10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

[@karlsmith2570]

7:21 The Tractor Beam doesn't get installed until Tuesday

[@Culdcepter]

Came here to say this, thank you :D

[@Sammmeow]

Same 😆

[@anthonyreed3682]

me too lol

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

Hahah! That's right, they actually explained that!

[@Willpower-74205]

This would definitely get a facepalm from Captain Harriman. 🖖😁👍

[@johnchedsey1306]

ST III is an example of not letting facts get in the way of a fun story. I saw this in theater as a kid, loved it and still think it's a decent romp.

[@hackman669]

This film may be a fun mushroom 🍄 trip. But the sequel when Kirk fights God. The producers must have been halling acid. Fun but makes no sense.😆😁🤗

[@georgehenderson7783]

It's a great movie, just like ST 5 which has been panned for not being perfect, lol.

[@kelvington4182]

Just FYI, had they shown Carol in the flashback, they would have had to pay her a lot of money. By removing her completely from the movie (and the Genesis team) they saved a ton of dough.

[@robert_bbiii]

They still could have mentioned her. Said she was sent somewhere else.

[@Sephiroth144]

@@robert_bbiii Hell, say she was in debriefings or getting counseling- that was a stressful ass situation for anyone, let alone a civilian, to find themselves in. "Mom, take a few weeks off, I'mma go check out our planet with Starfleet and CC on any reports. Come on out when you're ready..."

[@robert_bbiii]

@@Sephiroth144 they don't want us all in one place so they separated us. Thousands of one line answers that bwould cover it.

[@kelvington4182]

@@robert_bbiii If they would have said to David... I'm sorry your mother couldn't make it. That would have been fine, but if they mentioned her by name (Carol Marcus) then they would have had to pay the writer who created her character. Just cheaper not to mention her.

[@Raja1938]

@@robert_bbiii Kirk actually does mention her in the report that Kruge intercepted, though not what happened to her. KIRK: To fully understand the events on which I report, it is necessary to review the theoretical data on the Genesis device as developed by Doctors Carol and David Marcus.

[@TubbysExplorationsYT]

#5: You're talking about an Excelsior-class ship, they never get their tractor beams installed until Tuesday.

[@layton3503]

Plus you can't use them inside

[@WardyLion]

@@layton3503 Seriously?

[@layton3503]

@@WardyLion none of this is real - yet

[@thunderbird0024]

They wanted to get it on time, but they were denied because they couldn't pay for it til Tuesday.

[@jamesbest8154]

It's not much, but Carol is in fact mentioned in this film. In the Genesis recording, Kirk says it was "developed by Doctors Carol and David Marcus." A small, split second reference, but it is there.

[@jab2283]

I was literally just about to comment that.

[@Zenn3k]

"Pension to disappear Into Darkness"....I see what you did there. Her next appearance was Star Trek: Into Darkness.

[@margaretgladwell1371]

This is my favourite film of the Franchise. Nothing you can say will change my mind. Don’t care about the Science or the plot holes I just love it. Sorry🖖🏻

[@Mad-Bassist]

That's what really matters: was it fun? I enjoyed seeing it in the theater with my friends and it's still enjoyable. (I have the 2xDVD sets from way back.) The nitpicking is fun also--this isn't supposed to be "hard science fiction." I once joked about how alien species on Doctor Who all seem to have English accents, then they went and explained the TARDIS' translator circuit, which covers the percieved accents.

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

Don't apologize! Though it *was* gracious of you--- one should *never* have to apologize for enjoying something that one *TRULY* delights in!

[@aliceharper707]

Same here! LLAP!

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

@@aliceharper707 You mene sakkhet ur-seveh 🖖🏻, as well, Mz. Harper!

[@NelsonThePsychopath]

Again no apology necessary

[@danielweisman496]

ST3 is my favorite of the original cast movies. Yes, there are some flaws, but none of that mattered to me because at its core the movie is about family--what will you sacrifice to save a family member? Although not as humorous as "The Voyage Home" turned out to be, it had some excellent laughs based on what we know about the characters. And when Kirk said to Kruge, on the edge of the chasm, "I--am--sick--and--tired--of you!", I cheered! And then later on Vulcan, when the "re-united" Spock saw Kirk, then stepped away, then stopped and turned to him saying, "Jim...your name is Jim," it was emotionally satisfying! About the deliberate editing of the re-showing of the funeral scene at the start, don't forget Kirstie Alley choose not to be in ST3, so it had to be cut to exclude her, which might have affected Bibi Besch's appearance in the scene if she was standing near Saavik. Of the comments I saw, no one mentioned the obvious puppet of Kruge's "dog"?!

[@shaindaman13]

Well I mean it’s freakin science fiction for cryin out loud bus kinda gotta suspend a little bit of belief ti begin with. No sense picking it apart. It’s a great film.

[@derrickgreen3080]

Apparently the federation learned its lesson about dispersing ships. In Star Trek V there are other ships in the quadrant but no experienced commanders 😅

[@peterthx]

Not experienced enough to negotiate a hostage situation with a renegade Vulcan and his horde of homeless acolytes apparently.

