Julia Thompson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Josh wrote:
> > We could switch the example to Spock's rescue of the plumetting Kirk
> > in Star Trek V. But that would make everyone think about STV which
> > just isn't polite.
>
>In our discussion yesterday about ranking the ST movies in order of best
>to worst, we refused to acknowledge the *existence* of that movie.
Again, I can't recommend enough getting a copy of the MST3K'd ST5:
http://www.eskimo.com/~rkj/MST.html
There's also the contention that "life is but a dream" refers to everything
between the campfire scenes bookending the film. A damn fine contention in
my book.
>(The
>biggest bone of contention was which was better, Generations or
>Insurrection. Any one want to weigh in on THAT one?
Hmmm, I'd rate them (best to worst):
The Wrath of Khan (ST2)
First Contact (ST8)
The Undiscovered Country (ST6)
The Voyage Home (ST4)
The Search for Spock (ST3)
Generations (ST7)
The Motion Picture (ST1)
Insurrection (ST9)
The Final Frontier (ST5)
You'll note, of course, that the even/odd rule is meticulously followed.
Insurrection falls beneath the other odds since it simply isn't an epic
tale. It's a fine 2-hour episode, but it's just not a movie-quality
experience. Generations is similarly weak but has more oomph behind it in
terms of scale. TMP fails primarily due to the weak pacing and general
unwatchability of the movie.
I have a hard time treating 2-3-4 as anything other than a single multi-part
story. If I had my druthers... wait - I do! Here's my true list:
The Wrath of Khan/The Search for Spock/The Voyage Home (ST2,3,4)
First Contact (ST8)
The Undiscovered Country (ST6)
Generations (ST7)
The Motion Picture (ST1)
Insurrection (ST9)
The Final Frontier (ST5)
Now the 6-hour story starts things off at the top of the list. Following is
First Contact, the TNG-era equivalent. Like TWOK it is Captain vs. Big
Adversary; like TSFS it's a journey for *all* of the characters; like TVH
it's a time-travel story which gives all of the characters a chance to shine
and laugh at themselves. Less of each, but it's 1/3 the size. TUC is a close
third - a wonderful stand-alone tale and worthy of the medium. Generations
and TMP are close to tied; both are transition pieces aiming to take a
television show to the big screen, and both face similar challenges in
adapting the franchise to the new medium of a feature. Following are
Insurrection (a weak story) and TFF (weak everything), which don't rise
above average episodes of their respective series.
...
Everyone knows that a "Director's Edition" of ST:TMP is coming out on DVD
later this year, yes? Essentially they'll be making the movie the director
wanted to make but wasn't allowed to due to budget and time. The cut will be
much tighter, more energetic, and completed effects will (in theory) blend
seamlessly. The creative forced were apparently trying very hard on the last
one, knowing how badly the SW Special Edition effects clash.
That may change the TMP rating. Could it promote an even-numbered movie
above an odd numbered movie? I doubt it could move more than one slot up due
to inherent weaknesses in the plot, but we'll see.
Now if they could only replace the gray pyjamas everyone is wearing with the
maroon uniforms from the later flicks... especially if they decide to do a
theatrical release. There are parts of Shatner I don't want to see on the
big screen, thanks.
Joshua
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