4. Transporter Accident (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, 1979)
The 'Motionless' Picture doesn’t have an awful lot to recommend it – it’s glacially paced, obsessed with effects spectacle over action and limps to a dull finale that favours pretentiousness over thoughtfulness.
But it does feature one of the more squirm-worthy moments of any of the films, as a nasty transporter malfunction mixes up the data patterns of Starfleet officers Sonak and Ciani, leading to much David Cronenberg-flavoured, fly-style body-mashing.
“Enterprise… What we got back… Didn’t live long... Fortunately…” Clean up on deck six!
Trek Trivia: The transporter death wasn’t the only fatality planned originally. Walter Koenig’s Chekov was set to die from the guts of his console exploding, but the scene was downgraded to a non-mortal injury.
3. Boom Goes The Enterprise! (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, 1984)
As with the death of Kirk’s son, not everything in Star Trek III is light-hearted comedy.
Like this scene, where a desperate Kirk and crew must evacuate their beloved ship and blow her to smithereens to avoid the Klingons – led by Christopher Lloyd’s Commander Kruge - from taking control.
It all works - from Kruge’s horrified reaction to the Enterprise computer calmly counting down to absolute destruction, to Kirk and co solemnly watching the ship’s debris break up in the atmosphere.
“My god, Bones,” sighs Kirk. “What have I done?”
“What you had to do. What you always do,” assures his best mate. “Turn death into a fighting chance to live.”
Trek Trivia: Nerd alert! Someone needs to tell Starfleet that destruct codes should be changed more often - they're the same as the ones in original series episode 'Let That Be Your Last Battlefield'.
Next: Spock's Death
Comments
mattburgess
May 4th 2009, 16:33
Star Trek Generations, and the Enterprise-D is moments from being destroyed by a vastly inferior klingon warbird. But thanks to a nifty little trick by Data, they force the warbird to drop its own shields, and in one brilliant, heart stopping, breath taking moment, Commander Riker gives the order: "Fire!" A single, fateful photon torpedo later, and the warbird is a complete wreck. Brilliant! (Never mind the fact that Riker has previously asked for a spread of torpedos)
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jhr01
May 5th 2009, 21:42
6. “This Far. No Further!” (Star Trek Generations, 1994) The scene involving Patrick Steward and Alfie Woodward's Lily Sloane is from First Contact, not Star Trek's Generations! Shame on you Total Film!!!!
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jwhite
May 7th 2009, 21:26
Argh! My bad. I'm turning in my phaser and heading to the Agony Booth for a sesh. Error fixed!
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Juliette
May 8th 2009, 19:53
Brilliant article, thanks! Though I think Spock's death has to be No 1 for me, and I also have a soft spot for Chekov's 'Now would be a good time!' in Star Trek IV
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stewart
May 10th 2009, 18:08
A really good article, thanks! Personally I thought your number 3 was probably the number 1 - Kirk destroying that which he coveted above all else - and of course the exchange between Kirk & Bones that followed. I felt that Star Trek III was the best of the lot - despite the critics harangueing it no end, and largely because of the scenes from that filn that you included in this article!
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