Star Trek TOS Movie Reviews - Does B-G-B-G-B-G Hold Up

·25 min·2 clips

Why does The Wrath of Khan feature one of sci-fi's most heartbreaking sacrifices and the iconic 'needs of the many' line?

The episode begins with host John introducing the B-G-B-G-B-G theory about the quality pattern of the six Star Trek TOS movies. He starts with Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), noting its 6.4 IMDb rating and issues like an unfinished script. John references an interview with author Joe Jordan about director Robert Wise and shares Roger Ebert's three-star review. The film is described as high-concept sci-fi with V'ger. Next, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) is highlighted as John's personal favorite, with a 7.6 IMDb rating and iconic quotes. It's based on the 'Space Seed' episode and features Ricardo Montalban as Khan. The film begins a trilogy arc. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) is directed by Leonard Nimoy and has a 7.3 IMDb rating. The plot involves Kirk stealing the Enterprise to rescue Spock's spirit from McCoy, facing Klingons led by Christopher Lloyd. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) is noted for its comedic tone, with the crew time-traveling to 1986 San Francisco to save whales, earning an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) is directed by William Shatner and has low ratings (5.5 IMDb), exploring themes of faith with the line 'What does God need with a starship?' Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) is directed by Nicholas Meyer and serves as a Cold War allegory, with Kirk framed for assassination. John concludes by evaluating the B-G-B-G-B-G theory, noting it generally holds but with exceptions like The Search for Spock having defenders.

As heard by us

A brisk, affectionate test of the bad-good Star Trek film theory, with sensible room for exceptions.

Classic Movie Review revisits the familiar Star Trek: The Original Series film pattern: bad, good, bad, good, bad, good. It treats the six-film run as uneven across story, acting, effects, and sheer audience pleasure, beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which arrived…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want to see whether Star Trek's bad-good movie rhythm holds up for the original crew? Press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Classic Movie Review