Star Trek: The Next Generation
Summary
The unsound Captain of the Starship Enterprise , Captain John Harriman ( Alan Ruck ) , was premise inStar Trek Generationsbut the account oif how he got his dictation was n’t told . Harriman ’s lonely canonical appearance was in the prologue of the seventhStar Trekmovie , which was the mold ofStar Trek : The Next Generation ’s jump to the bragging concealment in 1994.Star Trek Generations ' prologue contained multiple surprises , such as theintroduction of the Modern USS Enterprise - B and her poor Captain .
Star Trek Generationsbegins with Captain Harriman welcomingStar Trek : The Original Series ' heroes Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) , Montgomery Scott ( James Doohan ) , and Pavel Chekov to the brand name - new Excelsior Class USS Enterprise - B ’s maiden ocean trip , which was a culture medium event . But bothHarriman and his starship were wholly unpreparedto encounter thetemporal energy ribbon yell the Nexus , which endangered an El - Aurian merchant ship . After Harriman failed to hail up with a practicable saving architectural plan , he postulate Kirk to ill-use in . Kirk , Chekov , and Scotty lead the rescue of the El - Aurians , but Captain Kirk was seemingly kill in the outgrowth . ( He was pulled into the Nexus until he reappeared later in the film . ) But as far as the Galax urceolata know for the next eight decade , Captain Kirk was dead , and the cataclysm happen on Captain Harriman ’s watch .
Star Trek Generations not only passed the torch to the dramatis personae of The Next Generation , it also revealed the ultimate fate of Captain James T. Kirk .
Why John Harriman Is The Worst Enterprise Captain
Fans aren’t used to seeing an Enterprise Captain so inept.
Captain Harriman ’s ineptitude inStar Trek Generationswas particularly jarringbecause , betweenStar Trek : The Original SeriesandStar Trek : The Next Generations , audiences had pass year , and even ten , check the two greatest Captains of the go-ahead , James T. Kirk and Jean - Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) head their respective crowd to have the best numerous crises . Indeed , the two Captains coming together inStar Trek Generationswas the historic centrepiece event of the film , which finish withKirk ’s canonical dying .
Star Trekfans did n’t expect to meet athird Enterprise Captainat the onset ofStar Trek Generations . But rather of another active loss leader snub in Kirk and Picard ’s mold , John Harriman turned out to be the opposite of the fabled commanders who both lead and succeeded him . While this makesHarriman brook out as a memorable foil to Captain Kirk , it ’s cross how John became the Captain of the go-ahead . It was never explain inStar Trek Generationshow or why John Harriman somehow succeeded Captain Kirk .
Captain Harriman’s Star Trek Backstory Revealed
How Harriman became Captain of the Enterprise is surprising.
Captain John Harriman does have a surprising backstorythat has n’t been canonically revealed inStar Trekmovies or TV series . In a 2018 consultation withThe AV Club , Alan Ruck explain the backstory for Captain Harriman thatStar Trekexecutive producer Rick Berman gave him when Ruck was cast :
I talk to Rick Berman … and he said , “ Yeah , we figured that Harriman issue forth from a wealthy , politically affiliated family , and they sort of bought you this business as a stepping gemstone into a political career . ” That was the backstory , which you never heard . All you know was that there was this unseasoned , inexperienced guy who was given theEnterprise - B , which was ill - outfit . And it was n’t his fault .
In Captain John Harriman ’s defense , he was trying his good during the Nexus crisis inStar Trek Generations ' prologue , but he was woefully inexperient , and Harriman ’s Enterprise was n’t up to specs . The Enterprise - B ’s maiden voyage was contrive to just be a ceremonial trip around the solar system for the welfare of the newsman aboard . Harriman was also crushed whenCaptain Kirk was lost and presumed kill , although what happened next to John and his calling was never canonically revealed . While there areStar Treknovels and comics that do flesh out Harriman ’s storey , those are considered apocryphal .
Meanwhile , Rick Berman ’s account that Harriman ’s family " bought " him theEnterprise - B ’s Captain ’s president is engrossing because it also does n’t make sensation . By the twenty-third one C , humanity had abandon money and the pursuit of material wealth . Sohow did the Harrimans"buy"John the prestigious posting of Captain of theEnterprise , and to be Kirk ’s successor no less ? Berman ’s rationale spread up myriad questions about whether Starfleet Captaincies can be"bought " , and by what means .
Since Rick Berman ’s backstory for Captain Harriman never made it on screen , it ’s also technically notStar Trekcanon .
Star Trek’s Newest Captains Make Harriman Even More Of An Outlier
Amazing new Captains have joined Star Trek.
Since the advent of Star Trek on Paramount+ , the dealership ’s new TV series have introduced a slew ofdynamic new starship Captains , including 2 new Captains of the Enterprise and one reinvention . Star Trek : Discovery ’s eponymous spaceship has two Captains , the bluff , risk - taking Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin - Green ) and the compassionate and wise Captain Saru ( Doug Jones).Star Trek : Lower Decks ' Captain Carol Freeman ( Dawnn Lewis ) has elevate the USS Cerritos to an elite level among Starfleet ’s California Class support ships . Even the ego - styled young former Captain of the USS Protostar , Dal R’El ( Brett Gray ) , shows great promise inStar Trek : Prodigy .
Star Trek : Picardseason 3 ’s endingelevated Seven of Nine ( Jeri Ryan ) to the Captain of the USS Enterprise - GB , and Captain Worf ( Michael Dorn ) was also let out to have succeeded Admiral Jean - Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) as Captain of the USS Enterprise - E. But when it comes to New Star Trek Captains , the young atomic number 79 measure may be Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ) , who commands the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 inStar Trek : Strange New Worlds . Pike is fast becoming the most popular Enterprise Captain since Kirk and Picard , and he makes his eventual successor , Captain Harriman inStar Trek Generations , even more of an outlier .
Star Trek Generationsis useable to stream on Max .
