Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 216 (click to see context) :
*** Nor is he above unloading entire clips of ammo into [[{{Robocop}} cops]].
Added DiffLines:
** The communications officer on the ''Excelsior'' is played by the same actress who was Yeoman Rand in the original series. However, she's credited only as "Excelsior Communications Officer," so it's unclear whether she's supposed to be Rand or not, making this a borderline example.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** Nor is he above unloading entire clips of ammo into [[{{Robocop}} cops]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* SixthRangerTraitor: You know who it is.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 187 (click to see context) from:
** The Excelsior racing at top speed and the Klingon Bird of Prey exploding were re-used as stock footage in the next movie, ''StarTrekGenerations''.
to:
** The Excelsior racing at top speed and the Klingon Bird of Prey exploding were re-used as stock footage in the next movie, ''StarTrekGenerations''.''Film/StarTrekGenerations''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 215 (click to see context) from:
** The Klingon Ambassador would later look familiar in an episode arc of ''StarTrekEnterprise'' involving Klingon augments.
to:
** The Klingon Ambassador would later look familiar in an episode arc of ''StarTrekEnterprise'' ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' involving Klingon augments.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** The Klingon Ambassador would later look familiar in an episode arc of ''StarTrekEnterprise'' involving Klingon augments.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** The Excelsior racing at top speed and the Klingon Bird of Prey exploding were re-used as stock footage in the next movie, ''StarTrekGenerations''.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
\"Aliens Speaking English\" → yes and no (Kronos vs Qo\'noS)
Added DiffLines:
**Actually, yes and no. The name of that ship would in fact be spelled "Qo'noS" (pronounced "Kronos"), which is also the name of the Klingon's homeworld.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
namespacing
Changed line(s) 103 (click to see context) from:
** Which is a callback to StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan:
to:
** Which is a callback to StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan:''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'':
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* NoOSHACompliance: This is cited as one of the reasons for Praxis exploding. Overmining and under-regulation turned it into a disaster waiting to happen.
Changed line(s) 156 (click to see context) from:
** Nichelle Nichols brought this up but director Nicholas Meyer shot her down. Being an avid fan of literature, Meyer wanted to show books on a Starship. So, yeah.
to:
** Nichelle Nichols brought this up but director Nicholas Meyer shot her down. Being an avid fan of literature, Meyer wanted to show books on a Starship.starship. So, yeah.
Changed line(s) 159 (click to see context) from:
* [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Pre-Asskicking One-Liner ]]: [[TranquilFury "Target that explosion and fire."]]
to:
* [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Pre-Asskicking One-Liner ]]: One-Liner]]: [[TranquilFury "Target that explosion and fire."]]
Deleted line(s) 165 (click to see context) :
* RewatchBonus: Watch the film again - you can see when Spock slaps the patch on Kirk's back.
Changed line(s) 183 (click to see context) from:
* SpotTheImposter: The same reason Martia was able to escape is the same reason the Warden was able to figure out she wasn't Kirk and killed her: She took off her leg cuffs.
to:
* SpotTheImposter: The same reason Martia was able to escape is the same reason the Warden was able to figure out she wasn't Kirk and killed her: She she took off her leg cuffs.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Which is a callback to StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan:
-->'''Saavik''': You lied?
-->'''Spock''': I exaggerated.
-->'''Saavik''': You lied?
-->'''Spock''': I exaggerated.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 65 (click to see context) from:
** Nicholas Meyer described the scene in Spock's quarters as Valaris having a mental breakdown, which, being a Vulcan, is so subtile that even Spock fails to notice.
to:
** Nicholas Meyer described the scene in Spock's quarters as Valaris having a mental breakdown, which, being a Vulcan, is happens so subtile subtly that even Spock fails to notice.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Nicholas Meyer described the scene in Spock's quarters as Valaris having a mental breakdown, which, being a Vulcan, is so subtile that even Spock fails to notice.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DontAnswerThat: Colonel Worf tells Kirk this during the trial.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
A GrandFinale for the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries classic]] [[Franchise/StarTrek ''Trek'']] crew ([[Film/StarTrek as played by the original actors, at least]]) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between TheFederation and the Klingons with a TomClancy [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] storyline. Perhaps due to its political intrigue plot, ''The Undiscovered Country'' is DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessors.
to:
A GrandFinale for the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries classic]] [[Franchise/StarTrek ''Trek'']] ''[[Franchise/StarTrek Trek]]'' crew ([[Film/StarTrek as played by the original actors, at least]]) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between TheFederation and the Klingons with a TomClancy [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] storyline. Perhaps due to its political intrigue plot, ''The Undiscovered Country'' is DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessors.
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
** Call forward! It's a call back to a previously established location that was until now only mentioned in the future of the canon universe. Camp Khitomer is the secret location of the peace talks. The Khitomer Outpost would be the site of a Romulan perpetrated massacre of a Klingon colony there during the [[IncrediblyLamePun next generation]]. [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Seriously, Worf's parents died there]]. Also counts as a MythologyGag, since the massacre made it clear to the Klingons and Federation just how important their peace accord was.
to:
** Call forward! It's a call back to a previously established location that was until now only mentioned in the future of the canon universe. Camp Khitomer is the secret location of the peace talks. The Khitomer Outpost would be the site of a Romulan perpetrated massacre of a Klingon colony there during the [[IncrediblyLamePun next generation]]. [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Seriously, Worf's parents died there]]. Also counts as a MythologyGag, since the massacre made it clear to the Klingons and Federation just how important their peace accord was.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 123 (click to see context) from:
*** A similar act in {{Enterprise}} is very much depicted as rape, and with rather a lot of consequences.
to:
*** A similar act in {{Enterprise}} ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' is very much depicted as rape, and with rather a lot of consequences.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 66 (click to see context) from:
* EvilTwin: Martia!Kirk.
to:
* EvilTwin: Martia!Kirk.Martia, the shapeshifter who takes on Kirk's shape during their fight.
Changed line(s) 135 (click to see context) from:
--->'''Martia!Kirk:''' [[LargeHam Must have been your life-long ambition!]]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
A Precision F Strike, sort of.
Added DiffLines:
* PrecisionFStrike: Though remarkably tame, it is certainly one for Spock after hearing [[spoiler:the Enterprise was to be decommisioned]]:
-->'''Spock:''' If I were human, my response would be 'go to hell'!
-->'''Spock:''' If I were human, my response would be 'go to hell'!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* RewatchBonus: Watch the film again - you can see when Spock slaps the patch on Kirk's back.
Deleted line(s) 162 (click to see context) :
* ShownTheirWork: Watch the film again - you can see when Spock slaps the patch on Kirk's back.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 34 (click to see context) from:
** Inverted...kinda? Camp Khitomer is the secret location of the peace talks. The Khitomer Outpost would be the site of a Romulan massacre during the [[IncrediblyLamePun next generation]]. [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Seriously, Worf's parents died there]]. Also counts as a MythologyGag, since the massacre made it clear to the Klingons and Federation just how important their peace accord was.
to:
** Inverted...kinda? Call forward! It's a call back to a previously established location that was until now only mentioned in the future of the canon universe. Camp Khitomer is the secret location of the peace talks. The Khitomer Outpost would be the site of a Romulan perpetrated massacre of a Klingon colony there during the [[IncrediblyLamePun next generation]]. [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Seriously, Worf's parents died there]]. Also counts as a MythologyGag, since the massacre made it clear to the Klingons and Federation just how important their peace accord was.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Or, Klingons Naming Their Ships After [[GreekMythology a Titan]].
Added DiffLines:
* AscendedFanboy: ChristianSlater allegedly ''begged'' for that {{cameo}}.
