Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
STAR DATE: 1986.
HOW ON EARTH CAN THEY SAVE THE FUTURE?

"A catastrophe in the future can only be averted by a journey into Earth's past."
- 1986 TV ad

Admiral James T. Kirk is prepared to take the consequences for rescuing Spock and stealing and then losing the starship Enterprise, but a new danger has put Earth itself in jeopardy. Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in an old Klingon Bird-of-Prey to right an ancient wrong, in the hopes of saving Earth – and the Federation – from certain doom.

Summary

23rd century

It is the year 2286, and an alien vessel is moving through space. The huge vessel is detected by the , and sensor analysis reveals it to be some sort of probe. The captain of the Saratoga contacts Starfleet Command and informs them that this alien probe is apparently headed to the Terran solar system. Starfleet tells Saratoga to continue the tracking and they will analyze their transmissions and advise.

Back on Earth, the Klingon Ambassador to the United Federation of Planets demands the extradition of Admiral James T. Kirk for murdering a Klingon crew and for stealing a Klingon vessel. The ambassador also denounces the failed Genesis Project as a mere weapon and the Genesis planet as a staging area from which to launch the annihilation of the Klingon race. Just then, Ambassador Sarek arrives in the council chambers and says that Genesis was named for creating life and not death. He goes on to accuse the Klingons of shedding the first blood in attempting to possess the secrets of Genesis. Sarek points out that the Klingons destroyed  and killed Kirk's son, which the Klingon ambassador does not deny, saying they have the right to defend their race. Sarek then asks if the Klingons have the right to commit murder, which causes an uproar in the council chambers; breaking his silence by calling for everyone else to make silence, the President states that there will be no further outbursts. Sarek says that he has come to speak on behalf of the accused, which the Klingon ambassador decries as a personal bias, as Sarek's son was saved by Kirk. The president tells Sarek that the council's deliberations have already concluded. He then tells the Klingon ambassador that Admiral Kirk faces nine violations of Starfleet regulations. The Klingon ambassador says that the fact Kirk is only facing Starfleet regulations is outrageous and decries that as long as Kirk lives, there will never be any peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. As he and his aides storm out of the council chambers, someone in the council chambers calls the ambassador a "pompous ass."

"Captain's log, stardate 8390. We're in the third month of our  exile, and it was Dr. McCoy with a fine sense of historical irony who decided on a name for our captured Klingon vessel. And like those mutineers of five hundred years ago, we too have a hard choice to make."

On Vulcan, Kirk surveys his crew and they all vote "Aye, sir." Kirk states then to them "Let the record show that the commander and the crew of the late starship  have voted unanimously to return to Earth, to face the consequences for their actions in the rescue of their comrade, Captain Spock." Scott tells Kirk that it'll take him one more day to get their Klingon ship, named by McCoy as the , ready to go saying that while damage control is easy, reading Klingon is hard. McCoy laments that Starfleet could have at least sent a ship to pick them up as it's bad enough to know they will be court-martialed and likely imprisoned but the worst is going home in the "Klingon flea trap." Kirk says the "Klingon flea trap" has a cloaking device "which cost [them] a lot." McCoy comments that he wishes they could cloak the stench. Kirk looks up and sees Spock standing at a cliff looking down at them and the ship. Spock then walks off and goes back in a room and resumes computer testing of his mental faculties. While the tests show Spock has regained full control of his faculties once again, he is confused when the computer asks him how he feels.

Then, Spock's mother Amanda enters and reminds Spock that as he is half-Human he has feelings and the computer is aware of this. Spock says he must go to Earth with the others and offer testimony because he was there when the events occurred. Amanda asks if the good of the many outweighs the good of the one and Spock says it does. Amanda then says that it was a mistake by his flawed, feeling, Human friends for them to sacrifice their futures because they believed that the good of the one, Spock, was more important to them. Spock says that Humans make illogical decisions. Amanda smiles and agrees that they do indeed.

Just then, at the Neutral Zone, the probe comes close to the Saratoga. The captain orders yellow alert, but the probe, issuing a powerful signal, begins draining the ship of all power. As the Saratoga begins to drift, the captain tries to issue a distress call to Starfleet Command.

Meanwhile, at Starfleet Command, the President asks Starfleet Admiral Cartwright for a status update and he tells the president that the probe is headed directly toward Earth and that its signal is disabling everything it comes into contact with. According to Cartwright, two Klingon ships have been lost while two Federation starships and three smaller vessels have been neutralized. He then orders contact with the  and their captain says his chief engineer is trying to deploy a makeshift solar sail hoping they can generate enough power to keep themselves alive.

As the probe continues toward Earth, on Vulcan the Bounty is almost ready for launch. Kirk comes on the bridge and asks for status reports, Uhura says communications systems are ready and the communications officer is "as ready as she'll ever be." Sulu reports the on-board computer will now interface with the Federation memory bank. Chekov reports the cloaking device is repaired and is now available in all flight modes. Kirk admits to being impressed with all that work for such a short flight. Chekov then tells Kirk since they're in an enemy vessel, he didn't want to risk being shot down on the way to their own funeral. Kirk compliments Chekov's thinking and then calls Scott, who tells him that they are ready to go. Scott says the dilithium resequencer has been converted into something not quite so primitive and that he has personally replaced the Klingon food packs as they were giving Scott a sour stomach. Kirk turns and tells all who's not going to Earth that they better get off. He then turns to Saavik, who is remaining on Vulcan, to tell her goodbye and to thank her. Saavik says that she's not yet had the opportunity to tell Kirk how bravely his son David died and that he saved her and Spock and she wanted Kirk to know. Just then, Spock arrives on the bridge and Saavik wishes him a good day and hopes his journey be free of incident. Spock tells Saavik to "Live long and prosper." Spock gets permission from Kirk to come aboard and tries unsuccessfully to get Spock to call him "Jim" as Kirk is in a command situation. Spock also apologizes for only wearing his Vulcan robes as he seems to have misplaced his uniform. Kirk tells Spock to take his station, a move that concerns McCoy as after all that Spock's been through, he's not liable to be ready to assume such responsibilities but Kirk expresses confidence that it will all come back to him. Kirk then tells Sulu and Chekov to take them home. Sulu and Chekov gently lift the Bounty off the surface and as Saavik and Amanda watch, the Bounty heads off into the Vulcan sunset, on course for Earth.

At that time also, the probe has reached Earth and begins the process of neutralizing the Earth Spacedock before they can get the space doors open and all ships inside the dock, including the , are all neutralized and disabled. The probe then continues into Earth orbit and begins pulling water and moisture from the oceans and clouds begin gathering over the Earth as the probe continues its transmission.

Sulu reports planet Earth 1.6 hours away, and Chekov reports there are no Federation vessels on assigned patrol stations, which Kirk finds odd. Uhura tells Kirk that the comm channels are flooded with overlapping multiphasic transmissions sounding almost like gibberish. She asks Kirk for some time to try to sort it all out. Just then, McCoy sits next to Spock and asks if he's busy. Spock says that he is simply monitoring and that Uhura is busy. McCoy says that it's sure nice for Spock's katra to be back in Spock's head and not his, stating that he might have carried Spock's soul but he couldn't fill Spock's shoes. When Spock doesn't understand the quip, McCoy drops it and asks if he and Spock could speak about philosophical matters such as life and death but Spock says he didn't have time on Vulcan to review philosophical disciplines. McCoy tells Spock that he's "…really gone where no man has gone before" and is amazed that Spock can't tell him what it felt like. Spock says that they can't discuss the subject because they don't have a common frame of reference. When McCoy asks if Spock is joking, Spock defines a joke as "a story with a humorous climax." McCoy is amazed that Spock is inferring that McCoy would have to die in order to discuss Spock's insights on death. Just then Spock tells McCoy he's receiving a number of distress calls, which McCoy doesn't doubt as he gets up and walks away.

Back on Earth, the situation is worsening. Reports from all over the world pour into Starfleet Headquarters. These reports include weather conditions worsening around the planet, such as how temperatures in Juneau, Alaska were dropping and cloud cover was up to 96%. In Tokyo, Japan, all power was gone and only available from reserve banks. Both it and Leningrad had 100% cloud cover and their temperatures were decreasing rapidly. The president asks about worldwide cloud cover and a report of 78.6% comes in. At that point, Cartwright orders a planet-wide emergency and declares red alert. Just then, the influence of the probe comes over and power begins to fade. Cartwright tells the president that even with planetary reserves, they are doomed without the sun. The president states he is well aware of that fact. Just then, Sarek enters into the command center and the president laments that there may be no way to answer the probe. Sarek comments that one cannot answer easily if you don't understand the question. Then Sarek suggests that the president issue a planetary distress signal while there still is time.

Still en route to Earth aboard the Bounty, Uhura tells Kirk that a signal is finally coming through from the Federation. Kirk tells her to put it on screen and they all watch in shock as the president tells all ships everywhere to not approach the planet Earth as the probe is causing critical damage to the Earth, almost totally ionizing the atmosphere. The president says that all power sources have failed and all Earth-orbiting starships are powerless. The probe, according to the president, is vaporizing Earth's oceans and that everyone on Earth will not survive unless they can find a way to respond. The president warns all ships to save their energy and to save themselves and they should avoid the planet Earth at all costs. He then bids farewell and the transmission fades. A stunned Kirk and crew are amazed at what they saw and heard. After a moment, Kirk asks to hear the probe's signal and Uhura patches it through. Spock says that the probe signifies aliens of great intelligence that somehow, are unaware of the signal's destructive nature and that he thinks it illogical that the probe's intention is hostile. When McCoy asks if this is the probe's way of saying hello to the people of the Earth, Spock points out that Human arrogance assumes the message must be meant for them. When Kirk asks if it could be for some other lifeform, Spock does point out the signal is pointed at Earth's oceans. Kirk asks Uhura to adjust the probe's signal to account for what it would sound like underwater. When she does so, Spock theorizes there can be no response to the message. He then excuses himself to test the theory and he is quickly followed by Kirk and McCoy.

In the Bountys lab, Spock discovers that it is in fact a whale song, specifically that of the humpback whale. McCoy at first wonders who would send a probe across the galaxy to speak to whales, but Kirk and Spock recognize that whales were on Earth ten million years before Humans. Humpback whales, Spock points out, have been extinct since the 21st century, and so it is possible an alien intelligence sent the probe to establish why they lost contact. Kirk wonders if they could simulate a response to the probe's call, but Spock says the language would be gibberish.  Kirk asks if the species could exist on some other planet, but Spock answers that they were indigenous to Earth. When Kirk says they must find a way to destroy the probe before it destroys Earth, Spock reminds Kirk the probe would neutralize the Bounty with no effort. Spock does say then that they could theoretically go find some humpback whales. McCoy realizes what Spock is suggesting and is about to ask Kirk to "wait just a damn minute," but is interrupted by Kirk, who orders Spock to start computations for a time warp.

Meanwhile, the situation on Earth is worsening.

In the Bountys cargo bay, Kirk asks Scott if they can enclose it to hold water and Scott says he could and McCoy agrees that Kirk is about to go swimming "Off the deep end, Mr. Scott!" Kirk tells Scott they have to go find a couple of humpback whales. McCoy asks Kirk if he is seriously going to attempt time travel in "this rustbucket." Kirk responds that they have done it before. As he and McCoy head back toward the bridge, McCoy wonders aloud about the plan;

"You're proposing we go backwards in time, find humpback whales, then bring them forward in time. Drop them off and hope to hell they tell this probe what to go do with itself?!"

