Trivia for
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) More at IMDbPro »

• Portraits of American president Abraham Lincoln and Vulcan ambassador Sarek are visible in the officers' mess. The first is an idol of Kirk's (from the TV episode The Savage Curtain) and the second is Spock's father.
  
  
• The subtitle, "The Undiscovered Country," comes from Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, as do many of General Chang's quotes. Two of the more obscure lines Chang speaks during the final battle between the Klingons and the Enterprise are "Our revels now have ended..." from "The Tempest" and "The game's afoot" from "Henry V."
  
  
• The welcome speech that Kirk, McCoy, and the others receive on arriving on Rura Penthe is an homage to the speech made by Colonel Saito to the British POW's in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957).
  
  
• The name of the prison planet, Rura Penthe, is a reference to 20000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). It is the name of the slave labor camp that inspired Captain Nemo's rage against society and that was the location of his death.
  
  
• Spock (Leonard Nimoy) tells the crew, "An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the solution." The "ancestor" Spock quotes is Sherlock Holmes, another fictional character well-versed in logic. Nimoy and co-star Christopher Plummer have both played Holmes on stage and screen. Also, director Nicholas Meyer is the author of several Sherlock Holmes novels, including "The Seven Percent Solution," considered by many to be the best Sherlock Holmes story not written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
  
  
• General Chang's eyepatch has three bolts that go into the skull. They all have the Klingon insignia engraved on them.
  
  
• Frankie and Johnny (1991) was being filmed in the same studio, and required Al Pacino to have a surprised expression on his face after opening a door. Director Garry Marshall arranged for Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) be on the other side of the door that Pacino opened.
  
  
• After filming was through one day nearing the end of production, Kim Cattrall posed nude for some steamy photos on the bridge set, but Leonard Nimoy happened on scene and seized the film, destroying it and having studio security toss the photographer out.
  
  
• An allegory about the fall of Soviet Communism. When General Chang demands that Kirk answer a question without waiting for the translation, it is an allusion to the real-life exchange at the United Nations between U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson and Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Also, the explosion on Praxis due to "insufficient safety measures" is akin to the meltdown at Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which is believed to have contributed to the decline of the Soviet Union.
  
  
• The character of Dax in this film (a young crew member questioned during the search for incriminating evidence) is no relation to the character of Dax from "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993). DS9's Dax would, at the time of this film, be in the persona of Curzon Dax, a Federation ambassador, which is clearly not the case for the character of this film. The name was a coincidence.
  
  
• Kirk makes open references to "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) in his final Captain's Log, by amending "where no man has gone before" in mid-statement to say "where no-ONE has gone before", which is the opening prologue to The Next Generation's TV series. Kirk's comment about "the next generation" was not of the television series but of the next Enterprise, the Enterprise-B. The next film, of course, was Star Trek: Generations (1994), which predominantly featured the Next Generation cast, and also featured the Enterprise-B. The actors' signatures at the end were supposed to be the characters signatures as they signed the final log.
  
  
• Originally conceived as a prequel to the original "Star Trek" (1966) television series. The story was to follow young Kirk and Spock when they met in Starfleet Academy, with Ethan Hawke rumored for the role of Kirk and John Cusack rumored for the role of Spock. However, partially due to poor box office and reviews for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), and because of the strong desire for a future film involving the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987), it was decided to do a final film with the original cast, which would end with their retirement, and allude to the new cast taking over the franchise. A prequel series would later appear in the form of the "Enterprise" (2001) television series, and Star Trek (2009) is a prequel film.
  
  
• The final film appearance for DeForest Kelley; Merritt Butrick (who died in 1989 and appears as David Marcus in a photograph on Captain Kirk's desk) and Mark Lenard (though he did appear twice on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) in "Sarek" and "Unification-Part 1").
  
  
• When the Klingons return to their ship after the dinner on the Enterprise, Chang speaks a Klingon phrase into his communicator (without English subtitles). Chang says "daHmacheH" which, in English, means "Ready to return now."
  
