Closing off an accidental trilogy, Kirk and his disgraced crew wrap up chilling out on Vulcan to go back to Earth for a bit of a wrist slapping. While they saunter back home in a stolen Klingon ship, an alien probe pops round for tea and biscuits on Earth. Except, there’s neither tea nor biscuits but a confusing sense of chaos as it sucks everything around it of power and soaks up Earths oceans for what seems like no apparent reason.
With Earth and Starfleet Headquarters completely useless, it’s all up to Spock to figure out whats gone wrong as he uses the Klingon ships communications array to figure out that the alien probe is trying to speak Whale after travelling from Q knows where to come find out why their pen pals weren’t writing back any more. The news gets worse when Spock reveals that the species of whale the probes turning the planet upside down to find doesn’t exist in the current century. If they want an answer, it has to come from a time before humpbacked whales hadn’t been hunted out of existence.
So a plan is formed; Dodge the probe, fly towards the sun, use Spocks reconstructed Vulcan brain to calculate a time warp using that suns gravity, end up in the past, kidnap some whales, time warp back home and go to the Winchester while they answer the call and wait for everything so blow over. And thus begins the adventure of the first, and so far only, Star Trek movie set in the year it was released!
For all the Star Trek movies to date, the Voyage Home still seems to be the most popular. Sure, Wrath of Khan seems to top the must watch list or every die hard fan, but for the general audience the accessible and quite literally down to Earth comedic tones make this instalment one people look more fondly on. Largely down to eliminating almost every common aspect of Star Trek for a light hearted fish out of water story.
In a weird way the film comes in with a lot of baggage. Spock died in Wrath of Khan. Was reborn in the Search for Spock. And along the way the now Admiral Kirk led the theft of the Enterprise, which led to his old ship exploding and his crew becoming outlaws. Even their new vessel, a hijacked Klingon Bird of Prey, needs a little bit of explaining for anyone watching over the festive ITV airing of the movie. Thankfully thats all condensed into a quick recap at the beginning with some quick scenes on Vulcan to set it all up and doesn’t take too much time.
The down side is that, between re-establishing where all these characters are as well as getting to the threat of the mysterious alien probe’s effects on Earth, the film does take a while to warm up and get to the point. Rewatching it kind of feels like you’re waiting for the crew to get past their mushroom trip inspired time warp and get to 1984 so the story can really begin.
That story in itself is fairly simple and comes with it’s own special Trek theme. People are generally awful and the whales are largely extinct by Kirk’s time. The selfishness of humanity has wrecked the eco system without realising the consequences. In the real world it’s still a hot topic with climate change being at the forefront. In the film, the disruption of the eco system and hunting of any animal of ‘value’ means that we’re not seeing the bigger picture. Aliens have been chatting away to the people of Earth for centuries and we just assumed we were the only important ones worth having a chinwag to. Basically, we’ve killed the aliens besties and the only way to make them leave us alone is to repopulate the species.
Ok. That didn’t seem that simple. But it’s fairly straight forward. Find whales, get whales and bring them to the future. Retrofit the Bird of Prey to become one big giant flying fish tank. Don’t let anyone see future people running around. A whale heist.
Why it all works is keeping the story telling simple. There’s no major unexpected twists or turns. In essence, it’s a by the numbers film on paper. We have a bunch of people from the 23rd century who don’t adjust well to the 1980’s, navigating local slang and punk rockers. Uhura and Chekov are tasked with finding enough nuclear energy to fix the warp drive. Scotty and McCoy get to build a fish tank. Sulu finds a helicopter and all the while Kirk and Spock take the A story of saving two captive whales about to be released into the wild while mining their caretaker for inspiration.
It’s all those small adjustments that really make the movie. Scotty trying to figure out how to use a computer is a strange little highlight while Kirk tries to wave off Spock’s weirdness as a side effect of major drug use. Though the deadpan reaction of a police officer as Chekov seems completely unaware of why it’s a bit odd that a Russians looking for directions to a nuclear powered naval ship remains a fun highlight.
By the numbers movie making also means it all goes wrong, as it should. Chekovb gets captured on a naval vessel, the USS Enterprise obviously, leading to an accident and rescue from hospital. Whale expert Gillian Taylor finds out Kirks’ from the future and pushes her way into the mission to save the whales she cares about and we even get a whaling ship having the life scared out of them when the ship decloaks above them.
It’s all so simple that it just works. As a series Star Trek had always had the benefit of moving from drama to comedy whenever the scripts said so. Seeing the films as episodes the Voyage Home follows a tense story of vengeance and an action adventure with high stakes. Bringing it all down to just simple, light hearted fun without any real bad guy was the perfect cool down to the franchise and a fun way to close everything off. As a self contained film, it’s light enough to put on every Christmas season and have a good bit of fun.
