star trek iii the search for spock stealing the enterprise

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• Admiral Kirk and his bridge crew risk their careers stealing the decommissioned U.S.S. Enterprise to return to the restricted Genesis Planet to recover Spock's body.
• In the wake of Spock's ultimate deed of sacrifice, Admiral Kirk and the Enterprise crew return to Earth for some essential repairs to their ship. When they arrive at Spacedock, they are shocked to discover that the Enterprise is to be decommissioned. Even worse, Dr. McCoy begins acting strangely and Scotty has been reassigned to another ship. Kirk is forced to steal back the Enterprise and head across space to the Genesis Planet to save Spock and bring him to Vulcan. Unbeknownst to them, the Klingons are planning to steal the secrets of the Genesis Device for their own deadly purpose. — Colin Tinto <[email protected]>
• Admiral Kirk's defeat of Khan Noonien Singh and the creation of the Genesis Planet are empty victories. Mr. Spock is dead and Dr. McCoy is, seemingly inexplicably, being driven insane. Then an unexpected visit from Spock's father, Sarek provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence. With one friend alive and one not, but both in pain, Kirk attempts to help his friends by stealing the Enterprise and defying Starfleet's Genesis quarantine. However, the Klingons have also learned of the Genesis Device and race to meet Kirk in a deadly rendezvous. — Robert Lynch <[email protected]>
• The Federation Starship Enterprise returns to Earth following a battle with the superhuman Khan Noonien Singh, who tried to destroy the Enterprise by detonating an experimental Terraforming device known as Genesis. The casualties of the fight include Admiral James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) Vulcan friend, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), whose casket was launched into space and eventually landed on the planet created by the Genesis Device. On arriving at Earth Space dock, Doctor Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) begins to act strangely and is detained. Starfleet Admiral Morrow visits the Enterprise and informs the crew the ship is to be decommissioned; the crew is ordered not to speak about Genesis due to political fallout over the device. The Crew members are James Doohan, as Montgomery Scott, the chief engineer; George Takei, as Hikaru Sulu, Enterprise's helmsman; Walter Koenig, as Pavel Chekov, navigation and acting science officer; and Nichelle Nichols, as Uhura, the ship's communications officer. David Marcus (Merritt Butrick)-Kirk's son, a key scientist in Genesis's development-and Lieutenant Saavik (Robin Curtis) are investigating the Genesis planet on board the science vessel Grissom. Discovering an unexpected life form on the surface, Marcus and Saavik transport to the planet. They find that the Genesis Device has resurrected Spock in the form of a child, although his mind is not present. Marcus admits that he used unstable "proto-matter" in the development of the Genesis Device, causing Spock to age rapidly and meaning the planet will be destroyed within hours. Meanwhile, Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), the commander of a Klingon vessel, intercepts information about Genesis. Believing the device to be potentially useful as a weapon, he takes his cloaked ship to the Genesis planet, destroys the Grissom. Spock's father, Sarek (Mark Lenard), confronts Kirk about his son's death. The pair learn that before he died, Spock transferred his Katra, or living spirit, to McCoy. Spock's Katra and body are needed to lay him to rest on his home world, Vulcan, and without help, McCoy will die from carrying the Katra. Disobeying orders, Kirk and his officers spring McCoy from detention, disable the USS Excelsior, and steal the Enterprise from Space dock to return to the Genesis planet to retrieve Spock's body. On Genesis, the Klingons capture Marcus, Saavik and Spock and before Kruge can interrogate them their ship signals that the Enterprise has arrived and Kruge immediately beams back to the Bird of Prey. In orbit, the undermanned Enterprise is attacked and disabled by Kruge. In the standoff that follows, Kruge orders that one of the hostages on the surface be executed. David is killed defending Saavik and Spock. Kirk and company feign surrender and activate the Enterprise's self-destruct sequence, killing the Klingon boarding party while the Enterprise crew transports to the planet's surface. Promising the secret of Genesis, Kirk lures Kruge to the planet and has him beam his crew to the Klingon vessel. As the Genesis planet disintegrates, Kirk and Kruge engage in a fistfight; Kirk emerges victorious after kicking Kruge off a cliff into a lava flow. Kirk and his officers take control of the Klingon ship and head to Vulcan. There, Spock's Katra is reunited with his body in a dangerous procedure called Fal-Tor-Pan. The ceremony is successful, and Spock is resurrected, alive and well, though his memories are fragmented. At Kirk's prompting, Spock remembers he called Kirk "Jim" and recognizes the crew.

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

" A Dying Planet. A Fight For Life. The Search For Spock. "

" All that they loved, all that they fought for, all that they stood for will now be put to the test… Join us on this, the final voyage of the starship Enterprise . "

Admiral James T. Kirk's defeat of Khan and the creation of the Genesis planet are empty victories. Spock is dead and McCoy is inexplicably being driven insane. An unexpected visit from Sarek, Spock's father, provides a startling revelation: McCoy is harboring Spock's living essence. With one friend alive and one not, but both in pain, Kirk attempts to help his friends by stealing the Enterprise and defying Starfleet's Genesis planet quarantine. But the Klingons have also learned of Genesis and race to meet Kirk in a deadly rendezvous.

• 1.1 Act One
• 1.2 Act Two
• 1.3 Act Three
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1.1 Spock's rebirth
• 4.1.2 Destruction of the Enterprise
• 4.1.3 Deleted scenes
• 4.1.4.1 Concept art
• 4.1.4.2 Production gallery
• 4.1.4.3 Publicity photos
• 4.5.1 Trivia
• 4.6.1 Awards and honors
• 4.7 Merchandise gallery
• 4.8 Apocrypha
• 5.1.1 Opening credits
• 5.1.2 Closing credits
• 5.2.1 LCARS references
• 5.2.2 Meta references
• 5.2.3 Unreferenced material
• 5.3 External links

Summary [ ]

Act one [ ].

Limping home

As a result of Khan Noonien Singh 's attempt to kill James T. Kirk using the Genesis Device , Spock is dead and a new planet has been created from matter within the Mutara Nebula . Dejected over the loss of Spock, the crew returns to port aboard the Enterprise for essential repairs to their ship, which was severely damaged in the fierce battle against Khan .

A little over two hours away from the Spacedock One , Kirk asks Commander Pavel Chekov to take the science station – Spock's old post – for a pre-approach scan. He asks Uhura about an inquiry he made on Project Genesis : Uhura replies that there was not yet a response from Starfleet Command , which he finds odd. He then gets a status report from Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott , who says automation will be ready in time for docking, and states he can have the ship repaired for her next cruise within two weeks, compared to his usual recommended repair time of eight weeks. Kirk observes that Scott always multiplies his repair estimates by a factor of four in order to maintain his reputation as a miracle worker. Before leaving the bridge , handing Hikaru Sulu the command con, Foster , one of the few remaining Starfleet Academy cadets still aboard asks if a reception will greet them when they arrive at Earth. " A hero's welcome, son? Is that what you'd like? " Kirk asks the cadet. He adds in observation, " Well, God knows there should be. This time we paid for the party with our dearest blood. " With that, he enters an empty turbolift and becomes emotional about the loss of his old friend as the lift descends towards his quarters .

Kruge learns about Genesis

Meanwhile, somewhere off in space, a freighter with a female Klingon, Valkris , awaits somebody. That somebody is her lover, the warrior Kruge , who suddenly decloaks in a Klingon Bird-of-Prey , which dwarfs the freighter. Once there, she transmits data to the Bird-of-Prey, which from brief flashes can be ascertained to relate to Project Genesis. When Valkris reveals that she had seen the data, Kruge reluctantly determines that she must die, and subtly relays this to Valkris, who understands. After conveying their mutual admiration for each other, Kruge destroys the freighter with the Bird-of-Prey's disruptors . This also means he does not need to pay the freighter's crew for their work. After the freighter's destruction, he sets course for the Federation-Klingon neutral zone and orders one of his crew to feed his pet .

Welcome home, Enterprise

The Enterprise reaches Earth and approaches the mammoth Spacedock One . During the approach, they see a new ship: USS Excelsior , a part of " The Great Experiment ", an attempt at transwarp drive . Although Sulu seems to be in awe of the possible capabilities of the ship, Scott is less than impressed, commenting " If my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon… " " Come, come, Mr. Scott. Young minds, fresh ideas. Be tolerant, " Kirk gently chides him. After the Enterprise is moored at the spacedock, Chekov, who is sitting at the science station, notes to Kirk that someone has entered Spock's quarters. When Uhura adds that the sealed room's door was forced open, Kirk goes down to investigate. After running down a corridor to Spock's quarters flanked by two security guards, he slowly enters through the damaged doors and, inside, he hears Spock's voice. " Jim, help me. You left me… on Genesis. Why did you do that? Help me… " Kirk runs forward and grabs the shadowed figure, finding the individual to be Dr. Leonard McCoy , mumbling about locations on Vulcan , particularly Mount Seleya , before fainting. Kirk calls Uhura to send medics to Spock's quarters, immediately.

" Uhura, get the medics down here! Get them now! "

Once Enterprise is docked, they are met by Fleet Admiral Morrow , Commander, Starfleet . In the ship's torpedo bay , he states that all crewmembers will be given the highest commendation of the Federation as well as extended shore leave , all except for Commander Scott who is being promoted to Captain and will serve as chief engineer aboard the Excelsior . Scott appreciates the sentiment, but would rather remain and help with the refit of the Enterprise. Morrow explains that the Enterprise is not to be refit, but is to be decommissioned instead. When Kirk protests, Morrow states to him, " Jim, the Enterprise is twenty years old. We feel her day is over. " Kirk voices his hope that one day, the Enterprise will be able to return to Genesis, but Morrow says that is out of the question, as, in Kirk's absence, Genesis has become a galactic controversy. Morrow orders the Enterprise crew that they are not to discuss with anyone their knowledge about Genesis. " Consider it a quarantined planet… and a forbidden subject. "

Life from lifelessness?

On the Bird-of-Prey, Kruge and his most trusted officers, Maltz and Torg , view the data on Project Genesis . The Klingons are impressed by the power, but Kruge bristles at the idea of the Federation making new planets for themselves. He resolves to travel to Genesis and seize whatever information he can. Kruge regards what he calls the " Genesis torpedo " as a powerful weapon, not a means of creating life. After he dismisses Maltz, he tells Torg that they will seize the secret of this supposed "weapon" for the preservation of their race.

The USS Grissom , with Lieutenant Saavik and Dr. David Marcus aboard, arrives at Genesis and begins using sensors to explore the surface. During the initial scans of the planet's biosphere, its sensor scans discover Spock's photon torpedo casket on the surface harboring a lifeform that they cannot identify. Saavik and David Marcus try to convince Captain J.T. Esteban to allow them to beam down and investigate closer. Due to the sensitive nature of Genesis, Esteban keeps Starfleet in the loop with their every move. However, he reluctantly permits them to beam down and check it out.

Kirk reviews the Battle in the Mutara Nebula

At Kirk's apartment in San Francisco on Earth, he, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura toast to "absent friends." Kirk reveals that the Enterprise is to be decommissioned. McCoy is sedated at home, apparently suffering "exhaustion," and promises he will behave himself. A chime at the door is anticipated by Kirk to be Scott, but is instead Sarek , who demands a word alone with him. After Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura leave, Sarek is upset that Kirk did not follow what would have been Spock's final wishes, but Kirk is unaware of any particular request Spock would have made, and had no physical contact with him in the immediate moment of his death. Sarek believed Kirk would hold Spock's katra , his living spirit, but after conducting a mind meld with Kirk, Sarek does not find it – since they were on opposite sides of a wall, Spock would not have been able to meld with him. Sarek dejectedly says that, since the katra was not passed to Kirk, all of Spock is lost forever and silently turns to leave.

Before he reaches the door, Kirk asks him to wait, since he knows that, if the katra is as important as Sarek suggests, one way or another, Spock would have found some way to save it. After reviewing flight recorder tapes from the time of Spock's death, they find out that it was Dr. McCoy that received his katra . Although it will be very difficult, Kirk swears to Sarek he will get Spock's body back and return him and Dr. McCoy to Mount Seleya on Vulcan so they can find peace.

The search is on

Back at Genesis, Saavik and David transport down to the surface to conduct a closer examination of the unidentified lifeform. The duo discovers them to be an evolved form of microbe that had been present on the casket's surface when it was launched from the Enterprise . Opening the casket, they are puzzled to find Spock's body missing entirely, although they recover his burial robe. Before the scientists can speculate further, they are interrupted by what sounds like somebody screaming in the distance, and Saavik and Marcus set off to find the source.

Act Two [ ]

" The word is no. I am therefore going anyway. "

Kirk's attempt to get the Enterprise back runs afoul of Admiral Morrow. In a bar at Starfleet Headquarters , despite Kirk's plea, Morrow does not give him back Enterprise , and explicitly orders him not to return to Genesis, warning him, as a friend, to stop obsessing over this or it will ruin his career and he will destroy himself. Considering Morrow's words for just a moment, Kirk tells the admiral that he hears him and says he had to at least try. Kirk thanks Morrow for the drink and gets up to leave. Upon seeing Sulu and Chekov standing near the bar's exit, Kirk tells them, " The word – is "no." I am therefore going anyway. " With the help of his loyal crew, Kirk then begins to put his plan into motion.

Meanwhile, Dr. McCoy, influenced by the katra , attempts to charter a black market civilian ship to Genesis, independent of his shipmates' efforts. Upon meeting his nameless alien contact, McCoy attempts to negotiate terms of passage without revealing the exact details of his ultimate destination, but the alien presses harder, and as the conversation escalates, McCoy reveals that the destination is the Genesis planet. The alien refuses very loudly, due to the planet's recent forbidden status, but McCoy persists when he is interrupted by Federation Security and arrested. He tries to nerve pinch the security officer, but is unsuccessful. " You're going to have a nice, long rest doctor, " the officer says while McCoy raises an eyebrow. Kirk and Sulu are subsequently forced to rescue the doctor. In the process they assault Federation personnel and the trio barely escape from the brig before the security officers arrive.

" How many fingers do I have up? "

Despite being reassigned to Excelsior , Scott has been secretly making essential repairs to the Enterprise in addition to slaving the ship's controls to the main bridge. The commanding officer of the Excelsior , Captain Lawrence H. Styles , makes an offhanded remark to Scott about looking forward to breaking the speed records of the Enterprise the next day, which doesn't sit well with Scott at all. After asking the Excelsior 's turbolift to take him to the transporter room and the computer thanks him, he responds " Up your shaft. " Uhura accepts a post as a transporter operator at Old City Station in San Francisco , with the covert task of beaming Kirk and company aboard the Enterprise at the required moment. Kirk and his crew arrive in the transporter station and Uhura locks the junior officer in the closet while she beams the officers to the Enterprise . Before she energizes she tells her friends that she will meet them at rendezvous point and says to Kirk " all my hopes " and the crew are beamed to Enterprise , which is still docked within spacedock.

" Someone is stealing the Enterprise ! "

Scott has set up an automation system to allow control of the Enterprise just from the bridge. " A chimpanzee and two trainees could run her, " he assures the admiral. Although Kirk cannot ask his friends to go further, and that only he and McCoy must continue, Sulu, Chekov, and Scott hear none of it and insist on joining the flight. Kirk orders one-quarter impulse and the Enterprise begins its departure from spacedock. Unable to stop the Enterprise from opening the massive bay doors in spacedock, the Excelsior is ordered to pursue. Styles sends a message to Kirk threatening him that if he goes through with this he will never sit in a captain's chair again. Kirk considers this for a brief moment but refuses to give up on Spock. " Warp speed, " Kirk orders Sulu. The Enterprise engages warp drive. Styles prepares to send the Excelsior into transwarp to intercept the Enterprise as soon as possible. However, due to sabotage carried out on its transwarp computer drive by Scott, the Excelsior 's transwarp drive fails to activate and comes to a rough halt as the Enterprise escapes at warp speed. Meanwhile, aboard the Enterprise , Scott hands McCoy a handful of parts from Excelsior 's transwarp drive computer as a souvenir " from one surgeon to another. " Commenting on the excellent work, Kirk jokes that he will recommend his crew for promotions… " in whatever fleet we end up serving. " The Enterprise goes to its best possible speed, bound for Genesis.

The Vulcan child

Unaware of events back in the Sol system, Saavik and Dr. Marcus locate a young Vulcan boy in the snow among large cactus and conclude that it is Spock, somehow regenerated by the same process that created the Genesis planet. Relaying this surprising information to the Grissom , Captain Esteban is reluctant to permit Spock to be beamed aboard the ship immediately, and would prefer to contact Starfleet Command to receive instructions. This turns out to be fortuitous; shortly afterward, Kruge's Bird-of-Prey decloaks. The USS Grissom is unintentionally destroyed by a "lucky shot" from the ship's gunner. Kruge is furious, as he had desired to take the science ship, and its data, intact, and the crew as prisoners. Kruge summarily executes the gunner, vaporizing him with his disruptor. Torg points out to Kruge that there are life signs on the planet and surmises that it is a landing party , which pleases Kruge. Now marooned on the surface and in danger of being captured, Saavik, Marcus, and Spock flee to more defensible ground.

The cruise of Enterprise to the Genesis planet goes well. As Kirk asks for a scan ahead for any vessels pursuing the stolen Federation ship, Dr. McCoy, who is at the science station, gives an impression of Spock while reporting that they have not detected any vessels in pursuit of the Enterprise , to Kirk's amusement. Later on, Chekov reports that Starfleet is transmitting a message to Grissom , warning them of the approach of the stolen Enterprise , but that Grissom is not responding. Kirk wonders aloud what Grissom is up to, having not responded to earlier messages, and wonders how the science vessel will respond when Enterprise arrives at Genesis: whether she'll join Enterprise or fire on her. He orders Chekov to break radio silence and send his compliments to Captain Esteban.

Vulcan mating season

Kruge and several members of his crew beam to the surface of the Genesis planet to pursue the surviving crew of the Grissom . Saavik finally finds out why the Genesis planet is changing so rapidly: David had used protomatter in the Genesis matrix, a substance known to be unstable. The Genesis planet is not likely to remain stable for very long, and it is causing the rapid evolution of the lifeforms on the planet as well as making Spock age rapidly. As night falls on the planet, David guards the location where he, Saavik and Spock are hiding. After discussing Spock's difficult adolescence that lies ahead of him, David detects life forms approaching their position from his tricorder . Saavik offers to confront them but David instead insists on intercepting them, asking for her phaser . Later, Spock, now aged to adolescence, begins to experience pon farr . Saavik determines that the only way Spock will make it through this portion of his accelerated growth would be for her to mate with him.

Sitting duck

Spock, Saavik, and David held prisoner by Kruge

As Enterprise approaches the Genesis planet, they briefly detect a ship, but it vanishes. They scan the planet, looking for life on it, and attempt to hail the Grissom . Meanwhile, as day breaks at their hiding place, Saavik and Spock are captured by the Klingons, as well as a beaten David Marcus. Kruge demands to know the secrets of the Genesis Project, but neither Marcus nor Saavik are forthcoming, and tell Kruge that the project was a failure. Shortly after, Kruge returns to his Bird-of-Prey to confront the Enterprise . As they sneak closer, Kirk and Sulu notice spatial distortions caused by the Bird-of-Prey's cloaking device. As soon as the Klingon vessel decloaks, Enterprise reflexively fires two photon torpedoes, both hitting the Bird-of-Prey's hull . The advantage proves short-lived however as, after the initial shock of being hit, the Klingons swiftly regain control of their vessel and bear down on the Enterprise . Chekov tries to raise the Enterprise 's shields , but finds the system non-responsive, and Scott reports that the automation system is overloading under the strain of the unexpected combat situation. The Bird-of-Prey fires one plasma charge , which strikes the Enterprise near the bridge, causing a series of internal explosions. The crew recovers and Kirk orders emergency power be engaged and to return fire; before Scott can do so though, the helm console sparks and bursts into flames, and Scott grimly informs Kirk that the automation system has been destroyed by the Klingon blast, leaving him having no control over any system, the ship dead in space. " So – we're a sitting duck, " Kirk grimly notes.

" You Klingon bastards, you've killed my son! "

Aboard the Bird-of-Prey, Kruge becomes suspicious that the Enterprise isn't putting up more of a fight, considering it has far heavier armaments than his ship. Kirk then hails the Bird-of-Prey, demanding that the crew surrender within two minutes or face destruction. Kruge determines that Enterprise is less of a threat than Kirk is letting on, and calls Kirk's bluff, ordering him to surrender instead. He reveals that he has prisoners on the surface. Both Marcus and Saavik speak to Kirk by communicator and Saavik reveals that Spock is with them, alive. Marcus says that he can't believe that Kruge would kill them for Genesis, since the project was a failure. Kruge challenges that by ordering his men on the surface to kill any one of the prisoners. One of the men stalks behind the Grissom prisoners with his d'k tahg knife unsheathed. He chooses Saavik. However, as he rears back to sink the blade into the Vulcan's back, Marcus jumps backward and attacks the Klingon. Thoroughly outmatched physically, Marcus is knocked down and stabbed through the heart, while both Spock and Saavik can only watch and do nothing. With the Klingon communicator forced in her face, Saavik simply intones, " Admiral, David is dead. "

" All set? " " Aye, sir. " " Commander, Klingon vessel, we are energizing transporter beam now. "

The death of the Enterprise

Completely devastated, Kirk stumbles back, and falls to the deck in front of his chair, cursing the Klingons for the needless death of his only son. Kruge is unmoved however, and threatens to have Saavik and Spock killed if Kirk refuses to surrender. The admiral finally gives in, and Kruge gives Kirk two minutes to prepare to be boarded. After taking a moment to quietly grieve David's death, Kirk consults with Sulu as to the crew numbers of a Bird-of-Prey, realizing that their only chance of survival is to eliminate as many of the Klingons as possible in one go. Kirk orders McCoy and Sulu to go to the transporter room and set beam-down coordinates for the planet below, while he, Scott, and Chekov activate the ship's auto-destruct sequence from the science station. With the sixty-second countdown begun, Kirk, Scott, and Chekov make a hasty departure to the transporter room, and then the five crewmembers leave the Enterprise for the last time. Moments later, the Klingons board the ship and begin stalking their way to the bridge. Torg becomes suspicious while storming through the Enterprise 's corridors with his men, finding no crewmembers to confront them.

"My God, Bones… what have I done?"

The Enterprise burning in Genesis' atmosphere

Arriving on the bridge, Torg signals Kruge and informs him the ship is deserted, the only voice coming from the computer as it counts down to zero. Kruge frantically tries to warn his crew to get off the ship; however, it is too late and the auto-destruct detonates: the bridge is engulfed in explosions that instantly kill the Klingon boarding party. As the saucer disintegrates in a series of explosions, a final detonation destroys the primary hull and knocks the lifeless hulk that was once the USS Enterprise out of orbit and into the atmosphere of Genesis. Safe on the planet's surface, Kirk, McCoy, Scott, Sulu, and Chekov watch on a plateau as their starship streaks across the atmosphere, burning up when it contacts the planet's atmosphere. Blinking hard to fight back tears, Kirk asks McCoy for guidance. All McCoy can offer is that Kirk did what he had to do and what he always has done: turn death into a fighting chance to live.

Act Three [ ]

Kirk observes Armageddon

Sulu detects lifeforms with his tricorder only a few kilometers away, and more worryingly that the planet's structure is beginning to totally destabilize. In that direction, Spock is going through a series of painful physical changes. He throws one of his two remaining Klingon guards to their death. The Enterprise crew finds them, and Kirk shoots the remaining Klingon. As McCoy examines Spock, who is now physically near his actual age, Kirk tends to David's body, covering him with his jacket. Saavik tells Kirk he gave his life to save her and Spock. McCoy says Spock is rapidly aging, but has no mind; McCoy suspects he possesses all of Spock's mentality .

Kirk taunts Kruge, who is mourning his crew, as a way to goad him into beaming them aboard the ship before the planet destroys itself. Kruge himself beams down to the planet instead and holds them all at gunpoint, ordering Maltz to beam up Sulu, Chekov, Scott, McCoy, and Saavik, but leaving Kirk and Spock. Kruge demands Genesis, over Kirk's protests that it is a failure, evidenced by the disintegrating planet they're on. Kruge and Kirk fight; Kruge is prepared to kill himself in the battle. The two eventually end up on a cliff-side overlooking a lava stream, and Kruge nearly falls to his death when part of the cliff breaks off. Kirk offers to save Kruge's life by extending his hand to help, but he tries to drag Kirk into the chasm along with him, and Kirk finally declares that he has had enough of the Klingon and kicks him in the face three times until he falls off the side of the cliff. As he plummets, the Klingon commander disappears in a flash of flame. Kirk retrieves Spock, who is now unconscious, but back to the physical age he was when he died, and tricks Maltz into beaming him on board the Bird-of-Prey by impersonating Kruge. Maltz, the last remaining member of his crew, surrenders, and Kirk gives him the choice of helping the Enterprise crew or dying, and Maltz is content to let the ship be destroyed when the planet below explodes. " Fine, I'll kill you later, " Kirk says. Scott, Sulu, and Chekov figure out the Klingon propulsion systems, and they set a course for Vulcan as the Genesis planet finally begins to blow itself apart. Once safely away from the self-destructing planet, Kirk quietly says his farewell to his son. He then orders Chekov to hold Maltz prisoner, but Maltz protests that Kirk stated he would kill him. Kirk intones, " I lied, " and stands by his order.

In a medical bay aboard the Klingon vessel, McCoy tries to converse with Spock's unconscious body. McCoy tells Spock of the katra that he had put into him in the Enterprise 's engine room , asking him to remember that. Still getting no response, McCoy tells his old Vulcan rival that he is going to say something that he never thought he'd hear himself say – he has missed Spock since his death and he doesn't know if he could stand to lose him again.

The Bird-of-Prey lands near Mount Seleya, where it is greeted by Sarek and Uhura. After Spock's body is taken up telekinetically to Mount Seleya, followed by Sarek, Kirk and company, a ceremony is then officiated by the Vulcan priestess T'Lar , who determines that Spock, indeed, is alive. Sarek, stating that his logic is uncertain as far as his son is concerned, requests that Spock's katra be reintegrated with its body in the fal-tor-pan ceremony. McCoy agrees to this despite being warned that there are risks involved. T'Lar initiates a mind meld with Spock and McCoy, and begins the ritual to restore Spock's soul.

The ceremony proceeds through the long night. As day breaks, T'Lar is escorted away in her sedan as McCoy wearily informs Kirk that's he's all right. When Kirk asks Sarek about Spock, the Vulcan can only reply "Only time will answer." As he begins to thank Kirk for his actions, the admiral cuts in saying that he did what he had to do. Sarek, with a hint of sorrow, asks Kirk if the price he paid with the loss of the Enterprise and his son was worth all of the effort. Kirk replies that if he hadn't tried, he would have paid with his own soul.

" My father says that you have been my friend… you came back for me. "

At first, Spock and two Vulcan priests walk past the Enterprise crew without a glance, but Spock removes his hood, turns back and then regards each of them, trying to remember a fragment of a memory of any of them. As he approaches Kirk, he regards him carefully and states that Sarek has told him that Kirk was his friend, that he came back for him. Kirk replies that Spock would have done the same for him. Spock, puzzled, asks why Kirk would do such a thing. Remembering what Spock had told him as he slowly died in the engine room of the Enterprise about the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few, Kirk turns it back and explains to Spock that in this case, " the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. "

The needs of the one

In Spock, the memory begins to surface and he echoes back to Kirk " I have been and ever shall be your friend. " Kirk, encouraging, tells Spock that he is correct. He also remembers more from his last meeting with Kirk, asking if the Enterprise is out of the danger that Khan had forced them into. Kirk tries to continue to jog Spock's memory by telling him he saved the ship – he saved them all. Spock, considering Kirk, looks at him guardedly: " Jim. Your name… is Jim… " Kirk smiles and says " Yes! " Spock, almost contented with the success, regards Dr. McCoy who taps his finger to his head knowingly and in a moment of overwhelming joy, the rest of the Enterprise crew welcomes Spock back as the sun rises over Vulcan.

" … and the Adventure continues … "

Log entries [ ]

" USS Enterprise , Captain's personal log . With most of our battle damage repaired, we're almost home. Yet I feel uneasy, and I wonder why. Perhaps it's the emptiness of this vessel. Most of our trainee crew have been reassigned. Lieutenant Saavik and my son, David, are exploring the Genesis planet which he helped create. And Enterprise feels like a house with all the children gone. No, more empty even than that. The death of Spock is like an open wound. It seems I have left the noblest part of myself back there… on that newborn planet. "

Memorable quotes [ ]

" And Enterprise feels like a house with all the children gone. No, more empty even than that. The death of Spock is like an open wound. "

" Sir? I was wondering… are they planning a ceremony when we get in? I mean a reception? " " A hero's welcome, son? Is that what you'd like? Well, God knows there should be. This time we paid for the party with our dearest blood. "

" Until the Federation Council makes policy, you are all under orders not to discuss with anyone your knowledge of Genesis. Consider it a quarantined planet and a forbidden subject. "

" Impressive. They can make planets. " " Oh, yes. New cities and homes in the country. Your woman at your side. Children playing at your feet, and overhead, fluttering in the breeze, the flag of the Federation! Charming. "

" Regulations specifically state nothing shall be beamed aboard until danger of contamination has been eliminated. "

" Beaming down to the surface is permitted. " "If the Captain decides that the mission is vital and reasonably free of danger. "

" To absent friends. "

" The Council has ordered that no one but the science team goes to Genesis! "

" What'll it be? " " Altair water. " (giggles) " That's not your usual poison. " " To expect one to order poison in a bar is not logical. "

" All right, dammit! It's Genesis! The name of the place we're going is Genesis!" " GENESIS!? " " Yes! Genesis!! How can you be deaf with ears like that!? " " Genesis allowed, is not! It's planet forbidden! "

" Sir, I'm sorry, but your voice is carrying. I don't think you want to be discussing this subject in public. " " I'll discuss what I like! And who in the hell are you? " " Could I offer you a ride home, Dr. McCoy? " " Where's the logic in offering me a ride home, you idiot? If I wanted a ride home, would I be trying to charter a space flight? "

" Make it quick, Admiral. They're moving him to the Federation funny farm. " " Yes, poor friend. I hear he's nutty as a fruitcake. "

" How many fingers do I have up? " (Makes a Vulcan hand salute) " That's not very damn funny. " " Your sense of humor's returned. " " The hell it has! "

" You're suffering from a Vulcan mind meld, doctor. " " That green-blooded son of a bitch! It's his revenge for all the arguments he lost. "

" Keeping you busy? " " Don't get smart, Tiny. "

" That's Admiral Kirk, my God! " " Very good for you, Lieutenant. " " But it's damned irregular. No destination orders. No encoded IDs. " " All true. " " Well, what are we going to do about it? " " I'm not going to do anything about it. You're going to sit in the closet. " " The closet ? What, have you lost all your sense of reality? " " This isn't reality. " (turns and points a phaser at him) " This is fantasy ! You wanted adventure, how's this? The old adrenaline going, huh? Good boy. Now get in the closet! " " Okay, um… " " Go on, go on. " " I'll just get in the closet. "

" I'm glad you're on our side. "

" Ah, Mr. Scott! Calling it a night? " " Uh, yes sir. " " Turning in myself, looking forward to breaking the Enterprise 's speed records tomorrow. " " Ah, yes sir. Good night. "

" Level, please. " " Transporter room. " " Thank you. " " Up your shaft. "

" A chimpanzee and two trainees could run her. " " Thank you, Mister Scott. I'll try not to take that personally. "

" And… now, Mr. Scott. " " Sir? " " The doors, Mr. Scott! " " Aye, sir, I'm working on it! "

" Kirk! If you do this, you'll never sit in the captain's chair again. "

" Scotty… as good as your word. " " Aye, sir. The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain! (to McCoy) Here, doctor. Souvenirs… from one surgeon to another. I took them out of her main transwarp computer drive. "

