This is one of my favorite sequences in all of Star Trek history. Kirk sacrificed his ship. He lost his son. Because he loved Spock and the friendship they had. One of my favorite lines in the movie is when Sarek is speaking with Kirk and he says "at what cost, your son your ship..." And Kirk replies "if I hadnt tried the cost would have been my soul." Truly powerful. Stuck with me for all these years. Sometimes you have to sacrifice immensely in order to do what's right.
That's nice and all, but ... Kirk so obviously delights in pulling off this caper with his old team, you have to think he'd do it just to add Starfleet to that long list of befuddled Klingons and Romulans.
@@retrofrontier86 And sacrificing his career too. At that point in time, Kirk couldn’t count on bringing whales to 23rd century earth to save his career. He could only go off the information he had at that time.
As I have written before, this is by far my favorite of all the films. I thought Leonard did an exceptional job with this film. This film is chock full of scenes like this where true Trek fans can really appreciate someone (Nimoy) who truly understood what made Trek great. This scene shows how all the crew were willing to do anything for a chance to see their resurrected, beloved shipmate again. Nimoy also gave some added screentime to his co-stars which was long overdue. Sulu, Uhura, Scotty. The scene with the destruction of the Enterprise is classic. A closeup on all of the crew still gets to me 33 years later. I always enjoyed the guest stars, too. Hooks, Sikking, a young Miguel Ferrer, the brilliant Christopher Lloyd, Brandscombe Richmond, John Larroquette, Lenard, and Dame Judith. RIP, Mr. James Horner's music for TWOK & TSFS was exceptional. Just pulls at the heart strings. This film is often overlooked because it may not have been as action packed as TWOK but the ideas of friendship, sacrificing the many for the one, and showing the love between the original crew was clearly evident. TSFS is the perfect middle film in the trilogy 2, 3, and the Voyage Home. I could go on and on but this is a very good film.
matt murdock Define "true Trek fan" please. Don't tell me you're a other of these _if you don't like what I like then you're not a true fan_ morons. A person is either a fan or not a fan and it's up to them, not us, to define them as such.
matt murdock That's a yes, then. And let me be clear: I'm not saying you care what I think or that you _should_ care. What I'm saying is that if you're the moron I describe in my previous comment, which you just admitted to being, then you're a son of a bitch. I say again, it's not for you to determine what a true fan is. It's your job to stfu and enjoy what YOU enjoy and not look down on people who like different things, or the same things in different ways. In short, fuck you.
Well said. I always thought this film didn't really get the respect it deserved. I saw it in the theater the year i turned 12. Practically the whole audience gasped when the Enterprise was destroyed. Good memories of family time
matt murdock this movie is proof that the odd/even argument is moot. This is easily one of the most adventurous stories in the series. Plus it's really cool seeing a different side of Starfleet. Just the scope and scale of spacedock is mesmerizing. It's also really cool to see some of the crew out and about as civilians. This is one of the most watchable ones for sure. A lot of really cool things going on.
Mike Fougere Great post, Mike. Yeah, I never put much credence in the odd/ even debate. III is my favorite and I really have come to love TMP and the whole V’ger reveal in the film. Was TMP, perfect? No, but it was decent. The only film from TOS that I really did not like was V. I was happy to see this film kind of flop when Shat told Paramount he would be done w/ Trek if he did not direct V. We know the only reason was because he was so envious of the success Leonard had w/III and IV.
Most loved part of any star trek. "Yellow Alert, captain to the bridge, yellow alert!. Brdige how can you have a yellow alert in spacedock?. Sir somone is stealing the enterprise.". Also shows how peaceful and layied back starfleet was.
@@1337penguinman Important comment, and really makes these movies different on rewatch, to maybe defend the Captain a little bit, I think his comment was directed at the officer of the watch and could read like "Captain to the bridge how the f could you order a yellow alert without involving me?' Again in defense but, the captain found out from the ship wide alert and that's probably bad for your career.
@@FromMyBrain Because that would have come directly from Starfleet command at Spacedock one, Spacedock one is the main hub for all Starfleet operations so they would have known well before the Excelsior did and told that officer... Further proof is of that window shot as the Enterprise is head for the dock doors, it's also constantly saying "yellow alert", meaning Spacedock one went on alert before the Excelsior did.
James B. Sikking does such a good job as Styles. He doesn't have a lot of screen time, and when he's on screen he really never does anything bad or wrong. And yet you automatically hate his guts because Sikking just does such a good job of making him smarmy and arrogant.
