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"The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise"
Saturday Night Live episode
John Belushi (parodying William Shatner as Captain Kirk) performing the Vulcan salute in the sketch
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 22
Written by	Michael O'Donoghue
Original air date	May 29, 1976 (1976-05-29)
Running time	12 minutes
List of episodes

"The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" is a comedy sketch that first aired during episode 22 of the first season of The NBC variety show, Saturday Night Live on May 29, 1976. The twelve-minute sketch was written by Michael O'Donoghue during a month-long process consulting with actor John Belushi. Set design featured an effective replica of the USS Enterprise bridge. Dress rehearsal was difficult, with the writer doubting whether Belushi would be able to pull off an effective parody of William Shatner's performance as Captain Kirk. The result was a success, and O'Donoghue immediately congratulated Belushi after his performance and reflected he had done "a flawless Shatner".

The sketch became an instant cult classic hit among Star Trek fans as well as science fiction fans. It was released on a 2011 Saturday Night Live compilation DVD featured The Best of John Belushi. In his book Metapop author Michael Dunne called the comedic bit "one of SNL's most famous sketches". The Chicago Sun-Times referred to it as "the brilliant 1976 'SNL' parody of 'Star Trek'". Huffpost TV characterized it as one of "the most famous parodies" of Star Trek. WOMC classed it among sketches seen as the "favorite and the most memorable performance" by John Belushi.

Plot synopsis

The sensors of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise pick up a strange alien spacecraft following in hot pursuit of the ship, which is identified by Mr. Spock (played by Chevy Chase) as a 1968 Chrysler Imperial with a tinted windshield and retractable headlights.

Captain Kirk (played by John Belushi) orders the ship to outrun the strange craft. Unable to outrun it, he orders phasers and photon torpedoes to destroy the craft. Unfortunately, all the ship's equipment fails without reason. Shields fail to operate and the Enterprise's systems break down. Suddenly, Dr. Leonard McCoy (played by Dan Aykroyd) runs onto the bridge saying the aliens are on the ship. He says the aliens did not beam aboard, but merely walked out from behind the curtains, and there they were on the ship.

It turns out that the aliens are NBC executive Herb Goodman (played by Elliott Gould) and his associate, Curtis (played by Garrett Morris). They announce that the Star Trek series has been cancelled. Captain Kirk orders the crew to fire their hand phasers on the aliens but nothing happens. Mr. Spock assumes that the aliens have a type of weapons deactivator and tries to employ his famous Vulcan nerve pinch on him, but that does not work either. The executive says, "Nimoy, I'm sorry we have to take back those ears," and quickly removes Mr. Spock's pointed ears. Mr. Spock then mind-melds with Herb Goodman only to discover, as he describes, "His mind is dark and empty inside...there are mice in the corner and spider webs."

Other NBC executives and staff show up and dismantle the Enterprise set.

Other crew members as actors accept this proclamation, but William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy try to hang on to their Star Trek personas as Kirk and Spock. However, Nimoy is eventually reduced to a sobbing nervous wreck, and is carried off the set. Shatner defiantly remains in the captain's chair, as Herb Goodman mentions a phone call from a margarine company. (At the time this sketch was transmitted, William Shatner was a commercial spokesman for Promise margarine.) Finally, the set is completely dismantled, and Shatner as Captain Kirk makes a final entry into his log in his Captain's chair, where he recalls his previous three years of space exploration, concluding: "And except for one television network, we have found intelligence everywhere in the galaxy." Raising his hand in the Vulcan salute, he goes on, "Live long and prosper." Then he brings his fingers together, his hand still raised, and adds, "Promise" (a reference to the margarine ad).

Production

Writing

The twelve-minute sketch was written by Michael O'Donoghue. The writer wished to create a scene which would showcase the acting talents of John Belushi. They recognized that the original Star Trek series itself was not a ratings success during its initial run, but had become much more successful during syndication. O'Donoghue and Belushi worked together for thirty-days on the sketch. They scheduled the sketch for the final episode of the 1976 season of Saturday Night Live, when its host would be Elliott Gould.

Cast

• John Belushi as Captain Kirk/William Shatner
• Chevy Chase as Mr. Spock/Leonard Nimoy
• Dan Aykroyd as Dr. McCoy/DeForest Kelley and the voice of Scotty on intercom
• Elliott Gould as Herb Goodman, NBC Executive
• Garrett Morris as Curtis, Head NBC stage crew
• Akira Yoshimura as Mr. Sulu/George Takei
• Doris Powell as Lt. Uhura/Nichelle Nichols

Set design

The production value for the set was quite good; and the staff had reproduced an effective-looking replica of the bridge of the USS Enterprise. As the scene began, the viewscreen of the ship depicted the USS Enterprise being pursued by a type of automobile commonly manufactured in the United States.

