Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 8 Redux (a WIP)

This is a tribute to Menbailee’s amazing ST:TNG S8 Edit. I’ve always wanted to have this in HD so I’m going to start mapping out how to do it. There are aspects of Menbailee’s edit that I’d like to expand on or adjust, so this won’t be a 1:1 duplicate, but I will borrow heavily from Menbailee’s cut list. I’d like to create a 1:1 for those who do want that, but that will come after the base edit is made.
Project thread over at FE: https://forums.fanedit.org/threads/star-trek-the-next-generation-season-8-redux.21447/

Proposed Format
5 episodes in total that use all 4 TNG movies. Generations will remove Kirk & Picard entering the Nexus, First Contact will be a two part episode with slight adjustments, Insurrection will be a single episode that wraps up the story without the Picard action scenes and removes the love story as well, Nemesis will also be a single episode format.

Current Progress

Episode 1: The Nexus
Runtime: 60min

• Cropped all scenes to 4:3 (adjusted picture as needed)
• Cut all Enterprise B scenes
• Fade in on drums on the Enterprise boat
• Increased speed 3.5x when Worf falls to the water when Riker removes the plank, reworked audio
• Increased speed 3.5x when Crusher falls to the water when Data pushes her, reworked audio
• Rearranged boat scenes to remove Picard getting the message about Robert and Rene
• Fade out to credits when Riker calls for Picard to the bridge and senior officers walk out of the holodeck
• Used S7 introduction (we haven’t been introduced to the enterprise E yet)
• Fade in on the space shot of the Enterprise approaching the Amargosa star observatory
• Added title “The Nexus” to the shot
• Added guest starring credits for Malcolm McDowell, Barbara March, Gwynyth Walsh, and Whoopi Goldberg
• Removed Picard yelling at Riker
• Tightened up away team recovering Soran
• Picard does not get upset at Riker and Riker doesn’t ask if there is anything he can do for Picard. Riker now leaves after Picard says “that will be all”
• Commercial break fade out after Soran leaves ten forward when Guinan senses his presence
  Fade into next scene
• Removed shots of Data’s face bubbling out when he is laughing uncontrollably, reworked audio to smooth cuts
• Removed Picard and Troi talking about Robert and Rene
• Looped a reversed image of the Amargosa star dying
• Fade in on far shot of shockwave approaching the Enterprise and Amargosa observatory
• Removed Riker saying, “That was the mission James Kirk died on”
• Removed Picard hitting any forcefield when he goes down to the Veridian III
• Sped up scene 3.5x where engineer/security officer flies over the console on the bridge to remove slowmo
• Removed Veridian III scenes of Picard failing to stop Soran
• Rearranged shots to have Picard confront Soran and succeed
• Picard sees the ribbon fly by after heading back down the canyon and then sees the Enterprise
• Fade out after rescue ships jump to warp

Episode 2: Day of the Phoenix pt1
Runtime: 43min w/o credits

• Cut logos
• Intro on the zoom out of Picard’s eye
• Cut shot of Picard hesitating/thinking before saying Fire. I never understood why he was so casual, especially since we see, with him, ships continuing to be destroyed.
• Commercial fade out after Enterprise enters the vortex
• Cut aerial shot of complex
• Fade in on campfire
• Removed slow mo of person falling off of roof when the Borg bombard the complex
• Cut Lilly yelling Bull $417
• Commercial fade out after Picard says “The future may die with him”
• Fade in on Enterprise orbiting space
• Commercial fade out after Cochrane dances and Diana passes out
• Fade in on Enterprise orbiting space
• Moved Riker, Troi and Geordi convincing and showing Cochrane about the enterprise to right after Lily takes Picard hostage
• Moved Data waking captured by the Borg to after Lily hands Picard the phaser
• Episode Fade out as drill approaches Data’s Head

