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If TMP had kept going

Had I been writing Solo I'd have just had Han make some similarly nonsensical claim, have someone say, "What? Parsecs measure distance, not time," and have him reply, "So you know something about spaceflight. Okay...the fare is double."
 
I bet it would have been a very different saga without the death of Spock, IE Nimoy's temporary plans to leave the franchise.
 
But it still raises the question: If it wasn't likable, why did people keep buying tickets?
I myself paid twice to see it - at a big-screen theater in central Philadelphia (the Fox) that was demolished within 6 months for an office tower - because (i) I was determined to find something worthwhile in it (besides the effects and music) even after having been disappointed the first time, and (ii) it was the only live-action Trek that had been produced since 1969 and was welcomed for that reason alone, despite its flaws. With respect to (i), I only noticed more problems upon a second viewing, rather than more moments that rang true.
 
Plus back in the day, it wasn't exactly like you could just pop in a DVD or even a VHS tape to watch Trek anytime you felt like it.
 
I agree, I thought it was a fun movie and I was interested what was coming next, but I thought the other films were heavy handed and had way too much fan service. I believe Lucas was intimidated by the fans because of their off the wall disapproval of The Phantom Menace. Anakin was not the character I imagined described by Ben to Luke in Star Wars, I wanted this great pilot who became a Jedi and was this highly respected legend. Those last two film that character was nothing but, and I don't think Lucas could ever top the sheer awesomeness of Darth Maul; Fett, Dooku, and Grievous, and Palpatine were all subpar in my book.

That reminds me of something I noticed reading comic books in the 90s - the fall of Hal Jordan during Emerald Twilight mirrored that original concept almost exactly - the highly respected legend and badass pilot, part of an interstellar corp of magic+will powered peacekeepers, slaughtering the rest of his comrads in a fall from grace where he took upon a dark form and new moniker.... years before the prequels ever actually did it.
 
On initial release ST:TMP did respectably and that's all. You had a hard-core audience in the U.S. of four or five million people, a lot of whom saw it more than once.

It had no legs at all. After four weeks you could only find it at a couple of theaters around here (the DelMarVa area).
 
I bet it would have been a very different saga without the death of Spock, IE Nimoy's temporary plans to leave the franchise.
I suppose we have to take account that Nimoy would have wanted to leave in whatever sequel came next. Even so, Spock's sacrifice could still have been part of the story.

I struggle to see how they could have conjured the same level of pathos as TWoK though, which was about the march of time, sins of the past, and re-discovering a sense of purpose. Spock's death scene moves me, despite knowing he returns, because of the direction, music, and the way the death saves the lives of his friends. Kirk's death in Into Darkness felt rushed, hollow, forced, and cynical (albeit on par with temporary deaths in TOS). It might be because it was too derivative, or didn't really make sense (even without warp power, the ship has thrusters an Impulse power so it would have been more sensible to get teams of engineers to work on those to shift the trajectory of the ship to ditch over water).

I wonder how Spock's death could have retained the emotional resonance in a TMP sequel?
 
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(ii) it was the only live-action Trek that had been produced since 1969

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I suppose we have to take account that Nimoy would have wanted to leave in whatever sequel came next. Even so, Spock's sacrifice could still have been part of the story.

I struggle to see how they could have conjured the same level of pathos as TWoK though, which was about the march of time, sins of the past, and re-discovering a sense of purpose. Spock's death scene moves me, despite knowing he returns, because of the direction, music, and the way the death saves the lives of his friends. Kirk's death in Into Darkness felt rushed, hollow, forced, and cynical (albeit on par with temporary deaths in TOS). It might be because it was too derivative, or didn't really make sense (even without warp power, the ship has thrusters an Impulse power so it would have been more sensible to get teams of engineers to work on those to shift the trajectory of the ship to ditch over water).

I wonder how Spock's death could have retained the emotional resonance in a TMP sequel?
Spock jumping in front of JFK
 
Spock jumping in front of JFK
That would not be very logical given his experience with Edith but taking a bullet for someone is certainly one possibility. If it was McCoy you can see how a katra transfer might take place and be overwhelming so as to confuse him.

One option could even be to place him in a younger body or V'ger style Android to conjure shades of Dax or Data/B4. Maybe Xon or Saavik could have volunteered.
 
Maybe but modern science has now shown that it was entirely possible that it was a single shooter. It's irrelevant to this concept though. Spock would have to be shot deliberately or accidentally or as an intervention. He wouldn't look to save Kennedy so he'd have to take bullet to protect a single person. That's not as compelling as one life for many .
 
Maybe but modern science has now shown that it was entirely possible that it was a single shooter...

Wrong. Science never proved that. It can't prove something that's physically impossible. Kennedy and Connally were both hit by seven bullets, plus the ones that missed, that makes three weapons to shoot that many bullets in so short a time.
The thing is that when they concocted the phony theory they never imagined that there would be both a film and a sound recording of the assault. Those completely destroyed the lone gunman theory.
 
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