Portal:Star Trek/Selected article
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Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/1
Khan Noonien Singh is a villain in the fictional Star Trek universe. According to backstory given in the character's first appearance, the Star Trek original series episode "Space Seed", Khan is a superhuman tyrant from the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s. After being revived in 2267 by the crew of the Enterprise, Khan attempts to capture the starship, but is thwarted by James T. Kirk and exiled on Ceti Alpha V to create a new civilization with his people. The character returns in the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, set fifteen years after "Space Seed". The character was portrayed by Ricardo Montalbán in both the television episode and in the movie. Initially conceived as a brutal man of Nordic ancestry, Khan first appears as a Sikh who is both admired and opposed by the Enterprise crew. Harve Bennett, executive producer for Star Trek II, chose Khan as the villain. The character has been positively received by critics and fans; Khan was voted as one of the top ten greatest film villains of all time by the Online Film Critics Society. Khan has since been reprised in the film Star Trek Into Darkness, where he was played by Benedict Cumberbatch.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/2
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is an American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on Star Trek, a television series created by Gene Roddenberry (pictured left, with the show's cast). The series was cancelled in 1969. The success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind convinced Paramount that science fiction films other than Star Wars could do well at the box office, so the studio canceled production of the planned television series Star Trek: Phase II and turned Phase II's pilot episode into a film script. In the film, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path, and Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) assumes command of his old starship—the USS Enterprise—to save the planet and determine V'Ger's origins. Delays on set and in developing the film's optical effects caused the production cost to soar. Released in North America on December 7, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom criticized the film for its lack of action and over-reliance on special effects. The film earned $139 million worldwide, falling short of studio expectations but convincing Paramount to back a less expensive sequel.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/3
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek franchise. The plot features James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically-engineered tyrant Khan Noonian Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), a character who first appeared in the 1967 television series episode "Space Seed". The film concludes with the death of Spock (Leonard Nimoy), beginning a story arc that continues with the following two films in the franchise. Gene Roddenberry was forced out of the film's production after the poor performance of the previous film. Leonard Nimoy only reprised his role as Spock because the character's death was intended to be irrevocable. Negative test audience reaction to Spock's death led to revisions of the ending over Meyer's objections. It is the first feature film to contain a complete sequence created with computer-generated graphics. The film was released in North America on June 4, 1982. It was a box office success, earning US$97 million worldwide and setting a world record for first-day gross. Critical reaction to the film was positive; it is generally considered to be the best film of the Star Trek series.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/4
Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. The game was initially released on September 20, 2000 for Windows and Mac OS personal computers. Elite Force was later ported to the PlayStation 2 console. The game is set in the Star Trek universe, specifically relating to the fourth television series, Star Trek: Voyager. The player assumes the role of Ensign Alex Munro, a member of the Hazard Team, a new elite security section created to deal with particularly dangerous and hostile away missions. The game's plot focuses on Voyager being trapped in a starship graveyard, heavily damaged and under attack from a variety of hostile factions. Elite Force was announced after Activision secured the license to Star Trek video games in 1998. The game was one of the first to license id Tech 3, a game engine by id Software used by a number of video games during the early 2000s. Elite Force was a critical success, and is often praised as the first truly successful Star Trek video game. An expansion pack was released in May 2001, and a sequel developed by Ritual Entertainment, Star Trek: Elite Force II, was published in 2003.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/5
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature film of the Star Trek franchise and is the center of a three-film story arc. After the death of Spock (Leonard Nimoy, pictured), the crew of the USS Enterprise returns to Earth. When James T. Kirk (William Shatner) learns that Spock's spirit is held in the mind of Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk and company steal the Enterprise to return Spock's body to his home planet. The crew must also contend with hostile Klingons, led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), bent on stealing the secrets of a powerful terraforming device. Paramount commissioned the film after positive critical and commercial reaction to The Wrath of Khan. Nimoy directed, the first Star Trek cast member to do so. Harve Bennett wrote the script, and intended the destruction of the Enterprise to be a shocking development. The film grossed $76 million at the domestic box office and a total of $87 million worldwide. Critical reaction to The Search for Spock was mixed to positive. Reviewers generally praised the cast and characters, while criticism tended to focus on the plot; the special effects were conflictingly received.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/6
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based in the Star Trek franchise and completes the story arc begun two films earlier. The former crew of the USS Enterprise finds Earth in grave danger from an alien probe attempting to contact humpback whales. After directing The Search for Spock, cast member Leonard Nimoy was asked to direct, and given greater freedom regarding content. Nimoy and Harve Bennett conceived a story with an environmental message and no clear-cut villain. Dissatisfied with the first screenplay, Paramount hired The Wrath of Khan writer and director Nicholas Meyer. The Voyage Home was shot extensively on location; many real settings and buildings were used as stand-ins for scenes set around and in the city of San Francisco. Special effects firm Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) assisted in postproduction and the film's special effects. The Voyage Home premiered on November 26, 1986, becoming the top-grossing film in the weekend box office. The film's humor and unconventional story were well received and it was financially successful, earning $133 million worldwide. The film earned several awards and four Academy Award nominations for its cinematography and audio.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/7
The bat'leth is a curved ceremonial longsword with four points and handholds on the back. It was designed and created by Star Trek: The Next Generation visual effects producer, Dan Curry, for the Star Trek franchise. It is mainly used within canon by the Klingons, a race in the franchise. In-universe it was created by Kahless by shaping a length of his hair after dipping it in a volcano. Curry has called the bat'leth "one of the iconic images associated with the show". Replicas of bat'leths are widely available as collectibles; they have also been used in crimes with debates on legality differing between countries. Bat'leths were designed as martial arts style swords. They were created specifically for Michael Dorn's character of Worf in The Next Generation, however it eventually became used by a number of other characters and appeared in 29 television episodes of the franchise as well as films and video games. It has also spawned a smaller version, which became known as the "mek'leth". Bat'leths are also considered part of popular culture, appearing in television programmes outside of the Star Trek franchise, such as The Big Bang Theory. Martial arts teams have set up to use bat'leths in martial arts.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/8
Star Trek is a 2009 film directed by J. J. Abrams, and is the eleventh film in the franchise series. Featuring an all new cast portraying the roles which originated in Star Trek: The Original Series, it was not a complete reboot but instead was set in an alternative reality caused by time travel from the original universe. Producers felt that the series needed to be changed in a drastic manner following the poor performance of the previous film, Star Trek: Nemesis and the cancellation of the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. The plot was an origin story following the attack on the USS Kelvin by the Romulan Nero (Eric Bana), and followed James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) as he entered Starfleet and met with Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the other Enterprise crew-members for the first time. It also featured Original Series actor Leonard Nimoy in his first role as Spock since Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991. Star Trek was successful commercially and received positive reviews, including a 95% score on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, becoming the first Star Trek film to win when it was awarded the 2009 Academy Award for Best Makeup.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/9
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series. The plot follows the crew of the USS Enterprise-A as they confront a renegade Vulcan, Sybok, who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy. The film was directed by cast member William Shatner, following two films directed by his co-star, Leonard Nimoy. Shatner also developed the initial storyline in which Sybok searches for God, but instead finds Satan. The original script was disliked by series creator Gene Roddenberry, while Nimoy and DeForest Kelley objected to the premise that their characters, Spock and Leonard McCoy, would betray Shatner's James T. Kirk. The script went through multiple revisions to please the cast and studio, including cuts in the effects-laden climax of the film. The film's ending was reworked because of poor test audience reaction and the failure of planned special effects. The Final Frontier was released on June 9, 1989. The film received generally mixed or poor reviews by critics on release, and according to its producer nearly killed the franchise.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/10
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It was released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire core cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. After an ecological disaster leads to two longstanding enemies—the Federation and the Klingon Empire—brokering a tenuous truce, the crew of the USS Enterprise-A must prevent war from breaking out on the eve of universal peace. Denny Martin Flinn and Nicholas Meyer, the director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, wrote a script based on a suggestion from Leonard Nimoy about what would happen if "the wall came down in space", touching on the contemporary topic of the Cold War. Principal photography took place between April 1991 and September 1991. The production budget was smaller than anticipated due to the critical and commercial failure of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Due to a lack of sound stage space on the Paramount Pictures lots, many scenes were filmed around Hollywood. The film garnered positive reviews, with publications praising the lighthearted acting and tongue-in-cheek references. The film performed strongly at the box office, and earned two Academy Award nominations.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/11
Star Trek: First Contact is a 1996 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and the first film to feature only cast members from Star Trek: The Next Generation television series, to which Alice Krige, Neal McDonough, James Cromwell and Alfre Woodard were added. In the film's plot, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E travel to the 21st century after the cybernetic Borg conquered Earth by changing the timeline. Writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore wanted to feature the Borg in the plot, while Rick Berman wanted a story involving time travel. Cast member Jonathan Frakes was chosen to direct to make sure the task fell to someone who understood Star Trek. The Borg were redesigned; the new makeup sessions took four times as long as on the television series. Traditional optical effects techniques were supplemented with computer-generated imagery. The film made a worldwide total of $146 million. Critical reception was mostly positive; critics including Roger Ebert considered it one of the best Star Trek films. The Borg and the special effects were lauded, while characterization was less evenly received. First Contact was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup and won three Saturn Awards.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/12
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series that debuted in broadcast syndication on September 28, 1987. The series lasted for seven seasons until 1994, and four movies which were released between 1994 and 2002. Preliminary casting began during March 1987, and the main cast was announced on May 15. The initial press release highlighted the casting of LeVar Burton as Geordi La Forge, he was known for appearing in the miniseries Roots. The only other two members of the cast mentioned were Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and Jonathan Frakes as William Riker. The producers sought a black actor to portray Worf, as it would make the Klingon make-up easier, with Michael Dorn cast. Roddenberry's intention for the casting of the new series was to avoid using characters similar to those that appeared in The Original Series. However, some of the elements of the characters of Riker and Deanna Troi were modeled on the characters of William Decker and Ilia, who were originally conceived for the unfilmed Star Trek: Phase II. During casting, the role of Troi was originally assigned to Denise Crosby, with Marina Sirtis cast as Security Chief Macha Hernandez but Roddenberry switched the roles with Hernandez renamed to Tasha Yar.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/13
Lieutenant Natasha "Tasha" Yar is a fictional character who mainly appeared in the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Portrayed by Denise Crosby, she was Chief of Security aboard the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise-D. The character concept was originally based upon Vasquez from the 1986 film Aliens. Crosby originally auditioned for the role of Deanna Troi, while Rosalind Chao became a favourite for Tasha. After Marina Sirtis auditioned for the role of Tasha, the show's creator Gene Roddenberry decided to switch the roles for Sirtis and Crosby. The character first appeared in the pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint". After Crosby decided to leave the show, Yar was killed in "Skin of Evil", the 23rd episode of the season. She returned in the third season episode "Yesterday's Enterprise", and again in the final episode of the series "All Good Things..." in events set prior to the pilot. She was described as a forerunner to other strong women in science fiction. The manner of her first death was received with mixed reviews, one critic called it typical of the death of a Star Trek security officer while it was also included in a list of tasteless sci-fi deaths.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/14
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise spanning five live-action and one animated television series and twelve live-action motion pictures. It was created by Gene Roddenberry, who was inspired by westerns such as Wagon Train, describing Star Trek: The Original Series in early pitches as "a wagon train to the stars". That first series ran for three seasons on NBC between 1966-69, before it was cancelled. In broadcast syndication the series became popular, and so in the late 1970s, development resulted in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Following the production of more films, a second series entitled Star Trek: The Next Generation was created, followed by Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. In 2009, the franchise was reset and taken into an alternative timeline with the JJ Abrams directed Star Trek and Star Trek into Darkness (2013). The franchise has a cult following, with fans being called Trekkies or Trekkers. It has been noted for the inspirational effect on technology in the late 20th and early 21st century, and has influenced the mobile phone as well as the Tricorder X PRIZE. The show is also noted for progressing civil rights, and references to the franchise are found throughout popular culture.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/15
Ensign Harry Kim is a fictional character who mainly appeared in each of the seven seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Voyager. Portrayed by Garrett Wang, he is the Operations Officer aboard the Starfleet starship USS Voyager. There was some difficulty in casting the part prior to the start of the series in 2005, with a reported lack of young Asian actors to choose from. He is typically shown as being naive, especially in romantic situations, but gifted. The producers had considered whether or not to kill off Kim during the third season. Wang subsequently reprised the role of Harry Kim for the fan-made Star Trek: Renegades. Reviewers said that Kim represented one of the elements of multiculturalism in the crew of Voyager, which also represented a proxy family for Kim. The storylines featuring Kim frequently had the character captured by aliens, something which was described as a typical Voyager storyline by critics. Wang criticised the character development of Kim during the series. "Timeless" has been ranked as the best episode to feature Kim, and also the third best of the series, but holodeck episodes featuring Kim have also been listed by Io9 as some of the worst of their type in the franchise.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/16
