archer 4 star trek

What Happened To Scott Bakula's Captain Jonathan Archer On Star Trek?

"Star Trek: Enterprise" Captain Jonathan Archer (played by Scott Bakula) might not have been as refined and diplomatic as Captain Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) of the Starship Enterprise or as cool under pressure as Deep Space Nine's Commanding Officer Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks). But as a pioneer of Terran interstellar exploration, Archer proves himself to be one of the most influential figures in the "Star Trek" universe. The son of warp five engineer Henry Archer (Mark Moses), Jonathan grows up to be a vocal advocate for Earth's journey into space while captaining a ship his father helped to design.

Despite the Vulcan Council's efforts to delay Earth's entry into the world of space exploration, a diplomatic near-crisis involving the Klingons gave Archer the opportunity he'd been waiting for, forcing Starfleet to launch the Enterprise much earlier than planned. With a crew Archer put together in a matter of days, the captain would lead Starfleet's first warp-powered interstellar space exploration mission. With his trusty dog Porthos by his side and one of the spiciest crews in "Star Trek," Archer would face off with Klingons, get caught up in a temporal cold war, and form one of the hottest bromances this side of the Alpha Quadrant. Even after his return home, Archer wasn't through carving his name into Starfleet history. After signing the charter that would lead to the eventual creation of the United Federation of Planets, Archer is made admiral, embarks on a long political career, and eventually helps christen James T. Kirk's Enterprise.

How Archer helped build the Federation

As recounted aboard the holodeck by Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in the "Enterprise" series finale, "These are the Voyages...," Archer retires in 2161 before signing the Federation charter. Although "Enterprise" ends with Archer's retirement, the two-parter "In a Mirror, Darkly" gives some pretty big spoilers, as revealed when mirror universe Hoshi (Linda Park) reads through Starfleet records while aboard the prime universe ship the Defiant. Since the Tholians brought the ship over from 100 years in the prime universe future, alt-Hoshi, and alt-Archer are able to read a complete history of their prime universe counterparts. According to those records, prime Archer "earned an impressive list of commendations during his career," with historians declaring him "the greatest explorer of the 22nd century." Starfleet records also reveal that Archer has two planets named after him.

Although alternate Archer cuts her off, eagle-eyed viewers who screencap the computer screen Hoshi is reading from can get a complete history of Archer's post-Enterprise days. After his time aboard the Enterprise, he earns the rank of Admiral and becomes Chief of Staff at Starfleet Command before his retirement. He also serves as a prominent ambassador for several years and works as a Federation Councilman before getting elected to the United Federation of Planets presidency in 2184.

In 2245, he attends the NCC-1701's christening, before peacefully dying the following day. With so many productive post-spacefaring years during the foundational years of the Federation, a growing contingent of fans have said they would like to see Paramount create a "Star Trek" series that follows Archer through his political career. Such a series could focus on the growing pains of humanity's evolution to the more enlightened post-scarcity world we see in "Star Trek: The Original Series."

Celebrating the best of tv, movies, and comics

How Scott Bakula's Archer can (and should) return to Star Trek

Could Captain Jonathan Archer return on a current era Star Trek show?

Star Trek: Enterprise had a long road, getting from there to here. Initially the most universally disparaged of the Trek shows (aside from perhaps the unfairly maligned Star Trek: The Animated Series ), the prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series has been widely reassessed in more recent years. It’s been a long time, but could the time for the return of Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) is finally near?

Star Trek: Enterprise embraced

There is plentiful evidence from the recent batch of Franchise shows that indicate the high respect with which the creators hold Enterprise. Just one example are the many allusions to Denobulians. This alien species was introduced in Enterprise, and first represented by the NX-01’s Doctor, Phlox (John Billingsley).

In recent years, Denobulians have had cameos in Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2’s 'Mugato, Gumato,' and were referenced in dialogue in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.' And there have been many allusions to Enterprise throughout Lower Decks, in dialogue and through other allusions (like the heavy inspiration drawn from Enterprise’s depiction of Vulcans for the Lower Decks season 3 episode 'wej Duj').

Speaking of Lower Decks, the NX-01 played a significant role in the recent Strange New Worlds crossover episode, 'Those Old Scientists.' After traveling back in time, information retained by Ensigns Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) regarding the NX-01 and 1701-nothing is integral in returning the pair of Beta Shifters to their rightful time period.

Furthermore, the important role played by Enterrprise's ship spurs the Strange Ne Worlds crew to geek out about the NX-01’s crew, with specific references in dialogue to Archer, Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery), and Hoshi Sato (Linda Park). Perhaps its no wonder Pike’s crew are such fans of the NX-01 gang, considering an expanded Strange New Worlds season 2 Ready Room set revealed an illuminated image of the NX-01 (across from one depicting the Phoenix). And in addition to all this, a ship called the USS Archer appeared in the Strange New Worlds series premiere, 'Strange New Worlds.'

And Archer’s legacy is guaranteed to be remembered centuries into the future by the Star Trek: Discovery season 4 premiere, 'Koayashi Maru.' In this episode, which is set in the distant future of the 31st Century, the Federation unveils the newly constructed Archer Space Dock. In addition to taking Archer as its namesake, this reveal is accompanied by a musical allusion to Starfleet’s first cap through the melody to 'Archer’s Theme.'

Would Scott Bakula come back to Star Trek?

Clearly, the creators behind the current era of Trek have wholly embraced Enterprise. Furthermore, a cursory examination of any social media site in the wake of episodes containing these allusions reveals that Trekkies have embraced these ENT allusions. But what is the likelihood that Bakula would be willing to reprise the role nearly two decades after Enterprise left the air?

It seems likely that Bakula would consider a return. Consider his appearance on a virtual Star Trek Day panel in September 2020. During this appearance, Bakula spoke very highly of Enterprise's evolution and described his pride at his involvement with the Franchise.

Furthermore, depending on the series on which Archer makes his return, there might be a lower 'buy-in' required from Bakula. For example, if he appears on Lower Decsks or Star Trek: Prodigy, the appearance could be performed via voiceover, thus potentially allowing Archer to reappear without Bakula even having to leave his own home.

How might Archer return to Star Trek?

There are many possible ways the return of Archer could occur. In fact, there is plenty of precedent already present in Franchise canon that demonstrates how characters from previous shows can reappear in later ones, even when that seems to defy standard chronological expectation.

The first such example takes place in the series premiere of The Next Generation, in which Doctor 'Bones' McCoy (DeForest Kelley) visited the Enterprise-D. Rather than having arrived in 'the next generation' by any sort of time travel shenanigans, McCoy has simply survived to the age of 137.

McCoy wasn’t the only The Original Series character to visit the D, either. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Sarek (Mark Lenard) appeared on The Next Generation thanks to the fact that the long lives of Vulcans made this naturally possible.

