Issue 23:
Life in Space
By
Mr. Atoz, The Librarian
It’s time for yet another glance at a Star Trek character, and in my opinion, the most important one: the USS Enterprise.
I’ve maintained for as long as I can remember that without the Enterprise, there can be no Star Trek. The absence of Enterprise has been the main reason for my disinterest in Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is in my mind the third member of the Cornerstone Trio of Star Trek: Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise. The Enterprise is the machine that drives the journey to the stars. Without Enterprise, the name “Star Trek” makes no sense.
No where is this more aptly demonstrated than in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The Enterprise is returning to dock after a fierce battle with the maniacal Khan, and without one of her sons, Spock. She returns victorious, yet wounded. Kirk is told by his fleet admiral that Enterprise will be decommissioned. In the meantime the slicker, more modern starship called the Excelsior will begin its voyage in Enterprise’s stead. Kirk, on the insistence of Spock’s father Sarek, sets out to retrieve Spock’s body to join with Spock’s soul, (which Spock has placed inside Dr. McCoy. You’ll have to watch the movie to see how this works.) Kirk recruits the old crew to hijack Enterprise out of dock. Captain Stiles of the Excelsior sees the Enterprise leave dock and chases them. The slicker, faster Excelsior should be able to easily track down the wounded old girl, right?
Wrong.
The trusty old girl, undoubtedly determined to find her lost “son”, gives all she has and leaves Excelsior in the dust. (Excelsior’s engines shut down trying to make it to warp speed). The older, wiser and more dependable Enterprise outduels the sleaker Excelsior. So much for the latest technology? Ahem…
Sadly, later in the movie, in order to deflect being apprehended by a renegade Klingon crew, Kirk energizes the crew and himself onto the surface of the Genesis planet and destroys Enterprise with the Klingons on it. The shot of the crew watching Enterprise fall from the sky is one of my favorite shots in any Star Trek movie.
The Enterprise is our trusty steed in our journey through the stars. She gets us out of danger, gets us home, and takes us to worlds unknown. Confined to dangers of strange alien worlds, the silver glow of the Enterprise docked among the stars is more than a welcome site.
Issue 21:
Life in Space
By
Mr. Atoz, The Librarian
This week we’ll take a look at the second best character in the Star Trek serial, as well as the greatest captain the U.S.S. Enterprise has ever known.
His name is James Tiberius Kirk from Iowa. James Kirk was developed by Gene Roddenberry as a “space-aged Horatio Hornblower.” To the Trek outsider, it’s always been joked that Kirk was a ladies’ man who had sex with green women. That’s only partially true. Kirk was more than just a ladies’ man.
He is a little bit harder to identify with than Spock because of his lack of serene introspection. At some points, Kirk comes across as a Type-A, shallow man of action and nothing more. However, there are moments where we get glimpses of Kirk’s Everyman depth. Case in point, the episode Requiem for Methusaleh shows that Kirk is not merely a starship captain, but is a lonely man who connects deeply with a woman he cannot have, and his emotions get in the way of prudent decision-making.
That’s the Kirk that I like.
Another underappreciated, (or maybe not), aspect of Kirk is his fighting skill. When it all comes down to it, Jean-Luc Picard is a nancy-boy. Jim Kirk is a fighter. I would argue that some of the most entertaining moments are when Kirk fights. High comedy ensues when you see the move Kirk puts on evil rogue starship captain Ronald Tracy to win the fight in the episode The Omega Glory. And you won’t be able to watch the fight between Kirk and an Andorian assassin in the episode Journey to Babel, without roaring in laughter at the awkward choreography of the fight. (Pay close attention to the little knee-drop bounce move Kirk puts on the Andorian to end the fight.)
