STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT

(November 1996, U.S.)

As previously mentioned, I knew little-to-nothing of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, let alone the infamous story behind the Borg. Still, I'd been a loyal screen fan of STAR TREK movies since the first in 1979, so the next one in the series was met with as much enthusiasm as the previous (despite the fact that STAR TREK V sucked!). Though I didn't entirely know how to feel about one of its cast members, Jonathan Frakes, in the director's chair. The last one to do that was William Shatner for THE FINAL FRONTIER in 1989 and we all know how that turned out. Still, I was filled with nothing but positive feelings even before seeing the new STAR TREK movie. The trailer for it looked awesome, I was still riding high from the big sci-fi spectacle of 1996, INDEPENDENCE DAY (I bought in on VHS the day it was released) and I was already looking forward to the Special Edition versions of the original STAR WARS movies in 1997 (hey, they looked promising at the time!). But there was more. I went to see STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT at an intimate single-screen movie theater at the corner of 85th Street and First Avenue when I was still living in Manhattan (that theater is long since gone now). It was also just before Thanksgiving and I was geared up for a holiday trip to see my family and a special friend (at the time. She's also long since gone now) in Los Angeles. An afternoon of good science fiction fun seemed just the ticket right now.

The theater darkened and all was quiet. It looked as if the audience was in rare form that day and was going to be respectful enough by keeping their mouths shut. This new story didn't waste much time before it was knee deep in a space battle between the Federation the Borg high above Earth. Realizing that the fleet is losing the battle, Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise disobey its orders to join the battle against the Borg cube. Even as things look victorious for humankind when the cube is destroyed, it all appears to be futile. Having launched a small ship to Earth before its destruction, the Enterprise discovers that Earth has an alternate future when all of civilization have been assimilated by the Borg as a single collective through the use of time travel. Like STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME, the Enterprise must now travel back in time to save Earth's future. Unlike that 1986 adventure, however, the crew arrives in the year 2063 following a nuclear war of the past and days before its first contact with alien life after the historical first warp drive flight engineered by Dr. Zefram Cochrane (played by James Cromwell). Realizing that the Borg are trying to prevent first contact, they aid the reluctant Dr. Cochrane in achieving his historical flight aboard his ship, the Phoenix, in an isolated region of Montana.

Meanwhile, the Borg have infiltrated the Enterprise and are slowly assimilating its crew, one level at at time, and Picard is trying to not only survive, but save the doomed ship at all costs, even as he tries to calm the nerves of an unwanted Earth passenger Lily Sloane (played by Alfre Woodard). Data has been abducted and is being seduced by the Borg Queen (played by Alice Krige) to not only embrace his more human side, but to join the Borg collective, as well. Data, being what he is, resists well and even manages to save the day in the end when Picard risks everything to rescue him. The flight of the Phoenix is successful when the ship achieves its warp flight and inevitably diverts an alien ship to our planet to investigate. The big surprise in the end is to learn that the aliens in question are Vulcans (not a young Spock, disappointingly) whose first words are, of course, "Live long and prosper."

As is the reputation with all even-numbered STAR TREK films, FIRST CONTACT doesn't fail its predecessors. It provides the proper action and excitement that all sci-fi fans want, especially after a summer where INDEPENDENCE DAY reigned supreme and STAR WARS was schedule for a triumphant return. It's a bold and ambitious undertaking with its traditional themes of friendship, loyalty and sacrifice. Humor is key here, too, particularly when Deanna Troi gets drunk on tequila, though not as effective, in my opinion, when Dr. Cochrane gets drunk while enjoying his beloved Roy Orbison music. It is, in fact, James Cromwell who is the first character to use the actual phrase "star trek" in the entire history of the franchise when he says, "You're all astronauts, on some kind of star trek." (cute, indeed). Like STAR TREK: GENERATIONS, it's refreshing not having to know too much about the past events of THE NEXT GENERATION TV series to be able to enjoy this film. Patrick Steward continues to be just as Shakespearean with his beloved character and even gives us some new insight to MOBY DICK once again since STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (Stewart would eventually play Captain Ahab on TV in 1998).

