“Says here that these holodecks will end up being deathtraps, Mr. Data …”
Picard is all stressed as he prepares to give a very elaborate greeting to a very protocol-driven (read: anal) alien species called the Jarada. Troi tells him he needs a break, so Picard checks out the upgraded holodeck — now capable of characters with more human interaction. He chooses to play the role of 20th-century American gumshoe Dixon Hill, a longtime hero. Picard is so amazed with the results after a brief visit that he returns with Data, Crusher and historian/redshirt Whalen (David Selburg). While they’re inside, the Jarada probe the Enterprise, messing up the holodeck, trapping our heroes and removing the safeties. Gangster Cyrus Redblock (Lawrence Tierney) shows up in Hill’s office and shoots Whalen. Realizing they’re cut off from the rest of the ship and in danger, Picard and Co. tell Redblock that they’re actually engaging in a simulation and — after Wesley and Geordi fix the holodeck — Redblock and one of his toadies exit (looking for new plunder) only to disappear. Data and Crusher then hurry Whalen to sickbay and Picard has a short discussion with a non-bad holodeck character who wonders whether his world will continue after Picard leaves. Picard tells him he honestly doesn’t know and heads to the bridge — where he does the weird Jarada greeting successfully.
“It’s really gonna be a shame when we replace you with the woman who fell down the elevator shaft on ‘L.A. Law’.”
Why it’s important
Although this episode has some first-season issues (which we’ll get to in a moment) it’s a huge moment for Star Trek storytelling in at least three ways:
1) It sets up the second-generation Trek’s version of the “parallel Earth” stories. Fortunately, it’s much more believable in TNG, DS9 and Voyager than on TOS because our heroes are actively creating 20th-century Earth scenarios, rather than randomly finding them on far-flung planets, like in “Bread and Circuses”.
2) It sets up the “holodeck accident” trope that became a fixture for the next 14 or so years. This had mixed results, from good episodes like “Elementary, Dear Data,” “Our Man, Bashir,” and “Worst Case Scenario” to awful ones like “Good Shepherd.” There were a lot of “meh” episodes thrown in, too.
3) But probably most important is the idea of holographic characters becoming sentient. That led to the successful “Elementary, Dear Data”/”Ship in a Bottle” arc in TNG, the somewhat successful Vic Fontaine stories in DS9 and, of course, Voyager’s best character, the Doctor.
It’s unclear how much of what happened in “The Big Goodbye” and later “Elementary, Dear Data” prompted Starfleet to design sentient holograms like the Doctor. But, it’s pretty obvious the Star Trek creators got the idea for sentient holograms in the early TNG stories. Either way, this episode lays a lot of foundation for later Trek.
“Yeah, Geordi. It would be pretty awkward if you had to look into this …”
What doesn’t hold up
The episode suffers from what I call “M*A*S*H Syndrome” — where main characters are put into positions simply because they’re main characters and not because people in their roles would realistically interact in such a way. It comes across as if the handful of characters played by the show’s stars only interact with each other — even though there are many more people around. Voyager was actually the worst series as far as this problem, but TNG had its share, too. The key scene in this episode is in the observation lounge following Picard’s first visit to the holodeck.
Simply put, having everyone in that scene was weird. Later TNG might have Picard telling Riker or Data or Troi about his adventure. But there’s no way Picard in the fourth or fifth season would take time away from the Jarada briefing for something like this. And there’s no reason for Wesley (who’s usually only in briefings in the series when he’s working on something with Geordi) to be in the scene. Wesley’s involvement later in rescuing Picard and Co. still could have happened.
This episode also is the clearest example of Picard and Crusher having feelings for each other that we see until the seventh season, as the whole ordeal in “The Naked Now” could be chalked up to the weirdness that happened to the entire crew. It’s frankly a little over the top here — particularly in the observation lounge (with the entire senior staff and Wesley present) and knowing where Picard comes down on romantic relationships with crewmembers.
Otherwise, there’s only really one big issue — why Geordi, Wesley or one of the other engineering dudes didn’t rush into the holodeck after it was fixed to tell Picard that the Jarada were waiting. It’s also odd that Redblock and his crony didn’t see any of Geordi’s team when they exited.
Final thoughts
To be fair, the above complaints don’t rank very high and “The Big Goodbye” was a clear step in the right direction after a lot of bad television in TNG’s first several episodes. As long as you don’t dislike holodeck stories generally, this isn’t a bad view. It was fairly original when it aired. And the Redblock character added some interesting wrinkles to the show’s final minutes, as he clearly was a well-conceived holodeck character.