Kirk had his tough fights though. He was essentially killed in a fight with Spock in Amok Time, and, (in what was almost the biggest upset in Star Trek fight history), proconsul Jerrus, deceiving us with his white collar, nancy-boy, Old Man Moses appearance, gave Kirk a decent enough fight in The Cloudminders. All of this is to say that Kirk was a fighter, while Picard was merely an administrator. Picard’s famous line was, “Make it so.” Kirk would scoff at “make it so” and would push that daffodil Jordi LaForge out of his way to “make it so” himself. And Wesley Crusher? Kirk would have fed him to the Horta.
Also, in the episode Mirror, Mirror we get a brief glimpse of the Imperial commander Jim Kirk. He doesn’t look any different. My fanboy version of parallel universe Kirk would have had him smoking a cigar, maybe have a tattoo on his forearm.
However, I can’t hammer Picard too hard for saying “make it so” without getting onto Kirk about how many times he says “my ship.” Kirk is obsessed with the Enterprise to a disconcerting degree. There are times I have to ask myself if Kirk is referring to the people on board, or if he really is all for preserving that hunk of metal. I mean, any time Kirk is threatened, he always says “my ship.” What is Kirk concerned about? Is he concerned about the lives involved, or is he more concerned with how much money Starfleet would lose if the actual vessel was lost?
All told, I believe Kirk is a good guy. But he takes himself so seriously that he crosses the line into unintentional comedy. We never get the sense that he is really the “rock” that he is rumored to be.
I would argue that McCoy is more of a source of security than Kirk. Jim gets stressed out pretty easily, and wants to fight at the first sign of trouble. In many ways, he’s the ultimate guy. He represents some of the flaws of our gender…..the males. Guys, if we’re honest with ourselves, when we are threatened and afraid, what’s the first thing we want to do: fight. When I’m sick, I feel threatened and imagine the sickness taking human form and having a fight to the death. When I feel the credit card company is trying to screw me over, I want to fight. I can’t do anything… can’t function… until we fight to resolve the matter.
Yes, oddly enough Jim Kirk, the hero of Star Trek, represents human error. In that way, it is not McCoy who is Spock’s opposite, but rather Captain Kirk himself. Kirk represents how we respond to fear and threat: we don’t take a step back and realize that there is a resolution to the problem with time and patience. We want it resolved right this very instant with our might and with our emotion.
Issue 20:
Life in Space
By
Mr. Atoz, The Librarian
During a recent church sermon, I heard something that resonated with me. The preacher said that we are all working towards getting our lifelines to look straight. We say that once “this” or “that” happens, then our lifeline will look like the beautiful horizontal line we’ve always dreamed it would be. However, the fact is our lifeline will never look straight. Once we think everything is in order, something will happen that will make our lifeline dip a little. There is always going to be adversity as well as good times. It’s been said before, but life is a bunch of ups and downs. Life is a highway, and we do want to ride it all night long, but it’s a hilly highway. I think a part of us wishes that we could face the adversity with a certain level of calm and, dare I say, detachment.
Spock is my favorite fictional character of all time, beating out the likes of Hank Hill, Indiana Jones, B.J. Hunnicutt, and Hawkeye Pierce. When the title “Star Trek” is mentioned many people think of Captain Kirk, Klingons, the Enterprise, or, (God forbid), Lt. Data. I easily think of Spock.
Those who know me away from Nerd City have heard me opine that without the character Enterprise, there is no Star Trek. However, I need to take the liberty of contradicting myself to say that Spock is the glue that holds the franchise together. He is the gentle, steadfast, loyal motor that keeps this boat afloat. There are so many unknowns among the stars, and a steady, matter-of-fact voice of reason is needed in such a time.
The beautiful thing about Spock is he is not the cold, logical being that a full-blooded Vulcan would be. He is half human. He can be affected. In some way, it’s as if the logic with which he faces adversity is by choice. The big theme in the plot wherever Spock is concerned is the battle between man and machine. The question is asked: which is better and more trustworthy, the efficiency of logic, or the authenticity of emotion and the human heart? I do not believe that it’s ever been stated, but I would guess that Roddenberry made Spock half-human and half-Vulcan to portray this struggle. Throughout the series, Spock is faced with certain situations where logic does not apply, and he is forced to confront his emotions.
