Flashback: ‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’

The original Star Trek cast bow out as they face a battle for peace… 

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‘Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’: a satisfying conclusion to the voyages of the original crew.

Year:  1991

Starring:  William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Christopher Plummer, David Warner, Kim Cattrall

Directed by:  Nicholas Meyer / Written by:  Nicholas Meyer & Denny Martin Flinn (Story by Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal)

What’s it about?

When the Klingon Chancellor is assassinated enroute to peace talks on Earth, Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are accused of the crime leaving Spock and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise to uncover the true culprits…

Retrospective

With the lukewarm reception of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (read the retrospective here), Star Trek’s future on the big screen seemed to be in doubt.  Yet, with the franchise’s 25^th anniversary approaching, Paramount Pictures decided that the original cast deserved one more adventure before relinquishing the silver screen to their younger (and by this point, less costly) successors on the increasingly popular spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Determined to deliver a classic and rewarding finale for the original crew (albeit William Shatner, James Doohan and Walter Koenig would cameo in Star Trek Generations) and one that would be equally redeeming for the audience, Paramount enlisted Leonard Nimoy and Nicholas Meyer to help shape Star Trek VI, both having been involved in the more successful and more popular entries in the series – Nimoy as director of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Meyer as director (and uncredited writer) of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and co-writer of The Voyage Home.  With Harve Bennett feeling jaded by the troubled production of Star Trek V and disagreements with Paramount over the direction of Star Trek VI (the concept for a prequel featuring a new cast as younger versions of Kirk, Spock, McCoy et al being rejected by the studio) he would decide to depart the franchise leaving Ralph Winter in place as the film’s head producer.

The creative matchup of Nimoy (receiving executive producer and story credits) and Meyer would prove to be a strong and vital component to Star Trek VI, both looking to do what they felt the franchise did best – tell a compelling story that explores the human condition and discusses the issues of the day in an entertaining and engaging manner.  With the social and political climate of the 1990s being shaped by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the climax of the Cold War, Nimoy felt that this would make for a suitable and relevant topic of discussion for a good Star Trek story, one that would once again feature the original crew’s greatest adversaries: the Klingons.  Given that the Klingons were conceived by Star Trek writer/producer Gene L. Coon as a stand-in for the Russians and to provide conflict allegorical of Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, their role in the story would be a natural and logical fit.  From this central concept, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (a title lifted from Shakespeare’s Hamlet) was born.  Working from Nimoy’s premise, Meyer would craft the film’s screenplay with co-writer Denny Martin Flinn, providing a dark, yet ultimately optimistic tale infused with all the fun, humour and excitement audiences had come to expect from a Star Trek film.

Star Trek VI opens with the destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis, the Klingon Empire’s key source of energy (an event likened by Nimoy as a galactic version of the Chernobyl incident), leading to a call for peace with the United Federation of Planets.  Three months from retirement, Kirk and his crew are ordered to rendezvous with the Klingon Chancellor’s delegation and escort them to Earth to open negotiations, but when the Chancellor is assassinated, Kirk and McCoy are put on trial for plotting Gorkon’s murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.  What follows is a thrilling ‘whodunit’ which sees Spock and the crew of the Enterprise in a race against time to uncover the perpetrators and rescue their comrades before peace talks falter and all-out war becomes certain.

Heading up the guest cast are David Warner (who had appeared as St. John Talbot in The Final Frontier and as a time-travelling Jack the Ripper in Nicholas Meyer’s directorial debut, Time After Time) as the “Lincoln-esque” Klingon Chancellor, Gorkon, Christopher Plummer as his villainous chief of staff, the Shakespeare-spouting General Chang, Rosana Desoto as Gorkon’s daughter (and successor) Azetbur and a post-Mannequin, pre-Sex in the City Kim Catrall as the Enterprise’s new Vulcan helmsman, Valeris.  Reprising their roles from The Voyage Home are Brock Peters as Admiral Cartwright, John Schuck as the Klingon Ambassador and Mark Lenard as Vulcan Ambassador and Spock’s father, Sarek.

