star trek v the final frontier opening scene

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

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"The greatest enterprise of all is adventure."

When a renegade Vulcan captures the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ambassadors on Nimbus III, the so-called "planet of galactic peace," it can only mean one thing: the vacation is over. Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the new Starship Enterprise -A are pressed back into service to come to the rescue. But, when the Vulcan has a prior association with Spock, it allows him to seize control of the Enterprise and put it on course for the center of the galaxy where he and his followers believe they find the place from which creation sprung.

• 1.1 Prologue
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.2 Characters
• 4.3 Merchandise gallery
• 5 Awards and honors
• 6 Apocrypha
• 7.1.1 Opening credits
• 7.1.2.1 Live Action Effects Unit
• 7.1.2.2 Model Unit
• 7.1.2.3 Optical Unit
• 7.1.2.4 Additional Optical Effects
• 7.2.1 Starfleet Galactic Memory Bank references
• 7.2.2 Meta references
• 7.2.3 Unreferenced material
• 7.3 Related topics
• 7.5 External links

Summary [ ]

Prologue [ ].

" You're a Vulcan! "

On the desert planet Nimbus III , a scavenger named J'onn is digging holes in a field. He stops digging and sees, emerging from the dust in the distance, a man riding towards him on a horse . Dismounting from the horse, this man has a strange power to cleanse people of their emotional "pain," which he uses to join the scavenger to his cause. " What is it you seek? " he asks. The man tells him he seeks what he seeks, what all men have sought since time itself began – the ultimate knowledge. To find it, he notes, they will need a starship . J'onn mentions that Nimbus III has no such vessels, but the mysterious man reveals he may have a way to bring one to them. When J'onn asks how he plans to accomplish this, the man throws back his hood, showing the scavenger his distinct pointed Vulcan ears . He then begins laughing.

Act One [ ]

Just hanging around

The recently- demoted Captain James T. Kirk is back on Earth , spending his shore leave free climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in North America. Halfway up he is greeted by Spock , who has followed him wearing levitation boots . Dr. McCoy is watching with binoculars from a safe distance while cursing Kirk's "irresponsibility" for climbing the mountain. In a moment of distraction, Kirk falls off of El Capitan. Spock dives after him. After a terrifying moment for the captain, he's snatched from certain death by Spock who catches him by grabbing his ankle only mere centimeters from the ground.

Spock saves Kirk at the last minute

Out in the galaxy , three ambassadors from the United Federation of Planets , Romulan Star Empire , and Klingon Empire meet alone in Paradise City on Nimbus III for a private conference. The young Romulan ambassador, Caithlin Dar , rides into Paradise City on a horse, and expresses optimism in Nimbus III, which had been billed as "The Planet of Galactic Peace" at its founding twenty years before . However, the Human and Klingon ambassadors, St. John Talbot and General Korrd , are much more jaded and cynical, and point out that it has rapidly devolved to a barren wasteland rife with corruption and debauchery. Talbot points out that they had forbade weapons, but the settlers began to fashion their own projectile weapons . Korrd, in particular, is a decorated and respected Klingon general who fell out of favor with the Klingon High Command, and has become a bitter, apathetic drunk.

Dar and Talbot taken hostage

Their meeting is interrupted when the city compound is overrun by fanatical followers of the Vulcan who informs the ambassadors that they are his hostages. Caithlin Dar defiantly tells the Vulcan that she doesn't know who he is or what he wants but assures him that their three respective governments will stop at nothing to ensure their safety. The Vulcan retorts " That's exactly what I'm counting on. "

Sitting in the Spacedock One , undergoing repairs and refits, the new USS Enterprise -A sits lifelessly under the care of Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott , who notes in the shakedown cruise report that the new Enterprise must have been the product of a team of monkeys – while the warp drive is up to Scott's exacting standards, he laments that half the doors on the ship won't open and that it's his responsibility to repair them, among other disabled systems aboard the ship, primary of which is the ship's transporter . As Scott repairs the helm/navigation console on the main bridge , Nyota Uhura arrives from a turbolift with his dinner – understanding that the extensive repair schedule will cancel their shared plans for shore leave. At that moment, the Enterprise 's mangled red alert system goes off and a voice from Starfleet announces to Scott and Uhura that they have a priority 7 situation at the Neutral Zone. Scott is incredulous that Starfleet would assign the mission to the Enterprise considering that the ship is currently "in pieces" and has less than a skeleton crew aboard. Uhura asks Starfleet if they are aware of the Enterprise 's current status. Starfleet acknowledges and tells Uhura to stand by to copy operational orders and to recall all key personnel.

" Admit it – we're lost! "

Uhura contacts Hikaru Sulu and Pavel Chekov , who are lost hiking in the woods. Chekov is grateful that they'll soon be rescued but warns Sulu not to tell Uhura that they got lost after she instructs them to return to a set of prearranged coordinates. Sulu and Chekov try to explain they're caught in a blizzard and can't see which way they're going. Uhura, monitoring the weather on the sensors, reads nothing but sunny skies and 70 degree Fahrenheit weather and assures them she won't tell anyone about their embarrassing situation as she sends a shuttlecraft to pick them up. " Uhura, I owe you one. Sulu out, " the Enterprise 's helmsman says as he flips shut his communicator .

Meanwhile, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are sitting around the campfire at Yosemite, where the three discuss their time together and philosophize about life and death around a pot of whiskey -spiked baked beans , roasting " marsh melons ," and singing " Row, Row, Row Your Boat ", although Spock cannot grasp the meaning of the words and thus declines to sing along. McCoy admonishes Kirk for risking his life on crazy stunts, such as falling off El Capitan earlier and McCoy wonders if it crossed Kirk's mind that he should have died when he fell off. Kirk admits it did – but, even as he fell, he knew he would not die. Spock does not understand. Kirk says that he knew he'd survive because the two of them were with him – " I've always known… I'll die alone. " After Kirk's revelation, McCoy offers that the three of them spend so much time together in space, getting on each other's nerves, yet spend their shore leave together. Kirk believes that while other people have families, they don't.

Out in space, the long-lost Earth probe Pioneer 10 is intercepted by a Klingon Bird-of-Prey commanded by the young Klingon warrior Klaa , who easily vaporizes the probe with his disruptors . Klaa tires of shooting space garbage, as he believes it is no test of a warrior's mettle, and wishes for a target that will fight back. The Klingons are soon notified about the hostage situation on Nimbus III as well, which piques Klaa's interest as it is obvious that the Federation will send a ship of their own to deal with the situation and sets his course for Nimbus III.

Back in action

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy's leave is interrupted when Uhura takes the Galileo down to their campsite in Yosemite since the Enterprise 's transporters are inoperative, waking up all three men with the Galileo 's bright landing lights . She informs Kirk of important orders from Starfleet Command . Kirk wonders why she didn't contact him via his communicator but she notes he conveniently forgot it. The Galileo eventually arrives in the Enterprise 's shuttlebay and the problems with the starship are immediately obvious to Kirk as the turbolift malfunctions en route to the bridge, a console shorts out and the viewscreen barely works. Chief of Starfleet Operations Fleet Admiral Bob eventually comes through and orders Kirk to Nimbus III and assess the hostage situation. Kirk tries to decline the mission due to the problems plaguing the ship and suggests another vessel nearby handle the situation. The admiral refuses on the grounds that while there may be other ships out there, none of their captains are as experienced as Jim Kirk. With an " oh, please " dismissal on his lips, Kirk signs off and orders the Enterprise to Nimbus III.

Ghost in the machine

Klaa and his crew discover that the Enterprise has been dispatched to Nimbus III as well. Klaa is well familiar with the Enterprise being Kirk's vessel and wonders what defeating Kirk in battle would do for his reputation. His first officer Vixis marvels that destroying the Enterprise and and defeating Kirk would make Klaa the greatest warrior in the galaxy. Klaa, originally hoping for an engagement with just any Federation starship, is now elated at his chance to fight Kirk and the Enterprise and orders maximum speed. The Enterprise , so plagued with technical problems that Kirk can't even record an entry in the captain's log recorder , finally receives a copy of the hostage tape sent from Nimbus III. In the tape, Dar, Talbot, and Korrd plead with the Federation to send a starship to parlay for their release at once, per the instructions of the leader of the Galactic Army of Light , the Vulcan who enters the frame and begins addressing the Federation. He claims to regret his desperate act and has no desire to harm the hostages but will do so if the Federation does not respond immediately. Spock, taken with the Vulcan, calls up a freeze frame of him on his science station 's monitor and regards it intently. Kirk wonders if Spock is familiar with him. Later, Spock is in solitude in the Enterprise 's observation lounge when Kirk and McCoy join him. Spock recounts for Kirk and McCoy a brief history of Sybok , a gifted Vulcan who at a young age broke with tradition and decided that emotion, not logic, was the key to self-knowledge. According to Spock, Sybok was banished from Vulcan when he attempted to lure other Vulcans to his worldview.

Act Two [ ]

" Imagine that, a passionate Vulcan! "

The Enterprise arrives first at Nimbus III. Paradise City demands to know their intentions but Kirk tells Uhura to respond with static and make them think they are having some difficulties – which is not far from the truth. Kirk tries to simply beam the hostages aboard but Scott tells him that the transporter is still inoperative. The captain realizes they'll have to go down and take them out by force. However, Spock detects the Bird-of-Prey entering the area leaving them 1.9 hours before their weapons come to bear. An assault team consisting of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Uhura, and a detail of security personnel head down in the Galileo leaving Chekov in command of the Enterprise . Despite the primitive scanning equipment of the natives of Nimbus III, their sensors are nevertheless effective and it forces the Galileo to land significantly far away from the settlement.

Meanwhile, Chekov hails Paradise City from the Enterprise and poses as the ship's commanding officer with the intention of distracting the enemy from Kirk's actions. The Vulcan responds and is amused by Chekov's posturing, who orders him to release the hostages or suffer the consequences. Chekov, not backing down, informs the Vulcan that a Klingon vessel is on the way. The Vulcan, unmoved, replies that it's likely that they'll be fairly angry. Chekov tries to impress upon him that the Klingons are likely to destroy the whole planet but the Vulcan knows that a Federation starship would not stand idly by and let the Klingons do that. He then instructs Chekov and his first officer to beam down to his coordinates. Chekov tries to stall the Vulcan as Kirk and Spock realize that they don't have enough time to get to Paradise City on foot. The captain notices a stable of horses through his binoculars and has Uhura perform a seductive dance (with a team of armed security guards out of sight) to distract the wranglers while the assault team steals the horses. The ploy works and the assault team rides into Paradise City. Under the cover of nightfall and covered in cloaks, the assault team looks no different than the wranglers. J'onn believes them to be their lookout party and allows them access to Paradise City. However, J'onn soon becomes suspicious as Spock locates the hostages on his tricorder . The Galactic Army of Light begins to open fire on the assault team with their primitive weapons, but they respond with their Starfleet-issue phasers . The Vulcan becomes aware of the commotion outside and Chekov orders him to surrender at once as he is under attack by superior Federation forces. The Vulcan is incensed as bloodshed is the last thing he wanted. Chekov tries to reason with him but he flees. Kirk fights hand to hand with the Galactic Army of Light's warriors and the fight continues. With a clear entrance into the bar where the hostages are being held, Kirk orders Uhura to bring the Galileo down so they can make a quick escape and goes for the captives. After a brief struggle with an exotic alien dancer, Kirk and Spock free the hostages. However, Korrd and Dar turn their weapons on them and hold Kirk and Spock hostage instead.

Outside the bar, the Galactic Army of Light has also captured the Galileo , Uhura, Sulu, McCoy, and the rest of the security detail. As they loudly cheer their victory, the Vulcan suddenly recognizes Spock among the group and joyfully reveals that he is, in fact, Sybok. However, Spock is not cheered by the apparent reunion and informs Sybok that he is under arrest for seventeen violations of the Neutral Zone Treaty . Sybok and the others laugh at the notion – they clearly have the Enterprise team outnumbered. Spock offers Sybok leniency if he surrenders, but Sybok jovially announces he can't surrender as he isn't through violating the treaty and intends for his next crime to be the theft of something " very big " – the Enterprise herself. Kirk finally speaks up and indignantly inquires if Sybok has staged this entire affair just to get his hands on his ship. Sybok, equally indignantly, wonders who Kirk even is. He clarifies that he is the captain of the Enterprise . Sybok realizes that Chekov had been deceiving him and applauds Kirk's clever tactics but moves on and asks Spock if he would like to join him. Kirk is also curious as to what Spock will say but Spock simply states that he is a Starfleet officer. Sybok understands and states he will just take the Enterprise without Spock's help.

Unaware of the serious situation on the planet's surface, Chekov and Scott are faced with another serious situation – the Klingon vessel is closing on their position. Klaa orders their cloaking device engaged in preparation for their attack on the Enterprise . Scott notes the loss of the Bird-of-Prey on sensors and deduces they must have cloaked. Chekov, knowing his first responsibility is to the ship, orders Scott to raise shields . Scott protests that the shuttlecraft is coming up from the surface but Chekov firmly repeats his order and follows it up with an order to go to red alert . Scott obliges and the Enterprise prepares for battle. The Galileo approaches the Enterprise and while Kirk retains his command of his officers, Sybok and his followers have them all under their command. Talbot informs them that once they have seized control of the Enterprise , they will bring up the rest of the Galactic Army of Light. Kirk, in an untenable position, laments that with the Klingons on their way, they will be lucky to even get back to the ship at all.

" Stand by to execute Emergency Landing Plan… B. "

Chekov hails the Galileo , informs them of the situation and recommends they find a safe harbor until the situation is secured. However, Sybok refuses and orders Kirk to bring them aboard. Kirk desperately tries to explain to Sybok that in order to dock the Galileo , the Enterprise will be vulnerable to a Klingon attack as her shields must be down for at least fifteen seconds to enter the shuttlebay. Korrd tells Sybok that Kirk is speaking the truth but Sybok refuses to return to Nimbus III. He allows Kirk to take whatever action is necessary in order to get the Galileo aboard. Kirk tells Chekov that they cannot return to the planet and cryptically tells him to stand by in executing "Emergency Landing Plan B." Chekov and Scott have no idea what Kirk is talking about but get the general idea when Kirk says that "B" stands for "barricade." Kirk intends to forgo the tractor beam and fly the shuttlecraft in manually in order to minimize the time the Enterprise 's shields will be down. Klaa, meanwhile, has been monitoring the communications channel and realizes that Kirk is on the shuttle and alters his attack course to bear down on the Galileo . The Enterprise lowers her shields just as the Bird-of-Prey decloaks. Sulu engages the shuttle's thrusters and makes a hasty course for the shuttlebay. With no tractor beam, the shuttlecraft blasts into the bay, throwing its occupants to the deck and knocking out its systems. The barricade in the shuttlebay flies up to contain the craft before it crashes through the wall and decompresses additional compartments of the ship. The Bird-of-Prey fires at the Enterprise , but Chekov orders immediate warp speed and she streaks away just as the torpedo misses. Klaa is enraged but impressed at Kirk's cunning and orders his officers to track the Enterprise 's course.

" Warp speed now! "

In the Galileo , the Starfleet officers and the outlaws are in various states of unconsciousness from the crash. Sybok recovers as Kirk does and both note a projectile weapon on the deck. They struggle for it but Sybok gets the upper hand and orders Kirk to change course at once. The captain agrees to take Sybok to the bridge but tries to get the weapon away from Sybok as they disembark from the shuttle. The Vulcan easily outmatches Kirk in physical strength and grabs him in a choke hold. Kirk is able to get the weapon away from him and it slides across the deck to the feet of Spock, who picks it up and orders Sybok to surrender. Sybok refuses and bluntly tells Spock he must kill him. Kirk bellows for Spock to " SHOOT HIM! " but Spock cannot and the weapon is confiscated by Sybok, who is relieved as he thought Spock might have actually done it. J'onn takes an injured Dr. McCoy and Kirk to the brig as Sybok asks Spock to accompany him to the bridge but again Spock refuses. Sybok tells him he has no choice but to join his friends in confinement. Korrd, Dar, and Talbot escort Sulu and Uhura out of the Galileo as Sybok requests a moment alone with them in order to release their pain as he had done to the others. From the observation deck , a disturbed Scott watches as the Galactic Army of Light pour out of the Galileo and out to the rest of the ship and goes into hiding.

In the brig, Kirk is cursing Spock for betraying the entire crew. Spock says it's worse than that – he's betrayed Kirk and does not expect the captain to forgive him. Kirk simply cannot believe it – why wouldn't Spock defend his ship and follow orders and just pull the trigger on the weapon he had on Sybok? Spock claims he could not because Kirk ordered him to kill his brother. Kirk is incredulous and claims he knows for a fact that Spock does not have a brother. Spock agrees that Kirk is technically correct – he has a half -brother . Dr. McCoy tries to make sense of it all – that Spock and Sybok have the same father but different mothers. Spock says that Sybok's mother was a Vulcan princess and upon her death, Sybok and he were raised as brothers. Kirk can't believe Spock never mentioned any of this to them before and Spock apologizes for it. Kirk is fuming but McCoy tells him to stop berating Spock as he could no more kill Sybok than he could kill Kirk. More to the point, they have bigger problems to deal with like escaping from the brig. " I'll say one thing, Spock. You never cease to amaze me, " McCoy says. " Nor I myself, " Spock responds. Kirk, sitting on the brig's toilet , shakes his head.

Sybok assumes command

On the bridge, Sulu and Uhura enter with several of Sybok's followers. Chekov wonders where Kirk is but Uhura tells him not to worry about it – Sybok will explain everything. As Sybok's followers begin to take up positions on the bridge, Sulu begins entering commands into the navigation console. Chekov demands to know what he's doing and Sulu answers that he is plotting their new course. Chekov is incredulous as Sulu has no authority to take that action. Sybok arrives on the bridge as Chekov demands an explanation. All Sulu will say is that Chekov simply has to listen to Sybok. The Vulcan tells Chekov that he won't force him into anything but encourages him to share his pain with Sybok as all the others have and gain strength from it. As a result, Chekov can't help but be taken into Sybok's cause like the rest. In the brig, several efforts to escape prove fruitless as Spock has personally tested the new design of the brig and found it to be "escape-proof." Back on the bridge, Sybok has fully assumed command of the Enterprise as they proceed on their new course at warp 7. As they are now underway, Sybok announces his intentions to the rest of the ship. Via the ship's intercom and computer terminals, Sybok asks the crew of the Enterprise to consider the questions of existence – the same questions that man himself has considered ever since he looked up at the stars and dreamed. They dreamed about a place where questions of existence would be answered. Although modern dogma says that place is a myth, Sybok believes it exists and has taken the Enterprise with the intent of making the greatest discovery of all time – the discovery of Sha Ka Ree , which lies beyond the Great Barrier at the center of the galaxy .

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy watch from the brig. Kirk is alarmed as the center of the galaxy cannot be reached – no ship has ever entered the Great Barrier and no probe has ever returned. Suddenly, a mysterious tapping sound is heard coming from the wall of the brig. Kirk and Spock immediately recognize it as Morse code – the taps spelling out the letters: "S," "T," "A," N," "D," "B," "A," C," "K." As they realize what the message wants them to do, the wall explodes outwards and Scott, from the other side, chides them for not recognizing a jail break when they see one. Sybok, Sulu, J'onn, and some followers enter the brig – Sybok still intent on converting Kirk, Spock, and McCoy to join his cause but realizes they have escaped. He orders Sulu and J'onn to find them. Decks below, Scott tells Kirk that the crew is sympathetic to Sybok and they cannot be trusted now. Spock reminds Kirk of the emergency communications transmitter in the observation lounge but they cannot easily access it as it is in the forward section of the ship, far and away from their current position near the bottom of the secondary hull . Scott tells them they may be able to avoid the search parties if they get there by accessing turboshaft 3 as it is closed for repairs, but warns it's a long and dangerous climb. Kirk tells Scott to finish repairing the transporter because they'll need it if they can contact a rescue ship and head for the turboshaft. As they depart, Scott inadvertently smacks his head off a low-clearance bulkhead and falls unconscious just as the red alert goes off – the search parties consisting of Sybok's followers mobilize to find Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Sulu and J'onn quickly find Scott's unconscious body and rush him to sickbay . As the trio begin their climb, Spock immediately makes a quick and quiet exit – he realizes that using the levitation boots will be much faster than climbing up all those decks. Kirk and McCoy join him, but their added weight is too much for the boots and they begin to descend back to the bottom of the turboshaft where Sulu and a contingent of Sybok's followers have found them. Kirk orders Spock to use the booster rockets on the boots but Spock warns against it. Kirk is insistent and Spock obliges, but the boosters propel them upward at an incredible rate, nearly right into the top of the shaft. Nevertheless, they exit the shaft and head for the observation lounge.

From the lounge, Kirk sends out a distress call on the emergency channel . Starfleet Command responds, and Kirk informs them that they've been hijacked by a hostile force that has put them on a direct course for the Great Barrier and they require immediate assistance. However, the responding voice is not in fact Starfleet Command, it is Vixis aboard the Bird-of-Prey, impersonating a Starfleet officer. After Kirk signs off, Klaa orders them into the Great Barrier as well with the intent of following Kirk wherever he goes. As the three exit the lounge, they are intercepted by Sybok and his armed followers, who trusts that their message has been received. Kirk claims that he can't expect them to sit by and let Sybok take the Enterprise into the Great Barrier. Sybok claims that what Kirk really fears about the Great Barrier is that it is an unknown and cites numerous examples from Earth's history about similar fears – Christopher Columbus proving the Earth was round, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier , and Zefram Cochrane achieving warp speed. Sybok desperately wants Kirk's respect and understanding and challenges the captain to hear him out. Meanwhile, in sickbay, Scott has recovered and returns to work on repairing the transporter.

McCoy releases his pain

Sybok continues to speak of Sha Ka Ree to Kirk, Spock, and McCoy – that it is Heaven , an Eden . The Klingons, Romulans, and Andorians all have different names for it but they all have a shared concept of it. For the Enterprise , that concept will soon be a reality. Kirk is less than convinced, however – the only reality he knows is that he is a prisoner aboard his own ship and challenges Sybok about the power he has over the minds of his crew. Sybok retorts that he doesn't control minds – he frees them. McCoy, a bit more inquisitive, wonders how this is accomplished. Sybok explains that he forces people to face their pain and draw strength from it. Once that's the done, he continues, fear cannot stop you. McCoy is less than convinced and compares it to brainwashing . Sybok begins to peer into McCoy's pain, claiming it runs the deepest of the three of them – he can feel it, surely McCoy can. An apparition begins to appear in the corner of the room – an elderly man in a bed, sick and dying, calling out to him. McCoy approaches it and discovers that it is his father, David . McCoy begs Sybok not to put him through this memory but Sybok continues. David weakly begs his son to help him – the pain of the disease that is afflicting him is too much to bear and he wishes to be released . McCoy turns to Sybok and laments that with all his medical knowledge, he can't save his father. Sybok whispers to McCoy that's he's a doctor – he should know the reality of that life. McCoy responds that he's also his father's son and deactivates the life support system sustaining him. He watches as his father dies before his eyes. Sybok questions why McCoy did it, who responds that he did it to preserve his father's dignity. But Sybok knows that the act itself wasn't the pain the McCoy carried with him all these years. McCoy admits that it wasn't – the real sorrow was that not long after he euthanized his father, a cure to the disease was found – had he not killed him, he might have lived. McCoy doesn't know if he did the right thing or not and hasn't been able to answer that question all this time. His pain has been released.

Sybok next turns his attention to Spock, claiming each person's pain is unique. Spock claims to hide no pain but Sybok doesn't believe him. Spock allows Sybok to proceed and another apparition appears. The image of Amanda Grayson giving birth to Spock on Vulcan appears. As Spock is born, the midwife presents the child to Sarek, who coldly regards the infant and dismisses him as being "so Human." Kirk regards Spock who is disquieted by the experience. Sybok claims he has done nothing to either Spock or McCoy and wonders if Kirk knew this about either of them. Kirk claims he did not. Sybok offers to help Kirk learn something about himself but the captain refuses. McCoy tries to tell Kirk to be a bit more open-minded about what Sybok is proposing but Kirk can't believe any of it. He knows what his mistakes are and doesn't need Sybok to point them out to him. McCoy tries to tell Kirk that Sybok took away his pain, but Kirk tries to tell him that being a doctor he should know better than anyone that pain can't be taken away with the wave of a magic wand – the good and bad experiences in one's life are what make us who we are. If one loses that, they lose themselves. Kirk is adamant that he doesn't want his pain taken away, he needs it. At that moment, Uhura's voice comes over the intercom, informing them that the Enterprise is in approach of the Great Barrier. Sybok regrets he couldn't help Kirk but believes he has swayed Spock and McCoy to his cause and asks them to join him on the bridge. McCoy agrees to go but Spock still refuses to join – he belongs right where he is, which is by Kirk's side. Sybok doesn't understand but Spock explains that while Sybok is his brother, he does not know Spock. Since the time he was an outcast boy on Vulcan until now, Spock has found himself and his place and knows who he is and he cannot go with Sybok. This rings true to McCoy, who chooses to stay with Kirk and Spock. Sybok, with a smile, allows them to remain. Kirk is still unconvinced that the Enterprise will survive the trip through the Great Barrier. Sybok challenges Kirk to be convinced that his vision was true if they do survive. Sybok claims his vision came from God , who waits for the Enterprise on the other side of the Great Barrier. Kirk cannot believe his ears and claims that Sybok is mad . Sybok, allowing the possibility to exist, says that they will see.

Act Three [ ]

" Amazing. The land… the sky… just as I knew it would be. "

The Enterprise bears down on the Great Barrier. The bridge crew, along with the three ambassadors, Sybok, and his followers, are awestruck by the swirling vortex of blue and green colored electrical energy discharging before them on the viewscreen. Sulu ominously reminds Sybok that it's been said that no ship can survive the Great Barrier but Sybok disagrees – the danger is an illusion. Chekov cannot get any sensor readings on the phenomena – is it there or isn't it? Sybok is convinced it isn't and orders Sulu to enter the Barrier. The Enterprise engages her impulse engines and breaches the barrier. The journey through is not as dangerous as had been predicted as the starship rather easily completes the journey. As the distortion clears, a planetoid appears through the mist, which looks to be made of pure energy. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy watch from the observation lounge and are awestruck, as is the rest of the crew. Sybok is overjoyed – he believes this planet is Sha Ka Ree. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy return to the bridge. Sybok says the ship needs its captain and returns command to Kirk with no conditions as he believes that even though Kirk didn't believe Sybok before, what they have discovered would seem to indicate he was right and Kirk won't refuse to investigate it. His assumption is correct and Kirk agrees to take a landing party down to the planet via a shuttlecraft and asks that the rest of Sybok's followers remain aboard until he has determined exactly what they have found. " Well, don't just stand there. God's a busy man, " he says just prior to entering the turbolift.

" What does God need with a starship? "

The shuttlecraft Copernicus heads down to the planet carrying Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Sybok. As they descend, Spock discovers that some external force has taken control of the shuttlecraft and lands it for them. Kirk wants to bring a phaser along with him but Sybok recommends he leaves it behind. Kirk agrees and the four make their way down a mountain range. As the crew watches in amazement from the bridge, no one notices on the sensors that Klaa's Bird-of-Prey has entered into sensor range. Sybok calls out to whatever force might be on the planet, saying that they have traveled far but gets no response. With nothing apparently there, Spock attempts to console Sybok but the ground begins to shake. Large pillars explode out of the ground to form a large amphitheater-like enclosure and the sky turns completely dark. As the four move in to investigate, a magnificent blue pillar of light bursts from within the enclosure, far up into the sky and outstretching past the Enterprise in orbit. A booming voice calls out to them. McCoy wonders if it is the voice of God and indeed, a face appears that claims to suit the expectation of such an entity.

The face of God?

The Sha Ka Ree entity in the guise of Sybok

Sybok is convinced and vindicated. The entity claims that the journey to reach him could not have been an easy one. Sybok agrees that it wasn't – it took a starship to breach the Great Barrier. The entity wonders if this starship could carry his wisdom beyond the barrier. Sybok agrees that it could and the entity makes claim to the Enterprise . Sybok jubilantly calls the vessel his chariot. Kirk, however, is less than convinced. Why would God need a starship? The entity continues to boast what it will do with the Enterprise but Kirk presses on and repeats his question. The entity asks who Kirk is. Again, Kirk is incredulous – wouldn't it know if it really were God? Sybok tells the entity that Kirk simply has his doubts. The entity is outraged that Kirk would have the audacity to doubt it. Kirk simply states he seeks proof but McCoy cautions Kirk not to ask "the Almighty" for identification. The entity answers all of Kirk's questions by blasting him backwards with an electrical charge emanating from its "eyes". Kirk, almost mockingly, asks why "God" is angry? Sybok cannot believe that he would attack Kirk like this. Spock presses Kirk's issue on as the entity has not answered anything and repeats the question – "what does God need with a starship?" The entity attacks Spock as it did Kirk. It then turns its attention to McCoy and dares him to doubt it as well. McCoy claims he would doubt any god who would inflict pain for his own pleasure. Sybok claims to the entity that the God of Sha Ka Ree would not do such things. The entity mocks Sybok's vision of Sha Ka Ree as a vision that Sybok created himself and morphs itself into an image of Sybok and demands that he give him the Enterprise or he will destroy all four of them. It is now apparent that the this is not the God of Sha Ka Ree, Spock says, or any other god but merely a malevolent life form imprisoned on this planet behind the Great Barrier and it needs the Enterprise to escape.

" You must save yourselves. Forgive me, brother. Forgive me. "

Sybok confronts "God"

Sybok turns to Spock and cannot believe any of it. He claims his own vanity and arrogance created this situation and now he must do what he has to do to ensure that Spock, Kirk, and McCoy are protected from the entity. He begs Spock to forgive him and holds up his hand in the Vulcan salute . Spock returns it as Sybok asks the entity about his pain. The entity is caught off-guard by the question. Sybok claims it runs deep and attacks the entity. As they struggle, Kirk, on his communicator, orders Sulu and Chekov on board the Enterprise to fire a photon torpedo at the encompassing entity. Chekov protests as Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are too close but Kirk tells him to fire immediately. The Enterprise opens fire and the torpedo obliterates the amphitheater. Spock laments that Sybok has been lost in the blast, but the entity has not been completely destroyed. Kirk and the others make a hasty escape back to the Copernicus but Spock finds that the thrusters have been rendered inoperative as the entity then violently shakes the shuttlecraft. Kirk flips open his communicator and begs with Scott to tell him that he has finally repaired the transporter. Scott replies that it has partial power and might be able to beam up two of them. Kirk tells Scott to bring up Spock and McCoy, the latter of which protests all the way up. Back aboard, Spock instructs Scott to now bring up the captain, but before he can, Klaa's Bird-of-Prey opens fire on the unshielded Enterprise , severely damaging her. Kirk now finds himself face to face with the entity, who has manifested itself in the cockpit of the Copernicus . The captain takes off running with the entity in pursuit.

Spock and McCoy return to the bridge, which is in a state of disarray. Klaa hails them and claims he hasn't destroyed them yet because he has come for James T. Kirk and promises to spare the lives of the crew if Kirk is handed over. Spock claims that Captain Kirk is not among them, he is on the planet below. Klaa wants his coordinates but Spock has a better idea. He asks General Korrd for his assistance as he is Klaa's superior officer. Korrd is skeptical about what good he can do as, while he might have been a great military leader at one time, he is now a "foolish old man." Spock implores Korrd to at least try and rehails Captain Klaa, stating that someone wishes to speak with him.

" So, it's me you want, you Klingon bastards?! "

On the surface of the planet, Kirk is pursued by the entity. With nowhere to hide from it, Kirk stares down his impending death as the entity closes in for the kill when Klaa's Bird-of-Prey closes in and destroys it with a thunderous blast from its disruptors. Kirk realizes that the Klingons have come for him as they target their disruptors in his direction next, but is surprised when they instead beam him aboard. The captain is escorted to the bridge where, to his great surprise, General Koord has ordered Captain Klaa to apologize to Kirk – the attack on the Enterprise was not authorized by the Klingon Empire. Koord entreats Kirk to meet the new gunner of the Bird-of-Prey. From the gunnery chair, Spock spins around and welcomes Kirk aboard – it was Spock who saved Kirk's life from the entity. Kirk tells him that he thought he was going to die, echoing their earlier conversation around the campfire. Spock, likewise, tells him that it was impossible as the captain was never alone. Kirk, feeling like he wants to hug Spock, moves to do so but Spock advises against it – not in front of the Klingons.

