10 Awesome Star Trek Things Lower Decks Brought Back That We Love

April 20, 2024, 1 p.m.

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10 Awesome Star Trek Things Lower Decks Brought Back That We Love

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Summary Star Trek: Lower Decks celebrates the TNG era with beloved characters and fun interactions like Riker on the USS Titan.

The show brings back legacy elements like Voyager, Cetacean Ops, and Holodeck episodes with nostalgic flair.

Lower Decks enhances the Trek universe by reviving characters from DS9, showcasing new storyline updates with humor.

Every episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks is packed full of callbacks and references that have brought back many beloved elements of the Star Trek franchise. Inspired by the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Lower Decks", Mike McMahan's animated comedy is a love letter to the TNG era. Following the adventures of the USS Cerritos and focusing on the starship's lower decks characters like Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), it provided a fresh perspective on the wider Star Trek universe.

With Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 set to be the show's finale, it's a good time to reflect upon the many additions it made to the Star Trek canon. If it weren't for Lower Decks, fans wouldn't have received updates on beloved characters from Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Lower Decks has also brought back some classic Star Trek aliens like the Ferengi and the Orions, and has expanded Starfleet's understanding of their culture, and updated their standing in relation to the Federation.

Related Every Star Trek Legacy Character Guest Star On Lower Decks Star Trek’s animated comedy has featured several guest spots from characters from the franchise’s past, from The Next Generation to Deep Space Nine.

10 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back TNG’s 24th Century Era

Lower Decks bridges the gap between Nemesis and Star Trek: Picard.

The 24th century era of Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond is a golden age for the franchise. However, with nearly 20 years between the end of Star Trek: Nemesis and the modern era, live action Trek could never hope to dive back into the TNG era. However, animated shows like Star Trek: Lower Decks could bring back the TNG era and have its characters interact with some big names and deep-cut characters like Captain Sonya Gomez (Lycia Naff). Despite this, Lower Decks never felt like it was indulging in empty nostalgia or fan service.

These nods to legacy characters gave a sense of a sprawling fictional universe, with bigger players in the Star Trek universe inspiring the Lower Deckers on their own smaller-scale missions.

Instead, Star Trek: Lower Decks continued the story of Starfleet and the Federation in the years after the final Star Trek: The Next Generation movie. It updated viewers on Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his secret financial support for the Archaeologist's Guild, and even briefly revealed what Captain Morgan Bateson (Kelsey Grammer) was up to after he and his crew ended up in the 24th century. These nods to legacy characters gave a sense of a sprawling fictional universe, with bigger players in the Star Trek universe inspiring the Lower Deckers on their own smaller-scale missions.

9 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back Captain Riker, Counselor Troi & USS TItan

"Let's see how these Pakleds do with their aft hanging out!"

While Star Trek: Picard brought back Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) first, audiences got to see the USS Titan's commanding officer in his pomp during Star Trek: Lower Decks. The Lower Decks season 1 finale brought back Riker and Counselor Deanna Troi-Riker (Marina Sirtis) to help the USS Cerritos battle the Pakleds. Boimler then got a temporary posting to the Titan, serving under Riker as they got into repeated skirmishes with the Pakleds in Lower Decks season 2, episode 2, "Kayshon, His Eyes Open".

Captain Riker's ship was succeeded by the USS Titan-A in Star Trek: Picard season 3, which was eventually refitted and renamed the USS Enterprise-G.

Hilariously, Riker's doppelgänger in Star Trek: The Next Generation gave the Titan captain the experience needed to handle the two Boimlers created by the transporter accident on Karzill IV. Riker also reflected on missing the day-to-day science and exploration of his time aboard the USS Enterprise-D, and encouraged Boimler to "enjoy it while you have it". Star Trek: Lower Decks' Riker episodes were great fun, and finally gave fans a chance to see how TNG's perennial Number One handled the center seat.

Related Riker Is A Great Star Trek Captain, But Not In This TNG Episode William Riker became a great Starfleet Captain, but he certainly doesn't look it in this episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

8 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back USS Voyager

"It's Voyager, **** got freaky"

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 brought back the USS Voyager for one final flight, this time as a museum which exhibited many of the stranger things encountered by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew. In typical Lower Decks fashion, the Voyager mission went wildly out of control, as members of the Cerritos crew got "Tuvixed". Aboard the USS Voyager, Boimler and Mariner faced off against Star Trek: Voyager's multiple holodeck villains after they accidentally resurrected the macroviruses.

Robert Duncan McNeill reprised the role of Star Trek: Voyager's Lt. Tom Paris in the season 2 episode "We'll Always Have Tom Paris".

