Changes to Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Television, Movies Games and Books Star Trek
#1

In November 2001, Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Director’s Cut was released. They added some CGI to Starfleet in San Francisco and to the planet Vulcan. They also did some edits to make it a tighter film.

Yesterday I was watching it and I noticed another change of a different matter.

During the scene where Epsilon IX encounters V’Ger and is destroyed. In the original version Kirk says, “Viewer off.” Then the camera shows the stunned crew. Kirk then shouts in a harsh voice, “Viewer off.” Uhura jumps and switches the viewer off. In the new version Kirk just says, “Viewer off.” The snap-to-it Uhura line is gone. Then toward the end of the film after V’ger is revealed to be Voyager 6, Kirk calls Uhura and says, “Uhura we need to transmitter codes for Voyager 6.” Then he says, “Fast, Uhura. Fast.” In the new version, the ‘Fast, Uhura. Fast.’ is gone.

I wonder if anyone else has ever caught that or read about it. I hadn’t realized how demeaning those lines were toward Uhura in the past. Having them removed brought it to my attention. I’m gonna have to listen to the commentary on the DVD and see if it’s mentioned.

#2

I never saw them as demeaning to Uhura – just sort of wasted time. I also think some of the thinking behind the change was, no matter how awesome and terrifying a threat V’Ger migh be, Kirk wouldn’t have to give “the best crew in the fleet” an order twice. Certainly Adama would never tolerate such a state of affairs! :wink:

#3

no amount of editing could turn TMP into a good movie - storywise. The TOS episode The Changeling had done it all before and better.

#4

I will defend TMP’s story to a certain extent. I think it is along the same thematic lines as 2001, only not as ambiguous (and so perhaps not as challenging). But the parallel of V’Ger reaching a critical point where it must evolve or die (taking everything else with it) and humanity having reached a critical point where it, too, must evolve is intriguing to me. Of course, there is some problem with having the main character, Kirk, regress during the course of the film – thematically speaking, he ought to be moving forward, not backward (from Admiral to Captain). Actually, the arc Kirk had in TWOK would have meshed much better with the themes of TMP : as V’ger has to move on, so Kirk has to “grow up,” just as humanity does.

Whoops, now I’m defending a TMP that never was. :slight_smile: Anyway, I think there is enough good in the script and story (barely) to redeem the interminable special effects, and the director’s cut does tighten the movie up some (though not enough) while restoring some nice character “grace notes.” I think TMP inevitably suffered from near-rabid fan expectations in 1979, but it still remains a solid, if not great, motion picture.

#5

Ok, I haven’t seen the dir.'s cut version, I remember my dad telling me that he saw it in the theater when it came it (with his dad!) and that he was just blown away by the awesomeness of the special effects (which hold up nicely, even after all those years), but my opinion on the story was and will ever be: they should have stuck to what they wanted to do originally, viz. “Star Trek Phase II” with a (at least partially) new crew, most of the sets were made for Phase II and they had already written a lot of scripts for Phase II, so either a Phase II movie and/or tv series would have been better than TMP.

#6

And yet, when new characters were introduced into the mix of the old crew in ST II – Saavik, David, Carol – they were all gone by ST IV. I’m not sure a mixture of old and new in Phase II would have worked any better.

#7

oh dear gods

#8

Possible. I can see how one may have that view given today’s society. If anything its more of “oh boy…lets not ruffle feathers.”

In that day though you could get the idea that everyone is shock and awed…as nearly everyone was aside from Kirk.

Heck…the enterprise then was supposed to be out on the edge of space. by the by…does the enterprise EVER go out on the edge any more? Seems to be more of a patrol ship or a VIP ferry.

#9

Holy Craaap ! That makes GR, um, 11 years old ??!!:eek:

#10

obviously, this has led to some confusion … :confused:

my dad’s story refers to the original STTMP that came out in 1979 (I think that’s the part I should have made clear?), NOT the director’s cut (I have no idea when that came out). And I’m 23 by the way…

#11

nope, no confusion. I saw STTMP in '79 with my jr hi geek-girl posse.

#12

Me too.

Well, minus the girls, alas.

#13

I don’t really think you’re 11, GR !! I was just feeling chronometrically challenged !! Once in awhile you younger posters come out with a remark that seems innocent enough (“my great great great grandfather saw Razor in the theaters!!”) which causes we older fossil types to sink to the ground in realization of our own mortality !! And then, we laugh and take our Metamucil.

:smiley:

#14

that’s okay, everybody keeps telling me that I look older than I am anyways. which obviously seems to be somewhat of a compliment for men (at least in my age range?), but definitely not for women …

#15

Yes, I noticed the deletion of the repeat of “viewer off.” I actually liked the original line. Showed the crew was terrified about what their likely fate was going to turn out to be on this mission.