Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

The second Star Trek film both surpassed its predecessor in terms of quality and ensured the Trek franchise would endure.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture, despite its flaws, made enough money to get a sequel green lit. But, the budget this time was smaller as Paramount was unhappy with how Gene Roddenberry ended up going overbudget. As a result, he was billed simply as a creative consultant while producing duties were given to Harve Bennett, a TV producer who had a good reputation for keeping things within their budget. As he was unfamiliar with Trek, Bennett first decided to binge watch the entire original series. Doing so, he realized that the 1st season episode "Space Seed," had great potential for a follow up, given the great work Ricardo Montalban gave as Khan. Bennett then was able to hire on Nicholas Meyer to direct the film. Like Bennett, Meyer, who had previously directed the classic Time After Time (1979) had to familiarize himself with the series, but doing so allowed him to pen a great script which saw Khan return as well as Spock dying, as incentive to get Nimoy to return. The beginning of the film wastes no time in establishing that, moreso than the previous one, time has passed since we saw our heroes in the original series. Indeed, the person making a log entry and sitting in the captain's chair is not Kirk, but rather an officer named Saavik (Kirstie Alley), who is patroling the Neutral Zone when the Enterprise receives a distress signal from a ship called the Kobiyashi Maru.

She orders Sulu to intercept, even though doing so will take them into Klingon space. Sure enough, three Klingon cruisers appear and begin firing on the ship, causing damage and even casualities, including Sulu, Uhura, McCoy and Spock. Saavik orders the ship evacuated when Kirk appears behind the viewscreen, revealing this to be all a test Saavik is undergoing on Earth. As everyone begins to dust off, Saavik expresses that the test was too difficult to pass, which Kirk replies to by basically saying that such a scenario is possible in real life. As Kirk makes his way through the halls, he encounters Spock, who is now captain of the Enterprise. He thanks Spock for his birthday gift, a copy of A Tale of Two Cities. They shoot the breeze briefly before Spock announces that he plans to return to the ship to prepare for Kirk's upcoming inspection. In his apartment, Kirk is visited by McCoy, whose birthday gift to him is a bottle of Romulan ale and a pair of glasses. But Bones notes Kirk's less-than-enthusiatic tone, leading to Kirk all but admitting that he thinks that his best days are behind him, as he's now an admiral and no longer commanding a starship. The doctor tells him to get back into the swing of things before he truly is too old to do so.

In another part of the galaxy, the starship Reliant is approaching a planet. Chekov, the ship's first officer, states in his log that said planet is Ceti Alpha VI, which they are approaching to see if it could be a test site for a project called Genesis. He informs the ship's captain, Terrell (Paul Winfield), that there is a small reading of possible life on the planet. With that, they contact Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), the creator of Genesis, at her station Regula I. Marcus reminds them that any potential test site for Genesis should have no life whatsoever. Terrell and Chekov tell her that they plan to beam down to the surface to see that if this is something that could be removed. Afterward, Marcus's son and fellow scientist David (Merritt Butrick) confides in her that he dislikes discussing these matters with Starfleet, given the super powerful nature of Genesis.

Beaming down to a seemingly endless sandstorm, Terrell and Chekov walk for a bit until they come across what seem like cargo carriers. Going inside, they find the place empty, save for something moving under sand confined in a cage. Chekov looks at a small shelf of books, which include King Lear, Paradise Lost and Moby-Dick. He then glances at the strap he's holding to see that it says S.S. Botany Bay, which he recognizes as the ship Khan came on (I've never viewed Chekov never being seen in "Space Seed" as a nit in relation to this movie because the ship at the time carried a compliment of roughly 400; hence, he could have easily been on board). He frantically tell Terrell that they must leave immediately, much to the captain's confusion. Alas, they comes across Khan and his band, just as they step out.

As the men on the Reliant decide to give Terrell and Chekov more time when they are unable to contact them, Khan slowly removes his PPE to reveal himself. He recognizes Chekov and fills Terrell in on the events of "Space Seed." Chekov then states that Khan and his crew were exiled to Ceti Alpha V. Khan forcefully states that Ceti Alpha VI exploded six months after their arrival. As a result, Ceti Alpha V's orbit shifted, leading to the 24/7 sandstorms. He adds that Kirk never bothered to see how they were doing during those years. That's when he realizes that Chekov and Terrell thought this was Ceti Alpha VI. After briefly lifting Chekov in the air when they refuse to say why they are there, Khan shows them what's in that cage. It turns out to be a nasty looking scorpion-esque creature, which Khan explains killed several of his party, including Marla McGivers, the officer he met in "Space Seed" and would later marry. Khan quickly subdues in order to retrieve two of its young, which are on its back. He explains to the duo that the creatures can enter through one's ears and subsequently make the unfortunate soul on the receiving end more obiedient before eventually driving them with madness and eventually death. Despite Chekov's pleas that Kirk is not to blame, Khan puts a creature in each helmet, which are placed on Chekov and Terrell, where the creatures, in the film's most horrific moment, go into their ears. After a moment, Khan then calmly asks them their mission and the whereabouts of Kirk.