Added DiffLines:
** Inverted...kinda? Camp Khitomer is the secret location of the peace talks. The Khitomer Outpost would be the site of a Romulan massacre during the [[IncrediblyLamePun next generation]]. [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Seriously, Worf's parents died there]]. Also counts as a MythologyGag, since the massacre made it clear to the Klingons and Federation just how important their peace accord was.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
** Brock actually had problems doing Cartwright's anti-Klingon rant during the classified meeting because it was morally unpleasant for him personally. Multiple takes had to be done and pieced together.
to:
** Brock actually had problems doing Cartwright's anti-Klingon rant during the classified meeting because it was morally unpleasant for him personally. Multiple takes had to be done and pieced together. (That is, he had problems getting the lines out. According to the DVD, he was supportive of the message itself.)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
*** A similar act in {{Enterprise}} is very much depicted as rape, and with rather a lot of consequences.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 127 (click to see context) from:
--->'''Kirk:''' Still think we're cooked?
to:
--->'''Kirk:''' Still think we're cooked?finished?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 78 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Spock:''' If I know the Captain, he's already formulating an escape plan.
to:
-->'''Spock:''' If I know the Captain, he's he is already formulating an escape plan.deep into planning his escape.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** The novelization, at least, provides a ''slightly'' more rational explanation for why they were scrambling to look up Klingon phrases in old paper books, instead of using the Universal Translator — namely, that the same saboteur(s) who had altered the ship's logs to make it look like the Enterprise had fired on the Chancellor's ship, had also wiped the Klingon language data from the memory banks specifically to keep the Enterprise from crossing Klingon space without giving themselves away as soon as someone tried to establish communications with them. (The books were part of Uhura's personal collection, not part of the ship's library, so the saboteur presumably didn't know about them, or didn't have any opportunity to get to them and destroy them.)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 51 (click to see context) from:
*** [[AllThereInTheManual The novelizations]] of the previous movies explain it - Sulu's promotion has come through in WrathOfKhan, but he's still on the Enterprise training cruise as a favor to Kirk. Then, because Genesis and the events surrounding its creation result in such public backlash, Excelsior is given to the guy in ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock The Search for Spock]]'' because Sulu needs to be kept 'available' for debriefings and such.
to:
*** [[AllThereInTheManual The novelizations]] of the previous movies explain it - Sulu's promotion has come through in WrathOfKhan, [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Wrath of Khan]], but he's still on the Enterprise training cruise as a favor to Kirk. Then, because Genesis and the events surrounding its creation result in such public backlash, Excelsior is given to the guy in ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock The Search for Spock]]'' because Sulu needs to be kept 'available' for debriefings and such.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
A GrandFinale for the [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries classic]] [[StarTrek ''Trek'']] crew ([[Film/StarTrek as played by the original actors, at least]]) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between TheFederation and the Klingons with a TomClancy [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] storyline. Perhaps due to its political intrigue plot, ''The Undiscovered Country'' is DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessors.
to:
A GrandFinale for the [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries classic]] [[StarTrek [[Franchise/StarTrek ''Trek'']] crew ([[Film/StarTrek as played by the original actors, at least]]) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between TheFederation and the Klingons with a TomClancy [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] storyline. Perhaps due to its political intrigue plot, ''The Undiscovered Country'' is DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessors.
Changed line(s) 11 (click to see context) from:
Nicholas Meyer, the director of ''StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', returned to the helm for this one. As evidenced by the page quote, the film lacks anything resembling subtlety, but its tongue-in-cheek satire and heavy handed moral is just as good if not better that way. If nothing else, it's considered much better than ''The Final Frontier.'' In any case, most fans consider it a worthy send-off for the original cast.
to:
Nicholas Meyer, the director of ''StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', returned to the helm for this one. As evidenced by the page quote, the film lacks anything resembling subtlety, but its tongue-in-cheek satire and heavy handed moral is just as good if not better that way. If nothing else, it's considered much better than ''The Final Frontier.'' In any case, most fans consider it a worthy send-off for the original cast.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Kirk''': Captain's log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man, where ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration no one]]'', has gone before.
to:
--> '''Kirk''': Captain's log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man, where ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration no one]]'', has gone before.
Changed line(s) 49,50 (click to see context) from:
** This would have happened a lot sooner if ... everybody? ... WilliamShatner hadn't protested Sulu becoming Excelsior's captain in StarTrekII, where it was supposedly supposed to happen.
** Hang on, the ''Excelsior'' debuted in StarTrekIII. How does this work?
** Hang on, the ''Excelsior'' debuted in StarTrekIII. How does this work?
to:
** This would have happened a lot sooner if ... everybody? ... WilliamShatner hadn't protested Sulu becoming Excelsior's captain in StarTrekII, [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Star Trek II]], where it was supposedly supposed to happen.
** Hang on, the ''Excelsior'' debuted inStarTrekIII.[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Star Trek III]]. How does this work?
** Hang on, the ''Excelsior'' debuted in
Changed line(s) 80 (click to see context) from:
* TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper: Subverted. The boots of the conspirators were found in the locker of Crewman Dax ([[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine no relation]])...who has large webbed feet that don't fit.
to:
* TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper: Subverted. The boots of the conspirators were found in the locker of Crewman Dax ([[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine ([[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine no relation]])...who has large webbed feet that don't fit.
Changed line(s) 109,110 (click to see context) from:
** And if not for [[ExecutiveMeddling those pesky, meddling executives]], this would have been the title for StarTrekII.
** Allusions to Shakespeare was a regular occurrence in episode titles in [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]. ''The Undiscovered Country'' was likely intended to be a nod to tradition.
** Allusions to Shakespeare was a regular occurrence in episode titles in [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]. ''The Undiscovered Country'' was likely intended to be a nod to tradition.
to:
** And if not for [[ExecutiveMeddling those pesky, meddling executives]], this would have been the title for StarTrekII.
[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan Star Trek II]].
** Allusions to Shakespeare was a regular occurrence in episode titles in[[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]. ''The Undiscovered Country'' was likely intended to be a nod to tradition.
** Allusions to Shakespeare was a regular occurrence in episode titles in
Changed line(s) 124 (click to see context) from:
* MythologyGag: [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Worf's]] identical grandfather.
to:
* MythologyGag: [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Worf's]] identical grandfather.
Changed line(s) 173 (click to see context) from:
** The second trailer has a scene from StarTrekIII but it's minor (Enterprise getting shot by a torpedo).
to:
** The second trailer has a scene from StarTrekIII [[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock Star Trek III]] but it's minor (Enterprise getting shot by a torpedo).
Changed line(s) 194,195 (click to see context) from:
* YouLookFamiliar: Chancellor Gorkon is played by David Warner, who played St. John ("sinjin") Talbot in the [[StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier previous film]].
** [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration How many lights are there]], Chancellor?
** [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration How many lights are there]], Chancellor?
to:
* YouLookFamiliar: Chancellor Gorkon is played by David Warner, who played St. John ("sinjin") Talbot in the [[StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier [[Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier previous film]].
**[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration How many lights are there]], Chancellor?
**
Changed line(s) 197 (click to see context) from:
** Rene Auberjonois, who would go on to play Odo on StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, plays Colonel West.
to:
** Rene Auberjonois, who would go on to play Odo on StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, plays Colonel West.
Changed line(s) 199 (click to see context) from:
** In another life, the Federation President is [[StarTrekVoyager screwing around with the timeline to get back his home colony and, by extension, his wife]].
to:
** In another life, the Federation President is [[StarTrekVoyager [[Series/StarTrekVoyager screwing around with the timeline to get back his home colony and, by extension, his wife]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 51 (click to see context) from:
*** [[AllThereInTheManual The novelizations]] of the previous movies explain it - Sulu's promotion has come through in WrathOfKhan, but he's still on the Enterprise training cruise as a favor to Kirk. Then, because Genesis and the events surrounding its creation result in such public backlash, Excelsior is given to the guy in TheSearchForSpock because Sulu needs to be kept 'available' for debriefings and such.
to:
*** [[AllThereInTheManual The novelizations]] of the previous movies explain it - Sulu's promotion has come through in WrathOfKhan, but he's still on the Enterprise training cruise as a favor to Kirk. Then, because Genesis and the events surrounding its creation result in such public backlash, Excelsior is given to the guy in TheSearchForSpock ''[[Film/StarTrekIIITheSearchForSpock The Search for Spock]]'' because Sulu needs to be kept 'available' for debriefings and such.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/startrekvi.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Second star to the right... and straight on till morning."]]
->''[[InTheOriginalKlingon There is an old Vulcan proverb: only Nixon could go to China.]]''
-->-- '''Spock'''
A GrandFinale for the [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries classic]] [[StarTrek ''Trek'']] crew ([[Film/StarTrek as played by the original actors, at least]]) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between TheFederation and the Klingons with a TomClancy [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] storyline. Perhaps due to its political intrigue plot, ''The Undiscovered Country'' is DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessors.
