And how can they repopulate the species with only two whales? WHALECEST = EW.

[the_deep_magic]

1) Anyone know where I can get a good icon of The Hands from the trailer?  Or good Derek/Stiles icons?

2) Just saw Julie Taymor's version of The Tempest, and it is all kinds of awesome.  I could almost even stand Russell Brand.  Almost.  And I kind of want to be Helen Mirren.  Is this possible?  Also, anyone who likes this Ben Whishaw fellow needs to see it NOW.  I'm looking at you, beederiffic.

3) I watched Star Trek II, III, and IV yesterday, and I know it all forms a single storyline, but I don't think you can properly call it a trilogy what with all the feelingsfeelingsfeelingsfeelingsHEYWHALESYOUGUYS.  It's not that I don't like The Voyage Home, but how did Nimoy even get cleared to do that?

3a) What could George and Gracie POSSIBLY have told the probe that would make it not destroy the earth?  "Hey, look, we were kept cooped up in a tiny tank for YEARS until these wackos stuck us in an even tinier tank and crash-landed us here where it turns out -- oops! -- all the rest of us are DEAD.  Yeah, just go ahead and beam us up and fry this planet.  It's in the way of the hyperspatial express route anyway."

Comments

[anivad.livejournal.com]

...I suddenly want H2G2 crossover fic of 3a.

[the-deep-magic.livejournal.com]

Can Shatner's... speech patterns... defeattheVogonpoetry?

[janice-lester.livejournal.com]

Spock persuaded George and Gracie of the illogic of permitting billions of people to die in the future just because some of them happened to be descended from the people who soon will have completely wiped out the humpback whales (argh, tenses). He presumably also mentioned the impossibility of preventing that extinction because of timey-wimey Reasons, and instead sold them on the repopulate-in-the-future-when-it's-safe plan. The whales are parents-to-be, and naturally want their calf to be born into a safer world. Furthermore, by the time they give their answer to the probe, they've just seen these puny little humans (Kirk, in particular) risk their lives to save G, G, and baby-g directly as well as the planet generally. The probe had been sent to confirm that there were still chatty humpbacks on Earth, but it wasn't very bright and didn't quiz G&G too deeply once they replied to it. Alternatively, the probe genuinely didn't know that the extra-loud version of its call was killing the planet, and all the whales had to do was say OI, STOP IT, YOU'RE BOILING OUR HOME YOU IDIOT, which they'd do even if they WERE full of anti-mankind revenge fantasies. Dying in the cause of bringing down your enemies is one thing, but sacrificing your unborn child in the process? That's something else.

I'm not sure what you think Nimoy would have needed clearance for? They didn't use real whales in the movie. Surely the anti-whaling sentiment wasn't audience-off-turningly political in the 1980s? Seems from my memories to have been the ideal time for it. And I can't recall hearing anyone ever complain about that aspect of it, though we're in different countries and I can't say I'm familiar with the USA's current or former official stance(s) re:whaling.

How well do you think these films DO form a single storyline? If you rewatch them at some point in the future, do you think you'll watch all three in order? I generally skip III, because I don't feel it fits all that well. It's okay watched in isolation, though it's my least-favourite of the TOS movies, but I don't consider it anywhere near the quality of the other two and skipping out the middle film largely avoids the continuity errors between them. Did you watch a version with deleted/extended scenes for II?

[the-deep-magic.livejournal.com]

I like your "the probe wasn't very bright" theory. ;o)

By "clearance," I was referring to the major change in content and tone from II and III. In a lot of ways, I feel like The Voyage Home is closer to TOS in those respects (though I'm still working my way through the whole series from beginning to end). Nimoy was partially responsible for the story, and it felt like they were suddenly taking the film franchise in a very different direction. (Though I haven't actually seen V or VI, which I need to do.) But there was this sudden switch from two very emotional, character-focused stories to a commentary on the topic-of-the-day, i.e. whaling. I don't think it turned the audience off, it just seemed like a very, very different type of movie. But if Search for Spock didn't do very well in theaters (I could probably look that up, but I'm lazy), then it would make sense that they'd want to try something different.

And by "single storyline," I just meant that they're consecutive -- each one picks up right where the one before it left off. Also, I bought it in a box set of II, III, and IV, and some of the commentary on the DVDS describes it as a "trilogy," so I guess I assumed that's how it's generally thought of? Anyway, I definitely don't claim to be an expert on anything TOS.