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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

• posspringtime
• Oct 26, 2004
• 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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• TV Listings
• Cast & Crew

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier - Full Cast & Crew

• 43   Metascore
• 1 hr 46 mins
• Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
• Watchlist Where to Watch

The Enterprise crew is kidnapped by a renegade Vulcan who's on an obsessive search for God.

Screenwriter

Assoc. producer, co-producer, executive producer, cinematographer, production company, art director, sound effects, special effects, production designer.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

• View history

"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
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) Cast and Crew

Star Trek: The Original Series Collection

Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection contains the first six Original Series films starring the U.S.S. Enterprise's cast and crew from the 1960s TV series of the same name.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

1989 film / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, dear wikiwand ai, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by William Shatner and based on the television series Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry . It is the fifth installment in the Star Trek film series , and takes place shortly after the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). Its plot follows the crew of the USS Enterprise -A as they confront renegade Vulcan Sybok, who is searching for God at the center of the galaxy .

The film was directed by cast member William Shatner, following two films directed by his co-star Leonard Nimoy . Shatner developed the initial storyline, in which Sybok searches for God but instead finds a devil; his primary inspiration was the phenomenon of televangelism and the high potential for fraud among its practitioners. Many involved objected to the script and plot. Series creator Gene Roddenberry disliked the original script, while Nimoy and DeForest Kelley objected to the premise that their characters, Spock and Leonard McCoy , would betray Shatner's James T. Kirk . The script went through multiple revisions to please the cast and Paramount Pictures , including cuts in the effects-laden climax of the film. Despite a Writers Guild strike cutting into the film's pre-production, Paramount commenced filming in October 1988. Many Star Trek veterans assisted in the film's production; art director Nilo Rodis developed the designs for many of the film's locales, shots, and characters, while Herman Zimmerman served as its production designer . Production problems plagued the film on set and during location shooting in Yosemite National Park and the Mojave Desert . Because effects house Industrial Light & Magic 's best crews were busy and would be too expensive, the production used Bran Ferren 's company for the film's effects, which had to be revised several times to lower production costs. The film's ending was reworked because of poor test-audience reaction and the failure of some planned special effects. Jerry Goldsmith , composer for Star Trek: The Motion Picture , returned to score The Final Frontier .

The Final Frontier was released in North America on June 9, 1989. It had the highest opening gross of any Star Trek film at that point and was number one in its first week at the box office; however, its grosses quickly dropped in subsequent weeks. The film received generally mixed to negative reviews by critics on release, and, according to its producer, "nearly killed the franchise". The next entry in the series, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), received a much more positive reception.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier — Cast & Crew

William shatner.

Leonard Nimoy

DeForest Kelley

James Doohan

Walter Koenig

Nichelle Nichols

George Takei

David Warner

Laurence Luckinbill

Charles Cooper

Cynthia Gouw

Todd Bryant

Spice Williams-Crosby

George Murdock

Jonathan Simpson

Beverly Hart

Steve Susskind

Harve Bennett

Cynthia Blaise

Melanie Shatner

Paul Acerno

Michael berryman.

Linda Fetters Howard

Conrad Hurtt

Patrick Michael

Carey scott.

Mike Smithson

Adrian Tafoya

Ilona wilson, gene roddenberry.

David Loughery

Ralph Winter

Brooke Breton

Andrew laszlo.

Jerry Goldsmith

Gary Alexander

Doug Hemphill

Larry Hopkins

Chris Jenkins

David M. Ronne

Nilo rodis-jamero, herman f. zimmerman, john m. dwyer.

Peter E. Berger

Sequels/prequels chronology: 18.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Cast

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Published Oct 11, 2021

10 Fun Facts About Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

"What does God need with a starship?"

StarTrek.com

Let’s just say it: Star Trek V is not always considered one of Trek ’s finest moments by some fans. Audiences were shocked to learn that Spock had a brother they’d never heard of — there would be similar indignance at the arrival of Michael Burnham 28 years later — and underwhelmed by the visual effects as well as the overall story. But despite its flaws, the movie has a lot of highly entertaining moments as well as its own special charm. What Kirk-Spock-McCoy fan can resist those campfire scenes? And what does God need with a starship?

To celebrate the film’s 32nd anniversary, here are some fun facts you may not be aware of.

The original story was going to be about meeting God… for real

William Shatner says he got the inspiration for the movie after watching people like Jimmy Swaggart and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker on TV. This was during the heyday of televised evangelism, when people were forking over all of their money to already-rich TV celebs claiming to have a direct connection to God. In his original plan for the movie, detailed by his daughter Lisabeth in her book Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of the Making of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the Enterprise crew was actually going to find God, only to have him turn out to be the Devil. There was even a scene where McCoy was dragged to Hell by furies, resulting in Kirk and Spock making like Orpheus to get him back.

Sybok wasn’t originally Spock’s brother

As other elements of the story shifted, so did its central antagonist. Originally named Zar, he was going to be a zealot similar to the Ayatollah Khomeini, who had become the supreme religious leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. As the story shifted, the character changed along with it, until he was less like the Ayatollah and more like professor-turned-LSD-advocate Timothy Leary.

The story called for Spock and the Enterprise crew to temporarily betray Kirk and follow Sybok. The creative team was struggling to find a way to make that seem plausible, and then producer Harve Bennett “lit up” (says Shatner in his Movie Memories book) and shouted that he had the solution: Sybok would be Spock’s brother. Shatner hated the idea but was convinced to let Bennett map out the story, and he ended up liking it.

Of course, when Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley heard that their characters were supposed to betray their captain, they each put a foot down; they knew their characters better than anyone, and they would never turn on Jim Kirk. They insisted that the story be changed, and ultimately, it was.

There were supposed to be all these Rock Men…

As William Shatner and writer David Loughery describe it, the movie’s original ending was huge in scope and highly cinematic, but every time the budget got whittled down, another key element disappeared; they chipped away at the ending until there was very little left of it.