And in the season 6 episode 'Relics,' a comparatively un-aged Mongtomery 'Scotty' Scott (James Doohan) is transported to the TNG era thanks to decades of suspension in a transporter buffer. These sorts of time jumps could bring Archer from the Enterprise era to the time period of any of the ongoing shows, even Discovery’s far-distant 31st Century (when he might get to visit the space dock bearing his name). And it’s worth noting that in the Picard season 2 finale, a rip in space time occurred. Now guarded by the Jurati Borg Collective, this enigmatic and so-far narratively unutilized rip in the fabric of the universe could easily afford a method of bringing disparate time periods together.

Furthermore, it is possible that Archer’s arrival in a new time period could be permanent (like Scotty remaining in the The Next Generation era timeline). However, it could also be temporary, as when the Beta Shifters were returned to their time period at the conclusion of 'Those Old Scientists.'

Another possibility is that Archer could appear as a hologram on any show. This could take the form of an appearance on the holodeck, paying homage to the still-not-all-that-we-recieved Enterprise series finale. In fact, dialogue in the Lower Decks episode 'No Small Parts' suggests Captain William T. Riker continues to visit the Enterprise crew on the holodeck. Alternatively, a simulation of Archer could appear as a special advisor program, just like Prodigy’s Hologram Kathryn Janeway.

And finally, it's always possible a crewmember from a currently ongoing series could travel back to the Enterprise era. Pike even imagined just such a scenario during his interactions with Beta Shift in 'Those Old Scientists.' Furthermore, there is precedent for this occurring both through more conventional time travel, as in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode 'Trials and Tribble-ations.' It could also happen through more abstract methods of visiting the past, as with the appearance of the USS Excelsior’s captain, Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), as well as Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney), in the Voyager episode 'Flashback.'

Where and why else could Archer return?

Finally, we'd speculate there is the possibility of a full-fledged Archer spin-off. This could be a full series, like Picard, which in its third season became Paramount+’s most successful streaming Star Trek series to date. It’s also possible that, following the pattern of the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 event movie, Archer could headline a 'one-shot' streaming movie.

There could be a very specific narrative reason to bring Archer back into the spotlight. While many of the subplots introduced over the course of Enterprise’s four seasons were resolved by the show’s controversial holodeck-simulated time-skip finale, 'These are the Voyages,' one major thread remains unfinished.

Throughout the Enterprise seasons 1 and 2, the Temporal Cold War was a significant subplot for the series. This included a shadowy figure playing the role of puppeteer from the distant future. Ultimately, this subplot was largely abandoned, and the identity of the shadowy figure was never canonically unveiled. However, in a 2012 Tweet, one of Enterprise showrunners, Rick Berman, revealed plans for the shadowy figure’s identity to have been revealed as none other than Archer himself.

While the fact that the reveal never occurred does mean that the shadowy figure’s identity could instead be canonically revealed to be another character, it also affords the opportunity to revisit this ENT storyline in a current era show and finally unveil Archer’s fate in the future. And with the re-introduction of a temporal war in the Strange New Worlds' season 2 episode 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow,' replete with new agents working for Starfleet’s Department of Temporal Investigations, the stage for this storyline may have already been set.

The Return of the Archer

There’s no guarantee that Archer will be returning on one of the current era Trek shows. But with the copious allusions to ENT in general and Archer specifically, perhaps it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see him return, either. If nothing else, its clear Trekkies have come to embrace the prequel series as yet another essential chapter in the ongoing human adventure depicted by Star Trek.

Star Trek: How (and where) to watch the movies, TV shows, and cartoons in chronological and release order !

MCM Comic Con

Florida Supercon

Comic-Con International: San Diego

New York Comic Con

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds rumor reveals the return of a Starfleet legend

A certain Captain could return to three Star Trek shows.

It's been a long road. A new rumor is flying around at Warp 5 that the very first captain of a starship called Enterprise will be returning to the Trek canon in some way shape or form. Take this rumor with a pinch of dilithium, but according to two outlets , actor Scott Bakula is in talks to reprise his role as Captain Archer in a new Star Trek TV project. This rumor comes as Strange New Worlds seemingly starts filming in Toronto. (Ethan Peck's Instagram was a dead giveaway .)

If Captain Archer did return, the best bet seems to be Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , the show that is both a sequel to Discovery Season 2 and a prequel to The Original Series . Here's how Bakula's Jonathan Archer could find himself back in the Final Frontier. Wild speculation ahead.

Captain Archer in the Enterprise series finale.

Jonathan Archer's timeline

There is no confirmation from Paramount/CBS about Bakula returning as Jonathan Archer. By most metrics, the 2001-2005 prequel series Enterprise is considered the most unpopular Trek show of all time. Nevertheless, Enterprise has been given a lot of love in recent years — with tons of Easter eggs for the show in both Star Trek Beyond , and Discovery . Without the bold choices made in Enterprise , a lot of Discovery and Strange New Worlds wouldn't be possible.

The Enterprise timeline ends pretty clearly in the year 2161, in the episode "Those Are the Voyages..." Discovery Season 1 starts a full century later in 2256. In "The War Within, the War Without" Admiral Cornwell said Enterprise visited the Klingon Homeworld "almost a hundred years ago."

Is Archer alive in the 23rd Century of the Strange New Worlds era? He'd be 146-years-old, which isn't unheard of for Star Trek humans. What's more, according to slightly apocryphal data from text-on-the-screen in "In a Mirror, Darkly Part 2" Archer not only became the President of the United Federation of Planets but also died in 2245, right after he attended the christening ceremony of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701.

Then again, in the 2009 reboot movie, Scotty (Simon Pegg) mentions "Admiral Archer's prized beagle" which seems to indicate that in Kelvin Timeline, Archer was (maybe) still alive in 2258. So, Prime Archer could be alive in Pike's time, which doesn't rule out a regular appearance from Scott Bakula as the character in the timeframe of Strange New Worlds .

Archer in the Mirror Universe.

Alternate timelines

We still don't know when the new Michelle Yeoh spinoff Section 31 will take place. In Discovery Season 3 the Guardian of Forever said he was sending Georgiou (Yeoh) back to a point in time when the Prime and Mirror Universes were still "aligned." It's unclear if this means Georgiou will emerge before the universes diverged or if she's simply going to a time when travel between the two dimensions wasn't so tricky. Interestingly, if Georgiou land somewhere in the late 22nd Century, say, 2170 or so, it would be far enough after the end of Enterprise (20 years) but still several decades before the birth of her Prime Universe counterpart in 2202. And, interestingly, the late 22nd Century to early 23rd Century is a pretty huge period of Trek history which the legit canon has barely explored.

If Section 31 did happen some time in these missing gaps, then having a post- Enterprise Archer could make a lot of sense. Best of all, Scott Bakula could just pick-up where he left off, kind of like the naturalistic approach to Picard .

Riker and Troi on a holographic version of Archer's Enterprise .

The Archer cameo may be something else

Because we just saw Leonard Nimoy's Spock in Discovery Season 3, via holographic recording, it's pretty easy to imagine all sorts of ways that a historical Captain Archer could appear in either Discovery Season 4 or Picard Season 2. Somewhat infamously, in the finale of Enterprise , Riker played out an elaborate holodeck simulation set aboard the 22nd CEntury NX-01, which included paling around with Archer. Riker jokingly referenced this specific holodeck program in the Lower Decks Season 1 finale, when he said talked about "You know, Archer and those guys."

