Memories of Star Trek at the cinema.

[Savoy 1984]

Just wondering what memories do you have from when you went to see Star Trek on the big screen, or seeing posters and standees here's a few of mine.

1. When my Dad took me to see Never Say Never Again there was a small group of us that had arrived 10/15 minutes or so to early and so we had to queue on the stairs as this was an old fashioned one screen cinema, and just above the main door way was a teaser poster for Star Trek III.

2. When I went to see Star Trek IV I can remember being in the same cinema as the one mentioned above and as I was walking into the cinema itself I remember nearly walking into somebody who seemed like a giant, I was only about 12 or something but this person seemed really tall, not that there is nothing wrong with that though.

3. When I went to see Cloverfield I saw the teaser for the new Trek movie, the one with the original release date.

I love hearing peoples memories of going to the cinema and I would love to read some of yours, also I can remember talking about this on another forum and somebody had a really detailed memory of going to see a Star Trek film and I thought that was brilliant.

I think it's great when people can remember things like what day it was, or what was showing in the other screens in that cinema, or where there parents car was parked, I think it makes for great little stories.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I only saw the last five movies in the theaters, though I did see all of the TNG movies opening day/night. I won a smaller version of the Generations teaser poster for answering a trivia question correctly before the film started.

 

[Smiley]

The first Trek movie I ever saw, theatrically or otherwise, was First Contact. I had not seen BoBW, and I was in my early teens. I saw it with my dad, and although he's not a Trekkie or anything, he definitely enjoyed himself. The movie worked in almost every way for me. From the implant popping out of Picard's cheek making me jump to the final showdown in Engineering, I was riveted by the action and drama. I was a casual fan before seeing the movie, but the experience helped propel me to hardcore fandom.

 

[Aragorn]

I went to see Generations on opening night. We were told to stick around after the movie to fill out a survey about the movie -- what you liked, what you didn't like, what you would've liked, etc.

But the real kicker is how late the movie started. They had a cart down in front to sell candy and stuff, and the the projector wouldn't start until the line at the cart was completely gone.

 

[Haytil]

The first movie I saw in theaters was Star Trek VI. I was real young at the time, about 5 or so, so all I remember was the ice planet (Rura Penthe) and the briefing scene at the beginning. I think we saw it in wintertime.

"Generations" came out when I was in elementary school. We saw it at the 2nd run theater. I remember reading about it in the newspapers for all of the previous year. It was a big deal, the articles all said, how they were passing the torch from Kirk to Picard.

We got there a few minutes late and were forced to sit front row. So we looked up at the screen at a harsh angle, which sucked for our necks.

We came in during the scene with the Enterprise-B caught in the Nexus. Now I had seen promotional material featuring Picard and Kirk interacting - specifically, both of them riding horses together. So when, a few minutes later, Kirk got killed, I thought to myself "This sucks! We missed the beginning, with all the good parts!" See, I had thought that with Kirk dead, we missed all the scenes with Kirk and Picard together because we were late in getting to the theater.

"First Contact" is my first real complete memory of Trek in the theaters. I was in elementary school still, but several years older, and the memory is so much clearer. It was also the first time I would see Trek on opening night. There was a LOT of energy and excitement in the theater. I dressed up in a Starfleet uniform I wore for Halloween. Lots of other people were dressed up too.

There was a lot of clapping, laughing, and cheering throughout. Every time Worf said something, I'd always miss any reply, because the cheering was so loud ("Assimilate this!").

It was an awesome movie, made only better by being on such a big screen with a huge sound system. A really great experience.

I saw "Insurrection" and "Nemesis" in theaters on opening night, as well. But the energy for "Insurrection" was nothing near what it was for "First Contact," and "Nemesis" featured a fairly empty theater (less than half seats full). Neither were the event that "First Contact" was.

