star trek the voyage home review

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When they finished writing the script for "Star Trek IV," they must have had a lot of silly grins on their faces. This is easily the most absurd of the " Star Trek " stories - and yet, oddly enough, it is also the best, the funniest and the most enjoyable in simple human terms. I'm relieved that nothing like restraint or common sense stood in their way.

The movie opens with some leftover business from the previous movie, including the Klingon ambassador's protests before the Federation Council. These scenes have very little to do with the rest of the movie, and yet they provide a certain reassurance (like James Bond's ritual flirtation with Miss Moneypenny) that the series remembers it has a history.

The crew of the Starship Enterprise is still marooned on a faraway planet with the Klingon starship they commandeered in " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ." They vote to return home aboard the alien vessel, but on the way they encounter a strange deep-space probe. It is sending out signals in an unknown language which, when deciphered, turns out to be the song of the humpback whale.

It's at about this point that the script conferences must have really taken off. See if you can follow this: The Enterprise crew determines that the probe is zeroing in on Earth, and that if no humpback songs are picked up in response, the planet may well be destroyed. Therefore, the crew's mission becomes clear: Because humpback whales are extinct in the 23rd century, they must journey back through time to the 20th century, obtain some humpback whales, and return with them to the future - thus saving Earth. After they thought up this notion, I hope the writers lit up cigars.

No matter how unlikely the story is, it supplies what is probably the best of the "Star Trek" movies so far, directed with calm professionalism by Leonard Nimoy . What happens is that the Enterprise crew land their Klingon starship in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, surround it with an invisibility shield, and fan out through the Bay area looking for humpback whales and a ready source of cheap nuclear power.

What makes their search entertaining is that we already know the crew members so well. The cast's easy interaction is unique among movies, because it hasn't been learned in a few weeks of rehearsal or shooting; this is the 20th anniversary of "Star Trek," and most of these actors have been working together for most of their professional lives. These characters know one another.

An example: Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ) and Mr. Spock (Nimoy) visit a Sea World-type operation, where two humpback whales are held in captivity. Catherine Hicks , as the marine biologist in charge, plans to release the whales, and the Enterprise crew need to learn her plans so they can recapture the whales and transport them into the future.

Naturally, this requires the two men to ask Hicks out to dinner.

She asks if they like Italian food, and Kirk and Spock do a delightful little verbal ballet based on the running gag that Spock, as a Vulcan, cannot tell a lie. Find another space opera in which verbal counterpoint creates humor.

The plots of the previous "Star Trek" movies have centered around dramatic villains, such as Khan, the dreaded genius played by Ricardo Montalban in " Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ." This time, the villains are faceless: the international hunters who continue to pursue and massacre whales despite clear indications they will drive these noble mammals from the Earth. "To hunt a race to extinction is not logical," Spock calmly observes, but we see shocking footage of whalers doing just that.

Instead of providing a single human villain as counterpoint, "Star Trek IV" provides a heroine, in Hicks. She obviously is moved by the plight of the whales, and although at first she understandably doubts Kirk's story that he comes from the 23rd century, eventually she enlists in the cause and even insists on returning to the future with them, because of course, without humpback whales, the 23rd century also lacks humpback whale experts.

There are some major action sequences in the movie, but they aren't the high points; the "Star Trek" saga has always depended more on human interaction and thoughtful, cause-oriented plots. What happens in San Francisco is much more interesting than what happens in outer space, and this movie, which might seem to have an unlikely and ungainly plot, is actually the most elegant and satisfying "Star Trek" film so far.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home movie poster

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

119 minutes

William Shatner as Adm. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

Deforest Kelley as McCoy

Brock Peters as Federation President Robt. Ellenstein Cartwright

Catherine Hicks as Gillian Taylor

John Schuck as Klingon Ambassador

Jane Wyatt as Spock's Mother

Screenplay by

Peter Krikes
Steve Meerson
Nicholas Meyer

Photographed by

Don Peterman

Produced by

Harve Bennett
Leonard Rosenman

Directed by

Leonard Nimoy

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Reviews

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home may be the most important film within the franchise, as it demonstrates how the potential of its venerable characters transcends space and time.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 5, 2023

Offered quite a bit more levity than the previous films- or at least, as much as is possible for a movie that features the possible end of life on Earth.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 1, 2021

The comedy in this entry is so broad that the movie often doesn't even feel like a Star Trek project (which of course explains its wide popularity).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 10, 2021

Much of the fun to be found in the quite witty screenplay involves the bemused citizens of the future trying to cope with 20th-century life.

Full Review | May 27, 2021

Time travel is a new concept for this series, and having the crew visit a familiar version of Earth is certainly an amusing idea; but why did it have to involve whales?

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Sep 8, 2020

As much a passionate, heavy-handed environmental screed as it is a flighty space opera, The Voyage Home can't ever quite reconcile its disparate moods and ideas into a holistic experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 31, 2020

The marching orders here were for a romp, and a romp they produced.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Apr 8, 2019

If most movies today are doomed to be sure-fire, presold properties--with ideas leached from our recent TV or cinematic past--let's hope they're all as good at the game as "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home."

Full Review | Sep 7, 2016

A bit flimsy to be legitimately counted as "great" Star Trek, but aware enough of its characters and their attachments to each other and the audience that it's "fun" Star Trek.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | May 23, 2013

Buoyant, farcical time-travel Enterprise escapade.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 15, 2010

...Kirk has finally reached his full lounge lizard potential (it's as if the comedy has freed him from his remaining inhibitions).

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Apr 3, 2009

The eco-themes are writ large, but are saved from smacking of cringe-worthy earnestness by the good humour of the whole endeavour.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 19, 2008

Latest excursion is warmer, wittier, more socially relevant and truer to its TV origins than prior odysseys.

Full Review | May 19, 2008

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 11, 2007

By far the silliest and most self-mocking of the series.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 6, 2007

I suspect the unconverted will want to be beamed up pronto.

Full Review | Jun 6, 2007

It's a lightweight, entertaining, relentlessly mainstream action-farce. A high old time, no question. Too bad it's such lousy Star Trek. Here's where the series 'jumped the shark' -- and found that it was a whale.

Full Review | Apr 8, 2006

Kirk & Co return to present-day San Francisco to save the whales in the most enjoyable film of the series so far, also returning to the simplistic morality-play format that gave the original TV series its strength.

Full Review | Jan 26, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 26, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 8, 2005

Den of Geek

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home retrospective review

Adam takes a look back at the one Star Trek film that his wife will watch...

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , or ‘the one with the whales’ as it’s sometimes, called was Leonard Nimoy’s second stint behind the camera on a Trek film and became the most popular with non-fans. So much so that it’s the only one my wife has seen. But where does it stand with the rest of the franchise?

Following on from the Search For Spock , The Voyage Home begins with a mysterious alien probe on its way to Earth, sending out a mysterious signal that no one can understand, disabling starships as it goes. Meanwhile, back at the Starfleet HQ in San Francisco, an impassioned speech from the Klingon ambassador shows the destruction of the Enterprise (again, like in The Motion Picture , I’m not sure who was there to film it) and we learn that Kirk has a hefty court martial awaiting him.

With the exile on Vulcan drawing to a close, Spock’s re-education is near complete when he decides he must return with his comrades to give testimony at their trial. The probe continues toward Earth, causing mass disruption as it goes, disabling the ships and then Space Dock, before entering Earth’s orbit, and vaporising all the water from the planet’s surface. With the Earth yet again in mortal danger, a planet wide distress call is issued, and thanks to Spock, our crew figure that the probe is looking for humpback whales, which in Trek ‘s alternate history, have been extinct since the 21st Century.

Spock decides the only logical solution is to travel back in time, rescue a pair of whales and return, so that, in the words of Dr McCo: “Find humpback whales, then bring them forward in time. Drop them off and hope to hell they tell this probe what to go do with itself?!'”

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Thanks to the slingshot effect (established in The Original Series episode) the crew arrive back in late 20th Century Earth, to San Francisco. Landing in Golden Gate Park they are soon ready to find their whales and get home, provided that, as Kirk implores, “Everyone remember where we parked.” Kirk and Spock are charged with that task, McCoy, Sulu and Scotty have to get the Bird of Prey watertight, while Chekov and Uhura need a nuclear reactor to re-energise the ship’s depleted Dilithium crystals.

After an encounter with a punk on a bus, Kirk and Spock find Dr. Gillian Taylor, and the humpback whales, George and Gracie. Spock mind-melds with Gracie, and learns she is pregnant, and that they are willing to help the crew. Uhura and Chekov find the real Enterprise, just the nuclear wessel they need.

Unable to say ‘no’ to the good Admiral, Gillian is keen to learn more about Kirk and Spock, and after Spock’s revelation that Gracie is pregnant, she agrees to have dinner with the pair. Scotty and McCoy, meanwhile, need materials for their whale tank, and have bluffed their way into the Plexiglas factory. Giving away the secrets of Transparent Aluminium (I’m not American), they’ve got their whale tank and Sulu’s managed to blag himself a Huey chopper to move it.

Over dinner, Kirk confesses to Gillian the truth, while Uhura and Chekov beam aboard the Enterprise to collect the photons needed to juice up the Bird of Prey. Uhura escapes, but Chekov is not so lucky and is caught; there ain’t nothing worse than a Russkie on board a US ship! Chekov’s escape attempt, involving a novel ‘falling from high place’ technique, fails and he is critically injured.

Gillian is then shocked to discover that George and Gracie have already been moved and rushes to find Admiral Kirk. She spots Sulu’s chopper loading the tank sections into the cloaked Bird of Prey and is beamed aboard, begging for help. Uhura manages to track down the injured Chekov, who is near death. Beaming to the hospital, Kirk, Bones and Gillian quickly located our favourite Russian (with the good doctor even finding time to give a patient a new kidney) and thanks to some decidedly 24th Century tech, Pavel’s life is saved.

Things are not going quite so well for George and Gracie whoever, and as the Bird Of Prey finds them, they are under attack from a whaling ship. Luckily, the whaler is no match for the Klingon ship and Scotty is soon able to beam the whales aboard.

Upon their return to the future, the ship suffers a similar fate to its counterparts, losing all power and crash landing in San Francisco Bay. With the whales in danger of drowning, Kirk is able to open the bay doors (not even HAL in 2001 could do that) and thankfully they do indeed tell the probe ‘what the hell to go do with itself’.

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Their heroic mission complete, Kirk and his cohorts still have the small matter of a court martial. Kirk is demoted to Captain, but in the light of the recent actions all but one charge is dropped and Kirk is again given command of a Starship. Dr Taylor meanwhile, has a few years of catching up to do. With Kirk and co. aboard an all new Enterprise, the film ends with them ‘boldly going where no man has gone before’.

The Voyage Home is, to my mind, a great Trek film; it opened up the franchise to its widest audience yet, and (probably til Friday) stands as the biggest grossing film in the series. It succeeds by bringing the characters to the fore.

With little or no special effects, and no battles, we really get to focus on what a talented bunch of actors Gene Roddenberry assembled back in 1966 and it’s refreshing to see them in an ensemble piece, rather than the story being squarely aimed at Kirk and Spock.

It also succeeds by being genuinely funny; too often Trek ‘s attempts at humour are cringeworthy, but Nimoy’s script and direction has a warmth and deft comic touch to it that is enjoyable by all.

Catherine Hicks is a great foil for Kirk as Dr Taylor (the role was originally written for Eddie Murphy) and the two have a great on screen chemistry.

There’s really very little to pick at in the film. You could argue it’s not Trek enough, but it’s still a great story, it’s an enormous amount of fun, and it nicely ties up all the loose ends from the previous two films.

The only thing that does bug me, putting my Trekkie hat on, is the fact that bridge on the Bird of Prey is totally different to the one seen in Search For Spock . It’s meant to be the same ship, so who changed everything? Thankfully, the new sets look much better, so it’s a minor complaint at best. So ignore the naysayers, The Voyage Home is a great film, with a message behind it, without ramming it down your throat.

Adam Sloman

Cinephile Corner

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Home » Movie Reviews » The Voyage Home Movie Review: An Outrageous Time Travel Adventure Capping Off the Star Trek ‘Genesis’ Trilogy

The Voyage Home Movie Review: An Outrageous Time Travel Adventure Capping Off the Star Trek ‘Genesis’ Trilogy

Review: The Voyage Home is the jolt of energy that I felt the Star Trek movies were looking for. It’s such an audacious premise that is played out perfectly in terms of tone and pacing that it just works. Leonard Nimoy returns as the director of this worthy sendoff for the Genesis trilogy.

the voyage home movie review 1986 star trek film

The audacity of The Voyage Home . This would never get made today, which I’m overwhelmingly upset about. It’s too quirky and ridiculous that no studio and franchise would dare to make something this fun and outlandish anymore. One franchise tried (welcome to the conversation, The Last Jedi ) and nailed it, and then was crucified for it quickly after. Since then, franchise genre filmmaking has gotten so stale and safe that I rarely get worked up about it – hell, I’m worried that the newer Star Trek movies will be so derivative of the ideas and characters that work so well here.

And then I watched The Voyage Home , which involves our usual cast of crew members aboard the Bounty (the USS Enterprise is in fragments following The Search for Spock ) having to go back in time to retrieve a set of humpback whales because they’ve gone extinct in their version of the present. Admiral Kirk ( William Shatner ) and Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) lead the way, with the two reconvening following the latter’s resurrection towards the end of the previous film.

It has hints of a hangout movie as we watch Kirk, Spock, and company react to the idiosyncrasies in society that feel so odd in retrospect – moments like Spock knocking a punk music fan out in a public transit bus for not turning down his boombox, or the crew offhandedly trying to adapt to slang in the 1980s. This displaced feeling lingers throughout the entire story, adding irony and relentless fun to each individual plot point throughout.

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The Voyage Home is the jolt of energy that I felt the Star Trek movies were looking for. It’s such an audacious premise that is played out perfectly in terms of tone and pacing that it just works. Shatner gives arguably his best performance in one of these movies as he’s swapping between being the leader of the Bounty crew, and exploring an inopportune crush with Earthling Gillian Taylor ( Catherine Hicks ).