Kirk says that's it and McCoy comments that Kirk's plan is crazy. Kirk tells McCoy if he has a better idea now's the time to tell him. On the bridge he asks Spock about the computations and Spock is working on them. Meanwhile, Kirk has Uhura open a channel to Starfleet Command.

On Earth, a faint transmission believed to be from Admiral Kirk is received and Cartwright orders it put through. Kirk advises Starfleet of their analysis of the probe's signal, tells them that Spock's theory is that only the extinct humpback whale can properly answer the probe and they are going to try time travel and they are computing their trajectory at the same time. At that moment, Kirk's signal degrades. Cartwright orders the transmission picked back up, but just then the windows behind him shatter and the wind and rain begin to blow into Starfleet Headquarters. At this point, all anyone in the command center can do is wait.

On the Bounty, Spock has completed his calculations and informs Kirk their time target is the late 20th century. Unfortunately he can't be more precise because of the limits of the equipment aboard the Bounty. Additionally he had to program some of the variables for his time travel computations from memory. When McCoy worriedly recites a line from Hamlet, "Angels and ministers of grace, defend us," and Spock recognizes it as act one, scene four, Kirk establishes his faith in Spock's memory and has the ship prepared for warp speed. Kirk orders Chekov to raise the shields and then tells Sulu to engage the Bountys warp drive. "May fortune favor the foolish," Kirk says as the Bounty engages to warp speed.

The ship slowly accelerates up over warp nine and then as they get closer and closer to the Sun, the ship begins to shake seriously between the effects of high warp and the high solar gravity. A console next to Uhura blows out, but she says she's ok. At the last moment, Kirk orders Sulu to kick in the last of the thruster power, and the Bounty successfully performs the slingshot effect around the Sun. For a brief time, the crew is unconscious as Kirk dreams of voices of the crew and their faces (quotes from later are heard here, including Scott saying "Admiral, there be whales here!"), of a whale, and eventually of a person falling from space, through Earth's atmosphere and landing in a lake in a tranquil forest, with a sound of what may be a ship landing.

20th century

Kirk awakens to find ship and crew seemingly still intact. He rouses Sulu from his unconsciousness and Sulu finds the braking thrusters have successfully fired. When the viewer is activated Spock determines by the atmosphere's pollution content they have successfully arrived in the latter half of the 20th century. He then reminds Kirk they may already be visible to the Earth's tracking devices of the time and so Kirk orders the cloaking device engaged. The Bounty crosses over the terminator into night and Spock homes in on the west coast of North America. There, Uhura finds whale song, but is confused to find it coming directly from San Francisco. Just then Scott calls needing to see Kirk immediately.

Scotty reports a new problem, informing Kirk and Spock the Klingon dilithium crystals have been drained by the time travel and are de-crystallizing. Unfortunately, even in the 23rd century, re-crystallization is not possible and Scott gives them 24 hours before they lose all power and become visible – and dead in the water. Spock theorizes that because of the use of nuclear fission reactors in this time period, they could construct a device to collect some high-energy radioactive photons safely which could then be injected into the dilithium chamber which, in theory, could cause crystalline restructure. Spock then points out that nuclear power was widely used on Naval vessels.

From his seat at the Bountys helm, Sulu recognizes San Francisco and tells everyone he was born there. McCoy remarks that it really doesn't look all that different from the San Francisco of their time. Kirk instructs Sulu to set the ship down in Golden Gate Park. He then assigns everyone to teams, Uhura and Chekov will take care of the photon collection. McCoy, Sulu, and Scott are assigned to find materials to construct a whale tank aboard the ship; and Spock and Kirk are to attempt to find the two humpback whales they detected in San Francisco. Kirk then tells everyone to be very careful as most of their customs will doubtless be surprising to the time travelers. Everyone then looks at Spock and Kirk says "It's a foregone conclusion none of these people have ever seen an extraterrestrial before." With that, Spock tears a piece from his robe and wraps it around his head like a headband which covers his eyebrows and ears. Kirk calls late 20th century culture extremely primitive and paranoid. Chekov is to issue everyone a phaser and communicator but the crew is to maintain radio silence except in emergencies, and anyone in uniform should remove their rank insignia. Then, Kirk tells everyone that they should do their job and get out of there as their own world is waiting for them to save it. If they can.

The Bounty lands in Golden Gate Park, accidentally crushing a trash can (as well as indenting the surrounding ground) under its invisible landing gear, and when the hatch opens, it scares two sanitation workers, who drive out of the area leaving trash behind. Oblivious to this, the Enterprise crew continues onward, Uhura gives the coordinates of the whales to Kirk who quips, "Everybody remember where we parked!"

In San Francisco, the crew has trouble adjusting, from watching out for traffic – to which Kirk swears back at a driver – to Kirk's realization that they're going to need some money, being that Earth of then still saw it as a driving force. Kirk and Spock go to an antique shop to sell the glasses McCoy earlier gave Kirk on his last birthday. Kirk receives one hundred dollars (wondering aloud if that's really very much) and then divides it among the teams. He and Spock walk down the streets of San Francisco and Kirk wonders how they're going to find the whales. Spock finds a city map and starts to work out the coordinates on the map. Kirk sees an ad for the Cetacean Institute and the two attempt to get on a bus, only to be tossed back off because they don't have exact change and don't know what the term "exact change" means, either.

In another part of town, McCoy, Scott, and Sulu walk the streets. McCoy wonders how they'll make the whale tank. Scott says he'd normally do it with transparent aluminum but he and Sulu both realize he's well too early for that feat so they'll have to make do with a 20th century equivalent. Just then they notice an ad on a wall for the Yellow Pages.

Elsewhere, Chekov and Uhura have also been perusing the phone book and have found the address for the Alameda Naval Base. Unfortunately, their luck in getting those directions isn't entirely successful with people (including one SFPD police officer) completely ignoring them and a lady telling them the ships are in Alameda, which they already knew but they don't know how to get to Alameda.

Kirk and Spock finally find a bus and, after Spock renders a punk rocker unconscious with a nerve pinch, they arrive at the Cetacean Institute and join in with a tour group which is being led by Dr. Gillian Taylor, a guide and whale lover. During the tour, Spock jumps into the whale tank and performs a mind meld with one of the two whales, which Taylor has said were named George and Gracie. Earlier in the tour, Kirk comments on the amazing stroke of luck in finding a male and a female humpback in a contained space, they can beam them up together and be on the way home. During Spock's mind meld, he is noticed by a completely astonished Kirk and then an elderly lady in the tour group, which raises Taylor's ire and she and Kirk run back up to the tank and she confronts Spock. Spock tries to explain that he was trying to communicate. Kirk attempts to act as if he's there to help Taylor, but when Spock tells him that if they think the whales are theirs to do with as they please, then they'll be as guilty as those who caused the whales' extinction. At that point, Taylor throws both of them out, threatening to call the police as Spock was messing with her tanks and whales. Spock says the whales like her very much, but they are not "the hell "her" whales," and when she asks if they told him that, he admits they did.

As they walk away, Kirk asks about Spock's mind meld. Spock says the whales are not happy with how Humans have treated their species, which Kirk finds understandable and asks if they will help. Spock says he believes he was successful in communicating the Enterprise crew's mission.

Dr. Taylor is outraged by their actions, but later tries to relax with the whales and tells them the intruders didn't mean them any harm. Just then her boss, Bob Briggs, steps up and asks how Gillian is doing and she admits she's very upset. Briggs sympathizes but points out again that they endanger the whales' lives by keeping them at the Institute and they take the same risk letting them go. He tries to calm her by reminding her that they've never been proven to be as intelligent as Humans, but Taylor doesn't buy it, angrily saying she doesn't limit her compassion for someone based on an intelligence estimate.

Chekov and Uhura finally find the location of a nuclear vessel. Chekov begins attempting to make contact with Kirk as Uhura locates the exact coordinates of the reactor. Once Kirk is reached, Chekov reports they found the ship which pleases Kirk, and then Chekov tells Kirk "And Admiral… it is the Enterprise." Kirk acknowledges and asks the plan. Chekov says they'll beam in that night, get the photons and beam out before anyone can ever know they were there. Kirk approves the plan and tells them to keep him informed.

Just then Taylor approaches in her truck and agrees to give Kirk and Spock a ride back to San Francisco. Taylor asks Kirk where he's from and he says Iowa. Then asking what Spock meant about the whales' extinction, Kirk says he meant if things go as they are, the humpbacks will disappear forever, but Taylor recounts what Spock said exactly, including referring to the whales as already extinct. Kirk promises that they have nothing to do with the military teaching whales to retrieve torpedoes or "dipshit stuff" like that. Spock then blurts out the fact that Gracie is pregnant, which causes Taylor to slam on her brakes, stopping the truck in amazement because this is something nobody outside the institute knows. She demands to know how Spock knows this. Kirk says he can't say but if she gives them a chance, he'll promise they're not in the military and have no harmful intentions toward the whales. He then says that they may be able to help them in ways she can't imagine. Taylor figures she probably won't believe it either. Kirk and Spock manage to agree that she's not catching them at their best. Kirk then suggests that they all go out to dinner and discuss this further. Taylor asks if they like Italian food and Kirk and Spock banter back and forth for a moment before Kirk can get out that he loves Italian and he tells Spock he does too.

In the meantime, Scott and his team have managed to find a manufacturer of large plexiglass walls – Plexicorp – and he and McCoy masquerade as scientists from Edinburgh who were to tour the plant – unbeknownst to the plant's head, Dr. Nichols. Scott makes a scene, but is given a tour of the plant by Nichols and Scott, playing the role, asks if McCoy (his "assistant") can accompany. Nichols says he can and as he commandeers a forklift for them to ride on, McCoy tells Scott "Don't bury yourself in the part!"

Sulu approaches a helicopter pilot and begins speaking to him about the old Huey 204 helicopter on which the pilot is working. The pilot asks Sulu if he's flown any and Sulu says he's flown "here and there." Sulu then tells the pilot that he flew something similar during his Academy days, and the pilot recognizes that the helicopter must be old to him which Sulu admits, but says it's still interesting. He then asks if he can ask a few questions and the pilot agrees to answer them.

Meanwhile, at Plexicorp, after the tour, Scott tells Nichols that they have a very fine plant here and Nichols compliments Scott's impressive knowledge of engineering skill. Scott then says he sees Nichols still working with polymers. Nichols asks what else he'd be using. Scott asks how big a piece of the plexiglass need to be at the measurements they'll need for the Bountys cargo bay, holding the pressure of the water that will be inside. Nichols says that a six inch piece would do it. Scott then supposes he shows Nichols a way to make a wall that would do the same thing but only be one inch thick. At first Nichols thinks Scott is joking but McCoy suggest Scott make use of Nichols' computer and he obliges. Although Scott mistakes the old computer for one he can talk to, when Nichols finally tells him to just use the keyboard, Scott does so and quickly comes up with the formula for transparent aluminum. Nichols says it'd take years to work out the dynamics of the matrix, but McCoy tells him he'll be richer than he can dream. When Nichols asks what Scott wants, McCoy excuses them and they go over to the corner. McCoy tells Scott that if they give Nichols the formula, they alter the future. Scott then asks how do they know Nichols didn't invent transparent aluminum? McCoy agrees to Scott's logic and they go off to make the deal.