My only really standout memory from Nemesis was when the theater projector suddenly stopped right at the climax - just as Picard is standing at the Thalaron generator and the computer is counting down (just before Data dies). The lights in the room came on, and we sat there waiting for them to fix it for 10 minutes.


I hope "Star Trek XI" features the same energy and excitement in the theater that "First Contact" did.

 

[butch101]

I saw Generations to Nemesis on theater. this was a good experience, but as french canadian, I had to watch them in french. whoah ! the voices didn't seem to fit. I was watching every TNG episodes, and sometimes, not even knowing what thy were saying, but I knew Patrick Stewart's voice. Gee, this was awful. thankfully to the DVDs, no more problems like this...

and, when I saw Cloverfield, I had no idea about the trek XI teaser. I think seeing it on the big screen, with a pack of popcorn on my lap, this was a wonderful experience...

Butch

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

I've seen them all in the theatre. But the most memorable one was ST VI. I worked 25 miles from home at the time and swung past the theater to catch the matinee after work before heading home. Unfortunately, after the movie was over it had started dumping snow like crazy. The 20+ drive home felt like I was still on Rura Penthe!!

 

[Opus]

I remember being crushed in line while waiting to see TMP in the local Showcase Cinema outside Providence, RI. I went with family and a few friends. I was nine, and only remember the transporter accident scene and Scotty with a moustache.

I remember seeing TWOK at the same cinema a few years later with my sister, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's sister who was very flirtatious and a little older than me. I remember my sister's boyfriend cried when Spock died. She dumped him after that.

I remember skipping school to go with my older brother, who was in college, to see the first viewing of TSFS. We had a million different theories as to the fate of the Enterprise and Spock's return. All were wrong.

I remember seeing TVH with a whole group of friends from high school openning night. It was a complete party and we just had a blast! I saw it a few more times, including once with an old girlfriend.

I remember seeing TFF with a whole group of people openning night at a Cinema in Norfolk/Virginia Beach where I was stationed in the military. The movies in 1989 were depressing, and TFF didn't live up to the hype like so many other films. Still, it was Trek, and when TFF hit the military cinema on post in Fort Polk, LA, I must have went about ten times. Yeah, there wasn't much else to do...

I remember seeing TUC, GEN and FC with friends again. Trek movies are always best seen with a large group! But by the time INS came out, everyone I knew had moved on with Trek. I saw INS alone, and was disappointed. NEM was even worse.

But I am having high hopes this new movie may bring the gang back together for one more celebration! Here's hoping!

 

[Peach Wookiee]

GEN was my first Trek movie theater experience. I went with my parents and it was so cool. At first I thought the champagne bottle was a Romulan warbird.

 

[Bad Atom]

I fondly remember Star Trek VI as the first time I had to run to the bathroom during the middle of a movie. I only missed out on a couple of the boring Rura Penthe scenes, so no big deal.

Generations was also the first time I sat all by myself up front at a movie theater, and I damn near cried when the planet blew up with the Enterprise saucer on it. (To be fair, I was 12.) It was also the first movie I ever saw twice in the theater.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Just wondering what memories do you have from when you went to see Star Trek on the big screen, or seeing posters and standees here's a few of mine.

Last time this was asked, I wrote up a blog entry, with premiere night pics even!

Check out:
http://therinofandor.blogspot.com/2006/12/star-trek-movies-then-and-now-over-on_09.html

All ten movies are covered!

 

[Elder Knight]

My wife and I went to see Star Trek IV the day it premiered in our town (Merritt Island FL). I left work early for the 4 p.m. show. Some local devoted trekkers were at the theater in their Starfleet uniforms. The air-conditioning was deficient. One "officer" went to talk to the proprietors. "Pretend," he announced upon returning, "that you're on Vulcan." We did get passes for a future show in apology. I remember that as the appointed hour approached, I could hear one nerdly little digital wristwatch after another chime the hour . . . but it was my own watch that somehow started the projector! I should explain that I always set it precisely. I work for a NASA contractor, and at that time my desk was beneath a huge IRIG clock, so I could hardly be unaware of the exact time.