Christopher Plummer as General Chang.

With a screenplay laced with strong dialogue and characterisation, Nicholas Meyer draws out fine performances from the principal and guest actors alike ensuring that each of the core Star Trek characters get their moment in the spotlight, especially George Takei who relishes the advancement of the loyal Mr. Sulu to Captain of the U.S.S. Excelsior.  Christopher Plummer makes for a great villain, excessive and passionate quotations of Shakespeare only adding to his increasing malevolence.  William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley are once again on top form with Shatner and Kelley in particular sharing some memorable scenes together during their trial and subsequent sentence to the penal mining asteroid, Rura Penthe.

It’s reported that Gene Roddenberry (whose health was in serious decline) had concerns about The Undiscovered Country, specifically the prejudice and bigotry displayed by the Enterprise crew and the more militaristic approach to Starfleet, conflicting with the more altruistic vision he had for Star Trek and its characters.  These are certainly valid points but can largely be forgiven when taken in the context of the film’s story and the history of the conflict between the Federation and the Klingon Empire and those aforementioned parallels to America and Russia.

Climaxing with a tense and exciting finale featuring an explosive space battle between the Enterprise, Excelsior and a prototype Klingon vessel and a desperate race to prevent the assassination of the Federation President (played by Robocop’s Kurtwood Smith), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is a fitting conclusion to the original cast’s tenure and a satisfying celebration of the franchise that remains one of its most enjoyable big screen instalments.

Geek fact!

Star Trek VI includes a cameo from one of Hollywood’s hottest rising stars of the 1990s – and Star Trek fan – Christian Slater.

What are your memories of Star Trek VI? Share your thoughts below!

Once more unto the breach: the original cast of ‘Star Trek’ assembled for their final adventure…

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Enters Production!

The world’s most popular SF franchise is all set for it’s return to the small screen…

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After months of speculation and behind the scenes delays, CBS has announced that production has commenced on Star Trek: Discovery with a painfully brief but non-the-less tantalising video giving short glimpses of some of the series’ production design (including the currently vacant Captain’s chair):

Video linked from YouTube via the JoBlo TV Show Trailers channel.

The sixth live-action Star Trek television series, Discovery was originally set to debut this May but with the departure of showrunner Bryan Fuller and casting announcements to be completed, CBS has wisely postponed the launch date indefinitely until all the pieces are fully in place and to ensure the series can ultimately live up to both its potential and the anticipation of millions of devoted fans the world over.

At this point little is known about the overall concept of Star Trek: Discovery bar that it will take place in the ‘Prime’ Star Trek universe (and therefore not connected to the current big screen alt-universe established by J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek) around ten years prior to the original Star Trek television series and will focus on the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery, principally the as-yet-unnamed Lieutenant-Commander to be played by The Walking Dead’s Sonequa Martin-Green .  Joining Martin-Green are Doug Jones (Hellboy, Falling Skies) as Science Office Lieutenant Saru – a member of an alien race that will be new to the franchise – along with Anthony Rapp as Lt. Stamets, the first openly gay regular character for a Star Trek series and Gotham’s James Frain as Sarek, the very same Vulcan ambassador and father of Spock played in the original Star Trek series and films by Mark Lenard.  Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) will also feature as Captain Georgiou who will command another Starfleet vessel, the Shenzhou together with three Klingon characters to be played by Mary Chieffo, Shazad Latif and Chris Obi.

Despite his departure from the series, Bryan Fuller (who has history with the franchise, having launched his career on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine before serving as a writer/producer on Star Trek: Voyager) had already mapped out the serialised storyline of the show’s first thirteen-episode season as well as having written the opening two-parter and will retain a credit as executive producer.  Showrunner duties will now be handled by Gretchen Berg and Aaron Harberts with Eugene Roddenberry (son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) on board as an executive producer and Nicholas Meyer, director of feature films Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (also serving as co-writer on the latter as well as on Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home) in place as a writer and consulting producer.