Comrades in arms

Aboard the Enterprise , the Starfleet crew hosts a reception in the observation lounge for the Galactic Army of Light, the three ambassadors and Klaa's crew, reflecting on their voyage to the center of the galaxy. Even Klaa himself offers a sign of respect to Captain Kirk, one warrior to another, which Kirk reciprocates. As McCoy and Spock speculate on whether or not God is actually out there, Kirk postulates that while God might not be out in space, perhaps he goes with them wherever they are in the Human heart. As Spock mourns the death of his brother, Kirk comforts him by relating that he once lost a brother. While McCoy may have thought he was referring to his late brother George Samuel Kirk , the captain adds that he was lucky enough to get that brother back, implying Spock, instead. McCoy challenges Kirk's earlier claim at the campfire that "men like us don't have families," but, Kirk concedes that he was wrong – that both Spock and McCoy are his family, and the three of them resume their trip in Yosemite, this time with Spock singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and playing the song on his Vulcan harp .

Log entries [ ]

Memorable quotes [ ].

" Each man hides a secret pain. It must be exposed and reckoned with. It must be dragged from the darkness and forced into the light. "

" 'You'll have a great time, Bones. You'll enjoy your shore leave. You'll be able to relax.' You call this relaxing? I'm a nervous wreck. If I'm not careful I might end up talking to myself. "

" Captain, I do not think you realize the gravity of your situation. " " On the contrary, gravity is the foremost on my mind! "

" Goddamn irresponsible! Playing games with life! "

" Mind if we drop in for dinner? "

" Borgus frat! 'Let's see what she's got,' said the captain. And then we found out, didn't we?! "

" You really piss me off, Jim! Human life is far too precious to risk on crazy stunts! "

" I've always known I'll die alone. "

" It's a song, you green-blooded… Vulcan. You sing it. The words aren't important. What's important is that you have a good time singing it. " " Oh, I am sorry, doctor. Were we having a good time? " " God, I liked him better before he died! "

" Captain. " " Spock, we're on leave. You can call me Jim. " " Jim. " " Yes, Spock? " " Life is not a dream. " " Go to sleep, Spock. " " Yes, captain. "

" You told me you could get this ship running in two weeks. I gave you three! What happened? " " I think you gave me too much time, captain. "

" I could use a shower. " " Yes. "

" Jim, if you ask me – and you haven't – I think this is a bad idea. We're bound to bump into the Klingons, and they don't exactly like you. " " The feeling's mutual. "

" We'll beat those Klingon devils even if I have to get out and push. "

" I miss my old chair. "

" Imagine that. A passionate Vulcan. "

" Hello, boys. I've always wanted to play to a captive audience. "

" Be one with the horse! "

" Forgive you? I ought to knock you on your goddamn ass! " " If you think it would help. " " You want me to hold him, Jim? "

" I'll say one thing, Spock. You never cease to amaze me. " " Nor I, myself. "

" This person didn't by chance have pointed ears and an unending capacity for getting his shipmates into trouble, did he? " " He did have pointed ears. "

" Spock, my only concern is getting the ship back. When that's done and Sybok isn't here, then you can debate Sha Ka Ree until you're green in the face. "

" What are you standing around for?! Do you not know a jailbreak when you see one?! "

" I know this ship like I know the back of my hand. "

" I'm afraid of nothing. "

" I don't control minds. I free them. "

" I don't want my pain taken away. I need my pain! "

" You are mad. " " Am I? We'll see… "

" Are we dreaming? " " If we are, then life is a dream. "

" Is this the voice of God? " " One voice, many faces. "

" Who is this creature? " " Who am I? Don't you know? Aren't you God? "

" Jim, you don't ask the Almighty for his ID! "

" Why is God angry? "

" You have not answered his question! What does God need with a starship? "

" Do you doubt me? " " I doubt any god who inflicts pain for his own pleasure. "

" Stop! The god of Sha Ka Ree would not do this!! " " Sha Ka Ree?! A vision you created. An eternity I've been imprisoned in this place! The ship. I must have the ship! Now… give me what I want! "

" What's wrong? Don't you like this face? I have so many, but this one suits you best. "

" I couldn't help but notice your pain. " " My pain? " " It runs deep. Share it with me! "

" General, I require your assistance. " "My assistance? " " You are his superior officer. " " I am a foolish old man. " " Damn you, sir! You will try! "

" I thought I was going to die. " " Not possible. You were never alone. "

" Please, captain. Not in front of the Klingons. "

" Cosmic thoughts, gentlemen? " " We were, speculating… is God really out there? " " Maybe He's not out there, Bones. Maybe He's right here… the Human heart. "

" I was thinking of Sybok. I have lost a brother. " " Yes. I lost a brother once . But I was lucky, I got him back . "

Background information [ ]

• Co-Writer and Director William Shatner once remarked that he initially intended this movie to be written by thriller and fantasy author Eric Van Lustbader . " My biggest failure [in the making of the film] was I had read some books by Eric Van Lustbader, who had written some wonderful novels about an American in Japan and how out of place he felt. I thought, 'God, that'd be perfect for a Spock movie.' I went to see him and we walked the streets of New York pondering the plot of Star Trek , " Shatner recalled. " He was a fan. I thought, 'God, I've got a bestselling author ready to do a Star Trek .' And then they couldn't agree on the novel rights. So I lost him and my movie was going downhill before it even started. " ( 50 Years of Star Trek , p. 15)
• William Shatner stated in his memoir Star Trek Movie Memories (1995, pp. 278-279) that he came up with the story idea of the search for what turned out to be a false god, while he was watching the at-the-time controversial televangelist couple Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, on television. He became amazed and disgusted by the idea how such vulgar people had the audacity to purport they alone were the harbingers of God and had become rich from donations by their followers.
• Though Paramount Pictures President Frank Mancuso, Sr. was a religious man, he was sympathetic to Shatner's story outline and green-lit the production of the movie when Shatner pitched his story outline to him in person. ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, p. 282)
• Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had, since Star Trek: The Motion Picture , no formal creative say in the Star Trek films by that time, only the title of "Executive Consultant". All subsequent movies were vehemently resisted by Roddenberry, particularly The Final Frontier . Roddenerry went as far as to have his attorney Leonard Maizlish prepare legal procedures against Shatner. The legal action did not proceed. Roddenberry's position did not allow for this but Roddenberry declared the film "apocryphal". ( Star Trek FAQ 2.0 , chapter 13; Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, pp. 283-284)
• The Final Frontier approximated Roddenberry's atheist worldview, and was reminiscent of his own 1975 unrealized movie script The God Thing , a reworked version of which became In Thy Image and then, reworked further, the script for The Motion Picture . Richard Arnold , who was working at Roddenberry's office at the time, was present when the first story outline of The Final Frontier was delivered to Roddenberry as an FYI, later explaining to Shatner why Roddenberry reacted as he did, " So when you came along, though it was years later, with very similar themes, Gene was really hurt. I think it hurt Gene's ego that you finally going to tell the story that he wanted to tell ten years earlier. You were about to succeed where he had failed. At the time, Gene's secretary, Susan was making matters worse by walking around the office stating things like 'I can't believe it! He stole your idea. Bill's an asshole. Bill's a bastard.' So that did not help, and additionally, I know there was a fairly legitimate concern on Gene's part that your sense of humor [in regard to the way the secondary cast was eventually portrayed in the movie] was a little different than had ever been visualized before. " While Susan Sackett's reaction might be construed as personally motivated, she actually had, in all fairness, a point; Shatner himself has related how he had stumbled upon Roddenberry ten years earlier when the latter was busy writing The God Thing , and was on that occasion given a beat-for-beat summary of the story. Some of this may have nestled in Shatner's subconscious. ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, pp. 46-49, 289-291) Though Shatner had implied as much in his memoir, Arnold's remarks confirmed that Shatner had neither consulted nor communicated with Roddenberry even once, during the entire production of the movie.
• Co-Writer/Producer Harve Bennett , partly responsible for the three previous successful Star Trek movies, initially did not want to make the film as both his relationship with several key production staffers, in particular with Leonard Nimoy , had started to deteriorate with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . He was also fed up with Roddenberry's interloping. Shatner trusted Bennett, but had a hard time convincing him to come aboard. ( Star Trek Movie Memories , 1995, pp. 283-285)
• Star Trek V , released in June 1989, was the last Star Trek movie to be released in the summer months until 2009's Star Trek .
• Star Trek V was the first Star Trek production to be made in tandem with another ( Star Trek: The Next Generation , whose second season was in production during the filming) and one of only two productions to be made during that time period without any involvement from Rick Berman .
• Star Trek V has provoked controversy among fans. Many consider this movie to be the weakest Star Trek film ever made, although financially, the later Star Trek Nemesis performed even worse worldwide, though it was initially the number one film at the box-office on its first weekend of release and grossed a solid US$17 million. It ultimately earned over $52 million in the US and Canada plus over $17 million overseas. [1] It was not as successful as its predecessor, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , which had grossed US$109.7 million in North America alone. ( see also : Star Trek films: Performance summary )
• During the 1988 Writer's Guild of America strike, the film's pre-production and shooting schedule were severely trimmed.
• Paramount decided that Star Trek V would be as comedic as Star Trek IV .
• Star William Shatner made a deal with Paramount that if Star Trek IV was successful, he would be contracted to direct the next film, although according to Star Trek Movie Memories (1995, p. 244), both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had what Shatner referred to as "favored nation clauses", in their contracts meaning essentially that what one got, the other got. According to Shatner, it was Nimoy who put the idea of directing Star Trek V in his head during the production of Star Trek IV , telling Shatner that because of their favored nation status, he could successfully demand to direct the next film.
• There was public dissatisfaction with Star Trek: The Next Generation among fans at the time.
• Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was not contracted to do the effects for the film, due to the unavailability of the company, with the job going to a lesser known company, Associates & Ferren . The result was poor quality, and in some cases, obviously unfinished special effects shots.
• Intense competition during the summer of 1989 with the release of a multitude of blockbusters, including the long awaited Tim Burton Batman film, Lethal Weapon 2 , Ghostbusters 2 , and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (according to Harve Bennett in Star Trek Movie Memories – 1995, pp. 395-396).
• Principal photography began on 11 October 1988 and ended on 28 December of the same year. The first scene filmed was Harve Bennett's cameo as Rear Admiral " Bob ". Production began shooting at Yosemite National Park , then moved to the Mojave Desert , then back to Paramount Studios, where they filmed next door to Star Trek: The Next Generation . The last scenes filmed were the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trio's campfire singalongs. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier DVD special features)
• On 28 December, the last production day (only a few missing special effects shots were filmed that day), a press conference was held on the set to various newspaper, television, and radio reporters. Producers Harve Bennett and Ralph Winter, director William Shatner , and the entire Star Trek main cast participated, answering questions. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier DVD special features)
• The Star Trek V novelization also references and shows Sybok showing the crew how to radically adjust the deflector shields in order to be able to pass through the extreme radiation environment of the Great Barrier .
• Another oddity is the Enterprise 's trip to the center of the galaxy, which should have taken decades but seemed to occur in less than a day. In the novelization of Star Trek V , it is mentioned that Sybok's tinkering allows them to decrease their travel time. The Bird-of-Prey scans the Enterprise during their pursuit and is able to duplicate their rate of travel as well as Sybok's shield modifications allowing them to penetrate the Barrier.
• The film was the "winner" of the 1990 Razzie awards for "Worst Picture," "Worst Actor" (Shatner), and "Worst Director" (Shatner). It also received nominations for "Worst Picture of the Decade," "Worst Supporting Actor" (Kelley), and "Worst Screenplay" (Loughery, Shatner, and Bennett). In 2006, former Mystery Science Theater 3000 co-stars and writers Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy mocked the film in a downloadable audio commentary track for Nelson's RiffTrax service.
• Because of its failure at the US box office, in some countries this film was not distributed in the theaters, but only on VHS.
• In the United Kingdom the film was released theatrically on 20 October 1989 . The Final Frontier was a modest success, opening at the top of the box office and earning £1,451,378 overall. [4]
• Some of the special effects in this movie are markedly different than those featured in previous Star Trek films. Among other changes, photon torpedoes have a different design and color (the torpedo from the Enterprise was a slightly recolored reuse of V'ger 's "whiplash bolt" from The Motion Picture , and a slightly different effect was used when going to warp speed. The release of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , however, marked a return to the effect designs that characterized earlier Trek films.
• ILM, the company which did the special effects for the previous three Star Trek films and TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint ", was unavailable because the company was working on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Ghostbusters II at the time. The result of this is the considerably cheaper-looking effects seen in the film.
• The sequence of "God" chasing Captain Kirk on the Sha Ka Ree planet was originally conceived to be much longer and extensive, but it had to be severely cut as a result of awful-looking special effects.
• In addition, some of the outer space shots are stock footage from the previous films. The shot of the Enterprise in spacedock is from the end of The Voyage Home . Also, a few Klingon Bird-of-Prey shots are reused from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . The spiraling starfield during Kirk's unfinished log entry is lifted from the opening titles of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .
• William Shatner's first outline for this film was entitled "An Act of Love" and, according to William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories, would have been a much darker tale and would have seen the first true falling out between Kirk and Spock and McCoy. Also, Spock and McCoy would also have joined with Sybok, leaving Kirk alone. This was changed when Nimoy absolutely refused to play that, stating that there was no chance whatsoever that Spock would ever turn on Kirk, especially after what Kirk risked and sacrificed for Spock in Star Trek III . Director Shatner talked to Nimoy, attempting to change his mind, but Nimoy was firm in believing that pain or no pain, brother or no brother, Spock would not betray Captain Kirk. Shatner eventually conceded and had the script adjusted. In the book, Shatner comments that he was aware there was no chance he could know Spock as well as Nimoy would and he certainly couldn't force Nimoy to play the part as written. According to Shatner, on the same day that Nimoy objected, DeForest Kelley also refused, believing that McCoy would not turn against Kirk either and Kelley was as adamant about it as Nimoy was. Shatner said that he didn't know and still doesn't know if changing the script was the right decision to make, but he also conceded that if someone else had come in and written a scenario where Kirk would turn against Spock and McCoy, he too, would "raise the roof" over it. Nevertheless, Shatner said he would still have loved to have seen and been able to play the original version of the scenario.
• The name "Sha Ka Ree" was taken from " Sean Connery ", the actor Star Trek producers originally wanted to play Sybok. Unfortunately, Connery was busy working on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade , and was unavailable to play the part. ( Star Trek Movie Memories 1995, p. 292)

The "Rock Man" in the deleted scene

• In the original script, Kirk was attacked by ten large "rockmen" emerging from the rock faces of Sha Ka Ree. Unfortunately, with an extremely limited budget (which was responsible for other "high budget" items being removed from the final script, as well as for the use of cheaper effects for the space scenes), only one animatronic " Rock Man ", portrayed by stuntman Tom Morga , was created. The single rockman was filmed attacking Kirk, but the scene was thought too poor to include in the film, although an extremely brief (a few frames) glimpse of the creature occurs in the final print during the scene where "God" fires energy blasts at Captain Kirk. Some test footage of the creature is available in the Special Edition two-disc DVD release. The idea did make it to theaters in the Star Trek parody Galaxy Quest . A few images of Morga as the rockman were later released in the special feature "Tom Morga: Alien Stuntman" on the 2009 box release Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection (DVD) .
• Closeups of the El Capitan climbing scenes were filmed on a fake wall made of fiberglass. The real mountain can be seen at distance.
• Closeups of Kirk's fall were actually shot horizontally, then flipped so that they appeared vertical.
• When Kirk returns to the bridge of his ship for the first time, he is given his uniform jacket by a yeoman . The yeoman is played by Shatner's youngest daughter, actress Melanie Shatner , and had been credited for it as such. Incidentally, her two older sisters, Lisabeth and Leslie , had already had uncredited cameo appearances as two of the Only girls in Star Trek: The Original Series episode " Miri ". Upon the conclusion of the movie, daughter Lisabeth wrote a book on her father's experiences making the movie, Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of the Making of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier .
• Several deleted scenes are available on the Special Edition DVD, including one of Sulu and Chekov visiting the Mount Rushmore monument, with the added face of an African-American woman.
• The novelization has some additional dialogue about Spock and McCoy speculating that the great barrier might not have been meant to keep them out, but to keep "God" in, prompting Spock to say that they may have yet to reach the final frontier.
• As had been the case with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , this film sports a rare instance of Trek product placement . Kirk and McCoy wear Levi's blue jeans for the first half-hour of the film, and Levi Strauss & Co. gets a credit at the end of the film.