Kirk and Taylor bring Spock back to Golden Gate Park. She asks if Spock won't change his mind about dinner and Spock wonders if there's a problem with the one he has. Kirk says that's a little joke and then tells Spock goodbye. Taylor asks how Spock knew that Gracie is pregnant when nobody knows that. Spock says that Gracie knows she's pregnant and he'll be here in the park. Taylor asks Kirk if Spock is going to just hang out around the bushes and Kirk just shrugs and says it's his way. As Gillian and Kirk drive away, Spock is beamed back aboard the Bounty. Kirk and Taylor are at a pizza restaurant and Kirk allows Gillian to order for them. He then asks how she ended up as a cetacean biologist. She says she is just lucky and a sucker for hard luck cases, mentioning that while she'll never see the whales again after they're released, they'll be tagged with radio transmitters so they can keep track of them. She then asks why Kirk hangs around with "that ditzy guy who knows that Gracie's pregnant and calls you admiral." Just then, Kirk's Klingon communicator beeps. He tries to ignore it, but it keeps beeping and Taylor notices, calling his communicator pocket pager and then asks Kirk if he's a doctor. Kirk finally answers it and feigns irritation, saying he said not to call him. Scott is the one calling, he apologizes for the interruption but he thought Kirk would want to know he's beaming Chekov and Uhura in now. Kirk says to tell them to set their phasers on stun and wishes them good luck. He then kills the transmission. Taylor asks for an explanation, Kirk asks when the whales are leaving. Gillian asks who he is, he asks who she thinks he is. Taylor then speculates he's from outer space. Kirk reiterates he's from Iowa, but that he works in outer space. Taylor said she was sure outer space would play a role sooner or later. Kirk then decides to tell her the truth to try and gain Taylor's cooperation in getting the whales. Kirk reveals that he is, by her calendar, from the late 23rd century and he's come back in time to bring two humpback whales with him so they can repopulate the species in his century. Taylor is enthusiastic about getting the details (while not believing a word of it). Kirk asks again when the whales were leaving. Taylor decides to go ahead and tell Kirk that Gracie is indeed very pregnant and that at noon the next day, the whales will be shipped out. At that point, Kirk jumps up and tells Taylor they have to leave just as the pizza arrives. Gillian asks if they can have it to go and then asks Kirk if they use money in the 23rd century and Kirk confirms they don't.

At the same time, aboard the Enterprise, Chekov and Uhura hide briefly from a guard and his dog. They then finish their way to the reactor and Chekov attaches the  to the reactor. When Uhura asks how long this is going to take, Chekov says it will depend on how much shielding there is between them and the actual reactor.

Back at Golden Gate Park, Taylor tells Kirk that was the briefest dinner she's ever had and the makes it clear she doesn't believe Kirk's story at all. Kirk asks what the whale's radio transmitter's frequency is, but Taylor refuses to tell him, citing that it's classified information. Kirk then tells Taylor that he is here to take two humpbacks to the 23rd century and if he has to do so, he will go to the open sea to get them but he'd much rather have hers as it'd be better for him, for Taylor, and for the whales. Gillian once again implores Kirk to tell her who he really is, but he ignores the question and asks her to think about this but not to take too much time and if Gillian changes her mind about helping them, he'll be right there in the park. As Taylor drives off, Kirk walks toward where the Bounty is parked and Taylor hears the transporter beam taking Kirk aboard and sees the light in the corner of her eye. She looks back and sees Kirk gone and drives on, puzzled.

Aboard the Bounty, Kirk asks for an update. Spock says the tank will be finished by morning and there has been no word yet from Chekov and Uhura since beam-in. Kirk grows frustrated that they are so close with two whales that will work great for them if they don't let them slip from their grasp. Spock says there is a possibility then their mission will fail. Kirk reminds Spock he's talking about the future of everyone on Earth and as he walks away angrily ask Spock that as he's half-Human does he not have any feelings about that? McCoy and Scott look at Spock but he does not answer and simply stands there contemplating Kirk's words.

Chekov and Uhura continue to collect the photons. On the Enterprise bridge, their attempts have been noticed in the form of a power drain evidently coming from somewhere aboard and the Enterprise crew begin investigating. Meanwhile, in the reactor area, Chekov and Uhura have gained enough photons and Uhura calls for transport but the signal is very weak. At that same time, the Enterprise crew confirm the power drain and the duty officer calls the commanding officer and reports intruders aboard. Uhura finally makes contact with Scott but as power is down to minimum, he'll have to transport them out one at a time. Chekov sends Uhura first with the collector. Uhura transports out safely with the collector, but due to radiation, Chekov's beam-out fails, and as soldiers converge on the reactor area, Chekov continues to try to contact Scott but his signal fails and he is discovered and taken prisoner. Chekov is held for interrogation. Chekov kept his Starfleet ID with him which is discovered by the investigator. He asks Chekov why is on the Enterprise and what the communicator and phaser are for. Chekov simply reiterates the truth about being a commander in Starfleet and gives his rank and serial number. The investigator and his aide see that he's obviously Russian but the main investigator says about Chekov "…of course he's a Russkie, but he's a retard or something!" While they're distracted, Chekov picks up the phaser and tries to hold the investigators saying if they don't lie on the floor he'll have to stun them. The investigator tells him to go ahead and do so. Chekov apologizes and tries, but the radiation has disabled his phaser. He attempts to escape captivity but just before he can get off the Enterprise, he falls off a ledge landing in the ships elevator shafts and is injured. The Marines who were chasing Chekov call for a corpsman.

On the Bounty Uhura is desperately searching for any sign of Chekov. Kirk comes on the bridge and asks if she's found anything and Uhura says she should never have left Chekov behind, but Kirk tells her to keep looking and then she did what was necessary. He then contacts Scott and asks for a progress report on the recrystallization. Scott says it'll be well into the next day but Kirk says that's not going to be good enough and he needs to speed it up. Scott acknowledges and mutters to Spock how Kirk is in "a wee bit of a snit". Spock agrees and offers that Kirk is a man of deep feelings and Scott wonders what else is new.

That same day, Taylor arrives at the Institute and lets herself in. She then heads back to the aquarium where she is shocked to see the whales gone. She runs back inside, horrified, only to be intercepted by Bob Briggs who tells her that to avoid a mob scene with the press they were taken away the night before and they felt it would be easier for her. In tears and anger, Taylor slaps Briggs hard across the face and calls him "You son of a bitch!" before storming out of the Institute, getting back in her truck and then speeds back to the park in hopes of finding Kirk.

Sulu meanwhile, has the helicopter he was speaking to the pilot about earlier and is using it to transport the large pieces of plexiglass to Golden Gate Park to be installed aboard the Bounty. Just then, Taylor arrives in the park and begins yelling for Kirk, when she sees the helicopter lower itself down and then she sees a man seemingly appear waist up out of thin air. After being stunned for a brief moment, Taylor begins running toward that spot still screaming for Kirk when she bumps into something invisible. She stands and feels along the cloaked Bountys landing gear, screaming for Kirk still and saying she needs his help as the whales are gone. Scott notices her and yells down at Kirk that they have a problem. Kirk sees Taylor screaming for him on a monitor and then transports her aboard. When Taylor materializes in the transporter chamber Kirk tells her "Hello , welcome to Wonderland." Taylor is amazed then that what Kirk had told her before was true. Kirk shows her the whale tank and she tells him that the whales were taken the night before without her knowledge. She says that while they're in Alaska by this point, they're tagged as she said so they can track them but Kirk says that they can't go anywhere just yet. When Taylor wonders what kind of a ship this is, Kirk says it's a ship with a missing man. Just then Spock appears to tell Kirk full power has been restored. He then greets Gillian and welcomes her aboard and Taylor can only nod back at Spock, seeing him without the headband for the first time and his ears and eyebrows are exposed to her. Just then an upset Uhura calls Kirk and says she's found Chekov in Mercy Hospital. Chekov is going into emergency surgery and he is not expected to survive. McCoy comes up and tells Kirk he's got to be able to go to the hospital and begs Kirk not to leave Chekov in the hands of 20th century medicine. Spock comes up and tells Kirk he believes McCoy to be correct and they must help Chekov. Upon questioning from Kirk, Spock concedes that it is not the logical thing to do, but it is the Human thing to do. Kirk asks if Gillian can help them. She asks how and McCoy says they'll have to look like physicians.

In the hospital, McCoy, Kirk, and Dr. Taylor begin their search for Chekov. While McCoy walks down a hall he passes by an elderly woman who is in serious pain. He stops and asks what's wrong with her and she says it's . McCoy mutters to himself about this being the dark ages. He reaches into his bag, gives the woman a pill and tells her to swallow it and if there's any problem for her to call him, then very kindly touches her face. She takes the pill and he walks away. Kirk and Taylor finally locate Chekov and after meeting up with McCoy, the three grab a stretcher, put Gillian on it and cover it up, and run for the elevator. They reach the next floor and when they try to go into the operating room where Chekov is in, they're stopped by hospital security. Taylor screams as if in pain and McCoy tells the police guards that the woman has "Immediate postprandial upper abdominal distention!" The guards let them in, Kirk asks McCoy what he said she had and he said she had cramps. Just then, McCoy steps up to the operating table before the attending surgeon can start drilling on Chekov's head. The surgeon demands to know who they are and then what sort of device McCoy is using. McCoy diagnoses Chekov's problem as tearing of the middle meningeal artery. The surgeon asks if McCoy's degree is in dentistry. McCoy gets angry and asks how the surgeon would explain a slow respiratory rate and pulse with coma and he says fundoscopic examination will be useless in this case. The surgeon says the pressure can be relieved by a simple evacuation of the expanding epidural hematoma. McCoy passionately tells the surgeon that the artery must be repaired and you can't do that by drilling holes into the patient's head. He then asks the surgeon to let him "put away your butcher knives," and save this man before it is too late. The surgeon threatens to have the new arrivals removed, but Kirk takes his phaser out and moves the surgeon and the nurses and the other techs into a small room where he melts the lock and McCoy can now heal Chekov's injury with a cortical stimulator. When Chekov comes to, Kirk asks him his name and rank. Chekov recites his name and gives his rank after looking at Kirk as admiral.

McCoy, Kirk, and Taylor come out with Chekov on the stretcher. The guards ask how the patient is doing and Kirk says he'll make it. But the guards realize they came in with a woman which Kirk simply mutters "One little mistake!" The guards run in, see the surgeon and others are trapped and they ask the guards to get some help as the patient has been kidnapped.

Realizing their cover has been blown, the three start running the gurney down the hospital corridors with the police guards after them. They run around several corners and pass the elderly woman who McCoy gave the pill to and she's happily telling everyone that a doctor gave her a pill and she's growing a new kidney which has all the hospital doctors and nurses stunned. They continue running and when Chekov tries to look up, Kirk puts his head back down on the gurney. They finally run into an elevator and the police officers run down the stairs intending to catch them at the next level but the four have disappeared from the hospital and have been beamed to safety while the elevator was in motion. When Kirk asks where the whales might be, Gillian says she can show them if there's a chart on board. But all Kirk wants is the radio frequency. Taylor wants to go with Kirk but Kirk says their next stop is the 23rd century but Taylor, saying she has no one there, insists on helping the whales but Kirk won't hear of it. He then asks her again for the radio frequency and Taylor tells Kirk it's 401 megahertz. Kirk thanks her for everything and then orders himself beamed up but Taylor jumps into his arms just as he's being beamed aboard.

