Why I love Star Trek so much.

I went to see Avengers: Age of Ultron the other night and while it was an epic tale full of camaraderie, action, and some laughs, and while I immensely enjoyed it, I came away feeling like I had seen just another movie. I knew that at home I had a half-finished Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode waiting for me. I wanted to get home to finish it.
And I started thinking. Why don't I like Marvel films and why don't I like Doctor Who as much as I feel I should? Being a part of the Marvel fandom or the Doctor Who fandom or the Sherlock fandom or the Supernatural fandom is all the rage right now. And I do enjoy Marvel films and I do enjoy Doctor Who. So why am I gravitating more and more towards Star Trek?
And I think I've begun to figure it out. I've begun to figure out why I consider Star Trek so infinitely superior as opposed to the better made, currently popular movies and television shows.
It's because Star Trek is about hope for the future.
The Marvel movies (which are superhero tales, for those unfamiliar with Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc. etc. etc.) and Doctor Who rely on the plot that humans and earth will continue to mess things up, or things will continue to mess humans and earth up. Humans and earth need help getting out of these sticky situations and that's where the superheroes or the time-traveling Doctor come in.
In Star Trek, there is hope for a mostly peaceful future. The Klingons, Cardassians, Romulans, and the Dominion may spark some contention, but that's realistic. There has always been war and there always will be war. But war always ends, too. In Marvel films and Doctor Who, however, there is a new threat to earth every week and the only people capable of saving earth are the superheroes or the time-traveling aliens.

Star Trek is Gene Roddenberry's vision that humans can choose to become better people and, in that way, save the earth themselves, instead of relying on superhumans.

Star Trek is about searching for betterment, searching for knowledge, searching for equality. Star Trek shows us that a better future exists, if people would just choose it. Instead of waiting around for a group of sueprhumans or an alien to come save earth, Star Trek shows that any and all humans can make an impact, not just the sidekicks and companions, specially chosen by the superhumans and alien.

Nearly every Star Trek episode contains some moral or social lesson to learn. In The Original Series there are many, many episodes that cleverly disguise these lessons in the guise of science fiction. It is easy to figure out the metaphor and apply the lesson to terrestrial life.
"It gave me a set of values...to be an ethical person was to behave as these men did, as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy did; they wrestled with issues and they had enormous empathy for other people, for people who thought differently than they did." -Ronald D. Moore, writer for Star Trek.
Star Trek has a strong moral compass, many of the characters have integrity and know what's right; they struggle with right and wrong and they face the consequences of wrong actions. In many modern movies, such as Avenegers: Age of Ultron, the characters don't face the consequences of their actions. One of my pet peeves in movies is when the characters destroy a city in a car chase (see National Treasure 2) or in a giant battle (see the two Avengers films) and then NEVER stay around to clean up the mess! Who is paying for all of the damage the characters caused? When consequences are addressed, it is usually in one or two sentences and the main characters usually do not face any ramifications or any regret or guilt. In Star Trek, consequences are addressed. Characters face regret and guilt and they grow from it and become better people.

Perhaps this makes Star Trek less exciting than some shows. Perhaps to some it is boring, it is too "intelligent." (Fun fact: the first Star Trek pilot "The Cage" was deemed "too intelligent" by the people reviewing it and Gene Roddenberry had to go back and do another pilot. The only character who got transferred from the first to the second pilot was a certain alien by the name of Spock.) Special effects (especially for The Original Series and the first few seasons of The Next Generation) are certainly cheesy and definitely not as high tech as stuff today (although, personally, I prefer older special effects to newer special effects because more of it was real—it wasn't all computer generated). But Star Trek discusses important topics. And Star Trek has fantastic plots. And Star Trek has wonderfully real characters who change and grow; you really get to know them (for example, I can name twenty Deep Space Nine character who could be classified as "main." Even before I started rewatching Deep Space Nine, I could remember each and every one of these characters because they were so memorable and well-done). And Star Trek has great humor. And Star Trek does have epic space battles (again, I mention Deep Space Nine, when they enter the Dominion War).

