One of the important recurring themes of Star Trek is the celebration of some of humanity’s greatest achievements. This doesn’t just scientific achievements, but artistic achievements, as well. Previously, we’ve discussed how the Trek canon has saluted William Shakespeare. But for this week’s Trek Tuesday, we’re taking a look at some of the instances in which the Franchise has paid homage to another one of Earth’s greatest storytellers: Charles Dickens.
A Tale of Two Starships
One allusion that’s likely to pop into the mind of many Trekkies comes from the big screen. In Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) gives James T. Kirk (William Shatner) a birthday gift. This is a copy of the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens.
When pressed, Spock denies that there is further meaning behind the gift. However, the rest of the movie suggests there is indeed a deeper significance to the novel’s presence in The Wrath of Khan.
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For one thing, A Tale of Two Cities isn’t the only novel that plays a significant role in The Wrath of Khan. Equally important is a novel which Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) keeps on his bookshelf. Moby Dick by Herman Melville is a cautionary tale about becoming consumed by personal vengeance. By contrast, A Tale of Two Cities emphasizes the beauty in sacrificing oneself for the benefit of another.
Obviously, self-sacrifice is an important part of Spock’s arc in The Wrath of Khan. Kirk underscores this by quoting A Tale of Two Cities at the conclusion of The Wrath of Khan, counter balancing Kahn’s quotation of Moby Dick a few minutes earlier. And the popularity of this novel continues after the events of this movie. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7’s “Extreme Measures,” Chief Miles O’Brien (Colm Meany) identifies A Tale of Two Cities as his mother’s favorite book.
The Ghost of Datas Past
Another memorable reference to Dickens takes place in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4’s “Devil’s Due.” This episode opens on the USS Enterprise-D holodeck. There, Data (Brent Spiner) is performing as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, so as to allow Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) the opportunity to critique his acting skills.
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In the audio commentary for the Star Trek: Picard season 3 finale, “The Last Generation,” Jonathan Frakes reveals that Spiner has another connection to Dickens. According to Frakes, Spiner’s cocktail of choice is called “The Dickens.” The Dickens is an extra dry martini with both an olive and a twist. Frakes reports that Spiner loves informing convention bartenders how to concoct this fatefully-named drink.
Furthermore, if anyone is a good choice for an assessment of a performance of Dickens, surely it’s a character played by Stewart. Throughout his tenure playing Picard on TNG, Stewart was also performing a one-man show version of A Christmas Carol. First performed in 1987, Stewart adapted the script himself. The one-man show has continued to enjoy success in the intervening years.
Stewart also played Scrooge in the 1999 TV adaptation of A Christmas Carol. And that’s not all. According to episode writer Ronald D. Moore, the TNG season 6 episode “Tapestry” was inspired by Stewart’s one-man Christmas Carol performance.
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Star Trek and Dickens
Two additional allusions to A Christmas Carol in Star Trek: Voyager demonstrate how the novella by Dickens continues to influence people in the 24th century. In the very first Voyager episode, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) tells Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) he had a change of heart after being visited by a trio of ghosts. And in Voyager season 4’s “The Omega Directive,” The Doctor (Robert Picardo) gives a copy of the book to Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), telling her it may have educational value.
Even in the Delta Quadrant, Earth’s literary achievements have value. Did we include your favorite reference to Dickens across the Star Trek Franchise? Be sure and let us know in the comment section.
All of the episodes and movies discussed above are currently available for streaming on Paramount+.
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