The script called for the Furies to transform into Rock Men who’d explode from the dust, breathing fire and granite. It would feel like Dante’s Inferno ! The plan was to have ten Rock Men, until they learned the cost would be $350,000 each—which meant three and a half million dollars just for the ending. The studio told Shatner he could afford one Rock Man, so he came up with a plan for exactly how he’d film it to make his one Rock Man look like ten. Small problem: The costume wouldn’t be ready until the day before filming. When they finally saw the stuntman in the suit for the first time, it was nothing like Shatner had pictured; he said it just looked like a guy with pieces of slate stuck to him. There also wasn’t a way for the costume to breathe fire without harming the stuntman inside. They did a camera test (which is a well worth watching special feature on the Blu-ray), then dumped the whole idea.

There were familiar faces from both Trek ’s past and its future

In addition to our beloved Original Series cast members, there were other familiar faces in the cast that popped up more than once in the Star Trek franchise, including two Klingon Chancellors.

David Warner, who played St. John Talbot in The Final Frontier , would play both Chancellor Gorkon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , and Gul Madred, the Cardassian who tortured Picard in TNG’s “Chain of Command.”

Charles Cooper, Klingon General Korrd, would go on to play Chancellor K’mpec in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation — in the same cloak he’d worn in the movie. Another memorable TNG guest star, George Murdock, aka “God,” would play Admiral Hanson in the TNG two-parter (and season 3 cliffhanger) “Best of Both Worlds.”

Rex Holman (J’onn, the very first person you see in the movie), has some old school Trek cred: He played Morgan Earp in the Original Series third season episode “Spectre of the Gun.”

And there are more! Look up Todd Bryant and Spice Williams next time you’re on a Trek trivia mission.

The movie would’ve shown an addition to Mount Rushmore

With the focus on the Kirk-Spock-McCoy trinity, Sulu and Chekov didn’t get a whole lot to do in this movie. (Walter Koenig even told the authors of The 50-Year Mission: The First 25 Years that he only worked on it for eight days.) They did have another scene together that was cut, which took place in front of Mount Rushmore.

“You’ve seen one national park, you’ve seen them all,” says Chekov, but in this case, he’s wrong. In the future — at least in the future of Star Trek V — there’s a fifth head there, and it belongs to a Black female president, named Sarah Susan Eckert in Dillard’s novelization.

That fan dance was more controversial than you think

For better or for worse, there’s a strange scene in the movie where  Uhura must do a sensual “fan dance” in order to distract Sybok’s soldiers. Screenwriter David Loughery suggested it as a joke and was shocked when they loved the idea. “Nichelle has great gams, so anybody would stop and take a look, and that’s all we needed,” said Shatner in the DVD extras.

Nichelle Nichols was happy to do it. She was an accomplished singer and dancer who had toured with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton,and was looking forward to having more of her singing in Star Trek. Shatner and Bennett told her that the final decision on what vocals would be used was Jerry Goldmsith’s, but they’d let her know what he decided, and then… they didn’t. She wrote in her book Beyond Uhura that she showed up for a looping session and Shatner, assuming she’d been filled in, said it was too bad “about the music,” and that he knew she “would have done just as good a job.” The song would be performed by a group called Hiroshima. Nichols was crushed, and ultimately disappointed by the scene in the final film.

For those wondering about Nichols fan dance costume, she revealed during a fan Q&A that “I was wearing… me. And, of course, I had a G-string on.”

The key to the film’s distinctive look: location, location, location

The locations were challenging, but worth the effort. The climbing scenes were done at Yosemite National Park. Shatner loved free climbing and was in his element, but the famous giant rock formation El Capitan presented a problem for the crew, who couldn’t get close enough to do closeups. A wall was built in a parking lot for those shots. But that free fall was really performed by stuntman Kenny Bates, earning him the credit for the highest descender fall in the United States at that time.

The Nimbus III scenes were filmed in Owens Dry Lake in the Mojave Desert. The location was also used in the movie Tremors, starring Kevin Bacon. Six degrees achieved!

As for Ska Ka Ree, that was filmed at the Trona Pinnacles in central California. This unique geological formation was a popular location, also seen in movies like Battlestar Galactic a and the original Planet of the Apes , as well as the video for Rihanna’s “Sledgehammer,” released to promote the movie Star Trek Beyond .

The campfire scenes were the last ones filmed

To make those scenes feel special, it was the final sequence on the schedule. With all of the dust-ridden deserts and giant cliffs already behind them, the last days of production were spent around the campfire, on a set on the Paramount lot. There wasn’t time to put tops on the trees, so Shatner had to keep the shots tighter than he would’ve liked, but he’s still happy with how everything turned out. They had a small celebration with champagne and cake after the last shot was done.

There’s a backstory to Spock’s “marsh melons” mistake

About those campfire scene marshmallows…  they came from Kraft, as did Spock’s dispenser. A tie-in product was created so fans could have their very own marshmallow dispensers (via mail order; this was 1989). And yes, you can still find them on eBay.

But here’s the real question: Why does Spock mistakenly call them “marsh melons”? In J.M. Dillard’s novelization of the movie, McCoy knows that Spock is going to do extensive pre-camping research, so he pranks him by getting a computer tech to change “marshmallows” to “marsh melons” everywhere they’re referenced. That’s also why he gets such a kick out of watching Spock say it.

They made a few mistakes

This wasn’t the first movie with an onscreen blunder, and it won’t be the last. There’s one right at the beginning, when Kirk falls off El Capitan and is rescued by Spock (in his awesome levitation boots) just before hitting the ground. When he starts his fall, he has a scruffy face you’d expect from someone on a camping vacation, but by the time he gets to the bottom, he’s clean-shaven. (Even in the future, that seems like an unlikely shaving method.)

