There has been a lot of comment on this being the best of the Trek movies with the original cast and I'm not going to get involved with that discussion.
The plot of the story is good but editing of the sub plots leave you wondering what the reaction shots of the characters were about. Who the heck was Peter Preston and why did Scotty seem so proud of him when he introduced him to the Captain during the Engine Room inspection? Think about it. The entire scene is meaningless unless the director wanted you to feel sympathy for the cadet when Scott shows up in sick bay later carrying him after Khan's attack.
That's kind of like the series when you're introduced to a 'red shirted' guy at the beginning of an episode and you know he's going to wind up dead by the opening credits. You're meant to feel bad but not as much as if he were a recurring cast member. Most of the time they only had last names like Lt. Rodriguez or Ens. Palmer. Surely no one picked these guys up and tearfully carried them to sick bay.
Well, unless you read the novelization of the movie, the only other way to know who Peter Preston was was to have seen the ABC version of the movie. As with their airing of Superman and Superman II, they were able to get their hands on deleted scenes and reinsert them, making some sub plots make sense. To my knowledge, that version hasn't surfaced anywhere, either on VHS or DVD. If so please let me know.
To put this sub plot in a nutshell, Peter Preston is Scotty's nephew. His sister's kid to be exact. He is Scott's only family heir since he never had children and this was his sister's only kid. The continuation of his family's bloodline rested with Parker. Part of the scene in the engine room inspection had Scotty introduce him to Kirk and why he was so proud that he took up engineering like his uncle. He was spunky and you couldn't help but like him.
That's why Scott's crying when he carries him to sick bay after the attack. In fact, he doesn't even understand what happened until Kirk tells him about Khan. Yep, that's all cut out.
There are some other scenes that are expanded but none that changed the story as much as Scott's. My guess is that they may have thought that it distracted from the Kirk/David Marcus story line. Of course, it could have been cut because they didn't want to take away any of the gut wrenching good-bye at the end. That might also be why Scott doesn't seem as effected by Spock's death as much as everyone else. He has his own personal grief to contend with.
Another footnote here about that story line; in ST III when Kirk is having Spock's wake, he makes a toast to 'absent friends'. He doesn't mean Spock, he means Scotty because he wasn't there. In fact, when the doorbell chimes, he believes that Mr. Scott has finally arrived when it turns out to be Sarek. Why was Scott missing? He was home in Scotland attending a memorial service for Preston at his sister's side.
The plot of the story is good but editing of the sub plots leave you wondering what the reaction shots of the characters were about. Who the heck was Peter Preston and why did Scotty seem so proud of him when he introduced him to the Captain during the Engine Room inspection? Think about it. The entire scene is meaningless unless the director wanted you to feel sympathy for the cadet when Scott shows up in sick bay later carrying him after Khan's attack.
That's kind of like the series when you're introduced to a 'red shirted' guy at the beginning of an episode and you know he's going to wind up dead by the opening credits. You're meant to feel bad but not as much as if he were a recurring cast member. Most of the time they only had last names like Lt. Rodriguez or Ens. Palmer. Surely no one picked these guys up and tearfully carried them to sick bay.
Well, unless you read the novelization of the movie, the only other way to know who Peter Preston was was to have seen the ABC version of the movie. As with their airing of Superman and Superman II, they were able to get their hands on deleted scenes and reinsert them, making some sub plots make sense. To my knowledge, that version hasn't surfaced anywhere, either on VHS or DVD. If so please let me know.
To put this sub plot in a nutshell, Peter Preston is Scotty's nephew. His sister's kid to be exact. He is Scott's only family heir since he never had children and this was his sister's only kid. The continuation of his family's bloodline rested with Parker. Part of the scene in the engine room inspection had Scotty introduce him to Kirk and why he was so proud that he took up engineering like his uncle. He was spunky and you couldn't help but like him.
That's why Scott's crying when he carries him to sick bay after the attack. In fact, he doesn't even understand what happened until Kirk tells him about Khan. Yep, that's all cut out.
There are some other scenes that are expanded but none that changed the story as much as Scott's. My guess is that they may have thought that it distracted from the Kirk/David Marcus story line. Of course, it could have been cut because they didn't want to take away any of the gut wrenching good-bye at the end. That might also be why Scott doesn't seem as effected by Spock's death as much as everyone else. He has his own personal grief to contend with.
Another footnote here about that story line; in ST III when Kirk is having Spock's wake, he makes a toast to 'absent friends'. He doesn't mean Spock, he means Scotty because he wasn't there. In fact, when the doorbell chimes, he believes that Mr. Scott has finally arrived when it turns out to be Sarek. Why was Scott missing? He was home in Scotland attending a memorial service for Preston at his sister's side.