" Gentlemen, your work today has been outstanding. I intend to recommend you all for promotion… in whatever fleet we end up serving. "

" Sir, may I suggest… " (points his weapon at Torg) " Say the wrong thing, Torg!! " " That if it's prisoners you want, there are life signs on the planet, perhaps the very scientists you seek. " (lowers his weapon) " Very good. "

" How are we doing? " " How are we doing? Funny you should put it that way, Jim. We are doing fine. But I'd feel a lot safer giving him one of my kidneys than what's scrambled in my brain! "

" Hello, sir. It's David. " " I'm sorry I'm late. " " It's OK; I should've known you'd come. But Saavik's right. This planet is unstable; it's going to destroy itself in a matter of hours. " " David, what went wrong? " I went wrong. " " I don't understand. " " I'm sorry, sir. Just don't surrender. Genesis doesn't work. I can't believe they'd kill us for it. "

" You Klingon bastard! You've killed my son! "

" There are two more prisoners, Admiral. You want them killed, too? Surrender your vessel. "

" Bones, you and Sulu to the transporter room. The rest of you with me, we have a job to do. "

" Destruct sequence completed and engaged. Awaiting final code for one minute countdown. " " Code zero, zero, zero...destruct...zero. " " Destruct sequence is activated. "

" Nine, eight, seven, six, five... " " GET OUT! GET OUT OF THERE! GET OUT! " " ...One... "

" My God, Bones. What have I done? " " What you had to do. What you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live. "

" Klingon Commander! This is Admiral James T. Kirk! I'm alive and well on the planet surface! I know this will come as a pleasant surprise for you, but our ship was a victim of an unfortunate accident! Sorry about your crew, but as we say on Earth, c'est la vie . I have what you want. I have the secret of Genesis. But you're gonna have to bring us up there to get it. You hear me? I'm waiting for you! What is your answer? "

" You fool, look around you! The planet's destroying itself. " " Yes! Exhilarating, isn't it? " " If we don't help each other, we'll die here. " " Perfect. Then that's the way it shall be! "

" You – help us or die. " " I do not deserve to live. " " Fine, I'll kill you later. "

" Where's the damn antimatter inducer? " " This? No, this. " " That, or nothing! "

" Wait! You said you would kill me! " " I lied. "

" I'm going to tell you something that I never thought I'd hear myself say. But it seems that I've missed you. And I don't know if I could stand to lose you again. "

" What you seek has not been done since ages past, and then only in legend. Your request is not logical. " " Forgive me, T'Lar. My logic is uncertain where my son is concerned. "

" McCoy, son of David, since thou art Human, we cannot expect thee to understand fully what Sarek has requested. Spock's body lives. With your approval, we shall use all our powers to return to his body that which you possess. "

" The danger to thyself is as grave as the danger to Spock. You must make the choice. " " I choose the danger! " (muttered) " Hell of a time to ask… "

" Kirk, I thank you. What you've done is – " " What I've done, I had to do. " " But at what cost? Your ship. Your son. " " If I hadn't tried, the cost would have been my soul. "

" My father says that you have been my friend. You came back for me. " " You would have done the same for me. " " Why would you do this? " " Because the needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many. "

" Jim. Your name is Jim. "

Background information [ ]

Production [ ].

• Harve Bennett 's twenty-page outline for this film was entitled Return To Genesis and is dated 16 September 1982 . [1] Bennett has said in various interviews and the Star Trek III DVD that the script was the easiest he had ever written, starting at the end of the movie with Spock alive again and working backwards from that point. Bennett also said that Paramount green-lighted this film faster than any film he ever worked on, having been told to "Start writing Star Trek III " within days of the release of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• According to an article on io9.com Harve Bennett's original outline for Star Trek III would have involved Romulans coming to Genesis instead of Klingons and them finding the world very rich in dilithium. The Romulans then begin to mine the planet until the miners begin being killed by a feral Spock, whose aging was still tied to the aging of the planet. At the same time, Vulcan, upon hearing of the Genesis Device, is so horrified to discover that the Federation created such a potential weapon they want to secede from the Federation. This would have sent Kirk to Vulcan, with the crew of the Enterprise , to face the angry Vulcans. In the article, Robert Meyer Burnett argues that this would have been a more serious, "perilous" and above all epic story than the actual produced and released film – and it would have featured a Romulan commander along the lines of the thoughtful antagonist from the original Romulan story, " Balance of Terror ".
• In an early draft of the script, the Klingon Bird-of-Prey was originally to be a stolen Romulan vessel (the red "feather design" of the wings' underside was designed with the original Romulan Bird-of-Prey in mind), but that detail was dropped from the final draft.
• A copy of Bennett's original storyline was leaked to fans in February 1983 , forcing him to rewrite the script, changing many of the film's original details and events. This forced the original release date to change from the Christmas of 1983, when production was delayed until 15 August 1983 , partially due to the rewrite. ( Starlog #77, December 1983 , p. 15)
• After filming on Star Trek III began on Monday, 15 August 1983 . The opening scene on the Enterprise bridge was the first to be filmed. The last shot was taken at Thursday, 20 October 1983 on the Excelsior bridge . When the film was released, the box office receipts were strong. The film grossed US$16.7 million in its opening weekend, approximately US$2.4 million more than Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan made when it first opened. In the long run, however, Star Trek III grossed a total of US$76.5 million domestically, falling just short of Star Trek II 's US$78.9 million gross.
• During production, a fire broke out behind the Paramount lot which caused minor damage to the Genesis Planet set. Among those who assisted in putting out the fire was actor William Shatner. According to his Star Trek Movie Memories , Shatner was in full Kirk costume and makeup when he helped with the fire. Shatner also accounted in his book that he was terrified the fire was going to hold up filming and thereby make him late for reporting back to start filming the new season of TJ Hooker , the police drama that Shatner was starring in at the time that Star Trek III (and later Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ) was filmed.

Spock's rebirth [ ]

• Actor and director Leonard Nimoy also worked on the film's story, but his contribution went uncredited. " The only time there was any conflict about the movie's content happened during pre-production, when I said I was satisfied with the final script, and was ready to start shooting. The executives had some reservations about ending the picture on Vulcan. I felt, very, very strongly about that final sequence. I wanted to end the film by bringing Spock to Vulcan, and going through the ritual. I believed it would work, and that the audience would enjoy it. " Nimoy explained, " Not being so familiar with Star Trek , the executives didn't understand what that sequence would mean to the audience. They were worried about it, and tried to convince me to substitute a different ending. They wanted to end with the dramatic escape from the Genesis planet, getting Kirk and Spock on board the Klingon Bird of Prey , reviving Spock in the sick bay, doing a little tag scene and going home. " To that end, Nimoy said he " argue vehemently that we had to have the sequence on Vulcan. Showing Spock on his planet, among his people, trying to remember his friends, would be a moving scene. I managed to convince them that I wanted to do it my way, and they agreed. I didn't discuss the film with them again until I showed them my first cut. " ( Starlog #106, May 1986 , p. 52)
• There is an extra long pause between William Shatner's name and DeForest Kelley's during the opening credits where Leonard Nimoy's name would have been. To keep secret Leonard Nimoy's participation in this movie as an actor, official daily call sheets mentioned the adult Spock character only as "Nacluv" ("Vulcan" spelled backwards), played by " Frank Force ". Nimoy continued the joke by using the pseudonym in the end credits for his cameo role as the ( Excelsior ) elevator voice.
• After the Enterprise escapes from Spacedock, when Kirk orders a scan "for vessels in pursuit," an off-screen McCoy responds " scanning: indications negative at this time. " However, it is in actuality the voice of Leonard Nimoy that the audience hears. This is left as an open-ended question to whether it is McCoy performing an impersonation, or more likely, another manifestation of Spock's katra (spirit), as witnessed in the scene in Spock's quarters, in which McCoy sits in the shadows, but speaks in Spock's voice.

Destruction of the Enterprise [ ]

• According to director/producer commentary for the two-disc DVD release, the destruction of the Enterprise was to be a secret (like Luke Skywalker's father in the Star Wars franchise), but the Paramount promotional department made this the biggest point of the initial trailers, calling it "The Death of the Enterprise "; Harve Bennett had objected to this and tried to have the trailers changed so as to not spoil the surprise, but lost out. Despite the heightened security precautions implemented during filming, word of the ship's destruction was leaked during production, in an incident that some have attributed to Gene Roddenberry himself.
• In a 1987 interview with the Official Star Trek Fan Club magazine, Harve Bennett said that the destruction of the Enterprise was not in the original drafts of the script and was added later in writing when he and Leonard Nimoy realized they needed a dramatic life or death decision. After the film was finished, Bennett said he quietly vowed to restore the Enterprise at the proper time. The Enterprise was restored in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home with the introduction of the USS Enterprise -A .

Deleted scenes [ ]

The filming of the turbolift scene

• A scene between Kirk and McCoy in a turbolift was filmed for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock but was ultimately cut. ( Starlog , issue 87, p. 20) This scene was included in the comic Star Trek III: The Search for Spock adaptation. An image from the production of this scene, with Leonard Nimoy directing William Shatner and DeForest Kelley , was published in Starlog (issue 88, p. 23).
• Scene 276 : A scene scripted to feature the Enterprise crew carrying Spock up the stairs to Mount Seleya . In this scene, credited actress Katherine Blum – as the Vulcan child – released herself from her father and went to Spock, performed the Vulcan salute , and said " Live long and prosper, Spock. "

George Takei described the scenario as, " We shot three nights, very expensive, with hundreds of extras on location at Occidental College . After the Bird of Prey lands, the crew comes down the ramp bearing Spock 's body. Then, there's a fleeting glimpse of all the Vulcans. The next scene shows us entering the temple with Dame Judith Anderson . This was a sequence of pageantry, of spectacle, of color, and an opportunity to present this awesome society we call the Vulcan civilization–the religious hierarchy, the aristocrats, the merchant classes, all the gold and silver vestal virgins. " He continued, " I was absolutely aghast when I saw that the sequence was cut out. I'm told that the front office wanted to maintain the relentless pace. The sequence did have an elegiac quality to it, but it was stunning and very highly paced, visually. " ( Starlog #109, August 1986 , p. 16)

• Another scene which was filmed for the movie but eventually omitted was set inside the Vulcan Hall of Ancient Thought . ( Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 3, Issue 8 , p. 61; Cinefantastique , Vol. 17, No. 3/4, p. 68; The Making of the Trek Films , 3rd ed., p. 53)

Behind the scenes [ ]

Concept art [ ].

Production gallery [ ]

Publicity photos [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy originally wanted Edward James Olmos as Kruge , but Paramount Pictures nixed the casting, while Olmos went on to play William Adama in Ronald D. Moore 's Battlestar Galactica revival in 2003.
• This movie marks the first live-action appearance of Ambassador Sarek ( Mark Lenard ) since his introduction seventeen years earlier in TOS : " Journey to Babel ". In the interim, he appeared in TAS : " Yesteryear ".
• Judi Durand voices her first computer in this movie. She can be heard announcing that the space doors are closed. She went on to play the Cardassian Computer Voice in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
• Paramount continued its practice of seeking design patents for designs from the Star Trek movies with this film as well. It obtained patents for several props, the Excelsior , and the Klingon Bird-of-Prey.
• During the scene where Kirk asks Admiral Morrow for permission to return to the Genesis Planet, part of the Epsilon IX station from Star Trek: The Motion Picture can be seen as a wall decoration hanging in the background, and when they reach the turbo shaft, the other half can be seen.

The Klingon D'k tagh

• The Klingon d'k tahg is first introduced in this film.
• Several costumes, props, and set dressing from this film were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including a pair of Vulcan gloves, [2] (X) a lot of Genesis microbes , [3] (X) Scott McGinnis ' undershirt, [4] (X) and one of Robin Curtis ' costumes. [5] (X)
• The bar in San Francisco, in which McCoy meets the alien, is a reused part from the sickbay of the Enterprise .
• For the bridge of the Grissom , the regular Enterprise bridge was used, with the captain's chair and the helm console twisted around. The covers of the seats were changed from white to pink.
• For the transporter complex, where Uhura beamed Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu to the Enterprise , the interiors from the Regula I space station were used.
• The climactic fight between Kirk and Kruge was originally supposed to feature huge boulders that would "burst" up from the ground. On the day of shooting, however, the boulders failed to work properly and the scene was shot without them (however, one of them worked correctly and was used to propel Kruge into the air to attack Kirk at the onset of their fight).

Reception [ ]

• This film failed to impress Ronald Reagan , when he viewed it at the White House on 23 June 1984 . Reagan mentioned the film in his diaries, commenting, " After dinner we ran Star Trek III . It wasn't too good. " Despite this, he watched Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home two years later. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 160 , p. 53)
• In Britain, the film was released on 27 July 1984 . It reached no.2 in the box office charts, but eventually rose to no.1 late in its run. It was however the lowest performing Star Trek film at the UK box office overall with only £1,096,042. [8]
• Star Trek III: The Search For Spock had its broadcast network television premiere on ABC on September 28, 1987 (coinciding with the syndicated debut of Star Trek: The Next Generation ), to compensate for the loss of that evening's Monday Night Football (due to the 1987 NFL strike).

Awards and honors [ ]

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock received the following awards and honors:

Merchandise gallery [ ]

Apocrypha [ ]

The novelization of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock shows that from her transporter station, Uhura was monitoring Starfleet channels and helping to jam and distort channels in order to aid in Kirk and company's escape attempt. Also, after Excelsior was disabled, it issued a distress call, and Uhura intercepted and dumped it, thinking that as Styles had usurped what was supposed to be Sulu's command, that he could sit out there and stew for a while. After the escape of Enterprise , Uhura quickly ran to the Vulcan Embassy and asked for asylum from Sarek, which he granted to her despite the protestations of Starfleet security who had followed Uhura there.

In the novelization, after their escape from Genesis, Saavik speculates to Kirk that billions of years in the future, the matter that formed the Genesis system may again coalesce into another star system, this time lacking the protomatter that doomed it and this time, the system should be stable and may well turn out in the way that David and Carol and their friends all intended. The novelization and the children's read-along storybook also referenced the intended fate for the Genesis planet in the shooting script: it was to fall into its sun (parts of this are seen in the finished film: as the Bird-of-Prey begins to make its escape, the planet is clearly shown to be very close to the sun, as well as the fact that Kirk's face seems to get yellower as he calls for beam-out). In the novel, the planet falls into its sun, and the sun itself expands and is reduced to a cloud of plasma.

The novelization also includes several scenes that were not in the film or script at all, such as a wake aboard the Enterprise for Spock (and by extension, everyone who died in The Wrath of Khan ) that goes badly; a debriefing with Captain Esteban that ends with a rift forming between Kirk and David; the recovery of bodies from the Regula One laboratory; the escape of two survivors from the merchant ship that was destroyed by the Bird of Prey; Sulu being informed that, because he was aboard the Enterprise during events that were going to be classified by Starfleet, command of the Excelsior was being given to Styles; a relationship forming between David and Saavik; and the discovery that the plants in the Genesis Cave had mutated and secreted a substance that was a powerful narcotic.

Links and references [ ]

Credits [ ], opening credits [ ].

