Advertisement

A look inside Hollywood and the movies. : WARPED AWAY : Experts in Klingon Genealogy, Front and Center!

Share

In the holiday release of “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country,” the original crew of “Star Trek” and a crew member from the syndicated TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” will cross paths for the first time.

Well, sort of.

Michael Dorn, the actor who plays the Klingon Lt. Worf in “Next Generation,” will play a Klingon named Worf in “Star Trek VI,” but he won’t be the same Worf, according to the filmmakers. Instead, he will play the grandfather of the “Next Generation’s” Worf.

Is a “Next Generation” bloodline being introduced to make way for a spinoff feature film? After all, the old cast has vowed--once again--that “Star Trek VI,” which marks the 25th anniversary of the original 1960s TV series, will be their last hurrah. If so, that leaves behind no one but the “Next Generation” crew to carry on the voyages of the “Star Trek” enterprise.

Advertisement

“There is a convergence between the original and the ‘Next Generation’ by virtue of the fact that Michael is in the film,” “Star Trek VI” publicist Bob Hoffman said. “I don’t think it’s fair to characterize it as some kind of marketing ploy, however.”

In the science-fictional world of “Star Trek,” no link has been established between the new and original crews, with the exception of a passing reference to Capt. James T. Kirk in the premiere episode of “Next Generation.” The TV series takes place in the 24th century, almost 100 years after the vintage voyages of Kirk, Spock and Bones.

“For us as the filmmakers, we’re not deliberately setting up a feature with the ‘Next Generation’ crew,” said producer Ralph Winter, who co-produced two other “Star Trek” films. “The fact that Michael Dorn is involved came out of the story and how it developed.”

“Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry has, however, publicly expressed his interest in a “Next Generation” movie, perhaps after the syndicated series plays out the last two years of its contract with Paramount. “I know it’s Gene’s desire, and the desire of almost everybody connected to the show, when the show is finished, to take the next logical step and make a motion picture,” said Ernie Over, Roddenberry’s personal assistant. “And ‘Star Trek’ has a history of doing logical things.”

Sticking with tradition, the lid is closed tightly onto the “Star Trek VI” set, so it’s difficult to be sure how Dorn’s Klingon will fit into the story, which was written by Nicholas Meyer--who is also directing--and executive producer Leonard Nimoy.

“I can’t really get into that, because it’s going to go directly into the heart of what the film is about,” Hoffman said. “But it does resolve one of the longstanding questions of the series for 20 years.”

Advertisement
Advertisement