roddenberry looked out at the world as it was in the 1960s and saw a lot of problems. War, racism, sexual repression. These things were common. And they would not be undone by a starship, a transporter, or a stalwart military captain.

You'll notice that the optimistic future of "Star Trek" requires a clean slate. Much needs to be destroyed and removed before growth can begin. We needed to prove to ourselves, as a species, that we are capable of self-annihilation before we can build. The future can begin only after we allowed World War III to nearly wipe us out. Only at a moment of weakness, a moment of humility, a moment of shame, will our technical innovation be achieved ... for its own sake. In "First Contact," Cochran admits that he only wanted to achieve space flight as a means of making money. It wasn't until he was in space, looking back at a distant Earth after only flying for a few moments, that he realized the scope of his invention.

Paired with that innovation during a desperate time was First Contact. It's 2063, and humanity is essentially at its worst, and that was when another species reached out to shake our hands. To see that we were capable of a lot. First Contact was not just a plot point, but the beginning of Roddenberry's optimistic future. Seeing the greatness in ourselves through the eyes of other members in our astral community. First Contact is the "Star Trek" origin story.

First Contact throughout Trek

Because First Contact was so significant for humanity, it was depicted as a very careful process in future "Star Trek" episodes. Thanks to the franchise's well-known Prime Directive — the law that forbids Starfleet from interfering in the natural course of a society's development — the Federation is persnickety about how they introduce themselves to new worlds. Most importantly: The species in question has to be capable of faster-than-light travel. Often — as depicted in a 1991 " Star Trek: The Next Generation " episode called "First Contact" — Starfleet will send representatives in disguise down to a world that is on the cusp of developing warp flight to ensure that they are united. Are they eager to take to the stars, or are they only incidentally developing space flight while the rest of the planet preps for more war?

If the Federation finds the species in question is "ready" — there are no scientific measurements for said readiness, mind you; It appears to be based solely on diplomatic intuition — they will reveal themselves to the planet. Presumably, this will usher in a new era of peace and togetherness for that planet the same way it did for Earth. The Federation will them begin trade and, in some cases, many, many years of training to assure the species in question won't do anything reckless in the stars.

That last bit was the premise of " Star Trek: Enterprise ." First Contact was in 2063, but the first Starfleet vessel didn't take off for another century. Those 100 years were needed for humanity to rebuild after the war, unify the governments, and gather resources to build the ships.

First Contact between two species that have both already achieved warp flight seems to be little more than a careful, polite, and formal introduction, and can be handled over a viewscreen. There is little concern with sociological evolution or culture taint in these cases.

Second Contact

Given the number of species seen on "Star Trek," First Contact seems to be common. It's mentioned frequently that Starfleet vessels have First Contact protocols, and, on " Star Trek: Lower Decks ," senior officers talk about how much they love doing it. For them, it's a mere perk of the job.

One of the central gags of "Lower Decks," though, is that the central starship, the U.S.S. Cerritos, is often assigned the least desirable jobs in Starfleet. "Lower Decks" points out that "Star Trek" — however utopian it may be on paper — is still full of petty bureaucracy, heavy lifting, and mindless repetitive tasks. As such, "Lower Decks" has introduced the notion of Second Contact. While first introducing yourselves to a new species is thrilling, someone will have to follow up on the promise to begin a cultural exchange. The Cerritos is called in to negotiate trade, open lines of diplomacy, start tracking the new world's culture and the language, and share just enough tech to help them without giving them so much that their society would be tainted.

The captains get the fun of making a big speech about togetherness, but then someone else has to fly in and start quantity surveying.

Like most things on "Lower Decks," Second Contact is meant to point out that not everything is "Star Trek" is as easy as an inspirational speech. There's also an overwhelming amount of logistics that goes into it. Second Contact is proof that First Contact carries with it a lot of practical concerns.

20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact

First Contact remains a mighty Trek classic over 25 years later.

While the fanbase is divided on where exactly Star Trek: First Contact ranks among the Trek movies released to date, most will agree that it's one of the stronger entries into the franchise.

Following the disappointing Star Trek Generations, First Contact was the first "proper" Next Generation movie, and felt like a potent statement of intent for this era of Trek films.

More exciting and action-packed than most of its predecessors, First Contact split the difference between the series' trademark humanism and more mainstream-skewing set-pieces, delivering a Trek film that played well across the board.

As a result, First Contact was the highest-grossing Trek film at the time of its release, a record it would hold until J.J Abrams' 2009 reboot.

Widely acclaimed by critics and scoring an Oscar nomination for Best Makeup, the Jonathan Frakes-directed epic set a standard that neither of its direct sequels, Insurrection and Nemesis, could get close to.

The means through which the film was made - given a massive budget but little time to get the job done - sure are fascinating, as these 20 must-see stories and anecdotes about its production will detail. Let's dig in...

20. It Had A Considerably Bigger Budget Than Generations

First Contact's final budget was set at $45 million, making it the most expensive film in the franchise up to this point, tied with the very first film in the series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

After the release of The Motion Picture, the sequels received considerably smaller budgets, with First Contact's predecessor originally priced at a slender $25 million, before reshoots and overages pushed it to $35 million.

First Contact having $10 million more to play with allowed the production team to plan and stage more elaborate, effects-driven action sequences, as ultimately became a large part of the movie's mainstream appeal.

Its subsequent box office success prompted Paramount to drop a stonking $70 million on the direct sequel, Star Trek: Insurrection, which wasn't nearly as well-received either critically or commercially.

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.

First contact

View history

The term first contact described the first official encounter between representatives of two races or governments . ( Star Trek: First Contact )

The first contact protocols of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet are based on procedures long used by the Vulcans . ( ENT : " Civilization "; SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

Occasionally, the official first contact took place years or even decades after members of the species involved first met. Typically, first contact was only initiated by the Federation if a civilization was sufficiently advanced or had developed interstellar travel (via warp drive , for example). Contact with more primitive civilizations was prohibited by the Prime Directive . It was stated that the preferred method was to privately approach scientists and intellectual leaders to make the initial contact, on the assumption that they would more easily grasp the concept of alien life . Also, the population was typically observed covertly for some time before making first contact, a decision made after the Klingon first contact. ( TNG : " First Contact ")

A drawing titled "First Contact"

Starfleet Command Directive 010 stated that " Before engaging alien species in battle, any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve non-military resolution must be made. " ( VOY : " In the Flesh ") First contact procedures were a part of the Bridge Officer's Test . ( TNG : " Thine Own Self ") These Starfleet first contact principles were revised over the years, including by Captain McCoullough . ( DS9 : " Move Along Home ") One who specialized in making first contacts was known as a first contact specialist . ( TNG : " Tin Man ")

Several Starfleet captains became known in part for the number of species with which they had initiated contact. As of 2378, Kathryn Janeway had made first contact with more species than any captain since James T. Kirk . ( VOY : " Friendship One ") By 2379 , Jean-Luc Picard had represented the Federation during first contacts with twenty-seven different alien races. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

Other cultures also recognized first contact as a momentous occasion. According to Marla Gilmore , the Ponea considered every first contact to be a reason for celebration . ( VOY : " Equinox ")

Seven of Nine once expressed to Kathryn Janeway that her practice of following Starfleet protocol regarding first contact was incompatible with the objective of getting the USS Voyager home. Janeway respectfully disagreed, noting that she and her crew sought out new races because they wanted to as part of an insatiable Human curiosity about the universe , not simply because they were following protocol. ( VOY : " Random Thoughts ")

Angry about the situation during the "first contact" with the Novans , Captain Jonathan Archer stated, " If I can't make first contact with other Humans I don't have any business being out here. " ( ENT : " Terra Nova ")

In 2151 , a drawing titled " First Contact " and created by the fourth grade student Haley was sent to Enterprise NX-01 . It depicted a first contact between a one- eyed alien with ten tentacles and a Human in an environmental suit from the USA . ( ENT : " Breaking the Ice ")

Until the USS Enterprise 's 2259 discovery of the Kiley using warp in the form of a warp bomb , Science Officer Spock stated that not once in the entire history of first contact had warp been first developed as anything but a drive. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

