Marvel Immersion Project: Howard the Duck #32-33 and Uncanny X-Men #94-98

Howard the Duck: what started as an admittedly dark breath of fresh air in the late '70s was unbearable a decade later.  And yet, I have to admit that going from those final, bitter dredges back to the unsubtle X-Men (pun intended) feels like a huge let down.  Back to too many characters in too many fight scenes.  Back to villain of the week.  In short, back to formula.  Howard, for all of his ups and downs, was never formulaic, not for a single panel.  Even when Gerber was barely holding things together, he generated an issue (#16) unlike any other in the history of the company.  Howard was the jolt the entire industry desperately needed.  Now, I go back to the pre-Howard world...

Professor X, via Wikipedia

I will say this for the X-Men: it's a lot easier to keep track of everyone than it was with the Avengers.  There are still too many characters but I know for certain who is in and who is out at a given moment.  The stories are way too busy for my tastes.  Why bother with a gradual narrative build when you can get right to the brawl while everyone's sitting around the living room? 

I so wish I were exaggerating.

I know there are good stories on the way and the X-Men have strong individual characters among them, including my personal favorite: Wolverine.  The X-Men were the heart of the Marvel universe in the mid-'70s.  I could not reasonably immerse myself without spending some quality time with them.

via Wikipedia, the original X-Men, clockwise from top right: Angel, Iceman, Cyclops, Beast and Marvel Girl

via The Catacombs, the 1975 X-Men, left to rightish: Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Banshee, Thunderbird, Sunfire and Nightcrawler

 

My Recent Reads

Howard the Duck #32
Originally Published January 1, 1986
Writer: Steven Grant
Artist: Paul Smith

• After a near seven-year hiatus, Marvel revived Howard just in time to promote the Howard the Duck film which premiered in August 1986.
• Opens with an origin story for Howard.
• Howard is stranded in Utah but gets picked up by a trucker, the lovely Ceci Rider.
• Ceci and Howard discover an underground housing development run by the natural resource guzzling Morgan Erg, aka The Gopher.
• The movie was, by all accounts, truly terrible.  It won four Razzies, including Worst Picture, and was one of the candidates for Worst Picture of the Decade along with Star Trek V.  Thank goodness for Mommie Dearest.

Howard the Duck #33
September 1, 1986
Christopher Stager/Val Mayerik

• The final issue for the original series.
• Howard wins $10,000,000 in a publishing sweepstakes, awarded by an Ed McMahon-type character at his front door.
• Naturally, everyone wants a piece of the riches and Howard is a changed duck.  He's finally reunited with Bev but she doesn't like what wealth has done to Howard so she leaves him.
• Howard throws out the first ball at a Cleveland Indians game.  There's a running gag through the story that the newly wealthy duck is rumored to buy the team.
• The magic is gone.  I can see how anyone discovering Howard the Duck in 1986, either through the movie or these last two comic book issues, would have been severely disappointed.  How did anyone think this was such a big deal?
• In truth, the series was never quite the same after co-creator Steve Gerber was let go.  He was fired because he couldn't meet deadlines - completely understandable but the material suffered.  Other Marvel characters - Spidey, for instance - survived changes in creative staff just fine.  Not so here.  Howard needed Steve.  Without him, the satire was merely a joke.   
• There are some wonderful musical references in this last issue:
• The issue's sub-title is "Material Duck," a play on Madonna's "Material Girl," released in 1984

• Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi"

• Diana Ross

• Doc Severinsen, the Tonight Show's longtime bandleader 

• Judy Garland 

Uncanny X-Men #94
August 1, 1975
Chris Claremont/Dave Cockrum

• We join the series at a moment of transition.  Most of the original X-Men say goodbye to the team, making way for the new kids.
• Departing:
• Havok
• Marvel Girl
• Angel
• Sunfire
• Iceman 
• Lorna Dane
• Remaining:
• Colossus
• Cyclops
• Nightcrawler
• Wolverine
• Storm
• Professor X
• Thunderbird
• Banshee
• The greatest significance of this issue, however, is that it marks the beginning of Chris Claremont's run as head writer for the series. 

via Villains Wiki

• There is also an external adversary in this story.  Count Nefaria and his Ani-Men take over Mount Valhalla, headquarters of NORAD.
• Cameo: Beast, former X-Man, now an Avenger

Uncanny X-Men #95
October 1, 1975
Claremont/Cockrum

• The X-Men defeat Count Nefaria but at a high cost...
• Thunderbird dies.  After Gwen Stacy, all bets are off.

Uncanny X-Men #96
December 1, 1975
Claremont/Cockrum

via Wikipedia

• Introduced: Moira MacTaggart, the X-Men's new housekeeper.
• Brooding over Thunderbird's death, Cyclops lets loose with his laser eyes in a fit of fury, accidentally unleashing two demons.  Said demons attack the X-Men in their living room.  Really, I wasn't kidding.

via Wikipedia

• Also introduced: Steven Lang, leader of Project Armageddon.  He hasn't struck yet but he makes clear he has it in for the X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men #97
February 1, 1976
Claremont/Cockrum

• Professor X has nightmares about an inter-galactic race war.  Or are they premonitions?

via Marvel Database

Polaris via X-Men Wiki

• Havok and Polaris (Lorna Dane's new superhero name) are possessed by Eric the Red and turned against the X-Men.

