Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country First Time Watching Reaction

First time watching reaction and review of the movie "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". I missed this particular Star Trek movie for some reason, so I thought you might enjoy my reaction! Future Reaction Polls + Early Access Available on Patreon "KZbin" levels: / alexachipman
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[@actioncom2748]

What's sad? You're the only one to do a proper "First Reaction" video to a Star Trek film. Ya knocked it out of the park.

[@JD.Knight]

Don't forget the Christian Slater cameo 🤣

[@AlanCanon2222]

Did his mother cast the movie? I seem to remember that it was a sort of backdoor pilot for a series with Slater that never materialized.

[@karlsmith2570]

"Isn't That Sisko's Dad?" Yes it is, Brock Peters played the character of Admiral Cartwright, prior to taking the role of Sisko's father, in fact, Peters first portrayed Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek IV:The Voyage Home

[@alexachipman]

I guess he's a distant relative!

[@tedkord1968]

A fan of Star Trek V? I've never met one of those before.

[@alexachipman]

I'm biased because I live near Sausalito I think :) it is so fun seeing areas I go to every week on screen in a Star Trek film. I always crack up when they are walking along the San Francisco waterfront talking about getting back to San Francisco (it was supposed to be Sausalito they were walking along).

[@blacksheep217]

Alexa Chipman that’s Star Trek iv

[@alexachipman]

@@blacksheep217 lol sorry I mixed them up - it's been a bit crazy lately with the fires, my brain is not working properly I thought he said IV in the initial comment. Star Trek V, which I love and mentioned in the video, is because of the Yosemite and Spock scenes. I thought the landscapes in V were spectacular. :)

[@alexachipman]

Actually I am seeing enough “whaat you like V” comments that I am thinking of doing a not-first-time reaction to it. Any interest?

[@blacksheep217]

@@alexachipman I actually like Star Trek V, it's funny.

[@Ohotniktrolly]

Remember that this movie came out right at the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union had dissolved not but 7 or 8 months earlier. Anyone growing up in the midst of those tensions - where potentially all human life could have been wiped out 3 times over in 5-30 minutes, would have been very familiar both with the desire for a change to a world of hope , and the inflexibility of some to accept change to anything other than mutual hatred. You’re right, though - that message is STILL relevant, today. It’s not the big bad USSR anymore, but rather now we are at each *other’s* throats. It seems we’ve lost the lesson. Also: not sure if you’re aware, but Praxis exploding is a Chernobyl allegory.

[@alexachipman]

It always seems to be something with humans! Thanks for mentioning more of the backstory behind the film.

[@TheKyrix82]

All the fans love Star Trek 2...but this was always my favorite

[@Vejitatheouji]

Me too!

[@Ofbricks]

General Chang is the personification of the Gentleman Warrior. He's cultured, learned of Human Culture, and really well-studied about humans in general...likely due to his admiration of Kirk even if he was his nemesis this movie. The movie itself during the Rhura'Pente was shot in Alaska actually.

[@alexachipman]

Alaska is so gorgeous!

[@michaelccozens]

Good point. One also imagines that the Gentleman Warrior would be well-acquainted with the imperative to "know your enemy".

[@marcziegenhain8420]

Like Admiral Yamamoto. Cultured and well-studied about the Americans.

[@galwitprifor001]

Plus, he's played by the late, great Christopher Plummer, who knocked it out if the park.

[@davidsandy5917]

Alaska fits as a cold place to send political prisoners.

[@DigiVixen]

RIP Christopher Plummer!

[@alexachipman]

I just saw it on Twitter :( he will be missed!

[@edinscot56789]

"You have a singular wit" is one of my favourite lines because only one person laughs. Always cracks me up 😆

[@repairmanjack893]

Always loved the cast signatures at the end. Gives the film a more personal touch.

[@alexachipman]

Such a fun idea to have that. I don't usually watch the credits, but I think I'll start checking them now!

[@kwebb121765]

@@alexachipman The cast signatures also appear in the end credits of Avengers: Endgame.

[@alexachipman]

@@kwebb121765 I found that film a bit underwhelming, but maybe it was inspired by the Star Trek signatures in the credits. I can't remember if the other Star Trek films have that feature, since I don't watch those credits any more, I'll have to check that!

[@DR4296]

I started crying softly when I was in the theaters and that happened, knowing I'd never see that entire crew together on screen again. I still get teary-eyed when I see it. It was an excellent way to end the TOS series!

[@alexachipman]

@@DR4296 That sounds like a beautiful moment in the theater!

[@Groffili]

The last two lines still bring tears to my eyes after all these years. The true moment of handing over the wheel from Original to Next Generation. "Where no man (Original), where no one (NG) has gone before." (Wipes tear from eyes)

[@alexachipman]

So beautiful!

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

Not sure if it's been mentioned anywhere else, but William Shatner actually understudied for Christopher Plummer in Henry V at Ontario's Stratford Shakespeare Festival in 1956. When Plummer wasn't able to perform, he watched Shatner and was impressed by Shatner taking the initiaive to perform his own way, rather than imitating what he'd seen Plummer do in rehearsal.

[@alexachipman]

Very cool! As an understudy that's the best way to do it, otherwise it gets to be quite dull just mirroring people in rehearsals.

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@alexachipman That's how I got roped into being an actor. I was the theater's sound engineer and was often around to help table reads before some parts were properly cast. After one of them the director took me aside and asked me if I wanted to be understudy for the part! I wound up doing a ton of roles over the next few years. So much fun!

[@alexachipman]

@@AlanCanon2222 That's awesome! I sort of went in reverse - started out as a dancer and ended up backstage doing the technical side instead.

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@alexachipman Very good! Our theater became home base for a burlesque troupe (the Va Va Vixens) and once the members figured out I would do anything they asked me to, they started dressing me up and putting me in their shows. Nothing like having 200 people roar with laughter at you, and it's a *good* thing!! :)

[@alexachipman]

@@AlanCanon2222 That sounds amazing! What a name for the troupe, too!