On the Bounty, Kirk and Taylor come on the bridge just as Scott calls Spock to tell him that he's ready. Sulu is taking a few moments to readjust to the Bountys helm console as he got used to the Huey. Kirk accuses Taylor of tricking him but Taylor says Kirk will need her. He tells Taylor to sit down and orders Sulu and Chekov to take off. The Bounty, still cloaked, lifts off from Golden Gate Park just as a couple of joggers are running by and they get blown over by the dust and wind. The Bounty lifts up into the skies above San Francisco and head toward Alaska. As power settles in and stabilizes, Kirk orders Uhura to start scanning for the whales on the frequency Gillian gave him. When they reach the proper altitude, Kirk orders full impulse power which Sulu estimates should get them to the Bering Sea in twelve minutes. Scotty reports the whale tanks are secured but this will be the first time he's ever beamed up four hundred tons before. When Kirk asks why it's that much, Scotty reminds Kirk they're having to beam aboard not just the whales, but the water around them as well. Kirk then checks with Uhura but the whales haven't been located yet.

At that same time, McCoy checks on Spock who appears to be concerned. Spock says that he has tried to use the calculations he used to get them to the 20th century as a reference when calculating to return to the exact moment they left the 23rd unfortunately there are some issues with the calculations that just aren't working out. McCoy says Spock will have to take his best guess. Spock says guessing isn't in his nature and McCoy says that no one is perfect. Just then, Taylor recognizes the whales' signal and Uhura confirms. Just then, she detects another signal, which is determined to be a whaling ship. Kirk orders the Bounty into a full power descent and they arrive over the whales just in time to prevent the whaler's harpoon from hitting one of the whales. When the harpoon bounces off seemingly nothing the whalers are confused. Just then the Bounty decloaks over the whaling ship causing the whalers to panic and turn away from the whales in terror. Scotty asks for ten seconds to redirect power from all over the ship to the transporter. Scotty then beams the whales and the surrounding water into the whale tank. The tank creaks, but holds the whales and water securely. Scotty tells Kirk they have full power and as the Bounty leaves Earth behind and enters warp, Kirk takes Taylor to see the whales. But first, he stops and asks Spock about his time calculations and because Scotty couldn't give Spock exact figures he will have to make a guess. This statement surprises Kirk, who calls it extraordinary. When he and Gillian leave, Spock thinks Kirk is confused but McCoy tells him that means Kirk feels better about Spock's guesses than he would most anyone else's facts. Spock then understands it as a compliment and endeavors to make the best guess he can.

At the whale tank, Kirk quotes a line from "Whales Weep Not," which Taylor recognizes. Kirk then notes the irony of how in the past when men were killing the whales, they were destroying their own future. Scotty notes the whales seem happy to see Gillian and hopes she likes the tank. She calls it a miracle but Scotty says that's still to come and Kirk explains that their chances of getting home aren't great and she might have been better off staying where she belonged. Taylor says she belongs with the whales as she is a whale biologist. And suppose they do make it to the 23rd century, who there knows anything about humpback whales? Kirk admits her point there. Just then the ship shudders and Scotty reports a power fall-off. Kirk tells Gillian to stay with the whales and heads to the bridge.

The ship is at high warp approaching the sun and Scott reports that warp 7.9 is the best he can do. Spock reports that not only can they not make breakaway speed, they might not even escape the sun's gravity so he shall try to compensate by altering their trajectory. Spock then requests thruster control which Kirk grants. At the right moment, Spock orders the thrusters fired and the Bounty again disappears behind the Sun.

23rd century

Everyone wakes up again and Kirk asks if the thrusters fired. Spock reports they did and Kirk wonders where they are. Just then, he hears the drone of the probe as the Bounty begins to lose power. As the ship's systems shut down, the Bounty plunges through the Earth's atmosphere and when McCoy wonders where they might be Kirk can only tell him "Out of control and blind as a bat." Just then at Starfleet Command, the original transmission from Kirk to Starfleet fades. Cartwright calls for it to be restored just as the window shatters as it did before. This time Sarek points at something which is revealed to be the Bounty, and Cartwright notes it's heading right for the Golden Gate Bridge. The Bounty sails under the bridge and crash lands in San Francisco Bay. Kirk orders the hatch blown. He looks outside, sees it's the right place and now the task at hand is to get the whales out before the Bounty sinks. Kirk orders everyone to abandon ship. When he can't reach Scott, Kirk runs toward engineering after telling Spock to ensure the safety of everyone else. Kirk runs down toward the whale tank and manages to force the door open, and pulls Scott and Taylor out of the tank area which is almost completely submerged. Taylor notes the whales are trapped and if they're not freed, they'll drown. Scott says the bay doors have no power and that the explosive override is underwater. Kirk sends them out through the bridge hatch and he swims underwater to the explosive override and pulls it open, knocking the hull of the Bounty open and allowing Kirk and the whales to swim out of the ship. Kirk reaches the surface just in time and is pulled up to safety by Spock and Taylor. After a few moments the whales are seen swimming. Meanwhile, the probe keeps calling for the whales and everyone at Starfleet just watches and waits as the power completely fails.

Having oriented himself pointing straight downward, George begins to sing back to the probe, to which it also orients itself downward to a vertical position before replying. After a few minutes of communication with the whales the probe deactivates its scanner and the weather on Earth begins to calm. Power begins to be restored all around the planet and as the probe leaves the way it came, it passes Spacedock and power is restored aboard the station. As the skies clear over Earth, the Enterprise crew and Gillian celebrate at the Bountys crash site.

Kirk pulls Taylor in the water and everyone else except Spock jumps in. Kirk gets up on the ship and manages to toss Spock in, going with him as well. The crew celebrates the end of the crisis in the water as a Starfleet shuttle heads toward them to pick them up. Having saved the Earth, George and Gracie head towards the Golden Gate Bridge for open water to explore the new world they've entered, free from the threat of Human hunters.

However, Kirk and crew still have to face court martial. In the Federation Council Chambers, the President calls the trial to order. Kirk, McCoy, Scott, Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura are brought in from where they are held, only to be joined by Spock, who was sitting in the Council with his father. The president reminds Spock that he is not accused, but Spock intends to stand with his shipmates and the president accepts. He then lists the charges and specifications against the Enterprise crew: conspiracy (which is directed at Bones), assault on Federation officers (which is directed at all of them), theft of Federation property (the starship Enterprise) (which is directed at Kirk, Scotty, Bones, Sulu, and Chekov), sabotage of the USS Excelsior (which is directed at Scotty), willful destruction of Federation property (again, the USS Enterprise) (which is directed at Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov), and disobeying direct orders of the Starfleet commander (which is directed at Kirk). The president asks Kirk for his plea, and on behalf of all the officers, Kirk announces he is authorized to plead guilty. The president then says that because of "certain mitigating circumstances," though, all charges are dropped, except for one, and that charge: disobeying a superior officer, is directed solely at Admiral Kirk. The president asks Kirk if he recognizes the need for keeping discipline in any chain of command and Kirk tells the president he does. The president announces that Kirk's punishment is that he will be reduced in rank to captain, and as a consequence of that rank, he is given the duty for which he demonstrates unswerving ability: the command of a starship. The council chamber begins to cheer until the President silences them and he then tells Kirk that he and his crew have saved Earth from its own short-sightedness and the people of Earth are forever in their debt. At that point, the council chambers breaks into cheering and applause, with people coming down to congratulate the Enterprise crew.

Kirk sees Taylor and she says how happy she is for him and thanks Kirk before starting to leave. Kirk stops her and asks where she's going. Taylor says since she's got three hundred years of catchup learning to do, she's going on board a science vessel. Kirk asks if this means goodbye, especially as one might say back in the 20th century, he doesn't even have Gillian's telephone number and asks how he'll find her. Taylor says she'll find him and kisses him goodbye. "See you around the galaxy," she says just before departing.

Meanwhile Spock has caught up with Sarek and as his father is planning to return to Vulcan, he wanted to take his leave of Spock. Spock thanks Sarek for the effort he put out for them, Sarek says there was no effort as Spock is his son and in any case, he was very impressed with Spock's performance during the crisis. Sarek then recalls how he initially opposed Spock's entrance into Starfleet, saying that judgment may have been incorrect. Sarek says that Spock's associates are people of good character. Spock tells Sarek they are his friends. Sarek accepts that and then asks if Spock has a message for his mother. Spock says he does, and to tell Amanda that he feels fine. He raises his hand in the Vulcan salute and tells his father to "Live long and prosper," and Sarek reciprocates. Then Spock turns from Sarek, who starts to leave Council chambers en route to Vulcan, and Spock rejoins Kirk and they walk out of the chambers themselves.

Flying through spacedock in a travel pod, following a orbit shuttle leading them, the crew heads toward their new assignment. McCoy, saying the bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe, expects they will get a freighter, while Sulu hopes for Excelsior. When Scott asks why Sulu would want "that bucket of s" Kirk simply tells Scott that "A ship is a ship", to which Scott begrudgingly agrees.

From the forward window, the crew notes the Excelsior come into view, but, rather than docking with it, the travel pod continues over it revealing their true destination – a refit Constitution-class starship with the primary hull proudly displaying its Starfleet registry: . The crew beams as Kirk joyfully announces "My friends… we've come home." As the new Enterprise departs the Spacedock, the crew take up their familiar positions on the bridge. With eager anticipation, Sulu informs the captain that the helm is ready. As Kirk takes the center seat, he gives the order: "Let's see what she's got!" With a flash, the Enterprise engages her warp drive, ready to once again boldly go where no man has gone before.

Memorable quotes 
"Behold the quintessential devil in these matters! James T. Kirk, renegade and terrorist! Not only is he responsible for the murder of a Klingon crew, or the theft of a Klingon vessel! See now the real plot and intentions. Even as this Federation was negotiating a peace treaty with us, Kirk was secretly developing the Genesis torpedo, conceived by Kirk's son and test-detonated by the Admiral himself! And the result of this awesome energy was euphemistically called the Genesis planet, a secret base from which to launch the annihilation of the Klingon people!!"
 - Klingon Ambassador, in the Federation Council chamber

"We demand the extradition of Kirk! We demand justice!"
"Klingon justice is a unique point of view, Mr. President. Genesis was perfectly named the creation of life, not death. The Klingons shed the first blood while attempting to possess its secrets."
"Vulcans are well known as the intellectual puppets of this Federation!"
 - Klingon Ambassador and Sarek

"Your vessel did destroy . Your men did kill Kirk's son. Do you deny these events?"
"We deny nothing. We have the right to preserve our race!"
"Do you have the right to commit murder?"
 - Sarek and Klingon Ambassador, on the deaths of the Grissom crew and David Marcus

"Mr. Ambassador, with all respect, the Council's deliberations are over."
"Then Kirk goes unpunished?"
"Admiral Kirk has been charged with nine violations of Starfleet regulations."
"Starfleet regulations?! That's outrageous!! Remember this well. There shall be no peace as long as Kirk lives!"
 - Federation President and Klingon Ambassador, after the Federation Council rejects the extradition request. 

