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FILM 4 OF 14 · 198604
STAR TREK IV

The Voyage Home

NOMADIC PICK · CROWD PLEASERWarm, funny and perfect for newcomers.
US RELEASE
26 November 1986
UK RELEASE
10 April 1987
RUNTIME
122 minutes
UK CERTIFICATE
PG
DIRECTED BY
Leonard Nimoy
MUSIC
Leonard Rosenman
BUDGET
$21 to 25 million
BOX OFFICE (WORLDWIDE)
$133 million
FIRST STARDATE
8390

WRITTEN BYScreenplay by Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes and Harve Bennett & Nicholas Meyer; story by Leonard Nimoy & Harve Bennett

PRODUCED BYHarve Bennett

IN BRIEF

SPOILER-FREE

To save Earth from a mysterious alien probe, Kirk and his crew must travel back to 1980s San Francisco and bring home a pair of humpback whales.

SYNOPSIS

SPOILERS
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSISHIDE SYNOPSIS

In 2286, after three months of exile on Vulcan, Kirk and his crew set off for Earth in their captured Klingon Bird-of-Prey to face charges for their actions. Spock, restored in body but still relearning his memories and emotions, goes with them. Meanwhile a huge cylindrical probe reaches Earth, broadcasting a signal that drains the power from every ship and station it passes and batters the planet with violent storms. Spock realises the signal is the song of the humpback whale, a species long since hunted to extinction. With no whales left to reply, the crew decide to fetch some from the past.

Slingshotting around the Sun, they arrive in San Francisco in 1986 and hide their cloaked ship in Golden Gate Park. The ship's power is failing, so Uhura and Chekov slip aboard the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to collect energy, while Scotty and McCoy trade the formula for transparent aluminium for the materials to build a whale tank. Kirk and Spock find two humpbacks, George and Gracie, at an aquarium in Sausalito, along with marine biologist Dr Gillian Taylor, who is upset that the whales are about to be released into the open sea.

Chekov is caught and seriously injured, and McCoy leads a rescue from a 20th-century hospital whose medicine appals him. When the whales are released early, Gillian joins the crew, and the Bird-of-Prey reaches George and Gracie just as a whaling ship closes in. Back in 2286, the powerless ship crashes into San Francisco Bay. Freed, the whales answer the probe, which restores what it disabled and departs. The Federation Council drops every charge except one against Kirk for disobeying orders, and demotes him to captain. It is exactly what he wanted: command of a starship again, the brand new USS Enterprise. Spock, meanwhile, finds a new understanding with his father, Sarek.

BEHIND THE CAMERA

With Spock restored, Leonard Nimoy and Harve Bennett wanted a lighter story with no conventional villain and an environmental message. Early drafts by Steve Meerson and Peter Krikes were built around a role for Eddie Murphy, who eventually declined. Nicholas Meyer and Bennett then reworked the script in about 12 days, with Meyer writing the 20th-century scenes and Bennett the opening and resolution. Filming began on 24 February 1986, with extensive location work around San Francisco. Industrial Light & Magic built motorised humpback whale models about four feet long, testing them in a school swimming pool. Opening at Thanksgiving, the film earned $133 million worldwide, and Nimoy described it as the best-received Star Trek film up to that point.

DID YOU KNOW?

  1. 01The film is dedicated to the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger, lost on 28 January 1986.
  2. 02The punk on the bus is played by associate producer Kirk Thatcher, who co-wrote the song “I Hate You” with sound designer Mark Mangini.
  3. 03Eddie Murphy was approached for a role whose elements were later folded into Dr Gillian Taylor.
  4. 04The aircraft carrier USS Ranger stood in for the USS Enterprise during filming.
  5. 05In June 1987 the film was screened in the Soviet Union by the World Wildlife Fund to celebrate a ban on whaling.

CONNECTIONS

  • Sarek and Amanda, played by Mark Lenard and Jane Wyatt, first appeared together in the original series episode “Journey to Babel” (1967).
  • Travelling through time by slingshotting around the Sun recalls “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” (1967), which also sends the Enterprise to the 20th century.
  • The new USS Enterprise unveiled at the end carries the crew through Star Trek V and Star Trek VI.

AWARDS

Four Academy Award nominations (cinematography, sound, sound effects editing, original score); 11 Saturn Award nominations; Hugo Award nominee

SOURCES WE CHECKED