black mirror star trek parody

Cast & crew
User reviews

USS Callister

Episode aired Dec 29, 2017

Jesse Plemons, Jimmi Simpson, Cristin Milioti, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile, Michaela Coel, and Paul G. Raymond in Black Mirror (2011)

Capt. Robert Daly presides over his crew with wisdom and courage. But a new recruit will soon discover nothing on this spaceship is what it seems. Capt. Robert Daly presides over his crew with wisdom and courage. But a new recruit will soon discover nothing on this spaceship is what it seems. Capt. Robert Daly presides over his crew with wisdom and courage. But a new recruit will soon discover nothing on this spaceship is what it seems.

Toby Haynes
Charlie Brooker
William Bridges
Jesse Plemons
Cristin Milioti
Jimmi Simpson
173 User reviews
23 Critic reviews
1 nomination

Robert Daly

Nanette Cole

Elena Tulaska

Nate Packer

Kabir Dudani

Callister Employee
(uncredited)

Callister Employee (VR Tester)
Pizza Guy #1
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

Trivia Kirsten Dunst can be seen very quickly in an uncredited cameo as a Callister employee. She happened to be visiting her partner Jesse Plemons and her cameo was unplanned.
Goofs Once the DNA is digitised, stealing the origin DNA source is utterly pointless.

Nanette Cole : Okay, stealing my pussy is a red fucking line.

Connections Featured in WatchMojoUK: Top 10 Actors Who Have Appeared in Black Mirror (2018)
Soundtracks Silent Night (uncredited) Written by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr

User reviews 173

Jan 4, 2018
December 29, 2017 (United States)
United Kingdom
Official Facebook
Official Netflix
Channel 4 Television Corporation
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

Runtime 1 hour 16 minutes
Dolby Digital

More to explore

'Black Mirror' boldly goes at Star Trek with 'U.S.S. Callister'

The new crew member on an Enterprise-like ship doesn't seem to have much patience with her mission.

Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.

" Black Mirror ," the science-fiction show that shows the dark side of technology, is about to boldly go forth with a Star Trek homage.

On Tuesday, Netflix released a teaser for the fourth-season episode called "U.S.S. Callister," and Trek fans may feel as if they've been beamed aboard the Enterprise. Captain Daly (Jesse Plemons) welcomes Lieutenant Cole (Cristin Milioti), a new crew member, on board his starship. While things seem normal, this is "Black Mirror," so some kind of terrible twist is almost certainly lurking.

More "Black Mirror"

Every episode of 'Black Mirror' ranked, and it's pretty bleak
Jodie Foster's 'Black Mirror' episode looks chilling

Cole herself looks like a fun character -- while off-ship on a mission, she starts to whine about an overly dramatic villain and is immediately shushed by a more dedicated crew member.

"Imagine if there was no twist. It was just an actual Star Trek parody to throw people off," snarked YouTube user They Might Be Bricks .

"U.S.S. Callister" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of "Black Mirror," and will be seen sometime in 2018.

Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission.

Cristin Milioti: Shooting Black Mirror on a Spaceship Is ‘Just As Fun As You’d Imagine’

Spoilers for the Black Mirror episode “ USS Callister ” below.

On its surface, Cristin Milioti’s Black Mirror episode looks like a straight-up Star Trek parody. But “ USS Callister ” is a lot more complicated than it seems. In the episode, Milioti plays two characters named Nanette: a new employee at a tech company, and a digital clone who gets trapped in the twisted virtual universe where the company’s CTO (Jesse Plemons) exacts revenge on his co-workers. As with most installments of Black Mirror , there are a few more turns of the screw after that, but Milioti’s performance keeps the episode grounded, as we see her move between playing a meek coder, an objectified sexpot, and eventually, a captain in her own right. Vulture caught up with Milioti to talk about the joys of acting on a spaceship, her retro hairdo — which was not a wig — and why she prefers to wait for the right parts.

Between your play After the Blast and this episode, you’ve been doing a lot of sci-fi this year. I guess they are sci-fi! I mean, Black Mirror is certainly more sci-fi, since, you know, we’re on a ship, but After the Blast didn’t seem that sci-fi to me, because it doesn’t seem that far off. What Zoe [Kazan] did so brilliantly in that play was to make you think that you’re in the future and then realize, really, it’s about things that have been with us for eons. I’m so proud of her. I guess more so than usual I have been involved in slightly futuristic stories, but here we are.

