68
votes
Why is there a long star field sequence at the beginning of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture?”
It's called an Overture, in this case a piece of music called Ilia's Theme.
The overture is a piece of music, usually containing the main themes of a production's score, that plays prior to the actual ...
- 8,458
15
votes
Why was the Enterprise the only ship in interception range?
According to the film's official novelisation the issue was that Starfleet weren't expecting anything threatening to turn up so rapidly. It's three days from Earth at a speed that Starfleet can barely ...
- 718k
14
votes
Accepted
How did the transporter malfunction in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"?
Transporters work by breaking down the subject into a matter stream, sending the matter stream from an emitter, and reassembling it on the other end. The TNG Technical Manual steps through an example ...
- 4,196
12
votes
Why is there a long star field sequence at the beginning of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture?”
In addition to SpaceWolf1701’s details in their answer, a film overture like this had a more practical reason as explained in this 2018 Atlantic article that focuses on overtures in film; bold ...
- 17.2k
8
votes
Where do the major space battles in Star Trek: The Motion Picture take place?
The excellent Star Trek: Star Charts gives us the route taken by V'Ger through Klingon space and then into Federation space. The initial conflict with the Klingons seems to have taken place near to ...
- 718k
5
votes
Accepted
Who was the relief navigator in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
Chief DiFalco
From her official Star Trek page:
Starfleet officer aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Willard Decker and later James T. Kirk. She was serving as relief navigator when ...
- 5,784
5
votes
Accepted
What is printed in Vulcan script on Spock's black robe in 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture'?
From this Tumblr posting, it's claimed that the characters don't translate as letters but rather as words, specifically Rata, Tafar, Tapan, meaning "Concept, Mental Discipline, Cerebral Process".
...
- 1,153
5
votes
Accepted
Which Starfleet division did Admiral Kirk belong to in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
According to this page from Star Trek Vol 1 #10, the Starfleet division colours in Star Trek: The Motion picture were denoted by the background colour of the insignia on the chest, and/or the colour ...
- 134k
2
votes
Why did Spock wear a Science Division uniform [TOS] while Decker wore Command [TMP]?
As @ApproachingDarknessFish mentions.
Decker WAS the captain of the ship, Until Kirk arrived and took over command, demoting Decker to First Officer position. BUT Decker IS still a Captain, and even ...
- 13.5k
2
votes
Was the Enterprise in "The Motion Picture" actually a refit of the one in the TV series?
You'd think that in a refit the major structural features would be largely unaltered e.g. the main pressure hulls. To make any significant changes there would amount to a rebuild rather than a refit. ...
- 12k
1
vote
What is printed in Vulcan script on Spock's black robe in 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture'?
Looking at http://korsaya.org/standard-vulcan-script-%E2%80%A2-gotavlu-zukitaun/, which is the "standard" script - your chart appears to be the "calligraphic" script - they appear to be somewhat ...
- 8,379
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