Uncanny X-Men #98
April 1, 1976
Claremont/Cockrum

• It's Christmas Eve and our gang are celebrating at Rockefeller Plaza.  There are many cameos by both fictional and real world characters: Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, etc.
• With no regard for peace and goodwill, Steven Lang sends the Sentinels to attack.  They kidnap Marvel Girl, Banshee, Wolverine and Professor X, who had been on a fishing vacation in the Caribbean.

via Marvel Database

• The professor's companion on his fishing trip is Dr. Peter Corbeau. 

via Wikipedia

• Introduced: Amanda Sefton who would eventually become Daytripper, then later Majik

Marvel Immersion Project: Howard the Duck #25-31

I'll be moving on from Howard soon.  The end for the series was messy - unfortunate yet oddly appropriate.  It's on to the X-men next for me.


My Recent Reads

Howard the Duck #25
Originally Published June 1, 1978
Writer: Steve Gerber
Artist: Gene Colan

• Paul and Winda are finally back in town.  Paul has a wad of cash from rich ship passengers who paid him for portraits.  
• Paul's not shy about spreading cash around, buying Howard a new jacket and new cigars.  The big spending makes Howard nervous.
• The trio attends a party thrown by Paul's new patron, Iris Raritan.  The entertainment is supplied by some old friends of ours, The Circus of Crime!

Howard the Duck #26
July 1, 1978
Gerber/Colan

• The Circus of Crime kidnaps Howard to be a part of their act.  They drag him to Pennsylvania for their next act where, of course, they rob the audience.  
• In true Marvel hero fashion, Iris, Winda and Paul follow the troupe via tracking device.  
• The story converge at a gas station.  One of the circus victims has a gun.  The gun goes off.  No one's dead but damage is done.
• Meanwhile, Winda is attacked by a drunk when she spurns his advances.
• Two notable music references:
• "76 Trombones"

• "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down."  The Band concert documentary The Last Waltz was released in April 1978.

Howard the Duck #27
September 1, 1978
Gerber/Colan

• Lee comes to Pennsylvania to help Howard and company.
• Howard and Iris head to Cleveland where they finally have their showdown with the Circus of Crime.
• Bev is surprised to find herself happy in her forced marriage to Dr. Bong.  However, she is horrified to learn that Bong still intends to kill Howard.

Howard the Duck #28
November 1, 1978
Marv Wolfman/Carmine Infantino

• Here it is, the first Howard story without Steve Gerber as head writer.
• In a break from the ongoing narrative, Howard gets caught up in a domestic espionage scandal while out at dinner with Bev.  The government is putting laughing gas in the city water supply.
• Meanwhile, a psychiatrist is distraught as several patients report sightings of a talking duck. 

Howard the Duck #29
January 1, 1979
Gerber/Will Meugniot

• Howard is recruited by struggling comedian Joey Goniff to be the face of a telethon in Las Vegas.  
• The plan works out only too well, at least in terms of raising the money, and Howard is disgusted by the crass commercialism.

Howard the Duck #30
March 1, 1979
Bill Mantlo/Colan

• A friend of Lee's builds an "Iron Duck" costume for Howard in order to prepare the latter for a final battle with Dr. Bong

Howard the Duck #31
May 1, 1979
Mantlo/Colan & Al Milgrom

• The final battle itself.
• Bev comes to Howard's rescue, revealing her true loyalties in the end.
• On the final page, the gang's all back together.
• This was the last issue before a seven-year hiatus for the series.

Squid Flicks: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Title: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Director: William Shatner

Original Release: June 9, 1989

My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

Back to the movies this week!

Krik, Spock and Bones are on a camping trip in Yosemite when they're called back to the Enterprise.  Diplomatic hostages have been taken on Nimbus III and our heroes are sent to rescue them.  The lead baddie is the Vulcan Sybok who turns out to be Spock's long-lost half-brother!  Sybok takes over the Enterprise and leads the crew and his own disciples to Sha Ka Ree where he hopes to meet God.

Unfortunately, the camping scenes in the beginning are probably the best part of the story.  Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is easily the most widely panned of the Star Trek films.  In fact, it is generally regarded as one of the worst movies ever made, period.  It won three Golden Raspberry Awards: Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Actor (also Shatner) and was one of the nominees for Worst Picture of the Decade.  The writing is uneven at best, awful at worst.  Attempts to match the humor of The Voyage Home fall flat.  So, how can I possibly give it 4 stars?  I am 100% certain I'll watch it again someday.  By choice.  When it comes to Star Love, what can I do?

Herve Bennett, the executive producer, blamed the box office failure on the fans' lukewarm response to The Next Generation.  However, as we have seen in recent weeks, the new series was starting to hit its stride at this point.  It certainly wasn't the new kids' fault that the originals were losing steam.

A few un-Trek moments:

• The shoot first, ask questions later attack on Paradise City, where the hostages were being held.
• Spock Vulcan-pinching a horse.
• Kirk ordering Spock to kill Sybok (spoiler: he doesn't do it).

There are redeeming treats.  My blogger friend Spacer Guy recently wrote a delightful post about the campfire scene.  Here's the full video:



Kraft produced a marshmallow dispenser like Spock's for sale via mail order:

via Memory Alpha

Star Wars influence is noticeable.  The bar in Paradise City is definitely Mos Eisley-inspired:

Music Notes

Jerry Goldsmith came back to do the film score.  He resurrected a couple of his themes from The Motion Picture but also created new work.  Unlike the rest of the movie, the music drew praise from critics.  However, the project was such an overall disaster that Goldsmith turned down the job for Star Trek VI.  He was the second composer to do so.  He wouldn't score another Trek film until #8, First Contact.

