Star Trek: Strange New Worlds debuted last year and brought an electric energy to the universe. The story of Captain Christopher Pike’s Enterprise, with its dynamic and dynamite crew, captured a sort of Star Trek magic. If you haven’t checked out the series yet due to a lack of Paramount+, now is your time. The streaming service has put all of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on YouTube for free (via Polygon). That’s 10 episodes to get to know the characters as they bounce around on missions of exploration and aid.

Yes, it is a blatant move to pull in new Strange New Worlds viewership ahead of the upcoming second season, but it’s surprising that Paramount+ dropped the whole first season on YouTube rather than only a few episodes. It’s an excellent opportunity to give this series a try, though. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has character arcs that develop over the season, but it pairs those with adventure-of-the-week vibes that keep things fresh. You’ll visit different planets, meet different aliens, and learn how absolutely horrifying the Gorn can be.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season one will be available to watch free on YouTube through June 30. When you inevitably get hooked on Strange New Worlds and watch the whole first season, you won’t have to wait long for more. Season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premieres on Paramount+ on June 15.

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We got our first look at season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with a teaser chock full of emotion, adventure, and Spock being Spock. But now, the full trailer for Strange New Worlds season two has been released. And in addition to showcasing more of our favorite familiar faces, this trailer also gives us a look at a highly-anticipated Star Trek crossover event. Yes, the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks is going live-action and crossing over into the Strange New Worlds universe. In the trailer for season two, we get a glimpse of live-action Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler, played by Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid. We can also expect to see animation coming into the live-action world of the show.

You can watch the full Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two trailer below.

The synopsis for the season shares a bit more about what we can expect to see. It notes:

Captain Pike (Anson Mount), Number One (Rebecca Romijn), Spock (Ethan Peck) and the rest of the Enterprise crew are back exploring strange new worlds and boldly going where no one has gone before.

Short and to the point! But the trailer promises we’re going to go deep into the crew’s adventures. A blog post on Star Trek‘s official website notes that “In Season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Captain Christopher Pike, confronts increasingly dangerous stakes, explores uncharted territories and encounters new life and civilizations. The crew will also embark on personal journeys that will continue to test their resolve and redefine their destinies. Facing friends and enemies both new and familiar, their adventures will unfold in surprising ways never seen before on any Star Trek series.”

In addition to a season trailer, Paramount+ also released a clip showcasing the beginning of the trial of Una Chin-Riley (Rebecca Romijn). Starfleet arrested Number One at the end of the first season after learning she is an enhanced human, something wholly illegal. The clip shows various members of the crew giving testimony as to Una’s alleged sedition. While La’an (Christina Chong) and Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) highlight Una’s sterling character, Spock (Ethan Peck) alludes to her hiding something. We’ll have to wait for the season to find out what he says.

Well, that’s basically everything we love most about Star Trek. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two releases on June 15. The series streams exclusively on Paramount+.

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Every so often, you have an opinion that boldly goes where no one has before. I doubt my affection for Star Trek Into Darkness is exclusive to me. We defenders exist in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, in a deep pocket of space otherwise forgotten. For some Trekkies, Into Darkness is the worst of the worst—a film that uses sweeping parallels to things done best in better projects. And while I’d never suggest Into Darkness tops Wrath of Khan, I’d urge those who’ve entirely written it off to take another look. Star Trek Into Darkness is better than you might remember for reasons you might not suspect. 

It’s understandable why the movie miffs so many people when you consider the context of its release. A sequel to the 2009 J.J. Abrams-directed reboot of the Star Trek series, Into Darkness invited speculation early in production when it cast Benedict Cumberbatch as a villain. Though his character was called John Harrison, rumors swirled that the name was a false identity. Fans believed Cumberbatch was instead playing iconic Trek villain Khan Noonien Singh. Those rumors only strengthened during the promotion of the film. But Cumberbatch and returning director Abrams repeatedly shot them down. So much so that by the time the movie came out on May 16, 2013, we were all pretty sick of the conversation.

I’ll never forget sitting in an IMAX theater on opening night and hearing the audience’s collective groan when it turned out John Harrison was, indeed, Khan. Despite Cumberbatch’s protestations, it was so expected that it was immediately annoying.

I still liked the film overall, and it was generally well-received at the time. Into Darkness has an 84% fresh approval on Rotten Tomatoes. It did pretty well at the box office, too, grossing $467.4 million against a $190 million budget. But disdain for the film has grown these last 10 years. The annoying Khan reveal—and the press circus leading up to it—cast a shadow over its legacy, as did the film’s other callbacks to Wrath of Khan. It was the first time we really saw Abrams’ over-reliance on that which came before, a hat trick he’d carry into the Star Wars franchise a few years later.

And yet, I can’t help but have a soft spot for Into Darkness. The film does a lot to “earn” that reliance on the past. That may seem like an excuse for lazy storytelling, but I don’t think it is. There are in-universe reasons for the parallels to Wrath of Khan organically baked into the story. If you recall, in Star Trek (2009), a Romulan mining vessel commanded by Nero (Eric Bana) emerges from the future and attacks the USS Kelvin, a Starfleet ship. The incursion alters the course of history, creating an alternate reality separate from the established canon. The impacts of this event ripple through time. The event reshapes the lives of familiar characters, alters their relationships, and generates distinct storylines.

The idea of a parallel universe isn’t just the stuff of science fiction but has roots in real-world quantum theory. In the mid-20th century, the “Many Worlds” theory posited that multiple realities exist as distinct entities without interaction. However, more recently, some quantum physicists speculate that parallel worlds might actually overlap and exist in the same region of time and space simultaneously. If that’s the case, an infinite number of realities might exist. Many of them would be incredibly similar to the one we’re living in right now. Events in one universe could “trickle into” another, initiating parallels and overlaps that keep our worlds in constant conversation.

That might sound like a pretty basic concept to port into a Star Trek film. Still, I think the Kelvin timeline is rather elegant in using quantum theory as character development. I give a lot of credit to Abrams’ casting of the 2009 film. Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, and the late Anton Yelchin as Chekov add so much to these films. Their chemistry is pitch-perfect, and the family bonds established in Star Trek carry beautifully into the sequel.

The basic set-up of Into Darkness—a terrorist attack on Starfleet that comes from within leads the Enterprise crew on a mission to capture “a one-man weapon of mass destruction”—is immediately knowable and felt. We recognize the stakes because we already care deeply about this new cast, charming and colorful as they are. 

The parallel worlds thing would be lazy if we didn’t have these perfect ingredients. The love between the Kelvin-timeline Kirk and Spock doesn’t lean too hard on our history with William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. When we learn John Harrison—the commander responsible for the attack on Starfleet—is Khan, a genetically engineered superhuman awoken from centuries of sleep by Starfleet admiral Alexander Marcus to develop new superweapons, we know where things will go. The rest of the film plays out as a loose homage, ending with a mirrored version of Spock’s touching sacrifice in Wrath of Khan after saving the Enterprise’s warp drive. In Into Darkness, Kirk saves the drive, sharing an inverse of the iconic hand-touch moment before succumbing to radiation poisoning. (Unlike Spock in Khan, however, Kirk in Into Darkness is revived by the film’s end.) 

Suppose we believe that alternate universes occupy the same space-time, thereby influencing timelines relative to their own. In that case, it makes sense that events as prominent as those in the Wrath of Khan would seep into nearby worlds. I know some fans take issue with the rushed nature of the plotting. When Spock dies in Khan, he’s spent decades with Kirk. Kelvin-timeline Kirk has only known Spock a few years. But this doesn’t bother me. The preceding events are catastrophic and distinct enough that new stakes emerge. And Pine and Quinto sell it like hell. Pine’s delivery of “I’m scared, Spock…help me not be,” and Quinto’s crestfallen face bring me to tears every time. It’s an inversion of something familiar but not a cheap one.

I can’t and won’t defend some things about Into Darkness. The immediate reversal of Kirk’s death irks me. And then there’s the whitewashing of Khan, which is not only offensively shortsighted (Khan is a non-white Sikh in canon) but also boring. There’s also the gratuitous scene revealing Carol Marcus (Alice Eve) in her underwear. The moment has zero bearing on the plot or character and feels like the cheap sexualization of a young actress. That one’s so bad the filmmakers—including co-writer Damon Lindelof—have since apologized for it.

So no, Star Trek Into Darkness isn’t some misbegotten masterpiece. The more aggressive flaws are inexcusable, if not downright retrograde, and I won’t argue with legacy Trekkies that the film bests anything that came before. It isn’t worthy of cultural reappraisal in the way something like a Kubrick movie—misunderstood at its time before growing into an all-time classic—might be. But I think it’s a fascinating watch in 2023, considering the “requels” that now proliferate culture. Abrams and crew found a way to weave science into myth and give us powerful character moments that transcend some unfortunate aspects.

Despite its imperfections, Star Trek Into Darkness is a fascinating and highly entertaining pop culture artifact. From the exhilarating space-driving scene to the spine-tingling moment when Uhura confronts the Klingons, it’s full of scenes that remind you just how fun Star Trek can be and how great this cast is. Ten years on, it fits nicely into the ever-expanding Trek canon, guiding the evolution of legacy storytelling toward audacious new frontiers, even with some bumps along the way.

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For over 50 years, the Star Trek franchise has given us many iterations of the starship Enterprise. With the recent finale of Star Trek: Picard, we’re now up to a whopping 10 Starfleet vessels by that name. However, the sets and schematics for many of the Enterprise starships of the past have been lost to time. Thankfully, the folks at the Roddenberry Archive, who have been cataloging the life and legacy of Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, have put together digital recreations of each Enterprise bridge, with help from YouTube channel OTOY. This includes bridges from that first 1964 pilot episode all the way to the last episode of Picard. You can check out All the Enterprises A-Z, narrated by Q actor John de Lancie, right here:

The video begins with the very first sketches for the Enterprise back in 1964, by designer Pato Guzman. We then see the Enterprise bridge in its various iterations in the ”60s original series. And the video leaves no cosmic stone unturned. We get a more realistic look at the bridge from the first animated series, as well as that for the lost 1970s series, Star Trek: Phase II. Even the designs for the Enterprise from the Star Trek movie that never was, Planet of the Titans, gets a nod. That unrealized ship later became the inspiration for the U.S.S. Discovery decades later. Of course, every TV Enterprise from The Next Generation on gets a highlight.

In addition, we get the Enterprise from alternate timelines as well, like the Kelvin timeline from the J.J. Abrams films, and the 26th century version seen in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise. The video is totally up to date for the Star Trek franchise, as it showcases the bridges for the Enterprise-F, briefly glimpsed in the last season of Picard, and the new Enterprise-G, now under the command of Captain Seven of Nine.

For more detailed information on each Enterprise, head on over to the official Roddenberry Archive site.

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The first two seasons of Star Trek: Picard had their share of Easter eggs for longtime fans to spot. But season three blew the previous two out of the water in this regard. With the final season a swan song for the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, the producers stuffed these episodes full of fun winks and nods for fans. Here are a few of the best ones we spotted in Picard‘s episodes.

Jump to Easter Eggs From: Episode One // Episode Two // Episode Three // Episode Four // Episode Five // Episode Six // Episode Seven // Episode Eight // Episode Nine // Episode 10

Picard Episode One “The Next Generation” Easter eggs

The Opening Title Card

The opening title card says “In the 25th Century…” This didn’t just tell us when the show took place, but it’s a direct homage to how the title card from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan appeared. Only in that film, it said “In the 23rd Century…” Even the font is the same.

Aboard the S.S. Eleos

Among Dr. Crusher’s belongings we saw aboard her medical vessel the Eleos was the Comedy and Tragedy masks, which represented Beverly’s time running an acting class on the Enterprise-D. This was something we saw in the TNG episode “The Nth Degree.” She and Lt. Barclay even did a production of Cyrano de Bergerac together.

We also see her orchids, which we once saw in her Enterprise quarters in “Cause and Effect.” There’s also a large case with the belongings of her deceased husband Jack Crusher, which she brought out of storage on Earth in the episode “Family.”

We also see a plaque honoring her service in saving the planet Cor Caroli V from a deadly plague. We saw the aftermath of that event in the third season TNG episode “Allegiance.” Most importantly, there’s an old Enterprise-D computer console, which is playing Captain Picard’s log entry from the episode “The Best of Both Worlds,” where the crew faced off against the Borg Collective.

Inside Picard’s Office

Hanging in his office was Picard’s painting of the Enterprise-D, which we saw displayed in his Ready Room on TNG. On his office desk was the Ressikan flute he learned to play when he lived another lifetime in the episode “The Inner Light.” Also on his desk was an ancient artifact given to him by his mentor and archaeology professor Dr. Galen. It was a Third Dynasty Kurlan naiskos, something Galen gave him in the sixth season TNG episode “The Chase.”

In Ten-Forward

At Guinan’s bar Ten Forward in Los Angeles, we found the bartenders selling souvenirs for the upcoming Frontier Day. This is a day celebrating the founding of Starfleet. They had an overstock of Enterprise-D models at the bar, as the bartenders said “nobody wants the fat ones.” Riker doesn’t care for this Enterprise-D shade, and we don’t either. Show some respect, young lady. That was the Federation flagship once.

Starfleet Spacedock

The massive Earth-orbiting Starfleet Spacedock was shown, now expanded with extra levels. The Spacedock first appeared in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and then appeared in the following three movies. The model was also used a few times on TNG. However, there it was meant to represent a different spacedock, one not in orbit of Earth. This is the first time we’ve seen it in the era of Jean-Luc Picard.

On Board the Titan

The newly retrofitted U.S.S. Titan is itself an Easter egg of a sort on Picard. The ship was given to the newly minted Captain Riker at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis to command, but we never actually saw her. It finally appeared on Star Trek: Lower Decks, which takes place almost 20 years before Picard season three. But this Titan has been retrofitted to the new Constitution Class model, and is now considered the Titan-A.

When Admiral Picard and Captain Riker board the Titan for their inspection, we hear the classic nautical boatswain whistle upon their entrance. This recalls Admiral James T. Kirk’s arrival on the Enterprise for his inspection in Wrath of Khan.

When the crew of the Titan stands in formation for the arriving Picard and Riker, we see officers from various classic alien races. There’s a green Orion, a Vulcan, a Trill, and perhaps the deepest cut, what looks like a Chalnoth. We first saw this usually savage alien race in the TNG episode “Allegiance”

When Picard and Riker have their extremely awkward dinner with Captain Shaw on board the Titan, Jean-Luc hands him a bottle of wine from his own vineyard, Chateau Picard.

Raffi’s Mission

When we first meet Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) this season, she’s on the planet M’Talas Prime. This is a cute little Easter egg nod to Picard showrunner Terry Matalas. Raffi’s under deep cover on a mission for Starfleet Intelligence, searching for a deadly weapon stolen from the Daystrom Station. The Daystrom Institute was first named-dropped on TNG, and referenced scientist Richard Daystrom. He first appeared in the TOS episode “The Ultimate Computer.” Daystrom Institute in Okinawa, Japan was first seen in Picard season one.

Captain Rachel Garrett

Raffi is looking for something or someone called “The Red Lady.” She’s not sure if it’s a person, a ship, or something else. It turns out, it’s a statue. We then see that there’s a red statue in front of a Starfleet recruitment center of Captain Rachel Garrett. She was in command of the Enterprise-C, and she gave her life to save a Klingon base on Narendra III. This took place 25 years prior to The Next Generation. This act cemented the peace treaty between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. We met her in the classic TNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.”

Beverly in Cryofreeze

This one’s not a reference relating to the Star Trek franchise, but another classic sci-fi franchise, Alien. When Riker and Picard board the Eleos, they find Beverly in cryofreeze, in what seems like a nod to how they discovered a frozen Lt. Ellen Ripley at the beginning of James Cameron’s Aliens.

Closing Credits Sequence

Even the end credits sequence for Picard season three is one giant Easter egg. There are close-up shots of LCARS interfaces from a starship, potentially teasing future episodes. One has a readout for a Holodeck program for Guinan’s Ten-Forward bar in Los Angeles.

Another mentions the destruction of a ship called the Constance, cited as “War Damage.” The only ship by that name in the franchise was a Constellation Class vessel from the TNG game Birth of the Federation from 1999.

A readout for the Starfleet museum shows that as the final resting place for Voyager, Kirk’s Enterprise-A, and Captain Sulu’s Excelsior. Another ship, Pioneer, is from the Star Trek Online game.

The music used for the closing credits is Jerry Goldsmith’s theme from Star Trek: First Contact, which segues into his classic theme from Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which also doubled as the Star Trek: The Next Generation theme.

Jump to Easter Eggs From: Episode One // Episode Two // Episode Three // Episode Four // Episode Five // Episode Six // Episode Seven // Episode Eight // Episode Nine // Episode 10

Picard Episode Two “Disengage” Easter eggs

Here are some of the Easter eggs we spotted in Picard episode two, titled “Disengage.”

Romulan Ale

In the episode’s opening flashback, we saw the S.S. Eleos going through an inspection. Among Jack Crusher’s (Ed Speleers) contraband onboard the Eleos were several bottles of Romulan Ale. The drink is illegal in Federation space, but that has never stopped Starfleet officers from imbibing frequently.

An Old-School Music Cue

When the enemy starship Shrike appears in front of the Titan, the score sounds a lot like the original music cue when the Romulans first appeared in the classic TOS episode “Balance of Terror.” That would make two references in modern Trek to that episode recently. Strange New Worlds also paid homage to it.

An Homage to an Underappreciated Vulcan

The Titan’s destroyed shuttlecraft bore the name Saavik. That’s the name of the Vulcan officer introduced in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, played by Kirstie Alley. Robin Curtis continued the role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Recent data files released for Picard season three show that Saavik was the captain of the first U.S.S. Titan. The shuttle’s red script font is the same one from the shuttlecraft Galileo in the sixties TV series. It’s a very clever Easter egg that Picard left for us to find.

Transporter Inhibitors Return

The transporter inhibitors used to keep Jack Crusher from beaming onto an enemy ship were first introduced in Star Trek: Insurrection. In that film, Data used them to prevent transporting off a Starfleet shuttle. He later used them to keep the citizens of the planet Ba’ku from beaming away.

The Synthetic Man

When Vadic (Amanda Plummer) appears on the view screen and meets Picard face to face, she refers to meeting him “in the synthetic flesh.” This refers directly to the end of Picard season one, where the Jean-Luc Picard we knew died, and was reborn in a new synthetic flesh and blood body.

New Ferengi with an Old Name

Raffi meets with a Ferengi crime lord named Sneed on M’Atalas Prime. Although Sneed is a new character, he was possibly named for a Starfleet officer from the novel The Long Night. His appearance was very reminiscent of a Ferengi crimelord from The Next Generation named Omag, who we first met in the episode “Unification.”

A Familiar Space Station?

When Raffi (Michelle Hurd) meets with her ex-husband to get information, we see what looks like Deep Space Nine on a background monitor. Although we suppose it could be another Cardassian space station with a similar design, it sure does seem like Picard planted this Easter egg for our enjoyment.

Starship Collision Course

When the Shrike used its tractor beam to literally throw another starship at the Titan, thus crashing into her spectacularly, it recalls similar “two starships ramming into each other” moments from the franchise’s history. We saw this first in the TNG episode “Cause and Effect.” Later, in the Voyager episode “Year of Hell.” Most famously, the Enterprise-E rammed itself into the warbird Scimitar in the film Nemesis.

Jack Crusher’s Shady Past

As Captain Shaw (Todd Stashwick) went through Jack Crusher’s record, he discovered one of his aliases was “James Cole.” That’s a character from Terry Matalas’ series 12 Monkeys. When Jean-Luc also later goes through all of Jack’s arrests and citations, he names drops well-known Trek planets like Andoria. However, he also mentions Bynar III, home of an alien race not seen since TNG’s first season episode “11001001.”

Section 31

Sneed name-drops Section 31, Starfleet’s off-the-books intelligence agency. The agency first appeared in Deep Space Nine, where it played a big part in many episodes. It later popped up in Star Trek: Into Darkness and Discovery. The agency’s existence was more like an urban myth. Now it seems even the Ferengi know about it in this Picard Easter egg.

An Entrance Worthy of a Warrior

When Worf (Michael Dorn) first appears to rescue Raffi, we hear Jerry Goldsmith’s Klingon theme music. It was first introduced in the opening moments of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Later, it became Worf’s defacto theme music by Star Trek: First Contact, which Goldsmith also scored.

Jack Crusher’s Daring Escape

Jack Crusher’s escape from the Titan’s brig was a callback to the Angosian soldier Roga Danar from the third season TNG episode “The Hunted.” In that episode, Danar leaned on his ingenuity and combat experience to get out of a jail cell surrounded by a force field.

The Titan’s Doctor Hails from a Familiar World

The doctor on board the Titan is a Trill, the same species as Jadzia and Ezri Dax on DS9. The joined species were first introduced in the TNG episode “The Host,” with a very different alien appearance.

Enemy Ship with a Familiar Name

Vadic’s ship, the Shrike, was also the class of a Romulan vessel. We saw it in the TNG video games Starfleet Command, Armada, and Armada II. Could this be a hint at a Romulan connection?

Hiding in the Nebula

The final moments of episode two saw the Titan going into a nebula to hide from the Shrike. This is a direct callback to the Enterprise hiding from the Reliant in Wrath of Khan.

Picard Episode Three “Seventeen Seconds” Easter eggs

The Birth of Riker and Troi’s Son

In the flashback opening scene, which takes place in 24th-century Los Angeles at the Ten Forward bar, we see Riker and Picard having a toast to Will’s newborn son Thaddeus. Riker mentions that it was a difficult birth, and he was afraid he was going to lose him. This foreshadows Thad’s untimely death we learned about in Picard season one.

Seven of Nine’s Little Piece of Home

We see a model of the U.S.S. Voyager in Seven of Nine’s crew quarters, while she tinkers with some electronics while confined to quarters by Captain Shaw.

Beverly and Jean-Luc’s Big Conversation

When Beverly Crusher and Picard see each other again and discuss their son Jack after so many decades, it recalls the conversation Captain Kirk and his former lover Carol Marcus had about their son David in Wrath of Khan. David also never knew his dad, and did not meet him until he was an adult.

Captain Riker Takes Command

Captain Shaw gets seriously injured in the Shrike’s attack, forcing him to give Captain Riker an emergency field commission in command of the Titan. This recalls how Captain Pike gave Spock the emergency position of Captain in Star Trek 2009 after Nero’s attack. This made Kirk First Officer, just as Picard defaulted to becoming Riker’s Number One.

An Operatic Callback

The opera that Worf is listening to while training with his Bat’leth to is Hector Berlioz’s Les Troyens. The aria in particular is called “Vallon Sonore.” This is the same piece of music that a pensive Picard listened to before the Borg attack on Earth in Star Trek: First Contact.

Worf’s Credentials

When Worf introduces himself formally to Raffi, he says he is “Worf, son of Mogh, House of Martok. Son of Sergei, House of Rozhenko. Bane to the Duras family. Slayer of Gowron.”

All of this references different pieces of Worf’s history in the franchise. His father was Mogh, killed by Romulans at the Khitomer outpost. He was then raised by human Starfleet officer Sergey Rozhenko, as revealed in the episode “Family.” When the Duras family tried to strip Worf of his family honor, Worf killed Duras, and later came into conflict with his sisters.

This conflict between Worf and the Duras family formed a long-term arc over several seasons of TNG. Particularly in the episodes “Sins of the Father,” “Reunion,” and “Redemption.” During the Dominion war arc on DS9, Worf killed Klingon High Chancellor Gowron for his poor leadership, giving the reigns of the empire to House Martok. It was House Martok who adopted Worf into their family after Gowron had stripped him of his family titles.

Enemies Within

The Titan being sabotaged by someone onboard recalls many episodes of Deep Space Nine. In that series, Changelings disguised themselves as Starfleet officers and sabotaged ships from within. We saw this kind of sabotage as well on board the Enterprise, in the feature film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

The True Enemy Revealed

Worf reveals the true enemy behind the terrorist attacks on Starfleet installations when he interrogates a suspect who morphs into a liquid state. The terrorist was a Changeling, the shape-shifting Founders of the Dominion. The Dominion waved a long and deadly war on the Alpha Quadrant for three seasons of Deep Space Nine.

The actor who played the Changeling posing as a human named Titus Rikka was Thomas Dekker. He famously played John Connor in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but has real Trek bonafides. As a child actor, he played Jean-Luc Picard’s imaginary son in Generations. He also played the holographic Victorian child Henry Burleigh on Voyager in two episodes, “Learning Curve” and “Persistence of Vision.” The part of the Changeling is his first “real” role in the franchise.

Jump to Easter Eggs From: Episode One // Episode Two // Episode Three // Episode Four // Episode Five // Episode Six // Episode Seven // Episode Eight // Episode Nine // Episode 10

Picard Episode Four “No Win Scenario” Easter eggs

The Kobayashi Maru

The title of the episode, “No Win Scenario,” is a direct reference to Starfleet’s Kobayashi Maru test. This test was the first scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, performed as a way of seeing how Starfleet cadets handle a no-win scenario where the loss of life is inevitable. We saw it referenced again in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot film, only this time, with a young James T. Kirk.

The Hirogen

In the flashback opening scene at the Ten Forward bar, young Starfleet officers ask Picard about facing off against the Hirogen. The Hirogen were a species of big game hunters (think Predator) who Voyager encountered in the Delta Quadrant. A young officer asks if he asked Admiral Janeway for advice since she was the first Starfleet officer to make contact with this species. Picard’s non-answer suggests he didn’t give Kathryn a call.

Arcanis Lager

In the holodeck version of Ten Forward, we see a neon sign advertising Arcanis Lager. This same sign was seen in the Starfleet bar Dr. McCoy goes to in The Search for Spock. It seems Arcanis Lager has kept their logo the same for a century.

Odo’s Bucket

The Changeling’s plot to kill and impersonate Starfleet officers mimics their plot to take over the Federation in Deep Space Nine. When Seven of Nine begins searching the Titan for a Changeling’s bucket where they regenerate in their liquid state, it looks exactly like the one Odo used on DS9. The same bucket was also used as a flower pot during the brief time he became solid.

Paying Homage to Christopher Plummer

Amanda Plummer chews the scenery as the evil Vadic and spins her Captain’s chair around, cackling like a gleeful child on board the Shrike. This is exactly as the villainous Klingon Commander Chang did in his chair on board the Bird of Prey in The Undiscovered Country. This is a fun nod to the similarity between father and daughter actors, as Chang was played by Amanda’s father, Christopher Plummer.

The Tamarians

In another flashback to Picard telling stories to younger officers in Ten Forward, Jean-Luc spins the tale of how he made first contact with a race called the Tamarians, a species that only spoke in metaphors. Together, he and a Tamarian Captain fought against a deadly beast together. This is all a reference to the TNG fifth season episode, “Darmok.”

Stargazer Stories

Picard tells his son (Ed Speleers) about a near-death situation he and his best friend, Jack Crusher, found themselves in decades before on a shuttlecraft. Although this isn’t a reference to a specific episode, many books and comics have detailed the close bond between Jack Crusher and Picard in their younger days aboard the Stargazer.

