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Show ( MM P m or1 The Park Record D Section B Thursday, December 8, 1994 D Page B7 Star Trek: The Movies reviewed by ANDY H. RYDER Record guest writer Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) V2 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) 12 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) Star Trek: Generations (1994) 12 Much hoopla surrounds Star Trek: Generations, the last film featuring Capt. James T. Kirk 1 (William Shatner), Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), and Lt. Pavel Androveitch Chekov (Walter Koenig). It's also the first featuring Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Cmdr. William Riker ' (Jonathan Frakes), Lt. Cmdr. Worf (Michael Dorn), Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton), and Lt. Cmdr. Data (Brent Spiner). Actually, Scotty and Chekov's appearances are very short, limited limit-ed to the first five minutes of the film, and Worf does little except for a promotion ceremony at the beginning. In the now-defunct television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Worf was a mere lieutenant. Also Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) make only brief appearances and are not very important to the plot. Anyway, the first film which I've given the lowest rating here (tying with Star Trek V) has rather bad costuming, a way too long sequence showing the refit of the NCC-1701 Enterprise, and a confusing con-fusing plot. (A bit of trivia: the plot and the character of Capt. William Dekker are taken from a proposed 1975 series that never got off the ground called Star Trek II not to be confused with Star Trek II: The Wrath ofKahn.) Its sequel. The Wrath of Kahn, is better and one of the best entries. It features one of the best villains ever, Kahn (Ricardo Montalban), who, according to the episode of Star Trek (the television tele-vision series) that he first appeared in, took over 75 percent of the world in the 1990s. He apparently did if quietly enough it didn't get on CNN. The movie also has a great death scene with Spock (Leonard Nimoy), although Admiral Kirk tends to overact in the funeral sequence. Dr. Leonard H. McCoy (DeForrest Kelley) is also tolerable tolera-ble here, and Chekov gets some good scenes. The third film. The Search for Spock, is rather uneven. Just the fact that Spock spends almost the entire film either in McCoy's head or as a Vulcan child takes away much of the fun. However, the death of Kirk's son is well done, which becomes an important impor-tant plot element later in the series, as well as a great scene involving a self-destruction of the Enterprise. ("3,2,1, BOOM!") The fourth film attains the highest ranking here (tying with Star Trek: Generations), and concerns con-cerns the fact that an alien probe, trying to contact humpback whales, is vaporizing the atmosphere. atmos-phere. Unfortunately, humpbacks have been extinct since 2055, so Kirk & Company (in a stolen Klingon Bird of Prey) head to San Francisco, 1986. Classic scenes involving Spock attempting to blend in "He took a little too much LDS during the '60s," Kirk brilliantly explains. and Scotty attempting to voice-command voice-command a Mac ("Hello, Computer") make this great, despite no villains and a slightly convoluted plot. The film ends with' Kirk's demotion to captain and the arrival of the newly built NCC-1 70 1 -A Enterprise. Star Trek V has some good scenes, but-overall is rather muddled. mud-dled. An obnoxious, impossible to understand ending involving an "Evil God" is the worst part. Star Trek VI does the best job in concealing the fact that Kirk and crew are in their '60s and should have retired years ago. An allegorical plot involving a peace treaty with the Klingons and a classic scene where Kirk gives the order to fire a recently modified heat-seeking photon torpedo tor-pedo at the enemy are great. (Kirk way over-dramatizes, but no one cares.) The film ends with the de-commission of the Enterprise-A. Enterprise-A. This film has the last appearances appear-ances of Spock, Bones McCoy, Capt. Sulu (George Takei he got his own ship, the Excelsior), and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). Finally, Star Trek: Generations is very rewarding despite plot holes and a not-too-great villain named Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell). It begins with the christening of the NCC-1701-B Enterprise. (They just keep coming!) com-ing!) A disaster occurs involving a time thing called the Nexus. (For some reason, it's never explained how the Nexus appeared.) Kirk goes and saves everybody, but is sucked into the Nexus and believed dead. Cut to 87 years in the future, 2370. There Data decides to implant his emotion chip. (Remember, Star Trek: The Next Generation? Premier of the seventh sev-enth season?) I'm not going to give away the whole plot. (Kirk dies! Don't act surprised. Most reviews give away the whole story.) And suffice suf-fice it to say that in Star Trek VIII, they'll be shopping around for an Enterprise- E. Star Trek has a lot of staying power, making it through Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I'm sure DS9 movies will follow, after the ST. TNG crew gets its six movies. ' Hey! If there's been seven so far, and the new crew gets five more, and DS9 gets six, and the January '95 series, Voyager, gets six that means they'll get to Star Trek XXIV! Editor's Note: Eat your hearts out Jason and Freddie! Besides staying up until 10 p.m. week nights to watch reruns oST:TNG on Fox, Andy Ryder attends eighth grade at Treasure Mountain Middle School.. Kids to present two musicals for Christmas I r, .... I . J. .... - . Children from Park City Presbyterian Church will be presenting two musicals for the Christmas season. Twinkle and the All-Star Band features 28 children, ages 3 through 7, and Tlie Missing Magi features 25 young people from grades 3 through 8. The Missing Magi, starring Matt Townsend as Mr. Henry, Katie Bellon as Alice, and Philip Stogner as Zack, is the story of the missing wise man. Special effects in the earthquake scene are part of the action in this unique Christmas story. Twinkle and the All-Star Band is the story of a group of angels who want to do an updated version of the Christmas pageant, complete with country music by Tex, played by Bobby Tnorne, and rock and roll by Katie Lee and Katie Pasinsky. Keilly Shields stars as the Angel Gabriel, with Miss Gladys played by Polly Dare-Both Dare-Both musicals will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 15, at 6 p.m. in the Carl Winters Building auditorium, and on Sunday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m. The public is welcome! DOOEDJEflHSr The Most Serious 4x4 on Earth I I lirnii I ' l Hi W I HI H 01 The city may be a nice place to live. But you wouldn't want to play there. So, get out of town. In a HUMMER. HUMMER is built like no other 4x4 on earth. Full time 4-wheel 4-wheel drive, 16-inch ground clearance, 72-inch wide track stability. It can tow nearly 9,000 pounds, carry 2 tons of people and things, climb and descend at least a 60 vertical slope, and negotiate a 40 side slope. It can ford a 30-inch stream, muscle through 2 feet of freshly fallen snow, even climb a 22 inch vertical step. Get a HUMMER. Then get gone. 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