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“Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” quotes

“- Kirk: This is good-bye? - Dr. Gillian Taylor: Why does it have to be good-bye? - Kirk: Well, like they say in your century, I don't even have your telephone number.” William Shatner - James T. Kirk Catherine Hicks - Gillian

“Admiral, if we were to assume these whales were ours to do with as we pleased, we would be as guilty as those who caused their extinction.” Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- Dr. Gillian Taylor: Wait a minute. How did you know Gracie's pregnant ? Nobody knows that. - Spock: Gracie does.” Catherine Hicks - Gillian Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- FBI agent interrogating Chekov: Name . - Chekov: My name ? - FBI agent interrogating Chekov:No, my name ! - Chekov: I do not know your name . - FBI agent interrogating Chekov: You play games with me, Mister, and you're through. - Chekov: I am? May I go now?” Jeff Lester - FBI Agent Walter Koenig - Chekov

“They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all.” William Shatner - James T. Kirk

“This is an extremely primitive and paranoid culture.” William Shatner - James T. Kirk

“- Doctor #1: A simple evacuation of the epidural hematoma will relieve the pressure! - McCoy: My God man, drilling holes in his head is not the answer ! The artery must be repaired! Now, put away your butcher 's knives and let me save this patient before it's too late !” David Ellenstein - Doctor #1 DeForest Kelley - McCoy

“May fortune favor the foolish .” William Shatner - James T. Kirk

“- Dr. Gillian Taylor: Sure you won't change your mind? - Spock: Is there something wrong with the one I have?” Catherine Hicks - Gillian Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- Ambassador Sarek: Do you have a message for your mother? - Spock: Yes. Tell her I feel fine.” Mark Lenard - Sarek Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- Vulcan Computer: What was Kiri-Kin-Tha's first law of metaphysics? - Spock: Nothing unreal exists.” Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- Spock: To hunt a species to extinction is not logical . - Dr. Gillian Taylor: Whoever said the human race was logical ?” Leonard Nimoy - Spock Catherine Hicks - Gillian

“It is difficult to answer , when one does not understand the question.” Mark Lenard - Sarek

“- Ambassador Sarek: Your vessel did destroy the USS Grissom, your men did kill Kirk's son. Do you deny these events? - Klingon Ambassador: We deny nothing. We have the right to preserve our race. - Ambassador Sarek: You have the right to commit murder?” Mark Lenard - Sarek John Schuck - Klingon Ambassador

“Our mission? Spock, you're talking about the end of every life on Earth! You're half human. Haven't you got any goddamn feelings about that?” William Shatner - James T. Kirk

“Damage control is easy. Reading Klingon - that's hard.” James Doohan - Scotty

“- McCoy: You realize of course that if we give him the formula we're altering the future. - Scotty: Why? How do we know he didn't invent the thing?” DeForest Kelley - McCoy James Doohan - Scotty

“- Scotty: Hello , computer. - Dr. Nichols: Just use the keyboard. - Scotty: Keyboard. How quaint.” James Doohan - Scotty Alex Henteloff - Nichols

“- Amanda: Spock, does the good of the many outweigh the good of the one? - Spock: I would accept that as an axiom. - Amanda: Then you stand here alive because of a mistake made by your flawed, feeling, human friends. They have sacrificed their futures because they believed that the good of the one - you - was more important to them. - Spock:...” (continue) (continue reading) Jane Wyatt - Amanda Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- McCoy: This woman has immediate postprandial, upper-abdominal distention. Now, out of the way! Get out of the way! - Kirk: What did you say she has? - McCoy: Cramps.” DeForest Kelley - McCoy William Shatner - James T. Kirk

“- Dr. Gillian Taylor: Don't tell me! You're from outer space. - Kirk: No, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space.” Catherine Hicks - Gillian William Shatner - James T. Kirk

- Spock: Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors , "double dumb-ass on you" and so forth. - Kirk: Oh, you mean the profanity ? - Spock: Yes. - Kirk: Well that's simply the way they talk here . Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word . Leonard Nimoy - Spock William Shatner - James T. Kirk

“- Shore Patrolman: How's the patient, doctor? - Kirk: He's gonna make it. - Shore Patrolman: He? You came in with a she. - Kirk: One little mistake...” Joe Lando - Shore Patrolman William Shatner - James T. Kirk

- McCoy: This is the probe 's way of saying, " Hello " to the people of Earth? - Spock: There are other species on earth. Only human arrogance would assume the signal must be meant for mankind. DeForest Kelley - McCoy Leonard Nimoy - Spock

“- Kirk: If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are being released. - Spock: How will playing cards help?” William Shatner - James T. Kirk Leonard Nimoy - Spock

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Funny / Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

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• And it's McCoy who puts it explicitly out there: McCoy : I prefer a dose of common sense. You're proposing that we go backwards in time, find humpback whales, then bring them forward in time, drop 'em off and hope the hell they tell this probe what to go do with itself! Kirk : That's the general idea. McCoy : Well, that's crazy! Kirk : You have a better idea, now's the time.
• Here's how Roger Ebert puts it: It's at about this point that the script conferences must have really taken off. See if you can follow this: The Enterprise crew determines that the probe is zeroing in on Earth, and that if no humpback songs are picked up in response, the planet may well be destroyed. Therefore, the crew's mission becomes clear: Because humpback whales are extinct in the 23rd century, they must journey back through time to the 20th century, obtain some humpback whales, and return with them to the future - thus saving Earth. After they thought up this notion, I hope the writers lit up cigars.
• Or possibly responding in the humpback whale equivalent of profanity .
• " YOU POMPOUS ASS! "
• Of course, this implies that either their shiny new ship's design is a bit... underwhelming if it can be taken out of commission for 3+ months by removing a couple of pieces (implied in the last movie with "The more they over think the plumbing, the easier it is to break."), or... Scotty is as dangerous as an alien probe. Take your pick.
• Speaking of the Excelsior , Scotty's sabotage naturally gets brought up during their trial. When the specific charge is finally read, look at Scotty's facial reaction. It's subtle, but it's really not hard to imagine that internally, he's smirking with pride and satisfaction (both for his own engineering skills and for humiliating the NX-2000).
• Kirk brings up the fact that the inhabitants of 20th century Earth will have never seen an extra-terrestrial before. Cue pointed looks at Spock's eyebrows and pointed ears. Spock, never changing expression, tears off a strip of his robe and wraps it around his head to hide said eyebrows and ears, with an 'Any further objections?' air. Bones' bemused smile and headshake seals it.
• Then seconds later: Kirk: Everybody, remember where we parked.
• And then Spock continues his conversation with Kirk as if he's still trying to speak over the punk's music, with Kirk's expression just screaming 'On top of everything else, I just don't have the energy to tell you that you don't need to shout anymore.'
• Let's not forget when they first tried to get onto a bus. They walked up the steps, there's a pause, and then they climb off again. The entire structure of the scene just makes the moment: Spock : What does it mean, "exact change"? Kirk : ("Hell if I know" gesture.)
• The song being played by the punk ("I Hate You" by Edge of Etiquette) itself qualifies as a funny moment to an extent thanks to its ridiculously obnoxious and misanthropic lyrics: "Just where is the future? The things we've done and said! Let's just push the button , we'd be better off dead! Cause I hate you! And I berate you! And I can't wait to get to you! The sins of all our fathers , being dumped on us, the sons! The only choice we're given is how many megatons! And I eschew you! And I say, "screw you!" And I hope you're blue, too! We're all bloody worthless-"
• And then there's the guy who plays the punk (Kirk Thatcher, BTW) who muses that no matter what else he does in his life, this will be the one thing he's known for.
• On a meta level, this scene could also be viewed as Star Trek (which has always held an optimistic vision of humanity's future) issuing a Take That! to the then-burgeoning cyberpunk genre (and its nihilistic cynicism).
• The whole time, Gillian is listing off all sorts of theories for the whalesong, concluding that we just can't really know for sure, oblivious to Spock in the tank as she has her back to it, and not noticing Kirk's freak-out. Then the old lady simply says, "Maybe they're singing to that man."
• For bonus points, Gillian, upon turning around and seeing Spock in the tank, exclaims "What the hell?" right in front of a nun . The nun, for her part, is nonplussed.
• Or when Kirk tries to remind Spock that he used to lie (i.e. exaggerate). Spock's response to being asked if he remembers? "The hell I can't."
• He seems to get the hang of it by the end. Kirk: Spock, where the hell's the power you promised? Spock: One damn minute, Admiral.
• Spock does it the most frequently, but Kirk did it first: Angry Driver: "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, you dumbass?!" Kirk: "...Well, double dumbass on you!"
• The Comic-Book Adaptation ends up modifying a line to create a Brick Joke out of this with the "exact change" scene: as Kirk and Spock board the bus, then promptly un-board it: Spock: Admiral, is the term "exact change" another form of profanity?
• Word of God was that Shatner actually messed the line up, but it fit so well with the situation it became a Throw It In! .
• And afterwards, Gillian tries to make smalltalk with the two. Gillian: (to Spock) So, you were at Berkeley? Spock: I was not . Kirk: Memory problems, too.
• "Oh, well, I was close. I mean, I knew outer space was gonna come into this sooner or later."
• So has Spock. Who considers them 'the giants' of 20th Century American literature.
• Or he was in Sarcasm Mode .
• Or possibly a commentary on how history sometimes works. Shakespeare's works, for instance, was aimed far more "low class" than people realize. Considering that Spock was almost incapable of sarcasm at this point in his recovery, they may have saying those authors ARE considered giants in the 23rd century, which is also funny.
• Considering Susann and Robbins aren't considered giants in the 21st century...
• Or maybe he was referring to the San Francisco Giants.
• Much of Kirk's interaction with Dr. Taylor. Dr. Gillian Taylor : Do you guys like Italian? Spock : No. Kirk : Yes. Spock : No. Kirk : Yes. Spock : No. Kirk : Yes. I love Italian. (pointed glare at Spock) And so do you. Spock : ( Beat ) Yes.
• Kirk : You're not exactly catching us at our best. Spock : That much is certain.
• Even funnier is that Scotty uses two-finger hunt-and-peck... at trucker speed.
• "Noo-klee-ar wessels."
• Doubly funny since that actress was an extra who signed up because her car got towed (she didn't know they were making a movie when she parked it) and she figured her day was shot anyways, so she might as well make something of it. She didn't know that she wasn't supposed to interact with anybody. Watch their faces when she does. The scene was so brilliant that it was left in.
• With that motorcycle cop just glaring at Chekov the whole time he's asking everybody where the nuclear wessels are. That was a real cop with no idea he was in a movie, by the way.
• Followed up by this exchange, between two interrogators who have been listening to Chekov's Just a Stupid Accent for who-knows-how-long: FBI Agent 1: What do you think? FBI Agent 2: He's a Ruskie. FBI Agent 1: That's the Stupidest Thing I've Ever Heard in my life!
• And the cherry on the sundae would be Chekov's attempt to shoot them with his Klingon phaser. Chekov: Don't move! FBI Agent: All right, make nice, give us the ray gun. Chekov: I warn you, if you don't lie on the floor, I will have to stun you. FBI Agent: Go ahead. Stun me. Chekov: Wery sorry, but... (pulls the trigger, and the phaser sputters and goes dead) FBI Agent: (utterly unimpressed look) Chekov: ( "Oh, Crap!" Smile ) Must be the radiation. (runs)
• And as Chekov books it, he throws the phaser at the FBI agent , who catches it with a grimace. He didn't know what it was, for all he knew, it was a hand grenade or something. Perhaps a subtle Call-Back to "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," and Kirk trying not to react as his military interrogator plays Artistic License – Gun Safety with Kirk's phaser?
• Gillian Taylor, much like Edith Keeler, is not your typical 20th century human. Her facial expressions across the movie show she's not really buying what Kirk and Spock are trying to tell her, and she suspects something is up with them. The funniness come when later, she's told the truth of things by Kirk (who knew she might not believe anyway), she was completely unsurprised ( and unimpressed ). And when she sees the invisible Mr. Scott helping the vanishing materials, bumps headfirst into the invisible Bird-of-Prey, she's completely dumbfounded by all this, but recovers quickly. The actress's acting is what sells it.
• Early on in the sequence at the hospital, McCoy comes across a woman in a bed receiving kidney dialysis. He remarks on the 'dark ages' of medicine he's in, then gives her a pill to take. Later, during their escape, a group of the hospital staff are standing around the woman - now in a wheelchair and looking quite lively - utterly baffled at her recovery, while she animatedly motions to everyone she can see. Woman: The doctor gave me a pill and I grew a new kidney!
• If you look closely, you can see her waving to McCoy and he smiles back.
• Shortly after when they are knocking over patients and doctors, including one with a broken leg, Bones stops to help them too, only for Kirk to pull him back.
• Easy to miss joke, but the hospital PA pages a "Dr. Ben Dover." Say it out-loud.
• McCoy's in top Deadpan Snarker form here as well: Scotty: ... Are ye plannin' to take a swim? McCoy : Off the deep end, Mr. Scott.
• And then, as they're leaving: Guard : How's your patient? Kirk : He's going to make it. Guard : He? You went in with a she! Kirk : One little mistake...
• Even funnier? The officers don't notice they're leaving with THREE doctors, instead of TWO.
• The helmsman is spinning the ship's wheel as rapidly as he can, and the captain is trying to spin it as well!
• Everyone in the water laughing as Spock flails about...
• When played in Moscow, McCoy's line "The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe." got the whole audience laughing right up to the end credits.
• Then, a few seconds later, as they try to reset the take: Shatner : Hang on a second, let me recapture my mood, will you? Nimoy : ( laughing again ) No. No, that was great, do it again. Crew Member : ( off camera ) All right, grim it up! Shatner : "Grim it up." I'm trying .
• "Ready to engage computer, Admiral. *cough*" "...Ready to engage voice?"
• "Admiral, I am receiving hail storms!"
• "Angels of ministers and mercy...God help us all...to get this scene."
• "Get your hand off my leg."
• The Humpback Nails.
• What makes this one even better is Nimoy holding the moment just long enough to keep the take potentially useable before dropping that last. Since he was the one directing the film, he finished a lot of takes by cracking a joke instead of just shouting "CUT!"
• The following scene where Scotty uses the Apple Macintosh.
• "NOT NOW, MADELYN!"
• Incidentally, $100 in 1986 is roughly worth $200+ in 2016. For seven people spending a day in a major American city, that is a fair amount of money.
• The answer to "What was the principal event of the year 1987?" is apparently "Computers are cloned from carrots on Earth." (The film was released in 1986.)
• "Gracie is pregnant." What sells it is how casual, matter-of-fact, and out-of-the-blue Spock is when he says it, followed by Gillian stomping on the brakes . What's really funny is that Gillian demands how in the world Spock knows she's pregnant, since no one outside of the aquarium knows. Spock replies matter-of-factly, " Gracie knows."
• Everyone save Scotty, who laughs.
• The Federation President describing the Enterprise crew saving the planet and everyone on it merely as "certain mitigating circumstances." Understatement of the century.
• Kirk sticks her with the bill AND keeps the pizza!
• Beforehand, when they drop off Spock at the park, we're treated to the mental image of Spock just kind of awkwardly lurking around while Gillian and Kirk have supper. Gillian: He's just gonna hang around the bushes while we eat? Kirk: [shrugs] It's his way.
• Chekhov's capture may elicit a chuckle from you. After Uhura beams out, his communicator's power fails and he desperately tries to make contact with Scotty, while hearing Marines shouting and getting closer. He finally says "Scotty, now would be a good time." Then a Marine pops up behind him, puts a gun to his head, and says "Freeze!"
• At a meta level, searching for "the one with the whales" on Wikipedia brings up the article on the film. Ditto for Google .
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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 1986

