MovieChat Forums > Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Discussion > "Universe" or "Galaxy"?

"Universe" or "Galaxy"?

posted 8 years ago by magolding-94772
5 replies | jump to latest

I request information from board members with access to the various versions of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

The IMDB FAQ for Star Trek: The Motion Picture says:

There are three different versions of the movie. First of all there's the original theatrical version, released in 1979, which ran for 132 minutes. In 1983, another version was created for television screenings, which ran for 143 minutes as several scenes wered added in addition to the theatrical version. You can see which scenes were added at here. Finally, in 2001, director Robert Wise supervised a new "Director's Cut" which ran for 136 minutes and included new digital effects and improved sound, though it edited out some of the footage that was seen in the previous two versions. A detailed comparison with pictures can be found here.

So there are three different versions of Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

It is possible that future English might have words for different sizes of outer space than modern English does, just as modern English has more computer related words or Astronomy related words than Shakespeare's English. In modern English the only commonly used (and often misused) phrases are "solar system", "galaxy", and "universe". It is possible that Star Trek era English may have words for intermediate sizes of space between a solar system and a galaxy, and between a galaxy and the entire universe.

In Star Trek: The motion Picture I remember Kirk saying that after the Voyager Six probe fell into a black hole it emerged "on the far side of the Universe". There are a lot of problems with the concept of the far side of the universe. So maybe in a revised version Kirk's line was redone, because the transcript says:

DECKER: Voyager VI ...disappeared into what they used to call a black hole.
KIRK: It must have emerged sometime on the far side of the Galaxy and fell into the machine's planet's gravitational field

http://www.chakoteya.net/movies/movie1.html

I don't know which version or versions were used by Chakoteya.net for that transcript.

The thought has occurred to me that whatever Kirk said might have referred to the far side of something else - like possibly the Virgo Supercluster or the Gould Belt - and it was mistranslated into modern English as galaxy and/or universe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_Supercluster

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gould_Belt

So do people who have copies of the 1979 version, the TV version, and the revised Director's cut know if their versions have Kirk say "the far side of the Universe" or "the far side of the galaxy", or something else?

[–] magolding-94772 8 years ago

These sites have clips where Kirk says "The far side of the galaxy".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkDF3Kufh6c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ikHoBKVlCA

For many years I thought Kirk said "The far side of the universe" and thought how wrong that was and how it made much more sense to say "The far side of the galaxy".

If Kirk always said "The far side of the galaxy" in every version of the movie then there is no need for me to argue why "The far side of the galaxy" makes a lot more sense than "The far side of the universe". But if there are versions of the movie where Kirk says "The far side of the universe" then there will be need to demonstrate why "The far side of the galaxy" makes a lot more sense than "The far side of the universe".

[–] hjones7 8 years ago

Galaxy

[–] magolding-94772 8 years ago

Memory Alpha Voyager 6 article says:

During its mission, Voyager 6 disappeared into what was once called a black hole (see V'ger), emerging on the other side of the galaxy, where it fell into the gravitational field of a planet populated by a race of living machines.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Voyager_6

V'ger article says:

V'ger had an extraordinary ability to evolve. It was discovered that the evolution of this once simple probe into a complex, powerful entity began after it was pulled into an anomaly once called a black hole shortly after leaving Earth's solar system.

Voyager 6 emerged from the anomaly in what was believed to have been the far side of the galaxy, and fell into the gravitational field of a planet populated by living machines. These beings found Voyager 6 damaged by its travels, and the identifying plaque attached to the probe's exterior had been burned leaving only the letters V, G, E, and R legible; the inhabitants of the machine planet called the probe V'ger.

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/V'ger?file=V%27ger_concept_art_(1).jpg

I believe that it makes much more sense for Voyager 6 to have emerged on the far side of the galaxy instead of the universe. If the movie always said the far side of the galaxy there will be no need for me to convince people that it was the far side of the galaxy.

But I don't want to assume that the movie always said the far side of the galaxy. I need to know whether every version says the far side of the galaxy.

[–] graham-167 8 years ago

I checked my copy, which is the original theatrical version. It says "Far side of the galaxy."

I also checked the director's cut, which also says "Far side of the galaxy."

I don't have the TV version to check.

--
If I could stop a rapist from raping a child I would. That's the difference between me and god.

[–] magolding-94772 8 years ago

Thank you.

I am told the novelization also says the far side of the galaxy.

It seems like my memory of Kirk saying the far side of the universe is probably a false memory.