Just as “Tomorrow is Yesterday” should be gently viewed as TOS’s first time-travel story, “The Big Goodbye” should be viewed as TNG’s (actually, all of second-generation Trek’s) first holodeck problem story. From that perspective — and compared with a lot of the dreck from early TNG — it works quite well.
Coming later this week …
We learn about Data’s backstory, off switch and inability to use contractions. But it’s cool. He’s fine …
“I know I’m an annoying character, hu-man. But wait a few years and my cousins Quark and Nog will make the Ferengi somewhat redeemable. But ignore Rom …”
The Enterprise is chasing a vessel of the mysterious Ferengi, who may have stolen some energy doohickey. The chase takes them to a star system, and the Ferengi ship seems to have a weapon that is draining all the Enterprise’s power. Picard contacts the Ferengi to surrender — second surrender in the first four episodes! — and learns the Ferengi are being affected in the same way. The two ships determine something on the planet’s to blame, so they beam down away teams. After Riker and Co., are assaulted by the Ferengi, an automated ‘portal’ left behind on the planet from the long-dead Tkon Empire appears to pass judgment. Riker uses some Kirk-style verbal tricks to impress the portal (yawn), saving the away team and the ship (which was about dead in orbit). Riker also asks the portal to spare the Ferengi, which he does.
“Commander Riker, you should know that in addition to being the Portal, I’m also an extra on ‘Golden Girls.'”
Why it’s important
Well, the Ferengi were supposed to be TNG’s big enemies. They’re mentioned in “Encounter at Farpoint”, and Picard implies that they’ve been known to eat their past business associates. Of course, the Ferengi we see in this episode are far from intimidating. They’re really just incredibly annoying.
Essentially, the creators gave themselves a mulligan on the Ferengi — an alien race they clearly spent time developing but one that didn’t work out. In the first and second seasons, the Ferengi are made out to be adversaries on par with the Romulans, Klingons — and later, the Cardassians and the Breen. But by season three, they’re not seen as a major threat. They’re really just a nuisance. When the Dominion War breaks out in the latter seasons of DS9, the Ferengi Alliance doesn’t rank as high as the other Alpha Quadrant powers and doesn’t appear to get involved in the war.
The best thing that this episode did was to lay the groundwork for the character of Quark in DS9. Armin Shimerman, who plays one of the Ferengi on the planet, brought a level of depth to his portrayal of Quark that almost made sitting through the two Ferengi episodes a year on DS9 doable. Almost …
“This is the single coolest thing we will ever do on Star Trek, hu-man.”
What doesn’t hold up
It’s been said that early TNG isn’t just bad TNG. It’s more like bad TOS. This episode could have fit right into the original series, with Riker playing the part of Kirk on the surface, leading the fight scenes against the bad guys. Picard, on the ship, plays the part of Scotty. Later in TNG, the roles are reversed, with Picard and Data taking on the Kirk/Spock roles and Riker often left behind to mind the store. In some ways, this change helped make TNG a better series — but the marginalization of Riker gets pretty ridiculous in the sixth and seventh seasons. More on that in later reviews.
The solution in this episode, meanwhile, is also vintage TOS. Riker, as Kirk, tells the portal some enlightened human ideas, impresses him and then shows mercy. I’m not saying that’s a particularly bad approach, but it wasn’t particularly well done here — and it certainly isn’t in the stylings of TNG at its best.
The informal attitude on the bridge and among characters is strange here, too. The attempts at witty dialog are pretty bad. It’s clear that the writers were still getting their sea (space?) legs.
There’s also something odd about the scene where Riker materializes on the planet without the rest of the away team. It’s a really dull scene where he walks around looking for everyone (“Annnyybodddyyyy?!”), eventually finding Geordi and Data. What’s also odd is the way Riker asks who the Ferengi are before they attack. I guess he wouldn’t know their names — but wouldn’t he know that they’re the Ferengi away team?
I’ve always wondered if the idea when the scene was shot was for it to begin the episode. Much of first-season TNG was re-written on the fly, so maybe that scene was filmed and then the scenes on the Enterprise leading up to it were added. Even if it’s not the case, the early stuff on the planet is pretty weak.