This is why I love Star Trek. The plots, the characters, the humor, the action, the relationships, the philosophy, the ethics. All these elements are perfectly balanced. That is what makes Star Trek such an incredible, incredible show. That is why fans have gathered for forty years at conventions to discuss Trek, buy and sell Trek, dress Trek, and see Trek actors. That is why Star Trek has lasted nearly fifty years (next year is anniversary year!).
That is why Star Trek is my favorite television show.

In life, he lived long and he prospered.

Leonard Nimoy died this morning.

Best known and loved for playing Mr. Spock on Star Trek, Leonard Nimoy was also a director, a musician (to some degree), and a writer. He was born in 1931 and lived 83 years. He was a proficient smoker when he was younger, but in recent years has spoken out against smoking. It was what eventually killed him, for it gave him chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

He played Mr. Spock for nearly 50 years. He starred in Star Trek The Original Series, and is the third lead actor to die (the others being Jimmy Doohan, who played Scotty, and DeForest Kelley, who played Dr. McCoy). Out of all the old actors and musicians I love, I didn't think Leonard Nimoy would be the first to die.

He has become a legend in Geekdom. Not only did he play one of the most iconic characters on television, but he also sang one of the geekiest songs out there:

In addition to acting in Star Trek The Original Series, Leonard Nimoy acted in seven of the twelve Star Trek films, and guest starred in Star Trek The Next Generation. He also directed two of the Star Trek films. To learn more about Leonard Nimoy's life and accomplishments, read this article by Star Trek.com.

His acting career has spanned many, many television shows and movies.

And he had a winning smile.

I'm wearing the appropriate color to choir today:

There's only one thing left to say:

Christmastime is here...

We finally dug out the ornaments and decorated the house, the tree, and the dog today!

Here's the first ornament that went on the tree:

 

Sad dog:

"Why do you do this to me?"

And now I'm watching Star Trek Deep Space Nine... while my mom watches Star Trek The Next Generation...

Oh yeah, family bonding time.

Some Christmas Cheer from Star Trek

Ten Reasons why we love Worf from Star Trek.

But first a mini biography.

Worf was born into the house of Mogh on the Klingon homeworld. When he was six, Worf's parents were killed in an attack by Romulans. A Federation Starship answered the Klingon's distress call and Worf was adopted by a Russian couple who raised him.
Worf became the first Klingon in Starfleet and was eventually posted on the U.S.S. Enterprise-D where we meet him in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is security chief for most of the show. Later in his career, while taking an extended leave from Starfleet, Worf was called to Deep Space Nine to act as a liaison between Starfleet, the Klingons, and the Cardassians, whom the Klingons had attacked. Eventually, he stayed on Deep Space Nine.

And now, Ten Reasons why we love Worf.

10. For complimenting Major Kira.
Julian: ...and Major Kira Nerys, our first officer.
O'Brien: *giggles*
Worf: Nice hat.
Kira: I don't normally dress like this.

9. For (sort of) tolerating Lwaxanna Troi's mispronunciation of his name.

8. For teaching Wesley Crusher about Klingon courtship methods.

 

7.

6.

5.

4. For helping Keiko O'Brien to give birth.
"Congratulations, you are fully dilated. You may now give birth."

3. Because instead of drinking Blood Wine like any other Klingon, Worf drinks prune juice. "It is a warrior's drink."

2. For killing Ole' Googly Eyes.

(No, that's not the moment of death. That's what Chancellor Gowron looks like normally.)

1. Because even though he's the biggest guy on the Enterprise bridge - and a fierce Klingon warrior to boot - he seems to be beat up by EVERYBODY (but especially Counselor Troi).

And also because he gets constantly denied when he makes suggestions. So much so that someone made a 15 minute video of people just saying "no" to Worf.


