After the Borg sphere fired multiple torpedoes at an unspecified location on Earth (it was a missile complex in central Montana at the shanty town of Bozeman), theEnterprisefired upon the sphere and destroyed it; it was learned that the exact date was April 4th ("The day before First Contact"), only one daybeforepilot-astronaut and inventor Zefram Cochrane""s (James Cromwell) historic warp ship (thePhoenix,constructed from a nuclear missile) flight from Montana - it was the first vessel capable of entering warp speed and having "first contact" with aliens who were on a survey mission ("one of the pivotal moments in human history"), something the Borg wanted to prevent from happening (since it would lead to technological developments and resistance to them).It was controversial for a number of offending scenes and plotlines hat were edited out of the film""s original release of US prints, at the behest of the Catholic Legion of Decency.In the film, Dean formed a friendly bond with the other two characters: Wood as confused teenaged Judy, and Mineo as a strange, adoring boy named Plato - the film""s sacrificial lamb by film""s end.There was a close-up of the animals observing as a knife sliced into the juicy duck meat (decorated with orange slices) on the dinner table.