# Star Trek V: So what was that "God" like entity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406 "2003-04-08T21:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/1 "2003-04-08T21:39:16Z")
If you’ve seen the movie you’ll recall how near the end of the film Kirk, Spock, and Sybok are on this small planet where they confront a being very much like the traditional Judao-Christian image of God. But this character turns out to be cruel and capricious. Due to household distractions, I didn’t see every frame of the movie. So I have a question: what exactly does this being turn out to be? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/2 "2003-04-08T22:03:48Z")
My take: It’s yet another one of those gods and/or devils who are really immensely powerful energy beings and who pop up in the ST universe with annoying regularity. This one had been imprisoned behind a barrier near the center of the galaxy–obviously by an even more immensely powered being–probably because it was evil. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/3 "2003-04-08T22:07:54Z")
A powerful being trapped in the center of the Galaxy. Really, he was never explained more than that. In the Q-Continium trilogy ( ST: TNG #48-50)Greg Cox postulates that he was a powerful being who invented monotheisim and forced primitave societies to worshop him. He was imprisoned after losing a battle with the Q. ( His allies were the energy being from “Day of the Dove”, Gorgan from “And the Children Shall Lead”, along with another entity known as Zero that Cox created just for the trilogy.) ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/4 "2003-04-08T23:23:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Star Trek V: So what was that “God” like entity? Why it was the director, William Shatner!!! Bada-bing! ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/5 "2003-04-09T00:47:09Z")
For a Godlike being, he really wasn’t that impressive. He needed a starship. He could be killed by a brief volley of Klingon weapons. Compare to the Q, or teh other energy beings popping up in Trek. He’s a poser. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/6 "2003-04-09T00:54:31Z")
I am curious. You mention a “Star Trek V.” Is this short for “Voyager” or something? I know there was no movie made between IV and VI. No, no movie like that at all. Scotty never bumped his head on an overhead pipe, Uhura never had to do a fan dance, and Chekov and Sulu did not drool like pimply-faced fanboys after a Leather Goddess of Qo’noS. No, never happened… ---
**Author:** ![Sock\_Munkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/7 "2003-04-09T02:46:50Z")
AFAIK the energy being was fed just enough energy to live from the underground shaft it popped out of and when that was destroyed it was vulnerable. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/8 "2003-04-09T02:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DrFidelius \* > \*\*I am curious. You mention a “Star Trek V.” Is this short for “Voyager” or something? > > I know there was no movie made between IV and VI. No, no movie like that at all. Scotty never bumped his head on an overhead pipe, Uhura never had to do a fan dance, and Chekov and Sulu did not drool like pimply-faced fanboys after a Leather Goddess of Qo’noS. > > No, never happened… \*\* Oh, come on, if it had been an _episode_, it would have been perfectly acceptable to folks (After all, we have weekly threads for _Enterpoop_.), but because it was a movie, people hate it. The concept behind the film was certainly interesting, it’s just too bad that Shatner didn’t hire a better ghost writer. (Best line in the film: “Uh, excuse me, why does God need a starship?”) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/9 "2003-04-09T04:34:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hail Ants \* > \*\*Why it was the director, William Shatner!!! > > Bada-bing! \*\* I have a couple of Trek books (out of, say… 42) that pretty much say that. Apparantly, good ol’ Bill Shat-head was/is an incredibly vain asshole. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/10 "2003-04-09T12:51:18Z")
It was your Basic Bad Ass Alien. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/11 "2003-04-09T13:02:39Z")