[@BrennaUrbangirl]

There are also other ships in the quadrant during Star Trek IV but the probe disables all of them on its way to Earth.

[@ijmad]

Yet In Star Trek VI there are no starships protecting Khitomer even though the Federation President, Federation Council, Starfleet top brass, Klingon High Chancellor, KDF command, the Romulan Ambassador and various other dignitaries are on the surface. The Enterprise is not supposed to be there and Excelsior has to rush in to save the day!

[@backpacker3421]

I'm sorry, Star Trek V? Is there such a film? I don't know of any such movie. There was the voyage home, and then undiscovered country. I just figured by the 23rd century they had made the number 5 obsolete...🤣

[@DavidPruitt]

Or Picard where every ship is in the quart

[@rodcalde]

About the lack of ships, in ST5, when the crew is gathered to manage the situation in Nimbus III, the admiral says "we have ships, but not a experienced captain"

[@alm2187]

III is an excellent example of how storytelling consistency is quality by analytical standards. It may still be the most contrived Trek film there is. Yet you do not skip it because it bridges the gap between even-numbered films.

[@Sephiroth144]

I'd say V is more contrived (and started the trend of Spock's secret siblings)

[@1978rharris]

Contrived? Really? Wow! I’d say it has a perfectly natural flow to it, from the preceding film to the next.

[@alm2187]

Forgive me for splitting hairs, @@Sephiroth144 But it's his family members that make for a trend. The siblings don't. He never talked about Sybok. He never talked about Burnham. Is there a third sibling I'm overlooking? Only then would they constitute a trend. (By no means do I affirm Disco, btw, since it kind of invalidates itself. By all means, however, I encourage factual analysis.) So the trend starts earlier. Spock was secretive about his parents and about his fiancee+. Now what's so contrived about Final Frontier? Sure it's a coincidence that the menace of the hour has family ties with the First Officer. Sure the Enterprise is too easy to lure in and hijack. After that, they just fly to a destination, find a mere counterfeit for what Sybok was hoping for, and then they fly home. Seems to me the meat of the story doesn't take that much contrivance.

[@alm2187]

The add-in toward the end of TWoK makes sense, @@1978rharris Spock transfers a backup of his mind into McCoy's. There's some question of his exact purpose in doing so. Did he expect a resurrection was in the cards or was the Katra just his ethereal legacy? Then the Genesis planet, a final resting place that he didn't choose, just happens to exhibit regenerative properties. Then the researchers just happen to find him when they weren't looking. And one of them just happens to be a Vulcan woman sympathetic toward the repeating puberty he's going to go through. (Lucky Spocky!) Then his accelerated aging just happens to stop when he's physically old enough to be Leonard Nimoy at time of production. Then we learn there's a procedure for melding body & spirit, but the most recent account of it being attempted is so old no one's sure if it's even true. But it just happens to be just the ticket! 😂

[@Sephiroth144]

@@alm2187 He supposedly had (at least) two siblings that were never talked about, with his closest friends, for decades. That Picard never gleaned from his melding with Sarek, or the various times Spock MM'd with Kirk, McCoy, Scotty (actually, just a whole lotta people) or that McCoy didn't know about when he was literally sharing his brain with Spock... Hell, the Spock's Starfleet records should have included them, as well as any briefing on the high level ambassador the carried around from time to time (that Spock called Father). I mean, without the records and the Katra carrying, you might be able to put it to secrecy- after that, yeah no. Sure, people might not talk about their siblings much, but after a decade, you'd usually know if they had them. Come on now, don't try an excuse the retcons from the writers (TFF or Disco) because they want their characters to be "relevant" because suddenly an established character has close relatives that no one even knew know about- twice, thus far. And one thing about the movie that really irks me is that Sha'Ka'Ree is in the middle of the Galaxy- and it took them, what, a few days to get there. While we hadn't gotten to Voyager's "roughly 1 year per 1000 light years" "speed limit", we know that warp wasn't near-instatravel, and you couldn't go half the galaxy's diameter in a day. (And if so, why was the Enterprise the only ship in range- call the ships at the Romulan border, they can be over in five minutes, apparently.) There was no Kelvan space magic to explain it away even- they just did.

[@peterconstable2810]

All valid points but I still love this film. The Enterprise being stolen is probably my favorite scene from all the films. Pete.

[@jamesa.7604]

Remember that The Enterprise was brought into Spacedock with a Tractorbeam. Scotty probably disabled the tractor beams or maybe Uhura may have called the person at Tractor beam control away from his station at Spacedock.

[@UninvitedGhost]

Maybe Ben Kenobi disabled the tractor beams. 🤔

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

Ben became "more powerful than you (Vader) can *ever* imagine". (Maybe Force-👻 ghosts can travel betwixt galaxies!)

[@MD2389]

Maybe that was the person she locked in the closet! ;)

[@mainstreetsaint36]

The particular station was conveniently empty during the heist.