Co-created with Alex Kurtzman, co-producer/co-writer of the J.J. Abrams directed Star Trek and its sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek: Discovery will launch in the U.S. later this year via streaming service CBS All Access (with the premiere episode airing on network television) and will be available worldwide via Netflix.

CBS prepare to launch ‘Star Trek: Discovery’, the first ‘Star Trek’ television series since the end of ‘Star Trek: Enterprise’ in 2005.

Are you excited about Star Trek’s return to television?  Share your thoughts below!

Quick Review: ‘For the Love of Spock’

Featuring:  Leonard Nimoy, Adam Nimoy, William Shatner, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Nicholas Meyer, J.J. Abrams, Zachary Quinto, Chris Pine, Simon Pegg.

Directed by:  Adam Nimoy

What’s it about?

A documentary charting the life and career of actor Leonard Nimoy and the character of Mr. Spock…

In review

Declared as the most successful Kickstarter campaign ever, Adam Nimoy’s celebration of his father Leonard’s career and most significantly the creation of the iconic Star Trek character, Mr. Spock, arrives just in time for the franchise’s 50^th anniversary.  Enlisting the thoughts and opinions of family, friends, colleagues and fans (celebrity and none), For the Love of Spock is affectionate, funny (including some brief pondering of that hilarious and infamous Kirk/Spock ‘slash fiction’ with Leonard’s Star Trek co-star George Takei), candid and even, in moments, a little tear-jerking.

Via the guidance of Adam Nimoy, For the Love of Spock digs deep to explore the man behind Spock and how he ultimately created and refined the character who is beloved by millions all over the world.  Incorporating archive footage of Leonard (who passed away last year) and newly recorded interviews with the likes of fellow Star Trek stars William Shatner, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig along with the principle cast of the reboot film series, directors Nicholas Meyer and J.J. Abrams, scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Big Bang Theory star Jim Parsons and Leonard’s daughter, Julie the documentary is insightful in its dissection of the cultural impact of Spock and why a fictional character would mean so much to so many (its perhaps J.J. Abrams who encapsulates it so perfectly as he talks about the outsider in all of us).

For the Love of Spock is also a very personal endeavour for Adam Nimoy as he discusses, quite honestly, the often strained relationship he had with his father and the effect that fame had on the young Nimoy family.  It’s to the benefit of the project that Nimoy is open about this and is not reticent to attribute how issues in his own life contributed to the schism between father and son and is ultimately triumphant in celebrating their reconciliation in the years before Leonard’s death.

Technically, For the Love of Spock is well-structured and deftly assembled with clips from the original Star Trek series and spin-off films interspersed neatly between the various interview segments and archive footage – including a treasure trove of family home movies.  There’s not a great deal that’s new for die-hard Star Trek fans but ultimately, Adam Nimoy delivers an unmissable celebration of a man and his legacy.

The bottom line:  For the Love of Spock is a fitting tribute to the late Leonard Nimoy that’s lovingly crafted and an essential insight into an important cultural icon.

For the Love of Spock is available to download/stream now via iTunes, Amazon and a host of other video on demand platforms.

Man and icon: Adam Nimoy’s ‘For the Love of Spock’ is a fitting tribute to his father and the legacy of Mr. Spock.

R.I.P. Harve Bennett

This week sadly saw the loss of another member of the Star Trek family, this time producer/writer Harve Bennett who began his association with the franchise as a Producer on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Already a veteran television producer with credits including Mod Squad, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, Bennett was brought into the Star Trek fold by Paramount Pictures, unimpressed with Gene Rodenberry’s troubled production of the over-budget (yet financially successful) Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Unfamiliar with Star Trek at this point, Bennett viewed all 79 episodes of the original series and it was “Space Seed” that he singled out as a springboard for the next Star Trek feature film.