If I were to conjure some reservations I have about the film, it may be that The Voyage Home feels like a vignette to a story rather than a concrete and necessary entry into a universe. I still typically tend to like movies in this vein, but it doesn’t add nearly as much to the overall franchise narrative as, say, The Search for Spock or The Wrath of Khan . It’s more interested in dealing with the ramifications of those two movies than developing its own new set of ideas. The franchise was due for a film tying up all these loose ends, though, and I’m not sure one could’ve done a better job than The Voyage Home does here.

Leonard Nimoy returned to the director’s chair for this film after having served as the director on The Search for Spock as well. The most obvious change between the two films is that Nimoy is acting in the film much more this time around, and he seems to effortlessly balance his time in front of the camera and behind it. Shatner directs The Final Frontier next, and I’m curious if he’ll be able to strike the same balance there.

It’ll be tough to do because Nimoy’s touch ultimately makes The Voyage Home one of my favorite Star Trek movies so far. Now obviously there’s only been four up to this point, but The Voyage Home is a remarkably dense and vast rewriting of the rules for Star Trek . I’m curious to see where the next film heads because this is simply unreplicable.

Genre: Action , Adventure , Science Fiction

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Cast and Credits

the voyage home movie poster 1986 star trek

William Shatner as Admiral James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy as Captain Spock

DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard McCoy

James Doohan as Montgomery Scott

George Takei as Lt. Commander Hikaru Sulu

Walter Koenig as Commander Chekov

Nichelle Nichols as Commander Uhura

Catherine Hicks as Dr. Gillian Taylor

Director: Leonard Nimoy

Writers: Leonard Nimoy , Nicholas Meyer , Harve Bennett , Steve Meerson , Peter Krikes

Cinematography: Donald Peterman

Editor: Peter E. Berger

Composer: Leonard Rosenman

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, A Fan’s Film Review

As with the previous film, my first impression of it began with my dad’s description over the phone. (He was still stationed at Tydall AFB in Florida. My brother and I were at Mountain Home AFB in Idaho for what would be my step-dads last assignment before retiring from the Air Force.) His description didn’t mention anything about humpback whales, only that our heroes become stranded in 1986 San Francisco in their commandeered Klingon Bird of Prey, which our heroes have dubbed the H.M.S. Bounty (a homage to our heroes’ similarities to the crew on Mutiny on the Bounty) The Bounty’s power levels are dropping and the only way our heroes can get back to their own time is to steal nuclear power photons from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise.

Sounded pretty cool to me. Of course, like everyone else, I was wondering what would become of the former Enterprise crew in the wake of The Search for Spock . Would they be exonerated somehow?

Fortunately, writers Harve Bennett and Nicholas Meyer (who didn’t want to be involved in Spock’s resurrection but obviously didn’t mind returning to the Star Trek fold once Spock was back) and director Leonard Nimoy were thinking not only of this, but also of providing Star Trek fans with a broader spectrum of colors and tones to the Star Trek movies in general. The last two films were filled with wonderful operatic action, drama, and themes, but Nimoy was foresighted enough to realize that to continue on with more of the same a third time would be pushing it. Fortunately, Nimoy had a much more free reign this time. Michael Eisner, Paramount’s studio head, was immensely pleased with the performance of The Search for Spock and told Nimoy, “Leonard, the training wheels are off! We want YOUR Star Trek! Give us your vision!”

Needless to say, this was music to Nimoy’s unpointed human ears. He along with Bennett and Associate Producer Ralph Winter mandated that a lighthearted adventure without a villain would be the way to go this time. Nimoy really wanted to do a theme about the earth’s ecology where the crew would return home to discover that Earth was facing a problem due to humanity’s short-sightedness in the past. For a while, he was thinking that there might be a plant that would be extinct in the 23rd Century that could be found in our present, but they could not come up with a satisfactory adventure with that.

When someone brought to Nimoy’s attention the plight of the whales, particularly humpbacks, they had found their niche. Kirk and company would travel through time utilizing the same time speed breakaway slingshot manoeuvre they had used in “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” and bring two humpback whales back with them to communicate with an alien probe whose communication would be (inadvertently) dangerous to humans but with whom the whales could communicate.

The story presented all kinds of great opportunities: humor that flowed naturally from the characters in their ‘fish out of water’ situation (Kirk’s “Double dumb ass on you” line still makes me chuckle to this day), a new love interest for Kirk in the person of Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks), the entire cast once again being brilliantly utilized to where no one’s role in uncritical to the mission, and the wonderfully inspired Greenpeace scene where the whaling ship’s harpoon bounces off of the cloaked Bounty. When the ship de-cloaks (coincidentally, our heroes just happen to be flying in a green-coloured ship), the whalers tuck tail between their legs and run. It’s a wonderful climax that had audiences, fan and non-fan alike, cheering. But for those of us who are fans, it is our crew’s exoneration, Kirk’s demotion back to Captain (having realized his mistake in accepting promotion before) and the unveiling of the new U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A that is the real payoff. Upon seeing her, Kirk then tells his smiling crew, “My friends…we’ve come home.” Just as the previous film gave us Spock back, this film gives us back the greatest spaceship of all time.

Although the studio was no longer breathing down Nimoy’s neck, making The Voyage Home would still not be an easy task. The ante had been increased both with a story that demanded weeks of location shooting in San Francisco (the first Star Trek film to have any significant outdoor location shooting) and the fact that Nimoy would have to simultaneously deal with a logistically more difficult shoot than TSFS and act full time as Spock. In the interview/documentary “Mind-Meld” , Nimoy described to William Shatner (and us) that this was a very painful time for him.

Although it was quite rewarding in the end, Nimoy had apparently taken some of his frustrations during this period on both the cast and Harve Bennett, straining his relationship with Bennett to the point where Shatner would have to give him a good verbal shoulder-rub to get him to agree to line produce Star Trek V later down the road. How much this had to do with why Nimoy didn’t direct another major feature after Three Men and a Baby is anyone’s guess, but we are glad that he was able to stick it out and give us a feel-good film that brought the “Genesis Trilogy” started in The Wrath of Khan to a tremendous and uplifting conclusion.

While the mainstream appeal of The Voyage Home cannot be denied, I ironically find myself actually watching this film the least of all of them. Perhaps this is because of the lack of spaceship action, the fact that it takes place in contemporary American society (which we normally watch Star Trek escape from), or James Horner’s absence in the music (although Leonard Rosenman’s score would work just fine thanks to the addition of Alexander Courage’s fanfare). Every time I do watch it though, I always find myself smiling and remembering how good it is. It may not be the spectacle for me that The Search for Spock was, but it stands out as proof that ILM does not need the black backdrop of space to make a spaceship look real.

I give Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home an 8 on the 1-to-10 scale. It is certainly a great Star Trek film, but regardless of what the box-office numbers say, I feel that there are better ones.

Star Trek IV would be the last entry in the movie-only era of the 1980’s. Ten months later, its success would lead to the triumphant return of Star Trek to television with Star Trek: The Next Generation , boldly taking the franchise into the next 18 years.

» Video media: YouTube (Videos link directly to sources) Images: CBS/Paramount, “Special Thanks” to David Klawitter, (Featured Image and Poster Art are shown under exclusive rights granted by the artist)

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (United States, 1986)

I remember the first time someone told me about the premise for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home -- that the crew of the former Enterprise would travel back in time to retrieve a pair of humpback whales. Described thus, it sounds abysmally bad, so I was pleasantly surprised that the actual film turned out to be rather entertaining. Star Trek IV , released the day before Thanksgiving in 1986, proved to be the most popular entry of the long-running movie series to date, scoring big with fans, conventional movie-goers, and critics alike. It was one of the season's most successful releases, and paved the way for Star Trek 's return to television with Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Star Trek IV picks up where Star Trek III: The Search for Spock left off, and forms the final segment of the motion picture trilogy begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . The crew of the destroyed starship Enterprise has been in exile on Vulcan while their resurrected shipmate, Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy), is re-trained in the ways of logic. Once Spock has recovered sufficiently to travel, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his fellow officers must go back to Earth to answer a battery of charges leveled against them for stealing the Enterprise and nearly provoking a war with the Klingon Empire.

However, before Kirk and company can return home, a mysterious probe enters orbit around Earth and wreaks havoc on the planet's climate. Nothing seems capable of stopping the probe, and a planetary distress call is issued. Spock, analyzing the probe's transmissions, determines that they match the songs of humpback whales, an extinct species of ocean-dwelling life. For Earth to survive, the crew of the former Enterprise must travel back in time to 20th Century Earth, capture a humpback whale, confine it in their stolen Klingon spaceship, then return to the future. Soon, Kirk and his friends are wandering around 1986 San Francisco, every bit out-of-place as Crocodile Dundee was in New York City.

The tone of The Voyage Home is considerably lighter than that of its predecessors; in fact, this is as close as Star Trek gets to being a straight comedy. At times, the proceedings become overly silly to garner cheap laughs, and the characters suffer as a result. Kirk, McCoy, and especially Spock, flicker back and forth between resembling the heroic figures we know and acting like caricatures of themselves. There's a running gag about Spock's inability to master profanity that, while undeniably amusing, is a little too cute.

The film's general sense of levity also handicaps the supposedly-suspenseful moments. A great deal more energy is evident in a comic chase sequence through the corridors of a modern-day hospital than when the Klingon ship plunges headlong towards the Golden Gate Bridge. As was true in Star Trek III , which Leonard Nimoy also directed, the best parts of this film occur in the middle (during the fish-out-of-water story); the beginning and end are basically throw-aways.

The movie's ecologically-correct message is more obvious than most Star Trek themes, but The Voyage Home avoids excessive preaching. Also, with the exception of a small group of grizzled whale hunters who are on-screen for about three minutes, there isn't a clearly-defined villain. There is, on the other hand, a love interest for Kirk, although his relationship with a 20th century marine biologist (Catherine Hicks) remains playful, not serious.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home marked the end of the "golden age" of Star Trek movies, such as it was (three straight quality outings). From this point on, the films were marred by stale writing, predictability, and questionable production values. Star Trek IV , while not a superior effort, is an effective and enjoyable sample of entertainment -- not good science fiction, but a lightweight piece of comic fantasy utilizing characters so familiar that they feel like old friends.

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Star trek iv: the voyage home, common sense media reviewers.

Buoyant, farcical time-travel Enterprise escapade.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Starfleet is racially and species-integrated, indi

Kirk asks Spock to lie -- which Vulcans can't do,

A brief flashback to a spaceship explosion from St

Mr. Spock tries to fit into 20th-century culture b

Apple computers get a plug, as well as the Yellow

Social drinking. Kirk explains Spock's alien ways

Positive Messages

Starfleet is racially and species-integrated, individually quirky but respectful and appreciative of differences. They function as a great team, working together for positive outcomes. Female characters, often on the sidelines or simply love interests, are particularly strong in this mission.

Positive Role Models

Kirk asks Spock to lie -- which Vulcans can't do, but he's able to "exaggerate" deceptively to achieve their mission. However, overall, Kirk and Spock demonstrate a strong friendship free of prejudice, and are willing to put the needs of others above themselves.

Violence & Scariness

A brief flashback to a spaceship explosion from Star Trek III , but otherwise this is renowned as the Star Trek movie without a single shot fired in anger. One character does suffer a fall, and disastrous storms batter the Earth. Some stock footage of the killing and butchery of whales.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Mr. Spock tries to fit into 20th-century culture by swearing gratuitously ("colorful metaphors," he calls it), played as comedy. Words used include "Goddamn," "hell," "dumbass," and "dips--t." A punk gives Kirk and Spock the finger.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Apple computers get a plug, as well as the Yellow Pages and other 20th-century billboards. Star Trek itself is quite a commodity.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Social drinking. Kirk explains Spock's alien ways to a 20th-century heroine by saying he did heavy drugs in the 1960s.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the most farcical of the big-screen series. As much comedy as adventure derives from the journey of the Starfleet heroes to 1986 Earth, and the relative rudeness and local color they encounter in San Francisco. While this installment is less scary and violent than most other Star Trek movies, there are instances of comical swearing and drug references. There is also a depiction of the killing of whales. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

Parents say (5)
Kids say (16)

Based on 5 parent reviews

The best in the series!

Oldies can be goodies, what's the story.

Having rescued a returned-from-the-dead Mr. Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) and committing multiple offenses against Starfleet in the process, the core crew of the now-destroyed starship Enterprise are in exile on the planet Vulcan at the start of STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME. Voting unanimously to return to Earth and face justice, they depart in their captured Klingon ship, only to find their home planet besieged by a bizarre, enigmatic alien space probe that's battering Earth through storms and energy drains. The heroes figure out that the probe is trying to contact humpback whales, described as an intelligent species which, by the 23rd century, have been long extinct, hunted to their doom by greedy humans. Admiral Kirk ( William Shatner ) orders the crew to time-warp back to the 20th century, where humpback whales can be found.

Is It Any Good?

This movie successfully captured the same lighthearted spirit of some of the classic 1960s TV episodes. The bulk of the fun of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home -- and it is fun, much of the time, played for breezy laughs, despite the mortal peril for the Earth -- centers on the super-competent 23rd-century visitors' awkwardness fitting into 1986 Earth society and dealing with money, rude people, profanity, exact bus fare, and more.

The cast has seldom been more charming (and that's saying a lot), and there's a running undercurrent about Spock gradually reconnecting with his shipmates and learning to balance logic with emotion. Sure, the special effects are good too (note the use of early CGI to simulate the time warp), but it's the beloved characterizations that set it apart from the vast majority of screen science-fiction that's all about the gadgets, rockets, aliens, and monster costumes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 's emphasis on comedy, and the culture-shock of the future space travelers in (more or less) present-day Earth society. What aspects of this world do you think would bewilder visitors from tomorrow?

Is there an eco-friendly message to this film? What do the heroes do to protect the Earth in the recent past to save the distant future?

Which elements of the Star Trek universe are possible and which are purely science fiction? Is there any technology that they have in Starfleet that is similar to something that exists today?