Throwing out a lot of the traditional formula, it does fit in very nicely with other sci fi films of the era by bringing Star Trek down to Earth and just having fun with it. Especially as for the first time we really have an ensemble piece with everyone being part of the story. With all the focus on the people and having fun with the idea over sci fi and special effects, the real risk in the film was in avoiding any risk and delivering something that has warmth, charm and almost refuses to take itself too seriously.
Some of it doesn’t hold up well. And the film slows to snails pace any time they’re not in 1986. Even the climax is a tricky one as it’s just whales and probes making noises at each others, which isn’t a massive climax. But sometimes you just need a bit of fun – even after 40 years, The Voyage Home is still a lot of fun.
About the author
It’s Not Easy Being Green Blooded: ‘Level Five Transporter Accident’, Strange New Worlds S4E05
Spock's going through a bit of a personal crisis and Scotty's become madly competitive with an old Academy rival. These two separate threads collide in the weirdest way when Spock finds himself as the only person who can control the ship as Scotty's transporter antics turn everyone into puppets... Writers: Henry Alonso Myers & Dana HorganDirector: Jordan Canning Spock's not quite feeling himself and he hasn't quite been himself since the Griffin Incident. And things are getting worse. Leaning heavily towards logic over his exploration of his human side, and in the wake of La'an deciding their relationship had reached it's 'natural conclusion', he's spiraling. Well, as much as a Vulcan would allow themselves to. Desperately trying to balance himself, he's leaning into logic and reaching out to his scorned ex-fiancee for help in re-establishing his Vulcan side.While thats happening, Scotty's on a […]
1701 Shades of Grey: ‘A Case of Chiaroscuro’, Strange New Worlds S4E04
It's been a stressful few months for the Enterprise crew and they want, well, demand, shore leave. Choosing a tech-free planet with natural psychedelics in the atmosphere, the command crew take a shuttle down, take in all the wonders the world provides. And then it all goes a bit wonky... Writers: Skylar Ojeda & Dana Horgan Director: Meera Menon Aside from orbiting a star who's radiation gives an altered perspective of light, Mat'aar XII is a world occupied by Klingon overlords. Having taken control of the population, and implemented strict monitoring and restrictions on movement, the Klingon's rule with fear, torture and by creating division. Like any good occupiers, they've given cushy jobs to some locals including their top Lieutenant, Navatte, a local who proudly wears her silver Klingon armband and interrogates anyone who oppose the Empire. Or so […]
[Departmental] Introducing General Board
The General Board is a relatively new concept and the next evolution of Fleet Support. Mirroring the Captains Table, the General Board is constructed to help overall fleet operations and to contribute more voices and ideas to the clubs operation. Based very loosely on the political 'two house' structure, and named after the real-world General Board within the US Navy in the first half of the 20th century, the starting point was to appoint two sets of voices within the fleet. The Captains represent their unit and their members need within that unit, each representing an area or group that makes up the whole. To contrast and add to the Captains Table, Fleet Support – and now the expanded General Board – allows to give both opinions of fleet leadership and fleet membership equal standing and ensure we hear a […]
Welcoming Our New Fleet Development Officer
To quote Heraclitus, the only constant in life is change. Quadrant 2 has been through many changes before and with the recent appointment of a new Admiralty Board, we're looking ahead with more changes to the fleet structure. With Piers Drinkall joining the board alongside David Shires, there were some discussions about what to do with Piers' Fleet Development role and after some serious thinking, a decision was made. After aiding in Piers' efforts within the Command Training Program, and being a solid right hand on the USS Sovereign, we're pleased to welcome Karl Drinkall to the Fleet Development position. Karl is a sharp mind with a lot to give to the fleet and a clear grasp of our aims and goals in the coming months and years. With his dedication and string mindset, it was an easy decision to […]
[Retro Review] Errand of Mercy
Relations between the Federation and the Klingons are in tatters and the prospect of an all out war casts a shadow over the region. To help prepare for the worst, Kirk and the Enterprise are sent to Organia, a planet populated by inherent pushovers right on the border between Federation and Klingon space. With the prospect of the Klingons getting a foothold that would help their war efforts, Kirk's job is to negotiate a protection order, getting the Organians on their side before the Klingons annexe the planet as a launching pad for conflict. Problem is, the Organians are hardcore pacifists and their native tech is limited. They don't want to be part of any war, and they don't want to change their values to resist. Which becomes a bit of a problem when the Klingons arrive ready to occupy the […]
Dude, Where’s Your Shuttle? Human Best Friend; Strange New Worlds S4E03