Uhura does a seductive dance to Hiroshima's "The Moon Is a Window to Heaven."  Worth noting, it's Nichelle Nichols's own singing voice in the scene.   Not surprisingly, it's Nichols's favorite scene:

The movie ends back at the campfire.  Spock plays the Vulcan harp in accompaniment to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat":

My ranking of the movies so far:

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
4. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek: The Schizoid Man

Episode: "The Schizoid Man"

Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Season 2, Episode 6

Original Air Date: January 23, 1989

via Memory Alpha

Our friends meet Dr. Ira Graves (W. Morgan Sheppard), a famous cyberneticist,  as he approaches death.  Graves and Data quickly bond, the scientist claiming to be the android's de facto grandfather as Graves taught Noonien Soong, Data's creator, everything he knew.  As his final living act, Graves manages to transfer his own consciousness to Data.  Unfortunately, Graves's massive ego is not a good pairing with Data's superhuman physical capacities.  Disaster ensues (a little Of Mice and Men-ish, actually).  Executive producer Gene Roddenberry's health was very much in decline by 1989 and one wonders if the prevalence of aging and death stories was not entirely unrelated, not to mention concerns about the survival of one's legacy.

This episode is an eye-roller for me.  Both Lore and Graves-possessed Data inspire over-acting tendencies in Brent Spiner.  Nonetheless, there is decent Data development.  His rights as a sentient being are challenged and Geordi is identified for the first time as his best friend.

The Graves role was initially intended for Patrick McGoohan, star of the 1967 British classic series The Prisoner.  "The Schizoid Man" was also the title of a Prisoner episode.

Music Notes

I can never resist a Wizard of Oz reference.  Both pre- and post-possession, Graves whistles "If I Only Had a Heart," presumably to tease Data:

Acting Notes

via Wikipedia

William Morgan Sheppard was born August 24, 1932 in London.  Like Patrick Stewart, he was an alumnus of the Royal Shakespeare Company, logging 12 years of service.  On Broadway, he appeared in Marat/Sade and Sherlock Holmes.  He had four Trek appearances in total, including two of the movies.

via Wikipedia

Sheppard's son, Mark Sheppard, is a megastar of geeky television: a principal on Supernatural plus recurring roles on Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Leverage and Firefly.  Father and son appeared together in "The Impossible Astronaut", the first episode of Doctor Who's Series Six.

W. Morgan Sheppard died January 6, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.  He was 86 hears old.

Marvel Immersion Project: Fantastic Four #54-58 and Annual #4

I'm going to be moving on from Fantastic Four soon and before I do, it's imperative I pay tribute to one of the giants of the comic book industry.

via Spider-Man Wiki

Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzburg in New York City, August 28, 1917.  He started working in comics in the 1930s and, over the course of his career, spent meaningful creative time with both Marvel and DC.  He will always be best remembered for his work during Marvel's Silver Age, claiming co-creator status for Captain America, Fantastic Four, Thor, Avengers, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Panther, X-Men and Silver Surfer among many, many others.  Make no mistake he, more than Stan Lee, was the creative force behind the pop cultural powerhouse that would eventually spawn the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  He generated the look, fleshed out the characters and developed the worlds they roam.  As discussed previously (read here), he played a much larger storytelling role than cover credits would have one believe.  If only he'd lived long enough to make cameos in the movies...

Kirby was also drafted into the Army during World War II, landing on Omaha Beach two months after D-Day.  When his commanding officer learned of Kirby's artistic talents, he assigned him as an advance scout to draw reconnaissance maps and pictures.  During his tour, he suffered frostbite and nearly had his legs amputated.  For his service, he received the Combat Infantry Badge, a European/African/Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and a Bronze Star.

Jack Kirby died of heart failure in 1994.

A few thoughts about the FF, too, before the week's issue notes: while character development was the initial hook for this series, I feel that long term, world-building was the greater strength.  In this #31-60 stretch I've explored, the FF visited the Skrull world, the Inhumans' sanctuary and Wakanda, all for the first time.  All three have provided rich narrative possibilities for Marvel in the decades since.  In #48, the Silver Surfer was introduced and he has proven a more interesting character than any of the Fantastic Four themselves.  His first solo series is where I'll be heading next.


My Recent Reads

Fantastic Four #54
Originally Published September 1, 1966
Writer: Stan Lee
Author: Jack Kirby

• There is no true villain in this issue.  That's noteworthy in itself.
• The story opens with a baseball game in Wakanda.  The FF, particularly Reed Richards, can't resist using their powers - poor sportsmanship.
• The Black Panther enlists a world-famous pianist to play Grieg's Piano Concerto for his guests.  It's one of my favorite pieces.  Read here.
• Another interesting change from what I've seen with the series up to this point: the beginning of two split, multi-issue threads: one for Johnny Storm and Wyatt Wingfoot as Johnny seeks a way to get back to Crystal of the Inhumans and another for the others returning to New York.

via Marvel Database

• Johnny and Wyatt meet Prester John, also known as The Wanderer.

