star trek undiscovered country shapeshifter

Log in or Sign up

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser .

Could Martia from Star Trek VI have been a changeling?

Discussion in ' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ' started by parrot999 , Jul 1, 2015 .

parrot999 Cadet Newbie

So, I recently rewatched Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and think it is a really good, and criminally underrated film, which thematically and structurewise matches up with Deep Space Nine, a similarly criminally underrated series. From the tone and political focus, to the much more character focused story telling, and the heavy themes of internal conflict, the final original series movie has a lot in common with DS9. But anyways, it also set up a bit of lore that has relevence to DS9. The idea that shapeshifters are believed to be a myth by most civilizations. Something Kirk remarks to the shapeshifter, Martia. So my question is, could Martia have been a changeling? Possibly one of the hundred? She claimed to be a chameloid when confronted by Kirk, but if she was one of the hundred she wouldn't know about her true species and would likely come up with her own species name like Laas did. Also, she appeared to have a slightly viscous fluid-like appearance when changing form, though far more simplistic than the 3D rendered effect on DS9... What are you guys' thoughts?  

Karzak Commodore Commodore

No. Colonel West however...  

Timo Fleet Admiral Admiral

Well, there are discrepancies in how a young Changeling like Odo behaves, and how Martia does. But Changelings are specifically known for their ability to look like something else, so there is no telling! Say, the ability not to glow like the DS9 Changelings do while changing form would be a necessary skill for any adult Changeling trying to impersonate a top officer in the paranoid Romulan intelligence service, for months at an end... True, we have never seen a DS9 Changeling swap form without the glowing thing - but then again, a Changeling swapping form in front of the cameras is usually one already exposed, and in no further need of pretending (the form-swap is to facilitate escape into the air, through an air vent, or the like). But where is this inborn "sense of justice" (that is, need to dominate) that Odo and Laas had even without knowing who they were? Does Martia run the prison camp through manipulating the warden (that is, does he call her "Constable")? Does she sort out the alien scum into those who live and those who die? Or does she just drink a lot due to her disdain of solid food? And does she really need to cooperate with the Klingons in order to regain her freedom, what with being a more skilled shapeshifter than Odo ever became? Timo Saloniemi  

SpocksOddSocks Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

Karzak said: ↑ No. Colonel West however... Click to expand...

Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

One oddity of ST VI is that Kirk and McCoy act as though they've never encountered a shape-shifter before, and have only heard rumors of such things, despite, say, Captain Garth, who supposedly learned the secret of molecular transformation for some exotic alien race known to the Federation. There was also the Salt Vampire, although that was more about projecting a telepathic illusion than actual shape-shifting since it appeared different to different people at the same time ....  

JWPlatt Commodore Commodore

Remember, all the movies are reboots.  

It can be argued whether Garth could really change his shape, or just create the impression of this happening like the Salt Vampire and several other illusionists did - but such hair-splitting shouldn't affect Kirk's perception on whether Martia was an all-new phenomenon or not! Martia had not demonstrated any "true" shapeshifting (such as the trick of becoming physically smaller and thus slipping out of that shackle) yet when Kirk colored himself impressed... But Kirk would know that a) Martia was not a Salt Vampire (he had Crater's expert opinion that those were extinct), and that b) Garth was not a species. And Kirk is in the business of running into exotic alien things that are mostly the same from week to week, so he would have learned to be discerning. Timo Saloniemi  

Timo said: ↑ It can be argued whether Garth could really change his shape, or just create the impression of this happening like the Salt Vampire and several other illusionists did - but such hair-splitting shouldn't affect Kirk's perception on whether Martia was an all-new phenomenon or not! Martia had not demonstrated any "true" shapeshifting (such as the trick of becoming physically smaller and thus slipping out of that shackle) yet when Kirk colored himself impressed... But Kirk would know that a) Martia was not a Salt Vampire (he had Crater's expert opinion that those were extinct), and that b) Garth was not a species. And Kirk is in the business of running into exotic alien things that are mostly the same from week to week, so he would have learned to be discerning. Timo Saloniemi Click to expand...

Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

Martia said that it takes a lot of effort to change shape. Most Founders find it easy to do. (Odo has a hard time mimicking one specific shape - the human face - but otherwise he doesn't look like he's struggling.) And I'm sure Martia really is changing shape, otherwise she wouldn't have needed to turn into a little girl just to get out of the chains like we see her do. And as they're climbing up out of the tunnels, she changes shape a couple of times there too. So I think it's not just mental. As for Odo's sense of justice, there's an interesting tidbit put forth in the recent novel Disavowed ... .SpoilerTarget"> Spoiler: novel It suggests that the mirror universe Founders are like Odo - they have their own Dominion but they run it much more fairly, are not worshipped as gods, and are even subject to Dominion law. Some wonder whether the Mirror Odo is actually from the regular universe, and the reverse...our Odo might be from the MU.  

2takesfrakes Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

Martia was very cool and I wouldn't have minded seeing her come back to STAR TREK as a distant relation, or just another shape-shifter who happens to look like her. I'd say "yes," she's a changeling and a missed opportunity. They should've brought her "back" in true STAR TREK fashion, some way, to further her adventures. And her love for cigars was very cute. I would not be at all surprised if she, herself, only lit up for "the look." I doubt it was supposed to have an effect on her ...  

Christopher Writer Admiral

Greg Cox said: ↑ One oddity of ST VI is that Kirk and McCoy act as though they've never encountered a shape-shifter before, and have only heard rumors of such things, despite, say, Captain Garth, who supposedly learned the secret of molecular transformation for some exotic alien race known to the Federation. Click to expand...

But Garth was said to have learned the art of "cellular metamorphosis" from the Antosians, who presumably knew it as well. Click to expand...

In general, this was a pretty common trope on TOS: Everything they ran into was "like nothing we've ever encountered before!" Just once, I wanted Spock to report "peculiar energy readings, not unlike the ones we recorded at Beta Alpha VI. Possible some manner of non-corporeal life-form . . . of the sort we've encountered several times before?" Kirk: "Again?"  

What always got me was TNG's "Where Silence Has Lease," where they came upon a zone of darkness in space that was uncannily similar to the zone of darkness from "The Immunity Syndrome" (albeit a bit cloudier and bluer), and Data explicitly stated that no Starfleet vessel had ever encountered anything even remotely similar. Although, knowing what I know now about Roddenberry's intentions to divorce TNG from TOS as much as possible and make it something of a soft reboot, I wonder if that was a deliberate repudiation of the past rather than just forgetfulness. Maybe GR thought the idea of a giant space amoeba was too silly, so he wanted to write it out of history. Then again, TOS did occasionally have moments of continuity that were unusual for the '60s -- like in "By Any Other Name," where D.C. Fontana not only brought back the energy barrier at the galactic edge, but had Kirk remind Spock of the mind-touch trick he used to escape a cell on Eminiar VII.  

I think it is also a fair thing to assume that the writers on the various Star Trek shows probably don't keep track of the obscure details about previous episodes quite as religiously as we, the fans, do.  

Christopher said: ↑ ...Roddenberry's intentions to divorce TNG from TOS as much as possible and make it something of a soft reboot... Click to expand...

JWPlatt said: ↑ Christopher said: ↑ ...Roddenberry's intentions to divorce TNG from TOS as much as possible and make it something of a soft reboot... Click to expand...

Karzak said: ↑ I think it is also a fair thing to assume that the writers on the various Star Trek shows probably don't keep track of the obscure details about previous episodes quite as religiously as we, the fans, do. Click to expand...

MacLeod Admiral Admiral

Greg Cox said: ↑ Karzak said: ↑ I think it is also a fair thing to assume that the writers on the various Star Trek shows probably don't keep track of the obscure details about previous episodes quite as religiously as we, the fans, do. Click to expand...

MacLeod said: ↑ Quite true, however times change, so is today's audiance less willing to forgive continuity errors between episodes? Or has a change occured at one point you had to wait for a re-run to rewatch an episode. Today you can buy it on DVD/BR or as a digital download or stream it. Viewing habits have changed with DVR's meaning you could record weeks of episodes and watch them all one lazy afternoon. Click to expand...

• Log in with Facebook
• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?
• Search titles only

Separate names with a comma.

• Search this thread only
• Display results as threads

Useful Searches

• Recent Posts

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Now streaming on:

At the end their signatures are written large across the screen: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley and the others who have been playing the crew of the Starship Enterprise for the past 25 years. The implication is that the original voyage of “ Star Trek ” has come to an end--that the characters and players of the first television series and the six “Star Trek” movies will now go where no “Star Trek” actor has gone before, into retirement, and that if there is another “Star Trek” movie it will star, perhaps, the cast of TV’s “Star Trek” The Next Generation.”

I am not so sure, however. This sixth “Star Trek” film has so much more life and interest than the dreary “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” that perhaps it will tempt Paramount into still another story for Captain Kirk and his crew (perhaps a training voyage for the new generation?). “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” begins, as so many “Star Trek” stories do, with a story set in the future but parallel to contemporary developments. In this case, as the Klingon empire begins to self-destruct after a Chernoble-type explosion on one of its moons, the obvious reference is to the disintegration of the Russian empire.

As the Klingons sue for peace, the Enterprise is assigned to go out to the edges of Federation space and negotiate with them. Captain Kirk is bitterly reluctant; he doesn’t believe the Klingons can be trusted, ever. But Mr. Spock informs him of an alleged ancient Vulcan proverb: “Only Nixon can go to China.”

There are a lot of lines like that in the script by Nicholas Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn, and a lot of lines by Shakespeare, too, who supplies not only the movie’s subtitle but also many references from “Hamlet” and elsewhere (“He is better in the original Klingon,” one of the enemy snorts.) At one point two of the supporting actors, the distinguished Shakespearians David Warner and Christopher Plummer , seem to be trading familiar quotations instead of dialog, but the strange thing is, it’s effective; in its pop-culture way, “Star Trek” has taken on a kind of epic quality over the years, and such references help establish the notion that the story really does take place in a future that remembers the past.

If the dialog is from Shakespeare, the plot seems borrowed more from an old British country house mystery; one or more disloyal members of the Enterprise crew fire on a Klingon star cruiser and then port themselves on board to murder those who have come to ask for peace. Through plot complications that would have made Agatha Christie proud, the clues to the identify of the killers depend on bloody boots and bootprints, and figuring out who was where, and when.

“Star Trek” has always been more allegory than science fiction. There is a kind of integrity, indeed, in the deliberately low-tech sets; the movies have always remained true to the klutzy art direction of the TV series, and in a post-”2001” and “Star Wars” age the bridge of the Enterprise still looks as if it were made out of old Captain Video props and a 1950s housewares show.

It doesn’t matter, because the movies aren’t really based on sets, or even much on action; they’re about ideas and relationships and here we see the old friendships of the Enterprise tested, and hear new versions of the same old jokes about how Vulcans don’t understand jokes. It’s entertaining, and reassuring.

Why on earth (or anywhere else) would Paramount want to retire this crew, which is as familiar and comforting as old family friends, and which does its job with the effortless grace of long familiarity? In Shakespeare, the “undiscovered country” is death. And elsewhere trhe bard refers to one who dies as being like an actor who goes off to “study a long silence.” I don’t know if that will work here. I doubt frankly that the crew of the Enterprise can stop talking long enough to die.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

The Long Game

The American Society of Magical Negroes

Robert daniels.

Sleeping Dogs

Brian tallerico.

The Truth vs. Alex Jones

Disappear Completely

Film credits.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

113 minutes

Walter Koenig as Chekov

Nichelle Nichols as Commander Uhura

William Shatner as Capt.Kirk

Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

Produced by

• Steven-Charles Jaffe
• Ralph Winter
• Cliff Eidelman
• Nicholas Meyer

Photographed by

• Hiro Narita
• Ronald Roose

Latest blog posts

25 Years Later, Alexander Payne’s Election Remains as Relevant as Ever

Sharp Writing, Excellent Cast Keep Spy Thriller The Veil Engaging

Take Another Trip to the End of the World with Sony’s Stellar Blade

He's Got Something Going On: David Proval on Mean Streets, and Acting for Martin Scorsese

Den of Geek

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country & Its Political Parallels

A look back at Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the final outing for The Original Series cast.

• Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
• Share on email (opens in a new tab)

Star Trek: VI: The Undiscovered Country remains the final ensemble outing for the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series , the show that started it all. Let’s take a look back at how this miraculous film came to be and why it deserves recognition in this franchise’s 50-year history…

Despite my personal opinions , the reception to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was nothing short of disastrous: A Razzie for Worst Picture, derision across the board, enough fallout to kill the career of producer Harve Bennett and stop William Shatner from ever directing another movie. But Star Trek: The Next Generation fortunately found its feet not long after, and the franchise survived.

But what of the aging original cast? They were unwanted, unloved, too old, and too much of a financial risk. Gene Roddenberry, in rapidly failing health, was using what was left of his clout as Next Generation showrunner (even if the day-to-day running of the show was something of a power vacuum due to said failing health) to try and get his Starfleet Academy story made. Again.

At the time, there was in fact a real possibility that Paramount wanted, for its next Star Trek   film, to recast Spock and Kirk as young mavericks. Harve Bennett wrote a script that he described as “ Top Gun in space” and would feature a decidedly un- Trek like story of Spock having to deal with bullying, and Kirk avenging the death of his father.

Ad – content continues below

The idea had been doing the rounds since Star Trek II , but no one wanted to do it because of the backlash from the fans, and the fact that it didn’t really sound that good. Harve Bennett’s pitch for Star Trek: The Academy Years didn’t go down too well and, as a result, he left Paramount entirely. Whether he left of his own accord or was fired isn’t clear. 

Other stories did the rounds. A weird one was Walter Koenig’s crossover, which doesn’t sound like it would work for many obvious reasons, but another one that was also eventually made was a Kirk-meets-Picard crossover idea that only didn’t happen because The Next Generation was making too much money. Nothing really took hold. The only thing that kept the idea of a sixth film with the original cast alive was the coincidence of the 25th Anniversary. Had it not been for this, it’s likely that some kind of  Star Trek reboot would have happened a lot sooner.

In short, the fact that Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country even exists is something of a miracle. But who could pull off such a miracle? Who could reinvigorate the original movie series one last time? Who had enough clout in Hollywood to cobble together a budget, who had enough fondness for the franchise to shoulder the entire responsibility of the original crew’s One Last Adventure™?

Enter Nicholas Meyer. Again.

At first, Meyer had no idea for a sixth film, but eventually he and Leonard Nimoy came up with the plan that would form the final film: “What if the wall came down in space?” It also solved a few other problems, too, such as Shatner’s desire to direct and the one-upmanship clause that still existed. Nimoy had directed two movies, so contractually Shatner would have to direct another one before Nimoy could. Meyer returning to the chair was a situation that was acceptable to all parties. That was fortunate, because it was only due to his connections that the movie got any budget at all.

Star Trek VI , therefore, is much closer in tone to Star Trek II , Meyer’s previous Star Trek movie. This is not a bad thing. It also focuses more on the characters than previous installments. This is also not a bad thing. It has a very cinematic conspiracy thriller in space plot, and has a more militaristic tone than previous instalments. This too is not a bad thing.

It’s also why I like all the odd numbered films and don’t like the even numbered films as much. Bear with me on this.

