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Season 4 – Star Trek: Discovery

Where to watch, star trek: discovery — season 4.

Watch Star Trek: Discovery — Season 4 with a subscription on Paramount+, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Michael Burnham finally comes into her own -- and so does Discovery -- in a confident fourth season that embraces the series' more heartfelt take on the Star Trek mythos.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Sonequa Martin-Green

Michael Burnham

Anthony Rapp

Paul Stamets

Mary Wiseman

Sylvia Tilly

Wilson Cruz

Dr. Hugh Culber

David Ajala

Cleveland Booker

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Related tv news, season info.

Everything we know about Star Trek: Discovery Season 4

Here's what's next for Burnham and the gang.

Captain Michael Burnham in Discovery Season 4

After an epic and upbeat Season 3 , Star Trek: Discovery has lightly tapped the reset button again. Only this time, there's not a galaxy-wide mystery, the nostalgic appearance of a famous starship , or even a brand-new setting. After the Season 3 finale — "That Hope Is You Part 2," Season 4 of Discovery is poised to settle into the 32nd Century, and seemingly, get back to doing what Star Trek is famous for; a show about the crew of a space ship, having exciting adventures week after week.

Now that the crew of the USS Discovery has a new captain and a new (loosely defined) mission, what should DISCO fans expect for Season 4? The short answer is a lot .

The finale of Discovery Season 3 has opened up the series in a way that has never happened since it debuted in 2017. From the release date to the cast, to the directors and the writers, here's what to expect from Star Trek: Discovery Season 4. Let's fly!

When is the Star Trek: Discovery Season 4 release date?

Back on November 2, 2020, it was revealed that the cast and crew started filming Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery . This means that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Discovery Season 4 began filming roughly nine months after Season 3 wrapped in February 2020. As of April 5, 2021, it was been confirmed that Discovery Season 4 will debut sometime in 2021, though it’s not clear exactly when. Right now because Lower Decks Season 2 is set to hit in August 2021, Fall 2021 seems right for Discovery Season 4.

Is there a trailer for Star Trek: Discovery Season 4?

Yes! As of April 5, 2021, Paramount+ revealed a short teaser trailer for Discovery Season 4 . It features new uniforms, a new mission for the USS Discovery , which seems centered on a large lightyear-spanning gravitational anomaly. Watch it above!

Who is writing Discovery Season 4?

Unlike previous seasons of Discovery , there appears to be little to no turnover within the creative team. As with Season 3, Michelle Paradise will be the showrunner for Season 4, with Alex Kurtzman serving as the executive producer. Much of the writing staff is thought to be the same, which will probably include Kirsten Beyer , Bo Yeon Kim, Erika Lippoldt, and Kalinda Vazquez , among other fan favorites.

Who is directing Discovery Season 4?

As with all previous seasons of Discovery , both Johnathan Frakes and Olatunde Osunsanmi are expected to return to direct episodes. Sadly, Picard and long-time Discovery director Hanelle Culpepper revealed in 2020 that she wouldn't be able to direct episodes of Discovery Season 4 due to scheduling conflicts, adding that she will "miss my Star Trek family." In addition to directing the first two episodes of Picard , Culpepper also directed the pivotal Discovery Season 3 episode, "Forget Me Not."

Burnham and the "new" crew at the end of Season 3. They’ve already changed clothes again.

Who is in the Discovery Season 4 cast?

The vast majority of the Discovery Season 3 cast is expected to return for Season 4 including:

Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham
David Ajala as Clevland Booker
Wilson Cruz as Dr. Culber
Mary Wiseman as Ensign Tilly
Doug Jones as Saru
Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Stamets
Ian Alexander as Gray Tal
Blu del Barrio as Adira Tal
Tig Notaro as Jett Reno
Oyin Oladejo as Joann Owosekun
Emily Coutts as Keyla Detmer
Sara Mitich as Nilsson
Patrick Kwok-Choon as Gen Rhys
Ronnie Rowe Jr. as Ronald A. Bryce
David Cronenberg as Kovich
Oded Fehr as Admiral Vance (Unconfirmed)

The biggest cast member not returning is Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. The character is getting her own Trek spinoff called Section 31 . Georgiou left Discovery via the Guardian of Forever in "Terra Firma Part 2," marking the second time Yeoh has "left" Discovery . Prime Universe Philippa Georgiou was killed by Klingons in the second episode of Discovery ever, "The Battle at the Binary Stars."

Also (probably) not returning is Noah Averbach-Katz, who played Ryn, since he got vaporized. (Then again, he could play a new character!) Finally, although she had top billing in the first half of the season, Rachael Ancheril's Commander Nhan departed the USS Discovery in "Die Trying." Nhan could technically return since she's still working for the Federation but in an interview in 2020 , Ancheril made it seem like Nhan probably was on that seed ship for good.

The Season 4 teaser trailer also revealed a new Cardaissan-esque character (unnamed), as well as the return of Vulcan/Ni’Var President T’Rina played by Tara Rosling. Also, it looks like Sonja Sohn will once again return as Gabrielle Burnham, Michael Burnham’s mother.

Culber, Gray, and Adira in the holo-environment on the Discovery finale.

What is the plot of Discovery Season 4?

Unlike Season 2, Discovery Season 3 didn't end on a huge cliffhanger. For the first time, the plot and tone of a new Discovery season is pretty open-ended. The ship has a new (yet familiar) captain, the crew has spiffy new uniforms, the Federation is on the rebound, and Starfleet is back to helping people out whenever possible. When Burnham asks Tilly "What's the latest?" the implication is basically that the next Season 4 could go back to a planet-of-the-week format, similar to TOS, TNG, Voyager, or Enterprise . In fact, showrunner Michelle Paradise said that because Season 3 was loosely more episodic than Season 4, fans should expect the trend to continue into Season 4.

In terms of character arcs, we'll certainly need to get a sense of what Saru is doing on Kaminar, and if he'll ever return to the Federation. Further, the idea that Gray can finally be seen through holographic tech is something Paradise has said will "pay off" in Season 4.

A few fairly big plot points still need to be resolved in Season 4, the most intriguing of which are the connections between Discovery and the 2018 Short Treks episode "Calypso" — in which a totally vacant USS Discovery is being maintained by a fully sentient computer in an even more distant future.

Paradise explained it to Inverse like this:

""Calypso' has now become part of our canon. And it takes place far beyond our time now even, in Season 3. And yeah, eventually we'll have to find our way there. So that short, in the grand scheme of things, fits together as a piece. In certainly in Season 3, we were beginning that process with Zora — who isn't quite the Zora we saw in 'Calypso' — but we were getting that process started a little bit of her sparking to life in episode 4, and then coming in and having a bit more of a presence in 12 and 13. So, we're starting our way there."

The first teaser trailer revealed that some of Season 4 will be focused on the crew figuring out a large “gravitational anomaly,” which will require the Federation to unite with non-Federation worlds. This will include at least one trip to Ni’Var (Vulcan) and it appears that both Tilly and Burnham will get those awesome Romulan swords, first introduced by the Qowat Milat in Picard Season 1. Does this mean Tilly will practice the way of “absolute candor” and constantly tell the truth no matter what? Basically, she kind of already does, right?

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-3 are streaming now on Paramount+

This article was originally published on Jan. 8, 2021

Star Trek: Discovery season 4: everything we know

Spoilers ahead

The cast of Star Trek: Discovery, which is returning for season 4 on Paramount Plus in 2021.

Release date

Star Trek: Discovery season 4 will warp onto Paramount Plus on November 18, 2021, and a new trailer has dropped as the date gets closer.

With Michael Burnham now installed as the captain of the ship – the show's fourth commanding officer in as many years – Star Trek: Discovery season 4 will see the crew continuing to explore the distant future of the 32nd century. Having solved the mystery of the so-called “Burn” that had rendered warp travel impossible, and defeated the criminal empire of the Emerald Chain, attentions should now be turning to restoring the Federation to its former glories. Unfortunately, it sounds like a new antagonist is about to get in the way, in the form of a dangerous gravitational anomaly five light years across.

With Saru, Tilly, Stamets, Culber and all the principal bridge crew back in action, Star Trek: Discovery 4 is set to continue the franchise's ongoing adventures on the final frontier. Here's everything you need to know, but be warned – Spoilers lie ahead for anyone yet to watch the previous seasons.

Release date: Star Trek Discovery season 4 will release on November 18 in the US. The show will roll out on Paramount Plus in the US, and is expected to stream on Netflix elsewhere.

Story: With Burnham now installed as captain, as mentioned above, the USS Discovery will contend with a massive gravitational anomaly in the 32nd century – the idea is that the crew is dealing with a massive problem to solve this season rather than a specific villain.

Is there a trailer? Yes. A first teaser for Discovery season 4 debuted in April 2021, and another full trailer dropped in October 2021.

