Star Trek: The Next Generation's coolest invention mostly disappeared from Star Trek movies after Star Trek: First Contact. Set about 100 years after Star Trek: The Original Series, TNG introduced an entirely new cast of characters and also brought several new futuristic technologies to Star Trek canon. The USS Enterprise-D of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was much larger than its predecessors and had numerous features earlier versions of the Starship Eneterprise lacked.
The most versatile and impressive new technology introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation was the holodeck. With a combination of replicator, transporter, and holographic technology, the holodeck could create a virtual world that felt realistic in almost every way. Starfleet's Galaxy-class ships like the Enterprise-D were equipped with holodecks that could be used for training exercises, combat practice, and recreation. The holodeck also allowed TNG to explore different genres of storytelling, as the crew could visit holographic versions of historical periods and fictional worlds.
Star Trek Has Done Many Holodeck Episodes, But Never A True Holodeck Film
Many episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation made use of the holodeck, and the technology played a role in the first two TNG films. In Star Trek Generations, Captain Picard and his crew celebrated Worf's (Michael Dorn) promotion to Lt. Commander on the holodeck with a simulation of a 19th-century British Naval ship. The holodeck returned in Star Trek: First Contact, in which Captain Picard and Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard) escaped from the Borg in a Dixon Hill holoprogram. When Picard disabled the holodeck's safety protocols, he was able to dispatch two Borg drones using a Tommy gun.
Although Vice Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) had hidden a giant holoship on the Ba'ku planet in Star Trek: Insurrection, the technology itself played a relatively minor role in the film. Star Trek: Nemesis did not use the holodeck at all, raising the question of why the films mostly dropped the technology. TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager all did their fair share of holodeck stories, so perhaps producers felt that the technology had been overused. How many times can the holodeck safety protocols malfunction, after all, before people begin to question why the technology is still in use?
Holodecks Don’t Exist In J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Movies
Although Gene Roddenberry had a concept for a holodeck-like technology during Star Trek: The Original Series, the holodeck itself did not debut until Star Trek: The Next Generation. As seen in TNG's premiere, holodecks were still relatively new technology even by the mid-24th century. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek (2009) takes place in the 23rd century, meaning holodecks had not yet been invented. With the alterations in the Star Trek timeline caused by Nero (Eric Bana), Abrams' Kelvin Universe has already spun off in different directions than Trek's Prime Universe.
In Star Trek: The Animated Series season 2, episode 3, "The Practical Joker," the Enterprise is revealed to have a holographic recreation room similar to the holodeck.
It's unclear how the changes in the Kelvin Universe will affect the invention of the holodeck, but Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and his crew will likely never get to experience the technology. The J.J. Abrams Star Trek films incorporate big sci-fi action scenes and galaxy-level threats, not leaving much room for holodeck storylines even if the technology had been available. With its twenty-plus episode seasons, Star Trek: The Next Generation had more time to show its characters spending their downtime on the holodeck, but Star Trek's big-screen adventures rarely have that luxury.