Movie Details

In theaters : November 26, 1986
On DVD or streaming : March 3, 2003
Cast : DeForest Kelley , Leonard Nimoy , William Shatner
Director : Leonard Nimoy
Studio : Paramount Pictures
Genre : Science Fiction
Topics : Adventures , Ocean Creatures , Space and Aliens
Run time : 119 minutes
MPAA rating : PG
MPAA explanation : parental guidance
Last updated : June 20, 2023

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Review by brian eggert february 15, 2009.

Imagine a Star Trek film that considers elaborate space battles, photon torpedoes, phaser blasts, and despotic villains inconsequential to the narrative, and so it resolves not to include them. Now imagine that visual effects do not drive the film; in fact, the majority of its story doesn’t even take place in space, but instead on Earth. What’s more, imagine that Earth is not the utopian vision of the future dreamed up by Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry—it’s the unremarkable Earth of 1986. Still more unlikely, imagine that the film’s narrative had been structured around animal activism, specifically marine conservation, in support of saving humpback whales, ultimately hoping to “save this planet from its own short-sightedness.” In the face of these improbable qualities, imagine something else: that the film becomes a blockbuster and reaches more people than an activist work ever could—creating a platform for its activist message, but doing so without sacrificing the integrity of iconic Star Trek characters or raw entertainment value.

A franchise blockbuster like the one described above would never be made in today’s Hollywood, that much is certain. The pitch even sounds absurd, writing it out like that. And yet, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home manages to be everything described above, and more. Indeed, the fourth entry in Star Trek ’s cinematic franchise contains an ambitious and improbable setup; one can imagine that present-day Paramount Pictures would laugh at “save the whales”-centric franchise film. While deviating from the standard blockbuster formula, The Voyage Home tries something new within the confines of Roddenberry’s universe; and its attempt at something so bold is also the major difference between Star Trek and other franchises. As Star Wars concerns itself almost exclusively with selling toys and expanding its plot, the Star Trek series remains open to reflective philosophical pursuits. Even more impressive, The Voyage Home diverges from your customary Star Trek picture, which so often features the Enterprise crew facing off against a singular enemy.

Discussions about a fourth Star Trek film began as Paramount Pictures was pleased with director Nimoy’s progress on The Search for Spock . They asked him to return as director of the next picture, giving him artistic license to explore whatever he envisioned. At this, William Shatner balked about returning for another film, during which time Nimoy, Bennett, and writer Ralph Winter conceived an idea about the young Kirk and Spock at Starfleet Academy (the root idea would eventually inspire J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot Star Trek ). In the meantime, two things were certain about Nimoy’s proposed film: 1) Nimoy and Bennett wanted a more cheerful story next to the operatic titles that preceded it, and 2) they wanted a time-travel scenario contemporary audiences could relate to. They considered ideas such as a plague curable only by a pharmaceutical found in deforested rainforests, or a critique of the oil industry—but both issues were deemed too weighty for their first requirement. Finally, Nimoy and Bennett settled on supporting the Save the Whales campaign, which started about a decade earlier.

As was often the case with Star Trek films to this point, The Voyage Home ’s script passed through several writers and iterations. Although Beverly Hills Cop writer Daniel Petrie, Jr. was initially hired to pen the script and launched discussions with that film’s star, Eddie Murphy, to appear, Murphy passed on the part written for him. Paramount wasn’t satisfied with Petrie’s script anyway. The studio wanted Nicholas Meyer back to write again since he delivered the script for The Wrath of Khan in just 12 days. Bennett and Meyer collaborated on a new draft, and Meyer incorporated many elements from his own excellent time-travel film, Time After Time (1979), about author H. G. Wells using his time machine to travel back to San Francisco to stop Jack the Ripper. Unlike any other Star Trek film, the shooting took place mostly on location in San Francisco, as opposed to soundstages built to look like alien planets or the Enterprise corridors. Along with the witty screenplay, the open-air shoot seemed to invigorate the actors.

Of course, there’s hardly a need for star trekking in this entry, as the Enterprise was destroyed in the last film, The Search for Spock . The story begins almost immediately after its predecessor, with Captain Kirk (Shatner) and the crew of the Enterprise still on the Vulcan home planet, awaiting the newly reborn Spock (Nimoy) to become once again whole. With the Enterprise destroyed, her crew plans to return home and has refitted a Klingon Bird of Prey to read HMS Bounty . At the same time, a mysterious probe—a black cylinder as singular as the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)—approaches Earth, disrupting the power of any nearby vessel with its indecipherable signals, causing the planet’s weather patterns to go haywire, thus threatening to end all life. Tracking the object, Spock determines its signal matches that of a humpback whale, utterly extinct in the twenty-third century. And in one of those best-left-unexplained cinematic time-travel moments, the crew resolves to journey to an earlier period in time, recover a humpback whale, and return to the future to answer the alien probe’s hail. Without much precursory debate, they slingshot around the Sun and use its gravity to fly into the past, circa 1986.

Their cloaked Klingon ship lands in a quiet park in San Francisco, and immediately the film shifts gear into a fish-out-of-water comedy, as men from the future acclimate themselves to 1980s culture. Sure enough, revisiting the film today offers an added level of humor by looking back at the 1980s in its prime (the shoulder pads, the Cold War hysteria, the electronic pop music). Moreover, Nimoy and his cast seem unbound by the typical constraints of a Star Trek picture; they’re willing to have fun with these characters and poke fun at themselves (a cabbie calls Kirk a “dumbass”). But isn’t that the point—that the characters are displaced from their normal environment and forced to adjust, hence the intended culture-clash humor? Certainly, Nimoy wasn’t concerned with preserving the usual Star Trek recipe when Spock administers his “Vulcan nerve punch” to a loud punk-rocker on a city bus (played by an associate producer on the film), an act that earns applause from his fellow passengers. Donning a white headband to cover his pointy ears and eyebrows, Spock also engages in some hilarious moments of comic timing, courtesy of Spock’s dry, straight-man routine juxtaposed against Kirk’s more animated presence. And let’s not forget McCoy’s (DeForest Kelley) assessment of the twentieth century’s “Medieval medicine” after he walks through a 1986 hospital.

Getting back to the main plot, the crew has three missions: Scotty (James Doohan), Sulu (George Takei), and McCoy conceive plans for a whale-holding tank within the Klingon ship, meeting some resistance when they visit an industrial factory and speak of yet-uninvented technologies. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Chekov (Walter Koenig) head for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, aptly named the USS Enterprise , for an alternate power source to recrystallize the Klingon ship’s dilithium crystals. But the Cold War era’s paranoid naval authorities don’t appreciate Chekov or his Russian accent near their nuclear reactor. Lastly, Kirk and Spock must convince Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks) at the local Cetacean Institute (played by the Monterey Bay Aquarium) to give them two humpback whales. Gillian laments releasing the two whales into the wild, where they’ll likely be hunted and killed. Some awkward moments ensue as Kirk tries to convince Gillian that he can protect the sea mammals on his spaceship, and understandably, she reacts to his claims of being from the future with skepticism.

Not only does the film support the specific Save the Whales campaign, it considers animal rights and equality. At one point, Gillian defends her deep love of her whales: “My compassion for someone is not limited to my estimation of their intelligence.” Meaning, animals are no less empathetic than humans just because they are animals. After all, humans, too, are animals. The Voyage Home returns to a familiar theme established in The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock in support of this idea. Ever since Spock (half emotional human, half logical Vulcan) died in The Wrath of Khan and was reborn in The Search for Spock , he’s been trying to put himself together again. But he cannot reconcile human behavior. “Humans make illogical decisions,” he remarks. His observation refers to both the dramatically-satisfying-but-ultimately-illogical choice that saved Spock (“The needs of the one outweigh the needs of the few.”) or the choice to allow the eradication of whales. This idea is compounded by raw footage of actual whale killings shown at the Cetacean Institute, which begs the question: Where is the logic behind allowing such senseless slaughter to take place? There is no logic behind it—only apathy.

The Voyage Home became the first Star Trek feature screened in Moscow thanks to its whale-friendly message. The screening was arranged by the World Wildlife Fund to celebrate their recent ban on whaling and took place well before the Cold War had ended. Additionally, the film’s criticism of thoughtless disregard for life appealed to the Soviets in attendance. Reportedly, they applauded over McCoy’s line, “The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe,” suggesting the Soviets wanted peace. The Soviet response to this film was extraordinary since Klingons were conceived in part as a metaphor for the Soviets, leaving Russia’s Trekkie population few in numbers. But The Voyage Home hopes for equality between animals and humans alike. It attempts to put distance between the traditional, and somewhat outdated, conflict between the Federation and the Klingon Empire as an allegory for the U.S. against the Soviet Union. Earning more than $133 million worldwide on a $21 million budget, the film dethroned that year’s major hit, another fish-out-of-water tale, Crocodile Dundee , from its top spot on the U.S. box office, and lured a much larger audience than just Trekkies.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home may be the most important film within the franchise, as it demonstrates how the potential of its venerable characters transcends space and time. Remove the technology, the fascinating yet questionable science, and the perceptible surface of the Star Trek continuum, and what’s left are the universality of the plot and involving characters who engage their audience through their ensemble dynamic. Though the jokes are cheeky and understandably dated, there’s also a timeless quality to the story thanks to the time-travel device. For this reason, The Voyage Home is the least dated of any Star Trek picture. It’s exceptional that Nimoy chose not to limit himself as a filmmaker by once again voyaging to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. It’s even more exceptional that his gamble worked. In a commercial series whose most successful entries rely on an entrenched formula, this film’s success, despite its uncharacteristic approach, should serve as an example to other such franchises unwilling to divert from the norm.

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Review – Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

| September 9, 2007 | By: William S. Kowinski 77 comments so far

Paramount monitored Leonard Nimoy’s every move as director of Star Trek III, but when it came time for IV, studio president Jeff Katzenberg told him, “the training wheels are off. Give us your vision of Star Trek.” Years later, when I interviewed him in 2004, Nimoy said that Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was his “Star Trek statement.” So now that Nimoy is conspicuously associated with the next Star Trek movie, as well as being Trek’s most active elder statesman, what did he mean? What makes this movie his Star Trek statement?

Together with producer Harve Bennett, Nimoy made two immediate decisions about “Voyage”. First, it would complete the accidental trilogy that began when story elements of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (and its box office success) provided the perfect set-up for a sequel. And second, and after multiple character and starship deaths in the first three movies, it was time to lighten up. (More on that decision later.)

From its theatrical release in 1986, Star Trek IV became the most popular film in the series, and remains the best known, particularly with the “crossover” general audience. Fans generally rate it among their top three favorites. It also has an instant identity—it’s “the one about the whales.”

The Whales Tale

In the 1980s, the plight of whales was becoming known to the general public from the “Save the Whales” campaign begun by the activist organization, Greenpeace. For years Greenpeace boats had been confronting whaling ships at sea, and Greenpeace volunteers placed themselves between the harpoons and the target whales. Those activities became the specific inspiration for one of Star Trek IV’s key scenes: the whaling trawler’s harpoon bouncing off the Klingon Bird of Prey.

The Humpback whale caught the public imagination when its mysterious songs were first recorded in the 1960s. The songs were complex, changing, and were audible over large distances, but scientists couldn’t figure out their purpose. They weren’t even sure how they were sung: these whales have no vocal chords.

Ecological concerns were clearly on Nimoy’s minds, but he wasn’t alone. William Shatner didn’t particularly like the time travel device, but he loved the whale theme. Inspired by Greenpeace, he had already toured with a program to benefit the ecology cause that featured recorded whale songs and his reading of D.H. Lawrence’s poem, “Whales Weep Not,” which he would eventually quote as Captain Kirk in “The Voyage Home."

The ecological concept that the future can be threatened by heedless destruction of the web of life today would be the underlying theme, symbolized by the whales’ extinction. But what would bring them into this story?

Nimoy thought of a favorite old Ray Bradbury story (“The Foghorn”) and came up with the answer: what if whale songs were calling to interstellar travelers, who came around to find out why they weren’t hearing the songs anymore?

Some fans that criticize the humor, contrast this movie with “Khan,” and praise Meyer’s direction of it. So it’s worth mentioning that the parts of “Voyage” with most of the humor were written by Nick Meyer. Some of the San Francisco scenes in fact were bits that Meyer wanted to include in his own time travel movie, Time After Time, also set in that city, but didn’t get to do.

The comment continues with Kirk warning that they are entering “a primitive, paranoid culture,” and McCoy’s observation that "It’s a miracle these people ever got out of the twentieth century." Spock’s problems with "colorful metaphors" suggests another communication problem and a classic displacement gag– foreigners who mangle English, though in this case it’s given a satirical spin: Spock speaks perfect English, even if he’s still a bit too literal. It’s the natives who are mangling it.

Beginning with the sight gags of the “exact change” scene and the punk with the boom box who gets the Vulcan neck pinch, the movie riffs on classic film comedy influences. The tip-off is in the name of the whales: George and Gracie. I’m not sure who today knows that these names refer to George Burns and Gracie Allen, a classic movie and early TV comedy team. Leonard Nimoy has said that for the Spock-McCoy verbal confrontations in the series, he patterned his performance after George Burns responding to Gracie Allen.

Kirk and Spock, on the other hand, do an Abbott and Costello-type "Who’s on first?" routine to the tune of "Do You Guys Like Italian?" (No, yes, yes, no, no, yes, no, yes, I love Italian, and so do you. Yes.) Scotty and McCoy do a Laurel and Hardy turn, with the help of a straight man and a quaint computer that lacks voice recognition. Off to collect some fresh photons from the nuclear wessel they found ("And kepten, it is the Enterprise"), Uhura and Chekhov do a kind of Martin and Lewis, with Uhura playing the good-looking “straight man,” and Walter Koenig getting to do physical comedy, as well as some verbal miscommunication with a no-nonsense naval officer. (This is his best movie until “Generations,” even if it’s meant that he has to repeat “nuclear wessels” at every convention he attends.)

