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Much has been said about William Shatner's ego and his larger than life persona, especially from his former co-stars. But, according to Deborah Arakelian, who was a production assistant to Harve Bennett during the filming of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, nobody equaled Nicholas Meyer. Arakelian's claim, recorded in The Fifty-Year Mission The First Twenty-Five Years by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, is that "Nicky is larger than life. His persona is much larger than Bill's."

Meyer was hired to direct The Wrath of Khan and ended up rewriting the script as well. Meyer wrote a story that everyone loved. Even Shatner admitted "we were in love with the script and impressed by his [Meyer's] creative ability." And no one requested any major changes because of that love.

According to Arkelian, it wouldn't have mattered because "no one tells Nicky what to do. Bill could have tried,...

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" has become a huge part of the franchise's legacy and is considered by many to be the best "Star Trek" movie of them all, but it was a serious challenge to bring to the screen. After the relative failures of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," franchise creator Gene Roddenberry was sidelined, allowing for a darker, grittier "Star Trek" than we had ever seen before. "The Wrath of Khan" is an operatic epic, following the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise under Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) as they contend with genetically engineered villain Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). Khan was one of the most terrifying antagonists from "Star Trek: The Original Series," specifically the episode "Space Seed," so bringing the character back was a big deal. It raised the stakes, as Khan had the capacity to do real damage — stealing terraforming...

French philosopher Roland Barthes' 1967 essay "The Death of the Author" argues the literary theory of separating the meaning of a work from the author's intention, essentially allowing for a reader's personal interpretation to supersede it. Given the plethora of disparate voices seen today, made up of professional critics as well as average audience members, this theory has generally become widely accepted, at least within reason. It's a much easier thing to do when it comes to television and film, given the fact that, auteur theory aside, these are artistic mediums brought to life by dozens or hundreds of people, and not just one.

Yet pushing past the clearly stated intentions of the originator of a work can be daunting, especially when that creator seems to change their mind about what those intentions are over time. This is exactly the situation that Nicholas Meyer, Harve Bennett, and the rest of the...

Leonard Nimoy held a lot of thoroughly acclaimed acting credits to his name, but unarguably none shaped his star-studded career as perfectly as the Star Trek saga did. Throughout the time he continued to leave viewers baffled with his incredible acting skills, he delivered some of the most iconic performances as Spock in the fan-favorite sci-fi universe over nearly half a century.

Leonard Nimoy as Spock in the Star Trek universe. | Credits: Paramount Pictures.

And yet, his tremendous collaboration with the saga just may not have even gone that far in the first place as Nimoy’s original response for Star Trek II was originally nothing short of a hard no. In fact, had it not been for the one who developed the story promising the actor a “great death scene” through the $97 million film, perhaps he wouldn’t even have gone that far!

“A Great Death Scene” Convinced Leonard...

Going back to 1966, "Star Trek" co-stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had what was called a "favored nations clause" in their contracts. The clause ensured that whenever one actor got a raise, or perhaps input into a script, the other one would get the same. This was done to comfort two actors who were constantly butting heads as to who the real "star" of "Star Trek" was. The favored nations clause made sure that neither actor could "pull ahead" of the other.

The clauses were still in place by the 1980s, so when Nimoy was hired to direct "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984) and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986), Shatner was able to pull rank. Thanks to a pay dispute on "Star Trek IV," Shatner could contractually elbow his way into the director's chair for 1989's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." Not only that, but Shatner...

Nicholas Meyer's 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is generally regarded as the best of the 13 extant "Star Trek" movies, at least according to any Trekkies you may ask. At the very least, "The Wrath of Khan" became the popular model on which multiple other "Star Trek" movies would be based; several "Star Trek" films feature a charismatic, revenge-bent "villain" character at its center.

At least one person, however, really hated "The Wrath of Khan" -- "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.

Roddenberry had spent the bulk of the 1970s attending "Star Trek" conventions and refining his thoughts on his creation. He and Trekkies, during the conventions, began to zero in on the pacifist, diplomatic nature of the show, coming to the conclusion that "Star Trek" isn't about dominance or military power. Instead, it redefines power as being connected to intelligence, professionalism, and one's ability to solve problems in a group.

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is why people remember Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) as the greatest enemy of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Previously, Khan was only in one episode of the original "Star Trek" — "Space Seed." It's a memorable episode, but still just an episode. Indeed, part of the impetus in "Wrath of Khan" is how what became a defining event in Khan's life was just another day on the job for Kirk.

