The USS Enterprise-B’s Captain John Harriman debuted in Star Trek Generations but it was his only appearance and his backstory was never explained.

The worst Captain of the Starship Enterprise, Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck), was introduced in Star Trek Generations but the story oif how he got his command wasn’t told. Harriman’s lone canonical appearance was in the prologue of the seventh Star Trek movie, which was the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s leap to the big screen in 1994. Star Trek Generations‘ prologue contained multiple surprises, such as the introduction of the new USS Enterprise-B and her hapless Captain.

Star Trek Generations begins with Captain Harriman welcoming Star Trek: The Original Series‘ heroes Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), and Pavel Chekov to the brand-new Excelsior Class USS Enterprise-B’s maiden voyage, which was a media event. But both Harriman and his starship were totally unprepared to encounter the temporal energy ribbon called the Nexus, which endangered an El-Aurian freighter. After Harriman failed to come up with a workable rescue plan, he asked Kirk to step in. Kirk, Chekov, and Scotty led the rescue of the El-Aurians, but Captain Kirk was seemingly killed in the process. (He was pulled into the Nexus until he reappeared later in the film.) But as far as the galaxy knew for the next eight decades, Captain Kirk was dead, and the tragedy happened on Captain Harriman’s watch.

Star Trek Generations Ending & Kirk’s Death Explained

Star Trek Generations not only passed the torch to the cast of The Next Generation, it also revealed the ultimate fate of Captain James T. Kirk.

Why John Harriman Is The Worst Enterprise Captain

Fans aren’t used to seeing an Enterprise Captain so inept.

Captain Harriman’s ineptitude in Star Trek Generations was especially jarring because, between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generations, audiences had spent years, and even decades, watching the two greatest Captains of the Enterprise, James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) lead their respective crews to overcome numerous crises. Indeed, the two Captains meeting in Star Trek Generations was the historic centerpiece event of the film, which ended with Kirk’s canonical death.

Star Trek fans didn’t expect to meet a third Enterprise Captain at the onset of Star Trek Generations. But instead of another dynamic leader cut in Kirk and Picard’s mold, John Harriman turned out to be the opposite of the legendary commanders who both preceded and succeeded him. While this makes Harriman stand out as a memorable foil to Captain Kirk, it’s baffling how John became the Captain of the Enterprise. It was never explained in Star Trek Generations how or why John Harriman somehow succeeded Captain Kirk.

Captain Harriman’s Star Trek Backstory Revealed

How Harriman became Captain of the Enterprise is surprising.

Captain John Harriman does have a surprising backstory that hasn’t been canonically revealed in Star Trek movies or TV series. In a 2018 interview with The AV Club, Alan Ruck explained the backstory for Captain Harriman that Star Trek executive producer Rick Berman gave him when Ruck was cast:

I talked to Rick Berman… and he said, “Yeah, we figured that Harriman came from a wealthy, politically connected family, and they sort of bought you this job as a stepping stone into a political career.” That was the backstory, which you never heard. All you knew was that there was this young, inexperienced guy who was given the Enterprise-B, which was ill-equipped. And it wasn’t his fault.

In Captain John Harriman’s defense, he was trying his best during the Nexus crisis in Star Trek Generations‘ prologue, but he was woefully inexperienced, and Harriman’s Enterprise wasn’t up to specs. The Enterprise-B’s maiden voyage was planned to merely be a ceremonial trip around the solar system for the benefit of the reporters aboard. Harriman was also crushed when Captain Kirk was lost and presumed killed, although what happened next to John and his career was never canonically revealed. While there are Star Trek novels and comics that do flesh out Harriman’s story, those are considered apocryphal.

Meanwhile, Rick Berman’s explanation that Harriman’s family “bought” him the Enterprise-B‘s Captain’s chair is fascinating because it also doesn’t make sense. By the 23rd century, humanity had abandoned money and the pursuit of material wealth. So how did the Harrimans “buy” John the prestigious posting of Captain of the Enterprise, and to be Kirk’s successor no less? Berman’s rationale opens up myriad questions about whether Starfleet Captaincies can be “bought”, and by what means.

Star Trek’s Newest Captains Make Harriman Even More Of An Outlier

Amazing new Captains have joined Star Trek.

Since the advent of Star Trek on Paramount+, the franchise’s newest TV series have introduced a slew of dynamic new starship Captains, including 2 new Captains of the Enterprise and one reinvention. Star Trek: Discovery‘s eponymous starship has two Captains, the bold, risk-taking Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the compassionate and wise Captain Saru (Doug Jones). Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) has elevated the USS Cerritos to an elite level among Starfleet’s California Class support ships. Even the self-styled young former Captain of the USS Protostar, Dal R’El (Brett Gray), shows great promise in Star Trek: Prodigy.

Star Trek: Picard season 3’s ending elevated Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) to the Captain of the USS Enterprise-G, and Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) was also revealed to have succeeded Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) as Captain of the USS Enterprise-E. But when it comes to modern Star Trek Captains, the new gold standard may be Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), who commands the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Pike is fast becoming the most popular Enterprise Captain since Kirk and Picard, and he makes his eventual successor, Captain Harriman in Star Trek Generations, even more of an outlier.