Legacy for new ‘Star Trek’

So the time has come to suggest what might be profitably learned from this movie for making the next one—especially for its crossover appeal– as well as why Leonard Nimoy considers this his Star Trek statement.

It remains a point of pride for Nimoy (and Harve Bennett) that this movie had very little violence, and no villain (except human unconsciousness.) It’s often repeated that a successful Trek movie needs a larger than life villain, like Khan. In fact, Star Trek II was the only successful Trek movie that had a single such villain. The second most popular Trek film to this one, “First Contact”, had the Borg, but the real battle in that movie was inside Picard—between his conscious judgments and his unconscious need for revenge.

This movie shows that even without battles, the stakes can still be high and the subject can be important. In the second and third movies, the stakes were mostly personal, but this comedy concerned the fate of the earth. Now that the Us vs. Them Cold War is over, and despite the warfare in our time, we’ve got headlines about hurricanes, heat waves, droughts and the melting of the Arctic. These may represent our greatest challenges to the real future, and our greatest enemies are unconsciousness, denial and cynicism. “When man was killing these creatures, he was destroying his own future,” Kirk says. The whales represent what we’re still doing—presiding over the greatest era of extinction since the dinosaurs. (Even the humpback whale population has not appreciably increased since 1986.) If a new Star Trek movie is going to deal with a current issue, it may well be time to revisit this one.

I asked Leonard Nimoy this question: What makes Star Trek Star Trek? "It’s all about story," he said. "It’s all about ideas." Perhaps it was because he’d just talked about this movie, but he referred to Star Trek in 2004 as “like a beached whale.” Some of it, he felt, had to do with storytelling. Many recent movies have been “driven by the enormously successful development of special effects…We were an entirely different ilk, we didn’t have that. The dependence was on the story, story, story. Not image, image, image.”

In our 2004 interview, which was basically about the future of Star Trek, Nimoy noted all the terrible things that were going on in the world during the original series. "There was a lot of negative stuff happening. Against that background, there was this very positive idea, to boldly go and solve problems–a group of people solving problems on a large, almost operatic scale. Which was very desirable for an audience, and I think we may see that again. There may come a time when films that are positive are again welcomed."

Other Reviews In the TrekMovie.com series: ST: TMP | STII: TWOK | STIII: TSFS

Kowinski NY Times interview with Leonard Nimoy

More on Star Trek IV at Soul of Star Trek .

Bill Kowinski (aka Captain Future, William S. Kowinski) is an author and freelance writer living in Arcata, CA. Thanks to his Soul of Star Trek blog, he chaired a panel on that subject at the Trek 40th anniversary gala in Seattle last year. He’s been published in the New York Times, L.A. Times, San Francisco Chronicle and other international, national and regional publications, as well as Internet sites.

Star Trek IV products at Amazon

Images courtesy of Paramount Pictures, screencaps by TrekCore.com

Trek IV was the ONLY “humorous” Trek movie that I actually found to be funny. Most of the humor in Trek V doesnt really work (although some of it does, IMHO) and there isnt a single bit of humor in any of the TNG movies that works at all. Its silly and goofy, not funny, especially in Insurrection.

I really like Trek IV a lot, but I do prefer my Trek to be a bit darker and more serious.

oh and Star Trek IV The Voyage Home , was great , for one reason , they put some humour in it , sure there has been humour in TOS ,TNG, VOY ,DS9,ENT . but not really in other movies ( first contact had that great “star trek ” comment , and other TNG movies , tried to make DATA into a comic sidekick which did not really work in my opinion.

“Great for one reason, they put some humor in it” — spoken like a studio executive. You don’t put humor in, you find it.

NO , more like they wanted humour in it from the start , it was not just something tacted on like in the other movies

Excellent review, I really don’t have a lot to say, it did an incredible job at looking at the roots of Trek mythos and how it led to ST:IV, the Nick Mayer involvement, environmonatal issues, the logical problem solving of the TOS crew, and the symmetry of the story (which is something I hadn’t conciously considered before, but I think is why I and most others like TVH).

The original series had a great sense of humor…be it a totally comedic episode, or just humorous moments between characters. It was good to see it again in Trek 4.

What a great review. Thanks Anthony and Mr. Kowinsky for bringing it to us.

Yes this was a great outing for our intrepid crew.

The only sad part of all this is that the new film is partially to be filmed in Iceland, which. sadly, recently reconstituted its sanctioned whaling practices.

As I said in a previous thread- if Spielberg can influence China by way of his participation in the ’08 Olympics … certainly our Trek producers or Paramount can speak to someone of Influence in Iceland.

After all Whaling makes, what- a few Millions at best? vs How much is to be lost by discouraging nascent film industry?

I wonder if Mr. Nimoy knows of the planned Iceland shoots?

If you’d like to help- (or are simply imterested in this very Star Trek IV -ish issue), Go to the link below..

http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/stop-icelandic-whaling

Roberto Orci- I hope this is one thread you happen to catch.

Good, thorough review, which brought up things I hadn’t heard before and/or hadn’t thought of. I’m on the “the humor is mostly cheesy/embarassing” side myself, but there are things about the film that I like. Nice work.

Editorial note: wasn’t George C. Scott’s “Strangelove” character named “Buck Turgidson”?

Great review of a great Trek film. I loved the humour in the movie and the time travel element as well.

I was six years old when the movie came out and it was the first Star Trek movie I got to see on the big screen. I still remember being blown away and from that moment on I was a Trekkie for life!

The Voyage home is my second favourite Trek movie, with the original cast, behind The Undiscovered Country.

Cool review.

Yeah, in many ways Trek 4 was the last ‘real’ Trek we ever saw on the big screen. Beginning with Trek 5, but characters simply lost a dimension that they once had. I suspect studio interference…they don’t see the larger picture…they just see…”hey, this Trek 4 was funny and it made a lot of money…all Trek movies must have humor to appeal to a wider audience from this day forth”…and that’s what we got with Trek 5. Trek 6 was better, but the characters didn’t ring true in it. I think Meyer went too far with the military aspects in Trek 6…it lacked humanity in many ways. Every Trek movie after that has tried to throw in everything from the kitchen sink…to the dirty dishes waiting to be washed. The films just got muddied.

I’m hoping that this new Trek film will forge new ground, inspire new writers to see what Trek COULD be. As someone asked Gene Roddenberry when he was creating next Gen, “Do you think there are any stories left?”…his answer was…”My God, YES. There is a whole universe out there full of stories.” Not the exact wording…but you know what I mean.

Please Mr. Orci…don’t retread the same tired path. No time travel, no lame humor. Show us something NEW.

Although I could have done without the brief preaching by the author on the environment, that was a really good article. I’ve got a lot to think about now. Thanks, Mr. Kowinski. And thank you Tony for once again securing the best for TMR.

You can rationalize the so called merits of STIV from beginning to end, but fundamentally, it is a weak film. First, to have it be the capper to a trilogy, then, it should follow in both the wake and flavour of the previous two films. The Voyage Home doesn’t even attempt this objective. We go from death, honour, friendship and sacrifice in TWOK and TSFS, to farcical humour in TVH. That makes the third film of the “trilogy” both jarring and disappointing. The second main flaw of said film is the fact that there is no dramatic conflict to the storyline. To have our beloved crew go back to the 20th century in pursuit of two humpback whales is insipid in it’s approach to create tension for the audience. Once Kirk and crew have arrived back in that time period, they can take all the time they want (pardon the pun) in procuring two whales. It didn’t HAVE to be George and Gracie, as ANY two whales would suffice. The Enterprise crew could have taken FIVE YEARS to capture a couple of whales at open sea and still made it home in time for dinner! Once THAT fact is established, the time constraint of what they’re doing becomes meaningless, thereby negating any drama to the proceedings. Finally, and this a contentious issue, it could be suggested that the only reason STIV was such a huge box-office success is because of the tremendous “word-of-mouth for STII+III. The general masses out there were so charmed and thrilled with the dramatic impact of TWOK and TSFS, they lined up in the opening weeks of TVH expecting more of the same excellent storytelling. By the time it got out as common knowledge that STIV was a “weak” film, it was too late, the movie had already established “legs” at the box office. Paramount, seeing the huge returns on STIV mistook this as a sign that the general public desired more of the lighter tone Treks and thus began the begining of the end for our beloved franchise, with each successive film after that (with the original crew) becoming more and more like a Three Stooges movie: Kirk: “hey, Spock, how many fingers am I holding up? Woo, woo, woo…..nyuk, nyuk….” culminating in the worst Star Trek of all, The Final Frontier! No wonder Star Trek is but a pale shadow what it once was! Let’s hope Abrams can breath some life back into this coma victim!!! Do we have to teach these “suits” at Paramount everything?Sheeeeesh!!!!!!

Trek IV remains my favorite and the humor is precisely why. I did love a lot of the lines in TSFS as well.

The jokes are funny because they are character driven, not insipid one-liners that are peppered throughout today’s sitcoms.

I liked TVH because, while the TOS characters generally hold to a 23rd century ideal, this was really the first time we as the audience could really relate in a real way to the characters. Everyone’s been in that situation where you go to a strange place where you don’t really understand why the people there behave as they do. The best thing about this film, if you were not really a fan of Trek, was that this was the one Trek movie where you didn’t need to know very much about Trek going in.

Trek IV shows one of the great things about science fiction: it can litterally be about anything in the universe. To Hollywood it is little more than westerns with ray guns. Trek IV shows otherwise.

When it comes to Nimoy’s two Trek movies, the thing I love most about them is just how incredibly LUSH and ATMOSPHERIC they were. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but the Trek universe somehow seemed a bit more WONDROUS in his movies than in any of the others.

Hell, he made something as simple as a starship orbiting a planet seem like a magical, awe-insipiring event. None of the other directors even came close to capturing that feeling.

I really hope Abrams studies Nimoy’s two movies closely, because THAT’s the kind of Trek movie I want to see again.

I think this one might be more highly regarded than it is should enviromental problems surface in the future; very prescient. A fun show that left me with a good feeling. The only element I missed was the Enterprise, until the end, of course. No villains or space battles either, amazing.

1) Nice to see Mr. Orci here!

2) Respectfully disagree with Mr Harry(#14)

If it (IV) were comedy in a vacuum I’d agree. Mudd, Tribbles and Piece of the Action are funny, but SAY LITTLE.

Trek IV, SAYS quite a bit. and honestly, It was time for a little life after all that after death.

Perhaps its tone was a bit light, but some months has passed, and the characters were ready to stop mourning and get back in the saddle, so to speak. (so was the audience)

In terms of Quality, If I may borrow a phrase from TV, Trek II and IV “hammock” Trek III and it’s the one strengthened by it’s inclusion in a trilogy.

Star Trek is a vehicle for all sorts of things… adventure, drama, pathos, honor, heart, humor, and a bit of preaching from time to time. Judged in those terms Trek IV is a success. (except for the creepy plaster 3-d head thingies and the somewhat derivative “V’ger II/” Whale probe attacking Earth) )

I think, as far as the pacing, I was under the assumption that the whale they found was pregnant, and the Klingon dilithium was none too stable. plus regarding the (somewhat) valid point: above

Re: “The Enterprise crew could have taken FIVE YEARS to capture a couple of whales at open sea and still made it home in time for dinner”

How long would YOU want to stay cloaked in the park with no money and with a crew dressed like a bunch of middle aged mambo kings?

As for V- blame Shatner and Harve Bennett for not knowing the difference between funny and silly; and that putting God in a movie is bound to lead to a climactic let-down.

“a crew dressed like a bunch of middle aged mambo kings?” Heh, heh, heh…….I like the way you coin a phrase…..FUNNY!!

What makes this film remarkable is it’s so good even with the ununremarkable music score.

Thanks for all the comments–and for catching Turgidson misspelled.

Really good review on the film, added perspective from standpoints I did not realize. I found it enlightening.

Star Trek IV was a really good compliment to the other good Trek Movies. Too many movies where the crew go and fight the bad guy start to wear on you. Star Trek V for me may have been one of the worse of the lot, but at least attempted to do something different. This is probably why I enjoyed IV so much. Thanks to Mr. Nimoy for a great story and to the shirts for letting him tell it.

My opinion of the 3 best Trek movies:

Wrath of Khan The Voyage Home First Contact

Great review. I’ve read many for this movie over the years, but this one was really thought-provoking.

It’s my favorite film too. Watching this got me interested in Star Trek again after a five year hiatus.

I might have enjoyed it more had the Enterprise crew taken Saavik back with them, but who knows?

Nice review. I totally agree that Trek must have a theme. The plot (is it really time-travel and fighting nasty Romulans?) is almost secondary. The theme and how our beloved characters interact and solve the problems of the moment are what matter. Characters! Interesting ideas. Sure, throw some ‘splosions at us, but never skimp on the real juicy stuff.

Awesome review.

You call that preaching? He stated facts that within the context of discussing Trek IV were relevant.

Oh man. Usually I’m pretty entertained by your OTT comments, but I disagree with you in almost every way. Hitting on one major point – if Trek IV had really been such a dip in quality from II & III and been ‘weak’, it wouldn’t have had legs at the box office, regardless of what people thought of the previous two. You act as though they tricked people into the theatre and they then had no choice but to watch it again and again. The fact is, it’s revisionist Trekdom that’s labeled Trek IV as ‘weak’. Not that finances are a basis for quality, but it’s still one of the highest box office sucesses Trek has experienced, not to mention that when it comes to ‘non-fans’ it’s still the most popular. I can say from my personal experience that no one in 1986 (or really, until very recently) thought TVH was ‘weak’.

In terms of it being inconsistent with the trilogy, I’d disagree there as well. The themes of death, honor, friendship & sacrifice are all still front-and-center in TVH. They’re simply presented in a slightly different format, which actually works for the film instead of hurting it. The crew are out their risking their lives to save the planet and organization that’s about to put them on trial. The reprucussions of TSFS are still very real, and Spock’s journey is certainly a key element here as well. Chekov’s peril may not seem as extreme as some the characters have experienced before, but certainly it’s a critical step in Spock’s ‘re-education’ when he says they can’t leave him behind.

