All 13 Star Trek movies officially ranked

Star Trek 4: The voyage Home

Copyright © Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

Production Budget: $24,000,000
Worldwide Box office: $133,000,000
Total Profit: $109,000,000
Return on Investment: 454.2%

Finally, a movie that was able to successfully answer the question of where the naval base in Alameda is located.

"“We are looking for the naval base in Alameda. Could you tell me where the nuclear wessels are?” -Pavel Chekov “Oh, I don’t know if I know the answer to that. I think it’s across the bay. In Alameda!” -Layla Sarakalo (extra)"

This is one of my all-time favourite behind the scenes stories from Star Trek, the purpose of extras is to fill out scenes with non-speaking roles, if a person speaks in a movie they are considered actors and as per union rules must be a member of the union.  On the day of filming this particular exchange Layla Sarakalo, a fashion designer, was parked in an area where filming was taking place, her car was towed and she decided to try to earn some extra money by asking one of the assistant directors if she could be an extra in the scenes they were filming. She was told that she would be approached by Chekov and Uhura and asked a question that she was not to respond to, but she ignored the instructions and answered the question. The film crew loved her response so much that they had her inducted into the Screen Actors Guild and left the scene in the movie, Layla didn’t find out she was left in the movie until it’s release.

The move more towards the realm of comedy while keeping the stakes high was a welcome one for the series, we got to see a group of actors and characters who seemed really comfortable in their skin, and having as good a time making the movie as we had watching it. The villain was in many ways a call back to the first movie, a giant monster bearing down on earth ready to end it all and seemingly no explanation for it, what would come was a message to preserve our planet and protect its wildlife hidden within the narrative of rescuing George and Gracie from their existence in captivity and releasing them back into the wild.

The movie was so successful with its 454.2% return on investment that it served as the final push to green light a return to television for the newly proposed series Star Trek: The Next Generation.