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{{quote|"''It was fun... oh, my...''"|{{spoiler|'''Kirk'''}} imparts his final words of wisdom}}
The first movie featuring the cast of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]''. [[Never Trust a Trailer|Billed]] as a [[Crossover]] ([[Cross Through]]?) with ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'', although
It's shortly after the end of the ''Next Generation'' TV series, which ended its run just before this film was released. Our baddie is Dr. Soran ([[Malcolm McDowell]]), a [[Mad Scientist]] with a malicious agenda reaching back seventy-eight years to when he was [[Unwanted Rescue|"saved"]] from [[Lotus Eater Machine|the Nexus]] by Kirk, who then disappeared into it himself and [[Not Quite Dead|was presumed dead]]. Soran now plans to blow up a couple suns to get back into the Nexus, but Picard gets Kirk to leave the Nexus and join him for a bridge-dropping climax.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Abandon Ship]]:
** In the prologue, the ''Enterprise''
* [[Absentee Actor]]: They couldn't get [[Leonard Nimoy]] or [[DeForest Kelley]] to return as Spock and Bones for the opening scene, so Kirk is instead accompanied by Scotty and
* [[Absolute Cleavage]]: Lursa and B'etor, as always.
* [[Anyone Can Die]]: This was ''supposed'' to be the overarching theme of the movie ("Time is the fire in which we all burn"), but [[Your Mileage May Vary]] about how subtle or effective the message was: see [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]].
* [[Apocalypse How]]: Soran causes Stellar Physical Annihilation in the Amargosa system and the Veridian system...but the Veridian system gets reversed thanks to Picard and Kirk.
* [[Arc Number]]: Scotty manages to save 47 people. 47 is an arc number in all the modern ''Star Trek'' series.
* [[Artistic License Physics]]: Soren's plan to divert the Nexus makes sense at first, but promptly falls apart later. In order to actually get inside, he has to destroy the Veridian star so the Nexus hits the planet instead of a near-miss. Problem is, the timing of this is such that there would be no appreciable change in gravity since the sun is still largely intact and thus a massive gravitational body. The Nexus suddenly altering course to hit the planet would never happen. It would have made more sense to destroy the star then have the Nexus hit a planet in another solar system.
* [[Back for the Dead]]: {{spoiler|Kirk}}, sort of.
* [[Big Damn Movie]]:
* [[Big Lipped Alligator Moment]]: In-universe, even. [[Not So Stoic|Data]] scanning for lifeforms. And singing. With the controls providing instrumentation. The crew [[Funny Background Event|is visibly thrown by this.]]
* [[Break Them by Talking]]: If you ever wondered what would happen if an El-Aurian used their keen insight against someone instead of counseling them - look out. Exemplified by Soran tearing Picard down by repeatedly discussing waning time and fire.
* [[Call Back]]: Shortly after the D12 is destroyed, the movie cuts to Geordi in engineering examining an open panel and in the middle of a conversation about the damage the ship's taken. He turns around and communicates with the bridge, only to be cut off as the panel he's just walked away from [[Explosive Instrumentation|explodes]] and engineering rapidly degenerates from being a mess to being an outright hazardous environment. As he's ushering everyone out, Geordi tells the bridge that they're a few minutes away from a warp-core breach he can't stop. This scene mirrors one from the episode
** Also, while examining Soran's space station, Data reminds Geordi of a joke Geordi told Riker at Farpoint Station. As noted in [[Late to the Punchline]], Farpoint Station was the setting for the pilot episode of ''TNG''.
* [[Call to Agriculture]]: In the Nexus, Kirk was found chopping wood and frying eggs at a farm.
* [[The Cast Showoff]]: This is the entire reason for the horseback riding scene.
** William Shatner is an expert at horseback, and having his horse ''walk sideways to join Stewart'' is pure showing off.
* [[Changing Clothes Is a Free Action]]: One of the most subtle examples on record. At the beginning of the film, the main cast is wearing their ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|ST:TNG]]''-era uniforms, with the black shoulders and colored torso. Then a few [[Red Shirt|Red Shirts]] in the background are seen with the updated ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine|ST:DS9]]'' color scheme with the black torso and colored shoulders. Then Data starts wearing it. And then Riker, and Geordi, and finally Picard. In at least one case with Riker his uniform literally changes between two scenes where he couldn't possibly have had time to do so in real life.
** See the entry under [[Show Accuracy, Toy Accuracy]] below for a possible explanation for all this uniform madness.
* [[Closest Thing We Got]]: "You and you, you've just become nurses. Let's go."
