Eugh.
It's Friday night, y'all. Time for #wenchwatches
Let's watch a bunch of upright people decide to break multiple laws and commit grand theft larceny to save their friend.
Tonight, "something comforting": #StarTrek3
First of all, if you haven't watched Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan yet, you might want to skip this one, and go watch that first. For extra points, go watch the TOS episode "Space Seed" before that.
AND, if you're a brown-nosing teacher's pet, go read the comic book series that fills in the time period between Space Seed and Wrath. Really. It's good.
This is your spoilers warning.
Star Trek 3 was revelatory to me as a little kid. I was well acquainted with Star Trek The Original Series (TOS), as I sometimes skipped out on Sunday School to watch that on a little TV in our family van.
It was a much, much better teacher of ethics and how to be a good human anyways.
TOS was always episodic. Rarely did an episode follow up on a previous one in a meaningful way. Most TV leaned on episodicness so as to make onramping viewers easier in the age before internet chat rooms and social media.
Star Trek 3, on the other hand, was a follow up. It picked up where Wrath of Khan left off. The idea of a continuous story in Star Trek was intoxicating to me. Fortunately, my dad was already a fan, and had the entire three movie cycle recorded from TV broadcast on VHS tape.
Let's watch!
It took *forever* for the Klingon empire to get off of that Atari cartage standard for ferrying intelligence information.
A think that always struck me about Star Trek 3 compared to 2 was just how *bright* the film looked. Wrath was always shot in darker, ruddier hues, perhaps to match the darker tones of the story.
I'm not sure exactly what's different, since many of the same effects companies were involved with 3 (unlike Star Trek 5, which couldn't get ILM scheduled). The filming also felt sharper and more modern that 3, and is reflected in even my cheap, multi-DVD pack I got for $20.
It's been remarked by the cast that the films until 4 where a "Live - Death - Then, Life again" cycle. Perhaps then, Search for Spock, being the last part of that cycle, was shot with brighter lights intentionally. I'm sure someone reading this may have the inside scoop here.
I have been watching and rewatching this film for over 30 years, and TODAY I catch a production mistake.
When Checkov brings up the security display to identify a life form in Spock's quarters, the starship shown dorsally is not the refit model present since Star Trek The Motion Picture. The nacelles and support pylons are the distinctive TOS style. I can only imagine the effects crew making the digital graphics for that display weren't involved with the model work. As such, it's understandable it would have been missed.
Or, if you want a Watsonian explanation, Starfleet is just a wee bit slow on rolling out those OS updates...
A unique joy of this film is the amount of actually enjoyable acting is in this. Mark Lenard reprising his role for the first time as Sarek added instant gravitas to the film. It added to that sense of continuity which the series often lacked out of production necessity.
One thing I love in Star Trek, is to see when the actors are "let off the leash" and able to really steal the scenes. Jeri Ryan and Brent Spiner were particularly good at his, as was Robert Picardo. We'll see that later with Nicholls.
This stands in stark relief, however to Shatner. A friend of mine once remarked that "you don't believe anything he does [in Wrath] until [the Khan yell]. It's only a moment, but you believe him!" As much as I like to poke fun at Shatner's often hamfisted acting, the mind meld scene is honestly a great moment of performance.
Perhaps it's because I'm from the US Midwest, but I find sorrow often expressed in heartbreaking quiet or deathly silence *more* impactful. This is true for Shatner during the meld with Sarek. It's a poignant moment, and perhaps the best I've ever seen him give. This is helped in no small part by the extreme close-ups during the sequence. It conveys an additional sense of intimacy of the emotion.
Notably, Sarek's obvious anger is no longer present afterward. A small note of performance, but one which follows perfectly.
"How many fingers am I holding up? 🖖
"That's not very damn funny."
Oh, yes it is.
I. Want. Sulu's. Coat.
Uhura with that *whithering* gaze.
Security, I would like to report a murder.
I absolutely *love* the scene in which Uhrua pulls the phaser on "Mr. Adventure". Nichols didn't often have much opportunity to have *fun* in her scenes in the franchise at any point until now, so it's a treat to see it here.
Similarly, Takei's ass-kicking scene against the security guard is delightful. You're reminded that each of these characters is capable experienced, and it's wonderful to see each of them shine if only for a moment.
@socketwench - Nichelle Nichols is one of those actresses who was never really given a moment to show off what she could do.
There are a lot fo bits and pieces throughout TOS and the movies, but in every one, she's giving 110%. Even if it's just a stare to the screen.
This scene in TSFS? This should be shown ANYTIME Nichelle Nichols is memorialized.
