Star Trek The Motion Picture - Novel - Gene Roddenberry

I actually read this about six months ago, but I didn't want to write about it until I'd watched it again... and I didn't want to watch it again before I'd rewatched TOS.  So FINALLY I get to write about one of the most thoughtful and beautiful novels which just should be an essential counterpart to the film.

The Star Trek The Motion Picture novelisation is actually the only Star Trek novel Gene Roddenberry  wrote himself, which is both wonderful and sad - wonderful that we get to see his writing and ideas 'first hand' but sad because it is only the one novel, and he has a wonderful writing style.  One of the things I have read about Roddenberry is that he was a 'big picture' person - big ideas, but leaving the details to others - however this novelisation is all about the details.

My first introduction to the novel was actually via 'the Roddenberry footnote', which introduces the concept of th'yla - more on that later - of course I had to read the novel after reading just a footnote on it.  Following up the footnote subsequently caused me to read William Shatner's first biography Where No Man, which gives some insight to Roddenberry's thoughts going into the movie and the kind of influences on him at the time.  Incidentally the two women who wrote Shatner's biography (which takes the form of, in many parts, interview) are also the writers of a few Star Trek novels published through Pocket Books and I happen to be reading them at the moment.  They seem to stick very closely to the sentiments expressed by Roddenberry and Shatner as well as the details in the Star Trek The Motion Picture novelisation.

The reason I suggest that this novel should be an essential counterpart to the film is because there is a lot of explanation and expansion of scenes and characters.  For example, why are the characters in the transporter accident significant?  What happened to Kirk to change him from that charismatic leader to the dour, broken individual we see through most of the film?  What does Spock telepathically sense on Vulcan?  What were Spock's motivations for purging himself of emotions once and for all?  There's a whole host of questions left unanswered by the film that do have their answers in the book.

Now I'm not saying the film can't stand on its own per se,  it can, but reading the novel and watching the film (preferably the novel before the film) just makes the experience a helluva lot richer.  I feel that this novel is what novel adaptations of movies should be, not just a cash cow, not just rehashing the story scene by scene, but actually significantly adding to the understanding of the film.

It's significant that Roddenberry wrote this much expanded companion to the film.  It's significant new terms are introduced and it's significant that it overtly adds what the film couldn't due to trying to bypass the censors or because it was trying to appeal to a broad audience.

For your information, I consider this novel 100% canon.  If this can't be considered  canon, I don't know what can.

Before I dive headlong into my gasping appreciation of the Kirk/Spock relationship exposé, which frankly is the whole point of the film I'll point out a few things which make the film that much more comprehensible.

New Humans - knowing about the New Human movement goes a significant way into understanding just why Kirk is in the situation he is in.  You don't learn about this movement in the film, but you do in the book, and you also get an indication of the malleability of Human thought and importance of individuality in an increasingly homogenous society in the preface (written by none other than Kirk himself of course!!).  The implication is that Kirk was made an admiral and kept on Earth after the end of the five year mission as a figurehead representing the best of humanity and the pinnacle of individualism.  We get much description of how Starfleet and it's personnel are old fashioned and that the new and more advanced humans are moving towards almost a group consciousness and are wooed by greater intellects, something that we are told make them unsuitable for deep space exploration.  The New Humans are said to have been increasingly critical of Starfleet and Kirk was used as a pawn to secure support on earth.

McCoy left Starfleet in protest because they made Kirk an admiral despite his protests and his opinion that Kirk would not be suitable for the position:

'Upon learning that Admiral’s stars were to be offered to Kirk, McCoy had protested vehemently and had secured the backing of other prominent medical officers in the fight.'

McCoy resigned because his recommendations were ignored.  We don't know what happened in those last two years of the five year mission, but when Kirk got back, he wasn't the man we left at the end of the third season.  We also don't know what happened to make Spock leave (pfft), but we do know that Kirk couldn't process that at the time:

'Also, he had not really understood how deeply Spock’s abrupt departure for Vulcan had affected him. He had been depending on the Vulcan’s friendship and logic much more than he realized.'