Speaking of Kirk, he's on a shuttle with McCoy, Sulu and Uhura heading to the Enterprise for that inspection. Spock and Saavik greet the party at the airlock and, after briefly catching up with Scotty, inspect Engineering before heading to the Bridge. Kirk and McCoy are a bit nervous as Spock allows Saavik to sit in the chair to take the ship out of drydock (why I'm not sure as Sulu is one at the controls). At Regula I, the Marcuses get a call from the Reliant. Chekov says that their new orders are to take Genesis to Ceti Alpha VI for testing, which Marcus, her son, and her staff greatly oppose. When pressed further, Chekov states that Kirk issued these orders and that Genesis should be prepared for transfer upon their arrival. As Chekov ends the transmission, though, we see that Khan is nearby, revealing that he now has control of the Reliant. When Chekov states that Marcus will call Kirk about this, Khan calmly nods.

On the Enterprise, Kirk is sharing a turbolift with Saavik, who wants to chat more about the Kobiyashi Maru. He attempts to playfully sidestep her inquiry about how he passed the test as the door opens and she departs while an impatient McCoy steps inside. That's when Uhura messages Kirk that Marcus is calling him. Exchanging looks of seriousness, Kirk takes the message in her quarters. Marcus angrily asks why Kirk is taking Genesis but the transmission of getting jammed. When it gives out, he asks Uhura to get him in touch with Starfleet.

On Regula I, Marcus, David and their staff are discussing what the do as the Reliant is on the way. Kirk goes to Spock's quarters and informs him of the trouble at Regula I, which Starfleet wants them to check on. He asks Spock if his crew can handle this, given that they are all rookies. Spock assures him that they can do the job and relinquishes command to Kirk. While Kirk says doing so is unnecessary, Spock, like McCoy earlier, states that commanding a starship has always been a part of who Kirk himself is and that not taking advantage of that is wasteful. With that blessing, Kirk goes to the bridge, announces that he's now in command and orders Sulu to head to Regula I. On the Reliant, Joachim (Judson Scott), Khan's right hand, takes a moment to praise their leader for ending their exile but adds that, as they now have a starship at their disposal, it may be more beneficial to simply find a new planet to conquer and thrive on now, as opposed to spending time and resources tracking down Kirk. But Khan, quoting Moby-Dick, is adamant that he must see Kirk suffer for those years they were all forced to spend in what was basically a living hell.

As the Enterprise heads to Regula I, Uhura attempts to contact the station without success. Spock speculates Marcus is either unwilling or unable to reply. Kirk then orders Spock and McCoy to his quarters were he brings them up to speed on Genesis, by showing them a presentation from Marcus. It states that the device is meant to go into a dead world which would then instantly begin to change by introducing plant life as well as water, becoming a habitable world. McCoy asks what would happen if the device was used on a world that was already inhabited. Spock replies that Genesis would destroy that life in order to create new life. This leads to another amusing argument between the two before Saavik calls informing them that the Reliant is closing in. Returning to the bridge, Kirk is informed that the Reliant is ignoring hails. At the same time, Khan is relishing the moment as the revenge he has wanted for years is now approaching. Saavik reminds Kirk that, according to regulations, shields should be raised if communications have not been established with an approaching vessel. Kirk eventually does that when Spock informs him that the Reliant's shields are up and is targeting the Enterprise, but it is too late as the Reliant blasts the ship, causing major damage in Engineering.

