Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, Part Five
Recap: Kirk and Sulu visit the hospitalized McCoy. Kirk explains the mind-meld situation to Bones while Sulu talks to an unfriendly guard, then the two of them take out the guards and escape with McCoy. On the Excelsior, Scotty has a run-in with the douchebag Captain Styles, then proceeds to the transporter room.
Meanwhile, Uhura is stationed at a transporter console with a smarmy young male lieutenant. He complains about the dullness of the assignment, saying that it might be good for an old-timer like Uhura but he prefers excitement. Then Kirk, McCoy and Sulu enter and Uhura prepares to transport them to the Enterprise; when her co-worker objects, she pulls a phaser on him and makes him lock himself in the storage closet.
Kirk, McCoy and Sulu meet Scotty and Chekov on the abandoned Enterprise. Scotty says he's rigged the ship to run without a crew. Kirk thanks them for their help and offers them a chance to turn back, but they all decide to stay. Kirk tells Sulu to proceed out of Spacedock; the doors of Spacedock are closed, but Scotty manages to send an override command and open them just in time.
The Excelsior powers up and proceeds to pursue the Enterprise. When Kirk warps away, Styles attempts to catch him using the transwarp drive...but both warp and transwarp have been sabotaged by Scotty. Kirk congratulates them all on their successful escape/hijacking, and orders them to proceed to Genesis.
Comments: "They're moving him to the Federation Funny Farm"--while amusing, this line is somewhat disrespectful to both the mentally ill in general and McCoy, who despite curmudgeonosity is a decorated senior officer.
Kirk of course visited Federation Funny Farms in "Dagger of the Mind" and "Whom Gods Destroy", but they were both for the criminally insane (who, to be fair, are the type of insane people with the most dramatic potential as antagonists). I hope talking about Genesis isn't enough to make them put Bones in this category...
"I hear he's fruity as a nutcake"--Another funny but odd line. Kirk has no tendency towards malapropisms, unless he's communicating with a primitive and paranoid culture.
Maybe fruitcake is non-existent by the 23rd century? It is supposed to be a utopia, after all.
"Don't get smart, Tiny"--Why is this guard such an asshole to a friendly stranger? Even if Sulu didn't happen to be a high-ranking Starfleet officer who could end this guy's career if he felt like it, wouldn't he get in trouble just for talking to civilians this way?
"Don't call me Tiny"--This is probably the second most famous Sulu moment, after the sword waving in "The Naked Time". George Takei initially had doubts about this scene (he's not really "tiny", after all) but when the audience at the first screening went wild he changed his tune.
The Excelsior's Captain Styles is no relation to the anti-Vulcan racist Lt. Stiles (note spelling) of "Balance of Terror". Styles is played by James B. Sikking, who at this time was starring on Hill Street Blues as Lt. Hunter, another pompous douchebag. (IMHO, the Hunter character was a little cartoonish for a mostly-realistic drama like Hill Street, but Sikking played him well.)
"Breaking the Enterprise's old speed records"--Of course this is a bad thing to say to Scotty, but AFAICR this is also (ironically, given what's coming) the first mention of the Enterprise being in any way the fastest or best ship in Starfleet. TOS seemed to just consider the 1701 to be identical to the other Constitution-class ships, as it probably should have been. Of course TNG was a completely different story, constantly harping on how special the Ent-D was; of course, it had fewer sister ships and they tended to be destroyed horribly in one appearance.
The smartass lieutenant in this scene is known only as "Mr. Adventure" among fans and even in the closing credits. It sure is a good thing that everyone our crew has to victimize is a complete a-hole who deserves it.
"Someone who's career is winding down"--If you believe novelists, Uhura's career is barely getting started. In eighty years she'll be a sprightly 120 years old and running Starfleet Intelligence, and probably wondering why she wasted so many years as Kirk's receptionist. (Actually, the "TOS characters in the TNG era" novels seem to indicate a certain pathological refusal in fandom to allow characters to freaking die already....much like this movie! )
Star Trek fans talk about how Uhura "owned" Mr. Adventure, but...she just pulled a gun on him and made him get in a closet. That's more badass than what Uhura usually does, but it's not, like, legendary.