Eric Bana (born 9 August 1968), is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biographical film Chopper (2000). After a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention by playing the lead role as Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee directed film Hulk (2003). He has since played Hector in the movie Troy (2004), the lead in Steven Spielberg's Munich (2005), and the Romulan villain Nero in JJ Abrams' science-fiction film Star Trek (2009). His character attempts to exact revenge on Spock, whom he blames for the destruction of his homeworld and its inhabitants. The film was a critical success and grossed over US$380 million worldwide. Bana is an accomplished dramatic actor and comedian, he received Australia's highest film and television awards for his performances in Chopper, Full Frontal and Romulus, My Father. Bana has performed across a wide spectrum of leading roles in a variety of low-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers. He has also been involved in charity work, in a variety of campaigns across the youth and medical sectors.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/17
Star Trek: Insurrection is a 1998 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the ninth film in the Star Trek film franchise and the second film to exclusively feature the cast of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series. The crew of the USS Enterprise-E rebel against Starfleet after they discover a conspiracy with a species known as the Son'a to steal the peaceful Ba'ku's planet for its rejuvenating properties. Michael Piller was asked to write the script, and the story's first drafts featured the Romulans, with the Son'a and Ba'ku introduced later. The space-based special effects were completely computer generated, a first for a Star Trek film. The Ba'ku village was fully built on location at Lake Sherwood, California. Sets from the Star Trek television series were re-used and re-dressed. Insurrection was the highest-grossing film on its opening weekend, making US$22.4 million. The film made over $70.1 million in the United States and an additional $42.4 million in other territories, for a theatrical run of about $112.5 million worldwide. Critical responses to the film were mixed; the performance of Patrick Stewart and the directing of Jonathan Frakes were praised, and other critics referred to it as an extended television episode.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/18
Nighthawk, is a flying roller coaster in California's Great America which originally opened as Stealth on April 1, 2000. It was subsequently decided to re-locate the roller coaster, and it was moved to Carowinds in South Carolina where it replaced the Carolina Sternwheeler Riverboat. It reopened on March 20, 2004 as the Borg Assimilator having been repainted grey and green - the first coaster in the world to be themed for the Star Trek franchise. The intention was to allow the riders to have an unobstructed view of the surrounding theme park. The track is 2,760 feet (840 m) in length and the height of the lift is approximately 115 feet (35 m). The coaster takes 48 passengers at a time, with each of the two trains carrying 24 passengers across six cars each. The coaster includes five inversions, including a double corkscrew and a vertical loop. An incident occurred in 2007 when seven employees received minor injuries during a pre-season run. After Cedar Fair purchased the park, the Paramount theming was removed, with the coaster renamed to Nighthawk and repainted prior to the 2008 season. The coaster is one of only three Flying Dutchman models in existence which were built by Vekoma.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/19
Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, also known as Star Trek: Planet of Titans, was an unproduced film based on Star Trek which reached the script and design phases of production. Following the success of Star Trek: The Original Series in broadcast syndication during the early 1970s, Paramount Studios made several attempts to produce a feature film based upon the series. In 1976 pre-production began again on the film by British writers Chris Bryant and Allan Scott. There were difficulties in ensuring that both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were signed to the film as Shatner's deal with Paramount had expired and Nimoy was concerned with unauthorised merchandising. Philip Kaufman was signed up to direct. The plot would have seen the crew investigating the homeworld of the mythical Titans, and travelling through a black hole to teach early man how to make fire. After their script was rejected, Bryant and Scott quit, and Kaufman attempted a re-write that would have seen Toshiro Mifune cast as Spock's Klingon nemesis. This too was rejected, and believing that as a result of the box-office success of Star Wars, science fiction fans would not pay to see two films, Paramount instead planned to take Star Trek back to television with Star Trek: Phase II.
Portal:Star Trek/Selected article/20
Spock Must Die! is a novel based on the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series. It was published in 1970 by Bantam Books, and was the first original novel for adults based on the series. The plot of the novel saw the creation of a tachyon copy of Spock to investigate the destruction of the Organians, allowing the outbreak of war to occur between the Klingons and the Federation. The duplicate and original are subsequently mixed up, with the new Spock acting as an agent for the Klingons. With the war going badly for Starfleet, the Enterprise travels to Organia to find out the truth. The novel was written by James Blish, who wanted to kill off the popular Spock character to surprise readers. It was the only original novel for adults based on the franchise until 1976's Spock, Messiah!, and was reprinted numerous times with different covers and included in 1978's The Star Trek Reader IV. Critics reviewing the Spock Must Die! shortly after release praised the book as a good example of character duplication in science fiction, but later reviews were mixed with criticism directed at the views held by some of the characters in the novel and had mixed opinions.
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