The Shat Apologies for STV

While still blaming Paramount.

I agree that it was mostly Paramount's fault.

Shatner is the original Josh Trank.

Oh, fer cryin' out loud! One of his daughters wrote an entire book explaining how it wasn't Daddy's fault because mean old teamsters, etc.

Terrific. Whatever. May I have my $8.00 back, please?

The special effects worked just fine. The story was the problem.

Star Trek 5: The trek movie that everyone forgets.

He continues to miss the point. The problem was that he and the studio wanted different things. STIV was a light-hearted comedy that made a lot of money. Thus, wanting to repeat this success, the studio wanted another light-hearted comedy. Shatner wanted a soul-searching journey to find god that ends up finding the devil instead. He convinced the studio that he could make both visions work. And if that wasn't bad enough, he illustrated that the only character he really understood was his own by insisting his crew would betray him so easily. Not to mention that it all comes off as Starfleet being made up of a bunch of incompetent buffoons. It's sad that after all this time he continues to think the only reason his movie failed so completely and is so despised is because of its special effects.

But the climax of the story was nerfed when the special effects budget ran out, is the claim.

I like Trek V. It's more like Star Trek than the Abrams films IMO. Sure, it has it's dodgy moments and cheesy production values, but there is some great stuff in there as well. The cast feel really comfortable in their roles and there's a certain whimsy about the whole thing that appeals to me.

Still arguably the weakest of the TOS movies, but nothing worth apologising over.

There's more good in TFF than in Attack Of The Clones.

I don't hate and never have hated STV.

It's my least favorite TOS film, but it's not awful. I still watch it on purpose once in awhile.

Not really an apology, is it? It would be a pity if he felt the need to give one.

There were things to like about STV and you could see what he/they were going for, even if they didn't get there.

I mean, there are parts that are really bad, but I'd rather watch it than Nemesis or Insurrection. It's got the original crew and the A and a few good scenes and sometimes that's all I need.

It's not a horrible movie, but a bad follow to 4. Good thing ST6 turned out so well.

Still a more sincere apology than Berman''s ever given for Voyager or the Enterprise finale.

Him and Braga essentially apologize for Generations in the commentary.
That's the best you're gonna get out of them.

I can still watch and enjoy it -- because, hell, it was our second-to-last chance to see all those actors on screen together again -- but I'm annoyed by the character assassination that exists mainly to serve Shatner's ego.

Chekov and Sulu, the navigator and helmsman, get lost while camping? Scotty knocks himself out on a pipe? Everyone turns against Kirk and he alone can save the universe? These are the marks of an insecure actor who can't stand for anyone else's character to look good. Luckily Nimoy and Kelley had enough standing to insist that their characters not be part of the "Kirk vs. Everyone" ego trip, but it wasn't enough to save the film.

The suggestion to treat everything between the two campfire scenes as a dream sequence works.

All of you guys should read the novelization of Star Trek V, if you haven't already. You can probably get it at a used book store or on eBay for a couple cents.

It's worth reading. It makes so much more sense and it really improves my opinion of the movie as well.

If the movie could have been filmed just how things were described in the book, it would be up there with all the other TOS movies.

Sybok's quest and motivations are also explained in more detail. And you can see what Shatner was going for with his original treatment. I just don't think his directorial skills were up to the task. He had a good idea but he should have left the directing to someone else IMO.

Did they really? I've always found them quite shifty and rarely going beyond banal PR bullshit when they talk.

I've heard to be particularly tru of Berman. On his own, Braga can admit he's stumbled a bit at times.

That said, the both of them can fuck off with that fifteen minute segment on the S2 DVDs where they go into detail has to why they didn't get the ANISB hate.

ANISB?

A Night in Sick Bay.

The one with the sick dog and the Freudian slip that were not for TATV would be the uncontested winner of the most hated episode in the entire series' run ( although far from the worst episode)

He forgot to apologizing for being a shitty director, too.

Ah... I couldn't figure out which episode you meant. I kind of liked it, it was Porthos episode and Porthos was a cute dog.

While I'm sure the Archer/T'Pol thing contributed significantly to the hate it got initially, this episode fails so hard with literally every other aspect. Who brings a fucking dog into space? Who brings a dog to a planet where they've previously had to deal with this culture with more triggers than a liberal arts major? Who acts like an entitled baby when they hold the part they need? This show highlights every reason why most of fandom loathed this character. And there was even a deleted scene where Trip tells Archer it's okay to apologize if you don't really mean it.

I mean...

The only redeeming feature was John B. as Phlox, who could usually elevate the material given, which is more than Precious Cargo had going for it.

The words "we're sorry", are never actually uttered, but they do look back, and say they should have done the story the fans wanted of a full-blown crossover of both casts with both Enterprises, and then repeatedly say "what were we thinking?", and admit "best of both worlds", holds up way better.

The series finale (whatever that one is called) gets my vote

I would've settled for a better story than Kirk actually got.

I mean, we didn't even figure out if Kirk could best Picard in a fight.

The Russians did

Shatner could've waived his salaries (actor and director) to get the film he wanted. It's not like he needed the money by STV, and a more successful film might've launched his directorial career rather than end it, as STV did.







Although, let's be real: even better VFX in the climax wouldn't have made STV a good film.