So, when you consider that Lower Decks made several jokes about Enterprise, and also loves having zany plotlines, Captain Archer could easily return to that series. Could a Lower Decks Archer exist outside of a holodeck joke? Well, maybe. Lower Decks has yet to do a zany time travel story and considering it's an animated show, the possibilities of jumping into another part of the canon are totally on the table. In fact, Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan even told Inverse that doing other versions of Lower Decks in different Trek eras is totally possible: "You can do Lower Decks on a bunch of other ships and other eras."

Will Archer really return? It seems like a longshot, but if it does happen, one thing's for sure. He better bring his cute dog Porthos with him.

Porthos is Star Trek's best very good boy.

This article was originally published on Feb. 16, 2021

• Science Fiction
• Internet Culture

• Cast & crew

Broken Bow, Part 2

• Episode aired Sep 26, 2001

Captain Jonathan Archer, T'Pol and Trip meet Sarin and she explains that Klaang is a courier, bringing an important message from her to the leaders of the Klingons in Kronos about rebels Sul... Read all Captain Jonathan Archer, T'Pol and Trip meet Sarin and she explains that Klaang is a courier, bringing an important message from her to the leaders of the Klingons in Kronos about rebels Suliban that intend to promote the Temporal Cold War among the Klingons. Archer feels the nee... Read all Captain Jonathan Archer, T'Pol and Trip meet Sarin and she explains that Klaang is a courier, bringing an important message from her to the leaders of the Klingons in Kronos about rebels Suliban that intend to promote the Temporal Cold War among the Klingons. Archer feels the need of rescuing Klaang and travels to the Suliban mother-ship with Trip to bring the Klingon... Read all

• James L. Conway
• Rick Berman
• Brannon Braga
• Scott Bakula
• John Billingsley
• Jolene Blalock

• Capt. Jonathan Archer

• Sub-Cmdr. T'Pol

• Lt. Malcolm Reed

• Ensign Travis Mayweather

• Ensign Hoshi Sato

• Cmdr. Charles 'Trip' Tucker III

• Suliban Sarin

• (as Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr.)

• Henry Archer

• Humanoid Figure
• Young Jonathan Archer

• Klingon Chancellor
• Klingon Council Member
• (as Matt Williamson)
• (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews

• September 26, 2001 (United States)
• United States
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 45 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

After Rumored Setbacks, Star Trek 4 Has Taken A Huge Step Forward

Hopefully this time the project will live long and prosper!

It’s been too long since Star Trek graced the big screen. The last time Trekkies watched the USS Enterprise go into warp speed in theaters was back in 2016 with Star Trek Beyond . Since then, Paramount has been trying to bring back Chris Pine ’s Captain Kirk and his crew for one last hurrah, but setback after setback has been rumored to bring down the project. However, the latest news about Star Trek 4 brings some revived hope for another galactic adventure.

Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Productions have reportedly found a new screenwriter for Star Trek 4 in The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey. Per the news that comes from Variety , Yockey will pen the script for what’s expected to be the final installment of the saga starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto , Zoe Saldaña, Karl Urban , John Cho and Simon Pegg . It’s a huge step forward for the long-gestating project, but it should be noted that this report signals Star Trek 4 is still in early development over at Paramount.

Steve Yockey started his career in Hollywood as a writer for television shows like Awkward , Scream and Supernatural before developing HBO’s The Flight Attendant from the novel of the same name. The series starring Kaley Cuoco was cancelled after two seasons, but was critically-acclaimed throughout its run and earned Cuoco numerous accolades, alongside other aspects of the production.

Upcoming Star Trek TV Shows: What's Ahead For The Sci-Fi Franchise

Yockey has another series coming soon to the 2024 TV schedule with Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives . The supernatural detective comedy is based on the DC Comics property by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, and is set to premiere for those with a Netflix subscription on April 25.

Over the years, there’s been numerous writers and directors attached to the next Star Trek movie, from Madame Web ’s S.J. Clarkson previously in talks to direct back in 2018, to Fargo ’s Noah Hawley being attached to write and direct back in 2019. WandaVision ’s Matt Shakman was last involved for a year before he decided to leave the project to direct the upcoming Fantastic Four movie . According to Shakman, while he very much enjoyed his time working on Star Trek 4 alongside J.J. Abrams, returning to Marvel Studios to revive the comic book crew, was “too hard to pass up.”

This step forward for Star Trek 4 comes just a few months after rumors came out that Paramount was thinking of rebooting the franchise again . A couple of months ago, it was also reported that Andor ’s Toby Haynes will direct another Star Trek movie based on a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ’s Seth Grahame-Smith .

While we know very little about the direction of Star Trek 4 , here’s hoping the main cast led by Chris Pine will in fact come back once more! Check out our ranking of all the Star Trek movies as we imagine what could be in store for the iconic Starfleet crew!

CINEMABLEND NEWSLETTER

Your Daily Blend of Entertainment News

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.

FBI's Zeeko Zaki Talks The 'Case Of The Week Loop' And OA's 'Different Masks' To Deal With Triggers In New Episode

NCIS: Hawai'i Delivered A Frustrating Cliffhanger In The Series Finale, And Sam's Final Speech Makes The Cancellation Hurt All Over Again

Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage: What We Know About The Young Sheldon Spinoff

Most Popular

• 2 Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage: What We Know About The Young Sheldon Spinoff
• 3 NCIS Season 21’s Finale May Have Set Up A Main Cast Member Exit, But I’m Thinking More About the Parker Mysteries Established For Season 22
• 4 After Bob Hearts Abishola's Big Series Finale Risk, I Didn't Expect Such An Emotional Ending
• 5 I Loved The Idea of You, But I Have One Problem With The Plot

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

The 2184 United Federation of Planets Presidential Nominee Jonathan Archer

Can he count on your vote?

Presenting The United Federation of Planets, 2184, Presidential Nominee, Jonathan Archer. Can he count on your vote?

Paid for by Captain Jonathan Archer for President Inc, 2184

Star Trek's Best Characters Have a Strange Connection Most Fans Never Realized

Throughout its 50+ year history, Star Trek has made its characters' favorite drinks a major part of their personalities.

• Traditional Earth drinks, alcohol and synthehol play significant roles in portraying characters' personalities in Star Trek .
• Star Trek characters love a good drink, with coffee, raktajino and tea being iconic choices of the franchise's most well-known characters.
• Various Star T rek series showcase a wide array of alcoholic sci-fi beverages, including Romulan ale and Klingon bloodwine.

It's no exaggeration to say that there is a lot of Star Trek . With three different movie series and 12 TV shows that total over 25 straight days of Star Trek viewing, plus dozens of video games and a near-infinite number of novels, Star Trek is undeniably one of the most expansive and popular franchises in human history. While there are obviously many themes, both aesthetically and narratively, that cross over between the various entries in the Star Trek eras, there's one somewhat surprising trope that the shows and movies have kept up for decades that connects its famous characters: Star Trek characters love a good drink .

