10 Times Pop Music Was Heard In Star Trek
4. Thunderstruck – AC/DC
What's a better way than Kirk's reprogramming job to try to beat the Kobayashi Maru scenario? Put on some AC/DC turned up to 11 and broadcast it so that even the Klingons, used to listening to what passes for opera in the Empire at settings simply labelled 'today is a good day to die,' can't hear themselves think, of course! The plan very nearly works for the increasingly exasperated Dal R'El of Star Trek: Prodigy. If only he hadn't rested his feet on that Klingon control panel, he might have beaten the simulation at its own game, all to the sound of an epic guitar solo. Maybe Saavik should have brought a Vulcan lute along to her attempt?
One of the Aussie band's most popular songs, Thunderstruck was the lead single on AC/DC's 1990 album The Razor's Edge. Aside from its use on the holodeck in the Prodigy episode Kobayashi, the track has featured in numerous other TV shows and films such as Supernatural, My Name is Earl, and Dead Pool 2.
It also has the more dubious distinction of being one of the most expensive songs ever to be licensed for use in a movie, at a staggering $500,000 for a scene in the 1999 film Varsity Blues. Let's hope they didn't demand anywhere near the same amount (in ice cream?!) from our earnest augment!