Wolf 359

Captain Liam Shaw tells his painful story of being a young engineer on the U.S.S. Constance during the Battle of Wolf 359. This was from the episode “The Best of Both Worlds,” when the Borg captured Picard and turned him into Locutus. They used all the information in his brain to stage an attack on Starfleet in star system Wolf 359. We only saw the aftermath of Wolf 359 in TNG, but a flashback in the pilot of Deep Space Nine showed the devastating attack itself.

“Encounter at Farpoint”

When the Titan gets out of the gravity well in the nebula, they realize it’s actually a womb for a spacefaring species that can survive in a vacuum. Picard realizes they’re very similar to the beings the Enterprise-D encountered in the TNG pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint.” Upon seeing this species, Beverly Crusher says, “to seek out new life.” This is, of course, itself a reference to the spoken word intro to Star Trek TOS and TNG.

Picard Episode Five “Imposters” Easter eggs

The Intrepid 

The starship Intrepid delivers Commander Ro to the Titan, and the name Intrepid has a long history in Star Trek. It was a Vulcan ship in the TOS episode “The Immunity Syndrome,” and its successor ship was mentioned in TNG as the ship Worf’s adoptive human father served on. The starship Voyager was an Intrepid-class ship.   

Picard and Riker’s Most Notorious Moments 

As Captain Shaw escorts Riker and Picard to meet Starfleet intelligence, he mentions several of their less than glorious moments in the franchise. He name- drops the Enterprise-D saucer section crash on a planet in Generations, Picard violating the Prime Directive in Insurrection, and the time paradox they created in the Devron system in the TNG series finale “All Good Things.” 

IDIC – Infinity Diversity in Infinite Combination  

When Worf and Raffi return to District 6, the encounter a Vulcan crime lord. He wears a Vulcan IDIC symbol, which stands for Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations. That symbol first appeared on Spock in TOS in the episode “Is There in Truth No Beauty,” also as a medallion he wore around his neck.  

The Mobile Emitter  

Worf and Raffi used a mobile holographic emitter to try and fall the Vulcan crime lord. Mobile emitters first appeared in Voyager, invented so their own holographic doctor could travel off the ship.  

Ro Laren’s Bajoran Earring 

When Commander Ro first appeared in this episode, she wasn’t wearing her traditional Bajoran earring. This shocked Picard, because she was adamant about wearing this symbol of her heritage on TNG. She ultimately gives Picard her earring, which contains all her investigations into the Changeling conspiracy. 

“Amok Time”  

When Worf fakes his death in a battle with Raffi, it echoes how Kirk faked his own death in “Amok Time,” when he had to do battle with Spock on the planet Vulcan.  

“Conspiracy” Callback 

The reveal of a vast conspiracy within Starfleet, going up to the highest levels, echoes the plot of the first season TNG episode “Conspiracy,” which was about a previous covert alien takeover of Starfleet. 

Admiral Janeway 

When Picard mentions enlisting the help of Admiral Janeway to Ro Laren, this is of course a mention of Admiral Kathryn Janeway, the former captain of the U.S.S. Voyager. We see her as an Admiral briefly in Star Trek: Nemesis, and as a supporting character in the animated Star Trek: Prodigy.  

Kahless the Unforgettable 

When Worf fakes his own death, he says he used the “Kahless technique” to slow down his heartrate to mimic death. Kahless is the Klingon messiah, an ancient warrior known as “the Unforgettable,” who appears in TOS and also TNG.  

Jump to Easter Eggs From: Episode One // Episode Two // Episode Three // Episode Four // Episode Five // Episode Six // Episode Seven // Episode Eight // Episode Nine // Episode 10

Picard Episode Six “The Bounty” Easter eggs

Jack Crusher’s Irumodic Syndrome

Jack discovers in episode six he has Irumodic Syndrome, a degenerative brain condition he inherited from his father. Picard actually died of the disease in the first season, before having his consciousness transferred to a synthetic body. Picard’s Irumodic Syndrome, which was kind of like a future version of Alzheimer’s disease, was first mentioned as something the older Picard would suffer from in the alternate future timeline of TNG’s finale “All Good Things.”

Inside Daystrom Station

Daystrom Station was mentioned by Worf as the place where Section 31 hides its most off-the-books tech and contraband. Among this contraband, we saw some major references to Star Trek‘s past. We saw a version of the Genesis device, the torpedo that could create a living world from a dead moon. This played a heavy part in Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock and was in part developed by Captain Kirk’s son, David Marcus.

Speaking of Kirk, we also saw that for unknown reasons, Starfleet has the corpse of James T. Kirk himself, who died in Star Trek Generations. Why they have his body in the stations, which Picard buried on Viridian III, remains a big mystery. And finally, we saw a genetically modified “attack tribble.” The usually cute and fuzzy pets from TOS now seem deadly. They still seem to really hate Klingons, and make shrill noises in their presence.

Daystrom’s AI Security System

We learned the sophisticated AI system that acts as security for Daystrom Station is none other than a version of Data himself. Well, Data and other Soong-made androids. But we’ll get to them. The program used Data’s memories as part of its protection program. These included a holographic crow, a reference to Data learning to dream in the TNG episode “Birthright.”

A holographic Professor Moriarty also appeared, a reference to the time Data had a battle of minds with the infamous Sherlock Holmes villain in “Elementary, Dear Data.” Finally, the song “Pop Goes the Weasel” is a direct reference to the first time Riker met Data in the TNG pilot episode “Encounter at Farpoint,” where he watched as Data struggled to whistle.

The Starfleet Museum

Many classic ships from Star Trek history are seen in the Starfleet Museum on Athan Prime. First, we saw the Defiant, from Deep Space Nine, as we heard a bit of the DS9 theme song. We passed by Kirk’s second Enterprise, the Enterprise-A, which was decommissioned in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. And Seven of Nine wistfully passes by Voyager, the starship where she was “reborn” from her time as Borg. We hear the Jerry Goldsmith Voyager theme as we pass her by.

The original Enterprise blew up, but another 1960s-style Constitution-class ship is among the rest, the U.S.S. New Jersey. Finally, the commandeered Klingon Bird of Prey, renamed the H.M.S. Bounty by Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, was also among the others, with her cloaking device intact. Several other starships were spotted in the distance, but none can be readily identified just yet.

Daystrom Android M-5-10

The AI protecting Daystrom Station is actually a synthetic “golem” body, one which looks and sounds like the late Commander Data. We learn that Dr. Altan Inigo Soong, son of Data’s creator Noonien Soong, created a synthetic body for his consciousness before he died. But into that body, he poured the memories of Data, his twisted brother Lore, his daughter Lal, and his prototype brother B-4. All mixed together into one new being. Starfleet was using this AI as a security system on the station. Soong made the body age like a human being, but the brain was still positronic.

Picard’s Dead Body

In episode six, we discovered that the object the Changelings stole from Daystrom Station wasn’t actually an object at all, it was a corpse. Housed within Daystrom, for unknown reasons, was the previous human body of Jean-Luc Picard, which died in season one. His consciousness was transferred to a new synthetic form. As to why the Changelings want the corpse of Admiral Picard, we’ll have to wait to find out.

Picard Episode Seven “Dominion” Easter eggs

The Return of Tuvok (But Not Really)

When Seven of Nine contacts who she believes to be her old Voyager comrade Tuvok, once again played by Tim Russ, she mentions all the games of Vulcan Kal-toh they played together. She believed this proved Tuvok was not a Changeling. However, when he agreed to meet her in a world protesting against Kolinahr, she knew he was an imposter. Star Trek: The Motion Picture introduced Kolinahr as a discipline a Vulcan takes to purge all remaining emotion. It’s a very sacred ritual to the Vulcan people.

Scanning for Lifeforms

The scanner Vadic uses to track Jack Crusher on the Titan used a very familiar sound effect. It was the same one used by Commander Chekov on his scanner in Ceti Alpha V in The Wrath of Khan.

Lore Influences Data

The programming of Lore, the malicious prototype android, began to overtake Data’s positronic matrix in this episode, and this isn’t the first time it has happened. In the sixth season TNG season finale “Descent,” Lore began transmitting his negative emotions to Data, in a way, taking over his programming. Here, they share a body, but the effect is mostly the same.

Project Proteus

In this episode, we learned about Project Proteus. In Greek mythology, the god Proteus could change his shape at will. This project was an operation taken by Section 31 during the Dominion War, and we learned that several Changelings were captured, experimented on, and tortured, all to create a new breed that could replicate solid beings perfectly—including their organs and blood. Vadic is a survivor of such an experiment. So her feelings of hostility toward the Federation are at least somewhat valid.

The Changeling Virus

The episode also referenced, and corrected, something Worf said in the previous episode. In “Imposters,” Worf said Section 31 created a virus to spread through the Great Link of the Changelings, an effort by the covert Starfleet intelligence organization to wipe them out. In Deep Space Nine, we learned a cure was found, but Starfleet did not administer it, as Worf said. It was Odo who did it, against Starfleet orders. So the Founders have a certain right to remain angry at Starfleet.

Picard Episode Eight “Surrender” Easter eggs

Nepenthe

While in captivity on the Shrike, Will Riker and Deanna Troi talk about how they dealt with the untimely loss of their son Thad. They both admit to each other that neither of them really liked their cabin life on the planet Nepenthe, where they lived when Thad was ill, and where they stayed after his death. Nepenthe was a planet that we first saw in the Picard season one episode appropriately titled “Nepenthe.”

Worf, Riker, and Deanna’s Awkward Reunion

When Worf rescues Will and Deanna, he tells Deanna he’s been counting the days until he saw her again, making her husband Will very uncomfortable. Although often a forgotten plot point, Worf and Troi actually dated towards the end of TNG’s run. But Worf’s gratitude towards Deanna has nothing to do with their romantic past, but with how her psychological expertise helped him center himself into the zen Worf of today.

Data’s Memories

When Geordi La Forge attempts to plug Data back into the Titan’s computer systems, it begins to bring down the partitions between Data’s personality and his malevolent brother Lore’s. Lore tries to erase Data, by taking precious memories of his, one at a time. Among those memories are many references to Data’s past adventures on the Enterprise-D during the seven-season run of TNG.

We see his Sherlock Holmes hat and pipe, first seen in TNG season two’s “Elementary Dear Data.” Next, we see his memorial hologram of the late Enterprise crewmember Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), who died in TNG season one. We first saw Data’s hologram of his late friend in TNG’s “The Measure of a Man.” Data’s playing cards and chips from his many poker games with his crew mates appear as well. Finally, we see Data’s beloved pet cat Spot, who he cared for over several seasons of TNG, and who was last seen in the film Nemesis.

Data Recalls His Death

When the Enterprise crew comes together again for the first time, Picard wonders if bringing the new synthetic human Data online is a betrayal of his earlier desire to experience death. This refers to the remains of the literal android Data, who only wished to die in Picard season one. Data assures Picard that while that Data was grateful to die, this Data was happy to be alive and with his dear friends.

Picard Episode Nine “Vox” Easter eggs

Resistance Is Futile

When Deanna Troi opens the door in Jack’s mind, she uncovers something she didn’t want to see—a Borg cube. The Collective being the true “final boss” of the season makes sense, as they were the TNG crew’s biggest adversary. This makes the first appearance of the true Borg Collective in Star Trek since the end of Voyager in 2001. We saw a more benevolent form of Borg form at the end of season two of Picard, and several ex-Borgs in season one. But this marks the first appearance of the actual hive in decades.

Wesley Crusher’s Cosmic Fate

Beverly Crusher mentions to Jean Luc giving her first child Wesley “his space” growing up, and ultimately losing him to space itself. This was a reference to how in the TNG episode “Journey’s End,” Wesley Crusher evolved into a Traveler, a being that lives outside of space and time. We saw this adult Traveler version of Wes in the Picard season two finale, where he recruited Kore Soong into the Travelers.

The Return of Shelby

On Frontier Day, we see the Enterprise-E, NCC-1701-F. In command is none other than Admiral Elizabeth Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy). Fans might remember her as the ambitious young Commander gunning for Riker’s job in “The Best of Both Worlds,” hoping to one day become the Enterprise’s first officer. The character was never given a first name in the series, but non-canon Trek books gave her the name Elizabeth, after the actress that played her. That is now officially canonical.

A Nod to Captain Archer’s Enterprise

In Admiral Shelby’s speech on Frontier Day, she commemorates 250 years since the Enterprise NX-01 launched, giving birth to Starfleet. That Enterprise was of course the hero ship of Star Trek: Enterprise, and under the command of Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula).

The U.S.S. Pulaski

One of the ships at Frontier Day that gets name-dropped is the U.S.S. Pulaski. This means Stafleet named a ship after Dr. Katherine Pulaski, the Enterprise-D’s Chief Medical Officer in season two of TNG. She was played by veteran TV actress Diana Muldaur. After Dr. Crusher returned to the Enterprise in year three, we never saw her again. Sadly, it seems she died since then, as most vessels are not named for the living.

The Return of the Original Queen Bee

When Jack Crusher boards the Borg cube, after being whisked away via a transwarp conduit, he heard the voice of the Borg Queen. But this Borg Queen wasn’t the late Annie Wersching, or Voyager’s Susanna Thompson. It was the voice of actress Alice Krige, who originated the role in Star Trek: First Contact.

Like Father, Like Son

The Borg Queen says she gave Picard the name Locutus when he became “the one who speaks for the Borg.” She describes Jack Crusher by his new Borg designation Vox, which means “the voice itself.” Since Jack was revealed as a biological transmitter facilitating assimilation across the Federation, we can see how the name applies.

Frontier Day Starships

On the monitor on the Titan, we see the names of various Federation starships at Frontier Day. There’s the U.S.S. Excelsior, the latest starship to bear the name of Captain Sulu’s famous ship. Speaking of Sulu, another ship is the U.S.S. Hikaru Sulu, named after the former TOS helmsman.

The U.S.S. Drexler is named after visual effects artist Doug Drexler and the U.S.S. Trumball is named after Douglas Trumbull, the special effects genius who worked on Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The U.S.S. Okuda is named after Mike and Denise Okuda, the “Treksperts” who created the LCARS readouts on Starships since the TNG days. Other ships seen were the Firesword and the Resnik, ships that were in the spacedock in the first episodes of this season.

Worf Wrecked the Enterprise-E?

When Geordi takes his friends to the Starfleet Museum to show off his special surprise, (that’s the next entry) he laments that they could no longer use the Enterprise-E for any special mission. Everyone looks at Worf, who says “that wasn’t my fault.” This likely means that just as in the novel Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack, Worf became Captain of the Enterprise-E once Picard got promoted to Admiral. Something happened though which caused the Enterprise-E to get decommissioned early, or even destroyed, during an event that was classified by Starfleet.

The Enterprise-D Returns

The biggest Easter egg of them all, perhaps in the whole season, was Geordi’s special surprise in Docking Bay 12 at the Starfleet Museum. He reveals to his friends the old Enterprise-D, now fully restored to her TNG-era glory. Starfleet was able to save the saucer section from the surface of Viridian III, where it crashed in the film Generations. The drive section and the warp nacelles were from another Galaxy-class starship. The entire bridge of the Enterprise-D is just as fans remember it, back in 1994. Right on down to the carpets.

A Familiar Computer Voice

The computer voice of the Enterprise-D is none other than the late Majel Barrett Roddenberry. Aside from playing Nurse Chapel on TOS and Lwaxana Troi in TNG, she voiced the Starfleet computer systems for the first five live-action Star Trek series. She passed away in 2008, but she left voice recordings of herself for future use in Star Trek projects. Her last time as the Enterprise computer voice was in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 big screen Star Trek reboot.

Picard Episode Ten “The Last Generation” Easter eggs

A Familiar Starscape

Before the episode’s cold open about the Enterprise-D, we see a glimpse of the starfield from the opening credits of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the first time the credits have been used on Star Trek: Picard.

The Familiar Voice of Walter Koenig

As the Enterprise-D approaches an Earth under Borg attack, we hear a very familiar voice behind an SOS message. It’s the voice of TOS actor Walter Koenig, as Federation President Anton Chekov.  He’s telling all approaching vessels to flee Sector 001, but reminding them to never give up hope. He even reminds everyone that “there are always…possibilities.” A direct quote from Spock in The Wrath of Kahn. Koenig is actually not playing his iconic role of Pavel Chekov, who in 2401 would be 150 years old. He’s playing his previously unknown son, Anton Chekov.

Although the name Anton Chekov could be a tribute to the famous Russian writer of the same name, Anton was no doubt a tribute to the late Anton Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov in the Kelvin-verse J.J. Abrams films. The scene is also a nod to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, when the Federation President warned all approaching ships to avoid Earth, which was under threat from an alien probe.

The Crippled Borg Collective

As the Enterprise approaches the Borg cube, which is hiding in the gases of Jupiter, we encounter the Borg Collective for the first time since the final episode of Star Trek: Voyager in 2001. In “Endgame,” Kathryn Janeway obliterated the Borg transwarp network in the Delta Quadrant. Almost all Borg ships were cut off from each other, and each ship became its own mini-collective. But unconnected from each other, the Borg were effectively crippled.

Although it appeared that particular Borg Queen died in the Voyager finale, she was instead only deeply damaged. As we saw in “The Last Generation,” many of those unconnected Borg died without the rest of the Collective. “Endgame” was also the last time Alice Krige played the Borg Queen.

The Flashback to a Flashback

To save his son Jack, now Vox of the Borg, Jean Luc actually assimilates himself into the Borg hive mind once more. When he does this, we get flashbacks to a flashback. It’s repurposed footage of Picard’s memory of being assimilated from the opening scene of First Contact.

We Were On the New Enterprise the Entire Time

While fans wondered if we’d see a new Enterprise in Picard, little did we know we were soaking in it the entire time. Towards the final episode’s end, we learned that Seven of Nine had been promoted to Captain of the Titan. We discovered that after her refit, the Titan had been renamed. After the destruction of the Enterprise-F during the Frontier Day attack, Starfleet rechristened the Titan as NCC-1701-G.

Worf’s Mugato Meditation

Once the crew of the Enterprise-D saves the Federation once again, our newly spiritual Worf mentions to his friends in Ten-Forward that he must get up early the next day to teach Mugato Meditation. The Mugato is an ape-like creature from the TOS episode “A Private Little War.” We have no idea what Mugato Meditation is because those creatures seemed less than calm when fighting Captain Kirk.

“A Warrior’s Drink”

Beverly also teases Worf in Ten Forward, telling him to “drink your prune juice.” In the TNG episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” Guinan introduced him to this “Earth drink” called prune juice, which he tasted and said was “a warrior’s drink.”

Data’s 35-Year-Old Limerick

While drinking with his Enterprise friends in Ten Forward on Earth, Data starts to recite a limerick, “There was a young Lady from Venus, whose body was shaped like a…” at which point everyone cuts him off. Data attempted to recite this same limerick in TNG’s second episode back in 1987, “The Naked Now.” But just like in this episode, everyone shut him up before the punchline.

Picard’s Love of the Bard of Avon

Picard gives a toast to his beloved crew and in true Jean-Luc Picard fashion, quotes William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. He says, “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat; and we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.”

“All Good Things…”

The last time we see the Enterprise-D crew together in Picard’s final episode, they were playing poker together in Ten Forward. This mirrors TNG’s final episode, “All Good Things,” where we see the crew together around the poker table. Everything came full circle.

Q Returns

In a post-credits scene, we see Jack Crusher in his quarters on the Enterprise-G. Then, John de Lancie returns as the omnipotent Q. Jack tells him he’d heard he was dead, referring to Q’s last appearance in the Picard season two finale. Q tells Jack, “Humans think too linearly,” which suggests this Q is from an earlier point in his timeline. Or, death just doesn’t mean the same thing for the Q. He suggests that Jack Crusher has a big future, something every Star Trek fan hopes to see play out in a potential spin-off series.

Star Trek: Picard seasons one through three are all currently available on Paramount+.

Jump to Easter Eggs From: Episode One // Episode Two // Episode Three // Episode Four // Episode Five // Episode Six // Episode Seven // Episode Eight // Episode Nine // Episode 10

Featured Image: Paramount+

Originally published on February 16, 2023.

The post All the Easter Eggs We Spotted in STAR TREK: PICARD Season 3 appeared first on Nerdist.

Although Star Trek: Picard’s third and final season might have possibly been the end of the road for Patrick Stewart’s iconic character and the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, the final episode left a lot of story potential to continue the story of Starfleet in the 25th century. And we mean a lot. Although the Enterprise-D saved the Federation from the Borg/Changeling alliance, the event marked a new dawn for Starfleet. And for one iconic ship in particular.

A New Enterprise for a New Generation

In the Picard series finale “The Last Generation,” Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) receives a promotion to the rank of Captain. She gets this news from none other than her old Voyager crewmate and mentor Tuvok (Tim Russ). Her command places her aboard the U.S.S. Titan, which was her commanding officer Liam Shaw’s dying declaration in the previous episode, “Vox.” Her first officer is her friend and former lover Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd). And her “special counselor” position is occupied by Starfleet’s newest officer, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), the son of Jean-Luc and Beverly Crusher.

But in the biggest surprise, we learned that after her post-Borg attack refit, they rechristened the Titan as the new U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC-1701-G. And that basically confirms that the Enterprise-F we saw commanded by Admiral Shelby was destroyed in the Borg assault. According to ancillary materials, it was due for decommissioning soon anyway. For all the fans asking when we’d see a new starship Enterprise in Star Trek: Picard? It turned out we were following her adventures from the very first episode of season three. We just didn’t know it until the very end of the series.

Reports of Q’s Death Are Greatly Exaggerated

But that’s not all. A post-credits scene shows Jack Crusher in his quarters on the Enterprise-G. As he unpacks, he receives a visit from none other than Q (John DeLancie). Yes, the same omnipotent entity who made life miserable for Picard’s Enterprise. And who supposedly died at the end of season two of Picard. But as Q says, humans think too linearly. This could be a Q from an earlier point in his timeline. Or perhaps death really doesn’t mean the same thing to a being from the Q Continuum. But he told Jack that he has a significant destiny. If Q shows up with a cryptic message, you know big things are in store for Jack Crusher.

The Legacy of ’90s Star Trek

Picard season three showrunner Terry Matalas has been open about his desire to continue 25th-century Star Trek stories in a new series he’d call Star Trek: Legacy. And there is already a huge fan demand for this show to come to fruition. Obviously, such a show would tell the adventures of the Enterprise-G, under the command of Captain Seven. Most of the main characters are now cast; we’ve got our Captain and First Officer, our counselor, and our helm officer in Sidney La Forge. Star Trek: Picard perfectly set up the next Next Generation, and it would be a shame if Paramount+ doesn’t follow up on this incredible gift of a setup.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds captured our hearts in season one. With its incredible cast and characters and its complex stories and fun adventures, Strange New Worlds took us to new frontiers. Set during the years Captain Christopher Pike commanded the U.S.S. Enterprise, the Paramount+ series brought back some familiar characters like Spock and Uhura. It also introduced delightful new crew. As the next chapter approaches, Paramount+ has released the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two trailer.

This trailer has a lot to love. It highlights the best parts of Strange New Worlds: friendship, adventure, and exploration. And we can’t forget the humor. The dynamic between the crew especially stands out. We see some more Nurse Chapel and Spock moments. Una needles La’an about having a certain reaction to James T. Kirk. (Also, does this mean things are okay with Una? Seems like!). Klingons look like Klingons again. And then the best part: Spock being the most Spock.

Captain Picard has “Engage.” Captain Pike has “Hit it!” But Spock? He has, “I would like the ship to go. Now.”

It’s direct, to the point. We like it.

We don’t have a synopsis for season two of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds yet. However, we do know the season will feature a crossover with the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season two will premiere on Paramount+ on June 15.

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Nerdist Log, stardate 0418.23: Good news/bad news out of the Star Trek universe. The bad news is the long-awaited spinoff series starring Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou is not happening. The good news is the Oscar-winner will still reprise the role she first played on Star Trek: Discovery. Instead of an entire show, though, Michelle Yeoh will headline a standalone Star Trek movie titled Star Trek: Section 31.

Star Trek: Section 31 isn’t as much Michelle Yeoh as we wanted, but what we’re getting still sounds pretty good.

Paramount+ has announced what it’s calling a “special original movie event” for its streaming service. Star Trek: Section 31 will see Yeoh return as the character she introduced during season one of Discovery. (That’s where she also played her character’s evil Mirror Universe counterpart.) In 2019 reports said Yeoh would get her own spinoff series. Instead, her story will continue in her own film.

Here’s how Paramount+ described the film in a press release:

In Star Trek: Section 31, Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets and faces the sins of her past.

In a statement, Yeoh talked about getting the chance to play the Star Trek character again. “I’m beyond thrilled to return to my Star Trek family and to the role I’ve loved for so long,” she said. “Section 31 has been near and dear to my heart since I began the journey of playing Philippa all the way back when this new golden age of Star Trek launched. To see her finally get her moment is a dream come true in a year that’s shown me the incredible power of never giving up on your dreams. We can’t wait to share what’s in store for you, and until then: live long and prosper (unless Emperor Georgiou decrees otherwise)!”

CBS Studios will produce the film with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. It goes into production later this year. Olatunde Osunsanmi will direct with a script from Craig Sweeny. They’ll both also produce as well—as will Alex Kurtzman, Aaron Baiers, Frank Siracusa, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Trevor Roth, and Yeoh.

Did we want even more time with Michelle Yeoh on Star Trek? Yes. Obviously. But some is still way better than none at all.

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The great mystery of Star Trek: Picard’s final season has been all about uncovering the secret of Jack Crusher, the son of Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden). Played by Ed Speleers, we’ve seen that Jack is not an ordinary young man. And Starfleet’s Changeling enemies are desperate to capture him and enact some kind of grand nefarious plan involving him since season three’s first chapter.

But after eight episodes, we still don’t know what’s up with Jack exactly. At the end of episode eight, “Surrender,” Jack connects telepathically to Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), suggesting we are finally about to find out at last. But there have been a few hints already, and we think we know what Jack might really be, and just how the Changelings plan to use him.

The Strange Case of Jack Crusher

So far on Picard this season, we’ve seen Jack Crusher have visions and hear voices. Visions of dark tendrils branching out everywhere, leading towards a mysterious red door. In Picard episode six, Jack received news on what he believes is the reason why. In “The Bounty,” we learned Jack had inherited his father’s Irumodic Syndrome. This was a degenerative brain condition that Picard lived with for years, and which ultimately killed him. Picard’s mind is currently housed in a new synthetic body.

But Irumodic Syndrome doesn’t explain how Jack Crusher can do other things we’ve seen him do. He’s been able to suddenly defend himself on an instinctive level from Changeling attackers, killing four of them in seconds. He can telepathically communicate with others, see through their eyes and control their actions. All of these behaviors indicate the Borg hive mind. Only Jack can connect with other humanoids, and not members of the Borg Collective. But to explain how Jack could be a “human Borg,” we need to explain his father’s painful history with the cybernetic drones.

“Resistance is Futile.”

In the classic third season TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds,” the Borg kidnapped Picard and turned him into one of them. They even gave him the rare honor of an individual name, Locutus. The Borg used the knowledge in his brain to wage war on the Federation. At the battle of Wolf 359, the Borg destroyed 40 starships and lost 11,000 officers. The crew of the Enterprise were able to take back Captain Picard, and Dr. Crusher was able to remove his Borg implants. Beverly even said “there is extensive infiltration of microcircuit fibers into the surrounding tissue. His DNA is being rewritten.”

