10 Things You Learn Revisiting Star Trek: First Contact For First Contact Day
3. New Ship, New Uniforms, New Budget
With the destruction of the Enterprise D in Generations, the stage was set to introduce a new ship in this film. There was also a concerted effort to raise the overall filming quality, as Generations had utilised, for the most part, existing stages for the ship's interior. The uniforms had been seen to change between the Next Generation and Deep Space Nine and the entire affair had a slightly low budget feel to it.
This was changed for First Contact. Gone were the inconsistant uniforms, replaced now with the grey shouldered tunics that would also appear on Deep Space Nine. The budget allowed for greater levels of effects, giving the fantastic Borg invasion and deflector dish sequences during the film. The Enterprise E itself reflected this change in approach - it was bigger and sleeker, darker and faster. It was a ship of war, not exploration.
While this would antithetical to Roddenberry's vision, it was a sign of the times. Deep Space Nine was moving into darker territory while Voyager kept its upbeat outlook. Viewers were falling away by the millions. What was needed was a big budget action film, less psychological and more direct in its approach. Soran in Generations had been a somewhat low-key villain, most famous for killing Kirk. The Borg are pure evil, without mercy and make for an exciting bad guy for the audience to root against.
It looked good, it sounded good and it felt good. This was Star Trek for the summer crowds, action packed and up for battle.