Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three Remastered (Spoilers)
Also reviews for Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - The Director's Edition.
Upcoming reviews on this journal include Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Voyager Season One, Star Trek: Voyager Season Two, Star Trek: Voyager Season Three, Shaun The Sheep: Season One and Mirrormask.
Spoilers below the fold.
Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three Remastered
I have said elsewhere that the less involved Gene Roddenberry was with the day to day operations of Star Trek, the better it got. Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three is the glaring exception.
It's actually a bit better than I remembered it. But that doesn't change the fact that this contains some of the very worst episodes of the original series' run and VERY few classics. Even Season Two, which I had many problems with when rewatching it, did not have that problem. The only really, REALLY classic episodes in season three are The Tholian Web and Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Oh, sure, there ARE other episodes I love (Spectre Of The Gun, Day Of The Dove, and Plato's Stepchildren spring immediately to mind) but none of them (with the possible exception of Stepchildren) really defined the series or were revolutionary. And as good as it is, Stepchildren is only REALLY memorable to most people because it made television history by featuring the first televised, interracial kiss and not for the cool plot.
That said, there were some episodes that I hated back in the day that I liked upon rewatching them years later. Wink Of An Eye features a delightful villain and The Savage Curtain, despite how unlikely everything is, is cool for what it adds to the Star Trek canon. But I eat the biggest crow for originally hating All Our Yesterdays which is a tour de force for Leonard Nimoy and despite being the penultimate episode is a watershed showcase for Spock.
And then there are the episodes that sucked then and suck now. Spock's Brain is awful (if fun to MST3K) and The Way To Eden is hands-down the worst episode of the original series. Embarrassingly bad, especially considering how tied to the counter-culture movement Trek kinda was. And Turnabout Intruder while not as bad as it's reputation suggests is still appalling and disgusting for the amount of naked and ugly sexism it contains. It only proves that while Trek may have been progressive on matters of race, it was as misogynistic as any other show from the sixties was. Not to mention the fact that it turned out to be the series finale stings. For the record: Enterprise's finale "These Are The Voyages..." is still worse. By far. Season Overall: ***1/2.
Spock's Brain: "Brain, Brain, what is Brain?!" This episode is so bad, it's good. Usually awful Trek makes me cringe (I cannot STAND the first season of The Next Generation) but I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time for this. The episode is completely stupid. But I can't help loving it. Awesomely bad. ***.
The Enterprise Incident: Interesting episode that's well made and clever. However I think the Federation is acting out of character here. Gene Roddenberry once noted that the reason Starships didn't have cloaking devices is because humanity had evolved past the point of sneaking up on their enemies. Here what Kirk did was every bit as devious as the worst the Romulans have been portrayed of as doing. I don't actually blame Kirk for once (he WAS under orders from Starfleet) but I don't expect to see my Star Trek heroes behaving quite so underhandedly. ***1/2.
The Paradise Syndrome: This is the only episode of the original series that makes me cry. Every time. Say what you will about William Shatner but he brings his A-Game to this episode and rips your heart out. Sure, snobs will point out how awful he looks shouting "I am Kirok!" in front of the monolith. But Shatner actually plays the quiet moments perfectly and doesn't overact at all. One of the year's better episodes. ****1/2.
And The Children Shall Lead: Disturbing episode that I probably only enjoy because of Melvin Belli's cheerfully malevolent performance as Gorgon the Friendly Angel. But lord, parts of this were deeply unsettling. I normally hate the cheap "kids in jeopardy" trope but this episode actually turned the trope on in it head and made the KIDS the jeopardy. Which puts the crew in a pickle because they can't fight back because they're children. Innocent children to boot. The audience has no problem rooting for the Children of the Corn or The Village of the Damned kids to be destroyed. Kids manipulated into doing evil by an abusive authority figure? VERY hard to want to see them hurt. ***1/2.
Is There In Truth No Beauty?: Parts of this were freaky and it's kind of a neat concept but the episode as a whole just doesn't gel. **1/2.
Spectre Of The Gun: Unbearably cool episode. Only beef is that the series is "killing off" too many regulars this season. I don't know how they keep expecting the audience to fall for it. Unless you mean it, don't bother. Still, the episode is moody and the setting is bizarre. AND it features Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday! ****1/2.
Day Of The Dove: I LOVE this episode. Love, love, love, love, LOVE it. It's the first episode in Trek history to actually take a balanced look at Klingons and pretty much the only time the Original Series did it. I love Kang because he's not all too bright but you can tell his heart's in the right place. Once Kirk convinces him make a truce the joy of seeing him and Kirk laugh at the alien together isn't marred in the slightest by how corny the scene actually is. And this is the first and only time we see a Klingon women suffering from the human affliction explored in Enterprise's neat retcon two parter Affliction / Divergence. *****.
For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky: Another one of those episodes that was better than I remembered it probably due to the fact that it's such a good acting spotlight for DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy. When he tells Kirk he wants to stay behind, you believe him and actually agree with his reasons. ***.
The Tholian Web: I was dreading watching the remastered version of this episode (the "Special" Editions actually made The Corbomite Maneuver and The Doomsday Machine less "special") but my fears were groundless. They actually hewed very closely to how the original effects were and didn't go overboard trying to show off. The original effects were probably the best the series ever did and it's nice that the episode didn't even try to top them. Oh, and the episode itself? Awesome. *****.
Plato's Stepchildren: I can imagine some fans' complaints that the puppetry Kirk, Spock and the others were forced to do was embarrassing or badly written but I strongly disagree. The whole point was the Stepchildren humiliating the crew and Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner have rarely looked more embarrassed to be on-screen. It was almost indecent. I wouldn't have bought the Stepchildren's behavior as unbearable torture otherwise. And Micheal Dunn is the best guest star of the year as Alexander. Alexander is one of the most noble Trek characters ever and despite what is done to him, this is one of the first respectful portrayals of little people I've actually seen. The dude has dignity and his warm relationship with Kirk made the episode and is one of the few reasons I don't outright hate Captain Kirk. Oh, and there's something about a kiss this episode too. ****1/2.
Wink Of An Eye: Deela is one of the most delightfully bubbly villains I've ever seen and a complete departure not only for Trek but for television of that era in general. I was actually seriously bummed she lost. How awesome is a character that after Kirk asks her who she is, gives him a long passionate kiss, and cheerfully says "I'm the enemy!"? ***1/2.
The Empath: The double and triple crosses Kirk, Spock and McCoy did to each other were so great (not to mention in character) because they all involved self-sacrifice and nobility. And yes, Gem's a Mary Sue but the actress who plays her is quite appealing. Very good. ****.
Elaan Of Troyius: One of the few Captain Kirk romances that I don't feel he came on too strong. The tears of Elaan enslaving him is kind of stupid but Elaan is one of the few women on the series who gives as good as she gets. Yes, having her be an unbearable shrew is a poor message. But she's a fun and strong unbearable shrew. I also like that this was one of the few episodes of the original series to deal with treaties and ambassadors. Those were always a staple of Next Generation and I like how they handled them here. One beef: what makes Elaan's unwilling marriage any different from the slavery of Kamala from TNG's A Perfect Mate? As far as I can tell, only different eras' sensibilities. ***.
Whom Gods Destroy: I've always enjoyed this episode because the guy who plays Garth is so pleasingly hammy. Nerd alert: this and NOT The Enemy Within is the real episode were Kirk orders Spock to shoot both him and the double. Plus we got welcome appearances by an Andorian and a Tellarite! Bad things? Marta the Orion is pretty annoying but I kind of think she's supposed to be. ***1/2.
