Modern Star Trek's 10 Greatest Classic Era Easter Eggs

One of the most fun things about the Paramount+ era of Star Trek are all the references to older shows hidden in plain sight. In almost 60 years of Star Trek history, countless fascinating details and elements have been added to the Star Trek timeline. Whether it is the ever-present self-sealing stem bolts from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or Captain Jean-Luc Picard's (Patrick Stewart) inescapable facepalm meme from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek has some of the best long-running jokes in television history.

But what really makes the Easter eggs in Star Trek on Paramount+'s shows so exciting is the fact that they demonstrate how much love there is for classic Star Trek among current Star Trek creators. Every hidden Star Trek reference in Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, or any other Star Trek show on Paramount+ and Netflix is a game that the creative team plays with audiences. There are countless little references to Star Trek shows from days gone by, and every one of them is worth celebrating in its own right.

10All Of 90's Trek Appeared In Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 7

One of the subtlest Easter eggs in Star Trek: Discovery comes in the season 2 episode, "Light and Shadows." Right around the episode's 11-minute mark, you can get a clear view of the control panel of the shuttlecraft being piloted by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and Lieutenant Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif). Although the control console for the shuttlecraft would be destroyed later in the episode, there is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Easter Egg when it is shown on screen.

In this quick closeup on the console, the labels “TNG,” “DS9,” “VOY,” and “ENT” are all briefly visible. These four labels are the acronyms for the four Star Trek shows produced in the 90s: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. It is only a brief shot, but it is an undeniably fun nod to the most beloved era of Star Trek.

9The Names Of Troi & Riker's Children

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek: Picard officially introduced the children of Captain William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Commander Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Although their oldest child, Thaddeus Troi-Riker, tragically died young, their daughter, Kestra Troi-Riker (Lulu Wilson) was still alive and well the last time she appeared in Star Trek: Picard. While seeing the Troi-Riker children is inherently interesting, there is more going on than meets the eye.

Both Thad and Kestra are named after little-known ancestors of their parents. The original Thaddeus Riker was a Civil War soldier, whose existence was only revealed in the Star Trek: Voyager season 2 episode, "Death Wish." Similarly, the original Kestra Troi was the deceased older sister of Deanna Troi, and she only appeared in the TNG episode, "Dark Page." While the names may be deep cuts for Star Trek fans, it makes sense that the Troi-Rikers would name their children after deceased family members.

8Classic Star Trek Businesses Are Alive And Well In The 25th Century

Star Trek: Picard Season 1, Episode 5

While Star Trek: Picard season 1 episode, "Stardust City Rag," is probably best known for showing the tragic death of Seven of Nine's (Jeri Taylor) surrogate son, Icheb's (Manu Intiraymi & Casey King), death, it also contains some excellent Star Trek references. When Admiral Picard, Seven of Nine, and the rest of their motley crew arrive in Stardust City on Freecloud, a shot of a city street reveals that businesses from several classic Star Trek shows are still thriving decades later.

Mr. Mot (Ken Thorley), the barber from TNG, appears to have opened more hair salons after the Enterprise. And "Stardust City Rag" revealed that Quark (Armin Shimerman), the Ferengi bartender from DS9, has properly franchised his space station bar. Eventually, Star Trek: Lower Decks went on to confirm Quark's business success, but the only place to definitively find a Mot's is in Stardust City.

7Star Trek: Discovery Calls Out A Game Played On Voyager

Star Trek: Discovery Season 2, Episode 9

Because the USS Voyager was stranded so far away from Federation space, it is somewhat unsurprising that, eventually, a child was born on the ship. Naomi Wildman (Scarlett Pomers) was born in Star Trek: Voyager season 2, and, as she grew up on the ship, Naomi Wildman developed a love for a game called "kadis-kot." Since Seven of Nine was the primary person that Naomi played kadis-kot with, it seemed like the game would stay in the Delta Quadrant after Voyager ended.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Lt. Commander Airiam (Sara Mitich & Hannah Cheesman) revealed that the game was well known in the Alpha Quadrant decades before Star Trek: Voyager. Lt. Commander Airiam recalls an encounter where Lt. Commander Keyla Detmer (Emily Coutts) said that she no longer plays kadis-kot with Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) or Airiam because they have memorized every possible gambit.

6Captain Pike Wore A Classic Green Starfleet Uniform Before Kirk

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 5

From its very title, the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1 episode, "Spock Amok," was always going to be a love letter to Star Trek: The Original Series. The title is a clear reference to the TOS season 2 episode, "Amok Time," which first introduced the concept of the pon farr, and "Spock Amok" similarly explores Lt. Spock's (Ethan Peck) relationship with his fiancée, T'Pring (Gia Sandhu).

