On the eve of retirement, Kirk and McCoy are charged with assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor and imprisoned. The Enterprise crew must help them escape to thwart a conspiracy aimed at sabotaging the last best hope for peace.
After an explosion on their moon, the Klingons have an estimated 50 years before their ozone layer is completely depleted, and they all die. They have only one choice - to make peace with the Federation, which will mean an end to 70 years of conflict. Captain James T. Kirk and crew are called upon to help in the negotiations because of their experience with the Klingons. Peace talks don't quite proceed, and Kirk and McCoy are convicted of assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor, and imprisoned on Rura Penthe, a snowy hard-labor prison camp. Will they manage to escape? And will there ever be peace with the Klingons?Written by
Colin Tinto <cst@imdb.com>
The subtitle, "The Undiscovered Country", had been considered as a title for the installment which became Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). This comes from Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, as do many of General Chang's William Shakespeare quotes. Two of the more obscure lines Chang speaks during the final battle between the Klingons and the Enterprise are "Our revels now have ended..." from "The Tempest" and "The game's afoot" from "Henry V." Chang's line "Have we not heard the chimes at midnight?" is from "Henry IV: Part 2." See more »
Goofs
SPOILER: When conferring with Valeris in the ship's galley about the possible whereabouts of the gravity boots, Spock dismisses Valeris' theory that they may have been left on the Klingon ship, explaining that "gravity had not been restored when the assassins beamed away. Without them, they would have floated off the Klingon transporter pads." This seems to indicate that the transporter would not have picked up anything floating around the pad when the transport was initiated.
However, an earlier shot of the assassins beaming off the Klingon ship clearly shows floating Klingon blood dematerializing during transport, and a later scene shows Chekov discovering Klingon blood in the transporter room, indicating that a transporter pad can lock onto floating objects. Therefore, Spock's dismissal of Valeris' theory, although correct, should not have happened out of hand. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Captain Hikaru Sulu:
Stardate 9521.6. Captain's Log, USS Excelsior. Hikaru Sulu commanding. After three years, I have concluded my first assignment as master of this vessel, cataloguing gaseous planetary anomalies in Beta Quadrant. We're heading home under full impulse power. I'm pleased to report that ship and crew have functioned well.
See more »
Crazy Credits
At the beginning of the end credits, the signature of each of the principal cast members is written one by one as a final send-off for their characters. See more »
Alternate Versions
The network television version (for NBC) did not include the extra scenes found on the home video versions. It also excluded the theatrical scenes where Lt. Valeris mentions that "You men have work" and the entire scene where Kirk fights an alien prisoner. See more »
In the theatre years ago when I saw this film I thought gosh this is really different for a Star Trek film. It had so much suspense and conspiracy, and so much mystery that this was one of the best films in the collection. The acting is great, the action and the effect are superb, and the music is very good! I recommend this to all Star Trek and sci-fi film fans!
47 of 54 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
In the theatre years ago when I saw this film I thought gosh this is really different for a Star Trek film. It had so much suspense and conspiracy, and so much mystery that this was one of the best films in the collection. The acting is great, the action and the effect are superb, and the music is very good! I recommend this to all Star Trek and sci-fi film fans!