With the Sarek family tree growing more complicated by the day, fans have started to wonder if 1989’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier still counts.
When it was first revealed that Star Trek: Discovery would introduce a new character that was the foster daughter of Sarek and by extension, the foster sister of Spock, you could almost hear millions of Star Trek fans gnashing their collective teeth.
“How is that possible?” “Why hasn’t anyone heard of her before now?” “Why didn’t Spock talk about her with Kirk?” were just some of the questions Trek Nation had. Now after two incredible seasons, most have been answered and there is no longer a disturbance in the Force.
Sorry. Wrong franchise.
But what made the whole situation even more comical was that this wasn’t even the first time this had happened.
For those who may not be aware, Michael Burnham was not, in fact, the first long-lost sibling that Spock failed to mention to anyone. Ever. Anywhere.
No, that distinction falls to Sybok, the half-brother Spock never talked about who was introduced in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
The story goes that Sybok was the product of Sarek’s dalliance with a Vulcan princess. He rejected the Vulcan path of logic and instead embraced his passions and emotions. This eventually lead to his taking over the Enterprise and attempting to break through the Great Barrier in order to find God.
Which led to one of the greatest lines in all of Star Trek, “What does God need with a starship?”
I swear, Star Trek V is worth watching for that line alone.
In any event, due to the fact that no mention had been made of Sybok throughout three television seasons as well as four feature films, it had fans asking is Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was still considered part of Star Trek canon.
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Which, honestly, isn’t all that surprising.
Star Trek V is easily one of the most polarizing and disliked films in the entire series. While there are glimmers of a good story there, they are overshadowed by bad special effects, ill-timed humor and a general lack of cohesion.
In spite of that, over the three decades since its debut The Final Frontier has found fans. They will defend the picture and will usually end any argument with “Which would you rather watch, The Final Frontier or Nemesis?”
Discussion over.
Anyway, while no one has said so one way or the other, it’s a safe bet that Star Trek V is still canon. Just because it’s not the best version of Trek doesn’t mean it should be relegated to the scrap heap. If that was the case then such gems as ‘Spock’s Brain,’ “Sub Rosa,’ ‘Threshold’ and of course, ‘These are the Voyages…’ would not be a part of Star Trek as we know it.
Come to think of it, the hell with ‘These are the Voyages…’ You can keep that festering pile of crap.
But Star Trek V: The Final Frontier? It may not be the best or even pretty good, but I’ll gladly watch it over ‘Sub Rosa’ any day of the week.