Dress rehearsal

Dress rehearsal for the sketch went poorly. During the rehearsal period, Belushi was having difficulty correctly parodying the character of James T. Kirk as originally portrayed by actor William Shatner. Belushi had sat for several hours while makeup was applied so he could look the part. Sketch writer O'Donoghue was worried that the sketch was too long and might not go over well with the audience. He knew that Belushi was a fan of Star Trek and had previously rescued sketches that others thought would flop, but O'Donoghue was nervous that Belushi would not be able to pull off a comedic performance for this occasion. Donoghue complained directly in front of Belushi that he thought his performance parodying Shatner during the dress rehearsals was inadequate and needed much improvement. Further, actor Chevy Chase was annoyed that he was satirizing Leonard Nimoy as Spock; he did not like the idea of playing second-fiddle to Belushi's primary role. During all of the rehearsals, Chase attempted to dominate and get more attention towards his character's role in the scene. Just prior to the actual sketch, O'Donoghue admonished Belushi: "You better pull this off, you sonofabitch. You haven't done it yet."

Release

"The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" first aired during episode 22 of the first season of The NBC variety show, Saturday Night Live on May 29, 1976.

The sketch was included on the 2011 DVD edition of the collected shorts video release by Saturday Night Live titled: The Best of John Belushi.

Reception

Immediately upon the conclusion of the sketch, writer Michael O'Donoghue knew it was an instant success. He had been watching the Saturday Night Live performance from beside the set off-camera. He felt that Belushi had performed his role as Captain Kirk perfectly. As soon as Belushi departed the set, O'Donoghue came over to him and gave the actor a hug of congratulations. On reflection after the live performance, O'Donoghue stated that Belushi had performed "a flawless Shatner". The sketch became an instant cult classic hit among Star Trek fans as well as science fiction fans.

In his 1992 book, Metapop: Self-referentiality in Contemporary American Popular Culture, author Michael Dunne called the comedic bit: "one of SNL's most famous sketches". A 2005 article by journalist Darel Jevens writing for the Chicago Sun-Times called the sketch "the brilliant 1976 'SNL' parody of 'Star Trek'". In a 2008 article published by Huffpost TV, columnist Richard Keller characterized the sketch as one of "the most famous parodies" of Star Trek; the other being another Saturday Night Live episode where William Shatner appeared playing himself.

Upon re-release of the sketch on the Saturday Night Live compilation DVD titled The Best of John Belushi, Jon Corey wrote for Inside Pulse: "'Star Trek' remains a Top 10 sketch. This is how the iconic sci-fi series ended with network executives boarding the Starship Enterprise. They’re more destructive than the Klingons and Khan combined. Belushi’s Kirk is spot on." Nick Hartel reviewed the DVD release for DVD Talk, and commented of the sketch: "A 'Star Trek' parody highlights not so much Belushi's skills, but the wit and fearlessness of the show to take sketches well past modern lengths, turning a basic 'Trek' episode into a surreal piece of meta-humor involving a studio executive on a mission shut down the series."

Reflecting upon the life of John Belushi for a 2012 article, WOMC placed the sketch among those regarded as the "favorite and the most memorable performance" by the actor. Writing for CNN in 2014, journalist Todd Leopold commented that he appreciated the sketch, but did not place it among all-time five best sketches by the television program.

Notes

1. ^ Okamoto 1994
2. ^ Woodward 1985, p. 97.
3. ^ Jevens 2005
4. Sepinwall 2006
5. ^ Corey 2011
6. ^ Hartel 2011
7. ^ Woodward 1985, p. 98.
8. Dunne 1992, p. 28.
9. Keller 2008
10. WOMC 2012
11. Leopold 2014

References

• Corey, Jon (February 16, 2011). "Saturday Night Live: Best of John Belushi – DVD Review". Inside Pulse. Archived from the original on April 24, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
• Dunne, Michael (1992). Metapop: Self-referentiality in Contemporary American Popular Culture. Studies in Popular Culture. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 28–29. ISBN 978-0878055487.
• Hartel, Nick (January 31, 2011). "Saturday Night Live: The Best of John Belushi". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
• Jevens, Darel (October 16, 2005). "The un-'wired' Belushi". Chicago Sun-Times – via HighBeam Research.
• Keller, Richard (July 18, 2008). "Star Trek: the television parodies - VIDEOS". Huffpost TV. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
• Leopold, Todd (September 26, 2014). "'Saturday Night Live's' 5 best skits". CNN. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
• Okamoto, David (November 10, 1994). "'Mr. Mike' O'Donoghue dead at 54". The Dallas Morning News.
• Sepinwall, Alan (December 3, 2006). "'Saturday Night's' all right - After 3 decades, the not-ready-for-prime-time show is still a work-in-progress". The Star-Ledger.
• "Remembering John Belushi – Favorite SNL Sketches". WOMC. March 5, 2012. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
• Woodward, Bob (1985). Wired: The Short Life and Fast Times of John Belushi. Simon & Schuster. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0671473204.

External links

• "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" at Hulu
• "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" at Memory Alpha
• "The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise". SNL Transcripts. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.

• Saturday Night Live sketches
• Parodies of Star Trek