Fixing the films....

[Warped9]

For fun.

1979: Star Trek - Two Hours...Gone
1982: Star Trek - This Guy Is Pissed!
1984: Star Trek - Spock, Where Art Thou?
1986: Star Trek - All Wet
1989: Star Trek - It's Broken
1991: Star Trek - We Done Yet?
1994: Star Trek - You're Dead, Jim
1996: Star Trek - Back In Time...Again
1998: Star Trek - Can Do Stupid
2002: Star Trek - Can Do More Stupid

TFF
If you're going to do the story, do it right or don't do it. Don't be afraid of making a statement that might be controversial. I would make it clear though, that the "God"-alien of Sha'ka'ree was passing itself of as God, not that it was God (or Satan).

The rest of it is just a matter of giving the film the budget to really do the FX up right. (The film looked too cheap).

Pretty much.

 

[Nerys Myk]

In retrospect, The Voyage Home was probably not the greatest title since nobody but hardcore Trekkies remembers what that movie was actually called. To everyone else, it's simply "The One with the Whales."

Probably needed a more memorable title, not that it ultimately hurt the box office any.

The Boring One
The One With Khan
The One Where Spock Is Dead
The One With the Whales
The Bad One
The Last One
The One Where Kirk Dies
The One With the Borg
The Other Bad One
The One With the Clone

 

[Nerys Myk]

TWOK

First and foremost ditch those uniforms. The crew is over dressed. The ship should be a shirt sleeve environment. My Dad rarely wore the USAF uniform that included a jacket. Of course being stationed in Texas might have something to do with that So a more casual look for on duty personnel.

Kirk being a tied to a desk and feeling his age is part of the theme of the movie, so unlike TMP I would keep that.

No missing planets. I can't believe the Reliant's sensors wouldn't pick up a missing planet. I'm more inclined to believe Kirk fudged the records than that.

 

[Warped9]

TWOK

First and foremost ditch those uniforms. The crew is over dressed. The ship should be a shirt sleeve environment. My Dad rarely wore the USAF uniform that included a jacket. Of course being stationed in Texas might have something to do with that So a more casual look for on duty personnel.

Kirk being a tied to a desk and feeling his age is part of the theme of the movie, so unlike TMP I would keep that.

No missing planets. I can't believe the Reliant's sensors wouldn't pick up a missing planet. I'm more inclined to believe Kirk fudged the records than that.

Your idea for TMP of starting the film with them already back on the frontier I think works very well if we're to assume/accept the events are set not long after the original 5-year mission. The only way it makes any real sense for Kirk to have been desk bound (and the rest of the crew scattered) after TOS is if TMP was set at least another five or so years after TOS' 5-year mission.

 

[Greg Cox]

TUC: Yeah, I wish Saavik had been the traitor, too. That would have been much more powerful and dramatic.

 

[Phantom]

The only way it makes any real sense for Kirk to have been desk bound (and the rest of the crew scattered) after TOS is if TMP was set at least another five or so years after TOS' 5-year mission.

It had been at least 2 and a half years.

Even then, most of the crew wasn't. Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, Checkov, Chapel were all there. Presumably, many of the "supernumeraries" were still there too. Only Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were gone.

 

[Warped9]

The only way it makes any real sense for Kirk to have been desk bound (and the rest of the crew scattered) after TOS is if TMP was set at least another five or so years after TOS' 5-year mission.

It had been at least 2 and a half years.

Even then, most of the crew wasn't. Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, Checkov, Chapel were all there. Presumably, many of the "supernumeraries" were still there too. Only Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were gone.

Yeah, but from what we knew of Kirk it always grated on my nerves trying to understand why Kirk was desk bound only two years after TOS. It was partly addressed in GR's novelization, but not being onscreen it can be argued not to count.

 

[Phantom]

^Perhaps, but it's the best we got. It's been a LONG time, but IIRC it was said in GRs novelization (and some others, which were "semi-official" at the time) that there were some political and social issues going on at that time with the New Human movement. Kirk was seen as an exemplar of the pre-New Human humanity and was being used as a public "face" for PR purposes. That's why the wanted him deskbound on Earth. There was also a faction in Starfleet Command that thought he was a bit too "old school", that he was a loose cannon that needed to be reigned in (again IIRC).

 

[FormerLurker]

In response to the conversation at the bottom of page one:

IIRC, TMP was going to be called "Star Trek - The Movie" until 'Superman' came out and spoiled that idea, which was why they ultimately called it 'The Motion Picture'. It was the one Star Trek film that was made without the idea that a potential sequel could be in the offing.

 

[Dukhat]

I've mentioned my feelings about this before, but I'm happy to retype them here

I don't think TMP should ever have been made. I think that the Phase II series should have been produced instead. I'm not sure how that would have affected future films, but I still would like to have had TWOK, TSFS, and TVH made as well, and I'm totally fine with how they were ultimately shown, with one exception (see next.)