Episode 3: Day of the Phoenix pt2
Runtime: 47min w/o credits

• Previously on Star Trek The Next Generation montage
• Opening on Borg drone and data looking up and seeing the Borg queen descend
• Trimmed moment between “I am the Borg” and Data’s response “Greetings” to remove the pause
• Removed Borg queen’s “Was that good for you?” and Data’s “Oooooh” response
• Removed Lilly screaming and borg views as she and Picard walk down the hallway.
• Cut far shots of crowd dispersing as Picard starts shooting
• Trimmed up tommy gun scene to keep it flowing
• Cut Cochrane shewing away the engineers and hiding behind a building
• Voice over of Geordi asking for Cochrane to look at his desing figures to transition into scene
• Cut Geordi telling him he went to Zephram Cochrane high school
• Cut engineers approaching Geordi after Cochrane goes to take a leak
• Cut Geordi and Riker looking at Cochrane from afar, goes directly to Worf, Picard and Hawke getting in Zero G suits
• Cut the awkward sexual tension between Data and the Borg queen. Now the scene ends after she says, “don’t be tempted by flesh” and he looks up in weakness
• Cut Worf saying they should wait and get reinforcements…really?
• Cut al the “Access Denied” screen shots after seeing it on Picards screen. It gets redundant and slows the scene down
• Cut close up shots of Worf after his suit gets slashed. Again, it slows the scene down
• Cut the clamps flying off as they don’t really make sense the way they pop off in the zero g environment of space.
• Cut shot of Borg queen holding Data’s hands and saying their plans have changed
• Trimmed up Cochrane and Riker’s conversation in the Phoenix
• Removed Picard and Worf quarrel and Picard’s Ahab moment. It’s just not him and it is a childish contradiction to everything he’s been saying to Lilly the whole time he’s been with her
• Removed portion of Picard speaking to Worf to remove the apology for something that no longer happened. Now Picard calls him over to tell him he is the bravest man he ever has known. They shake hands and Worf leaves. Picard believes he is most likely going to die in his attempt to save Data so this connection and moment seems still appropriate.
• Cut Cochrane freaking out about seeing the Enterprise
• Cut Picard snapping the borg queen’s neck. Again, it’s just not Picard, or at least the Picard I have come to know over 7 seasons
• Episode fade out as the camera turns from Lilly and focuses Cochrane and the Vulcan visitors.
• Cut credits

Episode 4: Hearts of the Children
Current Runtime: 60min

• Removal of intro logos
• fade in on science team watching the Ba’ku from their hidden observatory
• Removed any mention of Data until we see take off his helmet
• Fade out to credits after Data looks up at the observatory after reveaing it
• Fade in to Enterprise exterior
• Cut all of the stuff up to the point of the crew meeting with the new members of the Federation
• Cut Picard talking to Geordi after Dougherty ends his transition
• Trimmed up the conversation between Ru’afo and Dougherty
• Cut Worf waking up late and Picard chiding him about his bolster
• Trimmed up Picard and Worf recovering Data to remove the song and silliness
• Removed Data singing when Picard asks him what the last thing he remembers is
• Cut Ba’ku walking with Picard and Data, now it transitions to the revealed ship and they board it
• Cut Son’a attacking Picard and Data
• Rearranged scenes to move Picard’s conversation with the Ba’ku about their history to follow the holoship scene
• Cut to Geordi sunrise scene after Picard says he won’t let the Ba’ku be relocated
• Rearranged scenes to have Data and Picard beam aboard the ship (originally followed the holoship scene)
• Cut Picard asking about the boil/pimple on Worf’s face
• Rearranged scenes to have Picard meeting with Ru’afo and Dougherty following Data feeling Riker’s face
• Removed Ru’afo and Gallatin’s conversation, scene now transitions from Picard removing his rank and straight to the weapons transporting in the hallway
• Cut all Ba’ku village shots after Gallatin says they have to destroy the transporter inhibitors, scene now moves directly to his report to Ru’afo
• Cut to Ba’ku in the mountains after Dougherty gives the ok to send the Son’a after the Enterprise
• Cut to Enterprise after Artim and Data’s conversation
• Cut to Data and Worf talking (removed the boob jokes)
• Massively trimmed up the drone attacks
• Cut all scenes of the Ba’ku entering the caves
• Removed Riker’s manual driving of the Enterprise…face palm
• Trimmed more of the Ba’ku in the mountains
• Cut all of Ru’afo getting onto the collector and his crew taking back the ship
• After Picard has Worf and Gallatin put a tractor beam on the holoship we cut the Ba’ku returning to their village
• Removed Picard and Anij love talk after Gallanti is reunited with his mother
• Removed Data’s prank on Riker
• Replaced Anij shot with Artim and his dad smiling
• Fade to credits after the crew transports back to the Enterprise

Episode 5: Romulus & Remus

Blueffalump said:

Sounds very cool! I always thought the action scenes in the movies were a bit excessive.

