STAR TREK IV
Leonard Nimoy knew he had a hit in Star Trek IV. He and Harve Bennett, in Bennett's last act as a Paramount executive, developed a plot with no villain and lots of humor. They almost went over the top with Eddie Murphy playing a cetacean scientist who believed that whales were communicating to an alien species, but Murphy was proven correct in the film when the crew revealed that the futuristic probe sounds were actually whale song. Unfortunately for Murphy, he had to go to the 23rd century with the rest of the Enterprise crew. Leaving him in 1986 would have caused a time paradox which resulted in the Federation not being formed. Murphy's role was criticized in some quarters as similar to Richard Pryor in Superman III. He was accused of playing Eddie Murphy the comic instead of a serious character. Unlike Pryor, who completely blew up Superman III, Murphy's demeanor was a bit more tempered; he managed to fit his humor inside the overall story fluidly without overdoing it. Some critics suggested that Star Trek IV would have been better off if Kirk had a female love interest as the cetacean scientist instead of Murphy, but the writers extended the Star Trek Exiles plot by adding a scene near the end where Kirk and Carol Marcus reconcile after the Enterprise crew saved the world.
Paramount went four for four in Star Trek films. The $325 million overall gross in the United States paid off the $52 million budget rather well. Paramount was so confident in the franchise's direction that they tapped Gene Roddenberry, who they wanted to keep at arm's length for their new Star Trek series, The Next Generation, for the fifth film, to be produced and ready for theaters in 1988. However, Paramount's concern about the cast's age crept up again. James Doohan and DeForest Kelley were noncommittal about a fifth film, let alone a sixth, because they were getting on in age. The two oldest actors in the cast wanted to enjoy retirement. Kelley decided to retire from acting completely in order to participate solely in future Trek films, while Doohan decided to do voice acting only, which meant he could set up a studio in his residence and work exclusively from home. Due to these uncertainties, Paramount planned for Star Trek V to be the final Trek film, and Roddenberry had to set up a plot which tied up all the loose ends for the characters. Roddenberry planned a double wedding to start the new movie; Kirk would enter retirement and marry Carol, while Scotty would also marry Uhura, a relationship Roddenberry approved of to stick it to racists who believed that interracial marriage should be illegal.
Star Trek IV differed from the previous three films. There were no space battles, only one phaser fired in anger, and the comedy fit the times extremely well in times of international crisis. The film contributed to a more restrictive whaling ban that was signed in 1987, just a year after the temporary ban in 1986. Despite the deteriorating world situation, Star Trek IV was permitted to be shown in theaters in the Eastern Bloc, despite their forswearing of everything American after Mikhail Gorbachev's dismissal in the USSR. As a matter of fact, Andrei Gromyko was pleasantly surprised that the film represented themes that were amenable to Soviet morals. Laughter occurred in Moscow as a result of Bones' comment about bureaucracy. There was even a temporary thaw in relations that occurred as a result, but the USA and USSR couldn't maintain it and the Cold War came back with a vengeance in 1987 as repressive rule continued in the Eastern Bloc.
Lastly, Star Trek IV created some incredible moments while filming. George Takei wanted to film a scene where he was talking to one of his ancestors, who was merely an elementary school child at the time. Although the 9-year-old playing Sulu's nine-times great-grandfather was a little terrified of the cameras, Takei spoke to him in Japanese and warmly convinced him to film the scene, and a touching moment occurred when Sulu told the boy that he would eventually become patriarch of a famous family. Paramount obtained permission to film the nuclear reactor scene on the real CVN-65 USS Enterprise, but they were told that the reactor itself was off-limits, so Nimoy had the set designers create a mock-up of the reactor. Pavel Chekov's failed escape was actually filmed on the naval carrier; but Walter Koenig did not want to perform the stunt of falling 25 feet off a hangar, so a stuntman took his place. Nichelle Nichols' Uhura got to meet her Starfleet Intelligence crew at the end of the film; they were stuck on Earth while the whale probe threatened to destroy the planet. Nichols and James Doohan wanted Uhura to wear a diamond engagement ring towards the end of the film, and when Uhura placed her hand on Scotty's shoulder, the audience saw the ring and knew that they were going to be married at some point in the future. On the new Enterprise-A, Uhura and Scotty were standing arm-in-arm to the left of the captain's chair just before the credits rolled.