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: I would love to sit a white supremacist down to watch this episode. You don't even realize it until the big reveal but this episode actually PROVES how arbitrary and outright ludicrous racism is. You may hear me talking smack about how the original series treated women. But it was light-years ahead of it's time on matters of racism and bigotry. This is even better than Dr. Suess' story The Sneetches (which portrayed racism as silly from the beginning) because you KNOW something's off but you can't you can't quite figure out what until the episode drops the bomb. Well, I already knew because of how famous this is, but I can imagine a bigot watching this over the air in the sixties and getting embarrassed. *****.
The Mark Of Gideon: The episode gets points for actually getting past the censors to indirectly address issues of birth control, overpopulation, and abortion. But it loses them all for being so tediously boring the entire way through. **1/2.
That Which Survives: This episode is a snooze and the plot is forgettable but I'm always enjoyed the snarky Dr. M'Benga. True, he's only in a couple of scenes, but that's a couple less scenes that are completely uninteresting. **1/2.
The Lights Of Zetar: The good news: this episode is nowhere NEAR as dumb as I originally thought it was when I first saw it years ago. Plus, Scotty actually gets the girl! The bad news: it is even MORE dull than I remembered. **1/2.
Requiem For Methuselah: Kirk is disgusting here. I find it very difficult to believe he was as in love with Rayna as he professed, as she was not only an android, but he knew her for all of five minutes. Here, he's more of a Zapp Brannigan creepy stalker than a romantic sex symbol. The episode is NOT without it's good point. The concept is super groovy (an Anti-Vandal Savage who was actually history's most NOBLE figures!) and the episode is bumped up a full star for Spock's "Forget" at the end which launched a thousand Slashfics. **.
The Way To Eden: Painful. Episodes like this are the reason the original series was canceled. Spock's Brain is so bad it's good. This is so bad it's horrid. Let's start with an out of character Chekov, whose ex-flame chides him for being so uptight, rigid, prim and proper. Uptight? CHEKOV?! Other than Kirk he was the swingingest guy on the Enterprise, bagging every attractive female alien that came his way! And knowing what I do about the episode's history (it was originally going to be a D.C. Fontana written tearjerker featuring Dr. McCoy's daughter Johanna) also just makes it seem even worse than it actually is. DC Animated Universe geek alert: Superman: The Animated Series' voice actors Victor Brandt (Emil Hamilton) and Charles Napier (General Hardcastle) play space hippies. It's fun to see character actor Napier especially because of his bare chest and hairy nipples. I'm surprised he returned to the franchise for Deep Space Nine's Little Green Men after this. This has to be the low point of his career. 0.
The Cloudminders: Kind of a snore although it's technically not all that bad. Still for such insomnia curing, it gets a super low grade. *1/2.
The Savage Curtain: Kirk is quite unintentionally, laughably, boneheaded this episode. Which is funny because him being written that way was completely accidental on the writer's part.and mostly seems that way through hindsight. Knowing what we do about Kahless from Next Generation's Rightful Heir makes it seem as if Kirk is the worst student of history ever (not to mention an outright bigot). The other stupid move could have been prevented if not for lazy writing. Kirk actually doesn't recognize Surak or even know who he is. The writers did this so they could have Spock explain to the audience what the deal with the guy was, but it just makes Kirk look like an absolute D-Bag. Imagine either Spock or Worf not having any clue about who Jesus Christ was to humans and you get the level of what an absolute insulting, cretin Kirk is portrayed as here. Not to mention his appreciation for Abraham Lincoln contradicts a few unpleasant facts about the actual man, but at least THAT was to be expected. Oh, and did I mention I really enjoyed this episode? Because I did. Colonel Green is a delightfully over-the-top villain and this episode is great fun. ***1/2.
All Our Yesterdays: In which I beg every Trekkie's forgiveness for not originally appreciating this wonderful episode. Seeing Spock shove McCoy (who actually IS a bigot) up against the wall was cathardic for me at least and I'll bet I'm not the only one. And Leonard Nimoy gets to play all sorts of juicy scenes with Mariette Hartley (who looks eerily like Firefly's Jewel Staite). The Kirk stuck in a Witch Trial part wasn't quite as great but at least it wasn't boring either. Fine episode. ****.
Turnabout Intruder: I can forgive this episode for positing that women can't be starships captains in the 23rd Century. It makes about as much sense as the Death Penalty for going to Talos IV but you gotta live with dumb plot twists to enjoy the original series. I can even forgive the episode making Janice Lester such a completely despicable villain. There are no shortages of those on the original series and that's INCLUDING humans. What I cannot forgive is the episode making Lester such a stupid, incompetent villain and that is the best reason to justify my super low grade. Lester is SUPPOSED to be the most qualified, intelligent, capable woman in Starfleet and THIS is how the episode portrays her?! Any halfway decent villain would have WON this round with Kirk and successfully infiltrated the Enterprise. From trying to strangle Kirk with a scarf (wouldn't smothering him with a pillow not have left any noticable marks?) to acting obviously crazy around the crew, the episode (and apparently the show) don't seem to think much of women if they think this crackpot is the best Starfleet has to offer. Uhura is thankfully absent this episode as that would have just made the differences even more pronounced. Is there ANYTHING about the episode to recommend? Yes, and it's not insignificant. This is one of Scotty's best showings in a super-rare SERIOUS outing. Scotty's never been portrayed this wisely before or since. He's usually the show's lovable doof. *.
The Cage: Watching the whole Pilot out of the context of the two part "The Menagerie" made me realize one thing: Captain Pike is SCARY smart. He figures out what the brainy Talosians are about to do before they do it and constantly one-ups them throughout the episode. He's the smartest Star Trek Captain by far. Even Picard was never portrayed as this cunning or on the ball. I almost stood up and cheered when he asked the Talosian if he'd like to see him test his theory about the "non-working" phasers on his head. Number One is also an interesting character and it was wild seeing an emotional Spock (both her logical character and Spock's were melded together for the actual series). I can't decide if I'm bummed Pike never made it to series or not. If he had been portrayed as smart on the rest of the show as he was here I would have loved it. But considering how stupid Captain Kirk turned out to be at times, I would dread the writers dumbing Pike down for general audiences (which they most likely would). I like thinking of his only appearance as untainted. Only beef: This whole episode should have been on Disc 1 of the Season One set rather than the tail end of the third. ****1/2.
The Cage (Unaired Version): This is the version that was sold on videotape before the lost color masters were found. I always wanted this on DVD. ****.
Preview Trailers:
These are pretty good this year because they don't spoil the biggest twists of the best episodes. And it would have been EASY for them to do so in some instances (see Let That Be Your Last Battlefield) but they stayed their hand. Some of the trailers are tricky and misleading too, making you think the episode is about one thing, but leaving out a crucial bit of information that turns the actual premise on it's head. Overall: ****.
Spock's Brain Preview Trailer: Awesomely bad! Approaches a certain level of genius. ****.
The Enterprise Incident Preview Trailer: There's no such thing as a Vulcan Death Grip! ****.
The Paradise Sydrome Preview Trailer: Kirk getting the girl pregnant was quite the bombshell. And unlike most preview trailers it wasn't even a cheat! ****1/2.
And The Children Shall Lead Preview Trailer: Creepy! ****.
Is There No Truth In Beauty? Preview Trailer: Pretty freaky. ****.
Spectre Of The Gun Preview Trailer: Spooky and moody. ***1/2.
Day Of The Dove: Kang! I love Micheal Ansara talking about the "icy cold of space". That's Mr. Freeze for ya! ****1/2.
For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky Preview Trailer: Kind of boring. **.
The Tholian Web Preview Trailer: Awesome! *****.
