Star Trek Movies Took The Wrong Lesson From TOS' Best Episode

Star Trek revolutionized TV when it arrived in the late 1960s, but the movies took the wrong lesson from the show’s best episode. Though it may seem somewhat quaint and tame today, it’s impossible to overstate how groundbreaking The Original Series was when it hit screens. Gene Roddenberry’s vision featured an idealized future that was nothing like the present day.

Aboard the USS Enterprise, men and women were equal, racism had been abolished, and humanity explored the stars with an eye for adventure and discovery, not conquest. This radical framework lent itself to excellent storytelling, especially when the morals of the Starfleet crew came up against various alien lifeforms that didn’t share their view.

Many classic Star Trek episodes subverted tropes, and told complex moral tales that challenged the viewer’s perceptions of right and wrong. One particular episode had a major impact on stars like William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, and it’s a shining example of Star Trek‘s profound philosophy. Unfortunately, those lessons didn’t translate to the big screen.

Star Trek: The Original Series’ “The Devil In The Dark” Had A Unique Villain

Coming toward the end of the show’s first season, “The Devin in the Dark” is an important Star Trek episode that helped establish part of the show’s morality. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy visit a mining planet that has been plagued by mysterious deaths. They eventually encounter a creature known as the Horta, but that’s where the episode is different.

Spock mind melds with the creature, only to discover that it is a sentient being that was defending its eggs. Instead of a violent battle, Kirk and Spock broker a peaceful solution to the conflict, and all parties work together to their mutual benefit. The Horta is a unique villain because it isn’t actually a villain at all.

Such ideas weren’t common on TV at the time, and it went against the shoot first mentality seen in most stories. William Shatner listed the episode as his favorite of the original series, and Leonard Nimoy shared a similar sentiment. It showed that humanity could overcome its innate fear of the unknown, something integral to the Enterprise‘s mission.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture Borrowed The Same Idea As “The Devil In The Dark”

Star Trek Motion Picture V'Ger Voyager 6 Kirk Spock McCoy Ilia Decker

Star Trek‘s grand arrival on the big screen was somewhat hit-and-miss, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture isn’t usually ranked highly among the entire film franchise. However, it was certainly committed to the ideas of The Original Series, and even borrowed some of the concepts from “The Devil in the Dark” when crafting its own villain.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was nominated for three Academy Awards.

V’Ger is the driving force of the movie, and the mysterious entity wreaks havoc as it moves toward Earth. Through a similar series of events as the aforementioned episode, the crew learns that V’Ger is not actually evil, only misunderstood. There is a measure of sympathy for the lost probe as it strikes out searching for its creator.

The Horta and V’Ger share several qualities, but it’s the message behind the two “villains” that binds them. Both are the result of humanity’s short-sighted view, and can be seen as a consequence of that lack of forethought. The miners were so focused on their mission that they ignored the Horta, while V’Ger’s creator never considered the consequences of curiosity.

A Less Villainous Antagonist Didn’t Work For Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Spock in a space suit encountering V'Ger — Spock in a space suit encountering V’Ger

It would be wrong to say that V’Ger was the only thing that tanked Star Trek: The Motion Picture, though the lack of a compelling villain certainly didn’t help. V’Ger was an excellent antagonist in concept, especially as the villain of an episode of the show. However, the Star Trek movies needed something a bit more grand.

It isn’t just that V’Ger’s story lacks enough depth to fill an entire feature-length movie, but also that it doesn’t feel significant enough to justify a film. Fans got to see the Enterprise crew go on dozens of missions on the show, but their first appearance on the big screen needed to be larger than anything seen in the series.

Part of that is giving the Enterprise crew something to fight against, though it didn’t have to betray the morality at the heart of the franchise. The Horta is an even better villain than V’Ger because the lesson behind its existence is a lot less vague. V’Ger is a sympathetic villain, but the takeaway behind it is far too vague.

Most Future Star Trek Villains Were Very Different To V’Ger

Khan sits expectantly in the captain's chair in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — Khan sits expectantly in the captain’s chair in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Thankfully, the Star Trek movie franchise was allowed to continue after the failure of The Motion Picture, but it came with a lot of changes. Not only did the entire visual language of Star Trek change with the release of The Wrath of Khan, but the approach to storytelling was also altered to make the movies feel much more cinematic.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan put its villain front and center, and actually made him a force for evil. He is highly motivated, and willing to stop at nothing to exact his revenge. Like all great villains, Khan is convinced that he is absolutely justified, which makes him so much more dangerous.

However, he is similar to V’Ger in that he doesn’t betray any of the central concepts behind Star Trek‘s philosophy. Every Star Trek movie villain after Khan followed in his footsteps, though they weren’t all as good. Khan and V’Ger were both inspired by classic episodes, but only the former took the right lessons.