Kraft Marshmallow Dispenser

• Spock makes an uncharacteristic mistake when he calls "marshmallows" by the name "marsh melons". The novelization shows that McCoy, knowing Spock would want to study what the ship had in the library computer about camping out before going out, paid a computer tech to change all references in the Enterprise computer about marshmallows to "marsh melons." The novel also includes characterizations of McCoy's and Kirk's reactions and McCoy having a silent laugh at Spock's error. In the final picture, McCoy simply stumbles over the pronunciation to continue the joke. Later, in the levitation boots scene on the Enterprise (mentioned below), Kirk again mentions "marsh melons", which some have thought to be the mistake, but is evidence he also recognized Spock's error. When they return to the camp site at the end of the novel, Spock has since then detected McCoy's activity and has had his misinformation corrected.
• The entire movie was filmed on such a tight schedule that many of the shots were set up in a matter of minutes, instead of hours.
• According to Shatner, the campfire scenes had to be shot in closer angles, because time and budget constraints prevented the production team from building the top of the trees on the set.
• The cloak with the numerous medals that Ambassador Korrd wore appeared again in Star Trek: The Next Generation as the cloak worn by the Klingon chancellor . The first chancellor to be seen, K'mpec (who first appeared in TNG : " Sins of The Father "), was also played by Charles Cooper .
• During location shooting, locals were hired to portray Sybok's "army" during his raid on Nimbus III . Because of the severe budget cuts and not enough number of these extras, many of them were re-used in different shots, running through the gates over and over again.
• One of Kirk's famous lines in this film is his prediction that he "will die alone." In the movie Star Trek Generations , Kirk dies after emerging from the Nexus in the 24th century . Although he dies apart from his closest friends (Spock and McCoy), Jean-Luc Picard is with him at his passing.
• Near the end of the film when Spock mentions that he lost his brother, Sybok, Kirk retorts, " Yes. I lost a brother once. I was lucky I got him back. " While Kirk's biological brother, George Samuel Kirk , died in TOS : " Operation -- Annihilate! ", he was clearly making a reference to Spock, who died in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and was resurrected in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . (However, Spock and McCoy look visibly surprised when Kirk mentions having lost a brother, creating a potential continuity error as both were present when George died.) This is the second time that Kirk refers to Spock as his "brother". The first time occurred in TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ". The Star Trek V: The Final Frontier comic book adaptation had Kirk say " I've lost two brothers, but I was lucky to get one of them back. "
• After the Bird-of-Prey destroys "God", Kirk says, " So, it's me you want you Klingon bastards? ", a reference to a scene in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in which Kirk calls them the same thing after Kruge kills his son, David Marcus .
• Shatner originally wanted Sybok's horse to be a unicorn, adding a more "mythical" approach to the character, but Gene Roddenberry disapproved of it, saying that it would turn Star Trek into a space fantasy instead of science fiction. ( citation needed • edit )
• This is the first Star Trek movie not to be nominated for a Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation".
• In an interview for the book Captains' Logs , Harve Bennett blamed the movie's failure on Star Trek: The Next Generation .
• Shatner had been so impressed with Production Designer Herman Zimmerman 's work on The Next Generation , that he hired Zimmerman to upgrade the Enterprise interiors for the film. Hence, the upgraded bridge from the movie resembles the bright atmosphere portrayed in The Next Generation . Decades later Zimmerman later jokingly commented after seeing the film, considered so flawed by many, " After the show was over, I was pretty sure I would never do another! " ( The Art of Star Trek , p. 249; Star Trek: 45 Years of Designing the Future )
• The Enterprise -A corridors are from The Next Generation . Except for the turbolift, they were not changed for the movie.
• The Enterprise -A bridge is mostly a new set, except for the turbolifts, Sulu and Chekov's helm console, the handrails, and some of the platforms on which the portions of the bridge stood. According to the Collector's Edition DVD text commentary, a new bridge set was necessary due to the original movie bridge set being mostly damaged by a sudden windstorm while in temporary storage at the Paramount studio parking lot (other sources have the reason for the new bridge set's construction as being because it had been extensively modified for use on TNG to the point that it could not be converted back), and only those few pieces used on the Enterprise -A bridge were salvaged from the original set. Captain Kirk would thus seem to briefly break character when he muses, " I miss my old chair. " The decoration from the salvaged set was also used for the Stargazer bridge and for the battle bridge in TNG.
• Another all-new set was the forward observation lounge where several dramatic scenes take place. According to Michael Okuda , this room was located on the forward-center edge of the saucer section (much like Ten Forward on the Enterprise -D). However, when looking at the exterior of the Enterprise -A, there are no windows which match the location of this room. The plan was to update the filming miniature with the three larger windows, however time and budget constraints forced the producers to omit this change as it was believed they would be unnoticed due to their small size. ( citation needed • edit )
• Nichelle Nichols, an accomplished singer and dancer, provided an authentic performance of the "fan dance" routine in this film; she was outraged when her vocals in the scene were later overdubbed in editing without her approval.

Unreleased Star Trek V: The Final Frontier video game

• A Bandai Nintendo Entertainment System action game was slated to be released in 1989 along with the movie. The game was canceled following the failure of the film at the box office. A prototype has surfaced and is circling the net as a ROM. It is notable for its many basic spelling errors (example: at one point Scotty is named "Scotto") and lack of an ending (the game may have been incomplete at the time it was scrapped).
• This film marked the return of Jerry Goldsmith to the Star Trek franchise. He returned again to compose the music for Star Trek: First Contact , Star Trek: Insurrection , and Star Trek Nemesis , and to compose the theme for Star Trek: Voyager . An attempt was made to bring Goldsmith on to compose for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country after James Horner turned it down. However, Goldsmith also refused, citing the poor results of Final Frontier .
• Among the items featured in this film which were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay were a Starfleet Field Duty Commando division strip [5] and the stunt costume for David Richard Ellis . [6] The rock climbing costume worn by Shatner was also auctioned off. [7] The costume had "Boreal"-brand shoes.
• This is the only one of the first six Star Trek films not to feature any scenes based in and around Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco .
• The otherwise very Star Trek friendly magazine Cinefantastique has made no mention whatsoever of this production in their publications.
• A draft version of the film's script was submitted on 29 February 1988 . [8]
• This is the first Star Trek film to use the 1986-2002 Paramount Pictures logo.
• CBS aired its one and only Star Trek movie network TV premiere with Star Trek V: The Final Frontier on December 3, 1991, a good three days ahead of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country opening in cinemas nationwide.

Star Trek V continues the story of the previous film only a short time after its ending, where the Enterprise -A departs for its shakedown cruise. This film begins with the Enterprise back in spacedock and Scott filing in his shakedown cruise report. The previous film, Star Trek IV , is dated to 2286 , when Gillian from 1986 mentions that she has three hundred years of catching up to do, suggesting this film takes place in 2286, or at the latest in 2287 .

In the film, Caithlin Dar makes a reference that Nimbus III was established as a planet of galactic peace 20 years ago, when the Federation and the Klingon and Romulan Empires attempted unsuccessfully to usher into a new era of peace and co-operation. While not explicitly stated, these are references to the Organian Peace Treaty of 2267 at the end of " Errand of Mercy " and the Romulan-Klingon Alliance some time in or before 2268 based on references from " The Enterprise Incident " and " Reunion " These references give Star Trek V a timeframe from 2286 to 2288 .

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode " Evolution " (broadcast as the third-season premiere), it is mentioned by Lt. Commander Data that " [there] has not been a systems-wide technological failure on a starship in seventy-nine years. " The episode was the very first filmed TNG installment to air following the June 1989 theatrical release of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (in September 1989), and this line of dialogue was very likely written by Michael Piller as a "nod" to the events of the most-recent movie, placing the events of the film in the year 2287 (seventy-nine years prior to the year 2366 ).

Another complicating factor is that the film itself makes it quite clear that it picks up just a few weeks after the events of Star Trek IV given how Kirk points out that Scotty said he could have the Enterprise ready in two weeks and Kirk gave him three. Additionally, we are told in Kirk's log entry at the start of Star Trek IV that the movie takes place three months after the end of Star Trek III which in turn picks up immediately where Star Trek II leaves off at. Kirk's birthday, which was celebrated in Star Trek II , was established as March 22 by an okudagram from ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ". Due to these factors, assuming Star Trek II takes place on March 22, 2285, Star Trek III is likely set in April 2285, Star Trek IV is likely set in July 2285, and Star Trek V is likely set in August 2285.

StarTrek.com , Star Trek Chronology , and Star Trek Encyclopedia  (3rd ed., p. 691) use the year 2287, or twenty years after the Organian Peace Treaty. Memory Alpha uses this year, as well.

Characters [ ]

During production of The Original Series , James Doohan took pains to conceal his right hand from the camera, due to it missing a finger as the result of an injury the actor suffered in the Second World War, and when close-ups of Scott's hands were required a body double was used. Thus, Scott canonically was not missing any fingers during the TOS timeframe. In this film, Doohan's injured hand is clearly visible in one scene, ( citation needed • edit ) establishing in canon that, at some point between TOS and Star Trek V , Scott lost a finger, for reasons as yet unrevealed.

Merchandise gallery [ ]

Awards and honors [ ]

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier received the following awards and honors.

Apocrypha [ ]

The novel The Fire and the Rose shows that as Spock began to regret undertaking the Kolinahr , that he remembered what Kirk had told Sybok about how the regrets and the pain one carries with them is part of what makes them who they are and it does help in Spock's decision to reverse the Kolinahr .

The Sha Ka Ree entity is identified in The Q Continuum trilogy as The One, a being that was drawn into this universe through the Guardian of Forever by the entity known as 0 , subsequently being defeated in a confrontation with the Q Continuum and locked away in the galactic center – having been reduced to only a head – until His repentance or the heat death of the universe, "whichever comes first."

Vonda McIntyre 's novelizations of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home had Hikaru Sulu 's rank at captain (based on cut material from Star Trek II ) for sake of continuity within the novels. When J.M. Dillard wrote novelization of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , she included a reference that Sulu had taken a temporary reduction in rank back down to commander in order to serve on the Enterprise , a decision which, when Kirk found out, made him furious at Sulu for not thinking of his own career first, and after giving Sulu hell about that decision, Kirk thanked him afterward.

According to the novel The Sorrows of Empire , McCoy's mirror universe counterpart was also responsible for his father's death, though under dramatically different circumstances: he tortured him to death on the orders of the Terran Empire .

The massively-multiplayer online video game Star Trek Online features Nimbus III as a location players can travel to, including Paradise City and its featured bar. There are other adventures players can partake in out in the neighboring desert wasteland, including one of the first introductions of the Elachi race to non-Romulan players.

Links and references [ ]

Credits [ ], opening credits [ ].

• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• James Doohan
• Walter Koenig
• Nichelle Nichols
• George Takei
• David Warner
• Laurence Luckinbill as Sybok
• Gene Roddenberry
• Jerry Goldsmith
• Nilo Rodis-Jamero
• Peter Berger , ACE
• Herman Zimmerman
• Andrew Laszlo , ASC
• Ralph Winter
• William Shatner & Harve Bennett & David Loughery
• David Loughery
• Harve Bennett

Closing credits [ ]

• Kirk – William Shatner
• Spock – Leonard Nimoy
• McCoy – DeForest Kelley
• Scotty – James Doohan
• Chekov – Walter Koenig
• Uhura – Nichelle Nichols
• Sulu – George Takei
• St. John Talbot – David Warner
• Sybok – Laurence Luckinbill
• Korrd – Charles Cooper
• Caithlin Dar – Cynthia Gouw
• Captain Klaa – Todd Bryant
• Vixis – Spice Williams
• J'onn – Rex Holman
• " God " – George Murdock
• Young Sarek – Jonathan Simpson
• High Priestess – Beverly Hart
• Pitchman – Steve Susskind
• Starfleet Chief of Staff – Harve Bennett
• Amanda – Cynthia Blaise
• McCoy's Father – Bill Quinn
• Yeoman – Melanie Shatner
• Glenn R. Wilder
• Don Pulford
• Greg Barnett
• David Burton
• David Richard Ellis (stunt double for Laurence Luckinbill )
• Linda Fetters ( Feline bar dancer )
• James M. Halty (stunt double for George Takei )
• Freddie Hice (stunt double for DeForest Kelley )
• Thomas Huff (stunt double for DeForest Kelley)
• Joyce L. McNeal
• Tom Morga ( Starfleet field security crewman / Rock Man ( deleted scene ))
• Frank Orsatti
• Air Randall
• Bruce Wayne Randall
• R.A. Rondell
• Tom Wetterman
• Scott Wilder ( Starfleet field security crewman )
• Douglas E. Wise
• Burt "Skip" Burnam
• George Fortmuller
• Brooke Breton
• Bill Shepard , CSA
• Bran Ferren
• Keith Peterman
• Phil Caplan
• Kenneth Nishino
• Dick Meinardus
• Dennis B. Seawright
• Jeffrey S. Thorin
• David Ronne , CAS
• John Schuyler
• Stewart D. McDonald, Jr.
• Michael L. Wood
• Mike Edmonson
• Dodie Shepard
• John D. Bronson
• Raymond A. Phelps
• Joseph R. Markham
• Donna Barrett Gilbert
• Hazel Catmull
• Kenny Myers
• Michael Mills
• Jan Alexander
• Edouard Henriques III
• Katalin Elek
• Rolf John Keppler
• Ellis Burman
• Marion Tumen
• Donald O. Nygren
• Richard Hartley
• Carmon H. Howell
• Burton Lindemoen
• Jon A. Falkengren
• John M. Dwyer
• Anthony Brockliss
• Sandy L. Veneziano
• Ronald R. Wilkinson
• Richard Frank McKenzie
• Andrew Neskoromny
• Antoinette Gordon
• Michael Okuda
• Cari Thomas
• Rick Sternbach
• Barton M. Susman
• Kurt V. Hulett
• Richard J. Bayard
• John Matheson
• Gary A. Clark
• James H. Betts
• Linda Miller
• Jeff McGrath
• Michael Mann
• Raymond A. McLaughlin
• Gaston Veilleux
• Corky Randall
• Thomas B. Jones
• Terry Erdmann
• Bruce Birmelin
• George C. Villaseñor
• John A. Haggar
• Christopher E. Bennett
• Reel People, Inc.
• Mark Mangini
• Alan Howarth
• Michael J. Benavente
• Warren Hamilton, Jr. , MPSE
• David A. Whittaker , MPSE
• Wayne Allwine , MPSE
• David Spence
• Ron Bartlett
• Solange Schwalbe Boisseau
• Kenneth Dufva
• Gregory J. Curda
• Andrew Patterson
• Bill Voigtlander
• Sonny Pettijohn
• Destiny Borden
• Angie Luckey
• Ken Johnson
• David Moreno
• Chris Jenkins
• Gary Alexander
• D.M. Hemphill
• Scott Austin
• Marc Okrand
• Arthur Morton
• Bruce Botnick
• Record Plant Scoring
• Valerie Mickaelian Kucera
• Tony Criscione
• Marie Elder
• Paul F. Schlichting
• Eva Marie Friedrick
• Mary Jo Fernandez
• Charlene Bergman
• Kimberly Boyle
• Rebeca R. Brookshire
• Susan Sackett
• Wendell Johnson
• Deborah L. Campbell
• James Collins
• Barbara Harris
• Denali Productions, Inc.
• Robert Carmichael
• Stephen J. Ross
• Susan McCrae
• Rob Sweeney
• Michael Weis
• John McCloud
• Bernie Pock
• Paul Sibley
• Werner Braun
• Jim Bridwell
• Bill Russell
• Sean Plunkett
• Steven Haire
• Nadim Melkonian
• Troy Johnson
• Walter Shipley
• Dean Miller
• Joe Valentine
• Bill Killey
• Bob Stradling
• Associates & Ferren
• Eric Angelson
• James Shelly
• Patricia Barry
• Susan Le Ber
• Susan Coursey

Live Action Effects Unit [ ]

• Frost Wilkinson
• Phil Gosiewski
• Bruce Vaughn
• Phil Cullum
• Paul Jordan
• Seth Nathanson
• Bob Francis
• Miles Ambrose
• Otto Leichliter
• Ron Webster
• Chester Hartwell
• Kinnereth Ellentuck
• Alan D. Webb

Model Unit [ ]

• Peter Wallach
• Edward Lee Rapp
• Michael Sullivan
• Jack Riedel
• Robert Lyons
• Michael Faerman
• Rachel A. Drapkin
• Peterson Tooke
• Paul Michael Clemente
• David V. Mei
• Michael Tabacco
• Valentine Vignes
• Daniel Nauke
• Michael Gerzevitz
• Michael Kellough
• Thomas Quinn
• Noel Sheinberg
• Susan Tremblay
• David Drapkin
• David Bruce
• Maria Konwicka
• Veronica E. Lesser
• Gregory Jein, Inc.