Bonus: For taking care of Data's cat.

Qapla'!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, season 1, episode 1, Emissary.

One of my new year's "resolutions" was to rewatch Star Trek's third incarnation of the series... Deep Space Nine. It was kind of a half-series half-joking goal. If I had time, I'd watch it. Well, I watched the first episode. And I figured, if I'm going to watch it, I may as well review each episode!
So I present to you... the first episode of Deep Space Nine: Emissary. (A warning: this summary will most likely be very long, since this is the first episode, and characters and plot must be established.)

Summary: On Stardate 43997, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise was kidnapped for six days by an invading force known as the Borg. Surgically altered, he was forced to lead an assault on Starfleet at Wolf 359...
Commander Benjamin Sisko was aboard the U.S.S. Saratoga, one of 39 out of 40 ships that didn't make it through Wolf 359. When the bridge is hit by a Borg beam, Commander Sisko must take over command - the captain is dead. The warp core breaches and Sisko orders evacuation. He goes to his quarters to find his family... His young son Jake is alive! but his wife is not. Another officer helps Commander Sisko to a shuttlecraft, where they escape the massacre of Wolf 359.
Three years later, Ben Sisko and Jake are on their way to Deep Space Nine. It is a space station in the farthest reaches of Federation space, and hovers above the planet Bajor. Until just recently, Bajor had been occupied by the Cardassians. They had been fighting a war against their oppressors and had finally won after long, long years of struggling. The new Bajoran government turned to Starfleet for help, and Starfleet have sent Commander Sikso to be in charge of Deep Space Nine, formerly Terok Nor under Cardassian rule, the new Federation presence in that sector.
On the station, Ben meets Miles O'Brien - a familiar face to Next Generation watchers - who is the new chief of operations. O'Brien takes him on a mini-tour, showing him the havoc the Cardassians left behind when they left. After dropping Jake off in their new quarters, Ben and O'Brien head up to ops, the center of the station.
There they run into Major Kira Nerys, a former resistance fighter - and Sikso's new second in-command. She openly tells him that she doesn't want the Federation to be there. She thinks that within a week, the Federation will be gone, and then Bajor will have Civil War, unless Kai Opaka - Bajor's spiritual leader - prevents it. Later, we learn that Ben Sisko doesn't want to be on Deep Space Nine either. Being a single parent is hard and he'd rather raise Jake on earth.
Major Kira is called away to check on a break-in. Lot of them have been happening since the Cardassians left. Ben follows her and they catch the thieves red-handed ("What color are their hands now?" - Muppets). One of the thieves is Nog, the nephew of Quark, who is a Ferengi bar-owner. Quark, his brother Rom, Nog, and the other bar-workers were going to leave the next day, but Ben makes Quark a deal. If he stays and re-opens his bar on the promenade (a part of the station full of shops and restaurants), Ben won't put Nog in the brig. Quark agrees, though not happily. Constable Odo is also not happy. He's had a lot of trouble with Quark in the past.
Ben is then called down to the planet of Bajor, where he meets Kai Opaka. She shows him an orb and tells him that there were once nine of them, but the Cardassian's stole the others. The orbs were sent by the Prophets, and Ben must find the Celestial Temple before the Cardassians. She gives him the orb and tells him that he is their Emissary.