Khan is a genetically-engineered superhuman from the 20th Century who, in the 1990s, ruled a quarter of the world beside his fellow Augments. ("Star Trek" was created in the 1960s; later shows like "Strange New Worlds" have had to revise this timeline.) When they were overthrown, they fled into space, never to be seen until the year 2266 when the Enterprise discovered their ship, the SS Botany Bay.

In "Space Seed," Khan is...

For every great moment in "Star Trek" history, there seems to be a story of behind-the-scenes turmoil, and for every great "Star Trek" movie, there's one that, based on production stories, seems as if it was always on the verge of falling off the rails entirely. Those that did make it to us arrived thanks to several push-pull partnerships, including a fruitful working relationship between star turned writer-director Leonard Nimoy and producer and writer Harve Bennett.

Though he wasn't involved in the original series, Bennett greatly shaped three "Star Trek" movies, beginning with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." The late writer-producer came up with early drafts of the script after spotting Ricardo Montalbán's Khan Noonien Singh in the Tos episode "Space Seed." He also worked as an executive producer on the film, and according to both Nimoy's memoir "I Am Spock" and William Shatner's book "Leonard,...

James B. Sikking, the Steven Bochco favorite who portrayed the no-nonsense Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues and the good-hearted doctor dad on Doogie Howser, M.D., has died. He was 90.

Sikking died Saturday at his Los Angeles home of complications from dementia, publicist Cynthia Snyder announced.

Although best known for his TV work, Sikking did have notable turns on the big screen as a mocking hitman in John Boorman’s Point Blank (1967), as the stuffy Captain Styles in Leonard Nimoy‘s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and as the director of the FBI in Alan J. Pakula’s The Pelican Brief (1993).

After spending the better part of two decades showing up on such shows as The Outer Limits, Honey West, The Fugitive, Hogan’s Heroes and Mannix, Sikking was cast as the pipe-smoking Hunter, leader of the Swat-like Emergency Action Team, on NBC’s Hill Street Blues.

There are four credited screenwriters on Leonard Nimoy's 1986 time travel comedy "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes were hired together to write the film and they followed all the appropriate studio mandates, careful to write a role specifically for Eddie Murphy -- he had expressed interest in appearing -- and to beef up Admiral Kirk's role to appease a snippy William Shatner. Meerson and Krikes met with Nimoy and producer Harve Bennett early in production to bang out a story, and the quartet ultimately invented the plot: the Enterprise crew would travel back in time to the present day to retrieve a pair of humpback whale, a species that is extinct in the 23rd century. They must do this to appease a mysterious space probe that is draining the Earth's oceans.

Bennett and Nicholas Meyer are also credited as screenwriters, as they reworked a...

Weighty but fun threequel that dealt with the mysteries of matter, death and eternal life

Forty years ago, the Star Trek movie franchise reached its Solaris stage with this mystic and melodramatic threequel, written and produced by TV veteran Harve Bennett and directed by Leonard Nimoy himself. The Search for Spock (and how that title must have startled everyone still getting over the shock of his demise) dealt with the mysteries of matter, organisms, death and eternal life. The last two of these were especially piquant considering that the audiences at the time had to deal with something that is forgotten now: the unease and even shock at seeing the characters’ faces, so youthful in the concurrently running TV show, looking suddenly older, blown up to big-screen size.

This is a film about the passionate bromance between Kirk and Spock – and above all about sacrifice. In the previous film, of course,...

As we reflect on the Star Trek franchise’s impressive run of nearly six decades, can we truly pinpoint the unsung heroes who have propelled us at warp speed from one generation to the next? Absolutely! The Star Trek canon has expanded to include a number of new TV series, a movie franchise, and other media since Gene Roddenberry created the universe in 1966.

While we are eternally grateful to prolific visionaries like Roddenberry, as well as second-wave pioneers like Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, and Brannon Braga, it was the quiet lifeline tossed by one man, Harve Bennett. Having said that, the late producer actually reignited the flame of the Star Trek franchise when it was about to flicker out.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | Paramount Pictures

Bennett’s pivotal role in producing four of the first six Star Trek films in the 1980s can’t be overstated.

