Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Aired 1991-12-06

SpaceOpera.com rating:7

Average reader rating:7.34

Factoids

Brock Peters plays Admiral Cartwright. He later plays Joseph Sisko on DS9.
Rene Auberjoinis plays Colonel West. He later plays Odo in DS9.
According to Spock, Klingons have no tear ducts.
General Chang's line "Don't wait for the translation" is a reference to what the UN delegate from the US demanded from the Soviet delegate during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The speech made by the warden outside Rura Penthe is a reference to the novel War and Peace where Siberia is Rura Penthe.
This film is the first canonical indication that the Romulan and Klingon Empires are in the Beta quadrant.
This film was nominated for the 1992 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.
This film was nominated for Oscars in Makeup and Sound Effects Editing.

Problems

We all know Klingon technology is different and all, but I have no idea what level of "different" would cause Praxis to explode in such an impossible manner.
Spock claims the Federation has had hostile relations with the Klingon Empire for "almost 70 years." I'd put it at approximately 150 years.
This is the only Star Trek production in which Klingon blood is a bright pinkish color.
Why was Worf in this film? I know it was supposed to be something of an in-joke because this film was produced during the TNG era. Maybe Defense Attorney Worf was supposed to be one of Worf's ancestors or something. But the least they could have done was give him another name or something...
Did Chekov get demoted or something? He appears to be in the navigator's position again...
Martia claims no one has ever escaped from Rura Penthe, yet Captain Archer did just that in the second season of Star Trek Enterprise. Maybe the Klingons struck his imprisonment and subsequent escape from the records.

Synopsis

The Klingons seek help to save their world by turning to their former enemy, the Federation. Some, however, do their best to sabotage the peace efforts.

Remarkable scenes

Captain Sulu!
Officer: "Do we report this, sir?" Sulu: "Are you kidding?"
Spock: "There is an old Vulcan proverb: Only Nixon could go to China."
Kirk: "They're animals!" Spock: "Jim, there is an historic opportunity here." Kirk: "Don't believe them! Don't trust them!" Spock: "They are dying." Kirk: "Let them die!"
Kirk: "Captain's log, stardate 9522.6. I've never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I've never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy. It seems to me our mission to escort the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council to a peace summit is problematic at best. Spock says this could be an historic occasion, and I'd like to believe him. But how on earth can history get past people like me?"
Spock: "Logic, logic, logic. Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end."
Chang quoting Shakespeare in Klingon.
Chang: "We need breathing room!" Kirk: "Earth, Hitler, 1938."
The crew lamenting about the dinner after it was over.
The mystery murderers attacking the Klingon ship and beaming over and murdering people. I love the ensuing chaos and confusion.
Scotty: "I bet that Klingon bitch killed her father!"
McCoy: "He was the last best hope in the universe for peace."
Valeris' phaser demonstration and Uhura's and Scotty's reaction.
Chekov: "If shoe fits, wear it."
Uhura attempting to respond in Klingon.
Kirk's extremely, extremely, lucky escape.
Kirk bitching about Spock's rescue having been two seconds too early.
Spock's mind meld "rape" of Valeris.
McCoy, regarding Chang's attack on the Enterprise: "This is fun..."
Officer, regarding the Excelsior flying too fast: "She'll fly apart!" Sulu: "Fly her apart then!"
The space battle at the end. Awesome.
Spock: "If I were human, I believe my response would be, 'Go to hell.'"
"Captain's Log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of a new generation. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man--where no one has gone before."

Review

This film an impressive and for once a fitting end to the series. Granted it isn't the last time we'll see Kirk and a few of the other characters, it is the last bona fide TOS film. There are some idiotic details in this movie, such as another shapeshifter, or another Kirk double, or the discussion about dismantling Starfleet because of the possible peace with the Klingons. Are we led to believe that Starfleet is only a military organization? What happened to the whole exploration thing? Even if so, what about the Romulans? With the Klingons out of the way the Romulans are of course still a major threat... Thankfully Starfleet is not dismantled of course and this idiotic detail is quickly forgotten. Also annoying was Chang's incessant quoting of Shakespeare. At least Spock told him to shut up! One thing I was fond of was an alien president of the Federation. Something we will see again. Another good detail was the way the Klingon language was handled in this film. Additionally, this film presents a convincing mystery concerning who's trying to accomplish what clear up to the climax which is pleasing. The final nice detail is how this film parallels the the cold war. Praxis' explosion parallels Chernobyl, the Klingon ecological problem parallels the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the plot to disrupt the peace talks mirrors rumor that people would disrupt the American-Soviet peace to keep the military budgets high. Overall a very fine film.

10 reader comments

Re the factoid about Rene Auberjonois playing Colonel West. Isn't his rank something of an anomaly? All the ranks in Starfleet are naval - Commanders, Admirals, Ensigns etc. Colonel is an Army rank - and to my memory, the only one to appear in Star Fleet. Apart from Kira, of course -but that's a Bajoran Militia rank. It's hardly a killer detail - but it is an odd one that could have been avoided by giving him the rank of Commodore, which was still around in that era.
by Dave Edsons | 12/26/2007 at 3:19 pm

I absolutely love this film. I remember it fondly as being the first one I saw at the cinema.
I give it a 10, any faults in this film are glossed over for me with the energy, action and also family feel to the performances, script and direction.
by Bernard | 07/25/2008 at 8:44 pm

Regarding the explosion of Praxis, one of the theories I've heard is that it was a failed test of a Klingon copy of the Genesis Device.
by Spatula | 11/23/2008 at 6:13 am

Best Star Trek movie by far imo. Great fun to watch, I really miss the old crew, especially the trio Kirk, McCoy and Spock.
The only scene I didnt like was the one where they trapped the traitor in the infirmary. That never should have worked, it smelled like a trap when they mentioned the names on the public address system and it yelled TRAP!!! when the infirmary was dark and abandoned. That traitor obviously is a retard too.
by Zaphod | 04/11/2011 at 9:07 pm

After my last viewing of this pretty good movie, I noticed an interesting FACTOID: the Federation president's office is actually the Ten Forward set from TNG.
by Wes Thompson | 08/24/2011 at 2:58 pm

Kirk orders Lt. Valeris to leave space dock at 1/4 impulse. Are we to believe she then lit this up to 1/4 the speed of light. The doors would not have opened yet and if they had it would appear that the ship just disappeared.
by Duffnick | 12/10/2013 at 4:25 am

I thought that female's couldn't be on the council. But yet in this film the daughter takes over when her father dies.
by Shani | 12/22/2013 at 3:19 pm

The Colonel West character was a reference to the U.S. Colonel Oliver North: a gung-ho military officer. That's why in the movie the rank is colonel and not a naval rank.
by Douglas Horton | 12/10/2015 at 2:38 am

Having just watched this again, it occurs to me that THIS is the film that they should have tried to copy for Nemesis, instead of Khan. Mostly because Khan was a unique villain and there's never any connection between poor Tom Hardy and Patrick Stewart in that. Instead, it should have been a film about the Romulans and overcoming fear. And in that film, the various characters could be spread out-Riker captaining his own vessel with Troi working with him, and Worf serving as the Klingon ambassador.
I don't know if this is the BEST Trek film, but it's really strong. It holds up 25 years later. It just makes me sad to watch this and remember all the actors who've passed on: Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, and James Doohan.
by Bronn | 01/31/2016 at 2:29 am

@Duffnick impulse isn't relative to the speed of light so 1/4 impulse isn't 1/4 the speed of light.
Also, I always assumed Worf being in the movie was a nod that his father (before being called a traitor) was well regarded and a politician iirc
by Stephen Sanosuke | 02/25/2016 at 2:54 pm