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

The problem for me with Star Trek VI , as good a film as it is, is that it isn’t a Star Trek movie. Replace the Enterprise with a submarine and you basically have The Hunt For Red October . Don’t get me wrong, that is an outstanding film, but if you want to make a Cold War submarine thriller, why not just make a Cold War submarine thriller?

The joy of Star Trek:   The Motion Picture , or  Star Trek III:   The Search For Spock , or even  The Final Frontier was that no other franchise could do those things. No franchise has that mix of character, philosophy, and science fiction that manages to be optimistic even when going as dark as possible. For me, they are some of the finest science fiction films ever made and I say that not just because they are Star Trek , but because they are good.

The even numbered films always see the problems of the previous entries as being not commercial enough, or not cinematic enough. And every time, appreciating I may be in a minority opinion here, they throw the baby away with the bathwater. I’m not saying they are inherently bad films. The Wrath of Khan  is brilliant (although you would be surprised how many Trek fans don’t like it for the reasons I’ve said), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a good example of that sort of easy-going ’80s fish out of water comedy, and Undiscovered Country is a very good Cold War thriller.

But if Star Trek can only be continued by not being Star Trek , what is the point of Star Trek ?

To underline the point that The Undiscovered Country  isn’t quite Trek , we have the Cliff Eidelman score. Search and you will not find a bad word spoken about it. And it is wonderful music; listen to it on its own and it’s marvellous.

But as a score to a specific movie? It could be anything at all. The overture is dark, brooding, and could equally be used for a tense chase, a shady backroom deal, or Michael Keaton walking to the Batcave. I enjoy the score, but then again I enjoyed it the first time around when it was composed by James Horner . There will undoubtedly be someone reading this who thought James Horner actually did do the score. Why can’t this franchise get any sort of musical continuity going? Bah.

The other thing that annoys me is that Star Trek VI ’ s allegory of the Cold War is so bludgeoningly obvious it’s almost a reaction to the failure of Star Trek V . Of course, your mileage may vary. It’s also true that Undiscovered Country is as close in spirit to The Original Series than any other film, save The Motion Picture , precisely because it wears the cold war allegory on its sleeve. 

So, the wall comes down in space, but first, space Chernobyl explodes, polluting space Russia. Praxis, a moon of Qo’nos, explodes, contaminating Qo’nos’ upper atmosphere. How does a mine explode that badly that the whole bloody moon explodes? Since this is allegory, we have to assume someone was putting the dilithium into the warp core by hand and forgot how the reactor works (that’s very basically what happened at Chernobyl). What the hell were they mining that could explode that badly?

Anyway, the damage is so bad the Klingons have to divert all their resources away from fun things like looting and pillaging and into boring hippy things like planting trees and voting for Jeremy Corbyn. Space Corbyn being Chancellor Gorkon, played by Star Trek ’s most prolific hey-it’s-that-guy David Warner.

Gorkon was meant to be space Lincoln, the great slave-freer and being-shot-in-the-theatre-man. The problem is, Undiscovered Country goes for easy targets and very soft allegory. Had Gorkon really been space Lincoln, he’d have only wanted space peace as a reason to get rid of all the damn Klingons. As it is, this is an allegory in broad strokes. Gorkon is a great man with great ideals, and all other people are bastards, racists, and murderers.

Kirk is at least two of those, and accused of the third. His reaction to the Klingon plight is a shockingly dark “let them die.” Really, Kirk? The reason is that he never forgave the Klingons for the death of his son, which is understandably human, yet remarkably out of character for Kirk. Surely someone who’s seen as much as Kirk would be able to distinguish between that “Klingon bastard” and the other Klingon bastards.

Hell, he was having Romulan ale with Klingon generals only in the previous film after calling God out. Now he’s suddenly a racist who’ll happily commit genocide by omission. You may see that as a failing of Star Trek V , but I think Kirk should be better than that. After all, being better is what Trek is all about.

How Star Trek: Discovery Is Inspired by Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek Didn’t Invent the Term ‘Warp Drive’, This Sci-Fi Story Did

Spock, having personally vouched for Kirk (on the pretext of “only Nixon can go to China”), is the architect of this odd peace on the Federation side. While Starfleet Command decides that the Klingons should be allowed to die, or that the Federation should actually go on the offensive of all things, Spock is the usual voice of reason. Peace is logical, cold war is the status quo. One the undiscovered country, the other the horrible pair of underpants you keep because it’s comfortable.

Yet his logic is entirely flawed. Have the envoy of peace be someone the Klingons view as history’s greatest monster? The rogue admiral that lost a WMD and suicide bombed a Bird of Prey that was only trying to protect Klingon sovereignty? Spock, are you really that stupid? That’s not logical, not justifiable, and not even a good idea accidentally. That’s like employing Tony Blair as Middle East peace envoy.

Only Nixon can go to China though. Such a weird justification. The constant quotes, often entirely out of context or just for the sake of having a trailer shot, are less a display of learnedness and wisdom and more like stealing someone’s tweet. It’s something that makes less sense each time you think about it. It’s the antithesis of “what does God need with a starship?” from Star Trek V . The truism rendered false, versus the obvious rendered profound. Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war. To be, or not to be. Bang, and the dirt is gone.

Nevertheless, we find Kirk et al dining with the Klingons in charged scene of allegorical stew. The Klingons are at once space Russia, space China and space Hitler, with the peace either the Peace of Paper or something more substantial. Lots of Shakespeare quoted simply for the sake of quoting Shakespeare. A knowledge of history displayed, or at least enough for the small reference pools broad audience the film was aiming for. Reductio ad Hitlerem before the internet made that a thing. Fascinating, but ultimately slightly hollow.

The Klingons themselves don’t acquit themselves very well, yet we are meant to believe all sides are equally wrong. Azetbur was awfully quick to play the race card for superficial reasons of language, which is far more abhorrent than any faux-pas the inebriated Kirk makes. Heavy handed point making that hasn’t aged well into the age of accusing someone of an -ism just to shut them up.

Latest Movie reviews

Challengers review: zendaya scores in twisted sports thriller, rebel moon 2: the scargiver review – zack snyder definitely leaves a mark, spy x family code: white review – a radical genre pivot for a beloved anime.

It’s in the aftermath of this that Gorkon is assassinated, right in the theater. This must be the only time that we see the gravity go offline in a Star Trek film (excluding Into Darkness , which arguably didn’t so much have the gravity going offline as having the gravity stop obeying the laws of gravity), and it’s a fine scene indeed. Masked men, intrigue, inexplicable and never mentioned again pink Klingon blood (changed from red to secure a PG rating). Enough intrigue to sustain the bulk of the film, the ‘conspiracy-thriller-whodunnit-prison-break… in space!’ plot. The identity of the masked men in Starfleet EV suits being the key hook for the rest of the film.

Kirk and McCoy are given a show-trial to demonstrate their guilt (and since the killers were members of the Enterprise crew, Kirk certainly is), which gives us chance for more direct quotes (“don’t wait for the translation!”) and a Worf cameo. There’s also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance by Klaa, although it’s so brief it’s more even-if-you’re-looking-for-it-you’ll-miss-it appearance, and it’s not actually supposed to be him anyway. Oooh, those pesky Klingons and their backwards ways, with their trials and their due process. Uncivilized bastards!

Anyway, Kirk is found guilty of being a massive racist and sent to Siberia, er, I mean Rura Penthe. Yeah.

The rest of the film writes itself. We have Spock’s protoge Valeris, who definitely isn’t Saavik no sir, being the Spock, Spock being the Kirk and everyone else being the comic relief in a quest to find the killers. They search the whole ship for gravity boots. Then they find them but they’ve been hidden in someone else’s locker. Then they find the dead killers. Predictable filler, and the ‘bottle show’ part of the film, which feels like entirely redressed Next Generation sets and recycled props. After the special effects packed opening, this is where the restricted budget shows. Competent, but unspectacular.

Kirk meanwhile gets back to some semblance of Kirkness by seducing his way out of prison. The shapeshifter Martha, played by Iman, shows them the ropes, then shows them the super-special-secret escape route only she knows. She takes them under her wing. But oh no, she betrays them. The prerequisite mid-movie twist. By the numbers stuff again, but at least we get a scene of Kirk kicking an alien in the balls, and then kissing himself. That’s classic Trek , right there.

Predictably, the traitor is discovered to be the only member of the bridge crew that isn’t one of the main cast. Come on, she’s got a red collar and everything. They also make it a point to show her as being Spock’s special protege, just to twist the knife.

But then something really, really odd happens. Something actually quite distasteful. Ignoring that Spock actually gets angry and slaps her silly for a bit, he forcibly mind melds with her, to the point she’s in clear agony and everyone is appalled. Spock mind-tortures her. A nasty moment. Even nu-Spock wouldn’t stoop that low, and that guy tried to murder nu-Kirk.

Of course, it’s all the Romulans’ fault. Yes, there are Starfleet brass involved and the obviously evil General Chang turns out to be evil as well (it also explains why Kirk of all people was sent to make peace). A great space battle, punctuated with Chang devouring entire bits of scenery in a single bite and yelling any quote he can think of. And it’s over in typical Trek fashion, with someone making a speech about ideals and new worlds and obsolescence. Which is the successful heart of the movie.

As much as the film is a by-the-numbers thriller, it still maintains a core idea that defines it as Star Trek . Kirk et al have not changed. They’re still capable, still physically fit even if sagging around the middle, vastly experienced, and unstoppably competent.

But they are useless. The world around them has changed. They are vastly experienced in things irrelevant, competent at tasks that are no longer required. They have outlived their usefulness. A stage of life we must all go through, and one the film handles very well.

As we see, Sulu has already moved on, and soon the Enterprise itself will too. Worlds change even when people don’t is the theme here. Peace is certainly a good change, but that doesn’t mean it won’t catch a hell of a lot of people in the crossfire.

So this is it. The end. Not quite the finest hour but very far from the worst. It’s an enjoyable and rewatchable sci-fi allegory. Heavy handed and often predictable, but still with that special something. Perhaps a fitting end to an inconsistent but trailblazing iteration of the franchise.

But the end is not the end. In an absolutely wonderful touch, the cast and characters are given their own send off. A tribute from Captain Sulu, and a family photo for the characters, and then the sign off. Literally.

The sign off at the end is the most wonderful way for the cast to go. The actors who made the franchise going out in style, riding off into the sunset with autographs and fanfares. There would be more adventures for them, but not as the stars of their own story. For that, they entrust the Enterprise to the next generation…

Alex Carter

Star Trek: Picard season 3: everything you need to know about the show's Big Bad

After making Captain Sisko’s life hell on Deep Space Nine, some familiar faces are back in Star Trek: Picard season 3

Spoilers for Picard season 3's third episode follow. If you haven't seen the latest episode or caught up on the season so far, look away now!

Following on from the bombshell that Jean-Luc Picard and Beverly Crusher have a kid together , the big revelations keep on coming in Star Trek: Picard season 3 . Third episode ‘Seventeen Seconds’ has just confirmed the identity of the villains who used a stolen portal weapon to destroy a Starfleet recruitment facility on M’talas Prime, and it turns out we’ve met them before.

The shapeshifting Changelings were the principal aggressors in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and now they’ve returned to the Alpha Quadrant with new-and-improved CG morphing techniques. Aside from stealing top-secret Starfleet hardware, their ultimate goal remains unknown, though whatever they have planned is unlikely to be good news for Jean-Luc and the Federation.

So, as one Changeling spy gets busy creating havoc on the USS Titan, and another winds up interrogated (and vaporised) by Worf and Raffi Musiker, we travel back in time to explore the Dominion’s Star Trek origins.

Where have we seen the Changelings before in Star Trek?

The shapeshifting Changelings became the main antagonists of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which ran for seven seasons from 1993-99. DS9 security chief Odo was a member of the same species, though he didn’t learn about his heritage until season 3.

The Changelings originated on the other side of the galaxy, but the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole next to DS9 allowed easy access between the Alpha Quadrant (our bit) and the Gamma Quadrant (theirs). Suddenly, two factions who may otherwise never have met had each other in phaser lock.

The Changelings primarily exist in liquid form but can assume the form of multiple humanoid races. Despite possessing similar shapeshifting abilities to the Chameloid Martia in Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country, the species are apparently not related.

Sign up to the SFX Newsletter

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!

What is the Dominion?

The Dominion was the empire ruled over by the Changelings – known as the “Founders” to their adoring subjects.

Although the Founders were undoubtedly the brains of the operation, they were never particularly keen on getting their hands dirty. Instead, many administrative roles were fulfilled by the humanoid Vorta (easily cloned in the event of an individual’s demise). The Dominion’s military might, meanwhile, supplied by the ruthless Jem’Hadar. The Founders ensured the loyalty of their footsoldiers by genetically engineering them to be dependent on a drug known as ketracel-white.

What are the Changelings’ strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks to their morphogenic matrix, Changelings can shapeshift to impersonate a vast array of inanimate objects, animals and humanoids. As well having no need for food, they can survive in the vacuum of space.

On their homeworld they all join together to form a big lake of liquid beings known as the Great Link. Here they can exchange thoughts in one big hive mind – it’s like the Borg but gooier.

As predominantly liquid beings, however, they can’t hold solid form indefinitely. They subsequently experience intense pain and a rapidly deteriorating body if they leave it too long before returning to their liquid state. During Odo’s early days on Deep Space Nine, he had to revert to his gloopier self every 16-18 hours, spending his R&R periods in a bucket before relocating to larger quarters.

How do you spot a Changeling?

While Odo would struggle to pass for human, older, more experienced Changelings have the ability to create a seamless imitation of detailed facial features and voices. This has traditionally made them incredibly difficult to spot, with even the extensive blood screening adopted by the Federation proving frustratingly hit-and-miss. In fact, their best efforts weren’t enough to prevent copies of DS9’s resident doctor Julian Bashir and Klingon bigwig General Martok slipping through the net.

What was the Dominion War?

The Dominion’s initial slow-burn efforts to infiltrate the Alpha Quadrant eventually escalated into all-out war. The resulting two-year conflict brought all of Star Trek’s significant powers into battle, and led to in massive casualties on both sides.

Dominion tactics were varied enough to incorporate the brute force of the Jem’Hadar armada, and Changeling operatives shapeshifting their way into the upper echelons of Starfleet or the Klingon Empire – they even engineered a war between the Klingons and the Cardassians to further their aspirations in the region,  

The threat became so great that the Federation, the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire were forced to enter into an unlikely alliance, though the Cardassian Union went the other way and teamed up with the Dominion. This decision ultimately backfired when the Founders decided an alliance with the secretive Breen was actually more beneficial to their cause. Hundreds of millions of Cardassians were slaughtered in the subsequent invasion.

What happened to the Dominion at the end of Deep Space Nine?

The Federation/Klingon/Romulan alliance ultimately reclaimed Cardassian territory and gained the upper hand over the Dominion in battle. But arguably the most important (and most morally questionable) development of the war’s endgame was the morphogenic virus Starfleet Intelligence’s perennially shady Section 31 developed to kill off the Changelings.

With the Founders unable to develop a treatment of their own, they were facing extinction when the Federation Council vetoed the use of the cure Dr Bashir had developed.

Odo ultimately convinced the Founders to surrender, on the condition that he join them in the Great Link to share the cure. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Bajor.

