2. Zero-Zero-Zero: Destruct Zero
"Star Trek II" had Spock sacrifice himself to save the ship. And, in an odd way, the Enterprise returns the favour in "Star Trek III". After the Enterprise is crippled, Kirk finds himself in a seemingly no-win scenario. However, as always, Kirk finds a way to, as Bones puts it, "Turn death into a fighting chance to live". He allows the Klingons to beam over, but not before activating the self-destruct and the crew beaming away...Taking out most of the Klingons. Destroying the Enterprise was pretty gutsy. This is the same ship that had been the setting for two films and the entire iconic original series. It was almost a character in its own right. When the ship blew up and then disintegrated in the atmosphere of the Genesis planet, did anyone in the Trek audience suspect they would be provided with a new, duplicated version in the next film? This moment went a long way in showing what Star Trek was really about. Plus, the Enterprise did not die in vain. It provided our heroes with the opportunity to gain the upper hand and bring them one step closer to saving Spock and McCoy. Apparently, writer/producer Harve Bennett wanted to keep the destruction of the Enterprise a secret (a la the revelation that Darth Vader was Luke's father) to add an unexpected element to a plot with a foregone conclusion. Instead, Paramount promoted it as "the final voyage of the Enterprise" complete with footage of the Enterprise exploding. Imagine how much more powerful it would have been if the audience didn't see it coming?