It was fun.

 

[zephramc]

I've seen TVH, TFF, TUC, GEN, FC, INS, and NEM at the theater. The most memorable experience was probably Generations.

My friend and I went to see it in the evening and it was being shown on 3 or maybe 4 screens (the theater had 8 in total I think). Very long line, and alot of energy. Before the movie started they gave away several models, one was the Ent-B (I don't remember the others).

There were TV news crews outside the theater interviewing moviegoers about Generations.

Really cool. I was new to SoCal (my first duty station) at the time and had no idea Trek (TNG in particular) was so big. Only I handful of people I knew in highschool in the mid-west cared much about TNG. People that I knew at A-School in the Navy liked it, but we were all avionics nerds...

 

[Candlelight]

I only saw the last 3 films at the cinema:

First Contact had a reasonable crowd. Me and a mate went. A few good responses and generally well liked.

Insurrection I went by myself. Hardly got any reaction, although there were only 7 of us in the cinema.

Nemesis I saw with my wife and brother in law. Everyone was cringing towards the end.

 

[Maurice]

I saw all of them except Nemesis in the theater. I had no intention of seeing Insurrection, but a friend dragged me to it and bought the ticket. I still regretted that.

I saw TMP opening weekend, and, oddly enough, my ride didn't come get me after the first showing so I sat through it again. I think that's the only time I ever watched a film twice in a row on the same day (in a theater, certainly).

I have some strong memories of that first TMP showing, especially the rollover shot of the Klingon ship, the Enterprise in drydock, the first warp drive attempt, and the big final shot of the Enterprise. I also remember thinking how I wanted to hear at least a few sound effects to tie into the old show. I mean, even the door whoosh would've been enough.

For TWOK what I recall most is the audience's pained groan when the Reliant's phasers hit the Enterprise, and the cheer when Kirk strikes back. I also remember how silent the theater got during Spock's death scene.

Of TSFS I recall not enjoying it. I still don't.

Of TVH I recall turning to my friend during the opening credits and saying, "This music's the same as from [Bakshi's] Lord of the Rings." I recall laughing a lot. I also recall this as the most responsive audience I'd ever seen a Trek film with...apparently being the one Trek film that a lot of non-Trek fans enjoy.

TFF. By this point we were so used to how sloppy continuity had gotten than when Sybok laughed my best friend's and my first reaction was, "They forgot that Vulcans don't laugh!" I recall how dismal the effects looked. You think they're bad on DVD? Try it on a 50 foot wide screen...

 

[GeorgeKirk]

First Trek movie I saw was TSFS. I was 6, and already a huge Trekkie. My first grade teacher was worried about me because I spent most of my time pretending to be Captain Kirk! Despite the fact that everything looked different than the show (the Enterprise, the uniforms, the Klingons, the sets, Kirk's perm) I wasn't too confused; I just figured that since it was a movie, they had to change everything to make it "bigger". Since it was the first Trek movie I'd ever seen, it completely blew me away. Even though it doesn't hold up as well 24 years later, it's still a sentimental favorite of mine.

By the time TVH came around I was 8, and while I really enjoyed it, I wished more of it had taken place in the future. This was the first time I ever remember hearing that Trek takes place in the 23rd century. Before then I always thought it took place in the year 2000 (which my visits to EPCOT Center assured me would be full of flying cars, undersea cities, and space colonies). I spent the next few days after the movie saying "damn" and "hell" a lot, until my Mom put a stop to it!

Two years later, I was 10 and eagerly anticipating Star Trek V. However, my parents wouldn't let me see it, since they considered the Enterprise finding God to be sacreligious. Of course, when I saw the film on video a few years later I realized that I hadn't missed anything.