At this time, I can only say that despite not being a "Trekkie" myself, my writer's indulgence in one STAR TREK film after another can become tiresome. Well, we're almost done...

Favorite line or dialogue:

Deanna Troi (drunk): "Look...he wouldn't even talk to me unless I had a drink with him. And then, it took three shots of something called "tequila" just to find out that he was the one we're looking for! And I've spent the last twenty minutes trying to keep his hands off me! So don't go criticizing my counseling techniques!"

STAR TREK: GENERATIONS

(November 1994, U.S.)

I watched STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION only twice while it was in syndication. The first time was the pilot premiere of "Encounter at Farpoint" in September 1987. The second time was the series finale "All Good Things" in May 1994. In between, I've seen nothing else. Thankfully, STAR TREK: GENERATIONS plays out so that not much knowledge is needed of the original TV series, except that it simply existed. Anticipation was high because the movie poster promised the return of James Kirk, though we couldn't image how. How do you have two STAR TREK captains in the same movie that's supposed to be separated by an entire generation? Leave it to Hollywood to come up with something to satisfy that dilemma. That something turned out to be more original and more convincing than I would have ever imagined.

Shortly following the events of THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, Kirk, Scotty and Chekov return to attend the ceremony of the maiden voyage of the new starship USS Enterprise-B, under the command of none other than Cameron Frye himself (Alan Ruck's infamous character in FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. The man proves to be just as goofy and unsure of himself as he was as Cameron). What should be just a routine flight (of course) turns into a dangerous rescue mission to save two ships from a strange energy ribbon in space. The new Enterprise captain, unprepared for this crisis, turns to Kirk for assistance. As always, Kirk saves the ship and the day, but is (presumably) killed when the ribbon causes an explosion across Enterprise's hull, where Kirk happens to be located.

Seventy-eight years later, we're reunited with the crew that fans (except me) kept up with on TV for seven years. Captain Jean-Luc Picard has just learned that his brother and nephew have been killed in a fire and it looks like he will be the last Picard in the long family line. The energy ribbon is also reintroduced, and with it, the eccentric scientist Dr. Tolian Soran (played by Malcom McDowell, in one of his finer roles since A CLOCKWORK ORANGE) who will stop at nothing to get himself back inside the mysterious ribbon called the "Nexus", even if it means destroying the Amargosa star and killing millions, including the crew of the Enterprise. Through Whoopi Goldberg's character Guinan, we learn that being inside the Nexus is like being inside a world of joy and contentment; a place where time has no meaning and one can create any sort of life or existence they wish to have (sounds great to me!). Guinan and Soran were among those rescued by Enterprise-B back in the 23rd Century and are still alive today (though I still don't understand how). Determined to stop Soran, Picard travels to Veridian III while the Enterprise engages a Klingon Bird of Prey in battle. The Enterprise is victorious, but headed for destruction as Picard is unsuccessful in stopping Soran from destroying the star. The Enterprise and her crew are destroyed along with Veridian III from the shock wave.

But wait! Not so fast! Picard is now inside the Nexus ribbon and finds himself surrounded by a loving family in a fictional world straight out of Charles Dickens. For the briefest moments, he learns what absolute joy is as he embraces what he never had before, declaring, "These are my children!" But he soon realizes this is just an illusion and that he must return to Veridian III to stop Soran. This time, though, he can seek help from someone else who was sucked into the ribbon when he was killed a century ago. You guessed it...James Kirk, and now we know how the film's script could be designed so that both captains could occupy the same time period and engage in their hallmark meeting. Working together, they stop Soran, save the Enterprise and humanity. But the price to be paid is that after many decades of following his heroic adventures, the great James Tiberius Kirk will finally die, and it will be the other great captain of the galaxy, Jean-Luc Picard who will bury him on Veridian III in a sweeping overhead camera shot that I still enjoy watching today. Honestly, if there isn't something so perfectly poignant about that, then I don't know the true meaning of the word.

