For all its “Bonk bonk on the head,” and “No blah blah blah,” I think we overlook the fact that Miri actually does a pretty good job of presenting each of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy with what turns out to be a worst-nightmare scenario, given what we find out in canon.
Kirk has to convince a group of children to stop resorting to violence and mob mentality before they starve to death. He tells them there’s only six months of food left, if they don’t let Starfleet help.
“And the little ones. What’s going to happen to them after you’ve gone, after you’ve turned into creatures like Louise? Oh, they’ll still be here, but not for long, because the food’s all gone. You’ve eaten it. Maybe six months left, that’s all, and then nothing left to eat, nobody left to take care of them. They’ll die, too.”
Kirk has seen children starve.
Spock, by virtue of his unique heritage, doesn’t seem affected by the disease. This gives him an advantage. However, he’s a carrier, and unless they solve the problem, he can’t go back to the ship. Not only that, but if the problem is never solved, Spock could conceivably be left completely alone.
“I am a carrier. Whatever happens, I can’t go back to the ship, and I do want to go back to the ship, Captain.“
Spock’s heritage puts him between worlds in a liminal space, out of place on a parallel Earth, not successful enough to go back to the ship.
McCoy’s caught in a race against time to find a cure. It’s a disease that will cause “great pain,” make each one of them lose their humanity, and will make him violate his Hippocratic oath.
“Only a matter of time before we all go mad, destroy each other, till the last of us finally destroys himself.“
The worst part is when he believes he’s almost got the cure, but the communicators that would let them contact the ship have been stolen. The concoction could very well be “a beaker full of death.” He’s so close, and yet so far. If that sounds familiar, remember that McCoy was unable to save his own father, releasing him from his own extreme pain - only to find out that the cure had been found, just too late.
MCCOY: We can’t wait for those communicators any longer. SPOCK: We must. The vaccine could be fatal. MCCOY: The disease certainly is. How long do we have left? Hours, minutes? How much longer do you want to wait?
McCoy performs an essentially suicidal action, choosing to end it for himself, one way or another, just so he won’t be too late one more time.
Why do the XO and CMO have to come down to every planet with the Captain, depriving the ship of three of its top officers at once and putting them all in constant peril?
Kirk: “I just can’t believe that Spock had a brother…” Uhura: “You mean you didn’t know, sir?” Kirk: “You mean you did?” Uhura: “Of course!” Scotty: “Aye, me too.” Sulu: “So did I.” Kirk: “And how exactly did all of you come by this information?” Chekov: “Simple. We asked him.” Uhura: “He has a sister, too.” Kirk: “A what?”
A conversation I imagine took place not long after Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Two publicity stills from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
Quickie publicity sheets like this were sent to newspapers to drum up interest in the first free cable viewings of movies. The actual quality of the images is pretty abysmal; they’re definitely a copy of a print instead of being printed from a fresh negative. Still, an interesting artifact from a time before you could email 8mb .jpgs to everyone in your contacts list.
I had planned to post about these Southern Baked Beans before hearing of Leonard Nimoy’s passing. I was going to make a quip about how both Leonard McCoy and another great man both understood that there was “nothing like a campfire and a can of beans”. Instead, I think this dish acts as a great tribute to both Nimoy and the character of Spock, and perhaps most importantly, the friendship of Kirk, Spock and McCoy that defined The Original Series and gave us such hope for the future.
This dish is of course an old McCoy family recipe, and having made it, I can see why it was passed down through the generations. While the film it appears in concentrates on more important questions (“What does God need with a starship?”), the camping scenes remind us of the core of Star Trek (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier). Many baked bean recipes use canned beans - this recipe uses dried beans that you soak overnight. The recipe is not difficult but will take a long time to cook, so bear that in mind when considering your timings.
Vale Leonard Nimoy. Thankyou for helping to bring the world of Star Trek to us and reminding us of the possibilities. Travel far beyond the stars.
Replicate your own (Serves at least 4 - more if you serve it as a side dish). (Based on this recipe but with alterations)
You will need to start the night before to soak the beans.
This recipe is very forgiving - all measurements are approximate.
500g / 1lb dried navy/haricot beans 300g / 2/3lb beef mince 200g / 1/2lb bacon, cut into small pieces 1 large onion, diced 1-2 green capsicums, diced ½ cup brown sugar 1 can diced tomatoes 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard ½ cup molasses or golden syrup 2 cups beef stock or water 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup Tennessee Whiskey (I used Jack Daniel’s), divided into two ½ cups.
The night before you want to cook the dish, place the dried beans in a large bowl. Pick them over and remove any discoloured or small, extra hard ones. Cover the beans with enough water so they are all submerged and leave to soak overnight.
The next day, drain the beans and rinse them through. Set them aside while you prepare the rest of the dish. Start by chopping all your vegetables and measuring out your ingredients and preheat your oven to 150°C / 300°F.
In an oven-safe casserole dish or large cooking pot, place the diced bacon and cook gently until the bacon has released its fat and has started to crisp up. If you have a lot of fat you can drain some off - I didn’t, so I left it all in there.
Add the beef mince and break up, cooking it in the bacon fat until it is browned. Add everything to the pot with the bacon and beef: the drained beans, onion and capsicum, brown sugar, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper, mustard, molasses/golden syrup and the beef stock / water. Stir it gently together.
Add ½ cup of Whiskey and stir in. Cover the pot either with the oven-safe lid or with aluminium foil, and place in the oven for a minimum of 2 hours.
After the 2 hours is up, take the beans out of the oven and test for flavourings. Add the black pepper, and if required, the salt. Take the lid off the pot and return to the oven for another hour or until the beans are tender and the sauce has thickened.
To serve, stir in the remaining ½ cup of Whiskey and ladle into bowls. Best eaten around a campfire with good friends.