  
• Nichelle Nichols objected to the scene in which the crew desperately searches through old printed Klingonese translation dictionaries in order to speak the language without the standard universal translator being used. It seemed more logical to her that Uhura, being the ship's chief communications officer, would know the language of the Federation's main enemy, or at least have the appropriate information in the computer. However, director Nicholas Meyer bluntly overruled her.
  
  
• Gene Roddenberry died within 48 hours of viewing the film. It was later dedicated to his memory.
  
  
• In 1996, "Star Trek: Voyager" (1995) revisited the events on the Excelsior that took place during this film, and reunited Excelsior crew cast members George Takei (Captain Sulu), Grace Lee Whitney (Rand), and Jeremy Roberts (Valtrane) in an episode entitled "Flashback." The episode also featured an appearance by a classic Star Trek Klingon named Kang (Michael Ansara), reused the effects shot of the Excelsior being struck by a shock wave, and integrated the Voyager character of Tuvok (Tim Russ) in the events.
  
  
• Michael Dorn plays Colonel Worf in this film, and Lieutenant Worf in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987). Colonel Worf is meant to be the grandfather of Lieutenant Worf.
  
  
• Christopher Plummer asked that he be allowed to wear less "severe" Klingon makeup for his role as General Chang.
  
  
• Colonel West, the Starfleet Marine officer who conducts the Operation Retrieve briefing, was meant to be a reference (as well as a play on words) to Colonel Oliver North, the real-life U.S. Marine accused of shredding confidential documents associated with the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s. Colonel West was played by Rene Auberjonois, who would be cast a couple of years later as the shape-shifting Security Chief Odo on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (1993) and had worked with John Schuck on MASH (1970).
  
  
• Nicholas Meyer initially wished to use Gustav Holst's "The Planets" as the music for the film, but found that it would cost far too much in royalties and be far too tedious to edit into the film. He then asked James Horner, a composer to whom he gave his big break with Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982), to return and wrap up the original series. Horner stated his career had outgrown "Star Trek" and declined. Meyer then went to Jerry Goldsmith, who flatly refused after the failure of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Finally, Meyer asked for demo tapes to be submitted, and he chose the theme of unknown composer Cliff Eidelman because it combined the best of "The Planets" with the styles of Horner and Goldsmith, while still sounding "fresh and original."
  
  
• This film's title was originally intended for Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). It was a reference to Spock's death. It was changed because the executives at Paramount wanted Khan's name in the title.
  
  
• The name "Gorkon" is a blending of the last names Mikhail Gorbachev and Abraham Lincoln, two of director Nicholas Meyer's models for the character of the Klingon chancellor.
  
  
• The sequence for the explosion of the Klingon bird of prey is the identical footage, frame for frame, used for the explosion of the Klingon bird of prey in Star Trek: Generations (1994) (the story situations are also very similar in the two movies).
  
  
• The Klingon Language Institute, an organization dedicated to the Klingon language as formulated by Marc Okrand, took it upon themselves to translate William Shakespeare into Klingon based on David Warner's line about hearing Shakespeare in the original Klingon.
  
  
• According to the producers, the Klingon blood was purple to avoid an "R" rating. Also, the use of purple blood was to serve as a visual symbol both metaphorical (showing the vast differences between Klingon and Human values and ideals) and literal (showing the differences between our anatomies; slamming home why McCoy could never have saved the Chancellor's life). Klingon blood has always been red in the television series.
  
  
• In several drafts of the script, there was an early scene where Kirk learns that Carol Marcus (from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)) has died. Although the scene was eventually cut (it is included in the film novelization), the result of this fresh grief remained in the final film: Kirk's renewed blame of the Klingons for David's death.
  
  
• The Klingon trial concept was originally introduced in a draft script for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).
  