1 Human-Vulcan first contact
2 Roswell UFO incident
3.1 Human-Sky Spirit first contact
3.2 Human-Kukulkan first contact
3.3 Human-Greek gods first contact
3.4 Human-Megan first contact
3.5 Human-Non-corporeal first contact
3.6 Human-Klingon first contact
3.7 Human-Andorian first contact
3.8 Human-Akaali first contact
3.9 Federation-Gorn first contact
3.10 Federation-Ferengi Alliance first contact
3.11 Federation-Borg first contact
3.12 Federation-Wadi first contact
3.13 Federation-Dominion first contact
3.14 Bajor-Cardassia first contact
3.15 Vulcan-Klingon first contact
3.16 Federation-Galardonian first contact
3.17 Federation-Lapeerian first contact
3.18 Federation-Areore first contact
3.19 Federations-Species 10-C first contact
4.1 See also
4.2 Related topics
4.3 External links

Human-Vulcan first contact [ ]

Human-Vulcan first contact in 2063

Kirk and Spock in 1930

The capitalized term First Contact, in Human context, was used to specifically refer to the first official publicly and globally known contact between Humans and extraterrestrials. The First Contact took place on the evening of April 5 , 2063 , when a Vulcan survey ship , the T'Plana-Hath , having detected the warp signature of the Phoenix , touched down in Bozeman , central Montana , where the crew met with the Phoenix 's designer and pilot, Zefram Cochrane . This event was generally referred to as the defining moment in Human history , eventually paving the way for a unified world government and, later, the United Federation of Planets . The event also became an annual holiday called First Contact Day . ( Star Trek: First Contact ; ENT : " Broken Bow ", " Desert Crossing ", " E² ", " These Are the Voyages... "; TNG : " The Outcast ", " Attached "; VOY : " Homestead "; ST : " Children of Mars "; PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

An unofficial first encounter between Humans and a Vulcan occurred during the Depression era in New York City . In 1930 , James Kirk and Spock, a Vulcan from the 23rd century , traveled through time and walked on the streets of New York being witnessed by many. When the two were caught stealing clothes by the police , Kirk attempted to explain to the officer that Spock was Chinese and his ears the result of a childhood accident. After they avoided being taken into custody, Spock disguised his Vulcan appearance. ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ")

Well documented at the Vulcan Science Directorate and Space Council , but not in common Human knowledge, was also the incident of a small Vulcan survey ship crash landing in Carbon Creek , Pennsylvania , a mining town, in 1957 . The survey ship was sent to investigate the launch of Earth's first artificial satellite , Sputnik . An impulse manifold malfunction forced the crew to attempt crash-landing. The commander of the vessel perished in the crash, leaving command to T'Mir , T'Pol 's second foremother . Having exhausted their emergency rations , the crew entered Carbon Creek in disguise as Humans. As the weeks and months wore on, the crew took up various employment in the town and managed to keep their identity as aliens a secret. T'Mir and Stron were rescued by the D'Vahl in 1958 . Mestral chose to stay behind and live on Earth among Humans, which the other two kept covered up. ( ENT : " Carbon Creek ")

Roswell UFO incident [ ]

The Roswell UFO, Quark's Treasure

Humans attempting to communicate with the aliens

The Roswell Incident was the actual first contact between modern Humans and extraterrestrials that was not considered by Humans to be a supernatural event. The incident was however covered up by the United States Air Force and never made public knowledge. In July 1947 , the Ferengi shuttle Quark's Treasure crash-landed near the town of Roswell , New Mexico . The event was initially reported in the newspapers , but was quickly retracted by the military, claimed to be a misidentification of weather balloon debris. The three aliens, thought to be Martians at the time, were found unconscious on board the damaged ship and taken into custody by the United States Army Air Forces . President Harry Truman wanted the aliens to be examined and interrogated, tortured if necessary. The shuttle was stored in Hangar 18 of the Air Force Base and was examined by the military; however, they couldn't figure out how it worked.

Quark introduced himself as a Ferengi , the chief financial officer of the Ferengi Alliance , and wanted to sell advanced technology to the United States in exchange for gold . He claimed the Ferengi had conducted surveillance of Earth for years and knew everything there was to know about Humans. He threatened to sell the technology to the Soviet Union if the Americans wouldn't buy it from him. Rom attempted to tell the interrogators the truth, that they were accidental time travelers from the future. Nog in turn attempted to tell the interrogators what they wanted to hear, that they were scouts of a massive alien invasion force that was orbiting the Earth and about to invade the planet.

The three Ferengi managed to escape on their ship with the help from Garland and Jeff . Odo was seen shape-shifting by the two 20th century Humans. The Americans did not learn where the aliens really came from or what their true mission was or where they went after they escaped. The incident however proved the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life to the United States government, and gave them information on alien physiology from the thorough medical examinations of the three Ferengi. ( DS9 : " Little Green Men ")

Other notable first contacts [ ]

During the history of Earth , the planet was in fact contacted several times by aliens. These contacts before the 21st century were not well known, went unnoticed, faded away into mythology or were interpreted as supernatural encounters. Even so, many of them had a lasting impact on the evolution of Human culture through the ages.

On several occasions extraterrestrial visitors on Earth who interacted with Humans appeared to be or were disguised as Humans themselves and were not identified as aliens. These included the Sahndaran refugees who lived among the Greeks during the 1st millennium BC , the El-Aurian Guinan , the half- Betazoid Deanna Troi and a group of Devidian shapeshifters who visited San Francisco in the 1890s , the Bajoran Kira Nerys in San Francisco in 1930 and the Trill Jadzia Dax in San Francisco in 2024 . In some cases when aliens were identified by Humans, the encounters didn't become public knowledge, such as when the half- Klingon B'Elanna Torres was discovered by Humans in Arizona in 1996 and the group of Xindi-Reptilians who were seen in Detroit in 2004 . ( TOS : " Plato's Stepchildren "; TNG : " Time's Arrow ", " Time's Arrow, Part II "; DS9 : " Past Tense, Part II "; VOY : " Future's End, Part II "; ENT : " Carpenter Street ")

Human-Sky Spirit first contact [ ]

A Sky Spirit

The earliest known notable Human - extraterrestrial first contact was with the Sky Spirits , a race of humanoid explorers, with warp-capable starships , from the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy . They first visited Earth in the Paleolithic age around 42,600 BC and saw that most Humans were barbaric in nature. They did however find a nomadic tribe of hunters who had no culture or language, but who had respect for all life and land. The Sky Spirits initiated first contact and gave the nomads a genetic bond that made them a race of Human-Sky People hybrids called the Inheritors . The genetic bond gave them the appearance of the Sky Spirit race and the Sky Spirit mentality for curiosity and adventure that eventually became part of all Human culture. The Inheritors were also the first people to migrate to the American continent. When the Europeans invaded the lands around the 16th century most of the Inheritors were killed by war and disease. One tribe of Inheritors, who had the Sky Spirit physical appearance, survived in hiding in the Central American rain forest , while at least one other tribe modernized and moved away from Earth. ( VOY : " Tattoo ")

Human-Kukulkan first contact [ ]

Kukulkan , an immensely old alien being and the last of its race, saw humanoids in the galaxy as violent beings, always eventually destroying themselves. Kukulkan visited Earth as an experiment and had contact with all the civilizations on the planet. With a plan of turning Humans to a path of peace, it gave them advanced knowledge, such as the Mayan calendar, hieroglyphic writing, and architectural plans to a city with designs of obelisks , pyramids , temples and gateways. The ancient Egyptians, Chinese and the Native Americans attempted to build the city but only finished parts of it. Kukulkan's visit was remembered in Comanche , Mayan and Aztec legend. In Toltec legend he was called Quetzalcoatl . Kukulkan was the basis of the Chinese dragon , and all the other similar winged serpent gods in the various cultures on Earth. ( TAS : " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth ")

Human-Greek gods first contact [ ]

In the early 3rd millennium BC , a group of powerful immortal beings from Pollux IV landed on Earth in the Mediterranean region. These aliens considered themselves to be gods and presented themselves as such to the primitive Humans. They had the power to control and transform the environment, to change physical shape, the power of teleportation, as well as control over the life and death of other beings. The worship of these aliens was the beginning of the Ancient Greek civilization and their deeds on Earth became the Greek classic myths . Eventually, Humans became less interested in the worship of these gods. Instead of punishing Humans and demanding worship, the aliens left Earth around 2700 BC for their home planet. Many of the Greek gods eventually decided to end their own existence.

In 2267 , James Kirk and his crew made contact with Apollo , the last of the Greek gods , who had waited for his worshipers to develop space travel and seek him out. The encounter resulted in the death of Apollo and the extinction of his species. ( TOS : " Who Mourns for Adonais? ")

Human-Megan first contact [ ]

A sorcerer-contractor conjuring a structure

During the 13th century , a group of Megans settled on Earth . They were an ageless species from a parallel universe where magic was part of the natural laws. They assisted Humans as sorcerer-contractors using their natural ability to change reality with the power of thought. The Megans were responsible for the medieval legends of magic and love potions , witches , wizards, evil sorcerers, demons, and warlocks.

