Star Trek V: The Final Frontier : Is A Science Fiction Movie About God Really Such A Bad Idea?

Is A Science Fiction Movie About God Really Such A Bad Idea?

I'd like to think that somewhere there is an alternate universe in which Star Trek The Final Frontier met its ambitious goals, and took it's rightful place along side all of the other Star Trek movies of the 1980s.

But what would the story line of a successful and healthy Final Frontier look like?

After World War II a tribe of Melanesian natives began to worship artifacts left on their island by allied troops. Imagine for a moment that a group of primitives living on an uncharted planet (Planet X) have taken to worshiping space artifacts that have fallen on their planet during the centuries.

Next, Captain Kirks voice says "Stardate 8454.130, the Enterprise has arrived at star base Deep Space 7 to pickup a group of federation scientists for the purpose of conducting research in a region of space known as "The Great Barricade". The Great Barricade has a reputation similar to Earth's Bermuda Triangle, and Star Fleet Command wishes to know why so many ships have been lost in this region of space unaccounted for, and if this phenomena will curtail the Federation's expansion into the galaxy.

Kirk meets the four person scientific crew and is surprised that one of them seems to approximately resemble his lost son David.

The Enterprise enters the Great Barricade without incident. However, after a few hours of scanning, one of the members of the science crew announces that he has located a mysterious anomaly about the size of a star which appears to wink in and out of existence, as the star rapidly flashes through the life of a normal star. The Enterprise moves closer to investigate, but is soon trapped when the star turns into a black hole. The Enterprise momentarily dips below the event horizon of the black hole, and spectacular effects take place as an alternate Enterprise is created by the black hole and forever frozen onto the interior surface of the event horizon.

The Enterprise manages to sling shot around the singularity and to punch through the event horizon back into normal space. The Enterprise is damaged, but not critically so. After a few moments the crew realizes that they are now in deep space outside the galaxy. Spock comments that more than 50% of the stars in the visible universe are rouge stars located outside of galaxies.

A primitive radio signal is detected coming from a star system several light years away. Since they are unable to return to Federation space they decide to investigate the radio signal. It takes them several days to arrive at the system, but when they do they find Planet X, along with its stone age inhabitants. Also on the planet is earthling John Talbot, who is worshiped by the natives. The solar system around Planet X is littered with thousands of derelict space craft from all over the universe.

Kirk and the rest of the crew are dismayed to see how Talbot takes advantage of the natives, and how they treat him like a living god. Even though the natives live a very primitive life, they have managed to fashion a comfortable existence for Talbot out of bits of technology they have salvaged from alien wreckage found on their planet. Everyone falsely assumes that Talbot himself such items, and no one questions how such machines are kept maintained. Kirk is disgusted at the situation on Planet X, but the science team advises him not to interfere.

Spock notes that the DNA of the primitives is highly complex, and that their species must be billions of years old. One of the primitives steals a federation translator. The leader of the primitives uses the translator to inform Kirk that he taking control of the Enterprise, so that the ship can be used to transport certain members of the tribe council to the supreme being. The tribal leader explains that he will help the Enterprise reach Federation space after the primitives have safely reached their destiny.

Kirk sees no other way that the Enterprise can reach Federation space within his life time, so he agrees. The Enterprise sails back through the anomaly, but this time engines of the Enterprise are severely damaged. As the Enterprise reemerges into normal space, it finds itself above an ocean world (Planet Y). The crew of the Enterprise do not recognize the region of space they have appeared in, and the stars to do not match any known charts. They could be anywhere.

The Enterprise cannot maintain orbit, and it makes a spectacular but slow controlled flight through the blue skies of Planet Y as it eventually makes a graceful water landing in the planetary ocean. The ship is secure, but it cannot regain flight. Scotty engineers a propulsion and steering system so that the Enterprise can maneuver in water. Crew members stand on the saucer section as they marvel at the clear blue skies, gentle surf and various wild life.

85% of Planet Y is covered by water. The inhabitants of Planet Y resemble the inhabitants of X, but they are taller more graceful, and proud. The inhabitants on Planet Y spend most of their time sailing the ocean on large catamarans.

Spock announces that there appears to be an advanced industrial civilization located on one of the larger islands. The Enterprise sets sail for the island. Upon arrival they find an advanced city, but few inhabitants. The inhabitants are highly intelligent, and they inform the crew of the Enterprise that they are the mother race of the ocean dwellers and also the primitives from Planet X. The city dwellers state that their race came into being shortly after the big bang that created the universe, and that they have chronicled every major event in the universe since then. The city dwellers mother race spread with the expansion of the universe, but over time the universe became so diffuse that they lost contact with one another, and their purpose became lost.

The leader of the city dwellers explains that although their technology is millions of years beyond that of the Federation, they are not gods, although they are often mistaken for gods, and in reality they are more like god's historians.

The city dwellers repair the Enterprise and return it to Federation space just outside the Great Barricade. All of the ships logs covering the past few days have been completely scrubbed, and the Enterprise has no record of its recent journey. Kirk is uncertain what to report to Star Fleet, if anything.

Re: Is A Science Fiction Movie About God Really Such A Bad Idea?

This would have been a wonderful film. Kirk plus company would have had a good show with this one.

Re: Is A Science Fiction Movie About God Really Such A Bad Idea?

I actually enjoyed the movie.

It isn't 1 of my favorite "STAR TREK" Movies but I still liked it for what it was. I do however absolutely love the musical soundtrack for the Movie.
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