While Beverly removed the majority of the Borg implants in Picard’s body, there’s evidence that they left something behind in his DNA. It’s entirely possible she missed something. In Picard episode seven, “Dominion,” Data suggested that the Irumodic Syndrome Picard was diagnosed with was a false diagnosis. What appeared to be Irumodic Syndrome was actually masking something else. Could that something else be related to what the Borg did to him decades earlier? Future encounters Picard had with the Collective seem to suggest that was the case.

First Contact Clues

In the Enterprise’s next encounter with a Borg cube, in the film First Contact, Captain Picard seemed able to sense the Borg, feeling them when they were near. This suggests they left something of themselves behind in him, even years after he was free of being Locutus. Perhaps like a Trojan Horse. Picard never became Locutus again, but perhaps something worse happened. Because he might have passed on his Borgified DNA to his natural-born offspring with Beverly Crusher.

Although other characters like Seven of Nine and a few others have been freed from the Borg collective, as far as we know, none have had any natural-born children after the fact. Only Jean-Luc Picard has. And Jack might have advanced Borg traits simply as part of his genetic makeup, as opposed to acquiring them through assimilation. This might make Jack Crusher a unique being in all the galaxy. But if he’s “born a Borg,” what does the Dominion want with him? And do the Borg and the Dominion even have a connection?

Is There a Dominion/Borg Connection?

So what exactly do the Borg Collective and the Dominion have to do with each other? In Star Trek history, pretty much nothing. These two powers were separated by huge chunks of space. To explain this, we have to explain how the Star Trek version of the Milky Way galaxy was broken up into four quarters. The United Federation of Planets was located in the Alpha Quadrant, and is its greatest power. The Beta Quadrant was home to the Klingon and Romulan Empires. While the Alpha and Beta Quadrants are adjacent to each other, the Gamma and Delta Quadrants are very, very distant.

The Borg Collective originated in the Delta Quadrant, some 75 years away from Federation space at maximum warp. The Borg’s use of superior technology, specifically their transwarp conduits, meant they could send ships to places Starfleet would take decades to arrive in. Meanwhile, the Dominion were the overlords of much of the Gamma Quadrant. They didn’t have access to the Alpha Quadrant until the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole in Deep Space Nine, allowing them a shortcut into Federation space, which was an equally distant 75 years away. So as far as we know, the Borg and the Dominion have never had much interaction. So how and why would the Borg factor into a Changeling plot?

Jack Crusher: Genetic Template for a New Dominion Army?

The answer has to do with the Dominion’s standing army, the Jem’Hadar. These reptilian humanoids were the footsoldiers in the Dominion’s conquest of the Gamma Quadrant, as well as their soldiers during the Dominion war. They were genetically engineered beings, all hatched and not born. The Dominion bred the Jem’Hadar in a lab to have one purpose and one purpose only; to fight for the Founders, the Changelings they worshipped as gods. They had enhanced fighting capabilities, and could even go without food or sleep. They also had the ability to camouflage with their surroundings, similar to the Predator from that film franchise.

However, as we’ve seen from this rogue faction of Changelings in Picard, they are on their own, cut off from the Great Link. Which means they have no Jem’Hadar army to serve them. But who would make a great template for a new, similar army? None other than a Borg/human hybrid like Jack Crusher. So far, we’ve seen he has innate defense mechanisms when threatened, able to kill four Changeling attackers without even knowing how or why. He can telepathically connect with others, making him an incredible asset on the battlefield. Simply put, he’d be the perfect genetic template for a cloned military force for this faction of Changelings. Similar to how Jango Fett was the template for the Clone Army in Star Wars.

In the final two episodes of Picard’s final season, we’re sure to find out just what the Changelings have in store for the destruction of the Federation at the Frontier Day celebration. But even if their plan were to work, and Starfleet was destroyed, they’d still have to conquer the Klingon Empire, the Ferengi, what’s left of the Romulan and Cardassian Empires. For that, they’d need an army. And we bet Jack Crusher is key to creating that military force. We’ll find out for sure when Star Trek: Picard drops its final two episodes on April 14 and 21 on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Picard’s third season isn’t even over yet, and it’s already being called one of the best Star Trek seasons in years, maybe even decades, by the fans. And a big part of the reason why is showrunner Terry Matalas. The lifelong Trekker has made Picard season three an incredible tribute to not only The Next Generation, but also incorporated major elements from both Deep Space Nine and Voyager. And although this is Picard’s final season, they’re definitely leaving room for more. And potentially, that series could be one called Star Trek: Legacy.

Matalas has said on various occasions it’s his desire to continue the story of the 25th-century Star Trek universe in a Picard spin-off series called Star Trek: Legacy. Paramount+ has not greenlit this series, and it’s just an idea right now. But it’s an idea that fans desperately want to see come to fruition. All we know about the potential series is that it would continue stories of new characters introduced in Picard, along with legacy characters from Star Trek’s trio of ’90s series. Here’s what Matalas had to say at his recent Inglorious Treksperts GalaxyCon panel appearance (via TrekMovie)

“Look, I love this time period in Star Trek, the 25th century. I always view it as the present day in Star Trek for me. It’s where we all left off. And the way we leave this season is a passing of the torch from the last generation to the next… I would certainly love [Star Trek: Legacy] to happen. We certainly leave it so that you can do that.

Celebrating the ’90s, Star Trek’s Golden Age

So why do fans clamor for this era of Trek so much? Because the ’90s was when Star Trek ruled. Despite first airing in the ‘60s, Star Trek wasn’t a culturally dominant franchise until the ‘90s. The original series was a cult show, albeit with quite a large and vocal following. The feature films of the ‘80s were successful, but nowhere near as popular as Star Wars or other Spielberg-era blockbusters. And TNG was a ratings hit right out of the gate in 1987, but struggled with the fans. The the Borg captured Captain Picard in the third season TNG cliffhanger “The Best of Both Worlds” in the summer of 1990…and Star Trek as a franchise began to own the decade.

“The Best of Both Worlds” pushed TNG into the stratosphere, and the show became a legit fan and critical hit after that. For the rest of the show’s run, TNG was appointment television, and the most popular syndicated drama on TV. It led to spin-offs Deep Space Nine and Voyager, and three high-profile feature feature films that decade. Thanks to the success of the various shows and movies, Star Trek toys and merchandise began to really take off, after many failed attempts in prior decades. And many lifelong fans of the franchise were made that decade. And yet, until Picard season 3, they have not been served particularly well.

Ending Star Trek Prequel Fatigue

Almost all Star Trek media since 2001 has been a prequel (Enterprise), an alternate timeline prequel (the J.J. Abrams films), and yet more prequels (Discovery, Strange New Worlds). All of these have their merits, especially the excellent Strange New Worlds. But fans of Trek’s heyday have wanted to see the continuing story of the 24th (now 25th) century characters. Or, at the very least, the galaxy they inhabited. Picard has finally given us that in season three, and fans are clamoring for more. And Matalas has hinted at just who and what we might see, should Legacy ever happen.

Boy, wouldn’t you want to check in with the Klingon Empire? Wouldn’t you want to check in with Deep Space Nine and the Doctor [from Voyager] and everything that went on with the Berman-verse? So that’s kind of where I see it, to explore the galaxy and sort of get back to the Next Gen roots of storytelling is what I would see as a kind of version of Star Trek I’d like to see, with this group of characters that we’re seeing. I don’t want to talk too much about them, although I think you could guess as to who I would like to see.”

Other characters Matalas has mentioned as potentially appearing on Star Trek: Legacy are Deep Space Nine’s Major Kira (Nana Visitor), Worf’s now adult son Alexander, and bigger roles for Jonathan Frakes as Captain Riker. We imagine the crew of the U.S.S. Titan, featured prominently in Picard season three, would factor in too. Fans have really fallen in love with Todd Stashwick’s Captain Shaw, and Geordi’s daughter, Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut). Seeing these new characters interact with Trek legends from the ’90s shows would put fan excitement into maximum warp. It’s the perfect recipe for a fan-favorite series.

Star Trek Fandom Has Always Made Things Happen

For the last few years, Paramount+ has had three concurrent live-action Trek shows running; Discovery, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. A Starfleet Academy series is spinning-off from Discovery, so now we need something to satiate the fans of Picard. Star Trek has a very long history of organized fandom making things happen with the franchise. Once again, it might be time for the fans to rally and manifest this new Trek show.

In the ’60s, a letter-writing campaign saved Trek for a third season. More recently, when fans responded to the new versions of Pike and Spock on Discovery, Paramount+ responded to demand and gave us Strange New Worlds. And it’s been wildly popular. Hopefully, Paramount+ listens again. Next First Contact Day, we hope we hear about Star Trek Legacy as an actual series, and not just an idea or a social media hashtag. It’s definitely the series loyal Star Trek fans have been waiting years for.

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Although Star Trek: Discovery will soon end with season five, a new live-action StarTrek series will arrive to replace it. After years of rumors, Paramount+ has officially announced a series order for Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. This show will follow an all-new class of Starfleet cadets. And we’ll get to see students coming of age in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Alex Kurtzman and Noga Landau will serve as co-showrunners. Gaia Violo wrote the series pilot. The series will begin production in 2024.

You can read the official description of the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series right here:

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will introduce us to a young group of cadets who come together to pursue a common dream of hope and optimism. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

Paramount+ also released a special “recruitment announcement” from the legendary institution itself:

Admission is now open to Starfleet Academy! Explore the galaxy! Captain your destiny! For the first time in over a century, our campus will be re-opened to admit individuals a minimum of 16 Earth years (or species equivalent) who dream of exceeding their physical, mental and spiritual limits, who value friendship, camaraderie, honor and devotion to a cause greater than themselves.

The coursework will be rigorous, the instructors among the brightest lights in their respective fields, and those accepted will live and study side-by-side with the most diverse population of students ever admitted. Today we encourage all who share our dreams, goals and values to join a new generation of visionary cadets as they take their first steps toward creating a bright future for us all. Apply today! Ex Astris, Scientia!”

The mention of the Academy opening up for “the first time in over a century” suggests the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy series will be a spinoff of Discovery. We learned in recent seasons that because of a terrible galactic incident, the Federation was reduced to just a few worlds by the 32nd century. But by the end of Discovery season three, Starfleet began the climb back, and the Academy reopened.

Many fans crossed their fingers and hoped that Starfleet Academy might take place in the post-Picard timeline. We would have loved to see characters from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager as instructors. But it seems more likely we’ll see characters from Discovery instead. We do also hope the new Star Trek series won’t be completely Earthbound. It would be amazing to see cadets training on starships, as we did in The Wrath of Khan.

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will debut on Paramount+ sometime in 2024 or 2025.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds premiered its first season a little less than one year ago. The newest Star Trek series endeared itself to fans quickly, in no small part because of its incredible cast. With adventurous, sharp, and sometimes heartbreaking stories and the aforementioned cast, Strange New Worlds made an impression. It’s the kind of series you want to watch repeatedly just to spend more time with your favorites. And you can do just that with the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season One home release. We have an exclusive clip from that release featuring Christina Chong discussing La’an’s journey.

La’an Noonien-Singh’s arc developed over the season. We learned about her family, of course, and her history with the Gorn. Strange New Worlds took the not-so-intimidating Gorn from Star Trek: The Original Series and made them terrifying hunters. Season one reckoned with the Gorn and La’an’s history with the reptilian species more than once.

The rest of this feature, “Exploring New Worlds,” is part of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season One‘s home release. The collection comes with over 90 minutes of special features, including cast and crew interviews (like the one above), gag reel, and deleted scenes. One of the features focuses entirely on Captain Pike and Anson Mount. Plus there’s a closer look at world building and exclusive commentary.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Season One arrives on DVD, Blu-ray, and Blu-ray Steelbook on March 21, and will be available on 4K UHD Steelbook on May 16.

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After its first two seasons deliberately stayed away from involving the much-loved cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, season three of Picard has finally embraced its roots as a legacy series. The show has dipped into TNG’s expansive pool of talent to fill its ensemble. But where previous episodes have introduced major TNG players like Geordi, Riker, and Worf, this week’s episode, “Imposters”, features the return of an unlikely but undeniable fan favorite: Michelle Forbes’ Ro Laren. Ro’s momentous return marks a series high for Picard. It serves as not only a testament to the power of Forbes’ performance, but also a reminder of how Bajoran women serve as necessary disruptors in the Trek universe. 

Two shows in the Trek franchise have prominently featured a Bajoran woman in the main or recurring cast: Deep Space Nine with Nana Visitor’s Kira Nerys, and, of course, The Next Generation, who introduced us to the strength of Bajoran women with the fiery, unflinching Ro Laren. Though both Ro and Kira are ‘good guys’, and allied with Starfleet, it quickly becomes clear on both shows that just because they work with Starfleet officers, they don’t always agree with or even like Starfleet. 

While it may be easy to forget when so much of Star Trek’s current programming explores ideas of corruption within the Federation itself, the idea that Gene Rodenberry’s Utopian alliance of planets might be anything other than entirely morally upstanding was once taboo and blasphemous in the Trek universe. Challenging the position of Starfleet as heroes was a risky move for the fledgling Next Generation. One of the first characters to truly provide a moral challenge to Picard, Riker and their blind loyalty to and belief in was undoubtedly Ro.

Introduced in an episode fittingly titled “Ensign Ro”, we first meet the Bajoran freedom fighter as a lowly ensign assigned to visit the Enterprise-D to assist with locating a group of terrorists. Both Picard and Riker immediately vocally protest this assignment, citing previously clashes with Ro. It’s rare that we see Picard—a Captain perhaps most famous for his level-headedness and cerebral nature—express such blatant disdain for a member of Starfleet. It quickly becomes clear that the tensions between Ro and Picard/Riker are more than reciprocated.

One of the first true anti-heroes of the Star Trek franchise, Ro undergoes a fascinating arc. Initially a reluctant rebel-hunter, then Maquis defectee, she embraces her Bajoran heritage and decides to take up the rebellion against the oppressive Cardassian regime. Ro herself is an electric, scene-stealing character and a welcome addition to virtually any episode. But what’s most memorable about her is how she challenges Riker and Picard in their attitude and frame of thought about Starfleet’s morality. 

Though perhaps not as sympathetic towards Bajor as Deep Space Nine would later be, The Next Generation takes the cause of the Maquis and the plight of the Bajoran people seriously. This comes not just from writing the Maquis off as villains-of-the-week or turning Bajor into yet another small planet for Starfleet to rescue. Instead, Bajor and its people resist Starfleet involvement. They often find themselves in direct opposition of Enterprise-D missions. Time and again, Ro flat-out tells Picard and Riker that her personal beliefs and cultural identity put her at odds with Starfleet’s agenda. In turn, this causes Picard to reluctantly reexamine his position on the issue when he must conflict with another officer. 

It’s also through Ro’s turn on The Next Generation that we indirectly get Deep Space Nine’s fearsome first officer Kira Nerys. Another fan-favorite, this time a series regular and an undoubtedly more empathetic (but no less strong-willed) Bajoran woman with ties to the Maquis rebellion. Though the writers initially created the character as replacement for Ro, Kira quickly becomes one of Deep Space Nine’s core players and a fascinating character in her own right.

Where Ro introduced the presence of Bajor as a small but strong people willing to go to any means necessary to dislodge the brutal military occupation of Cardassia, Kira was the portrait of a seasoned veteran who had achieved something of a shaky victory. Ro joins the Maquis after some tossing and turning; Kira already got her hands bloody in the occupation when the show introduces her. 

But instead of a warmongering veteran or a violent freedom fighter walking the line towards “terrorist” (a dynamic acknowledged in the Deep Space Nine documentary as uniquely pre-9/11), Kira Nerys is a warm, welcome presence in the series. She brings heart and humor along with her stubbornness and now customary Bajoran strength. Though they may share more than a few traits in terms of physical appearance (a brown bob, nose ridges, red uniform, and of course, the earring) they represent the growth of the series’ attitude toward and interest in Bajor as a planet.

By the time Deep Space Nine entered its later seasons, Bajor itself had the opportunity to develop and explore darker, messier facets of its history—in particular surrounding their religious beliefs and leaders exemplified in Kai Winn, the first elected Kai of Bajor post-Cardassian occupation and an orthodox believer in the Prophets. Through Kira, Bajor receives the same kind of introspection that Starfleet explores via Ro in The Next Generation. It’s yet another oxymoronic similarity between the trajectories of Ro Laren and Kira Nerys during their Star Trek tenures. 

With the return of Ro Laren in “Imposters,” audiences are once again reminded of the fiery, scene-stealing strength of Bajoran women in Star Trek. They are not just heroes to root for, but morally and ethically complex freedom fighters whose oppression and subsequent battle for independence has crafted a crop of deeply complex characters. In Bajoran women, Star Trek finds some of its most memorable characters and compelling episodes—a torch carried by Picard’s most recent entry. 

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Episode five of Star Trek Picard, “Imposter,” saw the surprise return, and equally surprising death, of a beloved The Next Generation character. Many fans wondered if we’d say goodbye for good to one of the main returning TNG cast in Picard’s swan song season. But as of episode five, the one classic TNG character we lost was someone we didn’t even know was coming back. We’re talking about Michelle Forbes as Bajoran officer Ro Laren, who appeared in eight episodes of TNG over several seasons.

Many genre TV fans recognize Forbes from her roles on shows like Battlestar Galactica and True Blood. However, it was her time on TNG as Ro that made her a fan favorite. So her character’s return, and subsequent death, came as a great surprise. They introduced Ro Laren in the episode “Ensign Ro,” early in TNG’s fifth season. She appeared in eight episodes of the series total, and she introduced the Bajoran race to Star Trek lore.

Ensign Ro was a disgraced Starfleet officer, whose hasty actions had led to the accidental deaths of eight starship crew members. She was sprung from prison and they reinstated her Starfleet commission as part of a secret plot by a corrupt Admiral. But she turned against that Admiral, and gained the trust of Captain Picard. Jean Luc took a shine to her, and eventually offered her a position on board the Enterprise.

Over the course of the rest of TNG, Picard became both a mentor and a father figure. He saw a bit of his rebellious youthful self in her. But when he placed her on an undercover mission with the rebel group the Maquis, she betrayed Picard and joined the Maquis for real. This broke Picard’s heart, and the two didn’t see each other again until Picard season three’s fifth episode. This was some 29 years from their last encounter.

In the succeeding years, Ro Laren served prison time again for her Maquis activities but was able to join Starfleet once more. They recruited her into Starfleet intelligence, and she became aware of the infiltration of Starfleet by rogue Changelings. She ultimately came to believe that Picard was the real deal, and not a Changeling agent himself. Changeling agents then killed her, bombing her shuttle which exploded while leaving the Titan. Before that however, she finally made peace with her former Captain.

While she wasn’t a main character of the Enterprise-D crew for all seven seasons, she was nevertheless a fan favorite. And for years, these same fans have wanted some form of proper closure to her character since 1994. Thankfully, Picard just gave us the character resolution we all craved, even if it was a bittersweet one.

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Star Trek: Picard season three has thus far been a love letter to fans of the franchise, particularly (although not only) for fans of The Next Generation. But showrunner Terry Matalas has sprinkled in references to many past episodes of the franchise. Here are the classic TNG episodes, as well as Deep Space Nine and Voyager, which you’ll love to watch if you are enjoying this third and final season of Picard.

“Bloodlines,” Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode 22 (1994)

Much of the drama in Picard season three revolves around Jean-Luc discovering that he has an adult son he never knew about. But what if we told you a very similar event already happened to Jean-Luc? In the TNG episode “Bloodlines,” Picard discovers he’s the father of a young man named Jason Vigo, supposedly the product of a brief love affair decades prior. Picard then reflects on the life as a father he never had. Sound familiar? Of course, things aren’t quite what they seem with Jason, but you’ll have to watch the episode to discover why. We’ll give you a hint; the Ferengi are involved. You know that’s never a good sign.

“Encounter at Farpoint,” Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 1, Episode 1 (1987)

The pilot episode of TNG is famously….not so great. Yes, it introduced Q into Trek lore, but it also had the Enterprise-D crew discover a unique lifeform. At Farpoint station, Picard and his new crew found out the planet’s residents built the station on the back of a powerful, gigantic creature that was born and lived in space. Looking kind of like a giant jellyfish, thanks to the Enterprise’s intervention, they reunited it with its mate. On Picard, when the Titan was trapped in the nebula in “No Win Scenario,” they discovered it was like a womb that gave birth to similar creatures. Picard was quick to remember the very similar lifeform encountered over three decades prior.

“The Adversary,” Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 3, Episode 26 (1995)

In Picard season three’s third episode, we learned that the “Big Bad” of the season is the Dominion. In particular, the Dominion’s Founders, the shapeshifting Changelings. We saw how they had agents on Federation starships like the Titan, sabotaging from within. The first time we saw the Changelings do something similar was in the DS9 third season finale “The Adversary.” In that episode, Changelings disguised as Starfleet sabotaged the Defiant. This episode began a long storyline about Changeling infiltrators on DS9, and was a clear influence on Picard season three.

“Ensign Ro,” Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 5, Episode 3 (1991)

Abrasive Starfleet officer Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes) made a welcome return to the Star Trek franchise in episode five of Picard, “Imposter.” Her past with Picard informed much of that highly dramatic episode. But in her first appearance, in this fifth season TNG episode, we saw how that relationship first came to be. “Ensign Ro” not only introduced the character of Ro Laren, but also the entire Bajoran race, not to mention their tangled and brutal history with the Cardassians. Definitely a highlight of TNG’s seven-season run.

“Attached,” Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode 8 (1993)

Jean-Luc Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher had a romantic flirtation throughout the entirety of TNG. But they mostly kept things professional. But as we learned in Picard season three, they got serious enough to have a child together at some point. The truth of their feelings for each other came to light in the TNG episode “Attached.” In this episode, hostile aliens forced Picard and Beverly into a psychic link. Beverly discovered that Jean-Luc was in love with her, which led her to confess her own feelings for him. Young Jack Crusher might never have happened if not for this episode.

“The Gift,” Star Trek: Voyager, Season 4, Episode 2 (1997)

Seven of Nine entered the Picard story in season one. She was a very different character than when we last saw her on Voyager. But as episode three of Picard showed us, she has an incredible fondness for her time on that ship. She even has a model of Voyager in her quarters, suggesting she views her time on the old ship fondly. Voyager’s season four episode “The Gift” shows how a newly freed Seven struggled with her newfound humanity. And how Captain Janeway helped her. This episode began her journey toward humanity, a journey that would lead her to become the Titan’s First Officer.

“The Best of Both Worlds,” Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 3, Episode 26 (1990)

Perhaps the most beloved chapter in all of TNG, and certainly the one with the most long-lasting impact. This two-part episode saw the Borg Collective capture Captain Picard and turn him into one of them. He was now Locutus of Borg. The Collective used the information in his brain to stage an attack on the Federation, in system Wolf 359. The Borg attacked Starfleet, and decimated them. We only saw the aftermath of this battle on TNG, but the pilot episode of DS9 showed Locutus devastating Starfleet in a flashback. In Picard season three, we learned that the Captain Shaw, harbors great resentment towards Picard as a survivor of Wolf 359, when he was a young engineer who barely survived. It’s the one part of Picard’s past he seemingly can never run from.

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In the fifth episode of Star Trek: Picard’s final season, we were reintroduced, and then said goodbye to, a character from The Next Generation (TNG) that many fans thought we’d never see again. The episode saw the return of Michelle Forbes as Ro Laren, the Bajoran officer last seen in the seventh season TNG episode “Preemptive Strike.” The relationship between Ro and Captain Picard ended on a sour note in that episode. For nearly 30 years, fans didn’t think we’d get any closure to that relationship. But we finally have, and we also said goodbye to the character for good. Here’s the history of Ro Laren, perhaps the Enterprise-D’s most controversial crew member.

Ro Laren: Star Trek’s First Bajoran

The Next Generation introduced Ro Laren in the fifth season episode titled “Ensign Ro.” After the death of Denise Crosby’s character of Tasha Yar at the end of season one, the only female leads on the show, Dr. Crusher, Counselor Troi, and Guinan, were in caregiver positions. All were empathetic shoulders for the crew to cry on. The show lacked a woman who was more action prone, and who was maybe a little rougher around the edges. The producers created Ro to fulfill that purpose. She appeared as a recurring character throughout TNG seasons five and six and made one final appearance in the show’s seventh season.

Ro was important for several reasons. She was the first Bajoran introduced in the franchise, establishing that race. From her, we learned that Bajorans were a spiritual people, who wore one earring as a religious symbol. We also learned that the Bajoran family name came first, and the individual name came second. Which is why she was properly addressed as “Ensign Ro,” not “Ensign Laren.” We also learned of the long history of persecution of the Bajoran people by the Cardassians. All of these things would later form the core backstory for the Bajoran people in Deep Space Nine. In fact, they intended Ro Laren to be a main character in that series, but Michelle Forbes turned down the offer. Instead, the Bajoran character of Major Kira Nerys was created to replace her.

Ensign Ro’s Tragic Backstory

Ro Laren was born on the planet Bajor, which at the time was under occupation by the Cardassian Union. The Cardassians had strip-mined the planet, forcing the inhabitants into slave labor. Ro Laren’s parents moved the family from one refugee camp to another. When she was seven years old, Cardassians forced her to watch as they tortured her father to death. She felt shame in being Bajoran, and ran away from her home and her heritage. She eventually went to Starfleet Academy—but her career in Starfleet was fraught with problems from the start.

While serving on the U.S.S. Wellington, a willful Ro Laren disobeyed a direct order on an away mission. Eight crew members died as a result. Starfleet court-martialed Ro for this act, and sent her to the stockade. A Starfleet admiral released her from prison and reinstated her, now reduced to the rank of ensign. He assigned her, much to Captain Picard’s protest, to the Enterprise-D. Supposedly, they reinstated her to help track down a Bajoran terrorist, something they needed the Enterprise to do.

An Unlikely Bond with Captain Picard

However, the truth was that the Admiral wanted her to broker a secret deal with the Bajoran terrorists, against the Prime Directive. She informed Captain Picard of the plans of this corrupt Admiral, gaining his trust. He requested she stay on board the Enterprise, and he would help her make up for past mistakes, and get her Starfleet career back on track. After many missions together, she began to view Picard as a mentor and father figure. She also developed bonds with fellow crew members like Geordi La Forge, and the ship’s bartender, Guinan. Ro and Guinan grew even closer when a transporter mishap turned them both into kids. She eventually made the rank of lieutenant again.

Sadly, the bond between Ro and Picard shattered when Picard gave her a special assignment. They ordered her to go undercover as a member of the Maquis, a rebel group made of different alien species. They fought against the Cardassians, who they felt were occupying their homeworlds. But Ro Laren, mostly due to her childhood trauma, sympathized with the Maquis. Instead of infiltrating them to take them down, she wound up joining them. Picard saw this as a deep betrayal, and the two never saw each other again. Many believed she died when the Dominion wiped out the Maquis‘ infrastructure during their war on the Alpha Quadrant.

What Happened to Ro After The Next Generation?

