Did You Know?

The punk on the bus is played by associate producer Kirk R. Thatcher. He also wrote the song that is playing on the boom box during his scene.

The film was originally supposed to have Eddie Murphy instead of Catherine Hicks. Murphy was supposed to have played a professor concerned with UFO's who spots the de-cloaking Klingon ship at the Super Bowl. Apparently, all others are convinced the ship is a half-time special effect while Murphy believes it is real. Paramount declined this script for two reasons: Paramount didn't want to combine their two most profitable franchises (Star Trek and Beverly Hills Cop), and Murphy had signed on to do The Golden Child instead.

Sulu (George Takei) was supposed to leap into the Huey helicopter when the pilot was outside, looking the other way, and make off with it. Takei had just run the San Francisco marathon when they were supposed to shoot this scene, and was too sore to leap into the helicopter. They tried having a grip throw him in, but couldn't get it to look realistic, so the scene was cut. In the final edit, Sulu is shown talking to the pilot, then shows up flying the helicopter a few minutes later.

When Kirk, McCoy, and Gillian first enter the hospital and are walking around trying to locate Chekov, a voice on a loudspeaker in the background says "Paging Dr. Zober... Dr. Sandy Zober." Sandra Zober was director/star Leonard Nimoy's wife at the time.

During Spock's memory tests, the computer speaks very rapidly, almost too rapidly to discern. The first question it asks Spock is, "Who said 'Logic is the cement of our civilization, with which we ascend from chaos, using reason as our guide'?"

A scene written for but cut from the film explained why Saavik stays on Vulcan: she is pregnant with Spock's child, stemming from an event in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. This was the character's final appearance in a Star Trek film.

The computer graphic consoles that became standard on the 24th century Star Trek bridges and also called "Okudagrams" (named for designer Michael Okuda), make their first appearance on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-A. It is also the final appearance of the entire original Star Trek movie bridge set as only small parts were reused for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

During the film's 1 hour 59 minute runtime, there's only a total of about 1 minute 13 seconds worth of shots of the Enterprise - the shortest amount of time the Enterprise is seen on screen in any Star Trek movie. The first 33 seconds of it during the beginning courtroom scene was stock footage of the Enterprise's destruction from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. The other 40 seconds of it were shots of the Enterprise-A towards the end.

The captain of the USS Saratoga, seen at the start of the film, was the first female captain ever seen in a Star Trek story. The success of this film led to offers by several US TV networks to produce a new Trek TV series with the original cast. Instead, Paramount gave the green light to produce the syndicated Star Trek: The Next Generation starring an all new cast. A woman (Kate Mulgrew) was cast as ship's captain in the Star Trek series Star Trek series 'Star Trek: Voyager (1995)'.

When Chekov is running through the Enterprise (the aircraft carrier), trying to get away from the Marines, the words "Escape Route" and an arrow can be seen on the bulkhead walls.

According to Spock's computer on Vulcan, Kiri-Kin-Tha's First Law of Metaphysics states that "Nothing unreal exists".

Scenes filmed on location in San Francisco marked the first time any Star Trek installment had been filmed outside the Los Angeles region.

The scene with the punk music on the bus was written by Nicholas Meyer to revive a scene that was cut from his movie Time After Time, that had H.G. Wells encountering a teenager with music blaring from a boom box.

It is often claimed that this is the only Star Trek film where no weapons are fired. This is incorrect, as Kirk uses his phaser to weld a door shut, and the whaler fires its harpoon. Chekov also tries to use his phaser, though it doesn't work. It is also one which no cast member from this film is killed, as the only deaths were from the reused footage from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

The film bore the dedication, "The cast and crew of Star Trek wish to dedicate this film to the men and women of the spaceship Challenger whose courageous spirit shall live to the 23rd century and beyond..."

When the alien ship is approaching Earth at the beginning to look for the humpback whales, there were originally subtitles saying things like "Where are you? Can you hear us?". The studio wanted to keep them despite Leonard Nimoy's objections. In the first test screening, however, test audiences indicated the subtitles were unnecessary so they were cut.

The Probe is modelled after Rama from Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama".

After Leonard Nimoy allowed Kirk R. Thatcher to play the punk on the bus, Thatcher expressed displeasure at the music chosen for his boom box on the bus scene. He then asked to write and perform a song that he felt would be more representative of his character than the pre-selected music that was to appear. The result was the song "I Hate You".

One of the questions Spock is asked by the Computer on Vulcan asks about the major historical events of 1987. We never see or hear the answer to that question as the film was made in 1986.

