Archive for the ‘Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)’ Category
Above: “A sun, a real star”
A Screen Capture
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EPISODE 16
Aired January 5, 1974
0:49:24
The episode is available here.
STARRING
Keir Dullea as Devon
Gay Rowan as Rachel
Robin Ward as Garth
GUEST STARRING
Ivor Barry as Rathe Mathers, Chief of the Intra-Ark Police
Nuala Fitzgerald as Reena, Chief of Planetary Police, Federation of United Planets
Richard Alden as Mike, the Pilot of I.A.P. Module Number One
Diane Dewey as “Tech,” Police Technician, Class A, Intra-Ark Police
William Osler as Computer Host and Voice
BEHIND THE CAMERAS
Series created by Cordwainer Bird (Harlan Ellison)
Episode written by Martin Lager
Story Consultant = Norman Klenman
Director = Joseph L. Scanlan
Producer = William Davidson
Executive Producers = Douglas Trumbull and Jerry Zeitman
Above: Garth, “Tech,” and Rathe
A Screen Capture
THE INTRA-ARK POLICE (I.A.P.)
Where have the Intra-Ark Police (I.A.P.) been for the previous fifteen episodes? They would have been helpful as early as the second episode, Lazarus from the Mist.
Diane Dewey’s character has no name. The end credits list the character as “Technician.” The character herself and all other characters who encounter her call her “Tech.”
Why do the Intra-Ark Police, who have long known about the impending doom of the Ark, tried to do nothing to save it?
Above: I.A.P. Module Number One
A Screen Capture
The I.A.P. modules allow for mobility on the Ark, a large vessel.
Most members of the I.A.P. are “textbook-trained graduates of the Ark Academy,” as Chief Rathe Masters refers to them dismissively.
Where is the Ark Academy?
Who controls the Ark Academy?
Does Rathe answer to the Director of Security, mentioned in Farthing’s Comet?
The I.A.P. violate the already-broken concept of The Starlost.
Members of the I.A.P., except for mini-skirted women, wear uniforms identical to those of the Astro-Medics. “Tech” dresses identically to Lethe, from And Only Man is Vile.
The I.A.P. knows much about the residents of the Ark.
The I.A.P. has been tracking Devon, Rachel, and Garth for seven months, since Voyage of Discovery. This timeframe contradicts The Alien Oro.
Chief Rathe Masters’s base of operations is I.A.P. Module Number One.
The I.A.P. has at least twelve divisions. We hear about yet never see Division 12.
Rathe has grand plans for the I.A.P.-F.U.P. police force. The result will be a force that “will be able to handle everything from a burglary to a space shootout.”
The Solar System of the Federation of United Planets
A Screen Capture
THE FEDERATION OF UNITED PLANETS (F.U.P.)
The name “Federation of United Planets” is terribly derivative of the United Federation of Planets, from Star Trek (1966-1969) and its successors.
The F.U.P., contained in one solar system of ten planets, consists of nine inhabited worlds. The habitable zone in that solar system is extremely unlikely, to understate the case. But recall, O reader, that The Starlost is the series that mentions a “solar star,” “radiation virus,” and “space senility.” Are you expecting science?
The worlds of the F.U.P. orbit what Rathe describes as “a sun, a real star.” I hope they do not orbit a “solar star”!
The F.U.P. is about to go to war over the mining rights on the uninhabited world of Apor. The two main planets, leaders of competing alliances, are Arak and Accombra. Arak passed on the opportunity to mine on Apor until Accombra staked its claim. Now Arak threatens to wage war and Accombra threatens to secede. The hijacking of Accombran ore freighters is increasing tensions.
Above: Federation Headquarters
A Screen Capture
The headquarters of the F.U.P. is an orbiting space station.
The F.U.P. and the I.A.P. have been in contact for five years. Now that the Ark is close to the solar system, a launch window is about to open. The next launch window will open in about a year.
Above: Reena
A Screen Capture
Reena, the Chief of Planetary Police, F.U.P., seeks Rathe’s help in preventing an interplanetary war. She says she needs his advanced police techniques in the F.U.P.
Reena’s uniform reminds me of clothes in Gallery of Fear and The Beehive.
Above: Chief Rathe Masters, I.A.P.
A Screen Capture
SUMMARY OF THE EPISODE
As Space Precinct opens, Rachel is consulting a sphere projector while Devon and Garth look on. The members of the trio are wearing their usual clothing from Cypress Corners, also known as M124. Rachel is gathering information about biosphere M71, a scientific, experimental, agrarian station. The last reported contact with M71 was in 2386, in the year after the Ark‘s accident. M71 was high-tech in 2386. The regular access routes are sealed, but access may be possible via service channels. The sphere projector provides directions.