As far as the dramatic tension being lacking, your reasoning seems odd. Speaking plotwise, we can reasonably assume they couldn’t simply stay in the past forever. The Klingon crystals were deteriorating, so A)they’d lose their cloak & B)they’d lose the ability to return to the 23rd Century. Yes, they did figure out a way to re-energize them, but that wasn’t until halfway through the movie. We also don’t know how long they’d last or how permanent a solution it would be. The time travel was shown to be hard on the ship, so maybe they could only withstand one more trip and perhaps the re-energizing was merely a temporary fix (given everything seen on screen, I think that’s sensible). All that aside, what would be the purpose in staying in the past any longer than they did? The events of the future were real and immediate to them, even if they were in the past. They’d want to hurry and do what they could to save their world asap. I don’t think that negates the drama at all.

Yes, Trek V was a mistake. However, it was mostly Harve Bennett & William Shatner’s mistake. Why the studio allowed it to be greenlit or let WIlliam Shatner direct is still a mystery to this day. But the excessive humor ended there, as Trek VI was a return to the more formal tone of the previous movies.

Trek IV is a GREAT Trek film, and if JJ Abrams & Crew make a film with 1/2 the heart and joy that this one had, they’ll be sucessful.

Sean, your points are well taken and very well thought out…I will take them under consideration in my future thoughts regarding this particular movie……it’s fun to debate, don’t you think?

hey guys heres a question , how do you think star trek would have turned out different. if other people had starred in the movied , what i mean is the Star Trek IV , was surpose to have a big part for Eddie Murphy, as a guy who see the bird of prey land and ends up going to the furture with them , also Sean Connery was going to be sybok in star trek V ( not sure even Connery could save V) , But the Eddie Murphy one is interesting he was a big actor at the time , but i think he would have taken away from the Kirk and co. And even if the movie would have done better in the box office , as a star trek fan i think its better he was not in it.

so any ideas on this ? plus where therr any other actors or big changes the could have happened in any of the movies that you think would have changed star trek in a big way for better or worse ?

An excellent review.

I love Star Trek IV and make no apologies about it. I think its perfect for what it was intended to be, and its the one “Star Trek” work that average, non-Trek people see and think “okay, I think I understand what people see in this whole Star Trek thing”. From beginning to end, its a celebration of the then-20 year history of the show, the people in it, behind it, and who watched it. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but its one I never get tired of drinking. Nimoy should be very proud of the film. Future Trek projects should be so lucky as to be as good and as satisfying as “The Voyage Home”.

Trek 4 had a calmness about it that I liked, like everyone involved making it finally relaxed and just made a good movie. Most of the other Trek movies felt as if they didn’t know what to do for sure and it showed.

I agree with trektacular – this film seemed to know where it was going – I loved (and still love) this trek film. I first of all i saw it the day it came out as i was on holiday in from Scotland in California, so i got to see it the day it opened with my wife – we were on our honeymoon!

Even the opening titles still send chill up my spine. At the cinema in LA where we saw it they had the heads that they scanned for the time travel “dream” sequence – I have some pics of them somewhere! Also to top it all off – we got a private visit to the sets at Paramount, met Mr Nimoy, sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge, got tho walk the Enterprise corridors, and stand in the transporter room (where my wifes high heel cracked a perpex deck plate..ooops) sheer heaven!

For me it was the perfect Star Trek film – humour, adventure, sci fi and we got to see our heroes in a different light.

But then!!!! STV…..what happened!

At the time of release, I thought this was a weaker movie than it was, but time(and numerous sequels) have made me appreciate it more. :-)

Very good review. IV was not the epic everyone continually wanted but it hit the heartstrings. Trek movies after that neither were epic or touching.

Thank you for this great review.

Movies like ST IV emerged and developed from an interplay of three major forces: the unique triumvirate, the vision and the passion of TOS and, last not least, the very special kind of humour no other series that followed could achieve.

ST V may be a weaker film in comparison but it still has its moments and, as we just learned from DeForest Kelley, “Star Trek movies are all about Moments”.

“When man was killing these creatures, he was destroying his own future”

What an awesome line – delivery to perfection by Shatner…

btw does anyone they should have got a different looking ship at the end?

IMO getting the exact same design was a little bit of a cheat..we already had got Spock back and at the end Kirk gets the Enterprise back too (ok i know its not the same one but still)

I think the model makers should have come up with something a little different…. after all – its supposed to be the next step up (all the other Enterprises B,C, D, E are different)

I dont mean something like Excelsior but maybe just added a few bits and pieces of to the Enterprise model they had to make it look different – like an upgrade (like the changes made from TOS Ent to the TMP Ent)

What they could have done is had it look like a cross between the previous Enterprise and excelsior…. the model makers could have just added a few things onto the existing movie Enterprise model – therefore avoiding the need to build a new one.

I notice that even fans get confused about the Enterprise NCC 1701 and the Ent NCC 1701-A thinking its the same one refereing to it as the “movie enterprise”…having the A look alittle different wouldnt have caused any confusion.

Fantastic article! Thank you for giving us such a well-researched and thoughtful retrospective of The Voyage Home.

ST IV had the best cross over appeal of all the Trek movies. And there is something inherently funny and appealing about the ‘fish out of water’ story lines like Crocodile Dundee.

It was an excellent choice of tonal change given the preceding two movies. Though I wish the Kirk trial aspect of it had been handled with a more serious approach.

#37, Snake-

re: Enterprise A

I think that someone somewhere mentioned that in the Trek Universe, it was another ship that was hastily re badged for our heroes. And the new Bridge set looked great. Granted they could have addded a few touches.

Keep in mind, Enterprise B was changed mainly to serve the plot, and to preserve the structure of the ILM Excelsior model after that “explosive” plot-pont in Generations.

I think that in V, they redid the bridge to make it look more like an evolutionary precursor to Next Gen, and in VI, Meyer repainted it, added that damn view screen clock (just like in my Train station!) and made all the sets look smaller and more submarine-like.

40 – yes i believe it was the Yorktown..

also as we saw in III the Enterprise was going to be decommissioned because it was so old so having built another Constitution class vessel from scratch with the same exact design didn’t really make sense…

I always figured the EXCELSIOR was going to show up re-christened “ENTERPRISE II” (not thinking of the 1701-A angle). Was very surprised and a bit disappointed they used the same ship/model again (though the TMP Refit ENTERPRISE remains my favorite).

#41 – yes, as I recall from “Mr. Scott’s Guide to the ENTERPRISE” (one of my few TREK books to survive Katrina), the 1701-A was actually built as the YORKTOWN but renamed for Kirk & crew.

Loved the review, Bill. Spot on.

My biggest “problem” with TVH is the whole fish out of water motif, from which depending almost all the humor. It always struck me as odd how these guys who are presumably trained to interract with totally alien cultures have their most unprofessional moments when trying to fit into Earth’s past. They did this in the original series as well. As students of Earth’s history, and Earth-people themselves, wouldn’t they be able to function in Earth’s past at least as well as they function when encountering unknown cultures? Just a thought.

That said, I loved TVH and enjoyed almost all the humor contained therein. It was the perfect Trek movie in the context of its times, and as cliché as it sounds, is second only to Wrath of Khan IMO.

And every time I watch it, and those scenes with John Schuck’s angry Klingon ambassador, I wistfully think how wonderful it would have been if Star Trek 5 had been an anti-war war movie where the Klingons and the Federation finally have the interstellar war we’d all been wanting since the maddening resolution to “Errand of Mercy.”

Scott B. out.

I never liked ST VI I and I guess I ain’t gonna like it in the future. But it’s not because of the humour, but because of the plot…

I meant Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, of course, and not ST VI. Sorry!

Agreed buddy! Everyone’s got their take on these films, and I respect that.

For me, it’s my least watched of the films. It’s great, but suffers from “Good Song Overplay Syndrome”. I like to revisit the DVDs when I upgrade a part of my video system.

Oh, I’m really disappointed with this Review -> where is the critical part of it (that’s what I most enjoyed about the reviews of I-III on this site and also on the “Generations” commentary).

I guess it really makes me disappointed cause IV is my LEAST FAVORITE Trek movie. It’s too silly, too right in your face and I hate the mid 80s look of the whole movie. There are as many plot holes as in “Nemesis” and I only enjoyed thie movie ONCE and then never again.

Sure as ol’ Trekker I love the no villain and no violence part something what ironically the TNG movies lost as well as the mystery part which the probe to me has as appeal (OK I could count the Nexus in “Generations”).

well a double dumb ass on you!!!

Great Books Guy

Reading the classics.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Review

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Director: Leonard Nimoy

“It’s a miracle these people ever got out of the twentieth century”

Once again directed by Leonard Nimoy, the fourth Star Trek film was dedicated to the exploded Challenger space shuttle. The film was almost entirely scrapped thanks to William Shatner declining to reprise his role as Captain Kirk. However, his qualms were eventually settled with a pay raise that was explicitly designed not to be subordinate to Leonard Nimoy’s compensation. These types of petty squabbles were in part the inspiration behind launching a new Star Trek television series which aired the following year: Star Trek The Next Generation –an effort to revitalize the series with the introduction of new characters and situations. The fourth Star Trek movie concludes a narrative trilogy that began with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) , and it was the second Trek film to be directed by Leonard Nimoy (naturally, Shatner expressed interest in directing a subsequent fifth Star Trek movie). There are quite a few quotable lines in this film and it uniquely relies on situational humor far more than the other films. In this way, The Voyage Home demonstrates the narrative versatility of Star Trek the “save the whales” message is delightfully silly for a Star Trek movie.

Despite having a somewhat goofy premise, Star Trek IV is a surprisingly fun and campy entry in the Star Trek film-verse, though I think viewers may need to be a Star Trek fan to fully appreciate it. The Voyage Home picks up where Star Trek III left off. The crew of the Enterprise, currently on Vulcan for the third month of Vulcan exile while Spock recovers his faculties and their stolen Klingon Bird of Prey is repaired, are set to be reprimanded on Earth, presumably by court-martial (or maybe a lifetime of mining borite) for their disobedience in the previous film. The Klingon Empire has accused Kirk of being a “terrorist” for weaponizing the Genesis Device, but Spock’s father Sarek (reprised by Mark Lenard) comes to the defense of Kirk and his crew. The hearing abruptly ends with the Klingons threaten Kirk’s life –though Kirk’s exact whereabouts remain unknown. Meanwhile, a large cylindrical probe has been traveling through space while emitting odd noises, destabilizing ships as it passes. One such case is the U.S.S. Saratoga, which is patrolling Sector V of the Neutral Zone when it encounters the unknown and unresponsive probe which is apparently headed toward the Terran solar system. The Saratoga is quickly neutralized along with several other ships.

When it arrives at Earth, the probe causes pure chaos as ion electrical storms threaten planetary survival, and the power grids are shut off across the world. Spock discovers that the probe is emitting a message which is actually a humpback whale song –despite the fact that humpback whales have long since been extinct– so the former crew of the Enterprise powers up their stolen Klingon Bird of Prey (nicknamed the “Bounty” in allusion to the H.M.S. Bounty) and they return to Earth to face trial. However, after uncovering the whalesong, and in the hopes of locating a whale to answer the call, they decide to travel back in time using the slingshot maneuver/method first introduced in the season one classic episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” and then again in the season one finale “Assignment: Earth.” They travel back to the twentieth century to the year 1986 in San Francisco, CA –there are many chucklingly fun comments about how backwards and primitive the 20th century seems to our heroes.

The crew proceed in disguise –riding on a public bus, and interacting with ordinary people on the streets (apparently, one key moment involves Chekov and Uhura randomly asking people on the street if they know the location of the nuclear vessel, or “wessel,” in Alameda and they actually spoke with a real San Francisco bystander who had no idea a major motion picture was being filmed). Kirk and Spock hunt down two domesticated humpback whales kept in captivity –George and Gracie– who are located at the Monterey Bay Aquarium (or the fictitious “Cetacean Institute”). Here, they meet a biologist named Dr. Gillian Taylor (Catherine Hicks) who eventually decides to help the crew in an effort to save and protect her whales. She and Admiral Kirk entertain a somewhat nebulous romantic affinity for one another that is never quite fully explicated. After a few twists and turns –including a side quest to rescue Chekov from a “dangerous” 20th century hospital– they return to the 23rd century and the whales are released into the San Francisco Bay where they respond to the alien ship’s probe. Their song is apparently a mysterious cosmic message. The destructive probe then promptly departs from Earth. Kirk and crew then return to the Federation where charges are dropped against them (only Kirk is “punished” by being given his long-desired role as captain of the Enterprise back again), and a newly reconstructed U.S.S. Enterprise is revealed: “My friends, we’re home” –thus ending the plot arc that initially began with Wrath of Khan .

Other memorable characters from the original series, including Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand and Majel Barrett as Dr. Chapel M.D., formerly Nurse Chapel. Generally speaking, the tone of this movie is a total departure from the previous three Star Trek films, and somehow it just seems to grow better with time. It is light-hearted and family-friendly with an optimistic conservationist message. Still, this is an eminently rewatchable Star Trek movie which brilliantly showcases the true versatility of Star Trek , a franchise which manages to be both silly as well as weighty, and is not afraid to pleasantly surprise its audience with new directions, ‘boldly going where no movies have gone before.’

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (DC Comics, 1986) (Review)

This June, we’re taking a look at some classic Star Trek movie tie-ins and other interesting objects. Check back daily for the latest reviews and retrospectives.

The comic book adaptation of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home does a surprisingly good job of translating the comedy adventure into comic book form. Relying the creative team of Mike W. Barr and artist Tom Sutton to produce a one-shot comic book adaptation of the feature film, DC Comics have reached a point where they are able to consistently and reliably churn out comic books based around the Star Trek franchise.

Indeed, one might imagine that the somewhat lighter tone of The Voyage Home would pose a challenge for the duo, eschewing the grand space opera of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in favour of something more firmly rooted in modern sensibilities. However, Barr and Sutton do a wonderful job adapting the screenplay into a charming comic, even if it does seem to be aimed more squarely at hardcore Star Trek fans than casual viewers.