Plato's Stepchildren Preview Trailer: Love the episode but out of context in the trailer the scenes of the crew's forced humiliations just look silly rather than devastating. **1/2.
Wink Of An Eye Preview Trailer: What the-? ***1/2.
The Empath Preview Trailer: Unbearably cool. ****1/2.
Elaan Of Troyius Preview Trailer: This show needs more women smacking Kirk. They wisely cut out the part of him smacking her back. ***1/2.
Whom Gods Destroy Preview Trailer: This trailer needs more Garth and less of Marta. The twist of Spock shooting "Kirk" was cool though. ***.
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield Preview Trailer: Kudos for the trailer for not spoiling the twist. That would have been quite a hook so I'm glad they resisted the temptation. ****1/2.
The Mark Of Gideon Preview Trailer: Kind of confusing. **.
That Which Survives Preview Trailer: Nice. ***1/2.
The Lights Of Zetar Preview Trailer: The trailer is successful because it makes the episode look interesting when it is, in fact, boring as sin. ****.
Requiem For Methuselah Preview Trailer: Boring. *1/2.
The Way To Eden Preview Trailer: Pretty sneaky, Sis. This doesn't even HINT that this legendary episode is the worst Star Trek Original Series episode of all time. I can't tell if that's a good thing, or simply appallingly misleading. **1/2.
The Cloud Minders Preview Trailer: The trailer is interesting, the episode is boring. ***.
The Savage Curtain Preview Trailer: Good trailer. Sums up the episode perfectly. ****1/2.
All Our Yesterdays Preview Trailer: Passionate, angry Spock? Sold! ****.
Turnabout Intruder: Another tricky trailer that doesn't give the audience the entire picture. ABC used to pull this stuff on Lost. ***1/2.
Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest Part 3: Jackpot. The best of the "Treasure Chest" featurettes. I loved seeing footage of the actors goofing around on-camera and Billy's make-up tests. *****.
"To Boldly Go..." Season Three: George Takei summed it up best as to why the Friday night timeslot was bad: Star Trek was a young, hip, "With It" show and Fridays were when the young, hip, with it people were out. My favorite part of the featurette was Nichelle Nichols' memories of the historic kiss in Plato's Stepchildren and how William Shatner for all intents and purposes saved it by intentionally wrecking the "no kiss" take. That guy's a card. *****.
A Star Trek Collector's Dream Come True: That has GOT to be the hands-down, best job in the world. ****.
Life Beyond Trek: Walter Koenig: This actually saddened me a bit. In the first two seasons this feature showed William Shatner riding horses (pretty cool) and Leonard Nimoy taking eclectic photographs (VERY cool). What is Koenig's hobby? Collecting junk. Now I collect junk myself, so I don't think there's anything THAT wrong with it but there's something very sad about someone coming off a career high like Star Trek going on to collecting cartoon pins. Koenig also hints that his career hasn't been so hot since Babylon 5 so that's depressing too. There were SOME cool things. CBS DVD was gracious enough to allow Koenig to talk about his role on Babylon 5 and how much he adored the experience (I was actually surprised because of the well-known rivalry between that show and Deep Space Nine) and I liked the story of Koenig learning he had won the role of Chekov by being fitted for a costume without any explanation. ***.
Chief Engineer's Log: I have mixed feelings about this interview with the late James Doohan. Part of me thinks the DVD producers should have scrapped it. Doohan was obviously suffering from late-stage dementia during it and it feels almost cruel to put that on film for all time. He held it together. But just barely. However, (and this probably tipped me in favor of supporting it's inclusion) Doohan touchingly talks about preventing a young female, Star Trek fan's suicide and how grateful he was to the entire franchise. Honestly, I've heard ALL of the actors express many opinions about Star Trek but I have NEVER heard one of the main crew members expressing such good wishes to all of the fans, the people who supported the show, and the show itself. I also really enjoyed Doohan speculating what Scotty was doing in the Next Generation Universe with the Runabout he acquired in "Relics". He theorized he was probably still out there looking for things to fix. ***.
Memoir From Mr. Sulu: Wow. I am thunderstruck. This was an incredibly moving account of George Takei's boyhood in a Japanese internment camp and how Takei used his fame to bring this dark chapter of American history to light. It's not all grim however. The segment starts off very lightly with Takei playfully and shamelessly talking about how he uses his Star Trek fame in all facets of his life (including a plug for a future Captain Sulu project). He also conjectures that currently Sulu is the oldest serving Captain in Starfleet. ****1/2.
Star Trek's Impact: Gene Roddenberry's son looks very much like his father. I disagree with him that Roddenberry had an enlightened attitude about women in positions of power but he makes a good case for it. I'm glad he noted what an atypical, intelligent captain Pike was. It's good to see I'm not reading things into the character that weren't there. ***1/2.
Collectible Trek: I understand the mania for Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia. But every time I hear a story about a person spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an original series props I can't help thinking about all of the starving people in the world and that these people have more money than sense (look at the guy who mortgaged his house to pay for the original bridge model). Still, it's good to know many of these auctions are for charity but I seriously doubt the sanity of anyone who would pay that much money for something that wasn't. Best part was Leonard Nimoy regretting the promise he made to himself as a kid after failing to get Danny Kaye's autograph: that he would never refuse to sign something for someone if he ever got famous. Big mistake. **1/2.
Captain's Log: Bob Justman: Loving tribute to the late Robert H. Justman featuring his last recorded interview. Touching. ****.
DVD Menus: Same as the first two seasons. All: *****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: Beaming up Brainless Spock, the Romulan Commander, Kirok, and Tommy Starnes. *****.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: Beaming up Dr. Miranda Jones, Kang, Morgan and Virgil Earp, and Natira. *****.
Disc 3 DVD Menu: Beaming up Kirk in a spacesuit, Rael, Gem and Alexander. *****.
Disc 4 DVD Menu: Beaming up Kirk holding Odona, Bele, Garth, and Elaan of Troyius. *****.
Disc 5 DVD Menu: Beaming up Captain Kirk, Losira, Lt. Mira Romaine, and Sevrin. *****.
Disc 6 DVD Menu: Beaming up Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Zanna, Kirk as Dr. Janice Lester and Abraham Lincoln. *****.
Disc 7 DVD Menu: Beaming up Captain Christopher Pike, Vina, the Talosian, and Number One. *****.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition
Say what you will about this movie: it easily has the best visual effects in any Star Trek project before or since. Which is pretty much ALL it has going for it. Star Trek is NOT 2001: A Space Oddessy and a philosophical art project about the meaning of life. It's really hard to sit still during this achingly boring movie when you want to see phaser and starship battles. If they had used the beautiful effects for a movie worth watching I would have been totally on board.
The movie is not without good points. It was SO good to see Grace Lee Whitney returning to the franchise in a small role as Janice Rand. The reasons she was fired from the show make up one of the saddest real-life Trek stories in history and I'm glad she could be a part of it again (along with roles in The Search For Spock, The Undiscovered County and Voyager's Flashback). The first third of the movie with the crew reuniting is great especially Bones' (DeForest Kelley as ornery as ever) reintroduction to Starfleet. A distant Spock returning to the bridge also made me smile. The last twenty minutes are an actual Star Trek type scif-fi concept that very few of the movies actually dealt with instead of simply exploring the Star Trek canon. The only other high-concept movie I can think of is Insurrection. Well, maybe Final Frontier too, but I think it's best if we all just forget about that one.
And the music by Jerry Goldsmith is fantastic. This introduced both the Next Generation theme and the Klingon Warship theme and those have become staples of the franchise.
