Rick Berman Movies

The tenth film in Paramount's highly lucrative sci-fi franchise is also positioned as the last for the entire original Next Generation crew. En route to the honeymoon of William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receive energy readings identical to those uniquely emitted by the positronic brain of android crew member Data (Brent Spiner). Upon investigation, they discover the disassembled parts of an identical android named B4, an early prototype of Data himself, now scattered on the surface of a remote world. As they reassemble B4, the crew receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), who claims to seek détente with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. As commander of the closest starship to Romulus, Picard is ordered there to negotiate with Shinzon. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus (the residents of which are vampire-like creatures that dwell on the perpetually dark side of their home world), and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself. It soon becomes clear that Shinzon has lured the Enterprise to Romulus using B4 as bait and that his sinister ulterior motives include the destruction of Earth. A vicious battle between the Enterprise and Shinzon's powerful warship ensues, resulting in heartbreaking heroics and a devastating casualty. Star Trek: Nemesis was written by long-time Trek fan and Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan. Regular cast members Michael Dorn, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, and Whoopi Goldberg co-star with Ron Perlman, Dina Meyer, and Steven Culp. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the two-part Star Trek: Voyager finale "Endgame," the elderly, silver-haired Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) has travelled back in time to alter the unhappy fates of several of her former Voyager shipmates, and to help her younger self return to Earth via a shorter route than the phlegmatic Delta Quadrant. "Old" Janeway explains to "Young" Janeway that it is possible to escape an attack by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) without being forced into enduring an additional two decades in space. Curiously, however, the crew resists this opportunity to abbreviate their long journey -- and none is more resistant than Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), who is willing to face down the Borg and save millions of lives, even at the inevitable cost of her own. Both "Engame, Pt. 1" and "Endgame, Pt. 2" were originally seen over the UPN network on May 23, 2001, bringing the seven-year saga of Star Trek: Voyager to a rousing and (one hopes) satisfying dénouement. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Star Trek: Insurrection manages to recall the original 1960s series' spirit of liberalism, while transcending it for sheer boldness, embracing issues that are on the political cutting edge in the 1990s and beyond. The fact that the first 30 minutes are presented as a mystery only makes the material more engrossing. While assisting a survey team of Federation allies observing the populace of a distant planet, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) seemingly goes berserk and attacks the survey team, exposing their existence to the populace and jeopardizing the mission. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) brings the Enterprise into orbit to try and apprehend Data and find out what happened . He discovers that the mission isn't one of observation, but the involuntary relocation of a small, peaceful population, undertaken by the Federation and its rogue planet allies the Son'a, supposedly to secure the planet's youth-restoring qualities. As it turns out, there's a much darker side to the plans of the Son'a, and a personal side to the carnage planned by the Son'a leader Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham). Picard and his officers, suitably outraged by this violation of the Prime Directive -- that no Federation mission may interfere with the natural evolution of an alien culture -- take matters into their own hands in an attempt to expose the plot to public scrutiny, risking their lives in the process. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Having been given up for lost some 200 years earlier, a Bajoran space vessel suddenly emerges from the wormhole. Its sole passenger is Akorem Laan (Richard Libertini), a legendary Bajoran poet and political activist. Making up for lost time, Akorem claims to be the Emissary of the Prophets, a position currently -- and very reluctantly -- held by Sisko. As Akorem lays the groundwork for a full-scale return to the "old ways," Keiko returns to DS9 with important news for O'Brien. Written by Jane Espenson, "Accession" was first telecast February 26, 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The fourth entry in the evergreen Star Trek franchise, the UPN network's Star Trek: Voyager was set during the same timeframe (though definitely not the in same location!) as the syndicated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Caught in a sudden plasma storm while hunting down a ship full of Maquis terrorists, Starfleet Command's Voyager was thrust some 75,000 light years away from its home base. Now trapped in the Gamma Quadrant with their Maquis quarry, the Voyager crew, headed by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), was forced to form an alliance with the enemy. As it turned out, both the Voyager and the Maquis vessel had been deliberately relocated to Gamma by a mystical entity known as the Caretaker, who hoped that the combined crews would fulfill his mission to protect a less resourceful race known as the Ocampa -- and to remain eternally vigilant against the evil Kazon, who, during an early skirmish, had killed several members of both Janeway's crew and that of Maquis captain Chakotay (Robert Beltran). Surviving members of the Voyager roster included Lt. Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), who like Janeway hailed from planet Earth, as did Starfleet Academy rookie Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang). Carryovers from the Maquis vessel included the Native American Chakotay, who became Janeway's first officer; B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Biggs-Dawson), a mercurial half-human, half-Klington who replaced the Voyager's deceased chief engineer (and who later married the headstrong Tom Paris); and the Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ), who had infiltrated the Maquis as a Starfleet spy, surviving to become Janeway's security chief.