Has Picard ever faced the Dominion before?

Neither of Picard’s Enterprises ever encountered the Dominion on screen, though the long-running war is referenced in both Star Trek: Insurrection and Star Trek: Nemesis. Seeing as the crew would have been in service throughout the conflict, however, it seems unlikely they’d have avoided the Changelings completely.

And, seeing as Worf spent four seasons as a regular on Deep Space Nine, there is at least one member of the classic Next Generation line-up with extensive experience of the Founders. When the Klingon makes a reference to “a close friend within the Link” in Picard season three’s third episode, he’s almost definitely referring to his former colleague, Odo.

How do the Changelings fit into Star Trek: Picard?

Episode 3 (‘Seventeen Seconds’) sets them up as season 3’s Big Bad, responsible for stealing both the troublesome portal weapon Vadic uses to torment the USS Titan, and another top-secret threat housed at Daystrom Station. There’s also a Changeling hidden aboard the Titan, and he's done his best to kill Jack Crusher in between ongoing efforts to sabotage the ship.

It’s important to note, however, that these Changelings are not the Dominion. Worf explains that, “When the Dominion War ended, there was a schism. A terrorist faction broke away, unwilling to accept defeat.” It appears that the Changelings we’ve seen so far in Star Trek: Picard are part of this “rogue group”, though Worf is treading softly because Starfleet realise that acknowledging their existence might risk reigniting the Dominion War.

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard stream on Paramount Plus in the US every Thursday, and on Fridays in the UK courtesy of Prime Video.

Richard is a freelancer journalist and editor, and was once a physicist. Rich is the former editor of SFX Magazine, but has since gone freelance, writing for websites and publications including GamesRadar+, SFX, Total Film, and more. He also co-hosts the podcast, Robby the Robot's Waiting, which is focused on sci-fi and fantasy. 

The Fallout TV show finally corrects my big game frustration: giving romance the focus it deserves

Fallout TV show’s big finale reveal about the bombs may have been a huge misdirection

15 days after Wii U servers were supposed to be shut down, the last surviving Splatoon player is still hanging on as the servers crumble around them

Most Popular

• 2 Broken Roads review: "Systems that sound good on paper don't work as intended"
• 3 Open Roads review: "A cozy, nostalgic road trip that can't quite get into gear"
• 4 Dragon's Dogma 2 review: "Embrace the chaos and there's nothing quite like it"
• 5 Rise of the Ronin review: "A decent PS5 exclusive action RPG that's driven and hamstrung by its ambition"
• 2 Rebel Moon Part Two – The Scargiver review: "Zack Snyder’s sci-fi epic stumbles towards the finish line"
• 3 Abigail review: "A blood-bomb of fun that needs more narrative meat"
• 4 Sometimes I Think About Dying review: "Daisy Ridley demonstrates her star power"
• 5 Challengers review: "A pulsating tale that's sure to get deuces flowing"
• 2 Alien RPG Building Better Worlds review: "Carrying on the quiet momentum of one of the best TTRPGs out there"
• 3 X-Men '97 episode 6 review: "The heart of the X-Men has triumphantly returned, but at what cost?"
• 4 X-Men '97 episode 5 review: "Heartbreaking at the most catastrophic level"
• 5 Fallout review: "A big Vault Boy-style thumbs up"

• Show Spoilers
• Night Vision
• Sticky Header
• Highlight Links

Follow TV Tropes

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/StarTrekVItheUndiscoveredCountry

Film / Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Edit locked.

"There is an old Vulcan proverb: only Nixon could go to China ." — Spock

The One With… the Cold War IN SPACE!

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth movie in the Star Trek film series, released in 1991.

It is a grand finale for the classic Trek crew ( as played by the original actors, at least ) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between the Federation and the Klingons with a Tom Clancy ''IN SPACE!'' storyline. In part because of its more political themes and real-world connections, The Undiscovered Country is Darker and Edgier than its predecessors.

After an environmental calamity, the Klingons' infrastructure collapses and their leader sues for peace. Does this remind you of the end of the Cold War? It should. The Iron Curtain was coming down at the time of production and the Klingons had always been stand-ins for the Soviets. Kirk, ever the cynical cowboy, still doesn't trust the Klingons but is volunteered by Spock to escort their leader to the peace talks without asking him first. But Kirk is not the only one who never wanted peace — a mysterious conspiracy with accomplices from both sides of the conflict means to drive the Federation and Empire into a full-scale war, framing Kirk and McCoy for murder in the process.

Nicholas Meyer, the director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , returned to the helm for this one. As evidenced by the page quote, the film lacks anything resembling subtlety, but its tongue-in-cheek satire and heavy-handed morality tale are just as good if not better that way. If nothing else, it's considered much better than The Final Frontier . In any case, most fans consider it a worthy send-off for the original cast.

While this is the finale for the majority of the TOS cast, Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov appear in the next film to "pass the torch" of the film franchise to The Next Generation .

The Undiscovered Country includes examples of the following tropes:

• 2-D Space : Subtly averted. When the Enterprise and Kronos One first rendezvous, they are not aligned in the same plane. Enterprise very diplomatically adjusts to match the Chancellor's ship. Later, the Bird-of-Prey fires one of its torpedoes perpendicularly to the plane of the saucer section of the Enterprise , damaging it extensively, and indicating that Chang is constantly moving his ship around Enterprise to attack it from all angles. It's especially prominent on the one hit we see the Excelsior take; at an almost perpendicular vector to her ventral saucer.
• Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene : Before the climactic battle, Kirk and Spock wonder if they've both gotten too old to still be useful in a changing galaxy.
• Actually Pretty Funny : During the trial, Chang asks McCoy for his "medical status." McCoy replies "Aside from a touch of arthritis, pretty good." One Klingon in the audience laughs uproariously, everyone else is dead silent. . . but Chang grins in response and congratulates McCoy on his "singular wit", a Stealth Insult that McCoy has used up all of his.
• Alien Blood : The Klingons have Pepto-Bismol pink blood in this film (and only this film until Lower Decks used it as well), in order to keep a PG rating. Becomes a minor Chekhov's Gun in the final act when an assassin is identified as not being Klingon because he has red blood, but only in the extended cut. The Star Trek staff (particularly Mike Okuda) Hand Waved this by claiming the pigment change to be a side-effect of microgravity.
• All There in the Manual : The bizarre joke the Klingon border guard makes is smuggler's code; he knows they aren't who they say they are but thinks they're just illegal traders and just can't be bothered to bust them.
• And the Adventure Continues : The end narration: Kirk: Captain's Log, Stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man, where no one , has gone before.
• Apocalypse How : One destroyed mining planet and the near-irrevocable atmospheric desolation of the Klingon homeworld (which, thanks to the Federation, would ultimately be saved).
• For her part, when Excelsior takes a hit on the chin, we see the shields dissipate the impact with no visible damage to the hull, although an interior shot demonstrates that her crew has gone into Damage Control mode. note  And when you consider what happened when this movie was revisited in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback", where the Excelsior took a lot of damage, this is also a Downplayed Trope as well.
• Scotty does note "She's packing quite a wallop," indicating the Bird-Of-Prey's weapons are more powerful than Klingon standard. Though also note, this design of starship could No-Sell V'Ger's One-Hit Kill plasma bolts.
• Artificial Gravity : A rare example where artificial gravity actually fails.
• Artistic License – History : Valeris repeats as truth the story that the word "sabotage" comes from Luddites throwing their wooden sabot shoes into the machinery during the Industrial Revolution. This is a popular folk etymology, but it is not true. "Sabotage" is derived from the noise and clumsiness wearing the shoes had, which would have a possibility of fouling equipment, but by accident, not deliberately.

• Ask a Stupid Question... : When Janice Rand asks if they're going to report the destruction of Praxis to the Federation, Sulu whirls on her incredulously and asks, "Are you kidding ?!"
• Burke and Samno are killed by Valeris after the attempt to hide the evidence backfires. Lampshaded in the same scene. Kirk: First rule of assassination: kill the assassins.
• Similarly, the commandant of Rura Penthe offs Martia the shapeshifter as soon as their role in Kirk and McCoy 's "attempted escape" is fulfilled.
• Bad Vibrations : Captain Sulu's vibrating teacup heralds the shockwave from the exploding Praxis at the beginning of the film.
• The strategy works because Chang doesn't have any choice but to fire on Excelsior too. Chang's goal isn't to destroy Enterprise , though he'd be happy to do so, he just needs to keep reinforcements away from Khitomer until the Federation President is dead. To accomplish this he has to keep both ships under fire to prevent them from lowering their shields and beaming security forces to the planet to stop the assassination.
• Kirk's plan to draw out the mole (Valeris) by having a "court reporter" summoned to Sick Bay urgently to take statements from the (actually already dead) assassins Burke and Samno .
• A failed Batman Gambit exists in the conspirators' original plan. They were banking on Kirk getting gun-happy after Chang got Kronos One back in fighting shape, shooting back, and destroying Kronos One. What happens instead? Kirk surrenders in a hasty attempt to de-escalate the situation. Chang then has to engage in Xanatos Speed Chess to compensate.
• The assassins specifically kill Kronos One 's chief surgeon, which leaves Gorkon's fate in the hands of a physician who doesn't know much about Klingon physiology, Dr. McCoy .
• Beam Spam : Zigzagged. There are plenty of hand phaser shots, but when it comes to spaceborne combat, only torpedoes are used in the film note  This is justified, at least for Chang; leaving his phasers on long enough to do damage would allow the Enterprise to target the beam's source. With torpedoes, he can fire and immediately change course to a new location, giving his enemy no time to react and target him .
• Big Bad Duumvirate : Though Chang acts as the main villain for most of the movie, he's part of a larger conspiracy which includes Lieutenant Valeris, Admiral Cartwright, Colonel West, and the Romulan Ambassador.
• Sulu and the USS Excelsior swooping in to even up the fight against General Chang and his Bird-of-Prey. While the original plan was to play this trope straight, the end result is a slight subversion; Excelsior doesn't do much but provides a second target at first, giving the Enterprise a much-needed breather. Once Chang's ship is revealed by the first hit on its hull, though, Sulu takes full advantage of the reveal to add his ship's weight to the fight. Sulu states quite explicitly that he knows all the Excelsior is on their arrival is another duck in Chang's shooting gallery. Captain Sulu: Alright... now we've given them something else to shoot at.
• In the novelization, Enterprise is specifically described as trying to hold out until Excelsior can arrive with better sensors and stronger shields. Compare Wellington deciding to hold on at Waterloo until Blucher could arrive with the necessary reinforcements to beat Napoleon, but it being the British who, in shooting Napoleon's Old Guard to a standstill, triggered the French rout.
• Big "OMG!" : Sulu's reaction to the incoming Planar Shockwave . "My... God ! Shields! Shields! "
• Bluffing the Murderer : "Code Blue Urgent: Court reporter to Sickbay. Statements to be taken..."
• Brigadier Kerla responds to Excelsior 's message after the explosion of Praxis. Kerla: There has been an incident on Praxis, however, everything is under control, we have no need for assistance.
• Starfleet orders the Enterprise to report back after the assassination, but they are still trying to root out the assassins. Uhura: We are experiencing technical malfunction; all backup systems inoperative. Chekov: Excellent. I-I mean — too bad.
• The Enterprise wasn't the only one pulling this. Kirk: You realize that by even talking to us, you're violating regulations. Sulu: I'm sorry, Captain. Your message is breaking up. Kirk: Bless you, Sulu.
• Borrowed Catchphrase : When Spock invites Doctor McCoy to help him rig up a plasma-seeking torpedo to take down Chang's cloaked Bird of Prey. McCoy : Fascinating!
• Broken Pedestal : Valeris to Spock, and vice versa.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer : The main difference between Valeris and Saavik is that Valeris has a tendency to defy regulations. For example, she fires a phaser on the kill setting, which triggers every alarm on the Enterprise , in order to demonstrate why the conspirators didn't just disintegrate the magnetic boots and uniforms used in the assassination. She is also the one who suggests breaking out the very illegal Romulan Ale for dinner with the Klingons. It also counts as Foreshadowing , showing that Valeris is reckless and doesn't seem to care much for rules... or for the safety of her shipmates. Someone like that shouldn't be trusted.

