Insurrection Was A Rare Example Of Studio Execs Improving The Series

Frakes recalled the epilogue to “Insurrection” as being appropriate for the story, but that the initial script got to those final scenes too quickly. In the epilogue, Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) returned from a phaser battle on a mountainside, while the android Data (Brent Spiner) learned how to play in a haystack with a Ba’ku boy. The only action scene was going to be the scene of Picard and Ru’afo fighting on board the radiation collector, followed by a flirty conversation with a Ba’ku woman named Anij (Donna Murphy). Perhaps most shocking of all, there wasn’t going to be a massive, climactic explosion. Frakes said: 

“What was always there at the ending was the bit with Beverly and Deanna coming back down the hill, Patrick and Anij having their little walk, and Brent and the boy playing in the haystack. Prior to that it was just Murray and Patrick mano a mano, and the collector. But the collector didn’t blow up, Riker didn’t come and save the day with the Enterprise, Worf’s ship was not retaken by the bad guys. To the studio’s credit, they said, ‘We’d like to see more action here at the end because the audience expects more.'”

Frakes admitted in a behind-the-scenes interview included on the “Insurrection” DVD that he felt “Star Trek” should be more action-oriented. As the director of “Insurrection,” he was likely pleased to abide by their mandate. After all, this was a feature film and not a mere episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and feature films are better suited to simplified action climaxes (even if “Star Trek” at large isn’t particularly well-suited to action in general; not all us Trekkies agree with Frakes’ sentiments).