Others recruited for the Voyager were a pair of aliens from the Gamma Quadrant: Neelix (Ethan Phillips), a Talaxian adventurer who happened to be a master chef and an introspective philosopher, and the Ocampan Kes (Jennifer Lien), Neelix's lover. Kes would become an apprentice to the Voyager's Doctor (Robert Picardo), who despite resembling a human being was actually a holographic projection of the ship's emergency medical program. Kes would morph into a pure energy being in the series' fourth season; at the same time, the ship took on a new crew person, a human female who was once known as Anneka Hansen, but who, since her assimilation into the Borg Collective, had been renamed Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Still later, another recurring character appeared: Naomi Wildman, played by Scarlett Pomers. The series' episodes chronicled the efforts by Janeway and her crew to escape the Gamma Quadrant and return safely to Starfleet Command. Along the way, they were helped out by the "energized" Kes, who pushed the vessel some 9,500 light years closer to home, and by intergalactic communications expert "Reg" Barkley (Dwight Schultz, repeating his role from Star Trek: The Next Generation), who established a link between Starfleet and the Voyager, but only for 11 minutes at any given time. At the end of Star Trek: Voyager's seventh and final season, the vessel finally returned whence it came -- but in a series finale set 33 years after that return, it was revealed that several loose plot strands still had to be knotted together before a truly satisfying (or at least satisfactory) conclusion could be reached. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the first installment of this two-parter, Sisko learned of the existence of a Federation terrorist group whose activities threatened to start another war with the Cardassians. In part two, Sisko endeavors to prevent this by forming an uneasy alliance with Cardassian leader Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo). Complicating matters is the fact that the Maquis is headed by Sisko's old friend Cal Hudson (Bernie Casey). Originally telecast April 30, 1994, part two of "The Maquis" was scripted by Ira Steven Behr from a story by Behr, Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor and James Crocker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine began its seven-season run with this two hour episode. The episode harked back to the classic 1990 Next Generation season-ender "Best of Both Worlds," wherein the insidious Borg took over the mind and shape of Captain Jean-Luc Picard to launch an attack on the Federation. Three years later, Benjamin Sisko, survivor of the Borg attack, is assigned as commander of Deep Space Nine, a run-down former Cardassian space station in Bajoran territory. Sisko's first assignment is to oversee repairs of Deep Space Nine, but as the story progresses, he finds that he has been predestined to repair the tattered remnants of Bajor's ruined economy. Patrick Stewart guest stars in his familiar role of Captain Picard, who the embittered Sisko holds responsible for his own wife's death. Written by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, "Emissary" was originally telecast on January 2, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second half of this two-parter, Picard and Data learn the truth behind Ambassador Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) unauthorized visit to the hostile planet Romulus. Spock, it seems, hopes to negotiate a reunification of the Romulans and Vulcans. Regarding this alliance as potentially dangerous, Picard objects, despite the logical nature of Spock's argument. Things heat up considerably when Picard and Data discover a Romulan scheme to double-cross Spock. Dedicated to the late Gene Roddenberry, part two of "Unification" was written by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and first aired November 16, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Enterprise rushes to the aid of the planet Penthara Four, which has just been struck by an asteroid. The mission is closely supervised by unexpected visitor Rasmussen, who claims to be a historian from the 26th century. Hoping to seek advice from his futuristic guest, Captain Picard is forced to violate a Prime Directive, an act that has never bode well for either Picard or his crew. Written by Rick Berman, "A Matter of Time" was originally telecast November 23, 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide