Did You Call The Star Trek IV The Voyage Home 900 Number?

Friends, thanks to Arcade USA’s excellent video on the 1977 Dinky Toys Star Trek Enterprise toy from earlier today – it seems like it jarred a memory with Rockford Jay. I believe it is fair to say that between both Rockford Jay as well as fellow contributor Earl Green – you would be hard pressed to find bigger fans of Gene Roddenberry’s then novel idea of a television series that was described as “Wagon Train to the Stars”. So after my lunch break, Rockford asked if I remembered back in 1986 when you could call the Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 900 number. I told him as I am sharing with you that I do not recall ever hearing of such a 900 number before – although I certainly do remember that Indiana Jones phone game in ’89. Rockford not only sparked my interest in this Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 900 number but he even managed to track down a recording of what you could have heard back in 1986 – and much like the film itself there was ample comedy provided – in this case courtesy of both Nichelle Nichols and DeForest Kelley.

As James Doohan’s character of Scotty has always been my favorite from the original Star Trek series – Dr. McCoy’s comment about the Chief Engineer’s uniform having to be let out had me rolling with laughter. In addition I think we have to give a tip of the hat to whomever wrote that bit of fan service – where Uhura mentions both Captain John Christopher (Roger Perry) as well as Gary Seven (Robert Lansing). As I shared with you in my article on 1984’s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock – while my Father and I were both fans of the original Star Trek TV series… our appreciation of the films began to diverge. He disliked the third film quite a bit but that paled in comparison to his feelings on The Voyage Home – as 30 minutes into the film he was ready to call it quits. We were able to catch the film at a local Drive-In in my neck of the woods and I recall realizing that my Father was none too pleased by the lighter tone and modern day settings of the film.

Unlike when we saw Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, he disliked the movie so much that about 20 minutes later he decided to leave – he didn’t ask if I wanted to go – he just placed the speaker back on the pole and then he drove us home. I wasn’t able to see the end of the movie for myself until it reached home video – although thanks to schoolmates I did find out how the film ended.

While I did not have the opportunity to call the Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 900 number back in 1986 – I am very grateful someone was able to record it for future Star Trek fans. I also want to give a big thanks again to Rockford Jay for sharing this interesting bit of pop culture history with us in the first place – he’s one in a million!