[@michaeltortorice9876]

Commendation rather than court martial is part of sweeping the whole thing under the rug. With a court martial, there will be publicity concerning something you REALLY don't want to talk about. Give someone a medal and order them to never speak of the event and you're covered. And if you aren't, there's still time for that court martial.

[@GSBarlev]

That reminds me of one of my favorite lines from Babylon 5: "Half of Earthforce wants to give you a kiss on the cheek and the medal of honor. The other half wants you taken out and shot. As a politician, you learn how to compromise... which by all rights means I should give you the medal of honor then have you shot."

[@Sephiroth144]

@@GSBarlev Still think the proper compromise would be to shoot Sheridan and then posthumously give him the Medal of Honor. Well, double posthumously...

[@BrennaUrbangirl]

Except Kirk didn't get a commendation. I wouldn't consider being reduced in rank from Admiral to Captain a commendation. The only reason he wasn't drummed out of the service or busted all the way to Ensign was because of what he did in saving Earth in Star Trek IV. But at the end he didn't receive a commendation for stealing and destroying the Enterprise.

[@michaeltortorice9876]

@@BrennaUrbangirl That's all true. Except we're discussing Star Trek III. When Enterprise returns to Space Dock, they are met by the CnC, Admiral Morrow, who tells them they will all be receiving Starfleet's highest commendation, including Kirk, followed by an admonition against speaking of Genesis (he probably preferred them with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett, and all the later stuff just wasn't his style. What? Wrong Genesis? Oh. Nevermnd).

[@FekLeyrTarg]

@@michaeltortorice9876 I see what you did there. By the way: Supper's ready. ;-)

[@matthewsalazar3575]

The only thing with Spock’s rebirth is the fact that he is Vulcan. His physiology could have been the reason for his rebirth. And we don’t know at what age the rebirth took place. It could have reverted him to a child…not an infant. And the process was accelerated…so hunger and thirst wouldn’t have time to set in before aging him. And as for his mind…his brain was still there. The Mind Meld only transferred Spock’s essence…to be deposited back into the Vulcan society and culture. The brain was still active…allowing for basic rudimentary functions like breathing and moving. He was just missing the thing that made him Spock.

[@filippofittipaldi8050]

I love Trek just like I love my wife. I know it can do dumb shit (like myself) and sometimes doesn't make a lot of sense (like myself), but I truly enjoy it. I overlook its faults and enjoy its company. The Search for Spock was goofy fun. It wasn't the best of the series, nor was it the worst.

[@dentoncrimescene]

Definitely not the worst.

[@StrangeFacinations]

Then, we get Save The Whales in Star Trek IV.

[@fflweb]

Also, the Star Trek III soundtrack was a double album with only 3 sides. Side 3 only had 2 quick songs on it and the 4th side is completely empty. It's still a beautiful soundtrack, but the album layout is one of the weirdest things you'll see.

[@Mad-Bassist]

Interesting! They should have done some laser engraving on the unused space like Megadeth's Anarchy in the U.K. single.

[@seanjefferies9992]

I think there was only one song on side 3. It was that synthesized version of the movie's theme. My brother had it on vinyl when i was a kid.

[@matthewsalazar3575]

The Excelsior was given orders to pursue as a backup plan. You never rely on your first level of defense…you ALWAYS have a contingency plan. Besides…it was an opportunity to test the new Excelsior against one of its own. If successful, it would be a victory for the top brass.

[@UninvitedGhost]

You know, KZbin doesn’t come shut you down if a video list has more than 10 entries.

[@benwillis5840]

5:05 "Give Carol Marcus a nice fat pension to disappear into darkness" this joke is very under-rated. well done.

[@sureshmukhi2316]

Oh wow, I just got it now after you pointed it out! 😂

[@Locutus]

No, it's very overrated.

[@TheShornak]

Yes they didn't show him eating but you know what most TV shows don't show anybody going to the bathroom either so some of those things are kind of just left to the imagination

[@davidc1721]

No. 7 always annoyed me! It's creation in a NEBULA is such an easy explanation for the failure of Genesis, as opposed to David's incompetence/impatience!

[@pex_the_unalivedrunk6785]

Yeah, I've actually thought about that for years now, David Marcus was being too hard on himself, the Genesis torpedo didn't go off in the controlled environment it was intended to, and that's probably why the planet was unstable.

[@Mad-Bassist]

Heh, that didn't cross my mind, but that would have been a better direction for the writers to take. Still, the character beats are good.

[@joermnyc]

Genesis apparently was somehow programmed to not only terraform the surface a dead moon, but build a star, and planet(s) that orbit the star in the Goldilocks zone!

[@caneighdianjake8439]

#4 It WAS a secret; but its no longer secret. I always imagined that the Klingons made a big deal about the Genesis device to the Federation Council and went public to other neighbouring races, trying to spin the narrative that it was the Federation that was in the wrong and that they had developed a devastating weapon that jeopardized galactic peace. It was no longer something confined to a select few trustworth, discrete individuals. Rumors would form and info would be leaked. Not to mention the Federarion would have to give the coordinates and planet name out if they wished to ensure to discourage curious individuals from checking it out. You know of Area 51 and the high security surrounding it, plus the consequences of what happens if you try to sneak a peek at what happens there; yet you dont know the full details about what does go on there. I imagine its similar with the Genesis planet. The Federation cant hide it because the Klingons have gone public about it, and it has to give notice of the restricted space to all travellers as warning.