• A floor panel explodes in Spock's face, reminiscent of how he "died" in the Kobayashi Maru simulation .
• The shot where Spock speculates on the Bird-of-Prey's weakness is from the exact same angle as the one where he speculates on Khan's "two-dimensional thinking" .
• Romulan Ale, being both illegal and leaving a terrible hangover.
• When Spock wants to go to the Klingon ship but Kirk overrides him, Spock says "Perhaps you're right," and puts his hand on Kirk's shoulder like he's going to administer the nerve pinch... and puts the viridium patch on his shoulder.
• The Klingon Ham - bassador from The Voyage Home is back too. And this time, he actually has some valid points to assert instead of just bluster.
• The design of the makeup for Christopher Plummer shares a number of similarities with the design of the smooth-browed Klingons from the Original Series, particularly the moustache, and his more subdued ridges.
• In TNG's "Unification: Part II", which was made to promote this film , Spock tells Picard that because of how badly negotiating peace with Klingons almost went during this film, he opted to take matters into his own hands trying to negotiate unification between the Vulcans and Romulans . With Gorkon's assassination and Kirk and McCoy almost getting executed, Spock was unwilling to risk anybody's life but his own.
• Captain Sulu of the USS Excelsior has the honor of opening the movie this way.
• A log entry that Kirk makes early in the movie (about how much he hates Klingons) becomes a Chekhov's Gun when it's used against him at his trial, and a Chekhov's Boomerang when he realizes that Valeris was listening outside his door when he recorded it, and provided the quote to her fellow conspirators .
• Kirk ends the movie by recording his final log entry as captain of the Enterprise .
• This was at least partially a coincidence, as Brock had already played Admiral Cartwright earlier in the film series, Brock Peters plays an anti-Klingon racist. Brock actually had problems doing Cartwright's anti-Klingon rant during the classified meeting because it was morally unpleasant for him personally. Multiple takes had to be done and pieced together. (That is, he had problems getting the lines out. According to the DVD, he was supportive of the message itself.)
• William Shatner also got his start as a Shakespearian actor, and at one point was actually Christopher Plummer's understudy.
• Central Theme : Spock joins Kirk in feeling his age and disappointment in time passing them by, and Gene Coon’s Soldier vs Diplomat conflict comes back from the series, Chang taunting Kirk on how they’re both warriors, and Kirk trying to be a diplomat (and surrender instead of fight) proves a Spanner in the Works for the bad guy plan.
• Characterization Marches On : Sulu has adopted a more authoritarian, strict (but fair) personality as a captain, contrasting his easygoing, affable one in prior movies and the TV series.
• Kirk's personal log. It is initially used to incriminate Kirk at his trial, but comes back later when Kirk realizes that Valeris, who was outside of his quarters at the time of his recording, must have given it to the Klingons.
• The pink Klingon blood. Some of it floats into the path of one of the transporting assassins; later, it is discovered on the transporter pad by Chekov and Scotty. In the extended cut, when the "Klingon" sniper is shot at the peace conference, Worf quips that the (red) blood does not belong to a Klingon. It turns out that it is actually human blood, that of Colonel West.
• The Phaser Alarms. Firing a phaser on a kill setting triggers the alarms, as Valeris demonstrates in the kitchen when Chekov asks why the assassins didn't vaporize their incriminating clothing. When Burke and Samno are found dead , McCoy wonders why they were not vaporized and Chekov replies (while comically making it sound like a dumb question) that it would set off the alarm. Valeris had used a phaser on stun to the head at point blank range to kill them; her inability to dispose of the bodies leads Kirk to his plan to flush out the assassin by saying that they had survived and were willing to talk about everything.
• A Chekhov's Gun example is left hanging on the wall when Kirk pulls out a concealed pistol of identical make: in a Captain's Log , Sulu mentions the Excelsior is cataloging gaseous anomalies. Apparently, the Enterprise had been doing the same, since they have the equipment on board and use it to track the cloaked Bird-of-Prey. note  Legend has it that Excelsior was supposed to fire the modified torpedo but Shatner demanded that the Enterprise do it, hence the discontinuity.
• Burke and Samno, seen in the transporter room when Gorkon and his party beam aboard, are later revealed to be the two assassins responsible for his death. The extended cut takes this further: they make disparaging remarks about the Klingons after the party has left the room, only to be stopped by Valeris .
• Colonel West, seen only in the extended cut. He is the architect of the plan to rescue Kirk and McCoy from Rura Penthe, and is later the sniper shot dead by Scotty .
• Admiral Cartwright is another, albeit minor, example: his unease of peace with Klingons makes him a party of the plot to shoot the Federation President .
• Chewing the Scenery : Chang in the final showdown; especially " Cry havoc!!! ... and let slip the dogs of war!" where it's not so much that he's shouting it at the top of his lungs, but that he's shouting it at the top of his lungs while spinning in his self-rotating captain's chair . Chang: I am constant as the Northern Star! McCoy : I'd give real money if he'd shut up.
• Comic-Book Adaptation : By DC Comics.
• Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like : If Spock had waited a few more seconds before his Teleportation Rescue , Kirk would have had the details of who wanted him killed. Kirk: Couldn't you wait for a few more seconds? He was about to explain the whole damned thing!! Chekov: You vant to go beck!? McCoy : Absolutely Not!!! Kirk: It's cold!!!
• Sulu mentions at the end of The Voyage Home that he hopes the ship they're being sent to is the Excelsior . In this film he turns up as a starship captain... commanding the Excelsior . Even earlier than that, when the ship is first shown in the beginning of The Search for Spock , Sulu is gawking in amazement at it. Scotty also continues his nonplussed attitude about the ship, preferring to tip his hat to her Captain instead.
• During Kirk and McCoy 's trial, General Chang brings up Kirk's demotion in Star Trek IV, simultaneously referring to the events of Star Trek III that precipitated it. Chang: Indeed, the record shows that Captain Kirk once held the rank of Admiral and that Admiral Kirk was broken for taking matters into his own hands in defiance of regulations and the law!! [whirls on Kirk] DO YOU DENY BEING DEMOTED ON THESE CHARGES?! DON'T WAIT FOR THE TRANSLATION!! ANSWER ME NOW!! note  Which is a great allegorical reference to the Cuban Missile Crisis , when UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson was questioning the Soviet ambassador as to whether the Russians were moving missiles to Cuba: "Don't wait for the translation, answer 'yes' or 'no'!"
• The Enterprise -A tracks the cloaked Klingon vessel using its emissions, in the same way, the Enterprise -D does in "The Emissary" , set over 70 years later. It's stated in the TNG episode that this is possible due to the age of the Klingon ship, suggesting that this incident might have quietly led Klingon R&D to figure out how to fix that little design flaw.
• Kirk takes his own advice from “Balance Of Terror” and keeps his bigotry to his own quarters. Unfortunately for him, Valeris is listening and gives the statement that he’s never forgiven Klingons to the other side.
• When Spock is being tested on Vulcan in The Voyage Home , one of the questions has to do with a starship being followed so closely that sensors show it occupying the same space as its pursuer. Here, the first sign anything is amiss comes when sensors pick up a surge in neutron radiation that seems to be coming from the Enterprise, when it's really from the cloaked Bird-of-Prey following her.
• Cool Old Guy : Pretty much the main cast.
• Cool Starship : Excelsior finally gets to strut her stuff after her Epic Fail three movies ago . McCoy : My God, that's a big ship. Scott: Not so big as her captain, I think.
• Covers Always Lie : The main poster has the Enterprise battling a Klingon K'Tinga cruiser and Bird-of-Prey at the same time. It only fights a Bird-of-Prey in the movie, although the K'Tinga cruiser attempts to engage earlier in the film.
• CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable : Bones, miracle doctor that he is, can revive someone with no pulse by straddling them and beating on their chest. But only after trying several more sophisticated techniques , including inserting some sort of medical device into the open chest wound. The Klingons who witness this are absolutely horrified. The patient dies after delivering his last words despite the doctor's best efforts.
• Crazy-Prepared : Gorkon, according to the novelization. He expected something to happen to him on his way to Earth, so he used his influence among his allies to ensure that Azetbur would succeed him as Chancellor. He also suspected Chang to have a part in a betrayal, hence why he tells someone to find him when Kronos One loses artificial gravity.
• Creative Closing Credits : The cast's signatures are written out on screen before the credits.
• Creator's Culture Carryover : As unlikely as it may seem, the Klingon court of the 23rd century is shown to be very similar to American courts of the 20th century, with the accused being questioned publically by the prosecutor, defense attorney Worf throwing in an "objection!" every now and then, the judge overruling them, etc.
• The space battle has Scotty doing his usual thing while the Enterprise is pummeled by torpedoes. We can also see crewmen running around with fire extinguishers on the Excelsior .
• Damage control of the political kind is shown in the opening scene. When Sulu and the Excelsior send a message offering assistance after Praxis explodes, a message from a Klingon miner screaming for help is blocked and replaced by a political response, acknowledging an internal incident, but refusing any assistance.
• Deadly Environment Prison : The underground Klingon labor camp Rura Penthe where Kirk and McCoy are imprisoned has nothing preventing prisoners from escaping — except the extreme cold and storms of the surface, where death by exposure would be a certainty (technically, there's also a magnetic field to prevent escape by transporter, but it only extends so far and it would be possible to walk out of it if not for the deadly climate). In fact, prisoners are threatened with expulsion to the surface if they don't work.
• Of Kirk again. This time, his Fantastic Racism makes him an easy Fall Guy for Gorkon's assassination.
• The Klingons in the original series were based on racist stereotypes and it wavered on whether Kirk and others were right to distrust them (with episodes like "Errand of Mercy" and "Day of the Dove" coming down on the side that Kirk isn't all that different from them), so they were the right candidates for a full-blown racism plot.
• Dedication : To Gene Roddenberry, who passed away weeks before the film's release.
• Defensive Feint Trap : Kirk attempts one of these when Chang's Bird of Prey attacks the Enterprise upon arriving at Khitomer. He orders the Enterprise into a reverse, confusing Chang momentarily, but only enough to give the Enterprise some breathing room and a few extra seconds for the Excelsior to arrive.
• Description Cut : After Kirk and Bones are sentenced to life imprisonment. Spock: If I know the Captain, he is already deep into planning his escape. [cut to Kirk getting his ass kicked]
• When meeting Valeris and hearing of her academy accomplishments. Kirk: You must be very proud. Valeris: I don't believe so, Sir. McCoy : She's a Vulcan, all right.
• During Kirk and McCoy's incarceration on Rura Penthe. McCoy : Three months before retirement... What a way to finish. Kirk: We're not finished... McCoy : Speak for yourself. One day, one night: [makes throat slitting sound] Kobayashi Maru . Kirk: Bones, are you afraid of the future? McCoy : I believe that was the general idea that I was trying to convey. Kirk: I don't mean this future. McCoy : What is this, multiple choice?
• During the battle with Chang, as the general's hammy snippets of Shakespeare are broadcast throughout the Enterprise . Chang: I AM CONSTANT AS THE NORTHERN STAR! McCoy : I'd give real money if he'd shut up.
• During the start of that same battle after the first torpedo hit. McCoy : Well this is fun.
• Deus ex Machina : The Enterprise is getting owned by the cloaked Bird-of-Prey, and then suddenly the crew realizes the ship just happens to have some never-before-mentioned equipment to catalog gaseous anomalies that can be used to totally obliterate the enemy ship. What makes this particularly bad is that Sulu and the Excelsior are the ones performing this task at the beginning of the film. The true explanation is a combination of executive and cast meddling (Shatner insisted that the Enterprise save itself). This is also explained in the novelization as being Starfleet's current ongoing giant research project of the past few years, so most ships other than Excelsior are carrying equipment for gaseous anomalies. The Star Trek Timeline also establishes this as well, with Enterprise and Excelsior specifically being mentioned so as to explain how Enterprise also had the equipment. Admittedly this could have been somewhat fixed by modifying Sulu's opening narration to something like "for the past three years we have been leading the fleet in cataloguing gaseous anomalies in planetary atmospheres", but alas, l'esprit de l'escalier...
• Disposable Woman : The book version has Carol’s settlement attacked by Klingons just as she and Kirk were getting closer (and she’s been avoiding him for three books), just to give him apparently more excuses to hate them.
• The whole film is an allegory about the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was released less than a few weeks before the Soviet Union actually fell. The coup that briefly deposed Mikhail Gorbachev happened in Real Life while the film was still in production. Gorkon is a clear expy of Gorbachev, as both were reform-minded leaders of a dying empire who felt co-operation with the Federation (or the West) was key for their survival.
• In addition, Praxis exploding and contaminating the Klingon homeworld is a clear reference to Chernobyl , which Gorbachev said bankrupted the Soviet Union due to containment and decontamination.
• Don't Answer That : Colonel Worf tells Kirk this during the trial. The judge insists otherwise.
• Dramatic Downstage Turn : Occurs when Kirk and McCoy are lying in their prison beds.
• Dramatically Missing the Point : Spock initially doesn't get Valeris's concern over this upcoming peace. Nicholas Meyer described the scene in Spock's quarters as Valeris having a mental breakdown, which, being a Vulcan, happens so subtly that even Spock fails to notice.
• Dramatic Shattering : Sulu's tea cup rattles off the captain's coffee table and falls to the deck when the Excelsior gets buffeted by the shockwave. Not a moment after it's in pieces on the deck, alarms and klaxons start blaring. Notably, it is not the same teacup which Sulu drinks from — the decoration was seen by the prop team as too nice to ruin.
• After the disastrous dinner, several still-drunk senior officers immediately return to duty. Chekov, in particular, is noticeably struggling to make it through his watch. Later, Chang uses this as evidence against Kirk and Bones during their trial. Kirk : Valeris, you know anything about a radiation surge? Valeris: Sir? Kirk: Chekov? Chekov : Only the size of my head. Kirk: (rubbing his head) I know what you mean.
• The watchman at the Klingon observation post is clearly hammered, which makes Uhura's task easier when she has to bluff her way past him in Klingon without the aid of the universal translator.
• Earth-Shattering Kaboom : The explosion of Praxis that kicks off the events of the movie. Excelsior's visual enhancement shows that more than half the moon has been vaporized. The real-world analogue is the Chernobyl plant disaster that weakened the Soviet Union just enough to get the ball rolling.
• Eiffel Tower Effect : The Office of President of the Federation is in Paris.
• Elderly Ailment Rambling : Invoked by McCoy when he and Kirk are on trial for murdering Chancellor Gorkon, and he's asked about his medical standing. He replies, "Aside from a touch of arthritis, I'd say pretty good." His effort at levity actually does get one Klingon to laugh.
• In-Universe , this is the end of the cold war between the Federation and Klingon Empire, which has defined Alpha Quadrant politics for decades. Going forward, the Federation and Klingons will be occasionally frosty, but ultimately solid friends and allies.
• Out of universe, this movie marks the end of the TOS era. Going forward, the TOS characters are largely relagated to cameos and guest roles on future Star Trek productions, at least until the reboot (which is an Alternate Universe created by time travel anyways).
• End-of-Series Awareness : While the films that continued in the original timeline after this would focus on the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast and there's later be Kelvin timeline 's Continuity Reboot , this film was the last adventure that the entire original crew would have together and, as seen by Kirk's final lines, it wasn't subtle about it, either.
• Engineered Public Confession : During the trial, Kirk's log entry in which he says, "I have never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I've never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy," is presented as proof of his motive for assassinating Gorkon. This fact is later used to incriminate Valeris as a conspirator, since it was she who was outside his quarters' open door unnoticed at that moment.
• For all the Jerkass tendencies that Kirk has about "letting the Klingons die", he turns a complete 180 when Gorkon's ship is attacked, and not of his own doing either. While Shatner's recoil was cut, Spock's aghast reaction makes Kirk look down, still ashamed of himself.
• Valeris falls for a trap that exposes her as the mole. Spock is part of the trap. He tells her that logically she must shoot him to have a chance of getting away. She cannot bring herself to do it.
• The conspirators need to get rid of the magnetic boots, but can't throw them out or destroy them. Rather than let a random innocent be accused, they hide the boots in the locker of a crewman whose species' feet are so large and abnormally shaped (compared to humans) that it is flatly impossible that he could have worn them.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good : The first thing that throws a wrench into the conspirators' plan- they assumed that, with Kronos One bearing down on him preparing to fire with a snarling General Chang spitting vitriol at him, noted Military Maverick and Klingon-hater James T. Kirk would leap at the chance to fight the Klingons again. They underestimated Kirk's actual sense of duty and dedication to the ideals of the Federation, preferring to surrender if it was the only way to prevent a war.
• The Romulans are also involved, likely just to destabilize the other two major powers of the Alpha Quadrant.
• Evil Twin : Martia, the shapeshifter who takes on Kirk's shape during their fight.
• Explosive Overclocking : The Excelsior is really bookin' it to Khitomer in the climactic scene, with galactic peace hanging in the balance. (The entire ship is rumbling from exceeding maximum safe warp speed.) Sulu: In range? Helmsman: Not yet, sir. Sulu: Come on, come on! Helmsman: She'll fly apart! Sulu: Fly her apart, then!
• Valeris, for Saavik.
• In relation to Sherlock Holmes mysteries, Spock is Holmes and Chekov is his Watson.
• Eye-Dentity Giveaway : No matter which form she takes, Martia the shapeshifter keeps her eye color.
• Face Death with Dignity : Chang. Offering only a resigned, "to be, or not to be."
• Face Palm : Uhura's response to Chekov believing he has the culprit and missing the very obvious fact that their suspect can't fit in the incriminating boots.
• "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner : Chang : "To be..." ( seeker torpedo careens about on the view screen looking for a target) Chang : "Or not..." (seeker torpedo gets a bead on their ship's exhaust trail, bridge crew braces for impact) Chang : "To be...?" (seeker torpedo flies straight towards the viewscreen's point of view, Chang averts his gaze, the whole bridge explodes on the torpedo's impact)
