Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (Director's Edition) (Star Trek)

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (Director's Edition)

B0000683DH

Paramount Home Video

06 August, 2002

Although Star Trek: The Motion Picture had been a box-office hit, it was by no means a unanimous success with Star Trek fans, who responded much more favorably to the "classic Trek" scenario of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Inspired by the "Space Seed" episode of the original TV series, the film reunites newly promoted Admiral Kirk with his nemesis from the earlier episode--the genetically superior Khan (Ricardo Montalban)--who is now seeking revenge upon Kirk for having been imprisoned on a desolated planet. Their battle ensues over control of the Genesis device, a top-secret Starfleet project enabling entire planets to be transformed into life-supporting worlds, pioneered by the mother (Bibi Besch) of Kirk's estranged and now-adult son. While Mr. Spock mentors the young Vulcan Lt. Saavik (then-newcomer Kirstie Alley), Kirk must battle Khan to the bitter end, through a climactic starship chase and an unexpected crisis that will cost the life of Kirk's closest friend. This was the kind of character-based Trek that fans were waiting for, boosted by spectacular special effects, a great villain (thanks to Montalban's splendidly melodramatic performance), and a deft combination of humor, excitement, and wondrous imagination. Director Nicholas Meyer (who would play a substantial role in the success of future Trek features) handles the film as a combination of Moby Dick, Shakespearean tragedy, World War II submarine thriller, and dazzling science fiction, setting the successful tone for the Trek films that followed. --Jeff Shannon

After the special effects showcase that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan was ready to film with a lower budget and a less-known director. However, this installment helped to shape Star Trek for years to come.
 In TMP, they attempted to make the cast look younger, like very little time had passed. However in this one, Kirk is having a midlife crisis on his fiftieth birthday. There is much more focus on the characters in this one, and the special effects are there for the story. Also, gone are the space pyjamas from TMP, replaced with red, militarisitc uniforms, which would be the standard for the rest of the original series movies.
 The character Khan from the original series episode Space Seed returns. We find that after he was exiled, the lush planet he was set down on suffered from the explosion of a nearby planet. Few of his crew survived, and his wife was one of the people to die. For all this, he blames Kirk, and when Chekov and his captain, Terrel arrive on the planet, Khan forces them to take him up to their ship.
 This movie also introduced Saavik, a female Vulcan cadet who would appear for the next few films. We also see Kirk's ex, and he meets his son, David Marcus.
 I know that this movie is great for Trek fans, but a friend who never saw Star Trek liked it, so I would say that anybody should give this movie a chance. I grew up in the 1970s on "Star Trek" reruns. I had the first ten issues of Starlog magazine and breathlessly read of any news of a Trek movie. I had the Starfleet jacket (that I snagged on barbed wire the FIRST DAY I wore it). I still have the Enterprise blueprints in the original package.
 It was a glorious time to be alive and be a sci-fi nerd, my friends.
 
 But STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE came out in '79...and I almost fell asleep. It was almost as if they were afraid to cut loose and let these characters go. Or they figured if they could cram a ton of SFX and the legions of sci-fi nerds would be happily hypnotized.
 
 Thank God for STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. 
 I was in college by then and had started drifting away from sci-fi, instead choosing headier movies like ALTERED STATES and BLADE RUNNER.
 But KHAN came along and restored my faith in the possibilities of Star Trek. Even my college roommate, easily the most mocking cynical person I've ever met, got off on KHAN. When he got drunk after seeing it, he'd lay on the floor and bellow over and over again, "KKKHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
 
 So here I am, over 20 years later, and I just watched it on cable TV. And it's still the best Trek they've ever made. I loved those guys. Kirk dealing with age and a son who despised him. Spock still stiffly trying to be a human friend to his human friends. Bones getting crankier, Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, Scotty. 
 I wish I still had that jacket.
 (Although I never had those ears....) In short, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, was the best of all the Star Trek movies. More importantly, WRATH OF KHAN was a vast improvement over its predacessor STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. MOTION PICTURE was eagerly awaited by fans. The camera work and special affects were works of art. In fact, many reviews commented that STTMP was a beautiful film with a lame plot.
 
 WRATH OF KHAN corrected the shortcomings of the first film. The interior of the Enterprise, which was white and sterile in the first movie, took on a little more contrast in KHAN. Star Fleet uniforms definitely improved moving from the STTMP's pajamas to something more military. We also were able to see phasers, photon torpedoes (only one was fired in STTMP), and transporters.
 