The next day the science and medical personal arrive and Ben is reunited with an old friend, Dax. He also meets the new chief medical officer, Julian Bashir, who obviously has a crush on Dax, and asks her out to dinner. "Jadzia! Maybe we could get together later for dinner ororororor-or a ddrink?"
Dax: "I'd be delighted."
Ben: "Isn't he a little young for you?"
Dax: "He's 27, I'm 28."
Ben: "328 you mean. Does he know about that worm in your belly?"
Back in ops, a Cardassian ship is sighted. It's the former leader of Deep Space Nine, Gul Dukat. He's come to "welcome" the new Starfleet presence, and "offer" his help. His real purpose in coming is to size Sisko up and ask him about the orb that Kai Opaka gave him.
After Dukat leaves, Sisko and Dax start examining the orb. They figure out that they need to go and look at the nearby Dinorius Belt, but have to find a way to get past the Cardassians unseen.
They employ Odo, who is a shape-shifter, to do the task. He sneaks aboard the Cardassian vessel, disguised as a bag of money, and muddles their sensors. Then, Dax and Ben, in a shuttlecraft, are able to fly out to the Dinorius Belt to have a look.
What they find is astonishing - the only stable wormhole in the known galaxy! They land inside the wormhole (also astonishing) and another orb floats towards them.
A typical Star Trek scene plays out.
"It's scanning us! Let's scan it back. Let's try to talk to it! Hello-" BAM and it blasts them. As Sisko struggle up, Dax is materialized into the orb, and it takes her back to Deep Space Nine. Sisko remains in the wormhole and meets the wormhole aliens, who the Bajorans mistakenly think are gods. Really, they are highly advanced aliens who are outside of linear time. Ben explains linear time to them (and he doesn't use "wibbly, wobbly, timey, wimey... stuff") and also life and death. They take him back through his experiences and he lives the death of his wife over again. He learns that he's never truly let go of her, and that in order to be an effective leader and father, he must learn to get over his wife's death.
Back on Deep Space Nine, senior officers are trying to figure out what happened to Sisko, and how to get him out. They plan a rescue mission and go out in a shuttlecraft. By now, Gul Dukat's ship is working again and they've noticed the wormhole. They fly towards it and enter - only to have the wormhole collapse once they've gone through! Now there's no hope for the rescue mission.
To further complicate things, Kira wants O'Brien to move the massive station to the mouth of where the wormhole used to be - to stake a claim to it. He does... and then three Cardassian ships arrive! demanding to know where Gul Dukat's ship is. They don't believe Kira, who tells them that their leader's ship went into a wormhole, which then collapsed. They give Kira one hour to tell the truth, or they'll destroy Deep Space Nine.
Since Deep Space Nine was stripped by the Cardassians when they left, there is no weapons and hardly any shields. O'Brien does some clever stuff with a computer and gives them about 30% shields, and the appearance that they have more shields and weapons than they actually have. The Cardassians don't fall for the rouse and start attacking the station.
Suddenly the wormhole opens up again and Sisko comes out in the shuttlecraft, dragging Gul Dukat's ship with him. Everything is explained and the Cardassians leave. The wormhole aliens agree to let any ships through to the gamma quadrant (which is on the other side) without interfering.
The episode ends with station life settling into normality. Sisko and O'Brien walk down the promenade, discussing things to improve the station, Kira and Odo whip Quark into shape, and Julain settles into his role as doctor.

