Most Gratuitous Trek MacGuffin!
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In my experience, Star Trek: The One About the Whales was the only one liked by most people, at least until nuTrek.
The best Trek reboot was Guacamole.
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Just because it made a lot of money, and won critical acclaim doesn't mean it's real Star Trek.
That's because it's based on that dip they sell in the dairy section.
Yes.
I'm not sure any of these are really good examples of McGuffins. Someone mentioned the case in Ronin which is a classic McGuffin--it's never explained what it is for, it has no function whatsoever EXCEPT for the characters to chase it. It is a PURE plot device. A similar example would be the "Rabbit's Foot" in Mission Impossible:III (the movie with Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Villain.) They never explain what the Rabbit's foot is or what it does, it is just something to chase after.
The red matter does serve a function other than as pure plot device--it destroys vulcan and kills Eric Bana, it is not just something for the characters to chase after. Quadrotriticale is not just something that's there for the characters to chase after, and it is explained what it is and what it does.
These things listed may be plot devices to some extent or another but they don't seem quite as purely mcguffinistic as the case in Ronin or the Rabbit's Foot.
So for Stat Trek, something comparable would be something that they have to chase after but it is never explained what it is or what it does, and it would have no role in the plot other than as something to be chased after.
The red matter does serve a function other than as pure plot device--it destroys vulcan and kills Eric Bana, it is not just something for the characters to chase after. Quadrotriticale is not just something that's there for the characters to chase after, and it is explained what it is and what it does.
These things listed may be plot devices to some extent or another but they don't seem quite as purely mcguffinistic as the case in Ronin or the Rabbit's Foot.
So for Stat Trek, something comparable would be something that they have to chase after but it is never explained what it is or what it does, and it would have no role in the plot other than as something to be chased after.
I think the most gratuitous has gotta be The Planet Killer. It's a pretty scary concept that led to an entire book series (Saberhagen's "Berserker" universe): a weapon so powerful that it destroyed the civilization that made it and is just waiting for something else to destroy. It's not subtle or really even explained all that much, but it works. TMP was not too different in practice, and it added a bunch of things I did like. It was basically like a regular Trek episode but made to look better.
I like that there are a lot of things that could wreck civilization that can't necessarily be countered with brute force. I think it's the same reason I don't like the Whale thing. I'm all down with preserving the ecosystem and everything. In fact that's similar to the career I want to have eventually. I don't need movies to reinforce that view. I'm more worried about the bio-hazard caused by the Smug, in this case.
I like that there are a lot of things that could wreck civilization that can't necessarily be countered with brute force. I think it's the same reason I don't like the Whale thing. I'm all down with preserving the ecosystem and everything. In fact that's similar to the career I want to have eventually. I don't need movies to reinforce that view. I'm more worried about the bio-hazard caused by the Smug, in this case.
In fairness, I preceded this poll with an open thread calling for ideas for MacGuffins. The list is everything the posters offered. I get that opinions vary on what is and isn't a MacGuffin, but my goal was to learn which one folks think is the best example.
There was also some stuff to unpack in the OP of the thread soliciting entries that admitted reasonable differences of opinion as to what "best" MacGuffin might mean, as well. It's also worth pointing out that great artists know when to bend and even break rules, so for example the most creative and distinguished use of a trope might not necessarily precisely fit its textbook definition. Art is often about pushing boundaries, which implies non-conformity. Never stepping outside of the box would be boring, and therefore bad art.
I'm so incredibly sorry for the necro-threading, but, really, do people know what a McGuffin is??? How the heck could the Red Matter be a McGuffin? Its role is essential for the movie. It destroyed a planet. By definition, what is really a McGuffin is irrelevant. It is an object around which the plot revolves, but what a McGuffin is isn't part of the plot.
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Please don't resurrect dead threads. Instead, link the old one and start a new one, as the rules state.
Thanks.
Closing.
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