Another one happens when Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are on the run from Sybok’s followers and (once again with help from Spock’s levitation books), they zoom up the turboshaft together. They pass deck 52 twice (oops), then go all the way to 78 when Star Trek lore tells us that the ship only has 23 decks. Not only that, the lowest number is traditionally the highest deck; the bridge atop the saucer section is deck 1. But like the shaving mistake, it doesn’t really affect the story… and wasn’t it worth it just to hear McCoy tell Kirk and Spock, ‘You two go ahead, I’ll wait for the next car”?

And finally…

The movie suffered from budget cuts and numerous setbacks, but those who worked on it still had fun, with “exuberance” being the word most used to describe its enthusiastic director. Shatner took a lot of flak for the film, but he sums up his experience beautifully in the behind-the-scenes doc:

“I was in a joyful act of creation all the time, whether it was working or not… We just had a joyful time making a film.”

(And for another fascinating look at Star Trek V , check out Trek V Wrapped Filming 30 Years Ago by Maria Jose and John Tenuto.)

Laurie Ulster (she/her) is a freelance writer and a TV producer who somehow survived her very confusing adolescence as the lone female Star Trek fan in middle school. She's a writer/editor and was the Supervising Producer on After Trek.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Film details, brief synopsis, cast & crew, william shatner, laurence luckinbill, jonathan simpson, beverly hart, melanie shatner, technical specs.

A new U.S.S. Enterprise must battle a rogue Vulcan and his army of castoffs in this thrilling sci-fi adventure. When Spock's half-brother Sybok steals the Enterprise to launch an obsessive search for a Supreme Being, Kirk, Bones, Uhura and the rest of the Starfleet crew must do whatever it takes to get the flagship back.

Nichelle Nichols

George murdock, james doohan, todd bryant, cynthia gouw, william quinn, deforest kelley, walter koenig, david warner.

Charles Cooper

George takei, barton m sussman, spice williams, steve susskind, leonard nimoy, cynthia blaise, harve bennett, john alagna, gary alexander, janice alexander, wayne allwine, miles ambrose, eric angelson, scott austin, valerie baiardi, gregory j barnett, ron bartlett, nicholas baum, richard j bayard, dr. charles beichman, michael j. benavente, christopher e bennett, peter berger, charlene bergman, john bettis, james h betts, judith ann biggs, bruce birmelin, james d. bissell, destiny boirden, bruce botnick, kimberly boyle, werner braun, brooke breton, jim bridwell, anthony brockliss, john daniel bronson, reveca r brookshire, stewart brown, ellis burman, burt burnam, david burton, deborah l campbell, phil caplan, bob carmichael, hazel catmull, gary a. clark, paul clemente, james collins, alexander courage, susan coursey, tony criscione, phillip cullum, gregroy j curda, david drapkin, rachel a drapkin, lex du pont, john m. dwyer, mike edmonson, marie elder, katalin elek, kinnereth ellentuck, david ellis, jon falkengren, mary jo fernandez, bran ferren, linda fetters, george fortmuller, bob francis, eva marie friedrick, princeton gamma-tech, michael gerzevitz, donna gilbert, jerry goldsmith, louis goold, antoinette gordon, phil gosiewski, john a haggar, steven haire, james halty, warren hamilton, gregory harker, barbara harris, richard hartley, chester hartwell, d. m. hemphill, edouard f henriques, freddie hice, alan howarth, carmon howell, thomas j huff, barry hyman, chris jenkins, wendell johnson, troy johnston, thomas b jones, paul jordan, michael kellough, rolf keppler, bill killey, maria konwicka, valerie mickaelian kucera, kurt v kulett, dan kuramoto, peter kuran, andrew laszlo, otto leichliter, veronica e lesser, burton lindemoen, david loughery, angie luckey, robert lyons, mark mangini, michael mann, joe markham, john h matheson, john mccloud, susan mccrae, stewart d mcdonald, richard frank mckenzie, ray mclaughlin, joyce mcneal, david v mei, richard craig meinardus, nadim melkonian, dean miller, michael mills, jack morehead, arthur morton, kenny myers, seth nathanson, daniel nauke, andrew neskoromny, kenneth nishino, marc okrand, michael okuda, frank orsatti, robert parker, andrew g patterson, keith peterman, sonny pettijohn, raymond a phelps, sean plunkett, bernie pock, don pulford, thomas quinn, air randall, bruce wayne randall, corky randall, edward lee rapp, robert raring, jack riedel, gene roddenberry, nilo rodis-jamero, r.a. rondell, david ronne, stephen j ross, robert rowohlt, bill russell, susan sackett, marc sawicki, paul f schlichting, robert schulze, john b schuyler, solange schwalbe, dennis seawright, miscellaneous notes.

Completed shooting December 1988.

Project was originally scheduled to begin production in November 1987, but was delayed due to Leonard Nimoy directing "The Good Mother."

Released in United States on Video December 20, 1989

Released in United States September 7, 1991

Released in United States Summer June 9, 1989

Re-released in United States on Video July 25, 1991

The DVD-released 2000 "Director's Edition" features a new, fine-tuned edit approved by director Robert Wise and several redone special effects.

Directorial debut for actor William Shatner.

Released in USA on video.

Began shooting August 1978.

Began shooting October 11, 1988.

Released in United States September 7, 1991 (Shown back-to-back with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and sequels II-IV in 44 US cities on September 7, 1991, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the television series.)

After some test screenings, the film was re-edited.

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, star trek v: the final frontier.

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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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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

Photography by

• Andrew Laszlo
• Peter Berger
• David Loughery From

From A Story by

Produced by.

• Harve Bennett

Directed by

• William Shatner
• Jerry Goldsmith

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Star trek v: the final frontier.

1989 Directed by William Shatner

Adventure and imagination will meet at the final frontier.

The crew of the Federation starship Enterprise is called to Nimbus III, the Planet of Intergalactic Peace. They are to negotiate in a case of kidnapping only to find out that the kidnapper is a relative of Spock. This man is possessed by his life long search for the planet Sha Ka Ree which is supposed to be the source of all life. Together they begin to search for this mysterious planet.

