Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countrywas the final voyage ofCaptain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) USS Enterprise, and it marked the 25th anniversary ofStar Trek: The Original Seriesin 1991. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, written by Meyer and Denny Martin Flynn from a story by Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner, and Mark Rosenthal,Star Trek VIsaw Kirk and the USS Enterprise-A uncover a conspiracy to prevent peace between the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets.
After Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) rescued Captain Kirk andDr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy(DeForest Kelley) from the Klingon prison planet Rura Penthe, they continued their investigation of how the Starship Enterprise could have fired a photon torpedo at the Klingon flagship, Kronos One. Kirk was framed for assassinating Klingon High Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner), butthe conspiracy was still afoot and aimed to stop peace talks at Camp Khitomer near the Romulan border.
Star Trek VI’s conspiracy against peace between the Federation and Klingons was a far-reaching cooperative between a handful of dissidents within theAlpha Quadrant’s galactic powers, each dreading how an end to hostilities could destabilize the galaxy. Captain Kirk also had help from Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) of the USS Excelsior.Together, the Enterprise and Excelsior broughtStar Trek VI’s conspirators to the light of day.
Star Trek VI’s Conspiracy To Stop Klingon & Federation Peace Explained
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The Klingon Empire was forced to pursue peace talks with the United Federation of Planets when the Klingon moon, Praxis, exploded in 2293. The loss of Praxis, the Klingons' chief source of fuel and energy, meant they"could no longer afford"their fifty years of hostility towards the Federation. Serving as Federation Special Liaison,Captain Spock negotiated peace terms with Chancellor Gorkon and offered to host the Klingons aboard the USS Enterprise-A, to Captain Kirk’s chagrin.
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However, the conspiracy to stop galactic peace was well underway. Masterminded by the Shakespeare-spouting Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plummer), the conspirators included the Romulan Ambassador Nanclus (Darryl Henriques), Starfleet Colonel West (Rene Auberjonois),Starfleet Admiral Cartwright (Brock Peters), and Lieutenant Valeris (Kim Cattrall),Spock’s Vulcan protegewho was stationed aboard the Starship Enterprise.
Colonel West was cut fromStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’s theatrical release, but his role as a would-be assassin disguised as a Klingon was restored in later versions.
Captain Kirk was specifically handpicked by General Chang to take the fall as Chancellor Gorkon’s assassin. Kirk and McCoy were then to be murdered on Rura Penthe, far from the prying eyes of the Federation. Meanwhile,the conspirators planned to murder the Federation President (Kurtwood Smith) and, possibly, Gorkon’s daughter, the new Chancellor Azetbur(Rosanna DeSoto), at the Khitomer Conference, guaranteeing war between the Klingons and Federation.
How Captain Kirk’s Enterprise Stopped The Klingon Federation Conspiracy
Spock & KIrk Deduced The Conspirator Aboard The Enterprise
While Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy were imprisoned on Rura Penthe, Captain Spock’s investigation concluded the Starship Enterprise could not have fired on Kronos One, but acloaked Klingon Bird-of-Preydid. Spock also deduced Gorkon’s true assassins were still aboard the Enterprise, although they were later found murdered. Once rescued,Captain Kirk put the piece Spock was missing together that Lt. Valeris is a conspirator, and they sprung a trap that caught the insidious Vulcan.
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InStar Trek VI’s most controversial moment, Spock invaded Valeris' psyche with a Vulcan mind meld to glean her co-conspirators and learn the assassination plot at Camp Khitomer. When the USS Enterprise warped to the Romulan border, General Chang in his cloaked Bird-of-Prey was waiting for them. Spock and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) found a way to track the Klingon starship’s ion gas trail, and their special ‘doctored’ torpedo found its mark.The Starships Enterprise and Excelsior then teamed up to destroy General Chang’s Bird-of-Prey.
“It’s about the future, Madame Chancellor. Some people think the future means the end of history. Well, we haven’t run out of history quite yet. Your father called the future ‘the undiscovered country.’ People can be very frightened of change.