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 1, "Twovix" was an irreverent celebration of Voyager's Delta Quadrant mission. Full of nods to some of Star Trek: Voyager's wilder episodes, "Twovix" repositioned the USS Voyager as a starship of historical importance, regardless of how "freaky" things may have got. The final scene in which Voyager is visited by Federation citizens was a great way to communicate how important Janeway's mission was to enhancing the 24th century's knowledge of the Delta Quadrant.

7 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back Cetacean Ops

"They like you very much, but they are not the hell your whales."

Cetacean ops had only ever been briefly mentioned in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it took on a life of its own following the publication of the 1996 reference book Star Trek: The Next Generation USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D Blueprints. That book revealed that on Deck 13 and 14, the Enterprise had cetacean ops facilities, including a navigation lab and lifeboats. Cetacean ops was staffed by dolphins and whales that helped with the starship Enterprise's navigation. Dolphins have a natural ability to navigate in three dimensions, which is what made them such an important addition to the crew of the Enterprise.

Cetacean ops was first mentioned in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 15, "Yesterday's Enterprise".

After living in the imagination of Star Trek: The Next Generation fans for years, cetacean ops appeared in multiple episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks, staffed by Lieutenants Kimolou and Matt, two beluga whales. Cetacean ops is something that felt naturally suited to animated Star Trek, not least because the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual referenced the Japanese OVA anime Gunbuster in its description of the facility. It also continues Star Trek's important connection with whales, first established in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Related Star Trek: TNG's Enterprise Had Dolphin & Whale Crewmembers Although only mentioned briefly in the show itself, Star Trek: The Next Generation's Enterprise had navigation crew members fresh from the ocean.

6 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back TNG Movies’ Argo & Captain’s Yacht

"I will always be puzzled by the Human predilection for piloting vehicles at unsafe velocities."

The Star Trek: The Next Generation movies featured two brand-new Starfleet vehicles; the Argo ground vehicle from Star Trek: Nemesis, and the Captain's yacht from Star Trek: Insurrection. The Argo was deployed to desert expanses like the surface of Kolarus III, where Captain Picard, Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), and Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) discovered the head of B-12. Mariner used the Argo in Star Trek: Lower Decks' season 1 premiere, "Second Contact", to deliver supplies to the Galadornian farmers. Although the Argo in Nemesis felt like an indulgence for car enthusiast Patrick Stewart, Lower Decks used it as a useful vehicle in Starfleet's inventory.

Patrick Stewart revealed on The Late Late Show With James Corden that he has a collection of classic cars including a McLaren 650S, Porsche Panamera and Porsche 911.

The Captain's yacht from Star Trek: Insurrection, named the Cousteau, was larger than a shuttle craft, and was classed as a large support vehicle. The crew of the USS Enterprise-E used the Cousteau to travel to Ba'ku during their insurrection against Starfleet. Star Trek: Lower Decks' own insurrection used the USS Cerritos' captain's yacht to take on Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill) and his crew of renegade officers in the season 4 finale. Lower Decks gets a lot of use out of its captain's yacht, as it has appeared in multiple episodes between seasons 1 to 4.

5 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back Jeffrey Combs

"Does co-conspirating mean nothing anymore?!"

Prolific Star Trek villain actor Jeffrey Combs added a tenth character to his resume by playing AGIMUS in Star Trek: Lower Decks. AGIMUS was a megalomaniacal computer that had subjugated a planet in the 2280s. A century later, AGIMUS was disconnected and bound for the Daystrom Institute, in the custody of Boimler and Mariner. It was a great role in the history of great Jeffrey Combs' Star Trek roles, and he brilliantly bouced off Jack Quaid's Boimler. After being imprisoned at the Daystrom Institute, AGIMUS formed an alliance with the wayward Exocomp, Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue).

The Exocomps were service robots that gained sentience, first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 9, "The Quality of Life".

As with many of Jeffrey Combs' Star Trek villains, AGIMUS had a redemptive arc in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4. Seemingly betrayed by Peanut Hamper, AGIMUS learned the value of friendship over planetary domination, and gave up on his pursuit of conquest, freeing Boimler and Lt. D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) from his clutches. AGIMUS also gave Boimler vital intelligence on Nick Locarno's mystery ship, setting up the Lower Decks season 4 finale.

Related Every Star Trek Species Played By Jeffrey Combs Star Trek's Jeffrey Combs has made a career from giving nuanced performances behind layers of alien prosthetics from DS9 to Enterprise, and beyond.

4 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back The Holodeck Episode

"I was in the holodeck trying to find meaning in the randomness of death..."

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 1, episode 9, "Crisis Point" instantly went down in history as one of Star Trek's greatest holodeck episodes. An extended riff on the first three Star Trek: The Original Series movies, "Crisis Point" was a deeply meta story about Mariner writing an epic holodeck "movie" for her and the Lower Deckers to participate in. The sequel, "Crisis Point II: Paradoxicus" upped the stakes further, with multiple nods to the derided Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and a guest appearance by George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu.

