Star Trek Turns 60

Note: It's true locally. I imagine it is true in your neck of the woods, too. For 4 days, some theaters are bringing the first four Star Trek movies  back to the big screen in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Star Trek. They are pairing the movies with a classic TV episode, one each night for four nights, and then on Sept. 8, you can make a day of it. On Sept 4 you will get Star Trek: The Motion Picture paired with "The Changeling". On Sept 5 you will get Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan paired with "Space Seed" (which was the original intro to Khan). On Sept 6 you will get Star Trek III: The Search for Spock paired with "Amok Time". On Sept. 7 you will get Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home paired with "The City on the Edge of Forever" (another time travel outing). And, if you want to make a day of it, you can go see all four in succession on the anniversary date of Sept. 8. (Hope your wallet is full. Here, that one day celebration is going to cost $60... It's $15 for each separately).

 

 

Sept. 8, 1966.

Do you know where you were that night? Myself, I had probably already gone to bed. (I was not even 5 years old yet). But plenty of people who were older probably remember this night. It was when the classic TV series Star Trek made it's first showing on NBC.  

So, what did TV viewers have to choose from that night?

It was difficult to find anything online for that night, and unless I wanted to shell out big money for a vintage copy of the Sept. 3-9, 1966 issue to some E  Bay thousandaire, I have only this to rely on: Star Trek ran in the 8:30-9:30 EST time block on Thursday night. Your options during that time would have been Star Trek on NBC, but if you were not inclined to watch a new show (or even a science fiction show), you had the option of The Tammy Grimes Show and Bewitched on ABC or My Three Sons and The CBS Thursday Night Movies (which was apparently a broadcast of the 1961 Jerry Lewis movie The Ladies' Man). 

 

"What's on TV tonight, dear?"

(Personally, based on this schedule, I would have started out my night and watched Batman and F Troop on ABC, then switched to NBC for Star Trek. I never heard of The Hero, but since I couldn't get into That Girl when it was on reruns in my childhood, and the premise of The Hero intrigues me, I probably would have gone that route, and ended my night with Burt Reynolds' crime drama Hawk. (BTW: Just to enlighten you, since you may be as clueless as I was, apparently The Hero was a sitcom with Richard Mulligan, in which he played an actor who had a day job as a gung-ho western TV show hero, but was a nebbish in real life). 

The legend of Star Trek has been rehashed over the years countless times. I don't need to go into a long drawn out detail of the history. In fact, if you really want to go down that rabbit hole there are plenty of books out there that can do it a lot better than I can. I recommend Star Trek FAQ by Mark Clark (who also did the same thing with Star Trek 2.0 FAQ, for the Next Generation series). for some really fascinating history, including a condensed biography of the show's creator, Gene Roddenbury. 

For the purposes of this blog entry I am only going to focus on facts that are necessary to set up the blog review.

Star Trek had two pilot episodes. The first one, titled "The Cage" had an entirely different crew than the one with which we are all familiar. The only actor that transitioned from that first pilot is Leonard Nimoy as Spock. The captain, the ship's doctor and the rest of the crew were replaced. (Interestingly enough, the one character that the brass wanted replaced, Spock, is the only one that made the cut...) The captain of the Enterprise was played by Jeffrey Hunter. (Side note: Hunter passed away before the first season ended it's broadcast, so obviously there would have been a monkey wrench thrown into the gears if this first casting had been picked up...)

Even though the powers,  that be did not like the first pilot they authorized a second pilot. Roddenbury recast the series with all new crew, although like I said, he retained the Vulcan character. Mostly. As you will see Spock went through a couple of changes from the first incarnation.

A laughing Spock??? The horror!

So, with that in mind, here is an overview of the failed pilot as well as the first broadcast episode of the original series. (Note: The first episode ever broadcast of Star Trek on Sept 8, 1966 was NOT the second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". That episode did not appear until the third week of it's broadcast run. The first actual episode that was aired was indeed "The Man Trap", and since this post is celebrating the launch of the series, that is the one I am covering. Some day I may double back and blog about that second pilot, just not today).

 

The original (& not all that impressive) title screen

Star Trek "The Cage" (a.k.a. The "Lost" Pilot): 

To begin with, the original pilot aired without the familiar preamble of "Space. The final frontier...". All you got was a few passes by the Enterprise with the title "Star Trek" and then just "starring Jeffrey Hunter". No other cast members were included, not even Nimoy. You did get a guest starring credit for Susan Oliver, but that was it.