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Star Trek: Discovery season 4 release date

It was confirmed at the Star Trek Day event on September 8 that Star Trek: Discovery season 4 will debut on November 18 in the US.

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The show will release on Paramount Plus , the rebranded version of CBS All Access. Outside the US we expect that – like the previous seasons – the show will stream on Netflix, where it's usually available within hours of its American debut.

The previous season had barely even started airing when Star Trek: Discovery season 4 got the official greenlight on October 16, 2020. Two weeks later, on November 2, production got underway at the show’s Toronto base, and continued until August 2021 – the end of shooting was confirmed in a tweet from showrunner Michelle Paradise .

Inevitably, Covid-19 restrictions were a major factor in the shoot. For starters, as dictated by Canadian rules, the cast had to isolate for two weeks before coming to set.

Star Trek: Discovery season 4 also reportedly took advantage of a pipeline put in place for the previous season, after coronavirus restrictions kicked in. “Our editors, miraculously and heroically, took their editing bays into their living rooms,” Alex Kurtzman, executive producer and overseer of Star Trek’s current raft of TV shows, told IndieWire . “We also scored the entire season [3], mixed the entire season, color-timed the entire season, all from [a] laptop .”

Reports suggest the process was further refined on Star Trek: Discovery season 4, with Space.com revealing that the show will make use of the groundbreaking augmented reality LED screens pioneered by The Mandalorian . Suddenly the fact that travel for location filming was off the table didn't seem quite so much of a problem...

Star Trek: Discovery season 4 trailer

"We are not in this alone." Star Trek: Discovery season four, coming soon ✨ #StarTrekDiscovery #FirstContactDay pic.twitter.com/ZRoI2QRNqp April 5, 2021

A first teaser trailer for Star Trek: Discovery season 4 was unveiled at the First Contact Day virtual event in April 2021 – watch it above. A second, fuller trailer dropped at New York Comic Con 2021, which you can check out below.

Let’s fly ✨ #StarTrekDiscovery #StarTrek https://t.co/NUVqZXAdrS pic.twitter.com/ZqJvodfqft October 9, 2021

Star Trek: Discovery season 4 cast

This is the current roll call for Star Trek: Discovery season 4:

Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham
Doug Jones as Saru
Anthony Rapp as Lt Cmdr Paul Stamets
Wilson Cruz as Dr Hugh Culber
David Ajala as Book
Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly
Blu del Barrio as Adira
Ian Alexander as Gray
Oded Fehr as Admiral Charles Vance
Oyin Oladejo as Lt Joann Owosekun
Emily Coutts as Lt Keyla Detmer
Patrick Kwok-Choo as Lt Gen Rhys
Ronnie Rowe as Lt R.A. Bryce
Sara Mitich as Lt Nilsson
David Cronenberg as Kovich

It’s a case of ‘as you were’, with most of the established cast returning for another tour of duty – presumably they’re excited to be wearing new-look, Trek-appropriate primary-colored uniforms that don’t look quite so much like tracksuits.

It goes without saying that Sonequa Martin-Green is back as Captain Michael Burnham, and even though her predecessor in the big chair, Saru, has relocated to his home planet of Kaminar, Doug Jones still has a part to play. “It felt important for all of our characters to find new layers for them, to find new place for them to go, new things for our actors to play, and new ways for the characters to go,” showrunner Michelle Paradise told TVInsider . “[In season 3 we highlighted] that Saru hasn’t had a huge connection to Kaminar since leaving, and in a season that is all about connection – family connection and cultural connection – it seemed like an organic place to explore that theme with him.”

Among the lead cast, Anthony Rapp and Wilson Cruz reprise their roles as Lt Cmdr Paul Stamets and Dr Hugh Culber, while season 3 standout David Ajala is back as the 32nd century’s most famous feline owner, Cleveland ‘Book’ Booker. (Sadly, a Grudge the Cat spin-off is yet to be announced.) And surely Mary Wiseman’s Sylvia Tilly will be looking to make the First Officer role her own.

“[Saru] sees strength in [Tilly] she doesn’t quite see in herself necessarily,” Paradise said in TVInsider. “Then, [we watched] her over the course of the season become more confident in herself to the place where she’s ultimately able to serve as Number One, and having to essentially be acting captain in this crisis situation, where she handles herself beautifully. What does that mean to come is, I’m sure, a question she’ll be asking herself and we’ll be exploring in Season 4.”

The supporting bridge crew will surely be hoping to have a few more stories of their own, continuing their slow evolution from background players to actual characters – now we know that Lt Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) can hold her breath for 10 minutes, the sky’s the limit. It’ll be interesting to see what – if anything – is in store for Lt Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts), Lt Gen Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon), Lt R.A. Bryce (Ronnie Rowe) and Lt Nilsson (Sara Mitich).

Third season newcomer Blu del Barrio also returns as Adira, human host of the Trill symbiont Tal, along with their boyfriend, Gray (Ian Alexander). Dr Culber’s efforts to give Gray – who can only be seen and heard by Adira – physical form will be a big part of the season, as Gray becomes more and more integrated with the crew. “For season 4 I’ve had a lot more hands-on involvement, like my suggestions for the future of Gray,” Alexander told Inverse . “They already have so much planned. Michelle [Paradise] and Alex [Kurtzman] already have this vision that I’ve very, very excited for everyone to be able to see.”

“Culber does make a promise in our season three finale to Gray that, ‘You will be truly seen,’” Paradise said on a Discovery panel at Outfest (via TrekMovie ). “And we absolutely do pay that off in season four. That storyline and making sure we pay it off is hugely important.” It was confirmed by Wilson Cruz (Dr Culber) at Star Trek Day (via Variety ) that Gray will be gaining a corporeal form in Star Trek: Discovery season 4.

Anthony Rapp, who plays Stamets, added that Stamets, Culber, Adira and Gray will become a family in Star Trek: Discovery season 4: “Parenting – they’re not children but they are young people – the pressures of how to be available to be a mentor or guide or parent in the face of job responsibilities and sort of crises, that’s an interesting sort of sub-thread through the through the season… There’s more in the ways Paul and Hugh continue to evolve in their relationship. This is certainly explored also in this season.”

And there’ll be at least two familiar faces at Federation headquarters, where Oded Fehr (Admiral Charles Vance) and legendary movie director David Cronenberg (the mysterious Kovich) will be pulling some strings behind the scenes.

Star Trek: Discovery season 4 plot

Star trek: discovery season 4 plot: what can we expect to see.

Michelle Paradise is keeping her cards closer to her chest than The Next Generation crew at one of their regular poker games, though she did admit to TVInsider in January 2021 that the Discovery crew are hanging around in the 32nd century, rather than looking for a way back to their original pre-Kirk-and-Spock timeline. “I don’t expect that,” she said. “All of [the crew] knew going into that at the end of season 2 that this is a one-way trip. Now that they are here, we’re not looking to go back.”

What does that mean for plotlines? “I don’t want to speak specifically to themes, but we do have them!” she joked to ComicBook.com . “I think season 4 will absolutely continue the kinds of things we were doing in season 3, in that we do have very strong themes that we’re exploring. Star Trek: The Original Series explored present-day things via sci-fi. And that’s what we did in season 3, and I think that’s just baked into what Star Trek does.

“Ultimately the thing that really resonates, I think, with people is, what are our characters experiencing? What are they going through? How are they connecting with one another? What are the challenges they’re facing and how do they overcome them individually and then as a family? All of that I think will continue.”

With the Emerald Chain out of the way, it looks like the threat in Star Trek: Discovery season 4 will be rather different this time out. The trailer reveals that the crew is dealing with a gravitational anomaly “five light years across”, rather than a specific human or alien foe – a force that, as Tilly explains, “could go anywhere, and we may not have any kind of warning at all”.

“We’re actually exploring – we’re diving deep into science – in the fourth season, in a kind of new and interesting way,” said Kurtzman in a panel hosted by Deadline (via TrekMovie ). “There have been many kinds of villains over the course of Star Trek. What happens when the villain is not actually any kind of living, breathing entity, but something else? How do you solve that problem?”

Could we be looking at something technological Discovery season 2's hostile AI, Control? Or a lethal inorganic structure like the Crystalline Entity from Star Trek: The Next Generation? ScreenRant has suggested the rather plausible theory that the anomaly could be V’Ger, the rogue space probe from Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In the finale of that movie, V’Ger merged with USS Enterprise first officer Will Decker to attain a new level of consciousness – who knows what it might be capable of nearly a thousand years later...

We can expect Star Trek: Discovery season 4 to follow a similar structure to previous years, with each season based around a self-contained story arc, with just a few loose ends left untied.

“Discovery has that sort of serialized, season-long story baked into its DNA,” Paradise said in an interview with Inverse . “We also wanted to give the show a more episodic feel in season 3. We got to explore a story of the week or a villain of the week – it gives us time to explore some of our characters who we normally wouldn’t have time to explore. That was definitely a choice on our part and will continue on our show.”

