A Look Back: Star Trek V – The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) is widely considered the worst of the six The Original Series (1966 – 1969) movies. A Vulcan visionary, Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), engineers a hostage situation on the planet of galactic peace, Nimbus III – a planet that hosts ambassadors from the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Empire. The Enterprise 1701-A, under the command of James T. Kirk (William Shatner), is sent to neutralise the situation and rescue the hostages. While Kirk’s mission initially seems successful, the hostages turn on Kirk and his crew. They have become fanatical supporters of Sybok, who has the power to explore a person’s pain, and free…
Star Trekking: Part 3 of 3
Writing prequels can’t be easy. You have to fit into established canon where people know the outcome(s), yet introduce something new, and keep the storytelling compelling. One of my favourite prequels is Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, which takes place right before the events of Spartacus: Blood and Sand (aka season 1). In Blood and Sand, lanistas’ Batiatus (John Hannah) and Solonius (Craig Walsh-Wrightson) are mortal enemies. In Gods of the Arena, the opening scene is of Batiatus and Solonius together as close friends at gladiatorial games. What? Immediately, we have questions. How did these two fall out? Even if we’re not aware of the existing canon, we meet two…