History Fridge / StarTrekFirstContact

*** Or, you know, it could actually be sequestered in his baldric sash (only moving it to his spacesuit during the spacewalk scene since melee combat was expected). The premiere episode of ''StarTrekEnterprise'' has the Klingon who crash-lands on Earth withdraw a blade from his sash. Klingons being the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race]] of the franchise, it's quite plausible.

* Everyone gave grief to the writers about why Picard didn't replicate [[MoreDakka physical guns]] (which ''StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' proved Starfleet possessed at least replicator files for) when the phasers were fully adapted to. After all, he was able to shoot up two drones on the holodeck without the shields deflecting anything. However, notice that the second drone took MANY more hits before going down. Borg are ''perfectly'' capable of adapting to traditional gunfire, except it just ricochets off the armor plating instead of producing a green flash.

* May also count as a ShoutOut, but the song "Ooby Dooby" by RoyOrbison that Cochrane plays on the jukebox is also featured prominently in the pilot episode of ''Series/QuantumLeap''. And you might say that the primary mission of this film is to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong set right what the Borg made go wrong]].

* SFDebris pointed out that Picard's raving about not sacrificing the ''Enterprise''-E could be in part justified because of his anger at losing the ''Enterprise''-D in the the previous film, and lingering feelings of having lost the ''Stargazer'' before the events of TNG. Note that Picard has a look of utter horror on his face when he realizes the model he smashed in the cabinet with the gun is that of the ''Enterprise''-D which is why his "Make them pay" rant goes off the deep end.

** The Borg were probably able to find scarier ways in the six or seven years between ''TheBestOfBothWorlds'' and ''StarTrekFirstContact''; instead of slipping implants on like gloves, they chop arms off, remove eyes, ''remove feet'' (there are some shots of a Borg drone's feet and they look quite mechanical), and the nanoprobes already account for the pale complexion, the linkage to the hive mind, and implants popping up all over the body like acne.

* May also count as a ShoutOut, but the song "Ooby Dooby" by RoyOrbison that Cochrane plays on the jukebox is also featured prominently in the pilot episode of ''QuantumLeap''. And you might say that the primary mission of this film is to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong set right what the Borg made go wrong]].

** In a (necessarily loose) comparison with modern naval hardware, if ''Enterprise'' is the equivalent of an ''Iowa''-class battlewagon, the ''Defiant''-class has no direct parallel, but lies somewhere between a frigate (which can cruise independently for a reasonable length of time) and a carrier air wing (which is fast and hard-hitting out of all proportion to its displacement).

* May also count as a ShoutOut, but the song "Ooby Dooby" by RoyOrbison that Cochrane plays on the jukebox is also featured prominently in the pilot episode of ''QuantumLeap''. And you might say that the primary mission of this film is to set right what the Borg made go wrong.

* May also count as a ShoutOut, but the song "Ooby Dooby" by Roy Orbison that Cochrane plays on the jukebox is also featured prominently in the pilot episode of ''QuantumLeap''. And you might say that the primary mission of this film is to set right what the Borg made go wrong.

* I had a general dislike for many parts of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' (such as The Borg Queen... okay, that's about it, but I REALLY hated the Borg Queen). Watching Sci-Fi Debris' review for "Q Who", however, paints a truly bizarre picture, as the being who once put humanity on trial for barbarism is the one who sets the Borg on humanity. Picard's talk about how humanity was evolved and better can be seen as a prompting for their introduction to the Borg by Q. Because a few years later, Picard would lose his humanity to the Borg... but once free, he harbors a blinding hatred of the Borg. In the end, we see Picard become Captain Ahab with the Borg as his White Whale. And to quote Sci-Fi Debris, "Somewhere, Q is laughing." - Sines

** This would also explain why Data acts as an inflation device in ''Insurrection,'' despite having preciously described as sinking to the bottom of a lake in "Descent, Part II."
* Many fans have also commented how the Defiant, a ship designed to fight Borg, was missing every ''Deep Space Nine'' regular except for Worf, despite the fact that Sisko was probably itching for some payback for the death of his wife. But actually if you check the stardates, Sisko's current activity was pursuing the Maquis traitor Eddington throughout the Badlands, which not only removed him from the fight, but a large part of his senior staff also. One of the rare occasions that the Star Trek script writers actually did their continuity homework...

