retro review: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

“I’d be grateful, admiral, if you’d give the word.”

With that line, even if it’s enigmatic out of context, Scotty is voicing the major theme of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

The context: Spock has died at the end of the previous film, but due to a unique combination of groundbreaking technology— the Genesis Effect that has revived Spock’s body — and Vulcan mysticism— his soul is more or less possessing the body of Dr. McCoy — Spock’s friends and crewmates just might be able to bring him back.

It won’t be easy. Starfleet Command has officially ordered the Enterprise crew to stay away from the Genesis Planet where Spock is awaiting rescue. The gang knows that in order to rescue Spock, they will have to commit several serious crimes in the process. They will, however briefly, be outlaws. They are risking their careers, their freedom, and their very lives.

At one point fairly early into the adventure, Admiral Kirk informs his crewmates that they haven't yet passed the point of no return, and it's not too late for them to turn back.

That's when Scotty delivers that line. Kirk is right that no one would blame them for backing out at that moment, but for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, who hold their duty to Starfleet Command as something almost sacred, some things surpass even duty. Courage. Friendship. Loyalty.

They don’t think twice before accepting the challenge.

There is a theme running throughout The Search for Spock, a theme that elevates it beyond mere space opera, both by its mere presence, and also by the film's refusal to get preachy on the subject -- and that theme is family. On the one hand, there are the more traditional familial bonds that play pivotal roles in the plot: The search for Spock is set into motion by a demand from Spock's father, Sarek, and Kirk's dramatic, shocking act of vengeance on the Klingons is motivated partially by their murder of his son, David Marcus. But the true family at the heart of the film is the crew of the Enterprise itself. It's unclear at what point in their adventures the crew became a family, but by now, it's undeniably happened. Yes, the crew must face many challenges in their quest to reunite Spock's body and mind. Starfleet has ordered them to stay away. The fastest ship in the galaxy has been assigned to hunt them down. The Klingons are attacking. The planet is decaying from under their feet. But the idea that any of this should give them pause never occurs to anyone. Sarek eventually learns that even if he is Spock's father by blood, Spock has, over the decades, built up his own family as well.

It's become an odd tradition for Trekkies to tell each other that the even-numbered movies are good, the odd-numbered ones not so much. The Search for Spock is the best argument against that silly rule. This is an action-packed, witty story, told with both style and substance. It does the seemingly impossible: reversing the dramatic death of a major character without cheapening or lessening the death's original impact. Sure, comic books, science fiction stories, and even soap operas reverse death all the time, but the inevitable effect is always a cheapening of the idea of death itself. Not so here.

I love this movie. It's hard to find flaw in it. It was made back when Star Trek movies paid more attention to story than to mindless action. Abrams and Kurtzman could learn a thing or two from watching it again.

Embracing the Winds: "Star Trek" Takes a Look at Gender Bias

Note 1: This is the first in a 3-part series examining various aspects of "Star Trek." Past blog entries have also addressed Star Trek, but this is the first time in which back-to-back entries will be intentionally devoted to the franchise.

Note 2: This blog entry contains spoilers for the Star Trek Continues episode "Embracing the Winds." I consider them minor spoilers, but if you'd like to watch the episode first, the link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMasSzFXaKQ

Recently, I've been re-watching Star Trek Continues, Vic Mignogna's highly entertaining web series which chronicles further adventures of the original Star Trek characters. In my opinion, every episode is a winner.

Just like the original series, some episodes of Star Trek Continues deals with social issues, treating its science fiction setting as an allegory for our current era. The most explicitly "this is a social issue!" episode is "Embracing the Winds," in which Captain Kirk is appointed to a tribunal of Starfleet officers to determine who is best suited for a new vacancy in the captainship: his own friend and first officer, Commander Spock, or guest character Commander Diana Garrett. The twist: Com. Garrett has formally accused Starfleet of gender bias, and declares that the only reason she hasn't been appointed as captain of the U.S.S. Hood is because she's a woman.

Such an accusation would warrant serious discussion even in today's actual society. But in Star Trek's 23rd Century Federation, which has been explicitly described as an enlightened and even utopian society, Garrett's accusation isn't just remarkable, it's astounding. Does Garrett have a valid point? Or is she just paranoid when it comes to how she is perceived in the context of her gender?

In this particular case, the answer to both questions turns out to be "yes." An "only on paper" examination of Garrett's record indicates that she is a strong candidate for a captaincy, and seems to indicate there is some validity in her claim that she's been unfairly overlooked for promotion. And the fact that, in its long history, Starfleet has never appointed a woman as captain of a Constitution-class starship, certainly lends credence to Garrett's claim of gender bias.

But when first Kirk and then the tribunal interview Garrett, she comes across as defensive, borderline insubordinate (Starfleet is, after all, the military, even if it has an exploratory/ scientific component), and incapable of admitting, either to herself or anyone else, any fault in her actions or character. Both Kirk and the head of the tribunal, Commodore Gray, point out that that last flaw alone should make her ineligible for the captaincy.

One could argue that Garrett's actual unworthiness to captain a starship too cleverly side-steps the issue at hand: The writers have safely given themselves a reason why Garrett shouldn't be a starship captain, so they can deny her the promotion, say it was fair, and not bother to provide any answers to the questions of gender bias that they themselves have raised.

But the lack of answers is sort of the point. It would be far too pat to raise these issues and then provide straight-forward solutions. "Nope! No gender bias here, it turns out!" Or "yeah, there was gender bias, but don't worry, we've solved the problem within the 40 minutes of the episode, you're welcome!" Instead, even despite Garrett's own ineligibility to captain a starship, her accusations leave Gray and Kirk shaken to their core. They've both been blind to even the possibility of gender bias. Gray, a woman who has risen high within the ranks of Starfleet, openly wonders if her career path has been hindered by a gender bias so ingrained into the culture of the Federation that she may have not even noticed.

In contrast to Gray, ships counselor Doctor McKennah is more aware of gender bias. Her subtle, un-bitter acknowledgement of this aspect of society is both insightful and sad, and speaks volumes about how women have to deal with gender bias as a fact of life. Note how I said "deal with," not "accept."

The episode's treatment of the central issue is not without its flaws. The third member of the tribunal, Vice Admiral Stomm from the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps, turns out to harbor a racial prejudice toward Spock due to Spock's mixed racial heritage, and the conversation between Dr. McKennah and Spock explicitly compares the two different forms of prejudice -- but so little screen-time is devoted to this parallel that one almost wonders why the writers bothered to bring it up.

More problematic is the overly convenient "blame the others for our own social problems" attitude the script presents. Garrett's most compelling argument that gender bias exists is that no woman has yet served as captain of a Constitution-class starship. Gray freely admits this, but blames it on the sexist attitudes of the Tellarites, one of the four most powerful members of the United Federation of Planets. Without outright admitting that Starfleet is gender biased, Gray comes right out and argues that even if they are prejudiced, it's not their fault, it's the fault of those silly Tellarites, whom Starfleet must appease due to political reality. Uncomfortably, both in terms of realistic characterization / dialogue, and also in terms of dealing with the central issue, even the Tellarite ambassador admits that his people's views are hopelessly outdated. The attitude of "yes, we have a serious social problem, but it's their fault, not ours!" is too convenient and self-forgiving for an otherwise sensitive and intelligent examination of a serious issue.

Still, some of the seeming drawbacks to how the script deals with the issue are in fact strengths. Skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid this review's one major spoiler, but when it comes down to Captain Kirk having to choose who gets the promotion, and he's interrupted before he is able to give his answer, the script neatly avoids both who would have received the promotion, and whether Kirk's answer would have acknowledged or condoned the issues of gender and racial prejudice that have been raised. But the timing of that interruption is so blatant that it's not like the writers are trying to hide their avoidance of providing answers. Indeed, as earlier observed, this "there are no clear answers on how to solve this issue" attitude is much of the point of the episode. Garrett had proven herself unworthy of the promotion. Had Kirk, under pressure to condemn gender bias, cast his deciding vote in favor of Garrett despite his legitimate reservations, she would have become a token symbol of Kirk's disapproval of bias. Garrett's fight for gender equality would only be rightly served if a qualified female candidate be appointed to the position. Don't skip a woman for promotion just because she's a woman -- but don't promote her just because she's a woman, either, if your only motivation is to prove your own liberal attitude.

When Spock asks Kirk who he would have voted for if he'd had a chance to announce his decision, Kirk avoids the question with a joke, so deftly that even Spock doesn't notice. "There are no easy answers," the writers are once again saying. Do you agree?