Standing tall…

There are remarkably few changes made to the core of The Voyage Home . Unlike Vonda McIntyre’s novelisation of the film, it seems like Barr and Sutton trust the script to be funny and engaging – there’s no attempt to “soften” the gags to maintain continuity or character. The Voyage Home is meant to be a Star Trek comedy in the broadest of strokes, and the comic book adaptation reflects this. It maintains most of the film’s goofy humour, trusting the readers to take it in the spirit intended.

The cuts made seem to have been made primarily for time, but – even then – Barr and Sutton are conscious of the differences between film and comic books. The most obvious omission is the wonderful “nuclear wessels” sequence, but that is a gag that would inevitably work better on film than in print. The beauty of that scene is Walter Koenig’s Chekov cluelessly asking for the location of the nuclear arsenal in a Russian accent. It’s hard to convey all that on the panel.

Shadows on the sun…

In contrast, the best gags in the adaptation are visual. The “exact change” gag is even funnier on the panel, where Barr and Sutton have complete control over the spacing of the sequence. Kirk and Spock get on. There is a beat panel. Kirk and Spock get off. Realising that comic books are in inherently visual medium, Barr and Sutton emphasise those jokes – Scotty picking up the mouse to speak into it, or Kirk reading the location of the whales on the side of a bus.

(Indeed, even the other truncated gags are conscious of the difference between film and comic books. For example, the confusion over the gender of the patient in the hospital, leading to Kirk’s “one little mistake” line is a little risqué, but it works better in film – where the audience can wonder “did I hear that?” In contrast, it’s a lot more difficult to put something that risqué on a panel where the reader can definitely confirm that they saw it. While an understandable cut, it’s a shame to lose the gag for awkward exposition, as Bones sets up the line with “real physicians do not forget their patient’s gender, Admiral.” )

Previously on Star Trek…

What few additions or enhancements that Barr and Sutton make to the script, they seem to make as inside Star Trek jokes. This makes a great deal of sense. After all, the audience for a major motion picture is inevitably going to be much larger than that for a comic book adaptation of a major motion picture. So Barr and Sutton are a little more free to play some “inside baseball” , including various shout-outs and references that serve to bring The Voyage Home even further in line with the Star Trek mythos.

For example, they include a much larger cameo for Christine Chapel than the final cut of the film afforded, with Sarek directly addressing her as he arrives for the Federation Council Meeting that opened the film. It’s a strange decision; it hurts the pacing of the scene, and Sarek’s entrance is much more effective if he makes it in direct opposition to the pontifications of the Klingon Ambassador against James T. Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise.

The Kirk manoeuvre…

Still, Barr and Sutton find time for additional little character moments on top of what the finished cut of the film afforded. “I’m a doctor, not an oceanographer!” McCoy offers on the crew’s arrival in the twentieth century. Kirk’s seduction of Gillian Taylor is a lot more overt than in the final version of the feature film. “I bet you’re a damn good poker player,” she remarks to Kirk. “The best,” he replies, pulling her in close for a kiss. It’s not a development that helps the plot – Gillian is a lot more interesting if Kirk doesn’t sweep her off her feet – but it does seem to play into the romantic ideal of Kirk as it exists in fandom.

Barr and Sutton’s adaptation of The Voyage Home is efficient and confident. It’s an adaptation that feels comfortable enough with the source material that it does not feel the need to re-contextualise or to re-work various elements of the finished film. It’s a demonstration of just how well these two creators worked together on Star Trek spin-offs in the eighties.

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Screen Rant

I think picard should have given riker kirk’s star trek generations advice.

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Star Trek Generations Ending & Kirk’s Death Explained

Seal team season 7 release date confirmed, the perfect ted lasso replacement show with 100% on rotten tomatoes just dropped season 3 on hulu.

Kirk's advice to Picard in Star Trek Generations should have been passed to Riker in Star Trek: Nemesis.
Riker became Captain in Star Trek: Nemesis, but we never found out of Picard shared what Kirk told him.
Picard ultimately became an Admiral anyway, while Riker is still waiting for a promotion.

Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) gave Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) important advice in Star Trek Generations , and I think Jean-Luc should have passed Kirk's advice on to Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in Star Trek: Nemesis . Kirk met Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's first feature film. That historic Star Trek event saw the two Captains of the USS Enterprise team up to stop a madman named Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying the Veridian star system. Tragically, Kirk died stopping Soran, but not before he imparted words of wisdom to the Captain of the Enterprise.

Following the USS Enterprise's historic five-year mission in Star Trek: The Original Series , Captain Kirk was promoted to Rear Admiral in 2270. Kirk was named Chief of Starfleet Operations, but he was ill-suited to sitting behind a desk. Kirk yearned to be back in command of his beloved Starship Enterprise, and he used his pull to do just that in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Admiral Kirk was demoted back to Captain, but it was really what Jim wanted all along . Captain Kirk commanded the USS Enterprise-A for seven more years before it was truly time for him to give up the center seat. Time travel via the interdimensional Nexus allowed Kirk to join Picard for one last heroic mission in Star Trek Generations, where Jim gave Jean-Luc his personal career advice.

Star Trek Generations not only passed the torch to the cast of The Next Generation, it also revealed the ultimate fate of Captain James T. Kirk.

Captain Kirk’s Advice Should Have Been Passed By Picard To Riker

Riker became captain in star trek: nemesis.

In Star Trek Generations, Captain Kirk urged Captain Picard, “Don't let them promote you. Don't let them transfer you. Don't let them do *anything* that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you're there... you can make a difference.” I believe Captain Picard should have told Commander Will Riker the same when he became Captain of the USS Titan in Star Trek: Nemesis . Although Riker didn't get to succeed Picard as Captain of the Enterprise , I think it would have been fitting and resonant if Jean-Luc evoked Kirk's memory by advising Will not to give up being Captain easily if Starfleet comes calling with a promotion to flag officer.

Kirk's career advice to Picard should have become a kind of heirloom that gets passed down.

Giving up the Captaincy of the Starship Enterprise was Kirk's biggest career regret, and Jim would have preferred to spend his life seeking out new worlds and new civilizations . Picard was very much like Kirk in terms of his devotion to his Starship Enterprise. Picard was Captain of the USS Enterprise-D and E for a total of 17 continuous years, with Riker serving as his First Officer for 15 of those years. Clearly, Picard did take Kirk's advice to heart, perhaps to Riker's regret, considering how long he waited to take over for Picard as Captain of the Enterprise. But Kirk's career advice to Picard should have become a kind of heirloom that gets passed down, with Kirk to Picard to Riker as a natural progression.

It's possible Picard did tell Riker Kirk's advice at some point after Star Trek Generations, but it never canonically happened on screen.

Picard Ignored Kirk's Advice And Became An Admiral Anyway (But Riker Is Still Waiting)

Jean-luc picard had his own problems as a starfleet admiral.

Jean-Luc Picard could not remain Captain of the Enterprise forever. Picard finally accepted a promotion to Admiral in 2381 when Starfleet assigned him to lead the United Federation of Planets' evacuation of the Romulan people as their sun went supernova. Four years later, Picard resigned in protest when the Federation prematurely ended their rescue mission after rogue synths attacked Mars and dealt Starfleet a crippling blow. A bitter Picard would spend the next 14 years in self-imposed retirement before returning to action and prominence in 2399, as seen in Star Trek: Picard' s 3 seasons. Unlike Kirk, however, Picard did not yearn to be Captain of the Enterprise again.

Despite his successful stint in command of the USS Titan, Captain Will Riker is still waiting for his promotion to Admiral. Surprisingly, the extra pips did not arrive despite Riker's heroics in Star Trek: Picard season 3. However, both Picard and Riker were able to adjust to life away from being Captain of a starship more successfully than James T. Kirk did. In his ideal world, Kirk would have been Captain of the Enterprise until his dying breath, and his advice to Picard reflected that wish. I feel Picard passing Kirk's words on to Riker would have formed a fitting chain, and perhaps Riker could have then shared Kirk's words with Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), thematically tying Kirk's ideals through Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek: The Next Generation , and Star Trek: Picard.

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Captain James Kirk

Who Really Wrote Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home? The BTS Controversy Explained

T here are four credited screenwriters on Leonard Nimoy's 1986 time travel comedy "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes were hired together to write the film and they followed all the appropriate studio mandates, careful to write a role specifically for Eddie Murphy -- he had expressed interest in appearing -- and to beef up Admiral Kirk's role to appease a snippy William Shatner. Meerson and Krikes met with Nimoy and producer Harve Bennett early in production to bang out a story, and the quartet ultimately invented the plot: the Enterprise crew would travel back in time to the present day to retrieve a pair of humpback whale, a species that is extinct in the 23rd century. They must do this to appease a mysterious space probe that is draining the Earth's oceans.

Bennett and Nicholas Meyer are also credited as screenwriters, as they reworked a lot of Meerson and Krikes' script into something they felt was more "Star Trek"-appropriate. Bennett went on record saying that very little of the original script made its way into the final film, noting that the Eddie Murphy character was written out and that few of Meerson and Krikes' scenes survived. In fact, Bennett claimed that only two scenes from the original draft made their way to the screen, and those scenes were still at least slightly altered by him and Meyer.

In the oral history book "Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages," edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Meerson and Krikes went on record saying that Bennett misrepresented their contributions. According to them, they did indeed lay out the general structure of the film, outlined key scenes, and even invented one of the movie's funniest moments.

Yes, alterations were made, but Meerson and Krikes were miffed by Bennett's comments.

Read more: Celebrities You Didn't Know Were In Star Trek

Harve Bennett's Claims To Star Trek IV

Bennett claimed that Eddie Murphy's initial involvement was great , but that when he dropped out, it was up to him and Meyer (the director of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan") to salvage the script. Indeed, when describing the original script, Bennett was forwardly dismissive:

"We went through every writer we could think of. We finally found Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes, whose work was highly regarded. Nothing came of it. Some of that, in fairness to them, was because we had saddled them with what appeared to be a male character that we thought was going to be Eddie Murphy at one time. Then when Eddie Murphy fell out, we had to readjust the script. But, by then, it had turned to paste, it just didn't work."

Bennett even went so far as to detail the only two scenes he deigned to leave in his version of the script -- the hospital scene, wherein an injured Chekov (Walter Koenig) has to be rescued before 20th century medicine injures him, and a scene in a plexiglass plant wherein Scotty (James Doohan) helps a 20h century engineer invent transparent aluminum. In his own words:

"Frankly, there are two scenes in the picture that they wrote that stayed pretty much the same. One of them is outstanding, which is the hospital scene that had minor modifications by Nick Meyer and me. They had also laid down the outline for the plexiglass factory scene. But, essentially, we didn't have a script we felt good about or even submittable to the studio."

The problem with Bennett's comments is that, at least according to Meerson and Krikes, they were lies. Their script contained way more of the final film than Bennett let on.

Steve Meerson And Peter Krikes' Side Of The Story

Meerson went on record, saying:

"Actually, [...] every beat of the film's first, second and third acts is exactly the same as our script. The only thing that changed slightly was that our Eddie Murphy character and the marine biologist were combined. Eddie Murphy was going to play a college professor who taught English, but a professor who we probably all had in the '60s or '70s, who's a little bit wacky and believes in extraterrestrials. Every Wednesday, he would open up his class to a discussion and the room would light up with conversation."

The marine biologist character was to be a sidekick to Dr. Gillian Taylor, the character played by Catherine Hicks . Dr. Taylor was meant to serve as a love interest for Admiral Kirk (William Shatner), while Eddie Murphy's wacky teacher was to be the one to figure out that Kirk is from the future. The Murphy character was also going to be the one to stow away on board the Klingon ship Kirk came to 1986 in. Meerson even explained that Murphy was to bid Kirk farewell near the end of the movie before leaping into Kirk's transporter beam at the last second. Murphy was to stay in the 23rd century.

Eventually, those scenes were shunted over to Dr. Taylor, including the scene where she leaps into Kirk's transporter beam at the last second. She also, like Murphy, stayed in the 23rd century. The only notable cut scenes written by Meerson and Krikes were comedic ones built around Murphy's talents. His character, for instance, always believed in the existence of aliens, but when real aliens beam into his classroom, no one believes him.

Most everything else was (supposedly) intact.

The Punk Scene In Star Trek IV

Meerson even noted that he and Krikes wrote one of the film's funniest moments. In "Star Trek IV," Kirk and Spock ride on a San Francisco bus and have trouble talking because a punk rocker in a leather jacket is listening to a boombox at full volume. Kirk requests that the volume be reduced and the punk (played by associate producer Kirk Thatcher) flips him the bird in response. Spock then administers a Vulcan nerve pinch, knocking the punk and, in turn, his boombox out (which everyone else on the bus applauds). As Meerson put it:

"You know when Spock nerve pinches the guy on the bus? In our draft that took place in an underground subway system [...] You can't imagine the frustration of watching them take all the credit for something that was completely blocked out for them."

Meyer, meanwhile, claims the punk scene started its life in the script for his 1979 time travel film "Time After Time," but that the scene was ultimately cut. He said as much in a 1987 issue of Cinefantastique . Elsewhere, on the commentary track for "Star Trek IV," Nimoy claims that he invented the punk-pinching scene, recalling a real-life punker on a subway and "I thought if I was Spock I'd pinch his brains out!" Thatcher himself maintains that it was his idea that, when the punk was knocked unconscious, he turned off the music with his falling face.

Thatcher also composed the song in that scene, an aggressive ditty called "I Hate You." The authorship of the punk scene may be illuminated by the following trivia: "I Hate You" also turned up in the 1987 film "Back to the Beach," which was written by Meerson and Krikes.

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Read the original article on SlashFilm .

The 10 Best Captain Kirk Episodes in 'Star Trek: The Original Series'

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A good Captain in Star Trek is the embodiment of the ideals of the Federation. Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) came first, so he set the standard. He taught all of us Trekkers what it means to believe in this future: standing up to bigotry, treating everyone as equals, and always helping when possible. Equality in Star Trek is not leaving the less fortunate to suffer; it is lifting each other up so that they, too, can go forward and lift others.