"You'd think they could at least send us a ship. It's bad enough to be court-martialed and to have to spend the rest of our lives mining borite, but to have to go home in this Klingon flea trap?"
"We could learn a thing or two about this flea trap. It's got a cloaking device that cost us a lot."
"I just wish we could cloak the stench!"
 - McCoy and Kirk, on the Klingon vessel

"Emergency channel 0130. Code red. It has been three hours since our contact with the alien probe. All attempts at regaining power have failed."
"It's using forms of energy we do not understand."
"Can you protect us?"
"We are launching everything we have."
"Our systems engineers are trying to deploy a makeshift solar-sail. We have high hopes that this will, if successful, generate power to keep us alive."
 - Yorktown Captain, Admiral Cartwright and Federation President

"Cloaking device now available on all flight modes."
"I'm impressed!  That's a lot of work for a short voyage."
"We are in an enemy wessel, sir. I did not wish to be shot down on the way to our own funeral."
"Good thinking."
 - Chekov and Kirk

"…and Admiral, I have replaced the Klingon food packs. They were giving me a sour stomach."
"Oh, is that what that was?"
 - Scotty and Kirk

"Saavik… this is goodbye. Thank you."
"Sir, I have not had the opportunity to tell you about your son. David died most bravely. He saved Spock. He saved us all. I thought you should know." (to Spock) "Good day, Captain Spock. May your journey be free of incident."
"Live long and prosper, Lieutenant."
 - James T. Kirk, Saavik and Spock

"I don't know if you've got the whole picture, but he isn't exactly working on all thrusters."
"It'll come back to him."
 - McCoy and Kirk, on Spock

"I may have carried your soul but I sure couldn't fill your shoes."
"My shoes?"
"...Forget it."
 - McCoy and Spock

"Come on, Spock. It's me, McCoy! You really have gone where no man has gone before!"
 - McCoy, asking Spock about death

"You mean I have to die to discuss your insights on death?"
"Forgive me, Doctor. I am receiving a number of distress calls."
"I don't doubt it!"
 - McCoy and Spock

"There are other forms of intelligence on Earth, Doctor. Only Human arrogance would assume the message must be meant for man."
 - Spock, on the probe's transmissions

"Are you planning to take a swim?"
"Off the deep end, Mister Scott."
 - Scott and McCoy, as Kirk asks about a water tank enclosure

"You're proposing that we go back in time, find humpback whales, then bring them forward in time, drop 'em off, and hope to hell they tell this probe what to go do with itself?!"
"That's the general idea."
"Well, that's crazy!"
"Got a better idea?  Now's the time."
 - McCoy and Kirk

"Angels and ministers of grace, defend us."
 - McCoy, quoting Hamlet (Act I, Scene IV)

"May fortune favor the foolish."
 - Kirk, quoting a Latin proverb

"Did you see that?"
"No, and neither did you, so shut up!"
 - Two garbage collectors in Golden Gate Park, upon seeing the crew exit the cloaked bird of prey

"Everybody remember where we parked!"
 - Kirk to his crew, after they arrive in San Francisco

"Why don't you watch where you're going, you dumb-ass!"
"Well, a double dumb-ass on you!"
 - Taxi driver and Kirk

"It's a miracle these people ever got out of the twentieth century."
 - McCoy

"The rest of you, break up. You look like a cadet review."
 - Kirk, to McCoy, Scott, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov in downtown San Francisco

"Weren't those a present from Doctor McCoy?"
"And they will be again. That's the beauty of it."
 - Spock and Kirk, on selling the eyeglasses in an antique shop

"I'll give you one hundred dollars."
"Is that a lot?"
 - Antique Store Owner and Kirk

"What does it mean, exact change?"
 - Spock, after he and Kirk are kicked off a bus

"Excuse me, sir. Can you direct me to the naval base in Alameda? It's where they keep the nuclear wessels."
(no response)
"Nu-cle-ar wes-sels."
 - Chekov, to a 20th century San Francisco police officer

"Ooh, I don't know if I know the answer to that. I think it's across the bay. In Alameda."
"That's what I said, Alameda. I know that."
"But where is Alameda!?"
 - A SF passerby, Chekov, and Uhura

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Would you mind stopping that noise? (punk rocker turns up boombox louder) EXCUSE ME! WOULD YOU MIND STOPPING THAT DAMN NOISE?! (punk rocker flips Kirk off)"
 - Kirk attempting to reason with a rude punk on the bus, just before Spock neck-pinches him

"Your use of language has altered since we arrived, Admiral. It is currently laced with... shall we say, more colorful metaphors.""You mean the profanity."
"Yes."
"Well, that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word. You'll find it in all the literature of the period."
"Such as?"
"The collective works of Jacqueline Susann. The novels of Harold Robbins." 
"Ah. The giants."
 - Spock and Kirk

"To hunt a species to extinction is not logical.""Whoever said the Human race was logical?"
 - Spock and Gillian

"They like you very much, but they are not the hell your whales."
"I … I suppose they told you that, huh?"
"The hell they did."
"Right."
 - Spock and Gillian

"If we play our cards right, we may be able to find out when those whales are leaving."
"How will playing cards help?"
 - Kirk and Spock, as they encounter Gillian again

"Very little point in my trying to explain."
"Yeah, I'll buy that. What about him?"
"Him? He's harmless. Back in the sixties he was part of the free speech movement at Berkeley. I think he had a little too much ."
"LDS?"
 - Kirk and Gillian, as he tries to explain Spock's eccentricities

"I have a photographic memory. I see words."
 - Gillian

"Are you sure it isn't the time for a colorful metaphor?"
 - Spock, to Kirk

"You're aren't one of those guys from the military, are you, trying to teach whales to retrieve torpedoes, or some dipshit stuff like that?"
"No, ma'am. No dipshit."
 - Gillian and Kirk

"Gracie is pregnant." (Gillian suddenly stops her truck)
"Alright, who are you, and don't jerk me around anymore. I wanna know how you know that?"
 - Spock and Gillian

"You're not exactly catching us at our best."
"That much is certain."
 - Kirk and Spock, to Gillian

"I love Italian." (Kirk looks at Spock) "And so do you."
"Yes."
 - Kirk, and Spock, as Gillian asks them out for dinner to discuss matters

"I find it hard to believe that I've come millions of miles!"
"Thousands! Thousands!"
"Thousands of miles on an invited tour of inspection!"
 - Scott and McCoy, with Nichols

"Don't bury yourself in the part!"
 - McCoy, to a gleeful "Professor" Scott

"Hello, computer."
 - Scott, speaking into a computer mouse

"NOT NOW, MADELINE!!!"
 - Dr. Nichols being interrupted by a co-worker

"You realize, of course, if we give him the formula, we're altering the future."
"Why? How do we know he didn't invent the thing?"
 - McCoy and Scotty

"Are you sure you won't change your mind?"
"Is there something wrong with the one I have?"
 - Gillian and Spock

"Wait a minute! How did you know Gracie's pregnant? Nobody knows that."
"Gracie does."
 - Gillian and Spock

"Don't tell me. You're from outer space."
"No, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space."
 - Gillian and Kirk, in the restaurant

"Okay, the truth. I am from, what on your calendar, would be the 23rd Century. I have come back in time to retrieve a pair of humpback whales in an attempt to... repopulate the species."
"Well, why didn't you just say so?  Why all the coy disguises?"
 - Kirk and Gillian

"You play games with me, mister, and you're through!"
"I am? May I go now?"
 - FBI Agent and Chekov, during Chekov's interrogation

"All right, make nice. Give us the ray gun."
"I warn you, I will have to stun you." 
"Go ahead. Stun me."
"I'm very sorry, but..." (Chekov uses the phaser but it doesn't work, making only a weak noise) "Must be the radiation."
 - FBI Agent, as Chekov' points a phaser at him

"They left last night. We didn't want a mob scene with the press; it wouldn't have been good for them. Besides, I thought it would be easier on you this way."
"You sent them away without even letting me say goodbye?! You son of a bitch!!" (slaps him hard)
 - Bob and Gillian, on George and Gracie

"Hello, Alice. Welcome to Wonderland."
 - Kirk, after beaming Gillian aboard the Klingon ship

"Is that the logical thing to do, Spock?"
"No, but it is the Human thing to do."
 - Kirk and Spock, on the latter's endorsement of McCoy's recommendation to save Chekov

"Well, what's wrong with you?"
"Kidney dialysis."
""Dialysis"? What is this, the Dark Ages? (McCoy gives her a pill out of his bag) Now you swallow that. And if you have any more problems, just call me."
 - McCoy administering medicine to an elderly woman"This woman has immediate post-prandial upper abdominal distension! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
"What did you say she's got?"
"Cramps."
 - McCoy and Kirk, using a "sick" Gillian to get past the guards

"Tearing of the middle meningeal artery."
"What's your degree in, dentistry?"
"How do you explain slowing pulse, low respiratory rate and coma?"
"Fundoscopic examination..."
"Fundoscopic examination is unrevealing in these cases!"
"A simple evacuation of the expanding epidural hematoma will relieve the pressure."
"Good God, man! Drilling holes in his head's not the answer! The artery must be repaired! Now put away your butcher knives and let me save this patient before it's too late!"
 - McCoy arguing with the doctor operating on Chekov

"We're dealing with medievalism here! Chemotherapy! Fundoscopic examinations!"
 - McCoy, on twentieth century medicine

"Pavel, talk to me. Name! Rank!"
"Chekov, Pavel. Rank, admiral!"
 - Kirk and Chekov, as Chekov regains consciousness

"He's gonna make it!"
"He? You went in with a she!"
"One little mistake."
 - Kirk and Police Officer"Doctor gave me a pill and I grew a new kidney! The doctor gave me a pill and I grew a new kidney!"
 - The elderly woman McCoy had helped earlier proclaiming his 23rd century medicine worked

"Where would the whales be by now?"
"At sea. If you have a chart on board, I'll show you."
"No, no, no. All I need is the radio frequency to track them."
"What are you talking about? I'm coming with you."
"You can't. Our next stop is the twenty-third century."
"Well, I don't care! I've got nobody here. I have got to help those whales!!"
"I have no time to argue with you, or even tell you how much you've meant to us. The radio frequency, please."
"The frequency's 401 megahertz."
"Thank you, for everything. Scotty, beam me up!"
"Surprise!"
 - Kirk and Gillian debating whether or not she should stay in the 20th century, before she leaps into the transporter beam with him

"Spock, where the hell's that power you promised?"
"One damn minute, Admiral!"
 - Kirk and Spock, making use of some colorful metaphors

"Guessing is not in my nature, Doctor."
"Well, nobody's perfect."
 - Spock and McCoy"Admiral! There be whales here!"
 - Scott, after beaming the whales aboard

"He means that he feels safer about your guesses than most other people's facts."
 - McCoy, to Spock

"They say the sea is cold but the sea contains the hottest blood of all."
 - Kirk, quoting D.H. Lawrence's "Whales Weep Not!"

"My God, Jim. Where are we?
"Out of control and blind as a bat." 
 - McCoy and Kirk, after they return from 1986

"Captain Spock, you do not stand accused."
"Mr. President, I stand with my shipmates."
 - Federation President and Spock

"The charges and specifications are: conspiracy, assault on Federation officers, theft of Federation property, namely the starship Enterprise, sabotage of the , willful destruction of Federation property, specifically the aforementioned , and finally, disobeying the direct orders of the Starfleet Commander. Admiral Kirk, how do you plead?"
"On behalf of all of us, Mr. President, I'm authorized to plead guilty."
"So entered. Because of certain mitigating circumstances, all charges but one are summarily dismissed. The remaining charge, disobeying the orders of a superior officer, is directed solely at Admiral Kirk."
 - Federation President and James T. Kirk

"James T. Kirk, it is the judgment of this council that you be reduced in rank to Captain, and that as a consequence of your new rank, you be given the responsibility for which you have repeatedly demonstrated unswerving ability: the command of a starship."
 - Federation President, pronouncing "sentence" on Kirk.

