Star Trek movies DVDs, pt. 2
- As mentioned previously, the original script for ST3 had intended for Saavik to become intimate with Spock on the Genesis Planet. A scene cut from ST4 would have shown that the reason Saavik remained on Vulcan was because she was pregnant with Spock's child. I would recommend the restoration of these two scenes so that this plotline could be incorporated into the movies.
- At Starfleet Command, an alien officer gave readouts on various cities around the world. Among the cities he mentions include Leningrad. But Leningrad no longer exists, the city had changed its name to St. Petersburg with the fall of the USSR. Unless the city reverts to Leningrad by the 23rd century, there will be no city by that name in Kirk's time. One possible way to rectify this inconsistency would be to change the city's name to St. Petersburg in the DVD.
- The script for ST4 called for a scene in which Sulu meets a young boy in the streets of San Francisco whom he later realises was his great-grandfather. The novelization of the movie suggests that the boy's name was Akira Sulu. However, this scene was not filmed because the boy actor was not cooperative with the production team. With current video technology, it should be possible to reshoot this scene and incorporate it back into the movie, since this scene represents another important character development for Sulu.
- After Scotty shows the formula for transparent aluminium to Dr. Nichols, McCoy takes Scotty aside and discusses the implications of giving the formula away and changing history. An alternate take shows Scotty replying that Dr. Nichols was supposed to invent transparent aluminium, and the scene ends with McCoy saying, "I'm a doctor, not a historian."
- During the dinner scene between Kirk and Taylor, the candle shortens and lengthens throughout the scene, a classic problem in scenes with an ever-present candle. Perhaps CGI would allow the height of the candle to remain fixed.
- When Kirk phasers the lock in the surgery room, he first holds the phaser in his left hand. The shot of the phaser firing shows that Kirk's right hand was holding the phaser. At the very next shot, the phaser is in the left hand again. I believe that CGI technology could be used to show that it was Kirk's left hand which was holding the phaser throughout the entire scene.
So, here are some scenes that are known to have been lost from ST5.
- Another shot which got trimmed was of Sybok's riding into the desert with his henchmen. The original sequence would have had a broad sweeping desert panorama, but this scene got shortened for time. I would also recommend the restoration of this scene should a Director's Edition DVD of the movie be produced, since Shatner had intended for it in the first place.
- Among these sequences include the opening of the movie, in which Shatner had wanted the camera to zoom out of the face of the laughing Sybok into space until the camera had a view of the galaxy. Following that, the camera would zoom in on Earth, and proceed onto a mountain, a tiny view of a person climbing the mountain, and finally zoom in on the hand, which would be revealed to be Kirk's hand as he was climbing El Capitan. This sequence somewhat resembles the opening scene in Contact, which only goes to show that such a sequence could be created.
As you may know, Paramount had first released DVDs of Star Trek movies in their original versions with no deleted scenes or other extras. It was only from 2001 onwards that Director's and Special Collector's Edition DVDs were released. It is expected that Paramount would produce such DVD of ST6 in the near future. Fortunately, the DVD of ST6 released thus far does have some deleted scenes restored into the footage, these scenes were not present in the theatrical version of the movie.
- A presentation of Operation Retrieve by Colonel West following the Federation President's meeting with the Klingon Ambassador, ending with the President refusing to attempt a rescue of Kirk and McCoy for fear that it could lead to interstellar war.
- After the Klingon assassin was killed by Scotty near the end of the movie, the assassin was revealed to be Colonel West in disguise. This scene was also cut in the theatrical version, since the above presentation scene was cut and therefore the movie did not provide any prior information on Colonel West. Both scenes have since been restored into the movie.
Again, certain scenes are known to have been lost from the movie, and I would recommend the restoration of these scenes, as well as other possible edits, in future Director's or Special Collector's Edition DVDs of ST6.
Star Trek VI.
The trailer for ST6 had a scene which shows the Federation President taking Klingon Chancellor Azetbur in hand as they approached the podium during the arrival of delegates at the Khitomer Conference. This scene was not included in the theatrical version of the movie. It should therefore be possible to incorporate this shot into the movie.
There is an inconsistency when Lt. Valeris wears a grey shoulder strap, but her collar is red. Rightfully, both the shoulder strap and collar should be of the same colour. Furthermore, red colour indicates that the person is a trainee personnel, while grey supposedly indicates the operations department (although The Star Trek Encyclopedia lists grey as science department). I recommend that Valeris' shoulder strap be digitally changed to red colour in a future DVD, since it was explicitly suggested in ST6 that Valeris was recently assigned to the Enterprise-A and could therefore be on familiarisation training on the ship.
The digital clock on the bridge behaves strangely throughout the movie, a common problem in scenes which involve an ever-present clock.. Here are several examples that I could find. I recommend that these inconsistencies be corrected by digitally altering the clock times.
- During the assassination sequence, the clock at first reads "1:18:58". At the next shot of the clock (after Gorkon is shot), it reads "1:38:52". But when Chang contacts the Enterprise-A, the clock reads "1:29:16". This is most likely an oversight, and I recommed that the third clock time be digitally altered to keep the timing consistent, which can be easily done by changing the time from "1:29:16" to "1:39:16" which involves the changing of only one digit.
- Another sequence of the clock behaving strangely occurs during the trial of Kirk and McCoy. Ths first view of the clock gives the time "11:15:04". After McCoy gave his statement, the clock read "15:41:24", this is still consistent. However, after the judge has given his judgment, the clock reads "10:45:??". Had the court been adjourned to the next morning?
- During the mind meld between Spock and Valeris, a shot of the clock reads "05:23:35". The reaction shots of Scotty a while later shows the time to be around "05:22:2?". When Enterprise-A contacts Sulu at the end of the scene, the clock reverts back to normal at "05:24:55".
- As Enterprise-A approach Khitomer, the clock reads "09:37:05". Shortly thereafter, Spock says that they will enter into transporter range in 2 minutes. The next shot of the clock (when Kirk talks to Uhura) gives "09:43:10", clearly more than 2 minutes from the previous time. Actually, this could still be consistent, if we assume that some time passed between the view of the clock, and the very next shot of Kirk. Shortly after Uhura's line, Spock says that another 57 seconds are required. Spock then countdowns to 44 seconds when he is interrupted by Chang. When Chang speaks to the Enterprise-A, the clock freezes at "09:46:20" (there was actually another shot of the clock just before this, but the time was blurred and not clear). The entire sequence above meant that the Enterprise-A still has not entered into transporter range even after the two minutes as mentioned by Spock (even if it is 2 minutes from 09:43:10). Perhaps Enterprise-A had taken an unannounced detour. As the second torpedo hits the Enterprise-A, the clock reads "09:48:17". When the viewscreen shows that the Excelsior has been hit, no time is displayed, perhaps the clock has been damaged. The very next reaction shot of Uhura gives the clock time in the background as "01:18:44", clearly this is not consistent, but we can assume that the clock was giving the wrong time due to damage.
It was established in "Flashback" (VOY) that Tuvok was present on the USS Excelsior during the events of ST6. It was Tuvok's first Starfleet career, and he was an ensign on the bridge. With CGI technology, Tuvok could be digitally inserted into scenes on the Excelsior bridge in ST6. Strictly speaking, although Tuvok was not seen on the Excelsior bridge in ST6, it does not mean that he was not there. "Flashback" (VOY) also establishes that Lt. Valtane was killed when the Excelsior fought with several Klingon battlecruisers as it attempted an unauthorised mission to rescue Kirk and McCoy. Strangely, Valtane was seen alive at the end of ST6. Some fans have speculated that the individual who resembled Valtane at the end of the movie was probably Valtane's twin brother who so happens to serve onboard the same ship. But I recommend a better solution. In the DVD for ST6, Lt. Valtane could be digitally removed from the last scene and be replaced with... Ensign Tuvok! Everything would therefore be consistent.
USS Excelsior in 2293.
Ensign Tuvok over Lt. Valtane, as a promotion for VOY.