What questions does Star Trek: Discovery season 4 need to answer?

With the origins of the so-called ‘Burn’ revealed – who’d have guessed it was caused by a grieving kid with a symbiotic relationship to a planet made of dilithium? – and Osyraa and her Emerald Chain defeated, Star Trek: Discovery season 4 flies into uncharted waters.

Hopefully that means that Discovery and the crew can use the spore drive to truly explore the strange new worlds of the 32nd century – though, given this show’s love of callbacks to earlier series, it’s almost inevitable we’ll meet some familiar faces and species. (The presence in the trailer of a Federation official – possibly the president – who has a mix of human and Cardassian facial features suggests that those long-standing Deep Space Nine foes may be up for a comeback, this time in the Starfleet camp.)

Part of Starfleet's remit will be rebuilding a Federation that's a shadow of what it was 900 years earlier. The trailer suggests that many worlds will have to pull together to defeat a threat that affects Federation and non-Federation “equally” – as Burnham puts it, “We are not in this alone”.

“The Federation is coming back together but it’s not fully back together,” Kurtzman told the aforementioned Deadline panel. “And so the continued mission of bringing other worlds in and meeting the criteria and standards of what it means to be a member of the Federation but also not to rob other cultures of their identity is something that we’ll explore.”

The biggest ongoing question Star Trek: Discovery season 4 needs to address is the nature of the ‘Sphere Data’, the ancient alien intelligence now integrated with Discovery’s databanks. Protecting it was the reason the ship made the one-way trip to the future in the first place, and it seems to be repaying the favor – first by helping the crew’s mental wellbeing, then by helping Tilly to forcibly eject the Emerald Chain from the ship. It’s a story that seems to be heading towards Short Trek episode ‘Calypso’, set in a distant future where Discovery is run by a sentient computer.

“‘Calypso’ is incredible,” Paradise told ComicBook.com . “And it is now a part of Trek canon , but specifically our show’s canon. It takes place many, many years beyond where our heroes are right now, and at some point, we will absolutely have to match up with that so that Discovery as a whole, including ‘Calypso’, all fits together as a piece.

“Certainly, bringing in that voice in episode four and having – we’ll call her Zora, she doesn't have a name at this point – but having her hide in the DOTs [helper robots on board Discovery] and be part of the story is the beginning of driving toward that. And eventually – who knows when? – we will absolutely have to make sure that we sync up with that.”

And then there’s the small matter of Stamets having issues with the way Burnham left his husband, Dr Culber, in a radiation-filled nebula in the season 3 finale. “I think that’s one they’ll get past in time,” Paradise said in TVLine .

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Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard's happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he'll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard's name was Winter.

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3 things to know about Star Trek: Discovery before its return

S tar Trek: Discovery will finish an up-and-down run this spring, bringing to a close five seasons of adventures. The show was canceled in 2023, with the folks at Paramount+ announcing that season five would be the last for the series. it's not always been the most loved series, but it has found a fandom over the course of its run. Now with the show coming to a close, fans are looking forward to seeing how the story turns out.

Fans of the series are likely ready for April 4, as the fifth season will debut in the states on Paramount+, but newcomers to the series may not know all the major details of the show's fifth season and maybe a diehard fan may have missed some of the bigger aspects of the series.

So here are three things to remember before Discovery debuts.

It's the final season and will have a satisfying conclusion

The show is coming to a close for sure this spring, but anyone worried the show will receive an uninteresting conclusion much like Star Trek: Enterprise did, fear not. Alex Kurtzman, the head of Star Trek has confirmed that the series will have a satisfying conclusion, meaning that fans of the show won't have to re-live the ending of Star Trek: Enterprise, whose finale is considered the worst in the show's history.

Several new characters are joining the show

The show will close out season five with three major new characters. Each character will have a major impact on the show, one of which is being played by a sci-fi legend. Callum Keith Rennie, who featured as Leoben on Battlestar Galactic, will play Captain Rayner, while Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis will play Moll and L'ak respectively.

Potentially two spinoffs will continue the story

Fans of Discovery should be happy to hear that this part of the franchise's story isn't done. The upcoming Section 31 film will continue the events of Discovery before the series titular ship was lost to the future, and a planned but delayed series , Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, will likely continue the adventures in the 32nd century.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as 3 things to know about Star Trek: Discovery before its return .

Cast & crew
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All Is Possible

Episode aired Dec 9, 2021

Tilly and Adira lead a team of Starfleet Academy cadets on a training mission that takes a dangerous turn. Meanwhile, Burnham is pulled into tense negotiations on Ni'Var. Tilly and Adira lead a team of Starfleet Academy cadets on a training mission that takes a dangerous turn. Meanwhile, Burnham is pulled into tense negotiations on Ni'Var. Tilly and Adira lead a team of Starfleet Academy cadets on a training mission that takes a dangerous turn. Meanwhile, Burnham is pulled into tense negotiations on Ni'Var.

John Ottman
Gene Roddenberry
Bryan Fuller
Alex Kurtzman
Sonequa Martin-Green
Anthony Rapp
102 User reviews
4 Critic reviews

Top cast 20

Michael Burnham

Cmdr. Paul Stamets

Lt. Sylvia Tilly

Dr. Hugh Culber

Cleveland Booker

Federation President Laira Rillak

President T'Rina

Cadet Val Sasha

Cadet Harral

Cadet Taahz Gorev

Lt. Christopher

Lt. J.G. Linus

All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

Trivia All entries contain spoilers
Goofs Adira reference being "almost eaten by a blob", but the creatures who attacked were nothing like blobs; more like giant crabs. This probably means the creature CGI was decided upon after the dialog was recorded.
Connections References Star Trek: The Galileo Seven (1967)

User reviews 102

Worst episode yet.

sparklefish
Feb 5, 2022
December 9, 2021 (United States)
United States
Official Site
Massey College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Council chamber and T'Rina's office on Ni'Var)
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 54 minutes

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Star trek's 8 most complicated sibling relationships.

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Every Member Of Geordi La Forge’s Family In Star Trek Explained

Star trek: strange new worlds season 3 - cast, story, & everything we know, star trek officially brands a surprising deep space nine hero as a war criminal.

Many Star Trek characters have complicated relationships with their siblings. Although Star Trek: The Original Series did not dive too deeply into the family dynamics of its characters, subsequent Star Trek series have explored more complex relationships. While a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the siblings of their main characters, they generally only popped up for an episode or two. However, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's stationary setting allowed for more serialized storylines, giving the show more time to spend developing its characters and their families.

In the era of streaming television, modern Star Trek shows are more heavily serialized and focus more on character development than previous Trek shows did. Shows like Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds have introduced some great sibling duos with nuanced and complex relationships. While some Star Trek siblings are close with one another, others have a more strained dynamic. Still, most of these siblings clearly care about one another in their own way, even if they do not always know how to show it.

8 Sidney & Alandra La Forge

Star trek: picard season 3.

In Star Trek: Picard's triumphant third season, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D reunited for one final galaxy-saving mission. With the return of Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) came the introduction of his two daughters, Sidney (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) and Alandra (Mica Burton). Although both girls joined Starfleet like their father, Sidney became a pilot, while Alandra pursued engineering. Sidney's career path and her stubborn personality caused some tension between her and her father, while Alandra remained close with Geordi.

Several of Geordi La Forge's family members have been introduced throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Picard.

As an ensign, Sidney landed a position as the helmsman on the USS Titan-A under the command of Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) . When Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) sought out his former Chief Engineer, Geordi was reluctant to join the dangerous mission and he wanted Sidney to sit it out as well. Sidney, however, argues with her father, pointing out that she is not Alandra. Although the relationship between the two sisters seems fine, they clearly have very different relationships with their father.

7 D'Vana & D'Erika Tendi

Star trek: lower decks.

With the introduction of D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), Star Trek: Lower Decks has single-handedly redefined the Orions as a species. Despite her badass Orion pirate skills, D'Vana is a ray of sunshine and remains one of the most upbeat members of the Cerritos crew. In Lower Decks season 4, episode 4, "Something Borrowed, Something Green," D'Vana has to return to Orion for the wedding of her sister, D'Erika (Ariel Winter), revealing more about the Tendi family dynamics. As D'Vana searches for her sister, D'Erika ambushes her, confronting her about abandoning the family to join Starfleet.

Since that first appearance, D'Erika has appeared in three more episodes of Lower Decks. She and D'Vana have such a relatable sibling dynamic — they obviously love one another but still have their fair share of arguments. After D'Vana left Orion to join Starfleet, D'Erika became the Tendi family's prime assassin. D'Erika worries she will not live up to her older sister's impressive legacy, and D'Vana can be a bit too protective of her younger sister. D'Erika manipulates her sister into returning to Orion for a time, and the two sisters team up as pirates, leading to some conflicts about how they should run their crew.

