Boldly Go: 25 Hilarious Star Trek Memes Only True Fans Will Understand

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The Star Trek universe has been around since 1966, and since we first saw Kirk tooling around the galaxy, chewing the scenery no man has chewed before, it has spun outwards into seven television series, thirteen movies and more merchandise than a replicator can handle. With 50+ years under its’ belt, this is a franchise that has attracted fans old and young, from all walks of life, to gather together, marvel at the intricacies of this utopian universe, and to poke holes in it whenever they can.

You can’t really live that long and expect to be beyond reproach. When you have a science fiction universe that has existed longer than most cars people own, you are going to have people that have scrutinized every little aspect of it, and found some things worth laughing at, and the internet being the wonderful place that it is, we share those hilarious findings with one another. But we don’t share them like animals, with a few succinct words or well-reasoned arguments. Those are the tools of a bygone era. No, here in the future, we need to share our irreverent humor via comics, images and mostly memes.

And until we all share a collective consciousness like the Borg, we have to go out and find those jokes ourselves. Or, even better, we find people to compile articles full of those jokes for us, which is what I am about to present to you. Set your phasers to funny, because things are about to get ridiculous.

25 I'm A Doctor, Not A Paleontologist!

I really laughed a lot harder than I should have at this meme. I don’t know what it is, I think it was just because it confused me so much at first. When it says “Bones” is it talking about McCoy or what he’s looking at? Is Leonard saying it? Because the next line makes it seem like he’s giving his professional medical opinion on what is clearly a very old skeleton, which is funny in its’ own right.

Whatever the case may be, the execution of the image is flawless, since McCoy has to use that exact phrase far too many times in the show. It also might be a slight jab at Kirk for needing the help of his crew member to ascertain whether a skeleton is dead or not, which is pretty accurate, Kirk does get through most scenarios by the skin of his teeth and the minds of the better crew members around him.

24 Those Legs Go All The Way Up?

When I started writing this article I had no idea I would be getting such an eyeful of Patrick Stewart’s shapely man calf. Can’t say I’m disappointed, though, those are some toned legs for a guy who spends 95% of his day drinking tea. Earl Grey. Hot. Patrick has always had that “I can’t tell if he’s a tough guy who’s nerdy or a nerd who might be tough” kind of vibe going for him.

What I especially love about images such as these is that they correct a huge oversight in the original series. Why were the females of the crew the only ones subjected to wearing skirts? That’s some archaic hogwash I’d expect at my local Hooters, not aboard a Starfleet vessel. So when pictures like this show that both men and women had the option of wearing skirts, it gladdens my heart a little. Plus, you know, those calves, dude.

23 Remind Me To Buy More Red Shirts

There’s a lot of beauty to behold in this picture. There’s the gloriousness of the V-neck that Kirk is rocking, the line up of disposable human beings who all look like they KNOW they are disposable, and the fact that everyone is laughing except Spock. As always. And overtop of all the splendor these images have managed to capture, there’s the whole punch line, which is actually pretty funny, for a meme.

The implication that the super-civilized Starfleet captain, who lives in a utopian society and believes that violence is the last resort, knows that his red shirt crew will be killed is kind of hilarious. Everyone knows the trope that red shirts get super murdered when they are part of the landing party, but for Kirk to be in on the joke adds a fun little dark layer to the whole experience. I always knew Kirk had a dark streak to him.

22 Set Your Phasers To Dig

Man, red shirts just cannot seem to catch a break. Between them and Stormtroopers, all of space seems to be cluttered with useless cannon fodder. You’d think that after the first few times they sent people down to get eaten by space bugs, they’d start wearing spacesuits or armor. But no, they always go down in brightly colored uniforms that get torn apart by a slight breeze, and next thing you know, the Captain is saying a brief sentence about what a shame it is to lose life so senselessly. Then they are on to their next adventure where they find a sentient gas thingy maybe.

The real question I have is where do they keep getting crew members? I understand that the Enterprise can hold around 430 people, but that number should drastically drop if you lose people every time you send out an away party. And that isn’t counting all the times crew members get lost in the transporter or sucked dry by an iron absorbing vampire creature.

21 The USS Billy Corgan

It looks like this pumpkin landing party has had a transporter malfunction, which is never pretty. Oh well, it only happened to a redshirt. Seriously, though, how many people are going to make the same joke? We get it, they have a very low surviving rate, change the record, please.

At least this one was a little more creative, since it decided to eschew using words at all, and decided to just let the paint on the pumpkins act as all the clues you’d need to figure out the joke. Still, you have to wonder, is retelling the same joke that every nerd has heard a thousand times really worth exploding a perfectly good pumpkin? That could have been turned into a delicious pie, man.

I also wonder why they decided to use two different versions of the Starfleet symbol. Is there another layer to the joke that I’m missing?

20 Sure You Do

Worf, one of the only Klingons to joining Starfleet Academy, was always presented as a kind of tough guy who acts before he thinks. He always wanted to show off his warrior’s strength, boasting of his exploits and desiring to end all things with bloody combat. That’s what he was supposed to be, conceptually, I suppose.

In reality, I don’t think I can remember Worf every being intimidating except for that one time he took out some Borg in the cold of space, which is admittedly pretty awesome. That aside, most of his run in The Next Generation involved him growling at people before making a complete fool of himself. I’m next to certain I’ve seen every member except for Wesley beat him up. Oh, I don’t even need to guess, here’s a supercut of Worf failing at everything he undertakes . I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed how much he sucks.

19 "Passed"

Star Trek did a heck of a lot with very little budget. They had those gross throbbing veins in the side of the aliens head in The Menagerie . Spock’s blue eye shadow was to die for. Heck, when they traveled through space, those stars passing by looked incredible. I can’t imagine how much of the special effects budget went into Shatner’s girdle.

So when they were blowing our minds with other stellar uses of a limited television budget, they had to cut corners in other areas. Here they went full Grinch and just strapped a single horn to the top of a dogs head. And hey, I’ve never been to the far reaches of space, so I can’t exactly comment on how accurate this is or isn’t, so maybe there is a sad, stupid creature out there that looks like this. Not everything you run into is going to be as cool as the Gorn or Balok.

18 We're Living In The Future!

I always found the Replicators on  Star Trek kind of a cheat.  Due to their ability to turn energy into matter, and since energy was never in shortage due to antimatter and dark energy or whatever, there was never a short supply of anything.  The Replicator is part of the reason that The Federation can live in a time of such prosperity; they live in a world where scarcity is no longer a thing. If everyone has the ability to have whatever they truly need at their fingertips, there is no more conflict for resources, or even trade deals that allow people to become rich for little work.

The 3D printer is definitely a step in the right direction if that’s the kind of future we are all envisioning. A device that can sit in your home and provide you with a basic structure of something you need. Sure, they take up way more materials than a Replicator, and sure, the blueprints for everything aren’t stored in their databanks, but it feels like it is within our grasp. Heck, they 3D printed a human heart , which is already pretty much science fiction become fact.

