Where No Fan Has Gone Before

Episode	References	Appearances	Transcript	Goofs	Gallery

"Truly, it was a paradise."

―Leonard Nimoy

"And all you had to put up with was one really annoying Star Trek fan."

―Fry

"Let's get out of here."

―William Shatner

Where No Fan Has Gone Before
Season	4
Episode	65
Episode Information
Production Code	4ACV11
Air date	April 21, 2002
Opening subtitle	Where No Fan Has Gone Before
Credits
Written By	David A. Goodman
Directed By	Patty Shinagawa
Guests	Jonathan Frakes as himself Walter Koenig as himself Nichelle Nichols as herself Leonard Nimoy as himself William Shatner as himself George Takei as himself
Episode Guide
Preceded by	"The Why of Fry"
Followed by	"The Sting"

"Where No Fan Has Gone Before" is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Futurama. It was broadcast as the twelfth episode in the fourth broadcast season.

Plot

The episode starts with Zapp Brannigan holding a court martial in the Planet Express Ship, which has new engine nacelles on its sides. Kirk is heard preparing his stardate log, only to reveal he and the rest of the cast of Star Trek are in the ship as heads in jars. Zapp arrested Fry, Leela, Bender and the actors from Star Trek for going to the forbidden planet, Omega 3. Fry appears on trial first, looking paralyzed in a wheelchair. Zapp tells the possible charges (twelve concurrent death sentences), and Fry responds using beeps, saying he does understand. However, when he is asked if he pleads guilty, he does two beeps (meaning no), but Zapp assumes he said a "double yes" (one beep meant yes). Zapp is about to get his gun, but he gives Fry a chance to explain the situation. He does, in beeps in morse code, telling the story.

A few days ago, the Professor took a brief nap so the crew went to the video renting store to only get six movies. Fry suggest to get the first six Star Trek movies, but when Fry say the words "Star Trek", an alarm is triggered, and everybody in the store (except Fry) got down on the ground. Leela whispers to Fry saying that the words "Star Trek" are forbidden. When they heard a patrol car coming, the crew stuffed Fry into Bender and walked out of the door.

Zapp stops Fry's story so he can learn more of these forbidden words. He lets George Takei explain why. He explains in a video that the show was banned after Star Trek became an entire religion in the 23rd century. It was banned because the world leaders were threatened by its influence, and they killed all the Star Trek fans by dumping them into a volcano (as befits virgins), and the last copies of the 79 episodes and 6 movies were rocketed to Omega 3. Zapp then described the situation to be a "brutal and shocking injustice he cared so little about." Next, he calls Bender to the stand. Fry, as it turns out, was faking looking like he was paralyzed and easily let Bender up to the stand while he beeps the next part of the story.

Fry ran to the Head Museum to meet Leonard Nimoy's head after what he heard about Star Trek. Nimoy denied even knowing what Fry was talking about as a security camera was nearby. Fry tried to get him to admit it, and he finally slipped up, then started to cry and tell Fry about what happened to the other cast members. He said they left Earth because the Earth didn't need them anymore. Nimoy wanted to stay because he signed a six month lease for his apartment, so all the celebrity heads were put on a rocket and left. Fry got mad and then took Nimoy's head so they could get the tapes back and he could show the world how much Star Trek meant to him. Leela and Bender decided to aid Fry, and they went to Omega 3.

When they got near the planet, Leela lost control of the ship and they crash landed on the planet. When they got out of the ship they discovered sets from the show. Overcome with nostalgia and sadness, Nimoy wished the cast members were there. Suddenly, the cast from Star Trek with bodies (and with a new actor named Welshy, who replaced James Doohan) step out of the "Guardian of Forever" set. They said they were on their way to Welshy's cousin's house when their ship was pulled down into the planet and crash landed, and when they woke up, they had bodies. They explained that they loved the planet, as everything was provided for them, and they never age. When Leela asked who's doing this for them, they explain they never really thought about it (they're used to this treatment, being celebrities). Then a big, green energy being name Melllvar came out and said he was the one doing everything for them. Bender thought he was a cheesy effect and doubted his powers. He then showed his powers by zapping lightning and killing Welshy.

