Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countryis a rousing sendoff forStar Trek: The Original Series' cast, but Walter Koenig is also absolutely right to criticizehowStar Trek VIportrayed the USS Enterprise’s supporting cast. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, written by Meyer and Denny Martin Flynn, from a story by Leonard Nimoy, Mark Rosenthal, and Lawrence Konner,Star Trek VIsaw the Klingons sue for peace with the United Federation of Planets after an ecological disaster. Only Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise could uncover a conspiracy to prevent peace with the Klingons.
Star Trek VImarked the last time the entirecast ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesperformed together. Although William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, James Doohan’s Scotty, and Walter Koenig’s Pavel Chekov returned inStar Trek Generations, the latter two were only present in the film’s prologue. ForStar Trek’s original cast,Star Trek VIwas their last hurrah as the Starship Enterprise saved the future of the galaxy one more time. With a plot that centered on Captain Kirk framed for assassinating Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner), however,the spotlight was once again on Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley),to Walter Koenig’s chagrin.
Why Walter Koenig Is Right About Star Trek VI’s Treatment Of The Enterprise Supporting Cast
Koenig says Star Trek VI was “painful” for him
Walter Koenig says he was"miserable"on the set ofStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as he related to Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross in theirStar Trekoral history,The Fifty-Year Mission.SinceStar Trek VIwas the original cast’s final movie together, Koenig hoped there would be more emphasis paid to Chekov, as well as the stories of the rest of the supporting characters like James Doohan’s Scotty and Nichelle Nichols' Uhura. However, Walter was deeply disappointed, as he explains:
I found [Star Trek VI’s] script to be so totally devoid of any individuality for the supporting characters. It was as if you could literally have taken one long speech and taken a scissor to it, cut it into pieces, and handed it to us. For me, it was not a wrap-up at all… We were there as expository vehicles, and that alone, and that was really painful.
Unfortunately, Walter Koenig is right that by the timeStar Trek VIwas over, audiences learned no more about Chekov than before. Koenig is also right thatChekov’s dialogue could have been said by anyone. Pavel mostly delivered quips like,“Guess who’s coming to dinner,” “Only the sound of my head,“and"So, this is goodbye"that any character could have uttered. Perhaps Chekov’s most memorable line was when he told the Klingons they deserved"inalienable human rights,“and Pavel was admonished for sounding racist.
Star Trek VI Is Great But Missed A Golden Opportunity For Enterprise’s Crew
The Enterprise’s supporting cast stayed in the background one last time
Chekov did have moments to shine in the middle portion ofStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. After Kirk was arrested, it was up to Spock to lead an investigation to exonerate the Captain. As theEnterprise’s Security Chief,Chekov followed the clues and found a drop of Klingon blood from the gravity boots of Chancellor Gorkon’s true assassins, who were Starfleet Officers working for Lt. Valeris (Kim Cattrall).Unfortunately, Chekov’s clue was a decoyas Valeris framed a crewmember named Dax, whose alien feet didn’t fit the gravity boots.
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While Walter Koenig’s issues ring true, they don’t diminish how entertainingStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countryis. The final film ofCaptain Kirk’s Enterprisecrew is a clever and resonant affair, with sparkling, Shakespearean dialogue (that, admittedly, isn’t uttered by Chekov).Star Trek VIdoes showcase Captain Kirk, Spock, and the Starship Enterprise’s heroes in a warm, positive light, and George Takei also enjoys Hikaru Sulu becoming Captain of the USS Excelsior. But it’s understandable that Walter Koenig feltStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countrywasa missed opportunity for Chekov that will never come again.
Source:The Fifty-Year MIssion: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized, Oral History Of Star Trek: The First 25 Yearsby Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross
