Trek IV single worst thing to happen to Trek movies.

[Mutara Nebula 1967]

Despite being a financial sucess Trek IV was the movie the completly derailed the franchise.

Trek II and III were solid dramatic movies with a few humourous touches but thanks to the fourth movie the element of comedy was addeded and from that moment on it paved the way for every subsequent Trek movie cramming in alleged humor because "hey it worked for Trek IV it should work for our film...leaving us with some really "gems"

Scotty knocking himself out on a beam

Uhura not knowing Klingon rifling through old books not unlike a panel from an old Gold Key Trek comic book where Spock is researching witchcraft.

Data Cussing

Zephrame Cochran retconned into an annoying drunk

Boob and floatation jokes.

Worf and Data as resident clowns. (Though I will give you that "Assimilate This" is actually pretty funny.

and many many more.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I suppose you think the Harry Mudd episodes and "The Trouble with Tribbles" and "A Piece of the Action" 'derailed' TOS, too. Comedy has been part of Trek since the 60s. The idea that Trek is too good for humor is a disappointing recent development.

I suppose it's Wrath of Khan's fault that it was a success... no more movies like TMP; now they all have to have mustache-twirling villains. (Berman comparing Soran, Ru'afo, and Shinzon to Khan all the time didn't help either.)

 

[sbk1234]

I wno't go so far ast to say TVH was the worst thing to happen to Trek, but it did have an influence on the decisions made by the suits at Paramount. They were hungry to hold onto the mainstream audience that IV got. They couldn't do another time travel again, so they beefed up the humor. The problem with most of the humor that came after was it wasn't legitimate from the situations. TFF's humor was mostly centered on one-liners. Had the humor - which does have a place in Trek - been organically generated from the plot and situations, it would not have been a problem.

 

[Red Ranger]

In a word, No! -- RR

 

[Michael]

In a word, No! -- RR

Agreed.

 

[chancellorjake]

I thought that the huge success of The Voyage Home lead to The Next Generation getting the green light. If that assumption is correct, then TVH is one of the best things to happen to Star Trek.

 

[Rabittooth]

Y'know what's interesting, although not directly relevant to this thread ()...
I'm a huge Raiders of the Lost Ark fan and I have this same problem with The Last Crusade that you have with Trek IV. I can be found griping about it on the IndyGear forum...Club Obi Wan quite a bit. Either that or I try to pretend this film (that makes Indiana Jones and some of his friends and relatives into a version of The Stooges) doesn't even exist.

-Rabittooth

 

[CaptainStoner]

I suppose you think the Harry Mudd episodes and "The Trouble with Tribbles" and "A Piece of the Action" 'derailed' TOS, too. Comedy has been part of Trek since the 60s. The idea that Trek is too good for humor is a disappointing recent development.

This is true, although I see the OP point. Nimoy in ST IV was hilarious. Just standing there in that robe he was hilarious, and then the dialog was wonderful. Further attempts to get funny in Star Trek movies got campy, but like you say, you can't really view it as a derailment. The episode that my avatar represents is proof of that.
I guess it comes down to the question, "Do you guys like Italian?"

 

[jeff lebowski]

I think The Voyage Home is probably the best pure Star Trek movie for the fact that it seems like it's more episode-like than the other movies.

I don't think it's best movie of the bunch, but it's a pretty good introduction to the franchise as a whole.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I guess it comes down to the question, "Do you guys like Italian?"

Yes. And so do you.

 

[Warped9]

Comedy and humour has always been an element of Star Trek. But I agree that things really went of the rails in TVH. Everyone disses TFF (with justification), but I think TVH is more of a wreckage (in terms of TOS related films).

TVH sole nice moment for me is near the end when Kirk and crew are exonerated and Spock meets with Sarek. That was neat.

The rest of the film is...yuch.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Nah, "Star Trek III" was a poorly-written, underbudgeted and underthought vehicle that featured some good performances and creative direction - but it cost more and made less in first release than did the previous film, TWOK. The future of "Star Trek" in the autumn of 1984 was anything but assured.

"Star Trek IV" was a major success for the studio and was popular enough with a wide segment of the movie-going public to convince Paramount executives - based upon in-house and early test screenings - that the Franchise was something worth investing in (if it had gone on to underperform theatrically that would have evaporated, but it didn't).

That "Star Trek" continues to exist in films and TV owes an enormous amount to "Star Trek IV."

