Wise, Part 1: Trek.

In 1979, ten years after the cancellation of the original series, Star Trek made the jump to the big screen. In an effort to pull out all the stops, Paramount hired Oscar-winning director Robert Wise to helm Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The rest is history.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Max and Mike are joined by Larry Nemecek to look at Wise's work on the film. We discuss Wise's place in film history, the atmosphere of fan culture leading up to the picture's release, and whether or not Wise was the right choice to direct the first Star Trek movie.

Hosts

Max Hegel and Mike Schindler

Editor and Producer

Mike Schindler

Associate Producer

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Chapters

Robert Wise (1:55)

TMP Fan Culture (8:20)

Fan Reaction to TMP (29:06)

Was Wise the Right Choice? (40:37)

Final Thoughts (1:00:44)

Wrap-up (1:11:26)

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Meyer III: Houdini.

Throughout his career, Nicholas Meyer has shown a fascination for the psychology behind larger-than-life historical figures. His new television mini-series, Houdini, is no exception.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Max and Mike take a look at the show, which was scripted by Meyer and stars Adrian Brody as the title character. We discuss the surprisingly high-end production value, the unusual formal qualities, and the Arthur Conan Doyle subplot. We also touch on the involvement of two Star Trek movie directors' fathers.

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Chapters

Houdini (1:11)

The Style (09:00)

Doyle (25:20)

Wrap-Up (38:49)

Lindelof, Part 6: World War Z.

Despite its enormous popularity, Damon Lindelof's television series, Lost, is often criticized for its ending. But that did not stop Marc Forster and his team from hiring Lindelof to rewrite the third act of the troubled Brad Pitt vehicle, World War Z. The movie went on to huge box office success, and much of the credit went to Lindelof and his co-writer, Drew Goddard.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max are joined by John Mills of Words with Nerds to look at Lindelof's most recent cinematic endeavor. We discuss the similarities between the movie and the novel upon which it was based, the structural issues associated with the film, and how Lindelof and Goddard wrote the best ending possible for the movie. We also marvel at the cast of the audiobook.

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Chapters

World War Z (1:45)

Thoughts on the Film (12:44)

The Ending (25:34)

Final Thoughts (37:56)

Wrap-Up (44:32)

Lindelof, Part 5: Star Trek Into Darkness.

Last year Max and Mike looked at the films that Damon Lindelof had written up to that point. Since then, Lindelof has written two more films. The first of these was Star Trek Into Darkness.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, we return to Lindelof's body of work to examine his work as a Star Trek writer. We discuss the concept of "spectacle creep" and how it applies to Into Darkness, the similarities and differences between Into Darkness and Wrath of Khan, and the challenges of telling a small story on a big scale. We also remember the work of Next Generation director Robert Wiemer.

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Chapters

The Parsec Awards (1:17)

Into Darkness (5:13)

Spock vs. Khan (15:57)

Kirk's Sacrifice (27:01)

Final Thoughts (32:29)

Robert Wiemer (39:31)

Wrap-Up (41:46)