Devon and Rachel are enthusiastic about going to M71, but Garth is not. He says goodbye and heads back toward Cypress Corners. Garth does not get far before Rathe Masters, Chief of the Intra-Ark Police (I.A.P.), detains him for questioning and takes him to I.A.P. Module Number One, docked in its assigned place.
Meanwhile, Rachel and Devon don spacesuits before entering a freight elevator with little air in it. They are en route to M71. The elevator gets stuck, and the supply of air in the space suits is limited.
At Module One, Rathe learns more about Garth than Garth may have known about himself. Rathe offers Garth a job as a detective in the I.A.P. Garth accepts the offer. Rathe is convinced that Garth can help him prevent a war in the Federation of United Planets (F.U.P.).
Rathe calls Reena, the Chief of Planetary Police in the F.U.P. He tells her that Module One will leave in a few minutes, when the launch window will open. Yet Module One can never leave because someone is jamming the system. “Tech,” Rathe’s trusted aide, tells him that the jamming signal comes from the F.U.P. He believes her. Yet she is lying; she keeps jamming the system. “Tech” spends most of the episode casting blame onto innocent people, mainly Reena and Garth.
Garth suspects that Reena may have a traitor on her staff. This turns out to be correct; he is Ragar, whom we never see. Ragar and “Tech” are working together. Ragar, responsible for protecting the ore ships, is orchestrating the hijacking of them and getting rich. He, planning to win the F.U.P. war and have Reena killed, has offered “Tech” Reena’s job in one year.
Poor Garth! Mike suspects him of being a traitor. Rathe suspects. Even Reena suspects him. Then she reveals that “Tech” is a traitor.
Back in the freight elevator, Devon removes his helmet then the helmet of the unconscious Rachel. The air in the elevator is all the air they have left. Reena calls in Division 12 to rescue Devon and Rachel. Then, when alone, she calls off Division 12. Next, she tells Garth that Devon and Rachel have died.
Soon, however, Garth overhears “Tech” speaking with Ragar. He knows that she is a liar and a traitor. She tries to kill him by stunning him and leaving him in an airless elevator. But one of his boots prevents the elevator door from closing completely. “Tech” tells Rathe that Garth is dead. He is alive, though.
Rathe sends Division 12 to rescue Devon and Rachel. Division 12 rescues them, off-screen, of course.
Until nearly the end of the episode, Reena suspects Garth of being a traitor. Then she tells Rathe that “Tech” is a traitor. “Tech” goes to the Ark jail. The plot ended, tensions in the F.U.P. begin to cool.
Reena says,
Garth, we’ll make a detective out of you yet.
Garth replies,
Well, I’ll let you know.
Le fin.
Above: Mike, Pilot of Intra-Ark Police Module Number One
A Screen Capture
OTHER UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Where is the laundry in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Where are the bathrooms and showers in tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
How does Garth maintain that early 1970s haircut while on the run in the tubes and corridors of the Earth Ship Ark?
Given that Devon, Rachel, and Garth have been to the Bridge, why do they need to find the backup Bridge?
Why are so many people on the Ark fatalistic?
Why does Devon not invoke his authority as the Ark commander? (The Return of Oro)
Why does Devon’s level of interest in saving the Ark vary from episode to episode, and sometimes within an episode?
How many zoological laboratories are on the Earth Ship Ark?
What is M71 like in 2790?
Will Devon and Rachel go to M71 after all?
Will Garth rejoin Devon and Rachel?
Is the Ark doomed to collide with the “Class-G solar star”?
Above: “Tech”
A Screen Capture
OTHER COMMENTS
For the record, Garth, Identification Number 774833-BXL-871, was born to Rebecca and Old Garth on May 22, 2767.
Space Precinct was the final episode of The Starlost filmed. However, there were scripts for episodes #17 and 18: God That Died and People in the Dark.
The full season run would have been twenty-four episodes. However, NBC chose not to order the final eight episodes. Good riddance to bad rubbish!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 COMMON ERA
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All images in this post are screen captures from a series that is freely available at archive.org and YouTube.
