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Geek Girl Authority
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
STAR TREK: 5 Alternate Lives
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. RELATED: Star Trek: Guest Star Spotlight on Majel Barrett Roddenberry 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. RELATED: Star Trek : Answering Your Questions About Caitians 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. RELATED: Star Trek: The Animated Series : 5 Characters and Species Introduced by the Show 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, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
USA Today
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
John Cho's cheesy Captain has space fling in 'Murderboat' soap opera 'Sanctuary Moon'
John Cho's cheesy Captain has space fling in 'Murderboat' soap opera 'Sanctuary Moon' 'The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon' is the bad show within Apple TV+ series 'Murderbot' Show Caption Hide Caption 'Murderbot' has John Cho, Clark Gregg, DeWanda Wise: 'Sanctuary Moon' John Cho, DeWanda Wise, Jack McBrayer and Clark Gregg star in "Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon," the cheesy show within Apple TV+ series "Murderbot." There were a few caveats to the swaggering starship captain role offered to John Cho, who played Starfleet officer Hikaru Sulu in three "Star Trek" movies. First, Cho's captain would appear in "The Rise & Fall of Sanctuary Moon," an over-the-top sci-fi soap opera that takes place entirely within the Apple TV+ action comedy series "Murderbot" (new episode streaming May 23). The tawdry soap is the favorite show consumed by the titular trash-TV-loving security robot, Murderbot (Alexander Skarsgård). Second, he would lead a ridiculous crew, including a wildly wigged Navigation Officer (Jack McBrayer) and an insanely mutton-chopped Lieutenant (Clark Gregg) who accuses his leader of sleeping with an iridescent Navigation Unit (DeWanda Wise). Still, Cho was compelled to board the project with his longtime "American Pie" collaborators Chris and Paul Weitz. "It was framed like I would be the captain in a soap opera that Murderbot is obsessed with," says Cho. "I said, 'It's just so stupid, I have to do it.' Stupid is one of my highest compliments, by the way." Alexander Skarsgård's 'Murderbot' role Full body waxing was a 'completely stupid choice' in preparation Stupid is what Cho boldly does in "Sanctuary Moon," after joining his new crew on the Toronto "Murderbot" set to shoot the separate drama. Wise, who starred in "Fatherhood" with the Weitz brothers, brought her soap opera love and obsession of shows-within-shows to play the mysterious Navigation Unit. "My 'Sanctuary Moon' joke was, 'I'm still a lead character, right? I'm just a lead character in this show within the show,' " says Wise. Wise planned to go campy full-robot for the mysterious bot character. But the "She's Gotta Have It" star found out that she would be uttering lines like, "I'm a navigation unit, not a sex-bot" with a sense of forlornness. "They were like, 'We're gonna play it for real and sincerely, with sprinkles of comedy,'" says Wise, who tried to keep a straight face during interstellar emoting. "All of these guys are so funny that 89% of the job was not ruining the take by laughing. It was like, don't be the one." The space soap opera is mentioned in the source material, Martha Wells' popular sci-fi series "The Murderbot Diaries," But "Murderbot" creators fleshed the concept out for a twisted multi-episode space adventure that veers immediately off-kilter with the affair accusation. The madness continues to spin out of control in further "Sanctuary Moon" episodes throughout the "Murderbot" series. It turns out the rakish Captain can spout inspirational lines like "Boldness is on!" and enjoy cocktails later, not to mention partaking in an anti-regulation affair. Cho insisted on eyeliner, and that's his own hair. "There was spray, there was gook, it got volumnized," says Cho. "They went big." But not as big as the performance. "We weren't asking John to act badly," says executive producer Paul Weitz. "We just asked him to emote beyond the realms of what most people think is good. And he did that very well." Skarsgård insisted that his longtime friend McBrayer take the project. "Yeah, that's my fault," the Swedish actor admits. "We thought it would be fun." McBrayer gamely agreed to don the "birds nest of a wig" on the multi-colored set he says "looks like a confetti cannon threw up." He let the proposed idea of adding a face tattoo die for practicality's sake (too long in the makeup chair). The "30 Rock" actor appreciated how soap opera impacts Murderbot, who begins saying lines like "Boldness is on!" "Murderbot absorbs the ridiculous 'Sanctuary Moon' dialog and interactions and incorporates them," says McBrayer. "Just like people are learning how to behave based on TikTok trends." Cho, who insists his "Star Trek" movie captain Chris Pine is "most likely blissfully unaware" of his project, loved the fromage fest. He's not just hoping for a "Murderbot" Season 2 and more episodes (which Apple has not greenlit yet). Cho wants a full-on "Sanctuary Moon" show. "My wife tells me that I have a real soft spot for performances that other people call cheesy," says Cho. "From Day 1, I kept telling the Weitzs to please let me do this show somewhere. That was just too much fun."
