cast star trek by any other name

By Any Other Name (episode)

• View history

Extragalactic aliens hijack the Enterprise and turn the crew into inert solids, leaving the four senior officers on their own to exploit their captors' weaknesses.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 2 Log entries
• 3 Memorable quotes
• 4.1 Production timeline
• 4.2 Story and production
• 4.4 Continuity
• 4.5 Sets and props
• 4.6 Other information
• 4.7 Remastered information
• 4.8 Video and DVD releases
• 5.1 Starring
• 5.2 Also starring
• 5.3 Guest star
• 5.4 Co-starring
• 5.5 Featuring
• 5.7 Uncredited co-stars
• 5.8 Stunt doubles
• 5.9 References
• 5.10 External links

Summary [ ]

Responding to a ship 's distress call , Captain Kirk 's landing party (including Spock , McCoy , Lieutenant Shea , and Yeoman Thompson ) beams down to a planet in search of survivors. A male and female humanoid placidly approach, demanding the unconditional surrender of the USS Enterprise . Activating paralysis fields from small devices on their belts, the aliens leave the landing party frozen but conscious in their places. The male humanoid, Rojan , calmly explains to Kirk he is now their commander and will take them with his people out of the galaxy. Furthermore, all of Humankind will not exist as they do now.

Act One [ ]

The female, Kelinda , disarms them while paralyzed and then they are released. Rojan explains they are scouts from the Kelvan Empire of the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy , which seeks a new home by force as their galaxy will soon reach unsustainable radiation levels. The Kelvan ship that was used in crossing over into the Federation's galaxy was destroyed at the galactic barrier , but they still traveled in life pods. Rojan intends to take the Enterprise to get back to Andromeda.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Kelvans Hanar, Drea, and Tomar subdue the crew by freezing them the same way Rojan and Kelinda did the landing party and take over the starship.

At first Kirk says there's little point in taking it as even at maximum warp, it would take Enterprise thousands of years to reach Andromeda. Rojan explains that Enterprise will be modified with Kelvan technology which will shorten the journey to only three hundred years, a concept which fascinates Spock, as an intergalactic journey requiring only three centuries is a leap far beyond anything they have accomplished. The Kelvans explain that their ship was a multi-generation starship and explains to Yeoman Thompson that they were born in the intergalactic void and they shall die there. Rojan says the mission will be completed by a commander who is his descendant. These descendants could report on the suitability of the Milky Way Galaxy for Kelvan conquest and occupation. Kirk then says that there's no reason to do all of this by force and he proposes to take the Kelvan problem to the Federation . He tells Rojan that expeditions have cataloged hundreds of uninhabited planets that are suitable for colonization. Rojan replies that the Kelvans do not colonize, but conquer and rule.

The landing party is imprisoned in a nearby cave, guarded by Kelinda, while they wonder why they registered as Human, and also wonder if the paralysis field is centrally controlled. Using his mind meld ability to fool the guard as he did on Eminiar VII , Spock's attempt is thwarted before establishing an effective link, but Kelinda is distracted enough to get knocked unconscious by Kirk. The party's freedom lasts only for a brief moment before Rojan and Hanar recapture them by freezing Kirk.

Rojan kills Thompson

In a display of power, Rojan orders Shea, by Hanar, and Thompson, by Kelinda, be taken aside, declaring a punishment for what Kirk has done. The captain will now watch two of his crew die. Hanar uses his belt device for a new purpose, instantly reducing Shea and Thompson into dehydrated porous cuboctahedron solids , the size of a Human fist, composed of their base minerals which represents the "distilled" essences of their being. Hanar picks up both solids and Rojan orders him to bring them to him where he is standing next to Kirk. Rojan points out that the solids represent " the flesh and brain, … and even what … Humans … call personality " of Shea and Thompson. Rojan crushes and crumbles one solid, declaring "this person" dead. Rojan says the other one though can be restored and throws the other one over to where Hanar had earlier picked up both. Hanar touches his belt device, again, revealing that Lieutenant Shea is the one that is reconstituted. Thompson, on the other hand, is not so fortunate and a dispirited Kirk bends down to scoop up and shift through his hands the white powdery substance that is all that remains of her.

Act Two [ ]

Returned to confinement, Spock reports on what little he learned from his interrupted mind meld. He describes the Kelvans' native appearance as something quite far from the local humanoid norm, confirming the aliens expressed unease in their new humanoid " shells ".

The five Kelvans oversee the entire crew and Enterprise upgrades. Once underway, Kirk is still permitted to take the captain's chair with Rojan nearby and Kelvan female Drea taking the helm . With the ship accelerating to warp 11 , the galactic barrier is now only a mere hour away.

Spock and Montgomery Scott learn in the emergency manual monitor room that an attempt to disable the Kelvan belt devices at their source is hopeless. They prepare another option for Kirk, a self-destruct trigger to use at the Barrier. They present this plan to Kirk while heading up to the bridge in a turbolift , but Kirk wonders if they have gone mad. Upon entering the bridge, the Barrier looms and tension flares on the Enterprise 's command center.

Act Three [ ]

Spock and Scott are anxious for Kirk to order the destruct trigger, but the captain hesitates, finally ordering them to disable it. At Barrier contact, the Enterprise shudders and the engines strain, but she breaks forward into a starless void lit only by a distant Andromeda .

The Andromeda Galaxy

With too many to guard and too many to feed, Rojan declares the majority of the Enterprise personnel non-essential. The Kelvans neutralize and reduce Uhura , Chekov , Leslie , Hadley , and all but four of the Enterprise personnel into inert solids . As necessary specialists, Kirk and his three senior officers Spock, McCoy, and Scotty are allowed to remain animate with free run of the ship. Rojan also reminds Kirk in an empty corridor , with eight inert solids, that Tomar saw through the attempt to detonate the ship and this is perhaps a better fate for the personnel the Kelvans considered non-essential.

Kirk and his officers are discussing their predicament over a meal in the mess when the Kelvan Tomar criticizes the Humans' consumption of "bulk" material for sustenance in favor of his more efficient Kelvan nutritional pills . Dr. McCoy tells Tomar " don't knock it 'til you try it " and piques Tomar's interest in the bulky foods humanoids prefer. The officers notice the inordinate pleasure the Kelvan takes in a typical meal from the food synthesizer , and begin to speculate on their species' inexperience with their radically different new humanoid bodies and sensory perceptions. Inspired, the four officers split up, each targeting a Kelvan and introducing them to a different form of sensory overload.

Scott weighs in first, luring Tomar into a drinking tour of the Federation. In sickbay , McCoy suggests that Hanar may be malnourished, and starts pumping him with stimulants, telling him that these are vitamin supplements.

Before the others can reach their marks, Scott and Tomar manage to polish off a bottle of Saurian brandy in his quarters .

Kirk decides to focus his energies on Kelinda, the Kelvan who has taken the form of an exotically attractive, young, blonde female. Kirk apologizes for having struck her in their escape attempt on the planet and kisses on her neck where he had struck her, then he moves to her lips. Kelinda admonishes Kirk at first, knowing this must be a seduction but she admits she's not opposed to the action. Kirk plays hard to get and Kelinda rewards him by pulling him in for more. Rojan interrupts, puzzled, and Kirk hurries away. Kelinda explains the Human "apology" ritual, demonstrating it on a nonplussed Rojan.

Scott and Tomar finish their second bottle, both becoming more and more inebriated. Scotty confounds the universal translator and starts pouring something green, mangling its origin (the Ganymede moon of Jupiter ).

Over a game of three-dimensional chess with Spock, Rojan expresses his confusion about the "apology." Spock blithely suggests Kirk and Kelinda's motivations might have been otherwise, or perhaps Rojan was just experiencing jealousy . Rojan denies the emotion, but Spock is able to needle him into visible aggravation, making him lose the game.

"Well, it's green."

Rojan confronts Kelinda, forbidding her to see Kirk again. Kelinda insists she'll do as she pleases, and a brief argument in which both of them clearly display anger follows. The argument ends with Rojan roughly grabbing her arms, only to realize that he is experiencing emotions.

Act Four [ ]

In sickbay, pushing another hypospray, McCoy tells an irritated Hanar that he'll definitely need more of his new drug therapy. He later goes to the bridge to complain to Rojan about his assignment of duties.

Indomitably vertical, Tomar asks for more alcohol, forcing Scott to break into his secret stash.

The officers meet for a progress report, noting the absence of Scott. Kelinda interrupts, her eyes only for the captain, asking for another "apology." Spock goes to the bridge, glibly reporting on the forbidden meeting, bluntly suggesting that Rojan has lost control.

Victorious on the battlefield, Scott watches the drunken Tomar collapse under the table and fondly kisses his expended weapon of last resort. Stealing Tomar's belt device, he staggers away to report to Captain Kirk, but before he can, he collapses into a drunken stupor in the doorway of his cabin.

Rojan, incensed, storms in on Kelinda and Kirk, deep in the midst of the "apology." Rojan repeats his orders, but Kirk holds her and claims Kelinda as his own. Enraged, Rojan pulls the two apart. Not yet satisfied with Rojan's anger, Kirk slaps the Kelvan twice, inciting Rojan to lunge in fury. As they fight, Kirk taunts Rojan, saying he's not acting Kelvan anymore, but more Human. Head-locked by Kirk, Rojan is forced to consider how much he has changed in a short time and how unrecognizable his descendants would be when they eventually arrive "home" in three centuries.

Rojan relents when Kirk reminds him that the core of his mission was to find a new home for his people. Kirk says they can still take the problem to the Federation and that they can help them find a new world for them to live on. When Rojan asks if the Federation would really welcome invaders, Kirk says that indeed they wouldn't, but they would accept friends. Spock says that this is a chance for Rojan to make a destiny of their own and that he is only a link in a chain, following an order given three hundred years previous. Rojan finally agrees that perhaps it can be done. Spock says that a robot ship could be sent to Kelva with the Federation proposal. In the meantime, Rojan's crew could experience life as humanoids on a vibrant world. Rojan considers a life with these new physical sensations, and asks Kelinda if she'll stay with him, receiving her enthusiastic apology. Rojan calls the bridge and reaches Drea. He announces to her that he is restoring Kirk's command of the Enterprise to him and that she will follow his orders. Kirk then orders Enterprise turned around and states that they are all going home.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2268

Memorable quotes [ ]

" I am Rojan of Kelva. I am your commander from this moment on. Any effort to resist us or escape will be severely punished. Soon we, and you, will leave this galaxy forever. You Humans must face the end of your existence as you have known it. "

" We do not colonize. We conquer. We rule. There's no other way for us. "

" The Federation has handled foreign invasions before… " " Captain, we can control the Federation as easily as we can control you . The fate of the inferior – in any galaxy. "

" As a leader you realize the importance of discipline. I need you and these other specialists… " (motions toward where Spock and McCoy are standing) (referencing Shea and Thompson) " … but these two are unnecessary. "

" I think we're somewhat alike, captain. Each of us cares less about our own safety than for the lives of our command. We feel pain when others suffer for our mistakes. Your punishment shall be to watch them die. Hanar, proceed! "

" This is the essence of what they were. The flesh and the brain and what you call the personality, distilled down into these compact shapes. And once crushed, this person is dead. However, that one can be restored. "

" Do you not agree that this is a better thing for them than exploding the ship as your engineer had thought to do? We detected it, of course. Tomar has devised a mechanism to prevent any further tampering. Please accept your situation, captain. It will make things much less painful. "

" Jim, I saw them reduce four of my doctors and nurses into those little…! " " They've reduced the whole CREW! "

" This business of love. You have devoted much literature to it. Why do you build such a mystique around a simple biological function? "

" What is it? " " Well, it's … uh … " (Scotty looks at the liquor bottle and sniffs it) " It's green. "

" I have a bottle of some very very old whiskey… We did it, you and me… put him right under the table. "

" I was wondering, would you please apologize to me again? "

" And how's the research going? " " I need some more experiments. "

" You would extend welcome to invaders? " " No. But we would welcome friends. "

Background information [ ]

Production timeline [ ].