Pike and Vina

 

The episode opens as the crew is discussing a phenomenon, which turns out to be an old-style distress signal from a ship that had disappeared 18 years earlier. Initially Capt. Christopher Pike (Hunter) is of a mind to mark the spot but not investigate, as some time prior to the beginning of the episode the Enterprise had been in a battle and had several dead crew members as well as some injuries, so the plan was to continue on their journey to a space station to get replacement crew members and help for the injured. 

On board the Enterprise

Pike is a somewhat different personality than Kirk. For one thing, early on he is a rather "stick-in-the-mud" type. He broods to the ship's doctor, Dr. Boyce (John Hoyt), over the stress of the job, and is considering resigning and just going home. But his plan is interrupted by the revelation that there are survivors on the planet that that earlier ship crash-landed on years before. So he Pike has to change his plans.

Pike confers with his bartender (errr... doctor)

What he discovers on the planet are the remnants of the scientists, including a young girl, Vina (Susan Oliver), who had been born just after the crash. Except, it turns out that the remnants of the crash are just an illusion created by the residents of the planet, called Talosians. The Talosians have evolved mentally, so that they can use their minds to create things designed to convince the Enterprise that there are things there that aren't really there.

Talosian

 

The ultimate goal of these illusions is to try to entice Pike to stay on and repopulate the barren planet of Talos. To achieve that, the only true survivor of the human crash, Vina, is going to be the female and Pike to be the male participant in this endeavor. The problem is that Pike is not willing to be the male "guinea pig" in this experiment. He is highly resistant to the idea of being a manufacturing plant for slaves for the Talosians.

Pike struggling to cope

 

However, being highly advanced intellectually the Talosians have an ace card up their sleeves. They aren't just going to concede, and they have the ability to basically force Pike to give in to their will. They have manufactured every conceivable inducement, including convincing the human Enterprise officers and crew that their "primitive" weapons are useless. When Pike's second-in-command, Known only as Number 2 (Majel Barrett) and his yeoman (Laurel Goodwin) are captured, they tell Pike that he WILL be their male ingredient in the re-population, but now he can have his choice of three women to be the other counterpart.

 

And what if I choose NOT to "choose"?

But Pike figures out that he has his own ace. The aliens are unfamiliar with the concept of hatred, and Pike realizes that as long as he holds his hatred of the situation at the forefront of his mind he can effectively block the aliens from controlling his mind.  Eventually the aliens will have to concede the gamble and let the Enterprise go, along with Pike and his crew. (You didn't REALLY think the aliens would win, did you?

When Roddenbury presented his conceived pilot, however, it was rejected as being too "cerebral". In other words it was nothing like what Roddenbury had promised; basically a Western in space. Or as he called it in negotiations a "Wagon Train to the stars".  But the powers that be had faith in the original concept, and authorized another pilot. This one, titled "Where No Man Has Gone Before", would convince the producers at the studio that the idea had merit.

"Where No Man Has Gone Before", however, would not actually air until the third episode. What eventually became the starting point for the series was an episode titled "The Man Trap".

Star Trek "The Man Trap" (original air date Sept. 8, 1966):

 

The improved title sequence

Roddenbury recast the entire crew for his series. Gone were Hunter as Pike, to be replaced by William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk. (The reason for Hunter's exit, apparently ,was because he didn't want to be involved anymore, not that he was replaced by a more fitting actor...) Although not in the second pilot, the ship's doctor was replaced by DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard McCoy (He doesn't actually show up until the second episode. In this second pilot we had Paul Fix as a Dr. Piper.) The Number 2 character ended up being melded into the Spock character, her pragmatic emotionless character becoming a part of Spock's makeup. (And we would almost never see Spock smile or laugh in this new form. Nimoy as Spock was the sole actor/character that made the transition.

Additionally, the entirely all-male white crew that populated the original would get a more culturally diverse makeup, including a black female, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and an Asian officer, Sulu (George Takei). However, Uhura doesn't actually show up in the second pilot, and, for some reason, Sulu appears to be an aide to the doctor, judging by his uniform. (Did he graduate from life sciences to helmsman between the "Where No man Has Gone Before" episode and the "Man Trap" episode?)

The only missing character to the cast as we all know it was Walter Koenig as Chekhov. He only came on during the second season. (Which, by the way, leads to an interesting "glitch" in the plot to The Wrath of Khan, since the original "Space Seed" episode occurred during the first season, before Chekhov came on board. So one has to ask why Khan says he remembers Chekov in TWOK...)

So, as to why "Man Trap" got the primo spot as the series opener, it was judged that the other episodes in contention for the honor didn't have enough remote location (other planets) scenes, or as in the case of the first episode, too many of the key crewman not on screen. (no Uhura, only a brief view of Sulu and Scotty, and no Dr. McCoy).   

