It's Friday night, y'all. Time for #wenchwatches

Tonight: #alien

The effect plays right into the characters of the film. These aren't explorers, ambassadors, or scientists...they're laborers. They're working stiffs.

There's a kind of oil-rig-in-space kind of vibe among the characters. They aren't friends, they're co-workers brought together by circumstance and the hope for the big payoff at the end of their tour.

#wenchwatches #alien

Right away we're struck with the film's iconic set design. Unlike the pristine sets of Star Trek, this one had more of a lived in feel. You can immediately see the dirt and dinginess of a spacecraft that is, in effect, a place of work. Instead, Alien takes more of it's cues from the likes of "Silent Running". The lighting is moody, with excellent use of light and dark to enhance the sets, rather than douse them in blinding light.

#wenchwatches #alien

I've mentioned before how I watched the Alien franchise backwards, and indeed, the first installment was the one I watched last. In fact, I watched all the Alien films one Christmas holiday season as we were borrowing a laserdisc player. I had wrapped everyone's presents -- including my own -- that year while watching this film.

#wenchwatches #alien

We've rewatched Alien a few times here already, but I have a friend who hasn't actually seen it yet, so...

Let's watch!

#wenchwatches #alien

Some things don't need to be compared for us to find value. I don't need to compare The Voyage Home with Wrath of Khan. I can appreciate the one with the whales for itself. I certainly tend more toward the darkly dramatic, but there's no harm in having a bit of fun when fun is what you want.

And the cast, crew, and production team really wanted a bit of fun.

So give it a watch, Fedi, will you?

#wenchwatches #startrek4

Instead, the film is trying to be a bit of lighthearted fun, while resolving all its lingering plot threads, while remaining true to itself. An old aphorism is "Comparisons are Odious"; us in the geek set sure do love our comparisons. "What's the best Star Trek film?" "What's the best space ship?" Even more informal and more personal questions of "your favorite [something]" can be irksome to me.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

Is Star Trek 4 a classic? To fans, it's a divisive one. In my older years I'm more inclined to just enjoy it for what it is, situating it within the exhausting three film cycle which it concluded. Bits of it have certainly entered into the greater cultural zeitgeist. I mean, "Hello, Computer" while speaking into the mouse is still a great gag.

The film isn't trying to be great cinema, nor is it trying to be "serious" Star Trek.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

While the ending of the film is still satisfying in an in-universe sort of way, it also doesn't entirely feel natural to me as a writer. It's prescribed, the sort of ending we expect. And it even has them getting "their old ship" back after a fashion.

It only works because at that point in the film, the audience wants it all to tie up neatly. And as a franchise, we certainly can't make permanent changes now...

#wenchwatches #startrek4

The film, however, isn't quite resolving things. After all, the acts of the characters in Star Trek 3 all require resolution. I appreciate that the film goes to lengths to close this out as well. Other films would handwave it away in an off-screen exoneration.

As the third film in a cycle, however, it'd be a letdown not to give the audience much needed closure here as well. We want to know that more than the world being saved, our characters come out on top too.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

It's here the final resolution comes, and quickly enough you'd miss it if you weren't paying attention. During the time warp sequence, Kirk orders control to Spock's command to fire the breaking thrusters. This is a risky maneuver on which all their lives depend. Not only has Spock become more himself throughout the film, it's this moment in which the crew's hope in his restoration was finally achieved.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

The fourth act of this film is by far the shortest. Barely the last 20 minutes of the film, we return to the 23rd century and hope to release our whales. While it's easy to think of this only as an action sequence, it does resolve an important plot since the end of Star Trek 2.

Earlier in the film, McCoy questioned Spock's capabilities to Kirk, and even asked for his confidence in our favorite Vulcan. Kirk didn't answer, but his silence spoke volumes.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

While consistent with the message, the sheer improbability of this particular pair of whales, in this particular film, encountering a whaling ship at this particular moment broke the fourth wall for me even as a child. At least it felt more integrated with the story than other films with less cinematic resources.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

Genre films with an environmental message often are heavy handed. What Showa-era Kaiju fan didn't roll their eyes at the hamfisted messaging squeezed in in the closing soliloquy? Sadly, Star Trek 4 is no different.

The whaling sequence is perhaps the most heavy handed the film gets. It's designed to elicit maximum emotional reaction after all the investment we were given in George and Gracie.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

You could argue that Checkov's capture by the Navy is part of that Depth of Despair, but the threat feels so distant. And that's intentional, the film is tipping is hand, letting us know our heroes will succeed, even if they have to cause a little chaos in a hospital. It's perhaps the most fun sequence the entire film has, and it comes at exactly the right moment.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

"Noon tomorrow!?"

The third act is often when the film experiences a dramatic rise in action. It's when the central premise of the film needs to be confronted. This part of the film also usually coincides with the part of the Heroes Path known as the Depth of Despair. It's a moment where the story denies the protagonists the achievement of their goal for one moment longer.

#wenchwatches #startrek4

The timing this film has with its scriptwriting is something I didn't appreciate until now. As fun as the second act is, it lasts just long enough to be entertaining without wearing out the welcome.

Okay, we've had our fun, maybe we should get back to that whole saving the world thing?

#wenchwatches #startrek4

Instead of the typical rubber, black fur, metal, and spikes, the Klingon Ambassador's outfit is soft and a kind of cornflower blue. It feels very much like a ceremonial purposes, a culturally specific demarcation. It's more than that, however, as we quickly learn from John Shuck's performance.

Here we have the first klingon which feels klingon. There's a powerful, almost Shakespearean presence to the man.

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There's a number of firsts in this film that go by in just the first act alone without much comment. This may be the first time we've seen any sizable portion of the Federation Council on camera. We've seen select members in previous films and The Original Series, but never more than a handful of actors.

This rolls right into the next reveal. One of the first Klingons see on camera who is not a warrior in the conventional sense.

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