It's reported that Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley declined to appear in GENERATIONS because they felt there were problems with the story and script. Considering this is not how they reacted to the story and script of STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER, I'm of the opinion that they should've come up with a better excuse. The plot point of the Nexus ribbon and its power of time and illusion is as plausible a story for uniting our two captains as anything else. For me, it's a sufficient blend of just the right amount of fantasy and mystery required to define yet another extraordinary force in the unknown universe. But more than anything else, STAR TREK: GENERATIONS provokes deep thoughts of thematic reflections that I haven't felt from a STAR TREK movie since THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. Were the Nexus a viable fantasy in life, just how would someone like myself use it? What is my idea of true joy and contentment that could tempt me away from whatever I already have in my life? This a question that one could live their entire life without ever really answering, but through the help of this film, it's one of life's mysteries that takes up our own time of thought and reflection. Maybe it's like that old STAR TREK poster you may remember when you were a kid...

Whatever the answers are, I can only say that in a world where odd-numbered STAR TREK films are often met with negative reactions, GENERATIONS is an original space fantasy tale that deserves far more credit and recognition than it's ever received (though I do find Data's entire silly experience with his emotion chip annoying and unnecessary), even from those who aren't die hard Trekkies!

Favorite line or dialogue:

James Kirk: "I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim?"
Jean-Luc Picard: "You could say that."
Kirk: "You know, if Spock were here, he'd say I was an irrational, illogical human being for going on a mission like that. Sounds like fun!"

STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY

(December 1991, U.S.)

You see what I did here? I completely skipped over STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER. If you've actually seen the movie, then you understand why. You may also agree that William Shatner should never again sit in the director's chair. All I can say, is thank goodness for STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY because I'd hate to think that the 1989 stinker might have been the original film saga's final swan song. Part VI serves as a necessary and most intriguing redemption. Even the teaser trailer promised a great improvement because it reminded us all of the history of STAR TREK and how its crew have served as our friends, our guides and protectors in the galaxy. Now it was time for one final adventure with our beloved heroes.

If you ever followed STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION on TV, then you know that humans and Klingons lived in peace in the 24th Century. But how did it all come to pass? THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY may easily be called the prequel to the newfound understanding between two races that were hellbent on destroying each other during a long cold war. The act of change and acceptance is the film's central theme, as James Tiberius Kirk and other members of the United Federation of Planets, as well as many Klingons, must learn to put aside and bury their prejudices. For Kirk, however, it's especially difficult to trust Klingons because he still hasn't gotten over the death of his son David at their hands (he died in STAR TREK III). Of course, it's the rationale and logic of our dear Mr. Spock who initiates the opening dialogue between the Federation and the Klingon Chancellor, Gorkon (played by David Warner) after their moon, Praxis, explodes without warning and their ultimate destruction shall come within fifty years due to eventual ozone depletion. Gorkon's chief of staff, General Chang (played very Skakespearean-like by Christopher Plummer) is a cold-hearted warrior who's just as skeptical against the idea of peace as Kirk is. The dinner that takes place between the Enterprise crew and the Klingons may be considered funny if it didn't serve as such a tense prerequisite to what we know will eventually turn into crisis.

That crisis begins when the Enterprise appears to fire twice on the Klingon ship. What follows is madness, mayhem and the assassination of Gorkon. Kirk and McCoy are arrested for the crime. We know of their innocence, but they've just become sacrificial puppets for the Klingons to see that peace is never achieved in the galaxy. While the two of them are rotting in the underground prison world of the frozen asteroid Rura Penthe, the remaining crew aboard the Enterprise have turned the entire situation into an Agatha Christie mystery whoduit in space. Among them is our newest female Vulcan, Valeris (played by Kim Cattrall), who it turns out, defies all logic by revealing her own hardcore prejudices against the idea of peace with the untrustworthy Klingons. She plays well against her Vulcan mentor, and it's quite a moment when she experiences the hard pain of a severe mind meld at the hands of Spock's will. Forced to name names, we learn who has betrayed who and who is responsible for a second assassination against our own Federation president. Of course, Kirk and company can always be counted on to escape their underground hell, beam back aboard their beloved ship, destroy the enemy and save the day. We can also trust them to send us a message of hope and understanding toward the pursuit of peace for this generation and the next to come. Whether we've listened or not, who knows?

THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY, with Nicholas Meyer returning as director (STAR TREK II), is the best film in the series since STAR TREK III, in my opinion. Though my opinion against many others who take STAR TREK a whole lot more seriously than I ever will may be a debatable point. It's not only a very literary way to say goodbye to those we've loved for decades, but also opens up what will be a proud introduction to a new generation of heroes we've already gotten to know since it went on the air in 1987. We're likely asked to explore our own feelings of change, what it means to be frightened of change and the best ways to overcome it. We also have to recognize that as spectators, we too, have gotten old with Kirk, Spock and the entire STAR TREK universe. Like those two lifelong friends, it's up to us to decide just how inflexible or useless we may feel now with age. On the other hand, we may also choose to embrace Kirk's more positive outlook on life and "feel young". It's up to you.

I must give the proper credit to the way this last film in the original series concludes. Not so much the Enterprise heading into the distant stars, but the original concept of screen signatures by the players we've come to embrace since the TV series debut in 1966. Like the trailer stipulates, they've been our friends, our guides and our protectors, and we'll never forget them.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Uhura: "Captain, I have orders from Starfleet Command. We're to put back into spacedock immediately...to be decommissioned."
Spock: "If I were human, I believe my response would be "go to hell"...if I were human."
Pavel Chekov: "Course heading, Captain?"
James Kirk: "Second star to the right...and straight on 'till morning."

STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME

(November 1986, U.S.)

Casual STAR TREK fans, as opposed to die-hard "Trekkies", likely have different approaches to the films in the ever-popular franchise. Some like myself prefer a more hardcore science fiction approach that includes battles in space, special effects and thematic meanings behind its stories. Others perhaps, prefer a more lighthearted approach that would include extra humor and outrageous circumstances. Considering that STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME is the most well-received chapter in the original film series, the average moviegoing fan must opt for the lighter STAR TREK experience. Not to suggest that I don't appreciate the crew of the USS Enterprise getting themselves into funny and silly situations while they're hopping the galaxies. It can be fun. It's just not the same as the actual galaxy hopping itself.

Earth of the 23rd Century appears on the verge of total destruction from a mysterious probe that has just entered the planet's atmosphere. The probe's design, by the way, is one of the poorest examples of thought or originality I've ever seen on the sci-fi screen, looking very much like a combination of a greasy oil drum and a breakfast sausage link. The probe cannot be answered by Earth's inhabitants and it looks like nothing will save them. Ah, but wait! Enter James T. Kirk and his crew still in exile on the planet Vulcan immediately following Spock's miraculous resurrection at the end of THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. Determined to return home to Earth to face the consequences of their actions in their rescue of Spock, the crew discovers Earth's pending doom through a planetary distress call. Thanks to Spock's returning intelligence and ingenuity, they learn that the only way to answer the probe's call is through the now-extinct humpback whales of the past. Since they're of the past, that presents a slight problem. Solution: travel back in time to the present day of 1986 to retrieve a couple of humpback whales to fix the situation.

Now let me just say right off the top that I always found the entire humpback whale portion of the film's plot just a little ridiculous. If the makers of this film were trying to get out the "save the whales" message to its audience, they should have just mailed out pamphlets or something. Still, it's the need for something that doesn't exist anymore in the 23rd Century that's required to set the stage for the crew to return to the past in order for them to get into all kinds of mischief, so I suppose whales is just as smart or as dumb as any other idea. This in mind, what really attracts me to THE VOYAGE HOME above all else is the clueless minds of our heroes as they try to deal with the 1980s culture and all of it's intolerable quirks, including exact change on the bus, punk rock music, profanity ("double dumb-ass on you!"), colorful metaphors, our so-called modern medicine and even the taste of Michelob beer. There is intrigue, however, in following Scotty and his engineering knowledge of the future and just how he's able to apply it to our own modern engineering in order to achieve the wall it will take to enclose the whales and the water inside the Klingon Bird-of-Prey spaceship they've currently got parked (and cloaked) inside Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

