Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 5 - "Starbase 80?!"Star Trek: Lower Decks just confirmed that Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: The Original Series' eras never went away, even though the animated comedy is set in the late 24th century of Star Trek: The Next Generation. In its fifth and final season on Paramount+, Star Trek: Lower Decks sees the USS Cerritos investigating rifts in space that are gateways to alternate Star Trek timelines. However, in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, episode 5, a navigational computer malfunction forces the Cerritos to dock at the dreaded Starbase 80 for repairs.
Although Star Trek: The Original Series began the nearly-60-year-old franchise, Star Trek: Enterprise was retconned as a prequel predating the five-year mission of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) by over a hundred years. Set in the mid-22nd century, Star Trek: Enterprise established that Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) was the first Captain of the Enterprise, commanding the heretofore unheard of NX-01. Archer's pioneering missions set the stage for key events such as the establishment of Starfleet's Prime Directive and the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
Enterprise & TOS Eras Continue In Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Starbase 80
Starbase 80 Is A Relic Of Starfleet's Past
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is marching toward the 25th century, but the 22nd century of Star Trek: Enterprise and the 23rd century of Star Trek: The Original Series are preserved in Starbase 80. The oldest and least desirable space station controlled by the Federation, Starbase 80 was built at some point in the 23rd century and hasn't had an upgrade of its systems since the mid-2260s. Hence. Starbase 80 was constructed sometime between Enterprise and TOS, and it's a storehouse of both eras' technology and paraphernalia.
Starbase 80's personnel like Commander Kassia Nox (Nicole Byer) and Chief Engineer Gene Jakobowski wear blue jumpsuits just like the cast of Star Trek: Enterprise, while Starbase 80 is infested with Pyrithian bats like the kind Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) kept in his NX-01 sickbay. Meanwhile, Starbase 80 itself is a relic from the 23rd century, with wall comminicators, turbo lifts that use twist handles, and a nearly identiical bridge to Captain Kirk's Constitution Class USS Enterprise. Starbase 80 is a dilapidated hodgepodge of Enterprise and TOS, but it's also retro cool as Kassia Nox says.
Why Star Trek Still Has Nostalgia For Star Trek’s Enterprise & TOS Eras
Starfleet's Past Inspires The Starfleet Heroes Of Today
Star Trek is constantly creating new series exploring different timelines, and even alternate realities, but as a shared universe, Star Trek: The Original Series remains the franchise's prime touchstone. Captain Kirk's show and movies created all of the core tropes of Star Trek, and everything that followed has been variations of Kirk's Starship Enterprise and its original five-year mission. This includes Star Trek: Enterprise. But Kirk and Archer now symbolize a bygone era of Star Trek that has grown even more inspirational and feeds nostalgia.
Starbase 80 is a throwback to that wilder era of Star Trek.
Star Trek: Voyager's Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) explained the appeal of the 23rd century when Kirk and his cohorts "were a different breed of Starfleet officer... They were a little slower to invoke the Prime Directive and a little quicker to pull their phasers."Captain Archer's crew were even rawer as they took their first steps journeying into a dangerous galaxy filled with enemies. Star Trek: Lower Decks' era is more complicated but also set in a more defined and ordered galaxty compared to what Kirk and Archer faced. Starbase 80 is a throwback to that wilder era of Star Trek.