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{{quote|'''[[No Sense of Humour|Data]]''': Doctor, I must confess I am uncertain as to why pushing someone into freezing, shark-infested water is amusing.<br />
'''Beverly''': It's all done in good fun, Data. Get in the spirit of things.<br />
'''Data''': Ah. ''(Cue Data pushing Beverly overboard, then wondering why no one is laughing)''
* [[Compliment Backfire]]
* [[Continuity Nod]]:
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* [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget]]: Soran. "Nice try."
* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Arguably Troi and Crusher.
** More so in Crusher's case, as she barely did anything in the movie, while Troi's role was proportionately about as large as she got in most ''TNG'' episodes.
* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: The [[Trope Namer]] itself. In fact, it doesn't just literally apply to James T. Kirk; in the way we've defined this trope, the deaths of Robert and Rene Picard are examples too. Ironically, Kirk's death was a
* [[Enhance Button]]: While looking through Geordi's visor, the Klingon sisters use one to see the ''Enterprise'
* [[Evil Brit]]: Soran (although technically not British, as he was an alien), played by [[Malcolm McDowell]].
* [[Fake-Out Opening]]: Not exactly the opening, but the scene following the 23rd-century prologue shows an 18th-century sailing ship with the caption "78 years later". It turns out to be a holodeck simulation.
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* [[Five Second Foreshadowing]]: When Dr. Soran checks on his sun-killer missile after Picard messes with it, the viewscreen says that the missile's locking clamps are still engaged. Soran gets an [[Oh Crap]] look on his face as he and the audience realize that something bad is going to happen when the missile tries to launch. One second later, the missile explodes, killing him.
* [[Foil]]: Doctor Soran and Captain Picard: Both characters had lost loved ones to certain circumstances (Soran to the Borg, and Picard to a fire), and both were also devastated by the deaths. The difference is that while Soran is perfectly willing to destroy entire worlds so he'd at least be reunited with his family in some fashion (by the Nexus), Picard isn't willing to do so.
* [[Force Field Cage]]: Inverted. Instead of restraining Picard, Soran has actually sequestered himself inside a giant
* [[For the Funnyz]]: Data spontaneously decides to shove Doctor Crusher into the holodeck ocean when she unintentionally implies to him that it would be funny. None of the ''Enterprise'' crew are amused.
* [[The Future Is Noir]]: Very noticeably so, compared to the way the exact same USS ''Enterprise'' sets appeared on [[Star Trek: The Next Generation|the ''TNG'' television series]]. The set designer on this movie knew that the sets had been built for the considerably lower resolution of television, and that they'd never stand up to the scrutiny of a cinema screen. The solution? Turn off all the lights, so the audience can't see the joins.
** This is a rather common technique, and is one big reason why a lot of [[Sci Fi]] shows have dark sets.
* [[Gangsta Style]]: Soran's gun tilts its shooty-part on the side, and he likes to twist his hand to the side to compensate?
* [[Gilligan Cut]]: A deleted opening scene had Kirk skydiving, echoing his mid-life crisis in ''[[Star Trek V: The Final Frontier|Star Trek V the Final Frontier]]''.
* [[Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress]]: Worf has a Gravitational Cognizance moment after Riker says, "Computer, remove the plank."
* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Done as only [[Patrick Stewart]] can deliver. After receiving word of his brother and nephew's deaths, he keeps a stiff upper lip for much of the movie, but in the immediate aftermath is very curt with his senior staff and delegates to Riker many of the duties regarding the observatory rescue operation he would normally handle himself. A typical [[Red Shirt]] might not notice anything wrong with Picard other than maybe he's having a bad day ''(which is both true and a massive understatement)'', but Riker and the others gather some inkling that something is very wrong. It eventually gets even worse when Soran says something that calls back to the event of their deaths ("Time is the fire in which we all burn.").
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* [[Humans Are Ugly]]: "Human females are so repulsive!"
* [[Idiot Ball]]: Riker's "shoot once, get shot at 100 times" tactic of defending the ''Enterprise'' while trying to find a quick fix kill to the Klingons is stunning. The ''Enterprise'', even in the TV series, is shown to be capable of a volume of fire far greater than that which is displayed. He also never orders the shield frequency to changed, which would have given them a decisive advantage even when damaged. The novelization, at least, explains that the damage from the first attack prevented them from changing shield frequencies.
** This is made particularly egregious by the Klingons repeating Khan's tactics in ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan|Star Trek II the Wrath of Khan]]''; their initial salvo goes for the engineering deck, and they start shooting up the engines after that. A single throwaway line like Scotty's about main power failing would've been a sufficient
* [[I Like Those Odds]]: Discussed by Kirk.
{{quote|'''Kirk''': I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim.
'''Picard''': You could say that.
'''Kirk''': If Spock were here he would call me an illogical, irrational human being for taking on a mission like that... Sounds like fun.