However, TVH should have been the last TOS film. IMHO, it provided perfect closure to the TOS cast, with the exception of the final scene. Instead of a Constitution class Enterprise-A, a new model should have been built, and that model should have been the titular ship for Star Trek:The Next Generation (with the obvious proviso that the new series takes place right after TVH instead of 75 years later.) That way we could have had an actual passing of the torch with the TOS crew eventually being replaced by newer actors over the course of the series. Knowing the eventual fates of Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Sulu et. al would have been way more satisfying than seeing Kirk fall off a bridge and die in some silly contrived way of getting him and Picard together.

 

[Phantom]

Originally, the E-A was supposed to be Excelsior class, but too many people disliked that design. And by then, they were starting to feel the pinch in terms of restricted budgeting.

 

[Dukhat]

Originally, the E-A was supposed to be Excelsior class, but too many people disliked that design. And by then, they were starting to feel the pinch in terms of restricted budgeting.

Not quite. The original plan was for Kirk and company to take command of the Excelsior as their new ship. That was actually why the model was created, because it was much easier to film than the TMP Enterprise model. But that got nixed in favor of having them command the Ent-A instead.

 

[Terok Nor]

The Motion Picture - Pick up the damned pace. It's so slow I struggle to stay awake. The Klingons should have been involved in the story as secondary villains who want to destroy V'Ger and the Enterprise. The uniforms should have been a lot better.

The Wrath Of Khan - I wouldn't change a thing about this movie.

The Search For Spock - I don't see any reason to change this movie either.

The Voyage Home - Again, this movie is fine as it is.

The Final Frontier - Okay it isn't that great but I don't hate it enough to think up ways to repair it. It's watchable.

The Undiscovered Country - I really enjoy this movie, flaws and all. I'd probably nix that Klingon blood idea though.

Generations - Don't kill Kirk. Don't destroy the Enterprise. Come up with a better reason for Kirk and Picard to meet. Give the rest of the crew more to do.

First Contact - Great movie. Only thing I'd change is the lack of screentime for Crusher. She could have sat this one out to be perfectly honest.

Insurrection - It can't be fixed. Should never have been a movie.

Nemesis - I don't like the story but if I'm stuck with it then Lore should have appeared instead of B-4, Data should have lived and the Picard clone would not have appeared. Ron Perlman as the main Reman villain would have worked.

 

[Relayer1]

The Motion Picture
The Wrath Of Khan

I wouldn't change a thing about either of these movies.



Generations - Don't kill Kirk. Destroy the Enterprise. Come up with a better reason for Kirk and Picard to meet. Or just don't make it.

Don't make any more TNG movies.

But if you do, Nemesis is just about O.K.

 

[Maurice]

I don't think TMP should ever have been made. I think that the Phase II series should have been produced instead. I'm not sure how that would have affected future films...

If it had I consider it likely that there would have been no films with the TOS crew.

 

[Dukhat]

I don't think TMP should ever have been made. I think that the Phase II series should have been produced instead. I'm not sure how that would have affected future films...

If it had I consider it likely that there would have been no films with the TOS crew.

Yes, you're probably right. But then again, if Phase II was filmed, then there would have been no need for TNG at all I suppose, and no need for TVH to lead into it.

 

[FormerLurker]

TVH wasn't written to lead into TNG. If anything, TNG was written to follow on from TVH. As I recall, there is some BTS quote about TNG starting "78 years after" TVH ends.

 

[arch101]

Strangely enough, "Superman- The Movie" is only used in the advertising of the film (posters, tv ads, etc) The actual title as it appears in the film is simply "Superman".

 

[Dukhat]

TVH wasn't written to lead into TNG. If anything, TNG was written to follow on from TVH. As I recall, there is some BTS quote about TNG starting "78 years after" TVH ends.

Yeah, I know all that. That wasn't what I meant. I was continuing on with my version of what the OP asked:

However, TVH should have been the last TOS film. IMHO, it provided perfect closure to the TOS cast, with the exception of the final scene. Instead of a Constitution class Enterprise-A, a new model should have been built, and that model should have been the titular ship for Star Trek:The Next Generation (with the obvious proviso that the new series takes place right after TVH instead of 75 years later.) That way we could have had an actual passing of the torch with the TOS crew eventually being replaced by newer actors over the course of the series. Knowing the eventual fates of Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Sulu et. al would have been way more satisfying than seeing Kirk fall off a bridge and die in some silly contrived way of getting him and Picard together.

 

[Trekkin]

I would have left Spock dead. Failing that, I would have had a) no replacement Enterprise, and b) have David's death be a bigger deal in IV and V.


I can't help that feel that the sequels ended up undermining Kirk's 'You will face a no-win scenario dammit!' arc in TWOK. The loss of David and the Enterprise were meant to balance out Spocks resurrection, but for me in the audience it never really felt like an even trade. We barely knew David and he's forgotten for long gaps at a time, and the Enterprise is practically replaced later on (Kirk at least seems to view A as nearly the same ship judging by 'We've come home.')


But I admit that probably has something to do with home video making TSFS seem like an 'instant undo' for TWOK's status quo shake-up. If I'd seen them in at the cinema with a few years in between, it would probably be a bit different.