Is There Anybody Else Out There?... A Defence of THAT Motion Picture
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Is There Anybody Else Out There?... A Defence of THAT Motion Picture is a 1984 essay by Janet Stewart.
The subject is Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
This essay was printed in. Communicator #15, and was a direct to a response to another essay in an unknown issue in that letterzine (likely #14) called A Problem in Disbelief.
From the Essay
I sometimes wonder, reading such articles as Pam Baddeley's very interesting A Problem in Disbelief whether I am the only person in the whole of Fandom who actually enjoyed 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture'. So many times have I read that it was boring, meaningless, lacking in plot etc., and generally an insult to the intelligence and credibility of we fans, that I am beginning to feel ashamed of myself for enjoying it so much.
However, as Spock once said, it is not enough to make a point, you must also prove it and agreeing in all things with Spock, I would like to put forward a few arguments of defence against all the criticism. Maybe they will strike a chord in one or two other recalcitrant souls.
First then; wasn't it a delight, after not seeing our heroes for so long, simply to see them again? And all weathering the years so well! Perhaps it has something to do with the slowing of the aging process in Space, but they all looked amazingly young. Spock may have been the exception here, but he more than made up for it with his wonderful austerity and dignity. Kirk, well, he was more beautiful than ever. Wasn't he?
Lack of plot? I didn't find any lack, nor anything much to argue with. True Kirk did make a mistake in accepting promotion. That only proves him Human, like the rest of us. This mistake, and the fact that he bitterly regretted it, surely give substance to the dark, even tragic shades that accompany all great heroes of literature, opera, and, indeed, life itself.
As to the plot itself, I found it most satisfying. Here, once again are our intrepid friends meeting, and overcoming threat and danger with their usual philosophical and tolerant approach. No blasting of enemies to Outer Darkness here, but the typical offer of friendship and understanding we have come to expect from them, culminating in the metaphysical absorption of Decker, and Ilia into the vastness. of V'ger that was quite awe-inspiring. Truly out of this World.
I cannot accept either, that the film was boring. I know, I know...twenty minutes is a long time to sit watching such limited action as the Enterprise's voyage of discovery across V'ger, but it wasn't boring. It was slow, and beautiful. The crew didn't look bored. If we had really been out there with them, would we have found it boring? I don't think so. 'Nothing like V'ger had ever been seen before. It needed time for us to take in and wonder at it s dimensions.
I must admit that I, like Pam, was a little puzzled by Spock's extreme coolness and aloofness when he returned to tte Enterprise. We had certainly never seen him like this before. Perhaps he was just annoyed at losing out at the exact moment when he was about to achieve Kolinahr. It must have been rather irritating after all his privations. After all he is half-Human.... That damn crew needing rescuing again?... something like that.
Apart from that though, I liked the characterisation. It's no use expecting Kirk to he the perfect, confident hero all the time. You only have to look at Kirk's face to see that. There is an inherent sadness and sensitivity in his face which are clues to his complexity. Of course he has feet of clay. Everyone has, including heroes. We do not love him any less for it. We love him more. The rest of the characters I found true to what we have been used to. McCoy was brilliant, much better in fact than he had ever been in the Series. True, we didn't see much involvement from the other crewmembers, but neither did we in the TV episodes. Do we really want to? Remember, it would be at the expense of the Big Three if we did.
All told I greatly enjoyed ST:TMP. I hope it will soon be back in circulation. As well as being visually and aesthetically satisfying, it moved me in several places to something near tears. Something that never happened in its awful follow-up, not even when Spock died. Especially not when Spock died.... IS there anybody else out there?