[@tonymoyer2817]

I think the Shakespeare quotes are because it shows how closely General Chang has studied his enemy, and because Christopher Plummer is so good at doing it.

[@alexachipman]

Christopher Plummer was definitely the right casting choice!

[@Crolis]

I would agree. General Chang is a very competent officer, and also is in on the conspiracy. He's studied his enemy, wants to get under Kirk's skin, and taunt him, possibly into making a mistake. Kirk has been a thorn in the side of the Klingon empire since the original series, and I'm sure the Klingon government has a huge file on him. Now Chang may also find it amusing that he's using a literary giant of Earth to poke at Kirk.

[@tonymoyer2817]

@@Crolis Maybe the taunts go further. Maybe he's referencing Kirk's old enemy Khan, who also quoted Shakespeare. Letting him know that he knows exactly who Kirk is.

[@jacoolckers6465]

McCoy: Angels and ministers of grais, defend us. Spock: Hamlet act 1 scene 4. Star Trek is full of Shakespeare quotes. Nice Star Wars t-shirt.

[@alexachipman]

I realized I was wearing a Star Wars shirt later lol I should pay more attention! For some reason I always associated TNG with all the Shakespeare quoting, but now that you point it out, TOS has it as well.

[@alexburt6995]

It was basically the end of the cold war but in space. The movie came out in 1991 - the same year the Soviet Union dissolved. Even the explosion of Praxis at the beginning can be linked with the Chernobyl disaster. Your review was very good. I really enjoyed it.

[@brockkent4846]

I actually appreciate the Shakespeare references. General Chang is a Klingon version of Sun Tsu - or to reference another scifi character: Admiral Thrawn. Chang is a military officer who is in the service when the Federation is the enemy. He studies the culture and develops a affinity for Shakespeare. It is through this he develops many battle plans to annihilate the Federation. If you watch the cutscenes from Star Trek Klingon Academy he uses many human tactics against a simulated wargame with the Federation.

[@alexachipman]

Grand Admiral Thrawn studies cultures like a hunter going after prey, but with a sort of respect for them as well. I didn't get as deadly a vibe from General Chang, but that might be due to only having one movie to explore his character.

[@vincentsaia6545]

Christopher Plummer was an accomplished Shakespearean actor and director Nicholas Meyer is a Shakespeare aficionado so he put references to Shakespeare in the script to make the role more attractive to Plummer. Also, years earlier William Shatner undsrstudied Plummer in a production of HENRY V at Stratford, Ontario. There are also multiple references to Shakespeare in TOS

[@trayolphia5756]

4:29 yep, they brought him over from next gen sets to do a scene playing his main characters grandfather... Oh, and for anyone who loved this film, I strongly recommend the game KLINGON ACADEMY...uses live action for the cutscenes, including Plummer...in fact the opening cinematic shows how he lost his eye...and directly ties into setting the stage for the events of this film, including why praxis exploded

[@ANonymous-rt6vp]

The script called for the Vulcan protege of Spock who turns traitor to be Saavik. But the actress was upset and didn't want to be a traitor. So the character of Valeris was created.

[@DR4296]

Well, let's face it: Nobody missed Saavik. The actress who took over for Kirstey Alley was so... underwhelming.

[@347Jimmy]

If Wrath of Khan had stuck with the draft script idea of Saavik being half Romulan, she would have been the perfect candidate for the traitor role in VI

[@starmnsixty1209]

​@@347JimmySo true!

[@averyvincent1868]

So much love for General Chang. One of the great villains of Star Trek. RIP Christopher Plummer.

[@alexachipman]

Such a fantastic role for him!

[@ragingsithmaster]

General Chang quoting Shakespeare all the time is probably a Nicholas Meyer thing... Khan was quoting or paraphrasing Moby Dick in Star Trek II.

[@mikejankowski6321]

What's a villain without an annoying habit?

[@JohnSmith-qn3ob]

You've not experienced Shakespear until you have read him in the original Klingon

[@IsaacBeImont]

It's always great to watch you react to things I had on VHS when I was a kid. The same way I grew up knowing Vader was Luke's dad, I also grew up knowing the Enterprise didn't actually fire on the Chancellor's ship. I love watching you react to my childhood films the most.

[@randombencounter263]

I just wanna point out the old SFdebris joke: Chang is a bald captain and diplomat who quotes Shakespeare, which makes him the klingon Picard.

[@DigiVixen]

Actually his character was supposed to be a reference to Khan from TOS.

[@AlanCanon2222]

The speech given at the entrance to the Klingon gulag Rura Penthe is nearly word for word from Col. Saito's speech in the Japanese-run POW camp near the beginning of "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1954).

[@alexachipman]

Oh my goodness! I haven't seen that movie in years, I need to rewatch it for the reference!

[@AlanCanon2222]

​@@alexachipman I have a neighbor dog who gets out sometimes, and of course I will help round her up. When she's back where she needs to be, I have said to her, "There is no guard tower.... no electronic frontier!" Undiscovered Country just ticks all the Trek boxes, sets 'em up and knocks 'em down. Love this movie.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

"The fact is that I'm a huge fan of Star Trek V..." Shatner: "HA! At last - IN YOUR FACE NIMOY!" It's tough to choose a favourite Star Trek movie from the original series. They've all go something to them, they've all got a different story to tell. The reason why I prefer the movie series to Star Wars is that it's not simply about heroes vs. villains, outside of Star Trek II. There's a bigger problem that needs resolving that some bloke on a spaceship shouting at them. It keeps the movies fresh and makes for lots of fun dynamics. I guess this is why I can't get behind the new Star Trek, it doesn't feel as colourful to me, it's all gritty monotone with none of the wonder. I love Meyer's budget-conscious direction on the Trek movies, this one included. Simply showing us the galley and the sleeping quarters opens up the Enterprise a bit more, and gives it more of a feel of a properly crewed ship in space rather than one room with the main cast. Props on shots such as the enlisted men getting knocked out of their bunks by the Praxis effect too. I really dig the Chernobyl and collapse of Soviet Union metaphors in this one, and the struggle of overcoming prejudices for a better future. And Christopher Plummer is clearly having a ball. Current ranking top to bottom: II, IV, VI, III, I, V. If we include the new movies it's.... II, IV, VI, III, I, ST3, ST1, V and the abomination that is ST2. If we're including Next Gen then it's... (phew) ... II, IV, VI, III, I, ST3, ST1, First Contact, Insurrection, V, Generations, Nemesis, ST2.