[@hackman669]

To prove Klingons wrong the Feds should have perfected the device and used it on an inanimate moon 🌙🌚 away from civilized worlds. Once Genesis is proven successful offer it as a solution to refugees. Others.🤗

[@caneighdianjake8439]

@@hackman669 Maybe in an ideal world, but I dont think it would have ended well if the Federation continued with the technology. No matter how noble the intentions behind the development of the Genesis device, the Federation had ended up with a potential weapon of mass destruction. Even if the Federation perfected the technology and demonstrated its humanitarian use, that would not stop others from covetting the tech for destructive purposes. Can you trust the Klingons to use it wisely? The Romulans? Its like nuclear technology. The technology you need to achieve enriched fuel for nuclear power is very similar to that which you need to achieve enriched fuel for nuclear bombs. Many nations have hidden their nuclear weapons programs behind nuclear power programs. I think what most likely occurred geopolitically is that the Federation was shocked at the technology that it had developed and quickly tried to have any and all further research into the technology deemed illegal amongst the galactic races. They probably promised the Klingons to destroy all technology, to stop all research, and bury all information regarding the technology in exchange for the Klingons not presuing it themselves. When it Enterprise returns, the impression I got from Starfleet is that the Federation was desperately doing political damage control both internally and externally with other races, trying to prevent a war or an arms race. No matter how many successful humanitarian demonstrations the Federarion performs, there will always be those who will see nothing more than the potential of a weapon of mass destruction that can irradicate a whole planet's population and ecosystem and rewritting it however you wish.

[@Concreteowl]

Genesis was a secret in Star Trek 2 not 3. Presumably the condensation of a named nubula in the Mutura sector would be noticed immediately.

[@k1productions87]

For me, the dumbest thing was spending no time what-so-ever establishing or developing the merchant crew who just appear, somehow have the data, and are just killed off right away. There could have been a wonderful arc of tragedy for them, spliced through more than enough Kirk and crew scenes to transition between, in a movie that has the shortest runtime of any TOS film (beaten only by Insurrection, and only by two minutes)

[@martyklestadt6766]

I guess I'm one of the seven that saw this film before seeing Wrath Of Khan. I was just starting to get into Star Trek at the time. (I was twelve.) My uncle took me and my cousin to see it. I was familiar with the characters to an extent, but hadn't really watched any Star Trek to that point. I enjoyed The Search For Spock so much, I became a Star Trek fan at that point. Suddenly, what I'd found boring before was now quite fascinating.

[@sw-gs]

I think that Chekov was meant to disable tractor beams, because every character had specific role to play in theft of Enterprise, except Chekov, also tractor beams are part of tactical systems as such he is expert on that.

[@coreyg2177]

1. Carol WAS mentioned in Kirk’s narration “…as designed Drs. Carol and David Marcus…” 2. Genesis didn’t “congeal” a planet out of the Mutara nebula. It stabilized the star flickering behind Reliant as she charges Enterprise (Kirk: Evasive starboard! And then Reliant phasers the airlock) and it terraformed the “great rock in space” Regula.

[@InsomniacPostman]

A few of these were on point but there were a bunch that were nitpicky nonsense. Especially the raising shields bit. They weren't faced with and enemy yet, they were facing an ally ship and they did arm defense screens (you can read about those in "Mr. Scott's Guide To The Enterprise"), caution was called for but outright defensive hostility would have been an unbelievable contrivance. Sincerely, a Star Trek super nerd

[@backpacker3421]

Having worked in government jobs I can fully attest that the fact that everybody knows the name of a secret project is not that unusual. Sure the video briefing is classified - the details are secret - very possibly even the actual confirmed existence of the project is secret, but it's not at all surprising that some information would leak and be circulating as rumors or even conspiracy theories. We have that problem today and there's no reason to think that would change in a few hundred years.

[@Mad-Bassist]

Yeah, I gave it no second thought since time had passed and the underworld as it were would have heard something by then.

[@ejhouston3554]

Kirk was giving the Reliant the benefit of the doubt. That's why he didn't immediately raise shields.

[@marklogan9647]

I only remember seeing Spock eating one time in Star Trek V around the campfire. Marshmelons and bi-podal seeds.

[@adm712]

Star Trek 3-"Place you name, price I name otherwise bargain no". Star Trek 4-"They're still using money".

[@QBCPerdition]

Price doesn't necessarily mean money. The obvious go-to is credits of some kind, so there is no need to carry physical currency, but it could also mean information, property, favors, etc.

[@hillis1701]

My issue always was: Why did Kirk want to go back to Genesis? Unless he had some foreknowledge that Spock would be magically resurrected, there was no need to go there. It seems of little value to collect a smashed corpse. He simply needed to take McCoy to Vulcan.