Kirk: He's gonna make it.

Kirk: One little mistake...

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ( Paramount Pictures , 1986 ) is the fourth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series . It completes the trilogy started in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . This film is known colloquially as "The One with the Whales."

• 1 Miscellany
• 4 External links

Miscellany [ edit ]

• [Opening dedication text]

Dialogue [ edit ]

Cast [ edit ], external links [ edit ].

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Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

William shatner: kirk.

• Photos (77)
• Quotes (48)

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Quotes 

Punk on bus : [Playing loud music on the bus] 

Kirk : Excuse me.

Punk on bus : [He ignores him] 

Kirk : Excuse me. Would you mind stopping that noise?

Punk on bus : [He turns it up louder] 

Kirk : [louder and firmer]  Excuse me! Would you mind stopping that damn noise?

Punk on bus : [He flips him off] 

Kirk : [He looks at Spock] 

Spock : [He gives the punk the Vulcan neck-pinch, followed by the delighted applause of the grateful bus passengers] 

Kirk : Spock, where the hell's the power you promised?

Spock : One damn minute, Admiral.

[after landing and cloaking a Klingon spaceship in Golden Gate Park] 

Kirk : Everybody remember where we parked.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Don't tell me! You're from outer space.

Kirk : No, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space.

Kirk : [Explaining Spock's odd behavior]  Oh, him? He's harmless. Back in the sixties, he was part of the free speech movement at Berkeley. I think he did a little too much LDS.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : LDS?

Kirk : Mr. Spock, have you accounted for the variable mass of whales and water in your time re-entry program?

Spock : Mr. Scott cannot give me exact figures, Admiral, so... I will make a guess.

Kirk : A guess? You, Spock? That's extraordinary.

Spock : [to Dr. McCoy]  I don't think he understands.

McCoy : No, Spock. He means that he feels safer about your guesses than most other people's facts.

Spock : Then you're saying...

[pause] 

Spock : It is a compliment?

McCoy : It is.

Spock : Ah. Then, I will try to make the best guess I can.

McCoy : Please do.

[about 20th Century America] 

Kirk : This is an extremely primitive and paranoid culture.

[the crew is on a shuttlecraft pondering what their new starship will be] 

Sulu : ...I'm counting on the *Excelsior*.

Scotty : The *Excelsior*? Why in God's name would you want that bucket of bolts?

Kirk : A ship is a ship.

Scotty : Whatever you say so.

Scotty : Thy will be done.

[the new starship USS *Enterprise* 1701-A emerges into view] 

Kirk : My friends.

Kirk : We've come home.

Spock : Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors, "double dumb-ass on you" and so forth.

Kirk : Oh, you mean the profanity?

Spock : Yes.

Kirk : Well that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word.

Kirk : Out of the way...

Shore Patrolman : Sorry, Doctor, I have strict orders...

Dr. Gillian Taylor : [Gillian moans in pain] 

McCoy : My God, man. Do you want an acute case on your hands? This woman has immediate postprandial, upper-abdominal distention. Now, out of the way! Get out of the way!

[They enter the operating room] 

Kirk : What did you say she has?

McCoy : Cramps.

Kirk : If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are being released.

Spock : How will playing cards help?

Disgruntled guy in car : Hey, why don't ya watch where you're going, ya dumb-ass!

Kirk : Well, uh, double dumb-ass on you!

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Don't tell me you don't use money in the 23rd Century.

Kirk : Well, we don't.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Do you guys like Italian?

Spock : No.

Kirk : Yes.

Kirk : [at Spock]  No, Yes.

Kirk : Yes, I love Italian...

[looks at Spock] 

Kirk : And so do you.

Spock : [in response to Kirk pawning his antique spectacles from The Wrath of Khan]  Excuse me, Admiral. But weren't those a birthday gift from Dr. McCoy?

Kirk : And they will be again, that's the beauty of it.

[to the Antique Store Owner] 

Kirk : How much?

Antique Store Owner : Well, they'd be worth more if the lenses were intact. I'll give you one hundred dollars for them.

Kirk : [pause]  Is that a lot?

Gillian : You're not from the military are you? Trying to teach whales to retrieve torpedoes or some dipshit stuff like that?

Kirk : No, ma'am. No dipshit.

Gillian : Well, good. That was one thing, I would have dropped you off right here.

Spock : Gracie is pregnant.

[Gillian brakes to a sudden stop] 

Gillian : All right, who are you? And don't jerk me around anymore, I want to know how you know that!

Kirk : We can't tell you.

Gillian : But...

Kirk : Please, just let me finish. I can tell you that we're not in the military and that we intend no harm to the whales. In fact, we may be able to help - in ways that, frankly, you couldn't possibly imagine.

Gillian : Or believe, I'll bet.

Kirk : Very likely.