Nichelle Nichols was upset that Uhura didn't get to go with the others. There was no real script reason for it; maybe they thought viewers would be afraid Mr. Adventure starved to death in the closet? In the novelization, Uhura immediately goes to Sarek and asks for asylum, which allows her to be at Vulcan for the ending. (A Fed planet giving "asylum" to a Starfleet officer is another can of worms, of course.)
Chekov is the only character who doesn't get a spotlight in the escape, but this balances out the extra screen time he had in the last movie.
Kirk offers the crew a chance to bail out...after most of them have already committed assault and/or sabotage to get him here. Really, what would they gain by ditching him at this point? At least whatever happens with Kirk will be more interesting than jail.
The space doors are a fairly clever way to add more suspense to the escape scene. Wouldn't have worked with the scaffolding-like "Spacedock" of the last two movies.
"If you do this you'll never sit in the captain's chair again"--This is of course the ultimate threat to Kirk, but he's willing to risk it. (Of course, Styles must have meant officially sit in the captain's chair. I assume Kirk can sit all he wants in the chair of the ship he just jacked. Also, isn't Kirk an Admiral? I guess the fact that Kirk keeps stealing command of the Enterprise has made it common knowledge in Starfleet that his greatest ambition in life is to be demoted?)
Once Kirk is past the space doors and the Excelsior, he's completely clear...even though Starfleet should have a very good idea of where he's going. Good thing there weren't any other functional ships in Spacedock, or anywhere else between Earth and Genesis.
Maybe Starfleet's like "We'll never catch them Kirk boys, now that they've crossed the space county line!"......or maybe not.
In re Excelsior and his sabotage thereof, Scotty says "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." Several sources have Scotty's line as "the more they overtake the plumbing...". "Overtake the plumbing"? WTF?
The TOS characters are now essentially a criminal gang rather than a group of military officers, but they act exactly the same. I guess old habits are hard to break, even when the habit is "do what the Admiral jackass in the center seat says, without question".
Meanwhile, Uhura is stationed at a transporter console with a smarmy young male lieutenant. He complains about the dullness of the assignment, saying that it might be good for an old-timer like Uhura but he prefers excitement. Then Kirk, McCoy and Sulu enter and Uhura prepares to transport them to the Enterprise; when her co-worker objects, she pulls a phaser on him and makes him lock himself in the storage closet.
Kirk, McCoy and Sulu meet Scotty and Chekov on the abandoned Enterprise. Scotty says he's rigged the ship to run without a crew. Kirk thanks them for their help and offers them a chance to turn back, but they all decide to stay. Kirk tells Sulu to proceed out of Spacedock; the doors of Spacedock are closed, but Scotty manages to send an override command and open them just in time.
The Excelsior powers up and proceeds to pursue the Enterprise. When Kirk warps away, Styles attempts to catch him using the transwarp drive...but both warp and transwarp have been sabotaged by Scotty. Kirk congratulates them all on their successful escape/hijacking, and orders them to proceed to Genesis.
Comments: "They're moving him to the Federation Funny Farm"--while amusing, this line is somewhat disrespectful to both the mentally ill in general and McCoy, who despite curmudgeonosity is a decorated senior officer.
Kirk of course visited Federation Funny Farms in "Dagger of the Mind" and "Whom Gods Destroy", but they were both for the criminally insane (who, to be fair, are the type of insane people with the most dramatic potential as antagonists). I hope talking about Genesis isn't enough to make them put Bones in this category...
"I hear he's fruity as a nutcake"--Another funny but odd line. Kirk has no tendency towards malapropisms, unless he's communicating with a primitive and paranoid culture.
Maybe fruitcake is non-existent by the 23rd century? It is supposed to be a utopia, after all.
"Don't get smart, Tiny"--Why is this guard such an asshole to a friendly stranger? Even if Sulu didn't happen to be a high-ranking Starfleet officer who could end this guy's career if he felt like it, wouldn't he get in trouble just for talking to civilians this way?
"Don't call me Tiny"--This is probably the second most famous Sulu moment, after the sword waving in "The Naked Time". George Takei initially had doubts about this scene (he's not really "tiny", after all) but when the audience at the first screening went wild he changed his tune.
The Excelsior's Captain Styles is no relation to the anti-Vulcan racist Lt. Stiles (note spelling) of "Balance of Terror". Styles is played by James B. Sikking, who at this time was starring on Hill Street Blues as Lt. Hunter, another pompous douchebag. (IMHO, the Hunter character was a little cartoonish for a mostly-realistic drama like Hill Street, but Sikking played him well.)
"Breaking the Enterprise's old speed records"--Of course this is a bad thing to say to Scotty, but AFAICR this is also (ironically, given what's coming) the first mention of the Enterprise being in any way the fastest or best ship in Starfleet. TOS seemed to just consider the 1701 to be identical to the other Constitution-class ships, as it probably should have been. Of course TNG was a completely different story, constantly harping on how special the Ent-D was; of course, it had fewer sister ships and they tended to be destroyed horribly in one appearance.
The smartass lieutenant in this scene is known only as "Mr. Adventure" among fans and even in the closing credits. It sure is a good thing that everyone our crew has to victimize is a complete a-hole who deserves it.
"Someone who's career is winding down"--If you believe novelists, Uhura's career is barely getting started. In eighty years she'll be a sprightly 120 years old and running Starfleet Intelligence, and probably wondering why she wasted so many years as Kirk's receptionist. (Actually, the "TOS characters in the TNG era" novels seem to indicate a certain pathological refusal in fandom to allow characters to freaking die already....much like this movie! )
Star Trek fans talk about how Uhura "owned" Mr. Adventure, but...she just pulled a gun on him and made him get in a closet. That's more badass than what Uhura usually does, but it's not, like, legendary.
Nichelle Nichols was upset that Uhura didn't get to go with the others. There was no real script reason for it; maybe they thought viewers would be afraid Mr. Adventure starved to death in the closet? In the novelization, Uhura immediately goes to Sarek and asks for asylum, which allows her to be at Vulcan for the ending. (A Fed planet giving "asylum" to a Starfleet officer is another can of worms, of course.)
Chekov is the only character who doesn't get a spotlight in the escape, but this balances out the extra screen time he had in the last movie.
Kirk offers the crew a chance to bail out...after most of them have already committed assault and/or sabotage to get him here. Really, what would they gain by ditching him at this point? At least whatever happens with Kirk will be more interesting than jail.
The space doors are a fairly clever way to add more suspense to the escape scene. Wouldn't have worked with the scaffolding-like "Spacedock" of the last two movies.
"If you do this you'll never sit in the captain's chair again"--This is of course the ultimate threat to Kirk, but he's willing to risk it. (Of course, Styles must have meant officially sit in the captain's chair. I assume Kirk can sit all he wants in the chair of the ship he just jacked. Also, isn't Kirk an Admiral? I guess the fact that Kirk keeps stealing command of the Enterprise has made it common knowledge in Starfleet that his greatest ambition in life is to be demoted?)
Once Kirk is past the space doors and the Excelsior, he's completely clear...even though Starfleet should have a very good idea of where he's going. Good thing there weren't any other functional ships in Spacedock, or anywhere else between Earth and Genesis.
Maybe Starfleet's like "We'll never catch them Kirk boys, now that they've crossed the space county line!"......or maybe not.
In re Excelsior and his sabotage thereof, Scotty says "The more they overthink the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain." Several sources have Scotty's line as "the more they overtake the plumbing...". "Overtake the plumbing"? WTF?
The TOS characters are now essentially a criminal gang rather than a group of military officers, but they act exactly the same. I guess old habits are hard to break, even when the habit is "do what the Admiral jackass in the center seat says, without question".