Fantastic Four #55
October 1, 1966
Lee/Kirby

• The Silver Surfer returns.  Thing picks a fight with him, jealous over Alicia's apparent interest in him.  Thing fails to understand that her feelings for the Silver Surfer are not romantic in nature.
• Finally reaching the Himalayas (I could have sworn the Inhumans were in the Andes but I guess not), Johnny and Wyatt encounter Lockjaw, the Inhumans' faithful, dimension-jumping hound.

Fantastic Four #56
November 1, 1966
Lee/Kirby

• Villain: Klaw, attacking the three FF members in New York in an effort to draw out the Black Panther.
• Johnny and Wyatt follow Lockjaw through several dimensional jumps.  Wyatt is trying to train the dog to lead them to the Inhumans, something he's clearly been trained previously not to do.

Fantastic Four Annual #4
November 1, 1966
Lee/Kirby

• The Fantastic Four are reunited.
• Villain: The Thinker

via Marvel Database

• The Thinker has enlisted the help of the original Human Torch, an android character who first appeared in October 1939.  

via Wikipedia

Fantastic Four #57
December 1, 1966
Lee/Kirby

• Main villains: Sandman and Wizard
• Meanwhile, a separate thread begins in which the Silver Surfer visits Dr. Doom.  The latter steals the powers of the former.
• Mary Poppins reference! 

Fantastic Four #58
January 1, 1967
Lee/Kirby

• Villain: Dr. Doom, enhanced by the powers he stole from the Silver Surfer
• The issue ends with a cliffhanger, the FF having suffered apparent defeat.

Star Trek: Coming of Age

Episode: "Coming of Age"
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 1, Episode 19
Original Air Date: March 14, 1988

via Memory Beta

Wesley takes a crack at the Starfleet Academy entrance exam.  Meanwhile, an old friend of Picard's, Admiral Gregory Quinn (Ward Costello) has come aboard to investigate the Enterprise for reasons he can't explain.  Tensions run high as Lt. Cmdr. Dexter Remmick, the investigating officer played by Robert Schenkkan, asks probing questions of the senior officers regarding their dear leader.

"Coming of Age" is sort of like a clip show without the clips.  Remmick's questions touch on incidents from previous episodes, including "The Last Outpost," "Where No One Has Gone Before" and "Justice."  Remmick certainly rankles but eventually he reveals what we as the fans already know: this crew is deeply loyal to their captain and to each other.  Plus, he gets to see first-hand that Jean-Luc is a total badass when he calmly rescues a wayward cadet from himself.  The investigator acknowledges his admiration in the end, saying that he would like to work among them after his current assignment is completed.  Once again, we see that Picard's Enterprise is a great place to work.

In the investigation story's conclusion, Picard is offered a promotion to Admiral, overseeing Starfleet Academy.  While tempted, the captain ultimately turns it down.  This is not the last time one of our heroes declines advancement.  It certainly serves the series well in terms of continuity but it also leaves one wondering about the realism.  We know Picard is a romantic at heart and it's easy to understand his desire to be an explorer rather than an educational administrator - and implicitly, an internal spy.  But still, how many people in the real world turn down an admiralty when it is offered?  Probably not too many.

The entrance exam story, while probably technically the primary narrative, is less interesting.  The development for Wes is good, though we already know he is smart, kind and generous.  We do get a guest appearance from Tasia Valenza as the Vulcan T'Shanik.  I featured Valenza in one of my Clone Wars posts a few years ago.  Wes also has a nice scene with Worf on the holodeck, though Worf gets much better development in the next episode.


Acting Notes

via Memory Alpha

Ward Costello was born July 5, 1919 in Boston.  "Coming of Age" was his first of three appearances as Admiral Quinn.  In addition to his numerous acting credits, Costello was a composer and lyricist.  He wrote the theme for The Gallant Hours, a docudrama starring James Cagney.  The piece is unusual for a film: an acapella choral arrangement.



Costello died in 2009 from complications due to a stroke.

Squid Flicks: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Title: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Original Release: 1986
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

Admiral James T. Kirk and his usual motley crew are heading back to Earth, ready to face the music for the transgressions committed in The Search for Spock (see here).  Getting back is not as straightforward as they expected.  Earth appears to be under attack by a mysterious space probe.  The offending object is projecting whale songs, apparently hoping for a response from the planet's humpback whale population.  Sadly, by the 23rd century, the magnificent creatures are long extinct.

The solution is obvious: travel back in time, grab two whales out of the ocean and bring them back.  The Enterprise crew visits San Francisco of the 1980s, because obviously the Bay Area is the best place to find whales.  A costume drama in reverse ensues.

As written previously, I am not a fan of how Star Trek generally handles time travel and let's be honest, the premise for Voyage Home is even more contrived than usual.  That is not to say, however, that the time travel stories aren't still enjoyable.  Indeed, "The City on the Edge of Forever," arguably TOS's best episode, is a time travel narrative and its sequel "Yesteryear" is undeniably the best TAS episode.  Voyage Home's closest link to the legacy of the originals is "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" which also chronicles a visit to 20th-century Earth.  My post for that episode also includes my most thorough rant regarding Trek's time travel issues.

My basic problem: the writers tend to be careless about the contradictions that are the inherent peril with time travel.  If you're going to engage in time travel narrative, there have to be rules and you have to follow them.  I have no idea what the rules of time travel are for Trek.   My guess is there aren't any.  Thus my problem.

