1982-86: Star Trek: The Film Series

Between the period of 1982-1986, three different movies were launched. They are: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and Star Trek IV: The Voyager Home. The three are a trilogy that completes a story arc.

The first movie in the series featured the return of one of the best villains of Star Trek: Khan Noonian Singn, played ably by Ricardo Montalban (both in original episode and now). In the end, Spock sacrificed himself to save the ship.

The special effects in ST2:TWOK was done by Industrial Light and Magic, THE special effects house of Hollywood, and it was excellent. Of course, many fans felt that special effects did not make up for Spock's death. When Leonard Nimoy was announced as next movie's director, few suspected that it will feature Spock's return...

The third Star Trek movie is titled: Search for Spock, and that's exactly what it is: rediscovery of Spock, and what Kirk and crew would do for their friend. Turns out the Genesis planet have somehow revived Spock, but there's a Klingon ship there, hoping to possess the power of Genesis... In the end, Kirk lost his ship, but they got Spock.

The fourth movie, The Voyage Home, means more than the title. A giant space probe approached Earth and crippled all Earth defenses. In the meanwhile, a recovered Spock is to return to Earth with the crew to face whatever punishments they will receive, but upon returning, they found the probe menacing earth. Spock was able to determine that the probe is attempting to communicate with humpback whales, which has been long extinct. Kirk now has a plan: travel back in time and bring back some humpback whales...

Star Trek IV had the crew travel into then present 1986, and in many ways the title are fitting in many different ways. The crew actually got a new ship at the end: NCC-1701-A USS ENTERPRISE, and Kirk was demoted to Captain, some thing he always wanted. The interaction among the crew as well as the spirit of Star Trek are intact, and ST4:TVH is generally regarded as one of the best Star Trek movies ever.

In the meanwhile, Gene is not sitting idle. Paramount announced a new Star Trek series to be launched into syndication market in 1987, starring a new crew and a new starship, occurring 100 years after the original Star Trek. Some fans are delighted for new prospects of adventure, while others wondered can Star Trek without the original series stars still be Star Trek?

 

To learn more

Star Trek Movie Universe, linked in Classic Trek

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Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Motion Picture