Missing McCoy (major spoiler)

Discussion in 'Star Trek Movies: Kelvin Universe' started by Komack, May 27, 2013.

  1. Komack

    Komack Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2009
    Did anyone else think that Bones -and not Uhura - should have been present in the engine room during Kirk and Spock's final conversation?
     
  2. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2001
    No.

    McCoy didn't have the kind of close relationship to Spock in this movie that he does in TWOK with Kirk. Uhura was the appropriate choice here.
     
  3. Greylock Crescent

    Greylock Crescent Adventurer Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 3, 2009
    Location:
    Walking The Path
    No.

    Spock's whole conflict with emotion has its explicit representation with Uhura's character. Her presence, at the very moment where he not only is emotional, but genuinely embraces emotion, is poignant.
     
  4. seven14

    seven14 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 21, 2009
    Location:
    Virginia
    No, I think it was right to have Uhura there...if possible I wouldn't have minded Bones as well but then it would have seemed crowded in the tight shot.

    I feel Uhura and Kirk showed a solidified friendship in this movie. However inappropriate, Kirk would not have thought to have that conversation about Spock in the lift if he and Uhura were not close friends.

    I wished she were in the hospital scene with Spock and Bones when Kirk came too--those 3 are the ones I feel he thinks of as close friends/family.
     
  5. sj4iy

    sj4iy Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 17, 2013
    Location:
    US
    What is McCoy going to do to help a dying trapped behind a door when he probably has a ton of patients to help?
     
  6. Robert D. Robot

    Robert D. Robot Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Location:
    Pre-Warp Civilization of Alaska
    In this Universe, the senior staff of Kirk's Enterprise seems to be run more like what we see on the Serenity in "Firefly" rather than on the Starfleet vessels we are used to seeing in other Trek incarnations. If the ship's captain is dying in the aftermath of a battle, maybe the Chief Medical Officer should be there, not the head communications officer who should be getting communications back up and running. I also suspect that Sulu would be a better fighter to beam down to save Spock and apprehend Khan... BUT Uhura IS Spock's girlfriend, after all....!

    I am not so happy with the familiarity that goes on between Uhura and Kirk and not so approving of her moody 'tude in her job (can not imagine Shatner's Kirk or Picard or Sisko or Janeway or Archer tolerating this sort of behavior from a subordinate). I don't care for it, but this film has more of an action/buddy film feel/tone to it and -like Transformers needed a Mikaela Banes, TPTB decided nuTrek needed a hot & feisty, kick-ass female.

    I actually do like how Uhura is given a more integral role in the action in the new Trek movies, and I see how Zoe Saldana's character adds an appealing dimension for both the 'boys and girls' in the audience (I know the usually-non-scifi-appreciating women I saw this movie with REALLY enjoyed her quips and actions), but -for me- her 'bad teenage girl' attitude and behavior goes a little bit too far at times.

    Uhura probably needed to stay at her station when Spock went to engineering. Well... maybe not. And maybe McCoy needed to focus on the living in Sick Bay at that point. But we are needing to integrate this relationship into the important scenes of this movie. And this isn't "Tora! Tora! Tora!", after all, right? BUT-- Sulu, the trained fighter, needed to be sent down to immobilize Khan, not Uhura.
     
  7. sj4iy

    sj4iy Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 17, 2013
    Location:
    US

    1. What could McCoy do, seriously? Watch Kirk die while other people needed his help? What if Kirk had asked for Spock specifically? And Uhura is Spock's girlfriend and she just saw him running because something had happened- it's a natural reaction.

    2. Uhura has a personality this time around.

    3. Sulu needed to man the bridge as acting Captain.
     
  8. Maurice

    Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2005
    Location:
    Real Gone
    I have to ask what the heck Tora Tora Tora has to do with anything here?

    As to Sulu, uh, he says he studied fencing. He's not a "thew trained fighter". Plus, Vulcans are stronger than humans, so Spock was the logical choice...well not as logical as sending a whole mess of security, obviously.
     