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I despise all new Star Trek programming since the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery. The story-telling is awful, designers have no idea how vessels, sets, and uniforms should work, and show runners have no idea what the level of technology should be. Star Trek: Picard is another disappointment that, visually, continues from Discovery and not from The Next Generation. Recent news of the third series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, leaves me unimpressed. I know how the uniforms and the interiors and exterior of the Enterprise should look, for I have watched The Cage (1964). I have that pilot on blu-ray. These recent series occur in a universe parallel to that of the original series (1966-1969), the animated series (1973-1975), The Next Generation (1987-1994), Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), and Voyager (1995-2001). These recent series also occur in a universe parallel to Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005), itself parallel to the original series-Voyager. (How many of the writers of Star Trek: Enterprise watched Star Trek: The Motion Picture?)
Above: The Previous Enterprises in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
A Cropped Screen Capture
I do not see the NX-01.
I have actual, proper Star Trek on physical media. I choose to watch that and refrain from watching this new content, a big ball of no.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 15, 2020 COMMON ERA
As the great Doug Drexler has argued, Star Trek, in all its manifestations, is a period piece; each era has its look. Technology is at a certain level. The uniforms are what they are, for better and worse. For all the inconsistencies in Star Trek series and movies since the 1960s, visual continuity within a particular period in a certain universe is essential.
Star Trek: Discovery (2017-), supposedly set in the prime timeline, contemporary with The Cage (1964), the first Star Trek pilot, is so visually different from the Star Trek of the 1960s as to play out in what is obviously one of many parallel universes, which have been recognized parts of the Star Trek franchise since The Alternative Factor (1967). That is fine with me; truth in advertising is not too much to ask. Star Trek: Discovery no more takes place in the prime timeline than does the first minute (before Nero breaks through into the past) of Star Trek (2009)–for the same reason. The appearance of Captain Christopher Pike’s Enterprise in the season finale of Discovery confirms my theory. That incarnation of the NCC-1701 is, in some ways, more advanced than the refitted NCC-1701 in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), as well as the outwardly identical NCC-1701-A we saw for the first time at the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).
Perhaps my age, which shapes my experiences, defines my perspective. I recall life before Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and subsequent series and TNG movies. I remember watching the original series in reruns on local television stations before and after the debut of The Next Generation, which debuted when I was in high school and ended when I was an undergraduate. Older-style (relative to 2017 and 2018) visual styles do not bother me, not that I object to watching digitally remastered versions of episodes on blu-ray. Yet, in those remastered episodes, technology and uniforms remain unchanged. After all, each period has its own aesthetic. Honoring that is vital within the franchise.
Creators of new canonical Star Trek material should thusly honor the franchise. Talk of visual reboots is ridiculous. Creators of new material should reserve visual reboots for parallel universes–and say so.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2018 COMMON ERA
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Above: A Scene from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
A screen capture
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Preliminary Statements
- This post flows from my brief reviews of movies I-VI and VII-X. I refer you, O reader, to those posts, in which I have ranked I-VI in context of each other and VII-X in context of each other.
- As I have written in those posts, my most basic standard regarding any of the Star Trek movies is whether I want to place the disc in my Blu-ray player, press the “play” button on the remote control, and watch the movie from beginning to end without skipping any scenes.
Rankings
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
- Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
- Star Trek: Generations (1994)
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
- Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Analysis
- My five favorite Star Trek movies are those I want to watch without skipping any scenes.
- The top three films are those with which Nicholas Meyer was involved.
- My least favorite Star Trek movies are those that were nearly franchise killers.
- Original series movies are generally better than Next Generation movies.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 20, 2017 COMMON ERA
Above: The Starship Enterprise, NCC-1701, from Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
A Screen Capture
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Preliminary Statements
A few preliminary statements will prove helpful before I get into the meat of this post:
- I have been a fan of Star Trek for a long time. I used to watch the original series in reruns–sometimes on weekends and, when possible, weekdays–and record episodes. I remember stumbling upon an occasional episode of the animated series (1973-1975) on cable television in the early 1990s. I recall when I could count the number of movies on one hand and have fingers left over. I remember watching The Next Generation (1987-1994) in first run. I have watched every Star Trek movie and most episodes. I watched every episode all the way through Voyager (1995-2001). I abandoned Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) early in the third season, for I was tired of subjecting myself to that series after two years.
- Certain Star Trek fans are fanatical to the point of leaving vicious comments online. I have no use for such behavior. This is entertainment, not a matter of life and death. William Shatner’s “Get a life” sketch from Saturday Night Live (1986) rings true for many people.
