me141@sdcattb.UUCP (me141) (07/13/84)
The following report on Space-Trek III in St.Louis was excerpted from Interstat. Harve Bennett said there would definitely be a ST IV and yes, he alone bears the responsibility for blowing up the Enterprise. He recalled his days of combat in Korea, saying "When you walk away, and you've made it, you don't once think about the equipment, you think about staying alive." The major failure of ST-TMP, he said, was that it paid extravagant homage to the Enterprise as a machine while neglecting the story of the people aboard her. Bennett admits to going to the other extreme in ST III, but denies sitting down with malicious intent to blow up the starship. That he is a humanist and idealist, finding nothing higher in drama or life than human life, may have "unconsciously" guided his choices. As a writer, he admitted that he had painted himself into a corner and that the self-destruct sequence was "the only decision the character (Kirk) could have taken, given the circumstances". He hinted strongly that the Enterprise would be rebuilt and that it would not resemble the Excelsior [his version of the Spruce Goose]. The inclusion of pon farr was both Roddenberry's and Nimoy's idea. David Marcus death was a requirement for the ultimate test of James T. Kirk. He called it a "dramatic imperative" necessary so that the thematic statement regarding Kirk's encounter with death could be carried through. Roddenberry contributed the protomatter story device. David's use of protomatter in Genesis enhances certain ironies and the parallels of David's having, like his father, cheated. Other tidbits: A poignant scene on Vulcan where a small Vulcan child tells the unconscious Spock to "Live long and prosper" was cut. ["Vulcan child" remains in closing credits] Also cut were several scenes dealing with the restoration of Spock's katra to either the Hall of Ancient Thought or to his body. When asked what he would do to Kirk, Bennett replied "I'd courtmartial his ass." Alice Greene [..ucbvax!sdcsvax!sdccsu3!sdcattb!me141]