[@alexachipman]

I would rank IV a bit higher, but overall I agree! I wish they would go back to the older Star Trek movie feel with these new ones. I saw those once and that was enough, whereas I go back and rewatch TOS movies all the time.

[@ohauss]

Though a lot of people overlook that II was about more than Kirk vs. Khan - it was about selfishness and self-indulgence vs. altruism and self-sacrifice, about humanity's past vs. its future...

[@kwebb121765]

@@ohauss Perhaps most importantly, it was about facing age and mortality.

[@ttanza4004]

LOL, Yeah the Actor (his name was "Brock Peters") at 1:30 in the video above did indeed play Captain Sisko's Dad on "DEEP SPACE NINE". Before that though, He played the character 'Admiral Cartwright' in both "STAR TREK IV - THE VOYAGE HOME" and in this Movie. Brock Peters himself unfortunately passed away back in 2005, He really was an Amazing Actor.

[@alexachipman]

For some reason I didn't notice him in ST V but I am often doing cosplay sewing when rewatching films, so I'm not actively looking at the screen a lot of the time!

[@leffew2000]

Additional fun fact: the actor who played Colonel West, is ODO from DS9. He also played Chef Louie in The Little Mermaid.

[@ttanza4004]

@@leffew2000 Yeah, The actor's name is "Rene Auberjonois" and he unfortunately sadly passed away back in December last year.

[@buidseach]

The Klingons in this one were meant to represent Russians at the time who always claimed they invented things first to get one up on the US, So this is why the Klingons were claiming Shakespear as one of their own, and Chang knew it annoyed Kirk so that's why he kept doing it :)

[@alexachipman]

That makes sense! Thanks for sharing!

[@chrissonofpear1384]

And explains Chekov, too...?!

[@cessnaace]

At the dinner table Klingon chancellor Gorkon quotes Shakespeare "To be or not to be," then says to Captain Kirk that “you have not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.” So the joke with all of the Klingons quoting Shakespeare is that they are well familiar with his works because (they believed that) he was a Klingon. There were several other lines in this film that got big laughs, such as when Kirk invites the Klingons to eat with them and Chekov says to Uhura "guess who's coming to dinner." I saw this film in a theater with two different audiences. A lot of laugh-inducing dialog, and the laughs were intentional. I saw all 6 original Star Trek films in theaters multiple times, and own them all on VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD.

[@mythdusterds]

Admiral Cartright first appeared in Star Trek IV The Voyage Home. Then comes in this film. Later went on to portray Sisko’s father.

[@shannondavis6603]

I think the Shakespeare references boils down to to him wanting Kirk to know that he was aware of the adage “know thy enemy” .

[@alexachipman]

Good point!

[@karlsmith2570]

Fun Fact: The character that Michael Dorn played in this movie was supposed to be the Grandfather of his character on TNG and DS9, for which Worf was his namesake

[@alexachipman]

That makes sense - well played, Star Trek!

[@Xondar11223344]

It seems that the upper crust of Klingons of that era were huge Shakespeare buffs, to the point that they revised history to make Shakespeare a Klingon! Chancellor Gorkon even says "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you've read him in the *original Klingon*," implying that the English version is just a translation and thus inferior. I think the writers did this to upend our expectations of the Klingons. They have a reputation for being savage, brutal, or uncivilized, but these Klingons are erudite, educated, and sophisticated to the point where they appreciate the best of Earth's cultures even better than most humans do. I also think dressing Christopher Plummer as a Klingon and getting him to recite Shakespeare was too tempting for the filmmakers (probably Nicholas Meyer), and I don't blame them!

[@SkullAngel002]

The fact you recognized the seasoned and impressive talent on this movie warrants a subscribe. But you should also watch other OG ST movies (you'll definitely like II/III and IV).

[@alexachipman]

Thanks! I've seen all the others already, and highly enjoyed them. The Voyage Home was filmed right near where I live, which is cool!

[@dylanprice2960]

One thing I liked about this film was for the first time you didn't see star ships facing off head to head like they are on the ocean. The Bird of Prey is firing from all around the other ships in a full 360 arc. Also cool is the damage you see to the Enterprises hull when Scotty says shield buckling and the photon torpedo leaves a massive dent.

[@alexachipman]

Excellent point! Also, why are ships always right-side-up? I always wondered about that in these scifi films. I mean it's space - they could appear from any angle.

[@Blazingstoke]

I love the little touch that Kirk has _Enterprise_ shift her orientation to match _Kronos One_ as they begin their escort.

[@mythdusterds]

This film story came out because of Leonard Nimoy and Nicholas Meyer talking about how to end the movies after Star Trek V The Final Frontier dismal failure in the box office in 1989, their response to the Berlin Wall falling, a nuclear accident in Russian, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Leonard Nimoy also wanted to connect things from the Original Series to Star Trek The Next Generation as far as the universe goes.

[@BammerD]

Nicholas Meyer directed this movie as well as The Wrath Of Khan. I'd bet that this is probably the reason why this movie was shot very well. He nailed it with TWOK and nailed it with this one.

[@alexachipman]

I didn't notice that, but it makes sense, both movies are high caliber!

[@jasondecharleroy4161]

I don't think there was much behind the decision for Chang to be so interested in Shakespeare except as a sort of metaphor of him being a Shakespearean tragedy figure. Apparently everyone loved Christopher Plummer saying the lines so they kept giving him more.