• Faking Engine Trouble : Starfleet orders the Enterprise to return to Spacedock, but since Chancellor Gorkon's assassins are on board, to keep them from escaping the crew keep coming up with reasons not to return, at one point telling Starfleet Command the warp drive is malfunctioning.
• False Flag Operation : The two assassination attempts. General Chang's special Bird-of-Prey makes it look like the Enteprise fired on Kronos One . Towards the end, Colonel West disguises himself as a Klingon and attempts to shoot the Federation President.
• Fantastically Challenging Patient : When Bones tries to save the wounded Klingon Gorkon, he doesn't actually cut Gorkon open, but he does insert some sort of medical device into the open chest wound. As Bones points out while trying to treat Gorkon, Klingon anatomy is not the same as Human anatomy, and Bones has no medical training in helping Klingons. Gorkon ends up dying of his wounds .
• The film really runs with this, which even caused some behind the scenes problems for most of the cast. In the film, it provides Character Development for some, especially Kirk. He goes from " Let them die" and "I never could forgive them for the death of my boy," to "I was used to hating Klingons" and "Gorkon had to die before I realized how prejudiced I was." By the end Kirk realizes that while he didn't kill Gorkon, he had an indirect involvement in his murder due to his reputation. Gorkon's sincere wish for peace and imploring of Kirk to see it through with his last breath moves Kirk to re-evaluate the Klingons as a whole, as well as himself.
• With regards to the behind the scenes problems, according to director Nicholas Meyer, Brock Peters found Admiral Cartwright's words during the briefing scene to be so offensive he needed several takes to get them all out note  Though he was supportive of the message itself, and apparently agreed having his character voice it would add to the impact . In a similar vein, Nichelle Nichols refused to speak the line "Guess who's coming to dinner?" — an intentional reference to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner — which is heard prior to the Klingons' visit to the Enterprise . The line was instead given to Walter Koenig.
• Fate Worse than Death : Being sent to Rura Penthe . Uhura: (quietly) Rura Penthe? Chekov: Known throughout the galaxy as "The Aliens' Graveyard". Scotty: Better to kill 'em now and get it over with.
• Likewise — or at least during the original release in late 1991 — it was a foregone conclusion that Bones and Spock will at least both survive the events of the film given their crossover appearances decades later in TNG's Pilot episode and "Unification".
• While Kirk and Spock are arguing about the mission after the briefing, notice the figure standing in the shadows behind Kirk? It's Valeris, setting up her role in the movie.
• After the Klingon party leaves the transporter room, crewmen Burke and Samno make vaguely racist comments about the Klingons until Valeris starts bossing them around. All three are conspirators.
• Gorkon has a pretty good idea as to who betrayed him once the shooting starts.
• Spock and Scotty discuss the possibility that someone has hacked the Enterprise 's computers. Then Valeris slides down into the room.
• Kirk's Captain's Log entry about how much he hates Klingons is used against him at his trial. Who heard him recording that log? Valeris.
• One of the missing magnetic boots is found in Dax's locker, seemingly implicating him in the assassination...except his bizarre feet prove that he couldn't have worn it. Guess whose visibly dismayed look the camera focuses on. It's...well, you get it by now...
• Final Speech : Gorkon begs Kirk with his dying breath to save the peace process, leaving Kirk shocked by cognitive dissonance. It also serves as emphasis to the foreshadowing above. He knows Kirk didn't pull this stunt. Gorkon: [weakly] Don't let it end this way, Captain...
• Freeze-Frame Bonus : As Kirk declares that he needs to board Kronos One after the torpedo hits, watch Spock's right hand as he slips a viridium patch on Kirk's shoulder. It's easy to miss as you are likely to pay more attention to Kirk ordering Uhura to tell Kronos One that he is coming aboard to assist.
• From Bad to Worse : Disaster steadily builds throughout the film, with Kirk and Spock arguing over saving the Klingons, a drunken dinner that goes very badly, the Enterprise firing on the Klingon ship, a Kangaroo Court for Kirk and McCoy's trial, them only getting out thanks to a Bed Trick played on Kirk, and Spock having to Mind Rape Valeris, looking like he’d rather die than have to do it.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy : The Klingon border guards are shown to be quite amused at the crew's stumbling Klingon, but then make a weird joke about it and send them on their way anyway. The explanation didn't make its way into the movie, but basically they're just lazy ( and drunk ) and think the crew is part of a smuggling ring that's bribing them.
• Gender Is No Object : Scenes of the crew quarters aboard both Enterprise and Excelsior reveal that enlisted crew share bunk space regardless of gender, rather than having segregated male and female berths.
• General Ripper : Chang. And Admiral Cartwright too, it seems.
• The Girl Who Fits This Slipper : Subverted. The boots of the conspirators are found in the locker of Crewman Dax ( no relation )... who has large webbed feet that don't fit. Chekov: Perhaps you know Russian epic of Cinderella ? If shoe fits, wear it. [drops magnetic boot at Dax's feet and smiles triumphantly] Spock: Mr. Chekov... [gestures at Dax's decidedly nonhuman feet. Uhura facepalms.]
• Glass Cannon : Chang's Bird-of-Prey may be able to use its weapons while cloaked, but it still can't use shields at the same time. Although it's able to do quite a lot of damage to both the Enterprise -A and Excelsior while they're unable to effectively fight back, once they do pinpoint its location, they make short work of it.
• Godwin's Law : Kirk makes a comparison between the Klingon's request for "living space" with Hitler's demands for Lebensraum at the diplomatic dinner (whilst not being very diplomatic). Needlessly to say, this comparison goes down really really badly. Becomes worse when the two Klingons most likely to get it are the traitorous conspiratorial one obsessed with Earth culture and the one who had probably done his research on their planet and history for the forthcoming peace talks. I.e. the two worst of the group to offend with the comparison. However, the latter understood Kirk's old prejudice perfectly and didn't hold it against him, and the former probably goaded Kirk to say that.
• Got Volunteered : Kirk and the Enterprise are volunteered to escort Chancellor Gorkon to the peace conference without his knowledge, with Spock "personally vouching" for him. He is not amused. Spock: I have personally vouched for you in this matter, Captain. Kirk: You have personally vouched...? [...] How could you vouch for me? That's...arrogant presumption.
• Grand Finale : Advertised as such, with Star Trek: The Next Generation going strong and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in development, this movie was intended as a swan song and made explicit in the end. The following Trek movie Star Trek: Generations serves as more of a coda for Kirk.
• Groin Attack : Kirk gets in a fight with a big blue alien and ends it by kicking the alien in the knee. Or so he thinks. Martia: That was not his knee. [beat, Kirk and McCoy look confused] Martia: Not everybody keeps their genitals in the same place, Captain. Kirk: Anything you wanna tell me? Martia: [big grin]
• Gunship Rescue : Downplayed, as the Excelsior arriving on the scene in the climax doesn't do much more than give Chang another target (although it does take some heat off the battered Enterprise ). Once they find a way around the cloak, however, their combined firepower makes short work of the Bird-of-Prey. Sulu: Target that explosion and fire .
• William Shatner vs. Christopher Plummer. The survivors likely envy the dead.
• At one point it's Shatner vs. Shatner, which reaches hamageddon levels. Kirk: I can't believe I kissed you. Martia-as-Kirk: Must have been your life-long ambition!
• Hangover Sensitivity : Poor Chekov is visibly struggling to make it through his bridge watch after the Romulan Ale-soaked diplomatic dinner; prompting Kirk to grumble about his own hangover.
• Hard-Work Montage : The crew of the Enterprise searching for uniforms with Klingon blood.
• The Heavy : General Chang is the most prominent antagonist for the Enterprise , but he is really only the enforcer of an interstellar conspiracy, not its leader. It's not even clear if he is the most highly-ranked Klingon who is party to it, or which side initiated the conspiracy in the first place.
• Heel Realization : Kirk realizing his intolerance of the Klingons made him the perfect patsy for Chancellor Gorkon's assassination . During his prison stay, Gorkon's last words haunt him as well. Kirk: Gorkon had to die before I realized how prejudiced I was.
• He Knows Too Much : The assassins are killed before they can be discovered and interrogated. Valeris is nearly killed herself at the end, when she's presented as evidence against the conspiracy, but Scotty shoots the would-be assassin first.
• High-Tech Hexagons : Sulu's tea table on the Excelsior 's bridge is an illuminated oblique hexagonal prism. note  Behind-the-scenes, this helped mask one of the gimbals used to shake the bridge set.
• His Name Is... : The warden of Rura Penthe engages in a little Just Between You and Me with Kirk and McCoy , but an inopportune rescue by Spock ruins the reveal.
• Hoist by His Own Petard : Kirk and McCoy would have never escaped if Chang hadn’t ordered the Gulag warden to help them escape. Instead, Kirk and McCoy would have simply languished in prison, the Enterprise would have been waiting around in Klingon space for nothing, the Federation President’s assassination would have gone on as planned, and Chang and his crew would have lived... at least until the Federation–Klingon War.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs : Colonel West: ...Now, we have the technology to— President Ra-ghoratreii: Yes, yes I know. But suppose you precipitate a full-scale war? Colonel West: Then quite frankly, Mr. President, we can clean their chronometers * clocks .
• Homage : The speech that the warden gives Kirk and McCoy upon their entry to Rura Penthe is a paraphrase of Colonel Saito's speech to captured British P.O.W.s in The Bridge on the River Kwai . For comparison: Colonel Saito: If you work hard, you will be treated well. But if you do not work hard, you will be punished! A word to you about escape. There is no barbed wire, no stockade, no watchtower. They are not necessary. We are an island in the jungle. Escape is impossible. You would die. Rura Penthe Warden: This is the gulag Rura Penthe. There is no stockade. No guard tower. No electronic frontier. Only a magnetic shield prevents beaming. Punishment means exile from prison, to the surface. On the surface, nothing can survive. Work well, and you will be treated well. Work badly, and you will die.
• Spock's briefing indicates that saving Qo'noS is economically impossible for the Klingon Empire, which spends far too much on the military, not that it's technologically impossible, echoing a common understanding of reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union. With the peace treaty and eventual integration into the Federation, saving Qo'noS presumably became a more realistic prospect.
• Homing Projectile : Enterprise is only able to counterattack Chang's cloaked Bird of Prey by mounting equipment for gaseous anomaly tracking into a photon torpedo's guidance system. Once launched, the torpedo follows the invisible trail of plasma exhaust from the Bird of Prey's impulse engines until it hits its target.
• Honor Before Reason : General Chang hailing Captain Kirk before attacking counts as this as well, as he risked sacrificing the element of surprise to do so even considering his ship's advanced cloaking device. Then again, he considers Kirk a Worthy Opponent and presumably saw it fitting to formally challenge him before engaging him.
• Human Outside, Alien Inside : As Bones points out while trying to treat Gorkon, Klingon anatomy is not the same as Human anatomy, and Bones has no medical training in helping Klingons. Gorkon ends up dying of his wounds.
• Valeris argues that the Klingons are untrustworthy because they've conspired with the Federation to assassinate their own chancellor, when that very same conspiracy plans to assassinate the Federation president. Not to mention the fact that she herself is in on the conspiracy...
• Azetbur accuses the Federation of this in her Inhumanable Alien Rights rant, saying they profess a dedication to equality but are really a " Homo sapiens only " club. Another Klingon immediately acknowledges the presence of Spock, who is half-Vulcan (and identifies as Vulcan rather than human). But then again, getting into the reasons why Spock serves with a human crew and not a Vulcan crew wouldn't help the Federation's case either.
• I Did What I Had to Do : Spock's reaction to the forced mindmeld with Valeris is made entirely of this trope.
• Identical Grandson : Michael Dorn portrays Colonel Worf, the grandfather and namesake of his TNG -era character. There was going to be a scene showing Colonel Worf talking with his young son, Mogh, but it was unfortunately cut. Downplayed in that the make-up for Dorn was significantly different than the TNG Worf note  TNG Klingon make-up generally enlarged the size of their head with large crests, whereas Klingons in this film were more subdued which in turn makes it more of a family resemblance than actually being identical.
• IKEA Weaponry : The sniper rifle used at the conference.
• Inciting Incident : The Praxis explosion and resulting Planar Shockwave .
• Inconvenient Summons : Kirk and McCoy are caught by the warden of Rura Penthe trying to escape, and are about to be executed, so Kirk figures he might as well ask who's behind the conspiracy. The warden decides to oblige. Hilarity Ensues . Kirk: "Killed while trying to escape." McCoy : Damned clever if you ask me. Kirk : It's a classic. Klingon Warden : That's what he wanted. Kirk : Who? Who wanted us killed? Klingon Warden : Since you're all going to die anyway, why not tell you ? His Name Is... Enterprise : (transporter beam!) Kirk: [dematerializing] Oh! Not... SON OF A... Klingons : [start shooting futilely] Kirk : [rematerializing back on the Enterprise ] OF A BI... BI... BI... Dammit to hell! Of all the... son of a... Couldn't you have waited two seconds? Spock : [utterly perplexed] Captain...? Kirk : He was just about to explain the whole thing! Chekov : You vant to go beck!? McCoy : Absolutely not! Kirk : ...It's cold!
• I Need a Freaking Drink : Just after the diplomatic dinner on the Enterprise , McCoy leaves the transporter room proclaiming, "I'm going to go find a pot of black coffee." Ironically, he's already drunk at the time, making this "I need to sober up" .
• Instant Emergency Response : Valeris firing a phaser set to disinergrate not only sets off an alarm, but summons security along with half the ship.
• Though it has been pointed out that the Germans made the same claim in the 1930s and that in conjunction with Chang's echoing of Nazi talking points was an intentional choice to by the production staff to lead into Kirk's retort.
• Likewise, Spock's deadpan humor is on display when he says that "Only Nixon could go to China" is an "old Vulcan proverb."
• Spock gets in another one when he quotes Sherlock Holmes as something an ancestor of his said. Either he's saying a Vulcan had the same thought, or he's related to Arthur Conan Doyle on his mother's side.
• Chekov gets one more "invented in Russia" gag in this, the final TOS movie. Chekov: Perhaps you have heard Russian epic of Cinderella ? If shoe fits, wear it!
• Incoming! : Chekov when the Bird-of-Prey is blasting away at them. Rather than shouting it, he mutters it with resignation .
• Incoming Ham : "I can see you, Kirk. Can you see me?"
• Invisibility Flicker : Klingon warships have to decloak before they can fire. Except Chang's. Even then, the exception is briefly lit up by its own torpedoes every time it fires one.
• Several times Valeris asks Spock, "A lie?" and he responds that it is something else (e.g. "An error"). After she is caught as a traitor , he asks her, "A lie?" and she responds, "A choice." Which is a callback to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan : Saavik: You lied? Spock: I exaggerated.
• When Kirk and Chang first meet, Chang says "I've always wanted to meet you, Captain. One warrior to another?" Later, during Chang's Incoming Ham moment he says, "Now be honest Captain, warrior to warrior. You do prefer it this way, don't you? No peace in our time, as it was meant to be." His last sentence is also a Call-Back to Kirk calling him out on demanding "breathing room" earlier via Godwin's Law .
• Ironic Echo Cut : Spock: "If I know the Captain, by this time, he is deep into planning his escape." Cut to Kirk getting the crap kicked out of him in a prison brawl.
• Irony : The conspiracy to prevent Klingon/Federation cooperation proves Klingon/Federation cooperation is possible.
• Kirk believes this, for not taking Gorkon at his word, and also for his prejudice as a whole against Klingons.
• Spock blames himself for being too idealistic and putting Kirk in a nearly untenable position, and for being blinded by pride for his protege, who turned out to be a traitor .
• I Want You to Meet an Old Friend of Mine : William Shatner was once Christopher Plummer's understudy. Here they play enemies.
• General Chang was actually confused over his silverware napkin roll until he watched the Federation delegation use theirs.
• Jerkass Has a Point : The Klingon ambassador is an ass, but even Sarek has to admit that he's correct in his legal interpretation that the Klingons have every right to try Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy for Gorkon's assassination. Of course, that was General Chang's plan all along.
• Just Between You and Me : Subverted; Kirk and McCoy are beamed out before the warden can give them a name.
• Kangaroo Court : Kirk and McCoy's "trial". At least their defense lawyer (Worf's Identical Grandfather and namesake, Colonel Worf) is actually trying. Indeed, his efforts are likely the only reason they aren't executed immediately.
• The Kingslayer : The assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon threatens to derail the burgeoning peace process between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. While Kirk initially takes the fall for it, Spock launches an investigation aboard the Enterprise to find the two hitmen, which he does... though only after they've been killed to protect the rest of the conspirators.
• Kirk Summation : Happens one last time. Kirk and Spock set a trap for The Mole on the Enterprise sabotaging peace talks between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Spock sees it's Valeris. Spock: You have to shoot. ( Valeris stares in shock ) Spock: If you are logical, you have to shoot. Valeris: ( pause ) I do not wish to . ( Spock gets out of of the biobed and imposes himself at Valeris, daring her to shoot him square in the chest ) Spock: What you want is irrelevant , what you've chosen is at hand ! Kirk: (popping up out of another biobed) I'd just as soon you didn't. ( Spock angrily smacks the phaser from Valeris' hands ) McCoy : (emerging from shadows) The operation is over.
• Large Ham : Christopher Plummer as Chang, rivaling even Khan. Lampshaded when McCoy exclaims, "I'd give real money if he'd shut up."
• Laser Cutter : The prisoners on Rura Penthe are shown using laser guns to burn away the rock around dilithium crystals.
• Latex Perfection : The Klingon assassin is Starfleet's Colonel West with some rubber on his forehead .
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall : The TOS cast was aware that this would be their last story together, and it shows in the film.
• Lensman Arms Race : The Fire-While-Cloaking device is a game-changer, allowing klingon ships to not even need to decloak to engage a target. A klingon warship so equipped could simply fire just one torpedo and move to another position to become untouchable, as the Enterprise and Excelsior experienced. Unfortunately, it was doomed before the end of its first real engagement: Not only did peace breaking out make it unneeded, but Starfleet ingenuity developed a hard counter on the fly with off-the-shelf parts in the first engagement by adapting gaseous anomaly cataloguing sensors to a photon torpedo guidance system , homing in on the impulse exhaust trail that not even cloaked ships can avoid emitting.
• Lethal Harmless Powers : Even when set on "stun", a phaser can be deadly at extreme close range. Yeomen Burke and Samno find this out the hard way.
