Scott Atwell Star Trek Discussion thread (Series and Films) (6 Viewers)

[ScottRE]

And CBS needs to restore the original series to its original NOB sound mix with the correct music in the first season, period logos and some vintage ads. Like Twilight Zone, the Honeymooners and so on. Just sayin.... Trek never got the treatment it deserves...

 

[Nelson Au]

Then life is a dream.

Star Trek 5 does have one of the great Jerry Goldsmith scores. All his Star Trek scores are really good. I thought the Nemesis score was great too. He is the John Barry of Star Trek.

I never wondered before, but what Star Trek 2 The Wroth of Khan might have been like with a Goldsmith score. It would be different. Not to take away from Horner as his score does drive the action and plot very well.

 

[ScottRE]

Horner’s two Trek scores are among my favorites of all time. Such amazing music. I always will remember the crushing disappointment hearing Leonard Rosenmann’s music for The Voyage Home.

If Goldsmith did ST2, we’d never have gotten Horner’s sweeping and jaunty title music. Instead just another version of the TMP theme.

I’m sure JG would have composed a wonderful score, but I’m just as glad he didn’t. Trek 2 is as good as it is in part because of Horner.

 

[Jason_V]

Horner’s two Trek scores are among my favorites of all time. Such amazing music. I always will remember the crushing disappointment hearing Leonard Rosenmann’s music for The Voyage Home.

I guess I'm an outlier. I don't mind Rosenmann's music for TVH. It goes perfectly with the generally silly nature of the film for me.

 

[Nelson Au]

If there is a reunification of Paramount and CBS, so Star Trek is under one roof, I would hope there would be the possibility of a consistent leadership to run the franchise. Like Marvel as you guys have said before.

 

[Carabimero]

I am overwhelmed by the beauty of Jerry Goldsmith’s composition “The Mountain” from the score. It got me when I first saw it nearly 30 years ago and it still gets me now. Such a beautiful piece of score.

That score is so good that I find myself listening to it far more than watching the actual movie.

I also find that, for me, movies have lost something since Goldsmith left us.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I guess I'm an outlier. I don't mind Rosenmann's music for TVH. It goes perfectly with the generally silly nature of the film for me.

I'm a little schizo on that score. I don't mind the portions where they're walking around in San Francisco and it's there; it makes sense to me that while they're in the 1980s, that the music should have a lighter, more contemporary sound. But I think the sequences that take place in the 23rd century should have had a score more appropriate to Star Trek. I don't like the main title music very much.

I also find that, for me, movies have lost something since Goldsmith left us.

Certainly one of the all time greats. Goldsmith (and James Horner too, for that matter) were responsible for so many of my favorite bits of music that have remained happily stuck in my head for most of my life.

 

[Carabimero]

But I think the sequences that take place in the 23rd century should have had a score more appropriate to Star Trek. I don't like the main title music very much.

Me either. It reminds me of his theme to The Lord of the Rings. That's what I think it is every time I hear the main or end title.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Here's my weird thing with IV - it's a movie I absolutely love to watch with an audience, whether it's in a movie theater or at home with friends and family. It's not a movie I love to watch on my own. I actually just watched it a couple nights ago, since I'm going through the entire set of original crew movies, and it took me an extra day to motivate myself to put it on. Whenever I think about the movie, the opening title theme comes into mind, and it starts reminding me of all the reasons I don't feel like watching the movie.

It's weird because on one hand, it's the most fun of the original movies, the cast is great in it, and I love the camaraderie between everyone. I love that just about everyone gets a specific bit of business to do, so that the film is much more than just being the Kirk and Spock show. I love that the movie doesn't have a conventional villain, and that while there are high stakes, they're not stakes that require an excess of violence to resolve.

But it also doesn't check off most of the boxes of what I'm usually looking for when I feel like watching Star Trek.

Then again, that's what I love about the original run of movies - they're all pretty widely varied, and I don't think there's any one in particular that I wish all the other movies were like instead of being what they are.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Here's my weird thing with IV - it's a movie I absolutely love to watch with an audience, whether it's in a movie theater or at home with friends and family. It's not a movie I love to watch on my own. I actually just watched it a couple nights ago, since I'm going through the entire set of original crew movies, and it took me an extra day to motivate myself to put it on. Whenever I think about the movie, the opening title theme comes into mind, and it starts reminding me of all the reasons I don't feel like watching the movie.

It's weird because on one hand, it's the most fun of the original movies, the cast is great in it, and I love the camaraderie between everyone. I love that just about everyone gets a specific bit of business to do, so that the film is much more than just being the Kirk and Spock show. I love that the movie doesn't have a conventional villain, and that while there are high stakes, they're not stakes that require an excess of violence to resolve.

But it also doesn't check off most of the boxes of what I'm usually looking for when I feel like watching Star Trek.

Then again, that's what I love about the original run of movies - they're all pretty widely varied, and I don't think there's any one in particular that I wish all the other movies were like instead of being what they are.

Humor is better when watching with others. Humor is something to share with others. It’s funnier when watching with others.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

So the most wonderful thing imaginable has happened in my relationship with my wife. A truly astonishing, momentous, wonderful thing...

...she's watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with me! From start to finish!

This has been going on quietly for a few months but I was hesitant to actually say it outloud for fear that I might jinx it, but I shouldn't have worried - she's really enjoying it. We did watch some of the original series together when we first met, and she appreciated it but couldn't quite get into it, which I understand. I was hopeful that TNG, with its more modern production style and more character-oriented storytelling, might be a better fit and indeed it was.