Another fun callback to Star Trek: The Original Series in "Spock Amok" is how Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) frequently wears a green tunic unlike anything shown in any other Star Trek series. In a nod to Captain Kirk's iconic sense of style, Captain Pike wears a green uniform tunic himself.

5Captain Pike Visits A Klingon Monastery 100 Years Before Worf

Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, Episode 12

Captain Pike's trip to the Klingon monastery on Boreth was one of the most impactful events of Star Trek: Discovery season 2. The time crystals Captain Pike encountered there showed him his future disfigurement, and that revelation has haunted him throughout Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Captain Pike's journey to Boreth established a firm connection between Star Trek: Discovery, Strange New Worlds, and Star Trek: The Original Series.

But there was one more, less obvious connection. Decades after Captain Pike's eventful trip to the Klingon monastery, Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) would travel to Boreth in the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6 episode "Rightful Heir." The writers for Discovery could have written any Klingon monastery as the location of Klingon time crystals, but by making it Boreth in particular, the creative team for Star Trek: Discovery included a clever nod to TNG.

4Star Trek: Picard's Soji Has A Deep Cut Voyager Callback

Star Trek: Picard Season 1, Episode 6

In Star Trek: Picard season 1's "The Impossible Box," Soji Asha (Isa Briones) learns that her childhood memories were implanted as part of her android programming. The impossible box in question is the lunchbox which holds fabricated mementos of Soji's youth. While the contents of the lunchbox are very important to Soji's storyline, the design on the box is interesting in and of itself. Soji has an "Adventures of Flotter" lunchbox, referencing a holoprogram from Star Trek: Voyager.

"The Adventures of Flotter" is a holoprogram beloved by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Ensign Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), Lt. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), and, of course, Naomi Wildman. Since "The Adventures of Flotter" was apparently a popular program, it makes a lot of sense that it would feature in Soji's childhood memories. Still, the design on the top of the lunchbox is only visible for a few frames, so catching this Easter egg always feels like a real accomplishment.

3Captain Pike And Captain Picard Kept Saddles On Their Enterprise

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 7

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' series premiere established that Captain Christopher Pike loves riding horses. Indeed, he quite literally rides his horse through the snow to meet a landing shuttle. It shouldn't be too surprising, then, that Captain Pike keeps a saddle in his USS Enterprise ready room. In Strange New Worlds' iconic crossover episode "Those Old Scientists," Ensign Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) got so excited by the saddle that he hopped right on it.

A saddle is more than just Captain Pike's memento, it's also a clever nod to a hobby Captain Pike shares with Captain Picard. In Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Starship Mine," Captain Picard explained, "A saddle is a very personal thing. It has to be broken in, used, cared for." In Star Trek Generations, Captain Picard and Captain Kirk bonded by riding horses together. Captain Pike's saddle turns out to be a cheeky reference to a long-standing tradition among Captains of the Enterprise.

2Star Trek: Picard Returns To A Classic Original Series Location

Star Trek: Picard Season 1, Episodes 2 and 3

For two episodes of Star Trek: Picard, Admiral Picard visits Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) at her home in Vasquez Rocks in California. And that's not just speculation based on filming locations - the location is flashed on the bottom left of the screen. Vasquez Rocks is an iconic setting for Star Trek. It’s the real-life filming location for Captain Kirk's fight with the Gorn, it’s Mintaka III in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and it’s Tarok in Star Trek: Voyager. Vasquez Rocks is a piece of Star Trek history, and it absolutely deserved to appear as itself in Picard.

1Star Trek: Lower Decks Reveals What Dax's Mystery Lover On DS9 Looks Like

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 3

In Star Trek: Lower Decks' season 5 episode, "The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel," Mike McMahan's animated comedy finally reveals what a Gallamite looks like. Throughout Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax's (Terry Farrell) relationship with the unseen Gallamite, Captain Boday, is a running joke, and Galamites were described as having transparent skulls and notably toothy smiles.

Star Trek: Lower Decks finally put an image to that description, but it kept it as a cheeky Easter Egg by only showing a pair of Gallamites as unnamed background characters. Watching Lower Decks feels like reading a love letter to long-term fans of Star Trek. All of the classic Star Trek Easter eggs hidden in new shows prove just how much the creative teams care in the Paramount+ era of Trek.