Star Trek The Motion Picture: If You Could Remake It

[Joel_Kirk]

1. Definitely keep Jerry Goldsmith's score. That score is not only one of the best pieces of music in the franchise, but one of the best pieces of music, period, no matter if one is a Trek fan or not. It has that 1970s sci-fi sound and feel which is awesome, not too mention an alien feel at times; each track is awesome and takes you on a journey.

2. I would change the uniforms. Something that is building on the uniforms from the classic series.(I like the color coded department uniforms...not too mention the skirt/boots uniforms as variants).

3. I would also like to see more of this Earthbound panic and not too mention more ships around the Earth, and at least an explanation as to why one ship is sent to save the world. And did the Klingons just give up after that one fleet was destroyed?

4. Certain scenes, particularly the 'we are in awe of V'Ger' sequence has to be tweaked for pacing. The funny thing is: Showing crew reactions to the cloud is actually realistic. No doubt they would be in awe of the vastness of 'something' that is on its way to absorb Earth, something that allowed the ship to enter w/o any issues. However, the pacing would need to be ramped up.

This is the film where people, casual fans, think that TOS is boring overall because of this one film...lol (I was just talking to someone yesterday and I was told TOS was slow as well as sexist. Yeah, I can agree with sexism that crops up in the classic series, but slow? Nah).

 

[mos6507]

Even if all the potential that the TMP story had was maximized in the best possible script, TMP is not capable of being all things to all people. The more you try to do that, you're better off starting over again with an all new story, which is kinda what Wrath of Khan was, a soft reboot.

In a TV show you're allowed to have the tone vary from episode to episode. When you do films that are spaced 2-3 years apart, there's that much more pressure to throw in the kitchen sink, and with Trek they approached every film as though it might be the last (and the audience too). So expectations were always high.

We're lucky we wound up getting films that had varying tones. Ultra heavy and serious (TMP) on one end and light and funny (IV) on the other. These days the way films are made, the risks so high, the pressure to pull in mainstream audiences, that everything is more homogenous.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

I'd have kept Xon instead of Sonak and had him remain onboard, working with Spock throughout. I'd have Spock be the one kidnapped by V'Ger and ultimately Kirk sacrifices himself to save his ship, Earth and stay with his best friend.

The Enterprise continues with Decker in command, Sulu as his Executive Officer, Xon as Head of Science, Ilia as Navigator (and Decker's true love), and McCoy as Chief Surgeon and 'mentor' to Decker.

 

[Gorbs]

First, I would remove any reference to the wormhole. Even though this may be my favorite movie, I can't get past the feeling that that the wormhole scene completely stops the dramatic motion of the film. It's too abrupt and unnecessary. It feels like filler (which it was accused of being). Second, I would include a stronger resolution to Kirk's demons. Kirk begins the mission with a serious chip on his shoulder. He's willing to step on others to get what he wants. Yeah, in the past he may have stretched the prime directive to achieve what he felt was just and right, but his respect for others was always there. Here he's completely self absorbed (at least for the first two or three scenes). I want a stronger reason for why he returns to being the captain we know and love. I get that having Spock on board changes things, but it always seemed too convenient (or too shallow).

 

[Nyotarules]

I would keep Chapel as Chief MD, why did Kirk need Bones back? ok we know it was to get the unholy trinity on screen but I can imagine in the real world Chapel and her lawyer would be lauging all the way to the Federation Supreme Court lol What! You demoted her to give your best friend a job????

 

[BillJ]

I would keep Chapel as Chief MD, why did Kirk need Bones back? ok we know it was to get the unholy trinity on screen but I can imagine in the real world Chapel and her lawyer would be lauging all the way to the Federation Supreme Court lol What! You demoted her to give your best friend a job????

This is the military.

 

[BillJ]

Did McCoy come aboard as Enterprise Chief Medical Officer or as an adviser to Kirk?

 

[Nyotarules]

This is the military.

Yeah that is true. I've argued the 'Starfleet is a military organisation no matter reboot 'we are explorers Captain' Scotty said' quite a few times lol

 

[BillJ]

Yeah that is true. I've argued the 'Starfleet is a military organisation no matter reboot 'we are explorers Captain' Scotty said' quite a few times lol

Picard said that Starfleet isn't the military in "Peak Performance", nearly two decades before Into Darkness.

Based on the evidence, I'd say both Picard and Scott are wrong.

 

[Nyotarules]

Picard said that Starfleet isn't the military in "Peak Performance", nearly two decades before Into Darkness.

Based on the evidence, I'd say both Picard and Scott are wrong.

Definitely! If they want to be like NASA and not the armed forces then the Federation needs to stop sending them into battle all the time.

 

[Nyotarules]

Admiral Marcus was right Starfleet is the military so get over it.
Admiral Marcus was wrong preemptive strikes never work for the striker

 

[Pauln6]

I would keep Chapel as Chief MD, why did Kirk need Bones back? ok we know it was to get the unholy trinity on screen but I can imagine in the real world Chapel and her lawyer would be lauging all the way to the Federation Supreme Court lol What! You demoted her to give your best friend a job????

Not quite. In the real world Chapel would be a newly qualified junior doctor and should be supervised by a consultant. She was a negligent suit waiting to happen!

 

[BillJ]

Not quite. In the real world Chapel would be a newly qualified junior doctor and should be supervised by a consultant. She was a negligent suit waiting to happen!

Do we know the requirements to practice medicine in the 23rd century?

 

[STEPhon IT]

I would keep the new costumes except I would change the colors to the tv series: Avocado green, red, and blue again. The story would've started out in deep space where Kirk is delegating an issue. Some mystery emerges, and Kirk brings back Spock and McCoy, and get the Enterprise back with Scotty dealing with the mystery along side a whole new young crew.

 

[Pauln6]

Do we know the requirements to practice medicine in the 23rd century?

Anecdotally it seems to be similar to modern day standards. I think Julian Bashir was aged 27 as a relatively newly qualified doctor in a backwater posting. That's 9 years from the age of 18. In the UK I think it's a 5 year degree from medical student to trainee doctor and typically two more years to become an independent junior doctor. Presumably that runs alongside starfleet training.

Chapel was a research biologist (possibly a PhD but unlikely) who became a nurse on the fly, impliedly with a crash course in starfleet training. If she had already been a trainee doctor then it's unlikely she would have functioned as a nurse, although she must have been studying during this period. Her scientific background would have exempted her from some training but she was a nurse all through TAS too. So by the time of TMP, she's had at most 2 years as trainee doctor and maybe a year as a junior doctor.

It would have made more sense for Dr Chapel to be the ship's astrobiologist since she was already qualified for that role, which would have complemented McCoy with a slightly divergent skill set all of her own rather than being wholly subservient to him.

 

[Nyotarules]

Maybe a 23rd century nurse is as qualified as a 21st century junior doctor. I like the idea of a drastic cultural change to human medicine where all doctors have to do at least 2 years of nursing before applying for medical school. It will help to curb the god complex lol That's my head fanon lol

 

[Kor]

There are four hundred or so people on the ship. One MD is not enough.

TOS had McCoy and M'Benga (and maybe others off-screen). It makes sense for the ship to have more than one doctor in TMP also.

Kor

 

[Nyotarules]

There are four hundred or so people on the ship. One MD is not enough.

TOS had McCoy and M'Benga (and maybe others off-screen). It makes sense for the ship to have more than one doctor in TMP also.

Kor

I believe TMP had other MDs on the ship with Chapel as chief until McCoy took over. You have to assume they are offscreen just as the other nonhuman crew were offscreen in TOS but showed up on TAS

 

[Pauln6]

In the sixties nursing was not really recognised in the same way it is today. There was never any suggestion that Chapel had a nursing degree. I think her role was mostly the kinds of things that we would expect medical technicians or healthcare assistants to do these days. The way Chapel is portrayed is very reflective of sixties attitudes IMO. Modern day nurses have a lot of medical expertise but their training is very different to doctors.

The ship would most likely have had several doctors with different fields of specialism plus affiliated technicians. We only know of two general surgeons, one of whom had a degree of experience with alien physiology, and a psychiatrist on staff.

 

[Nyotarules]

In the sixties nursing was not really recognised in the same way it is today. There was never any suggestion that Chapel had a nursing degree. I think her role was mostly the kinds of things that we would expect medical technicians or healthcare assistants to do these days. The way Chapel is portrayed is very reflective of sixties attitudes IMO. Modern day nurses have a lot of medical expertise but their training is very different to doctors.

The ship would most likely have had several doctors with different fields of specialism plus affiliated technicians. We only know of two general surgeons, one of whom had a degree of experience with alien physiology, and a psychiatrist on staff.

True, that's the problem with creating a futuristic world hindered by a 1960's cultural mindset hence the miniskirts, the lack of female captains and admirals and only one alien crewmember seen on the Enterprise. If Star Trek was a novel created in 1860 there would be no female crew at all except Uhura would be the maid and Sulu would be running the laundry. And the Klingons would look Hispanic. Spock's parents would be a human father and an alien mother, since the idea of a white female with anyone else but a white male would be abhorrent.