Kirk : May fortune favor the foolish.

Federation Council president : The Council is now in session. If you will all take your seats. Bring in the accused.

[Spock leaves his seat and he moves at side of Kirk] 

Federation Council president : Captain Spock, you do not stand accused.

Spock : Mister President, I stand with my shipmates.

Federation Council president : As you wish. The charges and specifications are: conspiracy, assault on Federation Officers, theft of Federation Property namely the Starship Enterprise, sabotage of the U.S.S. Excelsior, wilful destruction of Federation Property specifically the aforementioned U.S.S. Enterprise, and finally disobeying direct orders of the Starfleet Commander. Admiral Kirk, how do you plead?

Kirk : On behalf of all of us, Mister President, I am authorised to plead guilty.

Federation Council president : So entered. Because of certain mitigating circumstances, all charges but one are summarily dismissed. The remaining charge, disobeying orders of a superior officer is directed solely at Admiral Kirk. I'm sure the Admiral will recognise the necessity of keeping discipline in any chain of command.

Kirk : I do, sir.

Federation Council president : James T. Kirk. It is the judgment of this Council that you be reduced in rank to Captain, and that as a consequence of your new rank, you be given the duties for which you have repeatedly demonstrated unswerving ability: the command of a starship.

Chekov : Admiral. We have found the nuclear wessel.

Kirk : Well done, Team two.

Chekov : And Admiral... it is the *Enterprise*.

[Kirk and Spock look at each other] 

Kirk : Understood.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : He's just gonna hang around the bushes while we eat?

Kirk : [shrugs]  It's his way.

Shore Patrolman : How's the patient, doctor?

Kirk : He's gonna make it.

Shore Patrolman : He? You came in with a she.

Kirk : One little mistake...

Kirk : You're not exactly catching us at our best.

Spock : That much is certain.

McCoy : You sure this is such a bright idea?

Kirk : What do you mean?

McCoy : [referring to Spock]  I mean him! Back at his post like nothing happened. I don't know if you got the whole picture or not, but he's not quite operating on all thrusters!

Kirk : It'll come back to him.

McCoy : Are you sure?

[Kirk doesn't answer] 

McCoy : That's what I thought.

Spock : Ready to engage computer, Admiral.

Kirk : What's our target in time?

Spock : Late twentieth century.

Kirk : Can you be more specific?

Spock : Not with this equipment. I've had to program some of the variables from memory.

Kirk : What are some of the variables?

Spock : The availability of fuel components, mass of the vessel through a time continuum, and probable location of humpback whales - in this case, the Pacific Basin.

Kirk : And you programmed all that from memory?

Spock : I have.

McCoy : Angels and ministers of grace, defend us!

Spock : [recognizing the quote]  Hamlet, Act One, Scene Four.

Kirk : [smiling]  No doubt about your memory, Spock. Engage computers. Prepare for warp speed.

[Gillian has just beamed aboard the Klingon ship for the first time] 

Kirk : Hello, Alice. Welcome to "Wonderland".

Kirk : Our mission? Spock, you're talking about the end of every life on Earth! You're half human.

Kirk : Haven't you got any goddamn feelings about THAT?

McCoy : You're going to try time traveling in this rustbucket?

Kirk : Well, we've done it before.

McCoy : Sure, you slingshot around the Sun, pick up enough speed - You're in time warp. If you don't, you're fried.

Kirk : I prefer it to nothing.

McCoy : I prefer a dose of common sense! You're proposing that we go backwards in time, find humpback whales, then bring them foward in time, drop 'em off, and hope to Hell they tell this probe what to do with itself!

Kirk : That's the general idea.

McCoy : Well, that's crazy!

Kirk : You've got a better idea?

Kirk : Now's the time.

[last lines] 

[on the bridge of the new Enterprise] 

Sulu : Helm ready, Captain.

Kirk : All right, Mr. Sulu. Let's see what she's got.

Kirk : You mean the profanity? That's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays attention to you unless you swear every other word. You'll find it in all the literature of the period.

Spock : For example?

Kirk : Oh the collected works of Jacqueline Susann. The novels of Harold Robbins...

Spock : Ah, the "Giants".

Spock : Admiral, may I ask you a question?

Kirk : Spock, don't call me "Admiral". You used to call me Jim. Don't you remember, "Jim"?

Spock : [He gives a blank look] 

Kirk : [He gives up]  What's your question?

[Kirk is pacing back and forth, considering a below-decks room in the Klingon ship for possible whale transport] 

Kirk : Scotty, how long is this bay?

Scotty : About sixty feet, Admiral.

Kirk : Can you enclose it to hold water?

Scotty : [laughs]  I suppose I could. You planning to take a swim?

McCoy : [sourly]  Off the deep end, Mr. Scott!

Kirk : We got to find some humpbacks.

Scotty : Humpbacked... people?

Kirk : Whales, Mr. Scott, whales! Forty to fifty feet long and about 40 tons each.

Kirk : Where are you going?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : You're going to your ship. I'm going to mine. Science vessel. I got 300 years of catch-up learning to do.

Kirk : [Trying to revive Mr. Checkov]  Pavel, talk to me

Kirk : Name! Rank!

Chekov : [groggily]  Chekov, Pavel. Rank

Chekov : Admiral!

Chekov : Cloaking device now available on all flight modes.

Kirk : I'm impressed - That's a lot of work for a short voyage.

Chekov : We are in an enemy wessel, sir. I did not wish to be shot down on our way to our own funeral.

Kirk : Good thinking.

Kirk : They say the sea is cold, but the sea contains the hottest blood of all.

Gillian : "Whales Weep Not" - D. H. Lawrence.

Kirk : This is good-bye?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Why does it have to be good-bye?

Kirk : Well, like they say in your century, I don't even have your telephone number.

Kirk : I am from what, on your calendar, would be the late 23rd century. I've come back in time to bring two humpback whales with me in an attempt to... repopulate the species.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Well, why didn't you just say so? I mean, why all the coy disguises?

Kirk : You want the details?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Oh, I wouldn't miss this for all the tea in China.

Kirk : When are those whales being released?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Okay. What the hell? Your friend was right. Gracie's not only pregnant, she is *very* pregnant. And at noon tomorrow, in what is sure to be a media circus, the whales get shipped out.

Kirk : Noon tomorrow?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : [he gets up]  Are we leaving?

Kirk : Come on. We don't have much time.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : [their food is brought out]  Could we have that to go, please?

Waiter : Sure. Who gets the bad news?

[Captain Kirk and his crew prepare to time warp in order to retrieve Humpback whales from the past; via sling-shooting around the sun] 

Kirk : [to himself]  May fortune favor the foolish...

[normal voice] 

Kirk : Warp speed, Mister Sulu.

Sulu : Aye, sir. Warp speed.

[the captured Klingon Vessel speeds up at warp speed] 

Sulu : [silence in the cockpit; nonchalantly]  Warp two... warp three.

Kirk : [uneasy]  Steady as she goes...

Sulu : Warp four...

[a metallic reading plate slips off of Spock's desk. Spock reaches for it, but it falls into the grate. As the ship gets closer and closer to the sun, the interior of the Klingon vessel begins to vibrate gradually] 

Sulu : Warp five...

[Another metallic reading plate slips off of Uhura's communications desk; clattering to the floor] 

Sulu : Warp six...

[several objects fall to the floor noisily in the background as the ship's alarms go off] 

Sulu : Warp seven... warp eight...

Chekov : Sir... heat shields at maximum!

Sulu : [over the alarms]  Warp NINE! Nine point two, Nine point three...

Kirk : [over the noise]  We need to breakaway speed.

Sulu : [literally shouting over the alarms]  Nine point five, Nine point six, Nine point seven, Nine point eight...

[a screen bursts into shatters due to the pressure from the sun; Uhura screams. Kirk, Chekov, McCoy and Spock immediately turn their heads toward Uhrua's direction] 

Cmdr. Uhura : [over the noise]  I'm all right. I'm fine...

[Kirk lets out a sigh of relief; steam hisses as the ceiling cracks; the window shows that they are getting really close to the sun] 

Kirk : [shouts]  NOW MISTER SULU!

[the ship successfully maneuvers around the sun] 

Kirk : [running towards the Bounty with an injured Checkov after he, Gillian, and McCoy escaped a hospital]  Where would the whales be by now?

Gillian : At sea. If you have a chart on board, I'll show you.

Kirk : No, no, no. All I need is the radio frequency to track them.

Gillian : What are you talking about? I'm coming with you.

Kirk : You can't. Our next stop is the 23rd Century.

Gillian : Well, I don't care. I've got nobody here. I have got to help those whales!

Kirk : I haven't got time to argue with you, or to tell you how much you've meant to us. The radio frequency, please.

Gillian : The frequency's 401 megahertz.

Kirk : Thank you for everything.

[pulls out a communicator] 

Kirk : Scotty, beam me up.

[the transport activates. Gillian hugs Kirk] 

Gillian : Surprise!

[the transport takes them on board the Bounty] 

Kirk : You know, it's ironic, when man was killing these creatures, he was destroying his own future.

Scotty : The beasties seem happy to see you, Doctor. I hope you like our little aquarium.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : A miracle, Mr. Scott.

Scotty : A miracle? That's yet to come.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : What does that mean?

Kirk : It means that our chances of getting home are not too good. You might have lived longer if you'd stayed where you belong.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : I belong here. I am a whale biologist. Suppose, by some miracle, you do get them through. Who in the 23rd century knows anything about humpback whales?

Kirk : You have a point.

Kirk : You know, I could take those whales somewhere where they'd never be hunted.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : [laughing]  You can't even get yourself from Sausalito to San Francisco without a lift.

Kirk : If you have such a low opinion of my abilities, how come we're here having dinner?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Sucker for hard-luck cases.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Well, Admiral, that was the briefest dinner I've ever had in my life, and certainly the biggest cockamamie fish story I've ever heard.

Kirk : You asked. Now, you tell me something. George and Gracie's transmitter, what's the radio frequency?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Sorry, that's classified. Look, I don't have a clue who you are, really. You wouldn't want to show me around your spaceship, would you?

Kirk : That wouldn't be my first choice, no.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Well, there we are.

