STAR TREK: 5 Alternate Lives

Geek Girl Authority

27-05-2025

The Star Trek Franchise follows the crews of Starfleet ships in the future as they boldly explore the galaxy. But what if our heroes lived a different kind of life?
For this week's Trek Tuesday, we're remembering five Star Trek episodes that show our heroes living a different life. Did we include your favorite? Be sure and let us know in the comment section or over on social media. 'The Inner Light'
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5's 'The Inner Light' is widely regarded as one of the show's best episodes. In this episode, the U.S.S. Enterprise-D encounters a strange probe floating in space. But when the probe zaps Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), he is inexplicably transported into a new existence.
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Picard is unable to contact the Enterprise-D or determine how he might return to his former reality. So eventually, Picard settles into life as 'Kamin' on the planet Kataan. Thus, he lives out a recreation of the final decades of the doomed planet from whence the probe originated. Meanwhile, only twenty minutes pass on the Enterprise-D . However, he does get to keep a flute to remember the experience. We see that he still displays this flute on his desk decades later in Star Trek: Picard Season 3. 'Hard Time'
On Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) had a reputation for being something of a whipping boy. But in Deep Space Nine Season 4's 'Hard Time,' that reputation seems particularly well-earned. The episode sees O'Brien falsely convicted of espionage on the planet Argratha.
On this planet, those who are convicted are placed into a virtual simulation. This simulation distorts the prisoner's perception of time. So, O'Brien has served his sentence before Starfleet learns he's been incarcerated. But from O'Brien's perspective, that process took twenty years, not a matter of days. In the wake of his experience, he struggles to readjust as he returns to his normal life about Deep Space 9. 'Far Beyond the Stars'
Speaking of popular episodes, there are few Star Trek episodes more universally lauded than Deep Space Nine Season 6's 'Far Beyond the Stars.' In this episode, Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) finds himself inhabiting the life of Benny Russell, a Black author living on Earth in the 1950s.
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Russell writes the story of Sisko, the Black captain of a space station in the future (sound familiar?). But unfortunately, he faces discrimination and oppression as he attempts to get the story published. In this episode, Sisko is both the dreamer and the dream. 'Workforce'
In the Star Trek: Voyager Season 7 two-part episode 'Workforce,' the crew of the U.S.S. Voyager are captured and are brainwashed into believing they are different people. As such, they accept that they have spent their lives living and working on an industrial workforce.
While there are some echoes of their previous lives, the crew is unable to remember the true nature of their existence. So, it's up to Neelix (Ethan Phillips) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran), who weren't affected by the mind-warp, to restore the rest of the crews' memories. 'The Elysian Kingdom' Photo Cr: Marni Grossman/Paramount+ ©2022 ViacomCBS. All Rights Reserved.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1's 'The Elysian Kingdom' saw the U.S.S. Enterprise crew experiencing a whole new reality after they encounter an enigmatic nebula in space. This is thanks to the fact that the nebula bonds with the daughter of Doctor M'Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), Rukiya (Sage Arrindell/Makambe Simamba). As a result, the Enterprise and her crew are transformed into fantasy analogues of themselves.
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The fantasy analogues are taking from the children's picture book The Elysian Kingdom, which M'Benga reads to Rukiya. Interestingly, this book was written by the aforementioned Benny Russell. At the conclusion of the episode, reality is restored. However, M'Benga must accept that his daughter has chosen to remain with the nebula rather than continue waiting in the transporter buffer for M'Benga to cure the ailment with which she is afflicted.
These Star Trek episodes are currently available for streaming on Paramount+.
STAR TREK: Tracing the Holodeck's History Avery Kaplan is the author of several books and the Features Editor at Comics Beat. She was honored to serve as a judge for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize Award and the 2021 Prism Awards. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her partner and a pile of cats, and her favorite place to visit is the cemetery. You can also find her writing on Comics Bookcase, NeoText, Shelfdust, the Mary Sue, StarTrek.com, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.