* [[Infant Immortality]]: Spot. Can't have the cat die after all, even if a ton of [[Red Shirt|red shirts]] snuff it.
** Actually according to the epilogue, there were barely any casualties from the ''Enterprise's'' crew, this might be the only Star Trek movie where a great deal of red shirts don't die.
*** Expect for the refugees caught in the nexus, {{spoiler|a few Romulans, a ship full of Klingons an undetermined amount of researchers and Kirk}}, there are relativity only a few people dead at the end of the movie.
* [[Late to the Punchline]]: Thanks to his new emotion chip, Data finally gets a joke from the Farpoint mission, which was in the [[Pilot]], seven years ago. This particular joke is never heard in the actual pilot, incidentally.
** This creates a [[Series Continuity Error]], considering Data can understand (if not entirely ''appreciate'')
*** He'd understood the principles that underlie human humor, on an intellectual level. It's not until he has emotions that he can grasp how ''funny'' the joke was.
* [[Laughing Mad]]/[[Heroic BSOD]]: When Data's emotion chip overloads. It's [[Nightmare Fuel|unsettling]].
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{{quote|'''Soran''': They say time is ''the fire in which we all burn''.}}
*** To clarify, Picard has ''just'' received the news his brother and young nephew perished in a fire, leaving him [[The Last of His Kind|the last Picard]], something Soran couldn't possibly have known otherwise.
**** In fact, Soran piles it on by adding, "''My'' time is ''running out''." playing on Picard's new
* [[The Movie]]: Of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]''. Except that [[Executive Meddling]] demanded a crossover with ''TOS'' because they didn't want to risk giving ''TNG'' its own entire movie right away.
* [[Multiple Endings]]: The videogame adaptation provides two endings: one which follows that which is seen in the film, and another where
* [[Mythology Gag]]: The ''Next Gen'' portion of the movie takes place 78 years after the launching of the ''Enterprise B'' -- there were 78 original aired episodes of ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' (
* [[Negative Space Wedgie]]: The "ribbon" of "temporal energy" that takes its victims to "the Nexus".
* [[Never Trust a Trailer]]: Kirk and Picard do not save the universe, nor anything close.
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* [[Precision F-Strike]]: ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9hg0uMwUrI Oh, shit!]'' If any character other than Data (who had just acquired his emotion chip) had delivered this line, it wouldn't have been as profound.
* [[Rebuilt Set]]: The ''Enterprise''-D bridge now has noticeably more workstations than it ([[Alternate Universe|usually]]) did on television.
* [[Refusing Paradise]]:
* [[Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony]]: The bottle-breaking version is used with the ''Enterprise''-B, except the bottle is thrown at the ship instead of just smashed against it. This leads to the hilarious mental image of a dude in a spacesuit trying to pitch the bottle at the ship without missing.
* [[Running Gag]]: Quite a bit of the ''Enterprise''-B's equipment and essential crew will not be available until next Tuesday, much to Captain Harriman's compounding frustration and
* [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale]]: Worf states that Soran's rocket will take eleven seconds to hit the sun. Considering that he shoots it from an [[Techno Babble|M Class planet]], which are more-or-less the same as Earth, it would have to be traveling faster than light to make that kind of time. However, it's been established well before this film that there are probes the size of Soran's missile with warp drives, which he could have acquired.
** On the subject of distance, the probe might have traveled faster than light, but it still would have taken eight or however many light minutes away the planet was before you could actually see the change in light.
* [[Series Continuity Error]]: Scotty witnesses Kirk's death, despite an earlier ''TNG'' episode showing him as a [[Human Popsicle]], who immediately assumes Kirk is the one who woke him up. Moore and Braga said that they were well aware of the continuity issue, but just couldn't resist seeing Scotty in action one last time.
** Becomes [[Fridge Brilliance]] if you figure that Scotty made that assumption in "Relics" because he [[Never Found the Body|doesn't believe]] Kirk died that day.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The "present day" is 78 years after the start of the film with Kirk, Scotty and Chekhov -- the same number as ''TOS'' episodes (counting the two-part "The Menagerie" as one episode).
** Data at one point mentions "[[Doctor Who|reversing the polarity]]" amongst a sea of [[Techno Babble]].
* [[Show Accuracy, Toy Accuracy]]: An example of the "both being made together" type. The action figures from the movie reflected certain aspects of the pre-production version, but did not accurately reflect the movie as released in
* [[Star-Killing]]: Soran's trilithium-armed probes.
* [[Stock Footage]]: Some shots of the Klingon Bird-Of-Prey are recycled from ''[[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country|Star Trek VI the Undiscovered Country]]''
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