> [@](#): > > (Best line in the film: “Uh, excuse me, why does God need a starship?”) God-Like Being: Why does the Captain of a Starship need a toupee? ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/12 "2003-04-09T14:05:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > > > [@](#): > > > > (Best line in the film: “Uh, excuse me, why does God need a starship?”) > > \*\*God-Like Being: Why does the Captain of a Starship need a toupee? \*\* **Jean-Luc Picard** : Why, indeed?! ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/13 "2003-04-09T14:09:05Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Spectre of Pithecanthropus_ > **I didn’t see every frame of the movie.** Consider yourself lucky. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*“Uh, excuse me, why does God need a starship?”) \*\* I always liked (from McCoy) “Jim, you don’t just go up to the Lord and ask for His ID!” Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/14 "2003-04-09T14:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*Oh, come on, if it had been an _episode_, it would have been perfectly acceptable to folks (After all, we have weekly threads for _Enterpoop_.), but because it was a movie, people hate it. The concept behind the film was certainly interesting, it’s just too bad that Shatner didn’t hire a better ghost writer. (Best line in the film: “Uh, excuse me, why does God need a starship?”) \*\* Sorry, no. It was, quite frankly, THE WORST TREK EVER. Even a Wesley Crusher TNG episode or some of the horrible mid-run Voyagers were all better then that dreck. Which I paid full price to see at a movie theater (not that I am bitter). Horrible direction, plot, acting and execution- even the special effects sucked. Horrible, I tell you. Remember the rock climbing scene-- sigh. . . . Best line in the film “The end” ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/15 "2003-04-09T14:22:04Z")
I remember the teaser movie posters that came out in advance of Star Trek V. They showed a picture of a movie theatre seat equipped with a seatbelt, along with the caption “Why are they putting seatbelts in movie theatres this summer?” (The implication being, of course, that this movie was just gonna blow you away.) Alas, after I saw the movie, I knew the real answer: To keep people from hitting their heads on the syrup-encrusted floor when they fall asleep watching that snooze-fest. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/16 "2003-04-09T14:54:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hail Ants \* > \*\*Why it was the director, William Shatner!!! > > Bada-bing! \*\* I think you’re a little off. The God-like entity was Baldy Shatner’s _ego_! ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/17 "2003-04-09T15:20:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\*“Why are they putting seatbelts in movie theatres this summer?” … > > Alas, after I saw the movie, I knew the real answer: To keep people from hitting their heads on the syrup-encrusted floor when they fall asleep watching that snooze-fest. \*\* Are you sure it wasn’t to restrain the movie patrons, so that they wouldn’t rush the theater management as an angry mob, demanding refunds, free popcorn, and public apologies? ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/18 "2003-04-09T15:53:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monstre \* > Are you sure it wasn’t to restrain the movie patrons, so that they wouldn’t rush the theater management as an angry mob, demanding refunds, free popcorn, and public apologies? Hmm. Entirely possible. I love ads with subtle double-entendres like that. ---
**Author:** ![SnugTheJoiner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@SnugTheJoiner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnugTheJoiner)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/19 "2003-04-09T16:25:57Z")
Q. Who was the “God”-like being? A. Easy. The most pathetic ripoff of THE WIZARD OF OZ that I’ve ever seen. Hmm. An odd bunch of travellers find themselves on a Quest. At the end of the road (so to speak), they encounter a Powerful Being who appears to them in the form of A GREAT BIG HEAD!!! But wait! Just when it looks like all is lost, there’s a TWIST! The “Powerful Being” turns out to be nothing but a humbug! I sure didn’t see THAT coming! You could have knocked me over with a feather! elf6c is absolutely correct: Worst. Trek. Ever. Gene Roddenberry was horribly embarrassed by this film, and once, when pressed to comment on its place in the canon, called “possibly apocryphal,” and changed the subject. (And although I’ve seen just about every episode of every STAR TREK incarnation ever, I’m not a Trekkie. I just recognize a cesspool of a movie when I see it.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406/20 "2003-04-09T16:45:11Z")
Wasn’t one of Roddenberry’s concepts for STTMP God? Perhaps Shatner used that idea. The Spock brother idea and that relationship was pretty bad, but the rest of the movie was no worse than STTMP. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-v-so-what-was-that-god-like-entity/167406.md?page=2)