The Single Biggest Mistake Each Star Trek Movie Has Made

8. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - Unauthorised Phaser Levels

Star Trek 6 Phaser
CBS

The Mistake: For the first time an alarm sounds if someone fires an unauthorised phaser aboard a starship, alerting security.

Why?: It introduces a lot of questions, while also offering a clue as to the eventual identity of the conspirator. Star Trek VI is up there with Wrath of Khan for the best Trek films, so this is a small nitpick. But, Yeomen Burke and Sano are killed by phaser fire, set to stun, at point-blank range. Valeris had previously demonstrated that firing an unauthorised phaser is prohibited on a Starship.

So, assuming it is Valeris who fired the shots at the two men, why was the helmsman of the Enterprise-A authorised to use a phaser? If it is only authorised at the stun setting, does this mean that any officer can use a phaser set to stun on the ship? Finally, in a strange choice that is related to this, why take the time to properly hide the assassins uniforms but not their bodies?

While the Undiscovered Country is an excellent political thriller, action film and a swansong for the crew, these small nitpicks stand!

Contributor
Contributor

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"