Some Of The Best Gags In The Strange New Worlds/Lower Decks Crossover Are True Star Trek Geekery
This post contains spoilers from the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."
"Anyone else notice how specific their references are?"
Ensigns Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner (Tawny Newsome) time traveled their way onto the U.S.S. Enterprise this week, and when they weren't jovially messing with the future of mankind, the duo from "Star Trek: Lower Decks" were spitting references that encompassed pretty much all of "Star Trek" history. While the bulk of the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" involved Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and the team trying to manage the fallout of this temporal (crossover) event, they honestly needn't have worried: Boimler and Mariner referenced so many "Trek" moments so quickly that I don't think anyone could've caught the reality-altering information hidden in their quips if they tried.
From commenting on changing technology to spilling future "Trek" lore, Boimler and Mariner spend every moment of their time aboard the Enterprise practically bouncing off the walls. In lesser hands, they'd be corny audience stand-ins meant to answer the question "What if one of us got to hang out in 'Star Trek'?" but that's kind of always been these characters' thing, and "Strange New Worlds" finds a way to make their field trip to the Original Series era feel not just authentic, but meaningful. But enough about the deep stuff: Let's get into those mile-a-minute references.
A golden age state of mind
When Boimler and Mariner hop on board the Enterprise, their immediate responses sound pretty much exactly like a "Star Trek" message board. Mariner is skeptical about how the Enterprise crew's outfits include their rank on their sleeve, a military-like tradition that would eventually go by the wayside in favor of badges and assorted insignia.
They also ogled the old-timey tricorders, noting that while future generations figured out how to make them stop exploding, they never improved much otherwise. The handheld data-gathering devices have noticeably changed design over the decades. The original series-era models were bulky and looked a bit like old-fashioned calculators with extra buttons and a display screen. In later years, as our understanding of technology grew, so did Trek's; newer tricorders look a lot smaller and sleeker, kind of like a funky smartphone. By the "Star Trek: Voyager" era, tricorders were water and temperature resistant and, yes, probably way less likely to explode.
"These Old Scientists" is a fun episode because it takes on the phenomenon of Golden Age Thinking, in which everyone tends to believe their past was better than the present. We see this when Ortegas (Melissa Navia) and Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) geek out about the NXo1, the early starship pioneered by Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) in "Star Trek: Enterprise." It's a tendency that often befalls fans of long-running franchises like this one, and the way the show addresses that constant romanticization of the past and criticism of the present is clever. Still, Captain Pike seems set in his ways: When he finds out that "Lower Decks" era communicators are also badges, he's skeptical. "But flipping it open is the best part!" he laments.
The future is too legendary not to talk about
Mariner and Boimler have always been great additions to the world of "Star Trek" because they can serve as a running commentary, pointing out the inconsistencies and oddities of the world of "Trek" thanks to their spot near the end of its current canon timeline (and their encyclopedic fan knowledge of major events). In one scene, Boimler tries to keep his cool about the weirdly uncomplicated stardates used by early Starfleet teams, saying, "Ah yes, five digits, totally normal number to be living in." Starting with "The Next Generation," stardates began to grow more complex, and the "Lower Decks" team most recently logged the stardate 58499.2, a far cry from the Enterprise crew's recent stardate of 1789.3.
While details like those are pretty minor, the pair also tries not to let slip some major intel about the future. At one point, Boimler uses the name Q as an exclamation, referencing Captain Picard's longtime nemesis, but Mariner hushes him, noting that these people haven't met Q yet. Boimler is also especially worried about interfering with Spock's true path, given that he'll go on to save the entire Federation in the future. Plus, the pair also alludes to the eventual destruction of the Enterprise itself, confusing La'an (Christing Chong) by calling it the "NCC-1701-dash-nothing." The ship is first refitted and given a letter name after the original ship was destroyed in "Star Trek III: The Search For Spock." Several "Trek" shows and movies later, other variations of the Enterprise have already run through nearly half the alphabet.
Deep cuts and ridiculous references
Some of the best bits in "These Old Scientists" are the most random ones, the kind of thing that Una is (Rebecca Romijn) calling out when she side-eyes the time travelers' hyper-specific references. At one point, Mariner is aghast to find out that Boimler may have asked Spock about his pet Sehlat. Sehlats are big, bear-like creatures that only fans of "Star Trek: The Animated Series" would know used to be a childhood companion of Spock's — that is, until his Sehlat, I-Chaya, had to be put down.
The pair also reference the San Francisco Bell Riots that appear in a famed "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode, and Mariner even brings up how bad Nausicaans are at the game Dom-Jot – which might be a reference to the time one of them stabbed Picard during a round of the game that got heated during an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Even the Enterprise crew gets in on the esoteric "Trek" references, as Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) jokes that Boimler might have chroniton poisoning, a time travel-related illness that would later plague Kes (Jennifer Lien) on "Star Trek: Voyager."
When all is said and done, the episode ends on a moment that feels like yet another reference, but isn't: The Enterprise crew briefly turns two-dimensional after partaking in a stiff Orion drink called a Hurricane, which features a liquor that Mariner says will "truly ruin your life." This drink is a new addition to "Trek" canon, courtesy of the "Lower Decks" crew. Boimler and Mariner left a canon-changing impression on classic "Trek" after all, and it's extremely on-brand for them that said impression involved getting the Enterprise crew totally plastered.
New episodes of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" stream on Thursdays on Paramount+, where you can also watch "Star Trek: Lower Decks."