Over the last year, Paramount has been re-releasing all of the “Star Trek” films in special edition, 2-disc sets. For Trek fans each release has been a veritable treasure chest of special features, documentaries and trivia. And though the series has suffered from the ‘odd numbered films bad’ and ‘even numbered ones good’ theory, having all of them in a set offers viewers hours of entertainment as well as simply looking good on the shelf. (However, it will be a sad day when I replace the set of VHS tapes that, when put side by side, show the image of the Enterprise. If only they had done the same thing with the DVD packaging.) This month, we finally reach what has long been considered the worst of the series, “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.” Now, I would like to take a moment to defend the film, but only a little. The premise itself, which had the intrepid (why are they always intrepid?) crew of the Enterprise kidnapped by Spock’s half brother Sybock in order to seek out God, was actually not bad as far as plots go.

The special effects were still really good, and even the narrative flow moved along pretty smoothly. It was a popcorn adventure… it was Trek, and I still enjoy watching… most of it.

Where the film started to lose me was in how the crew was represented. Here we have some of the best the Federation has to offer, I mean these people have been through thick and thin together and have more experience than most. But every move they make in “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” is nothing less than a bonehead play. The way they were ‘kidnapped’ by Sybock is ridiculous, Uhura doing a fan dance to distract the bad guys is horribly demeaning, and on and on it went.

Many Trek fans wanted to put blame on director William Shatner, but that’s not where I point the finger. Well it is, but for a different reason. I thought his direction was fine. It’s difficult to direct a motion picture (duh!), and for his first time out of the gate he did well. BUT… he also had a writing credit on the screenplay, and that being where the film’s weaknesses lie, I do have to blame him a bit.

Now, in some interviews Shatner defended himself and tried to lay blame on the studio executives. He claimed that his ideas were much broader in scope, but his budget kept getting cut back, and changes were made to the script by executive decision. Even with the release of this DVD, there are rumors that Shatner wanted the opportunity to re-edit the film and make a Director’s Cut, much in the way that Robert Wise did with “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” Supposedly, he was turned down and the movie was to be released as is. This may or may not be true and unfortunately very little of this is touched upon in any of the DVD’s special features. I’m actually thinking of picking Liz Shatner’s book on the making of the film to get the full story, or at least Shatner’s side of it.

Problematic movie aside, this new DVD release of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” is much like the previous films’ releases and is a 2-disc set full of features sure to satiate the appetite of Trek fans everywhere.

I was really looking forward to the commentary by Shatner and his daughter Liz (after all she wrote the book…), but I have to admit it was less than I expected. There were a lot of long pauses and nothing was said about the trials and tribulations of making the film. Shatner (William, not Liz) wasn’t even as funny as he usually is and I think that might be in part due to his not being able to re-cut the film. He just didn’t sound like his heart was in it and for the most part the two just commented on what was happening on screen at the time.

The onscreen Trivia Track was pretty cool though. I’ve been seeing it a lot recently on different DVD releases and I really like this feature.

Once we get to the 2nd disc, that’s where the fun begins (at least for the hardcore Trek fan). There are multiple featurettes that focus on various aspects of the production, several hours worth in fact. But again, you hardly hear or see anything about the problems that occurred off screen. And to be honest, that’s really what I want to hear about.

In spite of the movie’s flaws, I know that Trek fans the world over will still flock to add it to their collections, and there’s no reason not to. It’s still fun to watch, even if it is only so you can have a Trek get-together on a Saturday night to nitpick the film to death in your parent’s basement, when you should, in fact, be going out on a date.

(Ohh, I can see it now… a photon torpedo is going blow my house to smithereens for perpetuating the stereotype!)

Directed by: William Shatner
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Laurence Luckinbill, David Warner
Extras:
Disc 1- Commentary by actor/director William Shatner and his daughter, Liz Shatner, author of the book Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of the Making of 'Star Trek V - The Final Frontier.' Text Commentary by Michael & Denise Okuda, Co-authors of The Star Trek Encyclopedia
Disc 2 - Herman Zimmerman: A Tribute; Original Interview: William Shatner; Cosmic Thoughts; That Klingon Couple; A Green Future?, Harve Bennett's Pitch to the Sales Team; The Journey: A Behind-The-Scenes Documentary; Makeup Tests; Pre-Visualization Models; Rock Man in the Raw; Star Trek V Press Conference, Theatrical Trailers, TV Spots, Production Gallery
Specifications: Widescreen Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, English Dolby Surround, French Stereo
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 10/14/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating:
Website

We'll give Star Trek V a C+.