A Brief Guide to Star Trek

popular
Star Trek
film to date,
The Voyage Home
. Now, after William Shatner’s encounter with God in
The Final Frontier
had proved to be something of a damp squib, the producers turned to a tried and tested storyteller: Nicholas Meyer was once more seen as the only man who could save
Star Trek
.
    In 1991,
Star Trek
’s twenty-fifth anniversary was looming, so Paramount wanted something special. Harve Bennett had once more touted his long-cherished idea for a Starfleet Academy movie (dubbed by detractors and supporters alike as ‘
Top Gun
in space’), only for it to be dismissed once again in the face of a hostile reception for the idea from
Star Trek
fans and the (no doubt self-interested) cast of the current movie series. The rejection of his idea for the second time resulted in Bennett quitting the
Star Trek
films and withdrawing from the role of producer on
Star Trek VI
.
    Instead, the successful idea for
Star Trek VI
came from Leonard Nimoy, who – as he had done with
The Voyage Home
– suggested that the film should take its theme from contemporary political or social issues, reflecting the often successful gambit of
The Original Series
. In response to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, Nimoy asked, ‘What would happen if the Wall came down in space?’ To this were added aspects of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, recrafted as the environmentally devastating destruction of the Klingon moon Praxis. This event throws the Klingon Empire into turmoil, resulting in the prospect of a peace treaty with the United Federation of Planets. However, other factions are at work that will use assassination to prevent the peace from happening in a bid to further their own aims. The story puts the safety of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) in the hands of Kirk, whose son was killed by Klingons in
The Search for Spock
.
    The Paramount studio executives had one proviso forwriter–director Meyer: this sixth movie should serve as a swan song for the original
Star Trek
television cast, who were now considered too old to front an action-adventure movie franchise. Meyer brought in Denny Martin Flinn to co-write the screenplay, deliberately layering in those contemporary political references. The Cold War and Chernobyl aspects made sense, thought Meyer, as the Klingons had always been
Star Trek
’s stand-ins for the Russians. The assassination plot was felt suitable, as leaders who sue for peace (as Chancellor Gorkon – modelled on Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev – would do) often found themselves attacked by their own side (or others) serving their own entrenched self-interests.
    To keep costs down, much of the film was shot on the
Enterprise
sets then in use by
The Next Generation
TV series, redressed and lit differently for the film. Because many of Paramount’s studio stages were also in heavy use at the time of the film’s production, much of the movie would be shot on location around Los Angeles. Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley all agreed to cuts in their respective fees to keep the budget low, opting instead to be paid from the film’s net profits.
    Once again, as with so many of the films in the
Star Trek
series after
The Motion Picture
, Gene Roddenberry disapproved of
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
(using the title Meyer had originally intended for
The Wrath of Khan
). He and Nicholas Meyer had a fundamentally different take on the future as depicted in
Star Trek
. While Roddenberry had long spoken of an idealistic future where bigotry and prejudice did not exist, Meyer believed such traits – often the basis of dramatic conflict needed in good storytelling – would never be eliminated from human nature. Even though Roddenberry was revered as the Great Bird of the Galaxy and
Star Trek’s
originator, long-standing fans enjoyed and approved of much of Meyer’s fresh take on Roddenberry’s creation. Of the six original
Star Trek
movies,
The Wrath of Khan
,
The Voyage Home
and
The Undiscovered Country
are widely regarded as the best, and all featured the heavy involvement of natural storyteller Nicholas Meyer.
    Released on 6 December 1991,
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
opened to another record-breaking weekend for the
Star Trek
series, taking $18 million at the box office. The film went on to gross $74.8 million in the US, totalling a worldwide take of $96.8 million overall. It was a significant improvement over the dismal
The Final Frontier
,