Why I love Spock so much is not that he is conflicted by his emotions when he is supposed to be a logical being, but rather he chooses the serenity of logic only where it applies. Logic dictates that there is a solution to every problem. Every problem can be solved no matter how big. This is more explicit in the Spock we see in later movies when he is Captain Spock or Ambassador Spock. What’s more, while Spock’s logic is so seemingly perfect, he uses it to enact betterment for all races. For the Vulcan race to conduct themselves in a manner that benefits the good of the many suggests an ironic level of feeling. I’m convinced Spock is the fulfillment of what the Vulcans had in mind when it embraced logic.
For them, logic is not meant to be a detachment of all emotion, but rather a way to govern fairly an imperfect people so that community and life can be provided. To do whatever promotes life, does that not somehow suggest a level of emotion? What’s so great is Spock enhanced logic to do just that: promote life and harmony among all races of different planets. He was the ultimate ambassador, and as Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country seems to suggest, was a pioneer in ending hostilities and years of racism between the Klingons and the people of Earth. What Spock stood for is almost…………messianic.
Spock tells us that there is an answer to all things. He doesn’t necessarily tell us that there is nothing to fear, but rather there is no reason to fear. Fear is illogical. I know a lot of people, when they are faced with fear and trying to figure how things will work out, they pick up the Bible and look at people like Job, Daniel, or the Apostle Paul. Those are all fine Biblical examples.
However, if I’m honest, I don’t do that. When I’m faced with fear and uncertainty in my life, I put on my Star Trek DVDs and somehow learn that there is no reason to fear, and whatever may appear to be problematic is in reality… opportunity.
There is nothing you cannot handle.
Issue 18:
Life in Space
By
Mr. Atoz, The Librarian
That Which Survives
Rating: “Fascinating”
Synopsis:
Kirk, Sulu, McCoy, and geologist D’Amato beam down to what appears to be a new, but uninhabited planet. As they are energizing, a woman appears out of nowhere and exclaims, “Wait! You must not go!” The heroes are already beaming down, but before their molecules are completely scrambled they see the woman touch the transporter operator, killing him. They beam down, but the planet begins to quake as they arrive, as does the Enterprise, sending the ship out of the strange planet’s orbit.
Unable to contact the Enterprise, the foursome explore the planet. D’Amato runs into the strange woman from the transporter room. She tells D’Amato she knows who he is and says she is “for” him. She then touches D’Amato, killing him. McCoy discovers the body and proclaims that every cell in his body has been destroyed. The strange woman appears again, this time on the Enterprise, killing a crewman named Watkins, once again saying she is “for” him and knowing his name. She appears again on the planet’s surface, prepared to kill Sulu, but Kirk and McCoy keep the woman from touching Sulu. Kirk asks who the lady is, and she says her name is Losira, commander of the planet. She then vanishes into thin air.
They follow to the area where it appeared she vanished, and they come to an opening in some sort of cave. Once inside, they find some sort of cube and Losira appears, saying she is “for” Kirk. McCoy and Sulu step in front of Kirk, but two other Losiras show up “for” McCoy and Sulu. Spock and a landing party arrive just in time to destroy the cube, or what in actuality is a projected image to protect intruders from the planet. The inhabitants of the planet were killed by a disease, but the computer continued to operate its “defense” system, which was replicating images of the actual person of Losira.
Confused yet? Believe me, this is one confusing episode, and undoubtedly a chief contributor to the Third Season’s moniker of the “Turd Season.” The funny thing is, I enjoy this episode quite a bit. I am able to overlook the hideous effects and the horrendous subplot of the Enterprise being hurled through space and all its technobabble. You will have to forgive me if you were just dying to know what Spock and Mr. Scott were doing to fix the Enterprise during Kirk and the gang’s exploits on the planet. I cannot remember the last time I actually paid attention to the subplot.It’s incredibly boring.