However, do you really feel that it’s necessary to crop to 4:3? I get that it’s supposed to feel like a 90s TV show, but the movies were not shot with that ratio in mind. This means that those cropped movie images will lose a lot of their appeal and could possibly end up looking worse than the TV series itself (which was shot with 4:3 in mind).

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Blueaffalump! The 4:3 was an idea and then I polled the FE community and most had requested it so I thought I’d give it a go. Yes, the movies were not filmed with 4:3 in mind which has made the pan&cropping a bit of a nightmare, but I’m always up to the challenge. The main issue is that the vertical side of the image is pretty tight on characters in a widescreen format as the image is allowed to breath horizontally rather than within a box. The cropping is almost more intensive than the actual editing itself. I may release widescreen and a 4:3 version, though there are some cropped shots that are used to hide things that are removed in the narrative at times. So I’ll have to figure out how to deal with that.

thatguamguy said:

“Cut all Enterprise B scenes”

Reading through this, I don’t really understand this decision. It sounds as if Kirk will just show up at the end with insufficient set-up. And it also sounds like this episode doesn’t really have an opening (the boat scene feels like a post-credits opening; I don’t remember TNG having pre-credits openings which were character based rather than plot setup very often). I would try cutting together the Enterprise B stuff into a teaser; you can quickly set up Guinan and Soran that way, and then end it on Captain Kirk “dying”, and then roll opening credits.

Kirk won’t be in the episode at all. It’s just a showdown with Picard. To me, the opening feels a lot like a TNG episode. A light whimsical start that ends with a tense moment. Currently I don’t have plans to reinstate Kirk at all. I just don’t care for the performances or the storyline. The episode, like the movie is kind of a dud and ultimately serves the purpose of destroying the Enterprise.

thatguamguy said:

I kind of feel like if “Insurrection” was actually a TNG episode, the Riker/Troi stuff would be a major B-plot and it could easily lead directly into the wedding, rather than saving that for “Nemesis” where it has nothing to do with anything going on. The show never would’ve had every character have things happen in the same episode, and Nemesis already has a major plotline for both Picard and Data, it doesn’t need a wedding too. You could do a thing early on where Picard tries to get through to Data by asking about the song and it doesn’t really work and then at the end Data is singing a song at the wedding, so it feels like some kind of pay-off rather than a random gag (which, admittedly, it makes me laugh, but I acknowledge that it’s character breaking and dumb).

I completely agree. Insurrection is probably the most TNG series like of the TNG movies. Riker and Troi’s fling is a narrative supporting the youthful nature of what is happening to the crew. With removing all of Anij and Picard’s love story we don’t see Picard go through the same process and thereby don’t really get a sense of what is happening to the crew beyond the marvelous scene with Geordi and the sunrise. It also helps with the idea that the Son’a could be healed over time if they would return and reunite with their parents. Another reason I don’t feel I can take out the Troi/Riker stuff is that beard. There really isn’t a reason for the beard coming off if he and Troi’s three scenes are removed. Sure I could just have him walking down the hall with no beard and Data then touches his face, but that would leave more questions asked than answered, imho.

For Nemesis, Data will die. Sacrifice is the strongest narrative and I don’t want to steal that from his character, especially after what we saw in Picard. Menbailee originally switched up the narrative to have the wedding at the end and Data alive, but that just made a tired narrative and movie worse for me as there was no emotional payoff beyond nostalgia. I want something more along the lines of Kira and Odo, resolution but with the weight of loss and the possibility of hope, rather than an overly happy ending.

thatguamguy said:

Just my two cents, I’m sure that you have thought these things through and have reasons for the decisions you’ve made.

I appreciate your input! I originally intended to just make a 1:1 HD update of Menbailee’s edit, but my subjective interpretation wouldn’t allow it 😃 This has turned this project into a more involved process and so I wanted to share it as I go along to test ideas and get new and possibly better ideas along the way 😃

I used to abhor the modification of widescreen to 4:3, and still don’t like it, but I’ve grown a great deal of respect for the editors that were tasked with creating pan & scan versions of films. Wow there is a lot of composition work that goes into it. Camera movements have to be just right, the rule of thirds, character placements to imply movement and location, capturing wide shots using panning, etc. There is so much skill involved that I was almost completely ignorant and didn’t have a proper respect for before doing this edit.