Perhaps the episode’s goofiest notion, though, is that Crusher would spend what she thought were her last moments alive — on the bridge WITHOUT WESLEY. She tells Picard that Wesley is in their quarters (Wil Wheaton doesn’t appear on camera) but why wouldn’t she be there, with her only son? Sometimes TV shows have to work around the availability of certain actors, but here, the conceit is just ridiculous. The real problem (other than the lack of Wheaton in the episode) is that Riker takes the entire bridge crew (other than Picard and Troi) to the planet, so having Crusher on the bridge keeps Picard from spending what might be his final moments with some nameless ensign. But still …
Oh, and it’s a small thing, but this is the first time we see the inconsistent treatment of gold in second-generation Trek. The Ferengi take communicators off several members of the away team and make comments about their worth. In later episodes, we learn that gold — on its own — is somewhat worthless, but that gold-pressed latinum is a major galactic currency. The matter is pretty inconsistent even on DS9, where the presence of Quark brings latinum into the conversation like 20 times an episode.
Final thoughts
This episode, like “The Savage Curtain”, is another that we don’t really recommend for quality — but still is sort of essential viewing. The Ferengi are a major race in Trek going forward, even if their standing changes a lot over the years. And the Ferengi whip weapons are pretty cool in a retro sort of way.
Arguably, there are just two other episodes of TNG where the Ferengi are villains in the classic Klingon/Romulan sense — “The Battle” later in the first season and “Peak Performance” in season two (and perhaps “Bloodlines” in season seven). Mostly, they’re more like conniving cheats, like in “The Price,” “The Perfect Mate” or “Captain’s Holiday.” That change probably made a lot of sense, as taking the Ferengi seriously was never very easy. But why the creators didn’t simply choose to move on from the Ferengi — like, never show them again — is perplexing. Episodes of Ferengi mischief made some sense on DS9 with Quark and his antics. But inserting them into Voyager and (especially) Enterprise? It’s almost as if the creators couldn’t believe that the Ferengi weren’t well-received, so they kept going back to the well.
Coming next week …
Holodecks and the people who recreate in them — even though the damn things are 24th-century death traps.
On the Enterprise-D’s maiden voyage, a mysterious and powerful entity calling himself Q (John de Lancie) blocks the ship’s path to Farpoint Station, accusing humans of being a “savage, child race” and telling them they must stop exploring the galaxy. After some verbal sparring with the ship’s commander, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Q puts the crew on trial for the crimes of humanity and then decides to judge them based on their ability to solve the mystery at Farpoint (natch). The new station seems almost magical and the station’s builders are loathe to answer any questions about it. On the clock with Q’s impending judgment and with a mysterious ship in orbit attacking the planet’s inhabitants — but not the station — Picard and Co. learn at the last moment that the station is actually a space lifeform forced to become the station by the planet’s inhabitants. Picard helps free the lifeform, and it leaves with its mate, which was actually the ship in orbit. Q declares the puzzle as too easy — which it really was — and leaves, but does not promise never to return (thunderclap). Then, the new crew decides to “see what’s out there,” and begins the 7-year run of the Enterprise-D.
“Let’s see what’s out there — because we need to find a way to stop printing things in 2364.”
Why it’s important
As Trek’s first television foray since 1969 — other than “The Animated Series” — “Encounter at Farpoint” establishes the new Enterprise, the crew (with surprisingly detailed backstories for many of the characters and only a smidge too much exposition) and, of course, Q. It’s hard to evaluate, all these years later, just how groundbreaking the episode was at the time, but it was clearly a reimagined version of Starfleet and the Federation we knew and loved — a version with a lot of spark and creativity. Next to the release of the original series and “Star Trek — The Motion Picture”, this is probably Trek’s most important premiere, from a real-world perspective.
Within the Star Trek universe, this episode shows that humanity and the Federation have made some major headway since last we saw Kirk and Co. In real time, the last Star Trek available prior to TNG in fall 1987 was “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” in 1986. We last saw the original crew on the bridge of the new Enterprise-A, which we learn later was 80 years before the events of this episode. Starfleet technology has notably advanced in the intervening time, things are at least somewhat better with the Klingons (with Worf on the bridge and all) and the high-sounding words of Picard and others clearly advance the idea that humanity continued to evolve.
We also learn that the Enterprise carries families and can separate when going into battle. The saucer section, carrying the families, presumably would run for cover while the star drive goes to kick some ass. It’s kind of an odd concept (more below).
We also meet Q, who is noteworthy as Trek’s first truly recurring villain. Khan might qualify, but he only appears in one episode and one movie, while Q makes regular appearances on TNG, shows up once on DS9 and three times onVoyager. Q, of course, introduces the Enterprise to the Borg in TNG’s second season — though it’s pretty clear that the Borg had dealings with the Federation (that weren’t apparent or possibly public knowledge) prior to Q’s actions in “Q Who?” In other words, it’s more than likely that the the Borg would have become a big thing to the Federation at some point, even if Q accelerated the timetable.