6 Soji & Dahj

Star trek: picard.

Android identical twins Soji and Dahj (Isa Briones) were created by Bruce Maddox (John Ales) and Altan Soong (Brent Spiner) using a single positronic neuron from Data (Brent Spiner). Despite having been created as young adults, both Soji and Dahj believed themselves to be fully human and had memories of their childhood. With these manufactured memories and imagined parents, Soji and Dahj have a complex family tree. Dahj was killed in Star Trek: Picard's series premiere after seeking out Admiral Jean-Luc Picard for answers about who she was.

Maddox had created the twins to learn the truth of the synth attack on Mars, so he sent Dahj to work at the Daystrom Institute, while Soji was sent to the Borg Reclamation Project.

After Dahj's death, Picard set out to find her sister, Soji, and save her from the Romulan Zhat Vash assassins who had killed Dahj. It's unclear how much time Soji and Dahj actually spent together, considering all of their childhood memories were fake. This makes their relationship dynamic particularly difficult to determine, although the photos Soji keeps indicate that they at least believed themselves to be close. They were not seen interacting in Picard, and it's likely most, if not all, of their relationship was built on programmed fabricated memories.

5 Worf, Nikolai, & Kurn

Star trek: the next generation, star trek: deep space nine.

Having been raised by humans, Worf grew up with a human foster brother named Nikolai (Paul Sorvino) . The two had a contentious relationship growing up, as Nikolai's rebellious rule-breaking angered Worf, who prized honor above all else. Still, Worf and Nikolai never considered themselves to be anything less than brothers, despite one being Klingon and the other human. Both brothers also clearly respected and cared for one another despite their differences.

Worf also had a biological Klingon brother, although they were separated as young children and did not reunite until Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3. Kurn (Tony Todd) participated in Starfleet's Officer Exchange Program and visited the Enterprise to observe Worf before informing him that the Klingon High Council had dishonored their father, Mogh. Before revealing his true identity, Kurn tested Worf, eventually leading the Klingon security officer to confront him. Kurn shared Worf's sense of honor and both brothers became major players in Klingon politics throughout TNG and DS9.

4 James & Sam Kirk

Star trek: strange new worlds.

Although Sam Kirk technically made his first appearance on Star Trek: The Original Series, he was already dead by the time viewers encountered him. Dan Jeannotte has literally brought new life to the character in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as the older brother of Paul Wesley's James T. Kirk . As a xenoanthropologist on the USS Enterprise, Sam feels outshined by his ambitious younger brother, the youngest first officer in Starfleet.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 ended with an epic cliffhanger and here's everything known about when it will be resolved in season 3.

Both brothers seem to have a complicated relationship with their father; James strove to live up to their father's standard of success, while Sam felt their father's ideas were old-fashioned. Despite the jealousy Sam sometimes feels towards his brother, the two get along well enough. Sam eventually decides to resign from Starfleet and work as a civilian research biologist on a planet called Deneva, where he and his wife will tragically be killed by flying parasites.

3 Spock & Michael Burnham (& Sybok)

Star trek: discovery.

Originally a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Discovery introduced Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) as the foster sister of Spock (Ethan Peck). When Michael's parents were killed in a Klingon attack, Ambassador Sarek (James Frain) and his human wife Amanda Grayson (Mia Kirshner) adopted the young girl and raised her on Vulcan. Michael and Spock grew up as siblings and both faced bullying from the other Vulcan children for different reasons.

As revealed in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Spock also has a half-brother named Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill). Although Sybok and Spock were raised together, Sybok later rejected Vulcan logic and was eventually institutionalized.

Although Michael and Spock cared deeply about one another, a rift formed between the two after Michael hurled a particularly hurtful insult at her brother. Believing her presence endangered her foster family, Michael ran away from home and thought that if Spock hated her, he would miss her less. Michael and Spock eventually reconciled in Discovery season 2, before Michael traveled over 900 years into the future with the USS Discovery. As Burnham and her crew work to help rebuild the Federation of the 32nd century, Michael remembers Spock fondly and is incredibly proud of his accomplishments.

2 Data & Lore

Star trek: the next generation, star trek: picard.

At the beginning of Star Trek: The Next Generation , Lt. Commander Data believes himself to be the only android of his kind. He soon learns that his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong (Brent Spiner) , actually created multiple androids and prototypes based on the same model. In TNG season 1, episode 13, "Datalore," the Enterprise-D finds and awakens one of these earlier models on the planet where Data was originally found.

Upon meeting Lore (Brent Spiner), Data is pleased to learn that he is not alone in the universe. Data wants nothing more than to connect with his brother, but Lore unfortunately has other plans. Throughout his four appearances on TNG, Lore manipulates and impersonates Data, proving himself to be far "less perfect" than his brother. Lore briefly returns in Star Trek: Picard season 3, and his personality ultimately merges with Data's in a newly upgraded version of the android.

1 Quark & Rom

Star trek: deep space nine.

As the Ferengi bartender on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Quark (Armin Shimerman) could be hard to love, especially due to his treatment of his brother, Rom (Max Grodénchik) . Rom worked at Quark's bar, and Quark always treated him like a servant, calling him an idiot and blaming him for everything that went wrong. Although Rom initially put up with Quark's treatment of him, he later began standing up to his brother, eventually leaving the bar and joining the maintenance crew of DS9.

Despite all of their conflicts, Quark and Rom cared about one another. Rom, who cared little for profits, was an unconventional Ferengi, and Quark didn't always understand him, but he still looked out for his younger brother. Rom eventually became Grand Nagus of the Ferengi Alliance, while Quark expanded his bar into a successful franchise that spanned across the Alpha Quadrant. Quark and Rom may have had a confusing relationship, but they will always be some of Star Trek's most interesting siblings.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks streams exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel. The series will also be available to stream on Paramount+ in the UK, Canada, Latin America, Australia, Italy, France, the Caribbean, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and South Korea.

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November 1, 2024 | Robert Picardo Talks Playing 900 Year-Old Holographic Doctor On ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’
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Robert Picardo Talks Playing 900 Year-Old Holographic Doctor On ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’

| November 1, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 78 comments so far

One of the returning characters on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will be The Doctor from Star Trek: Voyager (and Prodigy ), with Robert Picardo reprising the role . And now he is talking about the show and his character and how it all ties together into the themes of Star Trek.

The 900 year old Doctor

This week Bob Picardo took some time away from shooting Starfleet Academy in Toronto to appear on local television ( TVO Today: The Agenda ) to talk about his career in Trek, and the subject of the new show came up. Picardo gave a brief breakdown of how The Doctor, who first came online on the USS Voyager in the 24th century, finds himself at the new Starfleet Academy in the 32nd century:

They’ve taken me out of holographic mothballs. The character is an artificial intelligence. He’s now several hundred years old, but it is set in the more distant future that Star Trek: Discovery propelled itself into. So in that future that my character is now several hundred years old, maybe 900 years old. Remarkably, I don’t look that much older. But I’m having a ball working on it, revisiting the character.

He also noted how that new setting fits in with the themes of the show:

If you follow Discovery , this terrible thing called “The Burn” basically destroyed Starfleet Academy, everything was destroyed in the future. So now it’s come back. So it’s really about, rebirth, redemption, all of the great themes of after a tragedy, of rebuilding.

Picardo shared some insights into the cast of characters:

We’ve got Holly Hunter, who’s an extraordinary movie star, Oscar-winning actress who is leading our show as the Chancellor of [Starfleet Academy]. The first season villain is Paul Giamatti. And then there’s this incredible cast of new young actors – many of them have credits – they’re just new to me. But they’re just really talented and unique, and their characters – both in the writing and their performance – I find very well defined. So I’m excited.

Picado with Academy cast and producers at table read in August (Paramount+)

Bridging the Trek generations

When the host suggested that Picardo is acting as a bridge for fans between the older shows and the new, Picardo said he embraced that position:

I am a bridge. Our executive producer Alex Kurtzman has said, “You’re the bridge between the past of Star Trek and the future,” and that touched me to hear that. Yeah, I do feel that it’s a responsibility of a saga that has meant so much to now three generations… we’re working on three generations that find some kind of solace and comfort in the fact that humanity will not only have a future that far out, but that it will be a positive one. And all sorts of problems we seem to have in the present that kind of toxic seem to be worked through in the future. And obviously, in Star Trek is a little darker now than it was, the newer shows and the fact that this thing called “The Burn” happen in the future. And really, so many different cultures were damaged or destroyed. But now, the optimism of renewing our commitment to our ideals and rebuilding. All of that are really important messages to hear in troubled times. Obviously, the original Star Trek was during the turbulent ‘60s and times are fairly turbulent right now.