With Director Nicholas Meyer, Bennett sought a fresh approach to the world of Star Trek that would reinvigorate the franchise yet oddly bring it closer to the spirit of the original series.  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan would be a resounding success and Bennett would go on to produce sequels Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (which he also wrote), the massively successful Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (co-writing the screenplay with Nicholas Meyer) and the William Shatner helmed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier – where he made an onscreen cameo as a Starfleet Admiral.

Whilst some elements of Bennett’s reinterpretation of Star Trek are still divisive (the more militaristic depiction of Starfleet for example), he brought the heart and soul of the series to the fore and much like J.J. Abrams some years later realised that it was the characters that were much beloved and drove the stories.  It’s also ironic that Bennett had originally pitched an idea for Star Trek VI which would have featured a new cast portraying the younger Kirk, Spock, McCoy et al at Starfleet Academy.

Harve Bennett’s contribution to the Star Trek franchise was more than significant and ensured its longevity both on the big screen and on television (Star Trek: The Next Generation would not have been possible without the success of The Voyage Home) where it has evolved and reinvented itself for almost fifty years and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Harve Bennett died 4^th March 2015 aged 84.

You can read the GBUK Classics review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan here.

Producer Harve Bennett oversaw the production of four of the original ‘Star Trek’ feature films including ‘Star Trek III: The Search for Spock’ which saw the directorial debut of Leonard Nimoy.

Film Classics: ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’

Looking at some all-time favourites…

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“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…”

Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in ‘Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan’ (image credit: Paramount Pictures).

Year: 1982

Starring:  William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Kirstie Alley, Bibi Besch, Meritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Ricardo Montalban

Directed by:  Nicholas Meyer / written by:  Jack B. Sowards (uncredited: Nicholas Meyer)

What’s it about?

Whilst Admiral Kirk oversees a training cruise aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, Commander Chekov, serving as first officer of the U.S.S. Reliant discovers Khan – the genetically engineered tyrant who once tried to kill Kirk and now seeks revenge against the former starship captain for ‘marooning’ Khan and his people on a now desolate planet…

In review: why it’s a classic

Surely the best of all the Star Trek films to date, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan restored much of the spirit of the original Star Trek television series that was felt to be absent from the more effects and concept-driven (but highly imaginative) Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  Despite his diminished involvement, The Wrath of Khan is true to creator Gene Rodenberry’s intention that Star Trek be a way of telling entertaining and thought -provoking science fiction tales whilst also acting as a vehicle for stories exploring the human condition.

Directed by Nicholas Meyer (Time After Time), who, uncredited, also extensively rewrote the film’s screenplay, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the first of the classic Trek films to be produced by Harve Bennet after Paramount Pictures’ reduction of Gene Rodenberry’s role to that of ‘Executive Consultant,’ following their dissatisfaction with The Motion Picture.  The result is a film that takes a slightly more risky approach to the world of Star Trek and its characters without betraying the core tenets of the series or going against what fans would know or expect from Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the Enterprise crew.

A sequel to the classic Star Trek episode “Space Seed”, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan sees the return of genetically engineered antagonist Khan (Ricardo Montalben), bitter after being left on Ceti Alpha V to establish a new home with his people, subsequently decimated when the neighbouring planet exploded and laying waste to the ecology of their world – with no contact from Kirk to check on the progress of Khan and his brethren.  Stumbled upon by the U.S.S. Reliant’s captain (played by The Terminator’s Paul Winfield) and first officer, former Enterprise crewman Commander Chekov (Walter Koenig), whilst they search for a test site for ‘Project Genesis’ – a scientific breakthrough in terraforming – Khan seizes the Reliant and sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance against Kirk.  With the Enterprise on a cadet training cruise under Admiral Kirk’s supervision, a distress signal from the Regula I space laboratory instigates an emergency – placing Kirk in command and drawing him into confrontation with the enraged Khan who now not only seeks retribution against Kirk but plans to obtain the Genesis device for himself.