With the Enterprise crippled, Kirk is shocked to see Khan when contact is established. Kirk agrees to surrender himself if Khan spares his crew. Khan agrees if Kirk also gives up any info he has on Genesis. Kirk says he needs time to retrieve it, and Khan gives him one minute. The admiral and Spock then clandestinely obtain the prefix code of the Reliant in order to lower its shields. Joachim informs Khan that their shields are now down just as Kirk orders a counter attack, which forces Reliant to withdraw. As the Enterprise is licking its wounds, Kirk goes to Sickbay and sees the many engineers wounded. One of them, who turns out to be Scotty's nephew, eventually dies from his injuries. Spock calls to inform Kirk that the ship has its engines restored and continues to Regula I. Upon arriving, there is still no answer to hails. Spock states that, as sensors are still being fixed, there is no way to know if Khan is in the area. Nonetheless, Kirk decides to beam to the station with McCoy and Saavik. The station seems empty for a bit, until Bones comes across a number of dead bodies, which are some of Marcus's staff. He soon informs Kirk that the bodies haven't been dead for very long. Saavik then detects something in a nearby storage until. Kirk breaks it open to reveal Chekov and Terrell inside. Chekov informs Kirk that they encountered Khan on Ceti Alpha V, where the rest of the Reliant's crew is now exiled on. Terrell states that Khan is the reason for the dead bodies that are now surrounding them, as the scientists refused to give Khan Genesis. After killing them, Khan left Chekov and Terrell behind to intercept the Enterprise. Kirk earlier noted, though, that Marcus was not among the dead and heads to the station's transporter room, which shows that some of the staff beamed down to the lifeless moon that Regula I is orbiting. He then calls Spock who informs him that it could be several days before the ship is back in order or can even beam them back. Unbeknownst to everyone, this transmission is being listened to by Khan. Kirk then decides to beam down to the planet, with Terrell and Chekov agreeing to go along. They arrive in a cave and see device in a nearby metal case, which Bones correctly deduces is Genesis. That's when everyone is startled by David jumping Kirk, with another scientist keeping everyone else at bay with his phaser. Kirk overpowers David quickly before a shocked Carol appears. This leads Kirk to deduce that he is fighting David, their son. That's when Terrell and Chekov pull their own phasers on everyone. Terrell contacts Khan who says the duo has done well. David attempts to jump them before Terrell fires, killing the other scientist. Khan then orders Terrell to kill Kirk, but as Kirk is the main hero, Terrell is having difficulty following this order which leads to the eel torturing him. This agony leads to Terrell committing suicide while Chekov, going through the same agony collapses to the ground. McCoy quickly examines him, only to see the eel bloodily exit Chekov's ear. After Kirk kills it, he angrily confronts a shocked Khan over the communicator. Khan then quickly orders Genesis beamed onto the Reliant. He then tells Kirk that he's now exiled on that planet, the way he himself was exiled on Ceti Alpha V and that he will now use that opportunity to destroy the Enterprise. This leads to the classic and much imitated moment where Kirk shouts "KKKKHHHHAAAANNNN!!!!"

Saavik continues to unsuccessfully contact the Enterprise and Chekov begins to slowly but surely recover. McCoy is shocked when Kirk asks if there's anything to eat, but Marcus says that there is food in a nearby cave. She then asks a reluctant David to show this to McCoy and Saavik. Once alone, Kirk reminds Marcus that she obeyed her wishes to not be a part of their son's life, although he is still saddened he did so. She counters that she didn't want him to basically become a clone of his dad, but happily admits they are similar in many ways. For Kirk, though, David is simply another reminder of a path not taken; a life that is now out of his reach because he feels he is now too old to take advantage of life the way he once did. The fact that someone he encountered 15 years earlier has now reemerged with nothing but revenge on his mind has also reinforced the idea that Kirk is now making mistakes, such as not raising shields earlier, that he cannot rectify as they have already led to several deaths. Marcus is sympathetic and offers to show him something that may make him feel better. In the meantime, Joachim informs Khan that they have engines back and they set off to intercept the Enterprise. Marcus leads Kirk to the cave mentioned earlier, which is a mini-paradise that is basically a taste of what Genesis can accomplish. As everyone takes a brief rest, Saavik again asks Kirk about the Kobiyashi Maru. Kirk admits that he passed the test because he had reprogrammed the simulator beforehead. Saavik states that this means Kirk has never faced such a drastic scenario in reality. That's when Kirk calls Spock, who says they can be beamed up now, to Saavik's surprise, as she realizes that his previous communication with Spock was in code. Upon returning with Chekov, Marcus and David, Spock reveals that the Reliant is on the opposite side of the planet and is still powerful enough to take out the Enterprise. However, there is a nearby nebula that he suggests they can take refuge in, although doing so would render shields and sensors useless. Kirk agrees to do so, just as Khan spots them. Joachim informs them that the nebula would cut off their shields and sensors as well and Khan agrees to avoid the nebula until Kirk changes his mind by basically bragging to him that he's back on the ship. With renewed anger Khan orders the Reliant into the nebula, and even angrily tosses Joachim aside when the latter objects. The nebula indeed proves difficult for both ships as they play a deadly game of tag. At one point, the Reliant is able to hit the Enterprise with another deadly hit. The Enterprise returns fire, which ends up with Joachim dying, as Khan says he will avenge him. A recovered Chekov comes to the bridge and Kirk assigns him to weapons. He and Spock briefly discuss the strategy Khan seems to be using and prepare to counter it. Eventually, the Enterprise is able to sneak up behind the Reliant and blasts it with torpedoes, taking out one of its nacelles and killing basically everyone on board. But Khan, severely injured, is able to crawl to Genesis, which is on the bridge and painfully begins to arm it, as he knows the explosion will take out both ships as the Enterprise's warp engines are damaged. Spock informs Kirk that something has been activated on the Reliant and David confirms that it is Genesis. He also states that they only have 4 minutes and the device cannot be stopped. As Kirk orders Scotty, who himself is temporarily down to to radiation from the earlier attack, to fix the warp drive, Spock quietly leaves to bridge and heads to Engineering. Once there, he attempts to go into a room with a reactor where he can potential repair the engines. McCoy stops him, reminding him of the intense radiation that would pour out of the reactor once it is open. Spock knocks him out with a nerve pinch and, after obtaining gloves from the unconscious Scotty, mind melds with McCoy simply saying "Remember."

