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Trek has referenced countless things in pop-culture. Let's go over some of the most interesting.
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00:00Human culture in Star Trek has changed so much over the centuries,
00:03yet there still exist many relics of art and inventions from modern times.
00:08Pop culture references appear in many different forms,
00:10from brief mentions in dialogue to background appearances
00:14and sometimes even important plot devices.
00:17So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture,
00:19here with 10 examples of real pop culture in Star Trek.
00:23Number 10, Rick and Morty.
00:26Rick and Morty has been the centre of a lot of controversy lately.
00:28With Justin Roiland, the voices of both Rick and Morty,
00:31being fired from the show for domestic abuse,
00:34the future of the show is uncertain.
00:36But if the second season of Star Trek Picard is to be believed,
00:40the show will do just fine without Roiland in 2024.
00:43In the episode Assimilation, right after Rios met Teresa's son Ricardo,
00:47Teresa told the boy in Spanish to finish his homework,
00:50or else he couldn't watch Rick and Morty.
00:53Aside from the fact that Rick and Morty seems a bit mature for a 9-year-old kid,
00:56lots of folks online have pointed out how strange it is
00:59that the creator of Star Trek Lower Decks, Mike McMahon,
01:03now exists in Star Trek canon,
01:05given that he also worked on Rick and Morty
01:07as a writer, producer, story editor, and fourth season showrunner.
01:11Does this mean that the show Lower Decks also exists in Trek canon?
01:14It raises a lot of confusing questions,
01:16though the same questions could probably be raised for many of the entries on this list.
01:20Number 9, the Nintendo Switch.
01:22Video games as we know them today don't pop up in Star Trek that often,
01:26as most humans prefer to spend their time on holodecks during the 24th century,
01:31and things like recreation rooms and basic holographic tech
01:34were available at least a century before.
01:36Yet we've seen some older forms of media that still exist in Trek,
01:40like books, plays, and we've even seen characters like Tom Paris
01:43and the NX-01 crew watch television and films.
01:46It seems odd that classic video games are virtually absent from human society in the show.
01:51One of the only relics of the classic video game industry
01:54was a Nintendo Switch that appeared very briefly
01:57as part of Colonel Hoz's collection in the Lower Decks episode
02:00Keishon, His Eyes Open,
02:02along with dozens of other rare artifacts from real life and Star Trek history.
02:06You can see the console in a display case behind Beckett and Jet
02:10while they're fighting over the Keishon doll
02:12and trying to escape Hoz's automated defense systems.
02:15Video games have been referenced before in dialogue,
02:18and the Qatarian headset from the Next Generation episode The Game
02:21could be seen as a form of video game.
02:24Still, it seems odd that we haven't seen more references
02:26to real-world video games or video game consoles in Trek.
02:30We'd love to see more stuff like the episode Lasting Impressions from The Orville,
02:34when the crew opened a time capsule from 2015
02:37that contained a copy of Minecraft for the Xbox 360.
02:40Number 8. Fidget Spinners
02:42In the same display case as the Nintendo Switch,
02:45you may have noticed another pop culture reference,
02:47just to the left of the console.
02:49Anyone who lived through 2017 will recognize the shape of fidget spinners,
02:53and remember the hugely popular craze that spread across the world that year.
02:57Fidget spinners seemingly came out of nowhere in 2017,
03:01and were gone from pop culture almost as fast.
03:03Yet, while they were popular,
03:05you couldn't visit any market, convenience store,
03:07or virtually any establishment without seeing a huge collection of fidget spinners on display,
03:12usually positioned strategically near the checkout counter.
03:15It's unclear why Kernohorse was so attached to the fidget spinner.
03:19Maybe it was an actual relic from 2017 Earth,
03:23since it's unlikely that a replicated spinner would be as impressive to him.
03:26The episode Kayshawn His Eyes Open was absolutely packed with references to Trek,
03:31but the Switch and this fidget spinner were the best examples
03:33of modern pop culture items in his collection.
03:36Number 7. Movie Night
03:38The crew of the NX-01 Enterprise held regular movie nights in the ship's mess hall.
