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Ever since reopening post-quarantine, the Hollywood Theatre has faithfully screened the best, worst and strangest Star Trek films as part of its “Trek Nights” series. But on Wednesday, Feb. 1, the theater will unveil a unique treat: a 35 mm screening of 1984′s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Starting at 7:30 pm, The Search for Spock is one of the most hilarious (intentionally and unintentionally) entries in the series. A flamboyant Christopher Lloyd plays the main villain, but he’s relatively restrained compared with the story itself, which involves the attempts of the Enterprise crew to unite a deceased Spock’s soul (or “katra”) with the body of a mindless, rapidly aging Spock clone.
The film was the feature directorial debut of Spock actor Leonard Nimoy, who stepped in after Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) declined to be involved (in his memoir A View From the Bridge, Meyer cited his opposition to Spock’s resurrection, given his noble demise in Khan).
Working from a screenplay by producer Harve Bennett (who, along with Meyer, is credited with revitalizing the series after 1979′s disastrous Star Trek: The Motion Picture), Nimoy was tasked with handling many difficult story points, including David (Merritt Butrick), son of Capt. Kirk (William Shatner), being abruptly killed by Klingons.
Hoping to get the best possible performance out of Shatner, Nimoy cleared the set for the scene in which Kirk learns of David’s murder, according to Robert Schnakenberg’s The Encyclopedia Shatnerica.
In response, Shatner resorted to bizarre improvisation, stumbling dramatically backward, colliding with the captain’s chair and moaning, “You Klingon bastards killed my son!” (assessing the actor’s performance, Nimoy cryptically commented, “He looks deeply pained”).
That alone should be worth the price of admission Feb. 1.
Related: How William Shatner Nearly Destroyed a Franchise With “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”