A specific offense from The Voyage Home: Scotty shares the secret of transparent aluminum technology with an engineer so it can be produced to transport the whales.  Scotty's justification: the engineer may well have been the man who invented it.  Convenient but careless.  Sure, one could argue that without this bending of the rules, the 23rd-century world could not be saved.  But at what cost?  None, apparently.  Lucky.

As a side note, the first patent for the process for producing polycrystalline cubic aluminum oxynitride was issued in 1980, before Scotty's visit.  This is the very stuff that has come to be called "transparent aluminum," because of the movie, naturally.  Whether it's actually the same substance used by Scotty for the whales, we may never know.

With all of my kvetching, I imagine you've assumed I don't like the movie.  Actually, I think it's pretty good.  In fact, if you'd asked me when I first saw it back in the day, I'd have claimed it as my favorite of the franchise so far.  I was an awfully romantic teenager and I found the whale story touching.  Now, I can see Khan is definitely the better film but Voyage Home is plenty good, even with my issues.

Is it better than Search for Spock?  The long-held conventional wisdom surrounding Star Trek films is that the even-numbered ones are superior to the odd-numbered ones before them.  2 is certainly better than 1 and I would say 4 is better than 3, though that's not as clear a choice for me as it once would have been.  Spock is better than I remember, Voyage Home hokier.  Voyage Home probably has the most appeal of the early movies for the general audience.  Good as Khan is - and it is the best - it's most meaningful for those who already know Star Trek.  I was not the only casual (at the time) Trek fan who was charmed by Voyage Home.

In addition to whale compassion, the writing offers genuine comedy:

Shore Patrolman: How's the patient, doctor?

Kirk: He's gonna make it.

Shore Patrolman: He? You came in with a she.

Kirk: One little mistake... 

That's almost Groucho-worthy!

While the comedy is a bit off-Trek (pun fully intended), it is a big part of the general appeal.  In fact, the comic plans were originally more ambitious.  The part of whale expert Dr. Taylor was initially written for... wait for it... Eddie Murphy!  Murphy was eager to be involved with a Trek movie and almost signed on for Voyage Home.  He chose The Golden Child instead - much to his own admitted long-term regret.  That might have been a bridge too far on the slapstick for me but it certainly wouldn't have hurt box office receipts.  Eddie Murphy was just about the closest thing there was to a sure thing at the time. 

via Wikipedia

Also, Dr. Taylor works well as a female character, especially since her relationship with Kirk never crosses past the line of platonic friendship.  Perhaps that's a carry over from the Murphy plan - the change too late to overhaul the story for romance.  So much the better, I think.  Love would have been predictable.

Trekkie treats

• The big reveal of the new Enterprise ship at the end was genuinely goosebump-inducing for me.

Real world connections

• The film opens with a dedication to the fallen crew of the Challenger space shuttle.  The shuttle exploded in January of 1986, killing all seven aboard.
• In the movie, Chekov and Uhura sneak onto an aircraft carrier identified within the story as the USS Enterprise.  In truth, the USS Ranger was the vessel ("wessel" per Chekov) used in filming.  The Enterprise was at sea at the time and wouldn't have been available anyway as access to nuclear carriers was severely restricted.

Food notes

• Kirk's reaction to beer is precious.  I would have suggested something other than Michelob.

via Tenor, mislabeled as McCoy on the site

 Literary notes

• I am now curious about The Mutiny on the Bounty after Kirk renamed their stolen Klingon ship HMS Bounty.

Music notes

• The score was composed by Leonard Rosenman, a friend of Leonard Nimoy's, after James Horner declined to return.  Rosenman had already won two Oscars and two Emmys.  The Voyage Home brought his fourth Oscar nomination.  

• While on a city bus, Spock Vulcan-pinches a punk rocker when he refuses to turn down his music, much to the delight of the other bus occupants.  The song is called "I Hate You."  It was written overnight by Associate Producer Kirk Thatcher.  He formed a one-off punk band with a few production crew members called The Edge of Etiquette.

My ranking of the movies so far:

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
4. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Squid Flicks: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Title: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Original Release: 1984
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

With the third Star Trek feature film, the Project Genesis story arc continues.  The Enterprise crew returns to port with heavy hearts.  Their beloved comrade Spock is gone.  To make matters worse, something's wrong with Dr. McCoy.  It would seem that through a last-minute mind meld before his death, Spock managed to preserve his own living essence in Bones's brain and the effect on the good doctor is unsettling to say the least.  A visit from Sarek, Spock's father played by our old friend Mark Lenard, clarifies the course of action: retrieve Spock's body from the Genesis planet, then bring both Spock and McCoy to Vulcan in order to resolve the matter.  Starfleet won't approve the mission.  Wouldn't make for much of a movie if our friends let them stop them, now, would it?

Meanwhile, the Klingons have learned of Genesis and want the tech for themselves, craving its destructive power.  When Saavik (now played by Robin Curtis) and David Marcus descend to the Genesis planet in order to investigate animal life signs, they discover a resurrected Spock, now a small boy.  Unfortunately, all three are soon captured by the Klingons and David is killed.

As with The Motion Picture, I enjoyed The Search for Spock a lot more than I did when I first watched it back in the '80s.  However, in trying to correct the great injustices from The Wrath of Khan, the story generates as many new questions as answers.  I have two main issues with the story, one small, one enormous.  Let's tackle the small one first...

