STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Paramount
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| Title: | STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Paramount (title in the table of contents), "STAR TREK II: The Revenge of Paramount" on the essay itself) |
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STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Paramount (title in the table of contents) is a 1983 essay by Gordon Carleton.
The title on the essay itself is "STAR TREK II: The Revenge of Paramount."
It was printed in Warped Space #43.
Some Topics Discussed
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a complete dud, and other Trek movies by comparison are naturally better
- Nimoy's departure from the franchise
- The Wrath of Khan was not unlike fan fiction
Introduction
I think that most of us acknowledge that STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE was, in general, a dud. By the same token, STAR TREK II — THE WRATH OF KHAN is generally well- received. I admit that I, too, felt better leaving the theatre after ST II, but various elements continue to bother me.
From the Essay
Before ST:TMP was originally released, many rumors circulated concerning various atrocities Paramount wanted to commit in the name of STAR TREK. One persistent rumor was that they wanted to kill off the main characters so that they could be replaced by newer, younger characters with wider "audience appeal" for a new television series. Will Decker was designed as a younger Kirk, and a new Vulcan character was invented to replace Spock. The new Vulcan was dropped when Nimoy signed to do the movie (I believe the actor hired for the replaced role became a Klingon) and, perhaps because of fan pressure. Kirk survived and Decker did not.
In ST II we have Spock killed off in such a way that anyone could be brought in to replace Nimoy in future films. New characters are introduced as well; David Marcus is literally a younger Kirk in that he is his illegitimate offspring (who decides by the end of ST II that Kirk and Starfleet aren't so bad after all), and Lt. Saavik is a feminized Spock, trained by him in his image. What exactly Saavik is was lost in the film editing, although both the novelization and the studio publicity lists her as a Vulcan/Romulan hybrid. Purely from the movie itself, we only know she has pointed ears, some of Spock's mannerisms, and shares a common non-English language with him.
The actual permutations of various plots that eventually became ST II are too numerous to mention here, except to note that they are well-described in STARLOG's February 1983 (#67) issue, in an interview with scriptwriter Jack Sowards. Notable, however, is a quote from that interview: "It was my understanding that the movie (ST II) originated when one TV network went to Paramount and said, 'Make us another STAR TREK pilot' ... Paramount balked, explaining it was too expensive. The network said, 'Why don't you make another movie? We'll use that as a pilot and give you a certain amount of time to distribute the movie to recoup your costs.' So, they were considering—and still are, as far as I know—doing a series again with a new cast headed by Saavik and David. Maybe Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov would be in it, too."
Somehow, this bothers me. Perhaps it's the memory of the publicity photos of Saavik and David that look like something from THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. Perhaps it's the shallow regard Paramount has always had for the main characters that made STAR TREK the phenomenon it is.
I suppose one of the reasons we can overlook these slimy intentions is because ST:TMP was such a dud. After years of anticipation we were rewarded with a static two-hour version of "The Changeling" in beige and grey. This was such a let-down that we went into STII with little expectations. Instead of an over blown, pseudo-epic we saw something that felt like an expanded TV episode, but looked like a movie.
For that matter, STII is also like a lot of fan-written stories. Rather than coming up with an entirely original premise, the story is an outgrowth of the TV episode, "Space Seed. Throw in one of Kirk's "lost loves" and mix in a female Vulcanoid, put them in a blender and you've got instant fanzine!
A fanzine, however, isn't likely to produce a Vulcan/Romulan hybrid without pointed eyebrows. Neither, hopefully, would a fan writer put forth the preposterous proposition
I suppose, too, we are relieved that Spock's untimely demise, gratuitous as it is, was as well handled as it was in ST II. Knowing Nimoy is unwilling to continue in the role limit show offended we are by Spock's death (or what ever you want to call it). No doubt the next rush of publicity will involve what actor will be the new Spock (my nominee is Peter Coyote, Keys in E.T. and a nasty western-type in TIMERIDER).
But the real question in THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK is "what are the uniforms going to look like this time?"