If there was one thing Sikking could do very well was being a popmous arse. He knew just how to play some soo full of himself. Probably an excellent Captain but still someone you'd want to see taken down a peg or two.
Not "funny" at all. The timing of the whole sequence was perfect, and the music contributed immeasurably to the intensity. What was funny, if anything, was the way all the actors played it---all seriousness, believe it or not.
I don't think he took the Enterprise to save her from scrapping. Rather I think it was; he still had the keys to the company car, and no cabbie was going to take him to the shady part of town.
Captain Styles, (commanding officer of Excelsior) didn’t figure the greatest engineer Star Fleet ever had in to his calculations. Also the parts that Scotty gives to Dr McCoy, (“from one Surgeon to another,”) they seem a bit big for a time in the future where most of everything will be computer circuitry and microchips on a microscopic scale? Maybe they’re mechanical parts that have to be that big considering that USS Excelsior is quite a big ship?
One of the best exchanges in the original cast movies; as if Scottie was waiting for Kirk’s order to open the space doors despite his own desperation to do so the whole time. I always wondered if the Federation opened them for the station’s safety - and the doors opening had nothing to do with anything the Enterprise did..
every time the guard calls Sulu tiny I think, "It's *Commander* Tiny, you glorified rent-a-cop of an enlisted man." granted, had Sulu been in uniform, rank insignia and all, the guy probably would've been more respectful
If the Federation's command structure was anything like the present day military's, then COMMANDER Sulu (whether in uniform or not) should have had that guard at attention and read him the riot act up one side and down the other until the ENLISTED man was practically pissing himself in fear. (An enlisted man calling a Naval Commander - the same rank as an Army Lieutenant Colonel - "Tiny"? I don't think so.) While that would have made for a fun scene, I recognize that the bulk of the audience knew nothing about military protocol. As such, the director went for the laugh. (And in-story, since Sulu was going to have to get past that guy anyway, I guess he satisfied himself with kicking his ass.)
The look Uhura gave that guy when he talked about her career winding down just screamed "You think I'm on a downward spiral, you haven't seen ANYTHING yet."
RIP: James Sikking (Excelsior Captain Styles) (1934-2024) He passed away last week at the age of 90. Quote: Of all the roles I have played my career, the most feedback I get is from my brief roll on Star Trek. I am not a fantasy kind of actor, but something about me had great appeal to the fans.
Scotty had been secretly making some essential repairs to that "badly damaged Enterprise". He knew that this would probably be her last mission,and he wanted her to be in the best shape she could be. The lights coming on were the signal for the mission to begin.
Great to see this extended scene. But it only made me wonder on this last viewing, how JT had planned to open the door but for Scotty staying on board.
Maybe the plan was for Scotty to open it from a terminal somewhere on spacedock if he wasn't onboard the Enterprise. Perhaps that is part of what caused some of the delay, some change of plans, and the code coming from Enterprise to open the doors was odd as it should have been coming from a spacedock terminal.
Somewhere on RU-vid, there's a fan edit of Rand actually being the one to open the doors at the last moment. They already had her for the movie, it would have been so perfect.
The reason this movie works, is at the core, it is a movie about helping your friends and to what lengths we are going to go for our friends. There is something about that, that is not only wonderful, and touching, but it's something that gives me hope. We all want to live in a universe where our friends are willing to step on the wire for you. There are times, where collectively, the needs of the one, outweigh the needs of the many.
Another small trivia. DeForest Kelley was good friends with famous actor Van Johnson. Van was not getting any casting calls so he asked Dee if he would wear a scarf Van would give him during his movie shots. As Van said, "its the only way I can still be a part of movies". The scarves you see him wearing outside of his uniform were all given to him by Van.
Wow! Thank you for sharing this story. Van Johnson was in “Go For Broke!”, a movie about the 442nd RCT in WW2. It’s poetic to hear this story. Takei was imprisoned as a child in the Japanese American concentration camp at Rohwer AK. The 100th BAT/442 men during training visited the Rohwer camp and interacted with the incarcerated families and people. Van Johnson’s scarf pulls his filmography into a Star Trek film and juxtaposes Sulu’s actions with Go For Broke as a film. Van Johnson was willing to do the film when anti Japanese racism was significant in Hollywood. The veterans of the 442 say that visiting Rohwer was an event that was pivotal in the unit cohesion during training. Van Johnson’s acting and the portrayals in Go For Broke are important reflections on the civil rights issues of mid century America and now.
