20 Things You Didn't Know About Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

17. Gene Roddenberry Felt That William Shatner Stole His Idea For The God Thing

The God Thing
Pocket Books

Gene Roddenberry came close to suing William Shatner over the story ideas behind Star Trek V. In the released film, Sybok brings the crew of the Enterprise face to face with a creature calling itself God. This leads to the infamous line - What Does God Need With A Starship?

Before Star Trek: Phase II had evolved into Star Trek: The Motion Picture, there was The God Thing, a Trek story written by Roddenberry. Here, God is a starship from another dimension. It travels throughout the galaxy, sending probes to other races, taking different forms. One such probe appears on the Enterprise, taking the appearance of Jesus.

The story was not picked up for production, something that Roddenberry would later attribute to religious attitudes in the studio. He then felt that at least some of his ideas were taken by Shatner and reworked into the plot of the Final Frontier. He and his lawyer, Leonard Maizlish, prepared a lawsuit against the actor, but they then dropped it before it even proceeded to trial.

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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"