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Battalion/Page 5
July 22, 1982
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by Scott McCullar
Battalion Staff
6th “Star Trek: The Wrath
nan” doing so well at the box
e now is a good time to re-
Ion “Star Trek: The Motion
re,” especially since both
lie Box Office and The
e are reshowing it.
or those unaware of back-
aid details behind “Star
” here are some which may
|e “Star Trek: The Motion
lire” more enjoyable.
First, Paramount Studios
Jpletely owns Star Trek and
|otal creative control and re-
sibility for it. Gene Rodden-
y, Star Trek’s creator, no
ler has authority over his
jnchild — as he did during
irst two seasons ol the series
hich explains a lot of the
I film’s problems.
Btar Trek: The Motion Pic-
seemed doomed from the
, for it was bound to dis-
hnt audiences no matter
r in An- N st01 7 * l told- If too much
|the 1 V version, it would be
iemned for being television
[he big screen. If too ambi-
■s. it would be unfaithful to
Told series.
Ihe first Star I rek movie
pably had to fail in order for
icertwiB Tpek to grow, even as the
Ticket! 1 pilot episode for the series
reinfor- 1 '!' H ie Cage, later re-
igQ diti'd and expanded into the
| ■ Ipart episode, “The
llei gerie,” was rejected bv net-
nd Bat >0 |j, 0 ff lc i a i s ji ul f' rom i| lt . se
:us will B^tions the Star Trek concept
e Erwin Tew stronger.
igust 1, Bene Roddenberrv’s noveli-
d $8.5(1. Ion of “Star Trek: The Mo
on call |Picture” is a more satisfying
■ion of the story — ii supplies
ipBilots and explanations left
- lofthe film due to running
P'S pn 1- ■ . . ^
o ,,, ini restrictions.
ir will be |
Exhibit
'ock;
o Austin
ABC will be showing “Star
Trek: The Motion Picture” this
season and it may contain some
of these missing subplot scenes:
•Kirk and McCoy had a major
falling out when Kirk accepted a
promotion to admiral. McCoy
and Spock both know that Kirk
is best suited to be a starship
commander and is wasted doing
anything else — a point brought
out again in “The Wrath of
Khan. " Kirk’s denial of this to
himself served to touch off
Spock’s and McCoy’s departure
from Starfleet.
•Kirk is a hard-nosed charac
ter in the first half of “Star Trek:
The Motion Picture.” But this is
for a reason. He has found out
that Starfleet Command prom
oted him to make use of his im
age as a legendary starship cap
tain.
The fury he feels from years
of wasted potential make him, as
McCoy observes, use the Voya
ger emergency to get the Enter
prise back because he truly
needs to command a starship to
be complete.
The fact that he finally real
izes this makes his reunion with
McCoy in the transporter room
that much more enjoyable.
•Kirk had an affair with a
female fellow staff member
while in the admiralty which
helped him accept his role of
administrator somewhat. She is
one of the two people killed in
the transporter malfunction on
board the refurbished Enter
prise.
•The navigator, Lt. Ilia, is a
Deltan. Deltans of both sexes
emit subliminal scents — pher
omones — which attract huma
noids of the opposite sex. De
ltans in Starfleet, however, are
sworn to celibacy, because their
race is so highly evolved sexually
that they can cause neurophy
siological damage to a human
should they mate with one.
Dr. Chapel refers to this sub
liminal effect when she men
tions that the Ilia-probe has du
plicated the real Ilia even down
to the exocrine system — includ
ing the pheromones.
•Mr. Spock’s attempt forever
to rid himself of his human emo
tions, and Voyager’s search for
its creator go hand in hand.
Voyager searches for its creator
because it wants to know the
reason for existance.
The living machine beings
that found Voyager 6 disco
vered that it had something they
lacked — purpose — in the form
of its programming. During
Voyager’s journey back to earth
it realizes that all the knowledge
in the universe is worthless with
out a purpose for its use, some
thing Voyager decides it can
only get by joining with its
creator.