• Story outline by Jerome Bixby : 27 April 1967
• Revised story outline: 7 June 1967
• Second revised story outline: 26 June 1967
• First draft teleplay: 31 July 1967
• Second draft teleplay: 9 September 1967
• Revised second draft: 9 October 1967
• Final draft teleplay by D.C. Fontana : 31 October 1967
• Revised final draft: 7 November 1967
• Additional page revisions by John Meredyth Lucas : 8 November 1967 , 9 November 1967 , 10 November 1967 , 13 November 1967
• Day 1 – 10 November 1967 , Friday – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Planet surface
• Day 2 – 13 November 1967 , Monday – Desilu Stage 10 : Ext. Planet surface , Int. Jail cell
• Day 3 – 14 November 1967 , Tuesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Bridge , Life support control
• Day 4 – 15 November 1967 , Wednesday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Sickbay , Kelinda's quarters
• Day 5 – 16 November 1967 , Thursday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Engineering , Corridors , Turbolift , Recreation room (redress of Briefing room )
• Day 6 – 17 November 1967 , Friday – Desilu Stage 9 : Int. Recreation room (redress of Briefing room ), Scotty's quarters
• Score recorded: 22 December 1967
• Original airdate: 23 February 1968
• Rerun airdate: 31 May 1968
• First UK airdate (on BBC1 ): 20 July 1970
• First UK airdate (on ITV ): 30 January 1983
• Remastered airdate: 8 March 2008

Story and production [ ]

• The title is part of a quotation from Romeo and Juliet , Act II, Scene 2. " What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. " Kirk recites it to Kelinda. It is often used to convey the idea that although you can change the name of something, its nature will remain the same. In this case, the Kelvans become Human. In doing so, they start behaving as Humans do.
• The basis of this episode can be found in Gene Roddenberry 's first ever produced science fiction script, "The Secret Weapon of 117" for Chevron Hall of Stars in 1956. The episode featured a pair of aliens (the male played by Ricardo Montalban ) who disguise themselves as Humans to study Earth people but become overwhelmed by the sensations and experiences of their new host bodies, and decide to remain Human. ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One )
• In The Star Trek Interview Book , writer Jerome Bixby told Allan Asherman that he originally wrote the episode in a rather more serious vein, but that in depicting the potential end of the Human race at the hands of the Kelvans, he failed to heed producer Gene Roddenberry's warning to avoid getting wrapped up in "the immensity of it all." As a result, D.C. Fontana rewrote the script as a more "lightweight" episode.
• Bixby's original script was much darker than the filmed episode. The Kelvans (then called the Dvenyens) executed ten Enterprise crewmembers by opening the shuttlebay doors and letting them get sucked out into space. Kirk was put through "hellish torture". Also, crewmembers were chosen to mate with each other (Kirk was paired with Yeoman Leslie Thompson ) to eventually breed slaves to the Kelvans. NBC objected against all these, which led producer Gene Coon to order a heavy rewrite on the material. The production staff also deemed the mating aspect too similar to " The Cage ". ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Two )
• According to David Gerrold , the writers could not figure out how the Kelvans could eliminate the crew. While in Roddenberry's office, someone spotted a Mexican onyx dodecahedron on his desk and suggested that they be transformed into objects of that shape. Dorothy Fontana describes the scene related by Gerrold on the Special Features on Season 2 DVD. She indicates that she had given the dodecahedron to Roddenberry, and that he played with it while they described their problem and then Roddenberry made the suggestion that they be transformed into objects of that shape.
• This was the only episode lensed by cinematographer Keith Smith , replacing Jerry Finnerman , who was apparently unavailable for an unknown reason. Smith was the director of photography on Mission: Impossible , filmed next door to Star Trek at Desilu Studios at the time.
• The final scene in the episode is an optical of the ship veering to the right to change course back to the Milky Way galaxy. Though this optical breakway shot was used several times in season 2 and 3, this is the only time the entire shot is shown in its entirety, with the left nacelle's sphere-shaped cap coming into view.
• George Takei ( Sulu ) does not appear in this episode. This is the tenth consecutive episode in which he is absent. But he returns to the series in the next episode to be produced, " Return to Tomorrow ".
• Uhura, Chekov, and Nurse Chapel are not seen being restored to Human form at the episode's end.

Continuity [ ]

• The drinking scene between Scott and Tomar is echoed in TNG : " Relics ". Not knowing what the drink is, Data sniffs the bottle and repeats Scott's line that it is "green." Picard later informs Scott that it was Aldebaran whiskey . Scott's slurred description of the bottle he shows to Tomar suggests he might have known the drink's name, only to forget it later as the possible result of binge drinking. A similar, if not identical, green drink was also seen in ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II ", aboard the Constitution -class USS Defiant . After emptying the bottle of "green," Scott tosses it toward the door of his quarters and the sound of glass shattering is heard. Later, however, when Scott passes out in front of his door, the fully intact bottle is in the foreground.

Scott's rare bottle of Scotch whisky

• In the drinking contest after they both finish off three bottles, Scott shows Tomar his most prized possession: a rare, 200-year-old Scotch whisky . Finishing off this last bottle is what finally knocks Tomar and Scott out cold.
• Kirk mentions that an intergalactic voyage by a 23rd century starship would take "thousands of years" to reach the Andromeda Galaxy . For the Kelvans, intergalactic travel is a three-century journey. In the 24th century, as seen in TNG : " Where No One Has Gone Before ", Federation technology has apparently matched that of the Kelvans, when it is discussed that a return trip to the Milky Way from the Triangulum Galaxy would take three hundred years at maximum warp.
• Direct references to two previous episodes were made. After Rojan mentions the galactic barrier , Kirk says, " We've been there. " ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ") Even Spock repeats his analysis of the barrier word for word: " Density negative. Radiation negative. Energy negative. " When the landing party is detained in a cave, Kirk recalls their imprisonment on Eminiar VII and Spock's use of a mind-meld to fool the guards. ( TOS : " A Taste of Armageddon ")
• In " Charlie X ", Kirk tells Charles Evans, " There's no right way to hit a woman ." However, in this episode and in " The Gamesters of Triskelion ", Kirk strikes a woman. On Kelinda, he uses a karate chop to the neck.
• When Pavel Chekov is neutralized at the navigation console , we should see the main viewscreen in the background, since that station faces the viewer. Instead, we see a different angle of the bridge: a red rail, broken at the left, in front of two standard console chairs.

Sets and props [ ]

The plaque in the background right.

• Scotty's quarters are seen only in this episode. Decorations include a red and black tartan kilt , Sporran , bagpipes , a Scottish targe , medieval armor, a claymore and a wall plaque. Although the plaque apparently depicts stylized drafting tools, they also resemble part of a three-dimensional chess set and the primary hull of a Klingon battle cruiser.
• The rotating biobed normally situated in sickbay was removed to allow McCoy and Tomar to roll the gurney carrying Spock to the biofunction monitor .

Other information [ ]

• Yeoman Thompson's death and Julie Cobb's portrayal of that character is referenced in the cooking show Good Eats hosted by Alton Brown . The cooking show makes occasional references to Star Trek , especially The Original Series . [1]
• The 1985 Saturday Night Live Star Trek Convention sketch has the convention host (played by Phil Hartman) erroneously introducing Julie Cobb (played in that skit by Victoria Jackson) by saying that she was in the episode " Errand of Mercy ". One continuity error is that it shows Thompson (in cube form) being killed in Rojan's right hand, when in fact the cube on the left (which ended up in Rojan's right hand) came from Lt. Shea.
• The close-up of Lt. Shea after he is restored is recycled from a previous shot of him just before he was reduced to cubic form.
• The nature of the "stokaline" with which McCoy injects Spock upon their return to the Enterprise is not made clear. However, in his novelization of the episode in Star Trek 6 , James Blish has McCoy explain that it is "a multiple vitamin compound." McCoy adds, " It'll put a little green in your cheeks. " The Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual corroborates Blish and describes formazine , the stimulant with which McCoy actually injects Tomar, as also being an irritant.

Remastered information [ ]

• The remastered version of this episode premiered in syndication on the weekend of 8 March 2008. It featured new effects shots of the Kelvan outpost from space, an expanded matte painting of the planet's terrain as the landing party beams down, a swirling Andromeda Galaxy, and the galactic barrier's new look.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original US Betamax release: 1986
• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 26 , catalog number VHR 2361, 4 June 1990
• US VHS release: 15 April 1994
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 2.7, 23 June 1997
• Original US DVD release (single-disc): Volume 25, 19 June 2001
• As part of the TOS Season 2 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• William Shatner as Captain Kirk

Also starring [ ]

• Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
• DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Guest star [ ]

• Warren Stevens as Rojan

Co-starring [ ]

• Barbara Bouchet as Kelinda

Featuring [ ]

• James Doohan as Scott
• Nichelle Nichols as Uhura
• Majel Barrett as Christine
• Stewart Moss as Hanar
• Walter Koenig as Chekov
• Robert Fortier as Tomar
• Lezlie Dalton as Drea
• Carl Byrd as Lt. Shea
• Julie Cobb as Yeoman

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• William Blackburn as Hadley
• Frank da Vinci as Brent
• Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli
• Eddie Paskey as Leslie
• Operations crew woman
• Sciences lieutenant
• Security guard

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Paul Baxley as stunt double for William Shatner
• Unknown stunt performer as stunt double for Warren Stevens

References [ ]

1960s ; 2258 ; 26th century ; 123rd century ; ability ; affection (aka warmth ); alcohol ; alien ; alternative ; Andromeda Galaxy ; anemia ; antimatter ; apology ; " a rose by any other name "; automatic sensors ; battle stations ; beat up ; bearing ; beauty ; belt ; biological function ; boarding party ; body ; " Bones "; bottle ; brain ; bridge personnel ; casing ; casualty ; cc ; central projector (aka paralysis projector ); century ; chance ; checkmate ; choice ; " climbing the walls "; code of honor ; colonization ; color ; commander ; compact shape ; confined to quarters ; conquer ; consciousness ; contact ; control valve ; course ; creature ; crystal ; danger ; day ; debris ; degree ; density ; descendant ; destiny ; device ; diburnium ; diet ; discipline ; distillation ; distress call ; door ; dust ; emergency backup ; Eminiar VII ; emotion ; enemy ; energy ; energy barrier ; engineer ; engineering ; environment ; existence ; experiment ; faking illness ; fate ; Federation ; flesh ; flight procedure ; flower ; food ; food pill ; food synthesizer ; force field ; formazine ; fraternization ; friend ; galactic barrier ; galaxy ; Ganymede ; generational ship ; glass ; green ; guard ; hand ; health ; heartbeat ; holding area ; home ; honor ; hostage ; hour ; hull ; hull temperature ; Human ; Human form ; Human reaction ; hundred : idea ; image ; importance ; injection ; intellectual capacity ; intergalactic void ; invasion ; irritable ; jealousy ; Kelva ; Kelvan ; Kelvan Colony ; Kelvan Empire ; Kelvan life craft ; Kelvan ship ; kiss ; lab computer ; landing party ; leader ; lifeform (aka life ); life support control ; life support system ; limb ; " link in a chain "; lip ; literature ; logic ; love ; machine (aka mechanism ); material ; mathematical equation ; matter ; matter-antimatter nacelle ; matter-antimatter reactor ; maximum warp ; medical examination ; medication ; memory tape ; metal ; Milky Way Galaxy ; mind ; mission ; mistake ; molecular structure ; name ; negative energy ; nerve impulse ; neural circuit ; neuro-analyzer ; neutralizing operation ; non-essential personnel ; object ; odds ; opportunity ; order ; outer space (aka space ); pain ; paralysis field (aka neural field ); person ; personality ; phaser ; planet ; problem ; psychology ; phaser ; picture ; place ; plural ; poet ; positive energy ; power ; power source ; pulse ; punishment ; question ; quote ; radiation ; radiation level ; recording device ; recreation room ; red alert ; remedy ; research ; research expedition ; Rigelian Kassaba fever ; rim ; robot ship ; rose ; sahsheer ; sanity ; Saurian brandy ; science ; Scotch whisky ; Scots language ; search ; seduction ; selector ; sense of humor ; sensor ; Shakespeare, William ; shape ; shield ; shuttlecraft ; smell ; spaceship ; specialist ; stimulation ; stokaline ; subject ; suicide plan ; surrender ; survivor ; sustenance ; symptom ; tampering ; taste ; temperature ; tentacle ; textbook ; thing ; thousand ; threat ; tool ; touch ; trance ; trick ; turbolift ; " under the table "; vacation ; velocity ; vitamin ; voluntary muscles ; Vulcans ; Vulcan mind probe ; wall ; weapon ; year

External links [ ]

• "By Any Other Name" at StarTrek.com
• " By Any Other Name " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " By Any Other Name " at Wikipedia
• " By Any Other Name " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
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Home > Star Trek By Any Other Name Cast

Star Trek By Any Other Name Cast

• UPDATED: December 7, 2023

Table of Contents

Star Trek: By Any Other Name is an episode from the original Star Trek series, featuring an ensemble cast of talented actors. Here are the top ten cast members and their IMDb URLs:

1. William Shatner (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000638/) 2. Leonard Nimoy (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000559/) 3. DeForest Kelley (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001416/) 4. Nichelle Nichols (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629666/) 5. James Doohan (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000382/) 6. George Takei (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001786/) 7. Walter Koenig (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0463171/) 8. Majel Barrett (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000853/) 9. Warren Stevens (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0828483/) 10. Barbara Bouchet (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0099217/)

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By Any Other Name

22nd episode of the 2nd season of star trek: the original series / from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, dear wikiwand ai, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:.

