Star Trek: The Next Generation: A XXX Parody is the latest porn movie to bring together science fiction and porn. It's also a loving tribute and unofficial sequel to a classic TNG episode starring some major Trekkie porn stars, not to mention an uncannily convincing Jean-Luc Picard impersonator.
We just had to know what was going on here, so we decided to check out the set, and interview the cast and crew who are bringing the TNG porno to life. Here's our pretty much completely safe-for-work report.
This last Sunday, we were able to visit the set for the upcoming adult film Star Trek: The Next Generation, A XXX Parody, made by Revolution X and Digital Sin. We spoke with writer and director Sam Hain, who was also behind the award-winning Sex Files movies. We noted that pretty much all previous Star Trek porn parodies have focused exclusively on the original series, and that The Next Generation is pretty much uncharted territory.
Part of the problem, he explained, comes from the structure of the series - given that the original series had a bunch of characters who were either obviously passionate (like Kirk) or actively struggling to repress a potentially fiercely emotional side (look at Spock and "Amok Time"), it's pretty easy to structure an adult film around that.
The Next Generation was very consciously designed to be different - Picard is the exact opposite of Kirk, the sexuality of the show was tamped down considerably, and the vast majority of characters are pretty centered, intellectual types. When the show's most passionate character is the generally level-headed Will Riker, it doesn't exactly lend itself to pornographic reinterpretation.
But that wasn't so much of problem for Sam Hain. A massive Next Generation fan, he told us that he actually did the opposite of what most other porn writers do - he came up with a TNG story that he wanted to tell, and only then did he put the sex scenes in. Indeed, he very consciously designed this movie to fit with established TNG continuity - the story has an authentic season six stardate, and it's implied that this movie takes place just before the episode "True Q." Most intriguingly, the movie serves as an unofficial sequel to one of The Next Generation's finest hours: "Yesterday's Enterprise."
"Yesterday's Enterprise" was the episode that ingeniously reintroduced Tasha Yar to the series, as the dead chief of security is alive again when the Enterprise-D is shunted into a more militaristic timeline. In the episode, she decides to stay aboard the Enterprise-C, which must travel back through time to certain destruction in order to repair the timeline. In the series, Yar is then imprisoned by Romulans and gives birth to the half-Romulan daughter Sela, and she's killed while attempting to escape her enslavement.
This XXX parody considers the possibility that Tasha Yar actually somehow survived and made it back to the present day, forcing the Enterprise crew to figure out whether this could really be their dead friend or just an impostor. And yes, everyone on board has a good deal of sex, but this doesn't seem like your standard cookie-cutter plot that shows up in a lot of porn parodies.
In fact, it's remarkable how much the script just reads like an above-average work of fan fiction that only happens to feature some pornography. Hain does a decent job of capturing the voices of the original characters, and the sexual pairings are largely true to the relationships and suggested pairings on the original show - only, you know, they actually have sex this time around.
If nothing else, everything looks amazing. They built an entire 360-degree set for the Enterprise bridge, and the costumes and wigs really evoke the look of The Next Generation's character. They even brought in a renowned Patrick Stewart impersonator from London to bring Captain Picard to life. You can see him and the rest of the cast in the gallery, all of which is completely safe-for-work and nudity-free.
Finally, we asked Hain - now working on his third movie blending porn and scifi - to explain why the two genres work together so well. Here's what he said:
I think science fiction and adult are good bedfellows, as they say, because fans of science fiction are usually more open-minded, more intelligent, and especially the younger generation, our generation, is much more open-minded in terms of sexuality or religion or anything what it might be. So I think that those type of people that like science fiction are more open-minded are then more open-minded about adult entertainment and sexuality and more open-minded to the mesh of the two, and enjoy it.
While we were there, we also got to talk with two cast members who are porn stars and fans of The Next Generation, as well as the Patrick Stewart impersonator behind the movie's Jean-Luc Picard.
April O'Neil plays Deanna Troi, and she told us that this was a dream come true for her, as she had grown up watching The Next Generation, and she remains a huge fan. Indeed, based on ten minutes of animated post-interview discussion we had with her about everything from "Tomb of the Cybermen" to the true identity of River Song, she really knows her Doctor Who as well.
O'Neil told us that, when she first heard Digital Sin was making a Next Generation porn, she was worried that she wouldn't be able to participate because she doesn't really look like any of the show's characters. However, thanks to a truly epic wig, she very much pulls off the Deanna Troi look.
When she was first cast, April told us that she had gone back and watched a ton of TNG episodes, in particular trying to replicate Marina Sirtis's unique Betazed accent, which she described as a mix of Sirtis' natural English accent and more eastern influences. She also told us she wishes she had been able to work in a few more ultra-obscure references to The Next Generation in her performance, but that's not always possible to remember one's Star Trek lore while filming a sex scene.
Next, here's Bobbi Starr, who plays Geordi's holographic love interest Leah Brahms. She tells us the most adorably geeky story ever involving Q actor John De Lancie, his musician father, and an oboe:
And, at last, here's the movie's Captain Picard, who comes dangerously close to crossing the sci-fi streams by rocking a Doctor Who shirt while sitting in the captain's chair. He told us how he's turned down previous offers to appear in The Next Generation porn parodies, why he decided to do this one, and whether he would now be up for playing Professor X in an X-Men porn parody.
Digital Sin and Revolution X's Star Trek: The Next Generation, A XXX Parody will be released in April, with a teaser trailer due in the next two weeks.