Trivia / Star Trek: Insurrection

• Cast the Runner-Up: Anthony Zerbe originally auditioned for the role of Ru'afo, and was considered to be the best choice for it. However, the production team decided instead to cast him in the role of Admiral Matthew Dougherty.
• Creator Backlash: Marina Sirtis isn't fond of the film, saying she fell asleep at the premiere and even arguing that Star Trek: Nemesis was better by comparison.
• Deleted Role:
  • Quark was originally supposed to have a cameo appearance that ended up getting cut from the film.
  • There is also an acting credit for "Young Ru'afo" who was supposed to appear in the original ending.
• Deleted Scene:
  • A few extra seconds of footage of the skin-stretching procedure during Ru'afo's first conversation with Admiral Dougherty.
  • Picard spills his salad on his uniform while doing research on the Briar Patch in his quarters. Riker enters and they discuss the features of the region.
  • Extended footage of Riker and Troi's research on the Son'a in the ship's library. The two officers banter back and forth and throw scraps of paper at each other like schoolchildren while being shushed by a stern librarian. Max Grodénchik appears in the scene as a Trill Ensign though he has no lines. The relevant plot points from this scene were included in the theatrical version.
  • Picard and Anij's kiss, filmed in super-slow motion, as the Ba'ku have the ability to slow down time. Co-Producer Lauritson comments that "although it read well on paper, it just didn't work when we cut it together. So we just dropped that part of it".
  • After his attack on the Son'a ship, Data beams himself out of the Cousteau immediately before it explodes.
  • Additional dialogue between Picard, Riker and Worf immediately before Picard beams aboard the metaphasic collector.
  • An alternate death scene for Ru'afo. He is rapidly de-aged by the metaphasic radiation of the Ba'ku planet's rings, using a series of younger and younger actors, implying he ultimately de-aged out of existence. Lauritson explains that Paramount Pictures felt the original ending was too "soft".
  • Quark arrives on Ba'ku aboard the Ticonderoga to open up the planet as a vacation spot; he is dismissed by Picard and escorted back to DS9 by an irritated Worf.
• Development Gag: The Captain's Yacht, the Cousteau, is a private shuttle that forms part of the outer hull when docked under the saucer section. It is a concept that originated way back in TNG, as the Enterprise-D was supposed to also have such a shuttle and the Technical Manual specifically says that Patrick Stewart, the actor and not as Picard, has said the shuttle was named the Calypso (after Jacques Cousteau's ship, making the Cousteau's name an in-joke). Behind the scenes, it was an acknowledged feature of most modern Starfleet ships (which can be spotted in various background graphics), but this was the first and only time one was shown operating on-screen.
• Directed by Cast Member: Jonathan Frakes again. This would ultimately be the final Trek film to be directed by Frakes and his final Trek directing credit of the Berman era of the franchise (1987-2005). He would not return to directing for TV Trek until the premiere of Discovery 20 years later.
• DVD Commentary: A particularly fine one from director/Riker Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis (Troi). Their banter is a joy, and it's pleasing to hear them bring up all the points that critical fans often raise ('so why are the Baku all white and blonde,?' '...They're of Swedish descent'; Marina noting that her character has 'a profound grasp of the obvious' etc).
• Executive Meddling:
  • Averted; Paramount sent an astute-sounding letter pointing out the holes in the plot, including that a fight between 600 Ba'ku and the Son'a felt more like a gang war than an interstellar conflict, even (accidentally?) offering a valid rationale for Picard's interference — namely, that the Ba'ku lack the numbers to procreate and thrive in a normal environment, and hence cannot be relocated without dooming them to extinction. Berman must not have gotten that memo, but Piller brings up the memo in his still-unreleased book on the making of the film.
  • Berman played it straight, though, as he demanded that a scene where Picard expresses his sympathies to Worf about Jadzia's death be removed, even though Worf was still suffering through it on DS9 at the time. Justifiable, since it would have spoiled Jadzia's death for viewers in countries (read: every country bar the USA and Canada) where DS9 hadn't yet gotten that far along in its run.
• Hypothetical Casting: Patrick Stewart wanted his fellow thespian and lifelong friend BRIAN BLESSED to play Admiral Dougherty.
• Recycled Script: The basic plot- rogue Starfleet officer(s) try to siphon the precious resource of a planet that can halt aging and restore youth- is basically a rehash of the TOS episode The Omega Glory.
• Recycled Set: As with First Contact, most of the Enterprise-E's sets (and the scout ship's cockpit) are actually modified versions of sets from Star Trek: Voyager. The Enterprise-E shuttle's cockpit is also a redress of DS9's runabout cockpit.
• Troubled Production: The film essentially had the problems of First Contact in reverse:
  • Michael Piller, who was hired to write the screenplay, initially wrote an Apocalypse Now-inspired screenplay in which the Enterprise crew are forced to kill Data after he runs amok, then rebel against the Federation. Paramount had been pushing for a Lighter and Softer Star Trek film for some time now, however, and after three entries which dealt with heavy subject matters, finally put their foot down and demanded it this time, with Patrick Stewart supporting their demands.
  • Piller therefore rewrote the screenplay, while adding in some of his personal beliefs regarding a preference for "rural simplicity" over technology. However, all the rewrites essentially gutted the screenplay of its original point, with LeVar Burton and Marina Sirtis both finding it incredibly boring, and even Stewart admitting that he felt the villains were more in the right than the Enterprise crew. Paramount, despite their initial Executive Meddling, actually gave a helpful memo suggesting that they flesh out the villains' motives more, but it was apparently ignored, as was similar advice from DS9 showrunner Ira Steven Behr.
  • In an echo of the abortive attempt to have Leonard Nimoy direct Star Trek: Generations, returning director Jonathan Frakes clashed with Rick Berman over the latter's philosophy that the director's job should be little more than to get the story onto the screen as quickly and efficiently as possible. Frakes stuck with the project, but the alienation he felt over his lack of creative input resulted in him not directing for Star Trek again until the first season of Star Trek: Discovery, nearly twenty years later.
  • Finally, Berman insisted on having the original ending — which ended with Ru'afo being de-aged out of existence by the Fountain of Youth radiation he was after — refilmed in favor of just having him blown up, adding another $10 million to the budget, and meaning its underwhelming box-office response was felt all the more.
• What Could Have Been: See the page.
• Working Title: Star Trek: Stardust, Prime Directive, The Directive, The Resignation, The Enemy Within, Breach of Promise, Dereliction of Duty and Apostasy.

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