• William Shatner
• DeForest Kelley
• James Doohan
• George Takei
• Walter Koenig
• Nichelle Nichols
• Mark Lenard as Sarek
• Merritt Butrick as David
• Dame Judith Anderson
• Robin Curtis as Lt. Saavik
• Christopher Lloyd as Kruge
• Gene Roddenberry
• James Horner
• Ralph Winter
• Robert F. Shugrue
• John E. Chilberg II
• Charles Correll , ASC
• Gary Nardino
• Harve Bennett
• Leonard Nimoy

Closing credits [ ]

• James B. Sikking
• Allan Miller
• Carl Steven
• Vadia Potenza
• Stephen Manley
• Joe W. Davis
• Michael P. Schoenbrun
• James Hockridge
• Ken Stringer
• Robert Fletcher
• David Nowell , SOC
• Robert A. Torres
• Alfredo R. Sepulveda
• Michael Scott , SOC
• Norman E. Parker
• Gene S. Cantamessa , CAS
• Raul A. Bruce
• Agnes G. Henry
• Jean Merrick
• Dan Bronson
• Joseph Markham
• The Burman Studio ( Barney Burman & Rob Burman )
• James L. McCoy
• Silvia Abascal
• Paul Abascal
• Carol O'Connell
• Lily La Cava
• Norm Glasser
• "Big" Ed Cooper
• Dennis Harper
• Clarence Ebert
• Jon Falkengren
• Ronald E. Greenwood
• Jerry Kobold
• Charlie Russo
• Ron Galloway
• Thomas R. Homsher
• Dennis K. Petersen
• Tony Vandenecker
• Peter G. Evangelatos
• Scott Goodale
• Ed Charnock, Jr.
• Dennis C. Ivanjack
• Cameron Birnie
• Blake Russell
• Robert D. Mayne
• Lynn Harman
• Robert Morgan
• John Shannon
• Martin X. Chielens
• John A. Hagger
• Terry P. Haggar
• Cecelia Hall
• George Watters II
• John Leveque
• Paul Bruce Richardson
• Sean Hanley
• Ron Horwitz
• Pamela Bentkowski
• Dan O'Connell
• Ellen Heuer
• Danniel F. Finnerty
• Bruce D. Fortune
• Alan Howarth
• Frank Serafine
• Tom Johnson
• Robert Badami
• Greig Mc Ritchie
• David J. Hudson
• Robert W. Glass, Jr.
• Dr. Richard H. Green
• Marc Okrand
• Debbie Schwab
• Cynthia Riddle
• Joel Marston
• Andre Tayir
• Barbara Arms
• Barbara Harris
• Sylvia Rubinstein
• Teresa E. Victor
• Deborah Arakelian
• Industrial Light & Magic , Marin County, California
• Kenneth Ralston
• David Carson
• Kenneth F. Smith
• Scott Farrar
• Selwyn Eddy III
• Peter Daulton
• Robert Hill
• Patrick McArdle
• Ray Gilberti
• Toby Heindel
• Donald Clark
• Ralph Gordon
• David Berry
• Warren Franklin
• Laurie Vermont
• Steve Gawley
• William George
• William Beck
• Richard Davis
• Michael Fulmer
• David Sosalla
• Michael Pangrazio
• Chris Evans
• Frank Ordaz
• Craig Barron
• Charles Mullen
• Bruce Walters
• Phillip Norwood
• Bill Kimberlin
• Jay Ignaszewski
• Ted Moehnke
• ILM Stage Crew
• Terry Chostner
• Michael MacKenzie
• The Burbank Studios
• Hal Landaker
• Alan Landaker
• Rick Whitfield
• Symbolics, Inc. , Graphics Division
• Omnibus Video, Inc.
• Strayframes
• Stuart Jensen
• Elza Bergeron
• Mary Ann Barton
• Kirk – William Shatner
• Spock – Leonard Nimoy
• McCoy – DeForest Kelley
• Scotty – James Doohan
• Chekov – Walter Koenig
• Sulu – George Takei
• Uhura – Nichelle Nichols
• Saavik – Robin Curtis
• David – Merritt Butrick
• Trainee Foster – Phil Morris
• " Mr. Adventure " – Scott McGinnis
• Admiral Morrow – Robert Hooks
• Spock...Age 9 – Carl Steven
• Spock...Age 13 – Vadia Potenza
• Spock...Age 17 – Stephen Manley
• Spock...Age 25 – Joe W. Davis
• Captain – Paul Sorensen
• Valkris – Cathie Shirriff
• Kruge – Christopher Lloyd
• Torg – Stephen Liska
• Maltz – John Larroquette
• Sergeant – Dave Cadiente
• Gunner #1 – Bob Cummings
• Gunner #2 – Branscombe Richmond
• Captain Esteban – Phillip Richard Allen
• Helm – Jeanne Mori
• Communications – Mario Marcelino
• Alien – Allan Miller
• Waitress – Sharon Thomas
• Civilian Agent – Conroy Gedeon
• Captain Styles – James B. Sikking
• First Officer – Miguel Ferrer
• Sarek – Mark Lenard
• Child – Katherine Blum
• High Priestess – Dame Judith Anderson
• Prison Guard #1 – Gary Faga
• Prison Guard #2 – Douglas Alan Shanklin
• Woman in Cafeteria – Grace Lee Whitney
• Robin Kellick
• Kimberly L. Ryusaki ( Bar alien / Trainee Enterprise crewmember )
• Phil Weyland (for William Shatner / Starfleet crewman )
• Steve Blalock (for Leonard Nimoy / Vulcan guard )
• Spock Screams – Frank Welker
• Enterprise Computer – Teresa E. Victor
• Flight Recorder – Harve Bennett
• Space Dock Controller – Judi Durand
• Elevator Voice – Frank Force
• Background Voices – The Loop Group
• Al Jones ( Klingon crewman )
• Steve Blalock ( Trainee crewman )
• David Burton (stunt double for Merritt Butrick)
• Kenny Endoso
• Jim Halty ( San Francisco bar patron )
• Chuck Hicks ( Stunt double for Paul Sorensen )
• Jeff Jensen ( Stunt double for Douglas Alan Shanklin )
• Don Charles McGovern ( Klingon crewman )
• Tom Morga ( Merchantman alien crewman / Starfleet officer / Klingon officer )
• Alan Oliney
• Chuck Picerni, Jr. ( Klingon crewman )
• Danny Rogers ( Merchantman first officer )
• Frank James Sparks
• David Zellitti ( Klingon crewman )
• Ron Stein & R.A. Rondell
• Movie Magic
• Hollywood Armor
• United States Marine Corp. – Air / Ground Combat Center, 29 Palms, California
• Music by Alexander Courage
• Craig Hundley
• Johnny Mercer & Victor Schertzinger
• Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen
• Panavision ®
• Glen Glenn Sound
• Cinema Group Venture
• Capitol Records and XDR™ cassettes
• Shirley Anthony as Vulcan priestess
• David Armstrong as Vulcan apprentice
• Benjie Bancroft as Vulcan attendant
• Bibi Besch as Carol Marcus (archive footage)
• Jessie Biscardi as a Vulcan maiden
• Suzy Born as a Vulcan maiden
• Barney Burman as a bar alien ( deleted scene )
• Charles Correll as a Spacedock worker
• Debra Dilley as a Vulcan maiden
• Claudia Lowndes as an Officer's wife
• Mike Mitchell as USS Grissom navigator
• Danny Nero as Vulcan guard
• Paulette as a Vulcan maiden
• Michael Prokopuk as Excelsior crewmember
• Nanci Rogers as a bar waitress
• Teresa Sloan as a bar patron
• Rebecca Soladay as a Vulcan maiden
• John Staible as Enterprise crewman
• Cheryl Wallack as Vulcan priestess
• Bar alien with bald tattooed head
• Bar alien with metallic faceplates
• Bar dart player
• Female bar patron
• Female Starfleet officer in bar
• Male Human bar patron
• Enterprise security officer 1
• Enterprise Security officer 2
• Alien Enterprise crewmember
• Deltan Excelsior officer
• Excelsior helmsman
• Excelsior engineer
• Excelsior bridge crewmembers
• Grissom navigator
• Morrow's personal aide
• Spacedock controllers 1 and 2
• Vulcan at ritual 1 and 2
• Vulcan apprentices 1 – 4
• Vulcan attendant 1
• Vulcan maiden
• Vulcan musician
• Vulcan priests 1 and 2
• Lightning Bear
• Jean Coulter as stunt double for Sharon Thomas ( deleted scene )
• Eric Mansker as bartender ( deleted scene )
• Bari Burman – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Thomas R. Burman – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Edward Goehring – Creative Consultant: Stray Frames Ltd.
• Steve LaPorte – Special Makeup Effects Artist
• Kenneth A. Larson – Propmaker
• Tony McVey – Sculptor
• Leonard Nimoy – Writer
• Rick Stratton – Makeup Artist
• Professional VisionCare Associates – Contact Lens company

References [ ]

2265 ; 40 Eridani A ; accident ; act of war ; acting ; adrenaline ; adventure ; agent ; aging ; animal ; area ; Altair water ; alternative ; answer ; antimatter inducer ; approach control ; Arcanis Lager ; argument ; " at regular intervals "; attack ; auto-destruct ; automate ; automation center ; automation system ; auto system ; bar ; bargain ; barn door ; battle alert ; battle damage ; battle cruiser ; bearing ; behavior ; blood ; blue alert ; boarding party ; body ; " Bones "; Bounty , HMS ; brain ; breeze ; burial robe ; " by the book "; captain's chair ; captain of engineering ; " calling it a night "; career ; cell ; Celsius ; ceremony ; chance ; chief engineering officer ; channel ; charter ; children ; chimpanzee ; choice ; city ; civilization ; cloaking device ; closet ; combat ; commander ; commendation ; communications ; compartment ; compliments ; computer ; computer voice ; comrade ; Constitution II -class ; Constitution II -class decks ; contamination ; countdown ; country ; course ; crew complement ; criminal ; cylindrical ; d'k tahg ; damage ; danger ; darts ; data ; day ; deafness ; death ; decommission ; Deltan ; desert ; destination order ; distortion ; docking ; docking maneuver ; docking procedure ; doomsday weapon ; door ; dozen ; drain ; duty station ; ear ; Earth ; emergency channel ; emergency frequency ; emergency power ; emergency tube ; emissary ; emotional problem ; emptiness ; encoded ID ; enemy ; energy ; energy surge ; Enterprise , USS ; estimating ; ethics ; event ; evolution ; Excelsior -class ; Excelsior , USS ; execution ; exhaustion ; expedition ; failure ; Fal-tor-pan ; fantasy ; Federation Council ; Federation government ; Federation Neutral Zone ; Federation Security ; feet ; finger ; firing range ; flag ; fleet ; Flight International ; flight recorder ; foliage ; fool ; French language ; friend ; friendship ; funny farm ; gang ; Genesis Device ; Genesis effect ; Genesis Experiment ; Genesis (planet) ; Genesis matrix ; Genesis Planet sun ; Genesis sector ; Genesis Torpedo ; Genesis wave ; Genesis worm ; " give the word "; God knows "; gravitational field ; gravitational support system ; " Great Experiment, The "; green ; Grissom , USS ; gunner ; hailing frequency ; hand ; head ; hello ; " hind end "; home ; honor ; hope ; hour ; house ; Human ; humor ; idea ; impatience ; impulse power ; information ; inquiry ; inspection ; instinct ; instruction ; intention ; James T. 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External links [ ]

• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at Wikipedia
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock at the Internet Movie Database
• Behind the scenes on The Search for Spock  at Forgotten Trek
• Filming Locations at Film in America
• Star Trek III: The Search for Spock script at Star Trek Minutiae
• " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock " at MissionLogPodcast.com
• 2 Daniels (Crewman)
• 3 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)

Den of Geek

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock retrospective review

Adam looks back on the slightly less-regarded middle entry in the 'Genesis Trilogy'...

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Two years after the release of The Wrath Of Khan , the crew of the Enterprise returns and they’re looking for someone. Maybe you’ve seen him? With Star Trek II being another success, Paramount now knew that this Trek film thing was not some flash in the pan. This was a franchise that could be virtually guaranteed to rake it in every few years.

Spock’s death in the previous film meant there was plenty of meat for the next chapter, so here it is, Star Trek III: The Search For Spock . Directed by Leonard Nimoy, The Search For Spock serves as the middle act of what is sometimes referred to as the ‘Genesis Trilogy’ and opens with a flashback to the decisive events of the previous film, the Enterprise winding its way wearily home after the events of TWOK .

Kirk is still struggling to come to terms with Spock’s passing, and remarks that with his newfound son transferred to another ship (along with Saavik) the Enterprise feels like ‘a house with all the children gone.’ McCoy, too is not himself, and is found by Kirk in Spock’s quarters, doing what I guess, in Star Trek terms, would be a Spock Tribute act. Sadly, we don’t get a Vulcan rendition of Suspicious Minds or The Wonder Of You .

Meanwhile, we learn that a Klingon agent has stolen the Genesis proposal (although William Shatner is now explaining what’s what, presumably to save giving Bibi Besch a second pay-cheque for playing Carol Marcus) and passed it to a renegade commander, Kruge (played by Christopher Lloyd), who is intent to make the Genesis secrets his own.

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The Enterprise arrives back to Earth to the shock of the assembled onlookers (and a nice little cameo from Grace Lee Whitney) and the crew is informed the Enterprise will not be refitted and Scotty will be transferred to the new USS Excelsior ; seems like the crew will be split up.

Gathering to discuss their future, and the health of Dr. McCoy,  they are interrupted by Spock’s father, Sarek, who believes Kirk is carrying his son’s ‘katra’, the Vulcan equivalent of a soul, which at times of near death, a Vulcan may pass to a member of their family, or somebody they consider to be as good as.

After Kirk pops on the DVD of the Wrath Of Khan (although from the numbers on screen, I think it may be a hooky copy, or maybe a screener) it becomes apparent that Spock was unable to pass his Katra to Kirk, but instead passed it to the good Doctor.

We then join Saavik and David aboard the USS Gutless, sorry, USS Grissom, where they are busy surveying the Genesis planet. The ship’s sensors detect a life-form, which they beam down to investigate. McCoy meanwhile, is being driven to find Spock’s body, and like some intergalactic salmon, tries to charter a ship.

Sadly, he finds no trace of Han Solo, or anyone else willing to take him to the restricted sector, and is quickly arrested and after a failed attempted at a Vulcan nerve pinch, sectioned.

Over drinks with Admiral Morrow, Kirk is told there is no way he can return to Genesis, so with the help of his senior officers, rescues McCoy from the hospital and sets about stealing the Enterprise. Thanks to some extra help from Scotty, the USS Excelsior is unable to pursue, and with Chekov ditching the oddest wardrobe choice in the 23rd century, the Enterprise is on her way, to rescue Spock’s body, and save Dr McCoy’s mind.

A pity then, that the Captain of the Grissom wasn’t quite as canny as old JTK, and failed to notice the Klingons watching under cloak, because before you can say ‘ The Trouble With Tribbles ‘ the Grissom is little more than space debris, leaving Saavik and Marcus at the mercy of the Klingons.

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The Klingons quickly track down Spock, Saavik and David and with the Enterprise nearing Genesis, Kruge returns to the Bird-of-Prey, keen to face the legendary Kirk in battle. gets the upper hand, but with Scotty’s computer bypass system overloaded, Kirk tries to bluff the Klingon into surrender. But it seems Kirk has met his match, and is one of the few people to see though the Captain’s poker face and reveals he holds three prisoners on the planet.

David informs Kirk that Genesis doesn’t work, and that the planet is destroying itself. Kruge orders one of the prisoners killed as a show of his strength, and as the Kilngon moves to kill Saavik, David intervenes, eventually being killed. Kirk is a broken man, and with no way out, orders the destruction of the Enterprise, whilst luring the Klingons onto the doomed ship.

Thankfully, Kirk’s kung-fu is much better than Kruge’s and after dispatching the Klingon to a lava-based death, the Enterprise crew successfully steal the Bird-of-Prey and make their way to Vulcan.

After returning to his home world, the Vulcans are able to reinstall Spock’s katra and after rebooting him, he’s good as new and Kirk has once again cheated death. Kirk 2 – Death nil…

The best thing about SFS has to be DeForest Kelley. He finally gets a decent portion of screen time, and his performance shines. The scene in the bar is brilliant, and it really shows how gifted an actor he was. The pitch and timing is perfect, you really do believe this man has Spock’s soul inside him.

Christopher Lloyd also deserves credit for his performance as Kruge (Nimoy originally wanted to cast Edward James Olmos, thankfully Paramount said ‘no’, you can’t have a Klingon in command of the Colonial Fleet and the Battlestar Galactica!)

Like his counterpart on TWOK , Nimoy’s direction succeeds in getting another good performance from Shatner; the scene where he learns of David’s death and the loss of the Enterprise is particularly touching, as is his ultimate reunion with Spock as the film concludes.