We still don’t now a lot about how The Doctor fits in with the new Academy. On The Agenda Picardo said he wasn’t breaking anything in his “lengthy” NDA, noting the producers have already revealed the setting of the show and his appearance. At Star Trek: Las Vegas during a panel with Picardo, he got Alex Kurtzman on speakerphone, who explained why they included the Doctor, saying: “In Star Trek: Prodigy The Doctor is there teaching cadets at Starfleet Academy and so it seemed very logical that he would still be there in the future in the 32 nd century.” On the same speakerphone call shared at STLV was co-showrunner Noga Landau, who teased “He is going to do things we have never seen The Doctor do before.”

Robert Picardo gets the ‘Academy’ showrunners on speakerphone at STLV 2024 (Photo: TrekMovie)

Production on the new series began in late August and is still ongoing at Pinewood Studios in Toronto, Ontario. Paramount has not set a release date for the first season, but on Toronto TV, Picardo warned there may be a long wait:

It’s going to be a while until people get to see it… I’ve heard early 2026.

At New York Comic Con last month Robert Picardo was a surprise panelist, coming down from Toronto to help announce the show has already been picked up for a second season .

Bob Picardo with Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan at New York Comic Con 2024 reception (Getty Images for Paramount+)

It’s worth watching the full interview with Picardo who sat for 23 minutes with TVO Today talking about Toronto transit and his lengthy career, including the ad-lib that landed him the job on Voyager and how he weaseled his way into Star Trek: First Contact .

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Not counting Picard and recastings, is this the first actual appearance of someone from ’90s Star Trek in 21st Century Star Trek? I cannot recall.

TNG had McCoy, DS9 had Picard, Voyager had Quark, and Enterprise had Cochrane.

DIS had Sarek, but that was a recast, and SNW gets Pike, Spock, Uhura, Kirk, Chapel, and Scotty, but those are also recast.

Picard, goes without saying, got the TNG cast and Tuvok, but that was a separate thing.

We still don’t know WHICH Doctor, though. Odds are it’ll be the one from VOY, but what about the one from Living Witness?

The one from Living Witness eventually got back to Earth and opened a Hotel in Torquay.

It was going to take him 900 years or so to return to the Alpha Quadrant, no? More due to the Burn I’m sure.

The Living Witness version was already in the 31st century, not the 24th. And it wouldn’t have taken him 900 years to get home from the Delta Quadrant, more like a few decades at best.

True, true. I misremembered that. He could still show up, if he used a transwarp conduit.

Oh yeah, I think there is a decent chance we’ll see The Living Witness Doctor at some point as well. What’s better than having one Doctor? Having two of them! ;)

Indeed. And we might see more holograms, heh.

We could see Hologram Janeway too…

Yeah we very well could. I see all the usual fan speculation everywhere and many are suggesting you could see a hologram Archer, Riker, Kim, Scotty, Seven, Hoshi, Spock, Bashir you name it to show up. Not saying they will but absolutely nothing stops it either. It’s the 32nd century, anything is possible basically.

That was my hope for Discovery. I hoped we’d see Tilly or Michael visit a Starfleet museum and see holograms of all those characters. Alas, it was not to be.

Hopefully the academy setting of this show will allow for that. Specially Archer, who founded the Federation.

I was hoping we see a holographic Archer in Picard in season 3 when they got to the fleet museum lol.

But that’s why I think the Academy setting will be much more interesting than many people believe. I know many wanted it in the 24th or 25th century and that way you can have the characters appear for real. But I still think it’s just a more interesting idea to set it after the Burn. And I just love the idea we can learn a lot about Federation history post-Picard. They can have students directly interacting with legacy characters in simulated missions or history lessons. Because of the Burn, they will be learning just about as much as what the Federation used to be since they will be helping to rebuild it and can show many of the pioneers that were a part of it.

Again, I’m not saying they will do any of this but the fact that they can excites me.

The curator of the academy’s hologram museum should be a hologram of Barclay.

Too bad there can’t be an interactive hologram of Boothby. Best we could hope for is a static one…

I was hoping for a recorded President Archer speech like Zephram Cochrane’s in the Enterprise pilot at the end of Picard season 3.

Why Picard, why not Discovery? It would have fit well with the unveiling of the Archer shipyards.

The problem was that DISC should have been post-TNG in the first place; build its own legs rather than rely upon past tropes. In fact, had the studios weren’t so…whatever, THE OROVILLE could have been a ‘Trek series, one set far away in the TNG era while honoring it. DISC could have been its own thing from the start. Ridiculous.

By this era the mobile emitter should be old tech too so they could go anywhere

In theory, for sure.

I’m hoping in this era holograms are their own species.

I have to believe by the time of Living Witness Starfleet populated the Delta Quadrant. Heck, Janeway was able to in Prodigy. I bet the Doctor got home in no time.

Yep and a couple centuries before there was Captain Braxton who could travel there in no time too.

I agree with this as well. Even Q in Death Wish said Starfleet would be in the Delta Quadrant by the 26th century. And as you said they were already getting there faster in Prodigy.

So probably by the 31st century there are probably Federation colonies and bases in that area.

Yep and detechting the Doctor’s federation based holographic matrix shouldn’t be too much of an issue for them I would imagine.

But don’t forget The Burn. Could have complicated things for him.

Also we don’t know what tech the civilization that discovered him had.

I’m not sure I understand your question. You note yourself Picard is full of characters from the ‘90s shows, reprised by the original performers, and both Lower Decks and Prodigy have a bunch as well. Of the five recent / current regular TV shows (as opposed to the Short Treks – really more additional material for the other shows than a discrete series in its own right, arguably), it’s only Discovery and Strange New Worlds that haven’t had any performers from the earlier eras of the franchise return for encores (and SNW does feature people reprising roles they’d played on Discovery , and now for that matter ones from Lower Decks ; of the ten regular TV series in the franchise, Discovery is really kind of alone in not having people from prior productions reprise roles in it, and even that ceases to be the case once you include the Short Treks, since there’s at least one character who popped up first there and was then reprised by the same performer in Discovery proper).

I don’t count animation, heh. And Picard was a continuation rather than a new series.

In terms of live action, yes, but obviously many have been on LDS and Prodigy as well including the Doctor himself. We did see old footage of the original Spock and Picard in Discovery though.

It’s clearly the original Doctor from Voyager since he’s around 900 years old. In a separate interview, there was a mention he was already mentoring the young kids from Prodigy and implied he would eventually be part of Starfleet Academy in the 25th century. So it’s the original.

Oops, I should’ve read the entire article but they included the statement that I mentioned that he was already teaching the kids from Prodigy so it is the original Doctor.

“At Star Trek: Las Vegas during a panel with Picardo, he got Alex Kurtzman on speakerphone, who explained why they included the Doctor, saying: “In Star Trek: Prodigy The Doctor is there teaching cadets at Starfleet Academy and so it seemed very logical that he would still be there in the future in the 32nd century.”

“is this the first actual appearance of someone from ’90s Star Trek in 21st Century Star Trek? I cannot recall.”

I suppose so, assuming you’re also excluding animation, re-used actors, archive footage, though that just leaves Discovery , parts of Short Treks , and Strange New Worlds .

Spoilers ahead if there’s anything you’re not caught up on, including trailers for upcoming Lower Decks .

Lower Decks had James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane, John de Lancie as Q, Shannon Fill as Sito Jaxa, Jonathan Frakes as Riker, Susan Gibney as Leah Brahms, J.G. Hertzler as Martok, Alice Krige as the Borg Queen, Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris and Nick Locarno, Lycia Naff as Sonya Gomez, Armin Shimerman as Quark, Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi, Nana Visitor as Kira, Garrett Wang as Harry Kim (upcoming), and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. He’s not 90’s (or 2000’s), but they also had George Takei as Sulu.

Prodigy had Robert Beltran as Chakotay, Billy Campbell as Okona , Ronny Cox as Edward Jellico , Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher , Kate Mulgrew as Janeway , Robert Picardo as The Doctor , and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher.

If one counts the very Short Treks shorts, they had 90’s/2000’s actors Jonathan Frakes as Riker , Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher (she’s everywhere!), Ethan Phillips as Neelix , Armin Shimerman as Quark , and Connor Trineer as Trip (the only returning appearance from Enterprise so far). They also had George Takei as Sulu.

You said “not from Picard “, but since I’ve come this far… In addition to the obvious Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard and the rest of the “big seven” in season 3 (Jonathan Frakes as Riker, LeVar Burton as La Forge , Michael Dorn as Worf , Gates McFadden as Beverly Crusher , Brent Spiner as Data [and Lore/B-4] , Marina Sirtis as Troi), they had Daniel Davis as Moriarty, John de Lancie as Q , Jonathan del Arco as Hugh , Elizabeth Dennehy as Shelby , Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan , Michelle Forbes as Ro , Alice Krige as the Borg Queen , Tim Russ as Tuvok , Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine , and Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher.

There’s also been assorted archive footage, of which the most interesting is arguably the video from “Unification II” or the picture from “The Chase”, both in Discovery .