 More importantly, WRATH OF KHAN is a combat story with lots of action. Actor Ricardo Montalban reprised his 1960s role as the genetically improved warrior Khan. Not only is it good to see an additional familiar face from the classic Trek years, Khan is a unique character in that although he is Kirk's nemesis, he could quite as easily have been his best friend.
 
 The DVD director's edition of WRATH OF KHAN is vastly superior to the previous VHS releases. Additionally, this version contains footage that has not been seen since WRATH OF KHAN premiered on the ABC Sunday Night Movie in the mid 1980s. The restored sound and James Horner music is terrific.
 
 Special features also include interviews with Nicholas Meyer, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban. None of the features include any interviews with Kirstie Alley -- even though this was the film that introduced her to movie audiences. Quite possibly there are still some hard feelings with Kirstie's salary demand -- denied, of course -- during negotiations for Star Trek III.
 
 Also interesting is a DVD chapter devoted to the special effects. WRATH OF KHAN benefited greatly from lessons learned during STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. On the other hand, some of the special effects were pathetically elementary.
 
 Great to see WRATH OF KHAN in widescreen. This a film that cannot be fully enjoyed on a 13-inch television screen. Go for 27-inch or larger to get the full effect of the battle scene. On the other hand, you could simply move closer to the TV screen.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 4, Episodes 8 & 9: Charlie X/ Balance of Terror

B00001MXXU

Paramount Studio

19 October, 1999

Volume 4 from the DVD collection of original Star Trek programs includes broadcast episode 2, the memorable "Charlie X," starring Robert Walker Jr. as a troubled teen presenting two big problems: pathological immaturity and powerful telekinetic powers. After he wills the destruction of a starship that drops him off with the Enterprise, the titular delinquent stalks a female member of the crew and creates havoc using his terrifying ability to make people, in his own words, "go away." Also on this disc is "Balance of Terror," a terrific drama that was essentially an outer-space version of a 1950s submarine movie. Writer Paul Schneider introduced both the Romulans and the concept of a "neutral zone" to Trek lore, wrapped up in this story about the first encounter between a Federation and Romulan ship in 75 years. The resulting face-off between two vessels and their strong, noble captains--Kirk (William Shatner) and his Romulan counterpart (Mark Lenard, who later played Spock's Vulcan father, Sarek)--is directed and edited with suspense worthy of the classic sub movie, The Enemy Below. It's an example of how the original Trek series took lots of risks and constantly invented itself, in contrast to the more codified look and feel of The Next Generation and subsequent series. --Tom Keogh

In "Charlie X," Robert Walker plays another of Gene Roddenberry's mad omnipotent beings, in this case a young man who was given incredible power by benevolent aliens to enable him to survive on a barren planet. Rescued by humans, he lacks the social skills, maturity, and self-control to use his abilities responsibly and soon endangers the crew of the Enterprise. This is an excellent episode with several chilling moments; a brief shot of a faceless young woman groping along the wall really freaked me out as a kid and remains effective today. The theme of "power corrupts" had not yet become the Trek cliché that it would, but coming so soon on the heels of "Where No Man Has Gone Before," one can definitely see a pattern developing.
 
 "Balance of Terror" introduces the Romulans and features a cat-and-mouse game between the Enterprise and a new generation of Romulan warship that has been sent across the Neutral Zone to probe the Federation for weaknesses. This was the first episode to place the Federation of Planets within a geopolitical (spacial-political?) context that would set the stage for the many stories and arcs concerning the confrontations of galactic superpowers that is a particular strength of the various Trek series. Mark Lenard gives a commanding performance as the Romulan captain.
 The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead. Charlie X
 Conducting a rendezvous with the transport ship Antares the Starship Enterprise takes onboard a seventeen year old passenger named Charlie Evans for transport to Colony Alpha Five. Charlie who was the sole survivor of a transport ship crash fourteen years prior on the planet Thasus was orphaned yet still he somehow managed to survive, learning how to speak by using the ships library tapes, and after the ship's supply of food concentrates had run out found other things to eat just growing around. Having had no human contact all that time proves to be tough on the young man, who desperately wants to be accepted by the people he comes into contact with on the Enterprise. Charlie finds his first experience dealing with women, especially Yeoman Janice Rand extremely awkward. Charlie has more than a passing infatuation with Yeoman Rand, and this infatuation leads Charlie into an embarrassing encounter. Imitating some friendly interaction between two male crew members that Charlie witnessed earlier the eager young man gives Yeoman Rand a friendly pat on her bottom in response to being asked to meet her in the recreation room after she's off duty. Flustered Yeoman Rand suggested that Charlie talk to Captain Kirk or Dr. McCoy and ask one of them what he did wrong.
 