I was 13 when TUC came out, and I really enjoyed it. By then I'd become a big TNG fan (temporary insanity), so I liked the tips of the hat to TNG. It's amazing to me now that, back then the Praxis shockwave effect and floating Klingon blood represented the state of the art in CGI, and only a year-and-a-half later we were looking at lifelike CGI dinosaurs.

I was 16 when GEN came out, and I was so psyched about seeing the TNG cast on the big screen that I totally overlooked the film's shortcomings. I still enjoy the interesting way the TNG sets were lit for that film, but the movie's numerous plot holes prevent me from enjoying it now.

FC was the first Star Trek movie that I read Internet spoilers for. I remember shortly after the Borg were announced as the villians, there was a fake poster making the rounds that purported to show a "partially cloaked" Enterprise-E (actually the AGT Enterprise-D) fighting a Borg cube. All the other Star Trek films had played things safe to get a PG rating, but FC was the first one, I thought, to completely break away from Trek's TV roots. FC really felt like a movie to me, and I enjoyed it more than any other since TVH.

INS was the first Trek film that I didn't get excited about and didn't enjoy. I read an outline of the plot online a few months before the movie's release, and my first thought was "who the hell cares about the Son'a or the Ba'ku?" I left the theater with essentially the same question. It was obvious to me INS was sort of made by committee. Somebody had made a bulleted list of the elements that made FC successful (action hero Picard, the crew toting big guns, space battles) and then Patrick Stewart demanded some humor and a love interest, and of course Brent Spiner wanted a storyline, too, and Rick Berman was in the background running everything through his Blandification Filter.

With NEM, the spoilers I read convinced me that they were going to screw up the Romulans (they did) and that the film was a lame attempt to rip off TWOK as much as possible (it was). Of course I went to see it anyway, and knew I'd wasted my money as soon as I saw that the word "Trek" in the opening titles was spelled with a backward "R".

 

[Ah Forgive!]

I saw Star Trek V with my Mom and Brother at the now long-gone Lincoln Heights Cinema in Spokane, WA. The theater was dead.

I went to a midnight showing of Star Trek VI with all of my friends. The crowd was eerily silent during the opening credits. When Excelsior and Enterprise began landing hits on the Bird Of Prey the crowd cheered with each impact, and when the Bird Of Prey exploded the entire audience stood up and cheered. I looked over at my friends with a look of "Can you believe this?!" and then we stood up laughing and joined in.

I remember a shiver running through me when the Enterprise-B was revealed with the Courage fanfare playing. There were excited murmurs throughout the crowd when the camera reveals Kirk chopping wood. The crowd all gasped in unison and then fell silent as Kirk fell to his demise. But most of all I remember hearing a few people crying as the camera panned around Kirk's grave.

 

[erastus25]

I've seen the last 5 in theaters. I was very you when TUC came out, but I remember enjoying it. As an 8 year old, I really like the part where the photon torpedo zoomed around after the cloaked ship.

I went to see Generations about 2 weeks after the premiere. I had not watched TNG regularly until Generations. After seeing it I went home, watched the syndicated episodes that night, and proceeded to watch the whole series run several times. The second death of Capt. Kirk also almost made me cry.

I saw First Contact on opening day, and then again two days later. It was awesomeness, obviously.

INS and NEM were fairly boring to me. The only thing that really stands out to me is the theater losing sound for about two minutes during one of the opening scenes of Insurrection.

 

[Dell Yount]

Sitting in the theater, I remember being absolutely BLOWN AWAY
watching the opening credits of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
...what seemed like a standard Star Trek opening scroll with names of actors, producers and director,
and the calm star-filled universe in the background,
suddenly and unexpectedly... the stillness of space is interupted in an instant,
as PRAXIS, the Klingon Moon EXPLODES!
...it was a real "WOW ~ Cooooooooooooool" moment for me @ the movies.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Having only seen Praxis go BOOM on the small screen, I can still say that was a cool moment...