"I'm so happy for you I can't tell you! Thank you so much."
"Wait a minute! Where are you going?"
"You're going to your ship, I'm going to mine. Science vessel. I've got 300 years of catch-up learning to do."
"You mean, this is goodbye?"
"Why does it have to be goodbye?"
"Well... like they say in your century, I don't even have your telephone number. (they laugh) How will I find you?"
"Don't worry. I'll find you. (kisses Kirk) See you around the galaxy."
 - Gillian and Kirk

"I am returning to Vulcan within the hour. I would like to take my leave of you."
"It was most kind of you to make this effort."
"It was no effort. You are my son. Besides, I am most impressed with your performance in this crisis."
"Most kind."
"As I recall, I opposed your enlistment in Starfleet. It is possible that judgment was incorrect. Your associates are people of good character."
"They are my friends."
"Yes, of course. Do you have a message for your mother?"
"Yes. Tell her... I feel fine."
 - Sarek and Spock

"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe. We'll get a freighter."
"With all due respect, Doctor, I'm counting on Excelsior.""Excelsior?  Why in God's name would you want that bucket of bolts?"A ship is a ship, Mr. Scott."
"Whatever you say, Sir. Thy will be done."
 - McCoy, Sulu, Scott, and Kirk, speculating what ship they'll be given.

"My friends. We've come home."
 - Kirk, to his crew on seeing the Enterprise-A

"All right, Mr. Sulu, let's see what she's got."
 - Kirk, ready to take the Enterprise-A out on a test flight

 Background information 

 The film is dedicated "to the men and women of the ", which exploded shortly after liftoff on , almost ten months before the release of Star Trek IV.
 Prior to the release of the 2009 film  (which as of October, 2009, grossed over $384.9 million), The Voyage Home was the highest-grossing Star Trek film, making $109.7 million in the United States. Due to the success of this film, Paramount decided to make the second Star Trek TV series a reality (after the unsuccessful attempt of Star Trek: Phase II). That series eventually became , which premiered the next fall. The first US VHS tape release of the movie contained a small promo clip for The Next Generation, briefly introducing the new Enterprise and characters.
 Outside of North America, the film's title was changed to The Voyage Home: Star Trek IV (see UK trailer below), and references to the Star Trek brand were consciously avoided. This was done largely because  had suffered badly from competition with Ghostbusters outside of North America and only grossed just over ten million dollars. A special prologue (see Trivia section below), in the form of a captain's log was created to detail the events of  and  to aid newcomers, narrated by William Shatner himself.  While the tactic was somewhat successful, the rest-of-the-world gross of around $24 million was still less than a fifth of the film's overall total, and so  was marketed as normal worldwide ( was not theatrically released in most countries). Although the early VHS releases also carried the inverted title, when the film was eventually released on DVD, its title reverted to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home worldwide.
 The Voyage Home was released in the United Kingdom on . It launched at the top of the box office and stayed there for two weeks. It earned £2,697,776 overall. 
 The Voyage Home is ranked #2 out of the #11 Star Trek-based films according to Box Office Mojo, not adjusting for inflation, which makes it the most successful film until the 2009's .

 Creation and production 
 This film marked the start of Michael Okuda's nineteen year relationship with the Star Trek franchise, both movies and television. For this film, he designed the computer displays as well as introducing the "touch screen" computer consoles, seen in the rest of the Star Trek films and television shows (except for ).
 According to several issues of the DC Star Trek comics letters page, the film was originally scheduled for release in the summer of 1986, but was delayed due to William Shatner still filming episodes of  and they had to wait until its shooting season was completed before Shatner could join the project.
 The letters page of at least one issue (26) of the DC Star Trek comic also refers to the film by its apparent working title, Star Trek IV: The Adventure Continues.
 The character of Dr. Taylor was originally a male character who was a wacky college professor who was a "UFO nut," and, for added humor to the lighthearted script, actor Eddie Murphy was offered the role. Mike Okuda's DVD text commentary, as well as William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories, indicate that Murphy, as a fan of Star Trek, had approached Nimoy and Bennett about a role in the film, but later he decided to appear in The Golden Child instead (a decision he admits later was a big mistake), and Catherine Hicks won the rewritten and revised role. Nicholas Meyer later stated that when he came in to write the 20th century section of the film, he realized the earlier drafts were written with Murphy in mind.
 An early draft of the script had Sulu meeting a young child on the streets of San Francisco who was his distant ancestor. According to William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories, the scene was an idea pitched to Harve Bennett by George Takei, who was delighted when he discovered the scene was to be shot. However, when it came time to film the scene, the child they hired to play the role of Sulu's great-great-great grandfather was not a professional actor, and his mother was on set, causing the child to be extremely nervous. Consequently, they couldn't get anything done with the boy and eventually they had to move on. The scene was scrapped, much to the heartbreak of Takei. The scene survives in Vonda McIntyre's novelization. In the novel, while Sulu, McCoy and Scotty are walking the streets of San Francisco, a young Japanese boy walks up to Sulu, thinking him a relative and begins speaking to Sulu in Japanese and Sulu would find out the boy's name was Akira Sulu. After the boy leaves, McCoy asks who that was and Sulu tells him that the boy was in fact, his great-great-great grandfather.
 Early drafts of the script had Saavik remaining on Vulcan due to her being pregnant with Spock's child, following the events of the previous movie when young Spock went through pon farr as he aged rapidly, implying that he had sex with Saavik on the .
 The scene where Kirk says "LDS" instead of "LSD" originally called for Gillian Taylor to ask if he was dyslexic on top of everything else.
 Most of the shots of the humpback whales were taken using four-foot long animatronics models. Four such models were created, and were so realistic that after release of the film, US fishing authorities publicly criticized the film makers for getting too close to whales in the wild. The filmmakers reportedly said that they enjoyed telling those same authorities that except for the live shots toward the end of the film, the whale scenes weren't real. The scenes involving these whales were shot in a swimming pool in a Los Angeles area high school. A large animatronic tail was also created, for the scene on the sinking Bird-of-Prey, filmed on the Paramount car park, which was flooded for the shoot. The same spot was previously seen as a part of planet Vulcan in . The shot of the whales swimming past the Golden Gate Bridge was filmed on location, and nearly ended in disaster when a cable got snagged on a nuclear submarine and the whales were towed out to sea.
 In an interview with StarTrek.com about the scene with Koenig and Nichols asking about the location of the naval base, Layla Sarakalo stated that she approached the assistant director about appearing with the other extras and was told not to answer Koenig's and Nichols' questions. To the annoyance of the other extras, she did answer them and had to be inducted into the Screen Actors' Guild as a result, as the production crew found the line too amusing to be cut out. 

 Some of the Bird-of-Prey footage is reused from .
 A shot of the Bird-of-Prey heading to the Sun at warp speed was reused, with added disruptor fire in .
 The aircraft carrier sequences were actually filmed aboard the conventionally-powered Forrestal-class carrier USS Ranger (CV 61). Ranger can be distinguished from Enterprise by her longer rectangular superstructure (barely visible behind the hair of Nichelle Nichols) and different arrangement of aircraft elevators. Enterprise was out at sea at the time and unavailable for filming. Even if available, in 1986, the engineering spaces of the nuclear carriers were deeply classified and filming a movie in them would have been impossible. All Enterprise sailors and marines were played by Ranger personnel (in certain scenes, freeze-frame reveals sailors wearing Ranger ball caps rather than Enterprise ones).
 Dr. Taylor orders Michelob beer over dinner, one of the few instances where an actual product is named in Star Trek. While the beer's label was never shown, another company managed to have a rare Trek moment of product placement. The computer used by Scotty at the Plexicorp factory is clearly a period-appropriate Macintosh Plus, and  – as it was then known – receives a credit at the end of the film.  advertising is also prominently visible.  offers one of the few other instances of product placement in the franchise's history, when Kirk, Spock and McCoy go camping wearing  jeans. Another instance of this was in the opening sequence of , when a bottle of Dom Perignon was smashed on the hull of the Enterprise-B at the ship's christening. In , a young Kirk uses an integrated Nokia mobile car phone, while Uhura is seen ordering Budweisers in an Iowa bar.
 The Voyage Home is the first Star Trek production to be directed by a member of the main cast. While Leonard Nimoy had also directed the previous film, he was not a member of the main cast, only appearing at the end.

 Continuity 
 This film establishes that Hikaru Sulu was born in San Francisco.
 This marks Majel Barrett's final performance as Christine Chapel.
 The slingshot effect used by the Bounty to travel into the past was previously used in  and . Kirk directly references these events when he says "We've done it before", referring to the slingshot maneuver. In Assignment: Earth and this movie, the Enterprise travels back exactly three hundred years, a fact perhaps explained by Spock's comment that he had to program some of the variables from memory.
 The film marks the last on-screen appearance of a Starfleet commodore, seen as a non-speaking extra in the Federation Council chambers, until the  episode . It remained the chronologically-latest sighting of the rank in-universe prior to the appearance of Commodore Oh in .
 The city of San Francisco would be visited by time-traveling Star Trek characters again, in the episodes  and , and  and .
 Brock Peters, who plays Admiral Cartwright in this film (and later in ), also played the father of Benjamin Sisko in .
 This film establishes that Kirk is from Iowa. However, Kirk doesn't specifically say he was born in Iowa but was from there. According to Roberto Orci, one of the writers of , the  was headed to Earth where James T. Kirk was eventually going to be born in Iowa and not on the Kelvin or Medical shuttle 37 in the alternate reality created by the Naradas arrival in 2233.

Dating
A copy of the San Francisco Register seen in the film dates the 20th century part of the film to Thursday, 18 December, 1986. This is consistent with marketing for the film, which used the phrase "Stardate: 1986". Leonard Nimoy, in an interview about the film's release on "Good Morning America" in November 1986, mentions that the crew journeys back in time "300 years to now," which strongly suggests 1986 as the destination year and, perhaps less strongly, suggests the crew's own time is 2286.
The headlines and text in the newspaper are fictional, and can't be straightforwardly linked to real events. Notably, however, one headline mentions that a "Geneva summit [is] in doubt". This is in the context of "nuclear arms talks". Two Geneva summits have been held between the US and other nuclear powers; one in 1955 and one in 1985.
 Kirk states in his Captain's log near the opening of the film that he and his crew are in "our third month of our Vulcan exile", following the final events of Star Trek III. The date of the events of Star Trek III however are not entirely clear. Upon traveling to the 23rd century, Gillian mentions that she has "three hundred years of catch-up learning to do" after being transported to the future, though may have been casually approximating the time difference. StarTrek.com,  and  use this the line from Gillian to date the film to 2286. Memory Alpha also uses this year.
 Kirk makes a reference to the HMS Bounty mutiny having occurred five hundred years ago (from his own time). Since that event took place in 1789, it suggests his own time is 2289, though he, too, may have been casually approximating.

