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In-Jokes
by Jörg
Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider
Prop and Display In-Jokes - Other Series/Movies in Star Trek - Star Trek in Other Series/Movies
Here is a collection of in-jokes that may or may not have been meant to be recognizable. We deliberately picked lesser known or newly discovered jokes and cross-overs with other franchises. Please take the following pictures with a grain of salt. It is not our intention to acknowledge them as canon and then discuss the inconsistencies away.
Old-style ships In "Star Trek (2009)" we can see at least two ships inside the Narada that don't belong there: the T'Plana Hath from "First Contact" and a TOS-style Romulan BoP.
T'Plana Hath and BoP in "Star Trek (2009)"
(screen capture by Ariane)
MSD in-jokes The in-jokes on the master systems display in the Enterprise-D main engineering are described as follows in the TNG trivia list: "In the saucer section, right above the Captain's Yacht, there is a duck. A half inch to the left and a little bit down, there is a mouse. Slightly to the right of the mouse, there is a 'Slippery When Wet' sign. In the shuttle bay, there are three big shuttles, two small shuttles, and a Porsche. To the right of the duck, about one inch, there is a DC-3 cargo aircraft, and, in that same rectangle, there is a symbol of a woman and a child (the symbol for Canada's 'Family' rating for movies). Also, right under the warp pylons, there is a registered trademark symbol. In addition, there is an image of NOMAD on it's side, center of the saucer section, forward." On a reproduction of the MSD we can identify (saucer section left to right): the Porsche, the mouse, the "Slippery When Wet" sign, the duck, the still uncertain "family sign", the DC-3 and Nomad from TOS: "The Changeling".
 Enterprise-D MSD in-jokes (based on Gilso's Star Trek Schematics) |
 Well masked in-jokes in TNG: "The Mind's Eye" (screen capture by Jörg) |
All these in-jokes were not intended to be identifiable on screen. Therefore they were usually masked whenever the display was shown up close -- with a few exceptions. In TNG: "The Mind's Eye" the masking is successful. Except for the supposed "family" sign everything that does not belong on the MSD is covered. In TNG: "Brothers" we can clearly recognize the paper sheets that were used for masking, since they are dull unlike the otherwise glossy surface of the MSD screen. Also, Nomad is still visible here. In TNG: "Galaxy's Child", finally, all in-jokes can be seen.
 Masked in-jokes in TNG: "Brothers" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Unmasked in-jokes in TNG: "Galaxy's Child" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Ear piece Uhura's ear piece reappears after 35 years in a completely different role. Four of them serve as parts of a forcefield generator in ENT: "The Crossing".
 Uhura's comm device in TOS: "Balance of Terror" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Forcefield generator in ENT: "The Crossing" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Saucer An Enterprise-E saucer can be seen amongst the wreckage of the Borg sphere in ENT: "Regeneration", a cue to "First Contact". It is probably the same saucer miniature that was filmed in "Nemesis" for the crash with the Scimitar.
Enterprise-E saucer in ENT: "Regeneration"
(screen capture by Robert
Heckadon)
imperial_guard_player tells us: "I am currently studying visual effects at the Academy of Art in San Francisco and I have had the opportunity to get up close and personal with some props used by Industrial Light and Magic. The model used for the Nemesis crash sequence sustained some nasty damage. In Nemesis when the Scimitar reverses thrust and pulls away from the Enterprise you can see the frontal arc of the Enterprise's saucer has been shredded. This damage was apparent on the model itself.
To create the ramming effect for Nemesis the two models were suspended upside down and rammed into each other in real time at roughly 12-15 miles per hour and filmed with a high speed camera. The film was then rotated 90 degrees and slowed down so that it appears that the debris from the impact is 'falling up' in the zero g environment of outer space.
As far as the saucer seen in 'Regeneration' I would not at all be surprised if a new, fresh model was fashioned. The detail seen on that saucer portion is not very heavy (obscured by atmospheric special effects), as such, I could see it being entirely possible that a new model was fashioned specifically for these shots."