Thoughts on plot: For a one and a half hour show, they did an EXCELLENT job fitting everything in. They had to introduce the Bajorans, who made an appearance in the Next Generation, but weren't a huge part of the show. Not only did they have to introduce the Bajorans, they had to introduce the Bajorans religion and their history... For the past few decades, they've been occupied by a race called the Cardassians. They finally overthrew their oppressors, and all of that had to be introduced. On top of introducing a whole new cast of characters (Deep Space Nine has one of the largest casts in the Star Trek universe. Off the top of my head, I can think of 15 main characters and even more secondary characters. And Morn).

Thoughts on characters: Here are the characters that were introduced this episode:
Commander Benjamin Sisko: The new commander of Deep Space Nine. His wife was killed at Wolf 359 and he has a 14-year-old son named Jake. Ben is a fair commander who can get along with most anyone. Anyone he doesn't get along with, he's extremely polite to. He loves baseball. He is good friends with the Dax symbiot.

Major Kira Nerys: She is a the Bajoran first officer, and a former resistance fighter. She is most definitely an ex-soldier and is blunt, gruff and strong-willed because of it.

Chief Miles O'Brien: O'Brien is the Irish chief of operations on the station. He makes sure everything is working right. He was introduced in the first episode of Next Generation as transporter chief and made appearances in the show frequently. He is married to Keiko, and they have one daughter named Molly.

Jadzia Dax: Jadzia is the main science officer. She is the Spock or Data-like character... logical and very smart. She also has a mischievous side to her and enjoys having fun. Jadzia is a Trill and is joined to the Dax symbiot. She is Dax's ninth host. The previous host was Curzon, an old man, and friend of Ben Sisko's. As a result, Ben often calls Dax "old man."

Constable Odo: Odo was constable over the station when the Cardassian's were in charge, though he was always sympathetic towards to Bajorans. He has stayed on as constable now. He is a shape-shifter and no one really knows where he came from or what he is. He is a mystery. He is gruff and would like nothing better than to put Quark under bars for good. He and Kira are friends.

Julian Bashir: Chief medical officer. Julian is British and fresh out of Starfleet. He was offered any job in the Federation and chose to come to Deep Space Nine to experience "real frontier medicine." He is eager and very smart. He has a crush on Dax. Also, he was my first fictional crush. He's the type of person you either love or hate.

Quark: Quark is a Ferengi who owned a bar on Deep Space Nine during the occupation. Ben Sisko convinced him to stay after the Federation moved in. Quark's bar in the center of entertainment on the promenade. Quark is a swindler and crook and definitely not to be trusted. He's only out to make more acquisition. But he's Ferengi, so we really shouldn't be surprised.

Gul Dukat: The former Cardassian in charge of the station. He is sneaky, sly, and just has this evil slimy presence about him. Ugh, maybe I'm biased, because I've seen the rest of the series... but argh Dukat is so slimy! He's one of the best bad guys I've ever seen.

Jake Sisko: Ben's 14-year old son.

Nog: Quark's young nephew, quickly learning dishonesty and the other ways of Ferengi.

Things to be wary of: There are a few swear words and some low-cut dresses. Also, the Bajorans weird religion is introduced. They believe that the aliens in the wormhole are their "prophets." Their religion focuses a lot of meditation and finding your inner peace and inner self and stuff.

Rating/overall thoughts: 10/10 for a new Star Trek show. I think that characters and plot were introduced greatly and I'm looking forward to watching the next episode!

Best line or scene: (Kira and Julian are in the infirmary)
Kira: "Sorry about the mess... it looks like looters got in here too."
Julian: "Oh, this will be perfect! Real... frontier medicine."
Kira: "Frontier medicine?"
Julian: "Major, I had my pick of any job in the fleet. I didn't want a cushy job or a research grant. I wanted this - the farthest reaches of the galaxy. One of the remotest places. This is where adventure is! This is where heroes are made! Right here in the wilderness."
Kira: "This wilderness is my home."
Julian: *awkward silence as Kira storms out*

Morn sighting: There is one character who shows up in every single episode of Deep Space Nine. He is Morn, a patron of Quark's bar. He rarely talks and blends into the background, but's he's a staple.
Here is his first appearance:

Next time on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine... A Bajoran terrorist with ties to Kira shows up on the station, with Cardassians hot on his trail.

Green Bears.

The typo for today:

"You're as skinny as a green bear!" (I meant bean, for the record...)

I really need to not listen to stupid Star Trek songs while doing NaNo. As long as we're stating things for the record, this wasn't technically a Star Trek song - it was worse. A Monty Python song with a Star Trek video to go along with it.

I couldn't think of what to give my characters for dinner, so I gave them ham and spam an jam (a lot).
By the way... I rewatched The Hobbit the other day for the first time since seeing it in theaters in December (GASP, I know! It was too long!) and Martin Freeman mentions jam. The fandoms online have decided that Martin Freeman is made of jam and kittens and I was wondering if P. Jackson put that line in because he knew that... or maybe Martin Freeman just made it up.
Also, do you think Sylvestor McCoy (the 7th Doctor) was made Radagast the Brown on purpose?

After all, P. Jackson is a Doctor Who fan and I believe that the above episode was filmed before The Hobbit...

He owns two Daleks... OH OH! Speaking of Daleks, did anyone see the Daleks in the background in the newest Emma Approved episode? It's in the background of Charlie's video appointment with Emma.

Well, I'm off to write ten or so more words before heading off for the night (I'm at 22,090. I can't leave it that close to 22,100! I just can't!)

How is NaNoWriMo going for all of you?

Live long and prosper!

Come Along, Pond.

Even though I've stayed at home all day, I still wanted to dress up as someone for Halloween. So I chose an easy costume, that doesn't even look like a costume!
Today I was dressed as Amy Pond from Doctor Who. I kind of mitchmatched two of her more popular outfits... Jean skirt, with a plaid long-sleeved top, and leggings.

 

(Sorry it's sideways... I can't fix it!)

You can see my new haircut too! On Saturday I got my long hair chopped off shorter than it's ever been!
Before:

After:

(Yes, I did turn into Geordi LaForge for this blog post.)

 

 

Anyway... I've been busy editing and formatting and doing After the Twelfth Nightish things today. If all goes well, I will self-publish tomorrow! I'm not sure whether that will be in the morning or evening... or even if it will happen at all. So far, we're on schedule, but you never know what will happen.

 

NANOWIRIMO! It starts TOMORROW! I can't decide if I'm excited or nervous. I am excited about Saturday when I'll hopefully be able to a regional event nearby! AKA, go write with a bunch of other NaNoers.

So what is my NaNo project?

The second book in my spy series. The plot for this one is that Daniel and Varina must go undercover and uncover a diabolical plot to destroy the government (though, personally, I think the government is doing a pretty good job of destroying themselves. They don't need anyone else... But hey, maybe in Daniel and Varina's alternate universe, America is headed in a better direction? You never know!)

More on it later... Tomorrow, or Saturday... or some other time during November.

 

Live long and prosper!



"Treat her like a lady.... and she'll always take you home."

I told you that you were in for some posts about Star Trek... This is the first one. I'll give you a couple blank paragraphs to prepare yourselves.





Today I'm here to talk about The Enterprise. Not just The Enterprise, though. All the Enterprises. At least, all the ones that are in Star Trek.

There have been several Enterprises in real life.... Including a 19th century ship (which is replicated in the Next Generation movie Generations.... although I think it's just a replica of a typical 19th century ship, not actually one named Enterprise), an aircraft carrier from World War II, and another ship that has been in service from the 1960's-2012!

 

 

The next Enterprise that came around is a pre-warp space vessel.

And after that.... The first Enterprise. It isn't the USS Enterprise, though, like all its predecessors. This one is just Enterprise.

 

 

 

 

It's the ship from the fifth series of Star Trek, also titled Enterprise... It is the only Star Trek show that I do not recommend.

 

Now we're back to USS Enterprises again.... And this is where I start to dig deep into my nerd knowledge. A.K.A. I build up what I already know about the Enterprises by looking on Memory Alpha (the Wikipedia for Trekkies) what I don't know.

 

U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701

 

 

 

This is the Enterprise that people are most familiar with. It is the one that carried Captain Kirk, Spock, Doctor McCoy, and the rest of the crew on their five year mission to explore strange new worlds. It's a Constitution-class ship and was in service for forty years until Klingons destroyed it in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

 

Next came the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A, which looked pretty nearly identical to the first NCC-1701. After cruising back and forth in time in a Klingon Bird-Of-Prey to save some whales, Starfleet decides to honor Kirk and give him another Enterprise. The Enterprise-A takes Kirk and his crew through the last two Original movies. It was decommissioned at the end of the sixth movie.