03:42During these movie gatherings, several real-world films appeared.
03:46Most of the ones we saw were from the mid-20th century,
03:48but the ship's database had an extensive catalogue of over 50,000 films.
03:53In the episode Cogenitor, we see Trip look through a list of some of the films in their database,
03:58which included popular classics like The Day the Earth Stood Still,
04:01which also appeared in the beginning of the first episode of Strange New Worlds,
04:05but also films based off of holodeck programs we've seen throughout Trek.
04:09The film titled Dixon Hill and The Black Orchid referenced Captain Picard's Dixon Hill programs,
04:14and The Bride of Chaotica is from Tom Paris' Captain Proton programs.
04:19Members of the crew that often attended movie night included Trip, Archer, Mayweather, and Sato.
04:24While Phlox and Tupole didn't enjoy the films as much as the human crew members,
04:27they still occasionally attended to better understand human interests.
04:32After watching the 1931 film Frankenstein,
04:35Tupole compared the villagers' reactions to Frankenstein's monster to humanity's reaction
04:39when the Vulcans made first contact.
04:42She also made a recommendation to Ambassador Saval
04:44that any Vulcans newly arriving on Earth should be shown the film as preparation,
04:49much to Archer's dismay.
04:50Number 6, The Flux Capacitor
04:52Technobabble is basically just made-up words that writers can use to explain sci-fi technology.
04:58Star Trek really loves to use Technobabble in dialogue,
05:01but it's far from the only franchise to do so.
05:04Perhaps the most famous example of Technobabble is the Flux Capacitor from Back to the Future,
05:09which somehow allowed Doc Brown to time travel.
05:12Star Trek made an homage to this famously ambiguous device
05:14in the Next Generation episode Hollow Pursuits, albeit accidentally.
05:18While trying to figure out why the anti-grav units failed,
05:21Wesley suggested that Lieutenant Barclay should check the Flow Capacitor.
05:25Later in the episode, Barclay complained about the incident to a hologram of Counselor Troy,
05:29saying,
05:30I knew about the Flux Capacitor, but I didn't need to hear about it from some 17-year-old kid.
05:34Apparently, the term was accidentally changed from Flow Capacitor to Flux Capacitor by Dwight Schultz,
05:40but regardless, the inclusion of a Flux Capacitor into the Star Trek Technobabble Dictionary
05:44is certainly welcome.
05:46Number 5, Mourn
05:47Deep Space Nine wouldn't be the same without everyone's favourite Lurian barfly, Mourn.
05:52Mourn was one of Quark's best customers, and can be seen at his bar in dozens of episodes.
05:58He was known for being a brilliant storyteller, a shoulder to cry on,
06:01and one of the most talkative creatures the crew had ever encountered.
06:05Throughout Deep Space Nine, many people aboard the station came to consider Mourn a close friend.
06:09You may not know that Mourn was actually based on the character Norm, who appeared at the bar in
06:14every episode of the television show Cheers. Both characters were heavy drinkers and the subjects
06:19of several running gags in their respective shows. Mourn's legacy lives on today through the numerous
06:24other Lurians we've seen in Star Trek Discovery. Mourn himself even returned to television in the
06:29Lower Decks episode Hear All Trust Nothing. It's great to know that after everything that's changed
06:34on the station, Quark still has his most loyal customer by his side.
06:37Number 4, Dungeons & Dragons
06:39Dungeons & Dragons, the hugely popular tabletop roleplaying game, was referenced in a really fun
06:45way in the Lower Decks episode The Least Dangerous Game.
06:48In the episode, Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford played a Klingon-themed roleplaying
06:53game called Batleths and Bainuks, where the goal was to die with as much honour as possible.
06:59The gameplay shared many similarities with Dungeons & Dragons. The game had figurines,
07:04multiple expansion packs and even a 20-sided dice. Tendi saying to herself,
07:08come on, natural 20 was also a nice touch. The game also featured a screen with interactable
07:14simulations of famous Klingons like Martok and Gowron, who would basically act as the
07:19dungeon master of the game by telling the story and introducing obstacles for the players to
07:23overcome. The interactable Klingons on the screen also seem to be a reference to Star Trek The
07:27Next Generation A Klingon Challenge, which was an interactable VHS board game that featured a video
07:33of a Klingon named Kavok, who would explain the game to players as they tried to stop him from
07:37taking the Enterprise-D to Kronos.