Kirk : Let me tell you something. I'm here to bring two humpbacks into the 23rd century. If I have to, I'll go to the open sea to get them. I'd much rather have yours. It's better for me, it's better for you, it's better for them. Think about it.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : [he gets out of her truck's passenger seat]  Who are you?

Kirk : Think about it, but don't take too long. I'm out of time. If you change your mind, this is where I'll be.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Here? In the park?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Where could you take them?

Kirk : Hmm?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : My whales. Where could you take them where they'd be safe?

Kirk : Well, it's not so much a matter of a place as of a time.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Well, the time would have to be right now.

Kirk : Why right now?

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Let's just say that no humpback born in captivity has ever survived. The problem is that they won't be that much safer at sea because of all the hunting this time of year. So you see, that, as they say, is that.

McCoy : Jim. You've got to let me go in there. Don't leave him in the hands of 20th-century medicine.

Spock : Admiral, may I suggest that Dr. McCoy is correct? We must help Chekov.

Kirk : Is that the logical thing to do, Spock?

Spock : No, but it is the human thing to do.

McCoy : You'd think they could at least send a ship. It's bad enough to be court-martialed and spend the rest of our lives mining borite, but to have to go home in this Klingon flea trap...

Kirk : We could learn a thing or two from this flea trap. It's got a cloaking device that cost us a lot.

McCoy : I just wish we could cloak the stench.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Where you fellas headed?

Kirk : Back to San Francisco.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Came all the way down here to jump in and swim with the kiddies, huh?

Kirk : [shrugs]  ... Very little point in my trying to explain.

Dr. Gillian Taylor : Yeah, I'll buy that.

Kirk : [answering to McCoy about where we are after back to 23rd Century]  Out of control, and blind as a bat!

Kirk : [the Bounty emerges from the time warp]  Picture, please... .Earth... .But when?... Spock?

Spock : Judging by the pollution content of the atmosphere, I believe we have arrived at the latter half of the twentieth century.

Kirk : Well done, Spock.

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10 Dumb Mistakes Star Trek Wants You To Forget

Which moments left you scratching your head in Star Trek's long, twisted history?

No series that has run as long as Star Trek has will be free of continuity errors. For proof of this, head over to WhoCulture and track some of the litany of errors that have followed that franchise through the years. However, to say that counting up some of these mistakes isn't fun would just be a downright lie.

Sometimes, a continuity error is just a small thing, barely noticeable. It might be the alignment of a hull or the design of a model. These things can easily be explained away in-universe, without doing too much damage to canon. On the flipside, there are sometimes a mistake is so glaring that it is a wonder it wasn't caught during the scripting process, long before it ever made it to filming. What's more, in some of the cases listed here, these events were spotted by the people behind the camera, and left in anyway to see if anyone noticed.

Stil, it's hard to be too harsh to Star Trek - it has given us so much enjoyment over the years. But there's still a job to be done here, so let's grab out raktajinos and dive right in.

10. Scotty Was On The Enterprise-B

With both Star Trek: Generations and Relics, the sixth-season episode of The Next Generation, featuring Scotty, there was bound to be a clash of continuity here. Both scripts were co-written by Ronald D. Moore, which makes the error here a little more egregious. In Relics, Scotty is saved from suspended animation in a transporter beam, believing Kirk to be his saviour.

However, in Star Trek: Generations, Scotty is on board the Enterprise-B as it encounters the Nexus. This mission was one for the history books, as even Riker is able to instantly identify it as the mission 'where James Kirk died.'

In the years that have passed, Scotty's apparent memory failure has been put down to signal degradation while trapped in the transporter, but the truth is far more simple. Generations hadn't been written by the time Relics was airing, and Scotty was a last-minute addition to the film when both Leonard Nimoy and Deforest Kelley either refused or were unable to appear.

This is more apparent in Generations than anything, as Scotty's dialogue is much more 'Spock-y' than ever, owing to the fact that the Vulcan's lines were handed more or less wholesale over to the engineer.

Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick

30 Crazy Mistakes In Star Trek Even Super Fans Missed

Despite Star Trek holding up incredibly well, it's not difficult to head back to the original series and finds the mistakes.

Star Trek is undeniably one of the most prolific pop culture franchises in the world. It stretches multiple television series across the decades, as well as thirteen different films, so there’s a great chance that anyone you meet has been exposed to Star Trek in some way, shape, or form. But when you have fifty years of content, it stands to reason that not all of it is going to be perfect.

Of course, its important to note that studio executives initially doubted the potential of The Original Series , and thus it was troubled by plenty of issues that stemmed from its low budget and lack of support. It was difficult to use special effects or reshoot over any errors that may have been discovered after filming.

Later series episodes would occasionally retcon over information established in previous seasons. And that’s not even to mention the confusion that stemmed from the introduction of high concepts like multiple timelines, because it became easy to mix up events. Fortunately, it’s common nowadays for major geek franchises to hire lore experts whose only job is to identify potential errors in writing and filming.

Other episodes just… didn’t hold up to the high standards that Star Trek writers like Gene Roddenberry always sought to adhere.

But despite it all, Star Trek is a series that manages to hold together its charm throughout the fifty years of content. It was groundbreaking in terms of diversity, and strove to always represent the highest ideals that humanity could be. It tapped into our deeply-ingrained desire to explore beyond the cosmos during a time when we were just beginning to explore outside of our own little blue-and-green marble, and it sympathized with our yearning to answer some of the great questions of the universe.

30 Tiberius Starts With An 'R,' Right?

The phrase “Captain James T. Kirk” has become a household name. It’s been used throughout The Original Series and its subsequent movies, and is even referenced in other pop culture franchises. People more familiar with the Star Trek series might know that the ‘T’ stands for Tiberius.

The third episode of season one of The Original Series , famously titled “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” has Kirk face off against an Enterprise crew member who is suddenly bestowed with psychic abilities and goes mad with power. The crew member shows Kirk a projection of his tombstone, but it actually says “James R. Kirk”.

Since “Where No Man Has Gone Before” is only the third episode in the series, and was actually filmed with the intention of being a secondary pilot, it’s more than likely creators just assigned a random initial, and added Kirk's "official" middle name in later episodes.

29 Magical Technicolor Armbands

Towards the end of the film Star Trek: The Motion Picture , there is a shot of Kirk, Spock, and Bones standing next to each other. Spock and Bones’ uniforms have armbands— Bones is wearing a blue armband, and Spock’s is orange. However, in the very next camera shot, these colors are switched.

Costume snafus are actually very common in the Original Series and its films. It’s possible that reshoots were required for this scene, and costume designers lost track of which character wore which color.

28 No Navigational Deflector

Star Trek Beyond is the second film in the Star Trek reboot series, and Kirk is already Captain of the USS Enterprise . During an attack by Krall and his swarm, the Enterprise ’s navigational deflector is reported as damaged. A minute later, Kirk orders Lt. Sulu to jump to warp speed to escape.

The navigational deflector is the shield that keeps the ship from colliding with asteroids and other space debris while travelling. If you’ve ever had a pebble cause a chip in your windshield while you’re careening down the highway, imagine the amount of damage that can be done while the ship is going at the speed of light. In the vacuum of space.

It’s a very important device, and it doesn’t seem likely that the Enterprise would be able to successfully navigate warp speeds without it. Then again, the Enterprise was already damaged by the attack by Krall, so maybe the damage caused to the ship while going at warp speed without a navigational deflector is irrelevant.

27 Dimensional Costume Discrepancies

The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Yesterdays Enterprise” shows the viewers an alternate reality where the war with the Klingons never ended. This turns Starfleet into more of a military-minded organization— not the humanitarian and exploratory organization we all know and love. To emphasize to viewers how different this reality is, the Enterprise crew members are given entirely different uniforms.

The timeline is eventually corrected, and everything resets back to normal. However, during a scene between Geordi La Forge and Guinan, we see that La Forge is still wearing his uniform from the other dimension, even though everyone else’s costumes have changed back.

26 Captain Pike Doesn't Understand What The Federation Is

During the 2009 Star Trek film reboot, we see Captain Pike having a discussion with a young Kirk, before he’s enlisted with Starfleet. Pike tells him, “ You understand what the Federation is, don't you? It's important. It's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada."

That’s actually not what the Federation is. The Federation is a massive interplanetary governing force, similar to the United Nations or the European Union today. The “peacekeeping and humanitarian armada" that Captain Pike is describing is actually the Starfleet, which is the force under the Federation umbrella. You’d think he’d know this, considering he’s a Captain within Starfleet itself.

25 Data's Cat Changes Breeds

To provide humor and to help humanize the synthetic AI life-form Data, Next Generation writers gave him a cat named Spot. Throughout The Next Generation series, we see Data carrying Spot around and doting the cat with affection (and even, at one point, some poetry .)

In early episodes, Spot appears to be some kind of long-haired breed. In later episodes, Spot has magically turned into an orange tabby. The reason for this change is never explained or acknowledged by other crew members of the Enterprise.

24 Khan and Chekov Shouldn't Know Each Other

During the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Chekov gets in an altercation with Khan, the antagonist. The dialogue between them implies that they remember each other from Khan’s previous appearance in the Original Series episode “Space Seed”.

However, this shouldn’t be possible. “Space Seed” was a season 1 episode, and Chekov’s character wasn’t introduced until season 2. Chekov wasn’t present during “Space Seed”, so their altercation during The Wrath of Khan would have been the first time the two characters actually met.

23 Visible Crew Members

The low-budgeted Original Series is plagued with visible crew members and equipment, but one of the most glaringly obvious cases of this is actually in an episode of The Next Generation . During the season 5 episode “Unification II,” a crew member’s entire face is very obviously seen in the reflection of a large crystal. The reflection is so clear that the crew member was able to be identified as boom operator Bill Gocke .

This reflection was edited out of the Blu-ray release of season 5.

22 Tuvok The Lieutenant... Commander?

Tuvok is a young Vulcan featured in all seven seasons of Star Trek: Voyager . He holds the rank of Lieutenant and is referred to as such, but his uniform actually sports the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander throughout most of season 1. It’s eventually fixed, and his uniform reflects the correct rank for the remainder of the time that Tuvok remains a Lieutenant.

The costume error being fixed actually causes problems later on. In season 4, Tuvok is promoted directly to Commander, meaning that he skipped the Lieutenant Commander ranking altogether.