17 Even In The Future, Accents Are Funny

Do you want to know something weird? Did you know that they added Chekov in the second season as a way to make it more appealing to younger audiences and women? Yeah, I don’t see it either, and I always assumed he was shoehorned in the as a way to suggest that the Cold War would eventually end peacefully, with all humans becoming allies in the end. To me, that makes more sense than him being a girl magnet.

What other reason would they make an actor put on a ridiculous Russian accent? This isn’t to suggest that all Russian accents are silly, but rather that Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, never quite nailed an accurate Russian accent and so it always seemed like he was really sinking his teeth into all the “w”s. What may have been a poor casting choice at the time has spun into a lasting joke that persists even in modern iterations, with the late Anton Yelchin’s portrayal of Chekov struggling with voice commands through his thick accent.

16 Feline Ka-if-fee

Yes, I understand that if you don’t know what music the person is talking about, that image is complete gibberish. I’m here for you, here’s a link to the scene this is referencing. It’s a fairly classic Star Trek scene where one of Spock’s bizarre Vulcan rituals blows up in Kirk’s face and they end up fighting each other with disastrously impractical weapons. I know I’m making fun of it here, but honestly, it is a great scene. Shatner’s acting in this episode and scene is actually a kind of humble, approachable everyman for once, acknowledging that he’s doing something for his friend Spock. It’s fun seeing Kirk when he realizes he has bitten off more than he can chew.

What also makes this image work for me is that there are people across the globe that hear that particular music whenever they see any two combatants square off against each other. That’s how you know that your television show has been a hit, when people associate it when it really has no bearing on what they are looking at.

15 To Heck With Continuity

Star Trek Discovery has been pretty divisive so far, but what isn’t lately? Look at how much people hate each other over the election results or the stone cold fact that The Last Jedi is a good film. I think it comes down to the fact that we are in this weird period in civilization where we don’t want exact copies of things, but we don’t want them to be too different either. So when Discovery introduced a new makeup layout for Klingons, it ruffled people’s feathers.

I couldn’t tell you why, though. As the image illustrates, Klingons have already had a few changes, so why not just keep going with it. You shouldn’t limit yourself because of fan service, you should utilize all of the newest special effects at your disposal. I for one think the new Klingon design is superb, because it actually looks more like a being from another planet and not just a guy with papier maché on his forehead.

14 The Captain Is Compromised

Come to think of it, I can’t actually recall if I have ever seen Kirk put anything in the “Captain’s Log” or if it was just a series of voiceovers. I’m sure some super dedicated fan out there is itching to tell me just when and where we can see Kirk feverishly writing down his encounters with the Mirror Dimension in the log, but honestly, I don’t have time for that.

What would be even better than Kirk coming apart mentally and developing inner voices would be if he was genuinely saying these things out loud, but with no idea that he’s doing it. He’s just walking down the halls of the Enterprise, talking about how he isn’t sure how they will get out of this, and some yeoman just sees their trusted captain talking to himself like a nut. Heck, maybe it would lead to a mutiny! There can never be enough space mutinies.

13 My Tricorder Is Detecting That You Have No Taste

I’ll be the first to admit that the Star Trek universe is heavily flawed. In fact I’m kind of banking on those flaws for a lot of this article, so I’m kind of grateful for them. That being said, the flaws are kind of what give it the flavor it has, and despite those easily overlooked f;aws, it is a remarkable franchise. It broke down barriers of racism, it showed a society that was motivated by the betterment of fellow beings and not just the pursuit of wealth, and it showed us that even if you try to resolve things peacefully, sometimes you still get to use Photon Torpedoes.

So what isn’t to like? I think most people that say they don’t like Star Trek are just those dogmatic meatheads that think that showing any interest in something as dorky as science fiction will be an affront for the carefully constructed façade that is their own bravado.

12 Barking Up The Wrong Tree

I think we have all made a dingus out of ourselves at one time or another by trying to flirt with someone who played for a team that wasn’t interested in you. Heaven knows why we get so embarrassed, it isn’t even a full out rejection because we are ugly, we just aren’t what the person is in to. But embarrassed we get, and imagine how embarrassed Uhura will be when she finds out how Sulu rolls.

George Takei has been a very vocal proponent of the LGBTQ community for years, and is seen as something of a gay icon nowadays. I’m not so sure he was as open about it back when Star Trek was first on the air, since it was a different climate of tolerance, so having chemistry between him and Uhura seemed perfectly plausible at the time. Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.

11 Can You Hear Me Now?

Depending on who you ask, puns are either the highest or lowest form of comedy. Wherever you stand on them, you have to give the author if this one some credit, because it’s a two for one. I feel like I will diminish the comedy if I break down how the wordplay works here, but I have confidence that these articles only attract the most intelligent readers on the Internet, so I’m sure you got how funny it was.

What really tickles my funny bone, though, is that this scene is ridiculous OUTSIDE the premise of the pun and meme. Inside of the show, it doesn’t make a lick of sense why Data would have a phone built into his stomach, let alone a ROTARY phone. I’m not even going to research the context of the image, because I can tell you right now, it’s going to have something to do with the holodeck malfunctioning, which it does every three episodes.

10 Fascinating

The crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise went to some wacky places in their five-year mission, and not all of them made sense. I recently watched an episode where they landed on a beautiful world where the events of Alice in Wonderland seemed to be playing out. The whole thing ended up being a sort of intergalactic amusement park, despite the fact that a few crewmembers were killed. The show can be a little silly, is what I’m trying to say.

Luckily for everyone on the Internet, that silliness results in images like this, where we see the impeccable Spock throwing caution to the wind and dressing up like a snapchat filter. It’s nice to see Spock let that bowl cut hair down once in a while, it reminds us that even the most rigid of people are still only human. Or half human, whatever. Just enjoy the picture and stop analyzing everything, will ya’?

9 Set A Course For Fashion

Here’s a fun little piece of trivia for you: when Gene Roddenberry was working on Star Trek: The Next Generation he hated the casting of Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard. His reasoning was that nobody would want to see a bald captain. There are even pictures out there of the early filming days when he forced Stewart to wear a wig. Go ahead and look it up. Luckily, they managed to convince Gene that in the future, people would be enlightened enough to not care about baldness as much as we do now in out superficial society.

I’m not exactly sure how I was going to transition that factoid into a funny comment about the crew wearing hats, but we are here now. If Gene was so hung up on Picard looking like a goof because of a bit of shine on the top of his head, why wouldn’t he nix a scene where everyone looks like they are about to play hacky sack?

8 Shoot For The Stars

The first time I saw a meme like this, it was actually about Batman. That’s a goal that seems a little more unattainable, since Batman is an inherited billionaire and Kirk is a self-made man that rose up through the ranks of Starfleet Academy, mostly by cheating at the Kobayashi Maru test. So yes, I suppose it is better both logistically and morally to strive to be Captain Kirk and not Batman.