In Simon Pegg’s immortal comedy series Spaced, his character Tim declares: “Every odd-numbered Star Trek movie is shit.” This is, of course, hilarious today, because Pegg was in two odd-numbered Trek films, and even co-wrote the 13th movie, 2016’s Star Trek Beyond. But, the fandom myth of the odd-numbered Star Trek “curse” almost certainly begins with 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Released in movie theaters on June 1, 1984, the third Star Trek feature film was really the second part of what would become a trilogy of films, concluding with The Voyage Home in 1986. But, more than that, The Search for Spock was a pivotal moment in which the more mature aesthetic of Star Trek truly came into its own. Despite the unkind things said about The Search for Spock over the years, the truth is, the movie is perhaps more representative of the franchise as a whole...

Two of the credited screenwriters on Leonard Nimoy's "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" were Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes, the screenwriters behind the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello flick "Back to the Beach," the two-Van-Dammes-for-the-price-of-one movie "Double Impact," and the 1999 would-be Oscar darling "Anna and the King." "Star Trek IV" was one of their first major screenwriting gigs, and it was a dizzying experience. The screenwriters remembered meeting with Nimoy and with producer Harve Bennett for a brainstorming session, and it seems that no one could come to any kind of solid conclusions. Bennett mentioned that he wanted the next movie to be a throwback to "The City on the Edge of Forever," one of the most celebrated episodes of the series. Nimoy was in a weird headspace, talking about environmentalism and biodiversity. Meerson recalls: "Leonard started talking about plankton, cells, that cells become plankton, that things eat plankton...

After the release of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" in 1991, a consensus began to form among Trekkies as to which Trek movie was the best. Most fans agreed that the even-numbered films -- "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," and "Country" -- were the good ones, while the odd-numbered film -- "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" -- were the bad ones. This is arguably an unfair assessment, although "Final Frontier" is still often considered the worst in the series, and "Voyage Home" remains one of the most popular.

Indeed, "Voyage Home," even when not adjusted for inflation, remains the most financially successful "Star Trek" movie released before 2009. This might seem unusual to a 21st-century eye, as "Voyage Home" was a fish-out-of-water time travel comedy and not a revenge-motivated action flick.

In his vast career, William Shatner has directed five features. Three of them were documentaries about the making of "Star Trek" including "The Captains" in 2011, "Get a Life!" in 2012, and "Chaos on the Bridge" in 2014. Prior to these, Shatner also helmed a 2002 sci-fi film called "Groom Lake," which he co-wrote with the notorious "Star Trek" producer Maurice Hurley.

Shatner's highest-profile directing gig, however, came in 1989 with the release of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." To this day, "Star Trek V" is considered the least of the "Star Trek" movies, lambasted for its clunky script, weird central conceit, and cheap special effects. In the film, the U.S.S. Enterprise is hijacked by Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), the half-brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Sybok flies the ship to the very center of the galaxy where he hopes to meet God face-to-face. Along the way, Sybok converts several Enterprise crew members to...

Most Trekkies will be able to tell you that Robert Wise's 1979 film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" wasn't as big a success as Paramount had hoped. The film is famously slow-moving, aiming for cosmic grandeur and hefty evolutionary themes over the then-popular whizzbang action of "Star Wars." "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry oversaw the production of "Motion Picture," and the overall tepid response left him in Paramount's bad graces. This was in addition to multiple delays in filming, the production going over budget, and those common studio spats so often classified as "creative differences." According to William Shatner (as he wrote in his autobiography "Star Trek Movie Memories"), Roddenberry was essentially fired from the production of any potential sequel for "Motion Picture" as a result of all the drama, and the Great Bird of the Galaxy was given the faraway and somewhat demeaning title of "executive consultant" on any future productions.

"Star Trek III: The Search For Spock" is a memorable entry into the "Trek" canon for several reasons. The 1984 movie hesitantly followed up franchise high point "The Wrath of Kahn," introduced new Federation starship designs, and resurrected everyone's favorite half-human, half-Vulcan officer, played by Leonard Nimoy. "The Search For Spock" is a story for Spock lovers, and though it doesn't quite match the thrilling emotional and narrative highs of its predecessors, it still feels like "Star Trek" boldly going where it never has before. Unfortunately, though, there's one thing "Star Trek III" is missing: Kirstie Alley's Vulcan junior Lieutenant Saavik.

Saavik does appear in "The Search For Spock," but future "Cheers" star Alley is missing, replaced by actor Robin Curtis. Curtis does a fine job as Saavik and would go on to reprise the role in the next "Star Trek" film as well, but the recast is jarring for close watchers of the saga.