The setup for this first broadcast episode involves Kirk and company doing a routine stop on a planet to deliver supplies and conduct medical exams on Dr. Crater (Alfred Ryder) and his wife, Nancy (Jeanne Bal). Crater doesn't want to deal with all this rigamarole and just wants the Enterprise to leave a supply of salt tablets and be on their way. 

The SALT talks

 

Prior to landing Kirk has been teasing McCoy because in his earlier life, McCoy and Crater's wife had been romantically involved, until she ended up married to Crater. When they arrive, McCoy is astounded that Nancy hasn't seemed to age one day since they saw each other last.

Young Nancy

 

But something is not quite right... Because Kirk sees Nancy has a still somewhat attractive woman, but definitely showing signs of age. 

Old Nancy

 

And a crewman with them, Darnell (Michael Zaslow) sees her entirely differently than either: as a young attractive blonde (Francine Pyne). 

NOT Nancy

 

Clearly it is not really Nancy, and Crater is hiding something, though he professes to know nothing strange is going on. 

The real Nancy

 

When Darnell disappears (after following Nancy as the blonde for who knows what...) the crew on the planet find his body, dead. (That's what you get for fooling around with another man's wife, you little scrub...) Nancy (in her Nancy "disguise") tells them she tried to stop Darnell from eating a poisonous plant. But back on the ship they scientists determine that although the plant was poisonous it wouldn't have caused the skin mottling that Darnell has suffered.

The potential marriage interloper

 

Ultimately the audience learns that "Nancy" is not really "Nancy" but a creature indigenous to the planet, one that requires salt to survive. It is the last of it's species. It also has the ability (surprise, surprise) to read thoughts and shape change. In this aspect it manages to get itself beamed aboard the Enterprise. Since it can look like anything it wants to look like, it makes it hard to detect which of the crew members may not be who everyone thinks they are.

There are some serious issues that the crew, especially McCoy, has to deal with here. Not only the fact that killing it would mean the extinction of a species, since it is the last of it's kind, but also the fact that the creature is able to play upon McCoy's emotions, since he still has memories and attraction to Nancy and the creature knows it can use that emotion against him.

So, happy 60th birthday, Star Trek. You don't look a day over 59...

Quiggy

 

 

Star Trek V: The Search for a Plot

 

 

 

 

This is my first entry in the Film. Release. Repeat. Blogathon hosted by Hamlette's Soliloquy and yours truly.

 

 

Star Trek, as a franchise, has had it's ups and downs.

A brief history, for those three or four people out there who have never even heard of Star Trek.  The first incarnation of Star Trek began with creator Gene Roddenberry pitching the idea around Hollywood for a science fiction series for adults. Previously science fiction had been in the realm of shows primarily aimed at kids (Captain Video, Space Patrol and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet). Roddenberry envisioned a series that, although it took place in space, would end up addressing social issues of the day. He struggled to get anybody to understand the concept until he just said "It's Wagon Train to the stars!"

The original Star Trek TV show, (affectionately referred to in these later days as Star Trek: TOS (The Original Series), had a following of devotees, but never really took off enough to keep it going, and thus lasted only 3 short seasons. But the fans refused to let it go. 

 

So for a brief period there was an animated series, Star Trek: TAS (The Animated Series) to try to appease them, but that one never really took off, lasting only 2 seasons. (You could chalk that up to the fact that it was a cartoon and most of the fans were well into adulthood, but I don't think that really encapsulates why it was not a success...) So, the fans became even more ardent, starting sci-fi conventions solely dedicated to the series, and, coupled with the astounding attention from the original series then in syndication, it sparked Hollywood's interest.

 

Thus, beginning in 1979, a series of 6 movies that expanded on the original series were released. Some were great, some mediocre and one was a dud from the outset.  The interest in Star Trek would eventually spawn several offshoots of the Star Trek universe, including the first follow up TV series, Star Trek: TNG (The Next Generation), which in turn would also spawn 4 theatrically released movies. 

 

Following Star Trek: TNG would be several other series, none of which spawned a theatrical movie release, but were nonetheless good, or even great: Star Trek: DS9 (Deep Space Nine) which lasted 7 seasons, 

 

Star Trek: VOY (Voyager), which also lasted 7 seasons, 

 

and Star Trek: ENT (Enterprise), which lasted 4 seasons. 

 

In addition, there have been numerous streaming series available if one had access to them. There have also been 3 movies featuring a new cast in the roles of the classic series characters. I refer to these as "reboots".  As well, a recent 2025 new look film, Star Trek: Section 31.

