About twenty years ago

[gottacook]

Humorous or not humorous? It's sometimes a matter of context. For me, Spock's delivery of "Only Nixon could go to China" was exactly as humorous, in the context of TUC, as "they are not the hell your whales" was in the context of TVH.

Besides, it could have been a Vulcan proverb, expressing something not as easily expressed in plain language (or at least plain Vulcanian). Why not have a proverb from Earth history if no equivalent event in your own planet's history had quite the same flavor?

As for the remark about "Shapespeare in the original Klingon," that's different, in that everyone present would know Shakespeare was an Earther. Clearly intended, therefore, as a joke.

 

[TerragonSix]

Still think WOK is the best TOS movie. With TUC a close second. Surprised that no one on the thread mentioned WOK yet. I thought it was pretty good.

 

[sonak]

Still think WOK is the best TOS movie. With TUC a close second. Surprised that no one on the thread mentioned WOK yet. I thought it was pretty good.

expressing the opinion here that "TWOK is pretty good" is just regarded as too obvious to make much of a big deal about it.

 

[22 Stars]

The Undiscovered Country.

The movie that redeemed the original series crew and quite possible saved Trek itself after the embarrassing, abysmal failure of The Final Frontier.

Pretty sure many would consider TUC to be among the better original series movies, along with Wrath of Khan and Voyage Home. It's that odd-even thing, ya know.

Sure, except that III is quite a good movie and the central chapter in the II III IV trilogy. Other than that, your logic is sound.

 

[CoveTom]

The movie that redeemed the original series crew and quite possible saved Trek itself after the embarrassing, abysmal failure of The Final Frontier.

I'm not sure that it can be accurately said that TUC saved Trek itself.

By 1991, when TUC was released, TNG had already been going strong for several years. It was in its 5th season at the time of the film's release and had become quite the ratings phenomenon in its own right.

I think regardless of the success or failure of TUC, TNG would have continued through its run and eventually have gotten a feature film. I don't think TUC made a difference in that one way or the other.

 

[Alrik]

^

Agreed, it didn't save Trek, but it did redeem TOS,
AND gave it a great send off.

20 years.......wow.

 

[Gojira]

I give the Undiscovered Country an A. I actually like all of the TOS movies and rate them all pretty equally with the one exception being the Final Frontier which I would give a C+.

 

[Trek Survivor]

Used to like it a lot, but really have soured a bit on it in recent years.

 

[Gojira]

Used to like it a lot, but really have soured a bit on it in recent years.

What has caused you to become so sour on the movie?

 

[Ranger3]

I usually bounce back and forth between The Motion Picture and The Undiscovered Country as my favorite of the original series films.

Same here.

 

[BriGuy]

TUC gave the TOS crew the sendoff the TNG crew never got and it appears never will.

As for the score... the soundtrack for TUC was the first I was jazzed about buying on CD. Got it as soon as I could.

 

[sonak]

um, Nemesis was the sendoff for TNG. I mean, Riker marries Troi and they leave the ship, Data dies, etc. It was pretty clearly designed as a potential last film, whether you thought it worked or not.

 

[CaptainMatt]

Star Trek VI may have been the final voyage of the original crew in feature films, but there have been various continuations to that crew in novels. Amazing that no one-me included-really wanted to let the original crew-and cast-go. And why should they? Had there been no studio pressure to do a TNG franchise of movies or to wrap the TOS crew's big screen avdentures, they might have gone on making them at least a few more. But now that is lost, with the passing of De Kelley and Jimmy Doohan.

 

[plynch]

Couldn't remember the score. Listened just now on youtube. Slightly Holst-ish, eh?, especially the ffff chord.

Not that John Williams never channeled anybody.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Slightly Holst-ish, eh?, especially the ffff chord.

He was told to channel Holst. Meyer had planned to use Holst's "Mars, God of War" theme but, despite being so old, it is still under some licensing restrictions and was prohibitively expensive.

 

[Amasov]

It's pretty well-established among us fans that the even-numbered films (for a while) were usually the better ones, but I often feel that VI is the underrated one of the evens. I don't know why, but I almost feel like it's forgotten in a way. Like, it comes up as an after thought.

"Oh, yeah, VI! Yeah, that was a pretty good one too."

Is it just me?

 

[CaptainMatt]

Well it DID come after the less than stellar recieved Trek V. But I get your point,friend, for some fans it would seem the classic cast films should have wrapped with either IV or V. IV as it was a good place to stop and V because it nearly killed the franchise.

 

[Amasov]

Well it DID come after the less than stellar recieved Trek V. But I get your point,friend, for some fans it would seem the classic cast films should have wrapped with either IV or V. IV as it was a good place to stop and V because it nearly killed the franchise.

I was 3 when TVH came out, but I seem to remember there being chatter of it being the last movie. Was that actually considered?

 

[antiquityscion]

Well it DID come after the less than stellar recieved Trek V. But I get your point,friend, for some fans it would seem the classic cast films should have wrapped with either IV or V. IV as it was a good place to stop and V because it nearly killed the franchise.

I was 3 when TVH came out, but I seem to remember there being chatter of it being the last movie. Was that actually considered?

The way I remember it, no. Of course I was in high school then, but I don't remember any particular talk saying it was the last movie. And considering how successful IV was at the box office, I think it was a given there would be a V, really. It just turned out it was a stinker of a movie. I do remember talk after V, that IT could be (possibly should be) the last movie, as the actors were all approaching 60+ at the time, plots were getting thin, TNG was on air, etc. Much like the talk after Insurrection should be the last for the TNG crew, since that was less than successful, the actors were aging (though still younger than the TOS crew at the time of V), and you had DS9 and VOY on air.

 

[CaptainMatt]

The cast hace stated in interviews that they believed each movie was to be the last for different reasons, but IV made so much money and was the best film they had according to George Takei that it led to TNG and a ST V on the big screen. V was so poorly recieved that the next film project planned was a prequel not involving the main cast beyond cameos for Shatner and Nimoy, as I understood it.