There's something about the character of Dr. Gillian Taylor (played by Catherine Hicks) that's always bugged me. Is it because despite her marine biology intelligence, she still manages to come off as just a naive, blonde ditz? Is it because she seems so gullible and easily suckered into the circumstances of Kirk and Spock, no matter how ridiculous or unaccountable they seem? Maybe I just don't like the actress herself. Still, I suppose any set of slapstick circumstances such as these requires even a mild love interest for our beloved Kirk. She, Kirk and McCoy might just as well have been ripped right out of I LOVE LUCY or THREE'S COMPANY during the entire hospital sequence when they forced to infiltrate the building to rescue Chekov after he was arrested and injured aboard the nuclear vessel Enterprise (actually, McCoy's frustration toward our entire healthcare system is pretty great!). And speaking of which, am I the only person who feels it was simply implausible that Chekov would end up in such critical medical condition after what looked like a harmless fall? I mean, really, the man didn't fall the far!

So in the end, Chekov is saved, the crew is saved, the whales are saved and Earth is saved from its own ignorance when they finally go forward in time again to complete their voyage home. The only one that's not saved is ME! Again, I'm not saying I don't like THE VOYAGE HOME. It's fun, funny and entertaining. Perhaps I just don't particularly want fun, funny and entertaining in a STAR TREK film. Perhaps I prefer the eye-popping effects and dark melodrama of THE WRATH OF KHAN and THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK instead (though I do appreciate the film's reflective dedication to the perished crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger following the disaster of January 1986). I will however, give proper credit to the one eye-popping image in this film, and that's the Klingon Bird of Prey hovering over the defenseless whaling ship like a giant, lethal insect...

One final observation - does it strike anyone else as odd that while it seems that very little time passed on Earth since the crew's Vulcan exile, that an entirely new USS Enterprise (now numbered NCC-1701-A) was fully constructed and ready for new missions in their absence? I mean, just how long were these people on Vulcan??

Favorite line or dialogue:

James Kirk: "Spock, where the hell's the power you promised?"
Spock: "One damn minute, Admiral!"

STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK

(June 1984, U.S.)

Spock was dead. It was something I and every other fan of STAR TREK had to contend with for two years. Oh, we knew he was coming back somehow, someway in the next film, and we were pretty sure it would have something to do with the new Genesis planet created at the end of STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. Still, the waiting was tough. I also have very specific memories of the movie theater I saw STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK at, as well. There exists a prominent shopping district in the town of Manhasset on the North Shore of Long Island called the Miracle Mile (Billy Joel even mentions it in his song, “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”). There was once a movie house among all these upscale retail stores. Their programs were predominantly independent and art films, but every once in a while they would feature first run movies. This was my first visit to this single screen gem. At the time, I had no feelings of sentiment toward what was just another movie theater. Today, of course, I look back on it with nostalgia every time I think about STAR TREK III or any other movie I managed to see there because it was closed and razed decades ago.