I watch a lot of movies, but even ones that stab at my heart rarely make me tear up. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is, to quote Hayley Williams of Paramore, the only exception.

Spock (Leonard Nimoy) dies to save the Enterprise and his comrades, taking a lethal dose of radiation when giving the ship's engine a boost. He passes on after a final conversation with his best friend James Kirk (William Shatner). It's fair to say Nimoy was a better actor than Shatner, yet it's the latter who affects me most here. From the way his voice trembles as he yells Spock's name to the quiet heartbreak across his face as he watches his friend's final moments of pain, it's the most empathic acting I've ever seen from Shatner.

So, there's a part of me that will always resent the next film, "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,...

Khan Noonien Singh's trajectory as a fictional character is the opposite of his in-universe life story. He was once a superhuman tyrant who ruled much of the Earth — after being overthrown, he fled to space aboard the SS Botany Bay. Upon reawakening, he was bested twice by James T. Kirk and died failing to avenge himself. For audiences though, Khan went from a villain of the week (in the "Star Trek" episode "Space Seed") to the greatest of all "Trek" villains thanks to his reappearance in the film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

Before "The Wrath of Khan," however, "Star Trek" was in trouble. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" underwhelmed, Paramount was hesitant about a sequel, and Leonard Nimoy had to be convinced to return as Spock. That's why the film famously ends with his character dying — except, during shooting, Nimoy changed his mind about exiting. Thus, when...

The "Star Trek" franchise was nearing a crossroads in 1986. 20 years after the premiere of The Original Series on NBC, moviegoers were showing up in significant numbers to follow the big-screen exploits of Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise. But while 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and 1984's "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" were hits for Paramount (they both grossed in the $78 million range domestically), they were not blockbusters. So when stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy asked for salary bumps, the studio had some tough decisions to make.

Paramount almost received an unexpected windfall when their under-contract box office juggernaut, Eddie Murphy, asked to be in the fourth "Star Trek" movie. Murphy had just starred in "Beverly Hills Cop," the highest-grossing movie of 1984, and, as a hardcore Trekker, wanted to be a part of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi universe. The studio was thrilled,...

Here's a fun piece of trivia: when Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) proposes the Genesis Device in her proposal video in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," is it accompanied by an animated simulation showing a dead moon being magically terraformed within a matter of seconds. The animated simulation, rendered by Industrial Light and Magic, was the first instance of a fully rendered CGI sequence in a feature film. According to the October 1982 issue of American Cinematographer Magazine, the Genesis simulation was originally envisioned as a more traditionally realized sequence wherein a character turns a rock into a flower. Special effects supervisor Jim Veilleux felt that something more impressive was required to capture the scope of the Genesis Device's power, and the CGI sequence was developed instead. 

The Genesis Device is one of the more magical objects to have emerged from "Star Trek." Introduced in "Star Trek II," it...

Star Trek Nemesis just about marked the death of the franchise. Indeed, the fact that it was a worldwide box-office disaster meant that many felt the series had run out of steam. For the first time in many years, there were no active big-screen franchises or Trek shows running on TV, with the often neglected Star Trek: Enterprise going off the air in 2005. It seemed space operas were out of vogue, with the rise of superhero movies taking Hollywood by storm. Not only was there the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and the Christopher Nolan Batman movies breaking box office records, but also a little company called Marvel studios decided to start making the own movies, beginning with Iron Man.

But what about Star Trek? For a while, Paramount wouldn’t have been able to produce a Star Trek movie even if they wanted to, with the company’s owner, Viacom,...

The "Star Trek" movie franchise was almost a one-and-done fiasco. Paramount had the highest of hopes when they released "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" on December 7, 1979, and, at first, it appeared as though their commercial expectations would be exceeded. The film scored the biggest opening of the year with a gross of $11.9 million (slightly better than the openings for "Alien" and "Moonraker"), but mixed reviews and ho-hum word of mouth (particularly from non-fans) kept it from being the runaway blockbuster it needed to be given its then exorbitant $44 million budget. It wound up being the fourth highest grossing film of 1979 behind "Kramer vs. Kramer," "The Amityville Horror" and "Rocky II").

The film's primary problem was its length and lack of action. At 132 minutes, Robert Wise's movie kind of lumbered; there are long, reverent shots of the U.S.S. Enterprise that, for many in the audience, quickly went from awe-inspiring to tedious.