 

[Cyke101]

Comedy and humour has always been an element of Star Trek. But I agree that things really went of the rails in TVH. Everyone disses TFF (with justification), but I think TVH is more of a wreckage (in terms of TOS related films).

TVH sole nice moment for me is near the end when Kirk and crew are exonerated and Spock meets with Sarek. That was neat.

The rest of the film is...yuch.

Bah, go back to your nuclear wessel!

 

[Sector 7]

Comedy and humour has always been an element of Star Trek. But I agree that things really went of the rails in TVH. Everyone disses TFF (with justification), but I think TVH is more of a wreckage (in terms of TOS related films).

TVH sole nice moment for me is near the end when Kirk and crew are exonerated and Spock meets with Sarek. That was neat.

The rest of the film is...yuch.

Bah, go back to your nuclear wessel!

Good one!
I don't agree with the OP's idea, as ST5:TFF is the movie which almost killed Star Trek. George Takei was very worried because that after that movie (not STIV:TVH) Paramount wanted to leave the franchise to die. We had long discussions of what went wrong and how to approach Paramount in a way that would save it. George has always been a very strong voice for Trek.

 

[Grant]

In actuality it is what the studio did AFTER TVH that was the worst thing to happen to trek.

They thought it was a comedy.........
They happen to be witty, clever characters and when the situation calls for it--they can be funny.
But Trek isn't comedy. They DID force humor into the subsequent movies and it hurt them-period.

Also Shatner felt the acclaim he got after TVH meant that Kirk was different than he had been portrayed before. Moments during tense situations in TFF & TUC were played differently after TVH because Shatner wanted to spout funny lines instead of being a stoic action character.
In the weekly series, they could shift tone from episode to episode but within a single episode (or movie) it doesn't work.

 

[monetteman]

This movie really was the begining of the end for trek. It turned star trek into a parody of itself. Hell, Galaxy Quest was better trek than anything that came after Star Trek IV. On a hot humid night, I can still smell the foul stench that this piece of crap unleashed on our world.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

In actuality it is what the studio did AFTER TVH that was the worst thing to happen to trek.

They thought it was a comedy.........
They happen to be witty, clever characters and when the situation calls for it--they can be funny.
But Trek isn't comedy. They DID force humor into the subsequent movies and it hurt them-period.

Exactly so.

A good popular movie could never do Trek or TOS an iota of harm. A couple of unpopular misfires like 5 and 6 were all it took to sink it.

 

[ancient]

It was TNG that really sunk the movie franchise, which is why I'm happy they're returning to TOS. Humor worked well in TOS, and I enjoyed all of the TOS movies to some degree, and they went out on their own terms. But the TNG crew's attempts at komedy stank, their attempts at "THE NEXT KHAN!" stank, and as a result they got cut off at movie 4.

Ricardo Montaban's man-boobs were more menacing than Shinzon the wunder kid dictator.

I find the humor in STIV to be very natural, and thus very welcome. Uhura and Chekov asking the bike cop for directions to the "nuclear wessels" is brilliant, and it just keeps going! Classic!

 

[Zeppster]

ST V was too campy and had too many stupid comedic moments and I'm not talking about the ones on the camp trip. That's pure Star Trek to me. The rest of them stunk. 6 was well done with it's balance of comedic moments and serious moments. The one where Kirk knocks the alien out hitting his "knees" is a great one. And the one where Kirk and McCoy get saved and Spock says something like "Do want us to beam you back" those were perfectly done.

The derailment of ST wasn't till after TNG when the writing on DS9 and VOY went down hill. And those were both actually in their later seasons.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Nah, "Star Trek III" was a poorly-written, underbudgeted and underthought vehicle that featured some good performances and creative direction - but it cost more and made less in first release than did the previous film, TWOK. The future of "Star Trek" in the autumn of 1984 was anything but assured.

"Star Trek IV" was a major success for the studio and was popular enough with a wide segment of the movie-going public to convince Paramount executives - based upon in-house and early test screenings - that the Franchise was something worth investing in (if it had gone on to underperform theatrically that would have evaporated, but it didn't).

That "Star Trek" continues to exist in films and TV owes an enormous amount to "Star Trek IV."

As pointed out, the franchise owes a lot to TVH. It was the fourth film that prompted Paramount to reconsider sending Trek back to the airwaves. After all, Bennett and Nimoy were the first ones approached by the studio to reinvent Trek for television. Another writer/producer was approached, who's efforts are chronicled in the Engles biography of Gene Roddenberry. I can't recall his name (Greg something or other). Roddenberry was the last one brought in.