Scotty and McCoy both regain consciousness and plead with Spock to stop just as he opens the reactor. Sure enough, the radiation engulfs Spock, but he still begins work on the engines. Khan, meanwhile, smiles as the Enterprise slowly moves away and quotes Moby-Dick again by saying that revenge is on his mind as he dies. But Spock finishing the repairs leads to a signal to the bridge, which in turn leads Kirk to tell Sulu to punch it. As he does, the Reliant explodes with remnants of both the ship and the nebula converge to form a planet. Marcus arrives on the bridge to see this spectacle while Kirk commends Scotty. But the reply is Bones telling him to come to Engineering, which Kirk frantically does after realizing that Spock is not on the bridge. He arrives horrifed to see Spock slumped to the floor of the reactor room, but is restrained by Scotty and McCoy as the radiation in the room is still too high for the door to be opened. Kirk sadly walks to the transparent wall and painfully calls Spock's name. Spock slowly gets to his feet and painfully walks over to Kirk, who assures him that the ship is safe. Spock slowly asks Kirk not to grieve as his actions were necessary to save everyone on the ship and that this is basically his answer to the Kobiyashi Maru. He gives his friend the Vulcan salute and says "Live long and prosper!" before dying.

Later Spock's body is placed in a torpedo tube, with the crew in attendance. Kirk movingly eulogizes Spock by calling him the most human soul he ever met. Spock is then launched toward the newly created Genesis planet. Afterward, Kirk is in his quarters when David comes by. He addresses that Kirk has never faced a truly difficult situation like the Kobiyashi Maru until now, which Kirk admits. David also apologizes for his earlier mistrust of him before stating that he's proud to be Kirk's son. Following a somewhat awkward hug, Kirk goes to the bridge with renewed vigor. He states in his log that they are heading to Ceti Alpha V to pick up the Reliant's crew. He reveals that recent events have now given him a new sense of purpose, a sense that he will reclaim the destiny that Spock previously told him was always his. The film concludes with Kirk saying he feels young again before we get a close up of the new Genesis planet with Spock's tomb on the surface. We then hear Spock giving the famous "Space...the final frontier" speech before the credits roll.

To say this film reinvigorated the Trek franchise would be an understatement. Not only does it cleverly reuse footage from The Motion Picture, but it had a story line that would later influce how three of the following four Trek films would turn out. By itself, though, The Wrath of Khanis truly a masterwork. It told a story that was as great as the series at its best, and yet went in a different direction by acknowledging the passage of time since the series and making the film not about exploration but humanity. Indeed, this film, while science fiction, makes wonderful use of elements in the aforementioned literary works on Khan's bookshelf. Hence, without the key insights behind the making of this film, Trek may not have lasted long beyond the 1980s.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

As this year is the 60th anniversary of Star Trek, I've decided to look at the 5 Trek films that I actually enjoy watching! As the late, great Agony Booth once noted, there was a good 10 years when this film was considered the weakest Trek movie. But, starting with the infamous Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), a number of Trek films have proven more deserving of that title. Also, unlike those films, this movie has had good points about it from the very beginning. Trek itself was on the cusp of becoming another TV series in the late 70s, until the great success of Star Wars (1977), prompted Paramount to nix those plans and revive the franchise as a feature film. In addition to getting the original cast back, the director was the legendary Robert Wise, whose classics includes The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). The film begins with three Klingon ships encountering a mysterious cloud. After firing on it, the cloud sends out blue balls of fire which vaporize all three ships. This is monitored by the nearby Federation outpost Epsilon IX, which determines the cloud is heading to Earth.