As usual for a Star Trek film, the special effects are great, the stand-out scenes being Kirk stealing the Enterprise (again, accompanied by some superb music from James Horner) and the destruction of the ship, Industrial Light and Magic underline their excellent work on the previous film and the introductions of the various new ships and starbases work well.

Where the film falls down, however, is with the Genesis planet itself. To be blunt, it looks cheap. TV show cheap. Paramount once again tightened the purse strings and plans to shoot Genesis scenes in Hawaii were deemed too expensive, and in my opinion, it hurts the film.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock is a good film, certainly not on a par with Khan , but a fine entry in the franchise, and certainly good enough to break the rule that ‘every odd numbered Star Trek film is crap’.

Adam Sloman

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‘The Search for Spock’ at 30: A Retrospective

| June 1, 2014 | By: Steve Vivona 217 comments so far

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the theatrical release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,  the highly anticipated follow-up to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  The film, which marked Leonard Nimoy’s feature film directorial debut,  was a critical and financial success and pushed the Star Trek format in new directions, ultimately being the middle film in what is sometimes referred to as “The Genesis Trilogy”, which culminated in the release of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986. TrekMovie is marking the anniversary with a retrospective from guest author Steve Vivona, who tells us why he loves this film, and gives a sense of what it was like to be a sci-fi and Star Trek fan in the early 80’s.

I’ll always remember June 1, 1984 as the day I became a Star Trek fan.

We all know that was the day Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was released, and while it is hardly the high watermark of the film series, I believe it occupies a special place in every Trek fan’s heart (and if it doesn’t it should). It certainly does in mine.

Yes, it has some plot holes you could drive a truck through (not nearly as bad as say, The Undiscovered Country ), and its title is a dead giveaway for its resolution, but for me, Trek III is the first of the films that really focuses on the familial bond between our intrepid crew. They throw their careers away, risk their very lives on the vague promise they can restore their dear friend to life.

I was born in 1970, and I’d say it’s a safe bet most people of my generation came to love Trek through endless airings of the Original Series in syndication. My Dad, who always had a sci-fi bent, loved classic films like The Day the Earth Stood Still , Forbidden Planet , and 2001 . On television, he watched The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits . Naturally, he gravitated to Star Trek with its intelligent and thought provoking brand of science fiction.

He stayed with it in syndication, and I can vividly remember him watching it and encouraging me to do likewise. Here’s the problem: by my recollection (and it’s murky at best) every time it was on there (seemingly) was some woeful third season episode being screened. One that springs to mind is the “way too on the nose” Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.

The other problem is that (for better or worse) I am a child of George Lucas. Star Wars blasted into my nascent consciousness at the tender age of seven, took hold, and never let go. To me, this was science fiction, not the cheesy sets of Star Trek . Star Wars dominated my life for the next six years. Each new movie brought breathless anticipation, and the wait for each was interminable.

Thanks to Star Wars , Trek got a new lease on life. A proposed 13-episode series entitled Phase II was scrapped in favor of a big budget feature film, with a big-name director and state of the art special effects. When Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit the dollar theater Dad insisted we go and nine-year old me….promptly fell asleep.

Obviously, I was still unmoved toward Trek .  Star Wars was all consuming for me: the toys, the comics, the novels, the cards. I devoured all of it. I was an enormous comic fan and felt compelled to buy some of Marvel’s Trek comics, and again, nothing.

Around 1982 something began to change. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was released, and again Dad took me to see it at the dollar theater. I came out thinking, “That wasn’t so bad.” Mind you, I was still wrapped up in the fervor emanating from a galaxy far, far away, but Return of the Jedi was still a year away.

A few months later, WPIX-TV, which aired Star Trek in the New York area, screened “Space Seed”, the episode that begat Khan Noonien Singh, the villain of Star Trek II . Dad suggested I watch it in order to better understand the events of that film. I did. Again, “It wasn’t so bad.” I was becoming more than a bit intrigued.

Around that time, my family finally took the cable tv plunge, and when Trek II arrived on HBO sometime in 1983 I watched it every day it was on. It was compulsory viewing. And yet, I still wasn’t watching TOS. I can’t quite put my finger on why. To some degree, I think the look of it hampered my acceptance of it, much the same way the look of classic Doctor Who did (and still does to an extent). I’m not proud of that, but in my defense, I was 12, and Star Wars looked amazing.

Return of the Jedi came and went, and my enthusiasm for Star Wars began to abate somewhat. To this day, I still love SW but it has taken a back seat to Trek .

In 1983, our main conduit for science fiction news and gossip was Starlog Magazine. Through it, I learned a new Star Trek film was on the horizon, and that Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy would direct. I was excited, and what cemented that excitement was a special that aired late in 1983 entitled Star Trek Memories , hosted by Nimoy.

An obvious promotional tie-in for Trek III, Star Trek Memories was like “Spock for Dummies,” and it saw Nimoy recounting the various iconic moments that shaped the Spock character during the Original Series (ones we can all recite verbatim now). He teased Trek III brilliantly, whetting my appetite for the new film while simultaneously piquing my curiosity for what came before. When the special re-aired early in 1984 I taped it with my new VCR and watched it constantly.

Around this time WPIX aired Star Trek late at night and possibly on the weekend at the dinner hour. Of the latter, I cannot be sure, but I vividly remember not being able to make it to 11:00 or midnight to start watching Trek. Having a VCR and the ability to time shift recordings changed all that.

My excitement for Trek III was reaching its crescendo in the spring of 1984. A few photos were released and Starlog gave us a few crumbs to gnaw on. I started taping (and saving) every episode of TOS. The first episode I ever taped was The Enterprise Incident. Ironically enough my collection started in the third season. I had to suffer through about a month’s worth of Trek at its lousiest before I got to the good stuff.

I was in such a froth to see Trek III that I outlined a plan for my friends and I to see it opening day. A friend’s mother drove the four of us to the theater, but not before I got my hands on the official movie magazine featuring Leonard Nimoy as Spock dead center on the cover, newly resurrected and wearing his Vulcan robes. I proceeded to spoil the ending for all my friends, as if there was any doubt.

So how was it?

Star Trek III is flawed, to be sure. As a friend recently pointed out, why does Kirk need to return to Genesis with Spock’s body? What’s the point of that? Once it’s established that Spock’s katra resides in McCoy that should be all that is needed to deposit Spock’s essence in the Hall of Ancient Thought. Sarek cannot know that Spock’s body has been regenerated on Genesis, nor can Kirk.

I remember reading Vonda McIntyre’s excellent novelization of Trek III, and I vividly recall that the movie does not pick up until about 100 pages into the book, so it’s possible I am not remembering some detail that explains this seeming hole.

Star Trek III is no Star Trek II, but it provides some of my favorite moments of the film series: Kirk and Co. steal the Enterprise accompanied by James Horner’s rousing score, the gradual injection of humor in just the right spots setting the stage for the all-out fun of Trek IV, the depiction of that bond I mentioned previously as evidenced by every member of the cast having their moment in the sun, my favorite being, “Don’t call me Tiny.”

As a director, Nimoy inherently knows how to pace a film. He steps back and allows these actors who have lived in the skins of their characters for nearly 20 years something of a free hand to express themselves the way they should. He carefully and gently guides William Shatner through one of the most poignant scenes of his storied career: Kirk’s reaction to the death of his son.

Thanks to the seeds planted by Producer Harve Bennett, in concert with Nimoy, Spock’s return to life is neither contrived (by sci-fi standards) nor silly. No “Obi Wan shimmer” here. It is obvious that while the grand mysteries of life and death have not been solved by Vulcan mysticism, they have a better handle on them than we do. It is a happy coincidence, however, that they happen to have a ceremony meant to reunite body and soul in case of…you know….unexpected bodily resurrection.

Trek III marked a return to prominence for the Klingons, and a offers a characterization that would be adopted for subsequent films and The Next Generation . Christopher Lloyd blows the doors off as Kruge, an obsessed Klingon captain who is more than a match for Kirk. Robin Curtis does her best trying to fill Kirstie Alley’s shoes as Saavik, but she brings little dimension to the role. She’s become a great ambassador for Trek though, and I applaud her for that.

With the release of Star Trek III, I began consuming as much Trek ephemera as I possibly could and none more so than DC’s excellent comic series that began eight months prior to Trek III’s release. Writer Mike Barr did an amazing job weaving his story into and out of the film, setting the stage for the incredible “Mirror Universe Saga” which in my opinion is the finest Trek comic storyline ever.

Star Trek III is also famous for being the first budget priced video cassette released at that price point ($29.95) when it debuted on home video. Paramount had already experimented with cassettes priced to buy, but only after they had been priced for rental for several months. That meant I could get my grubby little hands on the actual VHS! I remember pre-ordering it at my local video shop, picking it up sometime in February of 1985 and sitting through a lengthy dinner at a restaurant with my parents before I could go home and watch it (twice). Paramount continued this trend with other high profile releases such as Beverly Hills Cop and Star Trek IV.

Star Trek III was definitely a hit, ensuring yet another sequel and a return to the director’s chair for Leonard Nimoy. Does it suffer from the odd-numbered slump? I suppose if you measure it against immediate predecessor and successor Trek II and Trek IV, it does. It’s a film whose existence is predicated on the need to resurrect a beloved character that had an amazing send-off and a subsequent change of heart. Is anyone really annoyed at the fact Spock came back and the manner in which he did? Pick nits all you want. It was wonderful.

It’s the film that proved Nimoy could direct. It’s the film that showed us what was at the heart of Trek: the friendship of these amazing characters. It’s a brisk, rousing adventure with an uplifting score (no offense to maestro Jerry Goldsmith but James Horner is the right man for this job). It’s a film with heavy themes punctuated with humor and levity at exactly the right moment every time. It’s the film that made me love Star Trek.

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In hindsight, I think that TSFS is ‘Trek’s version of Star Wars’ EBS. You had the heroes in a dark place (lost a ship, the death of Kirk’s son David, the tarnishing of one’s career, etc.), and there is that spark of hope, when Spock returned from the dead. As a fan we can only guess as to what will happen next, when the sequel would come out. Thus, I definitely think that TSFS is an underrated film in the franchise.

Oh, I meant ESB. Typing on the screen of an iPad can be a bit hard, thanks to having big hands…

I ve got the Theatrical Poster (Bob Peak art) framed – its really something!!

…and the Adventure continues…

That’s exactly how ST3 ought to leave us. So, writers & director, time to kick ass like no ass has before ;-)

I kind of enjoyed this so called “Genesis Trilogy”. I liked how TSFS was the set up for the 4th movie. I know the cast for JJ’s star trek were all initially signed for 3 pictures, so I don’t know if it’s cost prohibitive now to plan for a 4th and 5th movie, but I wouldn’t mind seeing another trilogy within this new alternate reality of Trek.

Two quick corrections. Star Trek II was the first sell through VHS.

Also, the reason why Sarek knows Spock’s body is on Genesis is because the movie was re-ordered in post-production. The opening scene was supposed to be the Grissom arriving at Genesis (that’s the reason we get the stardate in the middle of the movie!).

Steve… you have to watch the previous movie to find Kirk’s motive in going back to Genesis….

“Captain’s log, stardate 8141.6. Starship Enterprise departing for Ceti Alpha Five to pick up the crew of the U.S.S. Reliant. All is well. And yet I can’t help wondering about the friend I leave behind. ‘There are always possibilities’ Spock said. And if Genesis is indeed ‘Life from death’, I must return to this place again.”

Kirk, epilogue of “Star Trek II”

That’s why he goes back to Genesis.

An interesting and enjoyable read. I remember as if it was yesterday sitting down in the cinema to await the start of the movie and saying to my friend ‘at last’ ! It had been a long wait since TWoK. I don’t remember being disappointed. In fact there was much in there that was new and enjoyable. New ships and space-stations that definitely marked a step forward for Trek. 30 years- where does time go!

23rd Century sportswear looks uncomfortable.

This is the heavy one of the three. Oddly so, since Spock DIES in II. I also never felt great about Christopher Lloyd’s 2-D characterization or learning that the Enterprise was 20 years old… or having the hot Vulcan-on-Vulcan MILF sex scene left out… (look it up, people)

Anyhoo — Hooray for: Space Dock, The Excelsior, Traswarp Fail, Vulcan Nymphs, ‘Splodin’ starships, and more…

I really like this movie. Sure, like you wrote, it’s no TWOK, but I still have a fondness for it. Mostly because of Nimoy’s direction and James Horner’s score. They manage to do a lot with very little.

Take the stealing the enterprise scene for example. It’s epic… and we’re essentially watching a very large car back out of a garage!

Happy Anniversary, TSFS!

TSFS is dear to me, as it’s the Star Trek story that got me into the world in the first place, back when I was a teen. Saw it in a cinema in the small town I grew up in, and it really turned me around to what Trek could do. I still rank it as my personal favourite of all the movies, despite its flaws. It has so many great moments – the galvanising romp that is the stealing of the Enterprise; Kirk and crew going rogue; Christopher Lloyd’s awesome Kruge, so unrecognisable from his more famed Doc Brown persona; Kirk being emotionally gutted from the murder of his son, and the fiery trail made by the shell of the plunging Enterprise. And DeForest Kelley being brilliant. And… don’t call me Tiny.

Trek !!! Rules

I hope the new trek 3 plays homages to TSFS. If but one segment, the stealing of the enterprise! Perhaps a spin on the original could be that the Klingons have captured the ship and have it stored in one of their space docks above their home world. Kirk and his crew must risk everything in an futile desperate act to escape the clutches of the klingons. Not only must they steal back their vessel from a heavily gaurded fortress, but fight their way through the orbiting birds of prey that receive this message..(in Klingon, but subtitled for the audience) “Someone is stealing the enterprise!”

The Wrath of Khan, The Search For Spock, and The Voyage Home were the best TOS films!

What is the “Hall of Ancient Thought?” Is that mentioned in the movie? Even if the movie wasn’t reordered ( poster above), Kirk would have taken virtually any shred of a chance to save Spock — that’s what Kirk does in any life or death situation — almost all the time. Agree that Christopher Lloyd’s Kruge is awesome, would also give Mark Lenard credit for laying out the more, guttural, aggressive Klingon persona as the TMP Klingon Commander.

“The Search For Spock” is a great Trek movie. Just as good as “The Wrath Of Khan”. It works on so many levels, and really adds more emotional depth to the characters, especially Kirk, who isn’t himself without Spock by his side. William Shatner gave his last great performance as Kirk in this movie. He really nailed it.

The movie really hit home how close the crew were to each other, and how far they’d go to save one of their own. Loyalty, friendship, and the high cost that comes along with it. There can be no victory without sacrifice, as we had seen in TWOK, when Spock gave himself for the Enterprise and it’s crew. We see David do the same thing this time, to protect Saavik and a regenerated Spock. Kirk blows up the Enterprise with about a half-dozen Klingons on board — turning certain death into a fighting chance to live.

The film introduced many new elements that would show up in later movies and series, like Spacedock, the Oberth- and Excelsior-class starships, as well as the Klingon Bird-of-Prey.

The music by James Horner — who also composed the score for TWOK — was superb, and really helped bring in a TOS feel in a way that the other TOS-films didn’t have, TWOK included.

30 years! Wow!

I’m so old.

At this time, a grade school classmate introduced me to Star Trek (and Doctor Who) over my passion for Star Wars. So this is the movie that anchors my Trek fandom, and puts me in the minority of being a Robin Curtis fan. Boy those magazine and novelization covers bring back memories. Time to dig them out of the closet again!

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Hall_of_Ancient_Thought

I loved ST II, III and IV, I was an ’80’s kid yes it was a great time to be a Sci-fi fan. It was such a shock when Spock died, their wasn’t a sound in the movie theater and some crying, II and III had such great action and suspense and loved the soundtrack, they just don’t make em like that anymore.

While it’s true that much of Season 3 was substandard, “The Enterprise Incident” was one of the best episodes they ever made!

And yes, I love “The Search for Spock.” I enjoyed Mr. Nimoy’s description, in his autobiography, about how his time at “Mission Impossible” had informed this story, where each member of the team has a contribution to make to the mission of stealing the Enterprise.

Enjoyed the article!

