Roddenberry’svision.The resultwas
thesame:youwantedtobeonthat
bridge,onthatship,gallivanting
aroundthegalaxy.That is vitalfor
anyincarnationofStarTrek, anda big
partofthereasonThe MotionPicture
andStarTrek(2009)successfully
relaunchedthefranchise.
“Youknow,comingbackin
time,changinghistory...
that’scheating.”
OncetheEnterpriseis shipshape,the
nextvitalcomponentinanyStarTrek
recipeis a BigIdea(copyrightGene
10 The
Enterprise
findsitselfin
a debrisfield
inStarTrek
(2009).
11 Goingto
warp, 2009
style.Roddenberry,D.C.Fontana,and
GeneL.Coon).It’sarguablywhat
separatestruesciencefictionfromspace
operaandmythos-basedarchetypes:a
conceptat thecenterofthestorythat
bogglesthemind,challengesoutlooks,
andtriggersa spasmofexistential
introspectionaboutlife,theuniverse,
andeverything.
PriortoStarTrek’s cinematic
rebirthin’79,theobviouschampion
ofBigIdeasci-fimovieswasStanley
Kubrick’s2001:A SpaceOdyssey,
whichtrackedthebirthofmanat the
handsofmonolith-plantinggod-aliensrightthroughtointerstellartraveland
humanity’sevolutionbeyondthestars.
EvidentlythiswasthespaceGene
RoddenberrywantedStarTrekto
occupybytheendofthe1970s,once
StarTrek:PhaseIImorphedintoThe
MotionPicture.
Lookat whohehiredtodirect
thepicture:it wasn’tThe Soundof
MusicandWestSideStoryonRobert
Wise’srésuméthatgothimthejob
(althoughtheirhugecommercial
successcouldn’thavehurt);it was
all-time1950ssci-ficlassicThe Daythe
EarthStoodStill– witha littlenudge
from1971’sThe AndromedaStrain–
thatsealedthedeal.InThe Daythe
EarthStoodStill, analienintercedes
inhumanity’sdevelopmenttowarn
themthattheircurrentwarring
behaviormuststoportheEarthwill
bedestroyed.Starkandthought-
provoking– if notentirelyinkeeping
withthePrimeDirective– thatcould
easilybeanepisodeofTr e k.
Wisewastheperfectcandidateto
dramatizethereturnofa lostEarth
probeseekingitscreatoraftergaining
sentienceat thehandsofliving
machines,imbuingit witha planet’s
worthofadvancedtechnologyinorder
tofulfill itsmissiontolearnallthere
wastolearn,andthenreturnthat1011THE MOTION PICTURE / STAR TREK (2009)