Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

To save Earth from an alien probe, Kirk and his crew go back in time to retrieve the only beings who can communicate with it, humpback whales.

• Director: Leonard Nimoy
• Genre:Adventure / Comedy / Mystery / Sci-Fi
• Runtime:119 minutes

Cast

William Shatner : Admiral / Captain James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy : Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley : Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
James Doohan : Commander Montgomery “Scotty” Scott
George Takei : Commander Hikaru Sulu

The film begins three months after the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as a large cylindrical object moves through space heading towards Earth, sending out an indecipherable signal and disabling the power of any vessel or station that it passes. As it takes up orbit around Earth, it continues signaling, disrupting the global power system and causing extreme weather patterns to develop over the planet while evaporating the oceans. Starfleet Command, on the last of its power reserves, sends out a subspace signal warning of the danger.

On the planet Vulcan, the former officers of the USS Enterprise are living in exile. Accompanied by the Vulcan Spock, still recovering from his resurrection, the crew takes their seized Klingon starship and head to Earth, intending to face trial for their theft and destruction of the Enterprise. As they enter the solar system, they hear Starfleet’s warning and the alien signal; Spock determines that it matches the song of humpback whales, long since extinct on Earth, and that the object will continue to wreak havoc on the planet until it can be answered. The crew devise a plan to slingshot around the Sun to time travel back to the late 20th century and return with a whale, and hopefully two so that they can repopulate the species.

The crew travels back in time to the year 1986, but their ship’s power is drained in the process. Hiding their ship using its cloaking device in San Francisco, the crew splits up to accomplish their tasks: James T. Kirk and Spock attempt to locate humpback whales, Montgomery Scott, Leonard McCoy and Hikaru Sulu must create a holding tank for the return trip, and Uhura and Pavel Chekov search for a way to recharge the ship. Kirk and Spock discover a pair of humpback whales—”George” and “Gracie”—in the care of Dr. Gillian Taylor at the Cetacean Institute and learn they will soon be released into the wild. Kirk attempts to learn the tracking codes for the whales from Taylor, but is rebuffed. Scott, McCoy, and Sulu procure the necessary materials for the holding tank by giving the formula to transparent aluminum to a local manufacturer; Uhura and Chekov beam aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and draw some of its power to recharge their ship, but are discovered. Though Uhura is beamed back, Chekov is captured by the United States Navy and severely injured in an escape attempt. Kirk and the rest of the crew manage to rescue him and return to the ship.

The ship is successfully recharged, but Taylor arrives and tells Kirk that the whales have been moved early. Kirk reluctantly lets her tag along on the ship in order to get the tracking codes. The crew locates George and Gracie before they are killed by whalers, and transport the creatures into the waiting tank. With the intended cargo, the crew returns to the future. On approaching Earth, the ship loses power and crashes into San Francisco Bay. Once released, the whales respond to the probe’s signal, causing the object to restore Earth and return to the depths of space. The Enterprise crew’s charges are all waived in light of their heroic efforts. Only Kirk is punished for disobeying a superior officer, and is demoted from Admiral to back to the rank of Captain. Having been brought to the future, Taylor takes a position on a science vessel. The crew departs for their new ship, which they learn is the newly-christened USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), and depart on another mission. Read more

Watch full Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home online streaming for free