Summary
- The five-year mission of the USS Enterprise is not as glamorous as it seems in Star Trek Beyond.
- Deep space exploration takes a toll on Captain Kirk and the crew, as shown in the movie.
- A potential Star Trek 4 could explore the impact of multiple five-year missions on the Enterprise crew.
I love how Star Trek Beyond makes it clear that the USS Enterprise's five-year mission is hard. The five-year mission is the backbone of the Starship Enterprise's existence. Every episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, and now Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, begins with opening titles where the Captain of the Enterprise narrates, "Space, the final frontier... These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise... Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds...." But Star Trek's five-year missions aren't as glamorous as they seem.
Star Trek: The Original Series made no bones about the dangers of the Starship Enterprise's five-year mission. In Star Trek's Prime timeline, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the Enterprise encounter space gods, enemy alien races, monsters, and all manner of calamities. But those were exterior threats to the Enterprise and its crew. Otherwise, the Enterprise was a safe haven, and surely, other Star Trek fans like myself fantasize about living aboard the starship and being part of its five-year missions. However, 1,825 days in deep space, millions of lightyears from home, takes a toll, and Star Trek Beyond makes that price that is paid clear.
Star Trek Beyond Reminds Audiences USS Enterprise’s Five-Year Mission Is Hard
Exploring deep space takes a toll
Star Trek Beyond begins with a mission gone away on the planet Teenax. Safe aboard the Starship Enterprise once more, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) resumes his five-year mission. Kirk delivers a Captain's log that elaborates on the details of the Enterprise's five-year mission, and it's insightful. In perhaps the most revealing instance of Star Trek delving into the minutia of the day-to-day life of a five-year mission, Kirk explains what he and the Enterprise crew really endure being all alone in outer space for years at a time:
Captain's Log, Stardate 2263.2. Today is our 966th day in deep space, a little under three years into our five-year mission. The more time we spend out here, the harder it is to tell where one day ends and the next one begins. It can be a challenge to feel grounded when even the gravity is artificial. But, well, we do what we can to make it feel like home. The crew, as always, continues to act admirably despite the rigors of our extended stay here in outer space. And the personal sacrifices they have made. We continue to search for new lifeforms in order to establish firm diplomatic ties. Our extended time in uncharted territory has stretched the ship's mechanical capacities. But fortunately our engineering department, led by Mr. Scott, is more than up to the job. The ship aside, prolonged cohabitation has definitely had effects on interpersonal dynamics. Some experiences for the better, and some for the worse. As for me, things have started to feel a little... episodic. The farther out we go, the more I find myself wondering what it is we're trying to accomplish. But if the universe is truly endless, then are we not striving for something forever out of reach?
Ironically, in Star Trek Into Darkness, Captain Kirk wanted the USS Enterprise to be assigned to a five-year mission in deep space. Kirk got his wish after Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch) was defeated, and the Enterprise was rebuilt and relaunched. Of course, a five-year mission of making First Contact with alien races and being the first to see unexplored regions of the galaxy sounds thrilling and glamorous. And some of it is. But I love how Kirk learned in Star Trek Beyond that a five-year mission is also enervating, and sometimes tedious. Kirk's lessons nicely dovetail into his renewed trust and faith in his crew when they best Krall (Idris Elba).
Captain Kirk applied to be Vice Admiral of Starbase Yorktown because of his displeasure at the USS Enterprise's five-year mission, but Jim changed his mind.
Star Trek 4 Can Show What Decades Of Enterprise Missions Is Like
How many five-year missions did Chris Pine's Enterprise have?
It's too bad that it took three J.J. Abrams-produced Star Trek movies to depict the Starship Enterprise's five-year mission, and it's even more disappointing there hasn't been a new Star Trek theatrical movie since 2016. If Star Trek 4 finally happens, Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and the rest of the Star Trek movie cast will be a decade older. Yet, this could also be a benefit. Presumably, Kirk and the Enterprise never stopped exploring space in the interim years since Star Trek Beyond. This gives Star Trek 4 a unique opportunity to show what living through more than one five-year mission is like for the Enterprise crew.
Star Trek Beyond ended with the USS Enterprise-A launching on a new five-year mission.
It's actually an exciting proposition to have Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and their Star Trek cast return after a decade. Star Trek (2009) introduced its Enterprise crew in the flower of their youth, but they would return in Star Trek 4 as middle-aged and highly experienced Starfleet officers - possibly even legends. How a couple of five-year missions would have changed Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise's crew, and bonded them even closer as a found family, is fertile ground for Star Trek 4 to explore. After all, it's hard to believe the Starship Enterprise's five-year missions got any easier after Star Trek Beyond.