  9. OpenMaw

    OpenMaw Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    May 26, 2013
    Location:
    Everett, Washington
    I don't know... Putting aside the whole argument about Uhura and McCoy in terms of their place in this new universe and whether it's justified or what have you, I do think from a character standpoint it would have been nice to have Bones there. Remember, McCoy and Kirk were friends for several years before either of them even met Spock.

    He could have called back to his own remarks at the beginning of the movie with regards to saving Spock. Scotty could stop McCoy from trying to open the hatch and save Kirk. "We can't just let him die!" "You're not going in there, Doctor! You'll kill us all."
     
  10. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2004
    Location:
    Hiding with the Water Tribe
    When were communications ever down that they needed to be gotten back up again?

    The CMO had a lot of casualties to deal with from the beating the Enterprise took.

    Yes, and that's precisely why it had to be her. Spock was in a rage and he needed someone whom he loved to pull him back from the brink before he killed Khan, just like he needed Sarek to pull him back in the first film when he was attacking Kirk.

    They've known each other since before the Academy, she's obviously become better friends with Kirk over the past year (as has Spock and Kirk), and he was just demoted for his actions stemming from saving her boyfriend's life. They've got good reason to have more familiar banter.
     
  11. starburst

    starburst Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2007
    Exactly, plus Scotty knew that Kirk didnt have a chance, the only reason to call McCoy would have been so he could be there when Kirk died.
     
  12. Malaika

    Malaika Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2012
    why you don't say "instead of Scotty"? and why it has to be instead of someone?
    Honestly I think that he'd make more sense there than Spock if only because:
    1) it makes more sense for Scotty to call a doctor or call both, at least
    2) Kirk and Bones are really best friends at the moment

    I think they left Bones out of the scene on purpose but that's the malicious in me that is thinking that

    still the scene at the hospital is cute and God bless McCoy for reminding Kirk that Spock didn't have all the credit for saving his life as both him and Uhura had played an important role too! (actually if it wasn't for them Kirk would be dead because Spock wanted to kill ~John Harrison~ )
     
  13. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Location:
    The Old Mixer, Somewhere in Connecticut
    FWIW, in TWOK McCoy was already in engineering treating Scotty, who had succumbed to radiation exposure. Don't believe that happened this time around.
     
  14. The Wormhole

    The Wormhole Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    The Wormhole
    ^^Indeed. Besides, had McCoy been in engineering for that scene, it would literally be a reenactment of the scene in TWOK. Maybe he and Scotty could try to hold Spock back before he opens the chamber...
     
  15. Robert D. Robot

    Robert D. Robot Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Location:
    Pre-Warp Civilization of Alaska
    RE:1. As I said in my previous post (and agreeing with part of what you said in your previous post), McCoy's skills were, admittedly, realistically needed most in Sick Bay. Uhura running behind Spock, however, simply because she "is his girlfriend" is where I have a problem. Uhura is a bridge officer and she has a job to do, and that job is not running along behind her "boyfriend" every time he makes a move. Uhura running along after Spock in this instance is too far, at least for me.

    RE:2. As I said before, I am glad Uhura has an expanded role and her personality is fleshed out more. What I don't care for is her sulking and her petulant behavior on the job. It is 'cute' onscreen and definitely makes the target audience smile, but is not appropriate behavior in the work environment, especially within a quasi-military organization. I guess this is why fraternization is frowned upon in our military, and in our workplaces.

    RE:2. Good point about Sulu! However, I am positive that some red shirt security officer (or two) would be better suited to beam down and grab Khan.

    As I have said before, I have enjoyed Trek in all its incarnations and I am also really enjoying J.J.'s movies AND psyched that they are having success with a wider audience. But one thing that causes me a little heartburn is the Spock/Uhura thing being taken too far (perhaps) into the realm of the CW network programming. (To see a humorous presentation of this 'trend', please refer to the clip of the scene with a possible "younger and edgier" SG-1 cast seen in the Stargate SG-1 episode, "200"!)