[@alexachipman]

Exactly - I mean how can you not give Christopher Plummer Shakespeare to perform!

[@KurtWagner011]

The directors cut was slightly better because you find out the klingon that fell to the ground at the end was ADMIRAL WEST in a mask.

[@alexachipman]

Whoah!

[@cwam1701e]

Part of the thing about Shakespeare being quoted was how things get mixed up and lost in history. There is a line one of the Klingons says, I think at the dinner party, about how Shakespeare is not as good unless you have heard it in the original Klingon, i.e. that Shakespeare was Klingon! It is a sort of repeated in joke in this movie, e.g. Chekov always claims things are Russian ("Russian epic Cinderella") and Spock quotes Sherlock Holmes, claiming him to be one of his ancestors! On the serious side, this movie has one of my favourite Kirk quotes, which, to me, takes us to the real heart of the character: "As Captain, I am responsible for the conduct of the crew under my command"

[@CharlesGervasi]

The Klingon's were quoting Shakespeare because they read excerpts in translation and later read parts of it in foreign language class. They had a refresher for this mission. Now they're like playful teenagers bursting out with literature quotes whenever a situation that fits one arises.

[@alexachipman]

Good point!

[@nickbell8353]

RIP Christopher Plummer

[@Kameleon676]

Great reaction vid! Loved the sum up and interpretation at the end too :)

[@alexachipman]

Thanks - this was my first reaction video to a movie so I had no idea what I was doing! That is very kind of you!

[@ttanza4004]

My Number 1 Favorite "STAR TREK" Movie.

[@brucechmiel7964]

Rene Auberjonois played Admiral West. A play on Gen. Oliver North from the contra affair. He was the assassin that Scotty dealt with. This movie was made in no small part to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Praxis was Chernobyl the catastrophic event that arguably lead to the nation being dissolved. Naturally this was Leonard Nimoy's passion projects Just as ST: VI was before. He (Nimoy) only reprised his role in TNG just to promote this movie. Spock references several key points to this move throughout part two of Reunification. Also you can see several sets are reused form TNG. Ten- Forward is the president's office. They used the same set for engineering. Peace was the main message. But you should really check out the events happening leading up to and at the time this movie came out.1984-1991 was a crazy time.

[@toddsmitts]

Don't forget the failed coup against Gorbachev by Soviet hardliners. For a time, the public wasn't even sure if Gorbachev was still alive. Apparently, it was an inspiration for the conspiracy here.

[@brucechmiel7964]

@@toddsmitts oh yeah. I did forget about that.

[@jamesbell7207]

Some of the reasoning behind Chang quoting Shakespeare, I'm told, was to illustrate the irony/idea of cultural appropriation: "You have not truly heard Shakespeare until you have heard him in the original Klingon." I was told that line was a reference to a Nazi once saying: "You have not truly heard Shakespeare until you have heard him in the original German." ... Another theory as to why Chang is quoting Shakespeare is because he is practicing psychological warfare against Kirk; by taking the words of his favourite authour and using them against him in a torturous/mocking manner... The most realistic explanation for Chang quoting Shakespeare is because Plummer was just really good at doing it... "All the world is but a stage, and the people are merely players."

[@alexachipman]

Great context, thank you!

[@karlsmith2570]

Hey Alexa, fun fact for you: Michael Dorn's character in this movie was intended to the grandfather And namesake of his TNG\DS9 character Worf

[@mythdusterds]

It is so bizarre to me that after all this time charting the Beta quadrant that Sulu is returning back home at Full impulse rather than some warp factor. So after years Sulu is coasting back home.

[@michaelaudreson7761]

Shatner and Plummer were young Shakespearean actors together in Canada. You've never heard Shakespeare until you've heard it in the original Canadian.

[@alexachipman]

I almost went to a Canadian Shakespeare festival, actually! Unfortunately it fell through last minute, but someday!

[@6zzzzzz6zzzzzz6]

After watching this movie again. I was amazed at how many references to "Lower Deck" there are. tHE writer for Lower decks must love this movie.

[@alexachipman]

I spotted some from this movie in tonight’s episode! My comments on it had to be cut for time (they are strict about copyright) but there were so many!

[@karlsmith2570]

Here's a couple more Fun Facts for you, Alexa: The Klingon assassin in the ending scenes was revealed in the Director's Cut of this movie as being a Starfleet Officer named Colonel West and was portrayed by Rene Auberjonois, the same actor who played Odo on DS9 The actor who played Chancellor Gorkon also played Sir John Talbot in Star Trek V:The Final Frontier He also played the characters of Edward Dillinger/Sark in the movie "Tron"

[@alexachipman]

Whaaaat! Wow! It would have been nice to see “Odo”. Do you recommend Tron? I haven’t seen it.

[@karlsmith2570]

@@alexachipman it's a pretty good movie It stars Jeff Bridges The characters of Dillinger/Sark are villainous characters

[@clearsmashdrop5829]

@@alexachipman "Odo" is still in the movie. He part of the brief for the Federation President and says "Frankly sir, we could clean their chronometers. The guy with the mustache.

[@alexachipman]

@@clearsmashdrop5829 Nice, I'll look for him when I rewatch it.

[@karlsmith2570]

General Chang actually did speak some Shakespeare quotes in Klingon, specifically "To Be Or Not To Be"

[@alexachipman]

I would absolutely go watch an entire Shakespeare play in Klingon!

[@starmnsixty1209]

Glad that you liked this film, Alexa. I always have. Unfortunately, we seem to be as divided as we were three years ago. Time will tell if we overcome that, or not.

[@SciFirstMovieTalk]

Awesome reaction! Glad you did get around to watching this one - it is a fantastic movie - back to form for the TOS crew - very reminiscent of Wrath - love the more dark and brooding story line! :)

[@damienkakoschke3099]

Well done spotting all the guest actors. This is probably my favourite TOS movie.

