Nine out of ten ain’tt bad; I’m quite prouud of myself, in fact. This weekend, I took the oppertunity to watch as many star trek films as I could. As a student off film, and as a Trekker, I felt it my duty. Thanks to FilmFour having a second channel, FilmFour + 1, I was also able to go to the pub for dinner, too, and only miss Generations. Mind you, I regret missing that, as Generations bridges the gap between the originnal six films and the films of the next generation. Alas for my human need for food and fresh air.

I think, however, that what I did this weekend was entirely necessary, as it allowed me to see the ten films as one body of work. Fortunately Iknow generations well enough to ‘fill in the gaps’. Rather than ten separate movies, there are links between them, not only in terms of plot – ie the plot of one leads into the other, such as The Search for Spok leading directly on from The Wrath of Kahn – but thematic links. For example, the symbol of the Whale reoccurs three or four times, not only in and of itself, as in the voyage home, but as a symbol. Kahn quotes Moby-dick extensively, as does Picard. Thus the theme of vengence figures highly: Kahh’s vengence on Kirk, Kirk’s will to avenge his son’s death on the Klingons, Picard’s lust for vengence with the Borg, the Baku’s need to get back at the Son’a, and Shinzon’s lust for vengence on picard and/or the romulans. Thus vengence and the folly of it, it could be argued, is one of the core themes of the series.

Moreover, there are also common reference points that run throughout the films: Romulan ale and it’s supposed illegality and toxicity frequently crops up, as do the subjects of time and age. There is thus a case to be made that these films should be viewed as a series, but not in relation to the Star Trek TV series. They stand apart from television, as principally filmic texts. They are highly cinematic, after all.

They deserve proper filmic analysis. In my research, I focus on the eigth film, First Contact, but perhaps more work needs to be done in examining these ten texts in relation to eachother. This is only a summery, written for my blog, but now I want to do a much dseeper analyysis. My mind is abuzz with questions; I’ve fallen in love with these films all over again, although The Journey home, which I used to love, now strikes me as preachy. Nevertheless, I gained an affinity for Kirk, and now see his death in Generations was meaningless, if poignant: Perhaps now that the eleventh film has reset things, shatner can step back into the role once more and redress that. The possibilities in the star trek universe are endless.

Spending all those hours on the sofa was well worth it. It was like rediscovering something. Most of all, as Kirk said, ‘it was fun’.