The starship Enterprise avoided destruction in only five out of the thirteen Star Trek movies. Both the USS Enterprise commanded by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the USS Enterprise-D, commanded by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) were completely destroyed in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek Generations. However, six more Star Trek movies have doled out considerable amounts of destruction to the cinematic versions of the starship Enterprise. The events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan left the USS Enterprise in need of serious repairs, while Star Trek: First Contact saw the USS Enterprise-E half assimilated by the Borg Collective.
It’s understandable that every Star Trek movie seeks to give theater audiences a huge big screen spectacle, and the destruction of the starship Enterprise is an easy way to achieve this. In the case of Star Trek Beyond, the destruction of the USS Enterprise was pivotal in setting up the movie’s whole story. However, other Star Trek movies have managed to thrill moviegoers without destroying the iconic starship Enterprise, and one or two of those movies have even been the highest grossing films in the franchise.
Star Trek: Why TNG’s Enterprise Was Destroyed In Generations
The USS Enterprise-D was famously destroyed in Star Trek Generations. Here’s the reasoning behind the controversial decision and how it was reversed.
5 Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Directed by Robert Wise
The USS Enterprise received a substantial refit between Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, so it would have been foolish to completely destroy the Federation flagship in its first cinematic outing. That’s not to say that the refitted Enterprise’s shakedown cruise en route to intercept V’Ger wasn’t without incident. A gruesome transporter accident killed the Enterprise’s new replacement science officer, while a matter/antimatter interfix issue caused serious imbalances in the warp nacelles. It was only when the returning Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) came aboard that the issue was resolved.
At some point after the events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Enterprise was demoted to a training vessel. As a result, the starship Enterprise was no longer participating in frontline protection of the Federation, seriously limiting the potential for catastrophic damage in the line of duty. It wasn’t until the Enterprise was lured into the trap set by Khan Noonien-Singh (Ricardo Montalban) that the starship took serious damage and experienced tragic losses, including that of Captain Spock.
4 Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Directed by Leonard Nimoy
The USS Enterprise wasn’t destroyed during Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home because there was no Enterprise to destroy. Kirk and the crew sacrifice their original Enterprise at the end of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, leaving them in command of the Klingon Bird-of-Prey that they dubbed the “HMS Bounty”. Enroute to Starfleet HQ to face the music for stealing and destroying the Enterprise, Kirk and the crew are instead dispatched to San Francisco in 1986 to save the whales, and their own futures.
Due to the Earthbound nature of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, there weren’t even substantial threats to the HMS Bounty. However, it did sink to the bottom of San Francisco Bay on its return to the 23rd century. After Admiral Kirk’s demotion, he was given a brand-new starship to command, the USS Enterprise-A, which would largely stand the test of time, eventually ended up in the Athan Prime Fleet Museum in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Kirk’s 2nd Enterprise & Picard’s Enterprise-D Have 1 Weird Star Trek Thing In Common
Kirk’s second Enterprise and Picard’s Enterprise-D couldn’t be more different, and yet they share one unfortunate Star Trek record in common.
3 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Directed by William Shatner
The USS Enterprise-A was initially riddled with faults, but still managed to remain intact throughout Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Spock’s villainous half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) hijacked the Enterprise to go looking for the mythical Sha Ka Ree from ancient Vulcan folklore. During Sybok’s quest, the Enterprise-A was disabled by a Bird-of-Prey. Luckily for the crew of the Enterprise, they had previously rescued Klingon Ambassador Korrd (Charles Cooper), who convinced the glory hunting Captain Klaa (Todd Bryan) to abandon his quest to destroy the starship Enterprise.
The USS Enterprise-A later sustained serious damage in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, courtesy of an advanced Klingon Bird-of-Prey, commanded by General Chang (Chrisopher Plummer). Once their mission was completed, and the Khitomer accords were signed, the USS Enterprise-A was decommissioned by Starfleet. Its replacement, the USS Enterprise-B commanded by Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck) would launch later that same year.
2 Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Directed by Jonathan Frakes
After the USS Enterprise-D’s catastrophic crash on Veridian III in Star Trek Generations and widespread Borg assimilation in Star Trek: First Contact, the USS Enterprise-E had an easier ride in Star Trek: Insurrection. While Captain Jean-Luc Picard leads an insurrection on the surface of the planet Ba’ku, Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) was tasked with informing the Federation Council about the tracherous Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe). Dubbed the Battle of Briar’s Patch, the Enterprise held its own against two Son’a battleships.
While the USS Enterprise-E sustained serious damage in Star Trek: Insurrection it wasn’t anything like the scale of the destruction of previous movies. Riker saved the Enterprise from destruction by venting native metreon gas behind the ship, tricking the Son’a into firing upon it. Because the metreon gas was native to the Briar’s Patch, firing on it ended up detonating the Son’a starships and not the Enterprise-E. Riker’s quick-thinking saved the Enterprise and earned him a place in the long list of Star Trek Captain maneuvers.
Star Trek’s Jonathan Frakes Has Surprising Opinion On Famous Riker Maneuver
In a Reddit AMA, Jonathan Frakes had a surprising thing to say about the iconic Riker Maneuver he often employed on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
1 Star Trek (2009)
Directed by J.J. Abrams
J.J. Abrams’ version of the USS Enterprise NC1701 had a rough time in Star Trek into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. However, the newly-minted Federation flagship more than holds its own against Nero (Eric Bana) and his fearsome ship, the Nerada. Nero could have destroyed the Enterprise at the very start of Star Trek (2009) but chose not to. Instead, he relished the opportunity to force a young Lt. Spock (Zachary Quinto) to witness the destruction of his home world, Vulcan.
By the time of their next battle, the Enterprise crew had solidified and, crucially, studied Nero’s ship so that they could better match him. Hiding from his sensors with help from the rings of Saturn, the Enterprise beams Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock aboard the Nerada, allowing them to rescue Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) and defeat Nero. In one last bravura moment, they ejected the warp core to free themselves from the destructive pull of a black hole. It was a thrilling climax, and Abrams’ movie was a box office smash, thus proving that Star Trek movies needn’t destroy the USS Enterprise to give theatergoers a big-screen spectacle.