Geek Girl Authority
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
STAR TREK: Tracing the Holodeck's History
The Star Trek Franchise displays a plethora of impressive technology. However, one of the most interesting and versatile technologies of all is the holodeck. The holodeck affords Starfleet crew members a chance to enjoy various environments and entertainments during deep space missions. But it also opens up a variety of versatile narrative possibilities. For this week's Trek Tuesday, we're trcing the chronology of the holodeck in Starfleet. Did we include your favorite Star Trek holodeck episode? Be sure and let us know in the comment section. 'Unexpected' When it comes to the holodeck, the earliest version of the technology we see seems to have originated with the Xyrillians. This pre-Starfleet tech appeared in the Star Trek: Enterprise Season 1 episode 'Unexpected.' The Xyrillians have technology that is superior to that which was possessed by humans at the time. This includes cloaking devices for their ship in addition to the holodeck. RELATED: Star Trek: Picard Season 3: Everything to Know About Hologram Moriarty The episode sees Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) visiting a Xyrillian ship in order to assist them with some repairs. During the sojourn to the ship, Trip befriends one of the Xyrillians. She shows him their holodeck, which is deeply impressive to him. But something so impressive must come with strings attached, no? After visiting the Xyrillian holodeck, Trip returns to the NX-01 Enterprise to discover he's been impregnated by his Xyrillian friend. Whoops! 'Lethe' Photo Cr: Jan Thijs/CBS © 2017 CBS Interactive. All Rights Reserved. Chronologically speaking, the next time the holodeck appears is in the Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 episode 'Lethe.' In this episode, Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) and Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) are seen engaging in a tactical drill on the U.S.S. Discovery's holodeck. While this is the earliest appearance of the holodeck on a Starfleet ship, it's worth noting that Discovery was a science vessel that possessed bespoke technology, including the Spore Drive. It's possible that it was still unusual for Starfleet vessels to possess a holodeck at this time. However, a scene in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 trailer suggests we could see the installation of the U.S.S. Enterprise's holodeck in the show's fast-approaching third season. 'The Practical Joker' The first time we see a holodeck on the Enterprise is also the earliest appearance of the technology (from the viewer's perspective). This takes place in the Star Trek: The Animated Series Season 2 episode 'The Practical Joker.' In this episode, the Enterprise computer is possessed by an artificial intelligence that beings playing 'practical jokes' on the crew. One of these involves Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Leonard 'Bones' McCoy (DeForest Kelley) becoming trapped in the 'recreation room.' This seems to possess the holographic technology of the holodeck. RELATED: Star Trek: The Animated Series : 5 Characters and Species Introduced by the Show Does this mean that the Enterprise had a holodeck throughout the timeline of Star Trek: The Original Series? It's possible. 'Recreation rooms' are mentioned throughout The Original Series. Rec rooms did occasionally appear onscreen in The Original Series. However they did not resemble the apparent holodeck we see in 'The Practical Joker.' 'Encounter at Farpoint' While a holodeck appeared in The Animated Series, the Saturday morning cartoon was not watched by as many viewers as The Original Series or its associated movies. As a result, the holodeck had to be 'reintroduced' when it appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation. This took place in the show's pilot episode, 'Encounter at Farpoint.' In 'Encounter at Farpoint,' William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is welcomed aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D. When Riker first meets Data (Brent Spiner), the android officer is honing his whistling in the holodeck. The episode takes care to introduce the idea of the holodeck to viewers. Over the course of The Next Generation's seven season run, many episodes would utilize the holodeck, in a variety of different ways. 