Harve Bennett Comments
me141
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
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