It was great seeing the entire crew together again and I probably would have loved spending time with them in the theaters had I seen it there. It WAS like reuniting with old friends. Unfortunately because four of the five next movies with the original crew were so good I don't like it as much as I would have seeing it after a ten year dry spell like most Trekkies did. It's passable but the rest of the first six movies (with to notable exception of Final Frontier) are better and more memorable. **1/2.
Additional & Deleted Scenes:
1979 Theatrical Version:
These additional scenes are some of the effects scenes that the Special Edition augmented. Overall: ****.
Vulcan And Starfleet: Remember kids, Vulcan has no moon! ***.
Attack On The Enterprise: The original effects were still pretty swell. ****.
Cloud Journey: Beautiful. ****.
V'Ger Flyover: I liked these effects. ****.
Wing Walk: The Special Edition was better here. ***1/2.
Trims: Scenes cut from The Director's Edition. ***1/2.
Outtakes: The Memory Wall. Lost footage of the scene that was replaced with the "Spock Walk". ***.
1983 Television Version
Deleted Scenes cut from The Director's Edition. Overall: ***1/2.
Sulu And Ilia #1: Sulu macking on Ilia. But It's okay to be Takei. ****.
Sulu And Ilia #2: Brief scene. ***.
Kirk's Quarters: Funny. ***1/2.
Officers' Lounge: I don't know why they bothered including this seven second scene. **.
Attack On The Enterprise: Rare deleted action sequence. ****.
Intruder Transmission: Nice scene. ***1/2.
A Huge Vessel: This was cool! ****.
Kirk Follows Spock: Cool, unfinished scene. ***1/2.
Ilia's Quarters #1: This was the only scene in which Christine Chapel actually had something to do. So of course they trimmed it down. ****.
Ilia's Quarters #2: Another scene with McCoy, Decker, Ilia, and Chapel. ***1/2.
Its Creator Is A Machine: Brief scene with McCoy. ***1/2.
Documentaries:
Three Documentaries. All Three: ****.
Phase II: The Lost Enterprise: Great documentary about the "lost" TV series. I just wish they had included the production tests on the DVD. Now THAT was lost Star Trek footage. ****.
A Bold New Enterprise: About the making of the film. ****.
Redirecting The Future: About Robert Wise's Director's Edition. ****.
Advertising:
Trailers and TV Spots. Overall: ****.
Trailers:
Teaser Trailer: This focuses mainly on the cast. It reminded me of the THX logo. ****.
Theatrical Trailer: Focusing on the concept and visual effects. ****.
Director's Edition Trailer: Awesome. Simply scenes from the movie with the theme playing. *****.
Enterprise Promo: Lame. I'm surprised with advertising like this that the show ran as long as it did. *1/2.
TV Spots:
Startle Your Senses: This may oversell the movie but you cannot deny the push for this movie wasn't ambitious. ****.
Enterprise: Pretty good. ***1/2.
Cast / Human Adventure: This focuses on the characters. ****.
Spritual Search: The effects in the movie are still gorgeous. ****1/2.
Spiritual/Startle Your Senses: More beautiful effects. ****1/2.
Startle/Human Adventure: Awesome! ****1/2.
Event/Common Experience: Finally! The only trailer to not target Trek newbies and go full throated for the Trekkies by talking about the Trek phenomenon. ****1/2.
Archives:
Storyboards. Overall: ****1/2.
Vulcan: I have never seen such detailed storyboards. ****1/2.
Enterprise Departure: Ditto. ****1/2.
V'Ger Revealed: Not as detailed but definitely more ambitious than the original wound up being (they ran out of time). It's good that The Director's Edition was able to bring these to life. ****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: On the bridge of the refitted Enterprise. Beware that the movie plays automatically. ****.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: Inside V-Ger. ****1/2.
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - The Director's Edition
"KHAAAAAAAAAN!"
This isn't my favorite Star Trek movie (that would be First Contact) but it's easy to see why so many people regard it as the best. It's certainly the highest quality Trek film with top-notch performances from Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Yeah, I didn't know Shatner had it in him either.
If any villain from the old show was to be used as a movie villain, Khan was the best choice. Ricardo Montalban plays Khan with a fierce bitterness that was missing in Space Seed. He is truly trying to crush Kirk and that just makes his defeat all the more rewarding (although I wish he had seen the Enterprise warping away before he died so he would have known he was gonna die in vain.).
The death of Spock was truly great and the best Star Trek death of all time. I know that sounds like a slam considering how crummy every other Star Trek death is, but I sincerely mean it. His last scenes with Kirk were very cool and moving with a lot of great callbacks to their relationship.
Those earworms still give me the willies.
Gripes? David Marcus is the most annoying adult Star Trek character up to that point. However Deanna Troi and Geordi La Forge hadn't been created yet so I try to keep things in perspective.
An awesome movie that is rightly not just considered classic Trek, but a classic movie, period. *****.
Captain's Log: It's sort of amazing to me the amount of massive egos involved on the actor's parts from the original series and how incredible it was that they got all seven members of the cast to sign on for six movies. Ricardo Montalban was absolutely charming in his interview and I loved Leonard Nimoy's story about changing his mind about Spock's death. The new ending WAS absolutely brilliant and I'm glad they left the movie on a more hopeful note. Even if Spock hadn't come back in the next film (or ever) it was the right tone to take. ***1/2.
Designing Khan: About the designing of the movie. A little bit boring, to be honest. **1/2.
Visual Effects: This was much better. This is about the visual effects. Some of the techniques they used were so low-tech yet completely effective. Neat. ****1/2.
Original Interviews: Vintage 1982 press promotional tours featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and Ricardo Montalban followed by candid still photos from the set of the movie. ***1/2.
The Star Trek Universe: Interviews with Star Trek novelists Greg Cox and Julia Ecklar who wrote The Eugenics Wars and Kobiyashi Maru respectively. I haven't read either but I'm really interested in the Eugenics Wars because the concept is so cool. Basically this explains the how the Rise of the Supermen happened in OUR universe and why we didn't hear of it. It also explains that Khan stole the Botany Bay from Roswell (tying into DS9's Little Green Men) since ships of that nature didn't exist in 1999. I'm especially curious because Gary Seven has a large role as he was one of the most interesting and mysterious characters of the Original Series. *****.
Storyboard Archives:
Storyboards. Not as pretty or detailed as the ones for The Motion Picture. Overall: ***.
Main Title Concept: The original title sequence. **1/2.
Kobiyashi Maru: Storyboards for the opening sequence. ***1/2.
Ceti Alpha V: The Reliant traveling above the planet's surface. ***1/2.
Regula I: Storyboard for the Space Station. ***.
Chekov And Terrell Find Khan: The ear slug sequence. ***1/2.
Admiral's Inspection: Kirk's introduction in the film. ***.
Khan's Revenge: The Reliant's first attack on the Enterprise. ***1/2.
Kirk Strikes Back: The Enterprise's first attack on the Reliant. ***1/2.
Finding The Genesis Cave: Storyboards for inside the cave. ***.
The Mutara Nebula: I know this is basically to cover the ship movements but a nebula is the kind of effect impossible to get across in black and white storyboards. Kind of hazy. **.
Sneak Attack: The Enterprise getting the drop on the Reliant. ***1/2.
Genesis: The Enterprise warping away and the Reliant exploding, triggering the Genesis effect. ***1/2.
Honored Dead: Spock's coffin being fired onto the Genesis Planet. ***.
Theatrical Trailer: It's a good trailer, but a trailer tends to be better than the movie and in this case, the movie is FAR better than the trailer. ****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: Featuring Space Station Regula I. ****1/2.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: On the Genesis Planet. Gorgeous CGI. Wow! *****.
Upcoming reviews on this journal include Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Voyager Season One, Star Trek: Voyager Season Two, Star Trek: Voyager Season Three, Shaun The Sheep: Season One and Mirrormask.