Watching this reminds me of younger days where I didn't have the cares and concerns that I have now. It also makes me think about the beloved characters we've lost along the way who we'll now only see in their glory days. Classic Star Trek will always be one of my favorite things in life. BTW, when it comes to wardrobe, Chekov got the short end of the stick! That color, that collar!!!😂
It was so ingenious having the self important captain of the Excelsior lying there filing his nails. Nothing wrong with nail maintenance, it's just that really (no pun intended) nailed who he was in terms of his functionality.
God I love this scene... Never insult their favorite place of work. Never insult someone's size. Never insult the person's reputation due to their age. 1. Computer of an unpopular working space gets insulted because it's not home. 2. Get shoved against the wall and tossed on the floor. 3. The insultee gets a phaser to the face.
this was always my favorite scene in this movie .... stealing enterprise and seeing excelsior take a crap when they try to make chase. thanks to scotty
I love Uhura saying "be careful what you wish for you might just get it." that smile on her face tells everything she was one of those women who just gets more beautiful with age...
Gotta say that my favorite line from this scene is Scotty's "Up your shaft."!! I remember just giggling away in the theatre when he said that! Also, the very brief scene at 05:18 where the battle scarred Enterprise is passing by those lounge windows with that worker just staring at the sight of it! It's very easy to put yourself in his shoes in that moment! Since then, I have always wished that there was a REAL restaurant just like that one!
I never subscribed to the notion that the "odd numbered" Star Trek movies weren't good. All six of the original cast films are very good. Even Star Trek V has aged very well.
The music - OH. MY. GAWDS - the music! Imagine the entire scene without music and you'll understand just how powerful an influence the soundtrack is in shaping our emotions as we watch the scene play out! James Horner, what a genius of music we lost! I love that tiny moment, when Styles tells Kirk that he'll never sit in the captain's chair again if he goes through with stealing the Enterprise and Kirk orders Enterprise to warp speed, Scotty gives a satisfied smirk. 😄 I don't know if that was direction given by Leonard Nimoy but I'm willing to bet it was James Doohan just being so intimately familiar with his character that it was his way of saying, "THAT is the captain I'd be willing to follow through the very gates of hell!"
When I first started driving as a teen and I'd back out of the garage of my house, I'd hit the door opener, reverse as the doors were still going up, and back up just in time real aggressively while humming the score at @7:06 lol
That collar that Chekov is wearing always cracks me up...he looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy. Chekov was always one of my favorite characters from TOS, but that costume choice was just...huh?
08:01 - That's actually my favourite part of the movie and/or Kirk. Despite the fact that - this was pointed out in Wrath of Khan - sitting in the captain's chair means everything to him, he doesn't hesitate for a second, when the consequences of his action are pointed out. He just orders "warp speed" to go rescue his friend.
💯 I worked with people for years in a town here in Oregon that actually believe in that shit. I like my coworkers (now) but we don't hang out like close friends outside of work.
1:58 Nichelle Nichols was spectacular. One movement of her eyes tells you everything you need to know about how she feels about "Mr. Adventure"'s comment about her career 'winding down.'
Although the security officer and the Comm Center Lt kind of asked for it, what Uhura and Sulu actually did wasn’t out of spite or any other negative feeling. Uhura and Sulu were actually protecting the younger officers from taking any blame for the Enterprise theft. Had the officers not been incapacitated, it might have been assumed that they were actually part of what was thought to be an actual treasonous conspiracy.
The big lunk getting taken out by Sulu makes me think of something I read on a firearm forum, it is a story recalled by a veteran who was station in Japan about a big lunk who was getting belligerent in a Japanese bar and got his ass handed to him by a "tiny" Japanese policeman :)
This is the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. Star Wars is a space opera. Star Trek is like getting together with old friends for an adventure.
@@stevetarrant3898 I have heard different reviews about Picard. I watched the first season. It was okay but like Enterprise it lacked the old ST feel. The new ST is darker, there are more special effects and explosions and action (which can be tiring after awhile), it's more politically correct/woke in places (which is irksome, sort of like a mosquito buzzing in your ear, ruining an otherwise good experience), it's morally ambiguous, all the characters constantly seem to be in psychotherapy and unsure of themselves (in other words, the narcissistic millennial worldview), and it seems to lack the humour and humanity and maturity of the old (the old being TOS, TAS, VOY, TNG, DS9). I watched the first season of Strange New Words and the new version of the Gorn is like a horror movie, rather sickening and there is this constant feminist subtext that detracts from it. I will give Picard another go but quite often when I am in the mood for ST, I just re-watch the old stuff.