Captains must also be tested, forged, and tempered. Kirk relishes conquering a challenge. He has faced sacrifices that tempered him and taught him when to bluff to the last breath and when to have mercy. The crew has absolute loyalty and trust in Kirk, and they know that to serve him is to stand by the same ideals as their Captain. To do otherwise would be to fail him. The following are shining examples of what it means to live by the values of Star Trek. As well as reasons why Captain Kirk of Star Trek: The Original Series will always be one of the finest Captains in Starfleet .

Star Trek: The Original Series

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10 "Obsession"

Season 2, episode 13.

This is Kirk's Captain Ahab moment long before Khan , but how he handles it shows that while he is not faultless, he can be brought back to reason. In this episode, Kirk confronts a familiar creature, one he previously battled and felt he had failed to defeat. He feels guilt and shame about the incident. When young Ensign Garrovick ( Stephen Brooks ) shows the same hesitation, Kirk is harsh, and the young ensign quickly shows the same shame. The Captain is at first uncharacteristically illogical in his obsession with the creature's demise.

It's only once he sees that a phaser blast does not affect the beast that he's able to forgive himself, and in doing so, the young ensign can forgive himself as well. This shows that the Captain can still make mistakes. He, too, is human, but he can still learn. He doesn't stay stubborn and hateful; he learns, adjusts, and forgives.

9 "A Taste of Armageddon"

Season 1, episode 23.

In "A Taste of Armageddon," Kirk and Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) land on a planet that has learned how to sanitize war. The society of Eminiar VII is at war with a neighboring planet, but in a way that avoids damage to their buildings and materials. Computers initiate the attacks and provide the leaders with the projected casualties if the attack had been real. The people then surrender themselves to suicide booths. They consider this a cleaner and superior way to go to war.

Kirk is disgusted once he fully comprehends the situation. He decides to destroy the suicide booths , despite the possible consequences, to force them to face the horrors of war once again. Thousands have died. Kirk knows if they see the truth of war again—the ugliness of it—they will be forced to strive for peace. "That's all it takes...knowing that we're not going to kill today."

8 "The Corbomite Maneuver"

Season 1, episode 10.

"The Corbomite Maneuver" is a classic episode, often cited as one of Star Trek's best . It opens with Kirk in his quarters. Faced with dietary restrictions from Doctor McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ), and served by Yeoman Janice ( Grace Lee Whitney ), Kirk tells McCoy the only female he can worry about is The Enterprise. It's a slice-of-life moment, giving us a glimpse of the Captain's downtime and his commitment to the ship .

The Enterprise then comes across a new foe seemingly intent on trapping them. Kirk won't abide an unwinnable scenario, so he bluffs his way through. The crew is surprised to meet Balok ( Clint Howard ), a jovial character who only wished to learn about the ship's inhabitants by testing them. When Lt. Bailey volunteers to stay with Balok and teach him about us, Balok asks if he's Earth's best. Bailey answers no, that he will make mistakes, but Kirk states that he'll "...find out more about us that way." After all, to err is to be human.

7 "The Cloud Minders"

Season 3, episode 21.

Kirk and Spock land on a planet ruled by a literal upper class . Below them live the Troglytes, a people responsible for mining the planet's goods but prevented from enjoying the toils of their labor. The Enterprise is there on a mission for zenite, which can save another planet from a plague. Unfortunately, the citizens of Stratos made the deal while the people in charge of mining were busy fighting for their freedom.

Kirk is repulsed to see the High Advisor Plasus and his daughter Droxine (who claimed that Stratos was rid of violence) use torture, a violent and futile tactic , on one of the fighters. Plasus considers the Troglytes less evolved and incapable of learning civility, but McCoy quickly finds that the mines are filled with a gas that lowers IQ. When Plasus refuses to let Kirk dispense filtered masks, the Captain takes the masks straight to the Troglytes. No matter the politics and the zenite, he cannot stand seeing such inequity.

6 "The Omega Glory"

Season 2, episode 23.

Responding to a distress signal, Kirk finds a member of Starfleet, Captain Tracey ( Morgan Woodward ), manipulating two cultures in the hopes of commandeering what he believes to be their fountain of youth. Kirk has no desire to take down a fellow Captain, but he firmly believes that his morality outweighs that of any individual . The message, written by Gene Roddenberry himself, is undeniably overhanded. Its intention must nonetheless be acknowledged.

When Kirk begins to quote the Constitution, the words ring clear and sincere. "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty....They must apply to everyone, or they mean nothing!" To Spock and Bones, he states, "Liberty and freedom must be more than just words." There are few instances in which the message is so absent of subtext or metaphor. Here, Roddenberry has Kirk say it plainly, hoping that viewers will hear it.

5 "Balance of Terror"

Season 1, episode 14.

"Balance of Terror" shows Kirk once again facing bigotry, but this time on his own bridge . The Enterprise faces an unknown ship led by a Romulan Commander played brilliantly by Mark Lenard , who would later play Spock's father, Sarek. When the crew sees their likeness to Vulcans, Lt. Stiles ( Paul Comi ), whose family had lost members to Romulan attacks, grows suspicious of Spock and his pointy ears. Kirk immediately makes it clear what he thinks of prejudice aboard his ship.

Kirk and the Romulan Commander then enter an intense battle of wits. While the Romulan ship has cloaking capabilities and powerful plasma torpedoes, the Enterprise is swifter and more maneuverable, packing quite a punch herself. The two commanders grow a healthy respect for one another's shrewd strategy as the game unfolds. The Enterprise is ultimately victorious, and the Romulans choose to self-destruct, showing the crew of the Enterprise their resolve as warriors. The encounter is later revisited in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ).

4 "The Enemy Within"

Season 1, episode 5.

A transporter malfunction tore Kirk's psyche asunder, creating two physical forms of the Captain. One embodies kindness and timidity, while the other exudes aggression and a cavalier attitude. This episode gives Shatner a chance to chew up the scenes with some Olympian acting and shows what Kirk would be like if he were to lose balance. When the "bad" Kirk attacks Yeoman Janice, his crew's devotion is again shown in her hesitation to blame the Captain or "get him in trouble." Spock immediately deduces that there must be an imposter aboard because the possibility of his Captain committing such a heinous act is illogical.

When Kirk fears that his darker half has all of his best traits, McCoy reminds him that his softer side is the bravest. It takes courage to stand by your principles. As the situation comes to a head, he is given a choice: risk death by attempting to rejoin his worse half or deprive the Enterprise of her Captain. For Kirk, it is no choice at all.

3 "Space Seed"

Season 1, episode 22.

"Space Seed" begins Kirk's most significant arc as a character and sows the seed for the greatest Star Trek movie : The Wrath of Khan . The Enterprise happens on the U.S.S. Botany Bay, a ship from the 20th century. Kirk finds the vessel full of genetically modified warriors, led by Khan, who is played exquisitely by Ricardo Montalban . Lt. Marla McGivers, the ship's historian, is undone by an immediate attraction to this living embodiment of the ancient Sikh warriors of her texts.

Despite Khan's ability to lure Marla to his side, Kirk clocks Khan's instincts and sees the danger inherent. Kirk must stay in step with Khan's intellect without any genetic advantages or lose the ship entirely. There are multiple instances throughout the show where Kirk outsmarts robots and A.I., but none deliver the challenge that Khan does. Kirk regains command of the Enterprise with help from his crew and still offers Khan mercy: a planet of his own with which to make his destiny. He goes, a sign of the respect Khan now holds for Kirk.

2 "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"

Season 3, episode 15.

"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" perfectly encapsulates the road of futility that prejudice will take you down . Commissioner Bele ( Frank Gorshin, fresh off 1966's Batman as The Riddler ) and Lokai ( Lou Antonio ) are two beings locked in an eternal duel, all because one is black on the right side and the other on the left. Bele seizes control of the ship to escort Lokai to their home world of Cheron, but Kirk chooses to activate the ship's self-destruct sequence rather than let anyone take his Enterprise. "You can use your will to drag this ship to Cheron, but I command the computer. MINE is the final command ."

Once control of the ship is back in his hands, he offers mercy yet again. He explains that the Federation is ruled by peace and implores them to consider finding a new purpose. But the two are so entrenched in their hatred that they choose instead to continue to pursue each other, presumably until the end of time, on a dead planet, ravaged by their resentment.

1 "Court Martial"

Season 1, episode 20.

The original trial episode, "Court Martial," started a fan-favorite tradition in the form of the courtroom drama. Kirk stands accused of murder by a crewman's daughter, Jame ( Alice Rawlings ). He recalls perfectly not jettisoning the pod until he had activated red alert and had no choice . Yet, the computer's record doesn't match his recollection. Kirk, unafraid to dig for the truth and steadfast in the knowledge that he would never doom a man without cause, demands a trial.

During the trial, Spock explains, "It is impossible for Captain Kirk to act out of panic or malice. It is not his nature." Even an angry young daughter is later shaken by her conviction and pleads with Kirk's defense attorney, Cogley ( Elisha Cook ), to help him. Kirk has no resentment toward her for the accusation. Even once he finds the man responsible for putting him in this position, he wants only to help him. "Court Martial" shows Kirk strong and steady in his principles, his crew's utter faith in him, and his unfailing belief in mercy over violence. Star Trek continues the tradition most recently through Strange New Worlds ' second season.

NEXT: What We Know About Captain Pike's Next Voyage in 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 3

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The Protostar crew is back — Dal (Brett Gray), Gwyn (Ella Purnell), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Zero (Angus Imrie), Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) — joined this season by the real Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as they take on a time-bending mission to rescue Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and his crew from an alternate future. The official Season 2 synopsis:

[The] six young outcasts who make up the Prodigy crew are assigned a new mission aboard the USS Voyager-A to rescue Captain Chakotay (voiced by Robert Beltran) and bring peace to Gwyn’s (voiced by Ella Purnell) home world. However, when their plan goes astray, it creates a time paradox that jeopardizes both their future and past.

Joining the team aboard the new USS Voyager -A is returning Star Trek: Voyager star Bob Picardo as the holographic Doctor — as announced last summer — as well as a new character named Ma’jel (voiced by Michaela Dietz), obviously named for the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.

Also returning in Season 2 are baddies The Diviner (John Noble), Drednok (Jimmi Simpson), and Ascenia (Jameela Jamil), along with recurring Starfleet characters Doctor Noum (Jason Alexander), the Commander Tysess (Daveed Diggs) — and Janeway’s boss, Admiral Jellico (Ronny Cox).

CBS Studios also released Star Trek: Prodigy’s Season 2 key art with today’s trailer, with our young heroes clad in their Starfleet warrant-officer-in-training uniforms (and Gwyn in her finest Vau N’Akat styling).

Star Trek: Prodigy will stream on Netflix globally (excluding-Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus, and Mainland China) and is available on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Central and Eastern Europe and season 1 will be available in Canada on CTV.ca and the CTV App.

We’ll be back with more coverage of Star Trek: Prodigy’s return as the Season 2 premiere date approaches!

PRO Season 2
Star Trek: Prodigy

Everything coming to Paramount+ in July 2024

July is the peak of summer, so why not celebrate the season with the peak of entertainment? Forget Netflix or Hulu; Paramount+ is where the party’s at and where you can find quality entertainment.

LIBRARY SHOWS

Library movies.

Paramount+ just released its July 2024 programming schedule, and it’s packed with must-see titles for the kids as well as the grown-ups in your family. SpongeBob SquarePants returns in the new show Kamp Koral while adults with more serious things on their minds can watch the drama Memory with Oscar-winner Jessica Chastain. Read further for a complete list below.

ORIGINALS, EXCLUSIVES & PREMIERES

7/1: memory*.

Sylvia (Jessica Chastain) is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life. But all of that gets blown open when Saul (Peter Sarsgaard) follows her home from their high school reunion and a surprise encounter opens a door to the past.

7/9: Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken premiere

This two-part docuseries tells a story of music’s power to heal and transcend. Melissa Etheridge finds inspiration in five incarcerated women and performs an original song for them at their prison.

7/10: Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years season two premiere

Ten-year-old SpongeBob and his pals spend their summer catching wild jellyfish and swimming in Lake Yuckymuck at the craziest kamp in the kelp forest.

7/16: Mafia Spies premiere

In this docuseries, real-world spies, gangsters, honeypots and mistresses unravel a hidden conspiracy between the CIA and the Chicago mob to assassinate Fidel Castro.

