Strange New Worlds Season 3 Finally Reveals That A Certain Pop Song Still Exists In The Star Trek Universe

The use of popular music from the late 20th century in "Star Trek" has always been a bit of a gamble, not least of all because it begs the question: Why did this particular song stand the test of time? It can also pull viewers out of the moment, creating a bit of cognitive dissonance as they suddenly find themselves hearing the sounds of the Beastie Boys or Wyclef Jean in the sci-fi world of "Star Trek." Other times, however, it can honestly be a lot of fun.

Case in point: In the wildly silly second episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" season 3, "Wedding Bell Blues," we discover that a very well-known 1980s pop song has endured well into the 23rd century, and the whole Enterprise crew gets to have a blast dancing to it. And while its inclusion might make some audience members roll their eyes or groan, the song choice feels perfectly appropriate. Why? Because I can sincerely imagine it still being popular centuries from now.

Indeed, after dealing with the antics of a young member of the Q continuum (as played to perfection by Rhys Darby), a whole bunch of Starfleet officers boogie down to a song featured in both Marvel's "Moon Knight" and the wildly popular superhero TV satire "The Boys." That's right, I'm talking about Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go." 

After a whirlwind wedding between Spock (Ethan Peck) and Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) arranged courtesy of Darby's mischievous youngster is stopped and everyone is released from the alien spell, the crew of the Enterprise still get to celebrate Federation Day, the anniversary of when the Federation first came together. (Not to be confused with Frontier Day, another Federation holiday that seems to gather everyone important into a central location.) In fact, this is the centennial, celebrating 100 years since the Federation was first formed by a few groups of aliens with the common goal of intergalactic peace. Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and his girlfriend Captain Patel (Melanie Scrofano) are among the first to really shake their groove things as the classic Wham! track begins to play, and it's a truly joyous moment after the challenges they've faced as a couple already this season. Spock and La'an (Christina Chong) also get a chance to dance together, hinting at a potential future romance between the two. 

But why "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go?" Honestly, why not? The 1984 song was the first number one hit for Wham! in both the U.S. and the U.K., and it's the kind of bubblegum pop that just seems destined to stand the test of time. Sure, the songs featured in "Star Trek" are usually what we deem to be "classical music," like Mozart and Tchaikovsky, but who's to say that Wham! can't end up being held in the same esteem a couple hundred years from now? I mean, Deadpool gets it — there's a reason the band has an exclamation point on its name! Maybe one day we'll get to see someone introduce Klingons to Metallica. Now there's a match made in sto-vo-kor (i.e. Klingon heaven). 

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