As we learned in episode five of Star Trek: Picard, however, not only did Ro Laren not die, she actually rejoined Starfleet. This shocked Picard. Although we’re not sure how a former admiral of his stature didn’t know this fact already. After years with the Maquis, Ro turned herself in to Starfleet. They court-martialed her and she went to prison again. Given her history with terrorist groups, upon release from jail, they recruited her into Starfleet Intelligence. After an intense rehabilitation program, she worked her way up the Starfleet ladder again. She was the one who recognized a conspiracy growing within Starfleet, and subcontracted Worf and Raffi into a larger investigation.

Ro shared her feelings about the compromised Federation with Picard. However, before that, the two finally had a confrontation aboard the Titan, where they aired out their feelings of betrayal and disappointment with each other in an emotional scene—one 29 years in the making. But before Ro was killed by Changeling terrorists in an effort to frame Picard and Riker, she and Jean-Luc came to an understanding, and admitted their mutual respect for one another. She also gave Picard her Bajoran earring, which contained all her investigation into the infiltration of Starfleet.

When Ro Laren died, she left to join the Prophets, knowing that Picard had regained his respect for her after so many years. It was a sad, yet poignant ending for one of Star Trek’s most unforgettable recurring characters.

Featured Image: Paramount+

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Over the past five decades, the Star Trek franchise has showcased some of the coolest starships in all of sci-fi TV and film history. But which one is the best? We’ve ranked the greatest “Hero Ships” from the series, from the classic ‘sixties ’60s show to more modern Treks like Picard, Discovery, and Strange New Worlds. And for clarity’s sake, we define “Hero Ship” as any starship where the main action takes place in a particular show or movie. Or that a principal character commanded in a pivotal way.

1. The Enterprise NCC-1701 (Refit) and the Enterprise NCC-1701-A, Constitution-class, seen in Star Trek films I-VI (1979-1991)

When Star Trek made the jump from the small screen to the big screen, the starship Enterprise got an upgrade to go with it. Undergoing a two-year refit, the remodeled Enterprise made its debut in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. They took the basic design concept from the sixties show, and upgraded it with more detail and sleeker warp nacelles. They destroyed that Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, but in the next film we got a new Enterprise of the exact same type—Constitution-class refit. And since they’re the exact same model, we’re counting them as one. Still the ship we think of when someone says “Star Trek.“

2. The Enterprise NCC-1701-D, Galaxy-class, seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Generations (1987-1994)

In a recent episode of Picard‘s third season, a random person referred to the Enterprise-D as “the fat one.” Well, the saucer section was indeed very large, as a way of accommodating over 1,000 crew members and their families. But this design is the most organic looking of all the Starfleet vessels, and there was just something graceful and sleek about its design. Sure, it had pastel carpets on the floor and walls, and even wood paneling. Truly, a choice. But overall, the Enterprise-D just felt like a true home in space. And one we wouldn’t mind living in. We miss her still.

3. Voyager NCC-74656, Intrepid-class, seen in Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

The U.S.S. Voyager was a brand new ship when we were introduced to it, under the command of Captain Kathryn Janeway in the first episode of Star Trek: Voyager. The Intrepid-class ship was one of the late 24th-century successors of the Galaxy-class ships like the Enterprise-D. Yet it was much smaller, and could actually land on a planet. Her design kind of looked like a serving spoon with two nacelles sticking out, but there was something undeniably cool about this one. And it definitely had the coolest class of shuttlecraft on board.

4. Enterprise NCC-1701-E, Sovereign-class, seen in Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek: Nemesis (1996-2002)

After they crashed the Enterprise-D onto a planet in Generations, a year later Starfleet introduced the next Federation flagship, the Enterprise-E. It was a Sovereign-class ship, longer than the Enterprise-D, but not wider. Its saucer section was more elongated, and the warp nacelles were larger. Something about this ship, designed with fighting Borg and Dominion in mind, made it look meaner and more militant than the Enterprise-D. Which was perfect, as she saw many battles in First Contact and in subsequent films.

5. The H.M.S. Bounty/Klingon Bird of Prey, seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1984-1986)

This entry is kind of cheating, we admit. However, the H.M.S. Bounty, a commandeered Klingon Bird of Prey, was under the command of Captain Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He and the displaced Enterprise crew saved the whales, and the entire future, with this ship. So we say it counts. It was jokingly renamed after the same 18th-century British vessel famous for its mutineers. Besides, it was the first Klingon Bird of Prey we ever saw, introduced in The Search for Spock. And that ship was one of the coolest in all of sci-fi history. It was so cool in fact, they used the model in TNG, DS9, and several more films for years.

6. The Enterprise NCC-1701, Constitution-class, seen in Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1975), Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)

The original starship, commanded first by Christopher Pike and later by James T. Kirk. It was designed by Matt Jefferies in 1964 for the pilot episode of Star Trek. The basic design is as pure Trek as it gets, and remains iconic throughout the world. The only reason it ranks at this mid-tier level is that the feature films took this same design and greatly improved on it. We still see a version of the classic NCC-1701 Enterprise on Strange New Worlds, although with added details for a 4K HD world. But it’s still the same basic design, and you just can’t go wrong with it.

7. The Excelsior NCC-2000, prototype, seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Introduced in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as “the great experiment,” we count the Excelsior as a “hero ship” because her Captain was none other than Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. And she saw plenty of action in that film. She kind of looks like a version of the refit Enterprise, only one that hit the gym and got very swole. The Excelsior led to a whole class of ships named for her, of which the Enterprise-B was one. The Excelsior-class was in service for nearly 75 years.

8. The Defiant NX-74205, prototype class, seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, (1994-1999), Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

It’s tiny compared to the other ships on this list, and kind of looks like a waffle skillet with a vacuum cleaner nozzle. A prototype vessel designed to fight the Borg, the Defiant was an overpowered ship that packed a lot of heat. She was the main starship assigned to Deep Space Nine, appearing in DS9 seasons 3-7. Her first appearance remains a visual indicator of when the show got really good. Riker called her “a tough little ship” in the movie First Contact, and we think that’s a fair description. She was the angry chihuahua of the Star Trek franchise. And for that, we love her.

9. The Enterprise NCC-1701 Constitution-class (Kelvin Timeline), seen in Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016)

We generally like the alt-timeline Enterprise, introduced in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek 2009 reboot film. But, it had some weird design choices. The saucer section was aces, but the warp nacelles were too big, a bit too muscle-car-looking. The placement of the deflector dish section jetting out in a weird way made the ship look unharmonious in design. We don’t dislike it, but the new Enterprise didn’t have to go so deeply Fast and the Furious for this redesign. Maybe if we ever see the Kelvin-verse crew again, they’ll be in a newer and cooler-looking ship.

10. The Titan NCC-80102-A, Neo-Constitution-class, seen in Star Trek: Picard season 3 (2023)

The main hero ship of Star Trek: Picard, the Titan is a new Neo-Constitution-class, meant to evoke the original Constitution-class ships like Kirk’s Enterprise. Only with a lot more detail. The Titan feels like a true update of both the classic and the 24th-century Starfleet vessels seen throughout TNG, DS9, and Voyager. Although commanded by Captain Liam Shaw, Will Riker took command when Shaw was injured. The previous Titan, a Luna-class ship, was under the command of Riker years before. We saw him in command of that Titan on Lower Decks. The current Titan has components of the old Luna-class ship. So it qualifies as both a refit and also as a new ship, hence keeping the registry number.

11. The Discovery NCC-1031 and NCC-1031-A, Crossfield-class, seen in Star Trek: Discovery (2017-2024)

The 23rd Century U.S.S. Discovery had a lot of cool design features, especially once it got a 32nd-century upgrade in Discovery’s third season. It was actually based on old illustrations by Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie for a never-produced Trek movie. But Discovery was too weirdly flat looking, and with boxy warp nacelles, for us to ever really feel like something from Starfleet. It sort of looks like a pizza cutter, which is why they eventually made a Discovery pizza cutter. We just never really fell in love with the design for Discovery the way we wanted to.

12. The Protostar, NX-76884, prototype class, seen in Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)

A relatively new ship to Star Trek canon, the Protostar is the hero ship of Star Trek: Prodigy. The experimental prototype ship harnessed the power of a young star. This energy helped it travel at incredible speeds, much faster than the average Federation starship. It had similar design elements to both Voyager and the Enterprise-E. And that makes sense, as it would have been built around the same time as those iconic ships.

13. The Cerritos NCC-75567, California-class, seen in Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)

The U.S.S. Cerritos, a California-class 24th-century ship (named for a real California city near Los Angeles), is the main ship on Star Trek: Lower Decks. The animated comedy series is about a crew stationed aboard the least important ship in Starfleet. Since it is a show filled with awkward main characters, the Cerritos is appropriately awkward looking. It sort of looked like a frisbee with handlebars. We kind of like it, but majestic she ain’t.

14. The Enterprise NX-01, prototype class, seen in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

To be fair, the 22nd-century NX-01 Enterprise was a prototype ship designed by Starfleet before there was ever even a Federation. It was the first Earth vessel to hit the Warp 5 mark, allowing them to explore far more of the galaxy. They meant it to look very “first draft,” if you get our meaning. But it all just looked a little too much like a first attempt. It’s not hideous, it’s just that the NX-01 looks very unassuming and slightly underwhelming. Kind of like the Enterprise series itself in the end.

15. The S.S. La Sirena, NAR-93131, Freighter-class, seen in Star Trek: Picard (2020-2023)

Introduced as Captain Cristobal Rios’ private vessel in the first season of Picard, the S.S. La Sirena has changed hands many times. Rios gave it to Seven of Nine in season two, who later turned it over to Raffi in season three. This red-hued speed freighter looked like a random ship from Star Wars, more than anything worthy of a main series Star Trek ship. It’s not that it’s awful, it just feels the most un-Trek of every ship on this list. And let’s face it, it looks like a space crab. Hopefully, by the end of Picard season three, someone will put this hand-me-down ship out of its misery.

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The intergalactic journey of U.S.S. Discovery is coming to an end. Paramount+ has revealed that they are ending Star Trek: Discovery with the upcoming fifth season of the show. It is set to release in early 2024. The official Star Trek Twitter account released a statement from both star Sonequa Martin-Green, who plays Captain Michael Burnham, and Discovery executive producer Alex Kurtzman and showrunner Michelle Paradise.

Discovery’s final season wasn’t necessarily meant to be the end. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, there will be additional filming to help craft a conclusion for the series. Discovery was historic for many reasons. Debuting in 2017, it was the first streaming series in the franchise’s history. It was also the first Trek series since the cancellation of Enterprise some 12 years earlier.

Discovery launched a whole world of Trek in the streaming world, first on CBS All Access, then on its successor, Paramount+. This lead to Picard, Lower Decks, Prodigy, and most recently, Strange New Worlds. Of course, it was also the first Star Trek series with an African-American woman in the lead, and the Trek series with its first regular trans character.

Discovery was unique in Trek canon for several reasons. It began as a prequel to the original series, set some ten years before the time of Kirk on the Enterprise. But at the end of season two, they propelled the starship Discovery over 900 years into the future. This allowed the show to explore a completely different era in the Star Trek timeline. It was also unique in that the lead character was not a Captain or Commander. But she eventually evolved into taking command of the ship by the end of the third season. It will be interesting to see if Star Trek remains in this time period for future series, or returns to the past.

The final season of Star Trek: Discovery will drop on Paramount+ in early 2024.

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As of Picard season three, episode three, we finally know who the true villains of the season are. And they are perhaps the biggest threat the Federation ever faced. No, not the Borg. Not even the Klingons. We’re talking about the Dominion, a despotic intergalactic empire that waged war against the Alpha Quadrant for a solid three seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In fact, they were such a threat that the Federation allied with both the Klingons and their longtime enemies the Romulan Star Empire to save themselves.

But just who, or what, is the Dominion? And who are their mysterious shape-shifting Founders, now causing so much trouble for Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his friends? The answer goes back to the very first episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, over 30 years ago. And one of the Star Trek franchise’s most beloved characters.

Odo, Deep Space Nine‘s Friendly Changeling

The very first member of the Founder’s species we met was Odo, the shapeshifting chief of security aboard starbase Deep Space Nine. He was portrayed by René Auberjonois, and appeared in “Emissary,” Deep Space Nine’s first episode in 1993. Odo’s natural state was liquid, but he could hold a humanoid form for several hours a day. They found him as an infant blob near the Bajoran wormhole. This implied his species came from the distant Gamma Quadrant, where the wormhole connected to.

A Bajoran scientist named Dr. Mora gave the infant the name Odo, and he mimicked his humanoid shape as a tribute to him. Odo did not know where he came from. Or even what species he was. But he knew he liked order, and chose a life in policing. He became Chief of Security on Deep Space Nine. First, under the Cardassians, and later, under the Bajorans. However, he never stopped wondering about his origins. This longing for a people he never knew factored heavily into Odo’s character in the first few seasons of DS9.

The Dominion, the Anti-Federation

At the end of season two of DS9, we learned of a major power in the Gamma Quadrant–the Dominion. This empire enslaved many planets. Their hierarchy consisted of a group of genetically engineered lizard-like clone soldiers, known as the Jem’Hadar. Their administrators, a humanoid race called the Vorta, gave the reptilian Jem’Hadar their orders. As well as the drugs they needed to survive. The Vorta maintained their orders came from the Dominion’s mysterious “Founders,” who they worshipped as gods. But no one had ever seen these Founders, and most species in the Gamma Quadrant considered them a myth.

The Dominion Founders Revealed

By the time of the end of DS9 season three, Odo made a shocking discovery in the Gamma Quadrant. On a rogue planet in the Omarian Nebula, Odo discovered his people at long last. They were a group of Changelings just like himself. They existed together in what they called “The Great Link,” a large liquid mass where they all joined as one consciousness. Unlike the hive mind of the Borg, they could retain their individuality and leave the Great Link if they wished. Odo was an infant the Changelings let loose into the cosmos with 99 others. Upon maturation, it was meant for them to explore the galaxy and come back to the Link with what they had learned.

At first, Odo was overjoyed to discover his people. But then he learned the terrible truth. The Changelings were themselves the mysterious Founders of the Dominion. After persecution by what they called “solid” species, they exerted control over the galaxy so no solid beings could harm them ever again. They genetically enhanced the Vorta, one of the few humanoid species to show them kindness, and created the Jem’Hadar as their foot soldiers. For 2,000 years they inflicted terror in the Gamma Quadrant, forcing worlds into their Dominion. Odo, disgusted with what he learned, left the Great Link and returned to Federation space.

The Dominion War Unites Former Enemies Against a Common Foe

But that was just the start. The Dominion decided to conquer the Alpha Quadrant, and had their Changeling agents infiltrate the ranks of Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and others. They infiltrated Federation starships and sabotaged them, and manipulated the powers of the Alpha Quadrant against each other, causing a brief war between the Klingons and the Federation after decades of peace. Eventually, the Dominion waged a full-scale war against the Federation. Starfleet had to unite with their enemies the Klingons and even the Romulans to save the galaxy. Meanwhile, the Dominion and the Cardassians, longtime Federation enemies, forged an alliance. This prolonged conflict they named The Dominion War, and covered seasons five to seven of DS9.

An Attempted Genocide Averted

The Dominion War ended due to the shady actions of the secret off-the-books Starfleet Intelligence agency called Section 31. Against Federation principals, they engineered a genetic virus they implanted into Odo, one meant to cause the genocide of the Founders when he bonded physically with any other Changeling from the Great Link. This action disgusted many in Starfleet, who were against the genocide of a race, even a hostile one.

Starfleet doctors engineered a cure for Odo, one he could administer to the rest of the Great Link should he choose to rejoin them permanently. He chose to return, on the condition the Dominion end the war on the Federation and its allies, and leave the Alpha Quadrant in peace. With this action, the Dominion War ended, after the loss of millions of lives. They signed the Treaty of Bajor on station Deep Space Nine, in the year 2375.

Revenge of the Changelings

When Picard season one began, it was close to 25 years since the end of the Dominion War. We’ve had little knowledge of the fallout of this great galactic conflict. But in Picard season three, Worf reveals that certain parts of the Great Link did not agree to the treaty with the Federation, and have broken off into a terrorist faction. Worf learned of this information from his contact within the link, someone he considered “a man of honor.” This was no doubt a reference to Odo himself.

So is Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) a Founder herself, or does she merely work for them? And what is her obsession with Jack Crusher? As we learned in Star Trek: Insurrection, the Enterprise-E under Picard’s command spent much of the Dominion War conducting peace negotiations and were not part of the fighting much. So a vendetta against Picard himself would be curious. But then, we really don’t know everything the Enterprise was up to during the Dominion War. While there is much still left to be revealed, one thing is certain — the Federation’s most lethal enemy is back, and they have not forgotten their humiliating defeat at the hands of the Federation.

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For over 40 years, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan has been the gold standard of Star Trek films. Of the 13 films released, director Nicholas Meyer’s entry is still the one all other Trek movies try to live up to. And so far, none really have. We’ve said for a long time that the Star Trek franchise, particularly the films, have needed to “stop chasing Wrath of Khan” as their key to success. Some of the weakest entries in the franchise, namely Nemesis and Into Darkness, have tried and failed to recapture that specific Wrath of Khan magic. We’ve implored the folks in charge of Star Trek to look beyond the beloved 1982 film for inspiration. Luckily, however, Star Trek: Picard season three showrunner Terry Matalas absolutely ignored our advice. Because this last season of the series pays homage to The Wrath of Khan and does it right.

When It Comes to Wrath of Khan Homages, the Third Time’s the Charm

Star Trek: Picard‘s homage to The Wrath of Khan works in ways both very on the nose, as well as some that are smaller and more subtle. Some in just how the production itself was mounted. Most importantly, Matalas and his writing staff have carefully avoided the mistakes of previous Trek productions trying to replicate Wrath of Khan. They clearly understood the difference between “homage” and “knockoff.”

In Picard season three, they’ve focused on the story, mood, and tone of Wrath of Khan, not just replicating its meme-worthy moments. This differs from previous movies like the aforementioned Nemesis and Into Darkness, which just lifted iconic beats and specific scenes from the second Star Trek film. Data’s death at the end of Nemesis and Spock screaming “Khaaaan!” as Chris Pine’s Kirk died ultimately read like Family Guy episode references—not as authentic or truly earned moments. Everything in Picard season three that reminds one of The Wrath of Khan emotionally resonated because it’s rooted in story, not just nostalgia bait.

Face-to-Face with the Road Not Taken

One of The Wrath of Khan‘s most relevant themes is coming face to face with one’s life not lived. A 50-year-old Kirk (William Shatner) starts the film wondering if his days adventuring through the cosmos are behind him, and if he’s worth anything as an Earthbound Admiral instead of as a spacefaring Captain. Things change for him when he meets his own adult son and his mother, former lover Carol Marcus, played by Bibi Besch. He came face to face with the family life he could have had, but never did. And the shock of that put his entire life in perspective.

Of all the story parallels in Picard season three that reference Wrath of Khan, the most obvious among them is Jean-Luc’s discovery that he has an adult son named Jack (Ed Speleers) whom he never knew existed. This reflects Captain Kirk meeting his own adult son David in Wrath of Khan, played by Merritt Butrick. Other The Wrath of Khan homages are more cosmetic, but this one is pretty literal. Although to be fair, Kirk knew he had a son, and Picard did not—it’s not an exact one-for-one. In the hands of less talented people, it might not work. But in Picard, it all clicks the right way.

“My son. My life that could have been…and wasn’t.”

Picard is in a similar place at the start of season three to Kirk in The Wrath of Khan. He’s ready to leave Earth and retire with his partner Laris (Orla Brady), officially leaving his Starfleet days behind him for good. He’s less outwardly angsty and depressed about his set of circumstances than Kirk was in The Wrath of Khan. But then, Kirk was only 50 and feeling like a relic, and Picard is well into his 90s. Both men feel like their best days are behind them, despite a not-so-small part of them still craving adventure. And then, adventure calls. That adventure, in both cases, takes the form of a distress call from a woman they once loved.

The revelation that Picard has an adult son from an old love actually resonates more than Kirk’s similar reveal in Wrath of Khan. We watched the relationship developing between Picard and Dr. Crusher for years, whereas Carol Marcus was an entirely new character—one Kirk had never even mentioned before. In this instance, Picard season three actually improves on Wrath of Khan. The exchange over their life choices by Gates McFadden and Patrick Stewart carries way more emotional weight than William Shatner and Bibi Besch’s conversation, if only because we were shown their relationship and not just told about it. It’s hard to do The Wrath of Khan better than the movie itself, but in this instance, they did.

Epic Storytelling on a Smaller Scale

Picard season three shares a behind-the-scenes similarity to The Wrath of Khan, which impacted how both stories played out. The second Star Trek movie followed 1979’s The Motion Picture, a highly expensive film for the time. When it didn’t pull in Star Wars-level money, the studio made a more economically conservative sequel. The Wrath of Khan reused as many sets, props, and models from the previous film to save money, and as a result, had a much lower budget. The Motion Picture cost $45 million, and The Wrath of Khan cost a mere $12 million. Much of the action in Wrath of Khan was on the bridges of two starships with very little planetary hopping. It was all to save money.

Meanwhile, while Picard is not a cheap TV show to produce, by the very nature of it being a television series, its budget is far less than that of a feature film. So, many sets from previous seasons have to be repurposed, The Wrath of Khan style. The bridge of the Titan is a modified version of the Stargazer from season two. They recycled much from previous seasons’ lowlife planets for the seedy District Six. Picard production had to be creative, because they were telling an epic story on a not-epic budget. This is the tactic Nicholas Meyer used when filming The Wrath of Khan, and that movie essentially launched a franchise. The Picard production has employed the same tactics to great success.

You’re Only as Good as Your Villain Is Bad

And you can’t make The Wrath of Khan comparisons without talking about the villains. Obviously, Montalbán’s Shakespearean scenery chewing made him the Trek movie franchise’s greatest villain. But Amanda Plummer is no slouch in that department as Captain Vadic of the Shrike, even if her motives don’t seem to be personal revenge against Picard—thankfully the show isn’t using that tired Trek trope. She still gets to have a cat-and-mouse encounter with a Federation starship just as Kirk and Khan did. But it’s with enough differences to not make it seem like a cheap knockoff of The Wrath of Khan. Once again, the feel is the same, but the specifics are different.

The Sound of the Future

And then there’s the score. The composer for season three of Picard is Stephen Barton, known for his work on shows like Matalas’ 12 Monkeys, and the game Jedi: Fallen Order. His musical score for Picard simply oozes the majesty of James Horner’s music from The Wrath of Khan and The Search for Spock. When you hear those soaring strings when the Titan leaves spacedock in episode one, you can’t help but think of Lt. Saavik taking the Enterprise out of drydock in Wrath of Khan. It evokes all the same feels, the 19th-Century nautical vibes, all while still feeling like its own piece of music.

Of course, there are similarities to other Trek films, too. Picard and Riker meeting Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) as the Titan’s helm officer recalls Kirk meeting Sulu’s daughter Demora in the same position in Star Trek: Generations. Riker and Picard “hijacking” the Titan to go on a mission to save a friend and comrade recalls Kirk and company doing the same with the Enterprise in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. But regardless of references to other parts of Trek lore, it is the DNA of The Wrath of Khan that asserts itself most strongly. We may still have seven more episodes to go before we can render a final verdict, but so far, the final season of Picard is delivering on the promise of Wrath of Khan better than anyone could have ever hoped.

Star Trek: Picard season three streams new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

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Starfleet has had several uniform designs in over 55 years of Star Trek. And we mean several. It’s wild how often Starfleet changes tailors. But while some uniforms have been fashion-forward, others… not so much. Here, we rank all the main Starfleet uniforms seen in the franchise thus far. We are skipping Alt-timeline uniforms, except for the J.J. Abrams Kelvin universe, since it made prominent appearances. And we skipped ones with very brief screen time, such as the U.S.S. Kelvin crew uniforms. So, let’s set phasers to stunning, and talk about some future fashion, ranking from best to worst.

1. Wrath of Khan through Generations (1982-1994)

Costume designer Robert Fletcher designed some of the worst Starfleet uniforms ever for 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Luckily, he got a “do-over” for The Wrath of Khan in 1982, and the subsequent five films. These uniforms are the crème de la crème of Trek wear. Yes, unlike most Starfleet uniforms on this list, they are only one color, maroon. But their design recalls 19th-century nautical uniforms, and so they just look so very regal. Officers must have loved these, because as TNG flashbacks showed us, they stayed in circulation for over fifty years.

2. The Next Generation, Seasons 3-7 (1989-1994)

These are the uniforms most think of when they think of TNG. After seasons one and two costumes were retired (we’ll get into why later), designer Robert Blackman came up with new yet similar uniforms for TNG year three. These had the same color designs as the earlier seasons, but were two-piece jackets and pants combos, and now with a more dignified collar instead of a V-neck. There is something about these that are just simple and classy, and there’s a reason they have remained iconic. Maybe it’s also because we always loved when Jean-Luc pulled down on his shirt in a huff.

3. Picard, Seasons 2-3 (2022-2023)

These first appeared in season two of Picard, and feature prominently in season three. Why do we love these so much? They take the color combo and general aesthetic of the Deep Space Nine/Voyager uniforms, but add the details and front “open flap” of the ‘80s movie uniforms. And it just all works. We kind of wish the black was on the shoulders instead, but hey, it’s ok. These new uniforms rock. Let’s keep them around.

4. First Contact, Insurrection, Nemesis, Deep Space Nine Season 5-7 (1996-2002)

Usually, we hate gray tones in Starfleet uniforms. But the uniforms introduced in the 1996 film First Contact really are very smooth. And the pop of color in the undershirts/collars keeps them from looking bland and lifeless. Much like the original maroon movie uniforms, these look the most “military” of all the Starfleet uniforms. This fits, as they introduced them in a war with the Borg, and later used them on DS9 when the Federation was at war with the Dominion.

5. Strange New Worlds (2022)

A very recent addition to the canon, the retro-modern uniforms introduced in Strange New Worlds totally evoke the Pop Art colors of the original series. Only with much better fabrics that show much more in terms of details. The little Starfleet Deltas on the shoulders and sleeves? We love that touch. These uniforms prove that the basic concept of the classic ‘60s series still works today if you do them right. Kudos to SNW costume designer Bernadette Croft for bringing that classic style to the modern day.

6. Star Trek (2009), Into Darkness, Beyond (2009-2016)

Similar to Strange New Worlds, the “retro chic” uniforms of the Kelvin timeline movies were meant to evoke the bright, primary colors of The Original Series. And they really did just that, just as SNW’s uniforms currently do. The only reason that SNW ranks a wee bit higher is that we’re not super crazy about the “shirt over another shirt” thing the Abrams films had going on. Luckily, that was modified for Star Trek Beyond. But other than that detail, we love these.

7. The Original Series, The Animated Series (1966-1969, 1973-1975)

Yes, to modern eyes, these old-school uniforms look kinda cheap. The shirts scream “your Mom’s favorite fabric store,” and instead of a metal badge, it looks like someone slapped a Starfleet Delta sticker on the shirt. But, these bright primary colors instantly grab your eye, and make you think of a fun rainbow-hued future you actually want to live in. So hats off to TOS designer William Ware Theiss, who made these velour uniforms pop on all those tube television sets back in the day. They will live long and prosper.