Although in a funny but hard-to-notice glitch, I want to say Picard himself technically appears in Strange New Worlds due to a reused exterior shot from Star Trek: Picard of Starfleet Headquarters or something.

In terms of re-used actors in different roles, off the top of my head Clint Howard appeared in TOS, DS9, Discovery , and Strange New Worlds and Annie Wersching appeared in Enterprise and Picard , plus the obvious Brent Spiner as Altan and Adam Soong. Probably other actors too, though I don’t think that’s what you were looking for.

So, yeah, I think this is the first appearance of a 90’s Trek actor in non-archive footage resuming their previous role in a live-action Star Trek show other than Picard if that’s what you were asking. Assuming it’s the same Doctor (or the “Living Witness” version since that’s pre-existing) or some other backup that would arguably make this a different role.

Prodigy also had Rene Auberonois as Odo.

I’d imagine (and I’m only speaking for myself here) that Mr. Auberjonois’ performance as the good constable on “Prodigy” was not mentioned (along with performances by Leonard Nimoy as Spock, Nichelle Nichols as Uhura and James Doohan as Scotty in the same episode) because those “appearances” were repurposed audio clips from previous episodes/films and not genuine new performances like Gates was in that episode.

Yes, great point. It was wonderful to still see them all.

No doubt about it… I got a little misty when I first saw that scene.

Me too. It was bittersweet to see them all back.

Heck ya it was.

That and the original post said they weren’t counting “non-archive” appearances in animated productions. Oops

So, yeah, I think this is the first appearance of a 90’s Trek actor in non-archive footage resuming their previous role in a live-action Star Trek show other than Picard if that’s what you were asking.

I’m hoping for the one from Living Witness.

Heck maybe they will have both?

If you ignore everything, this is the first Star Trek show…

Just animation and Picard since that was a direct sequel.

I actually watched this interview yesterday on Youtube as well. I think bringing in the Doctor on this show was a brilliant move just like bringing in Seven on Picard. He’s a really popular and iconic character obviously and it will at least get some fans who are on the fence about this show to tune in.

It is interesting they decided not to go with The Living Witness version as many assumed would be the case; but I guess they wanted the original and someone who has literally lived the last millennium and now has a wealth of Federation history and experience under him.

I really liked what Alex Kurtzman told Robert Picardo and The Doctor is the ‘bridge’ between classic Trek and NuTrek. It’s a delight for old fans but give new fans a gateway to watch Voyager if they fall in love with the Doctor like so many others have over the past 30 years. And just like Prodigy is doing that will give kids or new fans a reason to try out Voyager.

I’m not a big fan of NuTrek as you know, but I have enjoyed a lot of the returning characters that we’ve gotten so far, especially in Picard season 3. They have given a lot of attention to TNG and VOY characters since they seem to appear in most of the new shows. Understandable as I imagine both shows still get tons of views by old and new fans. I still would like to see more DS9 and Enterprise actors in time though.

I also agree they probably wanted a living witness (see what I did there) to the last 900 years of history and why the original Doctor is there.

Yeah, that is such a great point and Kurtzman probably meant both literally and figuratively since the Doctor is the first 24th century legacy character (that we know of anyway) living in the 32nd century and obviously Picardo being the only legacy actor on the show.

And I would’ve been fine if it was The Living Witness version but I think the show runners wanted the original character that was directly part of the Voyager crew. It does make it feel more special.

And I also agree, it’s great to use him as a gateway to get newer fans to check out Voyager since he’s now part of two modern shows (and the Doctor has shown up in DS9 and First Contact as well. Picardo is catching up to Frakes in terms of appearances lol).

But your point about VOY characters showing up on various shows is funny because I always go back to a conversation I had with a former member here, pre-Picard show, who said that the modern shows would probably do their best not to even reference shows like DS9, VOY, etc because they weren’t as ‘mainstream’ as TNG was back in the day; even though probably 90% of people who is paying to even watch these new shows are the same people who watched those lol. But they were convinced those shows and characters would basically be non-existent in the modern era.

And now look where we are just a few years later? Voyager is represented everywhere in NuTrek today because it’s obviously still a very popular and watched show. It also proves just how myopic some fans are as if these shows have been forgotten since the 90s or have ignored all the new fans that have found these shows in the last 20 years. And of course all the new people making these shows today grew up watching those shows when they were in high school or college and obviously had a big impact on their life.

Today its different but I just never understood the older myopic fans who convinced themselves that the older shows would just fade into oblivion or the prime universe was gone forever and we’ll never see those characters again once the Kelvin movies started or that you can’t make more stories pass Nemesis for some bizarre reason. Apparently it’s all been told and no one cares about going forward, we just want endless prequels lol. Now we have a show that takes place in the 32nd century starring a 900 year old Voyager character; which is what most people are talking about. I think it’s been made very clear how relevant the old shows still are today. Alex Kurtzman seems to think so at least.

And I always state for the record, I was one of the few people excited about this show on day one because I believe Trek has to try new things and I really want to see the franchise go forward, not backwards. Until they announced Picardo I didn’t expect any legacy characters to show up. In fact this was the only show I was convinced we never would see any lol. But Star Trek is a business and they have to do whatever they can to get people to watch I guess. As long as we get more great performances from Picardo, then bring it on!

Those people you’re referring to were old cranky TOS fanboys that believed only that show mattered. Or they hated BermanTrek with the death of a thousand suns and just wanted it to be 1982 again witb TOS and the 23rd century being the only thing around.

I used to argue with these types of weirdos all the time on Trek web when that was a thing. Many believed Jar Jar Abrams was going to be their savior and make Star Trek great again by making TOS and JJ verse the sole proprietor of NuTrek. The ‘visionary’ was going to reinvent Star Trek and put it on the map that will make all the other shows and movies disappear like an STD.

Instead we got three Marvel movies of badly plotted stories with generic supervillains (and EXPLOSIONS!!!) trying to destroy the Federation for VENGEANCE(TM) with the crew of the USS Apple store as Fratboy Kirk rides motorcycles, do space jumps and bumps his head to Beastie Boys. Cool action, big sets, great CGI and zero intelligence.

Oh and white Khan. 🙄

(I did like Beyond though but still dumb like the others)

And they didn’t take into account the millions of us 90s fans who were still around, very loyal to those shows and movies and kept buying the merchandise and DVDs. I actually bought more merchandise after Trek was off the air than I did when it was on. And none of it was ever JJ verse crap.

And once TPTB knew those movies weren’t going to grab the teenagers as hoped and old fans wanted the prime universe Trek again they had no choice but to go back to the tried and true with characters that have been around for over 20 years that fans who grew up with still idolized.

Paramount thought JJ verse didn’t really need the 90s fans to succeed and that turned out false. They aren’t making that same mistake anymore and why TNG and VOY are getting represented big time. The Doctor is only on this show because they know it could flop if enough 90s fans don’t bother. And they knew we were sick of all the prequel junk, with SNW being the exception

And with SNW, Picard season 3, Prodigy and Lower Decks at least proves BermanTrek still feels alive and well in these shows’ DNA although sadly most will be gone after this year.

I still think Kurtzman like Abrams is a h.a.c.k but at least now he hired show runners who grew up with Trek in the Berman era and brought that spirit back.

Maybe SFA will have that same spirit. It doesn’t have to. As long as it’s good on its own, the new characters are giod and the Doctor is important to the show it will probably be popular enough.

I actually agree with most of this and there was a stark division between fans who were big TOS fans and nothing else. And of course, that’s OK. People will just like what they like. I too am an old TOS fanboy, but I was never obsessed with it either. I always thought it was great to see Trek expand and I loved every show after TOS with the exception of Enterprise (mostly due to being a prequel) and today I love that show too.

But I never understood this mentality that only one show should represent Star Trek when like you said all the shows have gained a huge following. End of the day, every spin off show lasted longer than TOS did, most twice as long. It tells you how popular Star Trek just became to the point you can have multiple shows on the air with movies every few years and a big enough audience to continue to watch all of it. Yes, ratings fell, but rating always fall eventually, the point is there was still a healthy fanbase to keep it on year after year for 25 seasons.

I’m not sure how I got into that rant lol but I guess because what Legacy said that VOY was still a very popular show today when the talking point back then became it was a show that no one cared about anymore once it left the airwaves. But you’re not bringing back multiple actors to star in your new shows from a show that went off the air literally over 20 years ago now (I feel so old lol) unless there are still many fans who watch and adores it today,

And I have always said this, until the day they announced Picard, I actually never expected any legacy characters and actors to ever come back. At least not full time. Probably in cameos or guest appearances but no one starring in a show again. Mostly because I always assumed once we went back to the Prime universe (which I never doubted would happen) they would just move more forward in time with a post-Nemesis show or movie. Not the 32nd century or anything lol, but like what TNG did and maybe 50-100 years after Nemesis. That just made sense to me because then they could just start over and do what they want and ironically because they wouldn’t have so much of the baggage with all the canon and continuity the Berman shows created. Instead they went literally the very opposite way with a prequel to TOS that I just thought was bizarre and the wrong move for many reasons…and I was proven very right lol.