Sci-fi beverages aren't exclusive to Trek , of course, but while Star Wars ' blue milk and Fallout 's Nuka-Cola are enjoyed by their universes' characters en masse, Trek is unique in that it often associates a character or a group of characters with a specific drink . The franchise also goes above and beyond having one or two iconic drinks, with several famous beverages introduced across its nearly 60 years of existence. It's a wet universe in Star Trek , and the Trek franchise shows no signs of drying up anytime soon.

Coffee in Nebulas and a Space Station Addicted to Raktajino — Star Trek Loves Caffeine

'here comes captain kirk': william shatner open to star trek return, the star trek tv shows.

• Coffee in particular features heavily in Star Trek: The Original Series as well as Deep Space Nine and Voyager .
• However, Captain Jean-Luc Picard's love for Earl Grey makes it the most iconic Star Trek drink.

Among its many messages on the problems with modern society and what a better future could look like, Star Trek also tells the present one thing in particular: Humans will still love caffeine even when they live among the stars and can replicate any beverage they wish. In fact, coffee shows up in Star Trek even before its first aired episode , appearing at a picnic with Captain Pike in the original Star Trek pilot episode now called "The Cage." That Trek pilot episode was rejected and Pike was replaced with Captain Kirk, but yet again, a coffee break shows up in the second, successful pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before," which became the first aired piece of Trek ever.

Coffee continued to be a part of Star Trek : The Original Series throughout its run, but whereas the crew of the Enterprise NCC-1701 was certainly known to have a cup, their love for coffee doesn't compare to the people running Deep Space Nine decades later. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , there's a genuine craze for a unique Star Trek version of coffee made by Klingons, called raktajino. Probably similar to a very strong cappuccino, raktajino features prominently in Deep Space Nine , one of the best Trek series to rewatch , as the favorite beverage of a number of main characters, including Captain Sisko, Major Kira, Dr. Bashir, Constable Odo, Lieutenant Dax and Jake Sisko. The beverage, which is served in a specially designed cup, shows up in no less than 32 Deep Space Nine episodes, plus a few from the other series.

Despite their love for raktajino, the entire cast of Deep Space Nine would have a hard time competing with the amount of coffee that one particular Star Trek hero drinks. Captain Kathryn Janeway of Star Trek: Voyager is seen ordering "coffee, black" often in Voyager , an affectation that apparently came directly from actor Kate Mulgrew's love for it herself. In fact, Janeway's coffee obsession became a major character trait very quickly in Voyager , leading to the famous line "There's coffee in that nebula" in Episode 6 "The Cloud," and later in Season 4 episode "The Hunters" Janeway saying:

"Coffee: the finest organic suspension ever devised. It's got me through the worst of the last three years. I beat the Borg with it."

Coffee is the drink of choice of the galaxy at large in Star Trek , but perhaps the most famous caffeinated drink in Trek history is tea. Two captains of the Enterprise famously loved tea, but while Jonathan Archer of Enterprise was known for his love of a pitcher of cold sweet tea, Captain Jean-Luc Picard is the tea-drinking icon of Trek , repeatedly ordering "Tea, Earl Grey, hot." in Star Trek: The Next Generation . While Picard's life is full of legendary moments , the tea line is so famous that it's now synonymous with Picard, TNG and Star Trek itself.

Saurian Brandy and Romulan Ale — Boozing It Up with the Star Trek Crews

One of the most underrated star trek films is far better than fans remember.

• Star Trek has a long history of its characters having an adult drink after-hours.
• There are a number of alcohols that were invented specifically for Star Trek , some of which are famous.

Poverty may have been eliminated in The Federation of Star Trek , but apparently, the stresses of galactic exploration and frequent space combat leave a strong urge in future people to have a drink. Alcohol makes appearances in every Trek series (except the two aimed at children), starting with The Original Series and now making prominent appearances in the recent Star Trek: Lower Decks and hit show Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . Across the hundreds of years shown in Star Trek , numerous drinks are shown being imbibed, often in ways that become central to the story.

If "Tea, Earl Grey, hot" is the most famous drink-related line of dialogue in Star Trek , Romulan ale is certainly the most famous beverage created for Trek . The alcoholic drink, illegal in The Federation for much of the time that the shows cover, first shows up in Season 3 Episode 2 of The Original Series , where the stoic Spock is seen having a glass with a Romulan commander. Though the drink isn't named in the episode, the bright blue hue of the banned Trek beverage is unmistakable, and it goes on to be a repeated liquid of choice in multiple series.

Trek writers have been quite creative in their drink inventions : Throughout the various series, drinks like Saurian brandy, Arcturian fizz and Aldebaran whiskey are introduced, often coming in bright colors with an inventive sci-fi bottle. In particular, the crew members of Star Trek: Lower Decks are often seen carousing in the USS Cerritos' bar with a glass of something neon. The extremely strong Klingon bloodwine also features centrally in several Trek episodes. One memorable bloodwine appearance is Season 2, Episode 1 of Strange New Worlds , in which Spock and his partner La'an engage in a drinking competition with Klingons, which La'an wins.

Of course, while sci-fi drinks are a lot of fun, old-fashioned Earth alcohol still plays a prominent role in Trek . Beer is mentioned a number of times, such as when Captain Kirk goes back in time and has a Michelob, and Quark on DS9 is often shown mixing colorful cocktails at his bar. But it's whiskey and wine that play the most memorable parts in Trek , particularly with Captains Pike and Picard. Pike is a known oenophile, often drinking a glass with his home-cooked meals, and Picard himself comes from a history of winemakers, with the Picard family winery making frequent appearances in TNG and Picard . Bourbon seems to be Pike's choice of drink, though, and perhaps even Picard's in his later years, as the two are repeatedly shown sipping a tumbler of the stuff in recent shows.

Staying Sober with Star Trek's Synthehol

Star trek: discovery ending is a blessing in disguise.

• Getting drunk doesn't fit well with the rules of Starfleet, so much of the drinking seen in Star Trek is actually synthehol, a drink that is not as intoxicating to humanoids.
• Synthehol is a Ferengi invention and makes frequent appearances in the various Star Trek shows and movies.

There's no question that characters in every major Trek series get intoxicated on alcohol, or even addicted to caffeine, which can be difficult to reconcile with the straight-laced image of The United Federation of Planets. As consummate professionals working in a quasi-militaristic structure where thousands of lives are almost constantly on the line, substance use doesn't often mesh well with the universe of Trek . That's where another Star Trek invention comes in: syntheho l.

