Continuity mistake: After the bird of prey first fires on Enterprise, Kirk is thrown right out of his chair to his left and lands on the floor. The camera pans around the bridge briefly, seeing the rest of the crew staggering and holding onto things. In the very next shot Kirk is back in his chair shouting "back off, back off" and the crew back in their positions as if nothing has happened.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Plot summary
Directed by: Nicholas Meyer
Starring: Christopher Plummer, William Shatner, Kim Cattrall, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Michael Dorn, Walter Koenig, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Kurtwood Smith, Brock Peters
The Klingon moon Praxis has exploded, and the Klingons face an ozone crisis that they can't overcome without the Federation's help. Spock volunteers Kirk and the soon-to-be-retired crew of the Enterprise to go meet with the Klingon ambassador. But an explosion on the Klingons' ship kills the ambassador, and as Enterprise is the only ship around, Kirk and McCoy are arrested and taken to Rura Penthe (a hard-labor camp on a frozen world). The Enterprise and Sulu's Excelsior then race to save the two from lifelong slavery, while working to intercept an assassination attempt on the former ambassador's daughter at a peace conference.
More mistakes in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Captain James T. Kirk: Spock, you want to know something? Everybody's human.
Captain Spock: I find that remark... Insulting.
Trivia: Both the opening explosion of the Klingon moon Praxis and much of the footage from the U.S.S. Excelsior was later used in an episode of "Star Trek: Voyager", ("Flashback") with special guest star George Takei.
Question: I always feel like I'm missing something with the scene where Kirk orders the Enterprise to reverse at the beginning of the battle. It confuses the Klingons and leads to a short respite in taking fire, which I would assume was exactly Kirk's intention, but then Kirk himself expresses confusion that the Klingons had stopped firing. What else could Kirk have been trying to do with that action?
Answer: Kirk wants to buy time to find a way to detect Chang's ship. Reversing is an unorthodox tactic so Chang is also thinking.
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Chosen answer: Kirk is highly skilled and experienced in combat. He knows the bird of prey must be between the Enterprise and the planet, so he instinctively orders a reverse after they are hit, fearing that they are at point-blank range. Chang is worried that Kirk may have somehow detected him, so he holds fire and repositions, but Kirk is merely being cautious.
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