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Tonight’s Menu: On this rewind, Star Trek Author Dayton Ward joins us as we share our thoughts about Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 American science fiction film directed by Leonard Nimoy and based on the television series of the same name created by Gene Roddenberry. It is the third film in the Star Trek film series, and is the second part of a three-film story arc that begins with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and concludes with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). After the death of Spock (Nimoy), the crew of the USS Enterprise returns to Earth. When James T. Kirk (William Shatner) learns that Spock’s spirit, or katra, is held in the mind of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk and company steal the Enterprise to return Spock’s body to his home planet. The crew must also contend with hostile Klingons led by Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) who are bent on stealing the secrets of a powerful terraforming device.
Paramount Pictures commissioned the film after the positive critical and commercial reaction to The Wrath of Khan. Nimoy directed the film, becoming the first Star Trek cast member to do so. Producer Harve Bennett wrote the script starting from the end and working back, and intended the destruction of the Enterprise to be a shocking development. Bennett and Nimoy collaborated with effects house Industrial Light & Magic to develop storyboards and new ship designs; ILM also handled the film’s many special effects sequences. Aside from a single day of location shooting, all of the film’s scenes were shot on Paramount and ILM soundstages. Composer James Horner returned to expand his themes from the previous film.
The Search for Spock opened on June 1, 1984. In its first week of release, the film grossed over $16 million from almost 2,000 theaters across North America. It went on to gross $76 million at the domestic box office, with a total of $87 million worldwide. Critical reaction to The Search for Spock was positive, but notably less so than the previous film. Reviewers generally praised the cast and characters, while criticism tended to focus on the plot; the special effects were conflictingly received. Roger Ebert called the film a compromise between the tones of the first and second Star Trek films. The Search for Spock has since been released on multiple home video formats, including VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray high definition discs. Nimoy went on to direct The Search for Spock‘s sequel, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Dayton Ward (born June 7, 1967) is a science fiction author primarily known for his Star Trek novels and short stories, which began with publication in the Strange New Worlds anthology series. He published stories in each of the first three Strange New Worlds volumes, making him the first author to render himself ineligible under the rules of that series. As such, future authors who achieved the same feat were said to have earned a “Wardy”.
In addition to his Star Trek books, he has written numerous articles related to Star Trek in Star Trek Communicator and Star Trek Magazine. He has also published a number of short stories in various magazines and collections. His frequent collaborator on these and other works is fellow author Kevin Dilmore.
Before he became a successful author, Ward enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served for more than eleven years, before being honorably discharged. He currently lives with his family in Kansas City, Missouri, where he works as a software developer when not writing. His stated hobbies include reading, going to movies, and watching football, basketball, or beach volleyball.
He is a fan of Canadian rock band Rush, and several of his stories have been named after Rush songs.
To find out more about Dayton Ward and his novels, please visit here.