William Shatner Leonard Nimoy DeForest Kelley James Doohan George Takei Walter Koenig Nichelle Nichols Laurence Luckinbill David Warner Charles Cooper Cynthia Gouw Todd Bryant Spice Williams-Crosby Rex Holman George Murdock Jonathan Simpson Beverly Hart Steve Susskind Harve Bennett Cynthia Blaise Bill Quinn Melanie Shatner Michael Berryman Carey Scott

Director Director

William Shatner

Producers Producers

Harve Bennett Mel Efros

Writer Writer

David Loughery

Story Story

Harve Bennett William Shatner David Loughery

Casting Casting

Bill Shepard

Editor Editor

Peter E. Berger

Cinematography Cinematography

Andrew Laszlo

Assistant Directors Asst. Directors

Douglas E. Wise George Fortmuller

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Ralph Winter Gene Roddenberry

Production Design Production Design

Herman F. Zimmerman

Set Decoration Set Decoration

John M. Dwyer

Special Effects Special Effects

Michael Wood

Stunts Stunts

Dick Ziker R.A. Rondell Gregory J. Barnett Frank Orsatti Freddie Hice Don Pulford David R. Ellis James M. Halty Glenn R. Wilder Linda Fetters Howard David Burton Tom Morga Terry Jackson Tommy J. Huff Joyce McNeal Scott Wilder

Composer Composer

Jerry Goldsmith

Sound Sound

Doug Hemphill Gary Alexander Chris Jenkins David M. Ronne

Costume Design Costume Design

Nilo Rodis-Jamero

Makeup Makeup

Kenny Myers Allan A. Apone Janice Alexander Ellis Burman Jr. Katalin Elek Jeff Dawn Wes Dawn Edouard F. Henriques Rolf John Keppler Tina Hoffman Michael Mills Erin Koplow

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Donna Barrett Gilbert Hazel Catmull

Releases by Date

Theatrical limited, 05 sep 1990, 09 jun 1989, 06 oct 1989, 20 oct 1989, 16 nov 1989, 01 jun 1990, 01 feb 1998, 08 mar 2001, 01 apr 2008, 28 may 2009, 26 jun 2015, 18 dec 1992, 05 apr 2003, releases by country.

• Theatrical PG
• Theatrical L
• Theatrical limited TP
• Physical VHS
• Physical U DVD
• Theatrical 12

Netherlands

• TV 12 RTL 5
• Physical 12 DVD
• Physical 12 Blu ray
• Theatrical M/6
• TV 11 Kanal 1

106 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Branson Reese 7

This is a tricky one, no two ways about it.

First thing's first: this is a pro-Shatner account. Not saying he's a saint or anything. Every person who ever worked with him has something at least mildly bad to say about him and I'm 90% sure he'll get into NFTs with his remaining time on this earth if he hasn't already. But I believe in meeting people where they are, and a Canadian egotist who was born in 1931 and has logged service as an actor (God's noblest and most difficult profession) in eight separate decades is gonna require some traveling to get to. But I think it's worth the time and effort.

Shatner's got an ego like the Titanic,…

Review by matt lynch ★★★

ill-conceived (charitably speaking), sabotaged by poor planning (with attendant studio-mandated budget cuts) and hubris (Shatner's insistence on directing, then everyone's conflicting script approval) and then driven over a cliff by sheer circumstance (both a WGA and a Teamster strike), there's still an actual STAR TREK movie in here. going on a physical search for God (even a reductive & cheaply dramatized one like this) seems like a natural progression for characters who have literally cheated time and death. the core trio of Kirk, Spock and McCoy still bounce off each other so well (watching them sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" i actually find pretty charming, sue me), and i like that this one stops dead in its tracks, more than once, to psychoanalyze the crew (the flashback to McCoy euthanizing his father is particularly intense). there's plenty here with which to be disappointed; it's a mess but not a thoughtless one.

Review by pd187 ★★★★★ 17

my fav trek cuz shatner, moody & vital, does almost none of the stupid military-procedure federation nerd shit trekkies (fascists) love, just lusty dive bar adventures big jokes theological ufo cult debate (anti-psych) & ancient friends fartin round the campfire, anarcho-gnostic cuz life is sacred & profane & but a dream

love sybok, love his white robe & quest for truth, shatner loves him too & gives him an ending youd never give khan or some fucking borg or whatever, not just a sneakdiss to roddenberry's channeled "nine"* but smart pulp & romantic humanism closest to gene's 60s shit ripped off by gunn, proyas, wachowskis, m.night & admitted trekkie qt, as dickean as paul v's total recall, that goldsmith score over alien artifacts & a spacebar full of sexy bighead mutant freaks

critics want a marketable well-oiled machine but this has real moments of cinematic majesty & depth beyond the 2/4/6-numbered "good" ones. kirks last words: "i was wrong"

Review by Ian West ★★★★

“Excuse me... but what does god need with a Starship?”

Review by Matt Singer ★★ 2

Wait, so why is Spock's brother all emotional-like if he's a Vulcan? And why is Uhura dancing naked? And why -- you know what? I don't care.

Review by Mr. DuLac ★ 13

Please Captain, not in front of the Klingons. -Spock

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was a big risk that ended up being the most successful project to come out of Star Trek in it's then 20 year history. I think the only explanation for what happened next is that Paramount Pictures got cocky. For The Voyage Home they greenlit the franchise's most absurd plot in it's history, so they probably thought giving the go ahead on a story that involves a religious zealot searching for God with William Shatner at the helm didn't sound like such a bad idea.