'It's Only a Paper Moon' Holodecks played an important role over the course of the seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well. Or rather, holosuites did. These are the civilian versions of the technology. Several of these were owned, maintained and operated by Quark (Armin Shimerman) as a recreational service available at Quark's Bar and Grill. For a modest fee, of course. RELATED: Working 1996 to 2023: The Enduring Legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's 'Bar Association' While there were many holosuite episodes over the course of the show, one Deep Space Nine Season 7 episode stands out. In 'It's Only a Paper Moon,' Nog (Aron Eisenberg) returns to Deep Space 9 after being treated for his amputated leg (see Season 7's 'The Siege of AR-558'). Soon, he retreats into the holosuite program for Vic Fontaine (James Darren), a 1960s lounge singer programmed by Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig). 'It's Only a Paper Moon' episode examines the complex relationship between PTSD and escapism. Plus, at the episode's conclusion, Nog arranges for Vic's holosuite to run twenty-four/seven. This creates a fascinating scenario regarding the evolution of holograms, since most holodeck programs do not have the opportunity to continue running nonstop. 'Fair Haven'/'Spirit People' On Star Trek: Voyager, the holodeck played an important role. This is because the U.S.S. Voyager was trapped in the Delta Quadrant, far from home. For this reason, the holodeck provided an especially valuable release for the ship's crew, who were confined aboard the ship for much longer than they had expected. In the Voyager Season 6 episode 'Fair Haven,' Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) programmed an idealized Irish village to provide the crew with an escape from reality. However, due to various — ahem — complications, the program ultimately has to be shut down to be retooled. In Voyager Season 6's 'Spirit People,' Paris has completed the repairs to the program and it is brought online once again. However, the situation once again becomes complicated when the hologram citizens of Fair Haven begin to suspect the Voyager crew of being the titular 'spirit people.' This episode provides the particularly fascinating (and at times unsettling) perspective of the holograms as they grapple with their understanding of their existence as holograms. Star Trek: Lower Decks Photo Cr: 2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Because the series is set just after Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant, Star Trek: Lower Decks has the next chronological appearances of the holodeck in the Franchise. Thanks to its focus on crew downtime aboard Starfleet vessels, the holodeck appears throughout Lower Decks. In Lower Decks Season 1's 'Moist Vessel,' Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is assigned the 'worst jobs on the ship.' These include emptying the holodeck's holofilters. This task demonstrates one of the practical elements of holodeck tech. And it also allows Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) to reveal that the holodecks are used 'mostly' for sexual gratification. This functionality is further confirmed by Doctor T'Ana (Gillian Vigman) and Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore), who frequently utilize the holodeck for erotic purposes. This can be seen in Lower Decks Season 3's 'Room for Growth,' Season 4's 'I Have No Bones, Yet I Must Flee' and Season 5's 'The New Next Generation.' RELATED: 7 Star Trek Stories to Watch After Reading Star Trek: Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way Later in Lower Decks Season 1, in the episode 'Terminal Provocations,' Samathan Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) uses the holodeck to program Badgey (Jack McBrayer), a training hologram. This demonstrates another function of the holodeck. However, Badgey possesses patricidal tendencies that will haunt the California class crew for seasons to come. Another function of the holodeck is demonstrated in the Lower Decks Season 1 episode 'Crisis Point.' 