Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek)
Steve Meerson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 November 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beaming down to Earth December 12 1986

Plot:

To save Earth from an alien probe, Kirk and his crew go back in time to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it, humpback whales.

Plot Keywords:

Probe | Whale | Space | Time Travel | Punk

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Admiral / Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
James Doohan	...	Commander Montgomery "Scotty" Scott
George Takei	...	Commander Hikaru Sulu
Walter Koenig	...	Commander Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols	...	Cmdr. Uhura
Jane Wyatt	...	Amanda
Catherine Hicks	...	Dr. Gillian Taylor
Mark Lenard	...	Ambassador Sarek
Robin Curtis	...	Lieutenant Saavik
Robert Ellenstein	...	Federation Council President
John Schuck	...	Klingon Ambassador
Brock Peters	...	Admiral Cartwright
Michael Snyder	...	Starfleet communications officer

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Italy:T | Canada:G (Canadian Home Video rating) | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | Sweden:11 | Canada:G (Régie du Cinéma Québec) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12/9 (original rating) | France:U | Norway:10 (1988) | Norway:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

500 Block of Pacific Avenue, Chinatown, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The time-travel method used in the film comes from the "Star Trek" (1966) episode 'Tomorrow is Yesterday'.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end when the camera pans the crew just before their pardon, Scotty wears the rank pin of a Commander. This is despite his being promoted to Captain in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), being listed in this film's credits as "Captain Montgomery Scott," and wearing Captain's pins in the next film, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Saratoga captain: What do you make of it?
Saratoga science officer: It appears to be a probe, Captain. From an intelligence unknown to us.
Saratoga captain: Continue transmitting universal peace and hello in all known languages. Get me Starfleet Command.
Saratoga helmsman: Ready, Captain.
Saratoga captain: Starfleet Command, this is U.S.S. Saratoga patrolling sector five, neutral zone. We're tracking a probe of unknown origin on apparent trajectory to the Terran solar system. Attempts to communicate with the probe have been negative on all known frequencies.
Starfleet Command: Continue tracking, Saratoga. We will analyze transmissions and advise.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Shawn vs. the Red Phantom (#1.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

I Hate You

There be whales here.

An alien probe is heading towards earth causing tidal waves and hurricane winds. The probe is trying to get in touch with humpback whales which no longer exist.In time honoured tradition it is up to James kirk and crew to go back to the 20th century, find some humpback whales,take them home with him and save the day again. This is by far the funniest of all the star trek films due to the fact that it is played totally tongue in cheek and the cast aren't afraid to poke fun at themselves.To the crew it is like visiting an "undiscovered country" and the customs of modern man confuse them totally. Catherine Hicks plays their 20th century contact,joins in the fun and adds to the confusion they are feeling by playing her role totally straight. Some classic scenes include Scotty trying to instruct a computer by talking into the mouse,Dr Mcoys horror when surgeons are about to drill into Chekovs skull and Spocks solution to dealing with an arrogant yob on a bus. However it also has a serious ecological message.If we don't stop destroying our planet then the day could well come when every kind of whale will cease to exit.Some video clips, shown in the scene in the museum,displaying images of men killing whales are disturbing because they are real. Watch this film ,enjoy it, but remember that sometimes fact is more disturbing than fiction. In memory of James Doohan 1920- 2005 RIP.