8. Deep Space Nine Season 1-5, Generations, Voyager (1993-2001)

These uniforms first appeared on Deep Space Nine in 1993, then in the film Generations in 1994, and finally in Voyager from 1995-2001. Since they were lost in space, Janeway’s crew was stuck with one uniform design for seven years. They are very classic Trek, and are pretty much the TNG era uniforms, only with color on the shoulders and black in the torso. We dig them, and they’d rank higher, except for one thing. The cut and fit of these really make them look like cozy space pajamas. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it.

9. Discovery Season 4 (2021-2022)

We were not big fans of the original early 23rd-century designs, seen on Starfleet officers on Discovery. Star Trek only really got away with “one color” uniform standard one time (see entry #1). But when Discovery jumped to the 32nd century, the crew got some snazzy new uniforms to go with their new home in the far future. These costumes evoke the best of TOS, TNG, with a touch of the classic nautical tradition seen in the original movie uniforms, right on the shoulder. We hope these stick around in season five and beyond.

10. The Next Generation Season 1-2 (1987-1989)

During the first two seasons of TNG, creator Gene Roddenberry decided that in the future, no one would want to see wrinkles. Look, he had a lot of wacky ideas. So he had his original series costume designer William Ware Theiss design jumpsuits that looked like spandex. To avoid wrinkles, they came with a foot strap to go over the shoe so that they could pull it taut. This was pure hell on the backs of the cast. Later, they demanded they be changed for season three into two-piece costumes. The basic design is still iconic, but they just look uncomfortable, making these awkward designs rank this low.

11. Lower Decks (2020-Present)

Yes, this is an animated show. But it’s canon, so we are counting them. We are not sure why the U.S.S. Cerritos has different uniforms than the rest of Starfleet, but we must admit, these are kind of cool. Much like the current Picard season three uniforms, they combine classic ‘90s Starfleet aesthetic with a little bit of the classic film uniforms, with the open flap on the shirt. We look forward to seeing these in live-action, maybe when Strange New Worlds crosses over with Lower Decks.

12. Discovery Seasons 1-3 (2017-2020)

Discovery’s first two seasons were set ten years prior to TOS, but the leap from these uniforms to what we saw later is head-scratching. While we like the blue hue, the silver piping on them and the accompanying shoes really just make these uniforms look like space tracksuits. It’s as if Starfleet decided to hire Adidas to design for them. When the crew of the Enterprise showed up in season two in classic colors, it just made us dislike these uniforms even more. Luckily, the Discovery crew eventually ditched them for snazzier threads when they landed 900 years in the future in season 3.

13. Prodigy (2021-2022)

Technically, the uniforms used by the kids on the Protostar in the animated series Prodigy are not quite official Starfleet. But these unique uniforms have a cool design overall. We dig the asymmetry in the torso. But we would love them way more if they ditched the grey and gave us some classic gold, red, and blue. Maybe we’ll get there someday. This series is just in its infancy.

14. Picard Season 1 (2020)

We didn’t see that many Starfleet uniforms in the first two seasons of Picard. But the ones we did see didn’t hit the mark. The basic design recalls the old DS9/Voyager uniforms, but there are just too many extra details on the shoulders. They are just a bit too busy. At least for the higher-ranking officers. The lower-ranking officers were ok, the collars are just awkward. Set phasers to “meh.”

15. The Original Series, Pilot Episodes (1965)

Think of these as prototypes. This sweater/pant set was seen first on Captain Christopher Pike in the first TOS pilot “The Cage.” Then again on Kirk in “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” the second pilot. The design is actually kind of snazzy, in a mid-‘60s Mad Men-era way. But the color palette? Just way too muted. They’re just gray/blue and a boring pale yellow. Kind of yawn-worthy. Not awful, but they didn’t last long enough to make an impression. Luckily, when Star Trek went to series, they got much more fun in terms of color choices.

16. Enterprise (2001-2005)

We understand that Enterprise, set only 150 years in the future, was supposed to look more like our own modern era. But man, these Starfleet uniforms really just look like Captain Archer and crew were working as mechanics in a space garage. They are just a tad too real-world looking, and lack any sci-fi fun and fantasy. They’re still better than the Enterprise theme song though. And luckily for them, they are not the lowest ranked on this list.

17. The Motion Picture (1979)

Talk about coming full circle. Robert Fletcher, the same designer who made these lowest-ranked costumes for The Motion Picture, later designed the best uniforms in Star Trek in our estimation, from films II–VI. Much like the DS9/Voyager uniforms, these straight-up look like pajamas. But unlike the ones worn by Sisko and Janeway, these come in boring tones of beige, gray, and white. I’m sorry, Earth tones are Star Wars. We come to Star Trek to taste the rainbow. And Kirk’s regular duty uniform looks like he’s an interplanetary dentist. These made only one appearance, and there’s a reason why. Blow them out the airlock.

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Jean-Luc Picard and William Riker certainly get themselves into some situations. Or maybe we should say situations find them. Whatever the case, the duo has placed the USS Titan into quite the pickle in season three of Star Trek: Picard. While diverting from the Starfleet vessel to locate and help Dr. Beverly Crusher, Riker and Picard pulled the ship into battle with the Shrike and its mysterious leader Vadic. This exclusive clip from Star Trek: Picard‘s third episode, “Seventeen Seconds,” shows just how outmatched the Titan is.

So, Captain Shaw isn’t thrilled. It’s hard to blame him for being mad. Despite their near-legend status within Starfleet, Picard and Riker have a reputation. They’re not legends because they have chill, calm missions. Here, their actions put the Titan in the sights of the very well-armed Shrike. Poor Shaw has big “I’m not even supposed to be here today” energy.

The clip shows the Shrike dealing the Titan a damaging hit. It incapacitates Shaw and he transfers command of the vessel to Riker. Riker and Picard have to get the ship and its crew out of imminent danger. It makes our hearts melt to hear Picard tell Riker, “It might be time you call me Number One.”

Having our favorite characters from The Next Generation in season three of Star Trek: Picard has led to plenty of nostalgic moments like this. More are undoubtedly on the way. Seeing our old friends together again feels right. And so far, it’s making for one heck of an entertaining story.

New episodes of Star Trek: Picard arrive on Paramount+ on Thursdays. Episode three, “Seventeen Seconds,” premieres on March 2.

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Star Trek and Star Wars are the titans of sci-fi space-faring franchises, going on for decades with no end in sight. And both franchises, as vastly different from each other as they are, have inspired each other in different ways. Reruns of Star Trek inspired George Lucas while writing the original film, by his own admission. Likewise, Star Trek would never have returned without the runaway success of Star Wars. It’s been a bit of a feedback loop between both properties ever since. But perhaps the biggest parallel between both franchises comes down to two of their most popular warrior races, the Klingons and the Mandalorians.

Both warrior races started as one-dimensional bad guys for our heroes to fight. Now, both Klingons and Mandalorians are fan favorites, and in many ways becoming almost mascots for their respective series. Sometimes as badass villains, and sometimes as noble warriors. Over the decades, these two warrior races have shared an interesting parallel history across their franchises.

From Cool-Looking Warriors to Complex Villains

The first Klingon we saw in Trek was Kor, in the 1967 episode “Errand of Mercy.” He was just a mustache-twirling bad guy. We must say, it was quite an impressive mustache to twirl. Boba Fett was our first Mandalorian, even if they never name him as such on-screen. The name “Mandalorian super commando” came from the Empire Strikes Back novelization, and early Marvel Star Wars comics. But something about both of these characters struck a chord with fans, to the point where writers have expanded on them in great detail in the decades since.

The Klingons were truly defined as a species by the original Star Trek films, particularly Treks II – VI. There, we learned of their strict warrior code, where honor took precedence over all else. Not to mention, they got cool new alien makeup. Writers then expanded on the Klingons on The Next Generation, and later Deep Space Nine and Voyager. They added references to samurai culture, making them more than one-note warriors. Meanwhile, in the galaxy far, far away, Boba Fett barely had any lines in the original trilogy. His father Jango was introduced in the prequels, but again, the word “Mandalorian” was never spoken. But TV series like The Clone Wars, Rebels, and of course, The Mandalorian, have expanded on this culture.

Klingons and Mandalorians: Old Warriors in a New World

Klingons were staunch enemies of the Federation for decades. All until an environmental cataclysm on their home planet forced them to come to Starfleet for help, starting an era of peace. This event was chronicled in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. But over the years, as we saw on TNG and DS9, some Klingons did not take to peace with their longtime enemies, and formed militant factions. This split between the “old ways” and the “new ways” of Klingon culture became a big part of ‘90s Star Trek stories. Even with the future of their civilization at stake, many Klingons simply could not abide peace with their former foes.

In The Clone Wars animated series, we learned a lot more about Mandalorian culture. Before this series, the word “Mandalorian” was only seen in tie-in media, and nothing canonical. They too were a militant, warrior race. But catastrophic wars nearly destroyed their homeworld of Mandalore. The majority of the remaining Mandalorians embraced peace in the aftermath and forged relations with their former enemy, the Republic. But certain aspects of Mandalorian culture refused to let go of their warrior ways, and formed the group Death Watch. All of this reflected the journey of the Klingons in Star Trek.

Both the Klingons and the Mandalorians drew inspiration from feudal societies in real Earth history. Whether you are a Klingon or a Mandalorian, which noble house you belonged to carried great importance. In Trek, we heard a lot about noble Klingon houses like “House of Martok,” or “House of Duras.” Meanwhile, in Star Wars, the clans on Mandalore placed similar importance on names like “House Visla,” It took some time, but the exploration of Mandalorian culture eventually caught up to how much Klingons had been developed over the years.

Klingon and Mandalorian Mavericks

We also have met members of both the Klingons and the Mandalorians who forged their own path, without adhering to any one creed or way of thinking. In Trek, the half-human K’Ehylar didn’t care about all the rules and regulations of her Klingon heritage. Similarly, Bo-Katan in Star Wars breaks with the hardcore Mando traditions, and takes her helmet off whenever she pleases. And one can say that “ground zero” for the Mandalorians, Boba Fett, doesn’t care one lick for the Mando culture, and doesn’t really think of himself as one,

Ritual Obsessions

Both the Klingons and the Mandalorians are very traditional and obsessed with ritual. On TNG, Worf had to undergo many frequently painful rituals. Often, to cleanse himself from any dishonor. This happened when Worf lost his family honor, and had to shed blood in front of the Klingon High Chancellor, Gowron. In another instance, Worf went to a retreat to the Klingon temple of Boreth to reconnect with his beliefs, and become a “true Klingon” again.

In The Book of Boba Fett, we saw Din Djarin suffer consequences for taking his helmet off in front of someone else. This was a violation of their deepest-held rules. The Mandalorian Armorer sends him back to the ruins of Mandalore, to bathe in the waters under the planet and cleanse himself of sin once more. We expect to see this in season three of The Mandalorian. It all feels very similar to all the ritualistic hoops Worf had to jump through to become an honorable Klingon once again.

Not Just a Race, But a Creed

In Star Trek, an off-worlder can become a Klingon if deemed worthy, and through ritual. When a young boy’s mother under Worf’s command died in a season three TNG episode, Worf took him in as a member of his own House of Mogh. Similarly, thanks to years of fighting alongside different Klingon warriors, Jadzia Dax became an honorary Klingon when marrying into Worf’s family.

This is similar, but not identical, to how Mandalorians take in foundlings into their respective cultures. Din Djarin was such a foundling. And so was Jango Fett, who was retconned into our first official on-screen Mandalorian. He was also a foundling, and not born into the Mando culture. Boba Fett, by extension, is a Mandalorian only by inheritance of armor. Although whether he sees himself that way is up for debate.

Cosplay Favorites

Both franchises have dozens of distinct alien cultures within the larger framework of their franchises. But you wouldn’t know it by their cosplay quotient. There aren’t anywhere near as many Vulcans or Bajoran cosplay at a convention as there are Klingons. In fact, most conventions have some kind of Klingon-specific panel every year. Trust us, we’ve seen Shakespeare in Klingon. With their distinctive forehead ridges, armor, and weapons like bat’leths, they’re just cooler.

Meanwhile, the alien culture most represented by cosplay in the world of Star Wars easily has to be the Mandalorians. Only Jedi and Stormtroopers come close, and neither of those counts as a distinct alien culture. Much like the Klingons, they’re just visually impressive, and have elements that unify their looks, while allowing for enough individuality for cosplayers to get creative with it. The notion that both Klingons and Mandos are families is probably also very enticing. To be in Starfleet, one has to go to Starfleet Academy. To be a Jedi, one must be born with the Force. But to be a Klingon or a Mandalorian, one just has to be accepted by the tribe. We can see the innate appeal for many fans.

Despite having a head start by decades, Star Trek has yet to but a Klingon front and center in a series or movie. Meanwhile, Lucasfilm has done that with The Mandalorian to great success. Maybe it’s time for that Captain Worf series after all. In the meantime, we’ll see Worf when Star Trek: Picard season three premieres on February 16, and more Mandos when The Mandalorian drops its third season on Disney+ on March 1.

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We are mere weeks away from the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard, which will reunite the principal cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. But despite its status as a TNG reunion, the final season won’t primarily take place on board the Enterprise. No, the “hero ship” for Picard this year will be the U.S.S. Titan. Trekkers might remember that was the ship that Riker became captain of at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis.

This starship Titan however is a brand new one, the Titan-A. As we learned from the past 50 years of the franchise, it’s customary for Starfleet to add a letter to a new ship with an old name. (We are now at the Enterprise-F!) And the Titan-A has a brand new crew and a new Captain. Picard showrunner Terry Matalas recently took the time to introduce each member of the bridge crew via Twitter. And to start, we have a very familiar name at the helm.

Just as Geordi La Forge helmed the Enterprise 35 years ago, his daughter Sidney La Forge is now at the helm of the Titan. So it’s Star Trek: The Next Next Generation? That might be a mouthful for a future show name.

At the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the planet Bajor was primed to join the Federation at last. So it makes sense that we’d have a Bajoran on board. The Titan’s tactical officer is Lt. Matthew Arliss Mura. With a name like Matthew, we suspect he is part human. Did his parents meet on DS9 perhaps?

Meet Lt. Matthew Arliss Mura. Tactical — has served on the new Titan for last 3 years and is exactly who you want at that station when you hear “give ’em everything we got!” pic.twitter.com/t6uLbywBB8

— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

Every Starfleet ship should endeavor to have a Vulcan on board—primarily as a science officer. For the Titan, the resident Vulcan is Lt. T’Veen. We are sure she will do T’Pol, Spock, and Tuvok proud, and hopefully live long and prosper.

Meet Lt. T’Veen, Science Officer. Vulcan. Several Captains fought to have her on their bridge. The Titan won. pic.twitter.com/UUCJxdLwoQ

— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

Our new communications officer is Haliian. That’s a deep-cut, empathic alien race, appearing in one episode of TNG in its sixth season.

Meet Ensign Kova Rin Esmar. Haliian. Communications. They graduated at the top of their class and speak over 72 alien languages. pic.twitter.com/QFDFIdNTR7

— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

Then, there’s our Captain, Liam Shaw. He’s played by Todd Stashwick, of 12 Monkeys fame. We are sure he is going to get on like gangbusters with Starfleet legends Picard and Riker. What can go wrong?

All under the command of Captain Liam Shaw. A former engineer with a long history within Starfleet. More on him later… pic.twitter.com/wrcA9Ew9Cv

— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

And after 25 years, Seven of Nine finally gets a Starfleet uniform and an official role as a first officer. It’s about time.

And last but certainly not least: Meet the Titan’s first officer who was placed into an accelerated Starfleet program against her own judgement. Well, more on her on February 16th! @StarTrekOnPPlus pic.twitter.com/4JSI4J5zy8

— Terry Matalas (@TerryMatalas) February 4, 2023

We’re sure to meet even more Titan crew members, when Star Trek: Picard season three debuts on February 16.

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When Star Trek: Picard returns for its third and final season, one thing we know we’ll see at last is a brand new starship Enterprise. While it won’t be the “hero ship” of the show (that’s the U.S.S. Titan), this ship won’t just be a cameo either, according to showrunner Terry Matalas. But who will be her captain? We think the Enterprise-F won’t be commanded by just anyone. But based on various interviews given by the main cast, we don’t think it’ll be any of our main TNG cast either. Here’s who we think we may see in the Captain’s chair of the new Federation flagship when she makes her debut.

Alexander Rozhenko

We honestly can’t think of a character who has the Enterprise in their DNA more than Worf’s son, Alexander Rozhenko. He was literally conceived on the Enterpise-D holodeck, and spent his childhood on that ship. Later, as a young man in Deep Space Nine, Alexander joined the Klingon military. His mother K’Ehleyr was half-human, so he never felt fully Klingon or human, making him an awkward fit on a Bird of Prey.

Some 25 years after we last saw him, it would be great to see Alexander reconcile his alien/human heritage and become a superior Starfleet officer like his father, and command the vessel that’s the namesake of his childhood home. We’d love to see actor Mark Worden, who played Alexander on DS9, take up the role again. But if he doesn’t, three other actors also played the part previously. Because of that, we don’t think yet another recast would ruffle any feathers.

Thomas Riker

In the sixth season TNG episode “Second Chances,” we learned that a transporter accident several years prior had created a “transporter clone” of Will Riker. This other Riker was identical and had all of his memories up until the point of the split, but later chose to use his middle name, Thomas, to differentiate himself from his genetic twin and the Enterprise‘s “Number One.”

Eventually, he became a part of the Maquis terrorist cell on Deep Space Nine, and eventually went to prison. We never knew what became of him after that episode. But it sure would be fascinating if Tom Riker finally became the Captain of the Enterprise, as his counterpart always dreamed he would do one day. It would have to sting just a wee bit to the Will Riker we all know. Besides, we already have Jonathan Frakes in the cast. Why not have him play two roles?

Commander Shelby

Although Commander Shelby only appeared in two TNG episodes, they just happened to be the two most popular episodes of the entire show. Shelby (Elizabeth Dennehy) was an ambitious officer and Borg expert. One who was gunning for Commander Riker’s job as Enterprise’s first officer in the season three finale “The Best of Both Worlds.”

Shelby and Riker had a very adversarial relationship. However, they ultimately worked well together when she became his first officer for a brief time when Picard became the Borg Locutus. Somehow, she never appeared on the show again, despite fans always asking for her return. It would be great if she finally got to not just become the first officer of an Enterprise, but actually her Captain.

Dax

Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell), the Trill who lived several lifetimes in many bodies, was a main member of the Deep Space Nine cast. Not to mention, the wife of Worf. When she died, her symbiote, along with all her memories, transferred to a new host, Ezri Dax. Ezri (Nicole de Boer) became DS9’s counselor, and also became romantically involved with Dr. Julian Bashir. But what became of her afterward? It’s been 25 years since her time on DS9, and she might have changed careers by now.

In the post-finale “season eight” segments of the DS9 documentary What We Left Behind, Ezri commands the USS Emmett Till. Of course, none of that is canon in current Trek. But maybe she actually has risen in the ranks, and now commands the Enterprise-F. Or maybe, she has an entirely new Dax host body who is in command? Seeing his former spouse Dax in command of the Enterprise would certainly throw Worf for a loop.

Admiral Edward Jellico

In the fantastic two-part TNG episode “Chain of Command,” the Enterprise-D briefly had a new captain. Temporarily, the ship was under the command of Captain Edward Jellico, played by veteran character actor Ronny Cox. He was a gruff, micromanaging commanding officer, who rubbed everyone the wrong way, especially Commander Riker. The Enterprise crew couldn’t have been happier to welcome Jean Luc back.

For a long time, we didn’t know what became of Captain Jellico. However, he has recently reappeared on Star Trek: Prodigy as an Admiral. While it’s unusual for an Admiral to have command of a starship, it’s not unheard of. Imagine Riker’s face if the Enterprise-F appears, and the jerk who confined him to quarters years ago was in charge. Ronny Cox is 84 now, but still working, so it’s not impossible.

Of course, the new Enterprise captain might be someone we’ve never heard of, created just for the series. Or a different character from TNG, Deep Space Nine, or Voyager. We’re not even ruling out the original series! We’ll find out for sure when Star Trek: Picard season three premieres February 16 on Paramount+.

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Nicolas Cage has revealed his sci-fi loyalties. They lie with Star Trek’s United Federation of Planets, and not Star Wars’ Galactic Republic. He recently said “I’m not in the Star Wars family, I’m in the Star Trek family” expressing his love for Gene Roddenberry’s seminal franchise. Cage has chosen his weapon, and it is a phaser instead of a lightsaber.

This, of course, has us wondering what we have to do to get some Nicolas Cage in our Trek. Anson Mount, who plays Captain Pike on Strange New Worlds, seems to want this to happen too. Here are the Star Trek characters we think Nicolas Cage would simply excel at playing, should they wisely choose to beam him on board the Enterprise.

Sybok

Spock’s older half-brother was introduced in the much-maligned film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. A full-blood Vulcan (Sarek was his father, but his mother was a Vulcan princess), Sybok became a heretic for embracing emotion. The Vulcan High Council exiled him from his home planet, and he became a cult leader. He only appeared in that one Star Trek film.

Star Trek never spoke of Sybok again for over three decades, until the first season of Strange New Worlds mentioned him. They even showed his head from behind. We think when he’s properly introduced, Cage should play him. We think Cage as a Vulcan who embraces emotion and also leads a cult would be genius casting. Just imagine the impassioned speeches! Please, just let us see Cage in pointed ears.

A Classic Era Klingon (Kor/Koloth/Kang)

If Nicolas Cage is a Trekker, then on some level he must be dying to play a Klingon. But we don’t think he should just be any old Klingon. We think an appearance on SNW as one of the three main Klingon antagonists from TOS era is in order, Kang, Koloth, or Kor. After all, we have no idea if any of these warriors met with Captain Pike before meeting Kirk. He could also play one of these Klingon Dahar Masters in a Kelvin timeline movie. This is all we ask. In the SNW era, all three of these Klingons don’t have forehead ridges. This was thanks to a mutagenic virus that made them look human. Keep the continuity intact!

Trelane

Before there was Q on TNG, there was the character of Trelane in The Original Series. His only appearance was in one episode, “The Squire of Gothos.” There, they introduced him as an omnipotent being who was bratty, petulant, and wielded godlike powers. He also loved to dress in 18th-century clothing. So yes, he was absolutely the prototype for Q decades later. We never saw Trelane again—although non-canon novels explained him as a member of the Q continuum. But it would be fun to see Cage show up as this character and chew some scenery.

Captain Matt Decker

When we met Commodore Matt Decker in the classic episode “The Doomsday Machine,” he had gone a wee bit mad after losing his entire crew to an ancient planet killer. Actor William Windom gave an unhinged performance as the grieving and revenge-driven Commodore. Well, during the SNW era, Commodore Decker would probably still be Captain Decker. We think it would be fun to see Cage play the same character at an earlier point in the timeline, maybe giving us a hint of his madness that we’d see come to the surface later.

Gary Seven

Gary Seven was a “Class 1 Supervisor,” a human being altered by aliens to guard the timeline at various points in history. His only appearance took place in the 1968 episode of TOS called “Assignment: Earth,” which saw Kirk and Spock travel to the 20th century. There, they met Mr. Seven and learned about the existence of these timeline watchers. Paramount intended for Gary Seven to have a spinoff show, but it never happened. But it would be fun to see Nic Cage inherit the role, perhaps even on Star Trek: Discovery. Who’s to say he’s not alive 1,000 years after the Pike/SNW era?

The President of the Federation

The original series gave us no hints as to who the President of the Federation was during the time of Kirk’s first tour of duty on the Enterprise. It wasn’t until the movies that we saw two different Federation presidents, a human male in Star Trek IV, and an alien in Star Trek VI. Who better to play the leader of galactic democracy, either in the time of SNW or in the time of Discovery, than one Nicolas Cage? Since this is not a pre-existing character, yet someone we know exists in the timeline, we say let Cage run wild with a performance of the galactic leader. You just know he’d do something special.

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Nicolas Cage shot down any hopes Pedro Pascal had for bringing him into the Star Wars fold. While we’d love to see The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent co-stars reunite, it sounds like it won’t be in a galaxy far, far away. It turns out Cage prefers a different science fiction franchise. “I’m a Trekkie, man,” he tells Kevin Polowy of Yahoo Entertainment in the clip below when asked about Pascal’s desire to get Cage into Star Wars.  

This certainly got us, and the internet, fan-casting Cage in any and all upcoming Star Trek projects. A guest role in one of the many TV shows seems the most likely scenario. Cage only mentioned the original series timeframe, saying he grew up on Shatner and thinks Pine is “terrific.” So maybe he’d prefer Discovery or Strange New Worlds. But we’d love to see him bring even more wackiness to Lower Decks.

Cage could be a Starfleet Academy classmate of the U.S.S. Cerrito’s Captain Carol Freeman. Maybe there’s a dark secret and it goes full Wesley Crusher conspiracy like in “The First Duty”. Or perhaps he could just play himself? He’s certainly as important as other historical figures who show up on The Next Generation holodecks, like Sigmund Freud and Mark Twain. Or maybe Star Trek and National Treasure take place in the same universe and Ensign Beckett Mariner hits up Benjamin Franklin Gates’ diaries for treasure-hunting tips.

In the interview, which we saw thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, Cage elaborates more on why he prefers Star Trek to Star Wars: “To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that really you can say whatever you want, however you feel. You put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future, and you without people just jumping on you, you can really express your thoughts like Orwell or whomever in the science-fiction format. And Star Trek really embraced that.” 

While there’s plenty of political and sociological themes in Star Wars, it’s totally fine if Cage prefers Star Trek. It’s certainly welcome news that he has been a fellow Trekkie all this time. And hopefully he knows it’s not mutually exclusive. He can also be into Star Wars! Or even show up on The Mandalorian without being a lifelong fan.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Melissa is also a lifelong Trekkie. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth.

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Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches has landed on AMC, the second TV series based on one of the late author’s supernatural series of novels. While her Mayfair Witches trilogy was not quite as popular as her Vampire Chronicles, they were nevertheless huge bestsellers. And they have retained quite the following in the years since. Ever since the three books were published—1990’s The Witching Hour, 1993’s Lasher, and 1994’s Taltos—there have been talks of a live-action adaptation.

But what if we told you that the first book, The Witching Hour, already had a TV adaptation? At least in a roundabout, unofficial kind of way. And it was actually on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, back in 1994. Here’s the wild story of how one of TNG’s most cringe-worthy episodes was uncannily similar to Rice’s novel. Although no one involved with the episode has ever come forth and admitted its Anne Rice inspirations publicly. (Spoilers for Rice’s novel and the Star Trek episode from here on out).

The Story of The Witching Hour

Before we get into the Trek of it all, here’s a basic synopsis of the Mayfair Witches saga. Particularly, the first novel, The Witching Hour. The book centered on a young neurosurgeon named Rowan Mayfair, who upon her mother’s death, discovered she was 13th in a long line of women with supernatural gifts. Traveling to her birth family’s hometown of New Orleans, she learns about the family legacy of witchcraft, and how each woman in her family has had an ongoing (and rather sexual) relationship with a male spirit named Lasher. This evil spirit had haunted this family for hundreds of years, going back to 17th-century Scotland. Lasher’s goal was to manipulate the Mayfair bloodline over generations, to produce the best physical vessel for his consciousness. There’s a lot more to it, but that’s the quick and dirty synopsis.