In 1989, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier disappointed the box office. Reeling from bad reviews, the film only grossed $49 million domestically from a $33 million budget. That’s a worrying figure for a franchise considering that the previous movie, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, had made a huge $133 million. It likely eventually eked out a profit, but it did badly enough that the studio was looking to reboot the series without any of the original stars by making a Starlet Academy movie. Harve Bennett, the producer of all the films since Star Trek II, thought this would be the way to continue the crew’s big-screen adventures, but Paramount thought differently. With Star Trek: The Next Generation picking up momentum on TV, it became clear that Captain Picard and company would eventually move to the big screen, but, given that the franchise’s 25th anniversary was right around the corner,...

There’s this theory out there that annoys most Trekkies, being that, of the films, only the even-numbered entries are good. This stems mainly from the fact that everyone remembers Star Trek V: The Final Frontier as being the worst movie of the series and ignores that Star Trek: The Motion Picture – while divisive – was a hit, and so was The Search for Spock. However, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is indeed a bad Star Trek movie, and in this episode of Revisited, we’re going to look at exactly what went wrong with something that was clearly a passion project for its star and director, William Shatner.

Jump back to 1986, and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was a significant hit. It was the highest-grossing movie in the franchise and earned critical raves. People that didn’t even like Star Trek were down with this earth-bound adventure of the crew of the U.

In 1984, Leonard Nimoy boldly went where he had never gone before – into the director’s chair of a feature film. His being allowed to direct Star Trek III: The Search for Spock was part of his deal to return to the franchise, as if they had not allowed him this opportunity, the search for Spock might be ended with them… ya know… not finding him. While critics were cool on the film, audiences and fans liked it enough to make it a considerable financial success, earning $76.5 million domestically – just below the $78 million The Wrath of Khan had made. However, like the previous film, its success was limited to North America, with it only making about $10 million internationally compared to the $20 million Wrath of Khan made. No matter, like its predecessor, it was a significant hit on home video and cable, and soon plans were in the works for a fourth...

In 1982, Paramount Pictures released Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Despite carrying a considerably lower budget than its predecessor, the film was a smash hit at the box office, grossing $78 million, good enough to make it the sixth highest-grossing movie of the year. A sequel, at this point, was a given, but the question remained, would Mr. Spock be involved? After all, Leonard Nimoy had been outspoken for years about wanting to move away from the role, even writing a memoir called “I’m Not Spock.” He was killed off in Star Trek II, but a last-minute insert showing him doing a mind-meld with Dr. McCoy teased that perhaps Spock wasn’t quite as dead as he seemed. Indeed, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock would hit theatres in 1984 and be directed by Nimoy, with the film launching a successful career behind the camera for the actor. How did it all happen?...

In 1979, Paramount’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit theaters to a somewhat mixed reception from critics and audiences. Many had predicted that the film would be a big money loser because it had gone dramatically over-budget, making it one of the most expensive films ever made up to the point. In the end, the film eked out a profit. It did well enough that Paramount was willing to take another chance on the franchise. Still, their approach would be pretty different, drastically slashing the budget and hiring fewer A-listers behind the camera. But, to the surprise of all, this proved to be precisely the right move, with the resulting film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a smash-hit that relaunched the franchise as a legitimate big-screen property and introduced the adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy to a whole new generation.

When Paramount Pictures was preparing for a sequel,...

In the lore of "Star Trek," Starfleet Academy is located on Earth, just on the other side of the still-standing Golden Gate Bridge on San Francisco Bay. Any Starfleet officer on any "Star Trek" show has attended Starfleet Academy for several years, learning everything there is to know about diplomacy, tactics, xenolinguistics, starship engineering, history, and piloting. By the franchise's description, it's the most rigorous and intense college the future has to offer. Starfleet Academy is open to anyone aged over 16 years (or their home planet's equivalent) and not everyone makes it all the way through. Numerous stories in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" centered specifically on Starfleet Academy..

Non-Trekkies may recall Starfleet Academy being mentioned in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and the school's notoriously unwinnable Kobayashi Maru test. Cadets are meant to fail to gauge their character and their command skills.