  
• The official Star Trek Chronology suggests this film takes place in the year 2293, or 27 years after the events of the first episodes of the TV series, which the chronology suggests occur in 2266. This is taken from a line by McCoy stating he has served on the Enterprise for 27 years. According to the Chronology, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) therefore takes place about six years after the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), and some 22 years after the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979).
  
  
• "To be, or not to be" in Klingon is "taH pagh, taH be'".
  
  
• First Star Trek production to officially establish that Kirk's middle name is Tiberius and Sulu's first name is Hikaru. Tiberius had been mentioned in an episode of the animated Star Trek series, however by this point the cartoon was no longer considered canonical. No first (or last) name is offered for Uhura in this film, which is taken as confirmation of Gene Roddenberry's contention that she has no other name. However, for Star Trek (2009), the movie that takes place before the events of The Original Series, her full name has been established as Nyota Uhura.
  
  
• Christopher Plummer's character, General Chang, was originally to have had hair, but as his makeup was being applied for the first time, Plummer liked the bald look and had the makeup technician omit the hair.
  
  
• Whoopi Goldberg was invited to play her "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) character but declined.
  
  
• Jack Palance was offered the part of Chancellor Gorkon, but passed because the filming dates clashed with City Slickers (1991) for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting actor.
  
  
• According to Nicholas Meyer, Brock Peters found Admiral Cartwright's words during the briefing scene to be so offensive he needed several takes to get them all out. In a similar vein, Nichelle Nichols refused to speak the line "Guess who's coming to dinner?" - an intentional reference to Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - which is heard prior to the Klingons' visit to the Enterprise. The line was instead given to Walter Koenig (Chekov).
  
  
• In earlier screenplay drafts, the character of Maltz from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) appeared at the trial as one of Chang's witnesses, answering questions about Kirk's killing of the Klingon crew from that film. The scene was dropped as it was deemed extraneous, and John Larroquette was unavailable to reprise the part anyway.
  
  
• A subplot to this movie was to show that even in the 23rd century humans hadn't totally shed their bigotry and prejudices. James Doohan had a line about "that Klingon bitch", but Nichelle Nichols refused to say it, in reference to the Klingons' "Yeah, but would you let your daughter marry one of them?" The line was dropped.
  
  
• The Klingon translating Chang's words into English is Klaa (Todd Bryant), the renegade captain from the previous film, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Though it isn't said in the film, several sources state the character was demoted to translator duty as punishment for his unsanctioned attack on Kirk.
  
  
• The chorus heard in the background of many scenes, mainly those on Rura Penthe, says "To be, or not to be" in Klingon.
  
  
• Nicholas Meyer was worried that William Shatner would be upset at some of the lines written for the scene where Martia, disguised as Kirk, fights him ('I can't believe I kissed you!' 'Must have been your lifelong ambition(!)'). However, Shatner reportedly loved it.
  
  
• In a featurette on the Special Features from the 2-disc DVD, William Shatner, talks about how he was upset with Nicholas Meyer for breaking a promise regarding one of his lines. The line in question was when Kirk says "Let them die" during the scene when he and Spock are talking after the classified briefing. Shatner wanted to say the line, then gesture as if he didn't mean to say it, and he made Meyer promise to show it on camera. However in the final cut, after Kirk says "Let them die", it cuts to Spock looking surprised, and only goes back to Kirk, cutting over when Kirk gestures with regret.
  
  
• For the dinner scene, none of the cast wanted to actually eat the food served to them (which partially consisted of blue-colored squid). Nicholas Meyer then made an offer that anyone who took a bite of the food, he would pay them $20 for every shot of them eating. William Shatner, was the only one who actually took bites, and he did it for 17 shots, meaning Meyer had to pay Shatner $340 to do so. Shatner later goes on to say he did it to get revenge on Meyer who broke a promise to him concerning the "Let them die" scene.
  
  
• Theatrical trailer features different/additional footage: the wide shots on Rura Penthe show Kirk, McCoy and Martia escaping during daylight while in the film they escape during dusk or dawn, the arrival of the president of the Federation and Azetbur on Camp Kitomer, and when Martia (disguised as Kirk) is shot, you see a close-up of her, not the wide shot that was used in the film.
  
