For four years, the biggest Star Trek alien villain crossover has been gradually happening on Star Trek: Lower Decks, but in the animated comedy's opening credits. Created by Mike McMahan, Star Trek: Lower Decks is set in the late 24th century of Star Trek: The Next Generation's era. This means everything Star Trek up to that point, from Star Trek: Enterprise, to Star Trek: The Original Series, TNG, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and the first 10 Star Trek movies are ripe for homage or parody. And this includes the numerous aliens Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets have faced.
Star Trek: Lower Decks' opening credits evolve throughout the show's five seasons. Set to the majestic score by Chris Westlake, Star Trek: Lower Decks' titles showcase the USS Cerritos and its misadventures warping around the galaxy. After the names of the four main Star Trek: Lower Decks cast members, Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noël Wells, and Eugene Cordero, the Cerritos runs into a region of space where Starfleet's enemy aliens are fighting each other. As a California Class support ship, the Cerritos wisely turns tail and runs away. With each season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, more and more aliens show up for the big fight in the opening credits. Here are all 10 aliens involved in Star Trek: Lower Decks' main titles showdown.
5 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1
The Borg and the Romulans
The Borg. Logically, the USS Cerritos hits the bricks in Star Trek: Lower Decks' opening credits at the sight of several Borg Cubes fighting Romulan Warbirds. The Borg Collective are the most fearsome threat to the United Federation of Planets - and the entire galaxy - in the late 24th century. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' timeframe, the Borg are at their mightiest. Led by the malevolent Borg Queen (Alice Krige, Susanna Thompson), the Borg have attacked the Federation multiple times, although they have always been defeated, primarily by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-D and E.
The Romulans. Battling it out with the Borg are several Warbirds belonging to the Romulan Star Empire. One of the Federation's oldest foes, the Romulans are a secretive and insidious military society. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' time frame, the Romulans have just become aware their sun will go supernova. However, they're steadfast enemies of the Federation during Lower Decks. Interestingly, Star Trek: Lower Decks premiered on Paramount+ in 2020 after Star Trek: Picard, and the sight of Romulans fighting the Borg can be seen as a nod to how the Romulans acquired a derelict Borg Cube and turned it into the Artifact, a Borg Reclamation site, in Star Trek: Picard season 1.
4 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2
Pakleds and the Klingons
The Pakleds. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2's opening credits, Pakleds Clump ships and Klingon Birds-of-Prey join the big fight between the Borg and the Romulans. The Pakleds may be the dumbest of the alien foes introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Pakleds returned in Star Trek: Lower Decks, and they were still imbeciles, but they were also dangerous. The Pakleds nearly destroyed the USS Cerritos, and they framed Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) for blowing up Pakled Planet.
The Klingon Empire are allies of the Federation.
The Klingons. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' late 24th century, the Klingon Empire are allies of the Federation, and they fought and won Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Dominion War together. The Klingons are led by Chancellor Gowron (J.G. Hertzler), who became leader of the Empire at the end of DS9. Klingons and Starfleet may be on friendly political terms, but the warrior race generally frowns upon humans, and many Starfleet Officers don't enjoy being around Klingons either. But if it's a good day to die, Klingons will do so besides Starfleet if honor demands it.
3 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3
The Crystalline Entity
The Crystalline Entity. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 3's opening credits, the overwhelming power of the Borg meets its match in the Crystalline Entity, which joins the fray with the Borg, Romulans, Pakleds, and Klingons. Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, the Crystalline Entity is a massive, snowflake-shaped organism with the power to wipe out all life on a planet. The first Crystalline Entity was destroyed by the USS Enterprise-D after it was responsible for thousands of deaths. However, Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 6, "I, Excretus," revealed that there are multiple Crystalline Entities in the galaxy.
The Crystalline Entity remains a popular alien life form with TNG fans.
The original Crystaline Entity first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1's "Datalore," when a reactivated Lore (Brent Spiner) tried to feed the crew of the USS Enterprise-D to the Entity. The Crystalline Entity fled after this initial encounter with the Enterprise, but it returned in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5's "Silicon Avatar." After wiping out a Federation colony on Melona IV, the Enterprise-D attemped to communicate with the Crystalline Entity but it was destroyed by the resonance from graviton emissions. Still, the Crystalline Entity remains a popular alien life form with TNG fans.
2 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4
The Whale Probe and the Breen
The Whale Probe. In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4's opening credits, the Whale Probe and the Breen join the growing alien conflagration the USS Cerritos flees from. Introduced in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the Whale Probe is an unexplained extraterrestrial entity that nearly destroyed Earth as it searched for humpback whales. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the former crew of the USS Enterprise time-traveled to 1986 San Francisco and brought two humpback whales back to the future. After communicating with the whales, the Probe was satisfied and retreated.
The Breen. First seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (although previously mentioned in Star Trek: The Next Generation), the Breen Conferacy are mysterious aliens never seen without their helmets and refigeration suits. The Breen allied with the Dominion and nearly conquered the Federation during the Dominion War. The Breen made a cameo in Star Trek: Lower Decks, but Star Trek: Discovery revealed more about the renamed Breen Imperium in the 32nd century by introducing L'ak (Elias Toufexis), the Breen Scion and the first of the Breen to be seen without his helmet.
1 Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5
Tholians, Apollo's Hand, and V’Ger
The Tholians. In Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth and final season on Paramount+, the opening credits' alien fight turns into an all-out brawl as three more villains join the conflagration: the Tholians, the hand of Apollo (Michael Forest), and V'Ger. The Tholians are an insect-like crystalline race who first appeared in Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Tholian Web." Tholians are known for their tactic of creating an energy net spun by their starships. First Contact between Tholians and United Earth occurred in Star Trek: Enterprise, but Tholians are often mentioned yet rarely seen in Star Trek.
Apollo's Hand. The Borg Cube in Star Trek: Lower Decks' opening credits is grasped by the unforgettable green hand of Apollo. Apollo used his giant green hand to trap the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2's "Who Mourns for Adonais," which revealed an alien being claiming to be the Greek demigod Apollo living on the planet Pollux IV. According to Apollo, he and the Greek pantheon where explorers who visited Earth 5000 years earlier. Although Apollo later claimed he was born on Earth to Zeus and the mortal woman Leto. After Captain Kirk and the Enterprise destroyed Apollo's power source, the so-called Greek god turned himself into energy and vanished.
V'Ger journeyed home to Earth seeking its creator.
V'Ger. Last but not least, V'Ger makes a startling appearance as the final alien villain in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's opening credits. Introduced in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, V'Ger appeared to be a vast energy cloud of enormous destructive power heading toward Earth. Intercepted by the USS Enterprise commanded by Admiral Kirk, V'Ger was revealed to be a massive sentient starship that was originally the Earth space probe Voyager 6. Rebuilt by living machines, V'Ger journeyed home to Earth seeking its creator. V'Ger combined with Commander Will Decker (Stephen Collins) and Lt. Ilia (Persis Khambatta) and ascended into another state of being. But in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5's opening credits, V'Ger is back and tips the scales in the big alien brawl the USS Cerritos warps away from.
