10 Greatest Star Trek In-Jokes

[TMC]

https://whatculture.com/trekculture/...-2?rf=homepage

This article was delayed because we got chatting to Morn.

BY JACK KIELY
OCTOBER 19TH, 2023

Getting an in-joke into Star Trek is no joke. In fact, it's an art form. With the breadth of skill and talent that has gone into making each episode and film over the franchise's impressive lifespan, these esoteric little references are no doubt some of the most intricate in the industry.

And yet, most were never intended for wider recognition. More often than not, the in-joke was meant as a humorous nod to a colleague, a tip-of-the-hat to another (sci-fi) show, an oddity from the alma mater, an ornithological observance, or really just for the pure, unadulterated fun of it. After all, everyone loves scanning for life forms, and a good gag too. Of course, Star Trek's been around for long enough that there is endless room for it to reference itself, as is ever evident in the excellent Lower Decks.

Here, we're going to take a look at ten of arguably the best examples of these inside jokes. We could have mentioned HIchmey nga'chuq ('Sex Phasers') and Stuart the Big Bang Harcourt Fenton Mudd bug, but you'll just have to access your third nested memory file and execute instruction 5155 to find out more about them!

By Seán's beard, this writer also swears he's never put an in-joke in his articles!