Star Trek: The Final Frontier Has a Bum Reputation

Cafe Society
#1

Yeah, I know… I’m asking for it. But it’s true!

I’m not saying the film was a cinematic masterpiece or even that it was all that good but it’s nowhere near as bad as people try to make it out to be. Yes, the whole God thing was embarassing, Sybok being Spock’s brother was a stupid contrivance, and the humor was horrid but all of that combined to make a movie so bad that it was actually pretty entertaining in its train-wreckiness!

In my opinion, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek: Generations deserve the spot in most Trekkies’ hearts that is normally reserved for Shatner’s folly. Nothing in either film was really offensively stupid (sans Picard letting the Enterprise crash, that is), no, but they’re infinitely more boring.

Go ahead. Flame me. :slight_smile:

#2

I really like the Final Frontier. What does God need with a Star Ship?

I hate the first movie, my dad actually went out and bought a version with extra footage. I swear they have a shot of Kirk circling the ship for 15 minutes in the shuttle craft at the beginning. Now that is bordem.

#3

Yes, exactly! The Motion Picture is boredom personified At least The Final Frontier has moments of hilarity.

Granted, you’re laughing AT the film, not with it, but still… at least you aren’t napping.

#4

To a Trekker, it’s mostly about the canon violations and the Shatner ego trip.

The other two movies in the OP were bad, but STV:TFF is a sin.

#5

The only real canon violation I can think of in the film is the journey to the galaxy’s core. It’d take decades to get there instead of just days (weeks?) as shown in the film. Am I forgetting something else?

I’m not saying the movie isn’t bad, 'cause it obviously is, I just don’t understand the scorn heaped on it when other films in the franchise (TMP, TSFS, Generations) deserve it just as much, if not more.

#6

You never know what we’re gonna fixate on. Remember Wesley?

And as far as the traveling to galaxy core thingy, it makes several TOS and TNG episodes wrong. And it blows away the whole need for Voyager, so it’s a pretty big nit.

Things like that are important to hard core Trekkers and Shatner basically said “Screw them! I’m Star Trek!”

My take on it.

Plus, I really ddin’t it that entertaining. Even in a “so bad it’s good” way.

Now, go away! I have cookies coming…

#7

TOS episodes made TOS episodes wrong. Remember the South Pole of the Galaxy or whatever? And the Galactic Barrier? And the Extra-Galactic Doomsday Machine? :stuck_out_tongue:

And also, TFF came first. Voyager broke continuity, not the other way around*. More reason to hate it!

*I still hate that aspect of it though. Maybe even more than the whole god thing.

#8

Do you wanna answer or dance?

:slight_smile:
Let some other viewpoints exist. :dubious:

#9

I am the other viewpoint. :stuck_out_tongue:

#10

REPORTED!!!

#11

Have you guys found my ST5 marshmelon dispenser yet?

#12

Since when was Voyager ever “needed”? I’d have been happier if they kept DS9 on the air, and scrapped both Voyager and Enterprise.

If TFF had been an episode of TOS, it wouldn’t be nearly as hated as it is. I’d rather watch TFF than any of the tribble episodes of TOS and DS9.

#13

(push…roll, roll, roll…munch, munch)

No… (swallow) why?

Eh. It certainly was not good, but probably not quite worth the venom that it gets. “What does God need with a starship?” was a classic line. And “Life is not a dream.” is fairly classic Spock, although the whole row-row-row scene was fairly painful otherwise. As far as the whole business about whether or not they could get to the center of the Galaxy in that time, they’ve never even been close to consistant regarding how fast starships go.

What kind of cookies NCB?

#14

I liked the scene were Chekov and Sulu were lost. Those were my boys.

#15

I have no venomous hatred of this movie…
It has many flaws yet it has interesting moments, The Brig, the toilet (“do not fluch in warp”), McCoy telling Kirk “You really piss me off Jim” and the Checkov pretending to be Captain. Sure it was a Shatner Ego project but I find the crime of being unintersting or boring much worse than being ham fisted and dopey.

Generations and Innsurection were absolutely horrible films, the first two seasons of STNG were more cringe inducing than STV. Anybody remember the trip to the planet of the diaper people, the poor rip off episodes "The Naked Now"and “Unnatural Selection”, how about the trip to planet Africa, the tear jerking death of Yar by a Slime pile with anger management issues, or the crystal beings refering to humans as “ugly bags of mostly water” maybe even the Clip episode “Shades of Gray” tell me those episodes were better Trek than STV.

Tell me Enterprise isn’t guilty of destroying cannon.

I’m sorry you didn’t like it but I feel it seems to me that many fans tend to aim their sights on this orphan only because they can
A) vent on how much they hate Shatner
B) Have something bad to say about a Trek movie to non trekers so not to look too nerdy
c) Pick on TOS holding this up as an example of how bad the original series was…

Now you may hate it for many other reasons but I find too many over state the badness of this film.

#16

I do think that ST:V has some really good bits of dialogue between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Of course their conversations, debates, and teasing each other is one of the core reasons I like Star Trek at all.

So ST:V, not so bad. Not as bad as Nemesis or Insurrection. IMHO

#17

Linus, I don’t know yet. Baker is sending them. I’ll probably start a thread on how good (or bad :wink: ) they are.
I liked “ugly bags of mostly water.” But, man, we had some real problems with about half of TNG’s first two seasons.

There are some good things about V… I really enjoyed the visual where Kirk is stuck between the Bad God and the Klingon Bird of Prey. Lost line for Kirk: “Prey? Or pray? Oh, what the hell…”

But, despite all the positive things said about it (or all the negatives thrown around about other eps), I will stand by my opinion: me no likey. And ftr… I formed this opinion the first time I saw it on the first day it was shown. :stuck_out_tongue:

#18

Ohhh, two ST:V threads on the same day.

The pain, the pain…

:wink:

Barry

#19

I’ll agree with Zebra. Insurrection and Nemesis were the two worst ST movies ever made.

ST V ain’t the best, but it ain’t the worst either. If nothing else we got great Klingon theme music out of it.

#20

I actually quite like STV, it came out right when my nascent Trekkie-hood fully bloomed. Sure, it has ridiculously shoddy flaws and slapdash pacing, but it has heart. And a killer soundtrack.

“I could use a shower.”

[Spock, blankly staring, long pause.]

“Yes.”

And eminently quotable lines for me and my best bud, whom I met in 7th grade right after the movie premiered in summer of 1989, that we still quote today…

But tell me – what is this “toilet” reference people keep mentioning? I don’t remember anything about a “don’t flush it in warp” joke?