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Summarize this article for a 10 year old

" By Any Other Name " is the 22nd episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek . Written by D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby (based on Bixby's story) and directed by Marc Daniels , it was first broadcast February 23, 1968.

In the episode, beings from another galaxy commandeer the Enterprise in an attempt to return home.

The title is taken from a line spoken by Juliet in William Shakespeare 's play Romeo and Juliet : "that which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet", [5] a line quoted by Captain Kirk during the episode.

Produced by

Star trek : by any other name (1968), directed by marc daniels / gene roddenberry.

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By Any Other Name (Episode)

Stardate 4657.5 : Extra-galactic beings commandeer the Enterprise in an attempt to return home.

Rojan and his fellow Kelvans have journeyed from their native Kelva in the Andromeda galaxy , assuming Human form to determine if this galaxy is suitable for colonization by the Kelvan Empire . Now ready to return home with their report, Rojan lures the Enterprise with a false distress call and succeeds in taking over the ship. The Kelvans intend to use it for transportation back to their home in Andromeda. Preparing for the 300- year journey, Rojan, Kelinda , and the other Kelvans transform the Enterprise crew into small, tetrahedral blocks — save for Kirk , Spock , McCoy , and Scott . Spared from the conversion process, the four plot to regain control of their vessel. To do this, they take advantage of the aliens' newly-acquired Human emotions. With the aid of carefully cultivated jealousy, a little food, alcohol , and drugs, the Kelvans soon find themselves at each other's throats, enabling Kirk and company to retake the Enterprise and restore the crew to normal. The Kelvans realize that they cannot return to Andromeda: now too Human to survive there, they agree to permit the Federation to locate a habitable world for them to settle on.

Image Gallery

Andromeda galaxy

Kelvan planet

Command officer

Roger Lemli

Yeoman Thompson

Related Data

Created by Gene Roddenberry

Starring William Shatner

Also Starring Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy

Teleplay by D.C. Fontana & Jerome Bixby

Story by Jerome Bixby

Directed by Marc Daniels

Produced by John Meredyth Lucas

Executive Producer Gene Roddenberry

Associate Producer Robert H. Justman

Guest Star Warren Stevens as Rojan

Co-Starring Barbara Bouchet as Kelinda

Featuring James Doohan … Scott Nichelle Nichols … Uhura Majel Barrett … Christine and Stewart Moss … Hanar

With Walter Koenig … Chekov Robert Fortier … Tomar Leslie Dalton … Drea Carl Byrd … Shea Julie Cobb … Yeoman

Script Consultant D.C. Fontana

Assistant to the Producer Edward K. Milkis

Theme Music by Alexander Courage

Additional Music Composed and Conducted by Fred Steiner

Director of Photography Keith Smith

Art Director Walter M. Jefferies

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Midnite Reviews

Detailed analysis of classic sci-fi movies and tv shows, star trek episode 51: by any other name.

Technical Specs

Director: Marc Daniels

Writers: D.C. Fontana and Jerome Bixby

Cast: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Warren Stevens, Barbara Bouchet, James Doohan, Nichelle Nichols, Majel Barrett, Stewart Moss, Walter Koenig, Robert Fortier, Lezlie Dalton, Carl Byrd, and Julie Cobb

Composer: Fred Steiner

Air Date: 2/23/1968

Stardate: 4657.5

Production #: 60350

In contrast to his usual authoritative self, Kirk is forced to remain helpless for the majority of D.C. Fontana’s narrative. The captain’s indecisiveness and lack of control, especially when faced with the option of destroying the Enterprise upon crossing the galactic barrier, will fascinate audiences who are accustomed to watching Kirk gain the upper hand in every circumstance.

Once again, Kirk sets a worthy example by extending mercy to his enemies. That being said, many viewers may feel frustrated over the fact that Rojan is never punished for killing a human being in cold blood.

Concluding Comments

Overall Quality: 9/10

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2 thoughts on “ Star Trek Episode 51: By Any Other Name ”

In an interesting bit of continuity a “throw away,” line in a DS9 episode has Worf declaring that he has “stood in battle with Kelvans twice my size.” So does his mean that the Kelvans received the communication said to have been sent in this episode and that they arrived earlier than assumed and not in peace? It would make for an interesting story line someday…

The Memory Alpha article on Kelvans includes the DS9 reference, which would indicate that Worf’s opponents were of the same species as the ones shown in the original series. Perhaps Rojan’s change of heart was short-lived? I always thought his ideological transformation seemed rather abrupt.

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• The Original Series
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The Vulcan Hello

The impossible box, through the valley of shadows.

By Any Other Name

The crew of the USS Enterprise has been called to the Beta III planet to investigate the disappearance of a previous mission. When they arrive, they find an alien race known as the Kelvans, who have taken over the planet and have powerful interstellar technology far beyond anything the Federation has.

The Kelvans have a plan: to travel to a distant galaxy millions of light years away and start a new, utopian civilization of their own. To get the starship they need to make this happen, they threaten the Enterprise crew with destruction unless they surrender the ship.

The Kelvans’ leader, Rojan, offers a strange bargain: he will let the crew go free, if they agree to help him and his crew reach the new galaxy. But before they can do this, the Kelvans must first become human. To do this, they need the help of Dr. McCoy, who must find a way to reduce their powerful energy forms to a weaker, humanoid state.

The Enterprise crew agrees to the bargain, and McCoy is able to reduce the Kelvans to a human form, but the process is far from perfect. The result is a group of confused and disoriented humans, who have difficulty communicating with the crew and adjusting to their new environment.

Meanwhile, the Kelvans have hidden a powerful energy bomb on the Enterprise, which could destroy the ship if the crew does not comply with their demands. With the Kelvans now physically present on the ship, it is up to Captain Kirk and his crew to find a way to save the Enterprise from destruction.

Kirk and his crew must outwit the Kelvans, while also finding a way to keep their human forms from disappearing. With time running out, they must use all of their skills and ingenuity to save the Enterprise and ultimately, the universe. As they search for a way to save the day, they discover the true strength of the human spirit and the power of friendship and loyalty in the face of great danger.

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Star Trek – By Any Other Name (Review)

The first Star Trek pilot, The Cage , was produced in 1964. To celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, this December we are reviewing the second season of the original Star Trek show. You can check out our first season reviews here . Check back daily for the latest review.

By Any Other Name is very much a stock episode of Star Trek . It hits on all manner of familiar themes and ideas. It’s a story about powerful aliens who seem to overpower the crew, only to be outmanoeuvred themselves. It is about the Enterprise literally going where no human has gone before. It is about how humans are undeniably and incomparably special – about how becoming human opens up the aliens to a world of sense and experience.

However, By Any Other Name never really has anything particularly insightful to say about any of this stuff. The script to the episode is a mess, despite the best efforts of D.C. Fontana to develop the character beats. For a show based around such core Star Trek concepts and storytelling devices, By Any Other Name is surprisingly all over the place, with a wildly dissonant tone and a sense that the script was desperately padded in order to extend it out to the requisite fifty minutes.

“No dice, Captain…”

By Any Other Name is not a terrible episode of Star Trek , but it’s not a particularly good one either. It is just “there.” In many ways, it feels like an example of an episode designed to fill a gap in twenty-odd-episodes-a-year schedule. After all, the last eight episodes of the season were pushed into production at short notice when NBC opted to pick up the show for the rest of the season during the production of The Gamesters of Triskelion . It makes sense that the episodes in this final stretch of the third season are somewhat rough.

By Any Other Name is a familiar Star Trek plot with a somewhat bloated script and a sense that the show is just trying to eat up minutes between here and the end of the season.

“It appears the rock knows as little as we do, sir…”

It is very hard to firmly delineate between the end of Gene L. Coon’s tenure as producer and the start of John Meredyth Lucas’ time in the role. Lucas stepped in to fill a gap left by Coon’s sudden departure. There wasn’t a clean break, with Lucas taking over almost immediately. He inherited quite a few of his scripts from his predecessor, with various stories in various stages of development when Lucas took the reins.

As such, it is hard to distinguish between Lucas’ vision of the show and aspects of Coon’s vision slipping through. Lucas departed Star Trek at the end of the second season, when it looked like the show was unlikely to get picked up again. As a result, Lucas never quite gets a clean slate of commissioning and shepherding a collection of scripts through each stage of the production process. Despite the fact that he produced, wrote and directed for Star Trek , Lucas remains a tough creative voice to pin down.

Light ’em up, boys…

Nevertheless, there are some interesting trends towards the end of the second season – trends coinciding with Gene L. Coon’s departure as producer and John Meredyth Lucas’ arrival in the role. It may be too much to credit these to Lucas; they could easily be coincidence, or the result of other creative voices like Roddenberry or Justman stepping in to fill the storytelling void left by Coon. After all, Star Trek was a collaborative effort, changing one ingredient changes the whole texture of the cocktail.

Nevertheless, it feels like the show is regressing slightly. It feels like the end of the second season has a clear move back towards the style and tone of the early episodes of the first season. There is a step away from the crowded and busy galaxy that Coon developed, where the Federation found itself locked in a Cold War with the Klingons and the Romulans.Instead, there’s a sense that the galaxy is a lot emptier and a lot more hostile.

Playing games with the Kelvan party…

Under Coon, the Klingons and the Romulans had become recurring adversaries. The Klingons appeared three times in the first sixteen episodes of the second season. Even when no Romulans or Klingons appeared, mentions of them were worked into the background of otherwise unrelated stories like The Deadly Years or Amok Time to create a sense of a wide and developed universe. Coon had wanted Koloth to be a recurring antagonist, and early drafts of A Private Little War had featured a return appearance of Kor.

In contrast, the Klingons and the Romulans were absent from the final ten episodes of the season. Two Romulans were originally meant to appear in A Piece of the Action , but were promptly removed. Space seemed as random and hostile as it had during the first season, rejecting the attempt to impose order upon it in episodes like Journey to Babel . Instead, it seemed like space was full of horror and terror once again.

Buckle up…

Obsession and The Immunity Syndrome saw horrors lurking in the darkness, ready to prey on the unsuspecting. Episodes like The Gamesters of Triskelion , Return to Tomorrow and The Omega Glory suggested the universe was once again populated with collapsed or decaying civilisations, as if mankind were wandering through a graveyard. Even the “Assigners” from Assignment: Earth seem to loom above the universe rather than move through it.

The Kelvan advance force featured here are defined as explicitly alien. They may look like (very pale) humans, but the episode makes it quite clear that they are not human in any measurable sense. Like Trelane, they are something far more surreal wearing the appearance of humanity. By Any Other Name sets this idea up quite early, making it clear that these explorers are a little too perfectly human in design and appearance.

Another world…

“They registered as perfect human life forms,” Spock reflects. “I recall noting the readings were almost classic textbook responses.” Kirk muses, “Spock, what are the odds in such absolute duplication of life forms in another galaxy?” Spock answers, “The chances are very much against it.” Given how frequently human-like aliens pop up in Star Trek, it doesn’t seem completely impossible. However, it’s a very effective way of establishing how wrong by the Kelvan party are by emphasising how uncannily perfect they present themselves.

Shortly after this, Spock uses his psychic powers to catch a glimpse of the Kelvans in their true form. As Spock describes them, they resemble something from the work of H.P. Lovecraft. “A series of bizarre and exotic images bursting on my mind and consciousness. Colours, shapes, mathematical equations fused and blurred. I’ve been attempting to isolate them, but so far I’ve been able to recall clearly only one. Immense beings, a hundred limbs which resemble tentacles. Minds of such control and capacity that each limb is capable of performing a different function.”

Ashes to ashes…

Like the Gamesters, Sargon, the giant space amoeba and the vampire cloud, there is something distinctly “alien” about Rojan and his people. By Any Other Name deserves a great deal of credit for conveying this through dialogue and performance, working through the limitations of sixties television in presenting something so definitely “other.” The script cleverly gives the exposition to Leonard Nimoy, who sells the idea phenomenally well.

There are other ways in which By Any Other Name seems to hark back to the earliest episodes of Star Trek . The episode finds the Enterprise journeying beyond the galactic barrier for the first time since Where No Man Has Gone Before – with the dialogue alluding to that earlier encounter. Nobody in the crew becomes a god-like being this time, so perhaps there is something to all those fancy Kelvan enhancements after all.

Hey now, Spock… self-melding is a filthy habit…

(One wonders if Starfleet ever used the Kelvan technology after this point. After all, the ability to travel through the barrier would likely revolutionise space travel – particularly given how much of a deal Where No Man Has Gone Before made of the Enterprise’s journey into the void. It’s a nice touch that the travel estimates between galaxies in Where No One Has Gone Before seem to factor into the Kelvan enhancements to the engines of the Enterprise, suggesting they’ve been incorporated into subsequent designs.)