Spoilers below the fold.
Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three Remastered
I have said elsewhere that the less involved Gene Roddenberry was with the day to day operations of Star Trek, the better it got. Star Trek: The Original Series Season Three is the glaring exception.
It's actually a bit better than I remembered it. But that doesn't change the fact that this contains some of the very worst episodes of the original series' run and VERY few classics. Even Season Two, which I had many problems with when rewatching it, did not have that problem. The only really, REALLY classic episodes in season three are The Tholian Web and Let That Be Your Last Battlefield. Oh, sure, there ARE other episodes I love (Spectre Of The Gun, Day Of The Dove, and Plato's Stepchildren spring immediately to mind) but none of them (with the possible exception of Stepchildren) really defined the series or were revolutionary. And as good as it is, Stepchildren is only REALLY memorable to most people because it made television history by featuring the first televised, interracial kiss and not for the cool plot.
That said, there were some episodes that I hated back in the day that I liked upon rewatching them years later. Wink Of An Eye features a delightful villain and The Savage Curtain, despite how unlikely everything is, is cool for what it adds to the Star Trek canon. But I eat the biggest crow for originally hating All Our Yesterdays which is a tour de force for Leonard Nimoy and despite being the penultimate episode is a watershed showcase for Spock.
And then there are the episodes that sucked then and suck now. Spock's Brain is awful (if fun to MST3K) and The Way To Eden is hands-down the worst episode of the original series. Embarrassingly bad, especially considering how tied to the counter-culture movement Trek kinda was. And Turnabout Intruder while not as bad as it's reputation suggests is still appalling and disgusting for the amount of naked and ugly sexism it contains. It only proves that while Trek may have been progressive on matters of race, it was as misogynistic as any other show from the sixties was. Not to mention the fact that it turned out to be the series finale stings. For the record: Enterprise's finale "These Are The Voyages..." is still worse. By far. Season Overall: ***1/2.
Spock's Brain: "Brain, Brain, what is Brain?!" This episode is so bad, it's good. Usually awful Trek makes me cringe (I cannot STAND the first season of The Next Generation) but I was grinning from ear to ear the entire time for this. The episode is completely stupid. But I can't help loving it. Awesomely bad. ***.
The Enterprise Incident: Interesting episode that's well made and clever. However I think the Federation is acting out of character here. Gene Roddenberry once noted that the reason Starships didn't have cloaking devices is because humanity had evolved past the point of sneaking up on their enemies. Here what Kirk did was every bit as devious as the worst the Romulans have been portrayed of as doing. I don't actually blame Kirk for once (he WAS under orders from Starfleet) but I don't expect to see my Star Trek heroes behaving quite so underhandedly. ***1/2.
The Paradise Syndrome: This is the only episode of the original series that makes me cry. Every time. Say what you will about William Shatner but he brings his A-Game to this episode and rips your heart out. Sure, snobs will point out how awful he looks shouting "I am Kirok!" in front of the monolith. But Shatner actually plays the quiet moments perfectly and doesn't overact at all. One of the year's better episodes. ****1/2.
And The Children Shall Lead: Disturbing episode that I probably only enjoy because of Melvin Belli's cheerfully malevolent performance as Gorgon the Friendly Angel. But lord, parts of this were deeply unsettling. I normally hate the cheap "kids in jeopardy" trope but this episode actually turned the trope on in it head and made the KIDS the jeopardy. Which puts the crew in a pickle because they can't fight back because they're children. Innocent children to boot. The audience has no problem rooting for the Children of the Corn or The Village of the Damned kids to be destroyed. Kids manipulated into doing evil by an abusive authority figure? VERY hard to want to see them hurt. ***1/2.
Is There In Truth No Beauty?: Parts of this were freaky and it's kind of a neat concept but the episode as a whole just doesn't gel. **1/2.
Spectre Of The Gun: Unbearably cool episode. Only beef is that the series is "killing off" too many regulars this season. I don't know how they keep expecting the audience to fall for it. Unless you mean it, don't bother. Still, the episode is moody and the setting is bizarre. AND it features Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday! ****1/2.
Day Of The Dove: I LOVE this episode. Love, love, love, love, LOVE it. It's the first episode in Trek history to actually take a balanced look at Klingons and pretty much the only time the Original Series did it. I love Kang because he's not all too bright but you can tell his heart's in the right place. Once Kirk convinces him make a truce the joy of seeing him and Kirk laugh at the alien together isn't marred in the slightest by how corny the scene actually is. And this is the first and only time we see a Klingon women suffering from the human affliction explored in Enterprise's neat retcon two parter Affliction / Divergence. *****.
For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky: Another one of those episodes that was better than I remembered it probably due to the fact that it's such a good acting spotlight for DeForest Kelly as Dr. McCoy. When he tells Kirk he wants to stay behind, you believe him and actually agree with his reasons. ***.
The Tholian Web: I was dreading watching the remastered version of this episode (the "Special" Editions actually made The Corbomite Maneuver and The Doomsday Machine less "special") but my fears were groundless. They actually hewed very closely to how the original effects were and didn't go overboard trying to show off. The original effects were probably the best the series ever did and it's nice that the episode didn't even try to top them. Oh, and the episode itself? Awesome. *****.
Plato's Stepchildren: I can imagine some fans' complaints that the puppetry Kirk, Spock and the others were forced to do was embarrassing or badly written but I strongly disagree. The whole point was the Stepchildren humiliating the crew and Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner have rarely looked more embarrassed to be on-screen. It was almost indecent. I wouldn't have bought the Stepchildren's behavior as unbearable torture otherwise. And Micheal Dunn is the best guest star of the year as Alexander. Alexander is one of the most noble Trek characters ever and despite what is done to him, this is one of the first respectful portrayals of little people I've actually seen. The dude has dignity and his warm relationship with Kirk made the episode and is one of the few reasons I don't outright hate Captain Kirk. Oh, and there's something about a kiss this episode too. ****1/2.
Wink Of An Eye: Deela is one of the most delightfully bubbly villains I've ever seen and a complete departure not only for Trek but for television of that era in general. I was actually seriously bummed she lost. How awesome is a character that after Kirk asks her who she is, gives him a long passionate kiss, and cheerfully says "I'm the enemy!"? ***1/2.
The Empath: The double and triple crosses Kirk, Spock and McCoy did to each other were so great (not to mention in character) because they all involved self-sacrifice and nobility. And yes, Gem's a Mary Sue but the actress who plays her is quite appealing. Very good. ****.
Elaan Of Troyius: One of the few Captain Kirk romances that I don't feel he came on too strong. The tears of Elaan enslaving him is kind of stupid but Elaan is one of the few women on the series who gives as good as she gets. Yes, having her be an unbearable shrew is a poor message. But she's a fun and strong unbearable shrew. I also like that this was one of the few episodes of the original series to deal with treaties and ambassadors. Those were always a staple of Next Generation and I like how they handled them here. One beef: what makes Elaan's unwilling marriage any different from the slavery of Kamala from TNG's A Perfect Mate? As far as I can tell, only different eras' sensibilities. ***.
Whom Gods Destroy: I've always enjoyed this episode because the guy who plays Garth is so pleasingly hammy. Nerd alert: this and NOT The Enemy Within is the real episode were Kirk orders Spock to shoot both him and the double. Plus we got welcome appearances by an Andorian and a Tellarite! Bad things? Marta the Orion is pretty annoying but I kind of think she's supposed to be. ***1/2.