[@ronl9309]

They needed the body to put the mind back into it is the whole conversation between Kirk and Sarek

[@hillis1701]

There should have been no body, ronl. David even mentioned that the gravity was in flux to try to explain a soft landing. It was expected to have burned up in the atmosphere.

[@oliverarado]

My question with Space Dock aka Space Garage is in the moment where Kirk and party steal the Enterprise, you would think that the Earth orbiting Space Dock would have people manning stations 24/7.

[@SilverThunder710]

My pick for a dumb thing is how two photon torpedos didn’t destroy a Kinglon Bird of Prey with its shields down

[@timothycoaxum4591]

In the previous movie, Enterprise fired 2 Photon Torpedoes at Reliant and wrecked it! In this movie, Enterprise fires another 2 Photon Torpedoes and they don’t even scratch the paint…

[@SilverThunder710]

@@timothycoaxum4591 No, that was Khan detonating Genesis

[@MakeitZUPER]

The era was full of low budget movies and series that had exaggerated story lines. The economy was turning inside out, and we were lucky to have anything to go watch to distract us from the misery that was happening throughout almost everyone's lives. Hindsight doesn't tell the whole picture.

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

Well stated! Thank you.

[@thomasmeglasson228]

Carol Marcus disappear Into Darkness... I see what you did there.

[@YolandaAnneBrown95726]

The novelization has her visiting the family of 1 if the victim's, who we find out was her lover (she tells this to Kirk).

[@Hawkeye26]

#4 is explainable. Genesis wasn't a secret, it was deemed a "forbidden subject". Important difference.

[@kenwynn3871]

I hate when they justify it by saying "we can't include that because what about people who didn't the the previous movie" when people who did see the previous movie will be a huge majority and they're just ignoring them

[@1leggeddog]

As for #3, thats not really a "dumb" thing, it's a movie. You kind of need your star to be there.

[@alm2187]

#7 touches on the question of Klingon Honor. Some say they were much less honorable in the original series. In this film, we see the commanders squeeze submit herself for what they apparently consider to be an honorable death. Maybe they would still consider it honourable to destroy an enemy planet. It's just that if the cost were all that risk to the wielders of the weapon, you've gotta ask at what point it becomes dishonorable. Maybe, just maybe, that's why David "can't believe they'd kill [them] for it."

[@joey_cordova_]

The Enterprise not being stopped by a tractor beam was not a plot hole. It is a testament to poor scheduling by the Engineers. The Excelsiors tractor beam was scheduled to be installed that following Tuesday 😂

[@yensid4294]

Just rewatched Wrath of Kahn on Paramount Plus & wanted to watch Search for Spock (STIII) but it wasn't anywhere to be found. All the other films were listed except this one. Weird.

[@matthewsalazar3575]

Shields in TNG go up when Yellow or Red alert is commanded. However…look at Star Trek 2. Kirk, upon running into the Reliant, had ordered Yellow alert and a crewman put the deflectors around the bridge up. However, Kahn attacked Engineering which was unprotected. The shields do not simply “go up” on their own in the TOS era and movies. And the Captain wasn’t telling the helm to stand by for evasive…he was telling the away team to stand by WHILE they attempted to evade the Klingon ship.

[@AndersonNeo12]

I luv the thumbnail: "and.... NOW Mr. Scott" Sir?!? The doors Mr. Scott! Aye, aye Sir, i´m working on it" ☺

[@gwgux]

Some of these were a stretch, but to each their own opinion. This is still one of my favorite Star Trek movies and nothing is going to change that.

[@jasonjimerson7046]

Excelsior's tractor beam wasn't ready until Tuesday.

[@matthewsalazar3575]

McCoy was trying to ferry transport from a nonferrous character. Of course, HE would have overheard something and known what Genesis was. And the only other people who knew about it were the Klingons (who were our enemies) and Starfleet. We don’t know how long it took for the Enterprise to reach Spacedock. They had to pick up the crew of the Reliant in a broken starship! “News travels fast” is a true statement and probably what happened here. But the general public didn’t know…that’s why the crew was told not to discuss it with anyone.

[@connorgonzalez4023]

The super plot-convenient "only ship in the area" thing is a great example of the arrogance and false sense of security that Starfleet had even at that point in the timeline. They're so overconfident in their capabilities and in the "state of the union" that their situational preparedness is horrendous, and they never, ever seem to learn from that mistake despite how frequently they fall into it. That's why I think the concept of the California-class ships from Lower Decks works so well. Starfleet has always been in desperate need of larger numbers of secondary ships to fill in the gaps and do the grunt work so that the A-plot ships have more freedom to screw around in the spotlight.

[@Mad-Bassist]

Interesting! This makes me think of an old short-lived webcomic called Haultrek: "Because someone has to haul the stinky stuff!"

[@Asher8328]

I would say a better explanation as to why Carol Marcus is "erased" from this movie has to do with David's use of protomatter to get Genesis completed. It's a lot harder to believe he could have gotten away with such a thing if you remember that Carol was the lead scientist, and if she was aware then she would be as guilty as David if not more so for allowing him to do that. It's an important part of the story that David and his impatience and/or recklessness is what causes Genesis to fail. You muddy the waters on that significantly by bringing Carol back into the picture.