After an environmental calamity, the Klingons' infrastructure collapses and their leader sues for peace. [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Does This Remind You]] of the end of the ColdWar? It should. The IronCurtain was coming down at the time of production and the Klingons had always been stand-ins for the Soviets. Kirk, ever the cynical cowboy, still doesn't trust the Klingons, but is volunteered by Spock to escort their leader to the peace talks without asking him first. But Kirk is not the only one who doesn't want peace - a mysterious conspiracy with accomplices from both sides of the conflict means to drive the Federation and Empire into a full-scale war, framing Kirk and [=McCoy=] for murder in the process.
Nicholas Meyer, the director of ''StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', returned to the helm for this one. As evidenced by the page quote, the film lacks anything resembling subtlety, but its tongue-in-cheek satire and heavy handed moral is just as good if not better that way. If nothing else, it's considered much better than ''The Final Frontier.'' In any case, most fans consider it a worthy send-off for the original cast.
----
!!Tropes seen in ''The Undiscovered Country'' include:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: [=McCoy=]'s quip about feeling pretty good "aside from a touch of arthritis" is met with stone cold silence. Accompanied by ''one Klingon laughing his frigging ass off''.
** [=McCoy=] looks pleased by his reaction, too. Chang, however, was not amused.
** Here's the situation: General Chang was inquiring as to what [=McCoy=]'s status is as a medical practioner is. The way he asks it though, leaves it open to interpretation. Dr. [=McCoy=] is only happy to reply. Here is the full quote:
--> '''Chang''': Dr. [=McCoy=]...Would you be so good as to tell me, what is your current medical status?
--> '''Bones''': Aside from a touch of arthritis, I'd say pretty good!
* AlienBlood: The Klingons have Pepto-Bismol pink blood, in order to keep a PG rating. [[spoiler: Becomes a minor ChekhovsGun in the final act when an assassin is identified as ''not'' being Klingon because he has ''red'' blood.]]
** The red blood only appears in the extended cut. The reason the Klingon blood is pink in the film was to avoid a rating higher than PG. Ironically, Klingon blood is quite red everywhere else save this film.
** Klingon blood becomes red in all series taking place after the events of Star Trek VI. The Star Trek (particularly Mike Okuda) staff HandWaved this; saying Klingon blood only appears pink in microgravity.
* AndTheAdventureContinues (The end narration:)
--> '''Kirk''': Captain's log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man, where ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration no one]]'', has gone before.
* ArtificialGravity: A rare example where the artificial gravity actually fails.
* BadVibrations: Captain Sulu's tea cup at the beginning of the film.
* BigBad: General Chang.
** Also, [[spoiler: Admiral Cartwright]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Sulu and the ''USS Excelsior'' swooping in to even up the fight against General Chang and his Bird of Prey. While the original plan was to play this trope straight, the end result is a subversion; ''Excelsior'' doesn't do much but provide a second target, giving the ''Enterprise'' a much-needed breather.
* BluffingTheMurderer
* CallBack: Klaa is the interpreter at Kirk and [=McCoy's=] trial. After his conduct in ''The Final Frontier'', [[FridgeBrilliance it would make sense that he's been demoted.]]
* CastingGag: [[ToKillAMockingbird Brock Peters]] plays an anti-Klingon racist.
** Brock actually had problems doing Cartwright's anti-Klingon rant during the classified meeting because it was morally unpleasant for him personally. Multiple takes had to be done and pieced together.
** Brock Peters had til his death in 2005 done a ton of civil rights work, so playing a virulently racist character was problematic.
* ChekhovsGun: Subverted via ExecutiveMeddling. At the film's start, we learn that the Excelsior has been cataloging gaseous anomalies... but in its BigDamnHeroes moment, it's the ''Enterprise'' that [[spoiler: uses a gas-seeking torpedo to find Chang's ship]]. ChekhovsGun is left hanging on the wall, and Kirk pulls out a [[PlotHole concealed pistol]] of identical make.
* ChewingTheScenery: Chang in the final showdown; "Crryyyyyy HAVOK ... and let slip the dogs of war!"
* ClearMyName: Kirk and [=McCoy=].
* ColdWar: One of the more blatant allegories to come out of this period.
-->[[SpaceIsCold "In space, all warriors are cold warriors."]]
* [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike Complaining About Rescues You Don't Like]]: Spock beams up Kirk and [=McCoy=] from Rura Penthe right in the middle of the JustBetweenYouAndMe. Kirk immediately bawls him out for rescuing them ten seconds too ''early''.
-->'''Klingon Overseer''': Since you're all going to die anyway, why not tell you. His name is -
-->''[Kirk and [=McCoy=] get beamed up]''
-->'''Kirk''': [disintegrating] [[CurseCutShort Son of a...]]
-->'''Kirk''': [rematerializing] Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit all to hell... [to Spock] Couldn't you have waited a few more seconds? He was about to explain the whole thing!
-->'''Chekov''': You ''vant'' to go back?
-->'''[=McCoy=]''': Absolutely not!
-->'''Kirk''': ''...it's cold.''
* ContinuityNod - Sulu mentions at the end of IV that he hopes the ship they're being sent to is the Excelsior. In this film he turns up as a starship captain... commanding the Excelsior.
** This would have happened a lot sooner if ... everybody? ... WilliamShatner hadn't protested Sulu becoming Excelsior's captain in StarTrekII, where it was supposedly supposed to happen.
** Hang on, the ''Excelsior'' debuted in StarTrekIII. How does this work?
*** [[AllThereInTheManual The novelizations]] of the previous movies explain it - Sulu's promotion has come through in WrathOfKhan, but he's still on the Enterprise training cruise as a favor to Kirk. Then, because Genesis and the events surrounding its creation result in such public backlash, Excelsior is given to the guy in TheSearchForSpock because Sulu needs to be kept 'available' for debriefings and such.
* CoolOldGuy: Pretty much the main cast.
* CreditsPushback: The signatures at the end generally get [[EditedForSyndication clipped]] thanks to this practice.
* DescriptionCut
* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler: the Enterprise is getting owned by the cloaked Bird of Prey, and then suddenly the crew realizes the ship just happens to have some never-before-mentioned equipment to catalog gaseous anomalies that can be used to totally obliterate the enemy ship]].
** [[spoiler: Worse. I seem to recall that at the start of the film, SULU mentions they've been on a three-year mission "charting gaseous anomalies", so the Excelsior would have the equipment. Script-writer confusion abounds!]]
*** [[spoiler: Not so, more a case of a combination of executive and cast meddling (see the reference to Shatner insisting that the ''Enterprise'' save itself, above). This is also explained in the novelisation as being Starfleet's current ongoing giant research project of the past few years, so most ships were carrying equipment for gaseous anomalies, not just the ''Excelsior''. Admittedly this could have been somewhat fixed by modifying Sulu's opening narration to something like "for the past three years ''we have been leading the fleet'' in cataloguing gaseous anomalies in planetary atmospheres", but alas, l'esprit de l'escalier...]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: the whole film is an allegory about the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was released less than a few weeks before the Soviet Union actually fell.
** In addition, Praxis exploding and contaminating the Klingon homeworld is a clear reference to Chernobyl.
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Spock initially doesn't get Valaris's concern over this upcoming peace.
* EngineeredPublicConfession: During the trial, Kirk's log entry in which he says "I have never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I've never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy." is presented as proof of his motive for assassinating Gorkon. This fact is later used to incriminate [[spoiler:Valeris as a conspirator, since it was her who was outside his quarters at the time.]]
* EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily: An ironic version. Despite their motives, [[spoiler:the members of the Human-Klingon conspiracy to destroy the peace process]] are pretty unified in their goals. Though the vitriol is not far away given the comments from [[spoiler: Valeris]] about the others.
* EvilTwin: Martia!Kirk.
* ExecutiveMeddling. Gene Roddenberry. Again. He had a hard time with [[spoiler: Saavik]] being the traitor.
** Klingon blood is pink for the first and only time in the entire ''Star Trek'' property because had it been red, the film would have been slapped with an R rating.
* {{Expy}}: Valeris, for Saavik.
* EyepatchOfPower: Chang. ''[[BadAss Bolted directly to his face]],'' no less.