The only major criticism thus far has been that she didn't care for the episode titles in the first season. It started as a running joke after the pilot, but she ended up coming up with new names for every Season 1 episode. I'd like to share those with you now:

Ep. 1/2 - Space Jellyfish in Love
Ep. 3 - Space Fever
Ep. 4 - Yar Fight: I Take Your Necklace
Ep. 5 - Chinese finger trap vs Android
Ep. 6 - Dude Where's My Galaxy
Ep. 7 - The Cloud Identity
Ep. 8 - Pleasure Directive: Edo'n Wrong (Baywatch Planet)
Ep. 9 - Captain's Log: Deja Vu
Ep. 10 - A case of the Qs/Will I Am Q
Ep. 11 - Mommy Dearest
Ep. 12 - Picard Noir
Ep. 13- Corrupt Data
Ep. 14 - Inoculation Proclamation/Sick Bae/Who Run the World?
Ep. 15 - Binarssholes and all that jazz
Ep. 16 - Admiral Benjamin Button
Ep. 17 - I Believe the Children are Our Future
Ep. 18 - Ugly giant bags of water
Ep. 19 - Testing, testing
Ep. 20 - Worf Cry
Ep. 21 - Laforged in fire(shooting vibrators)
Ep. 22 - High Demand
Ep. 23 - Creature from the Black puddle (YaRIP)
Ep. 24 - deja rendez vou
Ep. 25 - Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Ep. 26 - Cryo

What happened to "Please shove Wesley out an airlock"?

 

[Philip Verdieck]

When ST:TAS originally aired I had the same opinion as your wife. And I absolutely love TOS. I watched three or four episodes and dismissed it. I only purchased it on DVD when in WM one day I saw it for $10 and thought at that price I "needed" it for completion's sake and to see if it was really as bad as I remembered. I was surprised that I mostly enjoyed it. Like you, I found it to be better on BR (possibly due to having now seen it a few times and appreciating the stories more) but, for me, still not enough to put the series in rotation with the other Trek series. A lot of that has to do with the overall cheapness imparted to the series due to Filmation's production techniques. I've never much cared for their work and consider them to be one of the worst animation houses in TV history. Even their better productions, which includes ST:TAS, look and sound cheap.

I never had that issue with TAS. 70's Saturday morning animation is/was 70's Saturday morning animation. With TAS ee got the original actors, and some good scripts (sometimes). In addition to Yesteryear my favorite was the Slaver Weapon (written by Larry Niven) which was a great "Known Space" short story adapted to the Trek universe.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

What happened to "Please shove Wesley out an airlock"?

We like Wesley!

 

[BobO'Link]

I never had that issue with TAS. 70's Saturday morning animation is/was 70's Saturday morning animation. With TAS ee got the original actors, and some good scripts (sometimes). In addition to Yesteryear my favorite was the Slaver Weapon (written by Larry Niven) which was a great "Known Space" short story adapted to the Trek universe.

Yes, there were some good scripts. Unfortunately, I feel that much of the original cast, Shatner especially, pretty much phoned in their performances most of the time, sounding like they're reading from a script and not acting. Frequently there's little to no emotion that would have been present had the same lines been delivered on the live action show. That, as much as anything else, ruins many episodes for me.

 

[ScottRE]

While I agree TVH is fun and has the biggest laugh in all of Star Trek (the “do you guys like Italian?” gag), it’s way too preachy for me. Trek works best when the message is veiled or subtle. When the story works whether or not you even notice the message. This movie literally stops the film to show us video of whales being skinned. It’s almost an ad for Greenpeace. It’s a fine message, but holy cannoli it’s really in your face.

The music is silly and leaden and while I don’t hate it, coming off the brilliance of the last two, I was hoping for a “Cocoon” flavored Horner score to wrap up the trilogy.

 

[Johnny Angell]

While I agree TVH is fun and has the biggest laugh in all of Star Trek (the “do you guys like Italian?” gag), it’s way too preachy for me. Trek works best when the message is veiled or subtle. When the story works whether or not you even notice the message. This movie literally stops the film to show us video of whales being skinned. It’s almost an ad for Greenpeace. It’s a fine message, but holy cannoli it’s really in your face.

The music is silly and leaden and while I don’t hate it, coming off the brilliance of the last two, I was hoping for a “Cocoon” flavored Horner score to wrap up the trilogy.

In the 50’s I saw documentaries several times showing the skinning. The docs weren’t anti-whale hunting either. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, but whales are mighty big, hard for their slaughter not to be in your face. I didn’t think it went over board.

BTW, japan is announced it will restart commercial whaling.

 

[ScottRE]

In the 50’s I saw documentaries several times showing the skinning. The docs weren’t anti-whale hunting either. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, but whales are mighty big, hard for their slaughter not to be in your face. I didn’t think it went over board..

I actually meant that the message itself was in your face, not so much the video.I could have been more clear about that. Also, I found Catherine Hicks to be somewhat annoying. It might have been her character more than the actress, but she really grated on me. I see what a lot of people like this film, and I certainly understand why "regular folk" flocked to it, but I prefer the files around it. However, they never made a Trek movie I honestly disliked.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Unfortunately, I feel that much of the original cast, Shatner especially, pretty much phoned in their performances most of the time, sounding like they're reading from a script and not acting.

I think that’s actually an accurate description of how Shatner’s lines were recorded. If memory serves, around the time the animated series was being produced, Shatner was touring the country taking parts in different regional and local theater productions. I think they would send him his dialogue and he’d record a tape on the road and send it in.

 

[Nelson Au]

That’s how I understand the story too Josh. Shatner was on the road at the time of the animated series. I recall he also found the experience difficult when he didn’t have other actors to play the scenes with. So he couldn't react properly.

 

[Jonathan Perregaux]

I believe only the first episode of TAS had everyone recording lines together. The remaining episodes were literally phoned in from a sand-whipped booth in Arizona at night with truck lights glaring.