[@mstrat5]

There’s so many other weird things - Kirk wanting to go to Genesis doesn’t make sense. He shot the casket into Genesis. He knows nothing about Spock’s resurrection and chooses to take the enterprise to Genesis for what he only knows is a corpse?! There’s also the warning at the end that the danger to McCoy is as grave as the danger to Spock. Then nothing dramatic happens. 😂

[@damc8415]

Why has no one questioned how Doc Brown from “Back to the Future” got to the Klingon Home World and fathered a child there who looks just like him? Great Scott!

[@davidthomas4489]

YES your last comment about dropping the "science" from fiction is spot on! And tht's why we simply throw that out the window in favor of just good old-fashioned entertainment. Otherwise, there would be the "dumbest" things in the entire ST franchise that cannot be explained by science or reality as with many other movies. It's all about the popcorn, soda, and hotdogs that are significant here! 😉

[@Mad-Bassist]

So true! I expect a certain fantasy element in Star Trek--it's meant to be fun entertainment. Perhaps my expectations would be different if Michael Crichton or Stephen Baxter were writing episodes!

[@Urbanspacefox]

In the novel to my memory, Carols’ absence was explained in that she’d gone to seek out the next-of-kin of her (deceased) science team…

[@0PhillMC0]

"To dissappear into darkness" and she reappeared into darkness

[@sharpo]

The Search for Spock is a fantastic movie and tons of fun. That said, your analysis is...logical.

[@Trek001]

Think about it... _Enterprise_ had defence grids powered up which we see from a display to mean some sort of shield, communications were established with _Reliant_ which then negated General Order 12 and when _Enterprise_ is fired upon, a frame by frame count forward does indeed show the phaser cannons on _Reliant_ actually hitting some form of barrier that looks powerful before punching into the engineering hull and disabling the entire main power system. Kirk did everything right by both the book and by his decades in space

[@Phenix19]

Spock's "coffin" is in fact an empty torpedo casing. Perhaps there *is* a mechanism to open it on the inside in case someone accidentally gets trapped in there while performing maintenance

[@JeffHarbert]

My biggest beef with this movie: Chekov said it could have been a Bird of Prey. Kirk said it could be Grissom. There is *no freaking way* that Chekov could have mistaken such a small ship for the massively larger Grissom. 30+ years later and I'm still pissed about that scene.

[@andreabindolini7452]

I don't recall the Grissom-type ships (Oberth Class) to be "massively larger" than a B'Rel class BoP. Actually, the two ships should be more or less in the same ballpark.

[@matthewbissonnette2658]

I get the feeling the writers confuse "Quadrant" with "Sector".. because to think Starfleet doesn't have more than one ship in the Alpha Quadrant or Beta Quadrant would either mean the rest of the fleet is busy elsewhere or Starfleet isn't nearly as sizeable as we're led to believe...

[@Steele42]

FINALLY! I've been arguing for years that Genesis didn't work because Phil Collins wasn't that... sorry, wrong Genesis... because it blew up in a nebula! Thank you!

[@ejhouston3554]

Maybe Stiles was worried about possibly damaging Spacedock's doors by using the tractor beam

[@frankfuller975]

as far as the idea of a handle on the inside, ask anyone who has a fear of being buried alive, they'd pay in to have a way to get out in case there was a mistake. Yes it doesn't happen anymore, but still, there's fear of it.

[@Raja1938]

Did the Genesis planet really completely explode, though? We saw a big eruption, but not really a Krypton-level event that leaves no planetary body behind.

[@brunozeigerts6379]

Saavik detects the Klingons following them. David Marcus volunteers to deal with them... 'Give me your phaser.' Saavik gives in, allowing an untrained civilian to take on the Klingons. Wouldn't it have made more sense for her to set up an ambush? Also, replacing Kirstie Allie with Robin Curtis was definitely a stupid idea.

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

Robin [ *REDACTED by Starfleet Operational Support Department 31.* ] (Just saying.)

[@brunozeigerts6379]

@@YesTHATJohnSmith Ooops.(use Vulcan Mind Meld, I never posted that...)

[@brunozeigerts6379]

@@YesTHATJohnSmith See? I got it right... totally didn't use edit to change it!

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

@@brunozeigerts6379 🤔 Uhhh... 🔍 change what, again? (Did you need to change something? I'm afraid me memory's a little fuzzy on the matter...) 😉 🥂

[@pookhahare]

Tractor beams ...puff we all assumed of course Scotty took care of all that when he took care transwarp.

[@andrewmurray1550]

not ST III but one dumb thing about ST IV is gillian is never heard from again. Kirk brought her to the future to care for George and Gracie, but she hops on the nearest science research vessel taking her as far from the whales as you can get. Her argument for going with Kirk was "do you have any experts in marine biology in your century?".