At the time of this writing there have been 14 of them. Although my rating of them differs from the consensus in many cases, most everyone agrees that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is the worst of the output. (Note: I consider it still too early to make the call on the recent Star Trek: Section 31, which currently occupies last place on a list of Star Trek movies on the Tomato-meter...) 

So just for clarity, I will rate my personal opinion of the ranking of the Star Trek movies before delving into today's review:

1.  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) {a TOS film} 

2.  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) {a TOS film}

 

(Both of those films were, coincidentally, directed by Nicholas Meyer, who also gave us Time After Time, a film still waiting for a review on The Midnite Drive-In...)

 

3.  Star Trek: First Contact (1996) {a TNG film}

4.  Star Trek (2009) {a "reboot" film}

5.  Star Trek: Generations (1994) {a conjoining/transition film which includes TOS and TNG characters}

6.  Star Trek: Beyond (2016) {a "reboot" film}

7.  Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) {a TNG film}

8.  Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013) {a "reboot" film}

9.  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) {a TOS film}

10. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) {a TOS film}

11. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) {a TNG film}

12. Star Trek: Section 31 (2025) {a different "reboot" film} 

13. *Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) {a TOS film}*

14. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) {a TOS film}  

 (*Note: Contrary to the public opinion of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which usually ranks it much higher, the in your face, environmental, "save the whales" message just turned me off, this despite the fact that I adore movies that feature time travel. So no apologies if your opinion differs...)

 

 

 

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989):

The  beginning of the film is your standard fare for a Star Trek movie. A native of Nimbus III is digging holes on his land. Why? Who knows. All logic of this movie vanishes the moment the native sees a cloaked figure riding up to his position. The native is initially hostile and wary of this interloper, but it becomes immediately apparent that the newcomer has no hostile intentions against the native. As a matter of fact, the newcomer exhibits compassion and care for the native and asks him to "share his pain".And here is where the movie goes off track.  It seems to have a new age feel to it. And just what the hell is a "new age philosophy" doing in a Star Trek move?

 

Anyway, this newcomer, name of Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), is some sort of mystic visionary. He is also a Vulcan, and the later revelation, that Sybok is related to Spock is almost telegraphed from the very beginning. Sybok's intentions become clear. He has plans to invade the capitol city of Nimbus III. There, as the planet is a neutral site, three envoys, one a Terran, St. John Talbot (David Warner), one a Romulan Caithlyn Dar (Cynthia Gouw), and one a Klingon General Korrd (Charles Cooper) are meeting to negotiate a peace treaty.

 

Sybok's intentions are to take the three envoys hostage, thus inciting rescue operations. But Sybok's intentions are not to incite a war. Instead he desires to take command of a starship. And why, you might ask? He seeks out the mythical birthplace of life as we know it, known variously as Sha'ka'ree or Eden or any other religious mythical name. And he wants to meet "God". face-to-face. (So we went new age, which rejects Judeo-Christian myths, to actually striving to prove the existence of a Judeo-Christian mythos? Geez, Shatner, couldn't you get a grasp on what you wanted to say?)

Anyway, as usual, the only starship even remotely nearby enough to go on the rescue mission is of course the Enterprise. (OK, so we have to be used to this development. since it was the reason the Enterprise was sent to encounter the mysterious force headed to Earth in the first movie, and also to go check out the mysterious goings on with Project Genesis in Star Trek II.)

 

The problem with using the Enterprise is that it is in serious need of a shakedown. In case you didn't know the timeline, I'll give you a bit of background. In Star Trek III the crew of the Enterprise hijacked the ship to go rescue Spock, and in the process had demolished the ship. A new Enterprise was commissioned at the end of Star Trek IV. This is the one that Kirk and crew have to maneuver  to rescue the hostages, and it is not entirely ready for the mission.

Meanwhile, a renegade Klingon captain has heard about the mission and decides on his own to chase down Kirk solely for the glory of defeating the vaunted legendary Captain. One wonders why the Klingons don't have their own rescue mission mounted to save their own envoy on Nimbus IIi, but given the Klingon predilection for honor in battle, perhaps they figured the Klingon ambassador deserves his fate. It is hinted at that General Korrd must have committed some grievous error to be in the "demoted" position of a lowly ambassador...

 

When Kirk and his crew arrive at Nimbus III, they find they don't even have the ambassadors as allies, since Sybok has managed to work his mumbo-jumbo to get them on his side. He also manages to convert many members of the Enterprise crew as allies, through his "sharing" of their pain and forcing them to face their fears. The only person who refuses to submit to Sybok's ministrations is Kirk himself, who insists that his fears and pain are what makes him Kirk, and his pains are important to him.