[@jonathonrodriguezthomas6457]

Fun note, we can see that the Qo'noS 1 is a K'tinga class which is a refit of the venerable D7 class battle cruiser and the ship which is escorting her the Enterprise is a Constitution class heavy cruiser refit when they are both flying side by side we can draw a meaning of the message where both ship types minus their refits saw active combat against each other throughout their careers much like their command crews which like the ships have known nothing but aggression towards each other, both ships were heavily armed and armored much like their crews which were more than experienced, to have them both have to escort each other to a conference which had the chance to end the decades of hostility much mirrors the main point of the film of enemies working towards a common goal.

[@alexachipman]

I absolutely love this detail, thanks for pointing it out!

[@leytonjay]

Wow, I’ve seen this movie dozens of times AND once recently and never noticed until now that the Chancellor’s ship is KRONOS ONE, like the President has AIR FORCE ONE or NAVY ONE.

[@quoniam426]

Fun fact, That "common room" in Rura Penthe where they fight the blue alien, used to be the main mining aera one century previous in Enterprise series... Archers mined Dilithium in that area before being rescued by a Klingon gard corrupt by T'Pol.

[@alexachipman]

Wow!

[@oaf-77]

The one thing I hated is that Uhura couldn’t speak Klingon.

[@alexachipman]

That was odd, I guess it is one change the newer movies made that I am on board with!

[@AC-gb7do]

Exactly, Hoshi Sato could speak Klingon, and Uhura couldn’t? Hoshi even helped to develop the universal translator!

[@oaf-77]

@@AC-gb7do considering she was serving on a ship of the line during what was essentially a Cold War with the Klingon empire, you’d think she’d pick up a little Klingonese

[@AC-gb7do]

@@oaf-77 Yeah, they really dropped the ball with Uhura in that scene, she was supposedly an officer and the head of the Communications department, and she couldn’t speak at least basic Klingon? Makes me wonder if she was lacking in basic Romulan, Andorian or Vulcan as well.

[@Shiftworker247]

Really? A character's shortfall is NOT blamed on lazy writing or research? Uhura can't speak Klingon, but in ST III Kirk asks Sulu the compliment of a bird of prey. Jump to ST VI and Kirk explains General Kord's battle technique is academy training. I'm a Star Trek fan and can overlook the inconsistencies of movies, prequels and reboots most of the time. Chekov was not a member of the original crew that faced Khan, but it works in ST II.

[@chrischampagne9469]

It's funny because most of us watched DS9 and said "Sisko's dad is Admiral Cartwright?"

[@alexachipman]

I can see that! "Wait...Admiral Cartwright opened a restaurant?"

[@AlanCanon2222]

The actor who played Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) is in a ton of good science fiction, including "Time After Time" (1979), also directed by Nicholas Meyer (his first film).

[@alexachipman]

I think I'm most familiar with him in the Hornblower series - such a good actor!

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@alexachipman I'll have to check it out. He's also in the Doctor Who episode "Cold War," and I think Star Trek V though may not remember correctly. Oh, yeah, he's plays Evil in Time Bandits! BTW, nice initials! (A. C.) lol

[@alexachipman]

@@AlanCanon2222 Excellent, Time Bandits is on my list of movies to react to!

[@AlanCanon2222]

@@alexachipman You shan't be disappointed!

[@phillipsuttles1926]

the klingon at dinner said that to understand his quotes ( Shakespeare) you needed to read it in the original klingon.

[@karlsmith2570]

"Is That Sisko's Dad?" Yes, That is Brock Peters, the same actor that played Benjamin Sisko's father on DS9 However, in this, he's reprising his role of Admiral Cartwright from Star Trek IV

[@alexachipman]

So no Jambalaya? :)

[@karlsmith2570]

@@alexachipman that's a fair bet

[@rufusqristofer]

You mentioned the tea sets and the dishes. They were made by a Pennsylvania company called Pfaltzgraff and were commercially available for a few years after this movie came out.

[@alexachipman]

Very cool!

[@robertthomas5736]

Thank You for Posting This Video, Alexa

[@shakezoola1114]

From what I've seen in behind the scenes stuff, Plummer and Shatner used to do lots of Hamlet on Canadian radio. I think they did a few shows together. Somehow between them and the director it was decided to throw lots of this into their interactions. I think it's partly an inside joke and as a way to get these fellas' best acting juices flowing. I don't remember seeing Plummer smile so much in a role. You can see how much they're enjoying the job and that almost always enhances the viewers experience. That ending too. Always makes me smile in that happy/sad way. Good stuff. Great reaction. I wish more people thought this was worth checking out for their channels but I dunno, algorithm? Cheers!

[@joshridderhoff2050]

Had a blast watching; thanks so much for putting this up! Might be my favorite Star Trek film... at least competes for the top 2, depending on my mood. Glad you finally got to see it.

[@alexachipman]

Thanks! What is the other Star Trek movie in the top two?

[@joshridderhoff2050]

@@alexachipman The Voyage Home. I was just the right age for that one to resonate, especially since I had a bit of a fascination with whales back then (I blame The Voyage of the Mimi and PBS).

[@alexachipman]

@@joshridderhoff2050 Oh that one is fantastic! It was filmed near where I live which makes it extra special for me :)

[@joshridderhoff2050]

@@alexachipman That’s Awesome! It’s been awhile since I’ve been out in that neck of the woods, but it’s a gorgeous area... need to get out there again soon when everything gets back to a bit more normal.

[@gopherlyn]

My favourite from original crew has always been Chekov, he has some great one-liners in Star Trek IV - The voyage home.

[@Miguel_Mor]

Thanks for the great Reaction! As far as Chang's Shakespeare moments, I've always thought that he was showing off for Kirk as a way of getting under his skin. Chang appears to admire kirk and seems to savor his encounters with him in his own twisted way. I believe that Chang means to taunt Kirk's own love of literature with each smiling verse. For example, saying "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you've read it in the original Klingon." Was absolutely a direct sucker-punch to Kirk. Thanks again! LLAP

[@Xondar11223344]

"For example, saying "You have not experienced Shakespeare until you've read it in the original Klingon." Was absolutely a direct sucker-punch to Kirk." It was Chancellor Gorkon who said that, not General Chang.