Harve Bennett , who had produced and had a hand in writing the last three films, wasn't even interested in participating.…

Review by 20oldboy03 ★★★½ 18

Vor nicht allzu langer Zeit, in einer Galaxy, näher als gedacht: Es herrscht Aufruhr in meinem Gemüht. Nach einem anfänglich arbeitsreichen Arbeitstag bei fehlender Warenanlieferung und der dadurch hervorgerufenen anderweitigen Beschäftigung, freute ich mich auf ein gutes Feierabendmahlzeit mit einhergehendem Film. Aufruhr wegen der Personalknappheit und dem dadurch hervorgerufenen, sich im Endeffekt einredenden Stress, bliebt selbiger auch längst nach der Feierabendmahlzeit. Ich , als Opfer und Geschädigter, begebe mich auf die erholsame Abkehr jedweden Stresses.

Verfolgt von tausenden anderen Filmen, begab ich mich auf die Aufgrabe, alle Filme zu sehen …

Ist der erste Star Trek Film, „Star Trek: Der Film“ das „2001: Odyssee im Weltraum“ unter den Star Trek Werken, „Star Trek II: Der Zorn des Khan“ für mich die…

Review by ALISTAIR LEACH 8

I'm not being funny but I've just realised this is William Shatner's remake of Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker.

Stalker Three Men travel and camp in a harsh environment with a guide to meet god, the creator etc to be rewarded but they don't have the faith to confront the ultimate power/reason of existence face on.

Or as my preferred reading, a mysterious and impenetrable room is created with "the secret of life and desire" to give people faith in the harshest landscapes. As the notion and "belief" of faith is more important than the actual reality of it.

Star Trek 5 Three Men travel and camp only to meet a guide after travelling to a harsh environment to meet "god", to understand existence, and be rewarded but get attacked by a Klingon Warbird and bad acting instead.

Like i said, it is Shatner's remake

Review by Deckk ★★★ 7

100-word review: A very in-touch-with-his-emotions relative of Spock takes control of the Enterprise to aid his search for God. Everybody gets a turn! Nimoy went twice, so now Shatner gets to direct a Star Trek film. And oh do we get some directional, uhm, choices — looking at you naked Uhura dance. After the brilliantly comedic The Voyage Home , my body was ready for the Star Trek Motion Picture beach (forest camping) episode, featuring actually good rock-climbing, but instead we get the theological episode, which takes a long time to get going and arrive at a convoluted conclusion.

Part of my September 2021 Live Long and Prosper challenge; 5th out of 13 films.

Review by A. J. Black ★★

After the critical and commercial success of The Voyage Home, William Shatner remembered a little clause in his original 1960's Star Trek TV contract that stated he'd have equal share of opportunities Leonard Nimoy had, and vice versa. Since Nimoy had directed the previous two Trek movies, Shatner decided it was time for his crack at the chair and the result was The Final Frontier... widely regarded as the nadir of the Star Trek movie franchise, even to this day. It's an unfortunate legacy that's difficult to disagree with - some Trek films haven't been very good, but none have been as frequently average as TFF. Yet, and perhaps this is a long standing Trek fan who remembers watching this…

Review by Will Menaker ★★ 4

The one they let William Shatner direct.

Not quite as terrible as I remembered but still pretty bad. I may have been premature in rating III as not the worst Star Trek movie, as it's hard to say which is weaker. In this one, Kirk, Spock and Bones use facts and logic to kill the false God at the center of the galaxy, which sounds a lot cooler than it is. The bad guy is Spock's half brother, a rogue Vulcan who uses telepathic abilities and an embrace of primal emotion to run a therapy cult that heals people by confronting and acknowledging their pain. There are some good, corny character moments in this one that focus on the show's central triumvirate eating beans together but that's about it.

Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★★½ 4

_________________________________________________________________

Film #31 of the March Madness 80s Sci-Fi Movie Challenge! letterboxd.com/naughty/list/march-madness-80s-sci-fi-movie-challenge/

_________________________________________________________________ .................................................................................................................................... Film #5 in The Star Trek Marathon! letterboxd.com/kikuchisawa/list/the-star-trek-marathon-march-20-31/ ....................................................................................................................................

While the theme of the film didn't really grab me I found this to be perhaps the strongest entry thus far in terms of a character driven plot! And when those characters are Star Trek icons that's a good thing! In my opinion this film was by far the closest spirit wise to the television series!

Between Bone's laughter inducing sarcasm, Scotty becoming one with an inanimate object and Spock's comment to the Captain "Captain Please not in front of the Klingons" I was always one step away from losing myself completely with laughter!

I cannot begin to explain the satisfaction and joy I've experienced while visiting the original Star Trek franchise! I simply must take this journey more often in the future!

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Cast & crew.

William Shatner

James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy

DeForest Kelley

Leonard "Bones" McCoy

James Doohan

Walter Koenig

Worst in series; some tricky religious content.

• Average 3.9

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© 1989 Paramount Pictures

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Star trek v: the final frontier (hbo).

: A renegade Vulcan mystic hijacks the Enterprise to go on a quest for God in this thrilling fifth Star Trek movie.

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Fantasy & Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure, Space & Beyond

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A renegade Vulcan mystic hijacks the Enterprise to go on a quest for God in this thrilling fifth Star Trek movie.

Cast and Crew

Starring: William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan , Walter Koenig , Nichelle Nichols , George Takei , David Warner , Laurence Luckinbill

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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.

Star Trek's Biggest Badass Reveals His Starship's Secret Name

From The Dark Knight to Discovery , David Ajala is a man of action.

David Ajala’s journey in the Final Frontier is coming to a close. Although Ajala only joined the cast of Star Trek: Discovery in 2020, at the start of Season 3 , it certainly feels like his rugged space courier with a heart of gold — Cleveland “Book” Booker — has been on in the series longer than he really has. As Book, Ajala brought some Indiana Jones swagger to Discovery , albeit with a touch of Gene Roddenberry idealism .

The fifth episode of Discovery’s final season puts Book and Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) into a perilous and very familiar setting, one which connects back to The Original Series, Deep Space Nine , Discovery’s second season, and even Strange New Worlds.

Inverse caught up with Ajala — best known for his roles in The Dark Knight and Supergirl — to get his take on where he’s been, how Star Trek has “blessed” his life, and which franchise he wants to jump to next.

Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Episode 5, “Mirrors.”

Book and Burnham fly a shuttle in a new daring mission to...the Enterprise !

While in pursuit of the latest clue to unravel the secret of the Progenitor tech , “Mirrors” leads Captain Burnham and Book into a wormhole where they find the ISS Enterprise NCC-1701, the wicked Mirror Universe version of the classic 23rd century Enterprise from The Original Series and Strange New Worlds. (ISS stands for “Imperial Star Ship.” Whereas USS means “United Star Ship.”) This evil Enterprise first appeared in the 1967 TOS episode “Mirror, Mirror.” But, for the sake of current visual continuity, it’s now clearly a redress of the USS Enterprise set from Strange New Worlds.

“We wrapped shooting before [ Strange New Worlds ] started to commence their next season,” Ajala reveals. “So, sadly, the crossover didn’t happen.” But, Ajala notes that being in the physical sets of the Enterprise sickbay and bridge was a refreshing change from some of his other work in Discovery .

“There is a lot of green screen usually, and you have to tap into your childhood imagination. You’re playing cowboys,” Ajala explains. “But, there was something very, very special about shooting that scene that made it a lot easier for me to act. Part of it was what Sonequa [Martin-Green] was doing. How she held the space in such reverence, how she really channeled into the memory of her brother [Spock]. It was really wonderfully special and the fans are just going to love it.”

When Ajala joined Discovery as Book in 2020, he was probably best known to genre fans for his role as a bounty hunter working for the Joker (Heath Ledger) in The Dark Knight . But, he’s equally recognizable as Manchester Black from CW’s Supergirl . Then again, he was also one of the “Smilers” named Peter in the 2010 Doctor Who episode “The Beast Below.” From Star Trek, and the DCEU to the Whoniverse, that’s a lot of sci-fi geek cred for one man. And now, that Discovery is winding down, Ajala doesn’t mind looking back on his pre-Star Trek work with fondness, and even, a hypothetical part of his future.

David Ajala in 2024, a man for all seasons, and dimensions.

“There was once upon a time, a possibility. There was a very strong invitation to go back into one of those worlds,” Ajala says cryptically. Does this mean he was almost in the multiverse shenanigans of The Flash ? Another CW Arrowverse show? Even a later episode of Doctor Who ? Ajala can’t say outright, so we’re just guessing. But it seems like it almost happened and could happen again. “The timing didn’t work out,” he says. “If and when that opportunity does present itself, I would gladly take that invitation again.”

Ajala is also open to the idea of tackling franchises he’s never been a part of before. And because he was born in London, his accent does make some wonder if he could be the phantom menace of future James Bond contenders .

“That is a vicious rumor!” Ajala says with a laugh. “But it’s also a massive compliment. In all honesty, it’s a wonderful thought to even entertain the idea of [playing Bond]. My main thing is to always pursue roles that excite me, that turn me on, and that challenge me. Stranger things have happened.”

It’s not hard to see why some folks might think of David Ajala as James Bond material in the 2020s. When he debuted in Discovery Season 3, as Book, he was a space pirate with a heart of gold, a guy whom we believed was poaching alien animals, but, in reality, he’s an empath, bringing space creatures to better homes. But, Book’s also a badass, who had, for two seasons, his own Star Trek version of the Millennium Falcon. Sadly, Book’s sleek scout ship — complete with its morphing tech — was destroyed in Season 4. So, pour one out for... wait. What was Book’s ship called anyway?

“It was called Electric Chocolate ,” Ajala reveals with a grin. “Not many people know that, but I’ll share it with you.” Hopefully, the Star Trek fan wiki, Memory Alpha is paying attention, since, prior to this Book’s ship is referred to, off-screen, as either “the Nautilus” or “Vessel - C.” And, let’s face it, Electric Chocolate sounds way better.

David Ajala at SXSW 2024, flashing a classic “live long and prosper” in support of Star Trek: Discovery .

Still, with or without his cool ship, Book’s story in Star Trek: Discovery will end this year. But, David Ajala’s journey with Star Trek will likely never be over. Recently, he was a part of the 2024 Star Trek Cruise, where he says he was thrilled to connect with Trek actors from the other series. “I got to hang with Michelle Hurd, Anthony Montgomery, and Todd Stashwick ! It was incredible.”

Ajala also says that he will continue to do Star Trek conventions for as long as he can, but that he will probably only select about “three conventions” a year. His reasoning for doing fewer is simply because he wants to be present for the fans when he is there.

“I'd probably choose three a year, but when I'm there, I'm fully there with very healthy energy,” Ajala says. “I think it's just been deeply humbling and special. We're not superheroes. We’re real people. So, I want to be really, really be there, when I’m there. I want to sign however many autographs I need to sign and give as many hugs as I need to.”

Star Trek: Discovery streams on Paramount+.

• Science Fiction

Screen Rant

The aunt of star trek: tng's tasha yar actress once romanced ds9's quark.

Despite leaving TNG in season 1, Denise Crosby has lasting ties to the Star Trek franchise, including her aunt, who fell in love with DS9's Quark.

The aunt of Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Denise Crosby once had a brief romance with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Quark (Armin Shimerman). Denise Crosby played Lt. Tasha Yar in TNG , whose family continued to pop up in the show even after she was killed by Armus. Tasha's sister, Ishara Yar (Beth Toussaint), used the crew of the USS Enterprise-D to help her launch an invasion of the Turkana IV Alliance's territory in TNG season 4, episode 6, "Legacy". Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 introduced Sela (Denise Crosby) Tasha Yar's half-Romulan daughter from an alternate timeline, who became a recurring villain on the show.

Tasha Yar's extended family appearing on Star Trek: The Next Generation was reflective of Denise Crosby's own family links to the wider Star Trek universe. Denise Crosby was the granddaughter of popular crooner and actor Bing Crosby, named after her father, and Bing's son, Dennis Crosby. Embarrassed by a high-profile child support case between Dennis Crosby and Denise's mother, Marilyn Miller Scott, Bing Crosby reportedly never met his granddaughter . Amid this court battle, Bing Crosby's second wife, Kathryn, gave birth to her second child, Denise's aunt and future Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star , Mary Crosby.

Star Trek: TNG's Most Hated Episode Still Traumatizes Denise Crosby

Star trek: tng's denise crosby's aunt played quark's love interest in ds9.

Denise Crosby's aunt Mary played Professor Natima Lang in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 18, "Profit and Loss" . Mary Crosby was a prolific TV guest star in the early 1990s, appearing in shows such as Murder, She Wrote and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman before being cast as Natima in DS9 . A specialist in political ethics, Natima was a prominent member of the Cardassian dissident movement, who wanted to overthrow their government's military rulers. Natima Lang was a character who brought out Quark's romantic and heroic side, something that DS9 writer and producer Ira Steven Behr disapproved of :

" I felt we didn't need another tough, sexy, swashbuckling character on the show. We had enough of those." - Ira Steven Behr, The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion

Mary Crosby is best known for playing Kristin Shepard in the iconic soap opera Dallas between 1979 and 1981 . Kristin Shepard was the character who famously shot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) in the soap, with the reveal becoming one of the highest-rated episodes of any TV drama. In an interesting parallel between her character in Dallas and her character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Mary Crosby also shoots Quark in "Profit and Loss", albeit accidentally. It's a fun nod to Mary Crosby's best-known TV role.

Denise Crosby's Other Star Trek Family Links

Mary Crosby isn't the only member of Denise Crosby's extended family to appear in the wider Star Trek universe. Denise Crosby's brother, Paul, is married to actress and stunt performer, Spice Williams, who has made many appearances in the Star Trek franchise . Spice Williams-Crosby played Vixis in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the first officer on Klaa's Klingon bird of prey. As a stunt performer, Spice Williams-Crosby doubled for Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine on episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

Denise Crosby is also a distant relation of Family Guy creator and Star Trek: Enterprise guest star, Seth MacFarlane . Ancestry details of Seth MacFarlane reveal that he was a descendant of William Brewster, an ancestor of Bing Crosby. This means that Denise Crosby and Seth MacFarlane are distant cousins, a detail which must have pleased the noted Star Trek fan. In 2011, Seth MacFarlane revealed his desire to reboot the franchise on TV, a dream he never got to realize. However, his sci-fi comedy drama The Orville is the next best thing, a loving homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation that features many of its alumni.

All episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

*Availability in US

Not available

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

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TREKNEWS.NET | Your daily dose of Star Trek news and opinion

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds arrives on Blu-ray, 4K UHD and DVD this December

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Review: Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors”

Star Trek: Discovery picks up immediately where “ Face the Strange ” left off, as our protagonists track their quarry’s ship to a hidden, interdimensional pocket of space that holds a few surprises for them and the audience.

Thanks to some sciencing from Paul Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ) and Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ), Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) has a way to find where Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) are. Apparently, there’s a wormhole hiding in plain sight near where Discovery lost track of the criminals’ warp signature.

This wormhole is too small for a Crossfield- class ship to fit through, so Burnham and Cleveland Booker ( David Ajala ) – the latter of whom is on a mission to rehabilitate Moll, if possible – take a shuttle and see what’s on the other side of the wormhole’s aperture. Find a surprise, they do indeed, as the I.S.S. Enterprise , the evil version of the heroic Starfleet ship, is nestled in the wormhole – albeit without its crew, which apparently evacuated the vessel at some point. It’s beaten to hell and serves as a refuge for Moll and L’ak, whose own ship was destroyed by the interdimensional pocket of space’s destructive environment.

Discovery writers sure can be sneaky! They’ve been foreshadowing the appearance of a Constitution­ -class for the last two episodes; remember when Gen Rhys ( Patrick Kwok-Choon ) and Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ) both remarked the Connie was their favorite ship? As we’ll see, this isn’t the last bit of foreshadowing that comes true in this episode.

“How did it end up in interdimensional space?” “I don’t know. Must be one hell of a story.” – Book and Burnham upon seeing the I.S.S. Enterprise

Astute viewers will recognize an often-used cost-saving measure in the annals of Star Trek history: the reuse of sets from another concurrent show. (Seriously, rewatch TNG , DS9 , and Voyager and you’ll be surprised how often props and sets are reused between those shows.) As Burnham and Book explore various halls and rooms, including the bridge and sickbay, the familiar surroundings seen in Strange New Worlds are subtly transformed by Mirror Universe iconography. While nods to the iconic starship Enterprise are always appreciated, our initial reaction to this surprise location—admittedly tinged with pessimism—is that it’s of course it’s the Enterprise . A practical move, perhaps, to keep expenses in check. By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.

Finding the ship deserted sure is strange, and Burnham and Book ascertain Moll and L’ak are in sickbay, presumably with the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle. But first, the pair check out the transporter room, which holds some strange items, such as blankets, children’s toys, and a locket that holds a picture of two people, which Burnham inexplicably decides to take with her. Moreover, the dedication plaque of the I.S.S Enterprise tells the story of the ship and its crew: the Terran Universe emperor seemingly tried to make changes to the way things were done in that evil universe, and the Enterprise escaped and picked up refugees who were trying to flee the Terran Universe and enter the Prime Universe.

One of the leaders among those on the Enterprise was a Kelpien, who Burnham deduces must have been the Mirror Universe version of Saru, and that the crew must have fled the Enterprise once it got stuck in the interdimensional pocket of space. Is it just us, or does this sound like a potential episode of Strange New Worlds ?

Burnham, Book, Moll, and L’ak face off in sickbay, where Burnham makes a startling connection between L’ak and a particular dilemma he is facing. The criminal pair hope to use the Progenitor treasure to clear L’ak’s Breen blood bounty. Yes, L’ak is Breen, that enigmatic and masked species from Deep Space Nine . Neato!