But once Picard arrived I knew then that the floodgates were going to open and that we would get more legacy actors back from all the old shows. I am a bit surprised there hasn’t been more DS9 representation but I don’t think that’s for any particular reason just haven’t felt the need to add more. Thankfully LDS has brought some back at least. Enterprise mostly due to its time period it’s in but I have a sneaky suspicion they will be showing up in LDS soon as well (but ready to be proven wrong lol).

For me, I always been fine to see Trek move on from all the old shows and characters. I never had a big urge to see TOS or those characters again after TUC and still don’t really, but I love seeing them again in SNW of course. And obviously same for the Berman and TNG era. Now that they are all back, it’s great to have them. And obviously it’s a smart move because you have millions of fans like yourself invested in these new shows although I think all of them could still be very popular without legacy characters of course.

But seeing what we have today in the modern era, I don’t think that will change and have said I suspected every show would star a legacy character going forward, All except SFA because of its time placement obviously and I was proven wrong on even that lol.

But as the first two seasons of both Picard and Discovery proved, it’s not enough to just throw old characters in, you still have to have solid shows to win over fans. And I think starting with LDS to now has been a big turnaround as well in terms of reception even if other fans still hate the modern shows.

Hopefully SFA will keep the same positive streak. Having the Doctor already feels like fans are warming up more to it at least.

Oh as far as your point about the JJ verse, even though I have never been a huge fan of it (although more of a fan than you lol), I still think, even to this day, it was probably the right move to make; especially at that time. But I didn’t believe only those movies and universe should’ve represented the only Star Trek going forward either.

And as said, I never remotely believed that would be the case because you don’t dump a 40+ year old universe with multiple shows and movies that still had millions of loyal followers watching it and buying the merchandise. Taking a break from it after Enterprise was cancelled, OK, but to completely abandon it would be insane. But I do think it was smart to ‘start over’ with the Kelvin movies and find a way to get new fans into the franchise who didn’t feel the need to watch 700+ installments of shows and movies lol.

Unfortunately they squandered it badly, never tried a different formula and did feel more like style over substance and why they are still DOA to this day since most ‘new’ fans never really committed to it in a way Paramount hoped like the Prime universe. Now that ironically feels like the universe that has been abandoned since they can’t seem to do anything with it nearly a decade later. But I’m sure you heard me say this many times.

I think nuTrek was the right move, but not the right direction that they took. I think recasting TOS was fine and all, but as TG pointed out they made it to “Marvel” and “bang bang” and not enough heart.

Yeah I agree. But they were probably so worried that if think make it too Trek-y and alienate all the new fans that normally stayed away from it.

And I’m not directly comparing the two but I think they wanted the tone to be what Transformers was which was a fun blockbuster that took all the elements of Transformers but focused on the action and plot with big CGI set pieces.

TF was a name most people were familiar with like Star Trek but it was basically a dead IP for decades that was geared to young boys until Michael Bay came along. That was probably the attitude they had with Trek especially since the first TF movie had already came out and was a huge hit.

Also probably not too much a stretch why the same writers for Transformers was now making the movie.

But I also think that’s why the movies will always just have a harder time because they are constantly trying to speak to two different audiences. That was the problem with the TNG films and definitely the problem with the Kelvin movies. And they tried very hard to appeal to both but in the end the new audience it wanted just lost interest because sadly it’s still Star Trek and the old audience can take it or leave it because they still had all their DVDs at home watching TOS, TNG and VOY episodes over and over again where they could get ‘real’ Trek and in the universe of charactersthey grew up with.

In other words there wasn’t a huge attachment for those movies on either side and why they have stalled IMO.

If there is one compliment I can give nuTrek is that it did do it’s job in revitalizing the franchise. ST 2009 did that well. Even if I myself am not a fan the results speak for themselves. I just thing STID jumped the shark so to speak with going too far into TF territory.

THe only reason I appreciated Beyond was that it was a nice send off to the TOS crew and esp Leonard Nimoy.

He will also be the opportunity to mention the Voyager crew from time to time.

Oh yeah definitely agree.

There has got to be a pic in his quarters of the VOY crew!

Of all the characters the Doctor makes the most sense cause he is AI. Data is now biological and Picard is programed to self terminate.

I really had no interest in this show since I don’t care about Discovery, but the Doctor being included has made me a lot more interested now. Picardo is such a gifted actor, he used all his talents to make the Doctor an amazing character.

His inclusion also convinced me to give Prodigy a chance and so glad I did. That was an amazing show and it was so much fun to see The Doctor, Janeway and Chakotay back together along with the great new characters. Prodigy is Star Trek at it’s best.

It’s great to see Picardo back!

He really is brilliant.

900 years old? So not the Doctor from living Witness?

Probably not, though technically the backup EMH is only a few years younger than the original.

True. I guess being in storage doesn’t change his age.

Gosh, they’re going to reference “the Burn?” Cringeworthy Trek plot point best left to Lower Decks et al to parody. “Stone knives and bearskins” to TOS tech required 300 years, while dilithium as a power source last 1,000+ – all at risk from a crying Kelpian.

Welcome to Discovery man, where logic and reason goes to die.

The crying Kelpian kid is still the dumbest thing this show has done and that’s saying a lot. We can only hope the SFA has writers and a show runner who don’t start their day inhaling gasoline every morning.

Yeah man the burn was bad enough but having it caused by a kid with mommy issues was just uugghhh.

TBH they kinda have too. They are locked in with the plot of this show. THe Academy coming back after being gone for 100+ years due to the burn.

So excited to bring the Doctor back! Before I could not care any less about a Star Trek show since Enterprise and Discovery were announced.

But having Picardo is a huge plus. We better get one opera song a season from him or just cancel the show.

So I’m staying more positive about it, especially with such a stacked cast

So Bob Picardo appeared in Star Trek and Stargate, now all he needs is Star Wars and he will complete the holy trifecta of “Star” franchises.

Haha that would be awesome! 👍

Can’t do it. Kurtzman will do the same they always do. Him saying about Picardo being a bridge is exactly the limited thinking I’d expect. He’ll be there to prop up all those younger folks in the cast not to portray the Doctor in any way I’d be expecting or likely want.

I’m all for seeing The Doctor back on our screens but I sincerely hope that Nu Trek treats his character well. I’m not sure what others think, but for me the appearances of classic Trek characters in these new series has been quite jarring. They are far away from the characters we know of old. Classic Trek had a refreshing optimism for the future and brightness that is just not there in current series. And the new script writers have long departed with the stylistic, almost Shakespearean, line delivery which gave Trek a true identity to now short, snappy quips full of sarcasm that will age the series so quickly. Everyone is talking over each other and, in the case of Discovery in particular, stopping in a moment of life threatening danger just to have an emotional moment between characters which is totally unrealistic. I thought Seven in Picard just didn’t seem like the Seven from Voyager. I get that she’s moved on since Voyager got home, but she seemed like a completely different person with none of the mannerisms that made her Seven. It’s like they’re trying to force fit classic characters into a new (and incompatible) setting – like trying to run a train on a road. I really hope they treat The Doctor well.

I think you can explain the fact of characters changing as it is what normally happens to people over the years. I mean even the TOS crew changed very much from the show to the movies. As long as the root of the characters are there, I don’t think changing them will be a problem. However I do agree with your observation of the new Trek shows having “simpler” dialogue but I think this is true for most modern shows. Unfortunately the reality these days seems to be that Shakespearean dialogue is boring and most people wouldn’t watch the show with that style of dialogue. I miss those more “literary” writing of Trek but at this point in time I don’t think that is doable.

All I can say for me personally I have liked what they did with most legacy characters so far. I actually thought Seven was handled very well in Picard for example, but I don’t think that’s a consensus either. There does seem to be many people like you who thought she wasn’t developed well enough or acted too differently.

And I also think LDS, PRO and SNW have all been very optimistic just like the classic shows. Yes DIS and PIC felt pretty dark, especially in the early days but the the other three shows started off more fun, adventurous and positive IMO. And I think all the legacy characters have been more upbeat (in LDS it’s kind of what that show does). The criticisms I hear with SNW (besides canon issues) is that the show treat the characters TOO light hearted at times and a bit immature. Spock has basically become a punchline in many cases, especially with the ‘comedic Vulan’ episodes. I personally don’t mind it but yeah others do.

So for me, I have faith they will treat the Doctor well. What did you think of his appearance on Prodigy? I seen others complain he wasn’t part of the main story line enough, but they captured the spirit of the character well IMO. My only take is if you liked him on Prodigy then you will probably like him in SFA although he will be significantly older lol.

