10 Reasons To Stop Hating Star Trek: Nemesis

10. The Gift Of Music

There is one thing that is undeniably great about Nemesis, and that's its soundtrack. The score was composed by the incomparable Jerry Goldsmith, a name synonymous with Star Trek, and was his last gift to the franchise before his death in 2004. In fact, it was the penultimate score he wrote.

Goldsmith's association with Star Trek goes back to the very beginning; the composer was Gene Roddenberry's first choice for The Original Series pilot, The Cage, but unfortunately schedules didn't quite work out. Of course, we all know that Goldsmith went on to write the majestic (Oscar-nominated) score for The Motion Picture, the epic Main Title theme of which was then re-used for The Next Generation. He also wrote the score for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and the theme for Voyager.

The music of Nemesis imposes its mark from the very beginning. The tempo of the opening titles is slow at first, almost questioning, as it builds to the Star Trek fanfare. It then cuts to a rapid, unrelenting drumbeat as the (virtual) camera flies past the dark side of Remus towards Romulus, descending rapidly down through its atmosphere to land at the Romulan Senate. The drumbeat becomes quieter and quieter and comes to a halt only as the Romulan commander begins his address.

The piece, simply entitled 'Remus,' manages to instil just the right amount of tension and foreboding in the audience before a single word is uttered. The rest of the score is as skilful as you would expect from the genius mind of Goldsmith, adeptly weaving the well-known of Irving Berlin into the familiar of Star Trek, amongst other musical feats.