* FacePalm: Uhura's response to Chekov believing he has the culprit and missing the very obvious fact that their suspect can't fit in the incriminating boots.
* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: "To be, or not to be?"
* FantasticRacism: Kirk acts this way towards the Klingons at first. He's hardly the only one, though.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: TheMole ''[[spoiler:[[IncrediblyLamePun has one on her face]]]]''.
** Gorkon had a pretty good idea as to who betrayed him once the shooting started.
* FinalSpeech: Gorkon begs Kirk with his dying breath to save the peace process, leaving Kirk shocked by cognitive dissonance.
-->'''Gorkon''': Don't let it end this way, Captain...
* FromACertainPointOfView: Spock.
* GeneralRipper: Chang.
* GilliganCut: After Kirk and Bones are sentenced to life imprisonment
-->'''Spock:''' If I know the Captain, he's already formulating an escape plan.
-->''[cut to Kirk getting his ass kicked]''
* TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper: Subverted. The boots of the conspirators were found in the locker of Crewman Dax ([[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine no relation]])...who has large webbed feet that don't fit.
* GivingUpOnLogic: Spock shows the long term character growth version of this trope. He hasn't given up on logic at all, but he has accepted that it is not the be all and end all.
* GroinAttack: Kirk gets in a fight with a big blue alien and ends it by kicking the alien in the knee. Or so he thinks.
--->Martia: That was not his knee. Not everybody keeps their genitals in the same place, Captain.
* HamToHamCombat: William Shatner vs. Christopher Plummer. The survivors likely envy the dead.
** At one point it's Shatner vs. Shatner, which reaches hamageddon levels.
* HeelRealization: Kirk realizing his intolerance of the Klingons led to [[spoiler:Chancellor Gorkon's death]].
* HomingProjectile: The torpedo that attempted to catalog the gaseous anomaly that was the fire-while-cloaked Bird of Prey's tail pipe.
* HonorBeforeReason: The Klingons are a violent, aggressive people whose Empire represents the antithesis of every Federation value. "Let them die" would be the expected response from anyone short of a saint. And yet the Federation offers them an olive branch anyway.
** Let them weaken themselves more first so we can be in a stronger position and force them to accept our way of life, maybe. But it doesn't take anywhere near a saint to not wish an entire space empire dead.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Spock's reaction to the forced mindmeld with [[spoiler: Valeris]] is made entirely of this trope.
* IdenticalGrandson: Worf's grandfather, Colonel Worf (also played by Michael Dorn of course).
* IKEAWeaponry
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Just after the diplomatic dinner on the Enterprise, [=McCoy=] leaves the transporter room proclaiming, "I'm going to go find a pot of black coffee".
* InTheOriginalKlingon: TropeNamer.
* IncomingHam: "I can see you, Kirk. Can you see me?"
* InvisibilityFlicker: Klingon warships have to do this. [[spoiler:Except Chang's.]]
* IronicEcho: Several times Valeris asks Spock "A lie?" and he responds that it is something else (e.g. "An error"). After she is [[spoiler:caught as a traitor]], he asks her "A lie?" and she responds "A choice."
* IronicEchoCut: Spock: "If I know the Captain, by this time, he is deep into planning his escape." Cut to Kirk getting the crap kicked out of him in a prison brawl.
* {{Irony}}: The conspiracy proves [[spoiler:Federation/Klingon cooperation is possible]].
* JabbaTableManners: The Klingons disgust the Federation's delegation with their eating habits.
* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Subverted, Kirk & [=McCoy=] are beamed out before the warden can give them a name.
* KangarooCourt: Kirk and [=McCoy's=] "trial".
** At least their defense lawyer (Worf's grandfather) was actually trying.
*** And doing pretty well under the circumstances. If he hadn't, it's almost certain Kirk and [=McCoy=] would have been executed.
* LargeHam: Christopher Plummer as Chang, rivaling even Khan.
** Lampshaded when [=McCoy=] exclaims, "I'd give real money if he'd shut up."
* LatexPerfection: [[spoiler: The Klingon assassin is Starfleet's Colonel West [[RubberForeheadAliens with some rubber on his forehead]].]]
* LiteraryAllusionTitle
** And if not for [[ExecutiveMeddling those pesky, meddling executives]], this would have been the title for StarTrekII.
** Allusions to Shakespeare was a regular occurrence in episode titles in [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]. ''The Undiscovered Country'' was likely intended to be a nod to tradition.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: A variation: once outside the Rura Penthe shield, Marta mentions this as such but the conspirators required a more "convincing" alternative.
-->'''Kirk:''' An accident wasn't good enough.
-->'''Marta:''' Good enough for one. Two would have looked suspicious. ''(transforms into Kirk)'' Killed while trying to escape. Now that's convincing enough for both.
* MindRape: Galactic peace hung in the balance. Spock knew they ''needed that information '''now'''. ''.
** On the DVDCommentary, Nicholas Meyer and screenwriter Denny Martin Flinn actually say that scene is "very erotic" and "sexy stuff". Some might consider that {{Squick}}, and some might consider that FetishFuel.
** Of course some would consider it erotic. [[{{Mannequin}} This is]] [[SexAndTheCity Kim Cattrall]] we're talking about, after all.
** This scene is more difficult to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticking_time_bomb_scenario regard lightly in the War On Terror era]], though it may be more difficult to apply since a mind meld doesn't work in the way that torture does.
** In the novelization, it's very different: Valeris is terrified by the knowledge that Spock could force his way into her mind with his superior mental training, but Spock ''doesn't'' do this. He gently inquires telepathically and she is so relieved that she yields without resistance. As to whether the threat of mind rape is morally superior to actual mind rape, YMMV.
** In a promotional interview for the film, Cattrall revealed that her character and Nimoy's have a mind meld, and then crowed "I got to have safe sex with Mr. Spock!" Um...yeah, not so much.
** It has to be added that the actual scene is not as bad as this exchange makes it sound. Nimoy's acting make it ''painfully'' apparent that it isn't something Spock takes on lightly, and he is almost as badly affected as Valeris. His voice cracks badly as he delivers the information, and he is clearly struggling to hold it together himself.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Valeris]]
* MoralDissonance: Words to this effect have also been leveled at the public MindRape of [[spoiler: Valeris]] on the bridge of the Enterprise by Spock, although it could be considered an example of IDidWhatIHadToDo since the Federation and Empire were on the precipice of war. It was... logical.
* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Uhura, [[PlotInducedStupidity "expert linguist"]], attempting to communicate with the Klingon ship.
* MythologyGag: [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Worf's]] identical grandfather.
** Bones' exasperated, "What ''is'' it with you?!'' [[BoldlyComing after he kisses Martia.]]
--->'''Kirk:''' Still think we're cooked?
--->'''Bones:''' ''More than ever''.
** This exchange:
--->'''Kirk:''' I can't believe I kissed ''you''!
--->'''Martia!Kirk:''' [[LargeHam Must have been your life-long ambition!]]
* NearVillainVictory: The BigBad nearly destroys the Enterprise and the conspirators nearly [[spoiler: succeed in assassinating the Federation President, but Excelsior helps buy the Enterprise time to complete it's Plasma Seeking Torpedo to find and kill Chang and get to the planet in time to save the day]].
* NetworkToTheRescue The film might have never been made had the new head of Paramount not been a friend of Nick Meyer's.
* NoGravityForYou: One Klingon tactic involves doing this to an entire boarded ship.
* [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous Klingon Chanting]]
** That Ominous Klingon Chanting is actually Hamlet's ''To be, or not to be?'' in [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything its original Klingon]].
*** [[KangarooCourt KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK!]]
* OhCrap:
** Kirk gets two of them during the movie: Once, when [=McCoy=] tells him that he doesn't know anything about the Chancellor's anatomy, let alone if the Klingon leader will live, and the second when he is being questioned and Chang forces him to admit to GuiltByAssociation in the Chancellor's death.
** Sulu at the beginning, when he sees the [[PlanarShockwave Praxis Shockwave]] hurtling towards his ship:
--->'''Sulu:''' My... ''God!'' Shields! '''SHIELDS!'''
* OrbitalShot: The forced Mind Meld.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: President Target of the United Federation of Planets and Chancellor Target of the Klingon Empire.
