The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise facts for kids

Actor John Belushi made fun of how William Shatner played Captain Kirk from Star Trek: The Original Series. (Shatner is shown here.)

"The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" is a funny comedy sketch. It first appeared on the TV show Saturday Night Live on May 29, 1976. This was during episode 22 of the show's first season. The sketch lasted for twelve minutes. Michael O'Donoghue wrote it, working with actor John Belushi. They used a very real-looking model of the USS Enterprise bridge from the Star Trek TV show. Before the show, there were some worries. The writer was not sure if Belushi could truly make fun of William Shatner's acting as Captain Kirk. But the sketch was a big hit! Michael O'Donoghue quickly told Belushi how great he was after the performance.

This sketch quickly became a favorite for Star Trek fans and people who love science fiction. In 1977, a book about Saturday Night Live was released. It included a note from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. He called the comedy sketch "delicious." The routine was later put on a videotape in 1985. This tape was called The Best of John Belushi. It was released again in 2011 on DVD with the same name.

Why Was This Sketch So Popular?

In his book Metapop, author Michael Dunne said this comedy bit is one of the most famous parts of Saturday Night Live. The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper called it a very smart way to make fun of Star Trek. Huffpost TV said it was one of the "most famous parodies" of Star Trek. The A.V. Club website thought the sketch was very well-done comedy.

The New Yorker movie critic Anthony Lane wrote that Belushi acted perfectly. In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter talked to actors Tom Hanks and Elliott Gould. Gould said the sketch was one of his favorites. Hanks said it was one of the top five best sketches ever. Rolling Stone magazine ranked all Saturday Night Live cast members by their talent in 2015. John Belushi was placed at number one. Rolling Stone said his Captain Kirk parody was one of Belushi's best performances.

Images for kids

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  A strange alien spaceship following the USS Enterprise was actually a 1968 Chrysler Imperial car.

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  Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry wrote a letter calling the sketch "delicious."

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  TrekMovie.com founder Anthony Pascale called this comedy bit "one of the best Star Trek parody sketches of all time."

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  Actor Tom Hanks said of the sketch: "that's got to be one of the top five of all."