07:39Number 3, Star Wars
07:41Interestingly, R2-D2 popped up briefly in both the 2009 Star Trek film and Star Trek Into Darkness.
07:48In the 2009 film, he can be seen through the Enterprise's viewscreen after they warped to
07:53Vulcan, and in Into Darkness, he got sucked into space along with several crew members when the
07:58Enterprise suffered a devastating hull breach. While these appearances were obviously just
08:02little easter eggs that hardly anyone noticed, it's much more fun to take it overly seriously,
08:07and pretend like this proves that R2-D2 travel through a wormhole from a galaxy far, far away
08:12to be in these films.
08:14So there you have it, Star Wars is officially canon to Star Trek. And it's not just the
08:18alternate timeline either, because the Millennium Falcon can actually be seen during the battle
08:23with the Borg in Star Trek First Contact. All this time we've been arguing over whether
08:28Star Trek or Star Wars was better, but we failed to realise that they were in the same universe
08:33all along.
08:34Number 2, Doctor Who
08:36Here at WhatCulture, we're huge fans of both Star Trek and Doctor Who, so we love when the
08:41two franchises reference each other. Doctor Who is a lot more direct with its references. Star Trek
08:46has actually been mentioned by name on multiple occasions, like when Joy asked if a member of
08:51The Silence was wearing a Star Trek mask in the episode The Impossible Astronaut. Trek, by comparison,
08:56has been a bit more discreet. This reference was removed from the Blu-ray remaster of The Next Generation,
09:02but in the original version of The Neutral Zone, the graphic of Claire Raymond's family history
09:07included several names of actors who have played the Doctor. William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton,
09:13John Pertwee, Tom Baker and Peter Davison, which was spelt incorrectly by the way, and Colin Baker.
09:19They all appeared as part of the family tree. Also in The Naked Now, Riker asked for a sonic
09:25driver to open a force field, which seems to be a clear reference to the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.
09:30The Doctor has encountered the Federation in comic books, but we would love to see this happen on screen.
09:36Both franchises have already shown that interdimensional travel is possible,
09:40so maybe we'll get a full crossover episode one day, but it's probably a pipe dream.
09:45But I will take this opportunity to direct you towards our sister channel,
09:49Who Culture, if Doctor Who is also something that you are interested in.
09:52Number 1. Shakespeare.
09:54It's well known that Picard was a massive Shakespeare fan. When Q visited the Cerritos in the Lower Decks
10:00episode Veritas, he even complained about Picard, saying that he's no fun, he's always quoting
10:05Shakespeare, he's always making wine. Q wasn't wrong. In the very first Next Generation episode
10:11encounter at Farpoint, he quoted Kill All the Lawyers line from Henry VI Part II. Then in the episode
10:18Menage a Troy, he recited several lines from Shakespeare's sonnets and Othello in order to
10:23save Lwaxana Troy from Damon Tog. This habit continued into Star Trek Picard, with Jean-Luc quoting,
10:29No legacy is as rich as honesty, from all's world that ends well to his dog number one.
10:34We can see in the Next Generation episode Hide and Q that Picard kept a copy of Shakespeare's
10:39complete works in his ready room, and the Enterprise D often held live performances of Shakespearean plays,
10:45so it's safe to say that the playwright was a major inspiration to the captain.
10:50And that concludes our list. If you think we missed any, then please do let us know in the
10:54comments below, and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe, and tap that
10:58notification bell so you never miss a Trek Culture video ever again. Also head over to Twitter and
11:03Instagram and follow us over there as well, and I can be found across various social medias just by
11:07searching Ellie Littlechild. I've been Ellie with Trek Culture, I hope you have a wonderful day,
11:12and remember, to boldly go where no one has gone before.
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