  
• The casting director was Mary Jo Slater, mother of Christian Slater. Thus his small role as a Communications Officer aboard the Excelsior.
  
  
• At the end, when Chekhov asks Kirk for a course heading, Kirk smiles and says, "Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning." That is a reference to the directions Peter Pan gives to get to Neverland in the classic story "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie. This was originally intended to be the last line of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982); however. that scene was edited down and ended before reaching those lines.
  
  
• Christian Slater wore the trousers made for William Shatner in Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982). "It was an honor to get into Shatner's pants," he quipped during a BBC interview.
  
  
• The painting in Spock's is a copy of "Adam et Eve chassés du Paradis" by Marc Chagal (1961)
  
  
• According to Star Trek 25th Anniversary Special (1991) (TV), the contents for the food props during the dinner scene aboard the Enterprise-A were: plastic sperm whale, hardboiled "Klingon" egg, unspecified flower species, chicken a-la-king, and blue Kool-Aid for the Romulan Ale.
  
  
• The banquet hall used for the formal dinner between the Enterprise-A senior staff and the Klingon Delegation is a redress of the Observation Lounge from the Enterprise-D.
  
  
• The transporter room is a redress of the Enterprise-D's transporter room from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)
  
  
• Was the first film to be coded in DolbyDigital (AC-3) for test prints only; not for theatrical release. The first film with a theatrical release of Dolby Digital was Batman Returns (1992).
  
  
• In 2006, William Shatner appeared in a TV spot for DirecTV, using re-edited footage from this movie. Shatner is the only one to have new lines, and although Leonard Nimoy and Walter Koenig also appear in the ad, their lines were taken straight from movie footage.
  
  
• The set used for the Federation president's office is a redress of the same set used for the Ten Forward lounge on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987).
  
  
• According to Star Trek lore, extensive use of a cloaking device leads to mental instability. This explains why Chang went wild during the final battle.
  
  
• The sets for the Enterprise hallways and Engineering are redresses of the Enterprise set from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987).
  
  
• The network premiere of the movie brings "Star Trek" full circle. The original series aired on the NBC network from 1966-69, as did the Animated version from 1973-74. The first four movies premiered on ABC-TV, and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) on CBS-TV, following with the last film starring the original cast premiering back on original network NBC.
  
  
• William Shatner had once been Christopher Plummer's understudy in the legitimate theater.
  
  
• The technique of showing the translators so it appears that Chang is speaking Klaa during the trial is similar to technique used for the German-speaking members of the court in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). William Shatner starred in both films.
  
  

• SPOILER: Valeris was originally written to be Saavik, Spock's trainee from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) lending greater impact to her character's betrayal. However, Gene Roddenberry objected to the character's actions, ending up in a battle with director/screenwriter Nicholas Meyer (who believed the Saavik character was his to do with as he pleased). Roddenberry won the dispute and the character was rewritten into Valeris, who is played by Kim Cattrall. Cattrall wanted to play a different character rather than be the third incarnation of Saavik, following Kirstie Alley and Robin Curtis. Meyer had originally wanted Cattrall to play Saavik back in 1982, but she was unavailable.
  
  
• SPOILER: Kim Cattrall says that she was allowed to choose the name of her character and decided on "Valeris," integrating "Eris," the name of the Greek goddess of strife and subtly hinting at her character's part in the grand scheme of the movie.
  
  
• SPOILER: In both "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country", Spock says the line "Perhaps you're right" just as he is about to do something sneaky. In "Khan", he says it just before he nerve pinches McCoy and in "Country", just before he stealthily places a tracer patch on Kirk's uniform before Kirk beams onto the bird of prey.
  
  
• SPOILER: Just as Spock is surmising that "someone" has forged an entry in the photon torpedo data banks, Valeris (the guilty party) makes an entrance by sliding down the pole.
  
  

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