Lastly, we hear the name of a fairly important alien race for the first time in this episode: the Ferengi. Of course, they’re made out to be far more intimidating than what we see a few episodes later and throughout most of second-generation Trek. Picard actually says they’ve eaten their past business associates. Not sure the Brothers Quark would agree with that …
“I am the humble Squire of Gothos — I mean, you may address me as ‘Q’.”
What doesn’t hold up
As this is was a pilot episode and the beginning of second-generation Star Trek, some rough spots were understandable (but worth noting):
— The technology is weird. Picard mentions use of computer printouts (!) and the bad science of TOS continues in a few spots. How did the Enterprise separate the saucer at warp if the saucer has no warp engines? And how did the saucer escape the encounter with Q and make it back to Farpoint on impulse? Were they that close to the planet when Q attacked? If so, was there really any advantage in removing the saucer?
— The saucer separation idea was a bizarre item in the first place, considering how rarely the move was made (just “The Arsenal of Freedom,” “The Best of Both Worlds”, and “Star Trek: Generations”). In only one of those instances was the saucer separated so the kiddies could get away before possible battle, despite multiple occasions where it could have been used. One that always stood out was the encounter with the Lore-led Borg in the “Descent” two-parter — where the ship uses a subspace corridor to follow the Borg into space that the crew knows will be hostile. I’m sure the initial idea was about a “gee-whiz” factor made possible by improved effects. Either that wore off, or the creators decided they didn’t like the headless-duck look of the star drive that much. Or both.
— Some of the characters weren’t quite right. Picard (as he does for most of season 1) seems officious and unnecessarily harsh. Data, much like Spock in early TOS, is too human (and he uses a lot of contractions and apparently can’t read a calendar). Troi’s emotive behavior when sensing emotions was just WAY over the top (not surprisingly, considering Marina Sirtis was probably Trek’s weakest regular actor). Everyone else was more or less on target with at least the first-season versions of the characters (Riker is stiff, Yar is overly earnest, Worf is too willing to pull a phaser, etc.).
— While Q generally fits with what we see later, it’s odd that he would need to throw force fields up in the middle or space or have the weird flaming-globe ship that pursues the Enterprise. It was probably another example of the creators wanting to flex their effects muscles, but if Q is all powerful, why would he need to have a vessel (or whatever that thing is) travel at warp in pursuit of the Enterprise? Was it a matter of further intimidating Picard and Co.? We only see the force field once more, after which Q’s powers are far less effects-driven.
— Lastly, it seems like Picard doesn’t know that much about how his officers were assigned to the ship. His line about how he was “informed” that “a highly experienced man” would join the ship at Farpoint seems like Picard didn’t actually pick his first officer, which runs counter to what we learn later (notably in “The Pegasus”). Same sort of goes for Picard’s discussion with Crusher late in the episode. How didn’t he know that Crusher asked for the assignment? More on that in a moment …
Final thoughts
Again, “Encounter at Farpoint” is a pilot episode and should be given some slack (probably as much as any Trek episode other than “The Cage” and maybe “Where No Man Has Gone Before”). But there were clearly some editing issues. Why, for example, did Riker and Data formally meet on the holodeck when Data was at ops when Riker rejoined the saucer and the star drive? For that matter, why didn’t Riker just summon Data using his communicator? I know it allowed for the introduction of the holodeck, but it sure seems off. It feels like the holodeck scene was added later.
Also, why did Picard (in a scene often cut for time) take a few minutes in the middle of a crisis to go to sickbay and apologize to Crusher for the weird encounter with Wesley on the bridge? It would have made sense after the crisis was averted — but during, with a ticking clock and humanity’s future at stake? It almost feels like that scene was moved up for the sake of pacing everything else.
In fact, the entire situation with Picard and Crusher makes little sense. Surely, Picard would have known that his best friend’s widow had a son who was going to live on the ship, and would have pieced together that the boy in the turbolift — if not the boy dripping wet from the holodeck a few minutes earlier — was Jack Crusher’s offspring.
Granted, Picard and Crusher’s relationship prior to “Encounter at Farpoint” is pretty murky. But they clearly had some shared friends — e.g., Walker Keel, whom we meet in “Conspiracy” — and had enough interactions where Picard had strong feelings for Crusher (“Attached”). But here, it’s almost as if they’re nothing more than acquaintances connected by Jack Crusher.