By why stop there? This is the realm of fiction, you can strive to be literally anyone. Preferably someone who isn’t a womanizing yahoo that routinely puts the lives of his crew in mortal danger on a hunch. Janeway never pulled that nonsense, why not be her? Heck, why not try to be someone who really knows how to be the moral superior while cruising recklessly through space? Why not attempt to be The Doctor, who is also self-made and arguably might have the bigger ship.

7 That Just Might Work!

When it comes to the structure of using technobabble and Applied Phlebtonium in Star Trek , I think Futurama actually summarized it best:

Fry : Usually on the show, they came up with a complicated plan, then explained it with a simple analogy.

Leela : Hmmm... If we can re-route engine power through the primary weapons and configure them to Melllvar's frequency, that should overload his electro-quantum structure.

Bender : Like putting too much air in a balloon!

Fry : Of course! It's all so simple!

Since us, the audience with our primitive analog minds, couldn’t keep up with the technology of the future, all they had to do was string together a series of scientific sounding words and we would just nod along with our mouths agape. The most commonly used jargon was the reversing of the polarities, which could literally be used to do anything, from making your shields more durable to making yourself invisible to scans.

6 A Way Of Her Own

I’m not sure if this meme is trying to compliment or insult Janeway. On the one hand, she’s a commanding presence who manages to think her way out of most scenarios. On the other hand, she got her crew lost n the other side of the galaxy, and kept them that way for an extended period of time. Plus I think she got turned into a slug in an episode? I may be remembering that wrong.

Whatever the intended purpose of the image was, it’s pretty accurate in my mind. She always did things her own way, not in a smarmy, egotistical way like Kirk, not in a no-nonsense way like Picard, but with a delicate but intelligent touch that only she can pull off. Plus she always had stellar hair, which must be hard to pull off when your ship is perpetually running low on every conceivable resource.

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38 Star Trek Memes That Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

Captain's Log, Stardate 9523.7.

Our voyage through the vast and infinite expanse of the digital cosmos has led us to an uncharted region of the Internet galaxy. As the U.S.S. Enterprise sails smoothly through the binary waves, our advanced sensors have detected a pulsating beacon of meme anomalies. These signals, both familiar yet refreshingly novel, appear to originate from the deepest vaults of the Starfleet archives.

Melding the age-old wisdom of the Federation with the witticisms of modern Earth, these 38 meme transmissions blend the timeless essence of Star Trek with the playful humor of the 21st century. Each digital artifact uniquely captures the spirit of our journey, boldly traversing territories that no meme has ventured into before.

I invite my fellow Starfleet officers, Trekkies, and even the casually curious to embark on this enlightening voyage. Set your phasers to 'fun' and brace for a warp-speed adventure through the galaxies of laughter, nostalgia, and boundless imagination. Engage!

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Star Trek Logo

Star Trek is an American science fiction franchise created in 1966 by Gene Roddenberry. The franchise began with a television show that aired on NBC from 1966 until its cancellation in 1969. From there, it gained a massive cult following, ballooning into a larger pop culture phenomenon, through a variety of outlets including four other live action TV series, an animated series, video games , books, and eleven feature films, with a twelfth in production.

Star Trek: The Original Series

The original Star Trek series, now commonly referred to as Star Trek: The Original Series , takes place in the 23rd century. It follows the adventures of the USS Enterprise, a starship of the United Federation of Planets, on a mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before." Many episodes were allegorical, touching on issues of sexuality, politics , religion and war. Initially, the series did not fare well with ratings and NBC had planned to cancel it during the second season. Two fans from California, Bjo Trimble and her husband John, organized a grass roots letter writing campaign [32] that saved the show for one more season. After the original series went into syndication, the series gained a much larger fan base, leading to the show returning as an animated series [33] in 1973. This first run is also known for launching the careers of actors William Shatner [34] , who played Captain Kirk, Leonard Nimoy [35] , who portrayed Spock and George Takei [36] , who played Hikaru Sulu.

Spin-offs: The Next Generation and Beyond

There have been 5 spin-off television shows and 11 movies based on the Star Trek series, with a 12th slated for release in May 2013. [37] Though the first of these was Star Trek: The Animated Series (shown below, left) which aired 1973-1974, the most well-known spin-off was Star Trek: The Next Generation (shown below, right), which aired from 1987 to 1994. The Next Generation gained such popularity that it is held on par with The Original Series ; its characters are widely known, especially Captain Picard , who was portrayed by Patrick Stewart.

The Next Generation , along with the subsequent spin-offs Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (aired 1993-1999) and Star Trek: Voyager (aired 1995-2001), take place in the 24th century, and continue to develop the Star Trek universe that began in the first series. The final TV spin-off, Star Trek: Enterprise , took a different approach to the previous spin-offs, and was set in the 22nd century, roughly 100 years before The Original Series . It focused on the early history of human space exploration, and ended with the formation of the Federation. The Star Trek film series, with the exceptions of the 2009 film Star Trek and its upcoming sequel, featured the casts of The Original Series (Nos. 1-6) and The Next Generation (Nos. 7-10), and took place in the same timeframe as the TV series. The 2009 and 2013 movies utilize the characters from The Original Series with a new cast in an alternate timeline created by time travel. [38]

Picard Spin-off

On August 4th, 2018, Patrick Stewart, who portrayed Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation and the film Star Trek Generations , as well as various other Star Trek films, announced that he would be reviving the character in a new series. He tweeted , [57] "It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him." Within the tweet, he also included a longer statement about the character. The post (shown below) received more than 42,000 retweets and 158,000 likes in two days.

Patrick Stewart @SirPatStew It is an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Read my full statement in the photo. #StarTrek @cbsallaccess Photo: @shervinfoto I will always be very proud to have been a part of St Trek:The Next Generation, but when we wrapped that final movie in the spring of 2002, I truly felt my time with Star Trek had run its natural course. It is, therefore, an unexpected but delightful surprise to find myself excited and invigorated to be returning to Jean-Luc Picard and to explore new dimensions within him. Seeking out new life for him, when I thought that life was over During these past years, it has been humbling to hear stories about how The Next Generation brought people comfort, saw them through difficult periods in their lives or how the example of Jean-Luc inspired so many to follow in his footsteps, pursuing science, exploration and leadership. I feel I'm ready to return to him for the same reason to research and experience what comforting and reforming light he might shine on these often very dark times. I look forward to working with our brilliant creative team as we endeavor to bring a fresh, unexpected and pertinent story to life once more Patrick

That day, the official Star Trek: Discovery twitter account released a video of Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman and Sir Patrick Stewart discussing the character. The video (shown below) received more than 2,400 retweets and 7,800 likes in two days.

Executive Producer Alex Kurtzman and SirPatStew</a> surprised fans today at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/STLV?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#STLV</a> with news that he will be returning to the iconic role of Jean-Luc Picard for a new Star Trek series coming to <a href="https://twitter.com/cbsallaccess?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"> cbsallaccess . pic.twitter.com/8F0EPnQMXn — Star Trek: Discovery (@startrekcbs) August 4, 2018

Star Trek fans were given the nickname "Trekkies" [39] in 1967 after a science fiction magazine editor spotted fans of the show wearing pointed ears to a science fiction convention, emulating members of the Vulcan, Romulan and Mintakan species. The term was embraced by fanzines, which boasted more than 10,000 readers in 1968. [40] In 1969, the first official gathering for Star Trek fans was held at the Newark Public Library in Maryland. [41] After the show gained a larger fanbase due to its syndication, a much larger Star Trek convention was held in New York City in 1972. More than 300 people came the first year, expanding to more than 7000 in 1973. [42] Trekkies are often cited as one of the earliest examples of a fandom .

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Trekkie Dating Sites

In April 2004, the dating site company Passions Network launched Trek Passions [20] (shown below, left), the first online dating site specifically tailored for fans of the science fiction series. This free site allows users to add themselves to a group for those who consider themselves in Pon Farr [21] , a Vulcan state in which they will die if they do not mate with someone or participate in a ritual battle known as kal-if-fee. [22] The site was included in lists of niche dating sites on Mashable [25] and Lemondrop [26] in 2009. A second site, Star Trek Dating [23] was launched in 2010. Their Facebook page [24] has just over 1000 likes as of October 2012.

Welcome to Trek Passions! Love Long & Prosper A 100% free SciFi personals & social networking community site for science fiction lovers, including but not limited to lovers of Star Trek* and Star Wars. Find others who share your passion for Sci Fi. Meet people who read lsaac Asimov, Ben Bova, Robert A. Heinlein, Douglas Adams, Arthur C. Clarke & more. Grok!? Feel like you are always wearing a red shirt in your relationships? In Pon Farr? Whether you are just looking for like-minded friends, someone fun to attend a Sci Fi convention with, or maybe something more, Trek Passions is here for you. Sign up now to enjoy free Sci Fi chat, message boards and email. And Trek Passions is just one site within Passions Network. Check out this VIDEO on Passions Network! CLICK HERE TO JOIN NOW

In June 2012, a British Star Trek dating site [27] launched, reportedly seeing more than 2 million interactions per day. That October, Trekkie Dating [28] (shown above, right) launched and was featured on Geekologie [29] , Forever Geek [30] and The Daily Dot . [31] The Daily Dot reported that Trekkie Dating does not allow members to select Klingon as a spoken language or choose which fictional race from the show with which they would identify.

Captain Picard Day

Captain Picard Day is an annual day of festivity observed by schoolchildren aboard the USS Enterprise-D in honor of the ship's captain and one of the main protagonists, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, on Stardate 47457.1 in the Star Trek universe. The fictional holiday was first introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "The Pegasus" [55] (Episode 7, Season 12), originally aired on January 10th, 1994. In the episode, Captain Picard reluctantly attends an array of special events dedicated to his name, including an arts & craft contest at a school where children create various sculptures and drawings bearing his resemblance.

On the Internet , Star Trek fans began celebrating Captain Picard Day on June 16th, 2007, due to the fact that the date corresponds to Stardate 47457.1 on Earth calendar (June 16th, 2370), according to Memory-Alpha Wikia. [54] However, casual celebrations of Captain Picard Day by Star Trek fans may have been observed since as early as June 2004, according to Google Trends. [56]

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Fanfictions

Outside of its licensed canon productions and spin-off stories, Star Trek is well-known for its expanded universe that consists of a large volume of non-canonical novels, comic books and videogames. The series is also credited with pioneering the literary genre of fan fiction , beginning with the first issue of Star Trek fanzine Spockanalia [49] published in 1967. This fanzine was an anthology of stories, poems, articles, art and letters written by the fans when the series was still in its first season on NBC. Though originally meant as a one-time publication, it ended up publishing five issues from 1967 to 1970 due to the popular demands. Early Star Trek fan works are also credited for creating the Mary Sue character archetype and coining the term "slash" [4] , used when a homosexual romantic pairing is featured in the work.

SPOCKANALIA

Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, more Star Trek fan fictions continued to emerge through fanzines, largely driven by contributions from female authors who accounted for 90% of the fan-fiction community by 1973. [48] The volume of Star Trek fictions saw a drastic increase in the late 1990s and 2000s with the emergence of online communities dedicated to fan fiction, like fanfiction.net, as well as those dedicated to Star Trek. inclduing Star Trek Fan Fiction [51] and Orion Press. [52] Additionally, offline publication projects like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds [53] , which ran annually from 1998 to 2007, and zines consistently shared new stories. As of October 2012, Many stories are archived on the Star Trek Expanded Universe wiki [44] and Fanfiction.net. [45]

TAR TREK FAI ECIOD Blog Submissions Login TAR TREK Categories The Original Series The Next Generation Deep Space Nine Voyager Enterprise Latest Stories USS Oregon: Finding a Ring Back with A Vengeance The Calm Before the Storm The Teachings of Surak Shane L. BartellErin Blackwell John H. Burkitt Walter Chmara Stephen D. Greaney A.C. Harper LKillingsworth Anna Perotti Patrick Cumby Saavant Robert Wallace Cory Pelc Miscellaneous Shane L. Bartell A Doctor's Tale, Part 06/16/01 Tags: mccoy Search Blogroll Here is the first part of a two part story I wrote about a young Dr. McCoy shortly after the death of his father, and before the break up of his marriage based upon the episode idea, Joanna by D.C. Fontana. Trek Writer's Guild Search Tags Erin Blackwell 7 of 9 alex garrett all archer b'elanna bashir Mirror Vulcan, Mirror Not 08/13/00 Tags: saavik, spock In the MirrOr, Mirror universe, Saavik becomes a player in Spock's plans to overthrow the Empire. rChakotay data dax ds9 Enterprise guinan jake John H. Burkitt janeway jemison kes kim kira kirk maquis matthewS mccoy 12/03/05 Tags: kirk, scott, spock A lifeless planet around a star about to go nova is covered with mysterious structures that may have been made by sentient life long ago. And one strange energy signature.. Walter Chmara

In addition to proses and stories, reference materials like instructions have been published by fan artists and writers since 1973, with Franz Joseph's blueprints "Booklet of General Plans – USS Constitution-class for the USS Enterprise" . [19]

CLASSIFIED $14.95 U.S.S. ENTERPRISE OFFICER'S MANUAL PUBLGATIONS OFFICE

A Trekkie's Tale (1973)

As a result of gender imbalance within fan-fiction community, many of early Star Trek fanfictions contained heavy elements of romance and erotica that often led to interactions and relationships that were deemed out-of-character. Additionally, many writers would self-project an original character that would appear to be an ideal version of themselves. These deviations from the canon was later observed in Paula Smith's 1973 fan-fiction satire “A Trekkie’s Tale," [50] in which a young female crew member named Mary Sue gets romantically involved with every canon character, possibly as a result of the author's wish fulfillment. Smith's notion has been since largely embraced by the fan-fiction community and the name "Mary Sue" evolved into a generic term for any fan fiction character that would fit under this archetype.