[@cw5081]

While Star Trek 3 is hardly the worst film of the original 6, it is generally not considered one of the better ones. I think this video does a good job of showing why that is. On the matter of the Enterprise frequently being the only ship in the quadrant, in interception range, and so forth: It seems that, in the earlier days of the franshise, Starfleet was not envisioned to be as large as it is now portrayed. Even during the TNG episode "The Best of Both Worlds," the loss of 39 starships at Wolf 359 was considered a somewhat crippling blow. At the conclusion of that episode, it was indicated that it would take the better part of a year for starfleet to recover from that loss. But later, during the war years of DS9, there were a number of fleets--some with hundreds of ships--sent to various battles. By necessity, it seems that the writers of the later Treks had to unofficially expand Starfleet considerably in order to accommodate the storytelling.

[@sciguyjeff]

The tractor beam can somewhat be explained. If the station had them, they would be positioned only at the entrance/exit to guide ships in and out. This is justified at the start when Enterprise is told that they have navigational control and Sulu sits back to relax. The duty station for the tractor beam is probably not manned 24/7 and only when a ship is expected. The Excelsior was inside then station as Enterprise left. The tractor beam is probably not pin point enough to snag Enterprise without also grabbing hold of the station door frame.

[@randyfant2588]

The USS Grissom did raise her shields. she was not a front line warship, she was a scientific research vessel. This is why she had such a small saucer section attached to the nacelles and a large lower section. The saucer section contained the ships operations equipment including a minimal Phaser array and minimal shielding. The lower section was nothing but scientific research facilities. The Oberth class is known to have a weak spot in the upper aft shields which is where the Klingon shot hit, punching threw and destroying the weakly built ship. This was not a stupid act by her captain but a design flaw due to budget compromises in countering the high cost of the scientific equipment aboard.

[@45182]

Why didn’t they control the Enterprise from Auxiliary control? Why didn’t they just hold the Klingons in the transporter pad like in Day of the Dove?

[@YesTHATJohnSmith]

"Because the movie wasn't over, *yet* ." --- Screenwriter Guy.

[@luminaire4946]

"the shields tended to snap on automatically when danger is detected," you just described the biggest plot hole of star trek II considering the shields should have AUTOMATICALLY gone up when the yellow alert was called.

[@Raja1938]

That seems to have been a feature in the TOS era (and one episode of ENT, I recall) but never after that. Maybe some incident somewhere led to Starfleet returning that entirely to manual control.

[@luminaire4946]

@@Raja1938 savik said "energize defense fields" in that scene and yet shields STILL were not raised.

[@Raja1938]

@@luminaire4946 Defense fields are different from shields. From the Trek wiki: "Defense fields were a type of deflector shielding that was employed by late 23rd century Federation starships. They were raised during yellow alerts, and protected the bridge area as well as other critical parts of the ship. Defense fields were very weak and could be taken down by a few phaser shots from another ship. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)"

[@luminaire4946]

@@Raja1938 oh please, lets BRING the wiki into it. What does it say about yellow alert again... oh right AUTOMATICALLY RAISES SHIELDS and puts weapons on standby. They CHARGED phasers in that scene but did not raise shields. Please it was a plot hole you could drive a borg cube through no matter how you try to defend it. Besides that wiki is also wrong. If you look at the HD cut of the movie the defense fields actually were part of the internal security system meant to prevent an enemy boarding party from beaming onto the bridge according to the on screen text from the computer monitors.

[@JJfromPhilly67]

I am enjoying this critique. Yes, Admiral Kirk should have faced court martial for the whole situation. But true to form, the government (Federation) and the military (Starleet Command) wanted to cover up the whole thing. Star Trek III was just a vehicle for bringing back Spock after Leonard Nimoy decided he liked doing those movies after all. Oh as far as sustenance aka food, remember in the Wrath of Khan, Dr. Carol Markus noted that there was "food in the Genesis Cave." On a side note, again if the Enterprise had raised shields as soon as they knew a Bird of Prey ship was nearby, maybe the automation circuit wouldn't have blown.

[@ryanjosef]

"Blowing the ship into pretty little sparkles". That should be a line in star trek cannon somewhere in the future.

[@Mad-Bassist]

Great video! I never did understand the idea of the Genesis Planet. How do you get a planet from a starship and a nebula? In real life, a nebula would be mostly invisible if one was close or in it because it's spread out over light years. To our eyes, they look like smoke through a telescope. The colors come from collecting light over time, so you could say it's one of the first forms of "photoshopping." Maybe this should be for a "Dumb Things About The Wrath of Khan" video: I left the theater wondering where a whole planet came from. Oh well, artistic license is a good thing as real life is usually less exciting.

[@blkhemi3925]

In the very next scene, Kirk turns to savak and yells out "you keep quoting regulations!" Realizing he "got caught with his britches down."

[@backpacker3421]

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Arthur C. Clarke

[@eddiehancockii]

In Kirk's explanation of Genesis he mentioned david and carol both. She was credited.