Most of the time when a character is seen drinking in Star Trek , if it's not explicitly stated that they're drinking alcohol, it's implied that it's synthehol, or "synthetic alcohol." Synthehol was invented by Ferengi to reproduce the sensory experience of alcohol, but it is easily broken down by enzymes in humanoid bodies. Interestingly, it's never been clear whether synthehol has no intoxicating ability at all for humanoids or whether it's only effective while actively imbibing, clearing up quickly once one stops. Either way, synthehol is incredibly popular in the Star Trek universe , to the point that Quark of Deep Space Nine , Trek 's most famous Ferengi , is referred to as the "Synthehol King" for the amount of it he sells.

Star Trek Is a Galaxy Full of Adventure and Adventurous Beverages

Star trek: strange new worlds gets renewed, lower decks to end with season 5.

• Having a favorite drink is a frequent feature of some of Star Trek 's best characters.
• Liking a particular drink humanizes Star Trek 's characters and makes them more relatable to the viewer.

Though each show and era has its own special qualities, Star Trek 's focus on galaxy-spanning adventures that center around a utopia-like version of humanity focused (ostensibly) on science, exploration and helping others has fascinated generations. There are many factors that go into this, from rich characters to inventive sci-fi writing to willingness to tackle contemporary social issues, but perhaps primary among all of its secret weapons are Trek 's attention to detail and its interconnected stories .

In this regard, as unassuming as they may seem in isolation, the various and varied drinks of Star Trek are part of the backbone of the storied franchise. Sitting down to have a drink, especially having a favorite that brings one a particularly nice moment amongst the stressful parts of life, is inherently human, something almost everyone can relate to.

By giving viewers a moment with Picard sipping Earl Grey while reading the reports of the day, Janeway smiling at the smell of coffee in the morning, the crew of Deep Space Nine drinking raktajino and bantering together at their local shop or the pals of Lower Decks blowing off steam with a round of cocktails after nearly dying yet again, Star Trek connects its characters across the centuries . And more so, Trek characters having affectations for drinks connects viewers to characters , using a very human action to put viewers right there in Ten Forward with Riker, Picard and Troi, having a sip of something nice.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Star Trek Enterprise's Scott Bakula Wasn't Thrilled With The Series Finale

The final episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise" — titled "These Are the Voyages..." — aired on May 13, 2005, and it looked like the long road of "Star Trek" had finally come to an end. "Enterprise" debuted only two weeks after 9/11, and the world, it seemed, was no longer in the mood for the franchise's optimistic messages about diplomacy and peace. "Star Trek" encouraged people to reach out to enemies and find common ground while the pop world was singing "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way." By 2005, the franchise's time was finally near.

Yet, as the property limped out the door, fans were presented with a disappointing series finale wherein all the show's loose ends had to be wrapped up in a hurry. To achieve this, the "Enterprise" showrunners conceived a crossover event wherein Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" recreated the "Enterprise" characters on a holodeck. Recall that "Next Generation" takes place about 220 years after "Enterprise," so audiences weren't even seeing the "real" versions of Captain Archer (Scott Bakula), T'Pol (Jolene Blalock), et al closing out their journey. Instead, Riker enjoyed recreations of them for his own personal edification. There was no notable Trekkie thrill in seeing Riker interact with Archer.

One can see why the "Enterprise" showrunners wanted to end the series in this fashion: it was a great way to connect "Enterprise" to extant "Star Trek" lore. Fans, however, were frustrated. This is the way "Star Trek" ends — not with a bang, but a holodeck recreation.

In 2010, Bakula was interviewed by StarTrek.com to gauge the actor's views on "Enterprise" after it had been off the air for five years. It seems that he was just as disappointed with "Voyages..." as everyone else.

These Are the Voyages of the Starship Disappointment

Even after several years, Bakula remained diplomatic. "These Are the Voyages..." was written by longtime "Star Trek" producer Rick Berman and just-as-longtime writer Brannon Braga, both veterans from the early days of "Next Generation" and co-creators of "Enterprise." Bakula recalled reading their teleplay for the "Enterprise" finale and having to have a meeting with his bosses, more or less asking for an explanation:

"I have to say that when I first read the script I was off-put by it. I had a long talk with Rick and Brannon about it and they explained their idea and philosophy to me. I don't know that I ever ... Gosh, the end of anything is always hard to write. It was a little odd, but that was their call." 

Bakula's trailing off indicates that he was poised to say something perhaps slightly more acidic, but then caught himself, not wanting to badmouth a plum gig he held for four years.

The general wisdom among Trekkies is that "Enterprise" struggled through its first two seasons — which were presented in a traditional "story of the week" format — and then picked up considerably for its third and fourth seasons (which relied more heavily on extended, multiple-episode arcs, which were more fashionable at the time). The third season devoted all 24 of its episodes to a time-travel-based conflict with a mysterious species called the Xindi who randomly destroyed Florida without provocation, with the series' leads tracking down the Xindi and wondering why they attacked.

Bakula, it seems, didn't like the "extended arc" approach, nor the warlike attitude the series had to affect to achieve it.

Star Trek in a post-9/11 world

/Film has previously written about how "Enterprise" suffered from being produced in a post-9/11 world , and it seems that Bakula was starkly aware of that same phenomenon. The showrunners, it appears, wanted to make a "Star Trek" show that reflected the darkness and war of the real world, yet Bakula felt that robbed "Enterprise" of its potential to be, y'know, enjoyable.

Notably, Captain Archer's arc changed. At the beginning of the series, he was a cautiously optimistic astronaut who had to grow into a mature diplomat. With season 3, however, Archer became angry, violent, and even weirdly amoral. To Bakula, this was a regression for the character. Had "Enterprise" continued, the actor admitted he had wanted his character to mature past the violence and get back to the whole diplomacy arc:

"Things were dictated by the times, by it being post-9/11. But I wanted us to hopefully get back to having a little bit more fun on the show and to get out of that whole Xindi thing. That would have been fun. I think we were pointing in that direction. I think the group was ready to go. The cast was ready to get there, and I think we could have had a blast. But we just didn't get to go there. And I wanted Archer to kind of grow up and lighten up a little bit."

Ultimately, "Enterprise" might have been "too little, too late" in the world of "Star Trek." Audiences had retreated, the world had changed, and an 18-year hot streak was coming to an end. "These Are the Voyages..." was merely the lock turning in the door as everyone exited the theater.

"Star Trek" wouldn't return to television until 2017.