Kirk and his friends essentially commit mutiny when they steal the Enterprise out of dock to retrieve Spock.  To boot, Scotty sabotages the Excelsior, the Federation ship likely to run after them.  Obviously, we as the audience want our heroes to succeed but it feels icky ethically and, perhaps worse, anti-Trek.

Interestingly, there is precedent for this sort of behavior in the Star Trek canon.  In "The Menagerie," TOS's only 2-part story, Spock kidnaps Christopher Pike, his former commanding officer, hijacks the Enterprise and sets course for Talos IV, forbidden territory.  He risks not only court martial but execution.  By tale's end, he is found to have acted out of loyalty to Pike and is exonerated.  With one more movie to go in our current story arc, we don't yet know what consequences may be waiting for Kirk and company but we do know there is precedence for forgiveness.

The bigger issue is far more complicated: Spock's resurrection.  I can attest to the fact that at the time, the fans were happy to have him back.  Trek, at least at that point, was inconceivable without him.  30+ years on, with five spin-off series and counting plus movies and a mini-series without him as a principal character, we know the broader concept thrives beyond Spock.  But for the original cast of characters, he was essential.  That was the scary part of losing him at the end of Khan: was Star Trek finished?

Anyone who follows comic books, sci-fi, fantasy or soap operas is fully aware that you can never assume a character is permanently dead.  Even so, the "science" that brings back Spock is awfully sketchy.  I have less complaint over the Vulcan spiritual side of things.  Religion, after all, is the natural realm for such matters.  I suppose we can write off the science problems by stating that the full capacity of the Genesis tech was not fully understood - David suggests as much.  But why didn't Spock's rapid aging continue?  Were the Genesis affects lessened once Spock was off-planet or is Vulcan medicine just that good?  And why couldn't David's life be salvaged similarly?  Was it too late in the planet's own life cycle to be of any help?  What a shame that Saavik didn't think to mind meld with him in time!

It's fiction.  I can live with suspension of disbelief.  But it makes a guy think.

David's death and the destruction of the Enterprise - did I forget to mention that bit? - were intended as the big emotional impact moments for the movie.  David's death is certainly sad and Kirk takes it hard.  The effect on the audience would have been more profound, I think, with more development devoted to the character and his relationship with Kirk.

As for the ship, it just doesn't seem that big a deal now.  Mind you, it was startling at the time but hardly Spock-death shattering.  A ship is an inanimate object - important symbolically, sure, but ships can be rebuilt.  Obviously we know all these years later that there will be other, better Enterprise starships to come.  It's a moment with greater in-story impact than it has on the audience.


Trekkie treats

• While The Search is not the best Trek movie, it does contain the saga's best Bones-Spock story.  The scene when Bones confesses his feelings of loss to an unconscious Spock is genuinely touching - perhaps the story's sweetest moment.
• I appreciate the fact that the damage to the lift door on the bridge of the Enterprise was maintained from the end of Wrath of Khan - the smallest details can be the most meaningful.
• There are Tribbles on a table at the bar on the spacedock! 

Real world topical notes

• Kudos for taking on both scientific ethics and the weapons of mass destruction crisis in the Project Genesis story.

Actor notes

• Kirstie Alley was not so enamored of Star Trek that she was willing to sign on as Saavik for the sequel.  She was worried about being typecast.  She was probably wise to see that her brighter future was in comedy.  Apparently, the woman is genuinely crazy funny.  Robin Curtis, another relative newcomer but one with a fortuitous friendship with the casting director at Paramount, won the role. 

Robin Curtis via Memory Alpha

Kruge via Memory Alpha

Doc Brown via Wikipedia

• Two of the Klingons might seem familiar to television and sci-fi fans.  Christopher Lloyd won the part of Kruge, the leader of the Klingon band, over Nimoy's original choice, Edward James Olmos.  Already famous for his role on Taxi, Lloyd was still a year away from his career-cementing role: Doc Brown in Back to the Future.  Less well-known in 1984 was John Larroquette who played the part of Maltz, Kruge's right-hand man.  Night Court, on which Larroquette played the sleazy Dan Fielding, finished its first season the night before The Search for Spock opened in theaters.  Larroquette has since won five Emmys and a Tony.

Maltz via Memory Alpha

Dan via Night Court Wiki

Music notes

• James Horner returned for The Search for Spock.  The title theme, borrowing heavily from the Spock theme he had composed for Khan:

My ranking of the movies so far:

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
3. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Squid Flicks: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Title: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Original Release: 1982
My Overall Rating: 5 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

While the first Star Trek feature film raked in nine figures at the box office, production came in way over budget.  A sequel was inevitable but Gene Roddenberry was forced out of creative control.  Whether that was the correct choice or not, the resulting movie was outstanding.  The Wrath of Khan is widely regarded as the finest Trek film of all.  I will go a step further: this is the best installment for the original characters period, television series included.  It's not a slam dunk winner but it's definitely in the conversation.  More on that in a bit.

There will be spoilers.  I think at 37 years, we're past the statute of limitations.

While leading a training mission, Admiral Kirk receives a message from Carol Marcus (Bibi Bisch), lead scientist on Project Genesis, a technology capable of generating life on a barren planet.  She is also, we learn, his ex-girlfriend and a significant one at that.  She is royally pissed off with him at the moment.  Kirk has no idea why but we, the audience, do.  Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), an old nemesis from TOS episode "Space Seed," has kidnapped Chekov and his current captain, Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield).  Khan is using his captives to manipulate Marcus into believing Starfleet is coming for her tech.  Kirk leads his Enterprise crew to go sort matters out with Marcus, not realizing he's walking into Khan's trap.