The whole thing with Admiral McCoy inspecting the Enterprise was odd, too. How did Riker — whom we learn later came to the Enterprise from the Hood, where he was first officer — not know that a Starfleet legend was on the Hood to be transported to the Enterprise (and back) for an inspection? Or was McCoy on the Enterprise the whole time during the encounter with Q and transported to the Hood only after? Or was McCoy at Farpoint? Regardless, how didn’t Riker know about McCoy? I’m not against the “hand off” moment between McCoy and Data, but it could have been done a lot better. And, really, I wasn’t a fan of the fact that McCoy acted more like a redneck in this episode — his decision to call Data “boy”, etc. It’s almost like DeForest Kelley was doing a spoof on McCoy. Did he have too many Georgia Mint Juleps on the Hood?
Beyond that, was the Hood in orbit of Farpoint the whole time Riker was playing gumshoe before the Enterprise arrived and until McCoy was transported to the Hood in a shuttle? If so, we never see the ship or hear it mentioned. The natural assumption, too, is that Crusher, Wesley and La Forge were transported by the Hood to Farpoint (though this is never made clear).
Lastly, the post-atomic horror court scene created by Q is probably the low point of the episode. A lot of the acting — both by Patrick Stewart (surprisingly) and Denise Crosby and Sirtis (not all that surprisingly) — was pretty awful. The little person with the bell and the Asian announcer dude are straight out of the Book of Bad 1980s Sci-Fi Crutches — not shockingly, they aren’t part of the court’s recreation in “All Good Things …” — and there’s no blood when the guard attacked by Yar is shot repeatedly with automatic weapons just inches from Picard. Oh, and what’s with the conn officer (whom we learn later is Miles O’Brien) acting as if nothing had happened when Picard, Data, Yar and Troi returned to the battle bridge? He says they’ve been on course and acts as if the ship wasn’t in battle — despite the fact that the ship had separated. WTF, Miles? If everything’s cool, where’s the rest of the damn ship?
It’s also worth noting that things apparently didn’t get rosy on 21st-century Earth until well past the events of “Star Trek: First Contact” in 2063. Q says the courtroom is depicted from 2078, and Troi is very clear to Picard when she says the entire situation was “very real.” I suppose you could argue that Earth (or all parts of Earth) didn’t set course to be paradise immediately after the Vulcans landed in central Montana. But that leaves a lot less time for Earth to be as ship shape as we see it in the 2150s in “Star Trek: Enterprise.” Remember that we’re talking about a planet that, in 90 years, supposedly went from being ravaged by a world war to a society that’s totally eliminated hunger, conflict, etc.
Coming later this week …
We’re not sure you have the lobes needed for us to tell you, hu-man.
We at Trek Tapestry were saddened today by Leonard Nimoy’s passing. Nimoy played (arguably) Trek’s most important and consequential character — and was the only actor to participate in all generations of Trek, up through “Star Trek Into Darkness” in 2013.
In honor of Nimoy, who brought so much to Star Trek in nearly five decades of work with the franchise, here are some of our favorite Spock moments.
The first episode where we get a character study of most of the regulars is (naturally) the first where we learn about the Spock’s inner demons. The briefing room scene is arguably where Spock came together as a character.
One of the episodes that made our Tapestry, we learn a lot about how bigotry is viewed in the 23rd century by Kirk’s defense of Spock against the racism of a guest character.
A great episode that shows Trek’s respect for life. Kirk (hesitantly) countermanding Spock’s orders to not kill the Horta is a great moment. Spock’s mind meld with the creature and happiness from Kirk, Spock and McCoy after they avoided killing are signature moments of the series.
Another part of the Tapestry. Our first and only trip to the surface of Vulcan during TOS is arguably one of the most iconic episodes of the series. It’s slightly over the top and (ironically) has logical flaws. But it’s one of Trek’s most engaging hours. The final scene, where a joyful Spock learns that Kirk is, in fact, alive is a key moment.
As iconic as they come. Evil Spock, with a beard, set in motion dozens of spoofs. But Nimoy might be at his very best in this episode as evil Spock AND good Spock (who’s actually great in limited scenes dealing with the evil Kirk and Co.). Of course, this episode made the Tapestry.
Yet another Tapestry episode, we meet Spock’s parents and get a feel of the galactic family that is the Federation. Nimoy hits all the right notes as he plays Spock as more cold and logical than in most episodes with his father around.
Vulcan eroticism on 1968 TV? Trek pulled it off and somehow got it past the censors. Kirk and Spock doing their “Mission Impossible” thing was truly great. This was another Tapestry episode.
