The Title Of The Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks Crossover Episode Has A Hilarious Origin
This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
In the "Star Trek: Lower Decks" episode "No Small Parts" (October 8, 2020), the characters make a cute reference that served as a wink to the Trekkies watching.
"Lower Decks" is, of course, replete with references, and often goes well out of its way to incorporate ultra-obscure "Star Trek" nods that only deep-cut nerds would spot. It helps that the characters on "Lower Decks" are intimately familiar with Starfleet history, and are armed with the same kind of Trek-nerd knowledge possessed by the audience. As such, when the ensigns on the U.S.S. Cerritos look back to the "Star Trek" events from 120 years prior — Kirk's time — they refer to it as "the TOS era." What does "TOS" stand for? "Those old scientists," one of them explains.
Of course, Trekkies gave a hearty chuckle, as "Star Trek: TOS" is common shorthand when writing about the 1966 "Star Trek" series. For many Trekkies, "TOS" stands for "the original series." Along that line, TNG is used for "Star Trek: The Next Generation," DS9 for "Deep Space Nine," VOY for "Voyager," ENT for "Enterprise," SNW for "Strange New Worlds," LD for "Lower Decks," and PIC for "Picard." Frustratingly, "Star Trek: Prodigy" doesn't seem to have a similar abbreviation. And, yes, without a hint of self-awareness "Star Trek: Discovery" is sometimes referred to as STD. Each of the "Star Trek" movies has shorthand as well, but we won't get into that here.
The "those old scientists" gag carried over onto the title of the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," which is a crossover with "Lower Decks." The characters from the latter are thrown back in time 120 years to meet characters from the former. They finally get to meet Those Old Scientists.
When references to Trek become Trek references
The incorporation of real-life references to "Star Trek" journalism is, of course, a game "Lower Decks" plays a lot. In addition to the myriad references to "Star Trek" lore — Ensign Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) once wore an outlandish sweater last seen on the torso of Jake Sisko on "Deep Space Nine" — there are winks to fans who pay attention to the writings about "Star Trek." In one episode, for instance, Captain Riker (Jonathan Frakes) returns to the bridge of the U.S.S. Titan having just spent a few minutes on the ship's holodeck. He says he was spending time with simulated versions of the crew of the very first Enterprise, NX-01. This was a reference to the final episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise," wherein Riker was seen serving as the older ship's chef while he conversed with holodeck versions of the show's characters.
Riker, however, then noted that he was feeling wistful and that "it's been a long road, getting from there to here." Fans of "Enterprise" will immediately recognize that phrase as the opening lyric to the show's notorious theme song performed by the equally notorious Russell Watson.
This was also a series that depicted its main characters playing a board game that very, very much resembled 1993's "Star Trek: The Next Generation Interactive VCR Board Game – A Klingon Challenge." There was even an episode wherein the animators included a Spock helmet in the background. The Spock helmet may be one of the weirdest pieces of "Star Trek" merchandise ever produced, as it was not an object from the show, nor was it extrapolated from the show's aesthetic. It was a white helmet with a light on the top and the word SPOCK emblazoned across the forehead.