The rest of the episode bounces between what’s happening on the Enterprise , and flashing back to how Moll and L’ak first met and became romantically involved. Moll, the courier, would do business on the Breen space station on which L’ak, a member of a royal Breen family, was posted. The two connected over L’ak’s recent demotion and efforts to fight the embarrassment that came with it.

Over some time, the two became nearly inseparable, and L’ak even took the bold step with Moll by showing her his face – a big deal in Breen culture, as keeping their masks on allows them to retain their true, semi-transparent form, and not the solidified appearance we’ve seen on L’ak. Their relationship is tested when L’ak’s superior (and uncle), Primarch Ruhn ( Tony Nappo ) decides to interrupt their courtship. L’ak doesn’t take kindly to being asked to kill Moll, so the Breen turns on his own people, earns a Breen blood bounty, and flees with Moll. The pair now share a goal: earn enough latinum to retire on an (unnamed) fabled planet somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant, free from the trials and hardships of the courier life.

Suffice it to say, “Mirrors” is most memorable because it casts a welcome light on the shadowed backstory of this season’s main villains. Moll and L’ak are now a relatable pair, star-crossed lovers who are hell-bent on earning themselves a happy ending. As much as we don’t want to see the Progenitors’ tech get into the wrong hands, who now doesn’t want to see everything work out for Moll and L’ak?

Anyway, the quartet still need to get off the Enterprise , but the shuttle on which Burnham and Book arrived is destroyed by the turbulent pocket of space. With mere minutes to spare before the Enterprise is destroyed by the wormhole’s tiny aperture, Book and Moll share some last-minute words about their shared relationship with the late Cleveland Booker, and how Book hopes Moll makes the right choices regarding her quest for the Progenitor tech. Burnham, meanwhile, engages in a melee with L’ak, and the Breen ends up injured and inadvertently relinquishes control to Burnham of the next map piece in the Progenitor puzzle. The courier and disgraced Breen end up escaping the ship in a convenient Terran warp pod, leaving the chase between our heroes and enemies for another day.

“If we hit it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern, it should stay open for approximately sixty seconds. But once it collapses, it’s gone for good.” “Why hexagonal?” “Doesn’t matter… it’ll work.” – Adira ( Blu del Barrio ), Rayner, and Stamets as the crew finds a way to get the wormhole aperture bigger. We think this line from Stamets is reflective of the evolving working relationship between the results-orientated Rayner and the crew, and how this relationship is getting better the longer Rayner is first officer.

Burnham devises a novel way to signal her first officer for help in getting the Enterprise through the aperture: a pulsing tractor beam emitting from the Enterprise , shot through the wormhole’s opening, in a numerical sequence featured in a famous play from Kellerun culture. Rayner is then able to lead his crew to devise a way to pull the Enterprise into normal space.

The sequence where Rayner is faced with command of a ship tasked with the near-impossible rescue of his captain is the best of the episode. It’s no secret Rayner was knocked down a few pegs after his demotion and reassignment to Discovery , but that lack of confidence and inner angst is demolished thanks to Rayner listening and working with his bridge crew to save the Enterprise . Plenty of lesser-known bridge officers get a say in how Discovery could help the Mirror ship, and lightning-fast decision-making shows Rayner back on his game.

The last element to note about this episode is some emotional trouble Doctor Hugh Culber ( Wilson Cruz ) is having. Tilly provides an outlet for this angst. Culber explains the experiences he’s had in the last few years – namely dying, coming back to life, and being a Trill host – really put into perspective the intellectual journey he is on in the face of the Progenitor’s quest. Tilly helps him realize he isn’t only experiencing an intellectual quest, but a spiritual one. This conversation is just another instance of Discovery setting up some wild expectations for what the crew might ultimately discover at the end of the season – something beyond the bounds of science, perhaps?

Even though their prey gets away again, Burnham and her crew have the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle, and it is hiding in the I.S.S. Enterprise ’s sickbay. Hidden in the map piece Burnham grabbed from L’ak is a vial, which Stamets will analyze soon. Burnham learns the crew who escaped from the I.S.S. Enterprise ended up in the Prime Universe and were able to start new lives. A Terran scientist aboard the Enterprise , Dr. Cho, ended up being a branch admiral, and we’re meant to assume she was one of the scientists on Dr. Vellek’s team hundreds of years ago as they studied the Progenitor tech. Dr. Cho then hid her piece of the Progenitor puzzle aboard her old ship as a symbolic gesture of her ability to find freedom in a new universe.

Discovery continues its final season with another thumbs-up episode that serves an important lore-building role in the franchise. Seeing the Breen again is a joy, especially since we were staring at one the whole time and never knew it. And how striking was that Breen space station where L’ak was based? Another important note for Star Trek historians is that now the Mirror Universe Enterprise is in the 32 nd century, and stationed near Earth thanks to Joann Owosekun and Keyla Detmer piloting the ship back to Federation space. Will we see that ship again this season?

As the Progenitor puzzle deepens, so do the emotional stakes for our crew, exemplified by Culber’s introspective journey, the subtle reignition of Book and Burnham’s relationship, and Rayner’s triumphant return to leadership. We’re now at the halfway point in this season, so there’s still plenty of time for surprises, emotional consequences, and expectation-setting for this eagerly awaited treasure.  

Stray Thoughts:

• Hopefully, you’re watching this episode with subtitles on, because goodness is it hard to hear what masked Breen says.
• The Mirror Universe version of the U.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in the Original Series episode “Mirror, Mirror,” albeit this wasn’t the Strange New Worlds version of the ship. Likewise, the Terran version of Spock, whom Booker asks if Burnham ever met, was in that same episode.
• How did Adira conclude they were the one who brought the time bug aboard Discovery ?
• Why didn’t Burnham and Book try talking down Moll and L’ak before diving into the room with the holo-projected doubles?

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+ , this season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and more.

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Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

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