For Voyager simply to trans
mit its accumulated knowledge
would afterward leave it with no
purpose for further existence.
Voyager and Spock are linked
empathically with the realization
of the importance of human
emotion.
Spock learns he was wrong to
try to rid himself of his emo
tions, that his pure logic would
lack reason without them.
Although he is neither truly
Vulcan or human, he is a being
with the best traits of both races.
He seems to be truly comfort
able with this realization in “The
Wrath of Khan.”
“Star Trek: The Motion Pic
ture” is called a failure as a f ilm.
I like to think it is merely mis
understood, which would not be
the first time for Star Trek.
United Press International
HOUSTON — People famil
iar with the struggle of Ninfa
Laurenzo in parlaying a floun
dering tortilla factory into a mil-
lion-dollar chain of restaurants
have been singing her praises
for years.
Now, it’s being done on stage.
’’INinfal,” opened Friday at
Miller Outdoor Theater and the
$300,000 production, which
stars Dolores Wilson as Ninfa,
will run through July 24.
Show officials believe the
musical about the widowed His
panic mother of five who be
came a multimillionaire and
owner of a successful growing
restaurant business has poten
tial for Broadway.
“It’s like a trip down Memory
Lane for me,” said Laurenzo,
the chairwoman of the board of
Ninfa’s Inc., a corporation oper
ating 13 Mexican restaurants in
Houston, Dallas and San
Antonio.
Last year the company had
sales in excess of $30 million.
More restaurants are planned
for California and Nevada.
At the age of 23, Ninfa Rodri
guez of Harlingen married
Tommy Laurenzo, an Italian
Jewish man and couple opened
a small tortilla and pizza dough
factory in Houston’s barrio in
1948/
They worked around the
dock for almost 20 years, aided
frequently by their children.
But Laurenzo, whose dream
was to open a Mexican re
staurant, died of a cerebral
hemorrhage in 1969.
Laurenzo told her children
the family was going to carry out
their father’s dream. She mort
gaged her home, opened a re
staurant and the six of them
went to work.
The business grew and in
1976 they opened a second Nin
fa’s in Houston. Three years la
ter the family ventured into San
Antonio and in 1980 opened
three restaurants in Dallas and
two more in Houston.
“She is a great American suc
cess story,” said lyricist Jim Ber
nhard, who with artistic director
Frank M. Young wrote the play.
Show officials hope to obtain
financial backing to present the
musical on Broadway.
Laurenzo, a friendly woman
who usually has a smile on her
face, said she is “a mother first
and a businesswoman second.”
“I wear many hats, but I have
to decide when to be a mother
and when to be the chairman of
the board,” she said.
She said Bernhard and
Young interviewed her many
times before they wrote the
script, and although she had
never thought before her life
was material for a production, “I
guess it has all the ingredients.”
Circus is coming
to the Superdrum
For entertainment appealing
to all ages, nothing beats the
circus.
And for the 111th year in a
row The Ringling Brothers and
Barnum and Bailey Circus has
been thrilling young and old
alike.
This summer Texas residents
can see the magic of the circus at
the Frank E. Erwin Center in
Austin July 30 through Aug. 1.
Known for ages as “the
greatest show on earth” the cir
cus promises to have tigers,
chimpanzees, bears and
elephants — a regular perform
ing zoo.
Also appearing will be
daredevils, acrobats, clowns and
showgirls.
And for even more adven
ture, an aerialist who recently
performed the incredible quad
ruple somersault for the first
time in public will be featured.
For ticket information call
(512) 477-6060.
Play at Backstage
The one-act play “Where
Have All the Lightning Bugs
Gone?” will be presented at the
Backstage Restaurant and Bar
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.
and 10 p.m.
Written in 1971 by Louis Cat
ron, a professor of theater at
William and Mary College in
Virginia, the play is about a boy
and a girl who meet in a park
and try to start a relationship by
being honest with each other ab
out their feelings.
But, both of them must fight
their fears that the other one will
not accept honest feelings.
'JiL/jU
mP
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