Shatner developed the initial storyline, in which Sybok searches for God but instead finds a devil; his primary inspiration was the phenomenon of televangelism and the high potential for fraud among its practitioners.

Series creator Gene Roddenberry disliked the original script, while Nimoy and DeForest Kelley objected to the premise that their characters, Spock and Leonard McCoy, would betray Shatner's James T. Kirk.

The crew of the newly commissioned USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) are enjoying shore leave after the starship's shakedown cruise, with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy camping at Yosemite National Park.

After the Enterprise crew saves the hostages, Sybok reveals that the hostage-taking was a ruse to lure a starship, which he plans to use to travel to the mythical planet Sha Ka Ree.

Irritated, the entity attacks him and then Spock as well, after which they discover it is a powerful and malicious being who had been imprisoned on Sha Ka Ree in the distant past, with the Great Barrier put in place to keep it from escaping.

The other members of the USS Enterprise-A crew include chief engineer Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), helmsman Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), navigator Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), and communications officer Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols).

Shatner's first outline[20] was titled An Act of Love,[21] and many of its elements—the Yosemite vacation, the abduction of Klingon, human and Romulan hostages on the failed paradise planet—survived to the final film.

Having satisfied themselves and Paramount with the adjustments, Shatner and Bennett approached Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan writer and director Nicholas Meyer to pen the script, but he was unavailable.

Though Shatner convinced Bennett and Loughery to revise much of the script, Sha Ka Ree remained; it was changed to a place of ultimate knowledge of which Sybok had received visions.

[34][35] Concerned that the franchise's momentum following The Voyage Home had disappeared,[21] Paramount rushed the film into production in late 1988, despite the writers' strike cutting into pre-production.

[46] Zimmerman was immediately put in charge of designing all-new sets for the bridges of Enterprise and the Klingon Bird-of-Prey, elevator and access shafts, and Nimbus III interiors.

He looked for a location that could stand in for three different venues without the production having to move or change hotels: the film's opening scene; the God planet's establishing shots; and the Nimbus III Paradise City.

[57] With deadlines looming, the production searched for non-union drivers, aware that the Teamsters might retaliate by sabotaging equipment or flying airplanes above the filming to ruin audio recordings.

[61] When a driver failed to appear and stranded Shatner and a skeleton crew, a park ranger came to the rescue and the production managed to film scenes of Sybok's followers before they lost daylight.

[63][64] At Paramount, the crew filmed all the scenes that would take place on soundstages, including the Enterprise and Bird-of-Prey sets, the Paradise City interiors, and the campfire location.

This cheaper process, he reasoned, would save time, and would make sense for elements such as the Enterprise's bridge viewer, where compositing would lack the softness of a real transmitted image.

On the last day of location shooting, the Rockman began suffering mechanical problems; the suit stopped breathing fire, and the desert wind dissipated the smoke.

[85] Music critic Jeff Bond wrote that Shatner made "at least two wise decisions" in making The Final Frontier; beyond choosing Luckinbill as Sybok, he hired Jerry Goldsmith to compose the film's score.

Sybok is introduced with a synthesized motif in the opening scene of the film, while when Kirk and Spock discuss him en route to Nimbus III it is rendered in a more mysterious fashion.

The music features cellos conveying a pious quality, while the appearance of "God" begins with string glissandos but turns to a dark rendition of Sybok's theme as its true nature is exposed.

[94] Regent's Park College professor and Baptist minister Larry Kreitzer argues the film was "deliberately constructed" to raise the issues of God and the Biblical concept of paradise, Eden.

"[96] Pilkington notes that The Final Frontier has roots in many plots from the series including "The Way to Eden" (which also deals with a brilliant man hijacking the Enterprise to find the place of creation), "The Apple", and "Shore Leave"; a common thread between the paradises described is that they are always "too good to be true".

[98] While many Star Trek episodes dealt with false deities, The Final Frontier is one of the few that, in the words of religious scholar Ross Shepard Kraemer, "intentionally confronted and explored theological questions, including the existence of God.

"[100] The Final Frontier was expected to be one of the summer's biggest movies and a sure hit,[102] despite its appearing in a market crowded with other sequels and blockbusters such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II, and Batman.

[115] Paramount released teaser posters for Star Trek V depicting a cinema seat in outer space with the tagline "Why are they putting seatbelts in theaters this summer?

[133] The Christian Science Monitor's David Sterritt stated that at its best, The Final Frontier showed "flashes" of the humor that propelled The Voyage Home,[134] and Lowing deemed Shatner's direction at its best during comedic moments.

[135] In comparison, Luckinbill's Sybok received praise from critics such as USA Today's Mike Clark who wrote that "he has the voice and stature of the golden screen's most scintillating intellectual villains", although he felt that he never seemed threatening or suspenseful.

[137] Ebert's review agreed saying that the visuals managed to inspire awe ever so briefly before dissolving into "an anticlimactic special effects show with a touch of The Wizard of Oz thrown in for good measure".

[21][123] Star Trek creator Roddenberry considered elements of this film to be "apocryphal at best", and particularly disliked the idea that Sarek had fathered a child (Sybok) with a Vulcan before Amanda.

[139] Even George Takei expected the film to be a disappointment because "the script seemed rather a muddle ... as if three separately interesting stories force-sealed together into one" which "made for a confusing and ultimately tiresome two hours".