We cut to Vulcan, where Spock is undergoing the Kohlinar, a discipline intended to purge all emotion. He is about to be rewarded for his hard work when he senses a disturbance in the Force-ur, I mean something from space. The Vulcan priestess mindmelds with him determing that an alien entity is contacting him and that Spock's human half is affected by this. As a result, she deems that he has not fulfilled his studies and says he must search for answers elsewhere. As she and her aides depart, Spock picks up the pendant she discarded, even though he was just told he wasn't worthy of it!

Next, we are on Earth, at Starfleet HQ in San Francisco. Kirk arrives there, via shuttle and meets up with Sonak, who is set to be science officer on the revamped Enterprise. Kirk instructs him to report to him on the ship following his meeting.

That meeting obviously took a few seconds because we next see Kirk on a station orbiting Earth. Once beamed aboard, he meets up with Scotty, who informs him that the ship still needs to be worked on, but Kirk informs him of the approaching cloud and that the Enterprise is the only ship that can stop it, because, I guess, the others are all getting their oil changed or something. The next sequence is one reason why some fans calling this film The Motionless Picture is understandable. Scotty and Kirk take a pod and bascially spend 4 minutes gawking at the refitted Enterprise before the damn thing finally docks.

Kirk goes to the bridge, where Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura warmly greet him before Sulu informs him that the ship's new captain Decker (Stephen Collins) isn't aware that Kirk will now take command. After ordering Chekov to assemble the crew for a meeting, Kirk heads to Engineering, where Decker and Scotty are working. Kirk takes Decker aside and informs him that he's in command now, with Decker as his XO. Decker is pissed, but Kirk just orders him to the bridge. That's when an alert sounds, saying that the transporter is in use, even though it is still on the fritz. Kirk and Scotty frantically race to the transporter room, where Sonak and another officer are in the process of being beamed. However, the transporter isn't working properly and, despite everyone's efforts, the duo die because of the malfunction. As no one else is available on such short notice to be science officer, Kirk gives the job to Decker.

The crew is gathered in the crew deck where they see footage of the cloud destroying the Klingon ships. Kirk then steps in and informs them that the Enterprise is the only ship that can stop it. Epsilon IX contacts them, informing them of how big the cloud is before the cloud destroys the station.

The damn transporter is finally repaired as the ship beams up its remaining staff. One of these is the navigator Ilia (Persis Khambatta), whom Decker was once involved with. He warmly greets her as she arrives on the bridge and, for some reason, informs Kirk about her oath of celebacy before he assigns her to her post. Uhura then informs Kirk that one person is refusing to be beamed aboard, prompting him to go to the transporter room. Said person is beamed up and is revealed to be McCoy, with a beard and dressed like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever(1977), so I'm guessing the poor soul who died with Sonak was the ship's original doctor, which prompted Kirk to drag Bones off the disco floor.

Despite being as crouchity as ever, Bones is convinced to be the ship's doctor as the Enterprise is finally launched. After leaving the solar system, Kirk wants to go to warp speed, despite objections from Decker and Scotty. Kirk's insistance though leads to the ship being sucked into a wormhole (which is different here than in later Trek series for some reason). We get another valid criticism for the film's slow pace as everyone literally moves and talks super slowly while in the wormhole.

Ilia picked up an asteroid that was pulled into the wormhole with them. Kirk orders phasers to be used, but Decker counters him, telling Chekov to use the torpedoes instead. That plan works and the ship is pulled back into normal space. As things get back to normal, Kirk orders Decker to accompany him to his quarters with Bones insisting on coming along. Kirk begins to chew Decker out, before the latter states that the ship's new design rendered the phasers inoperable once the engines were cut off. Kirk concedes that he overreacted and dismisses Decker. As Decker and Ilia briefly catch up, Bones drives home the point that Kirk always wanted the Enterprise back and that this emergency gave him the perfect chance for that. That's when Uhura informs him of an approaching Federation shuttle that wishes to dock. Chekov is sent to greet the visitor, who turns out to be Spock, who promptly makes his way to the bridge to the delightful shock of everyone.