Optical Unit [ ]

• Dick Swanek
• Robert Rowohlt
• John Alagna
• Mitch Wilson
• Robert Schulze
• Tom Snowden
• Louis Goold
• Michael Ventresco
• Gregory Harker
• Valerie Baiardi
• Eddie Stewart
• Stewart Brown

Additional Optical Effects [ ]

• Barry Hyman
• Peter Kiran
• Illusion Arts, Inc.
• Marc Sawicki
• Industrial Light & Magic
• Epic Records, Cassettes and Compact Discs
• Music by: Jerry Goldsmith
• Lyric by: John Bettis
• Performed by: Hiroshima
• Produced by: Dan Kuramoto
• Hiroshima courtesy of Epic Records
• Music by: Alexander Courage
• Dr. Charles A. Beichman , Infrared Processing and Analysis Center Jet Propulsion Lab, Pasadena
• Robert Parker
• Jack Morehead , Superintendent
• Bureau of Land Management
• California Film Commission
• State of California, State Lands Commission
• Madera County Film Commission
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory , Pasadena
• Reebok International, Ltd.
• Jack Daniel's
• Apple Computers
• Monster Cable ®
• International Scientific Instruments, Inc.
• Denton Vacuum, Inc.
• Princeton Gamma-Tech
• Carl Zeiss, Inc.
• de Graf/Wahrman, Inc.
• Base Gamma Electronic Systems
• Kraft, Inc.
• Levi Strauss & Co.
• Todd A-O/Glen Glenn Studios
• Technicolor ®
• Panavision ®
• Charles Bazaldua ( The Loop Group )
• Gene Cross as Sybok's follower
• David Dewitt
• Steven Johnson as Starfleet field security crewman
• Carlyle King (The Loop Group)
• Kevin Lindsay as alien bar patron
• Patrick Michael as Enterprise -A crewman
• Richard Penn (The Loop Group)
• Paige Pollack (The Loop Group)
• Susan Savage
• Gary Schwartz (The Loop Group)
• Carey Scott as voice of a teenage Spock ( deleted scene )
• Mike Smithson as Klingon helmsman
• Nimbus III bar patron
• " Wrinkles "
• Rhoda Williams as alien vocals
• Ilona Wilson as Nimbus III bar patron
• " Ape Face "
• " Bone Head "
• " Dark Eyes "
• " Leather Face "
• " Long Face "
• " Lost Soul "
• " Round Eyes "
• Nimbus III lookout party
• Alien sentry
• Klingon commander
• Seven Starfleet field security officers
• Four followers of Sybok
• Three Nimbus III bar patrons
• Terry Jackson
• David Wendler as stunt double for William Shatner (horse stunts)
• Tom Boyd – Musician: Oboe
• Cogswell Video Services, Inc. – Visual Effects Unit Video Assist Company
• Lynette Eklund – prison alien anatomy pieces artist
• Christopher Gilman and Global Effects, Inc. – Creator and provider of the cool suits
• Karen Hulett – Costume design
• Stuart Land – Prosthetics
• Lisa Logan – Cutter/Fitter
• David Nicksay – Executive Producer

References [ ]

2267 ; adventure ; alcohol ; Almighty ; amusement ; ancestor ; Andorian language ; angry ; animal ; arrest ; arrival ; arrogance ; ass ; attack ; attack course ; attack range ; attention ; audience ; authority ; backpack ; banishment ; barricade ; bath ; bay doors ; bean ; bearing ; betrayal ; belief ; birth ; blizzard ; blowscreen ; binoculars ; bipodal seeds ; brig ; boat ; " Bones "; booster rocket ; bourbon ; bowl ; brainwashing ; brig ; " by the book "; cadet ; campfire ; camping ; " Camptown Races "; capital city ; charge ; chariot ; choice ; cloaking device ; Columbus, Christopher ; command chair ; commander ; commercial ; communicator ; companion ; compliment ; computer library ; confrontation ; con man ; conn ; conspiring ; consul ; contact ; coordinates ; Copernicus ; course ; creature ; cricket ; culture ; cure ; custom ; danger ; darkness ; data ; David McCoy's condition ; death ; degree ; designer ; destination ; devil ; dinner ; disaster ; discovery ; distress signal ; dignity ; doctor ; dogma ; door ; dream ; ear ; Earth ; Eden ; El Capitan ; emergency assistance ; emergency channel ; Emergency Landing Plan B ; emergency sending apparatus ; emotion ; Enterprise -A, USS ; Enterprise -A dedication plaque ; estimate ; eternity ; Excelsior , USS ; Excelsior -class ; existence ; experience ; expression ; face ; faith ; family ; fan dance ; fantasy ; fear ; Federation ; Federation Federal ; feeling ; financing ; fishing ; flat ; flat Earth ; flattery ; flavoring ; footspeed ; forward observation room ; free-climbing ; French language ; friend ; Galactic Army of Light ; galactic core ; Galileo ; Galileo -type shuttlecraft ; garbage ; gate ; generation ; " get a grip on yourself "; ghost ; ghost town ; God ; government ; gravity ; Grayson, Amanda ; Great Barrier ; Great Horned Owl ; green ; guilt ; gunner ; hailing frequency ; half-brother (brother); hand ; heart ; heart attack ; Heaven ; " hello "; high priestess ; " hit the brakes "; hole ; horse ; hostage ; hostage tape ; hour ; Human ; humor ; hydro vent ; ID ; idea ; illusion ; immortal ; impulse power ; information ; ingredient ; intellect ; intelligence ; intention ; intention ; Iowa ; jailbreak ; jet boots ; job ; journey ; junior officer ; kellicam ; Klaa's Bird-of-Prey ; Klingons ; Klingon Bird-of-Prey ; Klingon Empire ; Klingon High Command ; Klingon language ; knowledge ; land ; landing bay ; leader ; letter ; levitation boots ; Levi's ; life support system ; light (artificial); light (natural); logic ; lookout party ; Luna ; lyric ; " macho "; " made love "; madman ; magic wand ; marshmallow ; Masefield, John ; maximum speed ; meaning ; melon ; Melville, Herman ; message ; metabolism ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mind ; miracle ; mister ; mood ; " Moon over Rigel VII "; " Moon's a Window to Heaven, The "; monkey ; Morse code ; mount ; mountain ; muscle ; mystery ; myth ; naked ; " neck of the woods "; " nervous wreck "; Neutral Zone ; Neutral Zone Treaty ; Nimbus III ; Nimbus III moons ; Nimbosian horse ; noise ; " oh my God "; " on board "; " on course "; " on leave "; online ; orbital shuttle ( unnamed orbital shuttle ); Orbital shuttle 5 ; Orbital shuttle 7 ; order ; " out of favor "; outcast ; " Pack Up Your Troubles "; pagan ; pain ; Paradise City ; Paradise Inn ; passion ; person ; phaser ; photon torpedo ; Pioneer 10 ; " piss me off "; place ; pleasure ; pool ; power source ; priority 7 ; princess ; prisoner ; probe ; problem ; pronunciation ; proof ; protective custody ; " put me out to pasture "; quadrant ; quest ; question ; Qui'Tu ; reality ; reason ; record time ; red alert ; renegade ; repairs ; representative ; rescue ship ; research ; respect ; revolutionary ; Rigel VII ; ritual ; rock ; Romulans ; Romulan ale ; Romulan language ; room ; round ; " Row, Row, Row Your Boat " ( rowboat ); San Francisco Fleet Yards ; scholar ; scope ; scotch whiskey ; Scots language ; " Sea-Fever "; second ; secret ; sense of humor ; settlement ; settler ; Sha Ka Ree ; Sha Ka Ree (planet); Shakedown cruise report, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) ; shield ; shipmate ; shore leave ; shower ; sincerity ; sing-along ; skeleton crew ; sky ; sleep ; Sol ; soldier ; son ; song ; song title ; soul ; sound ; sound barrier ; Source, The ; Southern baked beans ; space ; Spacedock One ; speculation ; speech ; speed ; standard orbit ; standard orbital approach ; " stand by "; star ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Charter ; Starfleet Com Net ; Starfleet Command ; Starfleet Galactic Memory Bank ; Starfleet Operations ; starship ; status ; status report ; stream ; strength ; strike team ; student ; success ; superior officer ; surrender ; tall ship ; target ; Tennessee whiskey ; termite ; Terran ; terrorist ; " thank God "; thing ; thousand ; threat ; thruster ; time ; toilet ; tour ; tractor beam ; transmission ; transmitter ; transporter ; transporter beam ; transporter lock ; transporter room ; trash ; treasure ; triangle ; trick ; trigger ; truth ; tunnel ; turboshaft number three ; " under arrest "; understanding ; understatement ; Valhalla ; value ; vanity ; viewscreen ; voice ; violation ; Vorta Vor ; Vulcans ; Vulcan ; Vulcan language ; Vulcan lute ; Vulcan nerve pinch ; Vulcan princess ; warp engine ; warp speed ; warrior ; Watering Hole, The ; weapon ; " wee "; week ; weight ; " whip her into shape "; wildlife ; wisdom ; word ; workout ; year ; Yosemite National Park ; youth

Starfleet Galactic Memory Bank references [ ]

Feira incident ; field commander ; Klingon Imperial Command ; K'Rebeca sector ; Orion ; Shepard sector ; Starfleet Intelligence

Meta references [ ]

Unreferenced material [ ].

Mount Rushmore National Memorial ; Nimbosian ; Rock Man

Related topics [ ]

• Vulcan mythology
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Special Edition)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (soundtrack)

External links [ ]

• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier at StarTrek.com
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier at Wikipedia
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• " Star Trek V: The Final Frontier " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Stardate: 8454.1

Star Trek ® and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc . Copyright © 1966, Present. The Star Trek web pages on this site are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.

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There was a moment in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" - only one, and a brief one, but a genuine one - when I felt the promise of awe. The Starship Enterprise was indeed going where no man had gone before, through the fabled Great Barrier, which represents the end of the finite universe. What would lie beyond? Would it be an endless void, or a black hole, or some kind of singularity of space and time that would turn the voyagers inside out and deposit them in another universe? Or would the Barrier even reveal, as one of the characters believes, the place where life began? The place called by the name of Eden and countless other words? As the Enterprise approached the Barrier, I found my attention gathering. The movie had been slow and boring until then, with an interminable, utterly inconsequential first act and a plot that seemed to exist in a space-time singularity all its own. But now, at last, the fifth " Star Trek " movie seemed to be remembering what was best about the fictional world of "Star Trek": those moments when man and his ideas are challenged by the limitless possibilities of creation.

As I've said, my awe was real. It was also brief. Once the Enterprise crew members (and the Vulcan who was holding them hostage) landed on the world beyond the Barrier, the possibilities of god or Eden or whatever quickly disintegrated into an anticlimactic special effects show with a touch of " The Wizard of Oz " thrown in for good measure. I do not want to give away important elements in the plot, but after you've seen the movie, ask yourself these questions: 1) How was it known that the voyagers would go beyond the Barrier; 2) what was the motivation behind what they found there; 3) how was it known that they would come to stand at exactly the point where the stone pillars came up from the Earth; 4) In a version of a question asked by Capt. Kirk, why would any entity capable of staging such a show need its own starship; and 5) is the Great Barrier indeed real, or simply a deceptive stage setting for what was found behind it? (What I'm really complaining about, I think, is that "Star Trek V" allows itself enormous latitude in the logic beneath its plot. If the Barrier is real, what exactly are we to make of the use to which it is put?) Before we get to ask those questions, "Star Trek V" spends much of its time meandering through some of the goofiest scenes in the entire series. The movie opens with the taking of three hostages on a desert planet, who have been captured for the sole purpose of luring Capt. Kirk and his starship to the planet so that the ship can be commandeered for the voyage through the Barrier. I have explained these plot details in one sentence. The movie takes endless scenes, during which the key crew members of the Enterprise need to be summoned back to their ship in the middle of a shore leave. And that process, in turn, requires interminable scenes of Kirk, Spock and Bones on a camping trip in Yosemite, during which they attempt to sing "Row, row, row your boat" and nearly succeed in sinking the entire movie. If there is a sillier and more awkwardly written scene in the entire "Star Trek" saga than this one, I've missed it.

After the pointless opening scenes, the movie begins to develop a plot of sorts, but it is so confused and inadequately explained that there are times when we simply give up and wait for what's next. That was particularly the case during the inexplicable closing scenes, where the humans and the Klingons seem to join sides after an off-camera speech by a former Klingon leader who had been put out to pasture. Since this leader is identified as having been badly treated by the Klingons in his retirement, how did he suddenly regain the authority to negotiate a truce? And do we really want to see the mighty Klingons reduced to the status of guests at a cocktail party? One of the trademarks of the "Star Trek" saga has been the way the supporting characters are kept alive in little subplots. In "Star Trek V," the Enterprise starts its voyage while the shop is suffering a series of mechanical failures, and that involves countless brief scenes in which Scotty, the chief engineer, emerges from beneath a piece of equipment, brandishes his wrench and says he'll have things fixed in a moment. Two or three of these scenes might have been enough.

Another irritation is the way in which we meet apparently major characters, including those played by David Warner , Laurence Luckinbill and Cynthia Gouw, who are introduced with fanfares of dialogue and then never developed or given anything to do. The entire movie seems crowded with loose ends, overlooked developments and forgotten characters, and there are little snatches of dialogue where some of these minor characters seem to be soldiering on in their original subplots as if unaware that they've been cut from the movie.

"Star Trek V" is pretty much of a mess - a movie that betrays all the signs of having gone into production at a point where the script doctoring should have begun in earnest. There is no clear line from the beginning of the movie to the end, not much danger, no characters to really care about, little suspense, uninteresting or incomprehensible villains, and a great deal of small talk and pointless dead ends. Of all of the "Star Trek" movies, this is the worst.

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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Film credits.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

108 minutes

James Doohan as Montgomery Scott

Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov

George Takei as Sulu

William Shatner as Capt. Kirk

Nichelle Nichols as Cmdr. Uhura

Deforest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock

From A Story by

Photography by.

• Andrew Laszlo
• Peter Berger
• David Loughery From
• Jerry Goldsmith

Produced by

• Harve Bennett

Directed by

• William Shatner

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Published Jun 9, 2014

The Final Frontier 25 Years Later

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier opened on June 9, 1989 -- or 25 years ago today. The film, directed by William Shatner, remains as polarizing as ever all these years later. In it, Sybok, an emotional Vulcan, and his followers take hostages on Nimbus III, the so-called Planet of Galactic Peace. Sybok intends to locate God, and his plan is simple: take hostages on Nimbus III, lure a starship there and use it to fulfill his destiny. Of course, that ship is the Enteprise, and Kirk and especially Spock -- Sybok's half-brother -- have other ideas about Sybok's quest to breach the Great Barrier.

The Final Frontier is widely regarded as the least successful TOS feature. Despite a genuinely daring and thought-provoking premise -- searching for God -- the general perception was, is and will likely forever be that the film just doesn't work. Too much around the central premise doesn't play as intended. Nothing operational on the Enterprise? Scotty bumping into things? "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" sung around a campfire? Cringe-worthy lines like "On the contrary, gravity is the foremost thing on my mind" or "Please, captain, not in front of the Klingons," didn't help, nor did lackluster visual effects.

So, some questions to ponder, lines to remember and factoids to absorb...

-- First, what did YOU think of the infamous campfire scene?

-- Was the search for God too big an idea for even Star Trek to tackle?

-- The film, in our view, was almost redeemed by two memorable Kirk lines, "Excuse me. Excuse me... but what does God need with a starship?" and "Who am I? Don't you know? Aren't you... God?"

-- Runner up: McCoy referring to Spock: "God, I liked him better before he died."

