Warning: SPOILERS For Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 contains numerous references to and inspirations from classic episodes of Star Trek that are worth revisiting for fans. Strange New Worlds season 3’s genre-bending episodes are rooted in the language of Star Trek of the past.
Although Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is set in the 23rd century and is a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, the show’s writers and producers are fans themselves who drew ideas from episodes of TOS, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and even Star Trek: Enterprise.
Some Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 episodes were designed to directly set up their counterparts in Star Trek: The Original Series, while others evoke classic moments, themes, and formulas from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Fire up your Paramount+ app and explore the direct influences and ties to classic Star Trek episodes in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – “The Best Of Both Worlds”
Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s classic Borg two-parter, “The Best of Both Worlds,” is an inspiration to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ season 2 finale and season 3 premiere, “Hegemony.” Both ended with nail-biting cliffhangers, although TNG fans didn’t have to wait 2 years for the conclusion like Strange New Worlds viewers.
“Hegemony Part 2’s” solution to the USS Enterprise’s crisis against the Gorn was to find a way to force the alien reptiles into hibernation, preventing an attack on the United Federation of Planets. This echoes how Loctus (Patrick Stewart) revealed how to make the Borg “sleep” to stop their conquest of the Federation.
Star Trek: The Original Series – “The Squire of Gothos”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 2, “Wedding Bell Blues” is a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series season 1’s “The Squire of Gothos.”
“Wedding Bell Blues” introduces Trelane (Rhys Darby) years before he returns in TOS, where the cosmic trickster is played by WIlliam Campbell.
Another ode to classic Star Trek is the voice appearance of John de Lancie as Q, Trelane’s father, which establishes Trelane as a part of the Q Continuum. Q also had a son, Q Junior (Keegan de Lancie), in Star Trek: Voyager season 7’s episode, “Q2”.
Star Trek: Enterprise – “Impulse”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 3, “Shuttle to Kenfori” sees Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount), Dr. Joseph M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun), and a Klingon warrior named Bytha (Christine Horn) fight Klingon zombies.
“Shuttle to Kenforoi” nods to Star Trek: Enterprise season 3, episode 5, “Impulse,” when a rescue mission of aboard a Vulcan vessel by the crew of the NX-01 Enterprise led to a frightening encounter with Vulcan zombies. Even T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) is nearly transformed into a zombie.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – “Elementary, Dear Data”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 4, “A Space Adventure Hour” is a retcon, becoming the first official holodeck episode in Star Trek‘s timeline, as Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) solves a holodeck murder mystery.
“A Space Adventure Hour” is inspired by countless Star Trek holodeck episodes, and one of the most significant is Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2’s “Elementary, Dear Data,” which introduced the villainous Professor James Moriarty (Daniel Davis).
La’an’s command for the holodeck to create a mystery that would test her skills as an investigator is similar to TNG‘s order for the holodeck to create an opponent to defeat Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), with a hologram of Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) becoming La’an’s foil.
Star Trek: The Original Series – “What Little Girls Are Made Of?”
Nurse Christine Chapel’s (Jess Bush) beau, Dr. Roger Korby (Cillian O’Sullivan), makes multiple appearances in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3. Episode 5, “Through the Lens of Time,” and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3’s finale, “New Life and New Civilizations” hint at the darkness in Korby.
When Dr. Roger Korby (Michael Strong) returns in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1’s “What Are Little Girls Made Of?”, he is a full-fledged villain obsessed with his own immortality, becoming an android, and attempting to replace Captain James T. Kirk with his own mechanical doppelganger.
Star Trek: The Original Series – “Where No Man Has Gone Before”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 6, “The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail,” sees Lt. Commander James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) overcome his self-doubt to Captain the USS Farragut on a successful mission to rescue the Starship Enterprise.
Lt. Spock’s first-ever pep talk to Kirk took place in front of a 3D chess set, which then returns in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3’s finale after a mind-meld bonds Kirk and Spock as true friends who understand each other.
These crucial interactions between Kirk and Spock in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 give new context to their first appearance in Star Trek: The Original Series‘ second pilot episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” where Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) play 3D chess again.
Star Trek: The Original Series – “Space Seed”
Lieutenant La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) is one of four USS Enterprise crew members genetically altered into Vulcans in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 8, “Four-and-a-Half Vulcans.”
However, La’an’s newfound Vulcanity triggers her latent augment DNA, turning La’an into a devious warmonger like her genetically engineered ancestor, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban).
Both La’an and Khan even lay their hands on James T. Kirk.
La’an’s attempts to weaponize the USS Enterprise in order to provoke an intergalactic war echoes how Khan attempted to hijack the starship in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1’s “Space Seed.” Both La’an and Khan even lay their hands on James T. Kirk.
Star Trek: The Original Series – “Arena”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 9, “Terrarium,” when Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) is trapped on a planet with a Gorn, calls back to and sets up Star Trek: The Original Series season 1’s “Arena,” when Captain Kirk must battle a Gorn.
“Terrarium” and “Arena” both feature appearances by the powerful space gods, the Metron, who manipulate the Starfleet Officers and the Gorn in their experiments to see whether the two species can come to an understanding and co-exist.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – “Darmok”
Lt. Erica Oretgas’ ordeal with a Gorn pilot in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 9, “Terrarium,” calls back to Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 classic, “Darmok.”
Like Ortegas and the Gorn in “Terrarium,” Captain Jean-Luc Picard is marooned on a planet with a Tamarian captain named Dathon (Paul Winfield), and Picard must find a way to communicate and cooperate with Dathon.
Star Trek: The Next Generation – “The Inner Light”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3’s finale, “New Life and New Civilizations,” gives Captain Christopher Pike and Captain Marie Batel (Melanie Scrofano) a happy ending after a long life together in an alternate reality, before they both must part to pursue their separate destinies.
“New Life and New Civilizations” uses a similar formula to arguably Captain Picard’s greatest Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, “The Inner Light,” when Picard lives the life of Kamin, a man who existed on the planet Kataan and perished long ago.
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3’s finale, however, Captain Pike lived through a version of his own life with Batel so that they both got the happy ending they deserved before they are torn apart forever.
