Worst scene in the history of Star Trek...
That idiotic campfire scene. 'Row, Row, Row your boat...' I even cringed when I saw this in the theater and that was at the height of my being a Trekkie...
shareThe campfire scenes that bookend the film are possibly my favorite parts. These scenes are filled with great character bits:
McCoy clangs a dinner triangle shouting “Come and get it, come and get it!” while Kirk and Spock are mere feet away. Note the sheer joy on McCoy’s face in this scene; it well displays the joy-of-living of these characters.
McCoy later laments the fact that they are spending shore leave together: “Other people have families,” he states. Kirk responds, “Other people, Bones, not us.” (This sets up a touching scene at the end where the three finally realize that they themselves are a family). This sequence ends with Kirk and McCoy trying to teach Spock Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Spock inquires about the meaning of the lyrics since they don’t make sense. McCoy irritatedly responds, “It’s a song you green-blooded Vulcan, you sing it. The words aren’t important. What’s important is that you have a good time singing it.” Spock replies: “Oh, I am sorry, Doctor. Were we having ‘a good time’?” McCoy exasperates, “Gawd, I liked him better before he died.”
Kirk then encourages them to get to sleep. Time passes and they’re all lying around the campfire, apparently trying to get to sleep, when Spock inquires, “Jim.” Kirk: “Yes, Spock.” Spock: “Life…is not a dream” (referring, of course, to the lyrics of Row Your Boat). Kirk simply responds, “Go to sleep Spock.” Spock: “Yes, Captain.” They then amusingly share “Goodnights” with each other, an obvious parody of The Waltons.
The three resume their camp outing at the end wherein Spock doodles around on his guitar, to which Kirk asks: “You gonna sit there and pluck that thing or are you gonna play something” Spock then starts playing Row Your Boat and they all join in.
No other Trek film showcases the character interplay of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy troika to the level of intimacy shown in this film, and only The Voyage Home compares to (and exceeds) the joyful energy of the characters displayed here.