"Who would send a probe hundreds of light years to talk to a whale?"

With the success of their pair of Star Trek films under their belt, director Leonard Nimoy and producer Harve Bennett were asked once again to return to the well and bring forth yet another Star Trek story. This time, Nimoy had more free reign to make the film he wanted to make, and he and Bennett thought it would be nice to make something a bit lighter. Also? They wanted to feature time travel. So they put their heads together and came up with what we now know and love to be Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The film ended up wrapping things up nicely from the previous two films and became the closing entry of an unintentional trilogy that works well in the context of the three films and as a stand alone entry. But how well do the comedy stylings hold up with a modern eye? Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our Star Trek series with Nimoy’s 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

We talk about what works in this film – the characters, the whales, the probe, the future – and what doesn’t – all of the slapstick in the present paired with a problematic screenplay – and why it still works for us. We look at the incredible effects from the team at ILM all through the film and how they were really continuing to do things here they hadn’t before. We chat about the core team and look briefly at Nichelle Nichols and her background. We debate the quality of the cinematography by Don Peterman and the score by Leonard Rosenman and ponder if either of a quality that warranted an Oscar nomination. And we look at the trailer, debating if it was any good or told us too much.

It’s a fun, light film as promised, but one that may not feel as appropriate in the franchise. Still, we have a fantastic time chatting about it. So check out the film – again or for the first time – and tune in! When the movie ends, our conversation begins.

Film Sundries

Consider supporting the show by becoming a member at http://patreon.com/thenextreel.

• Watch this film: iTunes • Amazon • Hulu
• Script Transcript
• Original theatrical trailer
• Original poster artwork
• Flickchart
• Letterboxd
• Memory Alpha — Star Trek Wikia

• Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and Movements
• The Film Board
• Movies We Like
• Sitting in the Dark

• The Web
• Letterboxd
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Threads
• Bluesky
• YouTube
• Flickchart
• Pinterest
• Pete 
• Andy

• You can buy our movie-related apparel, stickers, mugs and more from our MERCH PAGE.
• Or buy or rent movies we’ve discussed on the show from our WATCH PAGE.
• Or buy books, plays, etc. that was the source for movies we’ve discussed on the show from our ORIGINALS PAGE.
• Or renew or sign up for a Letterboxd Pro or Patron account with our LETTERBOXD MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNT.
• Or sign up for AUDIBLE.