Big balls While most of the text on Henry Starling's computer display makes sense, two groups of round structures of unknown function are just labeled as "big blue/gray balls".
"Big balls" on two displays in VOY: "Future's End"
(screen capture by Jörg)
The Great Bird As a tip of the hat to Gene Roddenberry's nickname "Great Bird of the Galaxy", a computer display in TNG: "The Naked Now" shows the image of a parrot with Roddenberry's head on it.
Great Bird in TNG: "The Naked Now"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Latent images It was impossible to notice before the DVD came out, but in VOY: "Latent Image" the reflections inside the Doctor's holocamera are composed of a multiplied and rotated image of Ahni Jetal, the young ensign who died after an alien attack, causing a trauma in the Doctor. This well-concealed in-joke is a literal interpretation of the episode name! Her image appears in the same fashion in VOY: "Life Line". On another occasion, in VOY: "Drive", the lens is subdivided into seemingly irregular pixels which have the shape of the convoluted swans in the famous drawing of MC Escher.
 Ahni Jetal's reflections in VOY: "Latent Image" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Escher's swans in the lens in VOY: "Drive" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Tomorrow on HBO The engineering protocol shown in TNG: "Galaxy's Child" has an odd last point: "Tonight on HBO". How does this get along with Data's statement from TNG: "The Neutral Zone" that television as a form of entertainment vanished after 2040?
Engineering log in TNG: "Galaxy's Child"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Strange ingredient In DS9: "Rivals" Quark brews a cocktail for Bashir. When Bashir examines the ingredients, he finds out that it contains a sedative. On the top of the list, however, we find "Dilithium flavoring extract oz. 435".
Ingredients of Quark's drink in DS9: "Rivals"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Hands on the Sun The symbol used by the mental hospitals on Tantalus V and Elba II in TOS, consisting of a hand, a dove and a sun, appears in slightly rearranged form, without the dove, on the Bajoran festival in DS9: "Fascination". The similarity is either a homage or a nice coincidence.
"Hands and Sun" emblem in TOS and DS9: "Fascination"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Here be aliens! In DS9: "Behind the Lines" Rom attempts to access a "restricted area" named "A51". Area 51?
Area 51 in DS9: "Behind the Lines"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Assay this list! A list of the station's assay office shown in DS9: "A Simple Investigation" is rife with utterly nonsensical names if we look too closely. It reads: "Define Having, Deflate Release, Deo Thermometric, Elbow Grease, Either Oneorother, Fiscal Vertebrate, Cold Fusion, Hydro Carbon, Hungry Weakness, Lachrymose, Itramural Gary(?), Lactic Acid, Lourenco Marques, Love Seat, Masora, Mass Commun, Chiefly Moulding, Molly Coodle, Nilo Saharan, Nimrod, Pusan Korea, Jerry Maguire, Rhyme Orreason, Olivia Eaves, Alicia Eaves, Sister Hood, Synchro Nized, Treble Clef, Tauvid Rem".
Assay office list in DS9: "A Simple Investigation"
(screen capture by Jörg)
The Dixon Hill universe The pages of the "Dixon Hill" story as seen in TNG: "The Big Goodbye" are full of illustrations of TOS and movie characters. All of these pictures are (more or less accurate) drawings from the FASA role playing source book The Federation. Some of the unlabeled pictures are from the same book but don't depict characters of the canon Trek Universe.
 Dixon Hill story, part 1 (inverted) (image by Jörg and Bernd) |
 Dixon Hill story, part 2 (inverted) (image by Jörg and Bernd) |
Weird chemistry In a list of chemicals in TNG: "Night Terrors" with otherwise "serious" sounding technobabble many of the names have been taken from members of the TNG production staff at that time.
 Substances, part 1 in TNG: "Night Terrors" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Substances, part 2 in TNG: "Night Terrors" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Substances, part 3 in TNG: "Night Terrors" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Substances, part 4 in TNG: "Night Terrors" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Substances, part 5 in TNG: "Night Terrors" (screen capture by Jörg) |
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Here is a transcript of the screen caps (compiled by Paul Eisner) and our ideas to whom the names refer:
34-8788 Hoffmeisterite compound 238
Oxidizing explosive used to bind free oxygen in a confined space for emergency firefighting applications. Also used to provide oxygen-free environments for industrial processes.
Edward Hoffmeister, visual effects assistant34-8351 Hutzelite 27
Plutonium derivative treated to minimize toxicity for humanoid life forms. Used for radioisotope source and certain biomedical and therapeutic applications.
Gary Hutzel, visual effects coordinator
34-8873 Clancium oxide
Medium-yield explosive used for high-volume heat generation in emergency
situations. This compound is preferred to conventional sarium krellide
explosives because of superior thermal dispersion characteristics in low-pressure atmospheres.
Pat Clancy, visual effects compositor
34-3488 Ultritium 283
Industrial chemical explosive used in mining applications intended for
precision-charge patterns using standard microwave pulse ignition devices.
34-8348 Ultritium 342
High-yield version of standard industrial ultritium, used in
terraforming applications. Activated with microwave pulse ignition devices.
Intended for use when nuclear explosives are not desirable.
34-8048 Mooride polyronite 4
Slow-burning chemical explosive used for controlled pressure wave ignition of
small-scale fusion reactions. Stored in inert liquid form, activated by laser
detonator.
Ronald D. Moore, producer, and Ronald B. Moore, visual effects supervisor:
Why both of them? "Poly-Ron-ite"!
34-8043 Moyerite
Semi-solid propellant used in ullage thruster devices and emergency jettison
thrusters. Characteristics include an shelf life in excess of 10 standard
years without significant deterioration
of performance.
Peter Moyer,
visual effects editor
34-0388 Takemurium lite
High-yield reactant used for emergency ignition of microfusion devices.
Manufactured in 2.7kg slugs for use in Type VI reactors.
David Takemura, visual effects coordinator
34-8430 Neussite 283
Highly stable liquid explosive used for industrial infusion charge
applications and manufacturing. Ignited by microwave pulse detonator.
Wendy Neuss, co-producer
34-5832 Todotracium
Controllable medium-yield propellant used in small solid rocket motor devices
and emergency disconnect explosive bolts.
34-8834 Blitmanite
Magnesium-based fuel used in remote spectroscopy vaporization devices.
Provided in 0.2kg charges for use in long-range impact probes.
Leslie Blitman, recruited Mike Okuda in 1977 to join the Honolulu Science Fiction Society
34-5580 Tri-nickolas powder
Non-oxydizing chemical explosive used in class-N(2) planetary environments for
engineering applications. This substance is unstable in oxygen atmospheres and
must be handled in accordance with SFRA 2884 3 safety regulations.
This sounds like it refers to three people, all named Nick or Nicholas. But
no one in a prominent position behind the scenes was named Nick when the
episode was produced.
34-8430 Antimatter
(Antideuterium)
Quantum-charge reversed form of deuterium, used as principal fuel source for
ship's warp propulsion system. Due to highly volatile nature, antimatter must
be stored in magnetic confinement pods per SFRA 3207 0.
34-8083 Bio-Genovesium
Energetic carbon-based biological reactant, used for in the bio-neutralization
of organic waste products prior to electrolytic fractioning and recycling.
Stored in liquid form.
Cosmo Genovese, script supervisor
34-4077 Hydrogen
Stored in the form of deuterium, used as principal reactant for warp
propulsion system, and as principal fuel source for the impulse propulsion
system and auxiliary fusion reactors.
Calendenium (or:
Kalendenium)
This one is somewhat speculative because it is not shown on the LCARS
screen, but only mentioned (by Data). It sounded like "Callendennium"
though. With single-"l" and/or single-"n"
in the words, the sound of the names would differ too much from the way Data
spoke them. Description given in the episode: Element which is extremely
volatile when combined with hydrogen.