Henry Archer

• View history

Dr. Henry Archer was the primary developer of the first warp engine capable of reaching warp five , and was one of the principal designers of Enterprise NX-01 . He was the father of Jonathan Archer and a good friend of Emory Erickson , the inventor of the transporter on Earth . ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " Daedalus ")

Henry worked closely with Dr. Zefram Cochrane to develop the warp five engine at the Warp Five Complex in Bozeman , Montana as part of the NX Program . Archer was also responsible for a derivation of the flux paradox more accurate than the one used by his Vulcan mentors . This breakthrough was the culmination of years of frustration with the Vulcans. ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " Singularity ")

Henry Archer, alongside Zefram Cochrane in 2119

Prior to Cochrane's disappearance in 2119 , Henry took his son Jonathan on a tour of the Warp Five Complex, and introduced the boy to Cochrane, Tasaki , and other scientists working at the facility. Jonathan later revealed he did not know the significance of his father's work at the time. ( TOS : " Metamorphosis "; ENT : " Singularity ")

In 2121 , Henry helped his son build and fly a remote-controlled starship model. During this time, the elder Archer admonished his son's disrespect for the Vulcans , whom Jonathan believed were responsible for holding back Humanity 's advancement into space . Although Henry insisted that Vulcan Ambassador Soval (whom Jonathan referred to as "Ambassador Pointy ") had been very helpful, he also expressed confusion and disappointment at the Vulcans' refusal to share their technology , lamenting, " They have their reasons. God knows what they are. "

Henry assisted Jonathan in flying his model starship on a beach , but the youth found keeping the craft in the air to be difficult. When the toy crashed, Henry advised his son that he " can't be afraid of the wind. Learn to trust it. " The younger Archer took this advice to heart thirty years later , when he made the decision to abandon his prejudices against Vulcans and start trusting Sub-Commander T'Pol . ( ENT : " Broken Bow ")

On the day before he entered flight training, Jonathan asked his father what would happen if he failed. The elder Archer's response was, " Don't fail. " ( ENT : " Daedalus ")

Henry spent the last two years of his life experiencing frequent pain and hallucinations, talking to people who weren't there, and often not even recognizing his son or wife due to advanced Clarke's Disease . He died in 2124 before his warp five engine could be constructed, since the Vulcans had held back the engine's development program. As a result, Jonathan Archer's resentment towards Vulcans grew into a grudge which held until the 2150s . ( ENT : " Broken Bow ", " Cold Station 12 ")

In 2143 , Jonathan expressed his belief that Henry, had he been present, would’ve asked “what the hell are we waiting for?” , when he and A.G. Robinson broke the warp 2 barrier and proved that Archer’s engine worked. ( ENT : " First Flight ")

In 2152 , a biography on the life of Henry Archer was in the works. Jonathan Archer was asked to write a one-page preface for his father's biography, a task he put off for weeks as he found it difficult to sum up his father's life in one page. He ultimately completed it with feedback from T'Pol. One draft of the preface included the following:

" How does one measure a man's legacy? Is it defined [by] the works he's created....the technological advances that will forever alter the course of Human history? If so, then no man since Zefram Cochrane himself has made a more lasting contribution to the future of Humankind than my father, Doctor Henry Archer. When I was about eight years old, my father took me on a tour of the Warp Five facility outside Bozeman, Montana. He introduced me to the people he worked with... scientists with names like Tasaki... and Cochrane. At the time, I didn't realize the significance of those names... or the significance of my father's work. "

A further excerpt mentions " Soval 's passive aggression" and that " the Vulcans would continue to obstruct Archer's work as they always had ". They " never imagined that Archer's elegant mathematics might have been even more accurate than those of his mentors from Vulcan . " It also says that " months — years — of frustration " prevented the " paradox of the Vulcans' ego -driven blindness " from being as funny as it might otherwise have been to him. ( ENT : " Singularity ")

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

Henry Archer was played by actor Mark Moses in his second of two Star Trek appearances. The shirt Moses wore in the final scene of "Broken Bow" was sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay. [1]

As evidenced by the second draft of the script for ENT : " Broken Bow " (dated 1 November 2000 ) as well as by the episode's shooting schedule, this character's first name was originally to have been "William". The change from that to "Henry" was listed as one of six revisions of character names in a one-page "script note" at the start of the final draft script of ENT pilot " Broken Bow " (the page was dated 1 May 2001 ). The revised final draft script of "Broken Bow" (dated 11 May 2001) simply described Henry Archer, when he appears in the teaser of that installment, as " in his 40's [...] wearing 22nd century civilian clothing. " When he is thereafter shown with Zefram Cochrane, the script pointed out, " [He] is only a few years younger than when we saw him in the opening scene. " [2]

In the first draft script of " Strange New World " (dated 15 May 2001 , it was established that Henry Archer often took his son Jonathan on camping trips to Yosemite National Park .

There appears to be some contradiction as to when Henry Archer died. "Cold Station 12" stated that he passed away when Jonathan Archer was twelve years old, or roughly 2124 ; dialogue in "Daedalus", however suggested that he was still alive when Jonathan entered flight school. Relating back to a reference stated in " Twilight ", it was established that Jonathan graduated from flight school when he was twenty-four years old, or roughly 2136 , suggesting Henry was still alive in the early 2130s .

Inconsequently, the latter timeframe was supported by a scripted but ultimately omitted scene from an early draft of " Home ", where Jonathan was to have visited his father's grave on Earth . According to Henry's grave marker, he was born in 2077 and died in 2133 . ( ENT Season 4 Blu-ray special features)

Apocrypha [ ]

Henry Archer also appears in the novelization of Broken Bow .

External links [ ]

• Henry Archer at StarTrek.com
• Henry Archer at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Star Trek Glossary: Every Starfleet Rank And Job Explained

"Star Trek" is, first and foremost, a workplace drama . It just so happens that the workplace is a high-tech, faster-than-light space vessel exploring distant regions of the galaxy. Working on a starship is a fine job indeed. Many classic "Star Trek" episodes deal with rank, the chain of command, and how certain captains employ their unique managerial styles to inspire the officers beneath them. The main characters in "Star Trek" mostly all belong to Starfleet, a military-like organization that uses naval ranks and nautical vocabulary to describe a starship's operations. 

To give the shows a touch of realism, the makers of "Star Trek" have (mostly) been careful to point out that a starship is a massively complex machine that requires hundreds of people to operate correctly. Additionally, the day-to-day logistics of running a starship require departments within departments, each one run by its own miniature team of officers, and with each team making sure that every small piece of equipment is operating at peak efficiency. Ideally, a starship can't be flown by a single person or even a scant bridge crew (I will happily ignore, however, the times that it was; those times don't count). 

Trekkies take a great deal of delight in tracing and detailing the various ranks and departments on board an average Starfleet vessel, mostly because it makes it easier to imagine actually working there someday. Yes, we know it's fictional, but so much detail had gone into rank, operation, and propriety on "Star Trek" that many viewers can picture where they might be able to practically work, what their rank might be, and whom they would answer to. 

For the laypeople reading, however, here is a brief rundown on the ranks, jobs, and positions one might encounter in "Star Trek."

Read more: 12 Reasons Why The Original Series Is The Best Star Trek Show

The Starfleet Ranks Calling The Shots

Here is the central chain of command withing Starfleet, listed from top to bottom.

At the top of Starfleet are the admirals. Admirals typically serve in official positions and don't usually command starships. They are essentially the management that starship captains have to report back to. The head of Starfleet -- Commander in Chief -- bears the top rank of Fleet Admiral . 

Below Fleet Admirals are just regular Admirals , which are plentiful in "Star Trek." 

Vice Admirals serve below them (the officer picture above bears the rank pips of a Vice Admiral), followed by Rear Admirals . 

A lesson: don't trust Admirals .