Beaming into the Khitomer Conference, Captain Kirk and Sulu’s crews were just in the nick of time to stop the planned assassination, withScotty (James Doohan)killing the gunman, Colonel West.Kirk then delivered one of his finest speeches, having learned not to fear peacefrom his own introspection when he was on Rura Penthe. With the conspirators exposed and arrested, the peace conference went forward as planned, and Captain Kirk and the Enterprise"once again saved civilization as we know it.”
Star Trek VI’s Ending Synched The Original Series With The Next Generation
In The 24th Century, The Klingons & Federation Are Allies
Peace between the Klingons and the Federation as the story ofStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countrywas the brainchild of executive producer Leonard Nimoy, who was inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. However,Star Trek VIbrokeringglasnostalso lays the foundation forStar Trek: The Next GenerationwithinStar Trek’s timeline. At the start of TNGin 2364, the Klingons and Federation had been allies for decades.Star Trek VIfittingly gives the credit for peace to Captain Kirk’s Enterprise in 2293.
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InStar Trek: The Next Generation,Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn)is a Klingon serving in Starfleet on the flagship of the Federation, no less.Star Trek VIingeniously cast Dorn to play his ancestor, a Klingon attorney named Colonel Worf, who was Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy’s attorney at their show trial.Starfleet Officers and Klingons serving on each other’s ships became a common sight inTNG’s eragoing forward, andStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countrylaid that crucial foundation.
Star Trek VI Was The Final Voyage Of Kirk’s Enterprise Crew
“Second Star To The Right, And Straight On Til Morning”
After the critical and box office misfire ofWilliam Shatner’sStar Trek V: The Final Frontierin 1989, producer Harve Bennett intended to reboot theStar Trekmovies. DubbedStar Trek: The Beginning(orStar Trek: The Academy Years), Bennett’s reboot would have shown how Kirk and Spock met at Starfleet Academy. However,Paramount Studios decided one more movie withStar Trek: The Original Series' cast was a better way to celebrateStar Trek’s 25th anniversary in 1991.
Star Trek VI’s closing credits with the actors' signatures written on the screen was copied by Marvel Studios for the credits ofAvengers: Endgamein 2019.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Countryfeels like an ending, and a grand one. It shifts Captain Kirk’s crew into the next phase of their lives - Captain Sulu has already moved on to become master of the USS Excelsior - butthe Enterprise gang shows they still have their old magic.At the end ofStar Trek VI, the USS Enterprise-A journeys home"to be decommissioned,“but Spock’s defiant,“Go to hell,“promises Kirk’s Starship Enterprise will never truly end as long as audiences remember them and revisit their adventures.
What Happened To Kirk & His Enterprise Crew After Star Trek VI
Released in 1994 as the first film centering on the cast ofStar Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek Generationsrevealed that Captain Kirk’s USS Enterprise-A was indeed decommissioned in 2293 to make way for the USS Enterprise-B, which launched later that year. Kirk, Scotty, and Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) were aboard in Chekov’s final canonicalStar Trekappearance. Kirk would famously be sent to the Nexus and emerge in 2371 alongside Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart).Captain Kirk heroically sacrifices his life to save the planet Veridian III.
Christian Slater
USS Excelsior officer
InStar Trek: The Next Generation’s series premiere, “Encounter at Farpoint,” an elderlyAdmiral Leonard McCoy visits the USS Enterprise-D. A few years later, Captain Picard and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) meet Ambassador Spock on Romulus as he attempts to unify Vulcans and Romulans. Scotty then ingeniously preserves himself via a transporter to board the 24th-century Starship Enterprise. Unfortunately,TNGprovides no update on what happened to Uhura or Sulu afterStar Trek VI.
Star Trek: Voyagerseason 3’s episode “Flashback” shows a different perspective of the events aboard Captain Sulu’s USS Excelsior duringStar Trek VI.
J.J. Abrams’Star Trek(2009) revealed that Ambassador Spock failed to stop the Romulan supernova of 2387, and the Vulcan was sent back in time to an alternate 23rd-century timeline created by theRomulan villain Nero(Eric Bana). Ambassador Spock never returned toStar Trek’s Prime Timeline and passed away in 2293 as seen in 2016’sStar Trek Beyond. While Captain Kirk’s Enterprise crew spent the remainder of their lives apart, but it’s always a joy to watch them grandly save the galaxy one final time inStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
