Shot on location - Films and TV-series: January 2024

The Vasquez Rocks Natural Area is located near Agua Dulce, California, north of the city of Los Angeles. The spectacular rock formation is located 24 miles (40 kilometers) from Hollywood. Vasquez Rocks has been featured in hundreds of films, series and music videos over the years, especially westerns and science fiction productions, including STAR TREK.

Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:37:19

In "Arena", episode 18 of the first season of the original series, Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) is forced to take part in a one-to-one battle to the death. His opponent is the captain of another spaceship. He is a Gorn, a reptilian creature that remains unnamed. The other crew members of the Enterprise are allowed to watch the fight on a screen but are not able to interfere. The episode was first broadcast in America by NBC on 19 January 1967. In the United Kingdom, "Arena" was shown by the BBC on 15 November 1969, the first episode to be broadcast in colour.

Ingang Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 July 2023

Filming on location took place on 9 and 10 November 1966. The Gorn was played by three stuntmen and voiced by Ted Cassidy, best known as Lurch from The Addams Family. Vasquez Rocks is named after Tiburcio Vásquez, a notorious Mexican bandit who was active in the late 19th century. In 1928, the western Beyond the Sierras was the first movie filmed here. In the Star Trek episode, Vasquez Rocks represents an unknown, desert-like planet. The area is free to enter and easily accessible by car. Via the Escondido Canyon Road, you can drive up to the rock formation.

Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:23:55

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 July 2023

Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:24:11

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Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:24:12

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Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:24:21

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Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:29:20

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Star Trek, season 1, episode 18, 0:34:03

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 July 2023

Besides "Arena", three other episodes were partly shot at Vasquez Rocks: episode 15, "Shore leave", and 27, "The alternative factor", from the first season and episode 11 "Friday's child", from the second season. In these episodes, the rock formation is less prominently visible.

The original series was cancelled in 1969 due to disappointing ratings. However, during reruns in 1970s the series became more popular than during its original run. A new, animated series was made in 1973 with the voices of the original actors. The same actors also returned for the 1979 feature film and its sequels, including STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 0:51:52

In this story, the crew of the Enterprise travels back in time to 1986, the year the film was both filmed and released. They go to San Francisco on a mission to find two humpback whales and take them to the future where this species is extinct. Earlier in the film, Vasquez Rocks is briefly seen as Vulcan, the planet where Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was born. Captain Kirk sees him from a distance as he stands on top of one of the rocks.

Climbing the rocks is allowed. We saw people walking to the top during our visit but because of the heat, we did not do that ourselves.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 0:08:28

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 July 2023

A year after the fourth film, a new series started, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. This show is set about a century after the events of the original series. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) heads a crew of a new spaceship also called Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 3, episode 4, 0:00:15

The fourth episode of the third season, "Who watches the watchers", was first broadcast in America by Paramount Television on 16 October 1989. In the United Kingdom, this episode was shown by the BBC on 30 October 1991. Vasquez Rocks is featured here as the planet Mintaka III whose population is reminiscent of the Vulcans. Their civilisation corresponds to the Bronze Age on Earth. After an accident, one of the inhabitants, Liko (Ray Wise), is treated aboard the Enterprise. When he returns to his planet he tells the other Mintakans that Picard is a god.

Two crew members of the Enterprise, first officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and advisor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), visit Mintaka III in disguise and try to convince the inhabitants that this is not true. After they have succeeded, Picard visits the planet himself at the end of the episode.

Star Trek: The Next Generation, season 3, episode 4, 0:42:35

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 July 2023

Vasquez Rocks can also be seen in the follow-up series Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001, two episodes), Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005, one episode) and Star Trek: Picard (2020-2023, two episodes).

After ten films based on the original series and The Next Generation, the eleventh film, STAR TREK (also known with the subtitle The Future Begins), is a prequel about the early years of Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) and Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto).

Star Trek, 1:54:51

On one occasion in the movie, the young Spock encounters himself in old age, Spock Prime (Leonard Nimoy). Filming took place from 7 November 2007 to 27 March 2008 at various locations in the states of Utah, Vermont, Alaska and California, including Vasquez Rocks. The rock formation can again be seen as Vulcan. Spock's parents, his mother Amanda (Winona Ryder), a human, and his father Sarek (Ben Cross), a Vulcan, are living on this planet.

When the Romulans, an extraterrestrial hostile race, attack Vulcan, Amanda runs out. The big rock on the left really exists; the other rocks were digitally added.

Star Trek, 0:44:28

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In a scene that did not make the final cut, Spock's parents are enjoying their newborn son. The same rock can be seen in the background but without digital additions. The scene can be watched on Dailymotion.

Star Trek (deleted scene)

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 juli 2023

Next to the films and series are television shows that pay homage to Star Trek in an episode. "Where no fan has gone before", part 12 of the fourth season of the animated series FUTURAMA, features five actors from the original series and Jonathan Frakes from The Next Generation as guest voices.

Futurama, season 4, episode 12, 0:10:06

The episode first aired in America on 21 April 2002 by Fox. In the United Kingdom, Futurama was shown by Channel 4 and this episode was broadcast on 23 June 2003. The series is about Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from New York who is frozen on 31 December 1999. A century later, he is defrosted and experiences how the world has changed. In this episode, he finds out that Star Trek has been banned after being a religion. The tapes of the original series and six films were destroyed with the exception of the remaining copies that are on the forbidden planet Omega 3.

Fry persuades his new friends, the one-eyed Leela and the robot Bender, to rescue the tapes. Arriving on Omega 3, the actors from the original series are found to be living on the planet, having been given new bodies and eternal youth. Some sets from the original series, including Vasquez Rocks, can also be found here.

Futurama, season 4, episode 12, 0:15:22

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Futurama, season 4, episode 12, 0:16:09

Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, 4 July 2023

In "The Bakersfield Expedition", the thirteenth episode of season 6 of THE BIG BANG THEORY, Sheldon (Jim Parsons), Leonard (Johnny Galecki), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Raj (Kunal Nayyar) go to the Bakersfield Comic-Con, an annual convention for fans of comics, movies and tv-shows. The episode was aired by CBS in America on 10 January 2013.

The Big Bang Theory, season 6, episode 13, 0:03:41

The comedy series is about four friends who all work for Caltec, the California Institute for Technology. Sheldon and Leonard share a flat. On the other side of the hall lives Penny (Kaley Cuoco), a waitress with acting ambitions. In later seasons, Amy (Mayim Bialik) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) become regular characters. The fondness of the guys for science fiction, especially Star Trek and Star Wars, is a recurring theme in the series.

On their way to the Bakersfield Comic-Con, Raj notices that they are near Vasquez Rocks. They are familiar with this location thanks to Star Trek. The friends decide to make a photo stop to pose in their costumes from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Leonard is dressed as Captain Picard, Sheldon as Data, Raj as Worf and Howard is a Borg. While taking pictures, their car is stolen. They have no choice but to look for a phone in their costumes. This scene was not actually filmed at Vasquez Rocks but in the studio in front of a screen.