We don't see too many Commodores on "Star Trek," but they are the rank in between Captain and Admiral. 

Below the Commodores are Captains , who, as we all know, tend to command starships. The Captains can give orders to any officers on their ship. Captains tend to be the central characters of "Star Trek" shows, so we already know James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks), Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), and, most recently Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) on "Strange New Worlds."

Directly below the Captains are Commanders . A ship's first officer is a Commander, as are a few other key figures on a ship like a Chief Medical Officer or a Counselor. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) are Commanders.

Immediately below the Commanders are Lieutenant Commanders , who also tend to serve notable executive functions on a starship. People of lower ranks can indeed become members of a ship's senior staff (the "main" officers on a ship that spend the most amount of time on the bridge), but Lieutenant Commanders tend to be the lowest-ranking officers who still command their own departments on a ship.

The Starfleet Ranks Taking The Orders

One might note that Starfleet officers wear color-coded uniforms. The colors represent the general departments in which they work. In the original series, officers on the command track wore gold uniforms, medical officers and science officers wore blue, and red was reserved for those who worked in engineering, security, or operations. In the era of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," red and gold uniforms switched .

There must, of course, be grunt workers and mid-managers below the department heads listed above, and that's where the lower-ranking, junior officers come in. 

Mere Lieutenants are immediately below Lieutenant Commanders. They may lead special projects or work on the bridge, but they take more orders than they give. 

Below them are officers ranked Lieutenant (Junior Grade) , followed by  Ensigns . To become a Starfleet officer, one must spend at least four years at Starfleet Academy. Graduates are typically promoted to the rank of Ensign and given their first assignments immediately. "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is all about Ensigns and Junior Grade Lieutenants like Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome).

Not every officer on a ship graduates from the Academy, however. One can enlist in Starfleet and become a Petty Officer. These people have their own subset of operational concerns, usually zeroed in on specific areas of the ship like the transporters, food services, or basic security. 

The Petty Officers have their own ranking system, starting -- highest first -- with Master Chief , then Senior Chief , followed by Chief , then Petty Officer First Class , and finally Petty Officer Second Class . Yeomans are petty officers who take care of paperwork for officers. Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meany) was a transporter expert. 

Other specialists -- historians, botanists, etc. -- can be Petty Officers. 

Back at Starfleet Academy, meanwhile, Cadets have their own ranking by year. Freshmen are 4th Class , sophomores are 3rd Class , juniors are 2nd Class , and seniors are 1st Class . For a large portion of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) was a cadet. This was after he already held a position as Acting Ensign , a provisional rank given in the field.

Starfleet Command And Bridge Positions

One might have noticed watching the original "Star Trek" that Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) always sits at the same station on the bridge of the Enterprise, as does Sulu (George Takei), Chekov (Walter Koenig) , and Spock (Leonard Nimoy). This is because they have been assigned one of the many official bridge positions on a Starfleet vessel. The positions must be filled, regardless of an officer's rank. 

The Commanding Officer on a starship is usually the captain. The (non-capitalist) buck stops with them. 

Answering directly to the captain, and communicating most directly with the crew is the Executive Officer or the First Officer, usually bearing the rank of commander. 

Third in command is the Second Officer , who can also hold other operational positions; on "Star Trek: Voyager," for instance, Tuvok (Tim Russ) serves as both Second Officer and Security Chief. 

Sitting in front of the captain and piloting the ship are the Helmsman at conn to the captain's right and the Operations Officer at Ops to the captain's left. 

The Helmsman may also be officially the ship's Navigation Officer , an expert in spatial physics and stellar cartography. Expert pilots likely sit at the conn, but also may be selected to pilot smaller, supporting crafts like shuttles or runabouts. These officers are sometimes appointed the Chief of Flight Control . Example: Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) on "Voyager."

In charge of hailing vessels, translating, and sending coded messages is the Communications Officer . On the original series, Uhura was a dedicated Communications Officer, while on "Next Generation" and beyond, other officers took on communications as part of their jobs. Worf (Michael Dorn) served as both Communications Officer and Security Chief.

Starfleet Science And Medical Positions

Most Starfleet vessels are devoted to research and explorations, and there are multiple departments -- and corresponding commanding officers -- tasked with overseeing the details. 

A ship's Science Officer is in charge of research and serves as coordinator of all the ship's specialized science fields. Science Officers must have a head for numbers and objective detail. On the original "Star Trek," Spock served as the Science Officer and the Executive Officer. On "Voyager," Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) served as a Science Officer, and she only held the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. 

A ship's Chief Operations Officer is like the Science Officer but oversees the technical aspects of the ship, including engineering, the engines, the life support, and other vital systems. Like the Science Officer, it helps that the Chief Ops Officer has a mind for technical details. On "Next Generation," Data served as Chief of Ops and worked closely with the Chief Engineer (which we'll get to in a minute).

Also, because a ship is full of biological organisms, it's important that their health be maintained. Every ship has a medical department overseen by an indispensable Chief Medical Officer , the only officer on the ship who can give orders to the Captain. Each medical department also has a network of experts and nurses, including the Head Nurse like Nurse Chapel (Jess Bush) on "Strange New Worlds" or Nurse Ogawa (Patti Yasutake) on "Next Generation." There may sometimes be a Head of Surgery , or perhaps a dedicated pathologist or epidemiologist. For the most part, though, the Chief Medical Officer takes care of many of these things themselves.

Starfleet Security And Combat Positions

Starfleet vessels are dedicated to peace, diplomacy, and study, but there are still violent, antagonistic species in the galaxy, and Starfleet isn't always on the best terms with them. As such, each Starfleet vessel requires experts in on-ship security, ship-to-ship tactics, and weapons operations. 

Every ship will have a Chief of Security , responsible for confronting intruders, enforcing the on-ship laws, and perhaps throwing ruffians into the ship's brig. The Chief Security Officer often also serves as the Strategic Operations Officer , who sits at the tactical position and fires weapons at the captain's command. Worf and Tuvok were in charge of these positions on their respective shows. They tend to go on the most away missions, keeping the other officers safe. They are the only officers on the ship who are always armed. Odo (René Auberjonois) served as chief of security on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," but he wasn't a Starfleet officer. He worked for the Bajoran government, and they implemented a different military system altogether.

As mentioned above, basic security officers are not Starfleet Academy graduates, and typically serve as Petty Officers, answering only to the Chief of Security. 

Starfleet Engineering And Technology Positions

As mentioned above, the Chief Operations Officer coordinates the technical aspects of the ship, but the hands-on officer in charge of a starship's massive engine room is the Chief Engineer , the one who actually makes repairs and oversees all of the other repairmen. No ship can function without a Chief Engineer overseeing all of the other engineers on the ship, busily readjusting and calibrating the physical machinery used to make the Enterprise go. 