 

After that came, you guessed it, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-B! This one is an Excelsior-class refit. In the first few scenes of Star Trek: Generations, the ship is taking its first trip, a short one... just around Pluto and back. It has a number of honored guests on board... Captain Kirk, Commander Chekov, and Scotty. But something goes wrong... And you'll have to watch the movie to find out what (it's worth it, especially for those Original Series fans).

 

After that came the NCC-1701-C... which I don't know too much about, other than it was destroyed.

 

Then comes the U.S.S. NCC-1701-D. Also known as... the ship that carries Captain Picard and his crew through the seven seasons of the Next Generation and their first movie!

 

 

 

This ship is a Galaxy-class ship that carries 1014 passengers. It is capable of saucer separation (a feat that the writers never let us forget) and is altogether a really cool ship.

But, of course, it gets destroyed.

 

And the Enterprise-E is created! For the remaining three Next Generation movies, the crew rides in the NCC-1701-E.

 

Evidently there is a Enterprise-J sometime in the future as well.... but it only appears in one episode.

 

So there you have it! All the Enterprises! I'll leave you with this quote that sums up all of the Enterprises:

 

"New ship.... but she's got the right name. You remember that now, y'hear? Treat her like a lady... and she'll always take you home." - Doctor Leonard McCoy, from the first episode of The Next Generation.

Top Tuesdays: Top Star Trek films.

There are twelve Star Trek movies. Six of them feature the Original cast, four of them feature the crew of the Next Generation, and the last two are JJ Abrams new Star Trek movies.
So, here they are, my least favorite-favorite! And just a side note.... I do love all these movies. But if I had to watch any Star Trek movie, the ones near the bottom would be the first ones I would run to.

12. Star Trek The Motion Picture.

 

To be fair.... I've only seen this movie once, maybe twice. I don't remember much of it.... but what I do remember.... dullllll..... There's a scene where they circle the Enterprise for, like, ten minutes. The wormhole was pretty cool, though, as was McCoy's entrance. That was funny.

11. The Search for Spock.

 

Again, I've only seen this twice, and I don't remember much of it.... I don't particularly care for this movie. Maybe it's Saavik.... maybe it's the whole Spock growing up thing.... I don't know. But I did enjoy it more the second time than the first, so that's a plus. And McCoy with Spock's katra is pretty funny sometimes.

10. Star Trek 2009.

 

I'm just not a huge fan of this movie.... It has it's good moments. But I'm more of a character person, not an action-let's-blow-every-thing-up person. Action is great. Except when it fuels the plotline. Which I feel it kind of does in this movie.

9. Nemesis.

 

The final Next Generation movie.... Picard meets his clone, and Data finds a third brother. Riker and Troi's wedding takes place at the beginning which is one of my favorite Star Trek scenes EVER. Mostly 'cause Data sings. Also 'cause Wesley is there for some unexplained reason. It's a sweet scene.
But I'm not too fond of the clone plotline.... and a certain thing at the end of the movie makes me very, very sad, which is why this one is at #9.

8. Star Trek Into Darkness.

 

See note on the 2009 movie. But I liked this one better, I think. Although I really could do without all the blowing up of everything/showing bodies being thrown about. And there was way too much swearing in my opinion.... But I loved how they reimagined one of the other Star Trek movies. I thought that was very well done. And Benedict Cumberbatch is in it... so that definitely makes it higher up on the list. :P

(Here's where we really start to get into my favorites)

7. Insurrection.

 

The third Next Generation movie. This one has the crew of the Enterprise-D (although I think by this time, it's the Enterprise-E) watching a planet of developing people who haven't discovered technology yet (I think), but seem to never grow old or get sick. There are also some weird aliens.... and a bunch of stuff happens. Haven't seen this one in awhile - and the score is very sappy - but it's pretty good.