I never understood why folks related the two and had to "choose" one or another. One is based 400 years in a theoretical future of earth, the other has nothing to do with our reality as we know it based in another side of the universe lol
@Dead Serious It depends how the impulse speed scale works. Maybe they can order 'one impulse' and 'two impulse' and so on and 'full impulse' is equivalant to some much higher number, far more than four times 1/4 impulse (and that assumes it isn't some sort of logarithmic scale).
They're on thrusters only... This clip shows what 1/4 impulse power really looks like... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OdRUL8RbDw8.html
It's absolutely fucking fantastic music that I loved from the moment I saw this in the theater in 1984 and still love cranking the crap out of now. Genius work by a genius we lost far too soon!
“And…Now, Mr. Scott!” “Sir?” “The doors, Mr. Scott.” “Aye, sir, I’m workin’ on it.” Done completely with a straight face. That’s what makes it so funny. 😂
@@schachsommer12 wait hold on a sec you saying that star fleet has security when was this when have they ever had security to oh say stop the enterprise from being stolen from someone who wanted to steal the enterprise when was this I must have been sleeping when they had security to stop this from happening
@@schachsommer12 yeah but that's like the Russians saying they have an army. I just love how the Captains doing his nails when they call for yellow alert out of all the things he could be doing. it's his nails.
Uhura's bit is my favorite, and she's not even in the rest of the movie until the very end. That look she gives Mr. Adventure when he talks about her winding down her career is priceless.
Uhura's function was essential here---get that young officer out of the way, beam Kirk and Co. onto the Enterprise bridge, then clean up some loose ends and take off for Vulcan.
I met Nichelle on several occasions, both back in the late 1980's and in the early 2020's. Even though she had aged and it was one of her last convention appearances, she was still as graceful and beautiful as ever. Plus, despite her advancing age, you could tell that her fans were always at the middle of her heart.
@@zitacarno4443naw. I saw an interview were the writers admitted they didn’t know what else to do with her. She was always an afterthought in the series and again in the movies. This one scene is the longest time she ever spoke in the entire franchise.
Scotty so savage he also took out the Excelsior's impulse drives, not just the warp. I love the conking out sound effects too, so simple yet so effective at letting us all know how messed up that ship is
Uhura is something else. Beauty, brains, guts, and a lot more. And what she said to Adm. Kirk at the end of the sequence---"All my hopes"---she said it for all of them.
@@Pygar2 That's what I heard, "overthink the plumbing". Even the Closed Captioning had that. So was this a case of "the more they overthink the autocorrecting spell-check, the easier it is to confuse it"? 😁
Sad to see that James B Sikking passed away over this last weekend. A fine actor who will be missed, having played a number of roles in Star Trek, Doogie Howser and perhaps most famously as Lt Howard Hunter in Hill Street Blues. 😢
The red suits with the silly helmets are the enlisted security I think. The big guy was probably some kind of security officer. After all he was the only guy in there that got to sit behind a desk!
This scene is one of my favorite from all the Star Trek movies. The dialogue, the one liners, the camaraderie between old friends, the soundtrack (a character in and of itself), the shot angles selling scope and size, all play out perfectly. Throw in the memories of watching this with my dad and it brings a smile to my face.
I also like the pace. Can you imagine this being made in the present time? There'd be explosions, snapping camera angles, shouting, techno music and a whole lot of needless shouting with stunts and heaps of CGI and lens flares...
I love so much about this scene. One thing not often mentioned, Captain Styles immediately started pursuit before the doors were opened. He knew Kirk would have them open. That's a sign of respect.
@@JOESMITH-qs8ue you want me to over think it? right well they would assume that they had a getaway plan so would mobilise the exelsior, scotty had his plan to open the doors and it worked - barely before they were able to overide his acces to the controls leaving him unable to even attempt to close them behind him, yes there will be tractor beams all over the place but as they would only be intended to help manuver a ship to align with the docking ports they likely are not powerful enough to pull an entire starship that is actively resisting. There, all thought out and reasoned with using in world explanations, I'm a Trek nerd. overthinking is what we do!
