From Star Trek: The Motion Picture to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the original series' cinematic universe is a rollercoaster ride of quality.
Most fans consider the even-numbered films superior to the odd, but in truth, each has its moments of beauty and flaws, and the greatest is creating a believable and effective antagonist. From unclear motives to lacking any serious threat, here are the three worst from the original series’ movie universe.
1. The Ho-Ho probe from The Voyage Home
I know readers of the novelization will say, “Read the book, it explains why the probe traveled to Earth.” That’s a simple answer, but from a cinematic viewpoint, the viewers of the film never know why it sought out the humpback whales, other than that they stopped singing.
Toward the end of the film, we see the whales and the probe communicate before the probe seems to say, “Oh, okay,” packs up, and takes off. Earth and the starbases get their power back, and everyone gets a happy ending, except the Trek fans asking, “Where did it come from? How did it start talking to whales in the first place?” There are too many unanswered questions to make the probe an effective antagonist.
2. Sybok from The Final Frontier
It’s sad about this one, truly! In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Sybok, Spock’s half-brother, is an emotional evangelist and wants to spread the good word (“emotion”) all over the galaxy, which eventually pushes him to kidnap and brainwash a group of diplomats because he needs a starship to travel to “Sha Ka Ree,” or Eden. He wants to meet God, and he believes this place will reveal His existence.
Sybok could have been a compelling antagonist if perhaps he had used his Vulcan mind tricks to put himself in a position of power, either inside the Federation or another established world. He could have disguised himself as a typical Vulcan, using his abilities to worm his way into the minds of people with power. Instead, viewers watch Enterprise pass through a barrier the ship had breached in the past, only to find another unnamed energy creature. Much like with the probe from the previous movie, the antagonist’s motives aren’t clear.
3. “God” from The Final Frontier
Where did the creature who impersonates God come from in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier? Who put it behind the energy barrier? Why did it seem so physically powerful?
Friends, your guess is as good as mine. Whatever this energy creature was, it only had one thing on its non-corporeal mind—escape. We can only assume it wanted to use Enterprise to do some marauding. However, since Star Trek fans have seen big, bad energy beings come and go since the original series, this “God” antagonist fell flat.
An effective antagonist makes viewers either love, hate, or love to hate the character. Antagonists have many layers and the charisma to draw others into their cause, while viewers understand their motivations. Star Trek movie producers back then should’ve invested in good writing instead of banking on special effects.
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