By the 17th century , it had become clear to the Megans, that Humans were only manipulating them to gain power for themselves and to serve their own greed and lust. When Megans refused to serve, Humans turned against them and taught others to fear and hate them. Lucien , a Megan, known on Earth by the name Lucifer, became synonymous with the mythological Devil of Christianity . Asmodeus , became known as a demon. The Megans who had survived the centuries of persecution eventually settled in Salem , Massachusetts , to live out their lives there in the guise of normal Humans. After several Megans made the mistake of using their powers again, they were burned as witches during the Salem witch trials . The last surviving Megans left Earth and returned to their universe, where they remained bitter and fearful of Humans.

In 2269 , the USS Enterprise made contact with the Megans and Captain Kirk managed to prove them that Humans had changed. Asmodeus welcomed Humans to visit Megas-Tu in the future. ( TAS : " The Magicks of Megas-Tu ")

Human-Non-corporeal first contact [ ]

"Ronin" in its true form

The energy creature known as Onaya had visited Earth as early as the 1st century and encountered Catullus .

In the late 17th century , a symbiotic non-corporeal anaphasic lifeform took the appearance of a Human male, claiming to be the ghost of a man called Ronin , who was born in 1647 in Glasgow , Scotland . It did this to fool Jessel Howard into a symbiotic relationship. Jessel was one of Beverly Crusher 's distant ancestors and one of the rare Humans who had biochemistry compatible with the lifeform's energy matrix. The symbiotic relationship was passed down to each of her daughters and was the source of many ghost stories surrounding the family. ( TNG : " Sub Rosa ")

In 1888 , Redjac a non-corporeal parasitic lifeform began to gain fame on Earth when he used host-Humans to become a serial killer of women in London , England . The entity fed on the emotions produced by the fear and terror in its victims. Newspapers dubbed him "Jack the Ripper". ( TOS : " Wolf in the Fold ")

Human-Klingon first contact [ ]

Unofficially, the first known encounter between a Human and a Klingon took place when Samuel Clemens traveled forward in time from the year 1893 . He was beamed aboard the USS Enterprise -D and met Lieutenant Worf in the year 2369 . Clemens returned to his own time and did not reveal his knowledge of the existence of Klingons or other extraterrestrials to the public. ( TNG : " Time's Arrow, Part II ") Lily Sloane also met Worf in 2063 and remained silent about the encounter. ( Star Trek: First Contact )

In April of 2151 , a Klingon K'toch -class scoutship piloted by the courier Klaang was returning to Qo'noS with evidence that the Cabal was responsible for recent internal strife within the Klingon Empire . Klaang was pursued by members of the cabal and crash-landed on Earth in Broken Bow , Oklahoma . Though Klaang managed to dispatch his pursuers, he was shot by a Human farmer named Moore . Against the urgings of the Vulcans, Starfleet launched its first warp five vessel Enterprise NX-01 to return the wounded Klaang to Qo'noS. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ") This first contact with the Empire was considered a disastrous event that led to decades of war. Based on this bad experience, it was decided to conduct surveillance on new races before making contact. ( TNG : " First Contact ")

Human-Andorian first contact [ ]

The monastery of P'Jem, the site of the Human-Andorian first contact in 2151

The first contact between Humans and Andorians occurred in June of 2151 at the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem . The Andorian Empire had at the time sent a commando of the Andorian Imperial Guard to the monastery. They suspected that the Vulcan High Command had constructed a secret listening post at the monastery to spy on the Andorians, in violation of a treaty between the two powers. The Andorians, led by Commander Thy'lek Shran , believed Enterprise was a supply ship for the listening post and took the landing party hostage . After the listening post deep below the monastery in the catacombs was discovered , Captain Archer allowed the Andorians to leave with proof of the listening post.

The incident caused a temporary strain on Earth-Vulcan relations, particularly after the Andorians later destroyed the monastery and listening post. It was however, the beginning of a long-standing alliance between Earth and Andoria and a personal friendship between Archer and Commander Shran. ( ENT : " The Andorian Incident ", " Shadows of P'Jem ")

Human-Akaali first contact [ ]

First contact with the Akaali was made by Enterprise NX-01 in 2151. It was significant in that it was the first Human-initiated first contact. Despite the Vulcan advice not to contact the primitive Akaali homeworld , Captain Archer took a landing party to the surface. In doing so, the Enterprise uncovered a covert mining operation by the Malurians . ( ENT : " Civilization ")

Federation-Gorn first contact [ ]

Kirk fires his makeshift cannon

First contact between the Federation and the Gorn occurred in phases.

The first known encounter with the Gorn took place in the 2230s when the SS Puget Sound was captured by the Gorn. The entire crew save one, La'an Noonien-Singh , were killed and La'an launched in a Mark IV liferaft , where she was rescued by the USS Martin Luther King Jr. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ")

In 2259 , the USS Enterprise , responding to a request from a colony on Finibus III , were attacked by Gorn hunters and a Gorn destroyer as the colony had been attacked by them prior to their arrival and used the survivors as a trap. The Enterprise was heavily damaged by the attack, but were able to drive away their attackers. ( SNW : " Memento Mori ") Later that same year, the Enterprise was called to investigate the disappearance of the USS Peregrine near Valeo Beta V . Captain Christopher Pike lead an away team to the planet and discovered the ship crash landed due to survivors being implanted with Gorn eggs, the only survivor being a young human girl named Oriana . The infestation was culled by the away team, but not before Cadet Chia and Lieutenant Duke were murdered and Lieutenant Hemmer comittted suicide to prevent the eggs inside him from hatching ( SNW : " All Those Who Wander ")

First contact with the Gorn occurred in 2267 , when they attacked the Federation colony on Cestus III . The Gorn saw the strike as a preemptive move, since they regarded the Cestus system as part of their territory. ( TOS : " Arena ")

James Kirk was the first Federation officer to physically confront a Gorn following his pursuit of their vessel in response to the attack on Cestus III. This pursuit attracted the attention of the Metrons , a highly advanced race who opposed conflict within their territory. They transported Kirk and the Gorn captain to a prepared planet and forced them to battle there. This deed was meant as a punishment, but ultimately, Kirk spared the Gorn captain; the mercy displayed by Kirk's refusal caused the observing Metron to think of the conflict as a test, which Humans had passed. ( TOS : " Arena ")

Federation-Ferengi Alliance first contact [ ]

First contact with the Ferengi took place in multiple phases. The very first contact between Humans and Ferengi actually occurred in 1947 in the Roswell Incident. Although the aliens were identified as Ferengi and their physiology was examined, knowledge of the incident was suppressed and never became public knowledge. ( DS9 : " Little Green Men ")

In 2151 , the Enterprise NX-01 was boarded by a single Ferengi ship , sedating the entire crew, except for Commander Tucker . The Ferengi never identified themselves as such. ( ENT : " Acquisition ")

DaiMon Tarr making first contact with Captain Picard in 2364

In 2355 , the USS Stargazer encountered a vessel of unknown origin in the Maxia Zeta system , a system the Ferengi had claimed as part of their territory. The Federation was unaware of the claim at the time. Combat between the two vessels ensued, and it was here that Captain Jean-Luc Picard employed the Picard Maneuver to confuse and destroy the Ferengi ship . The Stargazer also took heavy damage and had to be abandoned by its crew following the incident, and the enemy ship was not officially identified as a Ferengi vessel until 2364 . ( TNG : " The Battle ")

Determinate first contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the United Federation of Planets occurred in 2364 in the Delphi Ardu system , where a Ferengi starship and the USS Enterprise -D were trapped in orbit by a derelict outpost of the ancient Tkon Empire . Prior to this, only conflicting hearsay and third hand reports were known by Federation scholars regarding the Ferengi. It was known for sure only that the Ferengi were ruthless traders. ( TNG : " The Last Outpost ")

Contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the Federation steadily increased to a level of significance, and only minor conflicts ensued from then on. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation , etc.)

