Trek in Pop Culture

[Weyoun 251]

So I've recently been watching Frasier and have noticed the sheer volume of Star Trek references throughout the seasons which got me thinking about how big a pop culture icon Trek was in the 90s and early 00s.

Yes, in most episodes it was the butt of the joke but by the same token they could not have so many references without comfort that the audience would get it.

I think the biggest one was in the episode with Frasier's son's Bar Mitzvah where Noel asks for a signed Scott Bakula photo, teaches Frasier Klingon (which is then recited in the Bar Mitzvah scene), has a kid called Berman (which surely is a reference to Rick?), and also has the wig that Joan Collins wore.

This brings me on to the point of the thread - what are people's best/favourite examples of Trek being referenced in pop culture and why?

I'm going to take The Big Bang Theory out of the discussion here due to it being built as a vehicle explicitly for Sci Fi and Comic references but pretty much everything else is up for discussion.

Over to you guys

 

[JesterFace]

First one that popped into my mind was Ace Ventura - Pet Detective.
Ace goes full blown Star Trek TOS mode while investigating the pool a dolphin was stolen from.

 

[JoseNoodles]

The CGI animated show ReBoot had several references to Star Trek (like Binomes that looked and acted like Picard and William Shatner), as well as an episode written by D.C. Fontana entitled "Where No Sprite Had Gone Before" full of Trek references.

 

[1001001]

I assume if The Big Bang Theory is out, so is Young Sheldon? It’s chock full of Trek references too.

Futurama had a ton of references as well, including the fantastic episode Where No Fan Has Gone Before.

 

[Orphalesion]

In the 1986 movie Troll (the one that has Elaine from Seinfeld prance around as a wood nymph) the character Harry Potter Jr. mentioned that Friday is "Star Trek Weekend on Channel 11"

 

[publiusr]

You could write an encyclopedia on the subject.

 

[Weyoun 251]

You could write an encyclopedia on the subject.

Oh for sure - that I why I was thinking of going for people's favourite instances rather than trying to simply document every mention

 

[Brennyren]

My dear spouse mentioned, of all things, an episode of Murder, She Wrote, in which a nun asked God to "Beam me up."

 

[Oddish]

In the video they do with Cher, Beavis and Butthead briefly transform into Picard and Riker.

 

[Trekker09]

The Trek allusions in Frasier are my favorite - they're compiled here

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[Forbin]

The Futurama episode that features an actual church of Star Trek, where the congregation chants "All power to the engines."

There was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where Giles was being especially tedious, and Xander referred to him as "Locutus of Boring." Another where Andrew was flashing back to the time Faith murdered a volcanologist, mispronounced it, and the flashback showed a Vulcan in TOS uniform being attacked.

 

[mb22]

You could write an encyclopedia on the subject.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wik...p_culture_references_(live_action_television)

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wik..._pop_culture_references_(animated_television)

 

[The Wormhole]

Simpsons and Family Guy have had all kinds over the years.

 

[Weyoun 251]

Simpsons and Family Guy have had all kinds over the years.

The Family Guy episode where Stewie captures the whole TNG crew was fantastic

 

[Trekker09]

A bit after the fact, but there are some funny Trek Halloween costumes here--

https://trekmovie.com/2022/10/30/13-favorite-star-trek-spirit-halloween-costume-memes-of-2022/

 

[somebuddyX]

A recent one was NCIS with the Stargazer that I loved.

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Then there's Crimson Tide with "Scotty"

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Loaded Weapon with actual Scotty, James Doohan

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Airplane II with William Shatner and the Enterprise

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Rose giving the Ninth Doctor sass about how he gets information
ROSE: What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?
DOCTOR: Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm going to ask.
(The Doctor shows Rose his psychic paper ID for the occasion.)
ROSE: Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids.
DOCTOR: It's psychic paper. It tells you
ROSE: Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember.
(They come to a door marked Deliveries Only.)
DOCTOR: Sorry.
ROSE: Not very Spock, is it, just asking.

And poor James Doohan getting attacked by KITT and Michael Knight in Knight Rider 2000 while he's out shopping or something. Apparently in that universe he starred in ten Star Trek films!

 

[The Wormhole]

Rose giving the Ninth Doctor sass about how he gets information
ROSE: What's the plan, then? Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?
DOCTOR: Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very loud bang. I'm going to ask.
(The Doctor shows Rose his psychic paper ID for the occasion.)
ROSE: Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids.
DOCTOR: It's psychic paper. It tells you
ROSE: Whatever you want it to tell me, I remember.
(They come to a door marked Deliveries Only.)
DOCTOR: Sorry.
ROSE: Not very Spock, is it, just asking.

That gets followed up on later on in the episode with this exchange:

JACK: Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over.
ROSE: He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents.
JACK: And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock.
(Jack walks forward to the ward.)
DOCTOR: Mister Spock?
ROSE: What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name. Don't you ever get tired of Doctor? Doctor who?
DOCTOR: Nine centuries in, I'm coping.

Word is, in the original version of the script, instead of "Nine centuries in, I'm coping" the Doctor's response was going to be "I prefer Doctor Who over Star Trek."

 

[Shawnster]

1980s pop group T'Pau got their name by flipping through TV channels and coming across a Star Trek episode.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T'Pau_(band)

 

[1001001]

1980s pop group T'Pau got their name by flipping through TV channels and coming across a Star Trek episode.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/T'Pau_(band)

Spock’s Beard

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[Greg Cox]

There was a great moment on LOST when somebody has to explain the concept of "redshirts" to Locke, who does not approve of all those crew members dying.

"Sounds to me like this Kirk was a piss-poor captain."