Last week, Paramount+ released a new advertisement for their streaming service that combined Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Spongebob Squarepants. At the conclusion of the ad, Spock (Ethan Peck) re-enacts the popular “Imagination” Spongebob meme. But while this is destined to become an oft-used reaction image for Trekkies, it is far from the first meme to come from Star Trek.
For this week’s Trek Tuesday, we’re counting down five popular Star Trek memes and citing their source episodes. Did we include your favorite?
Kirk’s questionable rock
Our first meme comes from Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1’s “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” In this episode, James T. Kirk (William Shatner) is trapped in a cave on Exo III as he evades Ruk (Ted Cassidy). Ruk is an android built by the Old Ones in the distant past.
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During the pursuit, Kirk pulls a stalactite down from the ceiling. This stalactite has a very questionable and arguably suggestive shape. As a result, the image of Kirk holding the stalactite has become a meme, based on how ridiculous it appears.
Picard’s smiley cloud
Another image from the Franchise that has become a popular meme comes from Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 6 episode “Timescape.” In this episode, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Data (Brent Spiner), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) are returning to the U.S.S. Enterprise-D after a scientific conference.
However, the situation is complicated by temporal distortions that cause people and things to become frozen in time. This includes the cloud from a warp core breach in engineering. And while it is true that a warp core breach is no laughing matter, Picard nevertheless takes a moment to draw a smiley face on the cloud. This amusing image has become a popular meme.
“Die mad about it”
In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1 episode “Past Prologue,” we are introduced to the character Garak (Andrew Robinson). The simple Cardassian tailor would soon become a fan favorite character. And in his very first appearance, he created one of the Franchise’s most popular memes.
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In this episode, Garak has a conversation with the Duras sisters, Lursa (Barbara March) and B’Etor (Gwynyth Walsh). During the conversation, he raises his hands and shakes them. This image has become a popular reaction meme. It is often paired with the text “die mad about it” or similar phrases. However, in the episode, the gesture was actually accompanied by Garak’s suggestion to the Duras sisters that they “haggle.”
“There’s coffee in that nebula”
Star Trek: Voyager Season 1’s “The Cloud” is one of the early episodes of the series. But while the U.S.S. Voyager hadn’t been stuck in the Delta Quadrant for too long, it was already established that Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) was a dedicated coffee drinker.
In “The Cloud,” Voyager’s scans have detected resources to replenish the food replicator’s energy. For Janeway, this means the continued availability of coffee aboard the ship. For this reason, she directs the ship into the cloud by declaring, “There’s coffee in that nebula.” The line has become a popular post for those Trekkies who share Janeway’s love of coffee.
Conspiracy Mariner
In Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1’s “Cupid’s Errant Arrow,” Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) becomes suspicious when Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) begins dating Barbara Brinson (Gillian Jacobs). Mariner swiftly becomes convinced that not all is as it seems when it comes to Brinson.
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Soon Mariner has advanced to obsession where Brinson is concerned. Consumed by various theories, Mariner creates a “conspiracy board” with images and string which she points to while looking significantly distraught. The image is an instant-classic meme that is used to convey the tenuous nature of certain theories. And interestingly, Mariner’s board includes images of the Duras sisters, previously mentioned in the entry for the Garak meme above.
These Star Trek episodes are currently available for streaming on Paramount+.
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