Federation-Borg first contact [ ]

The first contact between Humans and the Borg occurred in 2063 during the Borg temporal incursion to prevent the Human-Vulcan first contact. Lily Sloane was the only Human of that era to witness the Borg, though many saw the Borg sphere in orbit in the night sky over Bozeman , Montana attempting to bomb the Phoenix missile silo . Borg drones from the sphere were found in a debris field in 2153 , where they were revived by a survey crew who weren't aware of the danger the drones posed. These drones assimilated the survey crew, along with their research vessel, Arctic One , and escaped into space, where they immediately attempted to contact the Collective. These Borg were later intercepted and destroyed by the crew of Enterprise NX-01 , but not before they were able to send a subspace communication deep into the Delta Quadrant . They didn't identify themselves during the later encounter, and it is unknown if Starfleet was aware of their true identity. ( Star Trek: First Contact ; ENT : " Regeneration ")

Formal first contact with the Borg was forced upon the Federation by the entity known as Q , a member of the Q Continuum in 2365 in System J-25 . ( TNG : " Q Who ") (See also: Borg first contact )

Federation-Wadi first contact [ ]

A Vulcan ship traveling through the Gamma Quadrant encountered a Wadi ship , initiating contact. An official meeting was developed in 2369 between the Wadi and the United Federation of Planets , with the meeting to occur on Deep Space 9 . The Wadi ship with their representative Falow arrived at the station, marking the first Gamma Quadrant delegation to arrive in the Alpha Quadrant . Commander Benjamin Sisko led the contact, however, Falow and his crew were more interested in the gaming available in the Alpha Quadrant rather than an official meeting. ( DS9 : " Move Along Home ")

Federation-Dominion first contact [ ]

The Ferengi were the first Alpha Quadrant species to learn of the existence of the Dominion , which was achieved through business dealings with a Gamma Quadrant race called the Dosi . The Federation then heard more about the Dominion when Skrreean refugees came through the Bajoran wormhole , having escaped when the Dominion had conquered the Skreeans' oppressors, the T-Rogorans . Following the Skreeans' exodus, Odo and Jadzia Dax later learned that the Dominion had conquered the Yaderans in 2340 .

The first official contact between the Federation and the Dominion came in late 2370 , when Benjamin Sisko and Quark were taken prisoner on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant by the Jem'Hadar . Starfleet tasked the USS Odyssey under the command of Captain Keogh , with going through to the Gamma Quadrant, and locating Commander Sisko. During this rescue attempt, the Odyssey was rammed and destroyed by the Jem'Hadar, as they were retreating back through the wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant, marking an end to one of most disastrous first contacts in Starfleet history. ( DS9 : " Rules of Acquisition ", " Sanctuary ", " Shadowplay ", " The Jem'Hadar ")

Bajor-Cardassia first contact [ ]

Ancient Bajorans first established contact between Bajor and Cardassia through the use of a Bajoran lightship . Although traveling at sublight speeds, the ship was eventually propelled by a tachyon eddy to speeds equivalent to warp , enabling the ship to bypass the hazards of the Denorios belt . Cardassian archaeologists claim that the vessel's remnants were discovered on Cardassia Prime in 2371 , coinciding with the arrival of Benjamin and Jake Sisko on a replica lightship, though apparently Cardassia had been unofficially aware of them for some time by that point. Cardassians had previously dismissed Bajoran claims of first contact as a " fairy tale ", disputing that Bajorans achieved interstellar flight first. ( DS9 : " Explorers ")

Vulcan-Klingon first contact [ ]

A disastrous first contact between the Vulcans and the Klingons was made at the planet H'atoria in the year 2016 , which resulted in the destruction of a Vulcan ship . The Vulcan starship's attempt to peacefully hail the Klingons was seen as a sign of weakness and an invitation to attack, and the Klingons made no attempt to contact the Vulcans. Yet the Vulcans were not to make the same mistake twice: in subsequent encounters with Klingon vessels, Vulcan starships adopted a shoot-on-sight policy. Eventually, this policy worked: the Klingons were a warrior race who respected strength, and were only willing to communicate with the Vulcans on even terms once they had proven themselves. Nonetheless, relations between the Vulcans and Klingons remained tense afterwards. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Federation-Galardonian first contact [ ]

In 2379 , the crew of the USS Quito made first contact with the Galardonians . Beckett Mariner was among the crew who beamed down to meet with the local population , including a group of farmers . Apparently during the initial mission , the local wildlife was not properly documented, including a flying insect that produced a viral infection . ( LD : " Second Contact ")

Federation-Lapeerian first contact [ ]

In 2381 , the Federation starships USS Archimedes and USS Cerritos were assigned a first contact mission to Lapeeria . Due to an unexpected incident that disabled the Archimedes , Captain Carol Freeman of the Cerritos , who normally specialized in second contacts , conducted the first in-person contact with the Lapeerian leader . The Lapeerians revealed themselves to be a very casual people who were fond of alcohol . ( LD : " First First Contact ")

Federation-Areore first contact [ ]

Later that year, the crew of the Cerritos responded to a distress call by the AWOL Exocomp Peanut Hamper on the planet of Areolus where it's people were under attack by the Drookmani . Led by Freeman, along with D'Vana Tendi and Shaxs , established first contact with the Areore people. ( LD : " A Mathematically Perfect Redemption ")

Federations-Species 10-C first contact [ ]

In 3190 , the Federation starship USS Discovery was assigned a mission to find and initiate first contact with Species 10-C in order to stop the rampaging Dark Matter Anomaly that threatened the galaxy. The mission was threatened by renegade allies Cleveland Booker and Ruon Tarka , who sought to find and obtain the power source that could transport them to another universe. The mission was further threatened by United Earth General Diatta Ndoye , whose fear of the diplomats safety caused her to briefly ally with the two. Species 10-C were revealed to be giant creatures whose bonds of unity lead to no concept of individualism. ( DIS : " Coming Home ")

Appendices [ ]

External links [ ]

First contact (science fiction) at Wikipedia
First contact at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
3 Ancient humanoid

Star Trek: First Contact

Origin Of First Contact Day Explained

Live long and prosper.

StarTrek.com / Rob DeHart

On the eve of First Contact Day, let's revisit the origins of this significant moment in Star Trek history.

Cochrane and the Vulcan leader shake hands initiating First Contact

Star Trek: First Contact

StarTrek.com

How Was April 5 Chosen?

Yes, it’s time to celebrate a day that, well, hasn’t happened yet . Before we jump into a detailed explanation of what First Contact Day is within Star Trek canon, we thought we’d address a practical matter — how and why did the writers-producers of Star Trek: First Contact choose April 5 as First Contact Day?

In Montana, a crowd of observers watch the historic landing of the first extraterrestrial craft to openly and publicly visit Earth.

We turned to the film’s co-writer, Ronald D. Moore, who offered a remarkably simple, sensible and succinct explanation. “The short answer on First Contact Day is that it's my oldest son, Jonathan's birthday,” Moore told StarTrek.com. “And that's the only reason the date was chosen.”

What is the Significance of First Contact Day?

First Contact Day pays tribute to the flight of the warp-capable Phoenix and the pivotal first interaction between humans and Vulcans, which occurred on April 5, 2063.

The Vulcan leader greets Cochrane with the Vulcan salute 'live long and prosper'

The Phoenix , built and piloted by inventor Zefram Cochrane, was the spacecraft that marked mankind’s first successful attempt at traveling at warp, utilizing a warp drive. That night, shortly after launch, the Phoenix broke the warp barrier, which caught the attention of a Vulcan survey ship, the T'Plana-Hath , as it was passing Earth.

The T'Plana-Hath , landed in Bozeman, Montana, after tracking the warp signature of the Phoenix , believing this civilization was advanced enough with their discovery of faster-than-light travel. Minutes later, a robed Vulcan, displaying the split-fingered Vulcan greeting, made the acquaintance of Dr. Cochrane, initiating Earth's first contact with another species and ushering in a new era for humanity.

First Contact was made, and it paved the way to the formation of the United Federation of Planets.

First Contact Day Watch List

Eager to discover more about First Contact and First Contact Day? We've got a watch list for you!

" Metamorphosis " ( Star Trek : The Original Series) – Stars Glenn Corbett as a young Cochrane
" First Contact " ( Star Trek: The Next Generation ) – Starfleet’s official definition of "making first contact" is to make contact with a planet or species that is about to become warp capable. In this episode, we see just how delicate the moment of First Contact can be.
Star Trek: First Contact – The Next Generation big-screen adventure with James Cromwell in the role of Cochrane (which he reprises, briefly, on Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Lower Decks )
" Homestead " ( Star Trek: Voyager ) – Neelix and Naomi Wildman throw a party celebrating the 315th anniversary of First Contact Day, complete with heaping portions of Cochrane's favorite food (cheese pierogi), a classic jukebox, and Tuvok flashing the Vulcan salute and speaking the legendary line, "Live long and prosper"
" Grounded " ( Star Trek: Lower Decks ) – Mariner enlists her friends on a rogue mission to exonerate her mother, which includes a detour to Bozeman, Montana. In the three centuries since First Contact, Bozeman has become a tourist attraction thanks to Cochrane’s efforts. There’s even a replica of the Phoenix you can ride like a magic carpet right into space, piloted by a holographic representation of Cochrane himself!