- One can find many podcasts and videos regarding Star Trek episodes and movies. Unfortunately, many of the creators of these media (A) swear enough to embarrass even the most profane sailors, (B) are hyper-critical, to the point of pettiness, and/or (C) speak out of their ignorance. All of this irritates me. I respond by ceasing to watch such videos and listen to such podcasts.
- On the other hand, many reviewers, working in written, audio, and audio-visual media, do speak and write out of their knowledge. I am especially fond of the reviews at tor.com, for example.
- My intention in this post is neither to write all that I know regarding the first six Star Trek movies nor to replicate the work of others. (I know far more about these movies than I have written here.) No, I plan to be concise and to contextualize these films according to each other. My most basic standard regarding any of the Star Trek movies is whether I want to place the disc in my Blu-ray player, press the “play” button on the remote control, and watch the movie from beginning to end without skipping any scenes.
- No work of human beings is perfect, of course, but it can be enjoyable and well-crafted. I seek to find the good and praise it, imperfect as it might be.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
A Screen Capture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture exists in various versions, all of which suffer from the same problems, with their origins in the story itself. The story, such as it is, is an adaptation of a pilot for a television series Paramount never made. The movie also overextends the plot and focuses more on special effects than on characters. The best Star Trek stories have to do with characters. In this movie, however, characters in pastel pajama-like uniforms gaze at special effects for long periods of time. Speaking of the story, I like the concise version of it–The Changeling, an episode of the original series.
Nevertheless, The Motion Picture does have its virtues. The overture, Ilia’s Theme, is gorgeous, the soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith is majestic, and the Enterprise receives all the respect due such an august vessel. I enjoy looking at the Enterprise, so I like the sequence in which Kirk, Scotty, and, by extension, the audience members, look at the refit ship’s exterior for six minutes. This is a movie for people with long attention spans, not individuals with the attention spans of fleas with ADHD.
I rank The Motion Picture near the bottom of the first six Star Trek movies, for, after the ship leaves the orbit of Earth, I start skipping scenes. To paraphrase George Lucas from a Star Wars documentary from the 1980s, a special effect without a story is boring.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
A Screen Capture
I thrill to play this movie from beginning to end, without interruption.
The Wrath of Khan also exists in various editions. I prefer the director’s cut, for that version includes nice character moments and background information absent from the theatrical edition.
The Wrath of Khan, the first installment in the accidental trilogy, is a movie I have memorized. I can anticipate every line of dialogue while watching it. Also, whenever I listen to the soundtrack, I can visualize the germane scene. This is my favorite Star Trek film. It is the favorite Star Trek movie of many people. It is so popular and influential, in fact, that Paramount Pictures has released remakes and bastardizations of it, namely Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), both of which I consider barely watchable.
The stars align in The Wrath of Khan. Ricardo Montalban is excellent as the poetic and insane Khan, the “majestic maroon” uniforms are wonderful, the theme of aging resonates well, the death of Spock is gut-wrenching, and Admiral Kirk realizes the truth of his statement that
How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life.
I cannot heap enough praise on this film, for its flaws are minor.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
A screen capture
Leonard Nimoy’s debut as a cinematic director is a wonderful story of self-sacrifice for a friend. Admiral Kirk and the other heroes from the original series risk their careers and destroy the decommisioned Enterprise to reunite Spock’s body (regenerating on the Genesis Planet) with his katra (resident in Dr. McCoy).
Here is another movie I enjoy watching from beginning to end, without skipping any scenes. Yes, Star Trek III is not as good as Star Trek II. Yes, the leisure wear is horrid. Yes, the chairs on the bridge of the U.S.S. Grissom are pink. Nevertheless, the Excelsior and Oberth Classes of starships debut in this film. They, in combination with the Miranda Class (from Star Trek II) add up to three new classes of starships, thereby expanding the Starfleet on-screen. Furthermore, the enclosed Spacedock makes its first appearance in Star Trek III.
My favorite aspect of Star Trek III is the character work. Out of friendship Kirk and company make themselves criminals to rescue Spock, who had sacrificed himself to ensure that the Enterprise could escape from the Genesis Wave in Star Trek II. Star Trek III has plenty of heart.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
A screen capture
The Voyage Home, for all of its plot holes and a few pointless scenes, is fun. I have no difficulty watching it from beginning to end, without skipping scenes.
Much of the appeal of Star Trek IV is the fish-out-of-water plot for our heroes. Watching Admiral Kirk and company in San Francisco in 1986 is hilarious. Spock discovers profanity and curses badly, inserting “the hell” awkwardly into sentences. (“They like you very much, but they are not the hell your whales.”) Kirk does not know the difference between LSD and LDS. (“He did too much LDS in the Sixties.”) Scotty speaks to a computer. Chekov and Uhura seek “nuclear wessels” during the Cold War. All of this is fun.
