Star Trek Christmas in July: What fans should watch
By Mike Poteet
Star Trek Christmas in July—in the Nexus: Star Trek Generations
As long as we’re pretending it’s Christmastime, we might as well go ahead and talk about the one of the “make-believes” in the franchise: The Nexus.
In Star Trek Generations, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) describes being inside the energy phenomenon as “being inside joy, as if joy was something . . . you could wrap yourself in . . . like a blanket.”
When Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) finds himself in the Nexus, his joy takes the form of a Christmas morning that could have been lifted straight from the pages of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol were the scene not set, presumably, in Picard’s native France. Given Sir Patrick Stewart’s long association with Dickens’ Yuletide ghost story, what could be more fitting?
The Generations writers and artistic designers packed as many traditional Christmas trappings into this short sequence as they could.
The Picards have hung their stockings by the chimney with care. We see not one but two beautiful, fully trimmed Christmas trees. We see Picard’s children happily playing with such holiday classics as dolls and teddy bears. And Picard’s late, lamented nephew René invites him into a dining room where the table is set for a splendid holiday feast.
Fortunately, Picard’s dogged devotion to his duty, along with a nudge from Guinan, means the captain isn’t content to bask forever in the warmth of an illusory Christmas morning with a wife and children he never had.
But anyone who’s ever grumbled and groaned over heading “back to reality” after the joys of the holiday season can relate to Picard’s initial reluctance, even if the post-Christmas tasks awaiting us aren’t as high stakes as saving the galaxy from a madman with a missile!
Whether you watch the Nexus sequence alone or the whole movie, Generations is a must-watch for your Star Trek Christmas in July festivities.