But yes I do agree the dialogue is nowhere close to what we got in classic Trek and something I have brought up with nearly every show. They all just sound too contemporary. I know on LDS it’s clearly done on purpose but I can understand it takes other people out of the show when it’s suppose to be 400 years in the future, comedy or not. And it especially bothered me with Discovery because they are over a thousand years into the future and yet everyone sounds like they are in a TikTok video. Really jarring. But I’m not just picking on Discovery, they all have that issue IMO.

Honestly I agree Seven was handled well but I don’t think may others were. Picard lost all of his strength as a leader. Riker and Troi lost a child. Beverly is more of a Starfleet outcast than even Seven. Geordi and Worf were handled well tho.

So here’s the question…will the character have been active for the last 900 years? Meaning, has he been “on” continuously, or will we see a Doctor who is freshly woken up after a centuries long nap? Also – I wonder how they will deal with the aging? Will they de-age him for the first appearance and then have him say “well, if I’m older, then I should appear so” (Like they did with John Delancey) and then presto, older Doctor?

Great question. I would assume he would have just stayed active since I’m guessing by that period, holograms could be pretty independent (although we barely saw any in Discovery). And I think they want the character to have been around throughout history. Again I could be totally wrong.

As for his aging, I suspect it will be done the same way they did Data and Guinan briefly comment on it and quickly move on. I think Guinan used the excuse she just wanted to start aging and we always known Data in fact could age, he simply didn’t until later. I suspect they will do the same with the Doctor and he just decided to look older being 900 years old and all.

My question is, if he has been active this whole time, how much has he grown as a living being and in quat ways? 700 years is a long time.

That’s a great question. And if he is woken up, what is the reasoning for it? What does he bring to the table from the 24th century?

This 57-Year-Old Star Trek Episode Is William Shatner & Leonard Nimoy's Favorite

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79 episodes were produced of Star Trek: The Original Series , and for many years, that effectively constituted the whole of the franchise. Early fans would obsess over individual high points, and while a few misfires crept in here and there, most episodes retained a remarkably high level of quality. The best of them became templates for the franchise to come, exploring interesting concepts and ideas in the midst of an entertaining sci-fi adventure.

The cast of The Original Series has weighed in on their favorite episodes over the years. One in particular has earned the praise of both William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, who anchored the show as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. Season 1, Episode 25, "The Devil in the Dark" embodies a number of Star Trek's strongest ideas, as well as providing an intriguing mystery for its heroes to solve. Its influence can be seen in subsequent Star Trek series as well, which take its central message of not fearing what you don't understand to heart. It's no surprise that the Enterprise's original protagonists look back on it so fondly.

"The Devil in the Dark" Is Smart Sci-Fi

The episode begins with the Enterprise arriving at a mining colony on the planet Janus VI. 50 workers have been killed by a "monster" in the mines, and the remainder of the colony is in an uproar. Kirk and Spock soon discover the creature – called a "Horta" – is made of silicon and can burrow through solid rock thanks to acidic secretions. Kirk injures it with his phaser, but also detects signs of sentience in it, and Spock perceives that it means no harm after an aborted attempt to mind meld with it.

It is the last of its species, protecting tens of thousands of eggs that the miners have unknowingly threatened. Dr. McCoy heals the creature's injuries, and Kirk brokers a truce between it and the miners once he understands why the Horta attacked. As the Enterprise departs, the mining foreman reports that the remaining Horta eggs have hatched, and that the babies are helping the mining operation by tunneling through the rock for them.

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According to Inside Star Trek: The Real Story by Herbert Solo and Robert Justman, the Horta was the creation of stuntman Janos Proshaska , who surprised producer Gene Coon in his office with the costume and convinced him that the episode would work on the spot. It proves a remarkably sturdy bit of practical effects, and the Horta itself has since become one of The Original Series' signature aliens. The fact that it remains so memorable despite the fact that it has yet to reappear in Star Trek canon speaks volumes.

In and of itself, "The Devil in the Dark" is wildly entertaining. It opens like a horror movie , as the Horta attacks and kills a miner and the audience presumably thinks that a monster is on the loose just like the rest of the colony. Intriguing clues are added to the mystery, such as a broken Horta egg written off as an unusual mineral formation, and the combination of more deaths and a mob mentality among the miners kicks the suspense up several notches in the second act.

The initial stand-off with the Horta is rife with tension, which changes shape as viewers realize that the "monster" is really anything but. It also features The Original Series' Big Three – Kirk, Spock, and McCoy – in top form, as they debate/bicker their way to the answers. Among its other features, the episode is the first time Dr. McCoy utters his signature phrase, "I'm a doctor, not a…" In this case, he's speaking about trying to heal the Horta, and ends the phrase with "…bricklayer."

"The Devil in the Dark" Has a Message in the Monster

Narrative merits aside, "The Devil in the Dark" is also a textbook example of how Star Trek uses its stories to explore bigger issues of morality and human nature. In the documentary 50 Years of Star Trek, Nimoy cited it as a big reason why he was so fond of the episode: "I thought [it] was a wonderful episode about the fear of the unknown, how we fear and even hate something that we don't know anything about, learn who your enemy is, and it's not, maybe then it's no longer your enemy."

The theme has subsequently played out in large ways and small across the franchise. The most prominent example is perhaps the Klingons, who served as Star Trek's most prominent villains for the entirety of The Original Series and most of the initial movie cycle. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, sent the original crew off by confronting their prejudices after so much enmity and helping to secure a peace with their longtime foes. 100 years later, Mr. Worf becomes the first Klingon to serve in Starfleet in Star Trek: the Next Generation .

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Similar examples abound, from the Tamarians in The Next Generation episode "Darmok" to Species 10-C from Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery . Even the relentless Borg have sometimes found common ground with the humanity they seek to assimilate. All of that can be seen on full display in "The Devil in the Dark." There's a good deal more running beneath the surface as well. The episode carries a quiet anti-materialist message amid it all, with the humans focused so much on the planet's mineral wealth that they ignore its true treasure – and a potentially beneficial alliance – in the name of what amounts to profit.

Its depiction of the colony itself is surprisingly rough-and-tumble for the "perfect" 23rd century of The Original Series as well. The notion that it isn't always sunshine and roses on the fringes of the frontier later became one of the formative ideas for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . All of which is enough to routinely land "The Devil in the Dark" at or near the top of The Original Series 10 Best lists . Nimoy and Shatner are far from alone in their regard.

"The Devil in the Dark" Has a Special Connection for William Shatner

Shatner wrote about his experiences with "The Devil in the Dark" in his memoir Star Trek Memories, citing it as his favorite from the entire run: "…exciting, thought-provoking and intelligent, it contained all the ingredients that made up our very best Star Treks." There is another, far more personal reason for his fondness, which he reveals in the same passage of the memoir. During production of the episode, Shatner learned that his father had passed away. Rather than taking time off to process his grief, he insisted on working through it to get the episode done.

He cited the unflagging support of the cast and crew during that time, and felt that he bonded with them much more deeply through the experience. Personal circumstances notwithstanding, "The Devil in the Dark" is an outstanding early example of just how good Star Trek could be . Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had big ambitions for his science fiction series, and wanted it to be more than just ray guns and robots.

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That took time to cultivate, however, and indeed the Original Series was lucky just to make it on the air. At the time, it was (to quote Shatner) "just a TV show," filling one hour on the weekly schedule along with dozens of other series of all varieties. Even at that early stage, however, "The Devil in the Dark" proves that Roddenberry's concepts with the series were sound, and that Star Trek could rise above the mundane to talk about something worthwhile.

The franchise has subsequently built upon that foundation, including the same components in almost all of its endeavors. The combination of strong narrative hooks, compelling protagonists, sci-fi wonders, and something to think about underneath it all has come to define Star Trek in most ways that count. "The Devil in the Dark" isn’t the only Original Series episode to set the template, but the fact that both Nimoy and Shatner look so fondly on it speaks volumes. Star Trek wouldn’t be the same without it.

Star Trek: The Original Series is now streaming in its entirety on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Original Series

In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

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Similar examples abound, from the Tamarians in The Next Generation episode "Darmok" to Species 10-C from Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery. Even the relentless Borg have sometimes found common ground with the humanity they seek to assimilate. All of that can be seen on full display in "The Devil in the Dark." There's a good deal more running ...

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Every Member Of Geordi La Forge’s Family In Star Trek Explained

8 Sidney & Alandra La Forge

7 D'Vana & D'Erika Tendi

6 Soji & Dahj

5 Worf, Nikolai, & Kurn

4 James & Sam Kirk

3 Spock & Michael Burnham (& Sybok)

2 Data & Lore

1 Quark & Rom

What Happened in Season 4 of Star Trek: Lower Decks

Robert Picardo Talks Playing 900 Year-Old Holographic Doctor On ‘Star Trek: Starfleet Academy’

The 900 year old Doctor

Bridging the Trek generations

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Star Trek: The Original Series

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