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: I would love to sit a white supremacist down to watch this episode. You don't even realize it until the big reveal but this episode actually PROVES how arbitrary and outright ludicrous racism is. You may hear me talking smack about how the original series treated women. But it was light-years ahead of it's time on matters of racism and bigotry. This is even better than Dr. Suess' story The Sneetches (which portrayed racism as silly from the beginning) because you KNOW something's off but you can't you can't quite figure out what until the episode drops the bomb. Well, I already knew because of how famous this is, but I can imagine a bigot watching this over the air in the sixties and getting embarrassed. *****.
The Mark Of Gideon: The episode gets points for actually getting past the censors to indirectly address issues of birth control, overpopulation, and abortion. But it loses them all for being so tediously boring the entire way through. **1/2.
That Which Survives: This episode is a snooze and the plot is forgettable but I'm always enjoyed the snarky Dr. M'Benga. True, he's only in a couple of scenes, but that's a couple less scenes that are completely uninteresting. **1/2.
The Lights Of Zetar: The good news: this episode is nowhere NEAR as dumb as I originally thought it was when I first saw it years ago. Plus, Scotty actually gets the girl! The bad news: it is even MORE dull than I remembered. **1/2.
Requiem For Methuselah: Kirk is disgusting here. I find it very difficult to believe he was as in love with Rayna as he professed, as she was not only an android, but he knew her for all of five minutes. Here, he's more of a Zapp Brannigan creepy stalker than a romantic sex symbol. The episode is NOT without it's good point. The concept is super groovy (an Anti-Vandal Savage who was actually history's most NOBLE figures!) and the episode is bumped up a full star for Spock's "Forget" at the end which launched a thousand Slashfics. **.
The Way To Eden: Painful. Episodes like this are the reason the original series was canceled. Spock's Brain is so bad it's good. This is so bad it's horrid. Let's start with an out of character Chekov, whose ex-flame chides him for being so uptight, rigid, prim and proper. Uptight? CHEKOV?! Other than Kirk he was the swingingest guy on the Enterprise, bagging every attractive female alien that came his way! And knowing what I do about the episode's history (it was originally going to be a D.C. Fontana written tearjerker featuring Dr. McCoy's daughter Johanna) also just makes it seem even worse than it actually is. DC Animated Universe geek alert: Superman: The Animated Series' voice actors Victor Brandt (Emil Hamilton) and Charles Napier (General Hardcastle) play space hippies. It's fun to see character actor Napier especially because of his bare chest and hairy nipples. I'm surprised he returned to the franchise for Deep Space Nine's Little Green Men after this. This has to be the low point of his career. 0.
The Cloudminders: Kind of a snore although it's technically not all that bad. Still for such insomnia curing, it gets a super low grade. *1/2.
The Savage Curtain: Kirk is quite unintentionally, laughably, boneheaded this episode. Which is funny because him being written that way was completely accidental on the writer's part.and mostly seems that way through hindsight. Knowing what we do about Kahless from Next Generation's Rightful Heir makes it seem as if Kirk is the worst student of history ever (not to mention an outright bigot). The other stupid move could have been prevented if not for lazy writing. Kirk actually doesn't recognize Surak or even know who he is. The writers did this so they could have Spock explain to the audience what the deal with the guy was, but it just makes Kirk look like an absolute D-Bag. Imagine either Spock or Worf not having any clue about who Jesus Christ was to humans and you get the level of what an absolute insulting, cretin Kirk is portrayed as here. Not to mention his appreciation for Abraham Lincoln contradicts a few unpleasant facts about the actual man, but at least THAT was to be expected. Oh, and did I mention I really enjoyed this episode? Because I did. Colonel Green is a delightfully over-the-top villain and this episode is great fun. ***1/2.
All Our Yesterdays: In which I beg every Trekkie's forgiveness for not originally appreciating this wonderful episode. Seeing Spock shove McCoy (who actually IS a bigot) up against the wall was cathardic for me at least and I'll bet I'm not the only one. And Leonard Nimoy gets to play all sorts of juicy scenes with Mariette Hartley (who looks eerily like Firefly's Jewel Staite). The Kirk stuck in a Witch Trial part wasn't quite as great but at least it wasn't boring either. Fine episode. ****.
Turnabout Intruder: I can forgive this episode for positing that women can't be starships captains in the 23rd Century. It makes about as much sense as the Death Penalty for going to Talos IV but you gotta live with dumb plot twists to enjoy the original series. I can even forgive the episode making Janice Lester such a completely despicable villain. There are no shortages of those on the original series and that's INCLUDING humans. What I cannot forgive is the episode making Lester such a stupid, incompetent villain and that is the best reason to justify my super low grade. Lester is SUPPOSED to be the most qualified, intelligent, capable woman in Starfleet and THIS is how the episode portrays her?! Any halfway decent villain would have WON this round with Kirk and successfully infiltrated the Enterprise. From trying to strangle Kirk with a scarf (wouldn't smothering him with a pillow not have left any noticable marks?) to acting obviously crazy around the crew, the episode (and apparently the show) don't seem to think much of women if they think this crackpot is the best Starfleet has to offer. Uhura is thankfully absent this episode as that would have just made the differences even more pronounced. Is there ANYTHING about the episode to recommend? Yes, and it's not insignificant. This is one of Scotty's best showings in a super-rare SERIOUS outing. Scotty's never been portrayed this wisely before or since. He's usually the show's lovable doof. *.
The Cage: Watching the whole Pilot out of the context of the two part "The Menagerie" made me realize one thing: Captain Pike is SCARY smart. He figures out what the brainy Talosians are about to do before they do it and constantly one-ups them throughout the episode. He's the smartest Star Trek Captain by far. Even Picard was never portrayed as this cunning or on the ball. I almost stood up and cheered when he asked the Talosian if he'd like to see him test his theory about the "non-working" phasers on his head. Number One is also an interesting character and it was wild seeing an emotional Spock (both her logical character and Spock's were melded together for the actual series). I can't decide if I'm bummed Pike never made it to series or not. If he had been portrayed as smart on the rest of the show as he was here I would have loved it. But considering how stupid Captain Kirk turned out to be at times, I would dread the writers dumbing Pike down for general audiences (which they most likely would). I like thinking of his only appearance as untainted. Only beef: This whole episode should have been on Disc 1 of the Season One set rather than the tail end of the third. ****1/2.
The Cage (Unaired Version): This is the version that was sold on videotape before the lost color masters were found. I always wanted this on DVD. ****.
Preview Trailers:
These are pretty good this year because they don't spoil the biggest twists of the best episodes. And it would have been EASY for them to do so in some instances (see Let That Be Your Last Battlefield) but they stayed their hand. Some of the trailers are tricky and misleading too, making you think the episode is about one thing, but leaving out a crucial bit of information that turns the actual premise on it's head. Overall: ****.
Spock's Brain Preview Trailer: Awesomely bad! Approaches a certain level of genius. ****.
The Enterprise Incident Preview Trailer: There's no such thing as a Vulcan Death Grip! ****.
The Paradise Sydrome Preview Trailer: Kirk getting the girl pregnant was quite the bombshell. And unlike most preview trailers it wasn't even a cheat! ****1/2.
And The Children Shall Lead Preview Trailer: Creepy! ****.
Is There No Truth In Beauty? Preview Trailer: Pretty freaky. ****.
Spectre Of The Gun Preview Trailer: Spooky and moody. ***1/2.
Day Of The Dove: Kang! I love Micheal Ansara talking about the "icy cold of space". That's Mr. Freeze for ya! ****1/2.
For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky Preview Trailer: Kind of boring. **.
The Tholian Web Preview Trailer: Awesome! *****.
Plato's Stepchildren Preview Trailer: Love the episode but out of context in the trailer the scenes of the crew's forced humiliations just look silly rather than devastating. **1/2.