Despite his almost rude stance, Spock was quickly instated as the ship's science officer before he heads to Engineering to help Scotty with the engines (sure, a science officer can do that). The engines are soon fixed which means the ship can reach the cloud much faster! Spock meets with Kirk and McCoy and informs them that he sensec the cloud's presence on Vulcan. Kirk tells him to keep him in the loop in case he feels anything else from the cloud. After Spock leaves, McCoy tells Kirk that Spock's connection to the cloud may lead to a conflict of interest, not unlike Kirk's in regard to getting the Enterprise back. The ship finally reaches the cloud, with Decker advising use of shields, although Kirk says that may be seen as hostile by the cloud. Spock examines how powerful the thing is before sensing it again, saying that the cloud is contacting them. That's when it shoots out a blue bolt at them, which hits the ship, injuring Chekov. As Ilia saves Chapel the trouble of healing his pain, Spock informs Kirk that they can actually protect themselves from the cloud by sending a message on a special frequency, which he and Decker quickly whip up deflecting another blue bolt just in time. Spock tells Kirk he wants the ship to enter the cloud now while Decker advises caution. Kirk decides to go ahead and we are treated to another several moments of everyone just staring at SFX on the viewscreen. After a while, another blue bolt approaches the ship and materializes on the bridge. Spock id's it as a probe which begins to play with the computers. This leads Spock to smash one of the consoles, which I guess pisses the probe off since it retailates by shocking Spock until it hones in on Ilia before she is basically absorbed by the probe, which vanishes. Decker wastes no time being pissed at Kirk for allowing the ship to enter the cloud before a tractor beam begins pulling the ship in.

With the cloud unable to be scanned, Spock's suggests they are being pulled into the interior of the cloud. Chekov then alerts them to a presence in the Captain's quarters. Kirk and Spock head over there where they see someone in the shower, who turns out to be Ilia. whom Kirk puts clothing on with the push of a few buttons. . However, her voice is different, as she informs them that she is the probe from earlier now with Ilia's form. Spock suggests McCoy analyze it and he and Chapel discover that the exterior perfectly duplicates Ilia. Spock notes that, when Decker arrives, he and the Ilia probe still look at each other with fondness. Outside sick bay, Spock says that this could mean that the probe may have Ilia's memories as well and, as such, may be willing to provide our heroes with more info about the aliens running the cloud. Ilia breaks out of sick bay and wants to tour the ship more, which Kirk complies with ordering Decker to be her guide.

As Decker shows her around, with Kirk and McCoy watching via a hidden camera, Decker begins to somewhat weaken her defenses, although she still states V'Ger, the name she gives regarding who controls the cloud, plans to convert the crew to data storage. But she allows Decker to show her why that may not be such a good idea. At the same time, Spock is sneaking around the ship and nerve pinches the lone crewman in a hanger. The next scene is on the bridge, where Chekov informs Kirk that a thruster suit is missing. Kirk deduces that Spock took one and plans to follow him. In his suit, Spock records a message for Kirk saying that he intends to contact the aliens holding them captive. With the proper button-pushing, Spock rockets his way into V'Ger, surrounded by SFX that still hold up today! Spock notes what he sees as he eventually reaches a facsmilie of Ilia, which Spock gets the idea of mind-melding with. Not surprisingly, this turns out to overwhelm Spock, whom V'Ger subsequently burps out of the orafice next to the Enterprise, where Kirk is suited up and waiting to retrieve him.

In sickbay, Spock slowly comes to and informs Kirk and McCoy of what he saw and that his mind-meld reveals V'Ger to be even more lost than he is. V'Ger apporaches Earth with the Ilia-probe noting that V'Ger has launched deadly weapons in the planet's orbit, which are intended to wipe out all life as V'Ger's signal goes unanswered. But Kirk isn't about to go down without a fight and orders the ship evacuated, threatening that the info V'Ger needs will be destroyed if the Enterprise is destroyed. The Ilia-probe says that V'Ger concedes, agreeing to take the ship to V'Ger directly. When the ship stops, Chekov reports that there is a breathable atmosphere just outside the ship. Kirk sends himself, Spock, McCoy, Decker, and the Ilia probe to see V'Ger. Upon arriving, they see V'Ger is actually the probe Voyager VI (I guess we all slept through the launches of Voyagers III-V), which was reported lost not long after its launch 3 centuries earlier. Spock deduces that it entered the atmosphere of a planet inhabited by machines, which repaired it and souped it up for its return trip. The reason Voyager's signal is not being answered is because there is no one on Earth now familiar with its original 20th century signal.

Spock states that Voyager has advanced to the point where it must evolve and the only way to do that is to merge with a human, as humans are the ones who created it. This gives Decker the idea to volunteer for the job, although Kirk is skeptical. But Decker is adamant as it will obviously allow him to be with Ilia. More SFX happen as Decker and the Ilia probe are absorbed into Voyager, while Kirk, Spock, and McCoy quickly go back to the ship.