stepped on the nant in the ane up to d with ne ver the ship in the ed down green t. Mary Recovering 1 got y out that the jurping langufshed 1 she antry and fatally urrounded eeping ful beauty o this day

Kirk/Spock Slash Fiction

The Star Trek fandom also saw many instances of slash fictions centered around a broromantic or sexual relationship between James T. Kirk and Spock (commonly abbreviated as Kirk/Spock or K/S). This pairing was first introduced in a 1974 story titled "A Fragment Out of Time" [47] , which was the first fan fiction story to use a slash to denote the homosexual nature of the relationship as a way to alert readers that it was not a friendship pairing.

no star trek meme

There are also many Star Trek crossover fictions involving various characters and plot-lines from other media franchises, including Harry Potter ( Its Hour Come Round at Last , Harry Potter and the Return of James T. Kirk , Harry Potter and the Fountain of Possibilities ), Dragon Ball ( Dragon Ball Z vs. Star Trek: The Beginning of Infinity , Dragon Ball Z vs. Star Trek: The Way of Infinity ), High School Musical ( A Flight to Remember ) and even a four-story crossover series ( Team Chipmunk: The Next Generation vs. Star Trek: Omega Force ). Many of these stories were penned by William Raynor [46] , an active participant in online Star Trek fandom.

POLICE 2m; BOX .

Related Memes

Dammit jim, i'm a doctor, not a x.

"Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor, Not a X!" is a catchphrase template and Star Trek running gag originating in The Original Series . It was frequently spoken by Dr. McCoy when Captain Kirk asked him to perform un-doctorlike tasks. The phrase was picked up on by trekkies, to the extent that it was included in the spin-off TV series. Online, it is frequently used to rebuke strange requests.

Dammit Jim, I'm a Doctor, not a Thumb warmer

Spock is Not Impressed

Spock is Not Impressed is a photoshop meme started by the single topic blog of the same name. It features The Original Series character Spock, portrayed by Leonard Nimoy, with a look of disapproval on his face. He is frequently used to denote the poster's lack of amazement or respect of the situation at hand.

no star trek meme

Vulcan Salute / Live Long and Prosper

The Vulcan Salute, formed by raising the hand, palm forward with the fingers parted between the middle and ring finger with the thumb extended, is a hand gesture originating from The Original Series episode "Amok Time," which first aired on September 15th, 1967. Forming the salute serves as an instant recognition of one's devotion to Star Trek. It is usually accompanied by the phrase "Live Long and Prosper." The gesture, along with the slogan, are among the most familiar elements of Star Trek in mainstream culture. [5]

KHAN! is a YTMND fad, originating in 2004. The phrase was exclaimed by Admiral (former Captain) Kirk in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , after Khan Noonien Singh (portrayed by Ricardo Montalban) taunts him. Kirk's screaming face appeared across more than 200 YTMND sites between 2004 and 2005.

no star trek meme

Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard , played by Patrick Stewart (shown below, left), was the captain of the USS Enterprise in The Next Generation and four of the feature films. In the early days of the internet, debates between Trekkies about whether he or Kirk was the better captain were frequent. More recently, he has been featured in many image macros , and most notably has spawned the Facepalm and the Annoyed Picard (shown below, right) memes .

no star trek meme

Facepalm is a slang term used to describe the act of resting one's face in one's hands, a gesture commonly associated with exasperation. One of the earliest examples of a facepalm in pop culture was captured in a still image of Captain Picard during the The Next Generation season 3 episode "Déjà Q," which originally aired on February 5th, 1980. It remains one of the most widespread reaction images across the internet.

no star trek meme

The Next Generation Parodies

Parody videos of The Next Generation have appeared on YouTube since as early as 2006. One of the earliest examples a Picard YouTube Poop Music Video featuring a song by DarkMateria. More than 1100 recut clips of The Next Generation have been uploaded to YouTube as of October 2012. [43]

It's a Fake!

It's a Fake! is a catchphrase first said during the Deep Space Nine episode "In the Pale Moonlight" by a Romulan senator. He proclaims that a data rod presented to him by Captain Sisko has been forged. It initially gained notoriety on Usenet, where it was used in a response to Star Trek related posts, but later went on be included in YTMND sites, Something Awful photoshop contets and video mashups.

Need Moar Lens Flare

Need Moar Lens Flare is a common response to the perceived overuse of the lens flare effect in modern sci-fi cinema, specifically found in the 2009 film Star Trek . After the release of the film, the amount of lens flare used was ridiculed, and it quickly became a Photoshop meme, commonly used to facetiously "liven up" otherwise dull scenes.

no star trek meme

Search Interest

Search interest has remained relatively consistent, showing a large peak in 2009, around the release of the most recent film, Star Trek .

[1] Wikipedia – Star Trek

[2] TV Tropes – Star Trek

[4] TV Tropes – Slash Fic

[5] Wikipedia – Vulcan salute

[6] Wikipedia – Star Trek fan productions

[7] Star Trek Expanded Universe – Fan Fiction Short Stories

[8] Star Trek Expanded Universe – Fan Fiction

[9] Star Trek Expanded Universe – Crossover Fan Fiction

[10] Star Trek Expanded Universe – Fan Fiction timeline

[13] Fanfiction – Star Trek / Deep Space Nine

[14] Fanfiction – Star Trek / Enterprise

[15] Fanfiction – Star Trek / Others

[16] Fanfiction – Star Trek / The Next Generation

[17] Fanfiction – Star Trek / The Original Series

[18] Fanfiction – Star Trek / Voyager

[19] Memory Alpha 0 – Fanfiction

[20] Trek Passions – Home

[21] Trek Passions – In Pon Farr group

[22] Wikipedia – Pon farr

[23] Star Trek Dating – Set Phasers to Stunning

[24] Facebook – Star Trek Dating

[25] Mashable – Most Unusual and Unique Online Dating Sites

[26] Lemondrop – The Craziest Online Dating Sites You Never Knew Existed

[27] StarTrekDating.co.uk – Home

[28] Trekkie Dating – Home

[29] Geekologie – Finally, A Questionable Online Dating Site For Trekkies

[30] Forever Geek – Trekkie Dating Will Take Care of Your Social Woes

[31] The Daily Dot – New Trekkie dating site already has plenty of competition

[32] Star Trek – Bjo Trimble: The Woman Who Saved Star Trek – Part 1

[33] Wikipedia – Star Trek: The Animated Series

[34] Wikipedia – William Shatner

[35] Wikipedia – Leonard Nimoy

[36] Wikipedia – George Takei

[37] Wikipedia – Star Trek into Darkness

[38] Wikipedia – Star Trek (film)

[39] Wikipedia – Trekkie

[40] Toledo Blade – August 15th, 1968

[41] Fanlore – Star Trek Con (1969 convention)

[42] Lakeland Ledger – March 11th, 1973

[43] YouTube – Search results for "star trek next generation parody"

[44] Star Trek Expanded Universe Wiki – Home

[45] Fanfiction.net – Search results for Star Trek

[46] Star Trek Expanded Universe Wiki – William Raymer

[47] Fanlore – A Fragment Out of Time

[48] Google Books – Enterprising Women: Television Fandom and the Creation of Popular Myth

[49] Fanlore – Spockanalia

[50] TV Tropes – A Trekkie's Tale

[51] Star Trek Fan Fiction – Home

[52] Orion Press – Home

[53] Wikipedia – Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

[54] Memory Alpha Wikia – Captain Picard Day

[55] Memory Alpha Wikia – The Pegasus

[56] Google Trends – Search Interest for 'Captain Picard Day'

[57] Twitter – @SirPatStew's Tweet

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15 star trek memes that prove tng makes no sense.