-- Another good one, from Sybok: "I don't control minds. I free them."

-- At one point, The Final Frontier and Star Trek: The Next Generation filmed next door to one another on the Paramount Pictures lot.

-- Pretty much everyone on the planet knows this, but first choice to play Sybok was... Sean Connery. The reference to Sha Ka Ree is a tip of the cap to the actor.

-- Laurence Luckinbill, who did play Sybok, was the son-in-law of Lucille Ball. It was Ball and her company, Desilu, that first green-lit The Original Series.

-- George Murdock, who co-starred as God, went on to play Admiral Hanson in the TNG two-parter, " The Best of Both Worlds ." The actor passed away in 2012 at the age of 81.

-- Charles Cooper, who played Klingon General Korrd, later appeared on TNG as Klingon Chancellor K'mpec in " Sins of the Father " and " Reunion ." He died at the age of 87 in 2013.

-- The Final Frontier grossed a strong $17 million its opening weekend, but tallied only $52 million during its entire theatrical run.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Captain Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's long-lost half-brother who hijacks the Enterprise for an obsessive search for God at the center of the galaxy. Captain Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's long-lost half-brother who hijacks the Enterprise for an obsessive search for God at the center of the galaxy. Captain Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's long-lost half-brother who hijacks the Enterprise for an obsessive search for God at the center of the galaxy.

• William Shatner
• Gene Roddenberry
• Harve Bennett
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 382 User reviews
• 86 Critic reviews
• 43 Metascore
• 5 wins & 5 nominations

• St. John Talbot

• Caithlin Dar

• Captain Klaa

• (as Spice Williams)

• "God"
• Young Sarek
• High Priestess

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia During pre-production meetings, screenwriter David Loughery jokingly proposed to have Commander Uhura appear as an erotic dancer in order to lure away the hostage takers from the Paradise compound. He was surprised when the producers approved of the idea right away.
• Goofs When Kirk, Bones and Spock are flying up the turbolift shaft, the deck number gets higher as they go upwards. However Star Trek ships are numbered the opposite way round with the higher decks having lower numbers. For instance, the bridge (at the top of the ship) is on deck 1.

Kirk : Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor. You know that pain and guilt can't be taken away with a wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!

• Crazy credits "Highest descender fall recorded in the United States: Ken Bates." (I.e., Kenny Bates .)
• Alternate versions The CBS broadcast premiere removed a number of scenes from the movie. 1) All scenes featuring the dancing triple-breasted catwoman were removed. 2) The campfire scene was trimmed, ending with Spock producing the 'marshmellon' - effectively removing the much criticized 'Row Row Row Your Boat' sing along between Kirk, Spock and McCoy. 3) The scene between Uhura and Scotty on the bridge as they receive new orders from Starfleet Command. 4) The "I could use a shower" scene between Kirk and Spock in the turbolift.
• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Star Trek V/No Holds Barred/Dead Poets Society/Let's Get Lost/Renegades (1989)
• Soundtracks Fanfare From Star Trek TV Series by Alexander Courage

User reviews 382

• Aug 25, 2006
• How long is Star Trek V: The Final Frontier? Powered by Alexa
• Why was J'Onn digging holes on Numbus 3 at the beginning? Also, what was his pain?
• What was the creature pretending to be "God"?
• What is 'The Final Frontier' about?
• June 9, 1989 (United States)
• United States
• Star Trek: The Final Frontier
• Owens Lake, California, USA (the dry lake bed stood in for the desolate Nimbus III)
• Paramount Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $27,800,000 (estimated)
• $52,210,049
• $17,375,648
• Jun 11, 1989

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 47 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Retro Review: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

#11 in my  Ranking of all Star Trek films .

This movie is objectively bad, but it’s not worthless. The story is so poorly assembled and the characters are mostly just placeholders and the movers of small plot points, but within this mishmash of styles, tones, and subplots, there are a handful of actually quite wonderful things and moments.

Really,  The Final Frontier  feels like a clip show of scenes from different movies, or maybe different episodes of a television series. Nothing seems to go with whatever is coming next. The opening scene on Nimbus III contrasts starkly with the camping trip at Yosemite Park that follows. The troubles of the new Enterprise working, horribly contrast with the super serious handling of the actual, confusing, plot. Scotty hitting his head and falling down is such a weird bit of slapstick humor (attempted at least) in the middle of the sort of antagonist taking over the ship. Uhura dancing with leaves to distract some guards is followed by a terribly filmed infiltration scene executed by people who should be in an old folks home. From one scene to the next, the movie feels like its jumping genres and even stories. It’s a mess. There’s no strong through line for anything like a story. Apparently, Shatner’s original cut of the film was about half an hour longer, and I’m willing to believe that it would actually improve the film, providing material to bridge the gaps that obviously exist in the final product. That’s pure conjecture, though. What we have is terrible.

However, as I said, the movie’s not completely worthless. I love the opening scene on Nimbus III. I think it’s really well filmed, mysterious, and comes to an interesting conclusion with the mysterious figure revealing his Vulcan ears and laughing. Seems like some interesting things to come! (Spoiler: There really aren’t.)

The camping stuff oscillates between a bit cringy and endearing as our three central characters just play off of each other. It goes on for too long, but it still rather works.

And then, there’s the central piece that works. Late in the movie there’s a fantastic scene that doesn’t really make sense with what we’ve seen before. Sybock, the Vulcan and Spock’s (retconned) half-brother uses his telepathic ability to help people explore their pain and release it, which turns them into his followers somehow (sure, why not). We never see more than people closing their eyes and then opening them in relief and surprise afterwards, but when Sybock performs this feat upon our three main characters, we, as well as the other characters, see exactly what the others see. It doesn’t really fit, but who cares. It’s honestly the only great thing in the movie.

The best is really the section around McCoy. DeForest Kelley was always a fine actor who had gotten shoe-horned into the role of McCoy. He was easily cantankerous and amusing in his frustrations, but he didn’t get many moments to really dig deeper. Here, McCoy is presented with the death of his father, and McCoy blames himself for it. He had cut off his father’s life support a mere month before a cure for the old man’s debilitating disease was discovered. Kelley’s mixture of anger, guilt, and relief is wonderful and the finest thing he did in  Star Trek . Next we see Spock witness his birth. Being a Vulcan, the reactions are very small, but the implied pain of seeing his father, Sarek, saying, “So human,” at the first sight of his half-human son is clear. All through this very high quality set of acting, there’s something very interesting and visual going on in the background.

The whole scene happens on the observation deck looking out into space. The scene begins with nothing but a typical starfield, but as the action progresses, a luminous collection of stars steadily grows in the background. No deliberate attention is brought to the effect, but it’s always there just over the characters’ shoulders. It continues until the image fills the windows and we actually do take a solid look at it. For a  movie filled with obvious action that makes little sense, to see something so wonderfully subtle playout in the background of an already strong scene is actually quite amazing.

Yeah,  The Final Frontier  is bad, but I simply cannot hate it because of the handful of really good things almost hidden by the awfulness around them.

And besides, what  does  God need with a starship?

Netflix Rating: 2/5

Quality Rating: 1.5/4

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Review – Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

| February 17, 2008 | By: William S. Kowinski 345 comments so far

TrekMovie.com now continues our look back at Trek films past…

In the movie Little Big Man , the elderly Cheyenne medicine man called Old Lodge Skins decides it’s time for him to die. He goes to the top of the mountain, performs his rituals, reclines on the ground and closes his eyes. For a few moments nothing happens, except for some distant thunder. Then a raindrop falls on his face, startling him into opening his eyes. He stands up and prepares to go back home. “Sometimes the magic works,” he explains, “and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Every original cast Star Trek movie made missteps and experienced chaos on its way to the screen. Coming off their biggest success in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Star Trek movie team was confident. They’d successfully added humor to the mix, and it seemed they knew just how to make the magic, in spite of any obstacle. But this time it didn’t quite work.

In hindsight, it’s possible to see ways in which the stars did not align this time. Beginning serious work on the script and the filming was delayed, by among other things, something familiar from today: a Writers Guild strike. The delay would put the film in competition with several blockbusters, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Dead Poets Society, Ghostbusters II, and Batman. These would become important to the moviemaking process as well as the box office, because they kept the usual visual effects houses busy—especially Industrial Light and Magic. Trek would have to look elsewhere, with near- disastrous results. A Teamsters strike also hampered location shooting.

After initial rave reviews , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier came under critical fire and had less than stellar box office. Theatre owners in that very competitive summer of 1989 shortened the run to make way for the next blockbuster. Today among Trek fans this is the least popular of the original cast movies. When it was next in line for a special edition DVD, director William Shatner begged Paramount to fix visual effects problems with today’s CGI magic, especially in the last part of the film, even promising to foot half the bill himself. Paramount refused.

Everyone who has seen this movie (and some who haven’t) know what they don’t like about it. The visual effects are clearly a problem. Not only are they especially inadequate at a couple of key moments, but in some relatively routine scenes—the Enterprise shuttle in flight, for instance—the effects are obviously unfinished, lacking the subtle details and shading that makes them look dimensional and “real.” These are perhaps more damaging, because they take viewers out of the world of the movie, and can shake their confidence in the moviemakers.

Then there’s the story: Sybok, a charismatic Vulcan renegade, captures the Enterprise to take him to the fabled planet beyond the Great Barrier at the center of the galaxy to meet God. In interviews and their books, the actors, producers etc. involved in this film attribute its problems to the movie’s premise. (Gene Roddenberry had tried a similar exploration in his first script for the first Star Trek movie, called “The God Thing,” but the studio rejected it.)

Almost alone, William Shatner (who came up with the story) disagrees: he believes the problem was that he compromised on his core ideas, and robbed the film of it’s dramatic energy. In various ways, they’re probably all right.

On the one hand, dealing with such a subject in any meaningful or even credible way in a big studio feature film would be very hard to do. Plus anything touching upon religious beliefs is going to offend some part of the audience. That was true then (when Shatner was inspired, or provoked, by the phenomenon of popular tele-evangelists then saturating TV screens) and it is even truer now, when Star Trek fans—especially on the Internet– seem split according to their political and religious loyalties and orientation, and any reference to religion brings charges of prejudice and worse.

On the other hand, going in search of God and finding the Devil is a repeated sci-fi premise but if done well, it is often relevant to contemporary times—especially, as in this case, when the seeker (Sybok) confident in his righteousness, ends up face to face with the devil in himself. But compromises and continued tweaking which left their residues in the final script probably did rob the movie of some internal coherence.

There are smaller issues that some find particularly irksome: the introduction of Sybok as Spock’s long-lost half brother, the humor at the apparent expense of some regular characters (especially Scotty) the suggestion of a Scotty-Uhura romance, etc. All these may be remnants of the original story that had the Enterprise crew, including Spock and McCoy, side with Sybok against Kirk— Shatner’s tone-deaf proposal, even if it was more dramatic. Both Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley insisted their characters couldn’t betray Kirk, and so they didn’t.

The elements for a successful movie were there in “The Final Frontier”: action, visual sweep, drama, character moment, important issues of contemporary life, plus the humor that worked within the story of “The Voyage Home.” But due in part to various missteps and in part to the story development, it can be argued that in the first part of the movie, for all its flashiness and memorable scenes of action and camaraderie, and for all the provocative ideas given physical form, the narrative didn’t engage our emotions and involvement with a strong sense of why we should care about what happens.

Viewing and Re-viewing

I saw this movie in a theatre when it opened, and I’ve seen it on TV, on tape and several times on DVD. A film’s flaws are acute at first because of disappointment that it isn’t better than it might have been. But after all this time, a movie on DVD is what it is, and its flaws become part of its nature. Most importantly, this is one of only six movies with the whole original cast, and there aren’t going to be any more. It’s worth honoring what’s good about it and what’s good in it.

Probably my biggest surprise on re-viewing it was noticing the visual sense director William Shatner brought to it. He used extreme outdoor settings to give some visual dimension in those pre-CGI days, but where he excells is in moving the camera inside the Enterprise and other enclosures, and especially in framing small groups of characters– the kind of elegant two and three shots that became the visual signature of the original series.

 Shatner had to overcome Dee Kelley’s resistance to doing the of McCoy at his father’s bedside, struggling with his duty as a doctor to preserve life against his duty as a son to end suffering and preserve his father’s dignity. But now this is perhaps Kelley’s most dramatic scene in any of the films.

While some humorous scenes are questionable, others are classic moments that reveal the crew’s camaraderie. (The screenplay is by David Loughery, who Shatner credits with much of the humor.) They range from brief gags (Kirk saying wistfully that he misses his old command chair, followed by Spock’s tilting his head in sympathy; Scotty bursting through the brig wall shouting, “Dinna you know a jailbreak when you see one!”) to longer scenes, such as the brig scene itself. And while the early scene of Kirk, Spock and McCoy around the campfire has its awkwardness, it also has moments of convincing informality unmatched elsewhere in Star Trek. The reprise of this scene at the end is one of the most intimate moments involving the Trek trinity—and one of the great gifts we’ll always have from these movies.

Even some of the more eccentric elements (Kirk’s mountain climbing and Spock’s jet-pack, Uhura’s dance) are now unforgettable elements in the Trek legend.

There are other considerable virtues: the quality of the acting (especially Laurence Luckinbill’s brilliant performance as Sybok), and a film score that is considered one of Jerry Goldsmith’s best, for example. But I would also argue that the last part of the film—including the part that Shatner called “horrendous”—constitutes solid, meaningful and provocative storytelling in the best Trek movie tradition. To explain what I mean, we go back to the movie’s theme.

The God Thing

From one point of view, Sybok fails as a character in this film because he is not simple enough: he is not clearly a powerful, malevolent villain. But because he is complex and human, his character succeeds in other ways.

Sybok is on the one hand a religious zealot, certain God has spoken to him, and called him to pierce the Great Barrier at the center of the galaxy and find the fabled Sha Ka Ree. (You might wonder what combination of mystical words from various religions were chosen to name this heavenly planet. The answer is a little more Hollywood than holy: it’s a play on “Sean Con-ner-y,” the movie god that Shatner hoped would play Sybok.)

On the one hand, Sybok is a Vulcan renegade, convinced that the path to ultimate knowledge is through emotion, not logic—a perennial Star Trek tension that Spock himself has explored.

On the other hand, Sybok seems to have an inexplicable (and at times unbelievable) power over people, but on the other hand, his psychological skills are pretty sophisticated. After Sybok extracts McCoy’s agony over his father in a kind of psychic holodeck, Sybok urges him to release his pain over it. "You have taken the first step. The rest we will take together." Counselor Troi would recognize the basic approach of exploring a person’s pain, and after its initial release and revelation, going into it more deeply.

 When Spock says he has already acknowledged and dealt with the pain of his father’s rejection of his human side, he has attained the therapeutic goal, which is also the goal of other soul paths: self-knowledge.

Kirk provides yet another point of view. Sybok tells him that he’s seen essential elements of his close friends—“This is who they are. Didn’t you know that?” Kirk has to admit that he didn’t. But he refuses to go through the process to release his own pain. Sybok suggests he is afraid. “I’m afraid of nothing,” Kirk says (a line since repeated by Denny Crain.) Kirk wants to keep his pain, because its essential to who he is. As someone who has literally been split into the Good Kirk and Bad Kirk, he understands the mutual dependence of that duality within him. 

This scene, which takes place in the magnificent new observation lounge, ends as the Enterprise approaches the Great Barrier. Kirk warns Sybok that it’s never been breached. Sybok says that if we do it, will that convince you that my vision is true? It’s then he reveals it’s a vision from God “who waits for us on the other side.” “You’re mad!” Kirk exclaims. “Am I?” Sybok shows some doubt, and then recovers his sunny transcendence: “We’ll see.”

As a visual effect, The Great Barrier is pretty underwhelming. But immediately after it is breached, some of the best scenes in the movie begin. From the observation lounge, Kirk, Spock and McCoy see the planet Sha Ka Ree before them. “Are we dreaming?” McCoy asks. “If we are, then life IS a dream,” Kirk replies. The reference is to the campfire song they sang early in the movie (“Row, Row, Row Your Boat”) when Spock considered the lyrics and later announced, “Life is not a dream.”

Sybok returns control of the Enterprise to Kirk, knowing that he won’t leave without exploring the planet below. He accompanies the trinity aboard a shuttle. This sequence is the most magical in the movie: the dramatic quick cuts among the faces as they all wonder what they really will see, while bathed in the eerie violet light from the planet. They disembark in a strange landscape anxiously, sharp silhouettes against the alien haze. (All this was done with special effects at the site, rather than visual effects created in an effects house—a distinction I learned from a talk by Dan Curry.)

