Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is certainly a low point in the film franchise, but its worst offense is making a mockery of an iconic Enterprise crew member. The penultimate film to star the original cast came at the tail end of the ’80s, and was the only movie in the franchise to be directed by William Shatner.

With a convoluted plot involving an interplanetary terrorist hijaking the Enterprise to take it to meet God, The Final Frontier had bold ideas that were mostly mishandled. It took the wrong lessons from Star Trek IV and leaned too heavily on the humor, while also telling a dark narrative about trauma that didn’t match the movie’s goofy tone.

It focused mainly on Kirk, Spock and McCoy, and it left the rest of the Enterprise legends to twiddle their thumbs. Furthermore, it actively puts the supporting characters in silly situations, lowering their status as the elite of Starfleet. One of the franchise’s most important characters was treated the worst, and their shining moment was nothing but a bad joke.

Uhura’s Fan Dance Makes A Mockery Of Her Character

It’s hard to overstate the real-world importance of Nichelle Nichols’ performance as Lt. Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and she shattered racial boundaries in the late ’60s. However, she took a bit of a backseat once the film franchise began, though it’s somewhat excusable because of the narrow focus on Spock and Kirk.

What’s less excusable is how she was treated in Star Trek V, with the polyglot linguistical genius serving as a distraction as the rest of the Enterprise crew storms Nimbus III. Though she’s likely just as capable as her peers in combat, she instead sings and dances naked with fans in order to lure the guards away.

Nichelle Nichols was a noted dancer and singer in real life, but it was demeaning to have one of the only major female characters in the film appear ɴuᴅᴇ. To add to the indignity, Nichols herself was supposed to be heard singing in the film, but her voice was ultimately dubbed over in post-production (via Star Trek).

At that point in her career, Uhura was a decorated Starfleet officer who outranked most crew on the Enterprise, but the screenwriters couldn’t think of a better way to work her into the plot. In Star Trek III, Uhura used a clever ruse to help Kirk steal the Enterprise, and she did so without having to take her clothes off.

Star Trek V Was Unkind To Several Enterprise Legends

Though Uhura was perhaps the most mistreated Enterprise legend in Star Trek V, she was not the only one. While stalwarts like Sulu and Chekhov were mostly absent, Chief Engineer Montgommery Scott had some agency. Sadly, his scenes made him out to be a buffoonish oaf, with the engineer hitting his head in a poor attempt at slapstick humor.

He does end up rescuing Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, but he’s quickly eliminated from the story once he serves his purpose. Like Uhura, Scotty is essentially a human MacGuffin who helps the main trio out of a jam before fading to the background. Fortunately, all the Enterprise crew returned after Star Trek V, and their final film did them justice.