[@TonyP9279]

I think Kirk taking the Enterprise out of space dock is like shoplifting, it's not a crime until they leave the store (at least in the stores where I worked). RIP Kirstie Alley - "Saavik" _The Wrath of Khan_

[@itf2586]

While I can't confirm whether or not this is FACT or JUST RUMOR, I've heard more than once that the character of Dr. Carol Marcus is absent from Star Trek III because the actor Bibi Besch demanded a substantial pay increase. The character was originally written into the script, although her role was quite diminished from that in Star Trek II (understandably), but it seems she wasn't happy w/ her contract & demanded more money. So they just cut her (and any mention of her prior involvement), so they could avoid even paying her for flashbacks, (i.e. the recorded Genesis Proposal that Carol delivers in Star Trek II but Kirk delivers in Star Trek III).

[@peterq1978]

well, as we see in TNG, there is a instance of someone travelling by torpedo tube

[@henrikharbin5521]

One of the stupidest things in the movie was the fact that Kruge kills most if his crew himself. Did the High Council really make this impulsive hothead the commander if his own ship?

[@Raja1938]

Not sure if this is cannon but among the fandom it was thought that certain emissions from the relatively primitive cloaking vessels that the Romulans provided for the BOPs drove the Klingon crews slowly mad over time.

[@seanjefferies9992]

In regards to #2 i am fairly certain i read in the novelization of TWOK or TSFS that Saavik intentionally targeted the torpedo to catch the genesis wave in such a way that there would be a chance to bring Spock back. I could be wrong but i don't think i am...

[@thebipolarbear1]

We know spacedoc has a tractor beam because it takes control of the enterprise when it arrives. Kirk says you have control then a woman from spacedoc has welcome home enterprise enjoy the ride

[@pookhahare]

Carol Marcus could been back on earth dealing with bureaucrats which yes could been mentioned. It would made sense considering just how crazy it went. Carol could had wanted david gone to planet Genesis as she tried to accept responsibility to protect David.

[@MSmith-Photography]

Hey! Don't blame Genesis for this mess! Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford had nothing to do with it! 🤣

[@thomasburns3345]

I wasn’t too fond of the part between the opening and the credits personally… but it lead to The Voyage Home which is my favorite after narrowly beating out Wrath of Khan. Frankly The Undiscovered Country is just behind that. Those three are the best in my opinion, and the rest are a good step behind them.

[@MiamiSunrise]

Definitely some compelling arguments made here. It is about time I rewatch these original movies. Thanks TC!

[@andrewmurray1550]

I'd agree the Enterprise sticks around too much for a ship that's supposed to be on a five year mission exploring the galaxy.

[@SkyCharger001]

Genesis as a secret: A. It's possible that the genesis project was under time limited protection to allow research into it without the risk of some copy-cat mucking things up before the tech could be patented (which may have happened during the (short) interim of II and III). B. Some one at Starfleet HQ goofed up while processing the report Kirk sent and removed the header info linking it to FEDSCIBU 100291003, which (in violation of protocol) greatly reduced the required clearance level for viewing it and made the secrecy moot.

[@agent_skully]

Also: During Spock's rapid aging, wouldn't he have really, really long nails, hair and beard?

[@leomonaghan3933]

As to the planet exploding... As you pointed out, antimatter wasn't supposed to be involved in the utilization of the Genesis Device. It is possible that the antimatter from the Reliant was converted by the device into positive matter only for that transformation to be unstable. If the matter at the core of the Genesis planet started to become converted back into antimatter, slowly at first but with the process rapidly accelerating then it could easily account for all of the seismic issues as well as the ultimate violent destruction of the planet.

[@Raja1938]

The space garage indeed had a tractor beam, as confirmed earlier in the film when Enterprise first entered it: UHURA: Approach control, ...this is Enterprise. Ready for docking maneuver. SPACEDOCK CONTROLLER (on intercom): Enterprise is cleared to dock. KIRK: Lock on! SULU: Systems locked. KIRK: Spacedock, you have control. SPACEDOCK CONTROLLER: Affirmative, Enterprise. Enjoy the ride, and welcome home.

[@zeroplacestv]

I have said for years that they should have not brought Spock back. His death had such a profound impact on Star Trek as a whole. Spock sacrificed himself to save the Enterprise and her crew. It was one of the themes of Star Trek II, life and death. Having him resurrected in the next movie ruined and diminished his sacrifice. I love Spock as much as any Trek fan...but it would have been better for the franchise if they had left him dead.

[@767Robson]

I agree. And the way he was brought back seemed ridiculous.

[@johnbarrett4846]

You have to consider it the second part of a trilogy. It's a great movie between two awesome movies.

[@twocvbloke]

The Excelsior bridge, surely theoy could have come up with something that didn't look like it was built for a certain set of BBC scifi shows of the same era, it looked so cheap and thrown together compared to the Enterprise and Grissom bridges (granted, they're one and the same, just the latter redressed to look different enough, with cassette tape folder inserts stuck to the walls), has a very Doctor Who-Blake's 7 vibe... :P

[@Terrasolo]

What a great way to celebrate a franchise we all love...

[@danandtab7463]

"The Genesis effect has somehow reanimated...captain Spock!" *random Grissom crewmember turns around and looks aghast*