Strange New Worlds Easter Eggs Use Lower Decks to Address TOS Canon Problems

Five-digit Stardate

The real-world history of why and how stardates were created is complicated. The general consensus is that early on, Gene Roddenberry, Herb Solow, and others wanted a somewhat vague measurement of time, since the classic Star Trek generally, at first, tried to avoid saying exactly which century everything was happening in. (“Space Seed” basically broke this short-lived tradition.) But, in canon, one thing remains pretty consistent: the TOS era (and therefore Discovery and SNW) use five-digit stardates, while the TNG eras, and those that follow, use six. This is why Boimler says, “Ah five digits, totally normal date to be living in.”

Worf’s Honor

Instead of saying “Scout’s Honor,” Boimler says, “Worf’s honor.” Obviously, Worf from The Next Generation doesn’t exist yet in 2259. But one has to wonder if a young Colonel Worf from The Undiscovered Country is maybe around at this point.

RIKER!

Before Boimler jumps on Pike’s saddle, he says, “RIKER!” This, of course, references Riker’s occasional and very specific leg movements in The Next Generation. The way Riker sits down on a few chairs in TNG very often involves a big leg left. Jonathan Frakes, aka Riker himself, directed this episode, and therefore had to give Jack Quaid instructions on how to Riker correctly in this scene, right?

NCC-1701 Dash Nothing!

Boimler marvels at the fact that this Enterprise doesn’t have a letter suffix, saying, “NCC-1701 DASH, nothing!” Ortegas and Una are baffled as to why there would be a dash after the registry number. This seems to indicate that the tradition of putting letter suffixes in subsequent versions of a starship with the same name began with the Enterprise-A in The Voyage Home. Or perhaps, the tradition simply began sometime after 2259, maybe with a different ship. Either that or the current Enterprise crew can’t imagine why there would be another Enterprise beyond this one. Boimler noting the lack of a letter is also reminiscent of Scotty in the TNG episode “Relics,” when he asks for a recreation of the Enterprise with “No bloody A, B, C or D!”

Building Ships in a Bottle

Boimler mentions he built an Orion ship in a bottle. This alludes to the idea that Picard and O’Brien both built ships in bottles as young kids, as established in the TNG episode “Booby Trap.” (And oddly not mentioned in the episode “Ship in a Bottle!”)

Spock’s Pet Sehlat

Spock’s pet Sehlat is mentioned twice in this episode. A Sehlat was a large Vulcan creature that looked like a “teddy bear with fangs.” Spock’s pet Sehlat was first mentioned by his mom in “Journey to Babel” and seen on screen in the time travel episode of The Animated Series, “Yesteryear.” Spock’s Sehlat was named “I-Chaya” and the onscreen death of this pet was the first time in an American kids’ cartoon that grief for a child’s pet was depicted. Mister Rogers lost a goldfish prior to 1973, but Fred Rogers was an adult, and the version of Spock who grieved for his pet sehlat was a child version of Spock.