The Chief Engineer might oversee technical experts, such as Warp Engineers (who oversee the faster-than-light engines), Impulse Engineers (who oversee the sub-light engines), those who oversee shields, transporters, electrics, life support, food replicators, lighting, gravity, or just about anything with a technical component. Thanks to "Next Generation," Trekkies know all about a dedicated Transporter Chief . There will also be an officer dedicated to Environmental Controls (especially important if your ship hosts species from hotter or colder worlds than Earth), and one devoted to Computer Operations , which might be the "Star Trek" equivalent of the I.T. repair guy. Heck, one might even find an engineer devoted to Holography systems, an expert in repairing holodecks. 

"Star Trek" doesn't feature a lot of tool belts, but if it did, the Engineering department would wear them. 

Kudos to LeVar Burton, who played Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge on "Next Generation." More than any other actor, he needed to memorize Trek's well-worn, multisyllabic techno-jargon. He talked a lot about warp fields, phase coils, plasma inducers, dilithium crystals, and every other high-tech widget on the Enterprise. And of course, everyone loved Scotty (James Doohan) from the original series.

Other Starfleet Positions

All the above departments are devoted to the vital function of a Starfleet vessel and the health of a vessel's crew. There are also various ancillary positions on a ship devoted to either comfort or just basic organization.

In the days before replicators , Starfleet vessels required  Quartermasters or Supply Operations Officers to distribute physical objects to the crew. The Quartermasters would distribute emergency rations, spare uniforms, tricorders, and medical widgets. These would be the ones holding the stock clipboards. Despite "Star Trek" taking place in a technical utopia free of want, there are still only so many scanners and tricorders that can go around. Starships also require dedicated officers to oversee the cargo bays where shuttles and extra supplies are stored, hence a head of  Cargo Operations . 

Being the Waste Management Officer on a starship isn't too terrible, although one does have to clean out the poop filters occasionally. The poop is then salvaged, broken down, and converted into energy. That energy is used in a ship's food replicators. Yes, Starfleet officers eat their own poop . On "Lower Decks," Mariner is seen cleaning the waste filters out of the holodeck on the U.S.S. Cerritos. It's a gross job.

Not every ship has a specialized department for every situation, so other specialists may be called in as needed. During times of war or combat, for instance, a ship may be assigned an Intelligence Officer . This depends on the ship's current mission, of course. For diplomatic envoys, a ship may also be assigned a general Special Services officer to make sure negotiators and treaty signers are comfortable.

And, perhaps most importantly, many ships have a Counselor . On "Next Generation," Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) sits right on the bridge. On other ships, they have their own offices. They take care of a crew's overall mental health, serve as para-diplomats, and work with the Chief Medical Officer.

Which job would you want?

Read the original article on SlashFilm

Screen Rant

Star trek makes enterprise’s doctor phlox species matter in discovery’s future.

Your changes have been saved

Email Is sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Star Trek: Enterprise Cast & Character Guide

Star trek: discovery season 5’s betazoid is a marina sirtis counselor troi tribute, star trek: discovery’s new vulcan name ni’var is a deep cut enterprise callback.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak".

• "Star Trek: Discovery season 5 uncovers the vital role of Denobulans in Starfleet's future with Dr. Kreel's involvement in the Progenitors' treasure."
• "Entry of Dr. Kreel continues the legacy of Enterprise's Dr. Phlox, highlighting the importance of the Denobulans in the Federation's history."
• "Dr. Kreel's name check in Star Trek: Discovery reaffirms the presence of Denobulans in the 24th century, bridging the gap between Enterprise and the future."

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, "Whistlespeak" reveals that Star Trek: Enterprise 's Denobulan species, popularized by Dr Phlox (John Billingsley), played a hugely important role in the future of Starfleet and the Federation. The latest clue to the Progenitors' treasure is located on the planet Halem'no, a pre-warp planet which has been given a subtle helping hand from the Denobulans. Discovery season 5, episode 6 , written by Kenneth Lin and Brandon Schultz, and directed by Chris Byrne, reveals that Denobulan scientist Dr. Hitoroshi Kreel was one of the five scientists who hid the Progenitors' treasure 800 years ago.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6's revelations about the Progenitors' treasure and its link to the Denobulans is a welcome reminder of the species. Star Trek 's most notable Denobulan, Dr Phlox, was a hugely important figure in the 22nd century, serving as chief medical officer aboard the first version of the starship Enterprise . Phlox's adventures on the Enterprise NX-01 helped to establish the rules of the Federation that are still followed almost a millenia later in Discovery season 5. Discovery 's new Denobulan, Dr. Kreel, therefore, continues the legacy of Enterprise 's Phlox .

Star Trek: Enterprise introduced new faces to the prequel series set a century before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Why It Matters Star Trek: Discovery’s Dr. Kreel Is Denobulan Like Enterprise’s Dr. Phlox

The Denobulans were one of several alien species introduced in Star Trek: Enterprise , and were popularized by the character of Phlox. Because Enterprise was canceled , and there were no Denobulan characters seen in Star Trek 's 24th century , there was a risk that the species may have faded into obscurity. Star Trek: Discovery 's Dr. Kreel is proof that the Denobulans were alive and well in the 24th century, and still played a vital role in the affairs of the United Federation of Planets. There is no better example of this than the Federation President's decision to recruit a Denobulan scientist for their top secret Progenitors mission.

Although Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, doesn't feature Dr. Kreel on screen, he's still an affirmation of Enterprise 's big additions to the canon of Star Trek aliens . The other alien scientists searching for the Progenitors' treasure were all members of iconic species who have played integral roles in shows like the Betazoids from Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Trills from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . It's fitting, therefore, that one of Star Trek: Enterprise 's Denobulans is also part of this vitally important research group.

Other Denobulans Besides Enterprise’s Dr. Phlox In Star Trek

Although sightings of the Denobulans are rare outside Star Trek: Enterprise , Doctors Phlox and Kreel aren't the only Denobulans who have appeared in the wider franchise . In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2, episode 4, "Mugato, Gumato", two Denobulan researchers are attacked by a Mugato. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 3, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", a Denobulan cadet accuses the Enterprise's transporter chief of stealing a ring, a dispute broken up by Lt. La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong).

Most notably, Lt. Barniss Frex (Eric Bauza) from Star Trek: Prodigy was the first commissioned Denobulan Starfleet officer depicted on screen. The unfortunate Denobulan became a victim of Prodigy 's Vau N'Akat villains and their Living Construct weapon when the crew of the USS Protostar visited the subspace relay station CR-721. However, Frex blamed the young Protostar crew for his misfortune when he was recovered by Admiral Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and the USS Dauntless. Hopefully, Star Trek: Discovery 's Denobulan scientist will lead to further appearances from Dr. Phlox's species in Star Trek 's future.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

*Availability in US

Not available

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.

Star Trek: Lower Decks

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet's least important ships, the USS Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford and Tendi must keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. The ship's bridge crew includes Captain Carol Freeman, Commander Jack Ransom, Lieutenant Shaxs and Doctor T'Ana. This is the second animated spin-off in the franchise after 1973-74's "Star Trek: The Animated Series," but has a decidedly more adult tone and humor.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

• Star Trek: Discovery (2017)
• Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)