Star Trek as a Gothic Romance

The TNG episode in question, “Sub Rosa,” aired towards the end of the show’s run, in its seventh season. Aside from the fantastic series finale, “All Good Things,” the writers were running out of steam that year. They therefore took chances on wild ideas like this one. However, the gothic romance angle played awkwardly against the harder sci-fi of the show. Today, many people consider it one of TNG’s less-than-stellar episodes. And yet, even back in the day, fans who had read Rice’s novel about New Orleans witches noticed a very strong similarity in plotlines and details from her book, merely transported into a Star Trek framework.

The basic plot of the episode goes like this; Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) inherits an heirloom candle from her grandmother after she dies. She travels to her grandmother’s home planet Caldos IV—a colony of Scottish settlers who have recreated the Highlands on an alien world—for her funeral. The candle contained a male “ghost,” described in sci-fi terms as an “anaphasic alien lifeform,” who had appeared to most of the women in Beverly’s family for hundreds of years.

Ronin and Lasher: Kindred Spirits

This being, named Ronin, functioned as a friend, mentor, and lover to the Howard women (Howard being Beverly’s maiden surname). Beverly found all of this out by reading her late grandmother’s diaries, until Ronin appeared and seduced her too. She began to act completely out of character, willing to throw away her life in Starfleet to be with Ronin. Ultimately, it’s revealed that Ronin had been latching on to the women in her family, manipulating them, in order to become corporeal. With the help of Captain Picard, Beverly escaped Ronin’s thrall. By the episode’s climax, she destroyed the candle and escapes the being’s influence, returning to the Enterprise.

The similarities between The Witching Hour and “Sub Rosa” were way too numerous to appear coincidental. Both stories feature multiple generations of women under the spell of an ancient, malevolent (yet sexy) spirit. Both spirits had one-word names, and were suave and seductive. The women in both families almost all kept the same last name, despite marriage. (Although Beverly obviously changed her surname to Crusher). Both the Mayfairs and Howards respective origins as healers went back to the Scottish highlands. Healers often accused of witchcraft. Lasher and Ronin were both tied to a family heirloom. In the Mayfair’s case, it’s a pendant. With the Howards, it’s a candle. Both Lasher and Ronin can affect the environment and can control the weather.

Then, there’s the simple fact that in both stories, the last female heir to inherit the legacy and bring the spirit’s plan to fruition was a woman of science, and a medical doctor to boot. Even the fact that Ronin “merged” with Beverly was similar to how Lasher merged with Rowan Mayfair at the climax of The Witching Hour. Although in that case, it was her unborn fetus he bonded with, in order to be born fully conscious. But still…it’s a lot of similarities. So much so, that for years, Anne Rice fans considered the episode something of an unofficial adaptation at best, or a blatant ripoff at worst.

Homage, Ripoff, or Huge Coincidence?

The writing credit for “Sub Rosa” went to Jeri Taylor, based on a treatment by Star Trek superfan Jeanna F. Gallo, who submitted her story ideas through Star Trek’s open-door submission policy of that time. Taylor, who went on to produce Star Trek: Voyager, has always maintained that her script was inspired by Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw and the film The Innocents, and never read Rice’s book. Of course, Anne Rice cited those gothic stories as inspirations for her as well. But the similarities with Rice’s prose are just too similar when it comes to this episode, and it contained key elements from neither of those other works.

We don’t believe that Gallo, who has this episode as her only IMDB credit, has ever gone on record about her inspirations for “Sub Rosa.” But The Witching Hour came out and was a best seller in 1990, and they filmed the TNG episode in late 1993. So the timeline sure fits. Anne Rice herself never commented publicly about the TNG episode to our knowledge. And that indicates to us that she took the whole thing in stride. Of course, it could all be a stunning coincidence. Certainly, things like this have happened in pop culture before. (Superman and Shazam, for example). So in the end, both Star Trek and Mayfair Witches might wind up as equally valid (and equally divergent) adaptations of the same source material.

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Star Trek is a pop culture franchise that just won’t quit. Now over five decades into its existence, it has outgrown its humble beginnings as a low-budget sci-fi show with a loyal cult following, and into a true cultural juggernaut. Who doesn’t know the phrases “beam me up” or “live long and prosper?” It’s ingrained in our collective psyche. And the franchise is going stronger than ever, with several shows currently airing. But of all these new series, and the many that came before, which one is the cream of the crop? It’s time to evaluate each of the eleven series set in the Final Frontier from the past 55 years.  Here’s our ranking of every Star Trek series, from worst to best.

11. Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1975)

Yes, it’s at the bottom, but I’d never say this is a bad series. There are some smart sci-fi scripts spread throughout the show’s two-season run, notably the time-travel episode “Yesteryear,” which gave us a glimpse into Spock’s childhood. But the animation was really limited due to budget constraints, and the voice actors didn’t even record together (and it shows). We give it points for keeping the Trek flames burning in the long decade between the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, but it still ranks last. If only because there’s simply not enough of it.

10. Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020-Present)

We’re now three seasons into the first animated Trek show since the ’70s, and also the first overtly comedic show in the franchise’s history. Lower Decks centers around a second-tier starship’s junior crew, and so far, it has gained quite a cult following. The mix of irreverent humor and lovable characters has made it very endearing. It’s also very faithful to Star Trek lore (if not Star Trek storytelling sensibilities.) But the show is ultimately too fluffy to place any higher. That could change down the line of course. But for now, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos is near the bottom. They’re probably used to it.

9. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

This is the fourth and last Star Trek series of the Rick Berman era. The show ran on UPN for four seasons, making it the shortest run of the modern Trek series (so far). Despite a winning cast lead by Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, this prequel show to the original Trek felt stuck in the television tropes of the prior decade. It didn’t really even feel like a true Star Trek prequel until the show’s wonderful fourth and final season. But that season’s not enough to save the show’s legacy as a whole. Also, the theme song was pretty cringe-worthy and out of place for a Star Trek series.

8. Star Trek: Picard (2020-Present)

This live-action series saw the return of Sir Patrick Stewart as the (now retired) Jean-Luc Picard. Although the series started out promisingly, its plot about a race of artificial lifeforms was ultimately way too similar to Battlestar Galactica and Blade Runner, both of which did the same story, but better. It also showed the once-Utopian world of the 24th century as a place now filled with bitter, broken people, which was a bummer. Stewart is fantastic as always, and his inner journey helped the show remain very watchable. But the promise of a full TNG cast reunion in the third and final season could push this series much higher. 

7. Star Trek: Discovery (2017-Present)

Star Trek: Discovery is the franchise’s current “flagship show.” Four seasons in, the show is definitely a mixed bag. On the pro side: the cast—headed by Sonequa Martin-Green—is truly fantastic, and it has the best production value of any Trek to date. But like too much modern Trek, it often feels like it’s cribbing from other (more popular) franchises. Its prequel timeline/continuity was also handled messily from the get-go.

The series’ first two seasons are set about a decade before the original series. But in season three, the show went way past where any Trek has gone before, by jumping 1,000 years into the future. This was ultimately a good thing, as the journey past the prequel timeline and into an unknown future gave the show a much-needed shot in the arm. And season four further improved upon the third. Maybe with time, Discovery will move up higher on this list.

6. Star Trek: Prodigy (2021-Present)

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first animated all-ages Star Trek series since the 1973 Saturday morning cartoon show. Because of this, many fans dismissed it offhand before it ever aired. But Prodigy, about a group of misfit kids who commandeer a prototype Federations starship, the Protostar, in the far reaches of space, turned out to be absolutely delightful. And very true to the core, exploratory spirit of the franchise.

The camaraderie between the main cast of kids is always heartwarming, and this series has more ties to greater franchise lore than most other modern Trek shows. Of course, the addition of Kate Mulgrew as Kathryn Janeway, both the “training hologram” version, and the actual Admiral Janeway, that’s just the cherry on top. One of the best modern Star Trek shows, “kid’s show” or not.

5. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-Present)

It almost feels like cheating, putting a show with just one season behind it so high on this list. But so far, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the best Trek series of the modern streaming era. It also has had the best first season of any Trek since the original series. Technically a prequel to the original show, SNW fulfills the promise of that first unaired pilot episode “The Cage,” by focusing on Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his Number One (Rebecca Romijn). Of course, young Spock is there too, played by Ethan Peck. Together, they’ve created a new trio of instantly likable headliners.

SNW returns to the “one and done” story format of classic Trek, but gives it all a modern sheen. The color scheme and ship designs may be retro, but it’s never done in a dismissive, kitschy way. In many ways, SNW reminds us why the original format of the show, about a crew of diverse people engaged in pure exploration and diplomacy, is still the best way to go. The characters are great, the actors are great, the writing is great. So we only expect SNW to climb further up this chart as more seasons roll in, assuming they don’t drop the ball.

4. Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

Let’s get this out of the way: Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway was a great Captain, and the rest of the cast was terrific as well. But this series never fully lived up to its premise. It was supposedly about a Federation starship lost in space, years from home. A ship with a crew made up of former enemies, now forced to work together. But you’d almost never know it watching the show, which often felt like a series desperately trying to capture the glory of the TNG years.

Many episodes of Voyager, especially in the first few seasons, felt very familiar to those that had aired just a couple of years earlier on The Next Generation. However, enough episodes scattered throughout are indeed quite terrific, but there really should be more of those for a series that lasted seven seasons. We’re glad the legacy of Voyager lives on with Seven of Nine on Picard, and with Janeway as a principal character on Prodigy.

3. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

This show had everything going against it when it premiered in 1987. How does one follow up on something as iconic as the original Star Trek? And with all new characters and a new starship Enterprise? Well, after a very wobbly first two seasons, the show found its footing in season three. It then became a true standout sci-fi series with dozens of classic episodes. Seasons three through seven are, in many ways, as good as this franchise gets.

Patrick Stewart is arguably the best actor ever to sit in the Captain’s chair, and the characters of Picard, Data, Worf, and the rest have all become pop culture icons. It also has one of the best series finales of any show ever. TNG represented Star Trek at its peak mainstream popularity, and no show before or since has matched its ratings power. The only reason this doesn’t rank slightly higher is that the first two seasons really are kind of a mess, and lower the value ever so slightly.

2. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)

Much like TNG before it, Deep Space Nine took about two seasons to find its footing. This despite always showcasing a stellar cast, headlined by Avery Brooks, playing the first African-American lead in a Star Trek show. But man oh man, despite the rough start, when it finally did click, it became one of the most ambitious science-fiction series ever produced for television. It did serialized, complex genre storytelling a good decade before that became the norm.

DS9 dealt with themes of religion and war and politics among the usual Star Trek tropes. Not one character was the same at the end of this series as they were at the start of it. The same can’t be said for most other shows on this list, even the best ones. It also expanded and deepened our understanding of the many different species introduced in previous Trek shows. Plus it gave us the franchise’s best villains in Gul Dukat, and later, the Dominion. This is one Trek series that broke the mold.

1. Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969)

Without Gene Roddenberry’s original series, there simply is no Star Trek franchise, period. It created the template that eight of the series that followed it picked up on. The original series was ground zero for modern nerd fandom, and it made pop culture icons of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk and Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock. But beyond all that enduring cultural legacy, the character dynamic of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy remains one of the greatest ever seen in popular entertainment.

Looking back, we can see that Star Trek’s first season was nearly flawless, with almost thirty amazing episodes written by legends of the science-fiction genre. Season two is great as well, and season three is…well, it is less so. Regardless of that wonky last season though, the iconic nature of Star Trek: The Original Series, which spawned six feature films and a 21st century reboot of the characters, still wins hands down. Forget the dated music, visual effects, and occasionally cheesy acting. When it was at its best, you just couldn’t beat the original series.

Featured Image: CBS

Originally published in 2019.

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Star Trek‘s technological legacy is vast. Kids watching back in the ’60s grew up and invented the cool things they saw in the show. Tablets, video calls, and flip phones are all real-life gadgets inspired by Star Trek tech. Food replicators and medical tricorders are not far off. But did you know that automatic sliding doors belong on that list as well?

Those of us who were not alive yet when the original series came out may have no idea that this technology blew people away at the time. Famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has even said it was the least realistic part of the show to him. When he watched as a kid, space travel and warp drive were believable enough. However, doors that knew when you wanted them to open seemed truly too good to be true. Let’s explore a bit about the history of those automatic doors, both in Star Trek and in real life.

When Were Automatic Doors Invented?

An engineer in ancient Greece actually invented the earliest known version of automatic doors nearly 2,000 years ago. It involved fire, pulleys, and a priest. The mechanism was designed to give the illusion that a divine power opened the temple doors. The next automatic door wasn’t around until 1931 but only existed in one restaurant in Connecticut. It swung open and closed to allow waiters back and forth to the kitchen.

Engineers invented the first automatic sliding doors in 1954 and they became commercially available in 1960. But they used a mat on the floor to trigger the doors, which is definitely not the case in Star Trek. They didn’t really catch on until the addition of motion sensor technology in the 1970s, after Star Trek‘s run. In the ’80s and ’90s, infrared technology advanced. Most automatic doors now use that to determine when to open and close.

Their use in popular places like gas stations, grocery stores, and airports increases accessibility. It also removes the need to touch door handles and other surfaces. But because the infrared devices monitor a large space around the doors, they still open even if you’re just walking by. And that’s something that makes the doors in Star Trek smarter still than what we have today.

How Do Doors Work on Star Trek?

There’s some continuity questions about the doors in Star Trek. Some come with a button, others respond to voice commands, and then there’s those that magically know when to open and close. Private quarters have a chime and some sort of voice recognition. Other doors only open when characters actually intend to go through them, something that sets them apart from modern automatic doors. There are many scenes of people loitering near doorways that don’t open. With real-life automatic doors, people walking by, animals, or even a strong breeze can trigger them.

Since the beginning, a distinctive sound has accompanied the doors. It has changed over time but is likely still dubbed rather than the actual on-set audio. The whooshing certainly implies some sort of pneumatic air-powered door. Rumor has it that the original foley is actually the sound of someone pulling paper from an envelope. We do see a few manual doors, like those in Wesley Crusher’s dorm at Starfleet Academy, though characters in universe consider them antiquated relics.

Does Star Trek Use Automatic Doors on Set?

In the original series, a stagehand operated the doors behind the scenes. Wires attached to the doors ran through a series of pulleys. The assistant director triggered a light, the person in charge of the door pulled on the mechanism, and the doors would open. It seems that the same setup was used on The Next Generation, which likely means it was on Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and movies during that time as well. Enjoy the blooper compilation below where mis-timed doors on both shows trigger late, early, or not at all. Just like in our reality, perhaps the on-set doors should come with caution signs.

Much of the publicly available information about the sets of the more recent shows and movies are actually from blooper reels. Chris Pine grappled with a door during at least one of the Star Trek movies. Based on a set tour of Strange New Worlds available to watch on Paramount+, it appears the doors slide open at the push of a button. Since they open automatically in universe, most likely an on-set crew member triggers the door out of frame when Pike and his Enterprise crew need to pass through.

Automatic sliding doors are present from the pilot episode (both of them) of the original series to the finale of Strange New World’s inaugural season (the most recent live-action episode to air). Of all the many questions we have about Star Trek, the most pressing is: when did automatic doors come to the set?

Gene Rodenberry’s Star Trek legacy is many-fold and ever-lasting. Important people were molded by their love of the show. The diverse casting in every series advances civil rights around the world. And then there’s the technology. That something as ubiquitous as automatic sliding doors are now was once a science fiction dream is just one more testament to Star Trek‘s lasting legacy.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. Her text messages arrive to the sound of TNG’s door chime. Melissa also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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For a while there it certainly seemed like they weren’t going back. But another Star Trek film is on the way. And Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, and Simon Pegg are all beaming back up for more Star Trek. According to Deadline, negotiations are underway with the intent to bring back all of the mainstays in the rebooted franchise. It’s just one of the many major developments to arise out of the ViacomCBS Investor Day call. J.J. Abrams appeared on the call, confirming the reports that Star Trek 4 was a go.

WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman was on tap to direct Star Trek 4 but has since bowed out of the project. We will wait and see who may replace him. Josh Friedman and Cameron Squires will write the script. According to Deadline, their version is based on a script from Lindsey Beer and Geneva Robertson-Dworet. So depending on how it goes, this film might have a lot of credited scribes.

Naturally, details are under wraps at the moment, including the plot. It’s been a turbulent last several years for Star Trek 4. Back in 2018, plans for another film with the cast stalled, reportedly after Chris Pine and Chris Hemsworth, who played George Kirk in the 2009 reboot, walked away over pay disputes. But Hemsworth later told Variety he wasn’t completely on board with the script.

Over the last several years, several people, from Noah Hawley to Quentin Tarantino, have tossed around ideas for a Star Trek film. (The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood writer-director really wanted to make the first R-rated Star Trek project.  Mark L. Smith, who wrote The Revenant, even wrote a draft.)

Still, though, many, including John Cho, held out hope that the fourth film in the rebooted franchise would eventually happen. And how the Enterprise crew is back together for Star Trek 4—save one very important cast member.

Anton Yelchin, who played Chekov in the first three films, sadly passed away in 2016. Abrams confirmed at the time that the role would not be recast. He told the Toronto Sun, “I would say there’s no replacing him. There’s no recasting. I can’t possibly imagine that, and I think Anton deserves better.” We’d imagine this sentiment remains in place. And we can’t wait to see how they pay tribute to the late actor.

A recent article from The Hollywood Reporter notes that the movie is a top priority for Paramount. It further indicated the Star Trek 4 release date would be December 23, 2023. But for now, Paramount has removed Star Trek 4 from its release schedule. One way or the other, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for more Star Trek 4 developments and any glimpse of Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest.

Originally published on June 8, 2022.

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Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered 35 years ago, in a very different pop culture landscape for geeky TV fare. Sure, back in 1987, we had all kinds of sci-fi and fantasy movies on the big screen. But on TV, it was almost a desert, except for kid’s cartoons. So if sci-fi was your jam, chances are you tuned into TNG every week, even in those rougher, early seasons. But what if The Next Generation was airing now, in 2022, in the age of Twitter and Tiktok? These are ten shocking moments from the iconic series that would break the internet if they aired today.

Tasha Yar Dies/”Skin of Evil,” Season One, Episode 23, 1988

In the original Star Trek, being a name in the series’ opening credits meant you were safe from harm. Only nameless “red shirts” got taken out by aliens on an away mission. So when they killed off Chief of Security Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) with the wave of an alien’s goopy hands, in the episode “Skin of Evil,” fandom gasped.

Most viewers tuning in to that episode had no idea that Crosby was leaving the show, much less that her character Tasha Yar would die in such an unlikely manner. And it signaled that just being in the show’s main cast wasn’t a safety net from potential harm. Space was dangerous for everyone, even main characters.

Whoopi Goldberg Joins the Cast/”The Child,” Season Two, Episode One, 1988

In 1988, Whoopi Goldberg was a huge movie star. She’d made her cinematic debut in the award-winning film The Color Purple, and starred in comedy hits like Jumpin’ Jack Flash. So many viewers were shocked to turn on the second season premiere of TNG and see that Whoopi had joined the cast in a recurring capacity, as the Enterprise‘s new alien bartender named Guinan.

Goldberg was a huge Trekker, and lobbied Gene Roddenberry hard for a role on the show. At first, he didn’t believe she was serious, because she was already a big movie star. Why would she want to be in a syndicated sci-fi show? She convinced him that Nichelle Nichols’ Lt. Uhura on the classic series was part of her inspiration for getting into acting. Goldberg’s addition to TNG cast at that point in her career surely shocked many a viewer. If it happened today, folks would be posting like mad “wait, is that really Whoopi serving drinks to Wesley Crusher??

Tasha Yar Returns/”Yesterday’s Enterprise,” TNG Season Three, Episode 15, 1990

A few months into the show’s groundbreaking third season, TNG unleashed another banger episode with “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” This alt-timeline story saw a cosmic anomaly distort the timeline, resulting in a new reality, one where Tasha Yar never died, and was still the Enterprise security chief. The timeline change happens within the episode’s pre-credits moments, no doubt leaving viewers confused and flabbergasted. This episode also finally gave viewers the history of one of the previous Enterprises between Kirk and Picard’s time, which today would have caused many fan squeals online.

Spock’s Father Appears/”Sarek,” TNG Season Three, Episode 23, 1990

Aside from a cameo from DeForest Kelley in the pilot episode, TNG avoided any characters from the original series. For almost three seasons, TNG kept to that rule, until this episode, which saw a certain Vulcan appear on the bridge. No, not Spock. (That’s later). The shocking first TOS connection on TNG was from Sarek, Spock’s father, once again played by Mark Lenard. Fans were no doubt surprised to see the 200-year-old Vulcan Ambassador, who appeared in two previous Trek films. Today, after so much waiting, we’re sure that first TNG connection to the classic show would have set social media on fire.

“I am Locutus of Borg”/”The Best of Both Worlds,” TNG Season Three, Episode 26, 1990

Many cite this moment as the one where TNG finally broke out of the TOS’ shadow. And it’s hard to argue against that point. In “The Best of Both Worlds,” the Borg, the deadly cybernetic collective introduced a year earlier, kidnapped and assimilated Captain Picard into their hive mind. Through mind control, he became Locutus of Borg. His one goal was to assimilate the entire Federation.

This was the first season finale cliffhanger ending in Star Trek history, and when the now-Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) said “Mr. Worf….fire!” on the Borg ship, leaving us hanging for months, Trek fandom was beside themselves. Would Riker really kill his beloved commanding officer? If this aired today, the internet reactions would rival Game of Thrones‘ Red Wedding. It was that big of a deal at the time.

Worf Kills Duras/”Reunion,” TNG Season Four, Episode Seven, 1990

For three seasons, Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), the Enterprise’s resident Klingon warrior, was always on the verge of unleashing all his ferocity on an enemy and ending them for good. But he always kept to the regulations of conduct as a Starfleet officer. That is, until season four’s “Reunion”, when the Son of Mogh broke all the rules and killed his rival Duras in ritual combat.

Mind you, Duras stripped Worf of his family honor in the previous season, and in this episode murdered Worf’s love K’Ehleyr in cold blood. Usually, our main characters come back from the brink of actually killing their enemies, but not this time. Luckily, all Worf received was a reprimand on his record. (Basically, Jean-Luc just gave him a slap on the wrist). Even he knew Duras had it coming, but it was a shocking moment in the usually squeaky clean world of TNG.

Tasha Returns Again! Or Not?/”Redemption,” TNG Season Four, Episode 26, 1991

Even though she was only a regular cast member for one season of TNG, it seems Denise Crosby kept popping up for the show’s most buzz-worthy moments. Not bad work if you can get it. After a groundbreaking season three finale, the season four finale had to do something just as jaw-dropping. So in the final moments of “Redemption,” Denise Crosby pops up out of the shadows in full Romulan regalia.

“Tasha Yar is alive again?? And a Romulan? Say what?” That was the reaction of fandom at the time, and something that surely would have made social media pop off today. The next season’s premiere revealed Crosby was playing Sela, not Tasha. She was the daughter of the alt-timeline Tasha from “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and a Romulan (don’t ask). But that cliffhanger ending from season four had everyone talking at the moment. We can imagine all the posts tagged “Spoilers” today.

Leonard Nimoy’s Spock Appears/”Unification, Pt. I” TNG Season Five, Episode Seven, 1991

When TNG was announced, most fans didn’t see it as “legit” Star Trek because of the lack of original cast members involved. It took many seasons for some die-hard fans to accept TNG as real Trek. This despite stellar ratings, and the show eventually becoming a critical darling.

But into season five, TNG got the ultimate seal of approval, when Leonard Nimoy appeared as Mr. Spock in a special two-part event episode, “Unification.” This appearance was well publicized, even in pre-internet media. But seeing Spock and Picard interact, as well as Spock and Data, was a moment fans waited years to see. The internet today would have blown up like Kirk’s Enterprise in Star Trek III.

“There. Are. Four. Lights!”/”Chain of Command, Pt II,” TNG Season Six, Episode 11, 1993

“There are four lights!” Even if you’re not a TNG fan, you’ve probably seen the meme of a disheveled Patrick Stewart with those words written on it. Well, those words come from an unusually heavy and serious two-part episode from season six, “Chain of Command.” This episode saw Picard captured by a cruel Cardassian commander (David Warner). He physically and psychologically tortures the Captain, nearly breaking him.

It’s a tour de force performance from Sir Patrick, among the best he ever did for this show. Seeing such a harrowing display of cruelty was very uncommon for not just TNG, but TV in general at the time. Had it aired today, fans online would have been in deep shock and demanding an Emmy for both Warner and Stewart.

The Grand Finale/”All Good Things,” TNG Season Seven, Episode 26, 1994

Series finales always get a lot of attention, because we expect them to be a final essay on the series. These days, whenever a show ends, it all boils down to “did it stick the landing or not.” Well, TNG’s finale episode, “All Good Things,” definitely stuck the landing, and writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga crafted an episode that paid homage to the show’s beginnings (hey, there’s Denise Crosby again!), its present, and its future.

The time travel story of “All Good Things” allowed for a look at all our beloved characters’ lives 25 years into the future. It had everyone talking back then, and that would still be what everyone would tweet about had TNG gone off the air in 2022 and not 1994. Interestingly enough, 25 years have now passed in real life, and we will soon see what all the TNG crew is up to in the third season of Star Trek: Picard. We’d bet ten bars of gold pressed latinum the internet will break when we see them all together again.

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Like many, I had movie posters on my wall throughout my teenage and young adult years. To this day, I still have a Labyrinth poster up in my bedroom. But I probably wouldn’t if it looked like the uncanny movie posters artificial intelligence creates. Based on the art project Robomojo, it seems AI makes everything too much like post-apocalyptic nightmare fuel for me to want it staring down from my wall. But these AI-generated movie posters are certainly fun to scroll through! And there’s more added all the time.

Our Favorite AI-generated Movie Posters

Star Trek

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen movie posters created by AI. But Robomojo’s addition of the credits and taglines sets these apart. Leaving that familiarity in place highlights how oddly different AI works. Everything is just a bit off, like the alien flying above Earth for the first Star Trek movie. There’s some Vulcan elements there sure, but also lots of questions. Like, what is happening with the eyes in this AI-generated movie poster?

Star Wars

Spoiler alert! Darth Vader and his mini-me in the AI-generated Star Wars poster certainly get right to the point. Robomojo is a project by the artist Vincenzi and uses AI programs DALL-E 2 and Midjourney. He shared a bit about the process. “I’ll initially prompt it using just the film’s title to see what it generates, and the results unexpectedly open the story into a vivid alternative universe, which appeals to me. I wanted to know how the cold mind of a computer would envision these cultural touchstones. Art was traditionally seen as the last bastion of humanity in the face of technological progress, so it’s an interesting challenge to retain a sense of that humanity over this next chapter.” 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Admittedly, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a crazy prompt to begin with. We accept it now, but it’s an unlikely combination of words. The Robomojo site has dozens more AI-generated movie posters to check out.

Batman

Even Batman ends up weirder than Tim Burton could make it. Robomojo includes multiple iterations of the 1989 movie’s poster, but this one (above) of what looks to be David Tennant making out with a purple bat is the oddest.

Steel Magnolias

The AI-generated movie posters cover every genre, including romantic comedies. Steel Magnolias looks more like a Terminator sequel than some of the actual movies in the series. And who knew Sleepless in Seattle is actually an alien horror movie? Or that the devil literally wears Prada.

