Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

DVD, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) film

It was that rare fore-knowledge that this would be the defining ending for The Original Series, that imbues this film with something more than its detective/prison drama story. Unlike all the series' that followed it, the original never had a proper ending, so when they went into films it stood to reason that one day they would be too old (and cynically speaking, too expensive!) to keep going. Rather than push on through their old ages, into death, and seeing as new generations were coming up behind them and making 'Star Trek' successful in new ways, they decided it was time to bow out.

It isn't the last time we see most of the characters (only Uhura, and perhaps McCoy, have that distinction, although if we're talking timeline, he is still to be seen in 'TNG'), it is the last time we see them all together (not counting the revisited Tribbles episode on 'DS9'), in a final adventure. Whoever came up with the idea for the emotional signing off of the cast members, literally their signatures written on screen at the end, was a genius, because it is one of the most fitting ends you could have. The characters themselves have just signed off, and now the actors do it too. It ties the two realities together, and with the excellent score from Cliff Eidelmann, the film series goes out on a high.

The beginning of the film is a solid introduction, mainly for the revelation of Sulu's promotion to Captain of the Excelsior, with Janice Rand as comm officer. For years Takei lobbied for a Sulu series, but it sadly never happened. I think it would have been a great idea, though not at the expense of the ones they did come up with. After this, the film takes a long time to really get going. This is not a children's film, in the sense that weighty issues are discussed, indeed, discussion makes up a lot of the film. While some still hold to the 'odds and evens' rule of thumb - that the odd ones aren't as exciting and tend to be more thoughtful, and the evens are the action-packed films - this one is a slower, much more issue-driven story. There are action sequences, and due to the slower nature of other parts, they stand out even more starkly, especially shock moments such as the assassination of Gorkon.

The best films expand the universe, or give us something we've never seen before, and the loss of artificial gravity is one of those. CGI was taking off by this time of the early nineties, and the blood looks impressive even now. The whole debate over getting a lower rating by changing the blood to pink (!), seems strange, as I don't imagine it would be much different in a darker shade. I loved the idea that Klingons would have pink blood, and was disappointed when that was not continued (in the very next film, and certainly the series', they all bleed red), although it's easily explained away as having something to do with the atmosphere of the ship changing the hue, or something like that.

There are some good links to later Treks, with the most noticeable being Colonel Worf, the counsel for Kirk and McCoy, played by Michael Dorn, who was the popular Klingon of the same name on 'TNG'. Another link is difficult. Crewman Dax. 'DS9' would probably have been in early development at the time, but would they have suggested a Dax be included, as a possible previous host for the symbiont, which gets passed down through each new body? It was later proved incorrect regardless, as we know the symbiont was in a female body at this time in history, and since this Dax was an alien, very different from Trill it seems likely that they just happened to pick the same name, but it's fun to speculate.

It's good to see the other recurring characters from the film series, return. Sarek, though he isn't used that much, always seems such a regal and commanding screen presence. And Rand has her best role since the series. Only Chapel is missing, but at this point she had taken on a new role as Lwaxana Troi on 'TNG' and viewers would have identified her more with that role I suppose, which was probably why they didn't include her. There are also repeat performances from Brock Peters as Admiral Cartwright from Trek IV, and John Schuck as the Klingon Ambassador, also from that film. Rene Auberjonois, later famous for Odo on 'DS9', makes his Trek debut as the villainous Colonel West, who makes a different face for himself, much like Odo! The race first seen in Trek IV is seen again as the Federation President. It had previously been introduced on the bridge of the Saratoga, and adds some continuity to the background races, though I felt he looked too much like a Klingon which might have confused some people.

The music has a definite Russian flavour to it, tying into the current events of the time - the end of the Cold War between the Soviets and the West. I missed Jerry Goldsmith's Klingon theme, which I felt should always be used when the warrior race were involved. The music in general is much more militaristic, sweeping and threatening, and provides a suitable mood with the opening credits. The opening up of the Klingon people is at last shown - there are many different types, just as humans (at one point Kirk says 'everybody's human', which works in the story, and also on the other level of everyone is human because they're all actors), and this would be continued into the later episodes.

It's one of the most important films from a historical perspective as it shows how peace came between the implacable foes of the Federation and Klingons, which had been established in 'TNG' to set it firmly in the future. To retcon in such a momentous event into the original series timeline was a masterstroke and contributed important details. If you have the chance to show a historical event, then it's great to take that opportunity. And they certainly did. Kim Cattrall's Valeris is hard to trust, but maybe that's because I've seen the film so many times. I'm glad they didn't follow their original plan of having Saavik be the traitor!

The production design, the many cultural references, the moments for each character, all are woven together into a strong final outing for the original crew. But how does it rank compared with the other films? As strange as it seems, I think I would put V at the top, followed closely by II, this one, and III. Then the first one and lastly IV. Not how general opinion would rate them I know, but sometimes you have to go back and watch the film's in order, in close succession to get your own opinions of how they hold up now. And perhaps you'll find your preconceptions challenged too...

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