'Crisis Point' involves a program created by Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) to be serve as training. However, Mariner hijacks the holodeck program and transforms it into a 'movie.' This allows our lower deckers to take part in fourth-wall breaking 'upper decks' adventures. These include a sequel programmed by Boimler in Lower Decks Season 3's 'Crisis Point 2: Paradoxus.' 'Kobayashi Maru' Even those who know almost nothing about Star Trek have heard of the Kobayashi Maru. This intense Starfleet Academy exercise can be seen in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It also appears in the Kelvin Universe timeline, as seen in Star Trek (2009). But the first time the memorable program appeared on the small screen was in Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1's episode 'Kobayashi Maru.' In this episode, we see Dal R'El (Brett Gray) use the holodeck to test his mettle in the titular legendary exam. RELATED: Star Trek : 7 Delightful Data Stories But the U.S.S. Protostar crew would learn about the dangers of the holodeck in a subsequent Prodigy Season 1 episode, 'Ghost in the Machine.' When the holodeck malfunctions, the crew is left to navigate a series of program fragments. The varied nature and settings of these programs demonstrate just how versatile the holodeck can prove to be. Star Trek: Picard Photo Credit: Trae Patton/Paramount+. ©2021 Viacom, International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Because the holodeck is not a focus on Discovery's latter seasons, which are set in the 32nd century, the latest appearances of holodeck technology on the Franchise timeline take place in Star Trek: Picard. Set during the end of the 24th century and the beginning of the 25th, Picard demonstrates just how far hologram tech has advanced since The Next Generation began. This includes ships with holoemitters throughout their interiors. And there's also the wider availability of the 'mobile emitter.' This future technology allows holograms to move freely in a non-holographic environment. It first debuted in Voyager Season 3's 'Future's End, Part II.' RELATED: All the Picards on the Table: Jean-Luc's Wild Card Appearances In Picard Season 3's 'No Win Scenario,' another function of the holodeck is demonstrated. This episode sees Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), visiting a holodeck version of the Los Angeles edition of Ten Forward aboard the U.S.S. Titan-A. As Picard explains to Crusher, the holodecks are given a separate battery circuit. This allows crew members to utilize the technology for necessary relaxation even when a ship is in the most dire or circumstances. Most of the Star Trek episodes discussed above are currently available for streaming on Paramount+. However, Star Trek: Prodigy is currently available for streaming on Netflix. Computer, End Program: 7 Dark STAR TREK: VOYAGER Holodeck Episodes 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, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
Gizmodo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
30 Years on, Voyager's B'Elanna Split Episode Remains Fascinatingly Fraught
Star Trek has always been fascinated with the idea of characters pulled between two worlds. Spock's exploration of his human heritage, Worf's status on TNG as an early example of post-peace Klingon integration with the Federation, even Sisko's position as a Starfleet officer thrust into the simultaneous roles of guiding diplomat, military leader, and spiritual emissary—time and time again the series has been drawn to this character archetype across ideas of race and status. Early Star Trek Voyager was no exception with its interest in B'Elanna Torres, one of the show's early breakout characters. The Maquis rebel turned chief engineer who embodied this trope not just through her own journey as an ex-guerrilla, but also as a half-Klingon woman—and the show's first real attempt to explore that latter, 30 years ago today in 'Faces,' had to tread fertile, yet highly contentious ground. 