 Notes 

 The lighted table in Starfleet Command eventually became the famous "pool table" located in main engineering of the .
 The USS Saratoga seen in early scenes was actually a slightly modified shooting model of the USS Reliant from .
 The bridge set for the aforementioned USS Saratoga was a simple redress set of the bridge of the Grissom from Star Trek III (which itself was a redress of the Enterprise bridge from the first three films). The camera angles used for scenes aboard the Saratoga do not make clear whether modifications seen to the bridge set at the end of the film had yet been made. The shot of the Captain from the Yorktown, which sent a transmission to Starfleet HQ, was also filmed on this set.
 The Bridge of the HMS Bounty was different from its appearance in . 
 This film has a sense of historical irony regarding ship names. The film depicts the USS Saratoga and mentions the USS Yorktown (which Roddenberry claimed became the Enterprise-A) while featuring the aircraft carrier Enterprise (which was actually portrayed by the real life USS Ranger). During the period before World War II, the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise, USS Saratoga, USS Yorktown, and USS Ranger, were four of the seven fleet carriers in United States Navy service. The other three were Saratogas sister-ship, Lexington, the unique Wasp, and Enterprises sister, USS Hornet. All seven of these ships served in the Pacific. Only Enterprise, Ranger, and Saratoga survived the conflict, and were decommissioned shortly after its conclusion.
 The clothes worn by Leonard Nimoy as Spock during his swim in the whale tank were auctioned off in the It's A Wrap! sale and auction. 
 During Spock's retraining, an original configuration  ship appears on the monitor.
 The whaling ship used in the film was a World War II minesweeper called Golden Gate. 
 The whale hunters speak Finnish, even though the script called for a crew of famous humpback hunters like the Norwegians, Icelanders or Russians to be used.  Finland has never had any sort of whale hunting industry. However, Norway, a prominent whaling country, has a minority of Kvens, who speak a dialect of the Finnish language.
 Director Nimoy mentioned in the film's DVD commentary that in the scene where Gillian Taylor slaps Bob Briggs for letting the whales leave without letting her say goodbye to them that Catherine Hicks really did slap Scott DeVenney rather hard, and that while DeVenney was neither expecting it nor very happy about it, he took it and was a good sport about it later.
 Since the producers decided not to use subtitles for the Finnish dialogue or the probe/whale song sequence (although Paramount at one point did want subtitles for the film's climax), this is the only film of the first six Star Trek movies to not have any subtitles – not even to establish location or timeframe.
 Due to  being released direct-to-video in some European and South American territories, a prologue recapping the events of The Search for Spock, narrated by Shatner, was added to release prints of this film in the territories listed above. The UK home video masters were also used for the Australian video release. Some of these releases omitted the Challenger dedication in order to make room for this prologue, but some releases kept both the prologue and the dedication.
 Though he had been distinctly unimpressed by , US President Ronald Reagan viewed this film, at the White House, on . ()
 Several costumes, props, and items from this movie were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including a puppet which stood in as an alien ambassador. 
 The Voyage Home and  are the only two Star Trek films to not feature a starship Enterprise as the primary setting of the film. In both cases, it is due to the destruction of the Enterprise, and its replacement, the Enterprise-A, is seen at the end of the film.
 The Saratoga is popularly assumed to have been harmlessly disabled by the probe even though it's not seen again. And it is generally surmised that the probe just made a big mess on Earth for everyone to clean up. The overall light, comedic nature of this film tends to lead credence to the widely popularized sentiment of Star Trek IV being the only film in the series in which absolutely no one dies.
 This is the only film where none of Star Treks signature weapons (phasers, photons, and disruptors) are fired at a ship or individual with the intent to neutralize, kill or destroy. Only two attempts at using a handheld weapon are made; once by Chekov aboard the Enterprise, which fails, and once by Kirk, in which he melts the lock on the door to the room where the surgical staff is confined adjunct to Chekov's operating room at Mercy Hospital.
 Due to the events of the movie, DC Comics' first set of comics had to change course with their stories to accommodate the events of the movie. To this end, they had Spock's mind ravaged by a virus, forcing Kirk and his crew to take the HMS Bounty, which was docked within the Excelsior, and return to Vulcan. Thus, Kirk and his crew were fugitives again, this time for abandoning the Excelsior.
 This is the last Star Trek film to use the 1975-1986 Paramount Pictures logo.
 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Homes network television premiere occurred on the March 4, 1990 edition of The ABC Sunday Night Movie, the fourth consecutive and last such TV broadcast debut of a Star Trek film on the American Broadcasting Company until the 1999 TV premiere of 1996's .

 Video and DVD releases 
 US Betamax release: 

 Merchandise gallery 

 Awards and honors Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home received the following awards and honors.

 Apocrypha 
 The novel The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume One established that Chekov's Klingon phaser and communicator, which he threw at the investigators on the Enterprise in order to make his escape attempt, were sent to  and then subsequently recovered by Roberta Lincoln (who was sent by Gary Seven) before they could be analyzed and potentially alter history.
 In the ization of , during the court martial, when the president tells Spock that he's not accused, Spock tells the president "Mr. President, I stand with my shipmates. Their fate shall be mine."
 The novelization also expands on McCoy and Scotty's discussion on whether or not they should give Dr. Nichols the formula for transparent aluminum. In the novel, Scotty knows for certain that Nichols did indeed invent transparent aluminum and so it is OK for them to give him the formula and it may well be essential that they do so. 
 The unfilmed scene between Sulu and his great-great-great grandfather (see above) was also featured in the novelization.
 In the novelization Kirk recaps the tragic events of  while discussing a possible time travel with Spock and McCoy.
 After her initial shock, Gillian begins to like the transporter and is actually quite surprised when she finds out Doctor McCoy dislikes and distrusts it.

 Links and references 
 Credits 

 Uncredited 
 Performers 
 Joe Adamson as Mercy Hospital doctor
 Cynthia Brian as street passerby
 Michelle Chateau as nun
 Ron Cragg as Federation Council guard
 Jay Crimp as Vulcan electrician
 Monique DeSart as Madelaine
 Michael DiMente as Deltan ambassador
 Paul Giebner as Enterprise (CVN-65) sailor
 Brooks Gulledge as Enterprise (CVN-65) sailor
 Christine Hansen as nun
 Robert Jack as Enterprise (CVN-65) sailor
 Stephen Liska as Torg (archive footage)
 Joel Marston as Starfleet Admiral
 Genevieve Martin as Vulcan noblewoman
 Mary Mascari as Mercy Hospital patient
 Nanci Meek as mental patient
 Ralph Moratz as Mercy Hospital visitor
 Leonard Nimoy as Mercy Hospital visitor
 Ken Peacock as Enterprise (CVN-65) sailor
 Kimberly Ryusaki as
 Tourist
 Trainee Enterprise crewmember
 Layla Sarakalo as street passerby
 Louise Schulze
 Melanie Shatner as Female jogger
 Madge Sinclair as Saratoga captain
 Teresa E. Victor as Aamaarazan councilor
 Philip Weyland as tourist
 Rhoda Williams as alien vocals
 Unknown performers as
 Aamaarazan councilor
 Andorian admiral
 Andorian commodore
 Arcadian delegate
 Arcadian councilors
 Ariolo councilor
 Caitian officer (brown)
 Caitian officer (black)
 Civilian FBI agent
 Three Deltan ambassadors
 Gregory
 Mercy Hospital nurse 1
 Mercy Hospital nurse 2
 Mercy Hospital OP nurse 1
 Mercy Hospital OP nurse 2
 Mercy Hospital PA announcer
 Eleven Mercy Hospital staffers
 Nine Mercy Hospital visitors
 Five street passersby
 Aquarium tourists
 Bus passengers
 Female cafe employee
 Plexicorp workers
 Restaurant cooks
 Restaurant patrons
 Street passersby
 Waiters
 Whale hunters
 Kasheeta councilor
 Purple-skinned alien councilor
 SFPD officer
 Saratoga navigator
 Saratoga bridge crewman and woman
 Tellarite dignitaries
 Vulcan Federation councilor 1
 Vulcan Federation councilor 2
 Vulcan female delegate
 Vulcan delegate
 Xelatian councilors
 Animatronic puppet – Bzzit Khaht councilor

 Stunt performers 
 Vince Cadiente
 Jim O'Rear
 R.A. Rondell as taxi driver
 Unknown stunt performers as two Starfleet technicians

 Production staff 
 Gregory Barnett – Assistant Stunt Coordinator
 Jim Bissell – Technical Advisor: Opening Sequence
 Tom Boyd – Musician: Oboe
 Al Fleming – Makeup Artist
 Pieter Folkens – Advisor, Designer, and Sculptor: Humpback whales mechanics
 Casey Simpson – Lighting Technician
 Rick Stratton – Makeup Artist

