The Voyage Home: Star Trek in name only?

[Allyn Gibson]

Well, maybe I was overstating things a little. I'm not suggesting they could have recast Kirk, but a Star Trek without Kirk might not have been worth doing.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I'd argue that 'fish out of water' films were pretty big in the mid to late eighties, with stuff like crocodile dundee, big, back to the future etc, so I think the powers that be pitched it just right for the audiences at the time. Yes it seems dated and corny today, but I don't think it seemed that way back in '86.

"That thought had not occurred to me" regarding the "fish out of water' trend in movies during the time of TVH's release. Nimoy and Bennett recognised the opportunity to jump on that bandwagon. The idea itself is a good one, but as I've stated and restated, the brand of humour exploited in TVH could've stood some review by an extra set of eyes, before committing to it. "What does it mean ... 'exact change'?" ... punctuated by the bus making an awkward honk. LOL??? I don't care what era you're from, that beat just doesn't work and it's typical of much of the humour in this show. On the other hand, ILM did a credible job with the whales -- even today, they hold up surprisingly well. And William Shatner's rug continues to amaze with its underwater antics.

The movie was more successful than the others because of two big reasons: 1) It was funny, and 2) The time-travel to the present day made it much more accessible to the general public. These two factors gave it great word of mouth. People went back to see it multiple times, and recommended to their friends.

I must say: you've sold me on #2. Look at the original Terminator, which came out around, or just before TVH's release. We're given such a brief glimpse of Reese's world that it doesn't get the chance to "fall apart," from getting too good a look at it. And it goes a long way to sell Arnold's killer robot routine in the "present" of mid-eighties. TVH kind of does the same thing, except that the Vulcan matt paintings do not look very good. And some of the aliens in the council chambers seem pretty silly. There's one alien female (?) with a head like Stewie from Family Guy. Made even worse by the fact that the head is just a sculpt without any articulation. Still the Ground Control room was very cool looking and Admiral Cartwright was good in it. TVH wasn't a complete miss, but on Earth, it missed too many marks for it to find favour in my eyes.

 

[alensatemybuick1]

And some of the aliens in the council chambers seem pretty silly. There's one alien female (?) with a head like Stewie from Family Guy.

I realize this may come across as meanspirited - it truly is not intended, it's just how my brain works - but for years, whenever I see Kelly O'Donnell on NBC News, it makes me think of that particular alien from TVH (I assume I know the one you meant).

 

[2takesfrakes]

... The very same.