Similarly, the emphasis on Spock’s psychic abilities – particularly over distances rather than through touch – in By Any Other Name and The Immunity Syndrome seem to hark back to the very sixties fascination with ESP and other para-psychological elements in Where No Man Has Gone Before . Though subsequent episodes had expanded and developed Vulcan psychic abilities, they were generally presented as tactile experiences – Spock melding with the Horta in The Devil in the Dark , Sarek and Amanda gently touching fingers in Journey to Babel .

Breaking barriers…

Beyond that, By Any Other Name feels like a stock Star Trek episode. It touches on some of Roddenberry’s favourite core themes – the idea that there is something inherently and undeniably special about humanity. The Kelvan party transform themselves into humans, but get more than they bargain for. Initially uncomfortable in these human bodies, the alien invaders come to accept them. At the end of By Any Other Name , there is no indication that they plan to revert to their natural forms.

Gene Roddenberry was quite fond of the idea that human beings were special and that putting alien creatures into human bodies would shine a light on the human condition. In 1956, Roddenberry had written a similar story – The Secret Weapon of 117 – for the anthology show Chevron Hall of Stars . The very next episode of the second season, Return to Tomorrow , would feature more aliens in human (and half-Vulcan) bodies. It would be Roddenberry who would suggest making Q human in Déjà Q .

“You can really taste the food dye…”

A clear line can be drawn between this fascination with human exceptionalism and the smug superiority exhibited by the Enterprise crew in the early seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Stories like this have to be careful, because they run the risk of suggesting that mankind has nothing to learn from the universe, while the universe has a lot to learn from them – a position that seems a little self-aggrandising and somewhat immodest.

There are points where it works, but there’s also a significant risk of it tipping over into a trite “humans sure are great, aren’t they?” sentiment that forgets that Kirk’s mission is to explore other worlds and to evaluate his own human condition, rather than trying to “sell” the human condition to other civilisations. The conclusion of By Any Other Name is not simply that the human experience and the Kelvan experience are very different, but that the human experience is inherently better. For all the associated trouble, the invaders seem happy to remain human.

“You’re an inanimate $%&!ing object!”

Of course,  “the Kelvan experience” is something that doesn’t actually exist. However, there is a tendency – particularly in the original  Star Trek – to equate  “the human experience” with  “the American or Western experience.”   The Enterprise may have a diverse ensemble, but the Federation itself seems to be an extrapolation of American values into the future. It doesn’t help that the Enterprise crew members who help the Kelvan party come to terms with  “the human experience” are all white guys from Western cultures.

Sure, Spock is half-Vulcan, but he’s noticeably less active in the plot than the other three characters; besides, Leonard Nimoy is a white American performer. Early in the episode, Rojan casually murders a red shirt to prove that he means business. The sequence is filmed to keep the death ambiguous until the last possible moment – keeping the audience in suspense as to whether the show has killed off the black man or the white woman as the three white male away team members look on.

“Typical! I can’t connect my iPhone to anything, but this is just plug-and-play…”

Truth be told, there’s really no right choice in that situation. While By Any Other Name is not quite as casual with its brutality as episodes like Obsession or The Apple , there is a sense that the episode is too casual about its violence and threat. The two halves of By Any Other Name seem at odds with one another. The first half is a series of familiar and generic capture-and-escape sequences that present Rojan as a real threat; the second half is a lighter story about teaching these aliens how to be human.

There is a strange dissonance there. After Rojan murders Yeoman Thompson, Kirk is visibly distraught. The moment where Kirk grimly runs her scattered remains through his fingers is superbly effective, Shatner helps convey Kirk’s anger and guilt. It feels like the death of a crew member has actually affected Kirk in a serious manner. On the other hand, the episode closes with everybody perfectly happy, with Kirk offering the Kelvan party support and safe haven in Federation space.

Getting his hands dirty…

“You would really do that?” Rojan asks. “You would extend welcome to invaders?” Kirk replies, “No. But we would welcome friends.” It seems a little strange, given Rojan’s cold-blooded and sadistic murder of Yeoman Thompson. The sequence might have played better had Kirk and Rojan reached a grudging respect for another rather than professing genuine friendship – more in line with the détente between Kirk and Khan at the end of Space Seed .

The show does try to offer some explanation for how the crew of the Enterprise can be so blaisé about Rojan’s murder of Yeoman Thompson. “Rojan, you are only a link in a chain,” Spock suggests, “following an order given three hundred years ago.” It reads uncomfortably like another rather more infamous defence, one that would perhaps seem a little more appropriate later in the season. However, skirting the edge of Godwin’s Law aside, it feels like a rather facile attempt at a happy resolution.

Sleeping on it…

Of course, the ending of By Any Other Name is just eager to wrap everything up as quickly and as cleanly as possible. Despite Kirk’s seduction of Kelinda, she opts to return with Kojan at the end of the episode – after Rojan has demonstrated a violent temper and an unwillingness to talk to her directly about how he feels towards her. It seems like the character was being shuffled off to avoid any potential long-term love-interest for Kirk – in a way that ends with everybody smiling and laughing together.

There is something quite cynical about Kirk’s seduction of Kelinda. Being the most significant female guest star, of course Kelinda is overwhelmed by love – or at least attraction to Kirk. Rojan is consumed by his jealousy and temper, Tomar is defeated by alcohol, Hanar is incapacitated by stimulants. The episode doesn’t bother to mention how the other major female Kelvan character – Drea – is subdued by the crew, if at all.

“Shine on, you crazy engineer!”

Maybe that is for the best. The female characters in By Any Other Name seem almost incidental. Lieutenant Thompson is killed off and promptly forgotten. Kelinda is powerless against Kirk’s raw sexual charm; but she is also a pawn in Kirk’s game against Rojan. She is very much a trophy to be won. “You thought I was taking your woman away from you,” Kirk boasts to Rojan, making it clear that his seduction of Kelinda is just as much about Rojan as it is about her.

And yet, despite all this, there are aspects of By Any Other Name that have their charms. The production design is absolutely wonderful – By Any Other Name looks exactly like an episode of sixties Star Trek should look. From the Kelvan uniforms to the soundstage hosting the planet, from the hairstyles to the belt buckles to the little cubes of crew members, By Any Other Name looks like the quintessential Star Trek episode.

Sadly, the Scottish flag did not come in red, so the production team could not find a way to make it match the colour scheme of the apartment…

D.C. Fontana’s work on the script also pays off, to an extent. The character-driven second-half of the episode may have its problems, but it is a plot that treats the Star Trek cast as an ensemble. There’s just the slightest hint of The Naked Now or This Side of Paradise in Fontana’s writing here – a chance to put these iconic characters in decidedly human situations. Fontana is good at these sort of little character interactions, from Spock playing chess with Rojan to Scotty getting drunk with Tomar.

The drinking sequences in Scotty’s quarters are particularly memorable – to the point that Relics chose to reference Scotty’s infamous description of a mystery beverage. James Doohan does not get as much credit as the leading trio, but his performance is a delight. It’s particularly nice how Scotty’s accent gets more pronounced as the drinking goes on. (And the production design on his quarters is gloriously and endearingly patriotic – he has a set of bagpipes and a kilt hanging up, in case the audience forgets his nationality.)

Flash! A-ha…!

By Any Other Name is not one of the second season’s strongest episodes, but it’s hardly among the weakest. Ironically, this is  Star Trek literally going where Where No Man Has Gone Before has gone before. It’s a very bland and generic instalment, one that feels like a collection of themes and ideas that we’ve seen before.

You might be interested in our other reviews from the second season of the classic Star Trek :

• Supplemental: (Gold Key) #1 – The Planet of No Return!
• Supplemental: (Marvel Comics, 1980) #4-5 – The Haunting of Thallus!/The Haunting of the Enterprise!
• Metamorphosis
• Friday’s Child
• Who Mourns for Adonais?
• Supplemental: Spock’s World by Diane Duane
• Supplemental: New Visions #3 – Cry Vengeance
• Wolf in the Fold
• The Changeling
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #43-45 – The Return of the Serpent!
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2009) #13 – The Red Shirt’s Tale
• Supplemental: Deep Space Nine – Crossover
• Supplemental: New Visions #1 – The Mirror, Cracked
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #9-16 – New Frontiers (The Mirror Universe Saga)
• Supplemental: Mirror Images
• Supplemental: Mirror Universe – The Sorrows of Empire by David Mack
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2009) #15-16 – Mirrored
• The Deadly Years
• Supplemental: (Gold Key) #61 – Operation Con Game
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1984) #39-40 – The Return of Mudd
• Supplemental: The Galactic Whirlpool by David Gerrold
• Supplemental: Alien Spotlight – Tribbles
• Bread and Circuses
• Journey to Babel
• A Private Little War
• The Gamesters of Triskelion
• The Immunity Syndrome
• A Piece of the Action
• By Any Other Name
• Return to Tomorrow
• Patterns of Force
• The Ultimate Computer
• The Omega Glory
• Supplemental: Assignment: Eternity by Greg Cox
• Supplemental: (DC Comics, 1989) #49-50 – The Peacekeepers
• Supplemental: (IDW, 2008) Assignment: Earth

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Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: aliens , andromeda , comedy , D. C. Fontana , drinking , gene coon , gene roddenberry , humans , humans are special , James Doohan , jealousy , john meredyth lucas , kelvans , other , red shirts , Roddenberry , Scotty , star trek , star trek: the original series , the original series , tos , Where No Man Has Gone Before |

3 Responses

I always felt the same way about Drea as this writer…

http://vakarangi.blogspot.com/2013/09/on-your-television-screen-by-any-other.html

…that she somehow manages to be one of the more interesting characters in the episode, despite being the Kelvan with the fewest lines, because it seems like she’s the sole member of their gang who’s just doing her job and doing it well while all her fellows fall to pieces.

The episode’s last lines seem to imply that Drea has no idea what’s gone on and that, just as Rojan said she could, she’s been managing the entire Enterprise all by herself. It also suggests that while she’s surprised at Rojan’s orders, she’s reasonable enough to hand the stick back to Sulu at the end of the day. It makes me wonder about her, what she’s thinking and what she’s been doing, in a way that I suppose has launched a thousand licensed prose works about such minor Star Trek characters.

That’s fair, I suppose. I do love the vastness of the Star Trek universe, and the inherent possibilities to expand on even a minor character’s part in a larger story.

I hate by any other name. People were killed. But yet kirk still wanted to help them. Also what doesn’t make sense kirk offered to help early in the episode. But the leader was to arrogant to listen. He didn’t want help. . But the end kirk offered again to help. Then the leader says. Your willing to help us?. That makes no sense. Dumb ass ending. Killed some of his crew for nothing

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By Any Other Name

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"By Any Other Name" was the 50th episode of Star Trek: The Original Series .

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• 1.6 Food and drink
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• 2.1.1 Adaptations
• 2.1.2 Video releases
• 2.3.1 Translations
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References [ ]

Characters [ ], episode characters [ ], novelization characters [ ], starships and vehicles [ ], locations [ ], shipboard locations [ ], races and cultures [ ], science and classification [ ], technology and weapons [ ], materials and substances [ ], lifeforms [ ], food and drink [ ], states and organizations [ ], ranks and titles [ ], other references [ ], appendices [ ], related media [ ], adaptations [ ].

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Translations [ ], external links [ ].

• " By Any Other Name " article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• By Any Other Name (Star Trek) article at Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia.
• ↑ The character of Clifford Brent was not named in the episode but the same actor, wearing an officer 's Starfleet uniform , was addressed as Brent in TOS episode : " The Naked Time ". The same actor also played the character of Vinci .
• 1 The Chase
• 2 Preserver (race)
• 3 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition

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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekS2E22ByAnyOtherName

Recap / Star Trek S2 E22 "By Any Other Name"

Edit locked.

Original air date: February 24, 1968

It all starts when Kirk, Bones, Spock and two Red Shirts beam down to a planet to investigate a distress signal from a crashed ship. Turns out, it was just bait put out by the Kelvans who have decided this galaxy is suitable for colonization. Kirk tells them they're quite welcome to some of the galaxy's uninhabited planets. The Federation might even be willing to aid them. However, the Kelvans do not settle, they conquer. And now they're going back to the Andromeda galaxy to tell everyone the wonderful news! Oh, and they'll be needing the starship Enterprise to get there. The trip should only take 300 years, more or less.