• Like a Surgeon : The modification of a torpedo to target a cloaked ship is treated like a surgery, mainly to justify McCoy assisting Spock with it and to toss in some jokes.
• Literary Allusion Title : To William Shakespeare . Allusions to Shakespeare were a regular occurrence in episode titles in The Original Series . The Undiscovered Country was likely intended to be a nod to tradition. Gorkon's Title Drop during the dinner on board the Enterprise directly references this allusion.
• Macross Missile Massacre : Once Chang's Bird-of-Prey is revealed, the Enterprise and the Excelsior torpedo the hell out of her until she explodes. Downplayed, as it's something like a total of seven torpedoes.
• Magic A Is Magic A : It's once again emphasized that a bird-of-prey must decloak before it can attack. The existence of a bird-of-prey that isn't so limited is a major game-changer and a dire threat that our heroes are scrambling to overcome.
• Make It Look Like an Accident : Subverted. Once outside the Rura Penthe shield, Kirk notes that they couldn't just have himself and McCoy killed in an "accident". Martia clarifies that an accident would have only been reasonable for one, so the conspirators required a more "convincing" alternative. Kirk: An accident wasn't good enough. Martia: Good enough for one. Two would have looked suspicious. Killed while [transforms into Kirk] attempting to escape? Now that's convincing for both .
• Make Sure He's Dead : Part of Kirk's effort in Bluffing the Murderer . Valeris is forced to enter sick bay in order to "finish" the job of "killing" Burke and Samno, who are actually already dead.
• Make the Bear Angry Again : A Recycled In Space variant.
• Sulu and everyone else on the Excelsior bridge at the beginning, when they see the Praxis Shockwave hurtling towards the ship: Sulu: My... God! Shields! SHIELDS!
• The entire senior staff of the Enterprise has one at around midnight, all severely hung over (Except perhaps Spock). Spock talks about a peculiar sensor signature, they all commiserate about their hangovers... and then a torpedo comes seemingly out of the Enterprise and slams into Kronos One . Kirk: What's happened?! Spock: We have fired on the Chancellor's ship! (Bridge crew all start scrambling at their stations to assess the situation)
• When Kirk's log entry, in which he says "I have never trusted Klingons, and I never will..." is played in the trial, everybody in the Federation realizes how screwed Kirk and McCoy are now. (Not to mention revealing that The Mole is aboard the Enterprise .)
• Chang and his crew slowly gets this look all over their faces during the finale when the Enterprise fires out the Homing Projectile that gradually works its way toward them...
• Meaningful Name : "Praxis" is an accepted custom or practice. When the Klingon moon Praxis is obliterated, it makes the Klingon Empire reconsider their longtime hostilities with the Federation, making them do the same towards them.
• Metaphorically True : Spock says that his lies are "An error" and "An omission." Valeris then says that her lie is "A choice."
• In the novelization, it's very different: Valeris is terrified by the knowledge that Spock could force his way into her mind with his superior mental training, but Spock doesn't do this. He gently inquires telepathically and she is so relieved that she yields without resistance. As to whether the threat of mind rape is morally superior to actual mind rape, YMMV.
• In a promotional interview for the film, Cattrall revealed that her character and Nimoy's have a mind meld, and then crowed "I got to have safe sex with Mr. Spock!" Um...yeah, not so much.
• It has to be added that the actual scene is not as bad as this exchange makes it sound. Nimoy's acting make it painfully apparent that it isn't something Spock takes on lightly, and he is almost as badly affected as Valeris. His voice cracks badly as he delivers the information ( especially when concluding after deep-digging that she doesn't know the conference's location), and he is clearly struggling to hold it together himself.
• The Mole : Valeris.
• Mood Whiplash : Kirk and his officers are on the bridge, struggling to make it through their shift while in the grip of a Romulan ale hangover, when a photon torpedo suddenly hits Qo'noS One .
• Morton's Fork : Chang gets Kirk to admit that he's disobeyed orders in the past, then asks him if he was either obeying or disobeying orders when he arranged the assassination of the Chancellor. Such a blatant trap is easily avoided by Kirk (he cannot speak to actions he did not witness), but in turn allows Chang to lead him into admitting that he would be responsible if his men were involved (which they were).
• Murder by Inaction : Kirk refuses to help the Klingon by proclaiming they can just die for all he cares.
• Spock has this aura to him after he Mind Rapes Valeris to get the information to spot the Presidential assassination.
• In a more minor example, Kirk has this reaction after he bites out "LET them die!", especially when the words are later thrown back in his face by Valeris .
• The novelization, at least, provides a slightly more rational explanation for why they were scrambling to look up Klingon phrases in old paper books, instead of using the Universal Translator — namely, that the same saboteur(s) who had altered the ship's logs to make it look like the Enterprise had fired on the Chancellor's ship also wiped the Klingon language data from the memory banks to keep the Enterprise from crossing Klingon space without giving themselves away as soon as someone tried to establish communications with them. The books were part of Uhura's personal collection, not part of the ship's library, so the saboteur presumably didn't know about them, or didn't have any opportunity to destroy them.
• Nichelle Nichols has previously pointed out the obvious logical flaw about the scene: Given that Uhura was the ship's communications officer, and that the Klingon Empire was a hostile foreign power, she would have learned the Klingon language as part of her training. It simply makes no sense that Starfleet would send the Enterprise on such a delicate diplomatic mission without proper preparation.
• Worf's Identical Grandfather .
• Bones' exasperated, "What is it with you?!'' after Kirk kisses Martia . Kirk: Still think we're finished? Bones: More than ever.
• This exchange: Kirk: I can't believe I kissed you! Martia (as Kirk): Must have been your life-long ambition!
• Near-Villain Victory : The Big Bad nearly destroys the Enterprise and the conspirators nearly succeed in assassinating the Federation President, but the Excelsior helps buy the Enterprise time to complete its Plasma-Seeking Torpedo to find and kill Chang so they can get to the planet in time to save the day .
• Never Trust a Trailer : Trailers for the movie showcased a scene of Kirk getting phasered and vaporizing . Turns out it was just a shape-shifter . Also, the shot used in the trailer lasts a lot longer than the near-instant fate of the character involved.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain : Kirk and McCoy wouldn't have been able to escape Rura Penthe if not for the villains' plot to engineer an escape attempt to have an excuse to kill them.
• No Gravity for You : One Klingon tactic involves doing this to an entire boarded ship.
• No-Paper Future : Subverted when Uhura is trying to pass for a Klingon ship at Morskika Post. Since she can’t use the Universal Translator , she and the crew flip through Klingon books to formulate a proper Klingon response.
• No, You : When Admiral Cartwright demands the crew of the Enterprise arrested for crashing the Khitomer Conference, Spock responds by saying, "Arrest yourself!" while holding up Valeris, revealing to him that they know everything .
• No OSHA Compliance : This is cited as one of the reasons for Praxis exploding. Overmining and under-regulation turned it into a disaster waiting to happen, just like its real-life inspiration .
• Noble Bigot : Despite their grievances against the Klingons, the Enterprise crew, including Kirk, who initially was unable to forgive the Klingons for his son's death , still pursue their crusade for interstellar peace between Starfleet and the Klingons.
• Brigadier Kerla's voice is full of panic when trying to communicate to the Excelsior and telling them not to intervene.
• Spock is legitimately angry when Valeris is revealed to be The Mole and it shows when he slaps the phaser out of her hand with a clear look of anger on his face.
• Official Presidential Transport : The Klingon battlecruiser that carries Chancellor Gorkon to the rendezvous with the Enterprise is Kronos One ( Qo'noS Wa '), Kronos (also rendered as Qo'noS) being the name of the Klingon homeworld.
• That Ominous Klingon Chanting is actually Hamlet's To be, or not to be? in its original Klingon .
• KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK!
• Kirk gets two of them during the movie: Once, when McCoy tells him that he doesn't know anything about the Chancellor's anatomy, let alone if the Klingon leader will live, and the second when he is being questioned and Chang forces him to admit to guilt by association in the Chancellor's death.
• When Crewman Dax is questioned about the assassination after the gravity boots were found on his locker, the crew realize his webbed feet cannot possibly fit into those boots. Cut to Valeris having a dismayed reaction on her face. We later find out that she too was in the plot, and her face was actually a very subdued Oh, Crap! when she realizes Burke and Samno clumsily disposed of evidence that can now be used against (potentially) all three of them. This sets her off to kill both Burke and Samno in an effort to hide her role in the assassination. She gets another one of these moments when she is exposed as The Mole in Sick Bay.
• Chang has a brief moment when Enterprise fires the torpedo that can home in on his ship...but rather than freak out about it, he decides to Face Death with Dignity .
• Admiral Cartwright has this expression when Spock shows up with Valeris in tow, as the whole conspiracy is about to be revealed. And then again when he tries to book it , only for Captain Sulu and two of his men to beam down with phasers drawn, cutting off his escape.
• Older and Wiser : The TOS crew by this time. Spock shows this in his private conversation with Valeris: Spock: History is replete with turning points, Lieutenant. You must have faith. Valeris: Faith? Spock: That the universe will unfold as it should. Valeris: But is that logical? Surely we must— Spock: Logic, logic, logic ... logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end.
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations : Kirk and Spock's chat before the final battle. Kirk is regretting that his distrust towards Klingons made him the perfect patsy for the assassination and made refuse to see Gorkon as earnest, while Spock is beating himself up about being too biased towards Valeris and her achievements to notice her hidden agenda. .
• Only One Finds It Fun : When McCoy is on the witness stand during the trial, he is asked about his medical status. He answers, "Aside from a touch of arthritis, I'd say pretty good." One Klingon laughs, but everyone else is silent.
• Only One Plausible Suspect : Towards the end of the movie we discover there's a traitor aboard the Enterprise . Since the movie has only one major character among the Enterprise crew who's not a series regular , it's not very hard to guess who the traitor could be. If they'd gone with the original plan for Valeris to be Saavik instead it might have been harder to predict, not to mention considerably more shocking.
• Only Sane Man : Chancellor Gorkon.
• The Klingon miner on Praxis shouting for help just before the moon's explosion. In the novelization , Sulu reflects that he's never seen abject terror on a Klingon's face before and never thought he would.
• Later, when he's about to interrogate Valeris via a non-consensual mind-meld , he roughly yanks her around to face him, and pulls her close when she tries to get away.
• When Kronos One recovers from the attack it turns around ready to attack the Enterprise , with Chang vowing revenge. Kirk immediately surrenders rather than raise shields, as submitting to them is the only course of action to continue peace talks. The crew knows the reasons why, but are stunned because this is Captain James Tiberius Kirk surrendering to the enemy.
• Orbital Shot : The forced Mind Meld.
• Our Presidents Are Different : President Target of the United Federation of Planets and Chancellor Target of the Klingon Empire.
• Kirk surrendering the fight when the Klingon ship recovers and prepares to return fire. The Enterprise almost certainly would have won, but in doing so would have kicked off a war between the two powers (undoubtedly the conspirators' plan). He is doing everything possible to keep the chance for peace alive after what happened. Uhura's response says it all. Kirk: Signal our surrender. Uhura: Captain!? Kirk: We surrender!
• Spock is legitimately hurt and angry over Valeris' betrayal, and makes no attempts to hide it. Even throwing logic in her face by outright daring her to shoot him. You can see the scorn on his face as he slaps the phaser out of her hand.
• During the climax as the conspirators are preparing to kill the Federation president, one of them, Admiral Cartright , is shown with sweat soaking his face.
• One of the engineers in the Enterprise 's engine room is dripping nervously as well, as an invisible foe is probably lurking around Khitomer, waiting to tear the Enterprise apart.
• Peace Conference : The First Khitomer Accord, ending decades of hostility between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
• Pre-Asskicking One-Liner : Sulu: Target that explosion and fire.
• Precision F-Strike : Though remarkably tame, it is certainly one for Spock after hearing the Enterprise is to be decommissioned : Spock: If I were human, I believe my response would be, "go to hell." ... If I were human.
• Prevent the War : The Enterprise 's crew has to figure out the plot to assassinate Gorkon and jail Kirk in order to save the peace conference and stop war from breaking out.
• Properly Paranoid : In a subtle moment, Spock refuses to explain how Enterprise will be able to track Kirk and McCoy , only that they can, no doubt holding his cards close to the vest since he knows Enterprise has a mole on board. As it turns out, he's standing in front of the mole without even realizing it, making any such paranoia even more justified.
• Public Domain Canon Welding : Hinted at when Spock states that, "An ancestor of mine maintained that when you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." This is, of course, a Sherlock Holmes quote. Since Holmes is established as fictional in other Star Trek media, fans usually interpret this as Spock declaring himself to be a descendant of Arthur Conan Doyle via his mother.
• Questionable Consent : The book makes it more explicit that Martia pushes themself on Kirk, kissing and “spooning”, and he doesn’t resist due to wanting to get out of there, but still feels sick whenever they touch him or leer after.
• Realpolitik : Kirk is among the more skeptical officers when it came to the Klingon peace treaty, but is volunteered by Spock to lead the first diplomatic envoy. The fact Kirk was anti-Klingon was being used to give legitimacy to the peace talks, a more compliant officer would have made the Klingons question their commitment and the Federation would worry about being too submissive. When Kirk objects, Spock quotes an Old Vulcan Proverb "Only Nixon could go to China," making it absolutely clear what the movie was trying to reference.
• Recycled In Space : Although the theme of the movie is an allegory for the end of the Cold War , the plot is basically the trope Make the Bear Angry Again (a popular plot in contemporary thrillers) applied to the Klingon empire.
• Revenge Before Reason : Kirk certainly walks the line at first. Kirk: They're animals! Spock: Jim, there is an historic opportunity here. Kirk: Don't believe them! Don't trust them! Spock: They're dying. Kirk: Let them die!
• Revision : This is the first Trek production to establish "Chancellor" as the title of the leader of the Klingon empire — in the second-to-fourth seasons of TNG note  chronologically after this film, of course, but made and released before it , Klingon leaders K'mpec and Gowron had been referred to only as "Leader of the High Council". note  In fact, the title of chancellor wouldn't resurface until DS9 's The Way Of The Warrior . It's also the first time the Klingon homeworld is named as "Qo'nos" (Kronos); an early TNG episode had previously suggested it was called " Kling ".
• After Gorkon and his staff leave the transporter room on the Enterprise, the two Starfleet security officers left behind begin talking to each other about how disgusting the Klingons are , only to be brought up short by a disapproving Valeris who tells them to get on with their work. Watching it with the knowledge that these two, Burke and Samno, would be the assassins of Gorkon and Valeris is their superior in the conspiracy means that what Valeris actually means is "Stop clowning around making yourselves look suspicious and get ready to carry out your mission".
• After it's shown that Crewman Dax, whose locker the magnetic boot was found in, couldn't possibly have been the one who wore it, we cut to Valeris, who has a look of obvious dismay on her face. Knowing the above point about her role in the conspiracy, it's likely she was thinking "Those idiots !"
• Riding into the Sunset : In this case, going to warp toward a nearby star. Or Neverland , as Kirk alludes.
• Rousing Speech : Kirk, in the aftermath of averting the assassination, though it's rather more poignant than rousing. Azetbur: What's happened? What's the meaning of all this? Kirk: It's about the future, Madam Chancellor. Some people think the future means the end of history. But we haven't run out of history just yet. Your father called the future "the undiscovered country." People can be very frightened of change. (Azetbur glances at Lt. Valeris held in Spock's custody) Azetbur: You've restored my father's faith. Kirk: And you've restored my son's.
• Running Gag : Multiple people come charging into the galley wondering why a phaser discharge alarm sounded in there after Valeris demonstrates to Chekov how the assassins couldn't simply vaporize their incriminating footwear with a phaser; Uhura, Scotty, a security offer decked out in armor with his own phaser in hand... Chekov spends the rest of the scene having to tell everyone it's alright each time it happens. It does conveniently bring Uhura down with news about Starfleet Command's increasingly demanding order to return to port, as well as Scotty so Spock can solve the problem by order him to "have trouble with the warp drive" .
• Scenery Porn : The aerial shot of Kirk, McCoy and Martia trudging across the wastes of Rura Penthe (in actuality the Knik Glacier in Alaska) is stunning.
• Praxis must be really close to the neutral zone in order for the Excelsior to have been caught in the Planar Shockwave . (It is said to be a subspace shockwave rather than a plain old STL shockwave.)
• The Excelsior is said to be returning home on impulse power, which is unlikely unless they were already near their destination (or taking some time to perform maintenance on their warp drive). It would take years to travel between stars at sublight speeds note  The distances are so great, in fact, that any sublight travel is, effectively, not traveling at all compared to warp speed . This is likely out of necessity to the plot as it would be the ship being hit by the Planar Shockwave . note  During production of Star Trek: The Next Generation , there were a lot of shots of the Enterprise -D on impulse power, and a behind-the-scenes Technical Manual explained that warp speeds can only be sustained for periods of time before they need to drop out of warp and recalibrate. The producers indicated that warp effects were actually expensive to produce which is why these stock impulse shots were used. Presumably the Excelsior needs to do this as well, given that it is an earlier vessel than the Enterprise -D.
• The image is obvious CG. It’s not an actual photo of Praxis, but a computer representation of what remains of Praxis given various data available from the sensors.
• Screen Shake : Present as usual for Trek — and also enforced , as the bridge sets were built on gimbals to allow them to actually shake.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here : Admiral Cartwright tries to high-tail it as The Plan to assassinate President Ra-ghoratreii falls apart — only to run into Captain Sulu and his team, phasers at the ready.
