"Second star to the right"¦ and straight on til morning."
"” Captain James T. Kirk

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – Special Collectors Edition

It's generally accepted that the second movie in the Star Trek saga, The Wrath of Kahn, was hands down the best of the lot. An overwhelming amount of die hard Trekkies agree, so who is going to argue with them? Well, I guess I'm about to.

After re-watching these movies as they've been released on special edition DVD, I've really come to think that the sixth and final original series cast movie, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, actually manages to edge out Kahn slightly.

The Undiscovered Country offers a little bit of everything from the Star Trek Universe that made the original series so great. In addition, it adds some of the newer aspects that made The Next Generation the enormous hit that it was and most importantly, it somehow manages to be a great movie completely on its own, independent of its Star Trek roots.

All of the characters, including the often over looked supporting cast, are given ample screen time and involvement in the story. It was so gratifying to see the final solution to the impossible battle come from Nichelle Nichols', Uhura; as she finally manages to contribute more than, "Hailing Frequencies Open Sir." Not to mention the fact that everyone's favorite helmsman, Mr. Sulu, (George Takei)finally gets to take off the chauffer cap that Kirk had him wearing for 27 years and become his own master as Captain Sulu of the U.S.S. Excelsior. Jimmy Doohan (Scotty) was back to having mini nervous breakdowns over what couldn't be done in the time allotted and Chekov (Walter Koenig) was happy to throw in at least one reference to Russian history.

Our top three stars, Bill Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley have some great moments together that show the audience that the passage of time has done nothing to damage or hinder their on-screen chemistry and camaraderie. Bones finally gets to flat out ask Kirk why he has to make out with every woman he sees, Kirk and Spock reflect on their lives, relationship and aging and of course McCoy gets in one final dig at Spock on the bridge during their final scene together. (That's just a perfect moment by the way.)

The writers and directors also made sure to have some great guest appearances for the fans including probably the most beloved recurring guest star, the late Mark Lenard as Spock's father, Sarek. Also returning from the fourth film, The Voyage Home, were the Klingon Ambassador played by John Schuck and Admiral Cartwright wonderfully played by Brock Peters. Popping up over on the Excelsior we're

visited by Grace Lee Whitney, as former Yeoman now turned Commander, Janice Rand and a nicely placed cameo appearance by long time Star Trek fan, Christian Slater.

The film also manages to introduce new characters into the fold, without overpowering the existing ones. Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall is introduced as Spock's protégé, Valeris, Michael Dorn from The Next Generation, shows up playing his characters own grandfather, Colonel Worf and Christopher Plummer turns in an outstanding performance as the Shakespeare loving (and ever quoting) Klingon, General Chang.

Keeping in mind that some of Star Trek's most powerful and most successful storylines have basically mirrored and commented on current political events, it's not at all surprising that the events in this film seem so obviously reminiscent of the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union. Tackling the ideas of prejudice, war and the very human capacity to forgive, The Undiscovered Country truly takes our heroes and the viewer into some uncharted territory.

With a spirit that can only be described as genuine and true to what Star Trek was and is all about, The Undiscovered Country is without a doubt the most perfect send off to a legendary group of actors and characters that have been with us for nearly thirty years and that will continue to entertain and inspire millions for countless years to come.

(Just try to forget the fact that they eventually kill of Captain Kirk and break up the crew in the next movie. I always try to. In a perfect world, it would have ended with that final cruise as they ride off into the triumphant sunset together.)

The DVD offers some really great special features that might even interest more than just Star Trek fans. There are six featurettes including; a look into the actual history that inspired the story, conversations with the director, explaining the creation of the Klingon language and several others. There is some promotional material for the movie including 2 trailers (the theatrical trailer is one of the best that I've ever seen for a Star Trek movie, it still gives me goose-bumps) and a special sneak peek shown at a convention in 1991. There's also some storyboard artwork, production gallery and a look into the props department at Paramount Pictures.

My favorite parts of the extras are the original cast interviews that are included. It serves as a nice send off to the cast, giving them all the opportunity to talk about how they feel about the end of their involvement with this amazing phenomenon. Also, there is a touching and well produced tribute to the late, great DeForest Kelley.

Now that I have praised this movie and this DVD to the fullest extent, let me tell you what I didn't like about it. There are small errors that only a true Star Trek fan

would pick up on. Feel free to call it nitpicking, but to me when these small errors are made, it shows that the individuals working on these projects don't know anything about Star Trek and that honestly ticks me off. It doesn't matter that it's not a big deal to the studio; the people who are buying these DVD's will notice these errors and won't be happy about them. For example, the graphic used on the second disc of this two disc set is of a starship that doesn't show up until the next movie. Also, the back jacket of the DVD refers to "Admiral" Kirk. (I'm sorry but it's a huge point that he's back to being a Captain by this film.) OK, go ahead laugh, make fun but these small mistakes were the only thing that I didn't like about this DVD and the only reason it's not a complete A grade.

Movie Grade: A

DVD Grade: A-

Overall Grade: A-