Does anyone know the exact reasons why the makers of ST III chose to kill off David Marcus, a character only introduced in the previous film? It just seems a bit extreme to me. And then there's him being ultimately responsible for the failure of the Genesis Project; what was that about?
Why did David have to die?
- Thread starter EJA
- Start date
There's also the reason for Kirk's racism (specism?) against Klingons in Star Trek VI.
Nah, they didn't have TUC in mind during TSFS. It was just part of a 'reset button' to start returning Kirk and crew to what the fans knew them as. Having Kirk with an illegitimate son went against that.
Unfortunate, sadly, as I think it was a good story opportunity wasted.
No, it just worked out well for TUC.
Nah, I just think it worked out well for TUC after the fact.
Harve Bennett said something about cosmic justice. He tampered with Genesis, screwed with mother nature as it were. Becauseof his actions, a lot of people suffered and lost their lives. Retribution, Bennett felt, was a necessity. So, David was killed, but he died heroically.
Was it just his decisions though, or did Carol or any of the other scientists on the project have any input?
One problem I have with David's death is that it's a bit too abrupt, IMO. He gets stabbed, and that's pretty much it. In the novelisation he manages to have a few brief, tender words with Saavik as he's bleeding to death, and then he dies. I wish they'd included that in the movie, made it more like Spock's emotional farewell in TWOK.
^ I don't think we know. And, of course, Carol is never heard from again after TWOK. However, considering Carol was clearly the lead of the project in TWOK, it seems like either she had to be complicit in the use of protomatter, or she had to be horribly incompetent for David to be able to use it in the Genesis device without her knowledge.
I think it had less to do with "cosmic balance" or "cosmic karma" or anything so poetic, and more to do with the reset button as a previous poster said.
TSFS and TVH combined to form a giant reset button-at the end of TWOK, the original Enterprise is on the verge of being de-comissioned, Spock is dead, Kirk has a son, and there's this new Genesis device/potential weapon with a new Genesis Planet.
By the end of TVH, David is dead, Spock is back, there's a new Enterprise, the Genesis Planet is gone, and oh, Saavik is gone, too.
TFF is practically a return to TOS.
TSFS and TVH combined to form a giant reset button-at the end of TWOK, the original Enterprise is on the verge of being de-comissioned, Spock is dead, Kirk has a son, and there's this new Genesis device/potential weapon with a new Genesis Planet.
By the end of TVH, David is dead, Spock is back, there's a new Enterprise, the Genesis Planet is gone, and oh, Saavik is gone, too.
TFF is practically a return to TOS.
Actually it IS poetic justice that he should die, dramatically speaking. He was the one who cheated by introducing protomatter into the equation to make Genesis work, not his mother. And dreadfully ironic since he laughs at Admiral Kirk's admission that he had cheated on the Kobayashi Maru.
Kinda of reminds me of how in PITCH BLACK the heroine dies. She had to, the story demanded it. She tried to kill all the other passengers to save her sorry fanny, and while she redeemed herself, she still had to pay for her mistake.
So David's death had not surprised me at all. I knew it was coming.
As far as "no plans for David," that was not always the case. He and Saavik were intended to replace Spock after his death in TWOK. But once Leonard Nimoy decided that he wanted to return (a move which surprised everyone), David became useless.
Kinda of reminds me of how in PITCH BLACK the heroine dies. She had to, the story demanded it. She tried to kill all the other passengers to save her sorry fanny, and while she redeemed herself, she still had to pay for her mistake.
So David's death had not surprised me at all. I knew it was coming.
As far as "no plans for David," that was not always the case. He and Saavik were intended to replace Spock after his death in TWOK. But once Leonard Nimoy decided that he wanted to return (a move which surprised everyone), David became useless.
But then Star Trek III becomes a totally different film. The odds are they never even revisit Genesis and protomatter is never mentioned.
Why does David (dramatically speaking) have to pay for his "cheating," but Kirk doesn't have to pay for not checking on Khan and his group and seeing what happened to Ceti Alpha V?
Is it because Kirk's a main character and David is not?
Like I wrote, the "poetic justice" thing sounds nice, but really it would've been too distracting for the future movies to have them keep checking in on Kirk's son and either shoehorning him into the plot or explaining him out of Kirk's life.
Is it because Kirk's a main character and David is not?
Like I wrote, the "poetic justice" thing sounds nice, but really it would've been too distracting for the future movies to have them keep checking in on Kirk's son and either shoehorning him into the plot or explaining him out of Kirk's life.