• See the Invisible : Once the plasma-homing torpedo hits Chang's Bird-of-Prey, the Excelsior and the Enterprise are able to target the resulting explosion. Their continued fire soon knocks out the cloaking shield, rendering the Bird-of-Prey visible just before it comes apart.
• Shapeshifting Squick : Kirk is a little weirded out when the female alien he made out with shows up as a furry male alien. McCoy : What kind of creature is this? Last night, you two were— Kirk: Don't remind me.
• Ship Tease : Very subtly between Spock and Valeris, reflected in their UST-filled nightcap and his emotional response to her betrayal. This is likely a remnant of the original script, which was to have the established character of Saavik instead of Valeris (reflecting the fact Spock and Saavik were strongly implied to have mated in Star Trek III and a deleted scene in Star Trek IV had established that Saavik was pregnant with Spock's child; in the Expanded Universe novels, Spock and Saavik eventually marry.)
• The last line before the final voice over is a reference to the 1953 Disney film Peter Pan (the directions to Neverland). Kirk: Second star to the right ... and straight on till morning.
• To Sherlock Holmes , when Spock says, "One of my ancestors once said, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'" Gene Roddenberry had established as part of Spock's Backstory that Arthur Conan Doyle , creator of Sherlock Holmes, was one of Spock's ancestors on his mother's side.
• Chang's demand that Kirk not wait for the translation of a question, but answer it immediately, is straight from an earlier (pre-TOS, in fact) US-Soviet confrontation, the Cuban Missile Crisis . In that case, it was Adlai Stevenson insisting that the Soviet delegate to the UN answer simply yes or no as to whether they were putting missiles in Cuba.
• The Warden's speech is almost a word-for-word paraphrasing of Saito's "There is no escape" speech from The Bridge on the River Kwai .
• The Translation Convention device listed below that demonstrates the Klingons at Kirk and McCoy 's trial are speaking their own language through interpreters. A very similar device was used several decades earlier in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg (which incidentally featured a young William Shatner in a supporting role).
• Rura Penthe shares its name with the penal colony from the 1954 film adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea .
• Its very title is from Hamlet : "[D]eath — the undiscovered country, from whose bourne/No traveler returns". (III.i)
• Martia: I thought I would assume a pleasing shape.
• Gorkon: A toast. To the undiscovered country — the future!
• Chang: To be... or not... to be...
• Chang: Have we not heard the chimes at midnight? note  A slight misquote converting the original play's statement, "We have heard the chimes at midnight..." into a question.
• Chang: Once more unto the breach, dear friends.
• Chang: The game's afoot.
• Chang: Cry havoc! And let slip the dogs of war!
• Chang: I am constant as the northern star. note  Bones: I'd give real money if he'd shut up .
• Chang: Tickle us, do we not laugh? Prick us, do we not bleed? Wrong us, shall we not revenge? note  He abbreviates the delivery a bit and leaves out "Kill us, do we not die?".
• Chang: Let us sit upon the grass and tell sad stories of the death of kings.
• Chang: Parting is such sweet sorrow.
• Chang: Our revels now are ended.
• Silent Whisper : Right after the bodies of Chancellor Gorkon's killers are found, Kirk takes Spock aside and they have an inaudible conversation. At the end Spock says, "Possible." It turns out to be an idea to lure the killers' killer out.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor : Valeris.
• Slasher Smile : William Shatner gives a great one as Martia!Kirk, when saying, "killed while trying to escape."
• Slow Clap : After Kirk saves the peace summit, the participants all start up. Including the "Ass" in Ambassador who hates him.
• Snowy Screen of Death : From what's left of Praxis, followed by a transmission from Brigadier Kerla saying that everything's under control .
• So Once Again, the Day Is Saved : Having saved the Federation so many times, the TOS crew can joke about it: Kirk: Once again, we've saved civilization as we know it. McCoy : And the good news is, they're not going to prosecute!
• Space Cold War : One of the more blatant allegories to come out of this period.
• Nothing new to Trek , but this movie subtly does a lot to give the feeling that the Enterprise is a naval vessel in space, right down to the computerized ship's bell dinging in a few scenes.
• Even moreso for this movie's Bird-of-Prey, which is the only one in the entire franchise to use a large ship's wheel at the helm.
• The explosion of Praxis sends out the space equivalent of a tsunami, which happens to be at the exact height in space to hit the Excelsior .
• The climactic battle gives the impression of two surface warships attempting to hunt down an enemy submarine. It does have 3D aspects, as enemy fire comes from all directions and heights. No one ever saw, for instance, the saucer section of the Enterprise being struck from below . The torpedo tearing through the saucer is inspired by cannonballs tearing through wooden ships.
• If ships having to uncloak to attack are like a diesel submarine needing to surface for air and to run the engines, then a ship that can fire while cloaked is like a nuclear submarine, with no need to surface at all. Thus, the gas-seeking photon torpedo is like an acoustically-guided anti-sub torpedo.
• Azetbur's ascension to the Klingon Chancellery also ends up being a major wrench in the conspiracy. She continues the Gorkon initative rather than abandon it out of vengeance or wrath against the Federation for her father's murder. This, combined with Colonel Worf's defense, results in the Klingon Judge commuting Kirk and McCoy's death sentences to life imprisonment during the Trial in the interest of the peace process. Look closely at Chang's reaction after the Judge's commutation; he's not happy, and knows this has just made things more complicated for the conspirators.
• Spot the Imposter : The reason Martia is able to escape is the same reason the Warden is able to figure out she isn't Kirk when he kills her: she took off her leg cuffs. Of course, given the Warden's plans for Kirk and McCoy , it wouldn't matter if he chose wrong anyways. There are a couple other giveaways as well: Martia always has gold eyes, and she points above Kirk instead of at him, since she is used to being shorter than him.
• State Visit : In the aftermath of the Praxis explosion, the Federation extends an invitation to the chancellor of the Klingon Empire to come to Earth to initiate negotiations that would result in the end of the Space Cold War .
• Standard Female Grab Area : Spock to Valeris when they mind-meld and after she's revealed as the traitor .
• Sticky Shoes : The assassins boarding Kronos One after the artificial gravity is disabled wear magnetic boots, allowing them to calmly stomp around shooting everyone in their path as they flail about helplessly.
• The scene where the Enterprise glides towards the spacedock doors is a reuse of the "zoom in on Enterprise " shot from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , just with the Excelsior removed and the background tint changed to blue.
• The second trailer has a minor scene from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , of the Enterprise getting shot by a torpedo.
• The Excelsior racing at top speed and the Klingon Bird-of-Prey exploding are re-used as stock footage in the next movie, Star Trek: Generations .
• Suicide by Cop : The book has Kirk briefly consider suicide by fighting with Klingons, as it’s preferable to retiring and dying an old man in bed, before deciding he can’t drag his crew down with him.
• Kirk and his officers are visibly hung over at their bridge shift after drinking too much Romulan ale — until a photon torpedo suddenly hits Kronos One . Then again, nothing suddenly causes you to gain focus like the prospect of interstellar war starting on your watch...
• Unfortunately subverted in the case of Dr. McCoy trying to revive Gorkon. In combination wtih his lack of working medical knowledge of Klingons, his hands are unsteady and slightly clumsy, still affected by the Romulan Ale he drank during the state dinner. No matter how shaken awake by the whole diplomatic catastrophe unfolding he may be, his mental acuity and motor skills are still impaired by intoxication. Chang is quite ready to bring that up during the show trial .
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute : Valeris in place of Saavik.
• Swivel-Chair Antics : Chang is so hammy that he spins his chair in ecstacy during the battle. Chang: CRY HAVOC! And let slip the dogs of war! ( Evil Laugh )
• Tactful Translation : The subtitles compensate for the Klingon listening post operator's lazy apathy by translating his simple utterance of just the post's name (Morskika) into, "This is Listening Post Morskika."
• It's quite nicely worked in, but Kirk's remark in the end speech that "some people think change means the end of history" is likely a jab at neo-conservative Francis Fukuyama's proclamation (and epynonymous book) that the collapse of Soviet communism meant that liberal bourgeois democracy was the only option for developing countries and was, thus, "the end of history".
• Starfleet Colonel West is inspired by USMC Col. Oliver North, who was implicated in the Iran/Contra scandal.
• Teleportation Rescue : Kirk and McCoy are saved from their impending murder "for attempting escape" at the hands of the Rura Penthe warden by the transporters. Shame about the timing, though.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill : After the modified photon torpedo hits and disables the cloaked Bird of Prey, it is dead in the water but still intact. Sulu's response with the Excelsior , and then Kirk's with the Enterprise-A , is to then pound it with torpedo after torpedo until it is completely obliterated. Slightly justified though because while the torpedo crippled the Bird of Prey and, presumably, killed Chang, it was still cloaked — just briefly exposed by the explosion — and so could still potentially be a threat.
• When The Excelsior finally gets on the scene at Khitomer in the climax, Captain Sulu knows that all he and his ship and crew can do at that time is be another target for the invisible foe and take pressure off the battered Enterprise . True enough, moments later, Chang orders a torpedo strike that uppercuts right into Excelsior 's saucer section, sending damage control teams scrambling and emergency bulkheads dropping. Sulu: All right... now we've given them something else to shoot at.
• Non-Verbal example — as Chang speaks his "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner while a torpedo streaks towards them, two of his men can be seen behind him bracing themselves for the impact of the torpedo and the subsequent barrage to follow.
• Title Drop : Subtitle Drop. In the ill-fated dinner scene , Gorkon proposes a toast to "the undiscovered country," earning bemused stares from the audience as well as the main cast before he explains he meant "the future." The cause of the confusion is that within the context of Hamlet 's speech, "the undiscovered country" is death . Which Spock himself points out in the novelization. Gorkon's counter-argument has a good point. And, considering what happens to Gorkon in his next scene, actually makes quite a bit of sense .
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth : Chancellor Gorkon. Dr. McCoy describes him as "the last, best hope for peace."
• Too Good for Exploiters : The Klingons sue for peace, because their hostility toward the Federation is unsustainable in light of the accident on Praxis, their moon and previously-key-energy-production facility. Unfortunately, there are those on all sides, Humans, Klingons, and even the Romulans, that want the hostilities to continue, because they exploit the benefits, jobs, and even the control, that come with their current political position.
• Took a Level in Jerkass : Admiral Cartwright. He was previously shown in a more heroic light in Star Trek IV . However, here he comes off as a racist jerk during the briefing, and this is even before we find out he is a part of the conspiracy .
• Touch Telepathy : After Spock realizes that Valeris is a traitor and murderer , he grabs her by the head and performs a forced Mind Meld on her to learn the details of the conspiracy .
• Tracking Device : The viridium patch that Spock slaps on Kirk's back just before he and McCoy beam onto Kronos One .
• Trailers Always Spoil : The fact that there is a Bird-of-Prey involved, and that Chang is commanding it.
• During the trial, the Klingons begin in their own language, then the camera cuts to a box where translators are giving a running translation in English, which is being piped through radio-like devices that Kirk and McCoy are listening to. When the camera cuts back to General Chang, all spoken dialogue for the rest of the scene is in English, but it's still clear the Klingons are speaking their own language, particularly when Chang yells at Kirk not to wait for the translation before answering a question.
• This trope is mostly avoided for all other scenes involving the Klingons on their own, however. Subtitles are used in all-Klingon scenes in almost all movies.
• For some reason, it almost always switches to English whenever Chang starts talking, sometimes right after some untranslated Klingon. Maybe Christopher Plummer had trouble chewing scenery in Klingon.
• Tricked into Escaping : The villains want Kirk and McCoy dead, not just imprisoned, but don't want to be too obvious about it. They arrange for the pair to meet someone with whom they can team up in an "escape attempt", which the commandant can then violently quash. Kirk eventually realises that the situation didn't add up. (Kirk, of course, would certainly have attempted escape on his own, but it would have taken time to learn the layout and find his best option.) Kirk: She didn't need our help getting anywhere. Where did she get these convenient clothes? And don't tell me that flare is standard prison issue. It's to let them know where we are. [...] An accident wasn't good enough. Martia: Good enough for one. Two would have looked suspicious. [shape-shifts into Kirk] Killed while attempting escape? Now that's convincing for both.
• The first is Brigadier Kerla admitting that "there has been an incident on Praxis." Yeah, an entire moon exploding goes well beyond just "an incident."
• The second is Spock opening a briefing at Starfleet Command with "Two months ago, a Federation starship monitored an explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis." By "monitored," he means that the Excelsior was knocked off course and nearly shaken to pieces by the Planar Shockwave .
• Unwanted Rescue : At least not for a few more minutes after Kirk's captor explains the plans.
• Villain Has a Point : Both sides of the conspiracy to assassinate Chancellor Gorkon and the Federation President are partially proven to be correct in their paranoia, when Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine later show their fears coming true. The Federation does corrupt Klingon society to the point that a Starfleet officer later becomes the one to decide who would become the next Klingon chancellor, while the Klingons later betray the Federation and launch a war against them after abandoning the Khitomer Accords (albeit, largely due to the influence of a Changeling mole ).
• Wasn't That Fun? : After General Chang's Bird-of-Prey first opens fire on Enterprise at Khitomer: McCoy : This is fun.
• We Need to Get Proof : Spock logically figures out that the only ship that could have torpedoed Kronos One is a cloaked bird-of-prey, but as they're not supposed to be able to fire while cloaked, it will take more than their word to convince Starfleet. Valeris: We must inform Starfleet Command— Scotty: Inform them of what ? A new weapon that is invisible? "Raving lunatics", that's what they'll call us! They'll say that we're so desperate to exonerate the captain that we'll say anything. Spock: And they would be correct. We have no evidence. Only a theory which happens to fit the facts.
• We Will Use Manual Labor in the Future : Or at least the Klingons will on their prison planets. Then again, it's Rura Penthe, the Klingon equivalent of a gulag. The warden outright calls it "the gulag Rura Penthe" during his introductory resistance is futile speech. Hardly meant to be comfortable.
• "Signal our surrender." Derails the firefight between Enterprise and Qo'noS One that the scene appeared to be leading to. It even shocks the bridge crew: Uhura: Captain? Kirk: We surrender!
• During the last scene: Uhura: Captain, I have orders from Starfleet Command. We're to put back to Spacedock immediately... to be decommissioned.
• Wham Shot : The torpedo hitting Kronos One .
• Spock's disturbed reaction to Kirk's desire to see the Klingons die off. note  In commentaries, Shatner expressed dismay that they cut out a subsequent self-dismissive gesture from Kirk suggesting it was impulsively said.
• This was prompted by Spock "volunteering" the Enterprise and crew for the peacekeeping mission. Considering just two films ago, Kirk was accused by the Klingons of developing the Genesis device as a superweapon, he seems like a poor choice — but the implication is that the Klingons respect Kirk's legendary fighting abilities and will deal better with a tough guy than a nice guy. The conspirators have no problem leveraging this reputation to frame Kirk for Gorkon's murder.
• The dinner scene spreads a lot of the blame around to all of the main characters — with the exception of Spock, who really is trying — who drink too much Romulan ale and come off as bigoted against Klingons. That most of Enterprise 's senior staff returned to duty still drunk from dinner is used as evidence of gross negligence against Dr. McCoy in their trial.
• Spock seems to be giving himself one after he publicly Mind Rapes Valeris for information on the conspiracy .
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? : When the prison warden finds Kirk and McCoy outside, he shoots the shape-shifter who was helping him immediately, but inexplicably agrees to explain who is behind the conspiracy before shooting Kirk and McCoy . This gives them enough time to escape.
• Why Isn't It Attacking? : The climactic Battle of Khitomer has the Enterprise under attack from General Chang's bird-of-prey, which can stay cloaked while attacking, causing Kirk to initially order his ship to pull back. Both commanders on either side ask this question about the other: Kirk wonders why Chang does not press his advantage; Chang wonders if the Enterprise is backing up because they detect him, and wants to make sure they cannot ascertain his exact location before attacking the larger ship.
• Why We Are Bummed Communism Fell : The whole film is a metaphor for the fall of communism, and even seemed to predict the failed coup that preceded the final collapse of the USSR.
• Wicked Cultured : General Chang might be willing to plunge the quadrant into war, but damn if he can't quote Shakespeare with the best of them!
• Wild Hair : The Federation President's mustache almost earned its own acting credit.
• Worthy Opponent : In the novelization, Chang spends his last seconds reflecting on his own mortality, and that being beaten by the likes of Kirk is no disgrace. Even in the film, the mere fact that Chang considers Kirk a "warrior" is a testament to his respect for him as an adversary.
• Would Hit a Girl : Kirk punches Martia. Of course, she’s a shapeshifter, so he doesn’t know whether she’s really female or not.
• Wrong Genre Savvy : Kirk still thinks he can do what he did constantly in the original series, and seduce someone to help get out of a bad situation. Not so much, as she's a shapeshifter setting him up, and even calls him out for his narcissism.
• They are expecting Kirk to fight it out after the Chancellor is killed, but when he surrenders they put him in a show trial and schedule a new assassination attempt at the peace conference.
• They send Kirk to an inescapable Penal Colony but know he would probably find a way to escape, so they use a stooge to "help" him and betray him later.
• They believe Kirk would never find the location of the conference, but have a ship ready to deal with him if he does.
• You Cannot Kill An Idea : Gorkon's fight for peace continues on despite his assassination. His daughter Azetbur, who becomes chancellor, continues his efforts, and Gorkon's sacrifice challenges Captain Kirk's prejudice against Klingons. Gorkon: Don't let it end this way, Captain .
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame : A downplayed example, but Kirk is obviously not thrilled to be greeted by Chang "from one warrior to another".