At first nothing happens. But soon some power builds walls of rock around them that might be a cathedral, or a prison. The power reveals itself as faces sacred to various religions, settling on one resembling familiar portraits of the Old Testament God. The voice flatters Sybok, but insists the Enterprise be brought closer, to transport him beyond the Barrier. Then Kirk utters his famous, very-Kirklike impudent question: “Excuse me, but what does God want with a starship?”

This is the very human challenge to those who claim higher authority: a question. This particular being answers by hurling a thunderbolt into Kirk’s chest, and then another into Spock when he repeats the question. Sybok is appalled, which is interesting, since the Old Testament God is often angry and smites wrongdoers. But it rattles Sybok’s faith, and he demands the being reveal itself. Which it does: with Sybok’s face, and its evil laugh.

Sybok immediately understands that he’s looking at his own shadow reflected by a powerful captive being—“my arrogance, my vanity,” and just as quickly, he sacrifices himself to save the others: his redemption.

Later, when McCoy and Spock are speculating on whether God could ever be found in the eternal reaches of outer space, Kirk replies: "Maybe he’s not out there. Maybe he’s in here—in the human heart." It’s a daring statement, though it comports with at least an aspect of many religions. And it is clearly a Star Trek statement.

 But the full statement is also that if God is within the human heart, so is the Devil. There is a famous Cherokee story that relates to this: an elder tells his grandchildren that there are two wolves fighting inside everyone, one good and one bad. “Which one wins?” the children ask. The grandfather replies, “the one you feed.” That’s Star Trek’s view of the future in a nutshell.

The last part of the movie was supposed to have spectacular effects as the evil force pursues Kirk. They aren’t here, to Shatner’s anguish, but I for one don’t miss them. Maybe we could have seen more of Sybok’s struggle with the captive power, but Kirk’s escape passes quickly without damaging the story, because of his surprise rescue.

I haven’t even mentioned two other elements of the story: the Federation, Romulan and Klingon representatives on the Planet of Galactic Peace—another failed Paradise—who Sybok kidnapped to lure the Enterprise, and the young punk Klingons who pursued the Enterprise beyond the Barrier. But the final scenes tie all the elements together in the best Trek storytelling tradition, with Kirk on the planet expecting to be killed by the decloaking Bird of Prey, but instead is rescued by it. The Klingon representative actually commits an act of galactic peace, and at a joint party later, Scotty exclaims, “I never thought I’d be drinking with a Klingon”—an unnoticed and unplanned preview of events in Star Trek VI. (The cultural combination also figures in another classic joke, when Kirk is about to embrace Spock in thanks for rescuing him, and Spock demurs: “Please, Captain, not in front of the Klingons.”)

The final scene back at Yosemite around a campfire, in probably the oldest setting for human interaction, reinforces the power that binds these three men together—the ones often called the trinity—which is expressed in camaraderie, but can also be described as love. They sing together, and this time Spock joins in, because in enacting journeys of the imagination, life is but a dream.

“The Final Frontier” certainly has its problems as a movie. Leonard Nimoy directed Star Trek III under tight supervision, and with a storyline that had to follow from the movie before. With the unique experience of directing a major feature film, he then made his Star Trek statement in “The Voyage Home.” William Shatner was given one film to learn from and to make his statement. Combined with some poor production decisions, this may have contributed to those problems.

But this movie should not be discarded or dismissed. It has classic moments, and there’s a classic Star Trek message somewhere within it. As the Enterprise approaches the mysterious planet, the camera fixes on the plaque at the base of the antique ship’s steering wheel in the observation lounge: “To boldly go where no man has gone before.” The search for a literal God outside becomes another exploration of dimensions of meaning and ultimate identity inside. In a different context, David Gerrold said it best: "Space is not the final frontier. The final frontier is the human soul."

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

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.  

Images courtesy of Paramount Pictures, screencaps by TrekCore.com  

worst trek film ever….

#1 Nah. Nemesis is worse.

Thanks for the well-written, very thoughtful article!

Peace. Live long and prosper. The Vulcanista }:-|

Yeah, I have to agree. Nemesis was way worse. I honestly didn’t think that TFF was ALL that bad… especially when you watch it with the Mike Nelson Rifftrax!

Although, it’s my least favorite it does have many good scenes.

Daren Doc what would you have done with the effects ???? Just curious?? Besides of course not making them awful as Bran Ferren did.

It has problems, but I love it. The campfire scenes at the beginning and end are some of my favourites from any Trek movie or episode.

I could never get past the scene where the enterprise goes into the great barrier by getting smaller and smaller and going in to the corner of the screen, always annoyed me as a kid….that and the fact that it was too easy to take over the ship…….and many other things…but mainly that…..

The film’s biggest problem is that Shatner the actor needs a far better person holding his reins than Shatner the director. His career is full of great moments and tremendous missteps–it is the great directors that have found a way to reel him in and get the kind of performance out of him that his talent offers. Superb control of his instrument is not chief among his virtues.

Shat fans–commence with the colorful metaphors.

Those that think this is bad Trek must really hate TOS. Or they just don’t get it.

TOS was never about effects…or continuity. It was about Kirk, Spock and McCoy and how they faced adversity and danger in the deep unexplored unknowns of space. Of all the movies, Trek 5 is, hands down, the closest in feel and spirit to the TV series. Contrary to what some might believe, that’s not a bad thing.

Great review.

Star Trek The Motion Picture (the theatrical release) and Star Trek The Final Frontier were about equal in BAD… Nemesis is a close second. However, by any standard they are still “good” or rather “not bad” movies… they just fall too short of the high standard that the fans who love the show place on them.

Well written review. Trek V is easy to hate on but I remember being surprised the last time I saw at all the little things it does right. Sometimes you can’t see the trees for the forest, and the golden nuggets offered by this movie are skillfully highlighted by the reviewer.

It’s a shame Paramount wouldn’t let Shatner “fix” the film. His interviews and candid opinions on the failures and successes of the movie were a revelation and actually made me respect the film more still.

This was not one of my favs. uhura and Scotty having a romance??A klingon Captain apologizing like some kid for misbehaving?? SuperSpock catching Kirk before he killed himself. Chekhov giving Scotty orders??In the elevator shaft scene, there are more than 90 decks?? The effects did not move me at all!! Even though the opener at El Capitan were nice, but c’mon! Digging into the God angle. Then exploring the Great Barrier, I thought that was interesting, but could have been probed a little further.

After the flop of this film, Nimoy said that Paramount was going to finish off TREK for good, but they made enough money to get St6 together. A side note. Notice when the 1st officers make movies ( Riker and Spock) they do well. So Far the Captains up until this point suck. Besides featuring a heavier Nimoy.

He’s right about the good points of the film.

Nice review, focusing on the good elements. I had completely missed the “expulsion from Paradise” motif :)

I want to thank Bill for his well thought out review of STV, not an easy film to review. There is always more to any Trek film than simple knee jerk reactions…like thos of the first poster who didn’t even bother to read the review.

Great article Bill…and reading it, I was struck with the depth of the storyline and some interesting thematic parallels contained within.

I applaud The Shat for at least trying something different with this one even if the execution left a lot to be desired.

This is still my least favorite film, but I can see where Shat was trying to go with this. It’s just too bad he didn’t succeed.

However, admittedly, the deck was stacked against him as soon as he put “God” into the mix.

I still wish this film could get a proper makeover with all new FX! This is one of only a few films I can think of that has an unfinished feel. The final confrontation on Sha Ka Ree deserves to be remade with CGI rockmen for example. As the sequence currently stands, it painfully shows that it was a patchwork ending produced in the editing room at the last minute.

Robert Wise got to complete TMP to his satisfaction and Richard Donner finally got to complete Superman II to his vision. It only seems natural that Shatner should be afforded the same opportunity.

It’s a very bad movie, but I’ll agree that McCoy’s scene at his father’s bedside features some fine acting from Dee Kelley. I thought the chair gag with Kirk was a bit much, and the variation better done in Generations (one of the few things that movie got right).

Of course, my biggest beef was always the fact that Starfleet would send out a broken ship with no crew on ANY mission. That, and the fact that an emo Vulcan and some wannabe Sand People managed to take over the Enterprise so easily.

In all fairness, Hey! I did love the music score I still love TOS, but it seems like after ST3 and 4, Nimoy said Ok Bill! You try it, now. Then paramount said Nimoy you get back in the chair for 6. I cant imagine a few klingon torpedoes taking out GOD??!!!

Good review. There are some good moments in the movie. Overall, I’d rather watch this than Star Trek VI.

I said TFF was my least favorite — but I meant of the “classic Trek” films. Insurrection and Nemesis are FAR worse films, in my opinion.

I’ve only seen each of those ONCE…and in the theater.

At least TFF can be watched — in the same way I can watch Spock’s Brain or The Way to Eden and enjoy them too.

A good way to watch TFF and get some extra enjoyment out of it is to download MST3K’s Mike Nelson’s RIFFTRAK. It’s a hilarious commentary done in the MST3K vein. They also have one for STVI: TUC.

http://www.rifftrax.com/

Oooooh! Second. Kirk is not dead, because in this film he says that he knows that McCoy and Spock are there when he does die. He said, “….I know…” That’s canon. He knows whos present at his death, people keep forgetting that. IN addition some of you “fans” are just silly, “I don’t like that.” So you don’t go see it.(Nemesis) Star Trek is Star Trek is Star Trek Please.

This movie may not be the best Star Trek movie, but it has some of the best character scenes of any of the films…PERIOD!

William Shatner directed some very fine scenes between the characters..Well done Bill.

This is a ridiculous labor to apologize for the most abysmal of all the Trek cinematic outings. Worse than Nemsis? Nonsense. Utter nonsense.

In many ways, Trek V was the ultimate exposition of Shatner’s ego, ranging simultaneously from the pleasantly surprising to the morbidly embarassing. The writer is correct in that some flashes of great style were exhibited in Shatner’s directorial effort, but it is the pervasiveness of Shatner’s “my way or the highway” style that insinuates itself into the very fiber of this film.

That Trek could fall so mightily from the critical heights of Trek’s II, III, and IV down to the depths of V is a testament to the fragility of Trek’s story genetics, and sadly those weaknesses were exposed with a story that should never have seen the imprimatur of Paramount’s powers-that-be.

Strangely I liked the acting of Luckinbill, Sybok seemed very determined and arrogant. It was fascinating. Although, they made Sarek seem like a playa.. He got with a Vulcan priestess and then Sybok.

Excellent review. Made me look at the film in a different light. Going to re-watch it soon.

There may be only a handful of good moments in the movie — but /damn/ are they good.

Thanks for a review that actually focuses on them, instead of going for the obvious. :)

(That said, I crack up every time I see feet pushing the shuttlecraft in that one scene…)

#24, just where, in your opinion, specifically , did Shatner’s ego ruin a scene or have an impact on his directorial inmput? I’m very curious.

does anyone know about the fate of the fabled recut? i was tracking it for a while but lost the info. (i believe the same guy did a salvaging of the phantom menace as well.) the basic idea was to fix the fx, edit out the failed humor and tighten the story. i imagine a pretty good 70 minute film could be achieved.

nice review but nothing will ever counter total embarrassment i feel every time i watch it.

biggest cringe: SILENT warning of the approaching bird of prey. favorite moment: the klingons blasting the voyager probe to pieces. i imagine they saved us from the return of v’ger with that one.

I am getting painsin my head just looking at those still photos from Star trek 5 who wants too reminice about this one , I don’t

Shatner’s not a director. I get the impression he may have leveraged his way into the director’s chair as a condition to reprise his role as Kirk.Now ,that would be the real story of that movie.

The funniest thing about the STV is the sudden haircut Sybok has before they meet ‘god’.

Kirk says “I’ve always known…I’ll die alone.” ……. And he was right.

#31 jon C this film proves one thing, that Shatner should not be allowed to direct Traffic let alone movies.

I didn’t see any “rave reviews” for this one, initial or otherwise.

I’m sure some reviewer must have liked it. The writer for the Baltimore Sun left in the middle of the show to make phone calls.

Roger Ebert said:

“”Star Trek V” is pretty much of a mess – a movie that betrays all the signs of having gone into production at a point where the script doctoring should have begun in earnest. There is no clear line from the beginning of the movie to the end, not much danger, no characters to really care about, little suspense, uninteresting or incomprehensible villains, and a great deal of small talk and pointless dead ends. Of all of the “Star Trek” movies, this is the worst.”

Having recently been rewatching all of the ST movies, I will say this about STV: It’s always entertaining. But there’s no question it’s at the bottom of the pile, and I think arguements of Nemesis being worse is little more then pure blind hate for that movie, which I’ve never quite understood.

STV is entertaining, and the review pointed out some great stuff that it has going for it. And honestly the VFX never bothered me that much. What’s problematic is just the pure ridiculousness of it, whether it be something nitpicky like how buggy the Enterprise-A is to a grey-haired Uhura’s naked fan-dance. At times incoherent, the movie is pretty much impossible to take seriously from the moment you see Spock fly up in those rocket boots. And I think that’s it’s greatest problem, that from the start it just seems silly.

That being said, there’s good in everything, and I do adore the scene with DeKelley as mentioned in the review and others here.

“It’s me! It’s Sybok!” has got to be one of the worst lines in Trek film history. It just seemed so ridiculous that Spock had this half-brother of whom we had never heard. The notion of an emotional Vulcan seeking an alternative path to enlightenment wasn’t a bad one (indeed, it had been done in one of the Trek novels–I forget which one as I probably read it 25 years or more ago), but given Spock’s own struggles with emotion and his humanity and Sarek’s reactions thereto, it seemd rather odd that we had never heard of the emotional Sybok before Trek V.

And the God thing never made sense, nor did the way in which the crew fell for Sybok’s plans. And the Planet of Galactic peace never really made a whole lot of plot sense. It seemed awkwardly shoved into a tortured script.

To some up the redeeming qualities of the film: it was Star Trek and Kirk, Spock and McCoy were prominently featured. Beyond that, it wasn’t too swift.

I believe that the great German Director Uwe Boll to be a disiple of the Willian Shatner School of film Directing. If you look carefully at the editing and direction of the actors without getting a brain hemorage, you can note the same fine film technique demonstratedd in such soon to be classic Boll films as Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne. And if you study the technique Shatner used in the battle scences on Nimbus 3 are almost a perfect match for many of the fine battle scences in Boll eoic and incredible film Dungeonseige In the name of the King . If you look at how Shatner directed the actors themselves again Boll copied closely this technique. Also Boll copied Shatners editing technique and shot selection approach very closely in his films.

Was it the best TOS movie ever? No. But it is definitely a TOS film worth watching and personally (and I am not afraid to say it), it is one of my favorite TOS movies. What I love so much about Trek is the characters and I really thought that in many scenes the characters were spot on. Granted the special effects weren’t the best, but I can easily look past that. I like the movie and always will, and while it is not perfect it should not be overlooked. It is a TOS movie and there are parts in it that are most definitely TOS moments that should never be forgotten.

note: i recall that roddenberry was adamant in the original star trek guide for TOS that there were never to be any spockian siblings. he felt that it would weaken spock’s character and dilute his backstory. talk about canon rape. sarek was a bit of a slut, i guess.

remember this quote regarding TMP from old harlan? “it’s roddenberry’s standard plot; the enterprise finds god. and it’s either a child, a computer, or both.”

Wow, what a great review….I can tell a lot of time and thought went into it. It is easy to just say that the movie sucked, but to watch with the intent of finding positive things to say, despite its shortcomings took critical talent. Yes, there were lame scenes (Spock saving Kirk a the last second via his jetshoes for one), but there were good ones, too. And the general message of the movie was thought-provoking. I understand that there were many obstacles dealt to Shatner, financially and with the strikes, etc. Several scenes were cut, and the FX were substandard even by 1989 standards.

I’ll give it that it had SOME moments, but all-in-all, it was a nice disasterous failure. COMPLETELY. I’m a Christian, but the whole “God” thing was just stupid. This film, along with Nemesis, should be thrown into the “non-canon” pile. At least that way we keep Data and get rid of Spock’s bastard brother. And of course, we never see Nimbus 3 again, for a good reason.