The one big plot hole in STIII is that Kruge has no reason to go down to the Genesis Planet other than to have a mano-a-mano fisticuffs with Kirk. I haven’t watched STVI in a while, though, and I’m wondering what plot holes Steve was referring to in that one.

My induction into Trek was actually somewhat similar to Steve’s, though I’m a bit younger. Like Steve, I was first a Star Wars fan. TMP put me to sleep. I watched TWOK over and over again (my Dad had videotaped it off HBO). I remember seeing STIII in the theater when I was a kid and having a great time. And the TOS TV series didn’t click for me until I was 16. I stayed home sick for a week with gastroenteritis and there was a TOS marathon on that week. I got to watching it and, for whatever reason, these episodes that I’d never gotten into when I’d seen them before were suddenly very appealing. And from then on I devoured TOS and TNG.

One thing that still puzzles me is why the most repeated episodes tended to be the worst ones. There were many episodes—and many of the best ones—which I’d never seen on TV despite watching TOS whenever I’d catch it on. And yet, I’d see Spock’s Brain every other week it seemed. It seemed like only a small portion of the series was ever on TV.

STIII has some classic scenes, for sure. The Bones comedic moments get me every time. I agree with 1. Dswynne – June 1, 2014 that, tonally, STIII feels the most like SW:TESB. Unlike, ESB, however, STIII is not the best in the series of 6 TOS movies, but it does tend to get overlooked and be underrated. It’s flat in places and anticlimactic, but on the whole STIII has held up quite well over time. In fact, it’s such an enjoyable movie that I’m going to have to watch it again right now.

#20 Corylea: I was fond of Elaan of Troyus, which I think was season 3. That Which Survives was also season 3 and there were a number of other good episodes–Spock’s Brain not being one of them. Throughout the season, though, if you notice, the photography’s a little more ambitious, and for a show that had its budget cut, there are a surprising number of practical sets that were built. The look of the show improved a bit, but the writing slid, due mostly, I think, to Freddie Fryburger’s sensibilities. I think he injected too much silliness, and then endings were often eye-rollers.

#21 Cygnus X-1 Re: Trek VI (which I also love) one hole or at least ridiculous plot contrivance that immediately springs to mind is the Meridian Patch. Seriously? The Klingons never notice this patch velcro’d to Kirk’s shoulder after his arrest, his trial and his internment? And it’s pretty convenient that on Rura Penthe they don’t issue prisoner uniforms so Kirk and Bones can conveniently keep their uniforms (with said patch).

How did Valeris record Kirk recording his personal log? Since when do alarm claxons go off when someone fires a phaser aboard a starship? Uhura’s mashed up Klingon is good enough to pass muster?

I loved Trek III. I loved the little moments of humor in it, especially for the supporting cast. I think after that, even in IV, their humor seemed more comic relief, which cheapened their characters for me.

If you’ve never read Vonda McIntyre’s Trek II and III novels, I can’t recommend them enough. There is so much more to the novels than was ever shown in the movies.

@21 (Cygnus-X1): Kruge beaming down to the planet is not a plot hole.

“A plot hole, or plothole is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that creates a paradox in the story that cannot be reconciled with any explanation”

(Taken from Wikipedia)

Kruge was a megalomaniac, pure and simple. This was set up when he murdered his lover after she had acquired the information on the Genesis Device, he killed one of his officers for accidentally destroying the USS Grissom, and he purposely confronted Kirk so that he could kill him personally (due to being humiliated by Kirk, when the Enterprise self-destruct) while ignoring the fact that the planet Genesis was being destroyed around them. That’s being consistent in character. Now, you may not like his character for not being textured, but the character Kruge is no a “plothole”.

@#2 – not because of big hands. It’s for iOS having a lousy text input.

No issue with my big hands and Kindle or Surface Pro.

There’s one line from this movie that I always found to be very eloquent of the relationship between Bones and Kirk…

Kirk: Bones, what have I done? Bones: You did what you always do, turn death into a fighting chance to live.

This has always been my favorite Star Trek film. To me it made our favorite characters into heros by doing the right thing for their friend even at great personal cost. I think this is the film that made me a Star Trek fan. I would have been 9 or 10 when I seen it, and when I did, I left Star Wars behind. I hope Bob Orci can make me love his film.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Star Wars, but I am a fan of Star Trek.

This is one of my favourite Star Trek films. <3

The Search for Spock shows the big friendship between the main characters, it shows Klingons, Space-Fights, has a SciFi-Background (Genesis) and it is a thoughtful movie about friendship and loss (Kirks son and the Enterprise). After all Spock seems to remember Kirk again and rises his eye-brow. For me this emotional movie was even better than ST II! I know, the most people think different, but well, that´s the way it is.

Happy birthday STIII! It’s the same age as me! I agree that it’s no TWOK, but I think that TSFS is a great Original Series story and introduces so many now-familiar Trek elements.

As for TUC, if I can defend some of the plot holes (STVI was the first Trek film I saw at the cinema so it’s quite dear to me!)

The Merdian patch: Spock’s instinct told him that if Kirk beamed over to the Qo’nos One then shenanigans may ensue (so he thought he best keep tabs on the Captain)

The lack of Rura Penthe prison uniforms: the Klingons thought it was impossible to escape from (typical Klingon overconfidence of the era) so why would they care what their prisoners wore? Or, it could be a ‘this is to remind you of your former life; what you have lost’ thing so that’s why we’re letting you keep your own clothes.

Finally, Valeris’ recording of Kirk’s log: his cabin door was open (unprofessional much?) while he was recording the personal log. So, Valeris came down to talk to Kirk (as we see in the film) and she either (i) had a recording device on her and thought ‘ooh, juicy – this’ll come in handy later!’ or, she later went back up to the bridge, hacked into the internal sensors and downloaded the audio to her ipod and emailed it to (presumably) General Chang or some other shady Klingon so-and-so.

No paradoxes here I hope!

25. dswynne – June 1, 2014

“A plot hole, or plothole is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that creates a paradox in the story that cannot be reconciled with any explanation”

The rest of that definition is…

These include such things as illogical or impossible events, and statements or events that contradict earlier events in the storyline.

I suppose plot contrivance might be a more appropriate term for why Kruge beams down to the planet, but I think of it as a plot hole for the following reason:

It’s not that Kruge is megalomaniacal , it’s that he wants to be powerful by being the sole possessor of Genesis. Up to the point when he beams down to the planet to have a mano-a-mano with Kirk, Kruge’s one consistent motivation throughout the story is that he is bent on acquiring Genesis. His goal is for himself, and only himself, to have the power of Genesis. This goal is what motivates all of Kruge’s actions up to that point, including killing his lover after she’s seen the Genesis info. Even during Kruge’s mano-a-mano scene with Kirk, he lifts Kirk up by the neck and demands, “Give me Genesis!” As far as Kruge is concerned within the story, his primary concern is acquiring Genesis.

When Kirk communicates to Kruge from the planet surface and begins trying to negotiate with him—beam the crew up from the rapidly deteriorating planet in exchange for Kirk’s knowledge of Genesis (which Kirk tells Kruge that he has)—a Kruge consistent with his motivation in the story up to that point would have done one of the following:

(1) Beam Kirk alone up to the bird of prey. Tell him if he doesn’t hand over his knowledge of Genesis, his crew will either be left on the planet to die or Kruge will target and kill them from his ship in orbit; or,

(2) Beam Kirk and his crew up to the bird of prey. The Klingons have disruptors, the Enterprise crew have no weapons. Kruge then tells Kirk: Give me Genesis or I’ll execute your crew one at a time, or beam them back down to the planet to die one at a time to die.

I suppose you could say that Kruge fails to take full advantage of his negotiating position vis-a-vis Kirk because his character is stupid, but that’s too easy and would also be inconsistent with the Kruge of the story up to that point. Until the moment that he throws his whole plan out the window to beam down alone to the planet and fight Kirk to the death amidst the calamity down there, Kruge had been consistently cold and calculating—not smart enough to outwit Kirk, but not a complete idiot, either. Kruge hasn’t been a berserk, blood-thirsty, suicidal or unpredictable character up to that point. His every action has been in aid of acquiring Genesis for himself and himself alone. He killed his lover because she’d seen the Genesis-related info and he wanted no one else to know about it.

Whenever I watch STIII, I’m taken out of the movie by Kruge’s decision to beam down to the planet alone to fight Kirk instead of simply beaming Kirk up to torture or threaten him aboard the bird of prey where Kruge has the upper hand instead of down on the chaotic planet.

So, I call Kruge beaming down to the planet a plot hole because it’s inconsistent with and somewhat contradicts the motivation and behavior of the character up to that point. One might also call it a plot contrivance in that the act of beaming down to the planet serves the purpose of contriving a mano-a-mano fisticuffs scenario between the story’s hero and the story’s villain more than it serves the motivation of the Kruge character with respect to the story’s internal logic.

23. Steve Vivona – June 1, 2014

Yeah, I see what you mean about those little contrivances in STVI that seem all too convenient and inconsistent with the presupposed logic of the world in which the story is set.

31. Dr C – June 2, 2014

The lack of Rura Penthe prison uniforms: the Klingons thought it was impossible to escape from (typical Klingon overconfidence of the era) so why would they care what their prisoners wore?

Well, even if viridium patches were rare technology at that point in time (it’s the first time we’d ever seen one in Trek), letting prisoners keep what they’re wearing seems like it’s inviting a lot of trouble and hassle for the prison staff. As tiny as devices are today, we can only imagine the sort of things a prisoner might have stashed away in his clothing that could make loads of trouble for the prison staff later on. Much easier to make the prisoners wear uniforms, as in typical prisons on Earth.

Finally, Valeris’ recording of Kirk’s log: his cabin door was open (unprofessional much?) while he was recording the personal log. So, Valeris came down to talk to Kirk (as we see in the film) and she either (i) had a recording device on her and thought ‘ooh, juicy – this’ll come in handy later!’

You kind of sold me on this one, though. Valeris getting ahold of Kirk’s log recording is really just a matter of espionage, which is not so hard to believe of a trained agent on a mission of subversion, which is what Valeris was.

“May the wind be at your back”! :)

I simply love ST III.

It is just a great story about friends who take care for each other.

And I love the James Horner – Score.

Star Trek III, fo rme, is a film of loss and dealing with it. I find it incredibly humbling watching the characters we know so well dealing with it.

It’s almost painful to watch Kirk at times with Sarek at the start of the film – goodness, even Mark Leonard’s performance is stella in that scene where he almost breaks into emotion, questioning his actions towards Spock and – finally – you realise how much his son meant to him.

Sarek dealing with the loss of his son. Kirk on the loss of his friend, the crew losing the Enterprise – as many have quoted Bones’ legendary line now to Kirk asking “What have I done?” – “What you had to do, what you always do, turn death into a fighting chance to live…”

Let’s not forget the emotional punch to the stomach that is David’s death. Introduced in Wrath of Khan, you think David is now to be around for a bit with Savvik, yet he gives his life to save her and the younger bodied Spock.

His murder, carried out via audio for the Enterprise Bridge to hear, is gutterall and ruthless. Almost Kligon like. Kruge probably thought David died a warriors death but on the bridge we see another father deal with the loss of HIS son…….Klingon bastard, you killed my SON.

On the commentary on the DVD Nimoy says he doesn’t know if Shatner deliberately missteps as he falls back and misses his Cpatains chair…one thinks (I refuse to use “hopes”) that Bill really did mean to do it – it is SO emotional.

Klingon bastard, you KILLED my son.

The one time that Kirk missteps, loses his balance, almost loses control of his world when his son is taken from him. The range of emotions – people slag off Bill for not being a good actor and I say look at this scene and the Spock/Kirk scene in Engineering in Wrath and you will see Shatner being a great actor – Kirk goes through – shock, horror, anger….

Klingon BASTARD, you killed my son…you, Klingon BASTARD!

The cut away to Jimmy Doohan is priceless too – and it’s here I think Nimoy’s direction pays dividends because he knew to trust his actors. Scotty’s look is heartrendering as he looks towards his Captain at this moment.

By destroying the ship, it is yet more loss – of another character in the story who gives it’s life to save others. Horner’s music here is deleriously beautiful escalating higher in pitch in melody as the plans are set for self destruct.

Oh, and didn’t the model look fabulous as it exploded? I must have stretched my vhs tape watching it frame by frame so many times as the saucer disintegrated and then finally exploded.

One wonders, as well, if McCoy had not been relieved of Spock’s katra, would he have gone mad…would Bones have been lost too? As he is warned, there is no guarantee for his safety “I choose the danger” – another giving their life for another.

So much emotion in a sci-fi film culminates in that final scene. Two friends. Kirk and Spock. You can literally see Kirk willing his friend to remember him, to remember himself. Again, the directgion from Nimoy and the editing drag it out for maximum emotional oomph….you think he will remember, then he falters, then you lose hope, then finally…..

“Your name is Jim…”

Wrath Of Khan is Shakespearian, The Undiscovered Country is a top notch thriller but Search For Spock is about the meaning of life and death and all there is to be….human.

….oh, for JJ and Bad Robot to have given us any of what I have written above….

Can you imagine the field day, the red matter, “Magic Blood” complainers, would have had bashing this movie back in the day with it’s magic “protomatter”! lol Thank God there was no internet back then!

I pretty much enjoy Trek 3, aside from the keystone cops brig break out and that ridiculous sputtering of the Excelsior. Talk about BAD comedy…and people bash Trek 5?? lol Not to mention it stops the whole movie in it’s tracks…serious Trek, funny Trek, back to serious Trek. But it was Leonard’s first effort and there were, as it seems to be in all Trek movies, some truly some great moments. Gotta take the good with the bad, so I cut him some slack for being new at the job.

Yes, ST III is the most under-rated and overlooked of all the Trek films. I don’t need to restate what others have already, but I have appreciated it more as I got older.

One thing I really like about it is how much it took from the TV series, probably more than any other Trek movie. Other than the 7 crew and Enterprise, we get Sarek, tribbles, Klingons (the “We are Klingons” line is straight from Day of the Dove), Vulcan ritual very much like the Amok Time episode (even a similar Vulcan high priestess and similar shapes), the destruct code sequence taken from “Let that be your last battlefield” episode, and cloaking devices. Even the Klingon bird-of-prey is similar to the Romulan bird-of-prey from TOS (yeah, due to the fact it was planned to be Romulan at first).

I think that Harve Bennet was smart to pull Khan from TOS for STII, saw how well that worked, and then decided to pull more from TOS for the third. I’m just bummed that the later Trek films chose to avoid TOS references, especially ST VI which is so different it’s like it was from a different universe.

@32 (Cygnus-X1): But Kruge motivation has been consistent throughout the story. We can both agree that Kruge wants the Genesis Plans. Where the disagreement lies is that you feel that Kruge should have be a bit more calculating, rather than engage in an action scene where the hero (Kirk) fights the villain (Kruge). And I think that you prefer a more nuanced approach towards a resolution to the story, rather than engage in “action schlock”. And I understand your point on this because I felt the same way with how Star Trek: Insurrection was resolved between Picard and Ruafo. However, the difference for me, between TSFS and INS, is that I wanted Kirk to kick Kruge’s butt, due to the fact that Kruge had no redeeming traits by the time the last act rolled in. I didn’t see either Picard or Ruafo being the type of characters that would do what Kirk and Kruge did.

ST3 is in many ways the Empire Strikes back of Star trek, but at its heart ST3 has real depth and drama, TESB on the other hand has cardboard characterization and a Muppet for one of its central character!

Popular opinion does not support my view (yes, I am looking at you Empire’s best 300 movies of all time Poll) however we are all entitled to our opinion!

I always liked ST-III. Yes, it wasn’t as good as Wrath of Khan, but none of them are! (ST-II remains my favorite of all of the films.). But ST-III made the best use of all of the characters, particularly during the stealing of the Enterprise, and gave each of them an important role in the story.

Yeah, there were plot holes, as there are in all of the movies. The biggest issue for me isn’t a plot hole, just an inconsistency, and it’s not the fault of ST-III so much as it is ST-IV: The interior of the Klingon bird of prey is COMPLETELY different between the two movies, for no good reason. I do like the look of it in ST-IV much better, but it’s always bothered me that it changed so much with no explanation.

