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April 30, 2003
Dr. Tolian Soran
Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) is just one of a long line of cinematic mad scientists we've all come to appreciate. In Star Trek: Generations, he puts hundreds of millions of lives at stake in an effort to return himself to the Nexus, a kind of otherworldly spacial anomaly that bops around the universe picking people up and filling their heads with happy thoughts and perfect scenarios. For the average guy, I suppose the Nexus is a lot like the Hawaiian Tropic tour bus that carries all the models around the country: if you can find a way onto the bus, you'll enjoy experiences never imagined and never want to leave. Theoretically, of course.
While answering a distress call from the Amargosa Observatory, the Enterprise encounters the good doctor. Unphased by the attack on the station, he definatly continues with his Very Important Experiment on the Amargosa star, about to go nova. He's shifty right from the get-go, riling the unflappable Picard and eventually grabbing Geordi as a hostage just as the star's about to go boom. That's when his accomplices - the Klingon Duras sisters - are revealed. Doing business with Klingons is never an easy task, but Soran is aggressive and clever enough to keep the sisters on their heels. Eventually, he takes them to the Veridian system and beams down to the surface of one of the system's barren planets to conduct another Important Experiment.
By this point, the Enterprise crew has figured out the pieces of the Soran puzzle: his experiments are trying to bring this Nexus closer to Veridian III, where Soran will be able to re-enter the Nexus and enjoy eternal bliss inside a giant intergalactic pink ribbon. To accomplish his goal, Soran must blow up the Veridian star to change the course of the Nexus; in the process, the entire system will be destoyed, including the 230 million people living in it.
Soran witnessed the Borg destroy his family and home world; by this point, he's pretty much embraced evil, and sacrificing another few hundred million souls to give him peace aren't gonna matter. The Nexus has great power; Soran had a taste it before and was accidentally transported out of it. He is willing to do anything for another taste, like a junkie going through extreme withdrawal, and he goes to incredible lengths to attempt his return. He does, in fact, succeed in his plans, but despite Soran's ingenuity and determination, he could never have predicted that two Enterprise captains would turn back time and spoil everything. So much for the Hawaiian Tropic girls...
INTELLIGENCE - 8: A very intelligent scientist, Soran also hatches an extremely clever plan to return to the Nexus.
POWER - 5: Physically, he's a good match for the passive Picard, but not the swashbuckling Kirk.
VILENESS - 10: How many villains are willing to kill 230 million people to get what they want?
SWAY - 7: If he can stand up to Klingons, he's pretty strong in this category.
PURITY - 9: Soran's obsession with the Nexus consumed him, and many people died because of it.
PHYSICAL - 5: You really get a good look at this guy's intensity up close... creepy.
TOTAL: 44
Posted by Destro at April 30, 2003 12:55 PM