I remember when I first saw ST I: The Movie, I was also overwhelmed by the sheer physical beauty of this scene. But I was also a bit embarrassed by the feeling of voyeurism I experienced...the way the "camera" lovingly caresses the ship, nestled snugly (and sensuously) in its dock, can only be described as pornography.

Not that there's anything wrong with pornography; a little bit in moderation is harmless, perhaps even healthy; only when it obsessively substitutes for the real thing, can it be considered pathological. And in this case the sexual connotation seems to be subdued in spite of all the visual metaphors. For Trekkies, the return to the Enterprise HAD to be a big moment in the film, something they had been waiting for for years, something that needed to be savored and prolonged as long as possible. The drought had finally broken! I know I felt that way when I watched it, even if half way through it occurred to me the sequence had been extended a bit too much. For the Trek fan, we were home, after a long, long time, it was wonderful.

I'm a sailor, and I am familiar with the idea of your ship being a home, of sorts. You live there, eat there, sleep there, your work and your friends are all there. And unlike the sense of mature and practical feminine security and stability a mere house provides, a ship takes you places, it offers masculine adolescent adventure and opportunity. And it is always on the move, and always in motion. Years after my discharge from the Navy I ran into my old ship again (docked in Puerto Rico) and I couldn't wait to go back aboard. None of my old crew remained, and as a civilian I was not allowed to go past the quarterdeck and explore below, but the rest of the ship flooded back in memory, the smells of sun-baked paint and stack gas, the roar of the ventilators, it all came back in a mad nostalgic rush. Every welded seam, every rivet and bolt in the deck, every fire hose and its polished brass fittings folded neatly on a bulkhead rack was just as I had left it. Even the stenciled messages on each door and hatch were familiar. It was like I had never gone away. I was totally unprepared for the emotional effect it had on me.

That film was filled with that sort of nostalgia, a nod to the fans, of course, but carried out with sensitivity and taste. The opening sequence of the Klingon Birds of Prey engaging Vger was simply breathtaking. And the long flyby of the Enterprise along the length of the alien ship was, I think, the best representation Hollywood has yet come up with to communicate the wonder of an encounter with alien technology. If we ever meet THEM the perception will be different, but I bet the feeling will be just like that.