21 We Use The Metric System Now

It’s mentioned several times throughout the Star Trek series that Earth is now ruled by one World Government, and that they all use the same units of measurement. In this case, it’s the Metric system, because it's already by far the most commonly-used system of measurement. It may also be because the Metric system is considered best for scientific purposes, and Earth is now a technocracy. Writer Gene Roddenberry mentions this was an intentional decision by him and the writers.

However, given that most of the Star Trek writers and actors at the time were American, there’s still the occasional slip-up. For instance, in  Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Scotty mentions that the transporter is about “sixty feet”. Old habits can be hard to break.

20 The Incredible Vanishing Wesley

Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 episode “The Enemy” tasks the Enterprise  with rescuing Geordi La Forge from the surface of a planet during an electrical storm, which makes simply beaming him up impossible. Wesley Crusher approaches Picard with a possible solution, and the Captain orders Wesley to leave the bridge to enact the plan at once.

The next scene has Wesley return to the bridge to inform Captain Picard that his errand has been completed. The only problem is that the scene opens with a shot of Wesley already by the bridge controls.

It’s actually surprisingly common to see a character in a scene, only to have them enter a room or suddenly disappear moments later. Early Star Trek series has stock footage of crew members that it uses and reuses between scenes, and not all actors were available to film every day.

19 That's No Moon... No, Really, There's No Moon

In The Original Series , we hear Spock tell us that his home planet of Vulcan doesn’t have any moons. And for the most part, all future portrayals of Vulcan reflect this statement. Except for one…

In Star Trek: The Motion Picture , we see a portrayal of Vulcan, and it has a moon! One really, really big one to be exact. This was pointed out by quite a few fans of the series.

The 2001 DVD release of the movie has some enhanced special effects, and they also edited Vulcan’s moon out while they were at it.

18 The Voyager's Distance From Starfleet Stops Being An Issue

The main premise of Star Trek: Voyager is the ship’s return home after being stranded 70,000 light-years away from home—a journey that would take them 75 years to complete—in a mostly uncharted and very dangerous part of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Being stranded without the immediate aid of the Federation or Starfleet posed some unique challenges that the crew of the Voyager had to work around, such as difficulties with resupplying and refueling. At one point, members of the Voyager begin to prioritize saving power, and have to ration the use of their replicators.

Perhaps series creators and writers decided that having characters constantly scrimping and saving to avoid running out of fuel was boring to viewers, because this became less and less of a plot point as the show went on. Later seasons don’t even mention rationing.

17 The Entirety Of "Code Of Honor"

“Code of Honor” is a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode that was widely panned by audiences, critics, and even its own writers and actors; it was ranked the second-worst episode of all time during the 2016 Star Trek 50th Anniversary convention. The episode shows the Enterprise crew members trying to get a vaccine from the planet Ligor II. Chief of Security Tasha Yar is abducted by the Ligonians to be one of the leader’s brides and must fight the other bride for her freedom and to fulfill the Enterprise’s mission of obtaining the vaccine.

The Ligonians were originally written to be a reptilian race with a kind of bushido code, but they was later changed to a culture indicative of 1940s African tribes. This led to some unsavory undertones.

This episode was referred to as “one of the worst things we’ve ever done”, among other negative comments, by Jonathan Frakes (Riker,) Brent Spiner (Data,) Michael Dorn (Worf,) and LeVar Burton (La Forge,)

16 The Borg Queen Isn't Necessary

The Borg is a reoccurring enemy race throughout the Star Trek series that sought to assimilate the galaxy into their hive-mind. The aspects of its existence made it an incredibly unique race in Star Trek—and even in science fiction in general. No one member of the Borg has more agency or importance over another. The entirety of the Borg think, act, and work as one.

But the introduction of the Borg Queen in the First Contact film, who controls all the other drones, kind of ruined that. Additionally, her obsession over re-assimilating Seven of Nine in Star Trek: Voyager is also strange, as no one member of the Borg is supposed to be more important than the others. Even with the valuable data of Starfleet now contained in Seven of Nine's memories, it just  shouldn't  be in the Borg's philosophy.

Overall, introducing a Borg Queen seemed unnecessary, and undermined all of the things that made the Borg race unique.

15 Reused Set Pieces

There is a season 7 TNG episode titled “Liaisons,” where Picard is sent on a mission to establish diplomatic relations with an alien race called the Iyaarans, in the hopes of convincing them to join the Federation. He meets up with a fellow Iyaaran diplomat, and together they set off for the alien home world.

The shuttle that Picard and the diplomat use on the journey is clearly a reused set piece that was poorly covered-up. The backs of the chairs are emblazoned with the insignia of the Romulan Empire.

14 Maybe There's A Los Angeles On Every Planet?

An episode of The Original Series , titled “A Private Little War”, takes place on a planet called Neural that is inhabited by primitive tribals that have been given armaments by the Klingons. The crew of the Enterprise are soon put in the middle of a war between two tribes, and question whether it is acceptable to violate Prime Directive by giving the disadvantaged tribe weapons to put them on equal footing with the tribe that the Klingons supplied.

At one point, one of the tribals, named Nona, struggles with assailants from another tribe. During this struggle, it is possible to see the smoggy, Los Angeles skyline in the background. It would appear as if the scene was filmed near there.

13 Data Can't Use Contractions (Unless He Forgets)

Due to a programming error, the artificial life form Data in TNG is unable to use contractions when speaking. Unfortunately, according to Data’s actor Brent Spiner, old habits die hard.

Writers and directors attempted to be cognizant of catching errors in writing, or while Brent was speaking, but a few contractions slipped through the cracks over the course of the series. It’s hard to pay attention to something you’re used to paying no regard to.

There are entire YouTube compilations of Data using contractions. At one point, he even uses one right after explaining that he can’t.

12 What Happened to New Zealand?

During the film Star Trek: First Contact , Picard is seen looking down on Earth from above. The ship is orbiting around Oceania. It’s possible to pick out Australia, some Pacific Islands, and even a small part of very southeast Asia. However, New Zealand Star Trek fans (and possibly some cartography enthusiasts) took notice that the entire island of New Zealand had disappeared. It is also absent from the map later in the movie when Picard is determining an island for the Enterprise crew to hide out to prevent disrupting the Temporal Prime Directive.

And before you suggest the possibility that New Zealand was wiped out in some sort of science-fiction-y act of God— it's mentioned in  Star Trek: Voyager  that one of the last remaining penal colonies on Earth is in New Zealand.

11 Paths On An Uninhabited Planet

It’s a very common trope in Star Trek that an “uninhabited” planet turns out to not be so. In the Original Series episode “Shore Leave,” the crew is seen visiting one such planet, only to find strange goings-on. The planet is covered in paths and walkways, which should have been a dead giveaway but is never commented upon.

The planet is inhabited by one person, simply called The Caretaker, and the planet was originally designed to be a kind of amusement park, which would explain the pathways.

How a Set Fire Led to Star Trek: Voyager's Funniest Episode

A fire damaged the bridge set on Star Trek: Voyager, the writers went to the holodeck for 'The Bride of Chaotica,' one of series' funniest episodes.

• "The Bride of Chaotica" is considered to be Star Trek: Voyager 's funniest episode, and it was created because of a fire on the bridge set.
• The holodeck, which creates realistic virtual environments, is frequently used in Voyager, often for romantic storylines or character development.
• Lieutenant Tom Paris's fascination with 20th-century culture and technology led to the creation of the hilarious holodeck program, "The Adventures of Captain Proton."

While Star Trek is perhaps most known for its inclusive vision of the future and biting social commentary, that's not all is. As much as fans love the drama in the franchise, humor is an equally important part of its creative DNA. On Star Trek: Voyager , the fifth season episode "The Bride of Chaotica" is arguably the series' funniest, and it mostly exists because of a fire on the bridge set. A light-hearted holodeck romp, it's both a loving homage to old sci-fi and a brilliant send-up of Star Trek itself.

While most people think the holodeck was created for Star Trek: The Next Generation , it actually first appeared in The Animated Series . Essentially the next evolution in virtual reality, the futuristic holographic technology creates real environments, down to people, the crew can talk to and even touch. Where Star Trek: Voyager is concerned, the holodeck usually means an episode where Kate Mulgrew's Captain Kathryn Janeway explores a little romance. The decision was made early on that, unlike Captain Jim Kirk, Janeway would not delve into romance, especially dalliances with the crew. In later episodes, ex-Borg Seven of Nine uses a holographic recreation of Voyager and its crew to "practice" social skills and learn to be more human. Yet, the best use of the holodeck comes from Lieutenant (sometimes Ensign) Tom Paris, and his fascination with 20th Century culture and technology. He creates a holo-program called The Adventures of Captain Proton , where he plays the titular hero and faces off against the villainous Doctor Chaotica.

Voyager's Tom Paris Was Fascinated By 20th Century History And Culture

Star trek: voyager's seven of nine and chakotay romance was a mistake.

The Tom Paris character was based on Nick Locarno , an antagonist from Star Trek: The Next Generation recently brought back for the Season 4 finale of Lower Decks . He began as an irascible, formerly incarcerated character and eventually became a vital part of the crew. Paris had an affinity for 20th Century culture and technology. Originally included so the storytellers could reference the then-present, it led to Captain Proton.

"When it was just decoration it felt…gimmicky," actor Robert Duncan McNeill said in Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration , adding, "I thought [Captain Proton] was a little more emotionally character-connected to Tom's love of the 20th Century" than just the odd reference or knick-knacks in his quarters. It was introduced in the Season 5 premiere episode, "Night," but the cast and writers wanted to revisit the setting in a future episode.

Actor Martin Rayner played the holographic villain Doctor Chaotica , finding the perfect balance between committing to the role and over-the-top hammy acting. (Appropriate for the early 20th Century sci-fi serials they were parodying.) He was joined by his hapless dunce of a henchman, Lonzak, played by the late Nicholas Worth. Yet, the most unique (and risky) thing about the Captain Proton program was the whole thing was shot in black-and-white — a risk because 1990s channel surfers who might otherwise stop and watch Star Trek: Voyager could skip past the show thinking it was an old-school hokey sci-fi film.

A Fire On The Voyager Bridge Sent The Crew To The Holodeck

Star trek: lower decks just simplified voyager's biggest moral dilemma.