* Lily famously gives Picard a WhatTheHellHero in this film for, among other things, not making the slightest attempt to save the life of one of his ensigns who had been taken by the borg (instead opting to gun him down and [[PistolWhipping beat him with the butt of a submachinegun]], [[BlatantLies to put him out]] [[MercyKill of his misery]]). Is this Lily tearing down a [[RevengeBeforeReason Picard driven mad with revenge]], or simply a [[DeliberateValuesDissonance civilian from another culture and another time]] reacting to the seemingly callous way the [[WeHaveReserves 24th century Starfleeet reacts to death in battle?]]
** The rest of her rant was right, but this part was just her not understanding - there really was no way to save Lynch, and not killing him left him a threat to them.
* The ''Defiant'' is swiftly defeated in battle by the Borg, even though Sisko said this was the only thing the ship was designed to do. However, he also said that it was supposed to be the first in a new Federation battle fleet. Thus, it was not designed to defeat the Borg in one-on-one combat. It was designed to be quick and cheap to build in mass numbers, allowing a swarm assault (like what Starfleet does in the battle) to defeat the Borg with acceptable casualties.
** Essentially, don't think of the ''Defiant'' as the USS ''Missouri''. Think of it as a German Type VII U-boat.
** Also, considering that we reach the battle after it's been going on for awhile, and that the Defiant would probably have been on the front line the whole time, it's ''still'' one of the last ships standing.
*** Notice that as the Borg cube explodes, at least one Federation vessel is destroyed while failing to OutruntheFireball. Meanwhile the ''Defiant'', dead in space, at ground zero of that explosion, is intact. "Tough little ship" indeed!
* Picard's refusal to blow up the Enterprise isn't just because of his hatred of the borg. [[Film/StarTrekGenerations He promised Kirk that he wouldn't give it up for any reason.]]
** Its more than that; remember by this point Picard has already lost two ships - the Stargazer and the Enterprise-D. The former we know he was court-marshalled over (and was a long time before he got his next ship, the Ent-D), and the latter was lost when he wasn't even there. Even more so it's only been a couple of years since the Ent-D was lost so that wound is still fairly raw. Note how what snaps him out of it is when he smashes the dish play cabinet of Enterprise models and the one most prominently smashed is the one of the Ent-D.
** And actually, even without that, it's not ''just'' because he hates them. If it was ''just'' about his hatred he'd probably be willing to destroy the. Enterprise to blow them all up. Watch his rant again, it's about what destroying the ship symbolises - the Federation in general, and Picard in particular have lost a lot to the Borg, and destroying the Enterprise is continuing to let them take things. Especially as with his family dead, the Enterprise is all he has left, so losing it is like losing the last of his family (what he's missing in his rage is that his family is actually (and has been for the last 8 or 9 years), the crew of the Enterprise, not the Enterprise herself).
* At first glance, the Borg Queen's "I will Seduce you to the Dark Side" plan for Data seems a bit trite and cliched. But it's also completely ''logical''. Think about who and what Data is. He can't be tortured, because he doesn't feel pain. He can't be assimilated since he has no organic components. His brain can't simply be hacked. And, like any member of Picard's crew, he is ''fiercely'' loyal and can't be bribed or otherwise cajoled. What can you ever do to Data that would make him give you what you want? ''Give him flesh''. Offer him the organic, physical sensations that he's always wanted and could never get on his own. It's the only thing you could possibly tempt him with...and conveniently, it's something the Borg can give him. Too bad for the Borg, Data's loyalty is stronger than that, and he just [[InstantExpert learned]] how to [[ILied lie]].
** I'd say the claim that he can't be assimilated because he has no organic components is dubious - we've see the Borg assimilate technology just by walking up to it and injecting it with nanoprobes so why would Data be any different? May be mistaken, but fairly sure that happened in this film and not just in later Voyager episodes. And even if it wasn't, assimilation is a process whereby technological components are grafted onto a biological body, so if anything Data should be easier to assimilate as he is technology. A better explanation would probably be that the Borg see him as a goal being a wholy inorganic being that is alive and thus is the closest they've ever seen to perfection. The reason they toy with him rather than a quick assimilation is that they're worried about causing irreparable damage to him by injecting him with nanoprobes or by taking him apart for study (remember back in 'A Measure of a Man' one of the arguments against Madox taking Data apart to study him and copy him was that one slip up and he'd be destroyed) - they're playing for time trying to study him as much as possible before they'll be forced to use their usual methods. Or alternatively if their idea of perfection is the merging of the biological with the technological, then they're using him as the test bed of how to give biological components to an artificial being instead of the other way around which is their normal MO.