 Upon taking Yeoman Rand's advice Charlie seeks out Captain Kirk with whom Charlie starts to look up to for an etiquette lesson in regards to dealing with women. Jim Kirk who feels commanding a starship with a crew of 428 easier than giving advice about women to a teenage boy finds the experience new and confusing and is saved from further awkwardness by having to respond to an urgent call from Captain Ramart, commander of the Antares. Kirk heads to the bridge with Charlie tagging along and upon arrival the duo find Lt Uhura desperately trying to establish communications with the Antares which was transmitting at full output, Captain Ramart started to give Captain Kirk a warning when suddenly the channel went dead, Uhura attempts to reestablish contact with the Antares when Charlie makes a comment about the "poor" construction of the cargo ship arousing some suspicion from Kirk. Conducting a sweep with probe scanners Spock verifies that the Antares has been destroyed. 
 
 Kirk, lamenting the destruction of the Antares and the twenty crew on board while engaging in a "friendly" game of chess with Mr. Spock discusses what happened to the Antares and how Charlie seemed to know what happened before they did they did. Charlie who has developed a "crush" on Yeoman Rand experiences feelings that frustrate and confuse the young man which in turn make life uncomfortable and awkward for Yeoman Rand who enlists the aid of Captain Kirk for some "fatherly advice". Kirk lays it all out for the seventeen year old with raging hormones prompting Kirk to not only bust Charlie's bubble concerning Janice but also that life isn't always fun or fair. 
 
 Kirk in an attempt to help Charlie try and forget about Rand and relieve some stress takes Charlie to the ship's gym for a little workout and a lesson in self defense. Kirk attempts to teach Charlie a throwing technique which Charlie doesn't perform so well proves disastrous as one of Kirk's crewman who is also working out in the gym as well playfully laughs at the frustrated young man. Charlie who is embarrassed at not being able to get the throw right and is livid at the fact that the crewman is laughing at him makes him "go away". Shocked at witnessing his crewman disappear and even more shocked at the fact that Charlie was responsible for making it happen orders security to come for Charlie and escort him to his quarters. Resisting the security guards with his powers Charlie forces Kirk to threaten him with punitive measures if Charlie doesn't comply. Charlie relents and reluctantly goes with the security guards who are weaponless thanks to him.
 
 Meeting with Spock and McCoy in the briefing room Kirk and the two senior officers discuss what happened in the gym and the danger the awkward teenager with the powerful weapon within him poses not only to the Enterprise but to the population of Colony Alpha Five as well. Theorizing that Charlie caused the destruction of the Antares, a theory which proves to be true the trio realizes that they are in the hands of a dangerously immature and unpredictable adolescent. Charlie starts to exert his control over the Enterprise by locking it on a course for Colony Five and cutting off communications despite Kirk's attempts to change the course of the ship away from the colony so they can buy some time and warn the colony's governor about Charlie. Charlie who punishes Kirk and Spock for not being nice and who makes Janice Rand the women he is obsessed over "go away" for slapping him across the face is in full control of the ship and crew and uses his power to get even with those who annoy him or get in his way. Kirk who must stop Charlie at all costs sees a window of opportunity in stopping the "boy" who lives in a man's body, realizing that Charlie may have over stretched himself in controlling the whole ship decides to tax him further by turning on every device, light and anything else in hopes that Charlie can be distracted so he can be tranquilized until the ship reaches Colony Five. Kirk takes the chance and plays the dangerous game with the powerful teenager. 
 
 The plan proves be successful and just as Kirk is about to deliver the knockout blow to the boy, a ship from Thasus arrives to take Charlie home. The Thasians who were supposedly only a legend taught him the power of molecular transformation which allowed him to survive those fourteen years on Thasus. Remorseful at the destruction of the Antares which the alien beings cannot change the Thasians undo all the harm Charlie caused the Enterprise and her crew. Charlie who desperately wants to stay with the Enterprise and who desperately pleas for Kirk to let him stay shows some kind of remorse at what he's done. The Thasians reject Kirk's offer to let the boy stay with the Enterprise and his own kind take the fearful, panicking yet dangerous remorseful young man away. 
 
 This episode gives Kirk a chance at being a father figure and there are some humorous results.