It's been a stressful few months for the Enterprise crew and they want, well, demand, shore leave. Choosing a tech-free planet with natural psychedelics in the atmosphere, the command crew take a shuttle down, take in all the wonders the world provides. And then it all goes a bit wonky... Writers: Kathryn LynDirector: Yana Gorskaya Engineers and pilots hate each other. It's the rules. Scotty and Ortegas have been following those rules to the letter, with the bickering pair opening with a dual monologue highlighting how irritating they are to each other between Scotty setting up alerts and alarms to keep the engines in check, and Ortegas duct tapping over the console to get rid of them so she can push the limits freely.While they're constantly irritating each other, the rest of the Alpha shift command team are exhausted. Months […]
Related
[Retro Review] Errand of Mercy
Relations between the Federation and the Klingons are in tatters and the prospect of an all out war casts a shadow over the region. To help prepare for the worst, Kirk and the Enterprise are sent to Organia, a planet populated by inherent pushovers right on the border between Federation and Klingon space. With the prospect of the Klingons getting a foothold that would help their war efforts, Kirk's job is to negotiate a protection order, getting the Organians on their side before the Klingons annexe the planet as a launching pad for conflict. Problem is, the Organians are hardcore pacifists and their native tech is limited. They don't want to be part of any war, and they don't want to change their values to resist. Which becomes a bit of a problem when the Klingons arrive ready to occupy the […]
[Retro Review] The Galileo Seven
Pulled in two directions, the Enterprise has to deliver critical medical supplies to avert a plague and conduct vital research at the same time. Unable to turn down the order, Kirk thinks on his feet by carrying forward to save the planet, while sending Spock to lead a research team on the Galileo shuttle to carry out their mission until the Enterprise has finished it's mission of mercy. It's a good idea. Until it isn't. Isolated form the Enterprise, the Galileo runs into a bit of bother. Thrown off course by plot, the shuttle crash lands on a primitive planet. Alone with a broken ship and a people who are as barbaric as they are terrified by the shuttles sudden arrival, Spock has to lead his own team through fear and frustration with cool and calming logic. On the first […]
[Retro Review] Space Seed
By chance, the Enterprise comes across an ancient Earth ship drifting through space. On board they find a whole bunch of people held in suspended animation, wake up the leader of the gang and accidentally unleash one of the most iconic villains of the franchise. Being coy with his identity at first, ship historian Marla McGivers becomes fascinated with a glimpse at the past while Kirk and the rest of the non-historians figure out that he just happens to be one of the most notorious war lords in Earths history... Star Trek, Season 1 , Episode 22 For all the action and adventure of deep space and the idea of using alien make up to mask more down to earth stories, Space Seed gives the first real glimpse of Star Trek's history. Khan is a relic of Earth from long […]
[Retro Review] Let This Be Your Last Battlefield
Often shown in highlight reels and quoted in discussions about Star Trek's more forward thinking messages, Let This Be Your Last Battlefield is at it's simplest, a story of the ridiculousness of segregation. En route to a vital mission of mercy, Kirk and his crew end up in the middle of a political minefield. Interrupted in the mission by a stolen Federation shuttle carrying an injured alien, Lokai from the planet Cheron, they're soon further interrupted by Commissioner Bele, an official representing Cheron who announces Lokai as a political traitor and demanding custody. One asylum request later, Kirk's stuck between the two trying to find the right course of action knowing he has orders to follow beyond the situation. The separation between Belle and Lokai is a simple context. And also a strangely charged one looking at it from a […]
[Retro Review] The Trouble With Tribbles
Space adventures, time travelling madness and the occasional God was standard fare for the original series. But every now and then it dived into a mission of the mundane. Kirk's mission in The Trouble With Tribbles is as dull as it could be and he's hugely aware of it. The Klingon's have popped up again and the people of resupply station K7 want some help guarding a huge shipment of grain. As the Klingons ask for shore leave, they share the station with the Enterprise crew while Kirk tries to keep his cool... For decades now this is one of those episodes that jumped out and added one of the weirdest parts to the Star Trek lore. Tribbles. Introduced by trader Cyrano Jones, the inoffensive little balls of fur catch the attention of Uhura who buys one instantly and takes […]
[Retro Review] Balance of Terror.
Each era of Star Trek has captured a moment in time. The original series captured as unique a moment as any that feels both like ancient history and something that still resonates. It's cast and writers still felt the effects of the second world war, from actors like James Doohan who was famously injured in D-Day, to producer Robert Justman among the many on board the Enterprise who's lives were in part shaped by the historical event. At the same time, much as things are today, there was no end to conflict or instability in the world and even the race to the moon and seeing Apollo 11's flight suffered the dark cloud of the cold war between the United States and what was then the USSR. The background and setting behind the era was what could create episodes like […]