Other Series/Movies in Star Trek
Illustrious family tree In TNG: "The Neutral Zone Deanna Troi sifts through Claire Raymond's family tree to find relatives of the woman who had been frozen since the late 20th century (actually the display claims she died as late as 2035 as opposed to the spoken dialogue). Claire Raymond learns that her two sons were married to "Ginger Grant" and "Maryann Summers" from "Gilligan's Island". Her four grandchildren were named "Jonathan Frakes Raymond", "Denise P. Raymond", "LeVar Burton Raymond" and "Cheryl Gates Raymond". Their spouses were "Brent Spiner Raymond", "Marina Sirtis Raymond" and "Wil Wesley Raymond". The next generation has "Charles E. Winchester", "Sherman T. Potter", "Francis J. Mulcahey", "Margaret Houlihan", "Walter O'Reilly" "Kelleye Nakahara" - all characters from "M*A*S*H". In the fifth generation we can make out "William Hartnell", "Patrick Troughton", "Jon Pertwee", "Tom Baker", "Peter Davison", "Colin Baker" - all of whom played the Doctor in "Doctor Who". In addition, we find "Mary Richards" und "Louis Grant" in this generation, from "Mary Tyler Moore". The following two generations are almost illegible owing to the smaller font size, but eagle eyes may make out Kermit T. Frog and Miss Piggy.
 Family tree, part 1 in TNG: "The Neutral Zone" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Family tree, part 2 in TNG: "The Neutral Zone" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Family tree, part 3 in TNG: "The Neutral Zone" (screen capture by Jörg) |
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Kira's Island It is barely recognizable, but the label on a monitor in DS9 reads: "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship."
Monitor with "Gilligan's Island" intro
(screen capture by Jörg)
Logan keeps running The Sandmen Headquarters from the science fiction movie "Logan's Run" (1976) appears on two occasions in Star Trek, in TNG: "Final Mission" and "Tapestry". A portion of the cityscape with is characteristic pyramids appears on the Enterprise's viewscreen, behind Admiral Bennett, in "Star Trek V".
 Sandmen HQ, model, in "Logan's Run" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Building on Gamelan V in TNG: "Final Mission" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Starbase Earhart in TNG: "Tapestry" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Cityscape in "Star Trek V" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Re-Used Planet Sets - Buildings from
"Logan's Run"
Found in Space The lamp-like device on the ceiling of the (fake) Romulan holodeck in TNG: "Future Imperfect" is a replica of the spacecraft Jupiter II from "Lost in Space", according to Ed Miarecki (see at Ed Miarecki's site). Also, the Jupiter II purportedly appears in the form of a chessman in TNG: "Unnatural Selection" (reported at Timecon '89). It is not really verifiable on the screen capture. But the chessman in TNG: "Conundrum" clearly based on the robot B-9, also from "Lost in Space", confirms that the first one is meant to be the Jupiter II.
 Jupiter II in two episodes (screen capture by Jörg) |
 B-9 in TNG: "Conundrum" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Use the Force! In TNG: "Sub Rosa" we can make out the grave of a Mr. or Mrs. Vader, next to that of a certain McFly (or one of his time-traveling incarnations). The criminal Ibudan from DS9 has listed the departure from a spaceport called Alderaan in his schedule.
 Vader's and McFly's tombs in TNG: "Sub Rosa" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Ibudan's schedule in DS9: "A Man Alone" (screen capture by Jörg) |
That's no moon, it's too angular In "Star Trek First Contact" one of the Federation vessels fighting against the Borg cube is actually a Millenium Falcon, as was confirmed by the ILM VFX artist.
Millenium Falcon in "Star Trek First Contact"
(screen capture by Jochen)
R2-D2 in "Star Trek (2009)"
(screen capture by Ariane)
Odo dreams of Jeannie? In DS9: "A Simple Investigation" we can see the same type of bottle that we know from "I Dream of Jeannie".
Jeannie's bottle in DS9: "A Simple Investigation"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Death Wing The casualty list from VOY: "Imperfection" has three "real" casualties listed, namely those of Marie Kaplan, Lyndsay Ballard and Timothy Lang who all died in the course of the series. The rest of the names seem to have been taken from "West Wing" characters!