'Faces' was the 14th episode of Voyager's debut season, and saw the return of the Vidiians, a race of aliens forced to harvest organs and body parts from other species to try and avoid being ravaged by a horrifying plague. Having captured a handful of Voyager crew while they were on an away mission, B'Elanna included, a Vidiian scientist eager to explore the potential impact of regenerative elements in Klingon DNA in battling that plague uses his people's advanced medical technology to reach an unorthodox conclusion: split B'Elanna into two people. Completely separated down to the genetic level into separate human and Klingon individuals (both played by Torres actress Roxann Dawson, with the help of photo double Joy Kilpatrick), both B'Elannas ultimately have to overcome their differences to find a way to escape the Vidiians alongside their fellow captured crewmates. The idea makes literal Star Trek's aforementioned fascination with characters who struggle to reconcile being from two very different backgrounds, but by making B'Elanna's first real exploration of her biracial identity on the show so literal, 'Faces' has to skirt some pretty wild lines that it can never really quite interrogate. Much of the conflict between the human B'Elanna and the Klingon B'Elanna is derived from what is ultimately presented by the episode as genetically derived traits. Human B'Elanna is physically and emotionally weaker, repeatedly incapacitated by fear as she struggles to adapt to being held prisoner by the Vidiians. Klingon B'Elanna, meanwhile, plays up the established Klingon caricature of violence and anger issues, an underlying arrogance that sees her seek conflict before anything else. It's made especially fraught given the post-TNG re-imagining of the Klingons away from their original (and similarly racially fraught!) depictions and toward a race of almost exclusively dark-skinned humanoids, alongside other Afro-inspired traits like textured hair. The image of a slight light-skinned human B'Elanna (for what it's worth, Dawson is of Puerto Rican descent) cowering in the presence of her aggressively framed, dark-skinned Klingon self is brought up time and time again in 'Faces,' as the two argue with each other over being 'cursed' with the negative traits of the other, human B'Elanna lamenting her Klingon temper as being the reason she ultimately left Starfleet Academy. Even though by the end of 'Faces' the two come to an understanding, and the Klingon B'Elanna is allowed to sacrifice herself to protect the human B'Elanna she had admonished as her lesser, it's still presented in more of a way of the noble savage trope than it is a particularly enlightened re-imagining of their bond. But while 'Faces' ultimately concludes that the two B'Elannas work better together, it doesn't exactly interrogate the racialized element at play between them in presenting her internal conflict over her biracial identity as an external one. Even the climax of the episode, when B'Elanna has reached that aforementioned understanding with her Klingon self, handles it in a compromised manner—her re-embrace of her Klingon side is done as much out of any kind of acceptance as it is the fact that she's told that she has to re-integrate with her Klingon DNA, without which she won't survive. The episode's final moments are intriguingly framed: the still-human-appearing B'Elanna tells Chakotay as she sits in Voyager's sickbay waiting to undergo surgery that while she now appreciates and admires aspects of her Klingon self, she is also reckoning with the fact that she will fight that version of herself for the rest of her life, before stroking her smooth forehead in solitude for one last time before the physical reminder of her internal struggle returns. For much of the rest of Voyager, the series' exploration of B'Elanna's racial identity will be explored through her damaged relationship with her Klingon mother, rather than her own internal attitudes to being part-Klingon. That is, with one significant, equally wild exception: the season seven episode 'Lineage,' which sees a newly pregnant B'Elanna attempt to genetically alter her child in-utero to ensure they are born fully human. It's fascinating that much of the show's exploration of her identity is bookended with these episodes that are broadly in conversation with each other, and not necessarily in the best of ways. 'Lineage,' while providing a level of understanding for B'Elanna's choices, is at least much more definitive in its view that her apprehensive view of being part-Klingon is misguided, and her actions in the episode are equivocally in the wrong. Perhaps then, 'Faces' walked so it could run—and provide a chance to do a bit more right by a character Voyager had been deeply interested in from its earliest beginnings.
