Humor in STID (spoilers if you haven't seen it, yet)

Humor within the story is a big part of all good "Star Trek". There was plenty in STID. What were the best lines? Which moments didn't work that well? Anything better than "I like this ship! Y'know. It's exciting!"

I liked two moments in particular.

-- This bit was neat because it involved Khan. Kirk and Khan are in the airlock waiting to be shot out into space. Scotty tells Kirk that what they're about to try is going to be "like jumping out of a moving car, off a bridge, and into your shotglass." Kirk responds rather dryly that he's done that before and looks at Khan. Khan gives him a WTF look, and Kirk tries to explain himself. The stare Khan/Cumberbatch gives Kirk as Kirk goes from conversational to embarrassed to finally realizing he should just shut up is great.

-- Kirk ordering McCoy to stop the metaphors was also very nice. An homage to when McCoy would finally go too far and Kirk snaps at him.

 

Scotty's line about the ridiculousness of hiding a starship on the bottom of an ocean - a perfect troll.

 

"Are you giving me attitude, Spock?"

"I am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously."

"Get out."


Snarky Spock rules.

 

Starting from the beginning, as all the natives were on their knees to the graven image drawn in the sand their Leader stood tall, watching as the Enterprise speeds away. His look conveyed to me a sense of understanding that this is no god but a construct of some sort.

This left me pondering the question, under the PD, which is a worse consequence; the tribe thinking it was a god or the leader thinking it wasn't? Brilliant!

 

"I consider that an apology. And I'll consider that apology."

 

I liked how he just dropped the sacred scroll to look at the Enterprise - throwing out the old stuff for the rebootReligion.

 

Spock being miffed at the idea of another science officer.

 

Sorry Franklin, missed you were asking for the humorous moments...

Kirk on Spock/Uhura's argument; You two are fighting... how does that even work?!

Is that right, did I get the quote correct? Anyway, I thought it was a funny line.

 

When Kirk asked Uhura if her and Spock will be okay working together on the away mission, and she says angrily says "We will," after which Spock waits a beat, turns, and delivers a deadpan "Unclear."

 

It's funny in the irony of it. The fact that this "primitive" person whose people had just barely invented the wheel could look at the Enterprise and have an inkling of anything other than seeing a god is a clever moment. An example of Starfleet sanctimony in action. (You're too dumb to figure out what just happend.) It was clever. And clever things can make a person smirk, which is close to laughing and humorous.

As far as the turbolift scene goes, yeah, it was like Kirk and Uhura had a shared moment about Spock in the turbolift. You could hear another woman deliver the line just like Kirk did (wait women talking about men is in another thread.) When Kirk exited and asked Spock if his ears were burning, I think that got the loudest laugh from my wife.

My youngest daughter thought it was very funny when Scotty told Kirk, "I'm running," on the Vengeance. Laughed out loud both times she saw it.

 

IIRC... Kirk says "Are you two fighting? My God, what's that even like?"

 

There were two lines in the film that I felt the most humor from. Both delivered by McCoy;

Kirk wakes up from being dead with a start.
McCoy: Don't be so melodramatic. You were barely dead.
***
McCoy: Are you feeling homicidal, power-mad, or despotic?
Kirk: No more than usual.

 

That whole exchange is gold.

"I am Vulcan, sir. We embrace technicality."

The humor in STID is a lot better all around than ST'09 – almost all of it comes from character, without the dumb "fat hands"-style slapstick.

The conversation between Kirk and Spock just before the ill-fated briefing is another great moment. It's really funny, but it also sets up the gulf between their mindsets about family and duty, material that pays off in Kirk's death scene.

 

Spock, on his game, is a master of the zinger.

 

I admit, the quick line from Kirk about "Are your ears burning?" to Spock was pretty good...

Cheers,
-CM-

 

I got a great kick out of the fish appearing up-close on the view-screen and giving Scotty a slight start.

Also Scotty running for what seems like an eternity in the cargo bay was fun.

And Scotty seeing the unknown to us thing in the secret facilty and his line "Oh Sh.." turned into the famous star trek door "Shhhssss's".

I guess I liked Scotty.

 

While I cannot remember the exact lines, I loved Scotty's scene in the bar with Keenser. Once Kirk called him, it became even better!

 

"Well now, if it isn't James Tiberius Perfect Hair"

Kirk: "Where are you?"
Scotty: "Where are you?"
Kirk: "Are you drunk?"
Scotty: (IIRC) "What I do in my own time is my business, Jimbo". Then Scotty has a look of WTF when Keenser takes one of his shots.

 

I particularly like the beginning exchange between Kirk and Bones when Bones helps Marcus with the torpedo. The whole scene started tensely with Kirk asking Uhura if there was any reply from Starfleet, asking Sulu if there was anything from the Klingons, then taking an update from Chekov about the warp core... Kirk then settles in thanking Bones for helping Marcus with the torpedo and telling him he's not there to flirt (which of course, Bones does... "How can these legendary hands help you, Dr. Marcus". Kirk: "Bones.. ". The exchanged looks that Sulu and Kirk have after McCoy tells of delivering Gorn octuplets always gets a big laugh!

 

By the by, I easily read your post with Kelley & Shatner's voices on my mind, and it really does read like something from TOS. I could even picture them with their mutual smirks!