Casualty list in VOY: "Imperfection"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Horizon Events Some of the frightening dream images from VOY: "Random Thoughts" were originally filmed for "Event Horizon".
Footage from "Event Horizon" in VOY: "Random Thoughts"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Look Who's Watching On the more light-hearted side, VOY: "Someone to Watch Over Me" shows us shots of a human ovum from "Look Who's Talking".
Ovum from "Look Who's Talking" in VOY: "Someone to Watch Over Me"
(screen capture by Jörg)
Star Trek in Other Series/Movies
Battlestar Galactica We can see a vessel with suspiciously long jump drives as a part of the ragtag fleet. And in the 4th season episode "The Ties That Bind" the pivotal scene in which Cally learns that her husband, Chief Tyrol, is a Cylon, takes place in "Weapons Locker 1701D".
 Enterprise in "Battlestar Galactica" (source unknown) |
 "1701D" in BSG: "The Ties That Bind" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey We can see the often re-used Tillman Water Reclamation Plant as "Bill & Ted University". After watching TOS: "Arena" earlier in the movie, Bill and Ted are transported to Vasquez Rocks, where they are tossed off the cliff and encounter Death (William Sadler aka Sloane).
 "Bill & Ted University" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Bill and Ted at Vasquez Rocks (screen capture by Jörg) |
Firefly We can see Trek vessels in at least three episodes of the series.
 Kradin fighters in Firefly: "The Train Job" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Karemma ship in Firefly: "The Train Job" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Trek ships in Firefly: "Our Mrs Reynolds" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Trek ships in Firefly: "War Stories" (screen capture by Jörg) |
In addition, an LCARS layout appears on a console. This prop can be rented from Modern Props, and at it has obviously retained the LCARS panel from an appearance in Star Trek Voyager.
 LCARS display in two Voyager episodes (screen capture by Jörg) |
 LCARS display in Firefly: "Ariel" (screen capture by Jörg) |
Mork & Mindy In the episode "Mork Goes Public" Mindy's father is wearing the protection suit from TOS: "The Naked Time" with the helmet from "The Tholian Web". Mork is wearing Colonel Green's uniform from "The Savage Curtain" with slight modifications.
 Mindys' father in TOS costume (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Mork in TOS costume (screen capture by Jörg) |
seaQuest DSV seaQuest DSV: "Hide and Seek" has William Shatner as a guest star. When he appears on the viewscreen, we can spot James Tiberius Kirk's initials "JTK" along with a familiar starship registry at the bottom. On the top of the screen we can also see "WS" for William Shatner. In "Dream Weaver" we can see a commemoration plaque for Nomad Mk-25A, the "first interstellar probe to seek out evidence of new life-forms".
 Shatner "JTK-NCC1701" in "Hide and Seek" (screen capture by Jörg) |
 Nomad plaque in "Dream Weaver" (screen capture by Jörg) |
The Sarah Jane Adventures In the pilot episode of this Doctor Who spin-off series a map of the Milky Way Galaxy can be seen which was originally produced for TNG: "Conspiracy".
Galaxy map in "The Sarah Jane Adventures"
(screen capture by Jörg)
West Wing In "Manchester, Part I" the Botany Bay is listed on a situation chart along with several actual US Navy ships. This is no surprise, considering that no one else but Mike Okuda made this display.
Botany Bay in "West Wing"
(screen capture by Shaun Aki)
Credits
Thanks to Robert Heckadon and Paul Eisner for their contributions! Kevin pointed me to the ships inside the Narada, Shaun Aki spotted the Trek ship in "West Wing", LearnedHand found the references in "seaQuest DSV", Greg Tyler found additional in-jokes in "seaQuest", Jochen provided the screen caps of the Millenium Falcon. The meaning of "Poly-Ron-ite" was found by Dan Carlson, and the Mork & Mindy references are from a thread at the TrekBBS.
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