What happens when a Vulcan devolves? He gets angry. Nimoy plays Spock as he struggles with emotions coming to the surface. As our friends at Mission Log often say, bad things happen when Spock smiles.
‘Keptin, ve’re about to hit that star.’ ‘Quiet, Pavel. We need this for our big exit.’
Kirk and Co., three months from retirement, are assigned to escort Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to Earth for historic peace negotiations between the Federation and its long-time nemesis. The talks are spurred by Spock after the destruction of a Klingon moon — witnessed months earlier by the U.S.S. Excelsior under the command of Hikaru Sulu. Kirk, still hating the Klingons especially for the death of his son, blasts Spock for going behind his back to volunteer the ship. Later, the Enterprise meets up with Gorkon’s ship and has a rather tense dinner with the chancellor and his staff. Afterward, the Enterprise apparently fires on the Klingons without anyone giving the order. Kirk and McCoy beam over to help any wounded, but McCoy is unable to save Gorkon, shot by two unidentified men wearing Starfleet uniforms immediately after the attack. Kirk and McCoy are arrested and after a trial, sent to the penal colony, Rura Penthe. Spock, meanwhile, does his “Matlock” thing and conducts an investigation, piecing together some details of what happened with the help of his new protege, Vulcan Lieutenant Valeris (Kim Cattrall). After the Enterprise crosses the Klingon border and rescues Kirk and McCoy, Kirk realizes that Valeris was part of the conspiracy. Spock forcibly melds with her and learns she was working with Gorkon’s chief of staff, General Chang (Christopher Plummer), a Romulan ambassador, Starfleet Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters) and a Bird of Prey that can fire while cloaked (which attacked Gorkon’s ship from beneath the Enterprise). With the peace talks back on at a neutral location, the Enterprise and the Excelsior head there, figuring they’ll need to stop another assassination. After a fierce battle with Chang and the Bird of Prey — where Spock and McCoy hone in on the invisible ship’s tailpipe to target a torpedo — the Enterprise and Excelsior save the day by stopping the assassin and revealing the conspiracy. Then, Kirk and Co. ride off into the sunset.
“Why, no. I’ve never been told I look like the Federation ambassador to Nimbus III. Why do you ask, Captain Kirk?”
Why it’s important
Well, “The Undiscovered Country” is the first example of a TOS production that provides background in what’s been established in TNG (this wasn’t done in “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” the only other film released after TNG debuted). This film was released during TNG’s fifth season — where it’s been clear for years that the Klingons are allies. To what extent “Star Trek VI” advanced that storyline is pretty murky, but it’s clear that the eventual alliance started when all hostilities ended here. And in the Star Trek universe, that’s a big, big deal — a message this movie rightly conveys. It’s also kind of crazy that the events of this film synced up so well with the fall of the Soviet Union, which, of course, was often the inspiration for the Klingons (and the Romulans, at times, too).
The film also ties up threads from the second, third and fourth movies — the Klingons announcing that there would be no peace if Kirk lived, the death of David Marcus, etc. — though it essentially ignores a lot of “Star Trek V,” the red-headed stepchild of the Trek movies (which has no relevant long-term impact on the Trek universe and won’t be reviewed on this site). Gene Roddenberry allegedly considered elements of that film apocryphal, though the mutual dislike between Kirk and the Klingons certainly was on display (if done in a comic-book manner). As for the greater Star Trek timeline, the only part of “Star Trek V” that is flatly disregarded here surrounds cooperation between the Klingons and the Enterprise at the end of the previous film. The tension around the Enterprise meeting Gorkon’s ship in “Star Trek VI” — “Never been this close” — and the fact the dinner was a momentous thing pretty much ignores the last 15 minutes of the previous film.
Of course, the decommissioning of the Enterprise-A at the end of this movie sets up the launch of the Enterprise-B in the “Star Trek: Generations”. More on that below.
We need breathing room — especially around this table that seems extremely crowded.
What doesn’t hold up
This movie gets a lot right — and might even be up there with “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” as far as the number of great moments. But it also gets a lot wrong. There are logical problems all over the place. We try not to go all nitpicker in these reviews, but “The Undiscovered Country” has so many misfires …
There are a bevy of small things, like the fact that McCoy doesn’t seem to know that Sulu has been captain of the Excelsior for three years or that Starfleet apparently now has galleys and cooks. There’s also the matter of why the Enterprise and Gorkon’s ship were (essentially) stationary (or moving slowly) after they met up. Shouldn’t they have been heading to Earth at warp speed — and wouldn’t that have essentially prevented the attack? Later, how was Klingon security so bad that the Enterprise could get past its borders and fool its patrols with the WORST use of Klingon language ever (and why was the universal translator not sufficient)? Why wasn’t the very noticeable tracking device Spock put on Kirk noticed by anyone? Why is Klingon blood pink in this movie — and only in this movie? And on and on …
Oh, and why were there no ships in orbit of Camp Khitomer during the battle scene? How did all the dignitaries get to the planet? Shouldn’t a ship or two that brought the dignitaries have stayed to return them — and been there to investigate why two Federation starships were getting absolutely pummeled within visual range? We discussed this larger issue in Star Trek in last week’s review.
