With its premiere in 1979,Star Trek: The Motion Picturelaunched theStar Trekfranchise into a new era of big-screen adventures for Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his crew. In the opening sequence of director Robert Wise’s special effects extravaganza, a massive space cloud easily destroys three Klingon vessels before continuing its course to Earth. When the Starfleet monitoring station, Epsilon IX, informs Starfleet Command of this approaching cloud, they assign thenewly retrofitted USS Enterpriseto intercept the entity before it reaches Earth.
With its stunning visuals and quintessentiallyStar Trekstory,Star Trek: The Motion Pictureset box office records at the time of its release. However, the film was met with mixed reviews, with some critiquing its slow pacing and reliance on visual effects. Still,Star Trek: The Motion Pictureremains beloved by many fans, andit remains a crucial part ofStar Trek’stimeline. Plus, the success of the film led Paramount to make five moreStar Trekmovieswith Kirk and his Starship Enterprise crew. Slow plot or not, seeing Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) reunite on the big screen made the whole thing worth it.
V’Ger’s Secret Is That It’s Earth’s Voyager 6 Probe
It Turns Out V’Ger Was Not Really A Villain, After All
As Admiral Kirk and the Starship Enterprise approach the space cloud, Spock finds a way to communicate with theentity known as V’ger. Upon arriving at the true center of the mysterious vessel, Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Captain Will Decker (Stephen Collins) exit the Enterprise and find themselves in a large chamber. At the heart of the chamber lies V’ger —a NASA probe called Voyager 6 that was launched from Earth centuries before.Kirk recalls that NASA’s Voyager program was meant to collect data from its travels and transmit it back to Earth.
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The Star Trek franchise’s 13 movies have introduced a series of important, intriguing, and intrepid new female characters.
Captain Decker theorizes that Voyager 6 must have disappeared through a black hole and ended up on the far side of the galaxy. The Voyager probe then ended up on a machine planet, where the machines constructed a vessel for Voyager 6 so that it could complete its original directive. As V’ger traveled across the galaxy collecting information,it gained so much knowledge that it achieved sentience.Upon reaching Earth, V’ger sought to fulfill its purpose by delivering all of the information it had gathered to its creator.
What Happened To V’Ger At The End of Star Trek: The Motion Picture
V’Ger Merges With Ilia & Will Decker
As the Enterprise tries to learn more about the entity approaching Earth, V’ger sends a probe to scan the Enterprise bridge. The probe scans the newDeltan navigator, Lt. Ilia (Persis Khambatta), and soon vanishes, taking Ilia with it. Before long, V’ger visits the Enterprise in the form of a robotic replica of Ilia. Because V’ger downloaded everything about Ilia, it also incorporated her memories and emotions into its new form.V’ger reveals that it has returned to Earth to find its creator,but Kirk and his crew do not know how to respond to V’ger’s inquiries.
Upon achieving sentience, V’Ger had existential questions, and it voyaged to Earth to find its creator in hopes of finding answers.
After discovering that V’ger is actually Voyager 6, Kirk and his crew find an old Earth code meant to respond to V’ger’s radio signal. Unfortunately, V’ger does not allow the code to be completed because it now wants to merge with its creator. Decker determines that V’ger needs a human to deliver the code to evolve. Because of his previous romance with Ilia, Decker volunteers to join with V’ger.Decker and V’ger/Ilia then merge into a new form of lifeand disappear into space, no longer a threat to Earth.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s Ending Set Up A New 5-Year Mission We Never Saw
Kirk Gets The Band Back Together To Take On V’Ger
Prior to the events ofStar Trek:The Motion Picture,Kirk and many of his crew members had scattered across the galaxy after theend ofStar Trek: The Original Series.Although some crew members, like Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nicols), Sulu (George Takei), and Chekov (Walter Koenig), had remained on the Enterprise, Spock and McCoy were elsewhere.Spock was on Vulcan undergoing the kolinahr ritual to purge his emotions,and McCoy had retired from Starfleet. After being assigned the V’ger mission, Kirk personally drafts Dr. McCoy, and Spock later catches up to the Enterprise after receiving telepathic signals from V’ger itself.
In the final scene ofStar Trek: The Motion Picture,the Enterprise navigator asks Kirk for a heading for their next adventure, and he simply replies:“Out there. Thataway.”
The mission to save Earth from V’ger brings Admiral Kirk and his crew back together aboard the Enterprise, and they remain together at the end ofStar Trek: The Motion Picture. Spock no longer wishes to continue pursuing kolinahr, andthe Enterprise appears poised for another 5-year shakedown cruise.Star Trek: The Motion Picturecomes to a close with a final message on the screen —“The Human adventure is just beginning.“This implies that the followingStar Trekfilms will pick up right whereThe Motion Pictureleft off, butStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanjumps ahead from the 2270s to 2285.
Star Trek’s First Movie Was A Hit, But Why Isn’t The Motion Picture Remembered That Way?
Many Fans Feel That The Director’s Edition Improves Upon The Original Film
Despite settingbox office recordsat the time of its initial release, Paramount was disappointed withStar Trek: The Motion Picture’sgross considering their expectations for the film.Star Trek: The Motion Picture’s modest initial budget ballooned to $44 million,which was the largest for any film made in the United States at that time. The film received mixed reviews, with many trending negative, and currently sits at 52% out of 100 on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Ultimately, the studio blamed Gene Roddenberry and his script rewrites for the film’s shortcomings.
Every Star Trek Movie In Chronological Order
With 13 entries in the Star Trek movie series from 1979-2006, there are a couple of ways to watch the films chronologically.
Star Trek: The Motion Picturedid well enough for Paramount to greenlight a sequel, but theyremoved Roddenberry’s creative controland significantly reducedStar Trek II’s budget. For the second film, Harve Bennett was hired as producer, and he turned to a classic episode ofStar Trek: The Original Series(season 1’s “Space Seed”) and leaned into the swashbuckling aspect of the series. With a story by Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards, director Nicholas Meyer’sStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanbecame a resounding success,receiving more positive reviews and reviving interest in theStar Trekfranchise.
V’Ger Wasn’t Seen For 45 Years - Until Star Trek: Lower Decks
Lower Decks Brings Back V’Ger (Kind Of)
At the end ofStar Trek: The Motion Picture,V’ger merges with Ilia and Decker into a new lifeform, but this lifeform is never seen again. While technically, the merged version of V’ger has still yet to make an appearance,Star Trek: Lower Deckshas made at least tworeferences toStar Trek: The Motion Pictureiconic villain. In the opening scene ofStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 8, “Upper Decks,” the lower deckers are carving pumpkins.Lt. Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) reveals that he carved an image of V’ger into his pumpkin,which prompts Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) to imitate V’ger’s voice.
Star Trek: The Motion Pictureis better remembered for its visual effects rather than its human drama.
The other V’ger reference comes in the opening credits forStar Trek:Lower Decksseason 5, which depict the USS Cerritos encountering a massive space battle involving numerousStar Trekvillains. With each subsequent season, this space battle has added more and more villains to the scene, and season 5 added V’ger to the mix.Star Trek: The Motion Pictureis better remembered for its visual effects rather than its human drama, but it nevertheless ushered in a new era ofStar Trekand continues to be referenced and fondly remembered today.