Alan Gibson's 1982 TV miniseries, "A Woman Called Golda," isn't widely discussed in the pop culture firmament, but when it first aired, it felt like an event. A biography of Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel from 1969 until 1974, "A Woman Called Golda" boasted an all-star, award-winning cast that boggles the mind. Meir herself was played by Ingrid Bergman in what would prove to be her final screen role. She was joined by the likes of Ned Beatty, who played an American senator, Robert Loggia who played Anwar Sadat, and Nigel Hawthorne, who played King Abdullah I of Jordan. Judy David played the young Meir. From 1917 to his death in 1951, Meir was married to a man named Morris Meyerson, and Meyerson was played by Leonard Nimoy, acting in scenes opposite both Davis and Bergman.

"A Woman Called Golda" aired in two 2-hour parts, starting on April 26 on CBS. The project was overseen by Harve Bennett,...

Comebacks are funny. Most of the time, in order for a comeback to make sense, everyone has to be aware of the thing or person that had left and is now returning. After all, the Empire can’t strike back if you’re not aware of how it was doing beforehand.

This may seem obvious, but it’s worth noting because every once in a while, in big sci-fi narratives, the opposite occurs: a comeback is a huge deal, but knowledge of anything pre-comeback is optional, or perhaps, irrelevant. It sounds nuts, but this specific kind of comeback perfectly describes Khan Noonien Singh in 1982’s The Wrath of Khan. 40 summers after Kirk screamed “Khaaaaan!!!” the true brilliance of this film is how it tricked everyone into “remembering” Khan in the first place.

In Star Trek: The Original Series, Khan is a one-off villain. Appearing just once in 1967’s “Space Seed,...

Star Trek Picard is, unsurprisingly, an absolutely treasure trove of continuity and easter eggs. Sometimes that’s fun, like when Seven of Nine silences the same bus punk that Spock did in Star Trek IV, and sometimes it’s baffling, such as when Guinan mysteriously de-ages and forgets Picard existed some time between the 19th and 21st centuries, or Picard’s Hallucination Dad adding a bunch of unnecessary backstory while gloating he kept his hair (despite the fact we already know he didn’t).

One of the subtler and longer-running threads of this series has been the plot around geneticist Adam Soong, ancestor of Data’s creator and excuse to keep casting Brent Spiner after Data has been killed off.

But Soong’s plotline is more than just “A 400 year-long male line of eerily identical mad scientists” and it ties into a piece of plot arc and worldbuilding that traces...

To borrow a phrase, when it came to Star Trek circa 1980-1981, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

On the one hand, the arrival of Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979 had proven that audiences would show up for the big screen adaptation of a cult TV series that had gone off the air a decade earlier. The millions of fans who had never even seen the show in its original 1966-1969 run on NBC, but had caught it in syndication, were clearly hungry for more adventures with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

On the other hand, the negative critical response to that film and the incredible expense incurred in bringing it to the screen — its $44 million budget was the highest for a film made in the U.S. up to that time — had franchise owner Paramount Pictures rethinking its approach.

Den of Geek recently had the opportunity to speak at length with Robert Sallin, producer of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). The film is Sallin’s sole feature film production credit, but it’s a huge one, as the picture — which pitted Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise against their old nemesis Khan and ended with the death of Mr. Spock — is still held as the gold standard of Star Trek movies.

Hired by executive producer Harve Bennett — who in turn was recruited by Paramount to save the franchise after 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture became a bloated, budget-busting mess — Sallin is perhaps less well known in the firmament of Trek creatives, but it’s been said that his professionalism, competence and steady hand helped right the ship and set the Enterprise back on a profitable course with a movie much closer in spirit to the original series.

Decades before UCLA’s school of Theater, Film and Television formally became one of the world’s top-ranking drama departments, the Southern California university’s arts program was synonymous with nurturing artists whose iconic work irrevocably transformed entertainment, and media itself, for the better.

Marking the first time a major university combined the three disciplines under one administration, UCLA Tft was established in 1990, simultaneously building on the history of the school’s storied curriculum, bolstering industry connections to reflect its impact and influence, and developing a network of facilities, instructors and experts to help prepare and accommodate students for a constantly changing entertainment landscape.

Even before 14-time Academy Awards telecast producer Gil Cates became its founding dean, UCLA’s fine arts departments were already part of a considerable legacy, with a list of famous alumni that included James Dean, Steve Martin, Paul Schrader, Francis Ford Coppola, Carroll Ballard, Rob Reiner,...