Bigger picture, there are a lot of things that don’t hold up with what we see in second-generation Trek. There are really two huge ones: How bad was the Klingon homeworld affected by the destruction of the moon Praxis, and what, exactly, was agreed to in this film (and in its immediate aftermath).
As for the homeworld, dialog in this movie indicates that Kronos was to be evacuated, as the destruction of Praxis was making the planet uninhabitable. This is a big part of the movie, in that it makes the Klingon position more vulnerable (beyond the economic issues facing the Empire after Praxis exploded). But, there’s no indication in TNG, DS9 or Voyager that the Klingons moved to another planet — and here and in DS9 and Voyager, the Klingon homeworld is called Kronos (it’s usually called “the Klingon homeworld” in TNG). So, did Federation scientists help the Klingons save their planet? Keep in mind that this isn’t a small point. Remember how big a deal it was when Vulcan was destroyed in the rebooted “Star Trek” in 2009?
There’s also the bigger question as to why an empire that’s such a threat to the Federation would be so crippled by the destruction of one moon and the problems it caused on one planet. But, oh, well.
Meanwhile, there’s some confusion about what actually was agreed to during the peace negotiations. It seems like Spock and Gorkon were pushing for an “end to all hostilities” — while some later Trek seems to indicate that the alliance between the Federation and the Klingons was forged here. TNG mostly stays with the ending-of-hostilities point, making assertions that the alliance is about 20 years old in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “Samaritan Snare”, among other vaguer instances. More on that when we get to TNG in our reviews.
But, in DS9, (notably in “By Inferno’s Light”) we hear about the Khitomer Accords in reference to the alliance, presumably a nod to the work negotiated in this movie and immediately after at Camp Khitomer. Also in DS9, Bashir explicit says that there have been “two decades of peace with the Klingons” prior to the events of “The Way of the Warrior”.
Now, you could argue that the peace treaty was negotiated at Khitomer in the 2290s and that it was the site for another set of negotiations that ended some other hostilities in the 2340s or 2350s, presumably after the attack on that planet by the Romulans when Worf lived there in the 2340s. Unfortunately, the Voyager episode “Alliances” has Tuvok tell Janeway about an alliance between the Federations and the Klingons that was spurred by a “visionary” named Spock, when Tuvok was a young man. That’s clearly an allusion to the events of “Star Trek VI” (see more below). Once again, Voyager ruins everything. 😉
The rift causes some issues in early TNG, when we see Klingons (“Heart of Glory”, “A Matter of Honor”) who are clearly not that comfortable with the alliance. That’s harder to swallow if 80 years had passed, but less so if the alliance was only about 20 years old. In the second scenario, Klingons in their warrior primes would have been old enough to remember a time when the Federation was still, sort of, an enemy — or, at least, not an ally.
It should be noted that the issues with the alliance timeline and the Klingon homeworld aren’t really the fault of this movie — we have been to the Klingon homeworld, though not necessarily Kronos, in TNG, before this film (DS9 and Voyager had not premiered when the movie was released in 1991). But they made the most sense to bring up here.
Last thing: The events here take place six or seven years after the events of “Star Trek V.” I’m guessing that was done in part to explain the aging of the characters, as the second, third, fourth and fifth films all apparently took place within about six months of each other in the Star Trek universe when seven years actually passed (and two more had, by the time “Star Trek: VI” was released). However, it’s odd that we know nothing of what happened since the last film (other than Sulu’s promotion). It’s not that big of a problem, but it would have been nice to know what happened since the Enterprise-A was commissioned other than the weird adventure with Sybok. It’s also odd that Kirk and other crew members returned to the Enterprise-A at the beginning of the film, apparently, after some time away, based on dialog. That works if the characters are channeling the actors, but wouldn’t Kirk be all about getting in some exploring before he’s set out to pasture? Were Kirk and Co. just chilling on Earth, waiting for V’Ger, a 20th-century superman or some whale-lovin’ probe to call them back into service?
