Sci-fi September: Science Fiction Influences (Part X)
When did you first see Star Trek?
I don’t know when I saw my first episode, but it was probably during the late 70s. With only two channels to choose from—three if you count the one that was 50% snow:
—there was limited access to the good stuff.
But I do remember watching the show and being fascinated by the Enterprise, the phasers, the transporter and the Klingons who made a quick evolutionary leap from no head ridges to head ridges in the first movie.
With no new Star Trek shows forthcoming (I never saw the animated series), it was a waiting game for that first motion picture. And it didn’t disappoint and several more followed.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture — Good. Cool effects for the day but used a bit too much. The story was interesting and VEGR was a unexpected twist.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. — What’s Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island doing there? I think this was one of the first times I saw an actor I knew playing another character, and boy was he a badass. This movie also had the second best death scene in the franchise.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock — We were all pissed of that Spock was killed, but the name of the next movie promised redemption. We also got the death of the Enterprise.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home — Campy, but some of the humour in it made it bearable. “How do we know he didn’t invent the stuff?” and “Were are your nuclear wessels?” Still, not the worst of the bunch.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — The worst of the bunch. A mediocre story that even a feather-dancing Uhura couldn’t save.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country — I thought that this one was a perfect way to wrap up the movie franchise. The pursuit of peace was topical and they still managed to inject humour into the situations.
We would have to wait four years for some the original cast to reunite.
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words, and his latest sci-fi mystery, Euphrates Vanished.
My new book page: http://books.linesbyleon.com/
Free books? Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter and choose one or more!