* Speaking of Data's newfound flesh. Do you think the Borg had that custom made for him, or simply salvaged it from captured members of Data's crew?
* Combined with NothingIsScarier, there are few things in recent cinematic history as terrifying as hearing the audio pickup of thousands of terrified men and women [[RedAlert ready to fight]]... and then hear the famous, horrifying litany that made the Borg truly fearsome- [[CurbStompBattle followed by screaming.]]

As Nechayev makes abundantly clear in "Descent", though, for Starfleet's admiralty this isn't even a question; the existential threat posed by the Borg not only outweighs, but dwarfs to insignificance, the value of any one individual life, especially that of a former drone who ended up deciding to return to the Collective in his own right. She orders Picard to take any similar opportunity that might arise in future, and while it's never quite stated, the dressing-down carries heavy subtext to the effect that, were Picard in any other jot or tittle not ''the'' exemplary Starfleet captain, the discussion might well be taking place before the board of a general court-martial, if not shortly before a presumptory cashiering.

* Cochrane confesses to Riker that he didn't build the warp drive because he wanted to travel in space or kick off a golden age of exploration, but because he wanted to make enough money to retire to some isolated tropical island full of naked women. In the original series episode "Metamorphosis", Cochrane was living (well, marooned) on an isolated ''planetoid'', and winds up staying there with two females -- the [[EnergyBeing Companion]] and Commissioner Hedford -- merged into one good-looking body. (No nudity in the script, but it's strongly implied there ''will'' be once the ''Enterprise'' leaves.)
* Starfleet's decision to keep Picard out of the battle with the Borg seems unjustified, but consider what happened back in the episode "I Borg". There, Picard had a chance to do away with the Borg by introducing a TykeBomb but grew a conscience and refused to do so. Some episodes later (I forget which one, possibly "Descent"?), he is royally chewed out by Starfleet brass for this decision (which allows to Borg to continue). The admiralty may believe that Picard's mercy is a sign that the Borg still have some influence on him and may fear that said influence could be used to force Picard to turn the Enterprise against Starfleet. Still doesn't explain why Riker can't assume command for a few hours, though.
** Maybe because they also gambled that in that situation, no matter how illegally, Riker would defer to Picard for judgment.
*** Not unreasonable, considering the series made a point of mentioning in "The Best of Both Worlds" that Riker has turned down several opportunities to get his own command in favor of remaining Picard's first officer.

* After Cochrane completes mankind's first warp flight, [[TheWorldIsJustAwesome he looks and asks "Is that Earth?"]]. Geordi answers that it is indeed Earth. Cochrane says "It's so small...", to which Riker says "It's about to get a whole lot bigger.". As in, the first contact that sets the stage for the Federation.

* His refusal to blow up the Enterprise isn't just because of his hatred of the borg. [[Film/StarTrekGenerations He promised Kirk that he wouldn't give it up for any reason.]]

* At first glance, the Borg Queen's "I will Seduce you to the Dark Side" plan for Data seems a bit trite and cliched. But it's also completely ''logical''. Think about who and what Data is. He can't be tortured, because he doesn't feel pain. He can't be assimilated since he has no organic components. His brain can't simply be hacked. And, like any member of Picard's crew, he is ''fiercely'' loyal and can't be bribed or otherwise cajoled. What can you ever do to Data that would make him give you what you want? ''Give him flesh''. Offer him the organic, physical sensations that he's always wanted and could never get on his own. It's the only thing you could possibly tempt him with...and conveniently, it's something the Borg can give him.

* How did Picard and crew wind up with the ''Enterprise''-E? In ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', the TOS crew was given the ''Enterprise''-A [[GetOutOfJailFreeCard in gratitude for having saved the Earth despite their actions from the previous film]]. Why would Picard receive the ''Enterprise''-E, other than StatusQuoIsGod?
** Picard is still a decorated officer and highly respected by Starfleet, so there's no real reason to deny giving him a new ship just because that ship happens to be called Enterprise. Remember, by Picard's time the name Enterprise has become more than just a name (Kirk's ship was just a run of the mill starship), it's a legacy that's bestowed upon the fleet's flagship, so it shouldn't be surprising that they rushed to give the name to one of the next ships off the assembly line. As for why Picard was given it in particular, he was an experienced officer in need of a ship and the new ship was in need of a captain, plus (within the fleet at least, if not within public consciousness) it's likely by this point Picard was becoming (or had become) synonymous with Enterprise (even if not to the degree that Kirk was). As for the rest of the crew, Picard needed one for the new ship as it didn't have one (due to being new) so picked those he trusted, ie his old crew. The only ones he didn't pick we're those that had already been reassigned (or who had been and he couldn't get back) such as Worf.