By Any Other Tropes:

• And I Must Scream : The neural neuralizer that the Kelvans use to freeze people in place shuts down all voluntary systems. They can still blink and presumably hear since Rojan continues to talk to them, but they can neither move or speak.
• Becoming the Mask : The Kelvans pose as humans for practical purposes, but they become enamoured by the new senses their human bodies provide them with. Kirk uses this to his advantage.
• Black Dude Dies First : Averted. The cute girl gets crushed to dust while the black Red Shirt is spared.
• Blatant Lies : Spock asks Rojan if he's jealous that Kelinda spends time alone with Kirk. "Of course not!" Rojan answers, obviously aggravated.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality : The Kelvans have apparently rejected pretty much damn near everything to focus on intellectual pursuits. Including emotion and senses, but they still have notions of honor and duty.
• Buffy Speak : By the time Scotty gets down to one of his last, last secret supplies of hooch, he's so sloshed that the only description he can come up with for it is "green".
• Can Only Move the Eyes : The effects of the Kelvan stunning device used in the beginning.
• A reference is made to Spock's method of escape from Eminiar VII in "A Taste Of Armageddon".
• The episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is not only referenced, they use Stock Footage from it (though the remastered version uses all-new effects shots). The Kelvans ran into the barrier on their way into this galaxy, which is why there's only five of them, and why they need the Enterprise in the first place (their ship got smashed). The Enterprise , meanwhile, gets through it a hell of a lot better than last time - not even a single exploding console.
• Crazy Jealous Guy : Rojan becomes increasingly jealous of Kelinda spending time with Kirk. His jealousy gets so bad that he demands that she stay away from Kirk under the threat that Kirk will be neutralized if she doesn’t. He also starts a physical fight with Kirk after seeing him and Kelinda kissing.
• Drinking Contest : Scotty manages to drink a Kelvan under the table. Then he takes away the passed-out Kelvan's magic belt buckle, planning to get it to Captain Kirk... right after he takes a little nap.
• Easily Forgiven : Justified. Kirk is willing to overlook how the Kelvans hijacked his ship, and how one of them killed one of his crew members, in order to talk them into peaceful settlement like he'd tried to at the beginning of the episode. Why justified? Well, you try telling Sufficiently Advanced Aliens that they're on trial for first degree murder.
• The Empire : The Kelvan Empire. Rojan implies they've got several species under their thumb... er, tentacles. Problem is, their home in Andromeda's getting a little too radioactive, so the solution is to spread out to other galaxies. And then conquer them.
• Food Pills : Kelvans insist this is a more efficient method of nutrition, until they try real food.
• Forgotten Phlebotinum : For the journey to Andromeda, the Kelvans make upgrades that allow the Enterprise to travel safely at many times her previous top speed. The upgrades are still in place at the end of the episode, but they're never referred to again.
• A Form You Are Comfortable With : Spock describes the Kelvans' true forms as being very Cthulhu-like.
• Genre Savvy : Kelinda has studied human literature, and as a result she can tell that Kirk is trying to seduce her! However, she welcomes his advances.
• Go to Your Room! : Rojan orders a frustrated and angry Hanar to confine himself to his quarters.
• Good Old Fisticuffs : Rojan is so angry to find Kelinda with Kirk that he lets himself be drawn into a fistfight, even when Kirk dares him to just use his paralyzer. This proves to be the last straw that convinces him that he can't control the physical and emotional responses that come with taking human form.
• Green-Eyed Monster : Rojan can't stand it when Kelinda is with Kirk.
• Human Aliens : The Kelvans have taken on human "shells" which, to all appearances, look and function like ours. And saves on the effects budget.
• Humanity Ensues : The more time Kelvans spend as humans, the more human-like they become.
• Intoxication Ensues : The crew takes advantage of the Kelvans' unfamiliarity with their new human bodies to employ two variations: Scotty drinks one of them under the table, while Bones tricks another into taking stimulant injections until he starts acting like a hyperactive child who just washed down a bag of candy with a pot of espresso.
• Leitmotif : Bagpipes for Scotty.
• Literary Allusion Title : Kirk quotes a line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to Kelinda, who is fascinated by flowers. "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
• Literally Shattered Lives : Rojan smashes Yeoman Thompson as a way of intimidating Kirk into letting him have the Enterprise .
• Love Makes You Stupid : Rojan completely forgot he had a belt buckle that could freeze people or turn them into crushable blocks when he saw Kirk kissing Kelinda and attacked him with his bare hands. Kirk even points it out; he's too angry to think straight, and was already overstimulated before this .
• The Main Characters Do Everything : A justified example. The Kelvans reduce all "non-essential" crew members to ceramic blocks; "non-essential" turns out to mean everyone barring Kirk, Spock, Bones, and Scotty, and thus it naturally falls to these four to regain control of the ship. Furthermore, due to these characters' high ranks and vital functions note  Kirk is the ship's captain (useful for communication between the Kelvans and the Enterprise crew), Spock is both First Officer and Chief Science Officer (same as Kirk plus useful for identifying/dealing with any scientific phenomena the ship may encounter), Bones is Chief Medical Officer (necessary for any medical emergencies), and Scotty is Chief Engineer (needed for any potential repairs to the ship) it makes perfect sense the Kelvans would deem them "essential" relative to the rest of the crew.
• Manly Tears : A half-drunk Scotty sheds them when he realizes he has to sacrifice his rare bottle of aged whiskey to save the ship. Keep in mind, he earlier had no qualms about taking everyone's life including his own to keep the Kelvans from accomplishing their objectives. Liquor is Serious Business . The tears turn into Tears of Joy when that bottle manages to get the Kelvan under the table. A proud Scotty kisses the bottle. Scotty: We did it, you and me! Right under the table!
• Men Are the Expendable Gender : Subverted when Yeoman Thompson takes one for the team.
• The Milky Way Is the Only Way : Not only will the journey to Andromeda take several hundred years, there is also an energy barrier surrounding the Milky Way and blocking the way out that the Enterprise barely manages to cross.
• A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read : When Spock glimpses into the Kelvan's minds, he feels a surge of mental pain from their incredibly complex thoughts.
• Neutral Female : When Kirk and Rojan get into a brawl, Kelinda stands around looking helpless, even though she's armed with a paralysis ray that could easily bring the fight to a halt. Given that she's a Kelvan woman overstimulated by Kirk's romance, she's no doubt still processing the new emotional experience of being fought over (physically included).
• No-Sell : In order to get out of their cell, Kirk judo-chops Kelinda. After they get caught seconds later, she just casually strolls on past and takes her stuff back.
• "Not So Different" Remark : Rojan says to Kirk, "I think we're somewhat alike, captain." Because Rojan is the leader of his crew, and he recognizes that Kirk suffers when his crew suffers.
• Objectshifting : Aliens from the Andromeda Galaxy have a device that can change people into a small geometric solid. The resulting solids can be easily crushed, killing the original person.
• Orgasmically Delicious : Bones remarks that if one of the Kelvans enjoys his food much more, he'll need a diet.
• Playing Sick : Spock puts himself into a trance to make the Kelvans think he needs to go to sick bay.
• Real Men Wear Pink : Or real aliens in the form of men.
• Red Shirt : Yeoman Thompson is the only female redshirt during TOS's run (a "redskirt")— the only other female Enterprise crewmembers to die on-screen were Lt. Tracy from "Wolf in the Fold" and Lt. Galway from "The Deadly Years", but they both wore a blue uniform rather than a red one.
• The trip is said to take 300 years. Still, going at warp 11 for any length of time is bound to turn anyone into chunky salsa.
• That said, the trip being several million light years is an acknowledgement that even for Sufficiently Advanced Aliens, travelling to the next galaxy is gonna take a hell of a long time. Space is big.
• The energy barrier that surrounds the Milky Way. Just attempt to guess the requirements to envelop an entire galaxy (and probably at least part of its halo).
• Sense Freak : Kirk's plan to wrest control of the ship relies on driving the Kelvans to distraction by bombarding them with physical and emotional sensations they don't know how to handle.
• Sick Captive Scam : After Kirk, Spock and Doctor McCoy are imprisoned by the Kelvans, Spock places himself in a trance in order to appear to be ill. McCoy tells the Kelvans that Spock needs to be taken to the Enterprise in order to be cured, and they fall for it.
• Smart People Play Chess : Spock screws with Rojan's new and unfamiliar tendency toward emotion while beating him at chess.
• The Spock : The Kelvans fit this trope better than Spock himself, as he quickly surmises, although assuming human form makes them capable of emotion.
• Starfish Aliens : What the Kelvans are in their true forms, as Spock glimpses briefly. Apparently they're giant squidlike things with a hundred arms, each of which they can control on independent tasks simultaneously. That'd be a strain even on a modern CGI budget, never mind Trek's (at least, not without looking seriously goofy). They also have no concept of love, food, drink, or the like, having given all of it up in favor of intellectual pursuits.
• Stock Footage : The Enterprise returns to the galactic barrier, seen in the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". All footage of the barrier is recycled from the earlier installment.
• Suicide Mission : At first, they consider blowing up the ship rather than letting the Kelvans have it, but Kirk insists on taking a third option.
• Through His Stomach : The Kelvans are offered food and drink to make them more amenable.
• Title Drop : When Kelinda is fascinated by flowers on the planet's surface, Kirk mumbles, "a rose by any other name." He then explains that this is a quote from the great human poet William Shakespeare .
• Two of Your Earth Minutes : The Kelvans' planned voyage should take only "300 of your years." Are Earth time periods common knowledge across multiple galaxies?
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"? : And flowers? And food? And booze? And drugs? The Kelvans are unused to human sensations.
• What Ever Happened To The Mouse : We never actually get a chance to see what happens to Scotty and Tomar after Kirk makes peace with the Kelvans.
• Kirk would to escape from a desperate situation. Of course, he "apologizes" later.
• Rojan kills Yeoman Thompson, a rare female Red Shirt .

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"it's green".

Scotty has been drinking unknown green stuff since his days at the original Enterprise.

Example of: Continuity Nod

• Star Trek S2 E21 "Patterns of Force"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Original Series
• Star Trek S2 E23 "The Omega Glory"

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Episode Preview: By Any Other Name

Screen Rant

Star trek: discovery stars eve harlow & elias toufexis break down their villainous romance.

Screen Rant interviews Elias Toufexis and Eve Harlow about joining Star Trek: Discovery and playing season 5's villainous lovers, Moll and L'ak.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

• Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis play renegade lovers Moll and L'ak, who are hunting for ancient technology, in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.
• Moll and L'ak race against USS Discovery to find powerful Progenitor technology with the power to create life itself in season 5.
• Harlow and Toufexis discuss Moll and L'ak's love story, challenges with prosthetics, and the dynamic with Commander Rayner in Discovery.

Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis are renegade lovers Moll and L'ak on the hunt for Star Trek: Discover y season 5's ancient and powerful treasure. Harlow is new to Star Trek while Toufexis guest starred in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, but, together, Moll and L'ak are the main antagonists of Star Trek: Discovery season 5.

Moll, a human, and L'ak, a mysterious alien, are a couple in a race with the USS Discovery to find the technology of the Progenitors , which has the power to create life, itself. Moll and L'ak are also being pursued by Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ), the new First Officer of the USS Discovery, who is driven by his animosity towards the former couriers-turned-treasure hunters.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Screen Rant spoke to Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis about Moll and L'ak's Star Trek: Discovery love story, the challenges of L'ak's prosthetics, and how Moll and L'ak really feel about their pursuer, Commander Rayner.

Eve Harlow & Elias Toufexis Compare Their Romance To Star Trek: Discovery Season 5's Other Couples

Screen Rant: I'm loving this season of Discovery and the feedback I've gotten across the board is that this is the best season. Have you guys felt the love and the warm reception for season 5?

Eve Harlow: I stay off the internet because the internet scares me. (laughs) So it's kind of like, 'Okay, you can hear nice things. Yes, tell me nice things.' But the bad stuff I'm like, 'Lalala!' But yeah, that's great to hear. Elias Toufexis: Yeah, [I feel the love.], especially meeting people like you and the fans online. You're always gonna have detractors. it's always gonna happen, but if you can somehow not let them get to you and take in the love... The love is there this season. Everyone's really enjoying it, and I knew they would. I knew when we were shooting this, I'm like, 'This is too much fun. This is too cool.' There's so much cool stuff, so much fun stuff, there's no way people are gonna watch this and dislike it. And I was right. It's too much fun. The first episodes are fantastic all the way through, and then the other half of the season gets even crazier. I'm really happy with the reception.

Moll and L'ak are a love story. Discovery has a lot of couples . There are a lot of love stories going on. Would you say Moll and L'ak are the best couple in Discovery , and what makes them the best?

Elias Toufexis: I’d say they’re the best couple in Star Trek history. Eve Harlow: Obviously, we’re the best because it’s us! Elias Toufexis: I mean, look, they’re the coolest. They’re the coolest couple in Star Trek history, that's for sure. They're smart. They're in love. They're passionate. They know what they want. They do what they need to do to get it. And they don't care who's standing in their way. But they're not inherently evil. They're not inherently villains, really. Yeah, they're the antagonists of the show. But they're doing what they're doing for a reason. And those reasons are explained. And that's one of my favorite things about this season, that they're explained. The reasons are shown why we're doing what we're doing.