The location where Dr. Gillian Taylor picks up Kirk and Spock is not an actual street. It's a parking lot that runs alongside the main road.

The idea of having Spock give the Vulcan nerve pinch to the punk rocker was inspired by Leonard Nimoy who was walking down the street in New York when a punk came out of a store with his boombox blaring, disturbing everyone around him. Annoyed, Nimoy thought "If I was REALLY Spock, I'd pinch his head off!" (According to Nimoy in the DVD Commentary).

During the final scene of the movie, where the Enterprise crew is in the shuttle Sulu says "with all due respect I hope we get Excelsior". In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Sulu is the Captain of the Excelsior.

The sound the probe makes is taken from the sound of baby's heartbeat during a sonogram, slowed down and digitalized.

The antique glasses that Kirk sells to make some cash are the pair that was given to him by McCoy for his birthday in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It's suggested that once sold in the antiques store, those glasses hang around until they're bought by McCoy, in the future, and then Kirk takes them back in time, and so on, in which case one has to wonder where the glasses "originally" came from. This constitutes an "ontological paradox", an old favorite of science fiction writers, and raises too many questions to discuss here. (It is possible that these glasses existed in two places simultaneously, like characters in the "Back to the Future" films, rather than being caught in a causal loop.) The same paradox arises when Scotty explains how to make transparent aluminum. If the formula is "found" for the first time in the 20th century, but only because Scotty took the information back, then it was never invented in the first place! (This may not be a paradox if Scotty only gave Doctor Nichols the chemical formula but not the manufacturing process.)

According to Leonard Nimoy, about 95% of the Humpback Whale footage in the final cut of the film was man-made.

After V'Ger, humpback whale is the largest lifeform Spock has mind melded with in the movies or (live action, not animated) series.

When Chekov is running away in the ship the Finnish Jaeger march is playing in the background.

Early in the film, the President of the Federation tells the Klingon Ambassador that Kirk is charged with nine violations of Starfleet Regulations. At his court-martial at the end, only six charges are listed: 1. Conspiracy, 2. Assault on Federation Officers, 3. Theft of Federation Property (the Enterprise), 4. Sabotage of the Excelsior, 5. Destruction of Federation Property (the Enterprise again), and 6. Disobeying direct orders of a superior officer.

One of only three Star Trek movies to have any swear words spoken. The others are Star Trek: Generations, and Star Trek: First Contact. In each case, the cursing was a single use of the "s**t" word.

The first film in "Dolby Stereo Spectral Recording" soundtrack.

First movie appearance by Spock's Mother Amanda, and only Star Trek movie in which she was played by Jane Wyatt, who originated the role. While Spock's father Sarek also appears in the movie, he and Amanda share no scenes together.

The Yorktown Captain was played by 'Vijay Armitraj', a Pro Tennis Player and TV Commentator who at the time was attempting to transition into an acting career.

The highest grossing box office results of the series featuring the original cast. The only Star Trek movie to earn more was the 2009 reboot.

The film was released as scheduled in 1986 as that year marked Star Trek's 20th Anniversary.

The film's novelization was one of the first two Star Trek novels to be adapted as a Book On Tape.

Majel Barrett and Grace Lee Whitney make brief appearances as Christine Chapel and Janice Rand. Both can be seen at Starfleet Headquarters in the scenes during the Probe's "Attack".

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy improvised the continuing "Yes" "No" response to Gillians's question about liking Italian. Initially Kirk was to say "Yes" at the same time Spock said "No", but the actors came up with the alteration while filming the scene.

A scene was originally written in which Sulu meets a child that would grow up to be one of his ancestors. However, the child that was chosen to play the part wouldn't cooperate so the idea was dropped.

Brock Peters would reprise his role as Admiral Cartwright in Star Trek VI, and later went onto play Captain Sisko's father Joseph on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The Sligshot Effect used by the crew was an established form of time traveling that was introduced in the episode Star Trek: Tomorrow Is Yesterday.

Jane Wiedlin:  The Go-Go's rhythm guitarist appears as the captain of a ship rendered powerless by the Probe. She is seen on the right of three huge video screens amid a chaotic control room on Earth. Her line: 'The condition remains the same. The Probe has neutralized all power supplies. We are functioning on reserves only'.

Uhura is the only crew member in duty uniform. Everyone else (except Spock) is dressed in Starfleet, casual wear. Saavik is also in uniform, but stays behind. Chekov leaves his civilian clothes in the past.