    But-- I should just repeat to myself "It's just a movie, I should really just relax..." ;)
     
  16. Robert D. Robot

    Robert D. Robot Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Location:
    Pre-Warp Civilization of Alaska
    I meant to imply that a Star Trek movie is probably not the place to go to see battle scenes and post-battle scenes portrayed realistically. Something like "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (or better yet, "Saving Private Ryan") would be the place to go.

    You also misunderstood me. I agree with you that Spock was the person to go to apprehend Khan. Uhura, however, was NOT the person to be sent down afterwards as backup for Spock. In retrospect, I see that I might agree with you about not sending Sulu, either. But surely someone in Security would have been a better choice than Uhura.
     
  17. Robert D. Robot

    Robert D. Robot Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2009
    Location:
    Pre-Warp Civilization of Alaska
    With reflection, I will agree that McCoy would more logically be needed in Sick Bay. To have him run down to Engineering would only serve to amp up the drama in the scene... which is why the writers had Uhura run down there when she should realistically remain at her post, given the situation (even if communications had been restored).

    I don't feel Spock had to be "pulled back from the brink", just stunned, along with Khan, by a person more qualified in fighting than Uhura. Dramatically, this would be -I admit- not very satisfying, but sending Uhura down -alone- to intervene in a fight on top of a Coruscant aerial barge where a "Superman" is possibly in the process of killing Spock is not a good idea. But this is nitpicking. I know why the needs of the Drama outweigh the needs of the Logic!

    ... And I do understand why Kirk & Uhura are closer in this Universe. I misspoke in that I don't like the familiarity. I dislike it when Uhura is acting more a petulant teenager while she is on the job, rather than a trained professional.

    I will acknowledge, however, that my suggestions would sap the drama out of these scenes! As I said before, I can nitpick but still like the movie and still defend (overall) what is happening in this new Universe!
     
  18. seven14

    seven14 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 21, 2009
    Location:
    Virginia
    Personally, I don't feel Uhura was in that scene because she was running behind her boyfriend at all, well literally she did run behind him after Scotty requested him to urgently come, but she wanted to know what was so urgent that made Spock take off at a run and I think she wanted to offer her assistance. Now, I don't really know what kind of assistance she was thinking of but we had just seen her stab a Klingon in the leg after he had her by the throat. I think whatever assistance she could have offered would have been needed and appreciated.

    Uhura is not "just" a bridge officer at this point---not in her mind or in any of the other officers/crew minds. They see her transporting on away missions and see her close interaction with not only Spock but Kirk/Scotty/Sulu/Bones...she's a leader. It's not surprising that she would take off to run to help just as Spock her commanding officer who happens to also be her boyfriend was running to help in whatever situation he was being called too.

    Fraternization is frowned upon and yet it happens all the time. The Fraternization between Spock and Uhura happened a long time ago and he as the senior officer should have been punished but he wasn't and so they are now aboard the Enterprise working together professionally and if Kirk, their Captain, can deal with it...so can I.

    I'm an Uhura fan and even if she went running after her "boyfriend" I don't think anyone could think she was running after him to get free cuddles. She's an Officer and a professional and a caring human being (fictional character :) ) who won't shy away from putting herself in harm's way if it means she can help someone in the process. :)
     
  19. sj4iy

    sj4iy Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    May 17, 2013
    Location:
    US
    Stunning Khan doesn't actually *work*, since, you know, it took Uhura about 10 times just to phase him enough that Spock could FINISH HIM! Mortal Kombat jokes aside, if someone stuns Spock, you've let Khan get away. Uhura was fine going down there, she was probably the only one that could get through to Spock at the moment anyway.
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2013
  20. The Old Mixer

    The Old Mixer Mih ssim, mih ssim, nam, daed si Xim. Moderator

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2002
    Location:
    The Old Mixer, Somewhere in Connecticut
    If I want to see behavior appropriate to a work environment...I'll go to work.