With 26 episodes to produce each year, the writers, directors, and cast of Star Trek: Voyager were always looking for a concept that could be repeated. Because the USS Voyager was traveling (throughout the series) 75,000 light-years back to the Alpha Quadrant and Earth, alien planets and culture could rarely be returned to. However, the holodeck went everywhere the ship did, and so Captain Proton, Lonzak and the hilariously named Satan's Robot could. The accidental fire on the bridge set forced the producers' hands.

On the Voyager rewatch podcast The Delta Flyers , hosted by McNeill and Wang, the full story of the fire is told for the first time. Producers used to cater lunch for the cast and crew on Fridays, and Wang and Neelix actor Ethan Phillips were eating their food at a picnic table overlooking the bridge. Executive Producer Rick Berman was also on set at the time, standing behind one of the ship consoles for a photo shoot for the now-defunct Yahoo! Magazine .

"The lights that were lighting this photoshoot," Wang says, "caught…that fabric we had over top of the bridge…on fire." Wang had his back to the set, but Phillips could see what was going on. His eyes grew wide, and he asked Wang if "the bridge was supposed to be on fire." They stood up and altered the crew as Berman ran clear of the blaze. Members of the crew grabbed fire extinguishers and put out the flames, but the damage done to the set was significant. Thus, "The Bride of Chaotica" came about as a way to shoot an episode primarily on other sets.

Why 'The Bride Of Chaotica' Was Voyager's Most Fun Episode

Janeway's coffee addiction on star trek: voyager is not the fault of the writers.

The premise of the episode involved the ship getting stuck in a sci-fi anomaly and creating a portal to a dimension populated by "photonic aliens." They visit the holodeck, believing the over-the-top characters to be life forms. Since Doctor Chaotica is evil, a very real war broke out between his Army of Evil and these aliens. However, the threat to the ship and the crew was very low, allowing the characters to lean into the silliness and fun of the episode. Mulgrew, for example, plays Arachnia the Spider-Queen, Chaotica's titular bride.

Despite thinking the whole thing is silly, Janeway eventually allows herself to get into the spirit of the game. The scenes in which Paris and Kim have to explain the Captain Proton program are hilarious, especially because the background cast seems barely able to contain their laughter. In the podcast, Wang notes Paris's explanation of the story is reminiscent of what it must sound like when Star Trek fans try to explain things like warp drive, transporter clones, and the other more out-there concept to those who don't know the show.

It also allows for plenty of in-jokes about Star Trek , like its obsession with caves . While walking through a cave set, Kim asks Paris why the planet looks like another one from an earlier chapter in the Captain Proton story. "Set were expensive," he says, a clear reference to Star Trek reusing the "Planet Hell" set over and over again across all the second wave shows. Since the ship is in no real danger, the characters can play the adventure for comedy instead of dire stakes. Both Wang and McNeill believe this was the episode the cast had the most fun doing.

Captain Proton Was Star Trek's Greatest Holodeck Program

Star trek: voyager predicted the ai debate - with a clever twist.

Beyond the comedy and the joy in the cast performances, Captain Proton, Doctor Chaotica, Satan's Robot, and all the rest represent the best use of the holodeck. (All due respect to Deep Space Nine's Vic Fontaine .) All too often, to create tension and stakes, the storytellers relied on malfunctions to make the harmless fun of the holodeck into something more lethal. What makes the Captain Proton episodes, particularly "The Bride of Chaotica," so fun is that they are never dangerous.

The lack of stakes allows the cast to play their roles for comedy while honoring the origin of Star Trek . The sci-fi serials and films of the early-to-mid 20th Century not only inspired Gene Roddenberry (if only to make Star Trek different), but they also inspired that other "Star" franchise. In fact, George Lucas wanted to make a Flash Gordon film but couldn't get the rights. So, he told his own story built on those foundations, giving the world Star Wars . Captain Proton honors that legacy and, at the same time, pokes fun at the more outlandish tropes.

Captain Proton and Doctor Chaotica could fly again, at least if Robert Duncan McNeill has his way. In the extended version of The Delta Flyers episode, he mentions that he actually pitched an idea for a podcast or animated special set in the "Captain Proton universe." He and Wang interviewed Martin Rayner who was delighted at the idea of getting to play Chaotica again. He told them when he encounters Star Trek fans they are passionate about his silly villain in ways that still surprise him. The concept and the characters are undoubtedly ridiculous, but there's also something about them that makes fans want more.

Star Trek: Voyager is streaming on Paramount+ and available to own on Blu-ray or DVD, and The Delta Flyers can be found on all podcast platforms or on Patreon.

Star Trek Voyager

Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is seventy-five years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.

Hilarious Star Trek Movie Moment Happened Thanks To One Actor's Mistake

F or decades, some Star Trek fans have been intrigued and puzzled by one accidental line that was delivered by a "mystery woman" in 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . The mystery around this urban legend has since been solved and was shared by CBR . It turns out that the woman who delivered the line actually did so by mistake.

Layla Sarakalo, a bystander to the filming of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , was the mysterious woman that gave Chekov directions, accidentally creating an iconic moment.

The mystery woman, who was identified as Layla Sarakalo, appeared as an extra during one scene in the Star Trek film. The scene takes place in San Francisco, where Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are trapped and trying to find their way to the city of Alameda. They need to get to Alameda to use nuclear vessels to power their ships and send them back home to the future.

The scene in itself is very funny because Chekov has a thick Russian accent that makes the word "vessels" sound more like "wessels," which adds even more confusion to their situation. The Star Trek characters are asking random people on the street where Alameda is, and where they can find the nuclear "wessels." Everyone they ask just looks at them with a confused expression and continues on their way, except for one woman: Layla Sarakalo.

When the two Star Trek alumni ask Layla where they can find the nuclear vessels in Alameda, she responds by saying that she thinks they are across the bay in Alameda. Chekov shrugs his shoulders and repeats, "that's what I said, Alameda," in a defeated yet comical tone.

The story behind this scene is that the city towed Layla's car when it was in the way of the Star Trek production. Oblivious to the fact that there was a major motion picture being filmed in her neighborhood, Layla was shocked to find her car was towed. To help earn some extra cash to get her car back, she got a job as an extra on the set.

Layla was on the set of Star Trek IV after her car was towed for interfering with the production and accepting the job of an extra to get it back from the impound lot.

Despite never acting before, Layla was ready to join the cast of other Star Trek extras. While the other extras did not respond or engage with Chekov and Uhura during the scene, Layla just acted naturally (as advised by the assistant director) and responded to Chekov when he asked her where Alameda was. Even though she wasn't supposed to say anything, the crew loved the moment and decided to keep it in the final cut of the film.

During a lunch break on set, Layla joined the Screen Actors Guild , a membership reserved only for those who have lines in a film. Her line in the Star Trek movie has lived on in infamy, and yet did not inspire her to become a Hollywood star. It wasn't until many years later that she came forward to declare she was the "mystery woman," and at the time she was running a small fashion house in Paris.

Told to “act naturally,” Layla accidentally responded to Chekov’s question, which required her to become a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild because now she had a spoken line in Star Trek IV .

The fun fact is a good reminder to keep your eye on film extras who only share a line or two, because they could be the next Hollywood star, like Clint Eastwood , Brad Pitt, or Matt Damon.

The post Hilarious Star Trek Movie Moment Happened Thanks To One Actor’s Mistake appeared first on GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT .

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Star trek: 20 mistakes fans completely missed in deep space nine.

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Star Trek: DS9 Introduced A Vorta Superpower Then Forgot All About It

A relationship for 1 ncis character could make up for the franchise's massive ncis: hawai'i loss, ncuti gatwa cleverly destroys doctor who's longest-running trope.

Because fans love  Star Trek,  in all of its many incarnations, so much, we're often willing to give it some leeway when it comes to continuity mistakes. After all, producing 20+ episode seasons for 7 years means that some thinks are bound to slip through the cracks. There are plenty of errors, particularly in the continuation department, to last us a lifetime, and we don't love the series any less for pointing them out--even if they make us laugh a little.

Some errors affect the plot more than others, however. These are harder to overlook. When Sisko talks about his father in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , we are made to believe that he's gone when, in fact, we get to meet Joseph Sisko later in the show. Other errors, like those when an arm, a leg, or even a com has been moved and forgotten mid-shot, making it appear as if something is missing or wrong in a scene, are less important but more laughable, giving us nothing more than something to point out and store away for useless trivia later. Both types of errors only serve to remind us that no matter how many people are in the room working on our favorite media, they're still human and deserve some slack. Only the biggest of fans will comb through a series and be able to catch its mistakes.

From characters randomly changing shirts mid-scene to previously stated facts being completely ignored, here are  20 Mistakes Fans Completely Missed In  Star Trek: Deep Space 9.

Sisko's Com Reappears After He Throws It Off

In season one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , there aren't too many continuity issues, but one of the most obvious errors occurs in episode 18, "Dramatis Personae". It's so glaring that we can't unsee it, even if it does occur at the end of the episode.

It takes place after Odo's sent everyone impacted by the telepathic matrix to the cargo bay. When Sisko and O'Brien throw off their coms before rushing to the cargo bay, it's pretty obvious that their coms are no longer on their shirts. The aren't wearing weird backup coms or anything like that. Why does Sisko's closeup later reveal that he's still got a com on? When everyone's cured, we see it on the screen as if he'd never thrown it off in the first place.

Benjamin's Father's Strap Keeps Changing

Season seven has several errors in different episodes, and one of the funniest ones happens in the first episode, "Image in the Sand". The continuity issues are regarding Benjamin's father's bag hanging from his shoulder. The strap on the bag changes every few seconds, making it clear that multiple takes had to be done during this scene and that nobody noticed that during one moment, the strap is twisted and during the next, it's flat again, before returning to its twisted status.

We can probably also infer that the man doesn't usually carry a bag because those of us who do notice when straps get twisted, which can even make them uncomfortable to wear on occasion. It definitely doesn't affect the plot at all but it's still smirk-worthy.

Jadzia's Hands Are Placed Differently

Hand placement changing during a shot is something that's more easy to forgive. If you're cutting in the middle of a scene and then returning to it after a change in direction, it's pretty hard to get that exact placement back. In season three's episode "Meridian", at the 15-minbute mark, this error occurs. It's a much more obvious change in hands, since there's a camera switch in the middle of a sentence.

