TheStar Trekfranchise seems to have an unspoken rule when it comes to films: the odd-numbered films tend to be weaker than the even-numbered ones. This rule held for a while (withStar Trek: The Wrath of KhanandStar Trek: First Contactbeing the biggest examples) until it was shaken up by the poor reception ofStar Trek: NemesisandJ.J. Abramstaking the franchise into a whole new direction - and a whole new universe. The most infamous example of an odd-numberedStar Trekwould have to beStar Trek V: The Final Frontier,which also markedWilliam Shatner’s directorial debut.
The Final Frontiersees the crew of the U.S.S.Enterprisetraveling to Nimbus III to rescue a trio of diplomats, where they encounter Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), the half-brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Sybok wants to use the Enterprise to transport a being who claims to be God across the universe, spreading its wisdom along the way. That’s right:this is aStar Trekmovie where the main antagonist is God. 35 years later, this storyline, along with a host of other factors, has madeThe Final Frontierone of the most poorly receivedStar Trekfilms. But it also caused a showdown of biblical proportions between Shatner andStar TrekcreatorGene Roddenberry.
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.
In his bookStar Trek Movie Memories,Shatner said that the idea of Kirk facing off against God came from watching televangelists, includingJim Bakker. “They [the televangelists] were repulsive, strangely horrifying, and yet I became absolutely fascinated,” he wrote. But Shatner had issues getting his version ofThe Final Frontierto theaters,especially when it came to the script. After a lengthy search,David Lougherystarted to co-write the script with Shatner until theWriters' Guild of America went on strike in 1988. Even after the strike ended,The Final Frontierstill went through a number of rewrites as Paramount wanted to rush the sequel into production. This led to a sequence featuring angels and demons being transformed into a scene where theEnterprisecrew faces off against a group of rock men, and then just one rock man due to budget concerns.
The biggest change involved Sybok - or rather, the actor who would have played him. Shatner originally wantedSean Conneryfor the role, butConnery ended up turning downThe Final FrontierforIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade.The Final Frontierdoes pay homage to Connery, as the planet “God” is trapped on is called Sha Ka Ree in honor of him. But this all paled in comparison to Roddenberry’s ire withThe Final Frontierand his efforts to halt it from going into production.
Gene Roddenberry Hated the Story for ‘Star Trek: The Final Frontier’ – Because It Tackled Ideas He’d Already Conceived
By the timeThe Final Frontierrolled around, Gene Roddenberry was billed as an “executive consultant” on theStar Trekfilms, which meant that he didn’t have much control over the direction of the story. He took umbrage with Shatner’s storyas he’d wanted to do aStar Trekmovie centering around similar ideas. Roddenberry previously wrote a script titled “The God Thing,” where theEnterprisecrew had to reunite to stop a powerful alien entity that was causing destruction throughout the universe. But Paramountturned the script down due to its religious elements, with a planned novelization failing to materialize. Even though Roddenberry would attempt to explore the central idea of “The God Thing” inStar Trek: The Motion Pictureand hisStar Trek: Phase IIpitch (which later served as the basis forStar Trek: The Next Generation), it never came to fruition - which meant that Shatner’s success infuriated him.
Roddenberry went to extreme measures to voice his displeasure with Shatner,includingsending an official memodecryingThe Final Frontier’s story. But it didn’t stop there, as Roddenberry also had acclaimed sci-fi authorIssac Asimovin his corner.Asimov didn’t mince words when Roddenberry asked him for input, calling it an “out and out disaster.” “To bring in a charismatic preacher who seems to be all-powerful and ends up being ludicrously wrong is going to move the more educated and sophisticated end of the audience to embarrassed laughter,” he wrote. It’s rather ironic that Shatner claimed that Roddenberry would be “rolling in his grave” at the state of modernStar Trekwhen his own creative decisions drew Roddenberry’s ire.
35 Years Later, ‘The Final Frontier’ Is Still One of the Weakest ‘Star Trek’ Films
Star Trek V: The Final Frontierstruggled when it hit theaters, and though part of that was due to the onslaught of blockbusters that includedIndiana Jones and the Last CrusadeandTim Burton’sBatman,it’s also becausethe film doesn’t match up to its predecessors or successors.Much of the film’s focus is put on Kirk, Spock, and Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley); this doesn’t leave the rest of the cast with many memorable moments save for Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and her infamous fan dance. Paramount also reportedly wanted more humor due to the reception ofStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home, which led to scenes like Spock mispronouncing “marshmallows” as “marsh melons” and singing “Row Row Row Your Boat” with Kirk and McCoy. Compared to the tragedy ofThe Wrath of Khanor the triumphant finale that isStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered County,The Final Frontierfalls short of theStar Trekstandard.
Even Shatner feels like he could have done better withThe Final Frontier, and expanded upon thisin an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter:
“I wish that I’d had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do. My concept was, “Star Trekgoes in search of God,” and management said, “Well, who’s God? We’ll alienate the nonbeliever, so, no, we can’t do God.” And then somebody said, “What about an alien who thinks they’re God?” Then it was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget. I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly. When I’m asked, “What do you regret the most?,” I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture.”
Star Trek V: The Final Frontieris an example of howideas can suffer with poor execution. The concept of encountering God in space was ripe with potential, but Shatner swung too hard for the fences when trying to bring it to the silver screen.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontieris available to stream on Max in the U.S.