So, why is this movie the best one?  In order to address that, we have to acknowledge the narrative elephant in the room: Spock dies.  It is probably the most poignant moment in the entire franchise.  Many of the tech crew, including the cinematographer, were in tears during filming of the scene.  It's such a big deal that one easily forgets the other major bomb drop: James T. Kirk has a child!  Carol raised their son David (Merritt Butrick), now an adult scientist working by her side, on her own.  Those two elements alone put The Wrath of Khan in exclusive company among Star Trek's most significant stories.  But they're not the only reasons.

Placing Khan above the first movie is relatively straight forward.  In addition to shifting creative control, Paramount Pictures insisted on a smaller budget for the sequel.  The special effects aren't nearly as slick and the sets and overall production quality feel more like a television show than an early '80s sci-fi cinema classic.  As a result, it's more like Star Trek and that's a wonderful thing.  Less is more.  21st century filmmakers, take note!

More importantly, the script is several strata above the first one.  Give due credit to the editors as well.  This material is significantly kinder to Kirk.  He still has to make a case to lead the Enterprise as the job is beneath his official rank but he does so with reluctance rather than arrogance.  A story doesn't always require a likeable protagonist to be compelling - see Don Draper, Mad Men - but a Star Trek story does.  The hero can have flaws, and Kirk certainly does.  Who better than your best friends, your ex-girlfriend and your adult son to lay them out plainly for you?  But we have to root for his success.  I wanted to see Kirk get his comeuppance in the first movie.  In the second, I long to see his redemption.  Big difference.

Ricardo Montalbán deserves mad props as well.  Even with the death of Spock to compete with, Khan nearly steals the show.  Kirk is always at his best when sparring with a nemesis.  Khan is not my all-time favorite.  I prefer Mark Lenard's Romulan commander in "Balance of Terror."  But Montalbán's presence far outweighs his screen time.  And those pecs are real, folks.  Mr. Roarke was buff!

via Memory Beta

The emotional impact of The Wrath of Khan depends on investment in character and a significant debt is owed to stories past.  "City on the Edge of Forever," "Mirror, Mirror" and "Balance of Terror" are all strong consensus contenders for best TOS episode.  I'd throw my personal favorite "Journey to Babel" in there, too, especially for Spock development.  "Space Seed" ain't half-bad either.  Khan brings together so much of the best of Trek.  Indeed, there are strains of "Balance of Terror" in the submarine-like battle between Kirk and Khan.  I would never be one to downplay the importance of the journey and the combined effect of Spock's death and David's forgiveness are only enhanced by what has come before.  Nonetheless, the terrible and delicious feeling of "where on earth do we go from here?" at the end of Khan is new and exclusive territory for the overall Trek saga.  It's not a "Vader is Luke's father" level cliffhanger but it's still damn good.

Story notes

• Much has been made over the years of a perceived continuity error.  Khan instantly recognizes Chekov (Walter Koenig) upon encountering him at the beginning of the movie.  The problem: Koenig didn't join the Trek cast until Season 2 of TOS and "Space Seed" is a Season 1 episode.  Out-of-canon efforts have been made to rectify the contradiction.  The novel To Reign in Hell establishes Chekov as a security officer at the time of the episode.  Koenig's own explanation is the funniest: Chekov was an off-camera character who stayed in the bathroom too long while Khan was waiting.

Acting notes

• For Kirstie Alley, the role of Saavik was a dream come true.  She was a devoted Trekkie as a child, going to bed wearing Vulcan ears.  To be sure, she earned greater long-term fame as Rebecca Howe on Cheers but the Trek gig was a meaningful breakthrough.

via Memory Alpha

 
Food notes

• Early in the story, Bones brings Kirk a bottle of Romulan ale as a birthday gift, the first canon appearance for the beverage or at least the first to be named as such.  There are blue drinks on the Romulan table in TOS's "The Enterprise Incident."   Naturally, there have been real-world attempts to produce and market the drink, including this recipe.

Literary notes

• This latest rewatch has sparked my interest in the two 19th-century classics quoted in the dialogue: Melville's Moby Dick invoked by Khan and Dickens' Tale of Two Cities by Kirk.

Music notes

• James Horner has composed well over 100 film scores and Khan was his big breakthrough.  He is probably the most successful score composer of the era not named John Williams.  His work is more conventional than Jerry Goldsmith's so this is actually one area where I give The Motion Picture the edge.  Still, Khan's music is effective, particularly the homage to the original series in the opening credits and the strains of "Amazing Grace" at the end.

• How do you make the saga's most emotionally poignant moment even more heartbreaking?  You put Scotty on bagpipes.  

Upcoming events

• Like The Motion Picture,  The Wrath of Khan may also be coming to a big screen near you, though with a more glamorous presentation.  William Shatner himself is touring with the film, including promises of audience Q&A.  He'll be at the Flynn in Burlington in January.   I doubt we'll go as tickets aren't cheap but I'll be grateful for a report back if anyone else sees him.  We went to a similar John Cleese-led presentation of Holy Grail a couple years ago and enjoyed it immensely.