Jadzia has her hands in front of her, where she is rubbing them, before the shift. Next she is is clasping them tightly behind her back, which is a pretty big jump in continuity. Perhaps hand continuity errors in DS9 could be dubbed "Jadzia hands" instead of "jazz hands."

The Person Next To Dax Changes Shirts

During the sixth episode of season five, "Trials and Tribble-actions," there's a continuity error when the person next to Dax and Sisko on the bridge's shirt changes. They're on the old Enterprise at this point and the person has a gold shirt on, but in the next shot as Kirk comes on screen the person's shirt has changed to red-- and we all know what that means! Rotten luck, mate.

Changing shirt colors mid-scene seems like a continuity error that would have been easily preventable, even if the shots took place days apart. Did everyone actually forget what color of shirt was worn? How did this little mistake manage to slip by?

Sisko Made It Sound Like His Father Was Gone

If we went by Benjamin Sisko's commentary alone, we might believe that his father was no longer alive. Sisko's mentioned that his father had a serious illness that he was unable to help with, implying a loss. In several episodes, such as "Paradise" and "Emissary", we're told that Joseph Sisko "was" (not "is") a chef, which implies that he's either gone or retired. In season four, episode 11, "Homefront", we not only meet Joseph but also find out that he's definitely still a chef.

These are finicky errors that really can be chalked up to grammar or slightly sloppy writing, but it's also possible that Sisko's dad had no planned appearances on the show prior to this episode and that previous writers had literally written him off.

Dax's Rank Pips Keep Changing

When it comes to rank pips, several characters have had theirs change throughout an episode, often displaying the wrong rank. It's a mistake that will probably continue to be made during every incarnation of Star Trek to come, and it's definitely not limited to Deep Space Nine in the past. In the case of season seven, episode 10, "It's Only a Paper Moon", the pip changes could be described as a bridge too far.

Dax's pips change from gold to black, then black to gold, and back again, which suggests that the scene had to be partially re-shot after a wardrobe change where someone didn't pay much attention to the order of Dax's pips.

Bashir's Prying Tool Is In The Wrong Spot

If you recall season five's fifteenth episode, "By Inferno's Light", you might remember the scene where Bashir goes to free Garak from a crawlspace, but did you notice that the prying tool he retrieved was from the wrong spot? He finds it beneath the bunk that's closest to him, which may be convenient, but it's erroneous in terms of continuity.

The Romulan prisoner in the previous scene had set the tool underneath the opposite end, so why is it located where Bashir found it? The answer, of course, is that it's really not that important in the grand scheme of things, so most viewers wouldn't notice where it had been before.

Dukat And Adami's Inconsistent Glasses

It's a close-up, so it would be hard to miss the varying amounts of drinks in episode 19 of season seven, "Strange Bedfellows". At 00:16:30, when Dukat pours the drink for himself and Adami, each glass looks like it holds a very different amount of liquid, but when the camera pans out, both glasses have the same amount. Did someone take a big gulp in between panning out or what?

We have so many questions about this particular mistake. Who drank it, and why? Did someone spill the drink and they needed to re-pour? Fans need to know the details of this baffling scene.

Ilario Went From Ensign To Lieutenant In One Episode

It's not always pip errors that promote or demote a character, either. Sometimes it's a slip in dialogue, as was the case in season seven's episode 13, "Field of Fire". Hector Ilario was first mentioned as an ensign by both Dax and Bashir, giving us the impression that he's a pretty low-ranking individual. The next morning, however, someone took his life, and Odo called him a lieutenant.

Was he an ensign or a lieutenant? Was he awarded some posthumous rank and if so, why? Maybe he was in the middle of advancing and would have been dubbed a lieutenant that day had he not been taken out. For whatever reason, he's got two rankings in the same episode.

Vantika's Pupils Dilate From Beyond The Grave

Even for many alien species, once the life fades from your body, their eyes go, too. This means that they can no longer dilate to the stimulus of light. That's a pretty tall order for a living, breathing actor who is playing someone who's gone, as James Harper, who played the criminal scientist Rao Vantika in the ninth episode of season one, "The Passenger", likely discovered.

As the Koblian officer performs a retinal scan on Vantika, his pupils continue to dilate. While that might be an easy CGI fix today, back in 1993 that, too, would be a tall order. Maybe contact lenses could have made his eyes appear more realistic? Or even a retinal scan without a light? It seems as if there should have been a tech way around what Harper's body physiologically could not do.

Worf's Pips Change

When it comes to a character as iconic as Worf, one would think that every eye in the room would be extra careful on his details. Not so in episode 18 of season four, "Rules of Engagement", when we witness his pips change multiple times. We can see him shift from lieutenant commander to commander several times, with his pips ranging from 2.5 to three, making us wonder, again, how many shots this scene needed in order to have so many pip changes.

Yes, even Worf's pips have been known to change! Do pips have a consciousness? No matter the excuse, as trivial as it sounds, Worf's big fans are not keen on the idea of their favorite klingon being demoted due to a simple scene error.

Arissa's Port Vanishes Between Scenes

When something just disappears in the middle of a scene, it's definitely distracting, even if it doesn't matter at all to the plot. During season five's 17th episode, "A Simple Investigation", Arissa's port can be seen vanishing between 00:08:55 - 00:11:40. She has a data port in her neck behind an ear that we can see when she's in Odo's office, but the next time she enters his office it's totally gone, as if it had never been there before.

The thing that makes the port vanishing so glaringly erroneous is that her hair was styled to prominently display the port in the original scene. It also reappears but then again disappears in another scene in Odo's office, which makes it obvious that the scene had several takes.

Dax's Pips Change

And the pips keep changing! This time, it's during episode 17, "Penumbra", of season seven, and it's Dax's pips again that keep changing throughout the episode. This time, the pips change in color again, but it's from two full pips to only one full and one black pip. So what exactly is Dax's rank? If you're going by pips alone in this episode, you're going to be scratching your head.

Even if Dax houses both Jadzia and the symbiote Dax, one rank should be enough per body, right? It streamlines things a bit and makes it much less confusing on the viewer who already has to keep up with two beings in one host body.

An Offed Soldier Is Seen Breathing

During season four's episode 23, at the 00:30:35 mark we can see the Jem'Hadar soldier, who is supposed to have been taken out permanently, breathing in the Mess Hall. Holding your breath while you're not supposed to be alive is probably one of the hardest things for an actor to do, but it's also distracting in the scene.

It's fair to say that once a character is offed in Star Trek , he or she may not truly be gone forever. We've seen plenty of reappearances, not to mention time shifts, that change everything. When some random soldier who won't ever make another appearance is offed but still appears to be breathing in a scene, it's simply an error and nothing more.

Dax's Stunt Body Doesn't Match

Stunt doubles are highly underappreciated in all genres, but especially in sci-fi, where they can often receive a pretty bad beating. Nicole de Boer and the stunt double for Dax in season seven's episode 18  surely tried to line up together but it didn't exactly end up working. At the 00:32:40 mark of the show, she's flung into a cell by the Breen and lands facing on her left side with her knee raised. In the next shot, her legs are straight instead of bent.

It's not the only stunt gaffe in the show, either. During season three, episode 25, "Facets", we can clearly see Avery Brooks' stunt double for Sisko standing in.

Worf Says He's Never Been On A Ship With A Cloa

When it comes to Worf, fans can get pretty fired up, so when he makes a remark like, " Hey, I've never been on a ship with a cloak ," in DS9 episode two of season four, "The Way of the Warrior", it's really difficult to let that slide without comment.

We know that Worf's only being brought in here to add more interest to the show-- and it works, at least for a while-- and we also know that back during the Pegasus incident, the Enterprise temporarily utilized a cloaking device. Nice try there, Worf, but this isn't a first for you.

Kira's Earring Disappears

It was the case of the missing earring! During season one, episode 18, "Dramatis Personae", a few mistakes can be found, and one of those is in regards to the disappearing earring that Kira was wearing. Her prominent Bajoran earring is right there in her right ear while she's complaining to Jadzia about Sisko, but it's somehow gone when she picks up Quark moments later in the episode.

Did the heavy lifting require her to take out the earring? Somehow, we doubt it; the scenes were likely just filmed on separate occasions, one in which Nana Visitor was wearing the earring and one in which she just forgot to put it in.

Jadzia Was Unaware Of Curzon's Feelings

While we can overlook most mistakes made in the Star Trek universe, some of them are harder to look away from. During episode 25 of season three, "Facts", Jadzia acts like she was completely oblivious to Curzon's feelings for her. This makes absolutely no sense since she inherited his memories and it should be a pretty strong memory for her to be able to "see."

Any one of us would feel strong emotions upon realizing someone's feelings for us through their own memories. Mistakes like this one are the kind that make us think that a few more fact-checkers are needed in the room.

Sisko Only Has Commander Pips

The last time we checked, Benjamin Sisko was the captain of Deep Space Nine , at least as of the third season of the series. Yet in the fourth season episode, "Rules of Engagement", from 00:12:55 - 00:13:25 we can see that he's only wearing commander pips. This mistake occurs during the scene where Dax is being questioned by a Klingon barrister. Sisko's clearly sporting just three pips-- one short of the four that a captain wears.

Is this an old set of pips that Avery Brooks had from a previous season that somehow made it to his wardrobe that day, or is it a secret code used among the other pip mistakes that only the makers of the show know? Let the conspiracy theories commence!

Sisko's Missing As He And Dukat Fall To The Fire

During season seven's fateful episode, "What You Leave Behind", the moment when Sisko and Dukat fall into the fire is one of those jaw-dropping scenes that feels as if it will change everything. It's the end of the war, Sisko finally fulfills his fabled destiny, and those Pah-Wraith Fire Caves were something else. The only thing is that, at 01:13:45, we see that Sisko is actually missing from the fall into the fire with Dukat!

It's one of the most glaring continuation errors in the DS9 universe that you just have to shake your head over. Yes, the impact remains the same, but for a brief moment it's only Dukat falling into the flames.

Did you catch any other mistakes in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ? Let us know in the comments!

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)

One of the “Best Worst” ‘Star Trek’ Episodes Recreates the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

Join the Enterprise in an adventure to Tombstone, Arizona.

