The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. The film features the original cast of the 1967 series that started it all. The film features the crew of the USS Enterprise as they journey with Spock’s half-brother, Sybok, to allegedly find God.
The quote comes near the end of the film. The USS Enterprise does manage to get to the planet that holds “God.” This seemingly all-powerful being requests to board the starship that brought them to the planet. This is when Captain James T. Kirk (played by William Shatner) delivers the quote.
Geek wisdom: Sometimes, it’s best to not take things at face value. Just because something seems to be plausible, that doesn’t automatically mean it’s positively true. We have to look at things with a critical eye and not just blindly accept the things in front of us.
The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the original Star Trek television series. The television that launched a multi-billion dollar franchise and one that has endured for decades. With the latest television show, Star Trek: Discover, set for release tomorrow, I think it would be a good idea to give a quote from the show that started it all.
The quote comes from the episode Amok Time, frequently mentioned to be one of the best episodes of the series. In the episode, Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy) desperately needs to return to Vulcan to complete the right to pon farr, which is essentially the Vulcan mating ritual. However, when he does return to the planet, Spock finds out that his future wife has fallen in love with another man. She enacts the right of koon-ut-kal-if-fee, wherein she picks Captain Kirk (played by William Shatner) as her champion. At the end of the episode, Spock renounces her claim on his supposed bride-to-be and delivers the quote to the man she fell in love with.
Geek wisdom: There’s an old adage that goes “Be careful what you wish for. You may receive it.” There are times when you want something so badly that it’s all you can think about. But, once you do get that thing you crave for, you may find out that it’s not all that’s it’s cracked up to be. By then, it’s too late and you may have spend all that effort trying to get something that you actually didn’t want or need in the first place.
The story behind the quote: This is actually the second time I’m getting a quote from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The quote comes from the beginning of the film where Lt. Saavik and the crew of the Enterprise receives a distress call from the Kobayashi Maru, a Starfleet vessel that is stranded in the Klingon Neutral Zone. As Saavik attempts to rescue the crew of the crippled ship, the Enterprise is attacked by waves upon waves of Klingon starships, resulting in the eventual deaths of the crew of the ship.
It turns out the entire scene was just a test for Saavik to see how she would handle a “no-win” scenario. However, it’s revealed shortly after that there was actually someone who “beat” the Kobayashi Maru simulation; Admiral James T. Kirk managed to complete the scenario on his third try.
Geek wisdom: When you think you can’t succeed, chances are you’ll fail because you already let yourself think it’s okay to not succeed. Sometimes, it’s even better to fail so that you can have an excuse for not trying something again. But if you believe that you have to perform a task and actually do it correctly, you will push yourself harder to do so.
The story behind the quote: This is a first! Not only am I using another Star Trek quote from the second film, The Wrath of Khan, but I’m also going to use the exact same clip from one of this blog’s earliest entries! So, I won’t really be writing that long of a set up for this one.
Spock had to enter the warp core of the ship to repair the engines so that they could escape destruction. Because of this, he has been exposed to a fatal dose of radiation and is dying. Kirk rushes to his aid but is unable to help his friend. As he’s dying, Spock tells Kirk about how he “feels” about his relationship with the Captain of the USS Enterprise.
Geek wisdom: It’s easy to cherish your friends when you’re with them all the time. But what about the time when you don’t meet up with them every day? The sad part of this is friendships can fade away, no matter how many times you check their status message on Facebook.
Still, even if this does happen, you will always be their friend. When you see each other after ages of being apart, it’s easy to rekindle that friendship. All it takes is that one time.
The story behind the quote: The quote was actually mentioned twice in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The first time is relatively early in the film. Spock is actually in command of the Enterprise when it receives a distress call from another starship. Kirk, now an admiral decides to take command due to the emergency. Spock then derides his friend, saying that Kirk shouldn’t have taken the promotion since this has taken him from what he actually loves: being the commander of a starship. However, he will still follow Kirk since he is not only his commanding officer, but, more importantly, his friend.
The 2nd time this is mentioned is the more remembered. Spock had to enter the warp core of the ship to repair the engines so that they could escape destruction. Because of this, he has been exposed to a fatal dose of radiation and is dying. Kirk rushes to his aid but is unable to help his friend. Spock asks his friend not to grieve and starts the phrase only to be completed by Kirk.
It is important to note that this is possibly not the true origin of this quote. Greek philosophers have been noted to mention something along these lines. However, most people, especially movie buffs, remember the quote coming from this film due to the emotional weight it carries.
Geek wisdom: Sometimes, self-sacrifice is important in the scheme of things. A lot of heroes know this and this is why we remember them. Its through their sacrifice that we get to live our lives. Think of the soldiers who fight for our freedoms. They are fighting for you so that you don’t have to.
We can still do little things, such as volunteering for tasks that no one likes to do (taking out the trash, for example). Or, if your friends wants to go rock climbing and you don’t want to, go along with them still. We don’t have to give up our lives to follow Spock’s example.
