25
years ago Trekkies were celebrating the 25th anniversary of their
beloved franchise. The Next Generation was riding high in ratings and reviews.
A new series, Deep Space Nine, was just beginning to form in creative minds.
Fans were most excited about the newest movie that was to be released on
December 6, 1991. It was given the title “The Undiscovered Country” and it was
being billed as the final voyage of the original crew. Leonard Nimoy, most
famous for his role as everyone’s beloved Vulcan, Spock, was one of the major
creative forces behind this film. Not only was he taking on his regular acting
role, but he served as one of the story writers. Directing this movie was the
talented and beloved Nicholas Meyer, who was widely revered for directing “The Wrath
of Khan” and credited with setting the bar for all Trek films. The celebration
was a bit subdued, as a few weeks before its release, Star Trek creator Gene
Roddenberry had passed away. The movie was dedicated to Gene, who was able to
watch it two days before he passed.
Star
Trek VI was the only Trek film (to date) that I had the privilege to see in a
special advance premier screening. I was a high school student living just
outside of a small rural Alberta town, and the movie was being shown in
Edmonton, one hour drive away. As both of my parents were unable to go, we
called upon a family friend to take me. There was a bitter blizzard that
evening, and after a few vehicular mishaps, the two of us finally managed to
get ourselves seated in the theater just as the trailers ended. There is
nothing like watching a Trek film with the room packed full of Trekkies. When the
opening image appeared, Gene’s dedication, we all cheered. Then the music
started, and we prepared ourselves for an amazing ride of thrills and
nostalgia. The opening credits elicited many more cheers as the names of
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Nicholas Meyer, and others appeared. Then, as
the introductory music faded, Praxis exploded, and we were off.
The
Undiscovered Country may not be my favorite Trek movie (Wrath of Khan
forever!), but it in no way disappointed us. After the poorly received fifth
movie, many wondered if that was it for the franchise in film. Thankfully, the
powers at Paramount Pictures wanted something special for the 25th
anniversary and a more fitting send off than Star Trek V, and #6 delivered. Big
time. It has everything that is needed to be a great Trek film. A compelling
story that spoke directly to current events of our time (in the story, while
the Federation and Klingon empire were seeking peace, America and its allies
were coming closer to ending the cold war against the USSR). There was action
and humor, suspense and fondness. The pacing of the plot was near perfect, and
when the end approached, we had arguably the best moment of closure with the
signatures of the actors we had loved for so long appear on the screen as a
thank you to us fans. We left the theatre knowing that we had just completed a
fitting sendoff to our dear crew of the USS Enterprise.
There
are many aspects of this movie that I love. Indulge me in mentioning a few.
First, there were some great guest characters. We saw a few old favourites. Admiral
Cartwright was back, played once again by the impressive Brock Peters (we had
last seen him in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home). John Schuck also reprised his
Voyage Home character as the Klingon ambassador to the Federation. Of course,
we had Mark Leonard reprise Sarek for the final time (he had just appeared on
TNG in Part One of Unification). Some new characters played by seasoned actors
were introduced. Kim Cattrall, soon to be of Sex and the City fame, pulled off
a fairly good Vulcan in Valeris. David Warner gave depth to the Klingon
Chancellor, Gorkon. Kurtwood Smith played the Federation President, his first
of three Trek roles. Super model Iman played the shape-shifting Matria. Rene
Auberjonois, who we would grow to love as Constable Odo on DS9, was the
treacherous Colonel West. We even had Michael Dorn play the grandfather of his
TNG character, also named Worf. That’s a lot of star power.
Best
of all, however, was General Chang, deliciously played by Christopher Plummer.
I would likely rank Chang easily in my Top 3 Trek movie villains. He was
cunning, intelligent, witty, and could quote Shakespeare in both English and
its original Klingon. Plummer stole virtually every scene that he was in, and
Chang sparred with Kirk like few could. I loved watching the final battle scene
for nothing more than the gusto that Plummer brought to it. I have never been
able to hear the line “Cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!” since without
hearing Chang’s delightful voice. If nothing else, you have to admit that only
a Klingon warrior would bolt an eye patch to his head. Sorry Martok, but Chang
proved he was far tougher.
The
story was so poignant and relevant to the world that was in 1991, and in many
cases is even more so now. For the first time, our cherished heroes had to
confront their prejudices. Klingons had been the enemy for so long it was easy
to hate them. As much as Gene wanted the future to be all rainbows and utopia,
even the most morally aligned characters have their flaws. The verbal debate
between Spock and Kirk at the beginning of the mission highlights this. When
Spock tells Kirk that the Klingons are dying, Kirk emphatically responds “Let
them die.” In the movies, Kirk developed every reason to hate the Klingons, and
he held onto that hate for many years. Likewise, Spock also had his prejudices
towards the superiority of Vulcan morals. He had difficulties believing that
his own protégé was a traitor due to her heritage. It took both of these iconic
characters a great deal of courage and inner strength to admit and overcome
this. Twenty-five years ago, as I mentioned, both sides of the Cold War were
learning to overcome decades of distrust against each other. Today, we see the
divisions more clearly and deeply as our world is divided on everything from
religion to politics to race and to ideologies. Each of us needs to make a
careful examination of our own prejudices and see what we need to do to keep
them in check.
Most
of all, the greatest strength of the film was the core group of characters that
we had faithfully watched and re-watched for a quarter of a century. Everyone
had some great moments. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all had a great deal of
limelight, but we saw great contributions from all the others. Scotty made some
key discoveries in the investigation of the conspiracy, Uhura puts her
linguistic skills to good use in crossing the Klingon border, and Chekov gets
some of the greatest one-liners in the franchise’s history (“Guess who’s coming
to dinner”). Most notably was Sulu, now Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS
Excelsior (a Search for Spock throwback). This was the decision that, for me, signaled
that this was indeed the end for the original crew. They were finally starting
to go their separate ways. This was, indeed, good bye.
Finally,
I think that Undiscovered Country was a great movie for bringing closure to
this wonderful televisions series that stretched into the feature films.
Because it was cancelled after the third season, there wasn’t a final hurrah
for the Enterprise and her crew. All of the other television series had it, but
not the original. Since this was indeed the final voyage, we fans were able to
send off Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Chekov, Uhura, and Sulu in grand fashion.
I felt that this was by far a better send off than Picard and company received
in Nemesis as it left us with a satisfying sense of completion, which is
something that every good franchise will eventually need. While the franchise
would continue in some shape or form for another twenty-five years (and
counting), this was a necessary final chapter for a cast of characters that are
permanently etched into the annals of science fiction and pop culture. The
Undiscovered Country proved to be more than worthy of a final ride into the
sunset, and it ended with the most fitting of final lines, which also seems to
set the tone for ending this celebration.
Second
star to the right. And straight on ‘til morning.
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