Star Trek: Nemesis director Stuart Baird was not familiar with the franchise

Star Terk: Nemesis failed hard and it may have been all director Stuart Baird’s fault.

Star Trek: Nemesis was a massive flop among Star Trek and non-Star Trek fans alike. The film was supposed to send off The Next Generation crew in style but it didn’t do that, not by a long shot. The film was a mess, it didn’t feature the same heart and gravitas as past films and it was a far cry from the successes of Generations and First Contact.

Made even worse, it doesn’t have any redeeming qualities 20 years later. As shows like Voyager and Enterprise prove their worth decades later, fans are looking at these older shows and films with more appreciation. Generations have seen a new life, as has Enterprise and Voyager.

Yet, Nemesis? Nemesis has no redeeming qualities but we are understanding why more and more each day.

According to Collider, the big issue seems to stem from the fact that Nemesis director Stuart Baird was unprepared for the project, and didn’t bother to learn anything as it progressed. That gave the film a very hollow feeling.

From Collider;

"In contrast, Baird apparently couldn’t be bothered to brush up on the basics of the franchise. He refused to watch previous episodes of The Next Generation and even referred to LeVar Burton as “Laverne.” Jonathan Frakes, who helmed Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection in addition to playing Commander William Riker, apparently regretted not taking on the director’s hat for Nemesis. Granted, Frakes was preoccupied with directing Clockstoppers, but it’s still a resource Baird could have used."

Star Trek: Nemesis on paper should be the apex of the franchise.

The premise of the movie is sound; the Romulans successfully create a clone of Jean-Luc Picard in their attempt to take down the Federation but an uprising among the Remans, a cousin-species of the Romulans and Vulcans, leads to the Romulan Empire’s downfall and a new superpower emerging.

Then you add details to that and all of a sudden it gets really ugly, really bad, and really hard to get through as a film. With a person who understood the history of the Romulans and their feud with Starfleet better, you would’ve gotten a better feeling for the weight of the situation.

Something seriously lacking.