Avatar

The Papyrus-like font on Avatar‘s AI poster ends up looking perfectly normal in comparison to the updated one. There’s amazing skill involved in using artificial intelligence to create such effective art. It certainly got us talking!

Originally published August 5, 2022.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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The world recently lost a legend when actress and activist Nichelle Nichols passed away at the age of 89. As Lt. Nyota Uhura, she appeared in three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series, the animated series, and six feature films. But more importantly, Nichelle Nichols spent much of her life recruiting women and minorities into the space program for NASA. The documentary Woman in Motion chronicled her amazing story. So it is only fitting that her final resting place should be out among the stars themselves.

According to Gizmodo, a portion of Nichols’ ashes is heading into outer space aboard a rocket appropriately named the Vulcan. Nichols’ son, Kyle Johnston, donated the ashes. In addition, the Celestis website has a memorial for Nichols’ fans looking to honor the iconic star. They can do this by sending in writing, music, photos, art, and more. “All names and messages will be digitized and launched with her on her journey” using something they call the “Celestis Mindfile.”

Aside from Nichols, other Star Trek icons who have left us are part of this historic flight. People like series creator Gene Roddenberry and Nichols’ co-stars Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Nurse Chapel). Also, James Doohan (Scotty) will have a portion of his ashes on this unique space flight. Finally, Star Trek: The Motion Picture effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull will also be a part of the Celestis flight.

The first Celestis Voyager Memorial Spaceflight, the Enterprise Flight, will launch from Earth and travel three million kilometers beyond into deep space. The official website describes it as “an infinite journey of tribute and remembrance.” As Spock would say, “fascinating.” It’s also fitting that the first Celestis flight has the names of two different iconic Starfleet vessels. The Celestis flight is open to anyone who can afford the hefty price tag. The site says deep space launches start at $12,500.

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The words “legend” and “legendary” are frequently exaggerated and flippantly assigned to any person, place, or thing that has a modicum of impact. But Nichelle Nichols embodies the true definition of what it means to be a legend, to blaze a pathway for peers and future generations, and to be an agent of change both within the scope of her entertainment career and beyond. The truly legendary actress transitioned to be among the stars on July 30, 2022. And our beloved Uhura left a plethora of Star Trek fans, space enthusiasts, and others to cherish her existence. 

Nichelle Nichols broke barriers on television as Uhura, a Black lieutenant aboard Star Trek’s now-infamous USS Enterprise in the late 1960s. During this fraught time for Black Americans, Uhura was a beacon of hope. She represented an ideal future with true equality for Black people. Uhura was the gateway into science-fiction and fandom for many kids during that era. Nichols and Uhura were both brilliant, innovative, resourceful, and fierce, pushing boundaries with style and grace.

Nichols gained a throng of followers, including Martin Luther King, Jr., who convinced her to stay when she was thinking about leaving Star Trek. She wanted to leave to return to her first love, theater, but thankfully she took the civil rights leader’s advice. Fans consistently doted on her kindness, witty personality, and how she used her fame to change the world. Nichelle Nichols’ impact as Uhura went far beyond the final frontier of Star Trek. She partnered with NASA in 1977 to recruit more diverse candidates for the Space Shuttle program.

Her volunteer work with NASA lasted until 2015, ending as her health began to wane. In fact, at least two generations of Black girls and women in STEM cite Nichelle Nichols as an inspiration. This list includes legends in their own right like Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space. And in the landscape of television, she set the stage for Black women to thrive in starring roles. Without Nichelle Nichols, there would be no Sonequa Martin-Green, Kerry Washington, Freema Agyeman, Viola Davis, Whoopi Goldberg, and many other Black women who have led TV shows in subsequent years.

Nichols went on to portray Uhura far beyond the original series, starring in several films, the 1970s animated series, and most recently, Star Trek: Prodigy. Inspiring legends like Nichelle Nichols never truly die. Their impact through their onscreen work and philanthropic achievements stand tall and resonate forever. Take your place among the stars, Nichelle Nichols. We love and honor you forever.

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With the second season behind us, the much anticipated third season of Star Trek: Picard sees Jean-Luc reunite with his former Enterprise crewmates. Yes, the entire main Star Trek: The Next Generation cast will join Picard’s Jean-Luc for one last adventure in the upcoming season of the show. Joining Sir Patrick Stewart on stage was Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), right alongside executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Rod Roddenberry.

Most importantly, we got our first real teaser trailer for Picard’s final season, showing us Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Worf (Michael Dorn). This is the first time Dorn has worn the Klingon ridges since 2002. Several new none The Next Generation character posters for Picard season three were released as well.

You can watch the full TNG and Picard reunion trailer above, which, interestingly, does not show Brent Spiner. Even though we know, he’s in the final season. Is he playing a Soong? Another android? We think they’re hiding him for a reason, and we can’t wait to find out why. At San Diego Comic-Con it was revealed he would be playing a new, but old, character. Very interesting.

Showrunner Terry Matalas loved the idea of doing the final Next Gen movie. It was really exciting to approach this from a place of “who would these characters be so many years later?” One of the things we love most about Wrath of Khan is the mind games between Khan and Kirk and that has been a real north star for us this season with the villain we created. We do have a singular villain… she is amazing.”

Kurtzman said of The Next Generation and Picard overlap, “We earned the return of these characters in a way that will hopefully make you feel like you’re home again.” He also said “in some ways season three is like a feature film.” This was in response to an audience Q&A about another TNG movie, to which Stewart said “I think that would be great,” but also didn’t want this remark to start reports about a new TNG movie. (He gets the internet) Most importantly, Stewart says in season three they do return to the original Enterprise for a little while. Does that mean the Enterprise-D? We can only hope.

Although much of the previous cast from seasons one and two are not returning to Star Trek: Picard in favor of a TNG reunion, both Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Raffi (Michelle Hurd) are back. It looks like Seven dons a Starfleet uniform, so perhaps she can finally enlist. Could she be Captaining the U.S.S. Stargazer, now that Captain Rios is remaining in the 21 st century? It sure looks that way. The teaser also gave us what looks like yet another iteration of the Starfleet uniforms. They sure change tailors at Starfleet a whole lot, don’t they?

The third and final season of Star Trek: Picard debuts in 2023. We can’t wait to see Picard reunite with all of his The Next Generation crewmates. And this first glimpse of what that might look like has us more excited than ever.

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With the season one finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “A Quality of Mercy,” we’ve not only met our new young James T. Kirk for the first time, played by Paul Wesley, but we’ve revisited one of the most beloved episodes of the original series, season one’s “Balance of Terror.” And that entire episode’s importance to the overall Star Trek canon has now been reframed for all time. But the Strange New Worlds season finale also dealt with Captain Pike’s knowledge of his grisly future fate.

The Heavy Burden of Captain Christopher Pike

Ever since he appeared on Star Trek: Discovery, Pike has been aware of his future fate, thanks to Klingon time crystals. As seen on Star Trek: The Original Series, Pike will one day save several Starfleet cadets from a reactor accident. We saw this backstory detailed in the The Original Series episode “The Menagerie.” But although he saves some of the cadets, others don’t make it. And Pike suffers terrible radiation injuries that leave his body useless.

In “A Quality of Mercy,” Pike tried to change that fate, not for himself, but for two young cadets who he knows don’t survive. But an older version of himself (in a Star Trek movie era uniform) arrived from the future (again, using time crystals). He showed him why changing his timeline would be disastrous, and takes him seven years into the future. This brings us straight to “Balance of Terror.”

A WWII Submarine Movie in Space

“Balance of Terror” was the ninth episode produced for the original series, although it was the fourteenth aired. Its main influences were the World War II submarine films The Enemy Below and Run Silent, Run Deep. Like the submarine movies it was based on, “Balance of Terror” focused on two commanders of opposing vessels, Captain Kirk and an unnamed Romulan commander (Mark Lenard, who later played Spock’s father Sarek). Each was in a battle to outthink the other and survive. Both commanders were strategic geniuses, who admitted they might be friends in another reality.

Most importantly however, this episode introduced the Romulan Star Empire to Star Trek canon. It also established the century-long cold war that existed between them and the Federation. Not only did it introduce the Romulans, but it introduced the idea that Vulcans and Romulans were genetically related. And that the Romulans were the result of an early Vulcan colonization period. (Later Star Trek series fleshed this out more). In the episode, Kirk’s actions prevented a new sustained conflict between the Federation and the Romulans. But Kirk prevented it due to his daring move to attack them before they could return home to Romulus.

“Balance of Terror,” The Remix

In “A Quality of Mercy,” Pike took a different approach to deal with the same problem. In 2266, he’s still in command of the Enterprise, six months after he was meant to have departed as her Captain. Because the accident now never happened. It means he remained the Captain when the Romulans returned. And he decided to take a far more measured response to their aggression, which left several Earth outposts destroyed.

Although many of the “future” scenes play out just as in in “Balance of Terror,” there were some changes. Lt. Ortegas was still on the Enterprise, which she was not in Kirk’s time. She filled the role of the very anti-Romulan Lt. Stiles in the original series. Also, there was no Lt. Sulu at the helm. Perhaps he was someone Kirk brought on board or promoted.

But certain scenes played out exactly the same. The dialogue of Starfleet Outpost 4’s Commander Hanson was word-for-word the same as it was on the original Star Trek episode. When we saw the Romulan’s true appearance, Strange New Worlds used the same music as “Balance of Terror.” They also recreate the zoom-in on Spock’s raised eyebrow—some of you may only know this as an often overused meme.

But after this scene, things began to play out differently from the history we knew. Pike, a man of peace, wanted to maintain diplomacy at all costs. He believed he could reason with any enemy. So he tried extending an olive branch to the Romulans, despite their aggressive acts. The Romulan Captain was like-minded and receptive to this, But that did not hold true for the rest of his crew.

The Right Captain for the Wrong Time

When Captain Kirk arrived, in command of the U.S.S. Farragut, (a ship he served on as a junior officer), he suggested to Pike that he should make bolder, more aggressive stances with the Romulans. Although the Romulans destroy the Farragut, Kirk and his crew survive. And many of Kirk’s “out of the box” ideas ended up benefiting Pike. But as Pike had the final word, his original plans remained. This was ultimately a mistake. It results in Spock sustaining grave injuries, and it plunges the Federation into war with Romulus. The war took millions of lives on both sides.

When Pike returned to his present, he realizes he must fulfill his destiny. Even if it means that some people will die. The cost is much greater than if he chose to stay alive. Christopher Pike is a great Captain. Only one season of Strange New Worlds has shown us that already. But he’s clearly older than Kirk, and a little less aggressive. This can be a good thing. But not when faced with a deadly and intractable enemy. Pike now has to live with the fact that a younger, brasher man will not only save the Enterprise, but save the Federation from a costly war.

How this all plays out over the course of Strange New Worlds is still a mystery. But what is not a mystery is that fans now know that one classic stand-alone episode from 1966 is the turning point for all of Star Trek’s future history.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds just reinvented one of the franchise’s oldest alien adversaries. And they’ve given this classic antagonistic species an upgrade by injecting some blood from two of cinema’s most deadly extraterrestrials. We’re talking about the xenomorph from the Alien franchise, and the Predator. So what did SNW do to this alien race once thought of as a silly product of its 1960s time? First, we’ll tell you all about the Gorn, and why they haven’t appeared much for five decades.

First appearing in the original Star Trek series episode “Arena,” the Gorn Hegemony was a warlike reptilian race who decimated a Federation outpost on the planet Cestus III. When Captain Kirk chased the enemy Gorn ship deep into space, an advanced species called the Metrons forced Kirk and the Gorn captain to fight for survival on a remote world. This fight scene, with a man in a very fake-looking alien lizard suit, became the subject of parody. It was even parodied in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. Perhaps because of that, Star Trek has seemingly almost totally avoided the Gorn, beyond cameos and name drops across different series. They popped up briefly in CGI form on Enterprise in 2004, and in the 2013 Star Trek video game, for which the Gorn and William Shatner reunited for a silly promotion.

But Strange New Worlds has changed that, making the Gorn intergalactic boogymen. In the episode “Memento Mori,” we learned that La’an Noonien Singh had some serious PTSD based on her childhood trauma of surviving a Gorn massacre. During her childhood, the Gorn attacked and captured the SS Puget Sound, a colony ship, and left its crew on a Gorn breeding planet. The survivors, including La’an, were hunted for sport, or eaten alive by their newborn hatchlings. Only a young La’an Noonien-Singh survived, and told her tale to Starfleet. This was the first documented encounter with the Gorn, although it was not considered an official first contact. As La’an says, “many people have seen the Gorn, but few live to tell about it.”

In “Memento Mori”, the Gorn only appeared in their space vessels. We don’t actually see them in the reptilian flesh. Their vicious ways were only spoken of by Lt. Noonien Singh. In fact, they are described and treated as the shark in Jaws. When La’an described her childhood encounter with the Gorn and their lifeless eyes, it’s almost like hearing Quint talk about the shark that killed his crewmates on the U.S.S. Indianapolis. But in SNW episode nine, “All Those Who Wander,”  we truly saw the Gorn for the first time in this series. And they owe their newest incarnation to two classic sci-fi adversaries, the xenomorph and the Predator.

When the Enterprise responded to a distress beacon from a crashed Starfleet vessel, the U.S.S. Peregrine, they found the ship in shambles on an ice world, and the crew of 99 officers dead. The logs showed that they had picked up three stranded refugees, all infected with Gorn eggs. They found a human girl (shades of Newt in Aliens) and an unknown alien among the wreckage. Despite initial scans showing nothing unusual, the Gorn eggs were hatching inside of one of the aliens.

Just like in Ridley Scott’s Alien, the hatchling busted out of the victim’s body and scampers off. Two others then emerged from the body of another victim. The four hatchlings quickly became two, as they killed the others and fight for dominance. The POV shots of the Gorn hatchlings looked extremely similar to the heat signature vision of the alien hunters from the Predator franchise. Their reptilian appearance was also like the Predator, although that predates the movie, as the Gorn first appeared in 1967. Like the xenomorph from Alien, the Gorn matured at an exponential rate, but the Enterprise crew managed to kill it before it grew to full size.

But the Enterprise crew took a heavy casualty. The Gorn hatchling spit a type of venom onto Chief Engineer Hemmer, similar to the Dilophosaurus in Jurassic Park. But this is more than venom. La’an revealed that this is how the Gorn lay their eggs. Hemmer took his own life before allowing the Gorn to take hold of his. So far, in two separate episodes, we’ve yet to see a full-grown Gorn appear. But right now, they are definitely setting them up to be Starfleet’s most terrifying enemy since the Borg.

Of course, this set up certain continuity issues. When Captain Kirk fights the Gorn in “Arena” that takes place about eight years after SNW. Spock and Uhura don’t seem to know anything about the Gorn in TOS, which doesn’t make much sense. You’d think with their experience in even just these two SNW episodes, they would have a few thoughts about this particular enemy. But it’ll be interesting to see how SNW deals with this all of this, as we are no doubt going to see the Gorn continue to be a great threat to Pike and his crew as the show unfolds.

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Early in the first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Chief Engineer Hemmer tells Uhura his purpose in life: he fixes what is broken. The Aenar, you see, believe the end only comes once you have fulfilled your purpose. It gives one’s life meaning, infusing every step with the search to fit in—to give your life weight. Uhura, who questions her place in Starfleet and whether it’s where she wants to be, considers her purpose. And in season one’s penultimate episode, “All Those Who Wander,” Hemmer’s words hit home in a different way as the engineer sacrifices himself to save his fellow crew from the Gorn.

“I’m actually relieved that it’s finally out, to be honest,” actor Bruce Horak shares with Nerdist. “It’s certainly hinted at throughout, and I don’t know that it’ll come as a total shock.”

Horak tells us that he knew about where Hemmer’s arc would end from the beginning. “They told me right off that they were setting Hemmer up to be the Obi-Wan Kenobi basically, to train Uhura, to give her that final piece of advice,” he recalls. “And that lesson—it’s the arc of her journey through the first season—is finding a home and connecting with the people on the Enterprise. And I knew that coming in, but I didn’t know how it was going to resolve. All I knew was that he was going to die. And I think my initial request was please make it cool.”

Hemmer’s death was indeed cool on a couple of levels. He walked out into the frigid environment in order to stop the lethal Gorn hatching within his body. But more importantly, his death had an impact. He saved the Enterprise crew from more Gorn. They’d only just narrowly escaped the creatures already present on the ship. These are not the Gorn of Star Trek: The Original Series. In Strange New Worlds, Gorn are like… imagine even more terrifying velociraptors that mature at a frighteningly rapid pace.

Strange New Worlds has evolved the Gorn throughout its first season. We heard about them first through La’an’s traumatic experiences. Then Gorn ships pursued the Enterprise through a nebula. They were a looming presence. But actually seeing the aliens in episode nine hits you hard.

Horak explains the shooting environment was intense and that the episode’s director, Chris Byrne, set the mood off camera. “We were waiting in Sickbay, and in the hallways, they had set up all the lights to be flickering,” Horak says. “He kept the set cooler and he was just there the whole time. He’s not sitting off somewhere just watching it on the monitor. He’s right there. And he’s shouting, ‘Go!’ You’re scared. It’s like you can’t help but feel the adrenaline and the rush of it.”

He continues, “It was infectious and quite a ride to shoot that. And then he just gave the license for the farewell scene and the goodbye while keeping the stakes up but allowed for those moments with Celia [Gooding] and with Ethan [Peck]. It was a really, really powerful experience.”

And in the end, Hemmer’s noble sacrifice helped cement Uhura’s decision to stay in Starfleet. The crew gives the engineer a heartfelt goodbye. Horak hopes that Hemmer’s Enterprise crew members remember him for being incredibly competent.

“From the very start he’s saying his sensors are superior and he’s a genius. And you know, he demonstrates that. In his short time, as we see him on-screen, that’s he fixed what is broken and that he was a good teacher,” Horak says. “And he learns that from Uhura, that he’s a good teacher. He certainly does change over the course of the season. That, I think, is a mark of good writing, to see a character change. That’s true drama. That’s being altered by either others or circumstances. And in this way, I think he’s altered by Uhura. And some of that guard he had up at the beginning is gone. I hope they remember him as part of the family.”

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy, The Art of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, The Jedi Mind, and more Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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Lightyear is a great summer sci-fi film that goes beyond the Toy Story boundaries to explore space travel’s affect on people and communities. But the absolute breakout star is Sox the robotic cat. Voiced perfectly by Pixar writer and artist Peter Sohn, Sox steals every scene. He is a dedicated companion to Buzz Lightyear as he navigates his mission and emotions. It got me thinking about the other cats in space who keep humans company and provide comfort. Here’s a list of favorites.

Félicette

Let’s start with a real-life astronaut! Félicette was one of 14 cats trained for a suborbital mission in 1963. She took a 13 minute flight before parachuting safely back to Earth. Like other females in the early days of the space program, her contribution is sometimes overlooked. But in 2017, a Kickstarter campaign successfully raised funds for a statue in her honor and shared photos and videos of her training. The statue is on display at France’s International Space University.

Spot and Grudge

Delightfully, we learn there were multiple cats aboard the ship in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But we only got to know Data’s ginger kitty Spot in a few episodes. As a companion, Spot helped Data explore his humanity. Like many cats, she was drawn to certain people, like Barclay, and disliked others. In Picard, Agnes has a robotic cat assistant named Spot 73, a wonderful homage. And there’s also Grudge in Discovery, an excellent co-pilot and companion to Book. 

Goose

Technically not a cat, as the Skrull keep trying to tell everyone in Captain Marvel. Goose is actually a Flerken but passes for a cat on Earth. He is arguably the best MCU character ever. Like Sox, Goose is more than just in the background. He is crucial to the team’s success and proves to be a clutch ally in their escape with the Tesseract. But like many cats, he is temperamental and doesn’t always appreciate affection. As Nick Fury can attest.

Jones

Jones is the only other survivor of the Nostromo‘s encounter with Xenomorphs in Alien. And thank goodness he makes it, or this would be a sad entry. Jones manages to avoid being eaten or impregnated. He curls up into cryo-sleep with Ripley and wisely stays home in the sequel. Ship’s cats are usually beloved by crewmembers traveling far from home and Jones is no exception. For more about his story, there’s an illustrated book from his point of view. 

Sox

Sox may be the most useful of all cat companions in space. He can do literally everything Buzz (and the plot) requires. His various accessories include a fire extinguisher, tranquilizer dart, blowtorch, and flashlight. And of course sleep sounds like white noise and whale calls. There’s also his willingness to talk about feelings, perhaps the greatest asset of all as Buzz’s real journey becomes the friends he made along the way. Good kitty.

Here’s hoping for more cat companions in our lives, our science fiction, and our real-life space travels someday!

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. If it’s not obvious, she is a cat lover. Especially ginger kitties. Melissa also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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Not too long ago, we saw an amazing fan video where they took the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Best of Both Worlds,” and gave it a Star Trek: The Animated Series makeover. They took the audio from that TNG classic, and added in the kitschy animation and sound effects from the ’70s cartoon.

Now, those same folks are back. Only this time they added their retro magic to perhaps the most maligned and mocked episode of Star Trek: Voyager ever. You can watch the full video from Gazelle Automations (via Comic Book) right here:

The episode in question is “Threshold,” from Voyager’s second season. When Lt. Tom Paris crosses the transwarp threshold, traveling at infinite velocities evolves Paris millions of years in a matter of hours. He becomes a salamander-type creature, kidnaps Captain Janeway, and put her through the same process. They wind up on a distant planet where they mate and have little tadpoles together. And then, once restored to human form, they never mention the incident, or the fact that they procreated together, ever again. So in many ways, this episode was so bonkers it’s perfectly suited for a Saturday morning cartoon.

From the visuals to the score to the sound effects, this parody perfectly evokes the style of the Filmation cartoons. Although largely aimed at kids, many of these old episodes were often solid Star Trek adventures. But they definitely took things to wild extremes sometimes. A whole episode about a giant Spock clone called “The Infinite Vulcan” actually happened. We’d love it if Gazelle Automations animated other Star Trek shows in The Animated Series format. There are definitely some ridiculous early episodes of Deep Space Nine and Enterprise that deserve a little retro-flavored throwback. Heck, Strange New Worlds and Prodigy might look perfect in this format too.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds just reintroduced a character not seen in Trek canon for over thirty years. A character that made only one appearance before, in the often-maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. This is Sybok, Spock’s half-brother, originally portrayed in 1989 by Laurence Luckinbill. But many of you are probably unaware that Spock even had a canonical sibling, as he only appeared once. But here’s the lowdown on Spock’s wayward brother, and just how Strange New Worlds is reintroducing him.

Who is Xaverius?

In SNW episode 7, “The Serene Squall,” we learn that Spock’s betrothed, T’Pring, is stationed at a Vulcan Rehabilitation Center. A pirate captain named Angel highjacked the Enterprise in hopes that she could use Spock’s connection to T’Pring to get her to release a certain prisoner. That prisoner was Xaverius, a Vulcan mental patient at the facility, and possibly Angel’s husband. Or at least someone she was very close to.

Angel’s gambit fails, and Xaverius remains imprisoned. But at the end of the episode, Spock revealed that he believed the name Xaverius to be an alias. He believed that name was a pseudonym for his half-brother, Sybok. Just as in Star Trek V, he revealed that Sybok was the first son of Sarek, born out of wedlock. He was born as a full Vulcan, but chose to allow himself freedom to feel emotion. A forbidden state of being on Vulcan, Sybok then went into exile. In “The Serene Squall,” we only see Sybok from behind, so who will play him is unknown. But it seems we will see Sybok sooner rather than later on SNW.

The Galactic Army of Light

In Star Trek V, Sybok appeared as a cult leader, using his innate Vulcan telepathic abilities to reach into the minds of people and force them to relive and confront painful experiences from their past. Once they overcame and were free of their pain, they saw Sybok as a sort of messiah figure. Grateful, they almost all pledged their lives to him, and became a part of his “Army of Galactic Peace.” (Although not stated in the film, it’s implied is that Sybock used telepathic coercion as well). In The Final Frontier, Sybok saw Spock decades after their last encounter, and highjacked the Enterprise in order to find Sha Ka Ree, the mythological galactic Eden. And in Sybok’s belief, the world where God supposedly dwells.

Vulcan Family Drama

In the film, neither Captain Kirk nor Dr. McCoy were aware of the existence of Sybok. Kirk even yells at Spock, saying Sybok can’t be his brother, to which Spock, ever logical, agrees. Sybok is in fact his half-brother, born to his father Ambassador Sarek and a Vulcan princess. This is the first time we learn that Vulcan even has royalty of any kind. Or that Sarek was with anyone prior to Spock’s mother, Amanda Grayson. The Final Frontier suggests that this Vulcan princess was Sarek’s original bride. But SNW says he was born out of wedlock. This holds with the TNG episode “Sarek,” which refers to Spock’s mother Amanda as Sarek’s first wife.

The reason Sybok steals the Enterprise was that he believed it was powerful enough to breach the Galactic Barrier. There is where Sybok believes the planet Sha Ka Ree is, and therefore, God himself. But the alien being they encounter on Sha Ka Ree is a duplicitous entity. It tried to take the Enterprise, which forced Kirk to ask “why does God need a starship?” And when Sybok realized that this false God had duped him, he sacrificed his life to save Spock and his crewmates. That is the last time that we heard the name Sybok in Star Trek canon, until now.

Of course, if Spock and Sybok were raised as brothers, as Spock said in Final Frontier, it conflicts with SNW’s Spock saying they instructed him to keep his distance. We also saw flashbacks to Spock’s childhood on Discovery. And Sybok was definitely not present during his childhood with Michael Burnham. Of course, as Spock’s elder by six years, he might have been living away from home by the time Michael arrived.

The Star Trek: Enterprise Connection

The episode also dropped a big reference to Star Trek: Enterprise. Nurse Chapel asks Spock if his brother was part of the V’tosh ka’tur. A theory Spock confirms. We first learned of the V’tosh ka’tur on Enterprise, a  series set roughly 90 years before SNW. There, we learned they were a group of Vulcans who embraced emotion instead of suppressing it. They still adhere to logic, but not at the cost of feeling. For this, they have outcast status on Vulcan. Apparently, this movement is still thriving nearly a century later, and Sybok is part of it. It’s a cool way of connecting to disparate strands of Trek lore in a way that makes sense.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is almost universally thought of as one of the least-liked Trek films. But the concept of Spock having a fully Vulcan brother seeking to experience emotion, while suppressing his own human ones, is a fascinating one. And fertile storytelling ground. Perhaps we will see flashbacks to Spock’s youth with Sybok. It would be an ideal way to bring back James Frain as Sarek as well. Season two of Discovery actually came up with a reason why Spock never revealed that he had a sister to Kirk and McCoy. We shall see if SNW comes up with a similar reason as to why Spock spent decades never trusting Kirk with such vital personal information. We imagine SNW will find fascinating ways to redeem this often dismissed aspect of Spock’s life.

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The latest episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds explores the old trope of romancing the captain. As a life long Trek fan, I’m never sorry to see our fearless leaders relax long enough to get some. But I also know that most will end up as ill-advised short-term dalliances. Whether the partner turns out to be evil or they die, there’s always some reason our captains end up alone again by the end of the episode.  