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After 57 Years, Star Trek Settles the Truth About Trelane's Godlike Species

Star trek: how many human wives did spock’s father have, why star trek replaced original captain actor with william shatner.

Star Trek: The Next Generation remains the gold standard for Star Trek on television. It's by far the most mainstream iteration of the show, and arguably the most successful in terms of viewership - besides  Discovery . It launched the golden age of Star Trek on television, fleshing out the universe The Original Series so wonderfully introduced into  into something that launched and sustained four movies and no less than four other series, two of which ran for their own very respectable seven season runs.

Regardless of what series happens to be your favorite, TNG is has left a legacy behind that's indisputable in its influence, reach and endurance. That said, like any long-running show, it was far from perfect at times, and we have the internet to thank for pointing out some of the funnier ways TNG stumbled on its way to greatness.

This list highlights memes that have brilliantly pointed out some of the inexplicable plot holes and cringeworthy moments in Next Generation . There aren't many, and as fans of the show, we feel a little bad pointing out its faults. On the flip side, we're family at this point, and if you can't point out when the rules that govern your family's universe have been eschewed in favor of servicing the plot, who can?

Here are  15 Star Trek Memes That Prove TNG Makes No Sense.

REALLY? TRORF?

Worf and Troi, the ship everyone wanted to sink. There have been more infuriating relationships in Star Trek history (Chakotay and Seven spring to mind), but these two are always in the running for worst pairing in any Star Trek romance debate and there are several good reasons for that.

First of all, Troi was Worf’s son’s counselor, and so by extension, Worf’s. They had plenty of sessions together where talk of Alexander’s issues merged with talk of Worf’s, as happens with any family counseling. It would be considered inappropriate by even the loosest interpretations of psychological protocol for Troi to start a relationship with Worf.

Then there’s the fact that Troi and Riker had been dancing around each other literally since the pilot, and their relationship got no resolution in the series finale, despite strong audience interest. Worf and Troi have always felt out of place, and this meme sums up why.

DON’T ASK A KLINGON TO CATSIT

During the episode, “Phantasms”, a TNG classic during which Data dreams and Freudian references abound, Data is voluntarily confined to quarters after attacking Counselor Troi in a turbolift. He turns out to be right, but before anyone can figure that out, Worf shows up to his quarters to confiscate the android’s phaser. While he’s there, Data thinks it’s a good idea that Worf should confiscate Data’s cat, Spot, as well, just in case.

There are two problems with this ultimately very funny sequence. First, Data seems genuinely concerned with Spot’s care, specifically that Worf must “ Tell him he is a good cat and a pretty cat. ” The sentiment feels awfully sincere for someone without any emotions. And if Data was that concerned about his cat, why would he ask a grump like Worf to take care of him and whisper sweet nothings into Spot’s ears? That’s a job for Riker.

THE STRANGE CASE OF WESLEY CRUSHER AND WIL WHEATON

Now that we think about it, for a character as reviled as Wesley was, it is a bit odd that Wil Wheaton’s managed to parlay that into such popularity. Given how savage Trek fans can be, it wouldn’t have surprised us if Wheaton had washed his hands of fandom altogether. Like any good sport, he’s always run with Wesley’s cringeworthy status and never loses an opportunity to poke fun at himself.

By all accounts, Wheaton’s experience working on TNG would’ve inoculated him against the negative fan reception the character received. He became a good friend to Gene Roddenberry and the legendary producer took the young actor under his wing and treated him more like a son than a colleague. The two were so close that Gene Roddenberry’s actual son has expressed frustration that he didn’t get the same level of attention from his father.

 WASN'T TROI AN OFFICER?

Much has been made of Counselor Troi’s wardrobe over Star Trek: The Next Generation’s seven seasons. In the pilot, she wore an unfortunate jorts/unitard combo that was thankfully abandoned by the second episode - just for her, though. There were still a couple of unlucky engineering gents who had to run around in that getup before it was officially retired. Then she sported a series of civilian outfits designed to show off her “assets.”

While one could make the fairly weak case that Troi’s position as counselor necessitated a slightly less formal outfit, it’s blatantly obvious she was a stunner and having her wear a traditional uniform would interfere with displaying her curves.

Marina Sirtis admits to being miffed about this inexplicable deviation from protocol and was delighted when Captain Edward Jellico insists she put on a regulation uniform in “Chain of Command Pt. 1”.

THERE WAS ONLY… ONE COUNSELOR?

Counselor Troi gets dragged almost as much as Wesley Crusher and that’s always annoyed us. The idea that Starfleet would have a counselor on the senior staff weighing in on tactical decisions made a strong statement to 80’s and 90’s audiences about the undeniable importance of mental health in all aspects of life – especially high-stress military situations. That said: why was there only one of her?

The Enterprise D carried 1000 souls at any given point in time. Dr. Crusher had medical assistants coming out of her ears, so why didn’t we ever see a single other mental health professional pinch-hitting for Troi or at least being directed by her? It seemed to undercut her importance that there were few enough patients that she could handle them all herself.

If and when the Enterprise is ever attacked, there’s almost always an order from Picard or Riker to put shields at maximum. Then, over the course of the battle, the shields drop with ever hit until someone figures out a way to defeat whoever was dumb enough to fire on the Federation flagship. That said, there was virtually no reason that if the shields were up, they shouldn’t be dialed to 11 at all times.

If the Enterprise existed in the 21st century, we could always argue that she operated on some kind of power-saving mode that only allowed for shields to be raised to maximum in cases of dire need. But TNG took place during the 24th century and while they hadn’t discovered inexhaustible power, it’s not like they tried to conserve energy in any other capacity (see: unlimited use of replicators and holodecks).

AREN’T THERE REGULATIONS ABOUT STUFF LIKE THIS?

The most likely reason Troi and Riker never got it together enough to actually get together on the show was that they were TNG’s resident dreamboats.