I grant George Costanza the last word:

Squid Flicks: Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Title: Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Director: Richard Wise
Original Release: 1979
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

The five years in between the end of Star Trek's animated series (1974) and the release of the franchise's first feature film (1979) were eventful in science fiction.  Two new voices were in ascendance: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.  1977 was the big year, seeing the release of two of the most important movies of the entire genre: Lucas's Star Wars and Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  Surely there was room for the Star Trek film Gene Roddenberry had been pitching for years.

A malicious energy cloud is approaching Earth.  The Enterprise and her crew must race to intercept.  The ship is not quite ready for prime time but the mission can't wait.

The old band is back together, though not without some effort. Kirk, now an admiral with a desk job at HQ, must work his connections to win command of the Enterprise away from a young upstart, Captain Willard Decker (Stephen Collins).  Doctor McCoy, gloriously attired in Bee Gees jumpsuit and medallion, is brought reluctantly out of retirement to join the fun.  Spock takes a break from his emotional purging ritual on Vulcan to do so as well.  With Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, now-Dr. Chapel and even Janice Rand already on board, the adventure can officially begin.

via Memory Alpha

In addition to Decker is another new principal: navigator Ilia from Delta IV, performed by Persis Khambatta - one of the most devastatingly beautiful women in the history of cinema.  Yes, I realize that's no small claim.  No hyperbole on my end.  From her first appearance on the bridge, it is clear that she and Decker have a complicated past and a deep mutual affection.

The first Trek movie has been much panned ever since, especially in comparison with the more successful Wrath of Khan sequel that followed in 1982.  I will admit that I didn't care for The Motion Picture myself when I first watched it on VHS late one night back in the '80s.  In fact, that was the only time I'd watched it before this summer.  I had the same issues most critics did: too slow; too much talk, not enough action; long stretches with no dialogue, etc.

However, I definitely enjoyed it a lot more this time.  It's still in desperate need of thoughtful editing.  The too long shots of astonished crew members staring at the view screen could easily be removed to no ill effect on the narrative.  But I wasn't as bothered by the slow pace.  The main reason: I know Trek a lot better now.  Back in the day, I was thoroughly Star Wars devoted and it was years (decades?) before I fully appreciated Trek's different approach.  Ethical dilemma is the heart of Trek, often resolved without a single phaser shot.  Between them, Bones and Spock still provide Kirk's moral compass.  The hostile antagonist is still met with an impulse to understand rather than destroy.  Maybe the story is too long and too slow.  But it's still Trek.  I love Trek.

Even harsh critics concede the visual impact of the film.  One scene that has stayed with me all these years is the long, lingering view we get of the outside of the Enterprise as Kirk and Scotty approach it for the first time.  Despite four decades of special effects advancement since, that sequence is still just as impressive to me.

Beyond the broad strokes, there is so much for a geek to enjoy:

• We have visited the work of screenwriter Alan Dean Foster here at The Squid before:
•  Original Star Wars novelization
• The first Expanded Universe Star Wars novel: Splinter of the Mind's Eye
• I did not realize until this viewing that the opening theme music for Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) was originally used for The Motion Picture.  Jerry Goldsmith's score is excellent throughout.  The film began an association between Goldsmith and Trek that lasted until 2002. 

• The film marks the first use of the spoken Klingon language, invented by producer Jon Povill and - wouldn't you know it? - James Doohan aka Scotty.
• The other scene that has stayed with me all these years is the transporter accident.  The response from HQ afterwards is one of the most chilling lines of the whole franchise: "Enterprise, what we got back... didn't live long... fortunately."  Even in the 23rd century, space travel is still fraught with peril.
• As Decker provides a tour of the ship for the V'Ger probe, he shows her a display, noting: "All these vessels were called 'Enterprise,'" including the space shuttle.  The Enterprise shuttle makes many cameos throughout the Trek canon, actually.  Originally, NASA's prototype shuttle was to be called Constitution but a massive letter writing campaign to President Ford convinced them to name it after the Trek vessel.
• Decker's first encounter with Ilia is remarkably similar to another Will's first encounter with Deanna Troi on a later version of the Enterprise.  Intentional?

The Spock character comes into his own in the Trek films, particularly the first three.   Kirk and Bones are much as we left them but Spock continues to evolve.  We have our first glimpse of him on Vulcan (always a treat) at what would seem to be the end of his Kolinahr ceremony.  The Enterprise mission, once he joins it, is clearly linked to his own inner journey.  Ultimately, the narrative pieces fall together once he is able to connect with his human side.  And isn't that always so?

Unfortunately in the first movie, this development comes at the price of Kirk's.  Shatner is partly to blame.  His tendency to over-act doesn't bother me in the original series but here it does.  The writers didn't do him any favors.  With so much dead air, he seeks to fill the void and he is never the actor to see less as more.  His usurping of Decker is off-putting.  I'm sure that as audience, we're supposed to want to see "our man" back at the helm but frankly, he comes off as an asshole. 

I watched on Tubi, a streaming channel I'd never heard of before - completely free as long as you don't mind sitting through occasional commercial breaks.  40 years later, The Motion Picture is coming to a theater near you!  If you have a theater in your area that carries Fathom Events (they're the ones who carry Met simulcasts among other exciting things), The Motion Picture is being screened on September 15th and 18th.  I don't know if I'll make it but it's certainly going on the calendar.