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Star Trek 101

Filtered and stylized of a Progenitor from 'The Chase'

WhatCulture

20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact 1996 - Part 1

Posted: April 14, 2024 | Last updated: April 14, 2024

First Contact remains a mighty Trek classic over 25 years or so later.

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Why 'Star Trek: Discovery' deserves more credit as a barrier-breaking series

Starship Discovery will soon be ending its mission, and what a journey it's been.

“Star Trek: Discovery,” which premiered in 2017, is entering its fifth and final season Thursday on Paramount+. And you’ll need the Captain’s Log to remember all the twists, turns and transformations the show has gone through since it began.

One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the hate the series has received from some Trek fans. (“Discovery” has an overall audience score of 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, a stark difference from the 87% critic rating.)

While the show is far from free of legitimate criticism, many of the complaints seem unfairly – though perhaps tellingly – placed on the show’s focus on a Black woman commander, its LGBTQ+ stars and allies and its inclusive storylines. “Woke agenda” and other dog whistles frequently surface on Reddit and social media posts about the series.

That so much of the negativity is rooted in a backlash against inclusivity raises questions. After all, the "Star Trek" franchise has long emphasized and celebrated culture, diversity and humanity coming together and preserving the integrity of beings they meet across the galaxy.

"It doesn't make any sense, because (these fans) say they love this franchise," series star Sonequa Martin-Green says in an interview. The show “has always been about breaking those boundaries. It's always been about diversity and equality. And our world has changed since the last iteration of 'Trek.' We have a responsibility to push that needle forward and to stay true to that."

More: Issa Rae says Hollywood needs to be accountable. Here's why diverse shows are so important

The series is originally set before the events of NBC's original “Star Trek: The Original Series” (later jumping to the future) and follows Michael Burnham (Martin-Green), who became the starship’s captain, and the rest of the crew of the USS Discovery: first officer Saru (Doug Jones), chief engineer Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), lieutenant and now Starfleet Academy teacher Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), medical officer Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz), courier and Burnham’s love interest Cleveland “Book” Booker (David Ajala) and ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio).

Many more characters have stood on the bridge, battled with Burnham, or otherwise make up the world of "Discovery." The series had some trouble finding the right footing, but it’s always had heart, especially in its recurring theme of redemption. And it deserves more support for what it has meant for the entire "Star Trek" franchise.

Here’s why “Star Trek: Discovery” deserves more credit:

Prioritizing diversity and inclusivity

A Vulcan philosophy (and one espoused by “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry) is IDIC, or “infinite diversity in infinite combinations,” and many of the related series, movies and books underscore this belief. “Discovery” also has diversity at its core: the show focuses on a Black woman who becomes captain. Stamets and Culber are an openly gay couple, and engineer Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) is a lesbian. And the show introduced a few franchise firsts: Adira Tal as the first nonbinary character in "Star Trek ," and their boyfriend, Gray ( Ian Alexander ), is the first transgender character , both introduced in Season 3.

More: 'Star Trek' documentary unveils star Nichelle Nichols' impactful NASA connection

Starting a new age of Star Trek

“Discovery” helped launch the CBS All Access streaming platform, a CBS subscription service that would eventually become Paramount+, as well as a new era of "Star Trek" series including “Lower Decks” and “Picard.” Before “Discovery,” the last Trek series was “Star Trek: Enterprise,” which ended in 2005.

Exploring strange new worlds

The second season of “Discovery” also served as a launching pad for the well-received spinoff, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” which resurfaced popular characters from the original series including Spock (Ethan Peck), Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn).

Finding time for the simple things

In a few scenes scattered throughout "Discovery," we see characters like Culber and Stamets sharing a meal or talking about their day while brushing their teeth. It’s almost mundane, but there’s also something so lovely about watching LGBTQ+ characters who rarely are the focus in movies or television simply living their lives, being their whole selves. Burnham rocking braids at the beginning of Season 3 speaks cultural volumes. The subtle amid the big battles and overarching plots do have meaning, especially for those whose voices often go unheard.

Going boldly

The first season of “Discovery” went out of its way to highlight its connections to the original series: Burnham is Spock’s adopted sister, and there's a brief appearance by Spock’s father, Sarek. But it wasn’t always so neatly woven, sometimes seeming more like it was using franchise lore as a crutch. But “Discovery” wasn’t afraid to try new things, turning itself around after an overcomplicated first season and again after a very “TOS”-inspired second, slowly building up its own universe without relying too heavily on the old.

The first episodes of Season 5 are a little rocky before it settles into a comfortable speed.

"This time around, we wanted to bring in some levity," Martin-Green says. "But there's a grand sort of epicness to Season 5, even though we didn't know it was our last season when we were shooting it. I think looking back on it, and when we share it with the world, it'll seem that way because the season is so big. So people can expect a lot of fun. They can expect it to go really fast."

It will be interesting to see if “Discovery” sticks the landing through the remainder of the season.

“The good outweighs the bad,” Burnham says in an upcoming episode about a mission, and that’s also true of “Discovery."

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery" (two episodes now streaming, then weekly on Thursdays) streams on Paramount+.

Screen Rant

20 hidden details in star trek: first contact only super fans noticed.

The Star Trek films are jam-packed with hard-to-spot creative touches – and First Contact is no exception.

Star Trek: First Contact landed in theaters way back in November 1996, and it still remains one of the better received outings by the crew of the USS Enterprise. The first film in the franchise to focus solely on the cast of the Next Generation TV series, First Contact pits Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard and his allies against merciless hive mind, the Borg.

The stakes have never been higher, either. Indeed, the very existence of the Federation and Starfleet hangs in the balance, due to the Borg’s sneaky scheme to eradicate both by preventing the first meeting between humanity and extra-terrestrial life from happening centuries earlier. It’s up to Picard, Riker, Data, and the rest of the gang to ensure that past events unfold as they should – or Earth is doomed to become the Borg’s latest colony.

As you’d expect from a time travel adventure that’s also part of a long-running sci-fi franchise, First Contact is packed with small nods not only to Star Trek continuity, but to wider pop culture, as well. These minor creative flourishes – which can include anything from a brief cameo, sly line of dialogue or cheeky digital effects Easter egg – are easily overlooked by casual viewers. But hardcore Trekkies? You better believe they spotted each and every one of them, no matter how obscure.

So if you consider yourself a true series hardcore, check out this list of 20 Hidden Details In Star Trek: First Contact Only Super Fans Noticed and discover once and for all if you deserve a place within the final frontier of Trek fandom!

The Borg Make-Up Received An Upgrade

First introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation , the Borg quickly established themselves as a new and credible recurring threat. So when it came time to choose a chief villain for First Contact , screenwriters Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore quickly settled on this cybernetic collective, citing their fearsome reputation.

However, before the Borg made the transition to the big screen, they would needed a visual make-over first. Due to the time and budgetary constraints, the make-up used to realize the Borg on the TV series was kept as simple as possible. As related in Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , neither of these factors was as much of a concern for the First Contact production crew, which allowed them to considerably enhance the Borg aesthetics to suggest their unwilling hosts have been assimilated from the inside out!

This Isn't James Cromwell's First Star Trek Appearance

The Star Trek: First Contact cast is predominantly populated with the existing Next Generation roster, reprising their TV roles on the big screen. However, the script also features several prominent new characters, which necessitated the hiring of additional actors. For the pivotal role of pioneering space traveler Zefram Cochrane, the producers turned to acclaimed acting veteran James Cromwell – although funnily enough, this wasn’t his first excursion in the Star Trek universe.

On the contrary, Cromwell previously appeared as three other, unrelated characters in episodes of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine ! Fortunately, Cochrane proved sufficiently different from Prime Minister Nayrok, Jaglom Shrek, and Hanok, so there weren’t any continuity issues to fret over, and nobody really seemed to object to Cromwell’s (re)casting.

The Phoenix Shuttle Was Constructed Inside A Real Missile Silo

Not every hidden detail in Star Trek: First Contact constitutes an in-universe Easter egg or continuity callback. Some of these cool factoids relate more to the actual production of the film – like the fact that the exterior shots of Zefram Cochrane’s DIY space craft, the Phoenix, were filmed inside a genuine nuclear missile silo.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion confirms that the cast and crew spent four days shooting at the Titan Missile Museum in Arizona, with a fiberglass Phoenix perched atop a real decommissioned warhead. It’s a neat bit of trivia, and it also explains why the huge set – which would otherwise have been too costly to construct – feels so authentic: because it is!