 He (McCoy) knew his friend would be broken (and possibly was already broken) in his new position.  I have little doubt that McCoy realised Kirk was going to be used with little consideration to his mental health and as a doctor he couldn't stand by and watch it happen.

There are extra sections, extra insight from McCoy into Kirk's mental state in the book, and it is McCoy who redresses Kirk for his actions.  Their relationship needs time to heal, the slow speed in which it occurs however is a poignant indication of Kirk's broken state.

The novelisation adds significant observations from and about the rest of the crew which are not included in the film.  The original crew recognise that Kirk is different, that he's dangerous in his current state.  It's a testament to their belief and loyalty to him that they still follow him into the breach regardless, even when he has lost his charisma and charm.

We also learn about Lori, the woman who died during the teleporter malfunction.  Lori was Kirk's lover on earth in the first year after taking up his position in the admiralty.  She was sent to him by Admiral Nogura to 'heal and pleasure' him, which he accepted, however he knows that she was there to help control him on Earth.  He knows this, but is relatively unconcerned, he isn't vengeful he isn't angry, he just accepts it... he's completely dispassionate.  She was involved in Nogura's manipulation, which is made clear to him in scenes not in the film.

Of course, we also get a hell of a lot of insight into Spock's character, and into the relationship between him and Kirk.  In particular we get given the concept of T'hy'la and it's explanation in footnotes.  We also get told that T'hy'la is the term Spock attributes to Kirk - it means 'friend, brother, lover'.  I'm not going to go into an analysis of that now, that's a whole 'nother blog post, but we can safely say that at the end of the five year mission, something happened and Spock went running away to purge his 'shameful' emotions on Vulcan.  We get so much extra narrative about Spock's 'feelings' on Vulcan, we also get an explanation of what Spock 'hears'... He 'hears' Kirk thinking about him, calling out to him from Earth to Vulcan.  Spock fails to purge his emotions because of Kirk.

Spock refers to Kirk as his T'hy'la and all that implies, Kirk who lacks that word (presumably, otherwise I suppose he would have used it) he describes their relationship like this:

'But still it felt painful to be reminded so powerfully and unexpectedly of his friendship and affection for Spock - their had been the touching of two minds which the old poets of Spock's home planet had proclaimed superior to even the wild physical love which affected Vulcans every seventh year during pon farr.'

He lashes out at Spock when he is jilted, he wants to hurt him, but he also desperately needs him.  Even in this reduced capacity, once Spock is on the Enterprise again Kirk regains himself, and even Decker feels his respect towards Kirk increase.

Basically, if you want to learn about the inner workings of the characters, read this book, I'm barely touching on the additional content.

The novelisation has no qualms about the exposition of the two parallel  relationships of Decker/Ilia and Kirk/Spock.  None.  At. All.  The movie only thinly veils the comparison, the novelisation doesn't even bother.  And the overall theme of the movie?  That is basically sidestepped all the time (probably because of the two narratives) - love - you don't get to read that another way.  Love is referred to strangely in the movie / novelisation, have you noticed that Kirk calls even overt love 'friendship' - e.g. he calls Ilia and Decker's relationship 'friendship' and he hesitates and calls his relationship with Spock 'friendship' too.  I'm fairly sure that Kirk uses these terms interchangeably - much like the term 't'hy'la?  DAMN and I said I wouldn't get into this right now!

By the way, there are some extra parts to the um, 'sickbay scene' that make the whole thing completely 'un-misreadable'.  He is comforted, told that he didn't have to worry about 'shame', he 'clings' to Kirk, he feels 'needs'.

Q.E.D.  Roddenberry confirmed it right there.

The end of the novel plays out pretty much the same way as the film does.  There is an extra line at the end in which Spock banters with Kirk, indicating they are healed and that this is the start of more great adventures.

The novelisation is just... wonderful.  Wonderful companion, wonderful exposition, wonderful vindication.  Read it - I know I'm about to read it again!

5/5 - L.L.A.P