Soon, Voyager goes into another dimension as its whole vessel vanishes in a flash of light, leaving only the ship in orbit of Earth. Back on the bridge, Kirk and company smile at the fact that a new life form has essentially been created. He notes both Decker and Ilia as missing, while Spock elects to remain on board and the ship warps off into the stars. The Motion Picture definitely has much to recommend it. The SFX are gorgeous, if excessive, although unlike those in The Phantom Menace, they still look impressive today. The musical score is arguably Jerry Goldsmith's finest work (Roddenberry obviously agreed as he would use it as the title track for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Speaking of TNG, Decker and Ilia would essentially be reincarnated as Riker and Troi on that series. The 2001 director's edition of the film does tighten its pace a bit, although the flaws of the film that still stand out today are that the plot is essentially too similar to that of the original series episode "The Changeling," and that there is almost none of the wonderful interplay between the regulars which became one of the hallmarks of that series. The good news is that the film made enough money to green light a 2nd Trek film, which would more than make up for this one's flaws.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine-"The Visitor"

As this month is Father's Day, I decided to take a look at one of DS9's most moving episodes.

This episode, the 2nd of DS9's 4th season, begins at a house on a rainy night. The owner of this house turns out to be an older Jake Sisko (Tony Todd). He answers a knock on the door, which is a young woman named Melanie (Rachel Robinson, daughter of Garak himself, Andrew Robinson). She soon informs Jake that she's a fan of his writing and hopes to become an author himself. She also asks why Jake stopped his writing career when he did. After a moment, he tells her that it is because he lost his father Ben when he was 18. After the title sequence, Jake informs us that it all began when he and his old man took the Defiant to the wormhole to witness its once-every-half-century subspace inversion (amazing that they know it does it at that rate, as Sisko and company only discovered the wormhole 3 years earlier). En route, Jake was writing another story when Sisko informs him it's time to see the spectacle. That's when something malfunctions in Engineering, prompting Sisko to check it out, with Jake in tow. They arrive to see the crewmen in Engineering unconscious and the warp core going critical. Father and son stop the core from going boom. However, the core emits an energy discharge which hits Sisko, causing him to vanish.

Now presumed dead, Jake becomes uncertain of his future, despite comfort from his friends on the station. But, one night, Jake sees his dad on a chair in their quarters but only briefly as Sisko vanishes again. Dax investigates but finds nothing, leading Jake to think it was just a dream. As time goes on, the Klingon Empire becomes more agressive, prompting Bajor to enter a pact with Cardassia. This leads to DS9's civilian population leaving to prevent being caught up in impending war. Jake refuses to do so, however, despite Kira and Worf informing him that he would be safe if he did so. Later, in private, Jake tells Kira that, as Sisko had accomplished so much on the station, he feels he would leave him behind if he left. Kira understands but gets Jake to promise that he'll leave if she insists he do so.

Months later, Jake sees his dad again and, this time, takes him to Bashir. The doctor discovers that Sisko was caught in a temporal inversion when the discharge hit him, causing him to go out of sync with time. But Sisko disappears again after a few moments, leaving Jake heartbroken again. Melanie then interrupts the story, telling Jake she can leave if it's too hard for him to continue. Jake says it isn't because he is dying, although his mood quickly lightens as they discuss her writing ambitions before he continues with his story. Dax and O'Brien spent the next few months trying to get their captain back, although this was tough since the wormhole wouldn't repeat its inversion for another 50 years. Later on, DS9 itself is forced to surrender to the Klingons, forcing Jake to leave. He returns to Earth and eventually marries a woman named Korena (Gaylin Gorg). She ends up meeting her father-in-law when he appears again one evening. He disappears again later, but this prompts Jake to begin studying subspace mechanics to try to get his old man back. This eventually turns into an obsession which prompts Korena to eventually leave him. Realizing that recreating the accident is the way to get Sisko back, Jake, 50 years later, gets Nog, now a Starfleet Capain, to take him to the wormhole. With Dax and Bashir's assistance, they begin work, but, this time, Jake gets pulled into subspace, meeting up with his dad.

Sisko is shocked at how much time has passed and how Jake has basically tossed everything away to bring him back. However, Jake is eventually pulled from subspace. Jake then tells Melanie that the one way that he can bring Sisko back is by killing himself once Sisko appears again and this will lead to the captain returning to the point in time when the whole saga began. Melanie is moved by this and bids Jake farewell. The next day, Sisko appears and he and his son chat before Jake informs him about what he plans to do. Sisko is moved by this and embraces him That's when Sisko sees himself in the Defiant's engine room again and quickly pushes himself and Jake away from the discharge. Jake is amazed that his dad knew the discharge was coming but all Sisko can do is tearfully embrace his son and the future they now have together.

Of all the Star Trek characters that have children, I've always found Sisko's relationship with Jake to be the most appealing. Brooks and Lofton always had wonderful scenes on the series. That chemistry is a big reason this episode works so well and, as I previously noted, one reason DS9's finale proved disappointing was that the final moments weren't centered on the two of them.

Munich (2005)

The current conflict in Iran which nobody but Trump wanted has prompted me to take a look at what is probably Steven Spielberg's most controversial film.

