Star Trek IV had some really funny moments, and I think there’s a decent chance you would enjoy it. Most of the campy humor was quite tongue-in-cheek. I’ve heard that Shatner intended the fifth movie to be much darker, but some producer or something insisted that it be filled with terrible jokes. (I don’t remember where I read that, but I’m going to spread the rumor.)

The best Star Trek movie, by the way, is First Contact. (I kind of doubt the new one will replace it, but you never know!)

Great review as always Mr. Eric.

V is cinematic garbage, a one man show for Shatner’s ego. May it long be the worst movie in the Star Trek series.

Enjoyed this review a lot, one of the funnier EBM’s.

My opinion: Star Trek II was the best–it struck just the right balance of humor, drama and action, in my opinion and Khan was the best Trek villain ever. Star Trek IV is my second favorite (yes, the one with the whales) because while it is mostly a comedy, it’s a comedy that feels a lot more natural than the slapstick buffonery in V. The environmental message is a bit heavy-handed, but they don’t bludgeon you with it either.

That doesn’t mean you have Star Trek pegged.

Sorry if I was unclear. I didn’t mean to suggest that my viewing of “Star Trek V” means I know everything about “Star Trek.” What I meant is that I’ve gleaned a lot of information about “Star Trek” simply from having lived in a society that talks about “Star Trek” a lot. In fact, I don’t think “Star Trek V” added any information that I didn’t already have. The even/odd rule about good/bad “Star Trek” movies is an example of the sort of thing that I’ve known for years, even without seeing them.

That doesn’t mean you have Star Trek pegged.

After all, the consensus of the fans is that Star Trek V was So Bad, that it is the one Star Trek film that should have Never Been Made! It wasn’t just the lousy story; all the production values were incredibly low, right down to the scene on “God’s Planet” where the cast go up a hill to find “God” by following a jeep trail…

,,. and the scene in the turbolift shaft with Spock’s jet-pack boots, where, as they ascend and plackards bearing deck numbers pass by in a hurry, we nonetheless notice that they pass more than one deck number *twice*.

Now if you want to see a *good* Star Trek movie, I have two recommendations:

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Admittedly, it may not mean as much to you if you have not seen the original series episode “Space Seed”, to which the movie is essentially a sequel.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Once you’ve figured out that the Klingons are the preeminent bad guys (which you have) it only makes sense that you need to know that the Romulans are the number two bad guys, and that there’s hope for the future, in spite of collusion by otherwise faithful Federation people. (Oops! Sorry for the spoiler…..)

From what I’ve seen of, and heard of, the new movie, it’s going to be sensational! One of my sisters is a colonel in the Army stationed in Kuwait, where they had an advance showing a couple of weeks ago, and she loved it! She’s been a fan of the series since 1967, and even tried to write an episode script, so you know she’s really into it…..

So don’t give Trek too bad a name based on one film. Or two films. Or maybe even three films, or four or five. (The general rule of thumb is that every other Star Trek movie was somewhere in the continuum between “not so great” and “absolutely terrible.”) And even though the new one bears an odd number, technically, we still hold high hope for it. I’ll be watching for your review with high hopes that you might actually enjoy it…..

DaleD