Next, Leela is brought up to the stand to tell the conclusion of the story.

Melllvar then showed his powers again by giving Nimoy a body. He explained that centuries ago the rocket that was filled with the tapes crashed on his planet and he watched them over and over. He claims he has an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek. Fry steps up and said he knows more then Melllvar. This makes him mad and he blasts Welshy's dead body again. Melllvar stated that he's been waiting for Nimoy so he can start his Star Trek Convention. But when Nimoy asks how long it will last, Melllvar shocks everyone saying "until time stops." One part of the convention featured a trivia contest between Fry and Melllvar. Fry got more points than Melllvar, who got mad and stopped the trivia contest. Next, the cast had to perform his fan script. Melllvar didn't want to ruin the ending so he made Fry, Leela and Bender to go wait in their ship. This was a perfect chance for the crew to escape, and they easily did, but reluctantly. They refused to just leave the celebrities there, so they made a plan involving blasting engine power to Melllvar, causing him to explode (like putting too much air in a balloon). While the cast rehearsed, the plan backfired as Melllvar absorbed the energy and dragged the ship back to the planet and broke their engine. Melllvar then became confused on who he should worship, the actors of Star Trek (fake heroes), or the Planet Express crew because of their (real heroes) brave efforts to save them. He then made the crew and the cast fight to the death. In one part of the fight Leela and Shatner were fighting on a cliff, but then they made out on the cliff. The fight was getting pretty brutal until Melllvar's mother came out and said it time for dinner. Fry couldn't believe he was just a child, but his mom corrects him saying he's 34. This was a perfect time for the crew and cast to escape. Their ships were both flawed, with the Planet Express ship's engines out, and the cast's ship's life support out, so they fused the engine nacelles onto the Planet Express ship.

When they tried to escape, the new engines weren't strong enough, and the ship was too heavy to launch, so the actors ditched their bodies and put their heads in jars but kept the tapes (since the ship was now more than light enough to launch). While in space, Melllvar got into his spaceship and started shooting at their ship. All seemed lost, until they encountered the Nimbus. Leela thought they were saved, until Zapp arrested them for entering the forbidden zone.

That was the end of the testimony. Zapp then asks what happened next and Leela says "you started this stupid court martial" and that they are still being attacked by Melllvar. Right when Melllvar is about to finish them, they are about to destroy both ships using the auto-self-destruct sequence, but Fry questions why Melllvar wants to kill them despite how much he likes them. Melllvar says it's because he doesn't know what to do without them. Fry then gives him advice, telling him a TV show can't be his entire life. Melllvar thinks about it, and he takes his advice, starting by moving out of his parents' basement and maybe getting a temp job. He thanks Fry, and he returns back to his planet (but he manages to finally outsmart Fry in Star Trek trivia for the first time before he flees, laughing in a geek-like tone). The cast then wonders if Melllvar was truly evil, considering he gave them eternal life and numerous perks, concluding he was a blessing. But they catch on when Fry tells them that all they had to put up with was one really annoying fan, and Shatner says "let's get the hell out of here," and they return home.

Ongoing Themes

Injury and Death

• Fry is roughly crammed into Bender's torso.
• Nichols' head recounts a historical event in which uncounted nerds are thrown to their deaths in volcanoes.
• Melllvar electrocutes Welshy, and later electrocutes Welshy's dead body a couple of times, finally disintegrating the unfortunate actor.
• Shatner throws his shoe, which hits Takei in the face.
• Fry is brought to his knees by a handful of innocuous caterpillars.
• Takei karate-chops Bender on the shoulder. Basically, everyone beats the crap out of everyone else for a minute.
• In order to eliminate excess mass for takeoff, the bodies of all the Star Trek crew are cut from their heads and thrown out.
• Bender's head explodes when Takei's head gives an example of a self-destruct code.
• The plot of this episode is nearly identical to the star trek episode "the squire of gothos" .

Fry and Leela

Leela has sex with (or at least makes out with) Shatner.