Oftentimes, the best gift is the one we don’t expect. That’s how I feel after watching 765874 – Unification. Unification says more in 7 1/2 minutes of dialog-less video than the last three Star Trek TV series have managed over their span of seasons. And Unification reminds us fans, and hopefully, the creators of these new TV shows, that Star Trek is more about friendship than photon torpedoes, believing than beaming, caring than Klingons.

But is it canon?

This short film from The Roddenberry Archive was released in honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Generations, which premiered on November 18, 1994. (I remember getting to the theater 6 hours before the movie started so that I would have good seats for the premier.) As the seventh film in the Star Trek franchise, Generations bridged the gap between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation by bringing Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) together, and concluding with Kirk’s death. Thirty years later, 765874 – Unification serves as an epilogue to Star Trek: Generations and fulfills a similar purpose by uniting various parts of the Star Trek universe, including the Kelvin timeline films and Star Trek: Discovery.

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The short-film, created by the VFX studio OTOY, follows Kirk in the afterlife following his death in Star Trek: Generations.

Meaning of the Title

The number 765874 is a reference to the serial number for crewmember J.M. Colt, who appeared in the original Star Trek pilot The Cage and has become a common naming practice among Roddenbery Archive Shorts. Unification is a meta (times three) title. The short unites the Prime and Kelvin timelines while also reuniting Kirk and Spock together one last time, but it is a play-off of a popular Star Trek episode.

You can read more details about the short here at MovieWeb.com.

Influence on the Future of Video Shorts

The simplicity and beauty of this short can’t help but inspire other creators to attempt similar work. The exponential improvements to film-making technology today makes it easier every day for creators to realize their vision. Certainly, there will be hacks who use the new technologies for cheap, uninspired, creations. But those who have the vision to create something grand are no longer bound by a lack of resources. We’re getting closer and closer to a world where if you can dream it, you can create it. I’m excited to see what’s to come. Just remembering, most of it will likely be crap, with the occasional diamond.