Still Sybok does manage to get the rest of the crew, including Spock, to at least let him have his way with the ship and they travel to the Great Barrier of the universe. No ship has ever crossed the Great Barrier and returned, so no one knows what is on the other side. But Sybok is certain he will not only find the mythical  Sha'ka'ree, but will also encounter "God".

Of course the ship has to cross that Great Barrier and enter into the unknown, otherwise this whole movie would have been entirely pointless (notwithstanding that it is mostly pointless anyway...). Once beyond the Great Barrier, they do manage to encounter "God". But before you get the idea that it is a validation of the existence of a Supreme Being, this "God" turns out to be just a powerful entity whose power is somewhat limited to just the area where it resides. And apparently, there must be some greater power behind the scenes, because this "God" character is a prisoner on this planet.

 

He (it?) somehow managed to contact Sybok and maneuver the Vulcan in order to bring a starship into the vicinity so it could escape it's prison, and... do what? Wreak havoc over the entire universe? Kirk, being Kirk, asks the most obvious question... "What does God need with a starship?" This of course angers the being and it (he?) attempts to kill or at least punish Kirk for his impertinence.

 

Having lost it's way long before this point, the renegade Klingon shows up and attempts to destroy the Enterprise. He discovers that Kirk is not aboard the Enterprise, but is actually on the planet and thus aborts his attempt to destroy the Enterprise. Instead he turns his attention towards the planet, intending to take his prize defenseless.  But eventually he saves Kirk rather than kill him. The reason for this developmental change is just as egregious as the rest of the movie, but the fact is that Kirk does not really win the day at the end, but is saved by a sworn enemy. Which is even more astounding by the fact that Shatner was renowned for his attempts to make Kirk the focal point of the Star Trek universe. (He would often steal lines that were originally intended for other characters...)

Harve Bennett, the producer of the film, is quoted as saying that Star Trek V  "nearly killed the franchise". Besides the ridiculous plot, another thing that had a bad impact on the film was the subpar special effects team. Originally the production company was going to go with Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects company who had produced the effects for the previous three films. But ILM was involved in two other projects, Ghostbusters II and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, both of which used up much of the company's top talent, so the film had to seek other avenues. 

The worst special effects, in my opinion, come when Kirk and company finally arrive at Sha'ka'ree and meet "God". The wizard encounter in The Wizard of Oz was loads better, and they didn't even know what CGI was back in 1939. Much of the rest of the space scenes seem to have been done on the fly rather than actually have been done in earnest to give the viewer some bang for his buck. 

Star Trek V had high hopes upon it's release, despite the fact that it was competing  with a whole raft of big budget movies, not only including the above mentioned Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones films, but also the first Tim Burton Batman film, the second Back to the Future film, the second Lethal Weapon film and a few gems that became bigger events for the year, Look Who's Talking and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Ultimately the movie didn't even crack the top ten grossing films, making it the first of the franchise to not earn that honor. In addition it was also the lowest grossing film in the franchise.

Critics excoriated the film. Roger Ebert called it "pretty much of a mess - a movie that betrays all the signs of having gone into production at a point where the script doctoring should have begun in earnest."  Probably the best (or worst) indication of how bad Star Trek V was is the fact that it was nominated for some Razzies, an award given out to the worst movies of the year. William Shatner "won" Worst Director and Worst Actor and the film won Worst Picture. To put that in perspective here are some of the competitors that year: Worst Picture: The Karate Kid Part III and Road House. Worst Director: John G. Avildsen for The Karate Kid Part III, Rowdy Harrington for Road House and Eddie Murphy for Harlem Nights. Worst Actor: Ralph Macchio for The Karate Kid Part III, Patrick Swayze for Road House ans (big surprise) Sylvester Stallone. ("Big surprise" because Stallone was almost a shoo-in to win a Razzie whenever he was nominated...)  (And just a side note: Sorry, John Wilson, but I think Road House was pretty good. 

Star Trek movies are almost always worth at least one viewing. It takes a pretty bad movie to make me have to actually have to work at finding the energy to watch it a second time. I can do most "bad" movies twice, standing on my head... I delayed watching this movie the second time,  because it was such a bad experience 35 years ago. This is only my second time to watch it and it still was the same stinker I thought it was when I left the theater in 1989. Rarely do I recommend that you DON'T give a movie a shot, but if you haven't seen this one yet, take my advice... save your rental fee.

Until next time.

Quiggy