The National Parks

CBS Reports: America Unfiltered: The Voices Behind the Polls

Beavis and Butt-Head Classic (Seasons 2, 4-6)

Ice Airport Alaska (Season 4)

Ridiculousness (Seasons 11-12)

SpongeBob SquarePants (Season 13)

The Patrick Star Show (Season 2)

Basketball Wives (Season 11)

Big Brother (Season 26)**

PD True (Season 1)

RuPaul’s Drag Race (Season 16)

RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked (Seasons 14-15)

Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship (Season 2)

A Good Day to Die Hard*

A Perfect Day*

A Thin Line Between Love and Hate

American History X

Apache Junction*

Big Top Pee-Wee

Biker Boyz*

Blades of Glory

Boyz N’ The Hood*

Catch the Bullet*

Charlie’s Angels

Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle

Charlotte’s Web

Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star*

Die Hard 2*

Die Hard with a Vengeance*

Drag Me to Hell

Enemy at the Gates*

Freedom Writers*

Gone Baby Gone*

Good Mourning*

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Hamburger Hill

Imagine That

John Grisham’s The Rainmaker

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life

Legends of the Fall*

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Live Free or Die Hard*

Love The Coopers*

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Miss Sloane*

My Left Foot

Necessary Roughness

New Jack City

Outlaw Posse*

Paid in Full*

Pawn Sacrifice*

Private Parts

Rules of Engagement

Set It Off: Director’s Cut

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek: First Contact

Star Trek: Generations

Star Trek: Insurrection

Star Trek: Nemesis

Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition

Stephen King’s Thinner

Summer Rental

Summer School*

Sunset Boulevard

Terms of Endearment

The Baby-Sitters Club

The Babysitter

The Love Letter

The Mechanic

The Running Man

The Silence of the Lambs*

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie

The Truman Show

Tom & Jerry

Top Secret!*

Total Recall

Trainspotting

Uncommon Valor

Universal Soldier*

What Men Want*

Without a Paddle

World Trade Center

Yours, Mine & Ours

Zero Dark Thirty

Anesthesia*

Arthur and the Invisibles*

Fifty Shades of Black*

The Current War*

Hannibal Rising*

7/6: WNBA – New York Liberty @ Indiana Fever*

7/6-7/7: PGA Tour – John Deere Classic (Third and Final Round Coverage)*

7/7: BIG3 Basketball*

7/7: NWSL – Seattle Reign FC vs. Utah Royals

7/13-7/14: PGA Tour – Genesis Scottish Open (Third and Final Round Coverage)*

7/13: PGA Tour Originals: One Shot Away*

7/13: WNBA – Los Angeles Sparks @ Dallas Wings*

7/14: BIG3 Basketball*

7/20-7/21: Formula E – 2024 Hankook London E-Prix*

7/20: PBR – Professional Bull Riders American Bucking Bull Million Dollar Futurity*

7/20: 2024 World’s Strongest Man*

7/20: Sail GP – Season 4 Grand Final San Francisco*

7/20: BIG3 Basketball*

7/20: NWSL – Angel City FC vs. América

7/21: NWSL – Washington Spirit vs. Chivas & Portland Thorns FC vs. Tijuana

7/21: Beyond Limits*

7/21: LPGA – Dana Open (Final Round Coverage)*

7/21: United Soccer League – Oakland Roots SC vs. Sacramento Republic FC*

7/26: NWSL – Chicago Red Stars vs. Chivas & San Diego Wave FC vs. América

7/27: NWSL – Orlando Pride vs. Rayadas & Kansas City Current vs. Pachuca

7/28: NWSL – Houston Dash vs. Tigres & NJ/NY Gotham FC vs. Washington Spirit

7/27: 2024 World’s Strongest Man*

7/27: Course Record with Michael Breed*

7/27-7/28: PGA Tour – 3M Open (Third and Final Round Coverage)*

7/28: PBR – Professional Bull Riders Camping World Team Series Duluth*

7/28: BIG3 Basketball*

7/31: NWSL – Portland Thorns FC vs. Seattle Reign FC & North Carolina Courage vs. Rayadas

Throughout July: Argentina Liga Profesional de Fútbol competition

Throughout July: NWSL X LIGA MX Femenil Summer Cup

*Title is available to Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers.

**All Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers can live stream CBS titles via the live feed on Paramount+. Those titles will be available on-demand to all subscribers the day after they air live.

Editors' Recommendations

Stop! And watch these 3 great movies leaving Netflix by July 1
3 underrated movies you need to watch in July 2024
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Everything coming to Netflix in July 2024
If you have to watch one Disney+ movie in June 2024, stream this one

There's large influx of reality shows and a few programs from History on Hulu in June. But for fans who prefer scripted television, there are a few gems in the rough that didn't get the attention that they deserved when they were on network television or even on rival streaming services.

To help these underappreciated series find new audiences, we've put together this brief list of the three underrated shows on Hulu that you need to watch in June. Our first pick a steamy drama that had even bigger drama behind the scenes, as well as a crime series and a British comedy series that was once streaming on Netflix and Max before it came to Hulu. The Client List (2012-2013)

June brings new movies on Netflix, Amazon, Max, and pretty much every other major streaming service. Pride Month is also the perfect time to uplift and showcase new voices, and that includes venturing outside one's entertainment comfort zone and exploring new and underappreciated movies.

These underrated films are ideal for this momentous month. From undervalued and underseen gems of LGBTQ+ cinema to films that flew under the radar on their original release, these cinematic projects deserve more love from audiences. So celebrate Pride Month by giving them a chance -- ideally, you'll discover something new, not to mention you'll get to enjoy a film you might've not been aware of before. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

Hugh Grant typically wins over the opposite sex with his undeniable charisma in rom-coms like Noting Hill and Love Actually. In the first trailer for A24's Heretic, Grant is the furthest thing from charming.

Two young missionaries (Chloe East and Sophie Thatcher) looking to spread the word about the Church of Jesus Christ are delighted to speak with Mr. Reed (Grant), who invites the young girls into his house. What starts as a friendly conversation becomes a nightmare once Mr. Reed traps the girls inside his house. "I won't keep you if you wish to leave," Grant tells the missionaries, "but I want you to choose which door to go through based on your faith." Mr. Reed writes "belief" on one door and "disbelief" on the second door.

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Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season [DVD]

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Star Trek: Discovery - The Final Season [DVD]

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The fifth and final season will find Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well… dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.

Special Features

Audio Commentary
Deleted Scene
A Team Effort
Discovery's Creative Force
Being Michael Burnham
Character Development
Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season 5

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MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.25 x 0.5 inches; 3.52 ounces
Media Format ‏ : ‎ DVD, NTSC
Run time ‏ : ‎ 9 hours and 36 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2024
Actors ‏ : ‎ Doug Jones, Sonequa Martin-Green, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Emily Coutts
Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ French
Studio ‏ : ‎ PARAMOUNT
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D5RC2YD8
Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 4
#11 in Science Fiction DVDs
#48 in Action & Adventure DVDs
#77 in Drama DVDs

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ILM Model Maker John Goodson, Part 1 Skywalking Through Neverland: A Star Wars / Disney / Marvel Fan Podcast

Kids & Family

John Goodson, ILM model maker & digital artist, has worked on everything from the Star Wars Special Editions, Prequels & Disney+ series to Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Transformers, and more. His filmography is so vast that this discussion is only part 1! Look for part 2 out next week. Films and models discussed in part 1: What inspired John to become a professional model maker Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home filming of the whales Back to the Future 2 Ghostbusters 2 The Phantom Menace - Republic Cruiser Ahsoka series - San Diego Comic-Con trip with Ahsoka’s T-6 shuttle The Mandalorian - Moff Gideon Light Cruiser We highly recommend you watch the YouTube version which contains pictures and video illustrating our discussion. You can meet John on August 1 during the Virtual Cantina tour when it stops in San Francisco. SPONSORS Small World Vacations is an official sponsor of Skywalking Through Neverland. Contact them for a no obligation price quote at www.smallworldvacations.com. Tell them Skywalking Through Neverland sent you. SUPPORT THE SHOW Find out how you can become a part of the Skywalking Force and unlock bonus content. CONTACT US Instagram: http://instagram.com/skywalkingpod Twitter: https://twitter.com/SkywalkingPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/skywalkingthroughneverland Send emails to [email protected] and follow us on Facebook. If you dug this episode, click over to iTunes | Stitcher | YouTube and leave us a review! Never Land on Alderaan!

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home movie review (1986)
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COMMENTS

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home movie review (1986)
Directed by. Leonard Nimoy. When they finished writing the script for "Star Trek IV," they must have had a lot of silly grins on their faces. This is easily the most absurd of the "Star Trek" stories - and yet, oddly enough, it is also the best, the funniest and the most enjoyable in simple human terms. I'm relieved that nothing like restraint ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
mathmom As expected, Star Trek never fails to produce an A+ movie!! Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/13/22 Full Review Daniel P I am never big on the time travel plot and STAR TREK ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Verified Audience. Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home may be the most important film within the franchise, as it demonstrates how the potential of its venerable ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home retrospective review
With Kirk and co. aboard an all new Enterprise, the film ends with them 'boldly going where no man has gone before'. The Voyage Home is, to my mind, a great Trek film; it opened up the ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film, the fourth installment in the Star Trek film franchise based on the television series Star Trek.The second film directed by Leonard Nimoy, it completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), and continued in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). Intent on returning home to Earth to face trial ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
The movie starts shortly after Star Trek 3 ended as the crew will deal with their actions in that movie. On their way to earth they notice an incoming danger and must travel back in time to save the day. Leonard Nimoy delivered a timeless classic as director. The story gives all characters good opportunities to shine.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home [Reviews]
Star Trek Trilogy: Blu-ray Review. May 13, 2009 - The kinda, ... Feb 25, 2003. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home - Special Collector's Edition. Feb 25, 2003 - Captain! There be extras here! But could ...
The Voyage Home Movie Review: An Outrageous Time Travel Adventure
Fresh Movie Review: A Daring and Stylized Modern Horror Entrée From Mimi Cave; Nebraska Movie Review: Bruce Dern and Will Forte Dig Deep in Complex Family Story from Alexander Payne; The Voyage Home is the jolt of energy that I felt the Star Trek movies were looking for. It's such an audacious premise that is played out perfectly in terms of ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Recently viewed. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: Directed by Leonard Nimoy. With William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan. To save Earth from an alien probe, Admiral James T. Kirk and his fugitive crew go back in time to San Francisco in 1986 to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it: humpback whales.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
The fourth entry in the "Star Trek" movie series is the most popular and unarguably the best-liked of these entertaining movies. It has a fine variety of scenes, intelligent comedy to leaven the more serious adventures. it is fast paced, beautifully directed by Leonard Nimoy who also plays "Spock".
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Forever remembered as "the one with the whales", The Voyage Home became the first Star Trek movie to truly gain mainstream acceptance. Although time has proven The Wrath of Khan to be a more popular film, in the long run, The Voyage Home became the first to break the $100 million mark at the box office (not accounting for inflation.) There's a really good reason for this; The Voyage Home ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (4K UHD Review)
Review. Directed once again by series regular Leonard Nimoy, The Voyage Home is arguably the most accessible Star Trek film for non-fans, even as it relies upon one of the franchise's most tried-but-true plot devices—time travel. Set immediately after the events of Star Trek III, it begins with Kirk and his crew preparing to return home from Vulcan to face the music with Starfleet for ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home marked the end of the "golden age" of Star Trek movies, such as it was (three straight quality outings). From this point on, the films were marred by stale writing, predictability, and questionable production values. Star Trek IV , while not a superior effort, is an effective and enjoyable sample of entertainment ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Movie Review
Kirk explains Spock's alien ways. Parents need to know that Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the most farcical of the big-screen series. As much comedy as adventure derives from the journey of the Starfleet heroes to 1986 Earth, and the relative rudeness and local color they encounter in San Francisco. While this installment is less scary and….
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Imagine a Star Trek film that considers elaborate space battles, photon torpedoes, phaser blasts, and despotic villains inconsequential to the narrative, and so it resolves not to include them. Now imagine that visual effects do not drive the film; in fact, the majority of its story doesn't even take place in space, but instead on Earth.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 4K Blu-ray Review
The included images are not sourced from the 4K disc. Star Trek: The Voyage Home comes to UK 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount in a box set that includes the first four movies in the original film series.This Ultra HD Blu-ray release delivers a solid native 4K image, with Dolby Vision too, which improves noticeably upon previous HD versions of the feature.
Review
What a great review. Thanks Anthony and Mr. Kowinsky for bringing it to us. Yes this was a great outing for our intrepid crew. The only sad part of all this is that the new film is partially to be ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Retrospective / Review
Order your copy of 'In Search of Tomorrow' here! - https://tinyurl.com/2f7bb6nnStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Retrospective / ReviewStar Trek artwork p...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is pure, joyful cinema
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is pure, joyful cinema. 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise - and the release of Star Trek Beyond, the 13th feature film in the series. To ...
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) Review
Despite having a somewhat goofy premise, Star Trek IV is a surprisingly fun and campy entry in the Star Trek film-verse, though I think viewers may need to be a Star Trek fan to fully appreciate it. The Voyage Home picks up where Star Trek III left off. The crew of the Enterprise, currently on Vulcan for the third month of Vulcan exile while ...
Non-Review Review: Star Trek IV
Movie reviews are every Tuesday and Thursday. Up until the release of JJ Abrams' Star Trek in 2009, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was the most successful of the Star Trek films. Indeed, it ranks alongside Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as the film which has most deeply dug itself into the popular consciousness.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (DC Comics, 1986) (Review)
The Voyage Home is meant to be a Star Trek comedy in the broadest of strokes, and the comic book adaptation reflects this. It maintains most of the film's goofy humour, trusting the readers to take it in the spirit intended. The cuts made seem to have been made primarily for time, but - even then - Barr and Sutton are conscious of the ...
I Think Picard Should Have Given Riker Kirk's Star Trek Generations Advice
In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Admiral Kirk was demoted back to Captain, but it was really what Jim wanted all along. Captain Kirk commanded the USS Enterprise-A for seven more years before it was truly time for him to give up the center seat. Time travel via the interdimensional Nexus allowed Kirk to join Picard for one last heroic mission ...
Who Really Wrote Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home? The BTS ...
T here are four credited screenwriters on Leonard Nimoy's 1986 time travel comedy "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes were hired together to write the film and they ...
10 Best Captain Kirk Episodes in 'Star Trek: The Original Series'
A good Captain in Star Trek is the embodiment of the ideals of the Federation. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) came first, so he set the standard.He taught all of us Trekkers what it means ...
Watch STAR TREK: PRODIGY's Season 2 Trailer Now!
The Protostar crew is back — Dal (Brett Gray), Gwyn (Ella Purnell), Rok-Tahk (Rylee Alazraqui), Zero (Angus Imrie), Jankom Pog (Jason Mantzoukas), and Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) — joined this season by the real Admiral Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) as they take on a time-bending mission to rescue Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and his crew from an alternate future.
Everything coming to Paramount+ in July 2024
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. ... fun product reviews, insightful editorials, and one-of-a-kind sneak peeks.
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season 5 ; Gag Reel ; Meet the Cast . ... Our system gives more weight to certain factors—including how recent the review is and if the reviewer bought it on Amazon. ... Smart Home Security Systems eero WiFi Stream 4K Video in Every Room: Blink Smart Security for Every Home
‎Skywalking Through Neverland: A Star Wars / Disney / Marvel Fan
John Goodson, ILM model maker & digital artist, has worked on everything from the Star Wars Special Editions, Prequels & Disney+ series to Star Trek, Planet of the Apes, Transformers, and more. His filmography is so vast that this discussion is only part 1! Look for part 2 out next week. Film…

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