* PeaceConference
* PlanarShockwave: Thanks to this movie, it's commonly known as the "Praxis Shockwave".
* PlotInducedStupidity: So, Commander Uhura, veteran communications officer and linguist extraordinaire, ''never bothered to learn the common language of one of the galaxy's major powers?''
** Nichelle Nichols brought this up but director Nicholas Meyer shot her down. Being an avid fan of literature, Meyer wanted to show books on a Starship. So, yeah.
*** The fact that Uhura explicitly mentions that she can speak three obscure dialects of Romulan in the 2009 Star Trek movie could be considered a TakeThat to this scene.
* [[EarthShatteringKaboom Praxis Shattering Kaboom]]: The event that kicked off the events of the movie. The real-world analogue is the Chernobyl plant disaster that weakened the Soviet Union just enough to get the ball rolling.
* [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Pre-Asskicking One-Liner ]]: [[TranquilFury "Target that explosion and fire."]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: Kirk certainly walks the line at first.
-->'''Spock:''' Jim, they are dying.
-->'''Kirk:''' Let them die!
* RidingIntoTheSunset
* SceneryPorn: The aerial shots of Kirk, [=McCoy=] and Martia trudging across the wastes of Rura Penthe are ''stunning.''
* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Praxis must be really close to the neutral zone in order for the ''Excelsior'' to have been caught in the PlanarShockwave.
* ShapeshiftingSquick
* ShownTheirWork: Watch the film again - you can see when Spock slaps the patch on Kirk's back.
* ShoutOut:
** The last line before the final voice over is a reference to ''PeterPan'' (the directions to Neverland).
--->'''Kirk''': Second star to the right... and straight on till morning.
*** The line in the actual book was "second to the right, and straight on till morning", so technically Kirk was referencing the 1953 Disney film.
** There is also a ShoutOut to SherlockHolmes, when Spock says, "One of my ancestors once said, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'" Gene Roddenberry had established as part of Spock's BackStory that Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of SherlockHolmes, was one of Spock's ancestors on his mother's side.
** Chang's demand that Kirk not wait for the translation of a question, but answer it immediately, is straight from an earlier (pre-TOS, in fact) US-Soviet confrontation, the CubanMissileCrisis. In that case, it was Adlai Stevenson insisting that the Soviet delegate to the UN answer simply yes or no as to whether they were putting missiles in Cuba.
** The Warden's speech is almost a word-for-word paraphrasing of Saito's "There is no escape" speech from ''TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai''.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: The title, and 75% of General Chang's dialogue.
--> '''[=McCoy=]:''' I'd pay real money if he'd shut up.
* SlowClap
* SpaceIsAnOcean: Nothing new to Trek but this movie subtly does a lot to give the feeling that the Enterprise is a naval vessel in space, right down to the computerized ship's bell dinging in a few scenes.
** Even moreso for this movie's Bird-of-Prey, which is the only one in the entire franchise to use a large ship's wheel at the helm.
** The explosion of Praxis sends out the space equivalent of a tsunami, which happens to be at the exact height in space to hit Excelsior.
* SpotTheImposter: The same reason Martia was able to escape is the same reason the Warden was able to figure out she wasn't Kirk and killed her: She took off her leg cuffs.
* StockFootage: The scene where Enterprise glides towards the spacedock doors is a reuse of the "zoom in on Enterprise" shot from Star Trek IV and Star Trek V, just with the Excelsior removed and the background tint changed to blue.
** The second trailer has a scene from StarTrekIII but it's minor (Enterprise getting shot by a torpedo).
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute. Valeris in place of Saavik.
* TakeThat: It's quite nicely worked in, but Kirk's remark in the end speech that "some people think change means the end of history" is likely a jab at neo-conservative Francis Fukuyama's proclamation (and epynonymous book) that the collapse of Soviet communism meant that liberal bourgeois democracy was the only option for developing countries and was, thus, "the end of history".
* [[TitleDrop (Sub)Title Drop]]: In the ill-fated [[FantasticRacism dinner scene]], Gorkon proposes a toast to "the undiscovered country," earning bemused stares from the audience as well as the main cast before he explains he meant "the future."
** The cause of the confusion is that within the context of {{Hamlet}}'s speech, "the undiscovered country" is ''death''.
*** Which Spock himself [[LampshadeHanging points out]] in the novelization. Gorkon's counter-argument has a good point.
** Which, considering what happens to Gorkon in his next scene, actually makes quite a bit of [[{{Foreshadowing}} sense]].
* TrailersAlwaysLie: Trailers for the movie showcased a scene of [[spoiler: Kirk getting phasered and exploding]]. Turns out [[spoiler: it was just a shape-shifter]].
* TranslationConvention: During the trial, the Klingons begin in their own language, then the camera cuts to a box where translators are giving a running translation in English, which is being piped through radio-like devices that Kirk and [=McCoy=] are listening to. When the camera cuts back to General Chang, all spoken dialogue for the rest of the scene is in English, but it's still clear the Klingons are speaking their own language, particularly when Chang yells at Kirk not to wait for the translation before answering a question.
** This trope is mostly avoided for all other scenes involving the Klingons on their own, however. Subtitles are used in all-Klingon scenes in almost all movies.
** For some reason, it almost always switches to English whenever Chang starts talking, sometimes right after some untranslated Klingon. Maybe Christopher Plummer has trouble chewing scenery in Klingon.
* TwoDSpace: Subtly averted. When the ''Enterprise'' and ''Kronos One'' first rendezvous, they are not aligned in the same plane. ''Enterprise'' very diplomatically adjusts to match the Chancellor's ship. Later, the Bird of Prey fires one of its torpedoes perpendicularly to the plane of the saucer section of the ''Enterprise'', damaging it extensively.
* WasntThatFun: After General Chang's Bird-of-Prey blasting away at the helpless Enterprise with yet another ScreenShake:
-->'''[=McCoy=]:''' Well, this is fun.
* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: Or at least the Klingons will on their prison planets. Then again, it's Rua Penthe, the Klingon equivalent of a gulag. Hardly meant to be comfortable.
* WhatTheHellHero: Spock's disturbed reaction to Kirk's desire to see the Klingons die off.
** In commentaries, Shatner expressed dismay that they cut out a subsequent self-dismissive gesture from Kirk suggesting it was impulsively said.
** This was prompted by Spock "volunteering" the Enterprize and crew for the peace keeping mission. Considering just two films ago, Kirk was accused by the Klingons of developing the Genesis device as a superweapon, he seems like a poor choice - but the implication is that the Klingons respect Kirk's legendary fighting abilities and will deal better with a tough guy than a nice guy. [[spoiler: The conspirators have no problem leveraging this reputation to frame Kirk for Gorkon's murder.]]
* WhyWereBummedCommunismFell: The whole film is a metaphor for the fall of communism, and even seemed to predict the failed coup that preceded the final collapse of the USSR.
* WickedCultured: General Chang might be willing to plunge the quadrant into war, but damn if he can't quote Shakespeare with the best of them!
* WildHair: The Federation President's moustache almost earned its own acting credit.
* YouLookFamiliar: Chancellor Gorkon is played by David Warner, who played St. John ("sinjin") Talbot in the [[StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier previous film]].
** [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration How many lights are there]], Chancellor?
*** Again, Worf. Who, [[TheWorfEffect of course]], does what he does best—get owned. Except this time, in court.
** Rene Auberjonois, who would go on to play Odo on StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, plays Colonel West.
*** If Admiral Cartwright looks a lot like Joseph Sisko, that would be because they were both played by Brock Peters.
** In another life, the Federation President is [[StarTrekVoyager screwing around with the timeline to get back his home colony and, by extension, his wife]].
*** "This President is not above the law, [[That70sShow Dumbass!]]"
----
[[caption-width-right:350:"Second star to the right... and straight on till morning."]]
->''[[InTheOriginalKlingon There is an old Vulcan proverb: only Nixon could go to China.]]''
-->-- '''Spock'''
A GrandFinale for the [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries classic]] [[StarTrek ''Trek'']] crew ([[Film/StarTrek as played by the original actors, at least]]) which resolves the previously ongoing conflict between TheFederation and the Klingons with a TomClancy [[RecycledINSPACE IN SPACE!]] storyline. Perhaps due to its political intrigue plot, ''The Undiscovered Country'' is DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessors.
