Old school Trek with the kids

As part of my never ending quest to help my kids appreciate their nerd heritage, I showed them Star Trek The Motion Picture this weekend. Yes, the movie is as ponderous as the title suggests. Still, the story engaged them and I do appreciate that is an actual science fiction story rather than a straight up space opera. This clip illustrates my two least favorite things about the movie. The many minutes too long fly-by of the Enterprise provides a great time for a bathroom break, but little else. I am all for starship porn, two of my fave scenes of all time being the Enterprise vs. Reliant in Star Trek 2 and the climactic battle in ROTJ, but this is just a static trip to show off the model. Boring.

Worse though are the hideous uniforms. They are all off whites and browns, as if to say that the movie is as lifeless and pallid as the clothing. The worst of all though is the strange little short sleeve shirt that Kirk sports at one point. It's like he had a tee time, but got called to the bridge at the last minute. I much prefer the bright red, militaristic wear of the follow on films.



It could be worse though. In the mid-70s, there was a plan for a new show called Star Trek Phase II. The uniforms for that one were all Logan's Run swinger wear. (check about 2:41 in this documentary)



Because the Internet can bring everything back, Star Trek Phase 2 is back in a new form. This show is released online and has appearances by some of the original cast.