He also had a Jem'Hadar weapon long before the wormhole was discovered XD
The Undiscovered Country
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Why would he? The Federation and Klingons had been in a state of either all out war or cold war from Broken Bow all the way up to Star Trek VI. Also, even nearly 80 years later - when they're allies - Crusher doesn't know how to repair Worfs back because Klingon medical research is so basic (being a warrior culture not historically likely to save "the weak" and all).
One of the changeling infants was an arms dealer.
Chang was a memorable Klingon; he represented the ruthlessness I remembered from TOS. Kirk trying to be in his best behavior during the dinner while the Klingons profess to be victims, I loved Shatner's performance in that scene. His facial expressions told me a lot what he was thinking.
Also, Klingons are eager to try out body modification in ENT. Since the one constant thing about Klingons in Star Trek is that they are always different, perhaps their willingness to tamper with their own physiology for greater warrior prowess means it's actually impossible to know their anatomy unless one has read the very latest articles on the Imperial Lance(t)?
"Klingon medical research is basic" is probably just Crusher's specieist bias on said research being geared exclusively towards self-improvement, a subject that's taboo in human medical research of the day.
Timo Saloniemi
I liked the allusion that Spock was a direct descendant of Sherlock Holmes too. It was a nice nod to Nicolas Meyer's non-Trek work. On his mother's side no doubt!
I saw it as a joke Spock was making to his comrades, the crew knows as well as Spock that Sherlock Holmes is fictional in the Star Trek Universe.
I thought the allusion was that Spock was related to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Allusion was Spock was related to the human race, since he is... half-human. There was already Sherlock Holmes bits on TNG and had established the character was fictional.
What I love about TUC is how much TOS it packs in: Humanity rises above its hateful impulses, Kirk beds a space lady and confronts a doppelgänger, Spock has a Spockian relationship, the Klingons are cunning antagonists, the bad guys aren’t as clear cut as they seem and there’s even a good old-fashioned fistfight. It’s a fitting final outing for the original crew.
Leonard Nimoy played Sherlock Holmes once, and there was an article in one of those old Best of Trek paperback anthologies where the author compared Spock to Sherlock Holmes.
That allusion doesn't quite make sense, dear Watson.
Quite a fitting summary.
The movie did try to leave me wanting more.
In my headcanon Dr. McCoy brought Dr. M'Benga on board the Enterprise after the events of "Journey to Babel" convinced Bones that he didn't know Vulcan anatomy as well as he should and that they needed a specialist in Vulcan medicine on board.
I think Shatner did his best work under Meyer's direction. There's a nice low key melancholy quality to Kirk in Meyer's entries that suits the characters nicely. He's got the same thoughtfulness that Kirk had in early S1.
I think that this is because Meyer quickly figured out how to best direct Shatner: Make him do a lot of takes and tire him out. Then the Shat would get bored and drop the more melodramatic leading man posturing, becoming more naturalistic in his approach.
That's the beauty of the joke. It works as both a reference to Holmes and to Arthur Conan Doyle.
I seem to remember one article even speculating that Holmes was a Vulcan.
Outside DS9, I think Undiscovered Country felt like the last time I really enjoyed a major Klingon story. The descent into space vikings from TNG on was a bit mitigated by Behr and Wolfe's efforts with the likes of Martok and company, but the other shows just lack the nuanced and more importantly, cunning the ones in TUC have.
A figure like Chang on Enterprise or Discovery could have done wonders for the Klingon centered stories on those shows.
A figure like Chang on Enterprise or Discovery could have done wonders for the Klingon centered stories on those shows.
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With respect to the original topic:
It seems they blew half the budget on the opening explosion. I still think the opening sequence is one of the most exciting bits of the film. They could have crafted a whole movie around George Takei and "The U.S.S. Excelsiorrrrrr."
On the other hand, they had enough of a budget to pull off some decent hair, makeup, and wardrobe for the Klingons. TUC is really the first time they are convincingly realised on-screen as a motley band of diplomats, statesmen, generals, soldiers, lieutenants, lawyers, and saboteurs. TUC is Klingon-crazy, and rightly so!
But there is a TV-movie-style cheapness that pervades the film. I mean, it's a Star Trek movie sequel, and a Nick Meyer movie at that. Rura Penthe mostly looks like a TNG planet reject (though there are some nice wide shots when Kirk and McCoy are escaping), while the peace conference at Khitomer is apparently taking place in Zordon's Command Center. The latter of which would find its way back into Star Trek a little later in the TNG two-parter "Descent". Speaking of which...
TNG manages to spread its seed all over the movie, from Michael Dorn appearing as Worf's grandfather, to the heavy re-use of TNG sets for the interior of the Enterprise-A (which bears so little in common with the Refit Enterprise internally that it's hard to believe it's the same endoskeleton), to a cameo appearance by Ten Forward as the President's office on Earth, to the appearances of Mark Lenard, Leonard Nimoy, and James Doohan who showed up as those same characters in TNG episodes around the time of the movie's release (in "Sarek", the two-parter "Unification", and "Relics" respectively). Indeed, "Unification" has the same basic premise: a peace-making Spock, trying to bring a classic TOS enemy into the Federation. I guess you could be charitable and say all these links were appropriate. The baton was truly being passed.
It seems they blew half the budget on the opening explosion. I still think the opening sequence is one of the most exciting bits of the film. They could have crafted a whole movie around George Takei and "The U.S.S. Excelsiorrrrrr."
On the other hand, they had enough of a budget to pull off some decent hair, makeup, and wardrobe for the Klingons. TUC is really the first time they are convincingly realised on-screen as a motley band of diplomats, statesmen, generals, soldiers, lieutenants, lawyers, and saboteurs. TUC is Klingon-crazy, and rightly so!
But there is a TV-movie-style cheapness that pervades the film. I mean, it's a Star Trek movie sequel, and a Nick Meyer movie at that. Rura Penthe mostly looks like a TNG planet reject (though there are some nice wide shots when Kirk and McCoy are escaping), while the peace conference at Khitomer is apparently taking place in Zordon's Command Center. The latter of which would find its way back into Star Trek a little later in the TNG two-parter "Descent". Speaking of which...
TNG manages to spread its seed all over the movie, from Michael Dorn appearing as Worf's grandfather, to the heavy re-use of TNG sets for the interior of the Enterprise-A (which bears so little in common with the Refit Enterprise internally that it's hard to believe it's the same endoskeleton), to a cameo appearance by Ten Forward as the President's office on Earth, to the appearances of Mark Lenard, Leonard Nimoy, and James Doohan who showed up as those same characters in TNG episodes around the time of the movie's release (in "Sarek", the two-parter "Unification", and "Relics" respectively). Indeed, "Unification" has the same basic premise: a peace-making Spock, trying to bring a classic TOS enemy into the Federation. I guess you could be charitable and say all these links were appropriate. The baton was truly being passed.
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We love VI.
Good effects, but more focus on characters and story than later films. This is a good thing! Nicholas Meyer is indeed a decent film-maker.
Our only gripe? That damn praxis effect! It's great here, but then every film had to have one!
Good effects, but more focus on characters and story than later films. This is a good thing! Nicholas Meyer is indeed a decent film-maker.
Our only gripe? That damn praxis effect! It's great here, but then every film had to have one!
That was deliberate.
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