The Millennium Falcon Enters The Fray

Star Trek is set in the 24th Century, whereas rival sci-fi franchise Star Wars takes place a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away). This would seem to rule out any chance of a crossover between the two iconic properties, but that’s nevertheless exactly what happens in First Contact !

Viewers who keep their eyes peeled during the space battle between the Federation and the Borg will spy the most famous of all Star Wars star-ships, the Millennium Falcon, among the Starfleet ranks . This was an in-joke overseen by visual effects supervisor John Knoll, who – along with the rest of the ILM visual effects team – also worked on Star Wars: Special Edition, providing them easy access to a CG model of Han Solo’s famed smuggling vessel.

A Tip Of The Hat To 2001: A Space Odyssey

Whilst the Star Trek franchise has cerebral elements, at the end of the day, it’s essentially escapist popcorn entertainment which aims to entertain rather than enlighten. But that doesn’t mean that those involved with the various movies and TV series in the series don’t have tremendous respect for other, more highbrow science fiction efforts.

Nowhere is this admiration more apparent than in First Contact ’s spacewalk scene, which includes a subtle nod to 2001: A Space Odyssey . In case you missed it, pay attention to the technical readout on the deflector dish controls, and you’ll see the text “MAGLOCK AE35 – a reference to the AE35 antenna dish mentioned by HAL 9000 early on in Stanley Kubrick’s epic 1968 masterpiece.

A New Starship Enterprise Makes Its Debut

As the setting for most Star Trek films and TV series, the USS Enterprise is virtually a character in its own right. Yet despite its constant presence in the franchise, the Enterprise isn’t really one star-ship at all, but several – with various retrofitted or replacement craft bearing the same name. For example, the Enterprise first seen in The Original Series was more accurately known as USS Enterprise (NCC-1701,) which was later superseded by USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A.)

Casual audiences tend not to notice the aesthetic differences between each incarnation of the Enterprise, even when the changes are quite drastic. So even though the USS Enterprise-D was destroyed in Star Trek: Generations , the majority of viewers probably didn’t notice when the sleeker, more muscular USS Enterprise-E) took its place in First Contact !

Voyager's Doctor Is In

Paramount axed the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series in 1994, shifting the focus of this iteration of the franchise to motion pictures, instead. To fill the void, a new TV show was commissioned, Voyager , which aired from 1995 until 2001. With two separate Trek narratives unfolding simultaneously, this led to occasional shared universe crossovers – like when Robert Picardo’s Emergency Medical Holographic program pops up in First Contact .

Picardo snagged this cameo after convincing the filmmakers that the USS Enterprise should possess similar technology to that seen on the Voyager, right down to sharing the same virtual doctor! True, most moviegoers wouldn’t have been familiar with the EMH, but its presence was a real thrill for hardcore Trekkies.

It's The Only Time We Get To See A Norway Class Ship In Action

The major action set piece in Star Trek: First Contact sees a Starfleet armada square off against a Borg Cube ship. Reasoning that Starfleet would “throw everything it could” at such an implacable foe, visual effects supervisor John Knoll insisted on the inclusion of several never-before-seen star-ships. Among these was the Norway class craft – and amazingly, this would also be the last time these ships would be seen taking part in an on-screen battle.

Comments by production designer David Stipes have seemingly confirmed persistent rumors that the Norway class CG models became corrupted after production on First Contact wrapped. As a result, subsequent effects crews have permanently mothballed the Norway, rather than create new assets!

Several Crew Members Cameo In The Dixon Hill Scene

Easily the most surreal moment in Star Trek: First Contact occurs on the Enterprise’s holodeck, where Captain Picard and Lily Sloane try to evade the Borg inside a faux 1940s nightclub. Known as the Dixon Hill, this holographic nightspot faithfully recreates the atmosphere of a classic noir flick, complete with period-appropriate music, costumes and characters.

Although the majority of the background players in the Dixon Hill were played by uncredited extras, a handful of crew members joined in the fun , too. Among those who portray club patrons are screenwriter Brannon Braga and stunt coordinator Ronnie Rondell. Better still, actor Ethan Phillips – known to Star Trek: Voyager fans as Neelix – cameos as the Dixon Hill’s maître d'!

Lieutenant Daniels Gets His Start

One of the unexpected bonuses of working on a Star Trek installment is that what starts out as a one-off bit part can quickly evolve into a recurring minor role. Michael Horton’s turn as Lieutenant Daniels in First Contact is a prime example of this. Here, he’s billed as “Security Officer,” and most viewers would barely remember his fleeting moments of screen-time.

However, Horton was brought back for 1998 sequel Insurrection , where he was credited as Lieutenant Daniels – and more discerning moviegoers immediately began speculating that Daniels and “Security Officer” were one and the same. The filmmakers subsequently confirmed that both characters portrayed by Horton were intended to be the same guy, establishing him as an official supporting character – and retroactively making First Contact his first appearance!

The Borg's Lights Flicker In Morse Code

A neat design element in Star Trek: First Contact that underscores the inhuman, cybernetic nature of the villainous Borg are the blinking lights present on their eyepieces. At first glance, it might appear that these lights are flickering randomly – but anyone who knows their Morse code will soon realize that the opposite is true!

As revealed in Cinefantastique article “The Next Generation goes Solo”, the make-up and prosthetics team programmed the Borg’s lights to spell out actual words via the famous encoding scheme. Specifically, the eyepieces are transmitting the names of production crew members who worked on the film – a cute touch that pays tribute to the hard work of everyone who made First Contact a reality.

The Phoenix's Logo Resembles Another, More Famous Emblem

Part of the fun of time travel stories like Star Trek: First Contact is that the creative team is able to insert clever allusions to the contemporary canon into the period sequences. By doing so, they’re able to imply the unseen history behind certain characters and organisations, which led them to develop into their familiar form.

Need an example? Consider the logo on Zefram Cochrane’s prototype star-ship, the Phoenix. Although it’s barely seen on screen, if you do manage to spot it, you’ll identify its uncanny resemblance to the Starfleet emblem . This was no doubt a smart attempt by production designer Herman Zimmerman to further underscore Cochrane’s pivotal role in the intergalactic peacekeeping initiative’s formative years.

Several Sets Were Re-Used From Previous Star Trek Productions

With the Enterprise-E supplanting the Enterprise-D in First Contact , several sets were constructed to portray the remodeled bridge, ready room and engineering section. At the same time, the producers were eager not to spend too much of the flick’s $45 million budget building new interiors when there were already pre-built Star Trek sets available for recycling.

Eagle-eyed Trekkies may be able to tell that the Enterprise-E’s observation room is similar to that of Enterprise-D, since it’s the set used in Generations , only expanded and sporting a fresh coat of paint. Likewise, sick bay on the Enterprise-E is, in reality, the redressed sick bay of Voyager ’s titular star-ship, while the bridge of the USS Defiant was carried over verbatim from Deep Space Nine .

Picard Wears His Old Uniform In One Scene

The Starfleet jumpsuits introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation represented a big step up from those worn by the USS Enterprise crew in The Original Series . Even so, these uniforms still weren’t quite sophisticated enough for the big screen, which is why costume designer Bob Blackman revised the design to incorporate military-inspired details like textured outerwear with padded shoulders.

But that doesn’t mean that the classic Next Generation outfits don’t play a part in proceedings – although we’re willing to bet this only registered with hardcore fans. During the opening nightmare sequence, Captain Picard is dressed in his Next Generation kit , which is fitting, considering this scene is essentially a flashback to events depicted in that show.

The USS Defiant Lives To Fight Another Day

It’s all hands on deck when the Starfleet armada confronts the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact – and that includes the USS Defiant, which appears as a direct tie-in with TV series Deep Space Nine . Intriguingly, the screenplay originally called for this warship to be annihilated during the skirmish, which obviously would have had massive ramifications for the future of DS9 .

This wasn’t lost on producer Ira Steven Behr, who promptly nixed the idea and requested that the script be rewritten to make it clear that the Defiant escaped relatively unscathed. So while general audiences barely paid any heed to an added line of dialogue that described the ship as “adrift, but salvageable,” serious Trekkies breathed a collective sigh of relief!

There's A Shout-Out To Doctor McCoy

Star Trek: First Contact represents the first clean break between the films starring the cast of The Original Series and those headlined by the Next Generation crew . This comes after William Shatner’s Captain Kirk symbolically passed the torch to Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard in the previous movie, Generations .