Captains having relations with their crew members is understandably a bad look. Instead of undermining their integrity, the writers usually bring in guest stars for captain sexytime instead. But there’s also the solid choice of alien viruses, memory loss, or certain death that sets the mood for them to act against their character. 

I didn’t rank Lower Decks‘s Captain Carol Freeman of the U.S.S. Cerritos. So far she hasn’t had any sexy times that we know of. Her husband, an admiral, checks in on her from time to time, so hopefully she’ll get some soon. It says something that the female captains are all ranked at the “good idea” side of this list. Seems like an odd thing to hope for, but I’d love to see more women making ill-advised choices in this regard.

7. “We Always Find Each Other“

Star Trek: Discovery has had more captains than the other shows, but not much intimacy. Examples where all parties are from the Mirror Universe are too easy. Michael Burnham continues her relationship with Cleveland Booker in season four, after she becomes captain. They have their conflicts that come from her duty to the ship and his revenge plot. But how bad of an idea can it be to hook up with a man who rescues endangered species and has a cat co-pilot?

6. “Delete the Wife”

Star Trek: Voyager offers both Janeway’s salamander family with Tom Paris in “Threshold” and the alternate life she had while brain-washed in “Workforce.” But let’s go with one where she had a bit more agency. There’s no shore leave in the Delta quadrant. But there is a holodeck. And yes, holodeck encounters do count. Just ask the Lower Deck-ers who have to clean the biofilters. In “Fair Haven,” Janeway re-programs a bartender in Paris’s simulation to “match her specifications.” She makes him taller, interested in poetry, and single.

While she has to confront her feelings about that later, at least she gets to unwind and have some fun. And, as Chakotay says, it’s nice to see her do that for once. It does lead to some drama and gossip. But also a great truth bomb from the Doctor, who says she shouldn’t be limited to “the occasional dalliance with a passing alien.” Romancing photons and forcefields is more ethical than one’s subordinates after all. 

5. “Edith Keeler Must Die”

Captain Kirk certainly had his share of hookups in Star Trek: The Original Series, but there’s only a few I’m willing to re-visit. In “City on the Edge of Forever,” he is transported back to 1930’s New York, where he falls for the first woman he talks to. In his defense, Joan Collins is the guest star and who wouldn’t fall in love with her?

Knowing he is only visiting this time period isn’t enough to dissuade him. Neither is finding out her upcoming death is a pivotal moment in history. Spock tinkers with his science projects while watching the inevitable attachment form. In the end, Kirk literally has to hold himself and Dr. McCoy back from rescuing her in order to save humanity from a German victory in WWII. Pretty dramatic stakes.

4. “You Look Like a Man Who Can Handle Trouble“

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Picard’s downtime clothing choices are perhaps more ill-advised than his romantic partners. In “Captain’s Holiday,” he goes to the planet Risa to read a book—his first mistake. When a woman named Vash inserts herself into the narrative, he knows she’s up to no good. But an intriguing archeological mystery lures him in. He pursues romance even though they have different moral codes.

The most surprising part about this episode is that it’s not a one-off relationship. Vash returns the following season in the episode “Qpid.” Our heroic Starfleet captain finds her in his quarters. Instead of reporting what is clearly a security breach, he makes out with Vash. Q is equally intrigued and sends the Enterprise crew through a Robin Hood simulation. Again, Picard always manages to end up in silly outfits when the ladies come calling. We get some great moments of a flustered Picard. And then she runs off to partner with Q and explore the universe. Can’t blame her for that.

3. “I May Have Been Hitting on You”

Star Trek: Strange New World‘s Captain Pike already has quite a following. His sexy time scene in “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” will add to that. This hookup falls into the trope of past loves, or missed connections. It’s a device to skip the backstory and get right to the chemistry.

Pike’s flustered flirting is a thing of beauty. This one’s ill-advised not just because it turns out her people have a different moral code. He knows she needs protection. She literally just had a knife to her throat. Inviting one’s knight in shining uniform into your bed happens in more than just Star Trek. But at least once, I’d like to see that they called for backup guards to be posted while they’re distracted.  

We also learn that Pike is a cuddler. And maybe a bit of a downer. Despite the giggling and smiles, he still manages to bring up his future injury. And if you didn’t already know this was going to be a one-night stand, the writers tempt him (and us) with the idea of long-term love on a planet that could possibly cure him and keep his arms looking like that forever.

2. “It Is the Men Who Are the Slaves“

Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Captain Archer struggles with the usual “married to Starfleet” excuses. In “Bound,” he is overwhelmed by temptation, risking the crew and ship. Even though it turns out Orion women are manipulating men with their pheromones, it is still not okay that Archer hooks up with one of them. At the time, he believes her to be a recently-released slave who feels like she is his property.

It’s also wild that Tucker manages to help save the day because he is immune thanks to “mating” with T’Pol. But watching him and the female bridge crew save the day is fun. If this episode came out now, I’d hope for some nuances about gender identity and sexual attraction.

1. “I’m Going to Make You Glad You’re Alive”

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine went there. We shouldn’t have to tell Sisko that we do not hook up with Mirror Universe versions of our old friends and crewmembers. Much less two of them in the same day. All while trying to save a version of his dead wife. It’s not the first time someone had to go against their character when undercover, but he doesn’t put up much of an argument. Sisko hooking up with both Dax and Kira in “Through the Looking Glass” is just weird.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She never would have made it past Picard’s Risa outfit without help from her Trek hive mind reminding her of captain sexytime examples throughout the franchise! Melissa also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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In 1982, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (TWOK) showed everyone in Hollywood how to course-correct after a less than stellar franchise launch. It not only “saved” the movie series, but its success led to more movies, and eventually, Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is still almost universally hailed as the greatest of the 13 Star Trek films four decades later.

But what were the vital ingredients that made this movie what it was? Was it just Ricardo Montalban as the film franchise’s best villain? Spock’s shocking (and touching) death scene? And what lessons can it teach to modern franchises in need of a refresh? We’ll get to all that, but first, a minor history lesson on why TWOK needed to be a franchise course correction in the first place.

Repairing the Enterprise in Spacedock

When Paramount released Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979, the intention was for it to be their Star Wars. At least in terms of box office and merchandising. TMP cost a then-staggering amount for the time, $45 million dollars. (Star Wars, by comparison, cost $10 million.) Although its box office was decent, its merchandising tanked. And the film gained far more mixed reviews than the studio would have liked. (Its reputation has grown since its initial release). So clearly, they needed to rethink things. And the final result, The Wrath of Khan, is the textbook on how to “fix” a franchise that has potential, but has lost its way. Here are the exact steps producer TWOK Harve Bennett took to right the ship, and they are still lessons for modern film series to this day.

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce…

Star Trek: The Motion Picture was an incredibly expensive film when it came out in 1979. They created a ton of new models and practical assets for TMP, including a new starship Enterprise, space stations, and new Klingon battlecruisers. For TWOK, they reutilized as many of those assets as possible. Including whole actual scenes. The Klingon ships from the Kobayashi Maru were just recycled footage from TMP. The Regula One space station was the Federation station from TMP, just turned upside down. And it all works. Reusing existing assets in the right way can help save money, and if you do it well, no one will complain.

Put a Fresh Face Behind the Camera

The great Robert Wise directed TMP, the same genius who gave us The Day the Earth Stood Still, West Side Story, and The Sound of Music. But for TWOK, they went with a young director with only one feature film under his belt, Nicholas Meyer. And yet, his fresh take on the franchise was exactly what the movie series needed. He took several disparate scripts and in 13 days fused them together into one cohesive storyline. It was the kind of decision a young filmmaker with a big vision would make, and it paid off in spades. Sometimes it really pays to roll the dice on new creative talent, and TWOK was a perfect example as to why.

Acknowledge the Past, Don’t Erase It

Although TMP wasn’t a reboot in the modern sense, it made almost no reference to events of the original series. You didn’t even need to know much about TOS beyond the basics of the characters. But TWOK was explicitly tied into the events of the 1967 episode “Space Seed.” They based Khan’s entire motivation on events from that episode. While you didn’t need to see that episode to fully understand the plot, the film had greater resonance for those who did. And by tying it explicitly to TOS, it made the film that much richer. In some ways, TWOK was the first big-screen “Legacy Sequel,” long before that was a common term.

Take Storytelling Risks with Main Characters

Certain characters in major franchises always have plot armor. You’re not going to see James Bond die or Batman die, not unless there is a reboot around the corner that everyone knows about. For all of Star Trek until the TWOK, the main cast was impervious to harm. That is, until Spock died in the film. Even though they suspected there would be backlash from fans (and there sure was) the filmmakers went ahead and did anyway. Only when TWOK made mad money did they consider bringing back Leonard Nimoy as Spock. But at the time TWOK came out, it was meant to be permanent. And it was a huge storytelling risk that paid off.

Seek Inspiration Beyond the Franchise

When Nicholas Meyer came on board to direct TWOK, he had never seen an episode of the classic show. Although TWOK sequalized an old TV episode, Meyer didn’t just mimick old episodes of the series, he took inspiration from classic literature. There is a metric ton of influence from Moby Dick, and the adventures of Captain Horatio Hornblower. Some of the best franchises today refer to classic literature in the same way as TWOK did. Like TWOK, The Dark Knight Rises makes heavy reference to A Tale of Two Cities. And what is The Lion King if not Hamlet?

TWOK has had a huge influence on franchise films since its release. You can see Khan’s fingerprints on films like X2: X-Men United, which mimicked TWOK’s entire ending. And Kill Bill Vol. 1 opens with Khan’s “old Klingon proverb” quote. Transformers: Dark of the Moon even has Leonard Nimoy’s Sentinel Prime quote Spock’s lines from The Wrath of Khan. And these are just the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, a lot of these references are superficial. But it would be nice if more modern franchises took the storytelling risks and practical approaches that The Wrath of Khan did in 1982.

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We have witnessed some pretty amazing drone shows in the recent past. The Star Wars one last year at The Oakland RingCentral Coliseum immediately springs to mind. But recently, down in Sydney, Australia, Paramount+ had a nighttime drone show that put the Galactic Empire to shame. And it featured iconic properties from across their vast library, including Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Halo, and many more. We think you’ll be blown away by what you see.

You can watch the entire Paramount+ drone show from Sydney right here:

The show starts with the music and ticking clock of the Mission: Impossible franchise (Yes, we choose to accept this mission.) It then immediately segues into the famous “space….the final frontier” speech from Star Trek. We see the classic starship Enterprise, just as it hits warp speed. This is the original NCC-1701 model, currently traversing the galaxy in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

This moment is even more powerful thanks to the Star Trek 2009 score by the one and only Michael Giacchino. You can see different angles of the Enterprise drones in the video down below, taken by various different sources who attended the show. It serves to remind you how much Star Trek really is Paramount’s true crown jewel. Even after 55 years.

A lot of other iconic Paramount properties get their moment to shine (quite literally) in this show. Halo’s Master Chief shows up, and SpongeBob and Paw Patrol make an appearance, as do the kids from South Park. Another major property currently having a pop culture moment again after 35 years is Top Gun, and Maverick can be seen and heard in this show as well. Even NCIS gets a shout-out. It’s just the logo for the show, but hey, it’s something! Maybe next time, we see some Transformers action. Has anyone seen Optimus Prime lately?

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When you’re part of the crew for a ship like the USS Enterprise, you keep busy. You have the ship to look after, as well as the welfare of the crew. And given the size of the crew and the ship, that’s no small task. But everyone needs to take a break. The upcoming episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds gives some of the Enterprise crew a chance to do just that with some shore leave. In an exclusive clip from “Spock Amok,” we see what happens when first officer Una (Rebecca Romijn) and chief of security La’an (Christina Chong) talk about having “fun.”

The synopsis for “Spock Amok” states:

It’s a comedy of manners when Spock has a personal visit in the middle of Spock and Captain Pike’s crucial negotiations with an unusual alien species.

So, basically, hijinks happen. (And the trailer for the episode refers to those hijinks).

Una laments not really being part of the crew anymore because she’s a senior officer. But La’an points out that isn’t why—it’s because Una terrifies people. La’an thinks it’s a compliment. Then La’an enthuses about liking work and how there’s nothing wrong with that. And with many crew members enjoying shore leave, the Enterprise‘s halls feel vacant and quiet. That makes it all the easier to focus on work. I can relate the tiniest bit.

As La’an and Una relay their exciting plans to catch up on tasks around the ship, a security breach makes them take a detour. They discover not intruders, but crew members of the ship. Find out what happens when the next episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds drops on Thursday on Paramount+.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is here. There’s a lot to love about the series so far, including its retro-cool opening credits sequence. It’s a tribute to the original series while also updating it with wildly more interesting astronomical phenomena. This is thanks in part to images of deep space scientists capture with instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope. Since its first stunning photos in 1990, science fiction franchises have used its real-life discoveries as inspiration.

Nerdist talked to astrophysicist and life-long Star Trek fan Dr. Lisa Will about the strange new worlds shown in the credits. “A lot of my job is showing images and helping people understand them,” she says. “So my brain was already going there when I was watching the credits.” Many of the shots have a basis in reality, showing the influence of Star Trek‘s science consultant. And with more advanced space telescopes in the works, it’s only a matter of time before we have more stunning images to inspire sci-fi creatives.

Rosette Nebula

The first amazing shot in the Strange New Worlds opening credits is the ship warping through a nebula (below, on the left) with a remarkably similar shape to the Rosette Nebula (on the right). The Hubble Space Telescope has multiple filters, which photograph elements as different colors. The photo is a compilation image showing oxygen as green, sulfur as blue, and hydrogen as red. 

“So you’re not just seeing pretty, you’re seeing physics,” says Dr. Will. “And you’re getting more information. But most of those pretty nebulae are just red to the naked eye because they’re over 90% hydrogen.” Scientists and artists alike tinker with the images. She can spot these when they’re used and says many sci-fi properties include color-shifted Hubble photos.  

Planetary Nebula

The pink cloud the Enterprise dramatically flies through is one of the most stunning images of Strange New Worlds’ opening credits. This reminded Dr. Will of a planetary nebula of a dying white dwarf star. This may be what our own sun looks like in 5 billion years, shedding gas before going supernova.

As for the pink color, “There’s red, there’s blue, there’s dark nebula,” says Dr. Will. “That could be a combination of getting some blue scattered light with some red glowing light from some of the stuff heating it up from within. We can see these colors in combination.” 

Crab Pulsar

Near the end of the sequence, the Enterprise comes upon a swirling cloud with an axis of light in the center. The Crab Pulsar is a neutron star inside the Crab Nebula that looks very similar. The light and surrounding cloud are remnants of an exploded star. 

Other Astronomical Wonders

The Enterprise navigates through both icy and rocky debris near a planet. These could be rings, which are generally icy in our own solar system, though Saturn’s ice particles are more the size of snowballs than starships. Our rocky asteroid belt is farther from Jupiter than the planet shown and asteroids are much farther apart from each other. But these could both also be depicting collisions. Or even hazards that the Enterprise crew has neutralized. 

The rotating sphere bound in light is perhaps the wildest part of the opening sequence (bottom left of the photo below). This did not remind Dr. Will of anything real. Instead, she speculates that it is alien-made or some sort of confinement field. Though other recent shows like Picard and Discovery reveal plot points in the opening credit artwork, we’re not sure if any of these cool sites will make it into episodes. Even if not, we’ll enjoy looking at them every week! 

As for the phenomena Dr. Will couldn’t quite explain, that’s why it’s called science fiction! And who knows, maybe some of these gorgeous images will match up to discoveries made between now and 2258, when Strange New Worlds takes place. We also don’t have photos from inside nebula or close to planets and other heavenly bodies, so artistic license leads to some three dimensional shots astronomers can only dream of.

The green reminds Dr. Will of aurora. But it looks like it comes up from under the planet’s surface rather than the atmosphere. The video below shows the aurora borealis here on Earth from space.  

We know that Anson Mount was excited to record the iconic voiceover for the Strange New Worlds opening credits. And we love him for that. Many actors on the show grew up loving Star Trek. As did many astrophysicists and astronomers. Some of them even became scientists as a direct result of their fandom. 

Thanks to Dr. Lisa Will for her insights! If you want to learn more from her, she hosts planetarium shows at the Fleet Science Center in San Diego, some of which are virtual. 

Featured Image: Paramount Plus

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. Her favorite opening credits are Star Trek: Lower Decks. Melissa also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the latest iteration of the beloved sci-fi franchise, taking us back to the time period and aesthetic of the original ’60s series. And right out of the gate, critics and fans are loving this return to classic “one and done” style episodes for the crew of the Enterprise.

But if you don’t have Paramount+, and wanted to see for yourself what all the fuss is about, now you can. The streamer has made episode one available to watch for free on YouTube. And you can watch the pilot episode, appropriately titled “Strange New Worlds,” below:

The first episode picks up about six months since we last saw Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Spock (Ethan Peck) and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) on Star Trek: Discovery. We also meet the new Enterprise crew members, Cadet Uhura, Dr. M’Benga, Lt. La’an Noonien Singh, Lt. Ortegas, Nurse Chapel, and Bruce Horak as Chief Engineer Hemmer.

Oh, and there’s one more crew member on board the starship Enterprise with a surprising lineage, but we won’t spoil that one for you. You’ll just have to watch the episode for yourself. And we can safely say it’s probably not who you think it is.

Strange New Worlds currently has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of any Star Trek show. And it’s arguably starting off better from a creative standpoint than any Trek series since the original. Yes, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager became beloved shows, but they had a rough go at first. Captain Pike and his crew came out swinging.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ first season consists of ten episodes in total. They’ve already been renewed for a second season, which is set to introduce a young James T. Kirk to the story. Strange New Worlds drops every Thursday on Paramount+.

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The USS Enterprise has a new crew. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, set before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series, sees a familiar face in charge of the legendary vessel: Captain Christopher Pike. We know a few other members of the ship’s crew, but the series also introduces a number of fresh faces—like the Enterprise‘s Chief Engineer, Hemmer. We’ll meet the character, an Aenar portrayed by Bruce Horak, in Strange New Worlds‘ second episode, airing Thursday. Nerdist talked with Horak about landing the role, Hemmer’s life’s purpose, and more.

Nerdist: I want to go back in time a little. How did the role come about and what was your audition process like?

Bruce Horak: It was just a whirlwind, really. The casting call went out and they were casting for a new Star Trek. That’s what I knew. And that they were looking for a blind or visually impaired performer to take on the role of a character of an alien specifically, who was also a species that was blind.

My agent reached out to me right away because I hit the description of a blind or visually impaired performer and I love Star Trek. I’ve been a fan since I was just a wee lad. Then I got the sides and read the first scene, which is the scene from episode two, where we’re introduced to Hemmer and he meets Uhura. She offers him some help and he declines, and they get in a conversation about impairment. I just got so excited about this. He spoke a lot of my own truth about it. And so I did maybe four auditions over Zoom from the kitchen of my house. Reading with somebody over Zoom, like they’re on camera, it felt very Star Trek.

Then after four of these incredible Zoom auditions, they brought me in for a contact lens fitting, which was horrifying. I do wear a contact lens occasionally, but they irritate my eyes. So they brought me in to see an eye specialist. They tried on this lens and I was like, “I don’t think I can do it.” They wanted to white out my eyes. My right eye is prosthetic. So they were going to build me a new prosthetic eye that was painted properly, which—in a way I was like, I would actually have endured the pain of a contact lens just to have like a new, awesome Star Trek eye made.

Ultimately, the doctor said, “Listen, you got nine percent vision. You’re doing great with what you got. Let’s not mess with it.” And the crew just said, “Yeah, no problem. We’ll fix it in with CG.”

They’ve given me new eyes. Which is, I mean, as someone who was born and raised and who has lived his whole life with nine percent vision and shattered eyes, looking at the screen and seeing these new ones… They’ve done the thing that I’ve dreamed of.

Something I appreciate about Hemmer is that, yes, he does have a rough exterior, but I feel like when other crew members work alongside him and show an interest and competence, he has a softer center. What’s it like bringing that balance to the screen?

Crunchy outside and gooey on the inside. He is a bit crunchy on the outside. I think that comes from just his incredible intelligence and his incredible abilities. The Aenar species, at least as far as my research goes, is—they’re a dying species. I think that kind of pressure might, or that kind of loneliness or aloneness, might give someone a bit of a crunchy exterior.

You’re absolutely right. I think the softening of him, the compassionate side and the empathetic side of him, they do come out. It’s complicated. He contains multitudes.

We’ve seen in a character promotion for Hemmer that he says his life’s purpose is to fix what is broken. What do you think that says about him as an Aenar and an engineer?

He’s a fixer. He’s someone who gets in and sees what the problems are and has that ability to fix them. I did some digging into some of the research on engineers, which I am not, but I have a brother who is—my brother Steve is an incredible engineer. Of the engineers that I’ve met, he’s got a bit of a gruff exterior and on the inside, he’s a little bit… Did I base the character on my brother? Well, he’s definitely in there. It’s a stew.

[With Hemmer], it’s confidence and it’s a willingness to see a problem and to come at it and take a risk and try something. And if that doesn’t work, then you try something else, trial and error, but also bringing all that education and wisdom and history that you might have as an engineer. I feel that Hemmer’s got a lot of experience. I mean, to be the chief engineer on the flagship of the Federation, he’s got to be good. He’s got that as a lifestyle choice really—being the fixer and the fact that that is his modus operandi, it just makes so much sense to me.

Something that I find very interesting is—of course Starfleet is not a military organization, but they do bump up against conflict. With Hemmer being an Aenar and a pacifist, how do you think he reconciles those two parts of himself?

It’s the way of the universe—it’s destruction and creation and those cycles. Sometimes in order to create, you have to destroy. I think the pacifism is something that I connected to. I’ve always considered myself a pacifist or at least tried to be. Hemmer articulates this in one of the episodes—that he’s not going to fight. He’s not going to kill for Starfleet. But he will fight for those ideals and that pacifism is not passivity. It’s active. And I think that’s a really important distinction. I think pacifism also often gets disregarded as being inactive and lazy. And that’s not really the case.

If there is trouble, if there is conflict, it’s your job to step into that and to find another solution. And I think, again and again, we’ve seen in Star Trek, they look for other solutions. They look for other ways through. Let’s find a compromise. Let’s look for a way that we can work this out. To me, it makes so much sense that the one working the engine of the Enterprise is a pacifist. That’s the heart of what’s actually moving this ship around the cosmos.

Have you had any particular moments on set when you’re like, “Wow, I can’t believe this?”

Oh, so many. But the first day that I went to set, I was met at the entrance by an assistant who stayed with me the entire day. They offered an arm when I walked into the dark areas, told me where the cables were, told me, “Look, it’s eight steps to this point.” Then the first AD said, “Here’s your mark. And the camera’s over here, and we’re going to be moving this way.” Just the incredible amount of care that was shown to me as someone with a visual impairment.

I was so nervous to go. These are hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment that I’m walking in the middle of, and I don’t want to wreck any of it. And my apprehension about messing its up was gone because I was just given such confidence because I knew that there was always an arm, there was always a hand to help.

They had your back.

They had my back and you know what, then I can just get to work and not have to worry about that. It just made it so comfortable. Actually, then it gave me the confidence to embody the confidence of an engineer.

New episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds airs on Thursdays on Paramount+.

Amy Ratcliffe is the Managing Editor for Nerdist and the author of A Kid’s Guide to Fandom, available now. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has finally arrived on Paramount+, receiving rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Starring Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, it also features Ethan Peck as Spock, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Celia Rose Gooding as Cadet Uhura. And together they’re all boldly going where no one has gone before.

But with the series ostensibly serving as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, many are wondering where the show fits in the overall Star Trek chronology. And the answer to that is a bit complicated. Let’s explore where it does (and doesn’t) fit. (Note: Strange New Worlds is abbreviated to SNW in this article, and Star Trek: The Original Series is TOS).

Strange New Worlds Is Both a Prequel and a Sequel

SNW is not only a prequel to TOS, but it’s also a sequel to Discovery. When Pike’s Enterprise shows up on Star Trek: Discovery in its second season, the year is 2258. SNW takes place six months later, after the Enterprise has seemingly had another refit in spacedock. This places the show seven years before we meet Kirk and Spock in the TOS pilot “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” which takes place in 2265. Pre-established canon tells us that Pike commanded one more five-year mission before Kirk took the center seat, and before they promoted Pike to Fleet Captain.

Timeline Discrepancies

Of course, there are places where SNW diverges wildly from the established canon. The original series episode “Amok Time” heavily implies that Spock has not seen his betrothed, T’Pring, since they were children. SNW shows that they have, in fact, seen quite a lot of each other (to put it mildly). Uhura and Chapel seemed completely shocked at Spock having a wife in TOS, but they must have known if they spent years on the Enterprise with him prior to TOS.

Nurse Christine Chapel should also be engaged to Dr. Roger Korby, who will vanish in 2261, just two years from when this show takes place. She seems very single so far in SNW. And then there is Sam Kirk, Jim’s brother, who is on the Enterprise in the Life Sciences department under Spock. He should have a wife and young child at this point, as per the TOS episode “Operation — Annihilate!” Of course, he still could, we just haven’t seen them.

A New (Old) Enterprise

And then, there’s the ship itself. Obviously, production design, budgets, and special effects have increased greatly in the past five decades. There is no reason that the NCC-1701 Enterprise should look like it did 55 years ago. And SNW does a fantastic job of evoking TOS’ aesthetic while still updating it. But then there’s stuff like a huge bar/lounge on the ship we’ve never seen in any version of the Enterprise before. Maybe when Captain Kirk takes over, he decides he just needs that area as storage space?

To be fair, Star Trek’s visual continuity has never been as solid as say, Star Wars. Say what you want about George Lucas’ galaxy far away, but Tatooine has had a consistent look for 45 years. Star Trek is way more casual about stuff like that. The Klingons, for example, looked like ordinary humans in TOS. When Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out in 1979, the Klingons were alien in appearance, with forehead ridges. That look stuck for decades, but the franchise just hand waved the inconsistencies away. Of course, the real reason is that the original show had a very low TV budget, and prosthetics are expensive. But the continuity of the franchise didn’t bother to explain away this discrepancy until Star Trek: Enterprise in 2005. Almost 40 years later.

Captain Pike May Be the Key to It All

Of course, SNW might be hinting that everything we are seeing is an alternate timeline. Thanks to the time crystals Pike encountered on Discovery, he knows about his destiny to become permanently incapacitated due to an accident in 10 years’ time (which we see in the TOS episode “The Menagerie“). But Number One is already suggesting to Pike that perhaps that destiny is not exactly set in stone. If in fact he altered it just by knowing, then we are already in an alt-timeline. And that would free the writers from constantly banging into the walls of continuity. Due to the success of the Kelvin timeline films, we know that multiple timelines can exist in Star Trek with no problem.

Regardless of the timeline, SNW is an absolute joy to watch. And its canonicity, or lack of it, shouldn’t deter viewers from enjoying a series that is the purest Trek the franchise has been in ages (with no shade to Discovery, Picard, or Lower Decks intended). So worrying about where this fits in the timeline might be a losing proposition. But if this series runs for several seasons, it will be interesting to see how the showrunners eventually address the timeline. Especially when a certain James T. Kirk shows up in season two. We can’t wait to see how SNW navigates these continuity waters.

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