40 Years Later, Star Trek Is Finally Fixing 1 of Its Most Infamous Plot Holes

After 40 years, Star Trek is finally revisiting one of The Voyage Home’s biggest plot holes. Regarded as one of the best entries in the Star Trek film series, The Voyage Home nevertheless had a serious flaw, and issue 11 of IDW’s Star Trek: Lower Decks comic will revisit it in a hilarious fashion.

IDW shared a first look at Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 with League of Comic Geeks. The issue will be written by Tim Sheridan and drawn by Philip Murphy. IDW's solicitation for the issue reads:

Sqeak, squaw, sssskkkaaa, eh, eee.

[Translation: Cetacean Ops here! Matt and I have brought the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos back to the year 1987 for a top-secret mission of great import.]

 

HHHkkkeeeeee, ska, ska, EeeEEAaa. Squaw, squaw. *Click, cliiiiick*

[Translation: That’s right, Kimolu. We need their help to fix what that blowhole Kirk messed up by bringing the whales George, Gracie, and Ronald to Earth without a way for them to repopulate its oceans. What was Ronald supposed to do, have babies with his mother?]

Skkkesaw. Eehhh, ee, ee, AaaaaAa. AH, AH, EeeEE! Sqqqqaw.

[Translation: But the remaining humpbacks have all heard freaky conspiracy theories about what happened to the last pod who went to Earth. To save the species, the Lower Deckers will have to dissuade them of the rumors and convince them Earth is worth inhabiting. Ah-yikes.]

This issue kicks off the penultimate arc of this season’s run, so be sure to order whale ahead of time!

Lower Decks #11 reveals that more humpback whales were needed to continue the line on Earth, after Kirk dropped them in the ocean in The Voyage Home.

tar Trek IV: The Voyage Home Is Considered One of the Best Trek Films

Star Trek IV Had a Heavy Environmental Message Underneath Its Light-Hearted Exterior

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, released in 1986 to commemorate the franchise’s 20th anniversary, was a major box-office success. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, the movie was highly accessible to casual and non-Star Trek fans. The movie was full of light-hearted scenes, but its environmental-themed plot was no laughing matter.

The Voyage Home tackled an issue that was very real in 1986: whaling. At the time, humpback whales were hunted, and in the Star Trek timeline, they were extinct by the mid-21st century. Two hundred years later, an alien probe came to Earth, seeking to make contact with whales. When it received no response, it unleashed its fury on Earth.

The “whale probe’s” attack forced Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise into action. After deducing the probe was seeking to communicate with humpback whales, Kirk and company traveled back to the late 20th century, where they brought two whales, named George and Gracie, forward to the 23rd. Gracie, the female whale, was also pregnant.

What followed was a mad-cap odyssey through 20th century San Francisco, all in a bid to save the future. Kirk not only had to locate two humpback whales, but also create a place for them to live on his captured Klingon ship. He also had to dodge a 20th century cetacean expert, who ultimately came with him to the future.

Despite Star Trek IV's Happy Ending, There Was a Huge Plot Hole

An Oversight on Kirk's Part Could Lead to Disaster Down the Road

The film ended on a note of hope that the humpback whales would make a roaring comeback. However, there was a huge flaw in Kirk’s plan: who will the humpback whales’ kid mate with? George and Gracie were the first humpbacks Earth had seen in centuries, meaning there were no potential mates.

This little oversight might have doomed Captain Kirk’s plan. With a lack of mating partners, George, Gracie and their children would have lived their lives traveling Earth’s oceans, alone. When the last of them dies, the humpback whale will be extinct again, effectively making Kirk and company’s hard work and sacrifice for nothing.

A lack of humpback whales on Earth could lead to other problems, particularly if the whale probe returns. The Voyage Home revealed nothing about the probe, and it has only made a handful of non-canon appearances, most notably in the 1992 novel Probe by Margaret Wander Bonanno. If the probe returns to a whale-less Earth, the planet could be destroyed.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Will Close This Plot Hole in a Funny Way

One of the Issue's Cover Pays Homage to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 will finally address this small oversight in The Voyage Home. Whales are essential to life on Earth, particularly in the Star Trek universe. The solicitation implies the crew will travel back in time again, presumably to get more whales to finish the job Kirk started.

Of course, Lower Decks will approach this topic in a humorous fashion that pays tribute to the entire Star Trek franchise. One of the issue’s variant covers depicts the Lower Decks gang decked out in outfits reminiscent of the ones Kirk’s crew wore in The Voyage Home, complete with Boimler wearing Spock's white robes.

Issue 11 of Star Trek: Lower Decks will also feature the return of the often-mentioned but rarely seen Cetacean Ops. By the 24th century, cetaceans traveled on starships with crewmember status. As seen in Lower Decks, the Cerritos has its own Cetacean Ops, staffed by two beluga whales named Matt and Kimolu.

Cetacean Ops has been the subject of debate among Star Trek fans since it was first mentioned over 30 years ago. Lower Decks peeled back the curtain on this division of Starfleet, showing that cetaceans made valuable and critical contributions to the functioning of starships. In the case of Matt and Kimolu, they assisted the Cerritos in navigation.

Fans Will Also Get to Meet Star Trek's Elusive Cetacean Ops

Could Star Trek IV's Whale Probe Be Behind Cetacean Ops?

Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 can potentially explore the origin of this enigmatic Starfleet branch. One of the chief mysteries behind Cetacean Ops is how Starfleet was able to create tech to communicate with the animals. The answer could lie with the whale probe seen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Perhaps, in the aftermath of the probe’s attack, Starfleet had a chance to study its signals and build a device capable of communicating with dolphins, whales, porpoises and other members of the cetacean family.

The whale probe, as noted earlier, came to Earth seeking cetaceans, specifically humpback whales. Perhaps, in the aftermath of the probe’s attack, Starfleet had a chance to study its signals and build a device capable of communicating with dolphins, whales, porpoises and other members of the cetacean family. Such technology would be a massive breakthrough for humanity.

 

Fans Will See the Events of Star Trek IV From the Cetacean Perspective

This Unique Story Is Sure to Be a Star Trek Classic

Issue 11 of Star Trek: Lower Decks will do something novel: present the events of The Voyage Home through the perspective of the same cetaceans Kirk was trying to save. Along the way, it will address a long-standing plot hole in that film, bringing it to a hilarious, and potentially, poignant ending.