Geek Girl Authority
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Girl Authority
STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS: 16 Returning Franchise Characters
In many ways, Star Trek: Lower Decks was built on the Franchise shows that preceded it. True, the show did break new ground by showing us a new side of Starfleet. But it also brought back many characters who had previously appeared in other shows and movies. For this week's Trek Tuesday, we're sharing X Star Trek characters who debuted elsewhere in the Franchise and returned on Lower Decks. Did we include your favorite? Riker and Troi Photo Cr: Best Possible Screen Grab CBS 2020 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The first major returning Franchise character appeared in the Lower Decks Season 1 finale, 'No Small Parts.' In this episode, the U.S.S. Cerritos came under attack by the Pakleds in the Kalla system. But just when the California class ship is about to succumb to the Pakled party, some familiar heroes show up to lend a hand. RELATED: Unpacking Star Trek: Lower Decks Opening Battle Scene Through the Seasons These are William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Both characters were originally introduced in the series premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, 'Encounter at Farpoint.' Riker (or at least his transporter clone) would later appear on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, while both Riker and Troi appeared on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard. And both characters appeared in all four The Next Generation era Star Trek movies. Tom Paris Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2021 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved One of the great things about Lower Decks is that it takes place after the final The Next Generation era movie, Star Trek: Nemesis. This means that it is also set after the Voyager finale, which means that it takes place after the U.S.S. Voyager has returned to the Alpha Quadrant. Lower Decks took advantage of this chronology in Season 2's 'We'll Always Have Tom Paris.' In this episode, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) from Voyager visits the Cerritos. This is a during a handshake tour which Paris is undertaking in the wake of Voyager's return to Earth. Sonya Gomez Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2021 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved In the Lower Decks Season 2 finale, 'First First Contact,' Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) reunites with one of her old friends, Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff). Now, Gomez is the captain of the U.S.S. Archimedes. RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks : 8 Big Bradward Boimler Episodes But when we first met Gomez, she was just an ensign aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D. She appeared in The Next Generation Season 2 episodes 'Q Who' And 'Samaritan Snare.' But in those episodes, Gomez held the rank of ensign. The character's appearance as a captain in Lower Decks emphasizes that even the higher ranking officers originally start off on the lower decks. Quark and Kira Photo: PARAMOUNT+ ©2022 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved The Lower Decks Season 3 episode 'Hear All, Trust Nothing' sees the Cerritos visiting Deep Space 9. Since Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) previously served on the station, she's less enthusiastic than the other beta shifters. However, the rest of the Cerritos crew encounters Quark (Armin Shimerman) and Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). Both characters originally debuted in the Deep Space Nine series premiere, 'The Emissary.' According to the commentary track for the episode, Shimerman found it necessary to wear his prosthetic Ferengi teeth while recording his voice over lines. Leeta and Rom Photo Credit: Paramount+ In Lower Decks Season 4's 'Parth Ferengi's Heart Place,' the Cerritos visits Ferenginar. Once again, the visit opens the door for several Deep Space Nine alums to make an appearance on the animated show. RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks : 9 Essential D'Vana Tendi Episodes Due to the nature of their mission, this brings Freeman in contact with the leaders of Ferenginar. Thanks to a narrative development from the climax of Deep Space Nine, there are now Grand Nagus Rom (Max Grodénchik) and his wife, Leeta (Chase Masterson). Nova Squadron Photo Credit: Paramount+ Over the course of Lower Decks Season 4, ships throughout the quadrant have been disappearing. In the penultimate episode of the season, 'The Inner Fight,' the person behind these disappearances is revealed. It's Nick Locarno (McNeill). Locarno originally appeared in The Next Generation Season 5's 'The First Duty.' That episode also introduced the rest of Nova Squadron, which includes Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton). Several other members of the squadron appear in a flashback in the Lower Decks Season 4 finale, 'Old Friends, New Planets.' These are Sito Jaxa (Shannon Fill) and Crusher. The Anaximander Crew Photo credit: Paramount+. In the penultimate episode of Lower Decks fifth and final season, several legacy characters return. These characters comprise the crew of the U.S.S. Anaximander, under the command of William Boimler (Jack Quaid). These include T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) from Star Trek: Enterprise , Garak (Alexander Robinson) and Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) from Deep Space Nine and a plethora of Harry Kims (Garrett Wang) from Voyager . Later, the crew meets a variant of Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard) from RELATED: Star Trek: Lower Decks : Who's Who on the Anaximander 's Bridge Crew Technically, these characters aren't returning characters. Instead, they are multiversal variants of characters we've met in Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: First Contact. But it is never the less exciting to see these familiar faces return, even if they are coming from another timeline. These Star Trek: Lower Decks episodes are currently available for streaming on Paramount+. STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS: 5 Merchandising Ideas for Paramount's Profit 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, in many issues of PanelxPanel, and in the margins of the books in her personal library.
