The plot of the movie is a dark one, what with it being about a conspiracy designed to stop peace between two major powers of the galaxy and even having a dark theatrical score.
But yet, despite all that, there are so many quips and humorous parts that it seems (to me at least) just as lighthearted as it is dark. Even when Kirk and Bones are serving their sentence in Rura Penthe they both seem to be taking it in stride and don't really seem all that sad about their situation.
IMO the movie is just as funny as TVH even though TVH is meant to be a comedy while TUC is meant to be a political thriller/drama.
What is your opinion of TUC in this regard? Does it seem like a funny/lighthearted movie to you despite its dark plot?
In 1991, I loathed it. TNG was doing all the "serious" stuff and the TOS movies became sitcommy. TVH started the trend, and it worked only because they had "fish out of water" making it feel authentic. TFF and TUC both try the same thing but making jokes of the characters' fields. Sulu and Chekov get lost and have to cover. Uhura is the Communications/Linguistics officer and can't read a book and Scotty and the other three or whocares number of officers surrounding Uhura weren't being of any help either, and since when was the ship loaded with specialists in not just their fields but could all be C3P0-Stand-ins with language translating at the same time? Ugh...
True, the movie did need some humor - though considering I could sit through "Nemesis"'s dark tone (sans one or two scenes) and was appreciative they finally ditched the jokiness that increasingly developed, especially for Data... (the 1990s in general weren't my favorite for movies as Bond was devolving into superficial drivel as well, but YMMV.)
At the same time, Chekov's epic of "Cinderella" still gave a chuckle, though his character was introduced in 1967 as a "backhanded compliment" trope anyway, but before I digress and especially how I think his more serious handling in season 3 of TOS was a genuine plus... that's the only joke I laughed at. That and McCoy's coffee line. Regardless of film entry, McCoy is generally consistently the best. Even TFF, which is a mixed bag for all the characters (even Kirk is the butt of a joke on one or two occasions, but ideally none of them would have been. And McCoy was the only one truly spared the character assassination scenes.)
Dang digressing...
Great point on Kirk and Bones not being as petrified as all that. Spock slapping the Veridian 3 patch onto his shoulder is also a headscratcher since he gets to keep his uniform, which must've smelled real bad by the time his 5 o'clock shadow became that prominent as well. (the humor between him and Bones DID feel authentic; the movie did get some scenes perfectly...)
On the flip side, what if TVH didn't have the whaling songs and kneeslap comedy but instead focused on the political intrigue*? The court scenes, which sprinkle some seeds that TUC take needed advantage of, are just as sample of what could have been. The makers wanted a lighter movie, after the grim material from the previous two movies, but they clearly were onto something with the political intrigue. Indeed, who says "YOU POMPOUS ***!" falls right in line with TUC. is it possible that ideas for TUC were originally slated for the whalefest but sidelined? And not just the death of Kirk's son as well. Ironically, it may have been for the best that TVH and TFF both did their own things, with TVH seeding an idea and TFF mucking it up**. Could TUC's darker dealings have worked as well in 1986?
* TFF didn't know what it wanted to do either, and there is some good material cut out that would have helped a lot... but the studio wanted the comedy and that's one of the core reasons behind its flopping... IMHO...
** The ending of TFF shows Klingons and Federation personnel at what looks like a newfound peace, making TUC and Kirk's barking mad line about "LET THEM DIE!!"" a real headscratcher. It's up to headcanon to plop in some event between films that had Kirk devolving, instead of him acting as if this all was a direct continuation after III. As fathomed earlier, TUC feels as if more of its ideas were intended for 1986 but sidelined, for whatever reason(s). Maybe it was for the best...?
And while it's true TNG came about due to actor salaries, it's also true that TVH brought in a truckload of new fans. That wouldn't have hurt, either, but how many of them would vamoose if they came in, saw this TVH as being a comedy, and expected every movie thereafter to feel like an overly long sitcom, complete with music yet lacking that luster of 29.97fps videotape? And, as we all know, Kirk put the "lust" in "luster"
...
But I digress. Again. But etymology is a beautiful thing...
I have always viewed the book scene as Uhura's Klingon was way rusty and she needed the books to make sure she didn't screw up, and of course, because she was using the books, of course she screwed up. I did that enough times in school it rang true.
I just scrolled up, rare but true. I think you raise a great point, but did the scene still
need to be camped up as such? At least she, upon closing the channel, gives a worthy scowl. That almost made up for it...