After some thorough research, we’ve determined Riker's magic number hovers somewhere around 3478 (we’re compensating for what we didn’t see), and many of those women were not humanoid. But surely there would be problems with this kind of behavior, wouldn’t there? If only when it came to diplomacy.

Take Soren in “The Outcast", for example. While they don’t actually get intimate, Riker pushes her to break some serious social norms in pursuit of a relationship he just began. While the statement on gender restrictions was one of the more socially resonant (and utterly necessary) moments in TNG , it still feels ridiculously irresponsible for Riker to push Soren to do something that would have far-reaching consequences he definitely wouldn’t have stuck around to help mitigate.

SOMEONE HAD TO

Don’t get us wrong, Q’s antagonistic relationship with the Enterprise crew, particularly Picard was one of the highlights of TNG’s run. The character began as a cynical representation of God that enjoyed toying with the Enterprise crew because their journey to evolve beyond their barbaric roots amused him in its (according to him) futility. Then Q went through his own evolution from nemesis to something in between an adversary and an advocate.

That said, he still missed no opportunity to take potshots at the Enterprise crew (specifically Worf and Riker’s intelligence). But when he tried the same tactics on Sisko during his one visit to DS9 , Sisko put a stop to that business by socking Q in the nose during a boxing competition. Q seemed to get the picture and never visited the station again. So why didn’t Worf ever get to land a punch? He certainly had motive.

THE RULE THAT’S ALWAYS BROKEN

Star Trek  wrote themselves into a very famous hole when they made the point that captains are not “permitted” to join away teams. The reasoning is sound – the captain’s responsible for the welfare of the ship and her complement and he can’t do that effectively if he’s down on a dangerous planet. But the same logic should apply to the senior staff. It would make sense for one department head (like the XO) to beam down with a team to provide leadership, but not, like, five of them.

Unfortunately, when your principle cast is the senior staff, things get narratively difficult. Take “Skin of Evil”, for example. Worf, Geordi, Tasha, Riker, and Troi all beam down. Two of them are compromised and the Head of Security is destroyed. That doesn’t stop other episodes from putting several members of the senior staff on one, easy-to-eliminate team. But if it’s between that and endless redshirts, we’ll take it.

GUINAN HAS SOME ‘SPLAININ’ TO DO

It’s not that we didn’t enjoy the El Aurian listener that ran Ten Forward, but we remain perplexed that canonical Star Trek  never explained the strange powers her species possessed. Not only did they have longer life spans than Vulcans, they were also in possession of mad skills that scared Q.

Remember Q? The omnipotent being who was part of a race of omnipotent beings t hat charged themselves with maintaining universal order? When we first see the two face-off in “Q Who?” it’s clear that Guinan’s a nemesis he fears.

But her powers of intimidation (or whatever) seem to only apply to the Q – the El Aurians were decimated and scattered by the Borg, a species Q has no problem controlling. And that doesn’t explain her ability to perceive the changing nature of the universe as she does in “Yesterday’s Enterprise”. It's not like we really mind, though – it’s more interesting than frustrating.

GEORDI’S LACK OF GAME

On a show where every male lead got some play during their time on the ship - including the android - it stuck out like a sore thumb that the handsome, intelligent kind Chief Engineer of the Federation flagship never got a girl.

The closest we ever saw Geordi La Forge come to romance was a failed date with one of his underlings that morphed into a pseudo relationship with a hologram, and finally, the woman behind said hologram appearing on the ship only to reveal she was married - and very uncomfortable with the fact that Geordi made out with her hologram.

This guy was a huge catch and it made absolutely no sense that he’d be so hapless when it came to romance – not when he had Will “Broken Zipper” Riker to give him advice.

DATA WAS DANGEROUS

Data served as kind of a mirror to humanity during TNG’s run. His attempts to explore humanity allowed audiences to see everyday human conflicts through a different lens. That’s the most likely reason Data never went off the reservation and used his considerable abilities to destroy everyone around him.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re not upset that Data didn’t exist to service the exhaustive “robot evolves beyond its creators and tries to terminate them” trope, but just considering that raises a few questions. Data was stronger, faster and better that everyone on board, and not even when he was compromised in “The Naked Now” does he ever attempt a destructive move.

The show kind of implies that his lack of emotion contributes to his passive nature since Lore’s emotions induce him to despise humanity and attempt to destroy them, but it feels like a flimsy explanation.

 NO FOUNDATION IN THE 24TH CENTURY?

Data was one of the most advanced pieces of technology in existence when the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation take place. He’s an artificial being that’s “fully functional” – so much so that he’s judged to have enough free will to earn a commission in Starfleet and operate as an officer aboard the flagship. He’s also unique in the universe, aside from his brother, which we take to mean that Dr. Soong’s creations were so advanced no one’s been able to replicate them.

In a society that can create lifelike holograms, regrow skin, and achieve crazy feats of surgical reconstruction, it seems more than a little strange that Data would have had to wait until he encountered the Borg for the umpteenth time to get some more human-looking skin.

IF HE WASN’T A PROBLEM BEFORE…

It’s more than a little suspect that once Data started using his emotion chip that the only problematic emotion we ever saw him feel was fear. Sure “Descent” saw him levy animosity at his friends, but he was being manipulated by Lore, so it’s hard to count.

Once he started using it on the regular after the events of Generations , surely there would have been at least one or two moments when Data’s superior intellect would’ve gotten the better of him and he would’ve made some kind of disparaging remark at the expense of the rest of his team.

Data had an innocent characterization before the the emotion chip, but that was due to the fact that he wasn’t corrupted by human competition and jealousy. Once it was in full use, we would’ve liked to have seen the android develop imperfections like the rest of us.

THE LCARS IS REMARKABLY EFFICIENT

We’re not saying it’s totally outside the realm of possibility that Data could execute incredibly complicated and unrelated commands using a small number of keystrokes, but it’s a lot to swallow. Frankly, the only time the keystrokes seemed to match up with results was in the transporter room, when we could very clearly see Chief O’Brien initiate the transporter and complete an action.

Granted, there’s only so much world-building we can expect from a show that had to produce over 20 episodes a season and whose objective was to use science fiction to speak to current social issues and offer aspirational solutions.

TNG was great at backing up much of its technobabble with actual science (the navigation directions “bearing xxx mark xx” are legitimate ways of setting a course). It was still fun watching actors punch keys when it was clear said strokes were sourced from the actors’ imaginations.

Do you have any nonsensical Star Trek: The Next Generation memes to share? Leave them in the comments!

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27 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Memes Only True Trekkers Will Appreciate

  • u/SkotConQueso

27 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Memes Only True Trekkers Will Appreciate

Mark Rennie

'Star Trek: The Next Generation' may have gone off the air but the memes are forever. If you're hungry for more be sure to check out the subreddit r/startrekmemes .

You Will Have To Trick Him

You Will Have To Trick Him

Set As Homescreen

Set As Homescreen

  • u/SgtScream88

Savage Troi

Savage Troi

  • u/donkleone

Resistance Is Futile

Resistance Is Futile

  • u/YourSuperior1

Can You Be More Specific?