[@Miguel_Mor]

@@Xondar11223344 oh, you're right! Cheers!

[@pettytyrant2720]

This for me is a great example of how Sci-fi used to handle real world social and political issues versus how modern scifi does. You can watch this solely as a sci-fi film with moral and philosphical leanings and plenty scifi trappings and the story works and stands on its own, or you can see it as a metaphor to the ending of the cold war, which it delibretly is. But that underlying parrallel to real world events of the time it was made is not forced to the surface, the good scifi story takes the lead and the metaphorical leanings are under the hood and there to be discovered and explored by the viewer at their own choosing, or ignored by the viewer in favour of just enjoying a good ST scifi tale. In current scfi, ST, Doctor Who being two prime examples this is reversed, the social messaging has dominance over everything else and the choice is removed from the viewer, resulting in a feeling of being lectured at using the characters and story soley as a vechicle to tell the audience what they should be thinking and taking from it. Personaly I'm with JRR Tolkien when he said that freedom should reside in the mind of the reader (or viewer in this case) not be enforced onto them by the author.

[@alexachipman]

I agree - I don't watch scifi to get beaten over the head with preaching. It works best as a commentary when it is subtle enough that you are drawn into the story and characters, then realize afterward ... oh wait... that meant something more...

[@ericb4127]

Unfortunately as you pointed out a lot of new sci-fi the subtlety has been lost. I was never a big fan of enterprise because I thought it was a mistake for them to go pre Kirk however it still felt like a star trek. I was unable to make it through the pilot for discovery as they had taken too much artistic liberty with established characters such as the klingons making them look like rejects from a Hell based pride parade. Apparently it's not just the klingons, I saw the picture of the andorian in this episode and he looks more like a blue demon, something you would expect to see in World of Warcraft.

[@alexachipman]

@@ericb4127 The Klingon changes I will never understand. They backtracked that slightly last season, thankfully.

[@DR4296]

Well said!

[@berkanx]

i love this movie... it's one of my favorites from the classic saga

[@NerdJive]

Awesome video. I've always really liked this movie, especially for the Klingons. Also, you're right this is a beautifully shot movie and I think it has fantastic costuming as well.

[@alexachipman]

I was legitimately surprised by the production quality of this film - so good!

[@kylereese4822]

@@alexachipman A thought..... is SpaceX the early/proto version of Starfleet ??? and is Elon Musk our time version of Zefram Cochrane ??? i wonder what E, Musk could really do if he was unbound by laws of rocket security ect..... i recon he could figure out faster than light travel or has he figured it out all ready ???

[@kylereese4822]

@@alexachipman Ps have a look at the renders of SpaceX StarShip sn8... notice how its fins look like Voyagers when they move to go into warp....

[@kylereese4822]

@@alexachipman Star Trek needs a serious rethink... like a new stand alone series say based on building a ship from the remains of ships from the Wolf 359 events and have it more family based thus seeing young family members coming of age in engineering/piloting ect in said new ship and becoming the new crew... ships part Starfleet part Klingon(unseen in episodes but explained in Voyager) part others, and also new species not seen in the Star Trek universe....

[@alexachipman]

@@kylereese4822 That would be an amazing series, great idea!

[@Psi105]

You should watch "2001 a space odyssey," just because afterwards you can watch the sequel "2010 The Year We Made Contact". IMO 2010 is a better movie and less WTF than 2001. But you do need to watch 2001 first

[@alexachipman]

Thanks - I've seen both and yes, 2010 is way better! Loved the music in 2001, though.

[@meajur]

Star Trek uses the convention of _"Any scene where humans are not present are actually being spoken in the tongue of whoever is there."_ So all those scenes of General Chang on his ship quoting "Wil'yam Sheq'spir" is actually spoken in Klingon.

[@alexachipman]

That makes sense; I like how in the newer Trek they actually speak it with subtitles, though! It is more immersive.

[@jtphr33ky]

This one is my 2nd favorite behind Kahn, Journey Home is a close 3rd. Fun story. Christopher Plummer was doing King Lear in Toronto, I believe. He became extremely ill and couldn't go on. His understudy, who was JUST hired went on. A one, William Shattner.

[@alexachipman]

Very cool! And yes, Journey Home is so much fun - it was filmed near where I live which makes it extra special for me!

[@AmechiAmanugi]

So glad you watched it! This is a good one!

[@SYLTales]

One thing to remember about this film, from a 1967 Trekkie ... The trailer for this film showed Kirk being disintegrated -- but without the context of it being Kirk's duplicate. We were all convinced Kirk would die in this film. They'd done it with Spock when we didn't know if there would ever be another Star Trek film. Everyone knew going into this one that it would be the last Original Series cast movie. Unlike McCoy, Scotty and Spock, Kirk had never been mentioned in anything but the past tense in TNG to that point. The sole direct reference to Kirk's potential fate was in TNG: "Unification" when Spock talked about the Khitomer conference and how Spock didn't want to be responsible the way he was for Kirk and his crew. That episode aired _after_ ST6 was shot, but *before* it was released. Everyone thought Kirk would die. It was right there in the trailer. Spock made it sound like Kirk would die. His death in Generations is cheap for Kirk. If we were to ever see him die, it should have been in a blaze of glory -- even a literal one. So we were *scared* that this would be Kirk's death.

[@alexachipman]

Whoah! That was both brilliant and terribly cruel of them to put it in the trailer!