Despite their desire to forge a new path for the franchise with First Contact , that doesn’t mean that the filmmakers wanted to ignore Star Trek ’s rich history entirely, though. That’s why you’ll hear true Trekkies chuckle when the Emergency Medical Hologram program protests “I’m a doctor, not a doorstop!” – because it’s a sly reference to similar outbursts by Doctor McCoy in The Original Series and its tie-in films.

The Leo Constellation Features Prominently (Again)

When the Borg move against Zefram Cochrane’s defenseless commune, the inebriated scientist notes their position as being within the Leo constellation. Now, there’s a chance that the team behind First Contact chose this cluster of stars at random – but we’re pretty convinced that they didn’t.

Why? Because the Leo constellation has been a notable part of Star Trek lore over the years, something that the filmmakers were almost certainly aware of. For starters, it’s the same part of space where the Borg previously crushed Starfleet forces in The Next Generation episode “The Best of Both Worlds”, which is a nice callback. What’s more, this event also links into the backstory of Commander Sisko in Voyager, so neatly ties together several properties in the franchise.

Spock's Ancestor

Ok, we’ll admit it: this entry isn’t exactly backed up anything we see or hear on screen in First Contact – it’s not confirmed either in dialogue, or even by referring to the closing credits. All the same, this list wouldn’t feel complete without an acknowledgement that the Vulcan ambassador who greets Zefram Cochrane during the finale is Solkar, Mister Spock’s great-grandfather !

This is supported by Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , which establishes that Solkar was the Vulcan dispatched to initiate diplomatic relations with the Earth. Since this is the very event portrayed as First Contact draws to a close, we’re confident that the pointy-eared alien in this scene is none other than Spock’s great-grandpop.

Acknowledging Data's Past

The Star Trek: First Contact story is admirably accessible for franchise newcomers, particularly when you remember that it was the ninth installment in the series overall. That said, screenwriters Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore still draw heavily from the continuity of the Next Generation TV series.

The most obvious reference to Next Generation canon is Picard’s previous assimilation by the Borg, which drives his character arc in the film. Far more subtle is the exchange between Data and the Borg Queen where the pair discuss the android’s sexuality. Here, Data’s responses allude to the events of “The Naked Now” – a Season 1 episode of The Next Generation – and, incidentally, establishes that the timeline of that series unfolds more or less in real time.

Acknowledging Cochrane's Origins

In many ways, Star Trek: First Contact is a Zefram Cochrane origin story, seeing as how his journey from disillusioned drunk to a heroic (yet flawed) figure represents the heart of the movie. At the same time, First Contact isn’t the first time Cochrane has appeared on-screen. That honor goes to The Original Series episode “Metamorphosis,” where the Enterprise crew discover that the legendary pioneer’s lifespan has been mystically extended by more than a century.

In tribute to Cochrane’s earlier appearance, the First Contact production design team labelled two adjacent buttons in the Phoenix cockpit “TOS 3” and “TOS 8.” If you’re wondering what this means, ask a genuine Trekkie – they’ll tell you that combined, the buttons are a reference to the 38th episode of The Original Series :“Metamorphosis!”

Did we miss out any hidden details in Star Trek: First Contact ? Let us know in the comments!

The most beloved modern Star Trek shows are both getting renewed, but there's sad news for one of them

The Trek giveth, and the Trek taketh away

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds / Star Trek: Lower Decks

It's a big day of good news and bad news for Star Trek fans, as Paramount giveth and Paramount taketh away. First the good news - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is coming back for a fourth season. The beloved Star Trek prequel series has been greenlit for season 4 even before the third season has aired.

In the kinda bad news column, Paramount has also offered up the doubled-edged sword that Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 will premiere in fall 2024 - but it will also be the animated streaming series' final season.

Both announcements were made on social media, with a pair of graphics, seen here:

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will return for a fourth season.The final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks arrives on @paramountplus this fall. pic.twitter.com/FaRy7X8NnI April 12, 2024

As a fan of both shows, I'm obviously torn. I'm delighted that Strange New Worlds is continuing - it's been a delightfully campy but still sincere throwback to the best of classic Star Trek. And I'm excited to know that Lower Decks will be back sooner rather than later.

But I'm still slightly crushed that Boimler, Mariner, Tendi, Rutherford, and their ever expanding cast of crewmates are reaching the end of their journey. It takes a lot to sell me on animated comedies, and Lower Decks hit the mark with both its humor and its loving approach to Trek lore.

That said, the best Star Trek characters have a way of living on. Strange New Worlds itself proves that, with a throwback cast of characters including Captain Christopher Pike, James Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and more.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks had a fan-favorite crossover episode in SNW season 2 in which Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome portrayed their Lower Decks voice characters in live action in a time travel episode.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 will premiere this fall on Paramount Plus. No premiere date for Strange New Worlds season 3 has been set.

A new Star Trek prequel movie set in the timeline of JJ Abrams' 2009 Star Trek film was also announced this week.

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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'Star Trek: Lower Decks' To End With Season 5

The final season will premiere on Paramount+ this fall.

The Big Picture

Star Trek: Lower Decks ' fifth season will be its last on Paramount+.
The animated comedy's conclusion may have been inevitable, with the main characters being promoted in the fourth season.
The final season will premiere this fall.

Star Trek: Lower Decks ' five-year mission is coming to an end. The animated Paramount+ comedy's upcoming fifth season will be its last. Paramount announced that the series has reached its final frontier with its next season, which will premiere on the streamer this fall. Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman and Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan addressed the show's conclusion in a joint statement, "We remain hopeful that even beyond Season 5, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, Rutherford and the whole Cerritos crew will live on with new adventures. While five seasons of any series these days seems like a miracle, it’s no exaggeration to say that every second we’ve spent making this show has been a dream come true."

The statement does not indicate whether the series was canceled, or if it came to a natural conclusion. However, the end of the series may have been inevitable - the show's fourth season , which premiered last year, opened with its four main characters being promoted from ensigns to lieutenants junior grade, meaning that while the series still follows characters in Starfleet's less-glamorous roles, they no longer occupy the USS Cerritos ' titular "lower decks".

What Will Happen in Season Five of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks'?

The fourth season of Lower Decks , which follows the adventures of the Starfleet support ship the USS Cerritos , ended with a confrontation between the ship and the independent fleet assembled by Starfleet Academy washout (and onetime Star Trek: The Next Generation guest character) Nick Locarno . The finale left the Cerritos crew on a cliffhanger, as the show traditionally does; in this case, Orion officer D'vana Tendi ( Noël Wells ) had to leave Starfleet and join her sister in space piracy in exchange for her aid against Locarno. The next season will surely engineer a reunion between Tendi and her friends. As per McMahan's interview with Collider's Samantha Coley , season 5 will also feature more Star Trek legacy characters and a "more joyful" Beckett Mariner, having worked through her issues with old friend Locarno in the finale.

At least one star of Lower Decks won't be leaving Starfleet any time soon. Mariner's voice actor, Tawny Newsome (who also played the character in live action in a crossover with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ) is in the writers' room for the upcoming series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy .

Star Trek: Lower Decks ' fifth and final season will premiere on Paramount+ this fall; no exact release date has yet been set. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates. Past seasons of Star Trek: Lower Decks is streaming now on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

Behind every great captain, is a crew keeping the ship from falling to pieces. These are the hilarious stories of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

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Japan’s Prime Minister Invokes Star Trek In White House State Dinner Toast

| April 11, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 2 comments so far

Just a month after Star Trek made a surprise appearance at a major NATO ceremony , the franchise is once again finding itself on the world stage. This time it was due to the Prime Minister of Japan, who used Star Trek as part of his toast at a state dinner in his honor.

Japan’s PM boldly goes there

On Wednesday night, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was President Biden’s honored guest at a state dinner at the White House. Both leaders shared toasts as per diplomatic custom but Kishida surprised the crowd by taking them on a trip to the final frontier. He concluded his speech with:

“We are now standing at a turning point in history, embarking on a new frontier, and elevate this unshakable Japan-US relationship to even greater heights and hand it to the next generation. Finally, let me be conclude with a line from Star Trek, which you all know: To boldly go where no one has gone before.”

The Prime Minister then offered his toast:

“Mr. President, Dr. Biden, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to propose a toast to our voyage to the frontier of the Japan-US relationship with this word: Boldly go.”

You can watch the moment below in a video from Forbes.

Kishida’s speech had mentioned that many Japanese immigrants came to the United States from Hiroshima and after he mentioned Star Trek, he noted “By the way, George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu, the helmsman of the USS Enterprise, also has roots in Hiroshima.”

The Japanese Prime Minister’s comments made big news around the world with headlines like AP’s “ Kishida cracks jokes and invokes ‘Star Trek’ as he and Biden toast US-Japan alliance at state dinner ,” the UK’s Daily Mail with “ To boldly Joe! Japan’s prime minister quotes Star Trek as he hails Tokyo’s alliance with the US during glamorous, star-studded White House state dinner ,” and “‘ Boldly go’: Prime Minister Kishida quotes Star Trek in a toast to US-Japan alliance ” in the Times of India.

Presidential Trek

This is not President Biden’s first brush with Star Trek. During the 2020 election, his campaign hosted a “Trek the Vote” fundraiser featuring several Trek celebrities. And in 2022 the White House issued a statement from the president on the passing of Nichelle Nichols which noted her “groundbreaking portrayal of Lt. Uhura in the original Star Trek .” Nichols had visited the White House when Joe Biden was Vice President to meet with President Obama in 2012. Obama is an avowed Trek fan who screened the 2009 Star Trek movie at the White House.

Nichelle Nichols with President Obama in 2012.

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It’s a pleasure to see leaders invoking Trek in a warm and optimistic way.

That dude is so wasted. 🤣

COMMENTS

10 First Contacts That Went Really, Really Wrong
Not every first contact disaster involves open conflict. Just ask the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager, who manage to completely screw up relations with the peaceful, easy-going Sikarians without firing a single phaser blast in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Prime Factors.". Out of desperation for a technology that could take the stranded Voyager 40,000 light years closer to home, a rogue group ...
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Published Mar 8, 2021. First Contact is one of the most action-packed and entertaining Star Trek movies. But that doesn't mean it's free of flaws and senseless aspects. When Jonathan Frakes stepped into the director's chair to helm the second big-screen film starring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, he knocked it clear out of the park.
First Contact : r/startrek
The best Star Trek is Undiscovered Country followed closely by First Contact. "Some people think the future means the end of history … people can be very frightened of change" "You've restored father's faith." "And you've restored my sons.". clobbersaurus. • 2 yr. ago.
Anyone else think First Contact is the best (and a perfect)Trek movie
First Contact is by far the best TNG film. It's also the most cinematic and the only one that brings something new to the Star Trek movie franchise. But the tonal shifts between the A & B stories are too jarring, and harken back to its TV roots. And, unfortunately, the budget was too small for their ambitions.
Is Worf A Bad Star Trek Captain? What First Contact & Picard Reveal
The command decisions of Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) have been called into question in both Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Picard season 3. It was revealed that Worf succeeded Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise-E. Worf's time as Captain of the Enterprise apparently reached an ignominious end which left the Enterprise-E unsalvageable.
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The 25th anniversary of Star Trek: First Contact, easily the best Next Generation movie of them all, has prompted many articles, essays, and podcast episodes about why this particular movie worked ...
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"Resistance is futile." Six years have passed since Captain Jean-Luc Picard was captured and assimilated by the Borg. Now, the Borg make a second attempt to conquer the Federation. Starfleet believes that Picard's experience makes him an "unstable element to a critical situation" and orders him to stay behind. But, when Starfleet's fight does not go well, Picard and the crew of the new USS ...
Star Trek: First Contact movie review (1996)
Brannon Braga. Ronald D. Moore. "Star Trek: First Contact" is one of the best of the eight "Star Trek" films: Certainly the best in its technical credits, and among the best in the ingenuity of its plot. I would rank it beside "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986), the one where the fate of Earth depended on the song of the ...
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Star Trek: First Contact is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Jonathan Frakes in his feature film debut. It is the eighth movie of the Star Trek franchise, and the second starring the cast of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.In the film, the crew of the starship USS Enterprise-E travel back in time from the 24th century to the 21st century to stop the ...
Is it bad to watch First Contact before finishing TNG?
To be honest, First Contact probably got people into 90's star trek. the TNG movies with exception of first contact are considered horrible and spoil little for the TNG story lines. Unless you only watched season 1 and wonder where tasha yar is. You wouldn't lose much by never watching the TNG films.
10 Ways Star Trek: First Contact Improved The Franchise
In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "In Purgatory's Shadow", Sisko observes that the Borg attack in First Contact has weakened the Federation further, making it the perfect time for the Dominion to invade the Alpha Quadrant.Present at this meeting is Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) who later leaves Deep Space Nine in a hurry, knowing that invasion is imminent, placing DS9 at the center of the ...
First Contact In The Star Trek Universe Explained
First Contact In The Star Trek Universe Explained. Paramount+. By Witney Seibold / May 5, 2022 6:00 am EST. After the end of World War III, humanity will be left scattered and destitute. Colonel ...
Star Trek: First Contact review
The "experts" claim that the even-numbered Trek films are the good ones. The original film is stiffly pedestrian, whereas The Wrath Of Khan is a rip-roaring intergalactic adventure. Star Trek 3: The S
20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact
First Contact's final budget was set at $45 million, making it the most expensive film in the franchise up to this point, tied with the very first film in the series, Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
First contact
The term first contact described the first official encounter between representatives of two races or governments. (Star Trek: First Contact) The first contact protocols of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet are based on procedures long used by the Vulcans. (ENT: "Civilization"; SNW: "Strange New Worlds") Occasionally, the official first contact took place years or even decades ...
Star Trek: First Contact
The second Trek movie starring the TNG crew, and their first feature without any hand-holding from original series vets, First Contact has quite a lot in common with the other second Trek movie ...
Star Trek: First Contact
Review Text. Nutshell: Very good stuff. Probably the best of all Trek films, with an involving story and a skillful, even-handed approach. Star Trek: First Contact is one of the best Star Trek films — probably the best Trek film — definitely the most even-handed. It successfully balances just about every element I believe a good Trek film should have — superior production and special ...
Origin Of First Contact Day Explained
First Contact Day pays tribute to the flight of the warp-capable Phoenix and the pivotal first interaction between humans and Vulcans, which occurred on April 5, 2063. The Phoenix, built and piloted by inventor Zefram Cochrane, was the spacecraft that marked mankind's first successful attempt at traveling at warp, utilizing a warp drive.
First Contact: Enterprise's ability to travel back to the future
62. 76. Rajaat99. It probably would have made for a better sequel to this movie. They have to find a way to get back to the future while not trying to mess up the time line. Star Trek IX: Back to the Future Part IV. Time travel is easy on start trek. There is one episode of TOS where they go back to the 20th century just to study mankind.
20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek: First Contact 1996
Israel hails 'success' in blocking Iran's unprecedented attack. Israel has hailed its successful air defences in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying it and its allies thwarted 99% ...
'Star Trek: Discovery': Why the barrier-breaking series is important
And the show introduced a few franchise firsts: Adira Tal as the first nonbinary character in "Star Trek," and their boyfriend, Gray (Ian Alexander), is the first transgender character, both ...
20 Hidden Details In Star Trek: First Contact Only Super Fans Noticed
Star Trek: First Contact landed in theaters way back in November 1996, and it still remains one of the better received outings by the crew of the USS Enterprise.The first film in the franchise to focus solely on the cast of the Next Generation TV series, First Contact pits Patrick Stewart's Captain Picard and his allies against merciless hive mind, the Borg.
The most beloved modern Star Trek shows are both getting renewed, but
It's a big day of good news and bad news for Star Trek fans, as Paramount giveth and Paramount taketh away. First the good news - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is coming back for a fourth season.
'Star Trek Discovery's Connection to 'The Next Generation'
The first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 are finally available on Paramount+, putting Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery back on the ...
First Impressions of First Contact on 4K Blu-ray transfer
I popped Star Trek First Contact 4K Blu-ray in to skim around and check it out today. My initial reaction was that it's certainly not going to win any awards for best looking film on the format. Overall felt a little bit soft, without the razor crispness found in the best titles.
'Star Trek Lower Decks' Ending With Season 5
Star Trek: Lower Decks ' five-year mission is coming to an end. The animated Paramount+ comedy's upcoming fifth season will be its last. Paramount announced that the series has reached its final ...
Bill Maher Drills Down on 'Star Trek's Controversial Interracial Kiss
Bill Maher tackled one of the most burning questions in the history of "Star Trek" Friday ... and thanks to William Shatner, we now have our answer!
Japan's Prime Minister Invokes Star Trek In White House State Dinner
This is not President Biden's first brush with Star Trek. During the 2020 election, his campaign hosted a "Trek the Vote" fundraiser featuring several Trek celebrities.

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Star Trek: First Contact

Origin Of First Contact Day Explained