Video Example(s):

Kirk vs. Kirk

The shapeshifting Martia takes on the form of Captain Kirk and fights the real one.

Example of: Mirror Match

In Space All ar...

Earth Hitler 1938

General Chang's...

Chang Quoting t...

Kirk's Last Com...

Alternative Title(s): Star Trek VI

• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek (2009)
• Not Quite the Almighty
• QuoteSource/Star Trek
• Contract on the Hitman
• Recap/Star Trek
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
• ImageSource/Star Trek
• Planar Shockwave
• Creator/DreamWorks Animation
• Superman III
• Franchise/Star Trek
• Star Trek: Generations
• Creator/Paramount
• Alien Works
• Science Fiction Films
• MediaNotes/Parental Guidance Suggested Rating
• AmericanFilms/N to S
• Films of the 1990s – Franchises

Important Links

• Action Adventure
• Commercials
• Crime & Punishment
• Professional Wrestling
• Speculative Fiction
• Sports Story
• Animation (Western)
• Music And Sound Effects
• Print Media
• Sequential Art
• Tabletop Games
• Applied Phlebotinum
• Characterization
• Characters As Device
• Narrative Devices
• British Telly
• The Contributors
• Creator Speak
• Derivative Works
• Laws And Formulas
• Show Business
• Split Personality
• Truth And Lies
• Truth In Television
• Fate And Prophecy
• Edit Reasons
• Isolated Pages
• Images List
• Recent Videos
• Crowner Activity
• Un-typed Pages
• Recent Page Type Changes
• Trope Entry
• Character Sheet
• Playing With
• Creating New Redirects
• Cross Wicking
• Tips for Editing
• Text Formatting Rules
• Handling Spoilers
• Administrivia
• Trope Repair Shop
• Image Pickin'

Advertisement:

How well does it match the trope?

Example of:

Media sources:

11,241--> Report

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Full cast & crew.

Directed by 

Writing credits ( wga )  , cast (in credits order) verified as complete  , produced by , music by , cinematography by , editing by , casting by , production design by , art direction by , set decoration by , costume design by , makeup department , production management , second unit director or assistant director , art department , sound department , special effects by , visual effects by , stunts , camera and electrical department , animation department , casting department , costume and wardrobe department , editorial department , location management , music department , script and continuity department , transportation department , additional crew , thanks .

Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs

Contribute to This Page

• Full Cast and Crew
• Release Dates
• Official Sites
• Company Credits
• Filming & Production
• Technical Specs
• Plot Summary
• Plot Keywords
• Parents Guide

Did You Know?

• Crazy Credits
• Alternate Versions
• Connections
• Soundtracks

Photo & Video

• Photo Gallery
• Trailers and Videos
• User Reviews
• User Ratings
• External Reviews
• Metacritic Reviews

Related Items

• External Sites

Related lists from IMDb users

Recently Viewed

Shapeshifting species

• View history
• Allasomorph
• Anaphasic lifeform
• Antos native
• Coalescent organism
• Dee'Ahn's species
• FGC 47 lifeform
• Gomtuu (partially)
• Ornithoid life form (using a transmuter )
• Rigellian hypnoid (using a projected illusion)
• Salt vampire (using mental illusions)
• Silver Blood
• Space vessel lifeform
• Species 8472 (with artificial enhancements)
• Suliban (with genetic enhancements)
• Talosian (using telepathic projection)
• The Traveler's species

Unnamed [ ]

• Abducting aliens ( TNG : " Allegiance ")
• Aliens who appeared as Rumpelstiltskin , Buck Bokai , and Jadzia Dax ( DS9 : " If Wishes Were Horses ")
• DNA thief lifeform ( VOY : " Vis à Vis ")

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery’s burnham fight makes michael even more like kirk.

Captain Burnham fought herself in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, which is an experience Captain James T. Kirk is very familiar with in Star Trek: TOS.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, "Face the Strange."

• Captain Burnham's encounter with her past self in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 mirrors Kirk's battle with his doppelganger.
• Burnham's growth on Discovery highlights similarities to Kirk's brash, action-oriented command style from Star Trek: The Original Series.
• In Discovery season 5, Burnham's quest for a powerful treasure brings her closer to the spirit of exploration shared by Kirk in Star Trek.

Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) already has a lot in common with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), but fighting herself in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 makes her even more like the Captain of the Enterprise. In its fifth and final season, Star Trek: Discovery follows Captain Burnham and the crew of the USS Discovery as they set out in search of a powerful treasure that could reveal secrets about the creation of all humanoid life. With numerous references to Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Discovery season 5 feels more connected to Star Trek's long, rich history.

Captain Michael Burnham has come a long way in Star Trek: Discovery , and no scene illustrates this better than one in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4 , "Face the Strange." Written by Sean Cochran and directed by Lee Rose, "Face the Strange" finds Burnham and her First Officer, Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie), jumping through the USS Discovery's past and possible future . As they work with Commander Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp) to stop the time jumping, Michael and Rayner end up on Discovery during the show's first season, and Michael has a run-in with her past self, Specialist Michael Burnham.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Burnham fighting herself in star trek: discovery makes michael more like kirk, burnham is not the first starfleet captain to fight herself..

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 4, Captain Burnam tries to alter events in the past as little as possible, but that becomes more difficult when she accidentally encounters her past self. By this point in the time jumps, Burnham, Rayner, and Stamets have figured out a possible solution, and if they can execute it before the next jump, any changes they make in the past will be erased. Although Captain Burnham tries to convince her younger self to trust her, the Michael Burnham of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 was a very different person. Specialist Burnham cannot see a world where she would ever become Captain of Discovery.

The Michael Burnham of Star Trek: Discovery season 1 Captain Burnham encountered was just weeks removed from her prison sentence as Starfleet's first mutineer.

The two Michael Burnhams are evenly matched in their subsequent fistfight until Captain Burnham takes down her younger self with a Vulcan nerve pinch . This fistfight feels reminiscent of a similar fight Captain Kirk had with his doppelganger. In Star Trek: The Original Series season 1, episode 5, "The Enemy Within," a transporter accident splits Kirk into two individuals. One embodies all of the negative traits of Kirk, while the other has the more positive aspects. The two Kirks end up in a fistfight and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) disables the "evil" Kirk with a Vulcan nerve pinch.

Captain Kirk also brawls with a lookalike in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, when a Chameloid named Martia (Iman) mimics his appearance.

How Star Trek: Discovery’s Captain Burnham Echoes Captain Kirk

Michael burnham has more in common with james t. kirk than you might think..

William Shatner's James T. Kirk, of course, achieved fame as the Captain of the USS Enterprise on Star Trek: The Original Series , with his brash, action-oriented command style. Much like Kirk, Michael is also unafraid to take risks and doesn't hesitate to charge headfirst into dangerous situations if any of her friends are in danger. Both Captains are intelligent and compassionate, and they inspire loyalty in those who follow their commands. In stark contrast to Captains like Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Rayner when he commanded the USS Anteres, Burnham and Kirk have a more relaxed relationship with their crew.

While other members of the USS Discovery's crew have borrowed the spotlight throughout the show's four seasons so far, Discovery has always been Michael's story.

Unlike the Star Trek shows that came before it, Star Trek: Discovery has a clear main character in Michael Burnham. While other members of the USS Discovery's crew have borrowed the spotlight throughout the show, Discovery has always been Michael's story. "Face the Strange" not only adds another similarity between Burnham and Kirk, but also demonstrates how far Michael has come since the earliest days of Star Trek: Discovery . Captain Michael Burnham is one of Star Trek's greatest new characters, and she has a lot in common with Star Trek's first great Captain, James T. Kirk.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery