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There have been nine Star Trek films to date, beginning with Star Trek: THE MOTION PICTURE released in 1979. This first Star Trek film reunited all of the original cast after some ten years apa Star Trek: The Animated Series
Late in 1972, NBC was anxious to capitalise on the rapidly growing interest in Star Trek. Thus, the animated series, (sometimes known as the forgotten Star Trek) closely linked to the Original Series, debuted on NBC, Saturday. April 8, 1973. Being animated, the series could boldly go where the original series could not: It was able to show more exotic planetscapes, spaceships, and aliens than was possible with the live action series. Roddenberry was given control, and most of the originals cast were recruited to provide their characters' voices. When Nimoy discovered that George Takei (Mr. Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura) were left out of the crew he refused to participate unless they were reinstated, pointing out that the ethnic mix of Star Trek should never be compromised, so they were duly brought in. It broke much new ground, and all of the 22 episodes of the animated series were highly praised by the critics for its "imaginative skill and literary flair". Despite that, it was cancelled after two seasons, the last episode to be produced on October 12th 1974, ironically winning an Emmy award long after the last episode had been televised, and left a lasting impression on the Star Trek universe.
rt. Despite its lack of critical success, it had fans queuing round the block, not only in the United states but throughout the world.
The second film, Star Trek II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, focused more on the camaraderie of the U.S.S. Enterprise crew, which had made the original series so well-loved and which many felt had been wrongly sacrificed in the first movie. It also faced up to it's characters ageing; this is set, after all, some time after that first five-year mission. We learn that Captain Kirk has a son, which precipitates something of a mid-life crisis, before Spock makes the ultimate sacrifice as the crew saves the universe from Khan (played by Ricardo Montalban).
Star Trek III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK was released in 1984, two years after Star Trek II. The previous film had left the ending ambiguous, allowing for a sequel in which Spock returns from the dead. Leonard Nimoy was enticed back to direct this movie, as well as its 1986 follow-up, Star Trek IV: THE VOYAGE HOME.
In this later film the plot device, though preposterous (the crew have gone back to 20th-century California to rescue two humpback whales) results in an extremely entertaining movie, giving the cast ample opportunity to poke fun at themselves and at contemporary fads and attitudes. Ecological problems, which have dominated the last quarter of this century, are often examined in Star Trek episodes but Star Trek IV is the only film devoted to such issues.
Star Trek V: THE FINAL FRONTIER, released in 1989, was directed by William Shatner. The Plot, creaky and overreaching, involved a quest by Spock's half-brother to find God. Although the cast and crew enjoyed working together and admired Shatner's directorial ability, Star Trek V was panned by the critics and failed at the box office.
The sixth Star Trek movie, was Star Trek VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY His Klingon villain, played by Christopher Plummer, spouts Shakespeare (sometimes in Klingon); Even the title is a quotation from Hamlet: the "undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns" is death itself. The film was a huge success with both critics and fans. There is also a poignancy in the playing; the actors and the audience are both aware that this is a sort of goodbye for the original U.S.S. Enterprise crew.
In the seventh film, Paramount introduced the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation to the silver screen. The torch is officially passed from Captain Kirk to Captain Picard, and Kirk dies after helping Picard defeat the evil Soran (Malcom McDowell). Although the studio had tried to keep Kirk's imminent demise a secret, copies of the script were changing hands for exorbitant prices.
Since Star Trek: FIRST CONTACT, Captain Kirk's crew has finally left the service. The eight movie deals with the final battle against the Next Generation's worst enemy, half-cyborg beings called BORG.
The most recent and already ninth film Star Trek: INSURRECTION sends the Enterprise on a mission to stop their rampaging android officer, Lieutenant Data. When the crew manages to capture him, they have to learn that they were misused in a vendetta between two parties of the same people.
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