MovieChat Forums > Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Discussion > A big-scale episode of the television s...

A big-scale episode of the television series

posted 8 years ago by ToshJank
12 replies | jump to latest

The Motion Picture is, on several levels, a big budget, big-scale episode of the television series. The trick when adapting a show like Star Trek to the silver screen is to pay respects, and preferably adhere, to the spirit of the source material whilst providing general movie going patrons reason enough to spend two hours in the theatre with the crew of the Enterprise. On the whole, Robert Wise’s picture is a serviceable, occasionally inspiring cinematic rendition of the 60s series. What it lacks, to a degree, in thematic pathos, it makes up for in characterizations. The planetoid gas-like entity, eventually known as ‘V Ger’, is an appropriately threatening menace, albeit one that doesn’t inspire much that relates to modern society, unlike so many antagonists from the show. http://www.cutprintfilm.com/features/star-trek-retrospective/

[–] stevewyzard (1742) 2 years ago

Very well said!

Starting with The Wrath of Khan, the series became "popcorn flick" fodder.

[–] pjl69 (2647) 2 years ago

That's funny, I always felt that Wrath of Khan was just an expanded tv series episode, unlike TMP.

[–] bozo_500 (13379) 2 years ago

Its basically a mash up of several episodes (with the big reunion thing beginning) : The main being The Changeling/Nomad but also elements of Corbomite Maneuver, Doomsday Machine, Immunity Syndrome, Obsession ..

[–] rateater (10241) a year ago

i bought it for myself for christmas. gonna watch it. looking forward to some sleepy, 70s scifi. haven't seen it since a teenager on wpix 11.

[–] Enigmaticocean77 (2490) a year ago

I recently came across an old VHS tape with tons of episodes of Star Trek (TOS) complete with commercials. It was taped off of WPIX! The tape is from sometime in the 1980s.

[–] rateater (10241) a year ago

nice. saw some of the best stuff on that channel.

[–] Enigmaticocean77 (2490) a year ago

Yeah, me too.

I wish it was still like it was back then. For the last two decades I only turn on WPIX twice a year. Once on Thanksgiving in order to watch March of the Wooden Soldiers along with their annual Honeymooners marathon and then again on Christmas in order to watch March of the Wooden Soldiers again.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6543) a year ago

Yes, because Roddenberry was a TV writer and didn't really understand how to write for the big screen. Wise did, but didn't really understand Star Trek. He had never even watched an episode.

[–] DarthAckbar (2308) a year ago

Neither of those two wrote this story or screenplay.

[–] thingmakersback (1442) a year ago

Yeah, but Roddenberry had complete control and the screenplay is mostly his... fault.
I still love TMP but it almost killed Star Trek, leading to the popcorn and space battles of the following films. And, I love The Wrath of Khan too, but it is immensely stupid and, as a reaction to TMP, it's the origin point for what followed - red uniforms and retro militarism, FTL starships dueling at a few hundred yards and apparent abandonment of any scientific advisors.

[–] bozo_500 (13379) a year ago

Your description of Star Trek II makes me want to watch it again

[–] [email protected] (6237) a month ago

And he wasn’t even that good of a writer.🙄
Don’t get me wrong. I loved Trek and he created it. But Roddenberry was more of an “idea man”. He came up with a great idea but it was other writers such as Gene Coon, D.C. Fontana, etc, who created great scripts and fleshed out the characters.