Star Trek: Lower Decks might be a zany animated comedy, but it’s also very keen to respect Trek canon and is effectively a loving homage to The Next Generation. Season 1 of the just-debuted show is set in 2380, which means it takes place one year after Star Trek: Nemesis. This opens the door for various familiar characters to drop by, something which has been teased before, but it also means that some of the characters the creators really want to use they can’t. At least, not without breaking canon.
The Lower Decks creative team took part in a virtual panel via ReedPop’s The Metaverse recently and during this chat, showrunner Mike McMahan revealed two characters he wishes he could get into the series but unfortunately can’t, due to its place in Trek continuity. First of all, he would love to have Star Trek: Enterprise’s T’Pol feature. However, he thinks that, though Vulcans have long lives, it just doesn’t add up that she would still be active by this time.
Secondly, McMahan obliquely revealed the other character he wants to use but can’t. “There’s a character that’s off with The Traveler that I really wish wasn’t,” he explained, “so we could utilize that character.” This is obviously Wesley Crusher, who was last seen resigning from Starfleet after learning that his destiny lied elsewhere, with The Traveler then taking him under his wing.
So far, no big name guest stars have actually appeared on the series, but we’re only two episodes in and we’ve already got a few notable name-checks – e.g. a reference to “the Janeway Protocol” and Mariner’s cry of “Kirk hands!” during a fight. We don’t know which characters could be popping up in the incoming episodes, but we clearly don’t expect Will Wheaton or Jolene Blalock to return.
Don’t miss Star Trek: Lower Decks as it continues Thursdays on CBS All Access.