This film centers on the massacre of Israeli athletes by a Palastinian militia at the 1972 Olympics in West Germany, which left all the hostages and the perpetrators dead. This leads the Israeli government to send groups throughout Europe to terminate Palestinians who had a hand in planning the horrific siege. From that point on, the movie centers on a fictitious quintet of these troops, led by Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana). But the moral ramifications of doing his duty soon begins to catch up with Avner, who just became a father shortly before the Munich massacre. As a result, he begins to wonder if he is any better than the people he is being ordered to terminate and, slowly but surely, the other four men on his team-Steve (Daniel Craig), Carl (Ciaran Hinds), Robert (Matheiu Kassovitz) and Hans (Hans Zischler)-begin to feel the same way. Munich became controversial mainly because it attempts to humanize both sides of this conflict. After all, the Nazis in Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade aren't exactly portrayed as complex. But this is why I applaud Spielberg for making a film such as this, to illustrate how reality cannot always be defined as 'good guys' or 'bad guys.' The film's conclusion is also appropriately ambiguous, especially given how events in the Middle East have unfolded in the decades since the 1972 massacre.

More Favorite Guilty Pleasure Films

Here's a follow up to an article I wrote a while back about films which are guilty pleasure of mine. The Terror (1963)

This Roger Corman film was made in just 3 days while Corman was in the midst of filming his great Edgar Allan Poe series. But, unlike those films, this one is not exactly Corman at his best. This story of a soldier (Jack Nicholson) who comes across a mysterious woman (Sandra Knight) who herself is linked to a mysterious baron (Boris Karloff) is pretty much as cliched as they come. Still, for anyone who wants a time-killer in the middle of the night, this film should do the trick. Basic Training (1985)

This military comedy about a female Pentagon employee (Ann Dusenberry) who overcomes sexism by (yes!) seducing a Russian ambassador (Walter Gotell) into betraying military secrets certainly doesn't have the laughs that Stripes (1981) did. Still, if you like your comedies with sex and nudity, there are certainly worse ones out there. Star Trek: The Next Generation "The Price" (1989)

If any episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation can be called a guilty pleasure, it's this one, which aired during the show's third season. In this story, Troi (Marina Sirtis) falls in love with one of the guests (Matt McCoy) who is bidding for the rights to a stable wormhole, only to later discover the unethical methods he uses. Like almost all of Trek's love stories, this one is not exactly a classic, but it did cause a stir for showing the first ever bed scenes in a Trek series. Also, as someone who has crushed on Sirtis forever, this definitely holds rewatchable value for me. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1995)

Officially the fourth entry in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series, this film was rereleased once its stars, Renee Zellweger & Matthew McConaughey, became A-listers. The film, written and directed by Kim Henkel, who co-wrote the original film with Tobe Hooper, basically repeats the same beats of that classic movie, although the protagonists here, led by Zellweger, are high school students who become lost following their prom and come across a mysterious farmhouse, who occupants include McConaughey, whose acting here gives new meaning to the term 'ham acting.' Honey (2003)

The title character in this film (Jessica Alba) is a dance instructor who dreams of becoming a choreographer. She is helped along the way by her friend Gina (Joy Bryant) and local barber Chaz (Mekhi Phifer) who she becomes romantically involved with. The film itself doesn't offer any surprises dramatically but it is pleasant to watch.

Double Feature Time; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan/O

For my 1st post of 2026, I'm looking at 2 films I always thought had a bit in common.

William Shakespeare is arguably the most famous playwright in history. So, it's not surprising that his works have been adapted countless times for the cinema over the decades. Many films have also clearly been influenced by his work. One such film is the 2nd Star Trek movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). The movie's director, Nicholas Meyer, clearly was influenced by Shakespeare when making this film. Indeed, echos of Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear are clear thoughout the movie in regards to Kirk beginning to think his best days are behind him and Khan being consumed by his obsession of revenge against Kirk, who had exiled Khan in the original series episode "Space Seed"-an exile which would lead to the deaths of many of Khan's followers, including his wife.. A more literal adaptation O (2001), which is a contemporary take on Shakespeare's Othello. In this film, Othello is Odin James (Mekhi Phifer) who is the basketball champ at a private school and who is romantically involved with this story's Desdemona Desi (Julia Stiles), who is the daughter of the school'd dean (John Heard). Odin's popularity becomes a target of jealousy for his teammate Hugo (Josh Hartnett), this film's Iago and the son of the basketball coach (Martin Sheen). As with his counterpart in the play, Hugo sets into motion a calculated plan to destroy Odin and his relationship with Desi which leads to tragedy for all involved.