20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

5. Nicholas Meyer Hated The Ending

Star Trek Nicholas Meyer
CBS

There is an original ending to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home that sees Catherine Hick's Gillian Taylor remain on Earth in 1986. She vows to fight for the survival of the Humpback Whales as a species. Despite the fact that this does create a paradox - if the Humpbacks survive, there's no need for Kirk and crew to go back in time - writer Nicholas Meyer felt that this ending gave a stronger message.

Having Taylor remind on Earth gave, in his opinion, the impression that humanity was actively doing something about the ecological threat, rather than relying on the interference of their future selves to wrap everything up for them.

He describes the ending that was released as a fantasy version, one that caters to the idea that the future Utopia will wipe everything clean in terms of the sins of humanity. Having no choice but to accept it, he worked on all of the scenes set in the 20th century, while Harve Bennett wrote the end of the film.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"