The series' immense box office haul has been about quantity, rather than quality, to be honest. There have been amazing moments - "Khaaaaaaaaaaan!" comes to mind, as does the meeting of captains Kirk and Picard in Star Trek: Generations - but the Gene Roddenberry-inspired space saga's accomplishment is really about staying power.
I had the opportunity to meet George Takei (yes, Sulu) this past July as the Florida Supercon in Miami. It was an honor and a privilege to meet Takei, who has (like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy) remained visible in the media eye and voiced his opinion about political issues (in particular orbiting around gay rights). We had a chance to chat, albeit briefly, about his position on the Boy Scouts of America and gay rights issues whilst in Miami, and I even had the opportunity to bring our own "six degrees" moment to light. (The actress who played his daughter in the aforementioned Star Trek: Generations, Jacqui Kim, graduated a year after me from Bloomfield Hills Lahser High School). He thought that was pretty cool.
So here I present five (or more) of my favorite Star Trek movie moments, because ... seriously, why not?
(1) "Khaaaaaaaaaaan!" I mean, hell, I even mentioned it in my comments a few paragraphs ago, so how could I neglect it here? A classic moment from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan:
(2) Who else but Kirk would have the balls to question God's existence openly? NO ONE, that's who! Not a great movie, to be honest, but one of my favorite scenes in the series is from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, where Kirk - in all his Kirkiness - addresses the elephant in the room: What does God need with a starship?
It’s no secret that The Final Frontier is 100% Shatner's baby, baby! Not only is the movie heavily Kirkcentric, it also features him doing more action-adventure oriented things than in the previous films. But when asked to share his pain with Sybok, Kirk becomes the Kirk of old, yelling, "I don’t want my pain taken away, I need my pain!" This is classic Kirk - a bit over the top, and a bit cartoony ... just like our protagonist.
(3) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home landed the Star Trek crew in San Francisco ... a place extremely foreign to a gang used to visiting numerous foreign societies. Nuclear wessles, indeed ...
(4) Spock's death in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was as riveting and tear-jerking a moment that ever existed in cinematic history. I've connected his farewell commentary into many a Lincoln Douglas Debate speech for my students: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one."
Leonard Nimoy discusses that specific scene in his book "I Am Spock":
This, of course, ties in to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, when the crew of the USS Enterprise need to get Spock's body back from Genesis, and Kirk sacrifices the ship to save the crew. Because sometimes, the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many ...
(5) Passing the torch from the original Star Trek to the Star Trek: The Next Generation world involved bringing Kirk and Piccard together in a time travel paradigm ... something the space aces were more than capable of doing on a regular basis.
Live long and prosper for another half-century (and beyond) ...
Weird News of the Day
From CNN: "107-year-old man killed in police shootout in Arkansas, authorities say'" - Committing aggravated assault, getting involved in a standoff with SWAT officers who send in camera, gas, and a "distraction device" (whatever that is), getting killed in a shootout after negotiations fail is no way to go through life, son. But it's one hell of a way to end your life!
Stupid News of the Day
From USA Today: "Iowa grants gun permits to the blind'" - Who says justice turns a blind eye? I bet they never saw this one coming, though ...
Florida News of the Day
From The South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Cops: Man, 83, nabbed in sex sting said he wanted 'everything'" - Apparently, he didn't realize "everything" included a complimentary ride to the local jail ...
Video of the Day
I'm hoopnitized!
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