The Big Picture

• An outlandish storyline tests the crew's limits in Star Trek: The Original Series when Melkotians send Kirk and crew to O.K. Corral, Old West.
• Spock's mind meld convinces the crew that bullets are illusions, saving them in the gunfight.
• Kirk's refusal to kill during the shootout impresses the Melkotians, leading to Federation unity.

Many television shows have filler episodes or episodes that just don't land with audiences. It happens to the best of them. Friends, Gilmore Girls , Charmed , and Supernatural all have episodes that didn't rate well with their substantial audiences. Even shows with a massive following, like Star Trek , have episodes that have silly plots with a hint of something fascinating hidden within them. Honestly, with plots that are so far-fetched, people love them and continue to come back to them over and over again. The Season 3 episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , entitled "Spectre of the Gun," is noted as one of Star Trek's best worst episodes, which depicts the famous gunfight at O.K. Corral .

Even the toughest episodes have little gems fans are always searching for. In a franchise with a huge cult following, like Star Trek, people often discuss episodes and why they love them or can't stand them. Fans will always find something to enjoy, whether it is an idea within the storyline, a character arc, or a performance by one of the actors. And that's why it's called the best worst episode. With a cast of such iconic characters like Spock , Bones, Kirk, and Uhura, it's hard not to find something to love about the episodes.

Star Trek: The Original Series

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

What Happens In 'Spectre Of The Gun'?

In this infamous episode of The Original Series , the USS Enterprise heads into Melkot space. They're greeted by one of the Melkotians who tells them to leave and never return, and that will be their only warning . But of course, being Starfleet, the crew will do anything to prove they come in peace. The starship gets to the planet where Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ) , Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ), Dr. McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ), and Chekov ( Walter Koenig ) go on an away mission to befriend the Melkotians. Things don't go as planned when the Melkotians send the crew to the Old West—specifically, Tombstone, Arizona, on October 26, 1881, on the historical day at O.K. Corral. The crew assumes that the violence of Kirk's heritage is to be the pattern for their execution. Like the historical event, it is the Earps versus the Clantons and McLaurys -the Starfleet officers represent the latter two families- as they duke it out for O.K. Corral via gunfight. However, in not wanting to participate in a shootout, Kirk does everything in his power to convince everyone around him that he isn't one of the Clantons.

Still, no one believes in his wild tale. So, Spock and Bones decide to make some alternate weapons to aid in their advantage because in the original O.K. Corral shootout, the Earps win, and the crew doesn't think the story can be altered. Little do they know that it can be changed. Unfortunately, they find out after Chokov is shot and killed when, in real life, his persona is the only one that survives. They also figure out any devices they create won't work, and if they try to avoid the gunfight, they'll just be transported to the spot. That's when they put the pieces together. Spock says that "where the laws do not operate, there is no reality," meaning that nothing is real; if they don't believe the bullets are real, they can't be killed. Spock also speculates that it was Chekov's mind that killed him, not the bullets. He believed the bullets would kill him, so they did. But how can they go into the shootout with absolute certainty that the bullets won't kill them? The answer is simple. They can't without the help of a mind meld from Spock. So, that's what they do. Spock convinces them with ultimate certainty that nothing is real. Nothing happens to them when they're in the midst of the shootout; then, they get into an all-out brawl before the Melkotians tell Kirk to kill them. Kirk refuses, and the Melkotians see that Starfleet might not be so bad after all. In fact, they are impressed and want to unite with the Federation.

Hidden Gems In One Of The Best Worst Episodes

The outlandish storyline makes you question why—after Kirk and crew intrude into Melkot space—if the Melkotians are so powerful, why don't they smite them where they stand instead of sending them to the O.K. Corral in the Old West? They could have so easily obliterated the Enterprise if they didn't want to make contact at all. However, it was a good idea if they wanted to test the crew. It seems like an outlandish kind of test, but what can you expect? Everyone thinks differently.

But the episode also has some fascinating nuggets, like when Spock's mind melds with everyone to make them believe the bullets of the Earp gang are nothing but an illusion with absolute certainty. This gives the crew members no fear when dealing with the Earps, whereas before, Bones was convinced there was no way they would be able to get through the fight with absolute certainty. Bones is usually the most skeptical with Spock, but he has no problems doing the mind meld, which saves their hides in the end.

Another excellent example of fascination in one of the best and worst episodes is how Kirk and the crew finally get through to the Melkotians by showing they won't kill for revenge , no matter how much they're pressured into it. Just when you thought Kirk might break and kill the Earp brother, he doesn't. Spock even comments on it later on. Kirk responds by saying humans have evolved past the need for violence , which is hopefully the case 100 years in the future. The Melkotians appreciated the gesture and became friends with the Federation.

It's also interesting to note that the budget for this episode was lower than usual. Walter Koenig reminisced that the network had been spending too much money , as seen in the half-built Old West sets, which perfectly fit in with the storyline. Koenig loved the episode for what it gave his character : he gets the girl, dies, and comes back to life all in one episode. Chekov doesn't get the girl often but makes it work in this episode as he soaks up every moment of being fawned over and having someone to fawn over.

Star Trek: The Original Series is streaming on Pluto TV in the U.S.

WATCH ON PLUTO TV

A taco will always be a taco — no matter what we call it

The “is a taco a sandwich?” debate is divorced from the iconic food’s connection to Mexico’s rich and complex cuisine.

For most of my life on this big blue marble, I’ve known tacos as tacos and sandwiches as sandwiches, the distinction between them self-evident.

But in recent years, the courts — and a certain segment of American eaters — have spoken out on a surprisingly divisive question: Is a taco a sandwich?

Perhaps the question sounds trivial to those who like to reserve their brain power for more complex problems, such as Wordle. But some of the answers to this question are not trivial at all: The livelihood of a franchise owner may hang in the balance, such as in 2006 when a judge ruled a Massachusetts mall could lease space to Qdoba because the Mexican chain’s presence would not violate an exclusivity clause with Panera Bread to be the only sandwich shop.

“A sandwich is not commonly understood to include burritos, tacos and quesadillas, which are typically made with a single tortilla and stuffed with a choice filling of meat, rice and beans,” Worcester Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke wrote in his decision , based on news reports at the time.

Back then, Locke said he consulted with Webster’s dictionary, a chef and a “former high-ranking federal agriculture official” before issuing his ruling. His wouldn’t be the last word on the subject.

Out of curiosity, I turned to my copy of “The Penguin Companion to Food,” originally published in Britain in 1999 under the title “The Oxford Companion to Food,” to see how it described a taco. The volume, which runs more than 1,110 pages long, didn’t have an entry on tacos. (!) I had to flip to the section on Mexico to learn that maize “may be eaten in the form of tortillas, either to accompany other dishes, or stuffed with some combination of beans, meats, vegetables and cheese.” I never saw the word “taco” mentioned.

The truth is, much of my early education in Mexican food came from another British source, the formidable Diana Kennedy , a London-born cookbook author who devoted many of her 99 years to unlocking the secrets of Mexican regional cuisines for American readers.

“To many people outside Mexico, a taco is a tortilla bent in half to form a deep U shape, fried crisp and stuffed with ground beef, iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato and grated cheese,” Kennedy writes in “The Essential Cuisines of Mexico,” a compendium of her first three books. “Throughout Mexico, however, the simple taco consumed by millions daily is a fresh, hot corn tortilla — sometimes two if small — rolled around one of a hundred or so fillings and liberally doused with one of a hundred or so sauces. The variety is endless.”

She makes no connection between tacos and sandwiches, and why would she? Mexico already has well-established names for sandwiches: torta, cemita and pambazo, among them.

Even here in the 21st century, as publishing houses began regularly releasing titles on Mexican cooking by authors who actually have an ancestral connection to the country, you’d be hard-pressed to find any such connection. Street food is the preferred, and perhaps most apt, description for tacos.

But this week a judge in Indiana has decided tacos are indeed a subset of the broader sandwich category , which places this Mexican snack right back into the British fold. How, you ask? The accepted culinary lore is that the sandwich was named for ( not, as many claim, invented by ) John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich and an inveterate gambler who apparently wanted a hand-held bite so he could remain at the gaming table.

I’m still processing my thoughts on this latest opinion. But here’s one thing that weighs on my mind: Many of the arguments that address the central question — is a taco a sandwich? — focus almost exclusively on its architecture. The taco, they assert, is a wrapper filled with a loose combination of ingredients not typically eaten on their own, not unlike the fillings pressed between two slices of bread or layered inside a hoagie roll. This argument, however, is all but divorced from the foodways, the history, the land and cooking techniques that make the taco distinct from anything else on Earth.

It’s as if folks want to assimilate every snack bound together with a carb-based binder into the great sandwich Borg, erasing all individuation just like the villain(s) in “Star Trek.”

Sci-fi hyperbole aside, there is no real harm in this exercise, of course. It’s not any different from, say, the wide variety of animals — reptiles, birds, humans and more — listed under the phylum chordata . No creature loses its distinctive character by being lumped into an overarching classification. Same with the taco tucked into a larger grouping of hand-held, bread-based foods.

I can even see a more charitable side to this classification of disparate foodstuffs. At a time when some politicians are demonizing the people who cross our southern borders in search of a better life — comparing them to Hannibal Lecter — I find it comforting that others are looking for commonalities across food cultures. They want tacos to join their club.

Maybe this means little to nothing. As author Gustavo Arellano noted in “ Tacos USA ,” some Americans have an almost supernatural ability to love Mexican food but dislike the Mexicans who prepare it. But Arellano is also not hung up on traditions and authenticity when it comes to Mexican cuisine. He embraces its many variations as dishes migrated north and melded into American foodways.

I’m reminded of a passage from “Tacos USA.” In it, Arellano wrote, “As I’ve driven and flown around the country and come across a mild salsa, a mutated muchaco (a ground beef taco served in a pita bread by the midwestern Taco Bueno chain), and other items I immediately wanted to decry, I remembered the concept of what the legendary Chicano scholar Américo Paredes deemed Greater Mexico: that the influence of Mexico doesn’t cease at the Rio Grande. Wherever there is something even minutely Mexican, whether it’s people, food, language, or rituals, even centuries removed form the original mestizo sources, it remains Mexican.”

So go ahead and call a taco a sandwich. It doesn’t change its inherent Mexican identity one bit.