Can You Be More Specific?

  • u/trumpticusprime

The CBS Empire

The CBS Empire

  • u/ManDe1orean

I'm The Captain Now

I'm The Captain Now

  • u/Melkbeker2002

Riker Gonna Riker

Riker Gonna Riker

Q Is Quite The Scamp

Q Is Quite The Scamp

This Is Exactly How It Happened

This Is Exactly How It Happened

  • u/BoukenGreen

They're Just So Nice

They're Just So Nice

  • u/gentle_giant_81

Drastic Measures

Drastic Measures

  • u/PoonSwoggle

Tough Break, Kid

Tough Break, Kid

Hats In Space!

Hats In Space!

  • u/narwhalsarefalling

Picard Is Tough But Fair

Picard Is Tough But Fair

Adorable Worf

Adorable Worf

  • u/H_G_Bells

C'mon, Keep Up

C'mon, Keep Up

  • u/Slobberinho

They Do Be Like That

They Do Be Like That

  • u/PhatTeddy

Only Fair

The Path To Success

The Path To Success

This Show Won A Peabody Award

This Show Won A Peabody Award

You Are Not Making Sense

You Are Not Making Sense

So We Like Grunge, Big Deal!

So We Like Grunge, Big Deal!

  • u/ThresholdBestEpisode

Easy There

Thank You, Jazz Man

Thank You, Jazz Man

  • u/kevonicus
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Live long, and prosper.

Exasperated Picard

​​Star Trek: The Vulcan Nerve Pinch, Explained

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Star Trek Fans Debate Who Deserves Credit For Defeating Khan

Star trek: how discovery changed the way we see spock, 15 spock memes only true star trek fans will understand, quick links, what is the vulcan nerve pinch, notable uses of the vulcan nerve pinch in star trek, is anyone immune to a vulcan nerve pinch, is the vulcan nerve pinch based on a real-life technique, key takeaways.

  • Spock first introduced the Vulcan nerve pinch in Star Trek: The Original Series and it's been used over 60 times since.
  • While Spock's originator Leonard Nimoy invented the ability, there's no set in-universe explanation about how it works so effectively.
  • The nerve pinch is not exclusive to Vulcans but is difficult to learn and not effective against every opponent.

Star Trek has served up many distinctive races, but the definitive alien character will always be Spock. Leonard Nimoy established a relatable non-human character on TV like never before, setting many characteristics that have pushed the Vulcan species into pop culture. Everyone knows the traits that mark Vulcans out — pointy ears, eyebrows, logic, and mind melds. But there’s also a particularly effective technique to subdue enemies.

It didn’t take long for Spock to introduce the Vulcan nerve pinch to the show — a skill that arguably became more ubiquitous in the broader franchise than the race that created it. While Spock has popped up more iterations of Star Trek than any other character, the technique he first demonstrated has appeared in every series and most films.

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Simply put, the nerve pinch is a technique by which Vulcans and some non-Vulcans can induce unconsciousness by pinching a pressure point at the base of the neck. It’s a highly effective stealth technique — while not guaranteed, a nerve pinch will often render a victim unconscious before they can cry out, without causing them any serious harm.

Spock first demonstrated the nerve pinch in the first season of the Original Series . “The Enemy Within” saw a transporter accident create an evil ‘negative’ Kirk, who at one point is subdued with a nerve pinch by the Enterprise’s first officer. It quickly became a staple and has subsequently appeared in the franchise over 60 times.

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The technique is not exclusive to Vulcans. Characters like Borg Seven of Nine and Changeling Odo have successfully used the nerve pinch. However, it's notoriously difficult to teach. Spock couldn’t pass the skill on to James T. Kirk, and Dr McCoy was terrible at it when possessed by Spock’s katra In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . Captain Jonathan Archer proved to be inexplicably proficient at it in the Enterprise episode “Kir'Shara,” while Jean-Luc Picard seemed to learn it following his intense mind meld with Spock’s father Sarek.

In Star Trek lore the technique is regarded as a quintessential part of being a Vulcan. Outside the franchise, it’s quickly spread into pop culture, earning references in Spaceballs , The O.C. , and a playful Audi advert called ' Leonard Nimoy vs. Zachary Quinto .’

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While mostly reserved for humanoids, the nerve pinch was effective on non-humanoids. In The Animated Series episode “Yesteryear,” Spock successfully nerve-pinched a horse. In Star Trek: Voyager , Tuvok could also use the technique on a member of Species 8472, albeit in the guise of a human.

Spock is clearly a master of the technique, even employing a two-handed version to knock out an Andorian and a Tellarite in “Whom Gods Destroy.” Probably the most famous use of the nerve pinch came in 1986’s Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home when Spock used it to knock out a punk playing loud music on a San Francisco bus, earning a round of applause from his fellow passengers.

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The Vulcan nerve pinch has proved widely effective against humanoid life forms across the galaxy, although there were exceptions. The Vians of Minara were notably immune, as evidenced during the Original Series . While Cardassians and Ferengi have shown resistance to Vulcan mind melds, both species were susceptible to the nerve pinch.

Humans were highly susceptible, although highly-tuned individuals have proved immune. During “Assignment: Earth” the flawlessly conditioned human Gary Seven resisted the Vulcan nerve pinch. Similarly, Khan Noonien Singh felt severe pain but could withstand the technique when subjected to Spock’s attempt in Star Trek Into Darkness .

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The nerve pinch is entirely fictional. Behind the scenes, it was Nimoy who invented the move. While the script suggested that Spock knock out the Kirk duplicate in “The Enemy Within” the actor, with his quick and brilliant grasp of the character, sought a more dignified maneuver that befitted the Vulcan. In the 1992 VHS documentary 25 Year Mission Tour , Nimoy credited William Shatner with finally persuading the episode’s director, Leo Penn, that the nerve pinch was the right move.

Despite inventing it, Nimoy’s preferred explanation for the technique hasn’t held up in Star Trek Lore. Despite the creator suggesting it connects to Vulcan telepathy, it has been successfully deployed by artificial lifeforms like The Next Generation ’s Data and Voyager ’s holographic Doctor.

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Another authoritative source offered a simple solution in The Making of Star Trek . Published in 1968, when the Original Series was still on air, Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry’s book suggested that the ‘Spock pinch’ temporarily blocked blood and nerve responses heading to the brain. For a more scientific explanation, the EMH is on hand — the holographic Doctor described the pinch as rupturing nerve fibers in the trapezius neck bundle during the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Cathexis."

Part of the nerve pinch’s appeal lies in the lack of a full in-universe explanation. But despite being as impossible to learn in reality as it is challenging to master in-universe, it remains a perfect gift for young Star Trek fans nearly six decades after it first appeared. It’s a distinctive character trait, non-fatal, and ideal for roleplaying without any props. It’s no wonder the timeless technique has remained such a recognizable part of Star Trek .

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