[@SYLTales]

@@alexachipman actually, thinking about it now, it all tied together and came to a head at the very end. After faking us out with disintegration, the last moment where Kirk tackles the President had us terrified they'd faked us out again. There is one split second that had us going, "Frak! He's going to die taking a bullet for the President!" It would have been a worthy hero's death, which was what also flickered through our minds at that moment. Then they quick-cut t Kirk saying to the President, "Kirk, Enterprise," Only then did we have a collective sigh of relief.

[@cathyvickers9063]

Dorn is playing Colonel Worv, the grandfather of Worf. Trek is notorious for reusing actors. The Black admiral isn't related to Sisko. The actor who played the Vulcan head of security onboard Voyager, Tuvok, played a human engineer in Wrath of Khan.

[@cathyvickers9063]

w Il'yam Seyq'zIpIr (William Shakespeare) is the Klingon bard that was unabashedly grafted from human literature. (This is approximately how his name is spelled using the phonetic alphabet created for the movies/Next Gen by Marc Okrand. Capital S is always pronounced "sh"; all other S sounds in English have to use z. Ey is pronounced "ay" like in hey. Lower case q is pronounced like a K; upper case Q is pronounced like a gutteral "kr". I was a member of the Klingon fan club KAG, for Klingon Assault Group, for over a year. I even figured out how to spell my name as Klingons (tlhInganmey) would pronounce it! Membership was fun, while it lasted... Sigh.

[@ZEPPELIN198]

Michael Dorn's character in this movie is a relative to his character in The Next Generation

[@alexachipman]

Ah that's how they explained it :)

[@rapliberationarmy089]

I like Star Trek V too. Can‘t understand the hate for it. Especially the first half of the movie is very strong.

[@mythdusterds]

Second Star to the Right and Straight on till morning is from Peter Pan. A reference to not getting older and remaining young.

[@mythdusterds]

Nicholas Meyer always likes adding literature references to Star Trek as seen in Wrath of Khan with A Tale of Two Cities and Moby Dick references all over Wrath of Khan. Also Nicholas Meyer literature references to The Voyage Home with the Whales.

[@leytonjay]

It is the actor who plays Siskos Dad.

[@Cooper_Vision]

Easily one of the best Trek movies.

[@WmTRiker]

@9:40 Uhura: _"Well, what about all of that equipment we're carrying to catalog gaseous anomalies?"_ Correct answer: wrong ship. First scene of movie after credits and Praxis explosion: Sulu: _"Stardate 9521.6. Captain's Log, USS Excelsior, Hikaru Sulu commanding. After 3 years I have concluded my first assignment as master of this vessel cataloging gaseous planetary anomalies in Beta Quadrant."_

[@alexachipman]

Good catch!

[@repairmanjack893]

Uhura speciality is communications. If they wanted her to find the ship, she should have found a way to hear it somehow. The exhaust fumes idea should have come from an engineer or scientist.

[@rdbull5890]

@@repairmanjack893 Although the film never says it, I'm guessing that's what she's trying to do at 9:22. Would have been badass if she was the one to locate the ship.

[@Gort-Marvin0Martian]

I always liked this one. It's immaterial to me what others think about it. It was made and the common ground was a great way to end it. Nice reaction. And I agree.

[@dice_for_death]

Such a great moment in film history. Thanks for sharing!

[@sixstanger00]

FINALLY, I meet someone who loves _The Final Frontier!_ I honestly have no idea why most people dislike that film; IMO it embodies everything Roddenberry wanted Trek to be. Also very refreshing to see a female fan who knows her Trek lore ;) Regarding the Shakespeare quotes, the title of the film (The Undiscovered Country) is from Hamlet. Although in Hamlet, it refers to the afterlife whereas in this film Chancellor Gorkon is referring to the future.

[@alexachipman]

Thanks, I used to think I was one of the few people who enjoys "The Final Frontier" but I've been getting a lot of comments from fellow fans, so that's encouraging!

[@nickbell8353]

Star Trek 5 gets a lot of undeserved hate. Yeah, the plot is silly, but no more silly than that one time when aliens stole Spock's Brain. Or when Dr. Crusher has ghost-sex. Or when going Warp 10 turns you into a salamander.

[@sixstanger00]

@@nickbell8353 I honestly don't know why people find the plot to ST5 to be "silly." It's about a man on a quest to find proof for the existence of his god and the quest to find paradise. As Sybok states, it's one of the few things man as sought since he first gazed at the stars. If anything the plot to _The Final Froniter_ is closer to Roddenberry's vision of Trek than _The Wrath of Kahn,_ which is widely regarded to be the best. Personally, I think _The Wrath of Kahn_ is very overrated, but I think it resonates with a wider audience because of it's typical "good guy vs. bad guy" plot. The TNG films all shared that same formula. Likewise, _The Voyage Home_ is considered to be the most popular among audiences, but I again think this is largely attributed to it being set in (at the time) present-day Earth, so non-Trekkies could still connect to it. _The Final Frontier_ is full-on cerebral science fiction; there are no hand-outs for the sci-fi challenged.

[@alexachipman]

@@nickbell8353 Ah yes, the salamander one....I still can't believe they aired that! lol

[@TheDetailsMatter]

In one of the Star Trek novels, it develops that Earthers and Klingons share two only common passions upon which diplomatic common ground could be built. Coffee (which would hereinafter be referred to by Klingons as "Raktajino"), and the writings of Shakespeare, which were thought to so completely express the Klingon heart and soul that it was assumed by them that Shakespeare must have been a Klingon stranded somehow on Earth. It is said, that you have not truly experienced Hamlet until you have heard it performed in the original Klingonese. Sulu's teacup. You would think that 300 years in the future, it would be possible to make shatterproof porcelain dishes. Possibly with magnetic bases to enable them to stay put on the tabletop and not go sliding around. Must have words with the manufacturer. It irks me that in the final battle, Excelsior just shows up way over there, instead of dropping out of warp at Enterprise' side and moving in front of her to take the hit from Chang's killshot in place of Enterprise at the last possible moment. Whoever choreographed that climax didn't grok the whole dramatic tension thing. So, in the end, the great irony of the movie is that a grand cooperative conspiracy was exposed between the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans to prevent cooperation between the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans.