Bonnie and Clyde have been referenced a lot for Moll and L'ak, but they might be more like Mickey and Mallory from Natural Born Killers or Pumpkin and Honey Bunny from Pulp Fiction . Did you guys pull inspiration from any of these famous movie criminal couples?

Eve Harlow: 100% But I think that we see these like kinds of characters throughout different kinds of mediums. It was really funny because right before I did this show, there was another show that I did [The Night Agent], and it also had a dynamic of Bonnie and Clyde. I was like, 'I'm going from doing a Bonnie and Clyde on a political thriller to doing Bonnie and Clyde in space. F--- yeah!' So I think you can't help but draw inspiration. 'Oh, yeah, I see this, and I see how this is reflected in what I have'. But then you take it as some amalgamation of everything that you've consumed before, and you make it your own. Elias Toufexis: I'm inclined to toss out Mickey and Mallory. For me, that never played because they're such psychos in that film. Moll and L'ak are not psychos. They're passionate and they're in love. I mean, you could take the coolness of Mickey and Mallory, and you could throw that in there. But in terms of their reasoning for doing what they're doing.... Even Bonnie and Clyde is a little too much. [Moll and L'ak] are justified in what they're doing. I don't know that murdering anybody is ever justified, but their reason for being there is love and freedom. And that's hard to dispute.

Moll's Wig Was Eve's Idea & L'ak's Prosthetics Were A Challenge For Elias

Eve, you just mentioned you were on Netflix's The Night Agent as Ellen, an assassin in love. You wore a lot of wigs on The Night Agent. How does how does Moll's wig compare?

Eve Harlow: Okay, so fun fact: The wigs... That was my idea. Because for The Night Agent, when I got the script, Ellen was obviously an assassin who has different clothing and stuff. And because I wear wigs in my real life, I was like, 'Wait, this totally makes sense for Ellen to have wigs because when someone asks for a description of a person, its height, hair color, right?' It's the easiest thing to change. And so I was like, 'F--- it. I'm gonna pitch it to the producers, see if they're into it.' They were into it. That worked. And when I auditioned for Star Trek, I wore a wig for my audition. It just made sense. It felt sci-fi, it felt edgy, it felt like all of the things that I felt when I read the sides and the character description.

Elias, you and I talked a little bit about the makeup process for L'ak, wearing the head, and the makeup, and everything. How do you feel now that you've seen it on screen and seen how it plays? It looks awesome.

Elias Toufexis: You want to know the truth? This is how messed up being an actor is, like the body dysmorphia of an actor. I'll look at it and be like, 'Oh, it looks so cool.' And then, 'Nope, I look fat in that scene.' Even under the makeup. It makes no sense. It's completely ridiculous because the makeup is the makeup. But you're looking at it like, 'I don't like that shot, I like this shot.' I would only tell that to you, John. But having said that yeah, the process was tough. When it was over, when when the season was done, and I was done, I remember going, 'I don't know that I would do this again because it is very difficult.' I didn't realize how difficult it would be. I remember that first day of sitting there for five and a half hours, and then seeing [me as L'ak], and I'm like, 'This is the coolest thing ever! This is no problem.' And four or five days in, I'm like, 'This is exhausting.' And you don't realize that. You're putting it on for five hours, then you're wearing it for like 12 hours, and then you're trying to get it off. There was a week when we were shooting where I was more L'ak than I was Elias. I would take it off ,go home, sleep five hours, come back, and put it back on. There were times where I'm like, 'Can I just leave it on?' 'No, you can't.' So it was tough. But being removed from it now for over a year, you look at it, and you go, 'Okay, it was worth it because it's so cool.' And the makeup is what I was concerned about. I think I talked to you about this a little bit. What I was concerned about was [my performance] getting through the makeup. That his love for Moll [came through.] That was my big thing. Will you be able to see that he loves Moll through these contacts and the makeup? Yes, you can, and I'm very happy with that. That was my big concern and the fact that you could see the emotion... Because it was tough to get through. I had to be bigger than I normally am on-screen. I'm normally a very quiet, subtle actor. That's how I like to be, and I had pushed through the makeup to get it across. I was worried about being melodramatic, and it worked out. The director, Olatunde [Osunsanmi] was talking to me about it a lot. And he was right. And I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Why Commander Rayner Has A Grudge Against Moll and L'ak

L'ak has his own ship. He's one of the few Star Trek characters who actually owns his own starship. I want to get really nerdy about the ship. What are the cool things it can do? Does it have a name, model, registry number, all that nerdy Star Trek minutia?

Elias Toufexis: I want to give it a name, Eve. We should give it a name. I think he'd call it The Moll. I think he would do something like that. He would call it The Moll or the Malinne or something like that. I mean, again, as a big Star Trek fan, my own ship? Like, come on, it's the coolest thing ever. I love the detachment cells, and then it could spin and the nacelles spin around it, and then giving off the different warp trails and stuff, That kind of stuff is top of the line cool, man. I love that stuff, and I hope there's a million toys and ships and models. I'll buy 'em all.

Callum Keith Rennie's Commander Rayner is another awesome addition to season 5. Rayner really has a bug up his ass - a time bug, as it turns out - about Moll and L'alk. Can you talk a little bit about what his problem is with you? Because it's only been hinted at.

Eve Harlow: Oh, I don't remember what is revealed in what episode. What's a spoiler and what isn't? Because it's all fused together. Elias Toufexis: Callum is great. I've known Callum for years. He's a very famous Canadian actor. Eve Harlow: And I worked with him like over 10 years ago on this TV show he was on. And he remembered, and I hadn't. I was like, 'Oh dang. Hey again, years down the line.' Elias Toufexis: He's a great actor and I love Rayner. What's great about Rayner, for me, is it could be a very one-dimensional character. It could easily even be played one-dimensionally. And Callum is such a wonderful actor that you see layers getting broken down episode by episode. That's what's great about him in terms of his relationship with Moll and L'ak. I don't want to get into too much. I don't know what I'm gonna spoil,. But he definitely does have, as you say, a time bug up his ass. But they don't care about him. I'll tell you that much. They don't.

Elias, you're on the Star Trek convention circuit. We've hung out in Vegas. Eve, are you looking forward to doing Star Trek cons? You're part of Star Trek now. It's going to be part of you forever. There's gonna be Moll and L'ak cosplay.

Eve Harlow: Honestly, I'm excited to see that! That would be fun. When I first got on set, being welcomed on set, it was like, 'Welcome to the family.' So I'm just like, I'm excited to be here!

About Star Trek: Discovery Season 5

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the USS Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well … dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.

Check out our other Star Trek: Discovery season 5 interviews here:

• Sonequa Martin-Green
• David Ajala and Doug Jones
• Wilson Cruz, Mary Wiseman & Blu del Barrio
• Alex Kurtzman & Michelle Paradise
• Callum Keith Rennie

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 stream Thursdays on Paramount+

Biggest Star Trek Retcons

• Star Trek's Federation and Klingon relationship is a source of debate among fans over formal membership vs. alliance.
• The infamous Eugenics Wars conflict was pushed into the mid-21st century due to timeline discrepancies in the show.
• Klingons have undergone significant changes in appearance and behavior throughout the Star Trek franchise.

Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise is full of iconic heroes, aliens, and starships. Set centuries in the future, it imagines a galaxy where the human race has abandoned its worst tendencies in favor of exploring the wonders of the galaxy . This format has proven remarkably successful, as Star Trek: The Original Series overcame initially poor odds to spawn over half a dozen spin-off series, as well as several movies and hundreds of books, comics, and video games.

Star Trek: 7 Alien Civilizations Discovered By Captain Kirk

Yet like every long-running franchise, the universe of Star Trek is full of contradictions, forgetful writers, and behind-the-scenes errors. From Spock's rapidly growing family tree to numerous issues involving the Klingons, it's safe to say that the final frontier is far from set in stone.

The Members of the Federation

How far-reaching is the utopian alliance.

Despite representing the undisputed system of government for Earth and countless other worlds, very little concrete information is divulged about the Federation and its members throughout the Star Trek franchise. The size of the alliance fluctuates wildly depending on the source consulted: while The Original Series implies that there are just over 30 worlds in the Federation, information related to the more-or-less concurrent Kelvin timeline suggests a group at least four times larger. While this discrepancy can be attributed to divergent timelines, one point of contention remains: the status of the Klingon Empire.

While it's undeniable that the Federation and the Klingon Empire were allies during The Next Generation , various set dressing details and throwaway lines hint at a deep relationship. A Klingon starship carries the Federation flag on its bridge in "Heart of Glory", perhaps implying membership, while a later conversation between Picard and Wesley Crusher is even more explicit. In "Samaritan Snare", Wesley refers to a time "before the Klingons joined the Federation". However, many fans discount this line, suggesting that it refers to the Treaty of Alliance rather than formal membership.

The Eugenics Wars

What actually happened (and when).

The infamous Eugenics Wars (first referenced in The Original Series episode "Space Seed") was a devastating conflict that killed millions and resulted in humanity abandoning its research into genetic augmentation. According to a conversation between Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy, the conflict took place between 1992 and 1996—the distant future for viewers of the episode's original broadcast. However, given that the mid-nineties came and went without any global conflict, Star Trek 's writers have subsequently scrambled to reconcile sixties' world-building with contemporary knowledge.

Star Trek Fans Debate Who Deserves Credit For Defeating Khan

In an attempt to make sense of the timeline, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds suggested that temporal interference from various factions pushed the Eugenics War (and the actions of the genocidal Khan ) forward into the mid-twenty-first century. Whether future franchise showrunners will be forced to kick the can further down the road remains to be seen, but it certainly wouldn't be the first retcon to this vital part of Star Trek lore.

Can They Use Transporters?

The Trill are one of Star Trek 's more bizarre aliens, as some of the humanoid species are physically connected to a centuries-old symbiont. When the host dies, their memories live on within the symbiont, which is subsequently transferred into another individual. The Trill's unique physiology was central to their introductory episode "The Host", which saw Beverly Crusher fall in love with one of the aliens only for its host to tragically die.

The decision to foreground the Trill in the subsequent Star Trek: Deep Space Nine meant that the aliens underwent a radical overhaul. In The Next Generation , joined Trill were unable to use transporters because doing so would endanger their symbiont, while DS9 's Dax frequently made use of the technology. Also notable was the change in the Trill's appearance: the show's writers were apparently scandalized that the beautiful Terry Farrell would be given the Trill's original ugly makeup, and suggested using the spots previously seen on the Kriosians in The Next Generation .

Starfleet's Identity

Just who is captain kirk answerable to.

The Federation Starfleet is now so much of a part of nerd culture that the organization's chevron symbol is recognizable even outside its original context. However, both the famous insignia and the identity of Starfleet itself were once very far from concrete, as evidenced by early episodes of The Original Series . In "Charlie X", Captain Kirk makes a report to "UESPA headquarters", rather than Starfleet Command. Then, in "Tomorrow is Yesterday", the acronym is defined as referring to the United Earth Space Probe Agency, and Kirk suggests that this organization is responsible for the Enterprise 's mission.

Star Trek: Best Starships To Work On

The United Earth Space Probe Agency doesn't roll off the tongue in quite the same way as "Starfleet", so the decision to alter the name of Kirk's employers into something punchier makes a lot of sense. Interestingly, future shows did play lip service to the UESPA concept: an unmanned probe launched by the group is discovered by the USS Voyager in "Friendship One", while Star Trek: Enterprise implies that UESPA is part of Starfleet rather than a separate organization.

Spock's Family Tree

How many long-lost siblings can one vulcan have.

The Vulcan Spock may have an impeccable sense of logic, but he also appears to have a terrible memory when it comes to his own family. While this vagueness can be traced back to The Original Series (his claim that a human woman married one of his ancestors is a strange way to refer to his own mother and father), Spock is particularly susceptible to suddenly recalling previously unmentioned siblings. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) introduced audiences to estranged half-brother Sybok , while Star Trek: Discovery saddled Spock with an adopted human sister in the form of Michael Burnham.

Why the Discovery writing room decided to draw inspiration from what is widely regarded as the worst Star Trek film remains unclear—it may be that Spock is perceived to be such a cultural heavyweight that linking new characters to the original Vulcan is seen as a way to ensure their popularity. Whether this is actually accurate is up for debate, but with countless other Star Trek projects currently in development, Spock may find his family tree yielding further undisclosed branches.

The Klingons

They do not discuss their retcons with outsiders.