 References 
18th century; 19th century; 20th century; 1960s; 21st century; .45 automatic; 747; Aamaarazan; "abandon ship"; ability; acceleration; acceleration curve; acceleration thruster; act; act of war; accusation; accused; ailing patient; aircraft carrier; Alameda; Alameda Naval Base; Alaska; ; "all ears"; "all hands"; "all the tea in China"; alternative; AMC Hornet; American; amplification wave; Andorian; anesthesia; angel; annihilation; answer; appointment; aquarium; Arcadian; Ariolo; Arkenite; arm; arrival; arrogance; arson; assault; assistant; assistant director; associate; Atlanta Falcons; atmosphere (air); Atomic Energy Commission; attention; attire; aux power; axiom; bathroom; ; bearing; beer; behavior; Bering Sea; "between a rock and a hard place"; binoculars; bio-sterilization capsule; birthday present; "blind as a bat"; "bloody"; "blow the hatch"; blue whale; BMR; BMW 2002; ; "Bones"; borite; ; bowhead whale; brain; braking thruster; breadstick; breakaway speed; brochure; bucket; Buick LeSabre; Buick Riviera; bumper sticker; "bury yourself in the part"; bus; bus stop; Busch Gardens; bush; buster; butcher knife; Bzzit Khaht; Cab Co.; cable car; cadet review; Caitian; calendar; calf; California; California State Assembly; camera; candy striper; cannula; ; Captain Video; captivity; cargo bay; cargo bay door; Carlton; case; ; cetacean; cetacean biologist (whale biologist); Cetacean Institute; chain of command; chance; ; chemotherapy; Chevrolet; Chevrolet C 30 Step Van; Chevrolet Caprice Classic; Chevrolet Chevette; Chevrolet Townsman; Chevrolet truck; China; choice; CIC; City Council; Chrysler LeBaron; classified; climax; cloaking device; closing speed; cloud; cloud cover; clue; Coca-Cola; Code Red; coefficient; coffee; coffeemaker; coin operated laundry; Coit Tower; ; colorful metaphor (profanity); Columbus Avenue; coma; combat information center (CIC); command duty officer; commanding officer (commander); common sense; communicator; comm channel; communications; communications officer; communications system; compassion; compliment; computation; computer; comrade; conclusion; condition report; conspiracy; constant;  (unnamed 1 and 2); contact; coordinates; ; court martial; contact; corpsman; country; cops; crab; cramps; creature; credit card; crisis; critical condition; crop top; ; crutch; crystalline restructure; cubic foot; culture; custom; damage; damage control; damage report; Dark Ages; ; Datsun; Datsun 510; Datsun Truck; day; "dead in the water"; death; degree (academic);  (angle); deliberation; demotion; density; dentistry; departure; deposition; destruction; device; devil; DeSoto Cab; dialysis; Diet Coke; Diet Pepsi; dilithium chamber; dilithium crystal; dilithium sequencer; dinner; discipline; distance; distress call; Doctor (physician); Dodge 600; Dodge Lancer; dollar; Do not enter sign; door; Earth; Edinburgh; Efrosian; elapsed time; electrical power; electronics technician; Embarcadero; emergency; emergency channel; emergency channel 0130; emergency light; emergency reserve; emergency surgery; emergency system; emergency thruster; enemy; energy; energy reserve; ;  (CVN-65);  (NCC-1701);  (NCC-1701-A); epidural hematoma; escape hatch; escape route; estimated time of arrival (ETA); estimating; ; exile; exit sign; explosive override; extinction; extradition; extraterrestrial; E-Z Scrub; fact; Fairground Hotel; false killer whale; farm boy; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Federation; Federation Council; Federation President; feeling; Feinberg's Loan and Pawn; Fiat 124 Sport Spider; Fiat X1/9; figure; "fill your shoes";  fin whale; ; Finnish; fire alarm; fireman; fish; fishing; "fish story"; Fisherman's Wharf; flea trap; floor; floor plan; Flyer Industries E800; fog; ; Ford Escort; forklift; formula; frame of reference; Free Speech Movement; freighter; frequency; Friar Tuck; friend; friendship; fuel component; fundascopic examination; funeral; fusion era; gangway; garbage can; garbage truck; garbageman's significant other; ; Genesis Device; Genesis Torpedo; Geneva; genocide; George and Gracie; ghetto blaster; giraffe; glasses; GM New Look; God; "God damn"; Gold Dust; Golden Gate Bridge; Golden Gate Park; Gottlieb; Gramalkin; gravity; gray whale; Great Northern Railway; ; ground cushion; Grumman LLV; guest; guidance system; guide; ; gumball machine; gums; gun; ; Hamlet; Handi-Wrap II; hangar deck; harm; harpoon; harpoon gun; hatch; hate; head; headline; heat shield; helicopter; hello; "hit the deck"; home; Honda Accord; Honda Civic; horoscope; hostility; hospital bracelet; hospital gown; hour; Huey 204; Human; humpback whale; ; hunting; Hyster; "I Hate You"; ice cream sandwich; idea; identification card; "If we play our cards right"; image therapy; impulse power; inch; infrared; insight; intelligence; intention; International Harvester Scout; intruder; Iowa; irony; Italian food; job; jogger; joke; ; judo; Juneau; Junior Mints; justice; juxtapose; Karmann Ghia; Kasheeta; katra; Kearny Street; kelp forest; keyboard; kilometer; kidney; kidney pill; killer whale; Klingon; Klingon crew; Klingon food pack; Klingon language; Klingon vessels lost to Whale Probe; Knott's Berry Farm; knowledge; "kook"; L.A. International Airport; landing pad; landing procedure; landlubber; language; Latin language; ; lay-away; Lay or Bust Poultry Feeds; ; "learn a thing or two"; learning; leave; Leningrad; lens; lie; life (lifeform); lightbox; lighthouse; light year; Lincoln Continental Mark VII; lion; literature; location; lock; logic; luck; M16 rifle; M203 grenade launcher; macho; Macintosh; Magic Mountain; magnetostatics; mains; main power; mammal; manufacturing; manual control; ; MARDET; marine theater; Market Street; mass; master chief petty officer; mating ritual; maximum speed; Mazda; Mazda B-Series; mean sea level (MSL); media circus; medievalism; medical degree; medical tricorder; medicine; megahertz; megaton; memory: memory bank; memory test; Mercury Capri; medical system; Mercy Hospital; message; metaphor; MG B; Michelob; microphone; middle meningeal artery; mind meld; mile; military; milk; million; mind; mining; minke whale; minute; miracle; miracle worker;  (unnamed); mission; Mission District; mistake; mitigating circumstance; MMR; Moby Dick; money; monitoring station; morning; ; Movieland Wax Museum; M Series Walkie Stacker; multiphasic transmission; murder; museum; mushroom; Mustang; mutineer; name; name tag; nautical mile; naval vessel; navigational signal; negotiation; news machine; Neutral Zone; night; Nissan 280ZX; noise; noon; North America; nose ring; novel; nuclear fusion; nuclear fission; nuclear fission reactor; nuclear power; nuclear vessel; nun; nurses station; ; ocean; officer; "off the deep end"; Oldsmobile Ciera; Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais; Olvera Street; OMNI; "on course"; onion; open sea; operating room; opinion; orbital shuttle (unnamed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7); Orbital shuttle 5; Orbital shuttle 7; order; OrthoLav; outer space; owner; ; Pacific Basin; pager; Palace of Fine Arts; paper towel; paper towel dispenser; parking; past tense; patient; peace; peace treaty; pedestrian crossing sign; pepperoni; percent; performance; permission; phaser; photographic memory; photon; picnic table; piercing; pill; pirate; pizza; place; plan; planet; planet distress signal; Planetary Reserve; ; plant manager; plastic wrap; playing card; "play our cards right"; plea; Plexicorp; plexiglass; Plymouth Reliant; ; poker; police; pollution; polymer; Pontiac Fiero; Pontiac Firebird; Pope Olive Oil; Portola Brand Sardines; pound; Powell & Mason; Powell Street; ; power drain; power source; pregnancy; press; pressure; priority 1; probability; probe; problem; professor; property; pulse; puppet; pygmy sperm whale; quadrant; question; ; radiation; radio frequency; radio silence; radio transmitter; range; rank; rank insignia; ray gun; red alert; reentry; reference; renegade; rescue; reserve bank; reserve power; respiratory rate; result; "rich beyond the dreams of avarice"; right; ; Robin Hood; "Roger"; room; Russian language; Russkie; rustbucket; sabotage; St. Paul Hotel; salinity; ; ; San Diego Zoo; San Francisco; San Francisco Bay; San Francisco City Hall; San Francisco Department of Sanitation; San Francisco Ferry Building; San Francisco Municipal Railway; San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge; San Francisco Police Department; San Francisco Register; Saran Wrap; ; Sausalito; scene; Scots language; screen; scrubs; Seaboard Air Line Railroad; seal; sea otter; seat; seawater; SeaWorld; secret; Sector 5; security corridor; service number; ; shield; shipmate; shoes; short-sightedness; shrimp; shorts; side effect; signal; silence; singing; slaughter; slingshot effect; ; Smith & Wesson Model 15; smoking; solar flare; solar sail; SONAR; "son of a bitch"; ; soul; sound; "sour stomach"; ; spacedock door (aka space door); Spanish Inquisition; speaker; species; specimen; speed; stairs; "stand by"; Starfleet; Starfleet Academy; Starfleet Command; Starfleet Commander; Starfleet regulations; Starfleet uniform; starship; status report; stench; storage tank; story; street; Stryker; subject; sucker; ; Sun; superior officer; surgical mask; surprise; ; suspicion; swim; system map; systems report; "tango; Taylor's science vessel (science vessel); teaching; team; team leader; Team 2; teeth; Telegraph Hill; telephone; telephone booth;  telephone number; temperature; terminator; terra incognita; Terran solar system; terrorist; testimony; test program; "that's the ticket"; theater; theft; theory; thing; thousand; three smaller ships neutralized by Whale Probe; thruster; thruster control; time; time continuum; time re-entry program; time travel; time warp; tire iron; tissue; toast; toaster oven; Tokyo; ton; torpedo; tour; tour of inspection; tracking device; trajectory; Transamerica Pyramid; transmission; transparent aluminum; transporter; transporter beam; transporter power; trash can; travel pod; Travel pod 05; tricorder; tricycle; truth; toucan; Toyota Corolla; unicorn; underground storage system; United States Government; United States Marine Corps; United States Navy; United States of America; Universal Peace and Hello; universe; University of California, Berkeley; ; uranium; Valvoline; value; variable; violation; visit; visor; Volkswagen Beetle; Volkswagen Rabbit; vote; Vulcan;  (planet); Vulcan (star); Vulcan language; Vulcan nerve pinch; Vulcan salute; ; wall; warm-blooded; warp drive regulator; warp speed; Washington, DC; water; weapons system; "wee"; Weintraub; Wendy's; ; whale; whale hunter; whale song; "Whales Weep Not!"; whale tank; whaling; whaling ship; "what the hell": whiteboard; White Rose; White GMC Xpeditor; Winchell's Donut House; Winchester Model 1200; ; Wonderland; word; year; yellow alert; Yellow Pages; Yerba Buena Island; ; Yorktown chief engineer; zebra; 

 Other references HMS Bounty computer database: Alopex lagopus; Beardius baerdi; Cancer productus; Cervus elaphus; Chama arcana; Ciona intestinal; Coleonyx brevis; Crisia occidental; Dasypus novem; Martes pennanti; Megaptera novaeangliae; Myotis volans; Orcinus orca; Ovis dalli; Physeter macro; Plethodon dunni; Podiceps auritus; Sciurus griseus; Sebastes mustinus; Tursiops tancts; Vulpes velox; Ziphius cavitroMemory test: 1987; anti-graviton; anti-neutron; bioengineering; Cambridge; carrot; checkmate; electron configuration; gadolinium; Kiri-kin-tha; Kiri-kin-tha's First Law of Metaphysics; Klendth; Klingon mummification glyph; ; Loonkerian outpost; New York Times; magazine; magnetic envelope; Massachusetts; matron; metaphysics; molecular formula; object; pawn; ; rook; sensor; sine wave; three-dimensional chess; toroidal space-time distortion; ; universal atmospheric element compensator; Vulcan philosophy; white; yominum sulfideMUNI system map: Albany; Alcatraz; Angel Island; Bay Farm Island; Belmont; Berkeley; Brisbane; Brooks Island; Burlingame; Daly City; East Richmond; El Cerrito; Foster City; Hillsborough; Kensington; Millbrae; Oakland; Oakland Army Base; Oakland Supply Depot; Piedmont; Richmond; Richmond-San Rafael Bridge; San Bruno; San Francisco State Fish and Game Refuge; San Mateo; Tiburon San Francisco locations:' 101 California Street; 123 Mission Street; 30-Stockton; 345 California Center; 44 Montgomery; 50 Fremont Center; 580 California Street; 601 California Street; 650 California Street; Baker Beach; Bank of America Center; Bathhouse Building; Bay Street; Embarcadero Center; Fort Mason; Fort Point; ; Greenwich Street; Holiday Inn Chinatown; Hoyt Street; Hyatt Regency San Francisco; Marina Green; Mason Street; Mount Davidson; Mount Sutro; One Maritime Plaza; One Market Plaza; One Sansome Street; Sentinel Building; Stockton Street; Sutro Tower; Treasure Island; Twin Peaks; Van Ness Avenue; Yerba Buena Island

 Unreferenced material 
A-13; ; Argus; Bandit V; bio-sterilization capsule; Clampett; Com Sat 4; Com Sat 12; Delta V; dirt bike; dyslexia; Engineering Control; four dimensional time gate; great flood; hiber-sedative; ; Jesus; ; K-12; ; ; Mona Lisa''; NCC-1707; Noah's Ark; parallex matter echo; Pleadian Quadrant 5; Pleadian Quadrant 7; Quadrant 12-340; Reon VII; rescue shuttle; Rigel; Rigel IV; Rigel V; San Francisco Bay Area; Sector 15; ; shore patrol; Shres; ; ; Vegan D virus; warp drive regulator; Zanxthkolt Dynasty

Related topics 
alternate timeline; Riverside; Starfleet ranks; time travel

External links 

bg:Стар Трек IV: Пътуване към вкъщи
ca:Star Trek IV: Missió: Salvar la Terra
de:Star Trek IV: Zurück in die Gegenwart
eo:Stela Vojaĝo IV: La Vojaĝo Hejmen
es:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
fr:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
ja:スタートレック4：故郷への長い道
nl:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
pl:Star Trek IV: Powrót do Domu
pt:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
ro:Star Trek IV: Călătoria acasă
ru:Звёздный путь IV: Путь домой
sv:Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek films
Genesis Award winners
Saturn Award nominees
Young Artist Award nominees