To correct the SW/ST 70s history bit. TREK had a feature film well into development, which was cancelled in may 77 just before SW came out because paramount realized they had blown it by not getting there first. Then, after SW hit, p2 happened … only to be cancelled during development.

I’ve always found SFS to be a downer, with huge dumb story holes, effect-determines-cause plotting, a lot of questionable visual choices by Nimoy, and the very troubling ILM-ification of the TREK universe with building big blimp hangars in space instead of doing it properly. Having said that, I think there are nice quiet moment in the early going and tremendous work from De, just outstanding. Shat’s CU with Morrow is great too, almost makes up for the KLINGON BASTARDS misstep which is just godawful bad, generating tons of laughter in theaters opening day.

Easily the biggest missed opportunity of all the films for me. I like TMP TWOK TFF, I do not like the Nimoy films, and TUC (which is Nimoy influenced) is just barely watchable despite character assassination on the principals.

I could never get to excited about TSFS. Setting aside for the moment that I’m one of a tiny handful of people, if the decision had been mine, who would have left Spock dead, they telegraphed more then enough information at the end of WOK that Spock wasn’t going to stay dead. So, everyone knew exactly what they were getting when the opening credits rolled, that Spock was returning. We also figured out pretty quickly how that would happen, and the whole thing was pretty anti-climatic.

The production staff did the best they could with the very limited material they had. To that end, while it could have been worse, it could have been much, much better if they didn’t have to worry about resurrecting Spock.

#38 at least we didn’t see a massive great blob of protomatter as we did with the daft RedMatter. This incredibly powerful material, that Spock only needed a small glob of but still felt he needed to take a bloody great load along. He could have kept all he really needed in a test tube! No, protomatter sounds smart and conceivable. RedMatter, well, it doesn’t really matter. Its a nonsense and a plot device that clearly needed little thought. Whereas protomatter appears to have been conceived of sensibly and reasonably.

#37 Edward — Beautifully written! You just described TSFS perfectly.

37. Edward “….oh, for JJ and Bad Robot to have given us any of what I have written above….”

IMO they did, Edward. The Kelvin sequence in ST’09 with George Kirk’s sacrifice of his life for his wife, child and crewmates is one of the most touching and for me memorable scenes ever in all the Treks. And for that reason one of my favorites of all.

I’d hoped for more of that kind of emotional tide to ride with STiD but nothing in that film came close for me. Not Pike’s death. Not Kirk’s “death”. And certainly not Spock’s Khan scream. The latter two I found distracting enough to take me out of the the film as opposed to drawing me further in, as it ideally should have.

I loved TSFS, but it was a second blow to the face for me… I mean my gut wrenched when they destroyed the Enterprise. I was like… first they kill my Spock, now they’re killing my Enterprise, ahhhhh!!!!

Great article BTW, thanks!!

TSFS is a Trek that I liked when it was first released but I was disappointed that it wasn’t as good as TWOK, IMO. There are a lot of things that I do love about the film though. That movie has one of my three favorite Star Trek scenes. Favorites because of the emotional weight they have-

In TSFS- When after stealing the Enterprise Chekov, Sulu and Scottie say (wildly paraphrasing here) “We’re going with you and McCoy, Captain, to help no matter what the risks to our careers might be.”

In Amok Time – The scene with Kirk, Spock and McCoy in the turbo lift when Spock acknowledges the Bones is one of his closest friends. And McCoy’s reaction to that- “I would be honored, sir.”

And in ST’09 – The Kelvin scene with George Kirk ultimate sacrifice.

Of all the many Star Trek scenes that I love so much in all the Treks, those three I love the most. Expressions of love, loyalty and sacrifice. They get me every time and there’s usually a tear or two (or more). I guess I’m just an old softy.

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Published Jun 1, 2019

12 Things You Should Know About Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

The 'Trek' classic turns 35 years old today

StarTrek.com

The Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock opened in theaters on June 1, 1984 — 35 years ago today. It is illogical to waste time letting this milestone make you feel old, as time marches on, after all (or, in Discovery's case, leaps ). And so, instead, we're choosing to dwell not on the unknown nature of time, but the little known facts that make The Search for Spock an all- time classic Trek film.

Return to Genesis

Just a few days — or even a day, depending on the source — after Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan opened in theaters, writer-producer Harve Bennett started typing out what would become The Search for Spock . The title of his initial 20-page treatment/outline was Return to Genesis .

The Beginning and the End

Star Trek III began production on August 15, 1983, starting by filming the opening scene on the Enterprise bridge. Principal photography concluded on October 20, 1983 after wrapping a scene on the Excelsior bridge.

New and Old

Nimoy cast an array of veteran actors and newcomers in key roles. Mark Lenard returned to reprise his TOS role as Spock's father, Sarek, and Nimoy convinced the Oscar-nominated Dame Judith Anderson to play the pivotal role of the Vulcan High Priestess T'Lar. Meanwhile, Robin Curtis was a relative rookie when she took over the role of Saavik from Kirstie Alley, and Merritt Butrick was best known for the short-lived, but cult-favorite series Square Pegs when he reprised the role of Kirk's doomed son, David.

Taxi to the Stars

As anyone who'd seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or The Lady in Red knew at the time, Christopher Lloyd knows his way around a dramatic role. But when the Back to the Future actor was tapped to play the Kruge, the Klingon commander, he was in the midst of generating laughs as Rev. Jim on the comedy series Taxi . According to Memory Alpha , Nimoy's first choice to play Kruge was actually Edward James Olmos (who would later star in Battlestar Galactica) but studio heads said no.

Nimoy, The Director

Star Trek III would be Leonard Nimoy's first stint as a feature film director. Back in a 2011 interview, StarTrek.com asked Nimoy about the experience . He replied:

"I was very comfortable shooting the movie. I did feel that I was being quite controlled, I guess is the word. I was made to justify everything that I did and explain everything that I was doing, which took a lot of energy. And I resented it. It bothered me that I was being so carefully monitored because I really felt that I knew what I was doing. I thought the script was workable and did what it had to do, which was to find Spock and get him back on his feet. I thought it was an interesting idea, the whole idea of the Genesis planet evolving and Spock’s remains evolving with the planet. It may not have been as much fun a film as some would like, but I thought it did the job. It did it what it set out to do. Maybe, in retrospect, we might have found a better story or construct, to get that job done. But we got the job done and the film was OK. At the box office, it did what was becoming the pattern for Star Trek films. It did about the same as was expected, so it was OK. It was not a gigantic runaway hit, but it was not considered a failure. And it was strong enough that they decided to go ahead and make another one after that."

Here There Be Tribbles

What's that we see in the bar scene in Star Trek III — Tribbles! ? They are indeed, making their first live-action appearance since TOS .

The Bottom Line

Star Trek III cost $16 million to make. It grossed $76.5 million at the North American box office. That figure was just below the North American gross of Star Trek II , which beamed up $78.9 million on a budget of $11.2 million.

What are some of your favorite Search for Spock facts or moments? Share them with us and check in on what other fans say @StarTrek !

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Jason Davis • May 10, 2018

Funpost! Someone is stealing the Enterprise

Welcome back for another edition of the weekly Funpost! 

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock turns 34 on June 1st. That's my weak attempt to come up with a reason to talk about the movie, but really, I don't need one, because this is the Funpost!, where we dish out EVERGREEN CONTENT on a weekly basis. 

In all honesty, I recently fell down a YouTube rabbit hole watching classic Star Trek movie scenes, and was marveling at the six-minute masterpiece that is the  Star Trek III scene where  Captain Kirk and company steal the Enterprise . I think it may be my all-time favorite  Trek  movie moment. Let's break it down!

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As someone says in the comments, only Star Trek can make the equivalent of backing a car out of the garage high drama. And drama it is! This is the moment where the crew goes rogue in order to save Spock's soul and fix the brain of poor Dr. McCoy, who has been walking around mumbling about logic and trying to neck-pinch people.  

THESE DAYS, I say, shaking my first at a nearby cloud, Star Trek crews go rogue all the time. But back then, it was a huge deal. The crew is throwing away their careers, not to save the world (that will come later), but to save two friends—one of whom is already dead, and the other who is just acting a little weird. It's not at all clear that the ends justify the means. Genesis is PLANET FORBIDDEN, and this ragtag rescue mission is presumably going to end with the crew sentenced to mining dilithium on some obscure moon. 

Spock isn't in the scene—or in most of the movie, for that matter. You might think that in order to have a top  Trek  scene, you need Spock. But let me blow your minds, friends: Spock is actually MORE in this scene than usual because they're doing this all for him, and he most certainly wouldn't approve. The needs of the one do not outweigh the needs of the many, right? But in their humanness, the crew is going to save Spock anyway, and that's what makes Star Trek III so great. It's an implicit celebration of friendship, and it doesn't feel cheesy or manufactured. The only major acknowledgement of all this comes in the prior scene, when McCoy says, "You're taking me to the promised land?" and Kirk replies, "What are friends for?"

The stealing the Enterprise scene works thanks to some great acting by the original cast. You can feel the drama in their expressions as the Enterprise approaches the space doors, which aren't opening. Sulu's eyes widen ever-so-slightly. Scotty is trying to work miracles, and at one point his mouth just kind of hangs open. Kirk is the steely eyed leader. McCoy looks annoyed and incredulous as always. Chekhov is... wearing some kind of peach leisure suit.

And the starship modeling work! How cool is that battle-scarred Enterprise backing out of spacedock, with the confused restaurant busser watching in the foreground? I love the movie Enterprise. It's a tasteful upgrade from the original series, with its black warp nacelles and baby-blue deflector dish. I built a model of this Enterprise as a kid, and the warp nacelles were so heavy one eventually broke off, which was okay, because I used it to re-enact battle scenes. 

This scene wouldn't be half as cool without James Horner's amazing musical score. When the four iconic Star Trek notes play, and the lights come on in the bridge—come on!—that's QUALITY TREK. The music starts subdued and slowly swells, until Kirk issues his "one-quarter impulse" command (that's SPEEDING, Kirk—thrusters-only while in space dock), at which point the trumpets blare and we're off to the races. When Sulu announces "we have cleared space doors," the score crescendos defiantly as we see a majestic top-down shot of the Enterprise leaving spacedock.

There are also zingers! McCoy's "Are you just gonna WALK through them?" line always makes me laugh, as does the exchange between Kirk and Scotty about the doors: 

Kirk: "Aaaaaand, now, Mr. Scott."

Scotty: "Sir?"

Kirk: "The doors, Mr. Scott!" 

Scotty: "Aye sir, I'm workin' on it!"

Finally, I'd be remiss not to mention the scene's antagonist, the Excelsior captain. We first see him lounging on his couch, filing his nails and getting shavings all over his uniform (boo, hiss). On the bridge, we learn this is a FANCY ship and a FANCY crew because it has transwarp drive and automatic moorings and neon-yellow chair bases. It's never a fair fight, because the Excelsior captain does everything wrong, from being too smug to saying "execute." 

"Execute?" NO, sir. In a moment of high drama, Starfleet captains are permitted to say "engage," "warp speed," or "let's see what this Galaxy-class starship can do," but never "execute." Get that weak "execute" command off my bridge. "Execute" is the kind of order that leaves you and your sawn-off golf club thingy stranded a couple of klicks from spacedock, with Earth's weirdly colored Moon mocking you from the background. 

That's it for this week's Funpost! If you have any questions or topics for a future Funpost!, send me an email at [email protected] .

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8 good things in star trek 3: the search for spock.

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Star Trek's Upcoming Prequel Movie Is Pulling The Same Trick For The 4th Time

Star trek's scotty made a long-awaited confession almost 20 years after his tos debut, star trek isn’t supposed to have money: what is latinum.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock is not generally considered one of the franchise's best films, but it's actually an underrated gem. After Star Trek: The Motion Picture was met with middling reviews and lower than expected box office returns, Paramount demoted Star Trek: The Original Series creator Gene Roddenberry and gave the film franchise over to producer Harve Bennett and director Nicholas Meyer. The result was Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan , a tremendously successful film both with critics and audiences; it's still widely considered the best Star Trek film.

Following up The Wrath Of Khan was never going to be easy, especially considering the film ended with the heroic death of franchise icon Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) . It was decided early in the development of the third film that Spock would be revived, much to the chagrin of Meyer, who refused to take part in the production. Nimoy himself was ultimately chosen to direct The Search For Spock , who also had significant creative input with Bennett on the story. The film performed well at the box office and garnered mostly positive reviews, though it failed to match the wild success of the previous film. Despite its mild underperformance, The Search For Spock remains a Star Trek classic.

Related: Spock & Sarek Are Star Trek’s Most Tragic Father-Son Relationship

8 Leonard Nimoy's Direction

Leonard Nimoy had limited experience as a director, only working on a handful of TV shows prior to The Search For Spock . It turned out Nimoy was more than up to the challenge. The Search For Spock is a gorgeous movie, with the effects work arguably better than in The Wrath Of Khan . Earth Spacedock is one of the more stunning visuals in all of Star Trek , and the Klingon Bird Of Prey would become iconic. Nimoy also managed to get great performances out of his fellow cast mates, with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) enjoying some of their most memorable scenes.

7 Kruge And The Klingons

The Search For Spock did more to define the modern Klingons than any previous Star Trek project, setting the stage for their prominent role in both Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . The Klingon warlord Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) established the look and temperament of the species, a warrior race with a twisted sense of honor and little fear of death. Their wardrobe and weaponry also took shape in The Search For Spock , featuring leather and chrome armor and ceremonial daggers and swords. More famous Klingons like TNG 's Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) likely would have been much different without The Search For Spock .

6 James Horner’s Score

The Star Trek films have always had great music, and The Search For Spock is no exception. James Horner's score for The Wrath Of Khan is one of the best in the franchise, and he was invited back to work on the sequel. Horner's score for The Search For Spock is a considerable expansion of the themes he established in the previous film, with swirling strings and bombastic horns providing the soundtrack to Kirk's desperate attempt to save Spock. Late in the film, as a devastated Kirk watches the remains of the USS Enterprise burn up, Horner's score perfectly evokes the complex emotions Kirk is experiencing.

5 Scotty's Disgust For The Excelsior

Near the beginning of the film, the Enterprise is decommissioned and Commander Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) is reassigned to oversee the engineering section of the new USS Excelsior, an experimental vessel equipped with "the Great Experiment," a transwarp drive. Scotty finds the Excelsior overly complicated and susceptible to malfunctions and sabotage, pining for the relative simplicity of the Enterprise. He eventually sabotages the Excelsior himself to allow Kirk to steal the Enterprise. Not all of Scotty's fellow crew mates felt the same way, as Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) would proudly captain the Excelsior in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

Related: Every Crime Admiral Kirk Committed In The Star Trek TOS Movies

4 Sulu’s Confrontation With The Prison Guard

Sulu doesn't have much to do in The Search For Spock , but he does have one memorable scene. While Kirk attempts to break the mentally impaired McCoy out of a Starfleet detention facility, Sulu strikes up a conversation with the guard, a large man who is clearly unimpressed with Sulu. The guard insults the diminutive Sulu by calling him "tiny," but when Kirk breaks McCoy free Sulu quickly dispatches the guard, knocking him unconscious. On Sulu's way out of the facility, he steps over the guard and nonchalantly remarks "don't call me tiny." It's a genuine fist pump moment and arguably Sulu's most memorable scene in the film franchise.

3 Kirk's Reaction To His Son's Death

Kirk is forced to sacrifice a tremendous amount in The Search For Spock , likely ending his Starfleet career by stealing the Enterprise and being forced to watch that beloved vessel burn in space. His greatest sacrifice, however, is the death of his son David (Merritt Buttrick) . Kirk met David for the first time in The Wrath Of Khan and was just beginning to form a relationship with him when Kruge had the young man executed on the Genesis planet. Overwhelmed with grief and shock, Kirk falls to the floor of the Enterprise bridge, barking in rage at the Klingons. It's some of the best acting William Shatner ever did as Kirk.