The crew of the USS Enterprise, emptier now, are still in mourning over the loss of Spock. As they're nearing their return to Earth after battling and defeating Khan, there's an uneasiness on the ship. McCoy is acting strange. Following a visit between Spock’s father Sarek and Kirk, we finally learn what Spock’s final word to McCoy was when he placed his hand on his head and said, “Remember”. We discover that Spock, before saving the Enterprise, transferred his living spirit or katra, to McCoy. In effect, Spock is now a dead body without a spirit, and McCoy is a living body with Spock’s spirit. I suppose on paper, it sounded confusing when we all first heard it, but I managed to retain the spiritual meaning behind it pretty well from the beginning. Kirk swears he'll retrieve Spock’s body from the new Genesis planet and bring it to Spock’s home planet, Vulcan, so that body and spirit can once again be joined, even if it means disobeying orders from Starfleet and stealing the Enterprise for his own mission, which he does, along with his most trusted and loyal friends. Meanwhile, Kirk’s son, David Marcus is now the leading scientist in charge of the new Genesis planet, along with Mr. Saavik (goodbye Kirstie Alley!) at his side. As they investigate strange happenings on the planet, they're pursued by Klingons (the lead one Kruge played by Christopher Lloyd just one year before his infamous Doc Brown) determined to steal the secret of Genesis and use it as an ultimate weapon of power. Back in 1984, I think this had been the first time I’d really gotten to know what the Klingon spaceship (called a Bird of Prey) was all about (STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE gave me only a brief glimpse). The fact that this ship could cloak itself to hide in space was pretty cool. On the planet, however, even as David and Saavik are fighting for their own lives, Spock’s reborn body is aging at a fast rate. His growth from a little boy to a young man happens in only hours, but he's still a Vulcan without a brain and burning blood. As he grows to manhood and withstands unbearable pain along the way during the Vulcan ritual known as Pon Farr, which is apparently some form of sexual awakening that Saavik helps him with, the planet is slowly destroying itself.

Inasmuch as the life and death (and life) of Spock is key in this movie, there's something quite pivotal at the moment when the Enterprise is sitting dead in space and at the mercy of their enemy. Upon learning that David has been killed by the "Klingon bastards", rather than surrender their ship, Kirk, Scotty and Chekov order the ship’s computer to self-destruct the Enterprise. Holy crap! Is this really about to happen? After eighteen years on both TV and film, are we really about to see the legendary USS Enterprise destroyed? There's still something so unbearable about this. It isn't simply the end of an era, but also the end of a very strong part of our pop culture. Watching Kirk and his crew gaze up into the sky from the planet below as they watch their beloved ship come crashing down, it's easy to see in their faces that they felt the same way I do toward something they love. Clearly, as director, Leonard Nimoy knows how to reach his STAR TREK audience on the proper emotional level.

I’ve often had this habit of going against the grain when it comes to popular culture, particularly the movies. There have been some films that the rest of civilization loves and I hate, and vice versa. I’m probably alone in this opinion, but STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK is my favorite film in the entire STAR TREK movie franchise, and that opinion is not without what I consider to be good reason. It's true, while the true action and excitement may lie in STAR TREK II and the comic fun may lie in STAR TREK IV, making them the more popular films, it’s the self-seriousness and spiritual themes of friendship, camaraderie, honor, sacrifice and loss that make STAR TREK III a far more dramatic and poignant film than the others. Kirk’s trauma at the loss of his best friend is unbearable, and it’s strengthened by deep feelings of guilt due to his inability to reach Spock behind impenetrable glass. Even for that brief moment when Sarek tells him that, “Everything he knew, everything he was, is lost”, it’s Kirk who speaks up, unable to accept the idea that Spock’s death could so final without any possibility of hope. Kirk says it perfectly when he tells Sarek, “Spock would have found a way.” As STAR TREK fans who can only sit back and watch the big screen, we only wish we had a true friend like James Kirk who would stop at nothing to find us when we’re lost and return us to the place we call home. That deep meaning of friendship can perhaps best be defined in a single camera shot featuring Spock and Kirk on either side of the screen as they face each other for the first time since Spock’s resurrection...

While there’s the obvious confusion and puzzlement of these two men finding each other again through extraordinary circumstances, you can clearly see in their faces that there’s also the obvious truth of the history behind these two warriors and the adventures they’ve shared. We’ve watched it all before, and now because a single word has been spoken, “Jim”, we can now look forward to watching it all again, because Spock is alive, and we’re glad to have him back!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Sarek: "Forgive me. It is not here. I had assumed he mind-melded with you. It is the Vulcan way, when the body's end is near."
James Kirk: "We were separated. He couldn't touch me."
Sarek: I see. Then everything he was...everything he knew...is lost."
Kirk: "Please wait. He would have found a way. If there were that much at stake, Spock would have found a way."
Sarek: "Yes. But how?"
Kirk: "What if he joined with someone else?"