The Klingons are probably Star Trek 's most iconic alien race, but when it comes to internal consistency, the classic species is sorely lacking. The Original Series cast the Klingons as scheming space Soviets; The Next Generation reinvented them as honor-bound warriors . Nor do the Klingons maintain a constant appearance: they didn't grow their craggy foreheads until Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), while the recent Star Trek: Discovery chose to depict the Klingons as bald space orcs. While most of these changes can be attributed to behind-the-scenes budget increases, the in-universe logic is far murkier.

Star Trek: Worf's Best Quotes

Star Trek: Enterprise made a valiant effort to explain the change in Klingon appearance and behavior, only to be completely ignored by the subsequent Star Trek: Discovery . Deep Space Nine 's "Trials and Tribble-ations" perhaps puts it best—when asked why he doesn't resemble the Klingons of Kirk's era, Worf shuts down the conversation by saying that it is not a topic that they discuss with outsiders.

Created by Gene Roddenberry

First Film Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Latest Film Star Trek Beyond

First TV Show Star Trek: The Original Series

Latest TV Show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Creation Year 1966

A Star Trek Origin Movie Is Coming in 2025 From 'Andor' and 'Doctor Who' Director Toby Haynes

'Star Trek' (2009) director J.J. Abrams is attached to produce.

The Big Picture

• A new Star Trek prequel film, an "origin story", is in development, at Paramount.
• The Star Trek history before Kirk's missions on the Enterprise is largely unwritten, leaving room for creativity with the new film.
• Director Toby Haynes, known for Andor , is working on the film alongside writer Seth Grahame-Smith; a 2025 release window was announced at CinemaCon.

Star Trek may finally be coming back to the big screen. A prequel to the 2009 J.J. Abrams reboot of the franchise is in the works from director Toby Haynes . The news comes from Paramount's presentation at CinemaCon today, as reported by Collider's Steve Weintraub and Britta DeVore . With Haynes, who recently helmed six episodes of the acclaimed Star Wars series Andor , at the rudder, the film will be written by Seth Grahame-Smith .

So far, other details on the new film are scarce, but it will reportedly be an "origin story", taking place decades before the 2009 Star Trek film, which took place in 2255. That likely means that it will not feature the cast from the 2009 reboot, which has so far been difficult for Paramount to wrangle together for a fourth film, despite numerous attempts to do so . That doesn't necessarily mean that a fourth movie isn't happening: back in March, Paramount hired The Flight Attendant scribe Steve Yockey to pen a new script for the film. For their part, the cast is game as well, with Zoe Saldaña recently stating her willingness to return for a fourth mission on the USS Enterprise .

What Happened Decades Before Kirk's First Missions on the Enterprise?

The history of the Star Trek universe prior to the celebrated voyages of the Enterprise is largely unwritten. The first starship Enterprise 's adventures in the 22nd century were chronicled on the UPN prequel series Star Trek: Enterprise . That series ended with the founding of the United Federation of Planets in 2161, which leaves almost a century of mostly unexplored history between that and the history now being charted on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (and the first two seasons of mothership show Star Trek: Discovery ).

At some point, the nascent Federation faces a devastating war against the Romulan Star Empire , while also engaged in a Cold War with the Klingons. The USS Enterprise will eventually be launched in the 23rd century, under the captaincy of Robert April, who has been briefly glimpsed on Star Trek: The Animated Series and Strange New Worlds , before being handed off to Christopher Pike . Apart from that, however, Haynes and Graeme-Smith have a near-blank canvas upon which to make their mark.

In addition to Andor , Haynes has also helmed episodes of Doctor Who , Sherlock , and Black Mirror ; his work on the latter series includes the episode " USS Callister ," a loving pastiche of Star Trek . Graeme-Smith wrote the novels Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter ; he worked on the story for the upcoming horror comedy sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice .

A new Star Trek prequel film is in development; no date has yet been set beyond a 2025 release window . Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.

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Meet the Crew of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ One Last Time

Star Trek: Discovery ’s final season has set off for one last adventure, and the crew of the Discovery is in for a wild ride.

As revealed in Star Trek: Discovery season 5 ’s first three episodes, Captain Burnham and her Star Fleet colleagues are now participating in the race of their lives, trying to find the most powerful treasure in the universe before a pair of former couriers can get to it first. Essentially, Star Trek: Discovery season 5 has become a sequel, of sorts, to a very specific storyline from Star Trek: The Next Generation , involving Captain Picard and a species known as the Progenitors. I won’t reveal too much more here, but it’s safe to say that Star Trek: Discovery ’s final season is a big one.

As such, it’s no surprise that so many of the show’s cast members have returned, ready to fly one last time. If you need a refresher course or you’re simply curious to find out more about the show’s new cast members and the characters they portray, you’ve come to the right place. Read our handy Star Trek: Discovery season 5 cast and character guide to find out more.

Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham

Sonequa Martin-Green returns as Michael Burnham, Captain of the Discovery and adventurer extraordinaire. In the 32nd century, Captain Burnham may be one of the most influential members of Star Fleet, and she and her team have rightfully been entrusted with securing one of the galaxy’s most powerful secrets. Martin-Green has been the lead of Star Trek: Discovery since the show started in 2017, but you’ll also recognize her from roles in The Walking Dead , New Girl, and Space Jam: A New Legacy .

Doug Jones as Saru

Doug Jones’ Saru is Michael Burnham’s Number One and a Captain himself, but their relationship is much deeper than that. Burnham relies on Saru’s empathy, kindness, and intelligence, and he has her friendship in return. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, however, Saru has been offered the chance to become a Federation Ambassador, which he humbly accepts, as it allows him to marry his love interest, Tara Rosling’s President T’Rina. Aside from his role in Discovery , you’ll also recognize Jones from Hocus Pocus 2 and FX’s What We Do in the Shadows .

David Ajala as Cleveland Booker

Despite Michael and Booker’s parting in the Star Trek: Discovery season 4 finale, Booker is back to help Discovery and its crew track down the thieves currently after the Progenitors’ universe-altering treasure. How his relationship with Michael progresses this season remains to be seen. You may also recognize Adjala from his role as Manchester Black in the CW’s Supergirl series.

Anthony Rapp as Commander Paul Stamets

As Discovery’s leading science expert, Anthony Rapp’s Paul Stamets has been passionately and diligently working on expanding Discovery’s spore drive capabilities to the rest of Star Fleet. But after the tragic theft of the prototype spore drive in season 4, Stamets is feeling a little lost on board, though the mystery of the Progenitors has certainly sparked his interest. Rapp is well known for his role in the musical Rent, as well as having had guest starring roles on shows like The Good Fight and voicing Orpheus in Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical .

Wilson Cruz as Doctor Hugh Culber

Doctor Hugh Culbert is not only Discovery’s leading physician but Commander Stamets’ romantic partner, as well. He’s kind and compassionate, recently working conscientiously to find a way to provide mental health services to the crew of the Discovery. In Discovery season 5, episode 3, however, he’s also been part of an away mission involving the Trill and the Progenitors’ secrets. Wilson Cruz has also had roles in shows like Thirteen Reasons Why and My So-Called Life .

Mary Wiseman as Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly

Though Mary Wiseman’s Lieutenant Sylvia Tilly became a Starfleet Academy instructor in Star Trek: Discovery season 4, she too is back on the ship to help Burnham locate the Progenitors’ lost knowledge. As one of Discovery’s leading scientific minds, she’ll no doubt be a huge asset during the search. Mary Wiseman has also starred in shows like Baskets and Longmire .

Blu del Barrio as Ensign Adira Tal

Commander Stamets’ protégé, Ensign Adira Tal, will undoubtedly be helping Stamets and Tilly solve the clues left behind by the Progenitors as the Discovery scours the galaxy for the lost treasure. Though much of Adira’s story has so far been focused on their relationship with their other half, Gray Tal, Gray’s minimal role in Discovery season 5 will give Adira a chance to truly make their mark on the show. Their role on Discovery is Blu del Barrio’s most significant role yet, though you may also recognize their voice from the video game Starfield .

Oded Fehr as Admiral Charles Vance

Oded Fehr returns as Admiral Charles Vance and will once again be overseeing Discovery’s mission as they track down the Progenitors’ history. So far, Vance has been supportive of Burnham’s leadership in season 5, but that all may change as the stakes become even higher. Oded Fehr’s most famous and perhaps most beloved role is his turn in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns as Ardeth Bay.

David Cronenberg as Dr. Kovich

David Cronenberg returns as Dr. Kovich , as it is his research and interest in the Progenitors that forces Discovery to go on a treasure hunt across the universe. His motives remain unclear, however, as he even accompanies the Discovery on the first leg of their mission, constantly reminding Burnham how important this discovery could be. Cronenberg is not only a talented actor but an accomplished director, as well.

Tig Notaro as Commander Jett Reno

Comedian Tig Notaro returns as recurring character Jett Reno, one of the Discovery’s vital engineers and a master of sarcasm and deadpan deliveries. How big their role will be this season is still unclear. You may recognize Notaro from her stand-up comedy specials, as well as roles in The Morning Show and Army of the Dead.

Tara Rosling as President T’Rina of Ni’Var

Tara Rosling returns as President T’Rina of Ni’Var and, as of recently, Saru’s fiancé. However, given Saru is on one last mission with the Discovery, and the Vulcans and Romulans don’t seem to have a major role this season, Rosling’s role may be limited. Previously, you may have recognized Rosling from the show Impulse .

Chelah Horsdal as Federation President Laira Rillak

Chelah Horsdal returns as Federation President Laira Rillak in Discovery season 5, most likely to negotiate the political ramifications of the Progenitors’ secrets should Burnham be successful during her mission. You may recognize Horsdal from roles in The Man in the High Castle and Hell On Wheels .

Ian Alexander as Gray Tal

Ian Alexander has returned to Discovery season 5 as Gray Tal, though it may have only been for one episode. Gray and Adira said a heartfelt goodbye to one another in episode three as they realized they’d grown apart and wanted to discover who they were as invidviduals. Ian Alexander has also had roles in The OA and The Last of Us: Part II .

Callum Keith Rennie as Captain Rayner

The first of three major new characters in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, Callum Keith Rennie portrays Captain Rayner, a somewhat reckless and bold Star Fleet Captain with a wealth of experience working on Red Directives. Rayner and his crew are sent to help the Discovery with their search for the treasure, but after his rash actions almost cause the destruction of a civillian settlement, Rayner is demoted. Instead, Burnham chooses him as her new Number One in Saru’s absence. You might recognize Rennie from roles in The Umbrella Academy and Jessica Jones .

Eve Harlow as Moll

Moll, as portrayed by Eve Harlow, is one-half of the former courier duo searching for the Progenitors’ treasure, too. Rash and clever, Moll and her (romantic) partner in crime, L’ak, don’t seem to feel threatened by Burnham and the Discovery in the slightest. Harlow has been part of plenty of genre TV shows, including The Night Agent , The 100 , and Next .

Elias Toufexis as L’ak

Elias Toufexis stars in Discovery season 5 as L’ak, Moll’s love interest and protector, but make no mistake: L’ak is just as fearsome and determined as Moll is. Though you might not immediately recognize Toufexis’ features, there’s a good chance you’ll recognize his voice, as he’s had plenty of voice-over roles in shows and games like Blood of Zues , Starfield, Pluto , and Gotham Knights . He’s also had a recurring role on The Expanse .

Also returning are ….

A Captain is nothing without their crew. The following cast members have also returned or been added to Star Trek: Discovery ’s final season, including:

• Emily Coutts as Lieutenant Commander Keyla Detmer
• Patrick Kwok-Choon as Lieutenant Commander Gen Rhys
• Olyn Oladejo as Lieutenant Commander Joann Owasekun
• Orville Cummings as Lieutenant Christopher
• David Benjamin Tomlinson as Lieutenant Junior Grade Linus
• Annabelle Wallis as the voice of Zora

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premiere Thursdays only on Paramount+.

(featured image: Paramount+)

• April 18, 2024 | Lost Original USS Enterprise Model From ‘Star Trek’ Returned To Gene Roddenberry’s Son
• April 18, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Gets The Timing Right In “Face The Strange”
• April 17, 2024 | Watch: Things Get “Odd” In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Trailer And Clip From “Face The Strange”
• April 17, 2024 | Alex Kurtzman On Streaming TV Challenges And How Shorter Star Trek Seasons Helps Avoid “Filler” Episodes
• April 16, 2024 | Watch: Did This Moment On ‘The View’ Just Accidentally Hint Whoopi Goldberg Is In The Next Star Trek Movie?

Watch: Did This Moment On ‘The View’ Just Accidentally Hint Whoopi Goldberg Is In The Next Star Trek Movie?

| April 16, 2024 | By: Anthony Pascale 41 comments so far

Last week, Paramount Pictures officially confirmed it is developing a new “origin story” Star Trek feature film for its 2025/2026 release slate. Little is known about what this movie is about or who’s in it, but an unusual exchange on The View may offer a clue.