After an environmental calamity, the Klingons' infrastructure collapses and their leader sues for peace. [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Does This Remind You]] of the end of the ColdWar? It should. The IronCurtain was coming down at the time of production and the Klingons had always been stand-ins for the Soviets. Kirk, ever the cynical cowboy, still doesn't trust the Klingons, but is volunteered by Spock to escort their leader to the peace talks without asking him first. But Kirk is not the only one who doesn't want peace - a mysterious conspiracy with accomplices from both sides of the conflict means to drive the Federation and Empire into a full-scale war, framing Kirk and [=McCoy=] for murder in the process.
Nicholas Meyer, the director of ''StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', returned to the helm for this one. As evidenced by the page quote, the film lacks anything resembling subtlety, but its tongue-in-cheek satire and heavy handed moral is just as good if not better that way. If nothing else, it's considered much better than ''The Final Frontier.'' In any case, most fans consider it a worthy send-off for the original cast.
----
!!Tropes seen in ''The Undiscovered Country'' include:
* ActuallyPrettyFunny: [=McCoy=]'s quip about feeling pretty good "aside from a touch of arthritis" is met with stone cold silence. Accompanied by ''one Klingon laughing his frigging ass off''.
** [=McCoy=] looks pleased by his reaction, too. Chang, however, was not amused.
** Here's the situation: General Chang was inquiring as to what [=McCoy=]'s status is as a medical practioner is. The way he asks it though, leaves it open to interpretation. Dr. [=McCoy=] is only happy to reply. Here is the full quote:
--> '''Chang''': Dr. [=McCoy=]...Would you be so good as to tell me, what is your current medical status?
--> '''Bones''': Aside from a touch of arthritis, I'd say pretty good!
* AlienBlood: The Klingons have Pepto-Bismol pink blood, in order to keep a PG rating. [[spoiler: Becomes a minor ChekhovsGun in the final act when an assassin is identified as ''not'' being Klingon because he has ''red'' blood.]]
** The red blood only appears in the extended cut. The reason the Klingon blood is pink in the film was to avoid a rating higher than PG. Ironically, Klingon blood is quite red everywhere else save this film.
** Klingon blood becomes red in all series taking place after the events of Star Trek VI. The Star Trek (particularly Mike Okuda) staff HandWaved this; saying Klingon blood only appears pink in microgravity.
* AndTheAdventureContinues (The end narration:)
--> '''Kirk''': Captain's log, stardate 9529.1. This is the final cruise of the starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man, where ''[[StarTrekTheNextGeneration no one]]'', has gone before.
* ArtificialGravity: A rare example where the artificial gravity actually fails.
* BadVibrations: Captain Sulu's tea cup at the beginning of the film.
* BigBad: General Chang.
** Also, [[spoiler: Admiral Cartwright]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Sulu and the ''USS Excelsior'' swooping in to even up the fight against General Chang and his Bird of Prey. While the original plan was to play this trope straight, the end result is a subversion; ''Excelsior'' doesn't do much but provide a second target, giving the ''Enterprise'' a much-needed breather.
* BluffingTheMurderer
* CallBack: Klaa is the interpreter at Kirk and [=McCoy's=] trial. After his conduct in ''The Final Frontier'', [[FridgeBrilliance it would make sense that he's been demoted.]]
* CastingGag: [[ToKillAMockingbird Brock Peters]] plays an anti-Klingon racist.
** Brock actually had problems doing Cartwright's anti-Klingon rant during the classified meeting because it was morally unpleasant for him personally. Multiple takes had to be done and pieced together.
** Brock Peters had til his death in 2005 done a ton of civil rights work, so playing a virulently racist character was problematic.
* ChekhovsGun: Subverted via ExecutiveMeddling. At the film's start, we learn that the Excelsior has been cataloging gaseous anomalies... but in its BigDamnHeroes moment, it's the ''Enterprise'' that [[spoiler: uses a gas-seeking torpedo to find Chang's ship]]. ChekhovsGun is left hanging on the wall, and Kirk pulls out a [[PlotHole concealed pistol]] of identical make.
* ChewingTheScenery: Chang in the final showdown; "Crryyyyyy HAVOK ... and let slip the dogs of war!"
* ClearMyName: Kirk and [=McCoy=].
* ColdWar: One of the more blatant allegories to come out of this period.
-->[[SpaceIsCold "In space, all warriors are cold warriors."]]
* [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike Complaining About Rescues You Don't Like]]: Spock beams up Kirk and [=McCoy=] from Rura Penthe right in the middle of the JustBetweenYouAndMe. Kirk immediately bawls him out for rescuing them ten seconds too ''early''.
-->'''Klingon Overseer''': Since you're all going to die anyway, why not tell you. His name is -
-->''[Kirk and [=McCoy=] get beamed up]''
-->'''Kirk''': [disintegrating] [[CurseCutShort Son of a...]]
-->'''Kirk''': [rematerializing] Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit all to hell... [to Spock] Couldn't you have waited a few more seconds? He was about to explain the whole thing!
-->'''Chekov''': You ''vant'' to go back?
-->'''[=McCoy=]''': Absolutely not!
-->'''Kirk''': ''...it's cold.''
* ContinuityNod - Sulu mentions at the end of IV that he hopes the ship they're being sent to is the Excelsior. In this film he turns up as a starship captain... commanding the Excelsior.
** This would have happened a lot sooner if ... everybody? ... WilliamShatner hadn't protested Sulu becoming Excelsior's captain in StarTrekII, where it was supposedly supposed to happen.
** Hang on, the ''Excelsior'' debuted in StarTrekIII. How does this work?
*** [[AllThereInTheManual The novelizations]] of the previous movies explain it - Sulu's promotion has come through in WrathOfKhan, but he's still on the Enterprise training cruise as a favor to Kirk. Then, because Genesis and the events surrounding its creation result in such public backlash, Excelsior is given to the guy in TheSearchForSpock because Sulu needs to be kept 'available' for debriefings and such.
* CoolOldGuy: Pretty much the main cast.
* CreditsPushback: The signatures at the end generally get [[EditedForSyndication clipped]] thanks to this practice.
* DescriptionCut
* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler: the Enterprise is getting owned by the cloaked Bird of Prey, and then suddenly the crew realizes the ship just happens to have some never-before-mentioned equipment to catalog gaseous anomalies that can be used to totally obliterate the enemy ship]].
** [[spoiler: Worse. I seem to recall that at the start of the film, SULU mentions they've been on a three-year mission "charting gaseous anomalies", so the Excelsior would have the equipment. Script-writer confusion abounds!]]
*** [[spoiler: Not so, more a case of a combination of executive and cast meddling (see the reference to Shatner insisting that the ''Enterprise'' save itself, above). This is also explained in the novelisation as being Starfleet's current ongoing giant research project of the past few years, so most ships were carrying equipment for gaseous anomalies, not just the ''Excelsior''. Admittedly this could have been somewhat fixed by modifying Sulu's opening narration to something like "for the past three years ''we have been leading the fleet'' in cataloguing gaseous anomalies in planetary atmospheres", but alas, l'esprit de l'escalier...]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: the whole film is an allegory about the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. It was released less than a few weeks before the Soviet Union actually fell.
** In addition, Praxis exploding and contaminating the Klingon homeworld is a clear reference to Chernobyl.
* DramaticallyMissingThePoint: Spock initially doesn't get Valaris's concern over this upcoming peace.
* EngineeredPublicConfession: During the trial, Kirk's log entry in which he says "I have never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I've never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy." is presented as proof of his motive for assassinating Gorkon. This fact is later used to incriminate [[spoiler:Valeris as a conspirator, since it was her who was outside his quarters at the time.]]
* EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily: An ironic version. Despite their motives, [[spoiler:the members of the Human-Klingon conspiracy to destroy the peace process]] are pretty unified in their goals. Though the vitriol is not far away given the comments from [[spoiler: Valeris]] about the others.
* EvilTwin: Martia!Kirk.
* ExecutiveMeddling. Gene Roddenberry. Again. He had a hard time with [[spoiler: Saavik]] being the traitor.
** Klingon blood is pink for the first and only time in the entire ''Star Trek'' property because had it been red, the film would have been slapped with an R rating.