Modern Star Trek hasn't explored the holodeck too much, aside from Star Trek: Picard season 3's rather unimaginative Ten Forward simulation...

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Star Trek: Lower Decks gravitated to the weirdness of the holodeck as a concept. From the ludicrous Mark Twain subplot to the violent and outright filthy holodeck simulations enjoyed by Dr. T'Ana (Gillian Vigman) and Lt. Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore), Lower Decks really grasps the infinite possibilities for weird wish fulfillment. Modern Star Trek hasn't explored the holodeck too much, aside from Star Trek: Picard season 3's rather unimaginative Ten Forward simulation, but at least there's one starship that continues to demonstrate the holodeck's full potential.

3 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back Zefram Cochrane

"Alright, buckos, prepare for your trek amongst the stars!"

Star Trek: Lower Decks brought back Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) by revealing the monument first hinted at by Star Trek: First Contact. The inventor of Star Trek's warp travel is a historic figure who is celebrated with a sprawling theme park based in Bozeman, Montana, where the first warp flight took place. In Lower Decks' season 3 opener, "Grounded", Boimler, Mariner, Tendi and Rutherford visited Historical Bozeman to commander the replica Phoenix for a trip into space, accidentally bringing along a tourist for the ride.

Among its attractions, Historical Bozeman featured the First Contact Fun Zone, where kids could play on a replica of the Vulcan ship, T'Plana-Hath complete with swings and a slide.

1996's Star Trek: First Contact marked the franchise's 30th anniversary by presenting its origin story, and emphasizing the vital importance of Zefram Cochrane's first warp flight. By depicting Historical Bozeman in Star Trek: Lower Decks, Chris Klua, the writer of "Grounded" gave a tangible sense of Cochrane's impact on 24th century tourism. It's just one of many ways that Lower Decks has greatly expanded the franchise by focusing on banal and minute details that make the Star Trek universe richer.

Related Star Trek’s Origin Movie Could Be The Second To Break Tradition The upcoming Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie could be the next to break a Star Trek movie tradition that only one other film has broken.

2 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back DS9, Kira, Quark, Grand Nagus Rom & Leeta

"Tacky Cardassian fascist eyesore."

While Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fans still wait patiently for a comeback series or movie, Star Trek: Lower Decks has been on hand to make that wait less painful. In Lower Decks season 3, episode 6, "Hear All, Trust Nothing", the USS Cerritos docked at Deep Space Nine for trade negotiations with the Karemma, aided by Colonel Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor). It was a joyous episode that updated DS9 fans on what had happened to the station after the finale. Quark (Armin Shimerman) had cashed in on DS9's vital importance during Star Trek's Dominion War, turning the station into a bustling tourist attraction.

Star Trek: Lower Decks also revealed that there are Sisko "truthers" who believe that Deep Space Nine's captain didn't ascend to the Celestial Temple, but is in hiding to avoid prosecution for war crimes.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 6, "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place" brought back Grand Nagus Rom (Max Grodenchik) and his wife Leeta (Chase Masterson). While ostensibly a Ferengi comedy episode, "Parth Ferengi's Heart Place" was a hugely important moment in Star Trek canon, as it depicted the Ferengi negotiating to become Federation members. In lieu of a proper Star Trek: Deep Space Nine revival, Lower Decks' carefully considered updates on these beloved DS9 characters prove that they've not been forgotten by the wider franchise.

1 Star Trek: Lower Decks Brought Back Animated Star Trek

"Why does everything feel… two-dimensional?"

As Star Trek: Lower Decks ends with season 5, it's worth reflecting on how it brought back Star Trek in a huge way. While Gene Roddenberry disowned Star Trek: The Animated Series, there's no denying that it capitalized on the bigger creative possibilites offered by animation. Lower Decks is the natural successor to Star Trek: TAS, and it was a massive improvement that pushed the franchise into brand-new territory. Not only was Lower Decks the most overtly comic of Star Trek shows, it could create some truly alien creations that live-action Trek would struggle to realize.

Multiple species from Star Trek: The Animated Series have featured in Star Trek: Lower Decks including the Caitians, Edosians, and Kukulkans.

It's thanks to Star Trek: Lower Decks that the reputation of animated Trek has been greatly improved following Roddenberry's disdain for Star Trek: TAS. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' crossover episode proved once and for all that animation is just a different format for storytelling. Animation also allows Star Trek to bring back characters like Captain Riker or Lt. Tom Paris as if only a year or two had passed since their last appearance, rather than decades. All of these characters, be they from Star Trek: Lower Decks or Strange New Worlds or Star Trek: Prodigy can co-exist, making the franchise a far richer experience for everyone.

All episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks are available to stream on Paramount+.