BecauseStar Trek: Lower Deckstakes place in the early 2380s, shortly after theUSS Voyager’s return to the Alpha Quadrantin 2378,cameos fromStar Trek: Voyagercharacters are not only possible, but expected,inLower Decks' nearly-overflowing basket ofStar TrekEaster eggs.Star Trek: Voyagercharacters crossing over toStar Trek: Lower Decksestablishes the continuity between the two shows, and also helps viewers catch up with USS Voyager crew members afterVoyagerended. This is especially interesting for theVoyagercharacters who aren’t inStar Trek: ProdigyorStar Trek: Picard.
In the few years since Captain Kathryn Janeway’s (Kate Mulgrew) homecoming,the details of the USS Voyager’s perilous journey from the Delta Quadrant have become common knowledgeamong Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz). The USS Voyager’s place in Starfleet history as the little Intrepid-class starship that traversed 70,000 light years in a mere 7 years makes theStar Trek: Voyagercrewinto modern legends — not quite on the level of the USS Enterprise-D crew, but heroes to the USS Cerritos' junior officers all the same.
8Honorable Mention: Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan)
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, Episode 9, “The Inner Fight”
An honorable mention — and it’s literally just a mention — goes to Jeri Ryan’s Seven of Nine, whose name is dropped inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 4, episode 9, “The Inner Fight”.Seven’s name appears on a list of former Starfleet officers and associates who might need protectionin the wake of a series of targeted attacks. While the USS Cerritos goes after disgraced ex-Starfleet cadet Nick Locarno (Robert Duncan McNeill), another ship gets to look for Seven of Nine, who at the time ofStar Trek: Lower Decksis working as a vigilante with the Fenris Rangers near the Romulan Neutral Zone.
7Lieutenant Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill)
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 3, “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris”
Naturally,Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 2, episode 3, “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris”, includes the USS Voyager’s helmsman, Lieutenant Tom Paris, visiting the USS Cerritos.Paris is on a “handshake tour” of Starfleet vessels as part of a public relations campaignfollowing Voyager’s return to the Alpha Quadrant. As an enthusiast of all things Starfleet, Ensign Brad Boimler is excited to meet Tom Paris and get his commemorative Voyager — er, “VOY” — plate signed.
Through dialogue,Star Trek: Prodigyreveals that Tom Paris and his wife, B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), still work for Starfleet designing spacefaring vehicles. Torres worked on designing the USS Protostar, while Paris contributed ideas to the single-pilot fighters flown byProdigy’s Nova Squadron.
Despite the fact thatTom Paris was in prisonwhenStar Trek: Voyagerbegan, Paris' years of service on the USS Voyager proved his dedication to Starfleet. Like Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) and Voyager’s other Maquis crew members,Paris' crimes against the Federation were forgiven, and his Starfleet rank was reinstated.
6Lieutenant Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ)
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3, Episode 1, “Grounded”
Commander Tuvok (Tim Russ) appears for just a moment inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 3, episode 1, “Grounded”. The glimpse ofTuvok inStar Trek: Lower Decksreveals that the USS Voyager’s former Chief Security Officer has been promoted to full Commander, and still works with Starfleet security.Tuvok’s Vulcan mind-meld abilities are instrumental in the success of Starfleet security’s mission to free the USS Cerritos' Captain Carol Freeman(Dawnn Lewis) by uncovering the Pakled conspiracy that framed Freeman.
All 5 Star Trek Characters Played By Tuvok Actor Tim Russ
Tim Russ, who played Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager, appeared as 5 different characters in 4 Star Trek series and the feature film Star Trek Generations.
Commander Tuvok doesn’t speak in the brief flashback, so technically,Star Trek: Lower Deckscan’t count Tim Russ among its manyStar Trekcameos. If the upcomingfinal season ofStar Trek: Lower Decksdoes featureStar Trek: Voyager’s resident Vulcan in a speaking cameo,Lower Deckswould be the thirdStar Trekshow that Russ appears in as Tuvok, afterVoyagerandStar Trek: Picard.
5The USS Voyager
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, Episode 1, “Twovix”
InStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 4, episode 1, “Twovix”,the USS Cerritos is tasked with helping curator Beljo Tweekle (Andy Richter) relocate the USS Voyager to San Francisco, where the famed starship is set to become a museum. On the now-grounded USS Voyager, the crew are represented by mannequins wearing mission-worn uniforms in appropriate locations. Displays throughout Voyager recall some of theweirdest things that happened inStar Trek: Voyager, from Paris and Janeway’s unfortunate warp 10 salamander incident to the very fortunate “Neelix cheese” that once again saves the day.
24 Star Trek: Voyager Callbacks & Easter Eggs In Lower Decks Season 4 Premiere
Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 premiere “Twovix” has more references to Star Trek: Voyager than Neelix has uses for leola root.
Despite being a starship, we’re still counting the USS Voyager as one of theStar Trek: Voyagercharacters inStar Trek: Lower Decks. BecauseStar Trekhero ships have features that are unique to each vessel and help make eachStar Trekshow what it is, the USS Voyager itself is a character in its own right. The Intrepid-class starship’s bio-neural gel packs even make the USS Voyager a little more alive thanStar Trekships of the past.
4The Clown (Michael McKean)
Originally featured as the villain inStar Trek: Voyagerseason 2, episode 23, “The Thaw”, the Clown (Michael McKean) appears as a hologram inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 4, episode 1, “Twovix”. Curiously,the Clown wasn’t a hologram in “The Thaw”, but an entity that was created as a manifestation of fearwithin a virtual environment. The Clown only wanted to survive, so he kept his victims terrified in order to feed off of their fear.
Star Trek: Lower Decksimplies thatsomeone on the USS Voyager recreated the Clown as a character for a holodeck program. Because the solution to beating the Clown in “The Thaw” involved trading the victims' lives for a holographic version of Captain Janeway, this holographic Clown may have been used to test run that solution on the holodeck before actually carrying out that plan.
3Doctor Chaotica (Martin Rayner)
During the USS Voyager’s relocation mission in theStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 4 premiere, “Twovix”,the villainous Doctor Chaotica (Martin Rayner) leadsStar Trek: Voyager’s trio of holographic characters who are accidentally unleashedon the unsuspecting USS Cerritos crew. Originating from Tom Paris' (Robert Duncan McNeill) serializedAdventures of Captain Protonholodeck program, Chaotica is displayed in grainy, period-appropriate grayscale by the holoemitters that have been installed throughout the USS Voyager’s corridors.
The holo emitters that were installed on the USS Voyager after its return are a standard feature onStar Trek: Prodigy’s USS Voyager-A.
Chaotica must be met with an appropriate amount ofCaptain Protonmelodrama to be defeated and subsequently contained. Fortunately, Ensign Boimler has that in spades, as Boimler proclaims that he’s the long-lost son of Captain Proton.
2Michael Sullivan (Fintan McKeown)
Holographic bartender Michael Sullivan (Fintan McKeown) is a character from another one of Tom Paris' holodeck creations, the 19th-century Irish town of Fair Haven.Sullivan is a simple man whose appearance and social parameters were tweaked by Captain Janewayto appeal to Kathryn as a holographic love interest. InStar Trek: Lower Decks, Sullivan was released alongside Chaotica and the Clown, but Michael’s sights aren’t set on villainy; instead, Michael simply misses his wife, who Janeway carelessly deleted inStar Trek: Voyagerseason 6, episode 11, “Fair Haven”.
Captain Janeway’s 8 Star Trek: Voyager Love Interests, Ranked Worst To Best
Captain Kathryn Janeway had several love interests during her tenure on Star Trek: Voyager, but some of her romances were better than others.
Although Michael Sullivan isn’t one ofStar Trek’s sentient holograms, he’s still aware that Fair Haven exists within the confines of the USS Voyager.Janeway’s tinkering gave Michael curiosity and intelligence, so he can grasp the concept of a ship sailing through space instead of across the sea, so he could understand why Janeway’s Fair Haven alter-ego was away from the town so often.
1Lieutenant Harry Kim (Garrett Wang)
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5
In the recenttrailer forStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5,Star Trek: Voyager’s Harry Kim is finally promoted to lieutenant. Near the trailer’s end, an entire crowd of Kims is gathered together, some outfitted in variant uniforms, like the gray-shouldered Starfleet uniform fromStar Trek: First Contact, and the racing suit fromStar Trek: Voyagerseason 7, episode 3, “Drive”.Only one Harry Kim variant sports two pips on his collar, however, and this Lieutenant Kim appears appalled that his doubles are all “still ensigns”.
Star Trek: Voyager’s series finale, “Endgame”, features Captain Harry Kim in an alternate future timeline. Prime Timeline Harry Kim must get there someday, right?
Clues throughoutStar Trek: Lower Decks' season 5 teasers and trailers suggest thatStar Trek’s multiversewill play a role in the upcoming final season, so whether Lieutenant Harry Kim is from the Prime Universe remains to be seen. Regardless,a Lieutenant Kim finally exists somewhere, and it’s fitting thatStar Trek: Lower Decks, asStar Trek’s animated celebration of junior officers, is the series to honor Starfleet’s hardest-working ensign with a long-awaited promotion.