* {{Expy}}: Valeris, for Saavik.
* EyepatchOfPower: Chang. ''[[BadAss Bolted directly to his face]],'' no less.
* FacePalm: Uhura's response to Chekov believing he has the culprit and missing the very obvious fact that their suspect can't fit in the incriminating boots.
* FacingTheBulletsOneLiner: "To be, or not to be?"
* FantasticRacism: Kirk acts this way towards the Klingons at first. He's hardly the only one, though.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: TheMole ''[[spoiler:[[IncrediblyLamePun has one on her face]]]]''.
** Gorkon had a pretty good idea as to who betrayed him once the shooting started.
* FinalSpeech: Gorkon begs Kirk with his dying breath to save the peace process, leaving Kirk shocked by cognitive dissonance.
-->'''Gorkon''': Don't let it end this way, Captain...
* FromACertainPointOfView: Spock.
* GeneralRipper: Chang.
* GilliganCut: After Kirk and Bones are sentenced to life imprisonment
-->'''Spock:''' If I know the Captain, he's already formulating an escape plan.
-->''[cut to Kirk getting his ass kicked]''
* TheGirlWhoFitsThisSlipper: Subverted. The boots of the conspirators were found in the locker of Crewman Dax ([[StarTrekDeepSpaceNine no relation]])...who has large webbed feet that don't fit.
* GivingUpOnLogic: Spock shows the long term character growth version of this trope. He hasn't given up on logic at all, but he has accepted that it is not the be all and end all.
* GroinAttack: Kirk gets in a fight with a big blue alien and ends it by kicking the alien in the knee. Or so he thinks.
--->Martia: That was not his knee. Not everybody keeps their genitals in the same place, Captain.
* HamToHamCombat: William Shatner vs. Christopher Plummer. The survivors likely envy the dead.
** At one point it's Shatner vs. Shatner, which reaches hamageddon levels.
* HeelRealization: Kirk realizing his intolerance of the Klingons led to [[spoiler:Chancellor Gorkon's death]].
* HomingProjectile: The torpedo that attempted to catalog the gaseous anomaly that was the fire-while-cloaked Bird of Prey's tail pipe.
* HonorBeforeReason: The Klingons are a violent, aggressive people whose Empire represents the antithesis of every Federation value. "Let them die" would be the expected response from anyone short of a saint. And yet the Federation offers them an olive branch anyway.
** Let them weaken themselves more first so we can be in a stronger position and force them to accept our way of life, maybe. But it doesn't take anywhere near a saint to not wish an entire space empire dead.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Spock's reaction to the forced mindmeld with [[spoiler: Valeris]] is made entirely of this trope.
* IdenticalGrandson: Worf's grandfather, Colonel Worf (also played by Michael Dorn of course).
* IKEAWeaponry
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Just after the diplomatic dinner on the Enterprise, [=McCoy=] leaves the transporter room proclaiming, "I'm going to go find a pot of black coffee".
* InTheOriginalKlingon: TropeNamer.
* IncomingHam: "I can see you, Kirk. Can you see me?"
* InvisibilityFlicker: Klingon warships have to do this. [[spoiler:Except Chang's.]]
* IronicEcho: Several times Valeris asks Spock "A lie?" and he responds that it is something else (e.g. "An error"). After she is [[spoiler:caught as a traitor]], he asks her "A lie?" and she responds "A choice."
* IronicEchoCut: Spock: "If I know the Captain, by this time, he is deep into planning his escape." Cut to Kirk getting the crap kicked out of him in a prison brawl.
* {{Irony}}: The conspiracy proves [[spoiler:Federation/Klingon cooperation is possible]].
* JabbaTableManners: The Klingons disgust the Federation's delegation with their eating habits.
* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Subverted, Kirk & [=McCoy=] are beamed out before the warden can give them a name.
* KangarooCourt: Kirk and [=McCoy's=] "trial".
** At least their defense lawyer (Worf's grandfather) was actually trying.
*** And doing pretty well under the circumstances. If he hadn't, it's almost certain Kirk and [=McCoy=] would have been executed.
* LargeHam: Christopher Plummer as Chang, rivaling even Khan.
** Lampshaded when [=McCoy=] exclaims, "I'd give real money if he'd shut up."
* LatexPerfection: [[spoiler: The Klingon assassin is Starfleet's Colonel West [[RubberForeheadAliens with some rubber on his forehead]].]]
* LiteraryAllusionTitle
** And if not for [[ExecutiveMeddling those pesky, meddling executives]], this would have been the title for StarTrekII.
** Allusions to Shakespeare was a regular occurrence in episode titles in [[StarTrekTheOriginalSeries The Original Series]]. ''The Undiscovered Country'' was likely intended to be a nod to tradition.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: A variation: once outside the Rura Penthe shield, Marta mentions this as such but the conspirators required a more "convincing" alternative.
-->'''Kirk:''' An accident wasn't good enough.
-->'''Marta:''' Good enough for one. Two would have looked suspicious. ''(transforms into Kirk)'' Killed while trying to escape. Now that's convincing enough for both.
* MindRape: Galactic peace hung in the balance. Spock knew they ''needed that information '''now'''. ''.
** On the DVDCommentary, Nicholas Meyer and screenwriter Denny Martin Flinn actually say that scene is "very erotic" and "sexy stuff". Some might consider that {{Squick}}, and some might consider that FetishFuel.
** Of course some would consider it erotic. [[{{Mannequin}} This is]] [[SexAndTheCity Kim Cattrall]] we're talking about, after all.
** This scene is more difficult to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ticking_time_bomb_scenario regard lightly in the War On Terror era]], though it may be more difficult to apply since a mind meld doesn't work in the way that torture does.
** In the novelization, it's very different: Valeris is terrified by the knowledge that Spock could force his way into her mind with his superior mental training, but Spock ''doesn't'' do this. He gently inquires telepathically and she is so relieved that she yields without resistance. As to whether the threat of mind rape is morally superior to actual mind rape, YMMV.
** In a promotional interview for the film, Cattrall revealed that her character and Nimoy's have a mind meld, and then crowed "I got to have safe sex with Mr. Spock!" Um...yeah, not so much.
** It has to be added that the actual scene is not as bad as this exchange makes it sound. Nimoy's acting make it ''painfully'' apparent that it isn't something Spock takes on lightly, and he is almost as badly affected as Valeris. His voice cracks badly as he delivers the information, and he is clearly struggling to hold it together himself.
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Valeris]]
* MoralDissonance: Words to this effect have also been leveled at the public MindRape of [[spoiler: Valeris]] on the bridge of the Enterprise by Spock, although it could be considered an example of IDidWhatIHadToDo since the Federation and Empire were on the precipice of war. It was... logical.
* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Uhura, [[PlotInducedStupidity "expert linguist"]], attempting to communicate with the Klingon ship.
* MythologyGag: [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration Worf's]] identical grandfather.
** Bones' exasperated, "What ''is'' it with you?!'' [[BoldlyComing after he kisses Martia.]]
--->'''Kirk:''' Still think we're cooked?
--->'''Bones:''' ''More than ever''.
** This exchange:
--->'''Kirk:''' I can't believe I kissed ''you''!
--->'''Martia!Kirk:''' [[LargeHam Must have been your life-long ambition!]]
* NearVillainVictory: The BigBad nearly destroys the Enterprise and the conspirators nearly [[spoiler: succeed in assassinating the Federation President, but Excelsior helps buy the Enterprise time to complete it's Plasma Seeking Torpedo to find and kill Chang and get to the planet in time to save the day]].
* NetworkToTheRescue The film might have never been made had the new head of Paramount not been a friend of Nick Meyer's.
* NoGravityForYou: One Klingon tactic involves doing this to an entire boarded ship.
* [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous Klingon Chanting]]
** That Ominous Klingon Chanting is actually Hamlet's ''To be, or not to be?'' in [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything its original Klingon]].
*** [[KangarooCourt KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK! KIRK!]]
* OhCrap:
** Kirk gets two of them during the movie: Once, when [=McCoy=] tells him that he doesn't know anything about the Chancellor's anatomy, let alone if the Klingon leader will live, and the second when he is being questioned and Chang forces him to admit to GuiltByAssociation in the Chancellor's death.
