Summer of 1982 V: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

I know this is pretty overdue but last week was crazy and the Maggi Republic is finally getting some stuff settled. Nothing terrible, just time consuming.

During the opening ceremonies for the first screening, MC Zack let everybody know that Alamo is still trying to get Blade Runner‘s “owners” to capitulate, so Star Trek II may become the real half-way point to the fest. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed.

Now to the greatest movie I ever saw in the Summer of 1982 and what is the best Star Trek-based film made, First Contact comes in second.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a very important movie a few reasons:

• Star Trek: The Motion(less) Picture was lame, Khan rescued the franchise. Without it, Star Trek‘s return to TV and additional movies would’ve never happened (or been delayed given Hollywood’s current rebooting trend). Today, Star Trek is ubiquitous in Western culture. Thirty years ago it resided on the periphery through kids and nerds.
• It gave William Shatner’s career a major boost. He used his newfound popularity to star on TV as TJ Hooker throughout the Eighties before becoming the caricature he is known as today.
• Ricardo Montalban got to stretch his acting chops after being typecast as Mr. Roarke and hawking Corinthian leather for Chrysler.
• Khan is frequently used as the standard to judge other sequels by. Even non-Sci Fi movies reference it.
• Personally, I feel Star Trek took back the Sci-Fi crown Star Wars had been wearing since 1977. The Return of the Jedi proved there was an abdication.

Alamo Ritz pulled out the stops to get the crowd riled up. There was some grumbling over the seating arrangements: reserved, badgeholders and employees’ buddies got in first. I was satisfied with being near the back where few cared. This allowed Somara and me to save a two seats for our friends unlike the dicks who save a half dozen. The pre-pre-show consisted of Shatner on the Tonight Show with Joan Rivers as host, more commercials circa 1980-2, Billy Idol’s “Hot in the City,” the Scorpion’s “No One Like You” and Pat Benatar’s “Shadows of the Night;” I spotted Bill Paxton and Judge Reinhold as extras, they weren’t famous enough to do cameos.

The pre-show got under way on time with Khan‘s co-sponsor from Badass Digest (another gossip site). He was nice but didn’t bring any new insight I didn’t already know from watching the DVD’s additional features. What he did demonstrate was his dedication by having a tattoo of the Enterprise‘s badge/insignia put on his arm, live, on the Alamo stage.

The design may be relatively simple yet it took a while. To pass the time, Alamo had a local theater troop act out a humorous synopsis of “Space Seed,” the original Star Trek episode Khan and Kirk crossed paths. I honestly enjoyed this. Normally fan films, etc., are the equivalent to hearing nails being dragged across a chalk board for me. (I better thicken my skin in October with the upcoming Next Generation reunion!)

MOVIE MISSING AFTER THE YEARS

Yes, I also joined in the group shouting of Khan’s name.

With the festivities concluded, Alamo got on with the movie. There was the plug for Beyond the Black Rainbow and the next installment in 1982 ET. The mood-setting trailers were Battle Beyond the Stars, Roger Corman’s attempt to cash in on the Star Wars trend, and The Ice Pirates. I think Alamo should do something with the latter at a Zzang Eighties event; it was a staple on cable for years.

How is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 30 years later? Since I watch this on DVD every couple of years, the question should be reframed to: How is Khan on the big screen 30 years later? As excellent as it was when I was 13. I saw it twice! CRT-based televisions do rob the immensity of the film’s special effects, namely the battle in the nebula, yet I think Khan‘s reputation was solidified through the story, acting and willingness to take a risk with Spock’s death; it’s not a spoiler when it’s public knowledge. Going to this screening, my brain’s analytical section was ratcheted up greater than a casual viewing at home. I loved how the dialogue pops, nothing is wasted, drawn out with excessive exposition or smothered in the technobabble the successive TV shows leaned on to the point of annoyance. I can’t emphasize this point enough, Khan is the perfect film. One could watch all 79 episodes of Star Trek, ignore Star Trek I, jump to Khan and not miss a beat in the ongoing story. James Bond is the other series you can do the same thing with.

Ratings:

1982 (13-year-old me): A+ It was Star Trek done correctly unlike the 1979 flick. Khan was the true Sci-Fi rival to Star Wars many others aspired to be and fell short of the mark: Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica (1978), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979) and The Black Hole.

2012: A+. Khan is the venerable franchise’s The Empire Strikes Back. With how much Star Wars blows, I would say the two movies have traded places. It will always hold up like the Sixties TV show despite advances in special effects, our understanding of the universe and Viacom’s aggressive merchandising.

Khan’s life lessons as per other 1982 features:

1. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one
2. Even obsession can blind and destroy the smartest person in the world, hence the allusion to Moby Dick
3. You’re only as old as you allow yourself to feel