[@jimtilley1158]

Great video, great commentary. My fav. Star Trek film. The character of Valeris was so obvious as the "mole" the character originally was going to be Savvik. But was changed early on in the writing. I think the story would have been better if it was.

[@alexachipman]

I agree - I wish they had used Savvik, I probably wouldn't have guessed if it had been her. Bringing on a new character like that was too obvious.

[@DOSv622]

I actually have a Star Trek VI U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A place setting made by Pfaltzgraff. They made the dinnerware props for the film and then sold them to the public as collectibles.

[@alexachipman]

Fabulous! Do you bring it out for special occasions to use or just display it?

[@DOSv622]

@@alexachipman I’m not sure how I’d to safely display it so sadly it’s in storage. There is disclaimer to not use for eating or drinking as they are meant for decorative purposes only. They sold a USS Excelsior set too and the tea cup in that set looked just like Sulu’s that breaks in the beginning of the movie. My USS Enterprise setting has a lame coffee mug style cup. I think the idea was Kirk is a coffee guy so the different style cup.

[@alexachipman]

@@DOSv622 The USS Excelsior definitely had better cups! Good point on safely displaying it. Even with plate holders they could fall in an earthquake.

[@Shiftworker247]

Read through as many comments as possible and did not notice that anyone pointed out that Kirk's line of '1st star to the right and on to a morning' was from Peter Pan...apologies if I missed it.

[@alexachipman]

Oh you’re right, I totally missed that!

[@tgriffin8179]

You may not have heard Chang say that “you have not heard Shakespeare until you have heard it in the original Klingon”…I think that was the tie in. Great react and even though you love V you still get two thumbs up…keep’em coming!

[@alexachipman]

Yes, but that is a well known meme :)

[@reubencarter3004]

Klingons view Shakespeare as a form of comedy directed at humans. Chang was using Shakespearian quotes to mock the writer and Captain Kirk who probably enjoyed reading Shakespeare.

[@alexachipman]

Good point!

[@Blazingstoke]

If you're a _Star Trek V_ fan, did you notice (former) Captain Klaa working as a translator at Kirk's trial? I guess he really did get in trouble with Ambassador Korrd!

[@alexachipman]

I missed that! I need to rewatch VI now and look out for him. I love his pendant in V, and he has such an awesome sassiness!

[@mythdusterds]

They took a trip to Alaska to film some of the scenes in the snow.

[@alexachipman]

Nice!

[@princeeverlove]

Shatner studied under Christopher Plummer back in the Canadian Shakespeare Company when they were young...So it's an inside joke😆

[@Scumdrops420]

Hitler once said you can't enjoy Shakespeare unless you read it in it's normal language of german. He was trying to co-op Shakespeare as german and dismiss all other claims. General Chang said you can't enjoy Shakespeare unless you read it in it's original language of klingon. Having studied Kirk's data records and history he found Kirk loved Shakespeare. So he kept trying Kirk's patience.

[@alexachipman]

That makes sense - I can see a Klingon quoting Shakespeare just to get on Kirk's nerves! It would be like a Klingon quoting Jane Austen at me, I would get pretty angry after awhile!

[@Scumdrops420]

@@alexachipman Especially if Austen was quoted in her original Klingon language.

[@itubeutubewealltube1]

​@@alexachipman Not only that , but Chang could of been implying that Shakespeares writings were actually originally Klingon. How? Was Shakespeare a Klingon who decided to live on Earth 500 years ago?... Maybe, Half Klingon half human. Maybe a Klingon ship crashed on Earth, and Shakespeare found the writings in the wreckage, translated them into old english and , wala, Hamlet. A lot of different possibilites. This is also an old call back to the TV series when Chekov would say similar things about other inventions and books, etc being originally Russian. (Thats why Chekov has the funny look when Chang says it, kind of a deep inside joke for fans of TOS)

[@noisecrime]

Ah another fan of Star Trek V, knew there was more than one of us ;) While not my absolute favorite I feel ST VI is one of the best movies in terms of plot and story and I enjoyed your reaction, especially the little SW reference.

[@alexachipman]

I didn't realize there weren't that many of us until I mentioned it! Not sure why, I enjoy V although I think I watch IV more often.

[@jorgenkarlsson7528]

I like Star Trek V too. I would have loved to see the movie the way it was intended. Lisabeth Shatner wrote a book about the experience with some help from William Shatner.

[@stras676]

I always thought Star Trek V would have been a much better ending to the TOS era! ...no! Hear me out! Remember at the end of the old TOS episodes they always ended the episode with a corny joke and Spock's eyebrow raised - That's basically what V was. A fun ending and they go off to explore in a hope-filled shiny new ship. Instead with VI we get a depressing ending with retirement and decommissioning.

[@347Jimmy]

I agree it would have been much better if General Chang's Shakespeare quotes were "in the original Klingon" 😂 I thought it was hilarious the way he tried to claim him as a Klingon writer Interesting how current you found the message to be, as the film was written as a direct allegory to the end of the Cold War (with stalwart generals on both sides wanting the conflict to continue, and nobody being sure how to coexist after) I always thought the Excelsior should have been the ship to deliver the homing torpedo, as they were the ones charting gaseous anomalies at the start of the film (setting up having extra scanning equipment on board) It felt like the writers swapped this out so Enterprise could be the hero ship in the final battle

[@kryeton5713]

..This was also around the time that Klingon was becoming solidified as a language. Aside from the instruction book and cd it has been offered at colleges as an accredited language, there is the Klingon Language Institute with almost all of Shakespeare's having been translated....as you cannot appreciate him until you've read him in the original Klingon...there have even been jobs offered looking for those fluent in Klingon!...

[@alexachipman]

Someday I want to learn it properly, beyond a word here and there! I am much better with Sindarin. I used to write my college notes in it, so people would stop bothering me about borrowing them.