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(By Guest Reviewer: Mike White) Do you remember the old Klingon proverb that the even-numbered Star Trek films are better than the odd-numbered ones? Despite the height of Star Trek II and the depths of Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek V, this sweeping generalization just doesn’t hold water when peering at Star Trek VI with a critical eye. Trying to recapture the magic of Star Trek II (and IV) writer/director Nicholas Meyer was brought back to the series. Alas, Meyer was unable to pull the series out of its tailspin.
The original story slated for Star Trek VI would take another eighteen years to come to fruition, an idea rooted further back in history; showing Kirk, Spock, and the gang in Starfleet Academy. Fan furor and failing box office of Star Trek V delayed the Starfleet Academy idea until 2009. Rather, Paramount studio chief Frank Mancuso Jr. opted for a “wrap up” tale of the original Enterprise crew to make way for the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” cast.
Working from a story idea from Leonard Nimoy, Meyer’s screenplay also bears the name of Denny Martin Flinn, a professional dancer with no other screenwriting credits to date. Story credits are also given to Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, the brain trust that helped birth the schmaltzy Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. It’s unclear how much Konner and Rosenthal had to do with Star Trek VI as the idea of “perestroika in space” has been given solely to Nimoy. |  |
When the Klingon moon Praxis explodes, putting the entire Klingon Empire in jeopardy, Starfleet sends Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise to escort Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) and a cadre of his kinsmen to peace talks. Also along for the ride is Lieutenant Valeris (Kim Cattrall), a new addition the Enterprise crew. Her role feels remarkably similar to that of Lieutenant Saavik from the previous three Star Trek films. Originally, Meyer meant for Saavik to appear in Star Trek VI and the Valeris character was essentially Saavik by another name (even if she had been portrayed by yet another actress as both Kirstie Alley and Robin Curtis had been Saavik previously).
After an awkward initial encounter with the Klingons, the Bird of Prey is attacked and the Chancellor assassinated. Kirk and Bones take a fall for the crime, banished to the mines of Rura Penthe. Meanwhile, Spock and company unravel the case against Kirk, rescue their incarcerated crewmen, and discover that Valeris has betrayed them all. The Vulcan has acted most illogically by playing a critical part in a multi-layered conspiracy involving the Klingons, Romulans, and dissenters in the Federation.
| Making peace with the Klingons, villains from the original “Star Trek” series and Star Trek III, would have been a powerful gesture had Star Trek VI not been effectively scooped by “Star Trek: The Next Generation” which portrayed a future time in which Klingon/Federation relationships had been normalized. By the time Star Trek VI premiered, fans had experienced four full years of Worf (Michael Dorn) and other kinder, gentler Klingons. Likewise, with the Berlin Wall falling over two years before, the Cold War metaphor of Star Trek VI already tasted stale. Add to this an obtuse reference to Nixon visiting China and the entire allegory explodes with a louder boom than Praxis.
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Utilizing Saavik as the locus of betrayal would have been far more powerful than introducing Valeris and casting her as the turncoat. Despite decades of distrust and violence between the Klingons and Federation, the crew of the Enterprise warms to the idea far too easily. Even Kirk, whose son, David (Merritt Butrick), was murdered by “Klingon bastards” manages to be magnanimous too soon. Having served aboard the Enterprise since Star Trek II, a betrayal by Saavik would have been more dramatically effective. Treachery by a trusted member of the crew would have carried more emotional resonance, not to mention surprise. While Kirk may have gotten past the loss of his son to the Klingons, Saavik could not look past her love for David.
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