6. The Undiscovered Country.

 

The sixth movie featuring the Original cast. I'm not sure why I like this one so much. I always end up watching it, though. Maybe it's the Klingons. Christopher Plummer (the dad from The Sound of Music) plays a Klingon that recites Hamlet. That's pretty cool. And if my memory is right, this is also the one where the gravity gets turned off and a bunch of Klingons get shot and their blood is pink (and floating in little balls, like in Tintin). Yeah, pretty gross. This one also has a weird shape-shifter lady and the guy who played Odo!

5. The Final Frontier.

The fifth movie starring the Original cast. This one has one of my favorite beginnings. Kirk and McCoy take Spock camping and hilarity ensues. They try to get Spock to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat." The crew is on shore leave.... Sulu and Chekov pretend to be caught in a snowstorm. It's hilarious.
Then everyone is called back to the Enterprise.... Spock meets a relative... Scotty bumps his head.... It's pretty fun.

4. The Wrath of Khan.

 

Despite the scene where Khan sticks a bug in Chekov's ear..... This is a really great movie, in my opinion. Khan is such an amazing bad guy. Plus the red uniforms are just so crisp and nice. And, gah, it's just good. A classic in Star Trek.

3. Generations.

 

This is the first Next Generation movie and a MUST SEE if you are a fan of Star Trek. The movie starts out with Scotty, Chekov, and Captain Kirk helping out with a cadet drill (or something). The cadets are supposed to bring the ship out, circle around Mars, and come back. But they receive a distress call and go out to rescue a ship of fugitives. While rescuing them, a strange phenomenon occurs and both ships are almost lost. Kirk, who was helping to do something or other is lost, pulled out of an airlock, vanished.
Years later, Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D receive a distress call from a space station. They go there and find everyone kidnapped by Romulans, except for Dr. Soran - who just happens to be one of the people that was found on that ship of fugitives. They pick him up and try to figure out what happened.
These two, seemingly separate storylines, fit together in the end and it's a brilliant end to an era/starting of a new one.
Plus, it's very funny in some parts. Data is experimenting with an emotion chip (being an android, he doesn't have any emotions).

One of my favorite scenes.

2. First Contact.

 

Oooohhhh my goodness. I LOVE this movie. It is the second Next Generation film and one of the best. The Enterprise-D is told of a Borg attack on earth and - even though they are told to stay at the Neutral Zone - they disobey orders and go to earth to help. The Borg Cube is destroyed, but it sends out a small sphere which somehow goes back in time. The Enterprise-D follows it and they find themselves in the year 2063, just after the Third World War has ended, and just before earth's first contact with aliens (Vulcans, to be exact).
The Borg are planning to sabotage earth's first contact, and assimilate them into the Collective.
So, of course, Picard and his crew must defeat them. And Picard must overcome him emotions from when he was assimilated into the Collective.
This is a great movie. They run into Zephram Cochrane (who created warp drive) which is funny... and Barclay makes an appearance, which is funny... And The Doctor (from Voyager) shows up! Even though it isn't really The Doctor... It's just another EMH. He bravely fights off a number of Borg. "I'm a doctor, not a doorstop," he says as Dr. Crusher escapes the medical bay with her patients. Then, as the Borg break through the door, "Those implants look inflamed. I can prescribe some cream...." The Borg don't seem too thrilled with that.

 

1. The Voyage Home.

 

The One With The Whales.
This is the fourth movie with the Original series.
It's another time travelling movie. And probably the most random and funny Star Trek movie ever.
It starts when a strange alien probe comes towards earth. It is broadcasting strange noises that are identified as the noises of the now-extinct humpback whales. The probe is obviously looking for something, because it is disrupting earth's communications with the rest of the universe. So, the crew of the Enterprise (in a Klingon Bird of Prey, because the Enterprise was destroyed) go back in time to get some humpback whales to communicate with the probe.
It's SO funny. Although there is a bit too much "colorful language" for my taste....
By far my favorite.

Live long and prosper!

P.S. I apologize... you get me started talking about Star Trek and I will go on for hours. And hours. And hours.