** Sulu at the beginning, when he sees the [[PlanarShockwave Praxis Shockwave]] hurtling towards his ship:
--->'''Sulu:''' My... ''God!'' Shields! '''SHIELDS!'''
* OrbitalShot: The forced Mind Meld.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: President Target of the United Federation of Planets and Chancellor Target of the Klingon Empire.
* PeaceConference
* PlanarShockwave: Thanks to this movie, it's commonly known as the "Praxis Shockwave".
* PlotInducedStupidity: So, Commander Uhura, veteran communications officer and linguist extraordinaire, ''never bothered to learn the common language of one of the galaxy's major powers?''
** Nichelle Nichols brought this up but director Nicholas Meyer shot her down. Being an avid fan of literature, Meyer wanted to show books on a Starship. So, yeah.
*** The fact that Uhura explicitly mentions that she can speak three obscure dialects of Romulan in the 2009 Star Trek movie could be considered a TakeThat to this scene.
* [[EarthShatteringKaboom Praxis Shattering Kaboom]]: The event that kicked off the events of the movie. The real-world analogue is the Chernobyl plant disaster that weakened the Soviet Union just enough to get the ball rolling.
* [[PreAssKickingOneLiner Pre-Asskicking One-Liner ]]: [[TranquilFury "Target that explosion and fire."]]
* RevengeBeforeReason: Kirk certainly walks the line at first.
-->'''Spock:''' Jim, they are dying.
-->'''Kirk:''' Let them die!
* RidingIntoTheSunset
* SceneryPorn: The aerial shots of Kirk, [=McCoy=] and Martia trudging across the wastes of Rura Penthe are ''stunning.''
* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: Praxis must be really close to the neutral zone in order for the ''Excelsior'' to have been caught in the PlanarShockwave.
* ShapeshiftingSquick
* ShownTheirWork: Watch the film again - you can see when Spock slaps the patch on Kirk's back.
* ShoutOut:
** The last line before the final voice over is a reference to ''PeterPan'' (the directions to Neverland).
--->'''Kirk''': Second star to the right... and straight on till morning.
*** The line in the actual book was "second to the right, and straight on till morning", so technically Kirk was referencing the 1953 Disney film.
** There is also a ShoutOut to SherlockHolmes, when Spock says, "One of my ancestors once said, 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'" Gene Roddenberry had established as part of Spock's BackStory that Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of SherlockHolmes, was one of Spock's ancestors on his mother's side.
** Chang's demand that Kirk not wait for the translation of a question, but answer it immediately, is straight from an earlier (pre-TOS, in fact) US-Soviet confrontation, the CubanMissileCrisis. In that case, it was Adlai Stevenson insisting that the Soviet delegate to the UN answer simply yes or no as to whether they were putting missiles in Cuba.
** The Warden's speech is almost a word-for-word paraphrasing of Saito's "There is no escape" speech from ''TheBridgeOnTheRiverKwai''.
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: The title, and 75% of General Chang's dialogue.
--> '''[=McCoy=]:''' I'd pay real money if he'd shut up.
* SlowClap
* SpaceIsAnOcean: Nothing new to Trek but this movie subtly does a lot to give the feeling that the Enterprise is a naval vessel in space, right down to the computerized ship's bell dinging in a few scenes.
** Even moreso for this movie's Bird-of-Prey, which is the only one in the entire franchise to use a large ship's wheel at the helm.
** The explosion of Praxis sends out the space equivalent of a tsunami, which happens to be at the exact height in space to hit Excelsior.
* SpotTheImposter: The same reason Martia was able to escape is the same reason the Warden was able to figure out she wasn't Kirk and killed her: She took off her leg cuffs.
* StockFootage: The scene where Enterprise glides towards the spacedock doors is a reuse of the "zoom in on Enterprise" shot from Star Trek IV and Star Trek V, just with the Excelsior removed and the background tint changed to blue.
** The second trailer has a scene from StarTrekIII but it's minor (Enterprise getting shot by a torpedo).
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute. Valeris in place of Saavik.
* TakeThat: It's quite nicely worked in, but Kirk's remark in the end speech that "some people think change means the end of history" is likely a jab at neo-conservative Francis Fukuyama's proclamation (and epynonymous book) that the collapse of Soviet communism meant that liberal bourgeois democracy was the only option for developing countries and was, thus, "the end of history".
* [[TitleDrop (Sub)Title Drop]]: In the ill-fated [[FantasticRacism dinner scene]], Gorkon proposes a toast to "the undiscovered country," earning bemused stares from the audience as well as the main cast before he explains he meant "the future."
** The cause of the confusion is that within the context of {{Hamlet}}'s speech, "the undiscovered country" is ''death''.
*** Which Spock himself [[LampshadeHanging points out]] in the novelization. Gorkon's counter-argument has a good point.
** Which, considering what happens to Gorkon in his next scene, actually makes quite a bit of [[{{Foreshadowing}} sense]].
* TrailersAlwaysLie: Trailers for the movie showcased a scene of [[spoiler: Kirk getting phasered and exploding]]. Turns out [[spoiler: it was just a shape-shifter]].
* TranslationConvention: During the trial, the Klingons begin in their own language, then the camera cuts to a box where translators are giving a running translation in English, which is being piped through radio-like devices that Kirk and [=McCoy=] are listening to. When the camera cuts back to General Chang, all spoken dialogue for the rest of the scene is in English, but it's still clear the Klingons are speaking their own language, particularly when Chang yells at Kirk not to wait for the translation before answering a question.
** This trope is mostly avoided for all other scenes involving the Klingons on their own, however. Subtitles are used in all-Klingon scenes in almost all movies.
** For some reason, it almost always switches to English whenever Chang starts talking, sometimes right after some untranslated Klingon. Maybe Christopher Plummer has trouble chewing scenery in Klingon.
* TwoDSpace: Subtly averted. When the ''Enterprise'' and ''Kronos One'' first rendezvous, they are not aligned in the same plane. ''Enterprise'' very diplomatically adjusts to match the Chancellor's ship. Later, the Bird of Prey fires one of its torpedoes perpendicularly to the plane of the saucer section of the ''Enterprise'', damaging it extensively.
* WasntThatFun: After General Chang's Bird-of-Prey blasting away at the helpless Enterprise with yet another ScreenShake:
-->'''[=McCoy=]:''' Well, this is fun.
* WeWillUseManualLaborInTheFuture: Or at least the Klingons will on their prison planets. Then again, it's Rua Penthe, the Klingon equivalent of a gulag. Hardly meant to be comfortable.
* WhatTheHellHero: Spock's disturbed reaction to Kirk's desire to see the Klingons die off.
** In commentaries, Shatner expressed dismay that they cut out a subsequent self-dismissive gesture from Kirk suggesting it was impulsively said.
** This was prompted by Spock "volunteering" the Enterprize and crew for the peace keeping mission. Considering just two films ago, Kirk was accused by the Klingons of developing the Genesis device as a superweapon, he seems like a poor choice - but the implication is that the Klingons respect Kirk's legendary fighting abilities and will deal better with a tough guy than a nice guy. [[spoiler: The conspirators have no problem leveraging this reputation to frame Kirk for Gorkon's murder.]]
* WhyWereBummedCommunismFell: The whole film is a metaphor for the fall of communism, and even seemed to predict the failed coup that preceded the final collapse of the USSR.
* WickedCultured: General Chang might be willing to plunge the quadrant into war, but damn if he can't quote Shakespeare with the best of them!
* WildHair: The Federation President's moustache almost earned its own acting credit.
* YouLookFamiliar: Chancellor Gorkon is played by David Warner, who played St. John ("sinjin") Talbot in the [[StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier previous film]].
** [[StarTrekTheNextGeneration How many lights are there]], Chancellor?
*** Again, Worf. Who, [[TheWorfEffect of course]], does what he does best—get owned. Except this time, in court.
** Rene Auberjonois, who would go on to play Odo on StarTrekDeepSpaceNine, plays Colonel West.
*** If Admiral Cartwright looks a lot like Joseph Sisko, that would be because they were both played by Brock Peters.
** In another life, the Federation President is [[StarTrekVoyager screwing around with the timeline to get back his home colony and, by extension, his wife]].
*** "This President is not above the law, [[That70sShow Dumbass!]]"
----