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is not remembered fondly by fans and critics alike. In fact, it's kind of a miracle that The Wrath of Khan was ever made to begin with when you look at just how poorly the film performed at the time. William Shatner spoke to Collider recently and shared just how that miracle happened below:

Yeah. So Star Trek: The Motion Picture was not well received because it was so rushed and didn’t have the final editing time. So to all intents and purposes, that was it. The reviews weren’t that great, business wasn’t that great, that was going to be the end of it.

The owner of Paramount Studios at that time whose name I can’t remember… his wife, so everybody said, “Okay, that’s it, we’ve done it. We’ve made a movie of Star Trek.” That guy’s wife said to her husband,...

By Todd Garbarini

Arguably the best Star Trek film ever made, Nicholas Meyer’s Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), which was originally subtitled The Vengeance of Khan but was changed so as not to interfere with Richard Marquand’s Revenge of the Jedi which itself was changed to Return of the Jedi, celebrates its 35th anniversary this year and is the subject of an exclusive screening at Laemmle’s Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre. The 113-minute film, which stars William Shatner and the crew of the Enterprise, will be screened on Wednesday, May 31, 2017 at 7:30 pm on Digital Cinema Projection (Dcp).

Please Note: Director Nicholas Meyer is scheduled to appear in person for a Q & A following the screening.

From the press release:

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

(35th Anniversary Screening)

Wednesday, May 31, at 7:30 Pm at the Ahrya Fine Arts Theatre

Followed by Q&A with...

Michael Reed Mar 24, 2017

Examining some of the key turning points in the Star Trek series, with the projects that never quite made it to the screen...

“History is replete with turning points. You must have faith.” - Spock

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Star Trek has been with us for over 50 years in one form or another. It started in 1964 with the filming of the pilot episode of the original series, and it has continued to the present day, through films and subsequent TV series, along with other mediums such as books and video games.

We’re principally interested in the core of the franchise here, the TV series and films, and we’re going to take a look at some 'what if...' possibilities of projects that almost happened but didn’t. If you’re reading...

What is the secret to the enduring success of “Star Trek”? Any fan can tell you that it’s the creative and humanitarian vision of its creator Gene Roddenberry.

This is no more apparent than in a letter Roddenberry sent to Paramount Pictures’ Harve Bennett, who was hired to take over the “Star Trek” motion picture franchise after the first film. Bennett, who was taken with the character of Khan from the series’ episode “Space Seed,” proposed a story called “The Genesis Project” that would become the basis for “The Wrath of Khan.”

Read More: ‘Star Trek’: 50 Years of Films and TV, Ranked From Worst to Best

Roddenberry was not pleased with the first draft, since many elements went against all things “Star Trek” holds dear. As part of Project 366, Roddenberry Entertainment is releasing never-before-seen “Star Trek” content from the archives, including this exclusive-to-IndieWire letter from Roddenberry to Bennett...

Filming has started in Belfast on The Bookshop, an adaptation of the Penelope Fitzgerald novel by writer/director Isabel Coixet, about a woman, Florence Green, played by Emily Mortimer,  who decides, against polite but ruthless local opposition in a small town in 1959 England, to open a bookshop. A decision which becomes a political minefield.

Honor Kneafsey stars as Christine, Florence's 10 year old bookshop assistant. Honor (represented by A&J Management), starred in the BBC drama Our Zoo, and went on the join the cast of Benidorm.

A casting call was posted on Screenterrier to find the other young star of the film, a red-headed boy. 10 year old newcomer Harvey Bennett (represented by Purple Giraffe Casting) landed the part, in his first screen role.

The film stars Emily Mortimer as Florence Green, with Patricia Clarkson, and Bill Nighy. Charlotte Vega plays Kattie with James Lance as Milo North.

The Bookshop is...

Alex Carter Dec 6, 2019

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

This article originally appeared on Den of Geek UK.

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

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

But what of the aging original cast? They were unwanted,...

Alex Carter Jun 9, 2019

The War On Terror meets The Final Frontier and asks the most important question of all time. What does God need with a starship?

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

William Shatner fights God. That’s about all anyone remembers from the infamous Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Over the years, the tale has grown in the telling. Some called it one of the worst films of all time, others call it a box office catastrophe. It killed the careers of the director, producer, the entire special effects company, and nearly ended the entire Star Trek franchise right there and then. It is remembered merely as a vanity project gone horribly wrong.

But ask yourself this. What does God need with a starship? Can you answer it? Can you understand the question? To dismiss it out of hand is to dismiss the opportunity to think.

Home Video fans have a lot to look forward to as Paramount Home Entertainment releases a variety of Star Trek material this year. First up and arriving Tuesday, just days after its 34th anniversary is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Director’s Cut. This is the first time director Nicholas Meyer’s version of the now-classic film is available on Blu-ray.

There’s little left to say about just how good the film is and looking back, we can easily see the affection both cast and crew put into the production. There was a gamble in bringing in Harve Bennett to produce and Meyer to direct only because neither had been a part of Trek previously and Paramount needed the film to be a major success to salvage the franchise.

Thankfully, Bennett understand the genre and Meyer was a gifted novelist and filmmaker so got down to the core elements.

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The final big screen outing for the original crew, we take a look back at Star Trek 6...

Despite my personal opinions, the reception to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was nothing short of disastrous. A Razzie for Worst Picture, derision across the board and enough fallout to kill the career of producer Harve Bennett, and stop William Shatner from ever directing another movie. But Star Trek: The Next Generation fortunately found its feet not long after, and the franchise survived. But what of the ageing original cast? They were unwanted, unloved, too old, and too much of a financial risk. Gene Roddenberry, in rapidly failing health, was using what was left of his clout as Next Generation showrunner (even if the day to day running of the show was something of a power vacuum due to said failing health) to try and get his Starfleet Academy story made.

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The War On Terror meets The Final Frontier and asks the most important question of all time. What does God need with a starship?

Shatner fights God. That’s about all anyone remembers from the infamous Final Frontier. Over the years, the tale has grown in the telling. Some called it one of the worst films of all time, others call it a box office catastrophe. It killed the careers of the director, producer, the entire special effects company, and nearly ended the entire franchise right there and then. It is remembered merely as a vanity project gone horribly wrong.

But ask yourself this. What does God need with a starship? Can you answer it? Can you understand the question? To dismiss it out of hand is to dismiss the opportunity to think. Do not turn your brain off.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is the ultimate question.

Across film and TV, there have been many Star Trek projects that never got the greenlight. Such as these...

Since 1964 (yep) there have been Star Trek projects that simply didn't make it to the big or small screen. And before Star Trek's second (proper) coming in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the franchise had more than its fair share of attempts to come to life, and then be reborn.

This lot in fact...

Star Trek – The (original) Original Series

Here's a thought – the original Star Trek series wasn't supposed to be the original Star Trek series.

The pilot that sold the show to NBC was in fact the second pilot, after the original, entitled The Cage, filmed at the end of 1964, was deemed too cerebral. That's on top of having other multiple issues that TV executives (and test audiences) of the time couldn't cope with – you know, like gender equality in the workplace.

Alex Carter May 31, 2019

Is Star Trek III: The Search For Spock actually a better movie than The Wrath of Khan? Maybe...

The passing of Leonard Nimoy demonstrated exactly why Star Trek’s relentless optimism pulled in so many fans. In sci-fi, death is generally cheap, undone by the stealing of a starship and a healthy dose of improbable science. In Trek, Spock was never really dead. In reality, Leonard Nimoy has died, it sucks, and the only thing left to do is mourn. I know which reality I prefer.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock might seem like the inevitable sequel, but at the time Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan was supposed to be the end of the franchise. Yet the renewed interest by not only fans, but the cast, meant that once Star Trek II was successful, the future of the franchise was guaranteed. And it...

Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Harve Bennett (1930-2015) - Producer. He worked on the Star Trek movie franchise, beginning with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and staying through Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. He died on February 25. (Deadline) Lynn Borden (1937-2015) - Actress. Best known for TV's Hazel, she also appears in Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Carpetbaggers, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Black Mama White Mama (see below), Frogs, the...

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Star Trek producer Harve Bennett has died at the age of 84.

During his career, he produced four Star Trek movies, including 1982's The Wrath of Khan.

The success of the movie led Bennett to produce the next three instalments of the series.

He worked alongside the late Leonard Nimoy, who passed away on February 27, in the four films.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan's director Nicholas Meyer said: "He was a remarkable man and he was unpretentious and self-effacing. I don't think there would be a Star Trek franchise without him.

"He rescued it. He's endangered of being lost in the shuffle, but he's the guy who figured it out."

As well as working on Star Trek, Bennett produced the TV series Mod Squad, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman.