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Star Trek III - The Search for Spock
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 178
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
You didn't think Mr. Spock was really dead, did you? When Spock's casket landed on the surface of the Genesis planet at the end of Star Trek II, we had already been told that Genesis had the power to bring "life from lifelessness." So it's no surprise that this energetic but somewhat hokey sequel gives Spock a new lease on life, beginning with his rebirth and rapid growth as the Genesis planet literally shakes itself apart in a series of tumultuous geological spasms. As Kirk is getting to know his estranged son (Merritt Butrick), he must also do battle with the fiendish Klingon Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is determined to seize the power of Genesis from the Federation. Meanwhile, the regenerated Spock returns to his home planet, and Star Trek III gains considerable interest by exploring the ceremonial (and, of course, highly logical) traditions of Vulcan society. The movie's a minor disappointment compared to Star Trek II, but it's a--well, logical--sequel that successfully restores Spock (and first-time film director Leonard Nimoy) to the phenomenal Trek franchise...as if he were ever really gone. With Kirk's willful destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Robin Curtis replacing the departing Kirstie Alley as Vulcan Lt. Saavik, this was clearly a transitional film in the series, clearing the way for the highly popular Star Trek IV. --Jeff Shannon
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 12, Episodes 23 & 24: A Taste of Armageddon/ Space Seed
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
Volume 12 in the classic Star Trek series on DVD begins with "Space Seed," which introduced Khan Noonien Singh (a viperlike Ricardo Montalban) to Trek lore. The trouble begins when Kirk & crew discovers a derelict ship and its crew of 70 supermen aboard, all in suspended animation. Led by Khan, these strange people turn out to be the product of genetic experimentation in the 1990s and instigators of a so-called Eugenics War, i.e., the Third World War on Earth often mentioned on various Trek programs. Though displaced from his more violent time and place, Khan quickly overcomes his disorientation and shifts into conqueror mode, quickly overtaking the Enterprise with the aid of a comely Federation historian who is swooning at his feet. As any Trek fan knows, "Space Seed" inspired Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, regarded by many as the best of the Trek feature films."A Taste of Armageddon" is one of classic Trek's occasional, obvious metaphors for the absurdity of the then-cold war between East and West. Gene Lyons stars as a Federation ambassador named Fox, who boards the Enterprise to reach the planet Eminiar VII, where he hopes to negotiate a peace treaty with the inhabitants. Instead the crew of the Enterprise gets caught in the middle of an interplanetary war between Eminiar and neighboring planet Vendikar. The twist is that the war is being fought on computers, and compliant residents of those "destroyed" areas obediently report to disintegration chambers, where their "virtual" death is made literal. When the Enterprise is "hit" in one of these simulations, both the warlords of Eminiar VII and Ambassador Fox fully expect Capt. Kirk & crew to report to the disintegration center. The feisty Kirk has other plans, of course. And while the madness of this controlled armageddon makes a suitably surreal satire of the arms race in the 1960s, the story also evoked the endless, daily reports of body counts during the Vietnam war, with no resolution in sight. Aside from its parable aspect, however, the episode gave Kirk one of his earliest and most compelling scenes of Kirkian preachiness in a bold monologue about peace, reportedly written and rewritten numerous times by series producer and indispensable creative hand, Gene L. Coon. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - Insurrection
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 457
Average rating: 3.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Star Trek fans were decidedly mixed in their reactions to this, the ninth big-screen feature in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise, but die-hard loyalists will appreciate the way this Next Generation adventure rekindles the spirit of the original Trek TV series while combining a tolerable dose of New-Agey philosophy with a lighthearted plot for the TNG cast. This time out, Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his executive crew must transport to a Shangri-la-like planet to see why their android crewmate Data (Brent Spiner) has run amuck in a village full of peaceful Ba'ku artisans who--thanks to their planet's "metaphasic radiation"--haven't aged in 309 years.It turns out there's a conspiracy afoot, masterminded by the devious, gruesomely aged Ru'afo (F. Murray Abraham, hamming it up under makeup resembling a cosmetic surgeon's worst nightmare), who's in cahoots with a renegade Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe, in one of his final screen roles). They covet the fountain-of-youth power of the Ba'ku planet, but because their takeover plan violates Starfleet's Prime Directive of noninterference, it's up to Picard and crew to stop the scheme. Along the way, they all benefit from the metaphasic effect, which manifests itself as Worf's puberty (visible as a conspicuous case of Klingon acne), Picard's youthful romance with a Ba'ku woman (the lovely Donna Murphy), the touching though temporary return of Geordi's natural eyesight, and a moment when Troi asks Dr. Crusher if she's noticed that her "boobs are firming up."
Some fans scoffed at these humorous asides, but they're what make this Trek film as entertaining as it is slightly disappointing. Without the laughs (including Data's rousing excerpt from Gilbert & Sullivan's HMS Pinafore), this is a pretty routine entry in the franchise, with no real surprises, a number of plot holes, and the overall appearance of a big-budget TV episode. As costar and director, Jonathan Frakes proves a capable carrier of the Star Trek flame--and it's nice to see women in their 40s portrayed as smart and sexy--but while this is surely an adequate Trek adventure, it doesn't quite rank with the best in the series. --Jeff Shannon
Mind Meld - Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Mind Meld: Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime is an unprecedented 75-minute examination of the impact the Star Trek experience has had on the franchise's most celebrated participants: William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. These two stars have arguably embodied the brightest icons in the sci-fi universe; Shatner as passionate Captain James T. Kirk, and Nimoy as logical-minded, half Vulcan Mr. Spock. Now, in an unprecedented candid conversation at Nimoy's Beverly Hills home, these two icons of popular culture share with each other, and the viewers, the behind-the-scenes adventures of one of the greatest franchises in entertainment history.They discuss:
The Phenomenon: How Star Trek meaningfully changed their careers, their very lives.
The Creative Battles: The pressures of making a landmark weekly series. The challenges of bringing back Star Trek as a movie franchise.
The Original Crew: Rivalries, jealousies and conflicts between the original cast and creators.
The Personal Impact: Pressures on their families and friends. Struggles with personal demons and addictions.
The Final Frontiers: Lives reviewed. Facing death. Remembering their Star Trek co-star DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) and the legacies both men hope to leave behind.Shot in beautiful high-definition video, this lush production features rare personal photographs that span the careers of the two men, as well as a visit into Nimoy's study filled with memorabilia of the incredible voyage they shared. Most of all, these two passionate actors reveal the incredible bond that was the cornerstone of their success; the trust, the friendship, and the ability to consistently challenge each other to boldly go where neither man has gone before. 75 minutes.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 14, Episodes 27 & 28: Errand of Mercy/ The City on the Edge of Forever
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
Of all the Star Trek original series DVDs, Volume 14 will surely remain one of the most popular, for it offers the first-ever appearance of Klingons (in "Errand of Mercy") and the episode many fans consider the finest of all "classic Trek" adventures.In "Errand of Mercy," war between the Klingons and the Federation is imminent, and it's up to Captain Kirk (William Shatner) to persuade the peaceful, agrarian planet Organia to sign on with the good guys before the Klingons overwhelm the place. Organia is in a strategically valuable position for whichever warring side claims it first, but the Organians don't seem to care. Kirk and First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) make an awfully good pitch for Federation protection, but Organian leaders reject the offer as a tacit invitation to violence, taking little heed of a Klingon invasion and earning the enmity of both Kirk and Klingon Commander Kor (John Colicos). Essentially a Cold War satire disguised as a Federation-Klingon showdown, "Errand of Mercy" is the brainchild of producer-writer Gene L. Coon, who makes a wonderfully convincing case for the absurdity of each side's claim to moral superiority. Highlights include the Butch-and-Sundance banter between Kirk and Spock as they form a two-man Resistance movement. The episode is directed by John Newland, best known as the host of the supernatural television series, One Step Beyond.
"The City on the Edge of Forever" begins with a medical accident that leaves Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) a paranoid madman. Leaping through a time portal to Earth's Great Depression of the 1930s, McCoy causes disastrous changes to history, forcing Kirk and Spock to follow him and undo whatever disruptive action he took centuries before. There, Kirk meets a kindly social worker, Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), with whom he falls in love before realizing her fate is the key to a restored future. A shattering drama, "City" brings out the best in the cast and production teams, looking like a feature film that found its way onto television. The background on this show is equally compelling and sometimes hysterically funny, beginning with a highly fanciful script by Harlan Ellison (including a scene with cast members riding a carousel that passes in and out the side of a mountain) that was either rewritten by series creator Gene Roddenberry or producer Gene L. Coon, depending on who's telling the story. Ironically, Ellison's original version won a Writer's Guild award while the revision captured a Hugo, but the real prize is the episode itself. --Tom Keogh
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 40, Episodes 79, 99 & 1: Turnabout Intruder/ The Cage (B&W/Color Version) / The Cage (Full Color Version)
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 30
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
5 stars--even "Turnabout Intruder" cannot take the shine off of "The Cage"! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
"Turnabout Intruder" is not worth reviewing, except to see how inconsistently the attitudes toward women were handled--compare Lester to Number One and Yeoman Colt in the pilot.
*
"The Cage" is two things. First, it is not the Star Trek that could have been, but rather, it is the Star Trek that was to be. All of the key elements are in place: Dr. Boyce is the same archetype as Dr. McCoy, Ensign Jose Tyler is the eager young space cadet that would become Chekhov and every redshirt, Yeoman Colt is just a strawberry version of Yeoman Rand, and Spock is Spock. If you squint, you feel like you are watching any other episode of Trek:TOS or TAS.
Secondly, this is what "Star Trek: Enterprise" should have been. When I heard that Berman and Braga were doing a prequel series, I immediately picture this episode's yellow and blue turtlenecks, the Buck Rodgers lasers, and the retro-future trans-warp décor on the ship. Like most people, I was let down with the slick and professional sets and costuming of the actual series. No! No! No! Keep the continuity of the Great Bird of the Galaxy! We love the quirky sets, post-Mod swinger costumes, and the cheesy special effects. "But pardon, gentles all, the flat unraised spirits that hath dar'd on this unworthy scaffold to bring forth So great an object. . . . Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts." (Henry V)
*
"The Cage" is a reservoir--it both collects from the past, and dispenses for the future. In order to fully appreciate this series, you need to read Horatio Hornblower, Doc Smith's Lensman series, and the watch "Forbidden Planet." The last film was a key influence on the plot and setting. In both, we have a dying or dead alien race that was corrupted by its telepathic abilities and moved underground. Both have a saucer-shaped earth ship with hyper drive coming to the rescue, wit a beautiful woman (Altair /Vina) as a siren. Even the sets have similar pentagonal doors and arches. And don't get me started on the animation and special effects.
This episode shows that the concept of Star Trek was already firm in Roddenberry's mind. In addition to the above mentioned similarities, you have the quote-unquote progressive crew. The transporter assistant is Asian, foreshadowing Admiral Sulu. The navigator is Jose Tyler, blond, but with Hispanic ancestry. And of course, there is Number One, a female XO that paved the way for Robotech's Lisa Hayes. Nowadays some people criticize Roddenberry for not being politically correct enough, but considering the times, this is quite daring.
Additionally there is the personality of Pike. What we saw in "The Menagerie" was edited; we saw an introspective captain, with his doubts and fears. But when these snippets are put in context, we see that Pike was a tough tinhorn on par with Kirk--just replay the last line Pike speaks in the episode. Furthermore, since Pike is both velvet and steel, he is a better rounded person that Kirk ever was. I think it was this balanced quality that allowed Hunter to play Christ so well in "King of Kings."
*
There is one odd aspect to the episode, and that is the sexual subtext: the Talosians want Pike to breed with Vina. Nowadays we would just send the Greys to the local sperm bank for some free samples, or have Riker do a strafing run. But Pike does not do this--he has a sense of the sacredness of marriage, that a heterogamous couple is essential for both the man, woman, and the child. As the children of broken homes can attest, we seem to have advanced beyond Pike in this matter.
Editorial Review:
"Turnabout," Ep.79 - A female scientist, jealous of Kirk's career, uses an ancient alien device to trade places with him and take command of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series' final episode! "The Cage," Ep.99 (B&W and color) - The two versions of Star Trek's rarely seen pilot star Jeffrey Hunter as captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise. On an earlier voyage of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise, Kirk's predecessor Captain Christopher Pike tries to rescue an Earth crew that disappeared eighteen years earlier. But it's a trap! Pike is imprisoned in a zoo-like cage and studied by a mysterious higher life-form. "The Cage" Ep.99 was reconstructed with black-and-white footage from Gene Roddenberry's work print and color footage from "The Menagerie" Ep.16. "The Cage" Ep.1 (Color) - This episode includes the long-lost color footage (believed to have been destroyed) from Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode. 185 minutes.
Star Trek V - The Final Frontier
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 264
Average rating: 3.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
Movie critic Roger Ebert summed it up very succinctly: "Of all of the Star Trek movies, this is the worst." Subsequent films in the popular series have done nothing to disprove this opinion; we can be grateful that they've all been significantly better since this film was released in 1989. After Leonard Nimoy scored hits with Star Trek III and IV, William Shatner used his contractual clout (and bruised ego) to assume directorial duties on this mission, in which a rebellious Vulcan (Laurence Luckinbill) kidnaps Federation officials in his overzealous quest for the supreme source of creation. That's right, you heard it correctly: Star Trek V is about a crazy Vulcan's search for God. By the time Kirk, Spock, and their Federation cohorts are taken to the Great Barrier of the galaxy, this journey to "the final future" has gone from an embarrassing prologue to an absurd conclusion, with a lot of creaky plotting in between. Of course, die-hard Trekkies will still allow this movie into their video collections; but they'll only watch it when nobody else is looking. After this humbling experience, Shatner wisely relinquished the director's chair to Star Trek II's Nicholas Meyer. --Jeff Shannon
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 17, Episodes 33 & 34: Who Mourns For Adonais/Amok Time
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15
Average rating: 5.0 of 5
Gods and Vulcans 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 5 people found this review helpful.
"Who Mourns For Adonais?" Kirk meets Apollo in a violent confrontation that almost costs Scotty's life. Look at the wardrobe given to Carolyn Palamas! WHOA!"Amok Time" Spock MUST visit Vulcan and marry a woman or die.
One strong show, and one true classic 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.
Who Mourns for Adonais? This is a strong show about the Greek god Apollo. When Trek was at its best, it generally combined thought-provoking and socially relevant questions with tight, internally consistent, and action-packed stories. Who Mourns for Adonais is one such episode. In addition to the interesting idea that the Gods may have been real, we have the very real themes of 1) the pros and cons of hero worship/letting others make decisions for you, 2) the quest for power, and 3) the pros and cons of a simple, care-free life. The guest acting is pretty good here, too, and there aren't too many holes in the plot.Overall, a strong episode, although I for one at times tire of the more 'literal' episodes, enjoying instead the dreamy, surreal, and menacing ones. I see no reason why we should expect to encounter a moral code (or any system for that matter) similar to our own in outer space. Also there are quite frankly limits to just how good a `literal' take can consistently be, especially after 35 years and given the time and budget constraints of an episode. That is why I am drawn to the more off-beat shows.
Having digressed, I must return to the fact that this is one of the better of the `literal' shows. (4 stars)
Amok Time-This episode, in which Spock must return to his home planet, is deservedly a classic. Amok Time typifies the vitality and fast-pacing of the second season shows. There is real mystery as we try to comprehend just what is wrong with Spock. Certainly it is no coincidence that the thoughtful and critical Nimoy's strongest performance came in the show that gave him both a range of emotions AND a plausible reason for stepping out of character. Nowhere is Spock's shame about his (and all of our) dualistic natures more palpable than here.
This episode is helped also by the musical score and minimalist sets on Vulcan, as well as solid acting by the other Vulcans. If one is willing to look beyond minor script problems such as the humans' utter ignorance of Vulcan biology and the details of how Spock ends up fighting Kirk, there really isn't much to gripe about. Funny too how success breeds success; there is a warmth and chemistry between the big three here that just couldn't be reconjured in episodes that didn't earn the actors' trust. (4.5 stars)
Editorial Review:
"Who Mourns for Adonis," Ep. 33 - The U.S.S. Enterprise crew encounter a giant hand in space and come under the domination of an alien who claims to be the Greek god Apollo. "Amok Time," Ep. 34 - Spock becomes irrational when he is possessed by an overwhelming mating urge, and Kirk must fight him to the death on the planet Vulcan.
Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 6, Episodes 12 & 13: Miri/ The Conscience of the King
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16
Average rating: 4.0 of 5
Editorial Review:
The continuing adventures of the starship Enterprise, as recorded for posterity on DVD, move into their sixth volume with a very interesting pair of shows from the original series. "Miri," one of the most popular episodes, featured a couple of soon-to-be-semi-icons from two very different kinds of films from the late 1960s: Michael J. Pollard (who would appear in Bonnie and Clyde) and Kim Darby (John Wayne's costar in True Grit). The intriguing story concerns a race of children on an Earth-like planet who are in fact 300 years old, kept pristine in the summer of their lives by a disease that also causes madness and death with the onset of adulthood. The Enterprise's landing party, including Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), are instantly contaminated and forced to remain on the planet until McCoy can find an antidote. In the meantime, Darby's character, Miri, falls for Kirk and becomes jealous of his attentions toward anyone else. Easily one of Star Trek's strongest shows, "Miri" is a must-see for Trekkers and Trekkies.Also on this disk is "The Conscience of the King," a memorable drama about a traveling Shakespearean troupe led by one Anton Karidian (Arnold Moss), who may or may not be the same man as Kodos the Executioner, former governor of a Federation planet who oversaw the mass murder of thousands of people rather than watch them starve to death during a food shortage. (Shortly after the deaths, Federation supply ships arrived and Kodos disappeared, right around the time that Karidian arrived as a classical actor touring the planets.) A nice twist: among victims of Kodos's wrongheaded mercy killings were relatives of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), adding a personal note to the mystery of Karidian/Kodos. Well-written (by Barry Trivers) and sensitively directed by a not-well-known but very interesting Hollywood filmmaker, Gerd Oswald.--Tom Keogh
Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Seasons 1-7
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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 57
Average rating: 4.5 of 5
Editorial Review:
After Star Wars and the successful big-screen Star Trek adventures, it's perhaps not so surprising that Gene Roddenberry managed to convince purse string-wielding studio heads in the 1980s that a Next Generation would be both possible and profitable. But the political climate had changed considerably since the 1960s, the Cold War had wound down, and we were now living in the Age of Greed. To be successful a second time, Star Trek had to change too.A writer's guide was composed with which to sell and define where the Trek universe was in the 24th Century. The United Federation of Planets was a more appealing ideology to an America keen to see where the Reagan/Gorbachev faceoff was taking them. Starfleet's meritocratic philosophy had always embraced all races and species. Now Earth's utopian history, featuring the abolishment of poverty, was brandished prominently and proudly. The new Enterprise, NCC 1701-D, was no longer a ship of war but an exploration vessel carrying families. The ethical and ethnical flagship also carried a former enemy (the Klingon Worf, played by Michael Dorn), and its Chief Engineer (Geordi LaForge) was blind and black. From every politically correct viewpoint, Paramount executives thought the future looked just swell!
Roddenberry's feminism now contrasted a pilot episode featuring ship's Counsellor Troi (Marina Sirtis) in a mini-skirt with her ongoing inner strengths and also those of Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and the short-lived Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). The arrival of Whoopi Goldberg in season 2 as mystic barkeep Guinan is a great example of the good the original Trek did for racial groups--Goldberg has stated that she was inspired to become an actress in large part through seeing Nichelle Nichols' Uhura. Her credibility as an actress helped enormously alongside the strong central performances of Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (First Officer Will Riker), and Brent Spiner (Data) in defining another wholly believable environment once again populated with well-defined characters. Star Trek, it turned out, did not depend for its success on any single group of actors.
Like its predecessor in the 1960s, TNG pioneered visual effects on TV, making it an increasingly jaw-dropping show to look at. And thanks also to the enduring success of the original show, phasers, tricorders, communicators and even phase inverters were already familiar to most viewers. But while technology was a useful tool in most crises, it now frequently seemed to be the cause of them too, as the show's writers continually warned about the dangers of over-reliance on technology (the Borg were the ultimate expression of this maxim). The word "technobabble" came to describe a weakness in many TNG scripts, which sacrificed the social and political allegories of the original and relied instead upon invented technological faults and their equally fictitious resolutions to provide drama within the Enterprise's self-contained society. (The holodeck's safety protocol override seemed to be next to the light switch given the number of times crew members were trapped within.) This emphasis on scientific jargon appealed strongly to an audience who were growing up for the first time in the late 1980s with the home computer--and gave rise to the clichéd image of the nerdy Trek fan.
Like in the original Trek, it was in the stories themselves that much of the show's success is to be found. That pesky Prime Directive kept moral dilemmas afloat ("Justice"/"Who Watches the Watchers?"/"First Contact"). More "what if" scenarios came out of time-travel episodes ("Cause and Effect"/"Time's Arrow"/"Yesterday's Enterprise"). And there were some episodes that touched on the political world, such as "The Arsenal of Freedom" questioning the supply of arms, "Chain of Command" decrying the torture of political prisoners and "The Defector", which was called "The Cuban Missile Crisis of The Neutral Zone" by its writer. The show ran for more than twice as many episodes as its progenitor and therefore had more time to explore wider ranging issues. But the choice of issues illustrates the change in the social climate that had occurred with the passing of a couple of decades. "Angel One" covered sexism; "The Outcast" was about homosexuality; "Symbiosis"--drug addiction; "The High Ground"--terrorism; "Ethics"--euthanasia; "Darmok"--language barriers; and "Journey's End"--displacement of Indians from their homeland. It would have been unthinkable for the original series to have tackled most of these.
TNG could so easily have been a failure, but it wasn't. It survived a writer's strike in its second year, the tragic death of Roddenberry just after Trek's 25th anniversary in 1991, and plenty of competition from would-be rival franchises. Yes, its maintenance of an optimistic future was appealing, but the strong stories and readily identifiable characters ensured the viewers' continuing loyalty. --Paul Tonks