“Home” has a double meaning. “Home” refers to Earth, which the crew saves from an alien probe with a warped sense of logic. The probe, having lost contact with humpback whales, proceeds to begin to vaporize oceans. Huh? (Whales are aquatic lifeforms.) “Home” also refers to the Enterprise-A, presumably the Yorktown (the ship whose chief engineer rigged a solar sail at the beginning of the movie), Kirk’s new command after demotion to the rank of captain.
Kirk’s demotion to Captain makes sense. In The Motion Picture he seizes command of the newly refit Enterprise awa from Willard Decker, who goes off to merge with V’Ger. In The Wrath of Khan both Spock and McCoy tell Kirk that he ought to be a starship captain. Kirk is bored when he is not commanding a starship. His demotion from Admiral to Captain is not a punishment, but a reward.
The Voyage Home‘s financial success is the reason Paramount Pictures greenlit The Next Generation (1987-1994), thereby launching a period of 18 years during which at least one Star Trek series was in production at any given time. That is a fine legacy.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
A Screen Capture
I know that The Final Frontier makes plain that the Enterprise-A is a new, poorly constructed ship, but I refuse to consider this movie to be part of Star Trek canon. The film tramples continuity, makes a mockery of the Enterprise-A (until it ceases to do so, without explanation), and portrays most of our beloved characters in inconsistent and unflattering ways. How is it that characters who were prepared, in universe, less than a year prior to this movie, to throw away their careers to rescue Spock, betray Kirk so casually in Star Trek V?
This is cinematic excrement with an occasional nice character moment. But who are these characters? They are certainly not the Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and Chekov I have come to know via episodes and movies.
“All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.”–John Masefield
A screen capture
At least the Enterprise-A, being a refit Constitution Class vessel, has graceful lines. (The refit Constitution Class is my favorite starship design.) However, the vessel, according to deck plans, has 21 decks, with the Bridge being on Deck A, at the top of the saucer. In the movie the ship has at least 84 decks. That is quite an error in the The Final Frontier.
Furthermore, Kirk and crew have been to the center of galaxy. In The Majicks of Megus-Tu, an episode of the animated series, the Enterprise journeyed to the center of the galaxy, where Kirk and crew met Satan, who seems to have been a horribly misunderstood character, according to the story. In this movie they just met a disgruntled and imprisoned spirit vulnerable to Klingon weapons. Both stories were garbage.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
A screen capture
Star Trek VI gives our heroes a proper send-off, complete with a warmongering Klingon general who quotes Shakespeare, sometimes in, as Chancellor Gorkon puts it, “in the original Klingon.” Kirk and crew save the day and the life of the President of the United Federation of Planets, but not before events force them to confront their own prejudices first. Even the best of us harbor nasty prejudices, after all. The difference between the best of us and the worst of us is that the best of us acknowledge and resist those prejudices.
Change is frequently difficult, even when the change in question is necessary and proper. In this case the change is the end the Federation-Klingon Cold War, in parallel to the Cold War of the twentieth century. When we define ourselves according to who our enemies are, the question of how we will define ourselves when our enemies cease to be our enemies becomes a psychologically difficult one. Some individuals become so frightened of change in Star Trek VI that they conspire to assassinate.
Above: The Enterprise-A and the Excelsior
Sulu is wonderful as Captain of the Excelsior, a ship he would have commanded since Star Trek III, except for William Shatner’s behind-the-scenes machinations in the 1980s. I wonder how different certain preceding movies would have been with Sulu aboard the Excelsior. I am convinced that the supporting characters, such as Sulu, always deserved more to do in the original series and in the first six Star Trek movies.
I have no difficulty watching Star Trek VI from beginning to end, without skipping scenes.
Rankings
As I have pondered these movies again during the last few days, I have changed my mind several times regarding the relative rankings. I have arrived at the following rankings, from best to worst:
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Nicholas Meyer directed my two favorite Star Trek movies and partially wrote the top three. He was a great asset to this series of films, after all, so this ranking has not proven to be accidental.
My overall rankings of movies I-X are here.
Looking Ahead
Next I plan to ponder and rank the four Next Generation movies.
I choose make one point of comparison plain here: The original series movies were, taken together, superior to the Next Generation films, taken together.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 19, 2018 COMMON ERA
SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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