Wink Of An Eye Preview Trailer: What the-? ***1/2.
The Empath Preview Trailer: Unbearably cool. ****1/2.
Elaan Of Troyius Preview Trailer: This show needs more women smacking Kirk. They wisely cut out the part of him smacking her back. ***1/2.
Whom Gods Destroy Preview Trailer: This trailer needs more Garth and less of Marta. The twist of Spock shooting "Kirk" was cool though. ***.
Let That Be Your Last Battlefield Preview Trailer: Kudos for the trailer for not spoiling the twist. That would have been quite a hook so I'm glad they resisted the temptation. ****1/2.
The Mark Of Gideon Preview Trailer: Kind of confusing. **.
That Which Survives Preview Trailer: Nice. ***1/2.
The Lights Of Zetar Preview Trailer: The trailer is successful because it makes the episode look interesting when it is, in fact, boring as sin. ****.
Requiem For Methuselah Preview Trailer: Boring. *1/2.
The Way To Eden Preview Trailer: Pretty sneaky, Sis. This doesn't even HINT that this legendary episode is the worst Star Trek Original Series episode of all time. I can't tell if that's a good thing, or simply appallingly misleading. **1/2.
The Cloud Minders Preview Trailer: The trailer is interesting, the episode is boring. ***.
The Savage Curtain Preview Trailer: Good trailer. Sums up the episode perfectly. ****1/2.
All Our Yesterdays Preview Trailer: Passionate, angry Spock? Sold! ****.
Turnabout Intruder: Another tricky trailer that doesn't give the audience the entire picture. ABC used to pull this stuff on Lost. ***1/2.
Billy Blackburn's Treasure Chest Part 3: Jackpot. The best of the "Treasure Chest" featurettes. I loved seeing footage of the actors goofing around on-camera and Billy's make-up tests. *****.
"To Boldly Go..." Season Three: George Takei summed it up best as to why the Friday night timeslot was bad: Star Trek was a young, hip, "With It" show and Fridays were when the young, hip, with it people were out. My favorite part of the featurette was Nichelle Nichols' memories of the historic kiss in Plato's Stepchildren and how William Shatner for all intents and purposes saved it by intentionally wrecking the "no kiss" take. That guy's a card. *****.
A Star Trek Collector's Dream Come True: That has GOT to be the hands-down, best job in the world. ****.
Life Beyond Trek: Walter Koenig: This actually saddened me a bit. In the first two seasons this feature showed William Shatner riding horses (pretty cool) and Leonard Nimoy taking eclectic photographs (VERY cool). What is Koenig's hobby? Collecting junk. Now I collect junk myself, so I don't think there's anything THAT wrong with it but there's something very sad about someone coming off a career high like Star Trek going on to collecting cartoon pins. Koenig also hints that his career hasn't been so hot since Babylon 5 so that's depressing too. There were SOME cool things. CBS DVD was gracious enough to allow Koenig to talk about his role on Babylon 5 and how much he adored the experience (I was actually surprised because of the well-known rivalry between that show and Deep Space Nine) and I liked the story of Koenig learning he had won the role of Chekov by being fitted for a costume without any explanation. ***.
Chief Engineer's Log: I have mixed feelings about this interview with the late James Doohan. Part of me thinks the DVD producers should have scrapped it. Doohan was obviously suffering from late-stage dementia during it and it feels almost cruel to put that on film for all time. He held it together. But just barely. However, (and this probably tipped me in favor of supporting it's inclusion) Doohan touchingly talks about preventing a young female, Star Trek fan's suicide and how grateful he was to the entire franchise. Honestly, I've heard ALL of the actors express many opinions about Star Trek but I have NEVER heard one of the main crew members expressing such good wishes to all of the fans, the people who supported the show, and the show itself. I also really enjoyed Doohan speculating what Scotty was doing in the Next Generation Universe with the Runabout he acquired in "Relics". He theorized he was probably still out there looking for things to fix. ***.
Memoir From Mr. Sulu: Wow. I am thunderstruck. This was an incredibly moving account of George Takei's boyhood in a Japanese internment camp and how Takei used his fame to bring this dark chapter of American history to light. It's not all grim however. The segment starts off very lightly with Takei playfully and shamelessly talking about how he uses his Star Trek fame in all facets of his life (including a plug for a future Captain Sulu project). He also conjectures that currently Sulu is the oldest serving Captain in Starfleet. ****1/2.
Star Trek's Impact: Gene Roddenberry's son looks very much like his father. I disagree with him that Roddenberry had an enlightened attitude about women in positions of power but he makes a good case for it. I'm glad he noted what an atypical, intelligent captain Pike was. It's good to see I'm not reading things into the character that weren't there. ***1/2.
Collectible Trek: I understand the mania for Star Trek merchandise and memorabilia. But every time I hear a story about a person spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on an original series props I can't help thinking about all of the starving people in the world and that these people have more money than sense (look at the guy who mortgaged his house to pay for the original bridge model). Still, it's good to know many of these auctions are for charity but I seriously doubt the sanity of anyone who would pay that much money for something that wasn't. Best part was Leonard Nimoy regretting the promise he made to himself as a kid after failing to get Danny Kaye's autograph: that he would never refuse to sign something for someone if he ever got famous. Big mistake. **1/2.
Captain's Log: Bob Justman: Loving tribute to the late Robert H. Justman featuring his last recorded interview. Touching. ****.
DVD Menus: Same as the first two seasons. All: *****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: Beaming up Brainless Spock, the Romulan Commander, Kirok, and Tommy Starnes. *****.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: Beaming up Dr. Miranda Jones, Kang, Morgan and Virgil Earp, and Natira. *****.
Disc 3 DVD Menu: Beaming up Kirk in a spacesuit, Rael, Gem and Alexander. *****.
Disc 4 DVD Menu: Beaming up Kirk holding Odona, Bele, Garth, and Elaan of Troyius. *****.
Disc 5 DVD Menu: Beaming up Captain Kirk, Losira, Lt. Mira Romaine, and Sevrin. *****.
Disc 6 DVD Menu: Beaming up Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, Zanna, Kirk as Dr. Janice Lester and Abraham Lincoln. *****.
Disc 7 DVD Menu: Beaming up Captain Christopher Pike, Vina, the Talosian, and Number One. *****.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition
Say what you will about this movie: it easily has the best visual effects in any Star Trek project before or since. Which is pretty much ALL it has going for it. Star Trek is NOT 2001: A Space Oddessy and a philosophical art project about the meaning of life. It's really hard to sit still during this achingly boring movie when you want to see phaser and starship battles. If they had used the beautiful effects for a movie worth watching I would have been totally on board.
The movie is not without good points. It was SO good to see Grace Lee Whitney returning to the franchise in a small role as Janice Rand. The reasons she was fired from the show make up one of the saddest real-life Trek stories in history and I'm glad she could be a part of it again (along with roles in The Search For Spock, The Undiscovered County and Voyager's Flashback). The first third of the movie with the crew reuniting is great especially Bones' (DeForest Kelley as ornery as ever) reintroduction to Starfleet. A distant Spock returning to the bridge also made me smile. The last twenty minutes are an actual Star Trek type scif-fi concept that very few of the movies actually dealt with instead of simply exploring the Star Trek canon. The only other high-concept movie I can think of is Insurrection. Well, maybe Final Frontier too, but I think it's best if we all just forget about that one.
And the music by Jerry Goldsmith is fantastic. This introduced both the Next Generation theme and the Klingon Warship theme and those have become staples of the franchise.
