An oft discussed element of TMP is the protracted reveal of the refit Enterprise.
My sense is that a good portion of viewers old and new alike are not fond of this sequence during the film. They might feel it slows things down too much from getting on with events in a more brisk pace.
In the theatrical release of TMP as well as the subsequent longer version broadcast on television over the years issue was also taken with the protracted sequences of the Enterprise voyaging through Vger, again slowing down the film. The 2001 and 2022 DE versions of the film appear to have addressed the Vger flyover sequences so they don't feel as drawn out as before. But the Enterprise reveal seems to remain as it always has.
Some newer viewers might be forgiven for getting fidgety during the reveal because contemporary feature films have generally been more briskly paced than films made decades past. That and they often lack the context of the ship's reveal.
When TMP debuted in 1979 it had been ten years since TOS had ceased production. All we had was a decade of reruns so there was a fair bit of pent up expectation for Star Trek's first feature film. That in tandem with the fact that big budget vfx heavy features were popular during the 1970s, kicked of by the success of Star Wars in '77. Each new successive film was greeted with anticipation of, "What can they show us now?"
There was one final element at play. Star Trek had done something during its run that had an impact on its audience: it made us care, really care about the Enterprise. Kirk once proclaiming, "She's a beautiful lady and we love her." was taken to heart by many of us. Other shows and films had had cool sci-fi hardware and vehicles that excited fans of those respective productions, but I don't think they ever achieved the same measure of sentiment many of us had for the Enterprise. To us she wasn't just a very cool piece of sci-fi hardware--she was something of a character itself.
TMP's creators certainly picked up on that sentiment as evidenced by the way the newly refit Enterprise was revealed to us. This was genuine starship porn also reflected in how Kirk looks at his newly refit ship.
I don't think many people begrudged that protracted reveal when TMP first premiered given we were seeing the Enterprise as we had never seen her before. But it wouldn't be surprising for people to tire of the sequence after the novelty had worn off. And for younger viewers they simply have no context or reference point for why film makers would spend so much time to show off an admittedly nice looking ship--let's get on with it!
Speaking for myself I don't tire of the reveal, possibly because I revisit the film only periodically. I take it as part of the overall experience. But even so I know it's highly unlikely anyone today would do something similar in showing off a piece of sci-fi hardware. At best we might get a few protracted seconds of presentation and certainly not several minutes. They know contemporary audiences wouldn't sit for it.
My sense is that a good portion of viewers old and new alike are not fond of this sequence during the film. They might feel it slows things down too much from getting on with events in a more brisk pace.
In the theatrical release of TMP as well as the subsequent longer version broadcast on television over the years issue was also taken with the protracted sequences of the Enterprise voyaging through Vger, again slowing down the film. The 2001 and 2022 DE versions of the film appear to have addressed the Vger flyover sequences so they don't feel as drawn out as before. But the Enterprise reveal seems to remain as it always has.
Some newer viewers might be forgiven for getting fidgety during the reveal because contemporary feature films have generally been more briskly paced than films made decades past. That and they often lack the context of the ship's reveal.
When TMP debuted in 1979 it had been ten years since TOS had ceased production. All we had was a decade of reruns so there was a fair bit of pent up expectation for Star Trek's first feature film. That in tandem with the fact that big budget vfx heavy features were popular during the 1970s, kicked of by the success of Star Wars in '77. Each new successive film was greeted with anticipation of, "What can they show us now?"
There was one final element at play. Star Trek had done something during its run that had an impact on its audience: it made us care, really care about the Enterprise. Kirk once proclaiming, "She's a beautiful lady and we love her." was taken to heart by many of us. Other shows and films had had cool sci-fi hardware and vehicles that excited fans of those respective productions, but I don't think they ever achieved the same measure of sentiment many of us had for the Enterprise. To us she wasn't just a very cool piece of sci-fi hardware--she was something of a character itself.
TMP's creators certainly picked up on that sentiment as evidenced by the way the newly refit Enterprise was revealed to us. This was genuine starship porn also reflected in how Kirk looks at his newly refit ship.
I don't think many people begrudged that protracted reveal when TMP first premiered given we were seeing the Enterprise as we had never seen her before. But it wouldn't be surprising for people to tire of the sequence after the novelty had worn off. And for younger viewers they simply have no context or reference point for why film makers would spend so much time to show off an admittedly nice looking ship--let's get on with it!
Speaking for myself I don't tire of the reveal, possibly because I revisit the film only periodically. I take it as part of the overall experience. But even so I know it's highly unlikely anyone today would do something similar in showing off a piece of sci-fi hardware. At best we might get a few protracted seconds of presentation and certainly not several minutes. They know contemporary audiences wouldn't sit for it.