The rest of the story is not. I think the first couple of minutes really gets you hooked. The last thing you expect to see when the captain and the beaming party are transporting is a woman appearing all of a sudden and killing the transporter operator. When I first saw the show, I thought, “What just happened?” Then the next thing you know there is an earthquake both on the planet and on the Enterprise. Now, I could be in the vast minority here, but of all the natural disasters I think the earthquake is the creepiest and most sinister. Not only is it deadly, but it produces mass confusion.
Losira is an intriguing kitten. I’m not sure she qualifies as a true villainess, but for the sake of my critique, she will be classified as such. At the end of the episode, Spock, McCoy, and Kirk remark that she is “beautiful.” Now while she is played by former Miss America Lee Meriwether, I’m not sure she would qualify in my book as beautiful in the kabuki makeup and hairstyle that would suggest some sort of space witch. I think she’s the scariest-looking of all the female villainesses.
“Fascinating” is probably a generous rating because the episode plods a little bit. But I love the plotline of being stuck on a mysterious planet with a murderous woman stalking about.
Issue 16:
Life in Space
By
Mr. Atoz, The Librarian
DAMON????!!!!
Just kidding. I actually don’t mind Matt Damon as the new James T. Kirk. What am I talking about? As some of you non-Trekkies, (and there are legions of you out there), may not know, there is a planned movie prequel for the next Star Trek movie. It will cover James T. Kirk’s early days in Starfleet Academy. I can’t give you any more of the scoop because that’s all anyone knows about it. No one even seems to know if Spock and other TOS heroes will be seen in the prequel. My assumption is that Spock will be included as he is arguably the most popular character in the entire serial.
The only morsel of information we seem to have on the planned prequel is that Matt Damon is slated to play James Kirk in the new movie. Even this has been tagged as “rumored.” I don’t have much of an objection to this bit of casting, which is not to say it’s good casting either. Matt Damon seems a little old to play a “young” James Kirk. Granted, if James Kirk is to be a captain in the prequel, I suppose Damon isn’t a bad fit.
But my choice would have been Leonardo DiCaprio. I think Leonardo DiCaprio is the best under-40 actor going right now, and young looking enough to pull off a 25-year-old or 30-year-old James Kirk. (DiCaprio is, after all, only 31.)
This has inspired me to play fantasy casting director for my latest column. Feel free to agree or disagree with the following choices. Of course, you can disagree all you like, but I’ll always be right.
Pavel Chekov: Jerry Ferrara. He’s best known as Turtle from “Entourage.” He has that round face, but pulling off the horrendous Russian accent remains to be seen.
Sulu: Terry Chen. Perhaps a bit too old to play a pre-Enterprise Sulu, but I like this guy. It’s perhaps a bit of my Almost Famous-bias coming into play. I can just hear him yelling at his partner during the Kobuyashi Moru, “Now get it together, man!!!” Craa-zy.
Montgomery Scott: Karl Urban. He resembles a young James Doohan, (or maybe I’m seeing things.) Being from New Zealand, he might be able to pull off the Scottish accent swimmingly. After all, Doohan was Canadian. Am I lead to believe a Canadian can pull off a Scottish accent better than a New Zealander? Yeah, I’m rambling…..
Gary Mitchell: Jason Lee. Gary Mitchell is a character from what many consider to be the true pilot of Star Trek, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” To summarize, Mitchell is given god-like powers in a freak accident and becomes a menace that must be destroyed. We are also lead to believe that Mitchell and Kirk are old friends. Lee might be a little old here, but I believe that Mitchell was portrayed to be a little older than Kirk.
Mr. Spock: A hard bit of casting here. I gave the nod to Martin Starr. Some may remember his face more than his name as the dorky Bill from Freaks and Geeks. This isn’t a new revelation to me. I’ve always thought that Bill could be a Vulcan. He’s got that hair and the tall gawkiness. Pulling off stoicism might be a challenge, but I think Martin could do it.
Uhura: Thandie Newton. No question. No explanation needed. Just check out the face.
Subscribe to Nerd City
2 Comments