It was great seeing the entire crew together again and I probably would have loved spending time with them in the theaters had I seen it there. It WAS like reuniting with old friends. Unfortunately because four of the five next movies with the original crew were so good I don't like it as much as I would have seeing it after a ten year dry spell like most Trekkies did. It's passable but the rest of the first six movies (with to notable exception of Final Frontier) are better and more memorable. **1/2.
Additional & Deleted Scenes:
1979 Theatrical Version:
These additional scenes are some of the effects scenes that the Special Edition augmented. Overall: ****.
Vulcan And Starfleet: Remember kids, Vulcan has no moon! ***.
Attack On The Enterprise: The original effects were still pretty swell. ****.
Cloud Journey: Beautiful. ****.
V'Ger Flyover: I liked these effects. ****.
Wing Walk: The Special Edition was better here. ***1/2.
Trims: Scenes cut from The Director's Edition. ***1/2.
Outtakes: The Memory Wall. Lost footage of the scene that was replaced with the "Spock Walk". ***.
1983 Television Version
Deleted Scenes cut from The Director's Edition. Overall: ***1/2.
Sulu And Ilia #1: Sulu macking on Ilia. But It's okay to be Takei. ****.
Sulu And Ilia #2: Brief scene. ***.
Kirk's Quarters: Funny. ***1/2.
Officers' Lounge: I don't know why they bothered including this seven second scene. **.
Attack On The Enterprise: Rare deleted action sequence. ****.
Intruder Transmission: Nice scene. ***1/2.
A Huge Vessel: This was cool! ****.
Kirk Follows Spock: Cool, unfinished scene. ***1/2.
Ilia's Quarters #1: This was the only scene in which Christine Chapel actually had something to do. So of course they trimmed it down. ****.
Ilia's Quarters #2: Another scene with McCoy, Decker, Ilia, and Chapel. ***1/2.
Its Creator Is A Machine: Brief scene with McCoy. ***1/2.
Documentaries:
Three Documentaries. All Three: ****.
Phase II: The Lost Enterprise: Great documentary about the "lost" TV series. I just wish they had included the production tests on the DVD. Now THAT was lost Star Trek footage. ****.
A Bold New Enterprise: About the making of the film. ****.
Redirecting The Future: About Robert Wise's Director's Edition. ****.
Advertising:
Trailers and TV Spots. Overall: ****.
Trailers:
Teaser Trailer: This focuses mainly on the cast. It reminded me of the THX logo. ****.
Theatrical Trailer: Focusing on the concept and visual effects. ****.
Director's Edition Trailer: Awesome. Simply scenes from the movie with the theme playing. *****.
Enterprise Promo: Lame. I'm surprised with advertising like this that the show ran as long as it did. *1/2.
TV Spots:
Startle Your Senses: This may oversell the movie but you cannot deny the push for this movie wasn't ambitious. ****.
Enterprise: Pretty good. ***1/2.
Cast / Human Adventure: This focuses on the characters. ****.
Spritual Search: The effects in the movie are still gorgeous. ****1/2.
Spiritual/Startle Your Senses: More beautiful effects. ****1/2.
Startle/Human Adventure: Awesome! ****1/2.
Event/Common Experience: Finally! The only trailer to not target Trek newbies and go full throated for the Trekkies by talking about the Trek phenomenon. ****1/2.
Archives:
Storyboards. Overall: ****1/2.
Vulcan: I have never seen such detailed storyboards. ****1/2.
Enterprise Departure: Ditto. ****1/2.
V'Ger Revealed: Not as detailed but definitely more ambitious than the original wound up being (they ran out of time). It's good that The Director's Edition was able to bring these to life. ****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: On the bridge of the refitted Enterprise. Beware that the movie plays automatically. ****.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: Inside V-Ger. ****1/2.
Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan - The Director's Edition
"KHAAAAAAAAAN!"
This isn't my favorite Star Trek movie (that would be First Contact) but it's easy to see why so many people regard it as the best. It's certainly the highest quality Trek film with top-notch performances from Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner. Yeah, I didn't know Shatner had it in him either.
If any villain from the old show was to be used as a movie villain, Khan was the best choice. Ricardo Montalban plays Khan with a fierce bitterness that was missing in Space Seed. He is truly trying to crush Kirk and that just makes his defeat all the more rewarding (although I wish he had seen the Enterprise warping away before he died so he would have known he was gonna die in vain.).
The death of Spock was truly great and the best Star Trek death of all time. I know that sounds like a slam considering how crummy every other Star Trek death is, but I sincerely mean it. His last scenes with Kirk were very cool and moving with a lot of great callbacks to their relationship.
Those earworms still give me the willies.
Gripes? David Marcus is the most annoying adult Star Trek character up to that point. However Deanna Troi and Geordi La Forge hadn't been created yet so I try to keep things in perspective.
An awesome movie that is rightly not just considered classic Trek, but a classic movie, period. *****.
Captain's Log: It's sort of amazing to me the amount of massive egos involved on the actor's parts from the original series and how incredible it was that they got all seven members of the cast to sign on for six movies. Ricardo Montalban was absolutely charming in his interview and I loved Leonard Nimoy's story about changing his mind about Spock's death. The new ending WAS absolutely brilliant and I'm glad they left the movie on a more hopeful note. Even if Spock hadn't come back in the next film (or ever) it was the right tone to take. ***1/2.
Designing Khan: About the designing of the movie. A little bit boring, to be honest. **1/2.
Visual Effects: This was much better. This is about the visual effects. Some of the techniques they used were so low-tech yet completely effective. Neat. ****1/2.
Original Interviews: Vintage 1982 press promotional tours featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, and Ricardo Montalban followed by candid still photos from the set of the movie. ***1/2.
The Star Trek Universe: Interviews with Star Trek novelists Greg Cox and Julia Ecklar who wrote The Eugenics Wars and Kobiyashi Maru respectively. I haven't read either but I'm really interested in the Eugenics Wars because the concept is so cool. Basically this explains the how the Rise of the Supermen happened in OUR universe and why we didn't hear of it. It also explains that Khan stole the Botany Bay from Roswell (tying into DS9's Little Green Men) since ships of that nature didn't exist in 1999. I'm especially curious because Gary Seven has a large role as he was one of the most interesting and mysterious characters of the Original Series. *****.
Storyboard Archives:
Storyboards. Not as pretty or detailed as the ones for The Motion Picture. Overall: ***.
Main Title Concept: The original title sequence. **1/2.
Kobiyashi Maru: Storyboards for the opening sequence. ***1/2.
Ceti Alpha V: The Reliant traveling above the planet's surface. ***1/2.
Regula I: Storyboard for the Space Station. ***.
Chekov And Terrell Find Khan: The ear slug sequence. ***1/2.
Admiral's Inspection: Kirk's introduction in the film. ***.
Khan's Revenge: The Reliant's first attack on the Enterprise. ***1/2.
Kirk Strikes Back: The Enterprise's first attack on the Reliant. ***1/2.
Finding The Genesis Cave: Storyboards for inside the cave. ***.
The Mutara Nebula: I know this is basically to cover the ship movements but a nebula is the kind of effect impossible to get across in black and white storyboards. Kind of hazy. **.
Sneak Attack: The Enterprise getting the drop on the Reliant. ***1/2.
Genesis: The Enterprise warping away and the Reliant exploding, triggering the Genesis effect. ***1/2.
Honored Dead: Spock's coffin being fired onto the Genesis Planet. ***.
Theatrical Trailer: It's a good trailer, but a trailer tends to be better than the movie and in this case, the movie is FAR better than the trailer. ****.
Disc 1 DVD Menu: Featuring Space Station Regula I. ****1/2.
Disc 2 DVD Menu: On the Genesis Planet. Gorgeous CGI. Wow! *****.