With a story that, like all good science fiction, taps into human concerns as it explores themes such as heroism and loss, The Wrath of Khan is made even greater by featuring a formidable and intelligent adversary who, like all good antagonists doesn’t see himself as the ‘villain’.  The late Ricardo Montalben was a memorable guest star in “Space Seed” and with his reprisal of Khan he effortlessly takes things to the next level with a scintillating and intense portrayal of the character.  The threat of Khan is enhanced with a touch of horror in the form of the mind influencing Ceti eels which he uses to bend Chekov and his captain to his will – the unnerving scenes of the creatures slithering into their ear holes providing the most unsettling moment in any Star Trek film.

Khan (Ricardo Montalben) embarks on a relentless quest for vengeance (image credit: Paramount Pictures).

The Wrath of Khan is infused with literary reverence – Khan’s obsessive pursuit of revenge not unlike that of Moby Dick’s Captain Ahab (accentuated by quotes from Herman Melville’s novel) – as well as morals and ethics as it deals with Project Genesis, a powerful form of technology that could prove to be destructive in the wrong hands.  It also boasts some strong characterisation, from Kirk’s crisis as he regrets accepting promotion out of the captain’s chair whilst pondering a life that could have been as a father and husband (his son David and former partner Carol, played by Merrit Butrick and Bibi Besch respectively, the creators of Genesis), to Spock’s (spoiler!) sacrifice for “the needs of the many” and Khan’s anguish at the loss of his wife and the plight of his people adding to the drama.  Nicholas Meyer, though unfamiliar with Star Trek, brings all the creative elements suitably into play and encourages terrific performances from the cast, especially William Shatner (as Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (as Spock) – who share several wonderful scenes which highlight the unwavering bond of friendship between their respective characters – and, again, the superb Ricardo Montalban –as well as maintaining the tension and excitement during the film’s space battle sequences.  It’s also worth noting the increased role afforded to Walter Koenig in comparison to The Motion Picture and Kirstie Alley (future star of classic sitcom Cheers) makes her big screen debut in a fan favourite turn as Spock’s young Vulcan protégé, the equally logical and analytical Lieutenant Saavik.

Meyer also brings his love of all thing nautical to the fore (the Naval-esque orientated depiction of Starfleet, whilst more militaristic, provides an identifiable portrayal of the organisation) with the climactic nebula-bound battle between the Enterprise and the Reliant a fitting homage to tense World War II submarine thrillers such as Robert Wise’s Run Silent, Run Deep.  James Horner’s rousing, exciting and emotional music score is the icing on the cake that together with all of the other elements not only make Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan a fine piece of science fiction film entertainment that resonates on a human level but represents the franchise at its cinematic best.

Standout moment

The Enterprise crippled by Khan’s surprise attack, Kirk uses his experience and ingenuity to gain the upper hand, utilising the Reliant’s command code sequence to lower its defences…

Geek fact!

Amongst the crew of the Reliant is Commander Kyle, a popular supporting character from the original series, with John Winston reprising the role.

If you like this then watch…

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country : Nicholas Meyer returns to co-write and direct the original crew’s final outing in a gripping “whodunit?” that utilises the science fiction backdrop to comment on issues of the time – namely the collapse of the Berlin wall and with it, the Cold War.

Star Trek Into Darkness : though divisive, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel revisits The Wrath of Khan as Kirk (Chris Pine) and the crew of the Enterprise face high stakes against a new iteration of Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch).  Amongst all the contemporary blockbuster excitement are faithful homages to the franchise’s roots and commentary on issues such as terrorism and military intervention.

Image(s) used herein are utilised for illustrative purposes only and remain the property of the copyright owner(s).