Last, last thing: Isn’t it kind of odd that the Enterprise-A, which isn’t more than seven years old, gets decommissioned at the end of this film? We see in other Trek that Starfleet vessels can be around for decades (with refits, at times) including the previous Enterprise. I’ve wondered if the Enterprise-A was actually renamed after this movie, to set up Starfleet for releasing the new Excelsior-class Enterprise-B just a year later (which we see in “Star Trek: Generations”). More likely, the creators just figured it would be dramatic if the Enterprise-A and the crew were sent out to pasture at the same time, and didn’t care about anything else. Of course, if that were the one and ONLY conceit this movie required, I’d definitely grant it.
Final thoughts
Clearly, I’m kind of ripping this movie. But, there are parts of it that work extremely well. The battle scene with Chang (who is performed with great gusto by Plummer) is truly awesome, the courtroom scene on Kronos is great, it was cool to see Sulu in command (albeit briefly) and the final scene on the Enterprise bridge was a nice sendoff to the original crew.
But beyond the continuity, there are other problems.
Shatner, for whatever reason, really didn’t put in his best performance. It’s a shame, too, because he was so good in the middle Trek films and he had a lot to work with here. He’s especially bad in the briefing room scene early in the movie. Maybe Shatner was still smarting from the bad experience in “Star Trek V”? Or, maybe, he decided a flatter tone was the better way to go during the argument with Spock?
Meanwhile, the insertion of Valeris just doesn’t work that well. Originally, the role was for Saavik, which would have been VERY interesting given the David stuff from “Star Trek: III”. But Kirstie Alley apparently wasn’t available and Robin Curtis (I guess?) wasn’t wanted. So, they rewrote the character. Not knowing why Valeris distrusts the Klingons seriously undercuts the film — whereas Saavik’s past dealings and implied feelings for David could have worked wonders. Valeris comes across as a plot element — and a mostly well-acted one — but nothing more. Could you have imagined a scene where Saavik would have called out Kirk for belittling his son’s memory? Speaking of which, why does Kirk say that the new Klingon chancellor has reaffirmed David’s faith at the end of the film? David never gave any indication that he was all that interested in galactic politics. It’s a glib line that doesn’t, actually, reaffirm David’s faith (unless a lot happened off screen).
It’s not the fault of this film, but later Trek seriously messes with the timeline of “Star Trek VI.” In Voyager’s second season (“Flashback”) we see events as they took place on the Excelsior, through a series of flashbacks brought on by an illness to Tuvok (this sort of ties into the reference above, which comes later in Voyager’s second season, where Tuvok talks about the events of this film when he was a young man). Tuvok was on the Excelsior and witness to much of what happened when and after Praxis exploded. It was meant as a nice tribute, as George Takei and Grace Lee Whitney (who played Janice Rand in TOS and is present on the Excelsior in this film) reprise their roles, as do other actors from the movie.
But the Voyager creators clearly didn’t pay a lot of attention to this film’s story, as they move up the assassination and everything that happening on Kirk’s ship to just DAYS after Praxis exploded. This cuts out a big part of the film’s backstory, in which Spock (on his own and at the request of his father) began a dialog with Gorkon that LED to the peace negotiations weeks, perhaps months, later. As Voyager would have you believe, Praxis exploded and the Klingons immediately asked for a meeting on Earth, like the next day. Note that this flub — which didn’t need to happen, as accelerating the timeline didn’t improve “Flashback” story — isn’t the fault of “Star Trek: VI”, but we don’t have any plans to review “Flashback,” as it’s not important to the general Trek Tapestry and it’s a dumb episode anyway as Tuvok’s illness is caused by some weird parasite that has nothing to do with the events of the movie.
Back to the movie, the most disappointing scene, hands down, is dinner on the Enterprise before the attack on Gorkon’s vessel. It’s hard to explain why — but it really, really doesn’t work. I actually think the direction is the problem, as a lot of the shots are boring and seemed crowded. But it’s possible the writing was too blame. It’s too bad, because that scene could have really rocked — like, it could have been one of Trek’s most famous scenes — but it never quite gets there.
Maybe that’s the way to generally feel about this movie. It’s not a terrible disaster like the previous film or the final two TNG movies — and there are certainly great moments. But it messes up enough smaller points that it really falls short. Shame.
Coming next week …
Back to episodic Trek. A French captain? A blind helmsman? Senior officers dressed like cheerleaders?!
What if a site focused on the really important Star Trek episodes, explained how they were important and how they tied together — while tossing in a healthy dose of snark?