“What’s happening right now?”

The segment in question is actually from a couple of weeks ago, when Zoe Saldaña was doing publicity for her new movie Absence of Eden . In another interview, the actress had talked about how she was eager to return to play Uhura in a fourth Kelvin-era movie, although she didn’t have any concrete details about how or when that would happen. When The View co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin brought up Star Trek, Saldaña said something similar and noted Paramount had just hired another screenwriter to pen “a fourth script.”

Just after the subject of another Star Trek movie in the works was raised, Saldaña asked Whoopi Goldberg “Are you excited?” Goldberg, who played Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation (and later on Picard ), joked “maybe,” and then co-host Joy Behar jumped into the conversation. That’s where things got a bit confusing, as she seemed to be hinting that she’d already heard about some kind of role for Goldberg. Here is the exchange:

Saldaña: Are you excited? Goldberg: Maybe, just a little. Behar: Don’t tip your hand yet. Goldberg: What now? Behar: Don’t tip your hand yet. Don’t tell them you got the job yet. Goldberg: Okay. Behar: Did you get the job? Saldaña: For Star Trek? Oh my god! Goldberg: What is happening right now?… I have no other work. I’m trying to get home to Sardinia. Griffin: Do you have it or don’t you? Goldberg: I don’t know.

You can watch the full conversation in the video below (starting at 8:35).

Whoopi in new Trek?

It is not entirely clear what was going on here, and it may be nothing. But it does seem that Behar was hinting that her Oscar-winning co-host was being considered for a role in a Star Trek movie, presumably as Guinan. The project most likely to be casting roles already would not be the “Star Trek 4” sequel to Star Trek Beyond, as that isn’t expected to arrive until 2027 at the earliest and is (as noted by Saldaña) going through yet another rewrite. The more likely possibility is the origin movie, which is reported to be going into production later this year. The film is said to have a script already, with a story set decades before the 2009 Star Trek film (set in the mid-23rd century). El-Aurians like Guinan are very long-lived and Next Generation and Picard lore establish that Guinan was present on Earth in the past and ran a bar in Los Angeles during the early 21st century.

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan and Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Picard season 2

That said, this exchange on The View is far from definitive. Perhaps Behar was talking about a role for a different Star Trek project, possibly a streaming movie or one of the Paramount+ series. She also could have been completely mistaken, or could have been confusing one project with another and Goldberg has had no discussions about a return to Trek.  Goldberg did nothing to confirm she’s returning to Star Trek, although if she has signed on (or is in talks) about it, her casting would be a secret she wouldn’t want to divulge in the middle of an interview on The View .

Goldberg has previously appeared as Guinan in two Star Trek feature films: Generations in 1994 and Nemesis in 2002. The new “origin” movie is expected to have a new cast, but it would not be surprising if some legacy characters were included to create continuity, like Leonard Nimoy’s appearance in the 2009 Star Trek movie. So Guinan in “Untitled Star Trek Origin Movie” is entirely plausible.

Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

For now, this is just another curiosity about the next Star Trek. What do you make of the exchange? Let us know in the comments.

Could it be this?

Goldberg does have one recent connection to Star Trek: She narrated a recap of the first four seasons of Discovery for a special edition of  The Ready Room . That recap was released on YouTube on March 28, the same day the episode of The View was recorded with Zoe Saldaña. Presumably, Goldberg recorded it much earlier, as work on the Discovery season 5 episodes of The Ready Room started late last year. Behar (not being a big Star Trek fan) could have been conflating things related to Whoopi and Star Trek, and if Whoopi didn’t know what day the segment was coming out, she would have hesitated to clarify.

Find more news and analysis on  upcoming Star Trek feature films .

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I get a sense that this is just awkward poking by Joy, there is not actual secret there.

Yeah, I agree. They’re reading too much into this. Would be fun though!

I take it the same way. At best they were just referencing the narration,

There’s nothing to see here, other than actors pulling each other’s chains. Fun stuff.

I can see her being in either movie. Or both! That would be a cool thread between the movies. One of the few they have left.

Agreed, that would be a neat link.

Star Trek Origins: Guinan

we can finally learn how she met Mark Twain!

There’d better be some graphic hook up scenes if they go there….

Yeah who knows but I would guess if she was in something it would be the prequel movie since (apparently) they are supposed to be making that one soon. That JJ verse movie is never happening lol.

I would love to see Guinan back.

It could also be the rumoured Picard movie.

They could be one and the same. Maybe there’s a time travel story that frames the prequel story again.

Anything is possible at this stage Eric although I got the impression that follow up to Picard would be a TV movie. So little is known about the prequel movie though so it’s certainly possible that there will be some sort of framing story connecting it to some of the legacy characters.

Ugh I hope not. Picard was already there for First Contact. It would feel so forced for Picard have to go back once again in time to save the federation from never forming.

Be down for that idea too.

That rumored Picard movie got called out as bull s**t quite a while back.

Heya. I’d love to see Guinan back, just not in the Kelvin movies. That is entirely separate for me.

Lol I know how much you hate JJ verse. But no I don’t see that happening anyway because it’s not the same seeing JJ verse Guinan hanging out with new characters.

I want the Prime universe Guinan. Or maybe she goes back in time from the 25th century and ends up in JJ verse in the 23rd century and meet her younger version. That’s not bad. 😁

Yep you know me too well lol. The best thing those movies did is make them separate from Prime and putting ACTUAL Guinan in there decades before the events of 2009 would wreck all that.

I think Guinan in the Kelvin timeline makes a lot of sense, as she’s able to sense changes to the timeline.

THat’s true too but I think this is different. When Yesterday’s Enterprise happened it erased the Prime timeline. Guinan essentially got moved from one timeline to thee next. With Kelvin that is not the case as we can see the Prime timeline continued unaffected post Spock leaving as is evidenced by ST Picard and even Guinan being in it.

Same here, even though arguably, it’s possible her species could navigate separate timelines.

True. I mean if she can project herself in PIC S2 then who knows?

I’ve been saying Guinan will show up this season on Discovery since she narrated that one clip about the history of the series.

That would make more sense to me. They would have to de-age her for a prequel movie, but on Discovery she could appear as she is now.

It would make sense given her history and the El-Aurian species being long lived. I could see her and Pelia both showing up, maybe even holding the final clues.

Trek movie schedule:(revised edition):

S31 P+ – 2024 Origins movie – 2025 Legacy/Picard anniversary movie P+? – 2026 Kelvin ST4 – 2027

could show up in S31 movie as Guinan but they apparently have a super small budget so I don’t see them deaging her so maybe she’s in the supposed PIC movie that Stewart was talking about

Whoopi, she is just amazing. Would love to see Guinan again.

Not a cameo. A good and well deserved story.

Very much YES!!!!

I want more than a cameo too but does she have that kind of time given The View?

I think she will make the time, if invited. She is not only in The View. Every year, she works in several productions on the side.

I always say Whoopi constantly upgraded STNG. Missed opportunities. Having her always so grateful to the franchise, she should be considered to make a bold return.

During Picard Season 2, she was not feeling well, having several health/treatment related issues. I think this is one of the reasons they hired a younger actor.

I saw the video clip and she looks way better now. Even her voice is better, the Discovery clip, so cool to listen to her voice and her humor in the recap.

Maybe one of the future streaming movies they are considering doing could be about Guinan or she could appear in SNW as a kind of foil or pal of Pelia another long living species. Or they are secretly developing a Q vs Guinan movie but that would not appeal to mainstream audiences. That could be the plot of an upcoming streaming movie.

Would truly love to see Guinan back. Didn’t like season 2 of Picard much but Guinan was a big highlight.

Yeah, I thought Ito Aghayere did a fantastic job as Guinan too. That felt like great casting to me. I wouldn’t hate seeing both actors in the role, flashing back and forth in time maybe?

Agreed, if there was anything good out of PIC S2, it was bringing Guinan back. The rest was an absolute mess.

While I’d love to see Whoopi jump back into the role of Guinan in a solid role, I just hope it’s not a Guinan origin story. Part of the character’s appeal is the mystery surrounding her gifts (that presumably most or all El-Aurians share) and exactly how old she is.

I don’t think it could be could it? The origin movie is supposed to take place decades before ST 2009 and Guinan is way older than that

If it’s anything, I bet it’s the Picard Streaming Movie project. We’ll see. Not much here to count on anything other than Whoopi’s ongoing involvement in Trek, and I suppose that’s a good thing.

Is there actually a Picard Streaming Movie project, though?

That’s a pretty liberal reading of this exchange to leap to the conclusion that Goldberg is being considered for a role in a movie where a new writer had just been hired.

Fandom is busy filling in the production schedules (scroll this thread). If we roll into the third quarter without so much as a peep about progress on any of these proposed productions, guess what? You all have been played. Again.

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A Star Trek origin story movie is officially on the way from Andor and Black Mirror director

It's set to take place decades before 2009's Star Trek

Paramount has officially announced a new Star Trek movie – but it's not Star Trek 4.

The Untitled Star Trek Origin Story was unveiled at CinemaCon, with J.J. Abrams set to produce (H/T The Wrap ). The film will take place decades before 2009's Star Trek, with Andor's Toby Haynes set to direct and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter author Seth Grahame-Smith set to pen the script. Plot details have yet to be released. Deadline first announced the film earlier this year.

Haynes directed the popular Black Mirror episode U.S.S Callister, which acts as a Star Trek parody. Black Mirror season 7 will feature a sequel to U.S.S Callister , though it has not yet been announced who will direct.

Paramount also stated that the origin pic would begin production later this year to make it in time for a 2025 theatrical release. Star Trek 4, the sequel to Abrams' 2009 flick, is still in development. WandaVision's Matt Shakman was previously attached to direct, but  left the project  in August 2022  around the same time he was announced as the new Fantastic Four director. Last month, Variety reported that Sucker Punch and Supernatural writer Steve Yockey would pen the fourth Star Trek film, which intends to bring back Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and the rest of the cast.

The Untitled Star Trek Origin Story does not yet have a release date. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2024 and beyond, or, skip right to the good stuff with our list of movie release dates .

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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

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‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed for Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ to Conclude With Season 5 (EXCLUSIVE)

By Adam B. Vary

Adam B. Vary

Senior Entertainment Writer

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• ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Renewed for Season 4; ‘Lower Decks’ to Conclude With Season 5 (EXCLUSIVE) 6 days ago

“ Star Trek : Strange New Worlds,” currently in production on its third season, has been renewed by Paramount+ for Season 4. Meanwhile, “ Star Trek: Lower Decks ,” the first animated “Star Trek” comedy, will conclude its run on the streamer with its fifth season, which will debut in the fall.

Popular on Variety

“Lower Decks” charted brand new territory for “Star Trek” when it debuted in 2020, as both an animated comedy and a series that focused on the junior officers of the USS Cerritos: Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero). Set in the years following the feature film “Star Trek: Nemesis,” the series has included voice cameos from many beloved “Star Trek” alumni, like George Takei, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, John de Lancie, Will Wheaton, Armin Shimerman, Nana Visitor and Robert Duncan McNeill.

Given its premise, concluding “Lower Decks” make sense considering the main four characters all received promotions in Season 4. But in a message to fans, Kurtzman and executive producer and showrunner Mike McMahan left the turbolift doors open for continuing the characters’ stories following their time at the bottom of the Starfleet pecking order. 

The “Star Trek” TV universe, overseen by Kurtzman through his Secret Hideout production company and produced by CBS Studios, has enjoyed a robust expansion since “Star Trek: Discovery” first premiered in 2017. Along with “Strange New Worlds,” the made-for-television movie “Star Trek: Section 31” recently concluded production with star Michelle Yeoh, and the new series “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” will begin shooting later this year.

“It has been incredibly rewarding to continue to build the Star Trek universe, and we’re so grateful to Secret Hideout and our immensely talented casts and producers,” said Jeff Grossman, executive vice president of Programming at Paramount+. “‘Strange New Worlds’ has found the perfect blend of action, adventure and humor. Similarly, ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ has brought the laughs with an ample amount of heart to the franchise across its four seasons. We can’t wait for audiences to see what is in store for the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos in this final season.”

“‘Lower Decks’ and ‘Strange New Worlds’ are integral to the ‘Star Trek’ franchise, expanding the boundaries of the universe and exploring new and exciting worlds,” said CBS Studios president David Stapf. “We are extraordinarily proud of both series as they honor the legacy of what Gene Roddenberry created almost 60 years ago. We are so grateful to work with Secret Hideout, Alex Kurtzman, Mike McMahan, Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers and the cast, crews and artists who craft these important and entertaining stories for fans around the world.”

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