2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 ,9 were all good. 1, 5, and 10 could be left out. Albeit, 1 did give us a sexy new Enterprise. And 10 gave Trek seatbelts, an important factor at Warp speeds.

If any of you believe in the theory of Parallel Universes there is probably one in which Shatner actually is a good director and Star trek 5 an acadamy award winning film. i know probabilities are stacked against this one.

The ‘God’ Sybok found was actually his own demonic puppetmaster.

Well done, Bill. ST V remains at the bottom of my list, but there are definitely some precious gems in it, and I think you tagged them all. Many thanks for your effort.

Re: 1 & 2 – I still think “Insurrection” is the worst Star Trek movie so far.

I think Insurrection is the most boring Trek film. I’ve always said it would have been a so-so TV episode.

STV would have been better with the rock monsters. That was the whole problem.

A? okay inpenetrable energy barrier, need starship to cross barier to get to god let me think well it begs the question why does god need a starship? answers so god can spead wisdom to his children. which comes back to the question if you are god, all knowing and all powerful. Why cant you cross the barrier youself . Conclusion Hey! your not God! your an evil imposter imprisioned. I mean after examining that the who premise of this move goes up in smoke. Whch begs the question of who wrote this crud and how could said auther be deluded into believing that this was actually a good story.

Great review. Shatner ain’t a bad director. The script’s the thing…wherein we’ll find the conscience of the king. Too bad Parmamount didn’t ante up and fix the special effects.

This movie had so much wrong with it…Why couldn’t Kirk have just set the ship’s phasers on stun and taken care of the problem with the situation on the Nimbus III planet? I guess they forgot such a demonstration in “A Piece of the Action” ? And Spock’s boots — were they supposed to be rocket-powered or anti-gravity-powered? I don’t think they knew which…And the shuttle bay — what was it, about a mile long? Uhhhh…I’d better stop now…

Good read, great review. Star Trek V is or was certainly near the bottom when compared to the other trek films. It wasn’t so much a bad movie, but certainly not a good one either. IMO better than Nemesis and Insurrectoin.

Also no need to repeat why IV succeeded and V did not. It has been mentioned above. I wonder though, and this is just supposition and or coincidence, the person at the center of IV is involved in Star Trek 2009 and the person at the center of V is not. Food for thought.

The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Rating: ★.

Director – William Shatner, Screenplay – David Loughery, Story – William Shatner, David Loughery & Harve Bennett, Producer – Harve Bennett, Photography – Andrew Laszlo, Music – Jerry Goldsmith, Visual Effects Supervisor – Bran Ferren, Visual Effects – Associates & Ferren, Special Effects Supervisor – Michael L. Wood, Special Makeup – Kenny Myers, Prosthetics – Richard Snell Make-Up Designs, Production Design – Herman Zimmerman. Production Company – Paramount.

William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Dr Leonard McCoy), Lawrence Luckinbill (Sybok), James Doohan (Mr Scott), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Walter Koenig (Chekov), George Takei (Sulu), Todd Bryant (Captain Klaa), David Warner (St John Talbot), Charles Cooper (General Korrd), Cynthia Gouw (Caithlin Dar), Spice Williams (Vixis), Rex Holman (J’onn)

The Enterprise is dispatched to the planet Nimbus III in the Romulan Neutral Zone where the messianic Vulcan Sybok and his followers have taken Federation, Klingon and Romulan ambassadors hostage. However, Sybok has only conducted the move as a ruse in order to take over a starship. His ability to heal emotional pain persuades the Enterprise’s crew to come over to his side and serve him. In control of The Enterprise, Sybok sets out on a mission to find Sha’Ka’Ree, the planet at the dangerously inaccessible heart of galaxy where God is supposed to exist.

With Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Leonard Nimoy took over the directorial chair of the Star Trek film series. In so doing, Nimoy turned the direction of the series away from the intergalactic adventuring that it had been on tv during the 1960s and created it as a cosy comic ensemble focused around the characters and played directly to fan audiences. Nimoy continued with The Voyage Home: Star Trek IV (1986), the most outrightly comic of the Star Trek films, and one of the biggest fan favourites. Yet one could also clearly see by the time of The Voyage Home that a creeping creative conservatism was starting to make itself felt – one where the series original vision of boldly conquering new frontiers and the use of intergalactic venues as sociological soapboxes had been abandoned in favour of a comfortable nostalgic camaraderie.

With Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , star of the show William Shatner determined to follow Leonard Nimoy’s lead and made his directorial debut. Alas, the results were a disaster and The Final Frontier is universally regarded as the worst of the Star Trek films by fans. The problem it ran into was, well, the public perception of William Shatner. Shatner, for right or for wrong, has a bad reputation in Star Trek fandom. To some extent, it seems that the perception of the character and of the actor have blurred into one and Shatner is regarded as the same would-be lothario that Captain Kirk was in the tv series – something that Shatner’s various well-publicised affairs and the paternity suits launched against him has tended to bolster.

By the time of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , Shatner’s fan image had evolved into that of sadly aging lecher – a lot of jokes circulate in Star Trek fandom about Shatner’s no longer trim weight and his toupee. There are the accusations of being a bad actor, something there is ample proof of in much of his work outside of Star Trek . Then there were William Shatner’s various ventures into singing, including his notorious covers of Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds and Mr Tambourine Man , both of which were reissued and promoted as the musical equivalents of Golden Turkeys in the 1990s.

There were Shatner’s various ventures as a writer – the TekWar series of Cyberpunk adventures, which never amounted to more than an overall mediocrity, but which are reviled by Star Trek fans and frequently (and untrue it appears) regarded as being ghost written. (Shatner even set up a live webcam feed from his home so that people could see him working on his next book to dispel the rumours). And then there were Shatner’s Star Trek Memoirs books where he made the embarrassing discovery that many of the rest of the original Star Trek cast hated him. The characterisation of Shatner by Tim Allen in GalaxyQuest (1999) would seem to be spot on as far as fan perception of the man goes.

Contrarily, Shatner, as he entered his sixties and seventies, managed to turn much of this towards his advantage. In recent years, supporting parts in films like Free Enterprise (1998), Miss Congeniality (2000), Showtime (2001) and several episodes of 3rd Rock from the Sun , show Shatner having developed a remarkable grasp of the public perception of him and starting to choose parts that deliberately play into the public perception of him as a bad ham and a sleaze, something that he played to absolute perfection as Denny Crane in tv’s Boston Legal (2004-9), his single finest acting role.

It seemed to confirm the fan perceptions of Shatner as middle-aged lecher, egoist, bad actor and bad writer when he took on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier as director and it too collapsed into abject pretension. As director, Shatner tries to tap into the Star Trek espirit de corps that Leonard Nimoy had polished in the preceding entries. However, where Nimoy had a deft comic hand, Shatner overplays it. The scenes with Shatner, Nimoy and DeForest Kelley sitting around a campfire toasting marshmallows and singing “Row, row, row, your boat,” and the deadpan Spock not understanding the meaning of “Life is but a dream” are cringe-inducing. In fact, you end of almost immediately thinking of scenes from other films – the scenes with McCoy serving everybody beans around the campfire immediately makes you think of Blazing Saddles , while the scenes with everybody saying goodnight makes you automatically think of the much parodies endings from The Waltons (1972-81) and wanting to tack a chorus of “Goodnight John-Boy” on.

Again each of the regulars gets the opportunity to have a scene of their own, as Nimoy had established, but here the scenes are conducted with an awkward embarrassment – Scotty has become a slapstick teddybear who says “I know every inch of this ship” and then promptly slams right into a bulkhead, while Sulu and Chekov have a silly scene fighting over getting lost in the wilderness. The worst of these pieces is Nichelle Nichols who is given a supposedly nude dance scene trying to distract natives on the desert planet. The scene seems so out of place as to defy belief, not the least problem of which being that Ms Nichols, who was then at the age of 56, seems to old to be doing such an act any longer.

Certainly, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier has some positive aspects. William Shatner returns to telling a dramatic story rather than, as with Leonard Nimoy’s films, a show loosely grouped around the comic pieces. Shatner proves a competent enough director, rooting the action amid darkly lit sets and using slick mobile camerawork, which gives The Final Frontier a harder edge in contrast to the spickly polished look of the other Star Trek films and tv series. There is a good opening scene with Lawrence Luckinbill appearing out of the windswept desert to heal a farmer. However, the effectiveness of the scene is wrecked by the laughability of the very next scene with William Shatner climbing El Capitane mountain in Yosemite Park and Leonard Nimoy acting as Spock Superman in jet boots waiting to catch him. The film goes downhill from there.

While Shatner keeps the middle of the film moving, he has poor choice of story. This unfortunately falls back on the creakiest of Star Trek cliches. Sybok is an uninteresting character and Lawrence Luckinbill gives a humdrum performance that lacks in any of the magnetic charisma the character is said to have. The film offers no credible explanation of how Sybok manages to take away the emotional pain he reveals or how he converts people to his side. Clearly the scriptwriters had no idea how something like this would be done and do the equivalent of a conjurer’s trick, showing us a couple of vignettes where Sybok able to manifest traumatic events from a person’s that everyone in a room can see. As storytelling goes, especially when the centre of the film is dependent on it, this simply does not work.

Worst is the journey to Sha’Ka’Ree to meet God. Star Trek frequently creates God-like characters – Trelane, Apollo and Gary Mitchell in the classic series, V’Ger in Star Trek – The Motion Picture and the appealing character of John de Lancie’s intergalactic trickster Q in the various modern series. [The plot of the film has a number of similarities to the animated Star Trek episode The Magicks of Megas-Tu (1973), which had The Enterprise crew visiting the centre of the galaxy and encountering a race of aliens that were figures of The Devil throughout history].

In contrast to this, the Star Trek movies have a bad habit of tossing up grandiose mind-stretching concepts – resurrection from the dead, giant alien probes, the search for God – and, unlike any of the tv series, offering banal and underwhelming treatment of such ideas. And what we end up with here is one of the shaggiest of Star Trek ‘s Shaggy God stories. In comparison to the build-up – the idea of travelling to the centre of the galaxy to meet God – the delivery is woefully underwhelming in the delivery. The effects work is poor with grainy matte lines around the ships. (It is sad when the best work in the film is stock footage from the previous entries). It slips into a woolly Star Trek happy ending – Kirk succeeds in outsmarting the God-like creature, political tensions are resolved on a big warm fuzzy and Kirk and McCoy ponder about the meaning of it all – “We were wondering if God’s really out there,” Kirk supposes to McCoy, “Maybe God’s in here – the human heart,” McCoy replies.

The other Classic Star Trek films are: Star Trek – The Motion Picture (1979), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), The Voyage Home: Star Trek IV (1986) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) are films based on Star Trek: The Next Generation . Star Trek (2009), Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek: Beyond (2016) were reboots of the classic series, which recast the classic roles with new faces. The other Star Trek tv series are Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-94), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-9), Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001), Enterprise (2001-5), Star Trek: Discovery (2017– ), Star Trek: Picard (2020-23), the animated Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020- ), Star Trek: Prodigy (2021- ) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022- )..

William Shatner’s only other ventures as a director have been TekWar (1994), the first of four passable tv movies and later a tv series based upon his series of detective stories set in a Cyberpunk future, the reportedly extremely bad UFO/alien contact film Groom Lake (2002); and the Star Trek documentaries The Captains (2011) about the actors who played the captains in the various series, Get a Life! (2012) and Chaos on the Bridge (2014) about the chaotic early years of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Shatner also wrote and created the tv movie Fire Serpent (2007) about alien fire beings and the animated sf tv series William Shatner’s War Chronicles (2015).

Trailer here

10 Terrible Movies That Reward You For Staying Until The End

4. star trek v: the final frontier.

The six Star Trek movies to feature the cast of the original TV show are a real mixed bag, with the fifth instalment sitting right towards the bottom. 

The Final Frontier was directed by William Shatner (who definitely wasn’t just doing it because Leonard Nimoy got to direct three and four) and sees the crew of the Enterprise go after a renegade Vulcan whose search for God threatens the entire universe. 

It's mostly garbage. The comedy is poor, the action sequences are uninspired, and Shatner quickly outs himself as a man who cannot direct. Fans and non-fans alike were disappointed, although one scene in particular did go over quite well with the diehards. 

At the end of the movie, Kirk appears completely at the mercy of a god-like entity, only for a Klingon Bird of Prey spaceship to swoop in and save him. It is revealed that Spock is behind the wheel, and that he made one final dangerous play to save his captain. 

The film ends on Kirk, Spock, and Bones safe and sound on Earth - a nice visual for fans of the Original Series.

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.

Unveiling the Final Frontier What to Expect from Star Trek Discovery Season 5

A s the countdown begins for the highly anticipated premiere of Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, fans are buzzing with excitement over what promises to be a thrilling and epic conclusion to the beloved series. Showrunner Michelle Paradise has dropped tantalizing hints about the upcoming season, teasing a journey that will take viewers to the far reaches of the galaxy and beyond.

The central focus of Season 5 revolves around Captain Michael Burnham, portrayed by the talented Sonequa Martin-Green, as she embarks on an intergalactic hunt for a mysterious treasure with ties to an ancient Romulan starship. This treasure hunt marks a departure from the traditional threats faced by the USS Discovery and sets the stage for a high-stakes adventure unlike any other.

Paradise’s descriptions of each episode offer glimpses into the diverse and captivating storytelling that awaits audiences. From the intrigue of a “red directive” mission in the season premiere to the mind-bending twists of “Face the Strange” and the classic TOS-style adventure of “Whistlespeak,” it’s clear that Season 5 will deliver a rollercoaster ride of excitement and suspense.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this final season is the exploration of endings. While Discovery was not originally intended to conclude with Season 5, Paradise hints that the season will serve as a fitting last chapter for the series. This theme of closure adds a poignant layer to the narrative, as viewers prepare to say goodbye to beloved characters and storylines.

Adding to the tension is the introduction of new villains, including L’ak and Moll, who are vying for control of the ancient power source sought by Burnham and her crew. Their menacing presence raises the stakes and sets the stage for epic showdowns as the season unfolds.

But amidst the action and adventure, Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 remains true to its roots, offering a blend of heart, family, and love that has endeared it to fans since its inception. The promise of beautifully acted scenes, stunning visuals, and breathtaking VFX ensures that the series will go out with a bang, delivering everything that viewers have come to expect and more.

As the final frontier beckons, fans of Star Trek: Discovery can rest assured that Season 5 will be a fitting send-off for one of the franchise’s most beloved series. With its blend of thrilling storytelling, emotional depth, and iconic characters, the journey of the USS Discovery is poised to leave an indelible mark on the Star Trek universe for years to come. So set your phasers to stun and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime as we boldly go where no one has gone before in Star Trek: Discovery Season 5.

When does Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premiere?

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 premieres on Thursday, April 4, with the first two episodes releasing on the same day on Paramount+.

What is the central focus of Season 5?

Season 5 follows Captain Michael Burnham as she leads an intergalactic hunt for a mysterious treasure with ties to an ancient Romulan starship.

Who are the new villains introduced in Season 5?

Season 5 introduces new villains L’ak and Moll, who are competing for control of the ancient power source sought by Burnham and her crew.

How does Season 5 differ from previous seasons?

Season 5 takes a departure from the traditional threats faced by the USS Discovery, focusing instead on a high-stakes adventure centered around a treasure hunt.

What themes are explored in Season 5?

Season 5 delves into the theme of endings, as it serves as the final chapter of Star Trek: Discovery. Additionally, the season explores themes of adventure, family, and love.

Are there any surprises in store for viewers?

Yes, showrunner Michelle Paradise has teased surprising encounters and unexpected twists throughout the season, promising a thrilling ride for fans.

Will Season 5 feature classic Star Trek elements?

Yes, Season 5 will include classic TOS-style adventures, as well as the signature blend of heart, family, and love that has defined the series since its inception.

What can viewers expect from the season finale?

While Paradise refrains from revealing too much, she hints that the season finale will be a culmination of everything that Star Trek: Discovery has always been, including action, adventure, heart, and sci-fi wonder.

Is Season 5 suitable for new viewers?

While familiarity with previous seasons may enhance the viewing experience, newcomers can still enjoy Season 5 for its standalone storylines and captivating characters.

Will there be any spin-offs or continuation of the Star Trek universe after the conclusion of Discovery?

The future of the Star Trek universe remains bright, with several other series and projects in development. While Discovery may be concluding its journey, the legacy of Star Trek will undoubtedly continue to thrive in new and exciting ways.

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