Catching up with the crew of the Enterprise

he acting in First Contact isn't a problem; most of the cast members have been playing these roles for a long, long time, and they've got their characters down pat. The writers, on the other hand, vary from show to show and movie to movie. First Contact shows a few inconsistencies -- especially where the female characters are concerned -- but also makes some interesting attempts to update a few of the regulars. Here's what's new about The Next Generation's cast this time around:

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)

The captain makes some changes for the worse in First Contact. Clearly embittered by Starfleet's lack of faith in him, and obsessed with his desire to avenge himself and the others hurt by the Borg, he is by turns contemptuous, cynical, sarcastic, callous and cruel. Most baffling is his Schwarzeneggerian slash-and-burn mentality towards his own crew, as he coldly kills anyone the Borg assimilate, ignoring the fact that he himself was successfully brought back from assimilation. In three decades of Star Trek, one of the most stable constants has been the captain's fear for and devotion to the ship's crew; it's extremely unsettling to see that dropped so totally by the wayside. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating and exciting side of Picard that's definitely intriguing to consider.

Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes)

Number One takes a back seat in First Contact, probably because Frakes' energies were devoted to directing the film. Riker spends most of his time sniggering obnoxiously in the background -- not entirely out of character for him, but certainly more passive than usual.

Data (Brent Spiner)

Data has finally integrated his "emotion chip" to the point where he can turn it on and off at will, but he's actually taken some significant steps backwards in his quest for humanity. For some reason, the writers take him back to The Next Generation's first season, complete with stiff, robotic movement, inappropriate and awkward babbling, and surprisingly naive questions about human emotions. He does evolve considerably over the course of the film, which gives Spiner some fascinating material to work with, but at the expense of character consistency.

Geordie LaForge (LeVar Burton)

Geordie apparently took Malcolm McDowell's aesthetic criticisms from Generations seriously; he's finally broken down and gotten prosthetic eyes to replace that hair clip he's worn over his face for most of the past decade. Other than that, he's pretty much the same as ever -- cheerful, funny and competent.

Worf (Michael Dorn)

Worf is similarly consistent, which isn't that surprising considering what a small range of emotions he generally gets to work with. No matter how creatively Byzantine the plots around him become, Worf generally seems content to snarl and look menacing.

Troi (Marina Sirtis)

The ship's counselor is barely onscreen during First Contact, and when she is, she's either functioning as a set piece or comic relief. Her only major scene consists of getting falling-down drunk and dispensing slurred advice. Troi's never been The Next Generation's most refined intellectual, but surely there was some better use for her than this?

Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden)

Crusher is similarly underused and incompetent this time around; the few times she actually appears onscreen, she makes bad decisions, breaks a critical promise, misplaces a patient and knuckles under to authority when it's most clearly her duty to fight back.

ack to On Screen.