2 The Destruction Of The Enterprise

After Kruge dealt the Enterprise a critical blow and had David killed, Kirk was forced to take drastic measures to save the mindless Spock and Lieutenant Saavik (Robin Curtis). He tricked the majority of Kruge's men into beaming aboard the Enterprise after he activated the ship's self-destruct sequence, with Kirk and his crew beaming to the surface of the Genesis planet. The plan worked, but the sight of the Enterprise's broken hull burning up in the atmosphere of the Genesis planet is haunting, one final sacrifice Kirk must endure to revive his beloved First Officer.

1 The Final Scene Between Kirk And Spock

Once Spock's mind and body are finally restored on Vulcan, a confused Spock gingerly walks among his Enterprise crew mates. He doesn't seem to know who they are, and yet he recognizes them. When he finally comes face to face with Kirk, his memory kicks back in, as he wants to make sure he saved the crew of the Enterprise in his final moments. After he calls Kirk by his first name and cocks that legendary eyebrow, it's clear that Spock is back. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock certainly has its dark, brutal moments, but the ending is an emotional triumph.

More: Every Change The Star Trek Movies Made To The Original Crew

• Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek's Scotty Made A Long-Awaited Confession Almost 20 Years After His TOS Debut

Star Trek 's Lt. Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) made a long-awaited confession about his engineering prowess in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Throughout the three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series , Scotty gained a reputation as a "miracle worker" for his ability to fix almost any engineering-related problem. As Chief Engineer on the USS Enterprise of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Scotty maintained the ship's engines, as well as the transporter. Scotty was more familiar with the Enterprise's engines than anyone else, and he was responsible for saving the ship and its crew on numerous occasions.

As the second officer on the Enterprise, Scotty took command when both Captain Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) were on an away mission or otherwise incapacitated. Despite being more than capable of taking on a command role, Scotty never sought out a command position, preferring to remain an engineer. He took great pride in his work and took personal offense when others insulted the Enterprise. Scotty became known for completing his work faster than most, and it was not entirely by accident that he earned the title of "miracle worker," as he revealed in a conversation with Admiral Kirk in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock .

Scottys Confession To Kirk In Star Trek III Explained

Scotty confessed that he padded the estimates about how long it would take him to fix things.

After the opening credits of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the USS Enterprise prepares to return home to Earth. Admiral Kirk asks Scotty how long it will take to repair the ship after the damage it suffered in the battle against Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Scotty answers: "Eight weeks, sir. But you don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for ya in two." Kirk then asks Scotty if he "always multiplied [his] repair estimates by a factor of four," to which Scotty replies: "Certainly, sir. How else can I keep my reputation as a miracle worker?"

Is Star Treks Scotty Really A Miracle Worker? How USS Enterprises Engineer Got His Famous Nickname

Montgomery Scotty Scott is known as Star Treks resident miracle worker. Heres how the famous Scottish engineer got such an impressive title.

Kirk assures Scotty that his reputation remains intact, but it does raise the question of whether Scotty really is a "miracle worker." Still, the Enterprise would have been lost many times over if not for Scotty's quick thinking. Scotty proved himself yet again in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, helping Kirk steal the Enterprise by automating the ship so that a skeleton crew could pilot it. Scotty also sabotaged the experimental USS Excelsior to prevent it from following the Enterprise to the Genesis Planet. While Scott's status as a "miracle worker" may be up for debate, no one can doubt that he's an excellent engineer.

What Happened When Scotty Told Star Trek: TNGs Geordi Why Hes A Miracle Worker

Geordi was not particularly impressed by scotty's secret.

Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Relics" revealed that after his retirement from Starfleet, Scotty was traveling on the USS Jenolan when the ship crashed on a Dyson sphere, with Scotty and one other crewmate the only survivors. Knowing that they would not survive long enough to be rescued, Scotty rigged the transporter system to hold on to their signatures indefinitely. Seventy-five years later, the USS Enterprise-D picked up the Jenolan's distress signal and rescued Scotty from the transporter buffer. Scotty soon finds himself out of his depth on the new Enterprise, as most of his engineering knowledge is now outdated.

When Scotty tries to help Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) in Engineering, he is surprised when La Forge gives Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) an accurate estimate of how long a task will take. Scotty tells Geordi that he's "got a lot to learn if you want people to think of you as a miracle worker." Unfortunately, Geordi does not have time to learn these secrets and asks Scotty to leave him to his work. In the end, Scotty's knowledge of 23rd-century technology helps save the Enterprise-D, proving that he's still one of Star Trek's best engineers, "miracle worker" or not.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Cast Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner

Release Date September 8, 1966

Showrunner Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Cast LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Marina Sirtis

Release Date September 28, 1987

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Director Leonard Nimoy

Release Date June 1, 1984

Writers Harve Bennett, Gene Roddenberry

Cast Robin Curtis, Willliam Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan

Runtime 105 Minutes

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

• Credits 
• Trailers  [2]
• Image gallery  [2]

All images are copyrighted by their respective copyright holders and/or producers/distributors.

• Robin Curtis

• Mark Lenard

• Cathie Shirriff

• See all credits
• "While the sluggish beginning and ending mar this Star Trek outing somewhat, there's still enough here to please fans of the series, and, to a lesser extent, movie-goers in general."  James Berardinelli : ReelViews
• "Star Trek III is an emotionally satisfying science fiction adventure" Variety Staff : Variety
• "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock isn't really a movie, it's a happy reunion. The Enterprise is 18 years older and the crew members look like Gray Panthers in space. It may be old stuff, but it's still the right stuff" Rita Kempley : The Washington Post
• "Star Trek III has a genuine spirituality, and, at its end, you may be surprised, especially if you're not really a Trekkie, to realize how moved you've been"  Kevin Thomas : Los Angeles Times
• "Impressive visual invention by Nimoy and the reliability of his cast mean that Trek III does more good than harm to a franchise still competing with it's younger, more tehnologically advanced adversaries."  William Thomas : Empire
• "Weighty but fun threequel that dealt with the mysteries of matter, death and eternal life (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"  Peter Bradshaw : The Guardian

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32 Star Trek Actors Who Played Multiple Characters

One role just wasn't enough for some.

If you watch Star Trek shows a lot, like I do, you start to notice some familiar faces. With decades of television shows and movies under its belt, it's only natural that the franchise has approached actors to play multiple roles over the years. Sometimes, it was because it made sense for the character, but other times, it just seemed like the franchise loved working with that person. 

Today, we acknowledge both of those roles. Some of these actors you'll know quite well, and others you might not even realize it was them beneath all of those prosthetics and makeup. Let's dive in, and talk about these special actors who took on multiple roles during their time in Star Trek . 

Brent Spiner

This one is fairly obvious if you've watched Star Trek: The Next Generation , you've seen Brent Spiner play more roles than just Data. He's played his Synth twins Lore and B4, as well as various members of the Soong family across several shows. It's a fun recurring bit, and one fans are never upset to see. 

Jason Alexander

Since  leaving the  Seinfeld  cast , Jason Alexander has performed a couple of Star Trek roles. He played the merchant Kuros in Star Trek: Voyager and is also the voice of Dr. Noum in the animated series Prodigy . Both characters are wildly different, and show a side of Alexander that casual viewers may not have seen before. 

Thomas Kopache

If Thomas Kopache's face looks familiar to Star Trek fans, it's because he's been in a good deal of shows. The actor has held minor roles in The Next Generation , Voyager , Enterprise , Deep Space Nine , and even the movie Star Trek Generations . From a Starfleet communications officer to a Vulcan, one might never know where he'll pop up!

While he may be more well-known for his role in Candyman which required a lot of bee stings , Tony Todd is a beloved figure in the Star Trek universe. He played a recurring role as the Klingon Kurn in TNG and DS9 , an Alpha Hirogen in Voyager , but many may most remember his role as the older Jake Sisko in "The Visitor."  

Tim Russ was a beloved part of Star Trek: Voyage r's main cast as the Vulcan Tuvok, but that wasn't his only role in the franchise. He first popped up in The Next Generation as the mercenary Devor, and later in Deep Space Nine as a Klingon named T'Kar.

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Diana Muldaur

Diana Muldaur had a few roles in the original Star Trek , but it was in The Next Generation she made her biggest contribution to the franchise. Dr. Katherine Pulaski served on the Enterprise while Beverly Crusher was away, and had a brief fling with Riker's father. Her tenure was short, though Bev fans would argue not short enough. 

Todd Stashwick

Star Trek: Picard fans will sooner remember Todd Stashwick as the prickly Captain Shaw from Season 3, but that was not the actor's first role in the franchise. He had a smaller role as the Vulcan Talok in Star Trek: Enterprise . It's far less notable compared to the anti-hero he played in Picard , but still worth checking out. 

Kurtwood Smith

While readers may know him better as the hot-headed Red Forman in That 70s Show , Kurtwood Smith also had a couple of high-profile roles in Star Trek . He was the Federation President in Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country , as well as the obsessive captain Annorax in the iconic Voyager episode "Year of Hell." 

Jeffrey Combs

I don't think there's a more famous guest star among die-hard Star Trek fans. He's played many roles across all shows, even if you exclude the numerous clones of the Deep Space Nine character Weyoun. There are way too many to post for this entry, but personally, I would say his role as the Andorian Shran on Enterprise is among the best. 

Ken Mitchell

Actor Ken Mitchell was known for various roles across Star Trek: Discovery and Lower Decks and didn't let his diagnosis of ALS get in the way of interacting with the fandom along the way. The actor was remembered by many Trek actors and fans when he passed in February of 2024 . 

Aron Eisenberg

In addition to his incredible journey as Nog in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , actor Aron Eisenberg also had a brief role in Voyager . He played the young Kazon named Kardon in "Initiations," and once readers know that, they won't have trouble spotting him in the episode. 

Robert Duncan McNeill

Before he was the daring and sometimes troublesome Tom Paris on Star Trek: Voyager , Robert Duncan McNeill had played an almost identical character on The Next Generation by the name of Nicholas Locarno. Canonically, they're just two separate guys who look identical and have very similar personalities, as weird as that may be.  

Susanna Thompson

Before she stepped in as the Borg Queen in Star Trek: Voyager , actress Susanna Thompson did some smaller guest roles for the franchise. She played roles like a Vulcan and an illusion in  The Next Generation  and was also a Trill scientist on  Deep Space Nine . 

J.G. Hertzler

J.G. Hertzler's Martok was a beloved character for Deep Space Nine fans, but the actor also played a litany of minor characters in the series as well. He also did the same for The Next Generation , and even did some voice work for Lower Decks . 

Majel Barrett

An accomplished actress and the wife of creator Gene Roddenberry, Majel Barrett was in Star Trek from the very beginning. While her role as "Number One" wasn't resurrected until Star Trek: Discovery and later in Strange New Worlds , she was featured in TOS as Nurse Chapel and was beloved as Lwaxana Troi in TNG and DS9 . She also did tons of voice work for the franchise, including the voice of most of the computers up until the modern era. 

Robin Curtis 

After Kirstie Alley was allegedly blocked from returning to play Saavik, actress Robin Curtis came in to fill the role in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock . Following her work on that, she was also welcomed onto the set of The Next Generation to play the Vulcan posing as a Romulan named Tallera. 

George Murdock

George Murdock had two notable roles in Star Trek, but it's fair to say they're both substantial. He played "God" in Star Trek V: The Voyage Home , as well as Picard's friend and Starfleet Vice Admiral J.P. Hanson in The Next Generation . With roles like that, one has to wonder, "What would an actor want with a third role?" 

John Fleck has been in a lot of Star Trek , but due to fact he was always wearing prosthetics, fans may not be aware. If they watched Enterprise , no doubt they remember his Suliban character, Silik, who was a bit of a rival to Archer throughout the run of the series. 

Malachi Throne

Malachi Throne was there at the very beginning of Star Trek , playing The Keeper in the pilot episode "The Cage." Throne would be welcomed back in a couple of TOS roles, and wrap up his time in TNG as the Romulan senator Pardek. Malachi passed in 2013, but it's fair to say he was instrumental in the success of the franchise with his first role. 

Elias Toufexis

Elias Toufexis played one of the main antagonists L'ak in Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, but that wasn't the first time he appeared in the series. Go all the way back to Season 1, and he played the criminal Cold, who tried to jump Michael Burnham in the mess hall with another prisoner named Psycho. Not the best thing to be proud of for a role, but at least Toufexis got to play the first unmasked Breen in Trek history, which he was understandably thrilled about . 

Armin Shimerman

Armin Shimerman made us all laugh as Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , but it wasn't his only role in the franchise. Hilariously enough, he played a couple of other Ferengi in TNG , which might be why some fans think every Ferengi acts like him. He also played that weird Betazoid Gift Box in the "Haven" episode, though was not credited for the role. 

Michael Dorn

Michael Dorn famously played the Klingon Worf across more episodes than any other Star Trek character, but he also has another role people tend to forget. Some might forget his role as Colonel Worf in Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country , where he's an attorney meant to be an ancestor of the future Starfleet character. 

René Auberjonois

There are few characters in Star Trek as iconic as Odo, and if that were the only role René Auberjonois gave us before his untimely passing, many would be ok with that. It's not his only role, however, as we can see him without his prosthetics in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as Colonel West. 

Barbara Babcock

Actress Barbara Babcock may have only had roles on the original Star Trek , but the show made the most of her. In addition to her two live-action roles, she did voice work for the cat Isis, Loskene, and the Zetarians just to name a few. Her prints are all over the original series, and she's definitely one of the more underrated guest stars of the bunch. 

Fionnula Flanagan

Fionnula Flanagan might've made all of us shed a tear playing the unaware Android Juliana Tainer, but also popped up in places outside of Star Trek: The Next Generation . She played the Vulcan diplomat V'Lar in Enterprise , and the former lover of Curzon Dax Enina Tandro in Deep Space Nine . 

Clint Howard

Few actors can say they started their career with a role in Star Trek , and later returned to play it in adulthood. I think perhaps the coolest thing about Howard's various roles is that he not only appeared in the original series, but was more recently in Season 2 of Strange New Worlds . Talk about sticking with a franchise across the decades!

Ethan Phillips

Ethan Phillips' Neelix brought a lot of personality to Star Trek: Voyager , so of course it makes sense it wasn't the only role the actor ever did. He had a small role as a waiter in First Contact and later showed up in TNG and Enterprise as a Ferengi. A pretty impressive run for someone who stood out as much on his original series, but well-deserved all the same. 

Mark Lenard

Mark Lenard is a national treasure in Star Trek , especially considering the powerful roles he had outside of playing Spock's father Sarek. We also see him as one of the unnamed commanders in the iconic episode "Balance Of Terror," and he also played a Klingon Captain in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . 

Robert O'Reilly

While the wild-eyed Gowron will always be the most notable role Robert O'Reilly ever did, he also had some smaller roles aside from that. This included playing a mobster in The Next Generation . He also played an accountant in Deep Space Nine , as well as a very creepy-looking Klingon in Enterprise , though I'd rather not talk about the last one because the visual freaks me out. 

James Cromwell

Beyond playing one of the most important characters in Star Trek , Zefram Cochrane, James Cromwell has had a couple of other random roles in the franchise. This includes the mole rat-looking Jaglom Shrek in The Next Generation , as well as the Karemma Hanok on Deep Space Nine . 

Brian Cousins

The actor who terrified Star Trek: The Next Generation fans as the Borg "Crosis" ended up making a couple of appearances as other characters. He played a Romulan named Parem two seasons before his Borg role, and would later be cast in Enterprise to play a character by the name of Paltani in the episode "The Catwalk." 

Patrick Kilpatrick

The Imhotep species of Voyager are some of the most unique aliens I've seen in the show, so it's a shame we only got a small bit of Patrick Kilpatrick's character. While the actor had the one-and-done appearance as that species, he also played a Kazon in the series, and later popped up in Deep Space Nine as a soldier in the Dominion War. 

Mick Joest is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend with his hand in an eclectic mix of television goodness. Star Trek is his main jam, but he also regularly reports on happenings in the world of Star Trek, WWE, Doctor Who, 90 Day Fiancé, Quantum Leap, and Big Brother. He graduated from the University of Southern Indiana with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Radio and Television. He's great at hosting panels and appearing on podcasts if given the chance as well.

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