Were you a fan of Star Trek or sci-fi adventure shows before this? What was it like to play that part of the world? I did not have a very in-depth knowledge of Star Trek . I’d seen a couple of the vintage episodes. I knew just about as much as anyone on the street. I knew how William Shatner talks, I knew about the costumes, and I knew about the passions of the fans of Star Trek. But it was so much fun. To shoot on a spaceship is just as fun as you’d imagine. Your inner 5-year-old is just going crazy. I could not believe I was on a spaceship. I loved every second of it.

And you get to wear this gigantic wig … That is not a wig! That was an hour and a half to two hours in the makeup chair every morning that they would tease it out 1960s-style. There’s a little big of fake hair in there, but the rest is all mine. Into this giant bouffant, every day . They had a fantastic makeup and hair team on that show who were able to make us look so much like we were in this retro, ’60s space TV show.

Does that make you feel bad for the actors on those shows? I didn’t even have to go through the worst of it. Milanka [Brooks, whose “USS Callister” character is turned into an alien] — she had to be turned blue every day. She was there for three hours every morning.

What was it like to also play Nanette on the real-life side of the story, where she’s an office drone? This episode has been such a dream job on so many levels — to get play a fully realized person, to get to play a woman in all shapes and forms and not just “the girlfriend” or “the foil for this,” and to see a woman so angry and to refuse to back down. One of my favorite movies of all time is Kill Bill , and that’s about that . That gets me so deeply jazzed.

When you first see her in the office, she seems like she might be a shy, wallflower character … You don’t realize what she’s capable of!

But she has a has a complete inner life. She has sexy pictures on her phone. It’s not something that she’s ashamed of, it’s using them against her that makes her angry. She doesn’t have that shame about those photos. But I think that what’s interesting about her is that she realizes her best and truest self in the space world. In the office world, she’s asked to do so many of the things that women are raised with. A guy puts his hands on her lower back and instead of saying, “Don’t fucking touch me,” we are asked to shrug it off. Obviously that tide is changing now, but we see her saying “ha ha ha” and being sweet and quiet. You don’t realize that tiger that resides within.

I don’t think that only resides in women, that’s one of my favorite types of stories, when you underestimate what a character is capable of. And yet they themselves underestimate. I don’t think she herself realizes that about herself.

By the end of the arc of the office world, do you think she fully realizes what has happened? I don’t think she does. We talked about this at the wrap party, like, “Oh, right, he’s going to die and they’re going to find her prints at the scene.” Maybe they won’t. Maybe they won’t dust for prints because it’s clear that he just passed away. But I don’t know! I don’t think she has any understanding in the real world of what this virtual reality is. Maybe they try and get in touch with her again. I don’t know, I’d want to see what happens with that group of people. I feel very strongly that in the space world, she becomes captain and leads them on a bunch of awesome adventures.

It feels like she’s more fully realized in the space world by the end of it. I know! Which I love. I think there aren’t the parameters and the social contracts in the space world — she’s just a woman pushed to the edge and is like “no fucking way.” All of the politeness and all of the trappings of one’s life that you build over time all go away.

Did you spend time figuring out her power pose in the captain’s chair at the end of the episode? I didn’t, but I loved shooting that more than I can even explain to you. I think I was given three takes for that. I remember being very nervous that it wasn’t a lot. I didn’t have anything planned other than what she would feel at that moment. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to sit in the captain’s chair of a spaceship. It’s the most fun thing you could do.

It seems like you’ve been involved in a lot more plays in New York and more selective with TV and film projects recently. Has that been a conscious decision? I’ve always lived in New York, I never moved to L.A. I was developing and producing and writing a pilot for a year. That took me out of everything for over a year. When that sadly didn’t go forward, I shot Black Mirror right after that.

This year, I’ve been drawn more to wanting to get back into an acting boot camp with these plays that I’ve done, that have been so immensely challenging and written by dear friends of mine. I’ve gotten to collaborate with the most incredible people. I’ve always tried to have a pretty discerning eye with the roles that I’ve picked, which is maybe why it seems like I take breaks, but really they’re not breaks. It’s just that there’s not as much out there as one would hope. I’m lucky enough to be able to be choosy sometimes. I think this past year I’ve just tried to choose what feels right to me and what excites me.

Well, if you get something that puts you in the captain’s chair … Yeah, when that happens, it’s just the best.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

cristin milioti
black mirror

Editor’s Picks

Most Popular

What is your email.

This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.

Sign In To Continue Reading

Create your free account.

Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:

Lower case letters (a-z)
Upper case letters (A-Z)
Numbers (0-9)
Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)

As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York , which you can opt out of anytime.

Black Mirror season 7 will include a Star Trek parody episode sequel

USS Callister is getting a part two

The first trailer for Black Mirror season 7 has dropped – and it looks like fans will be getting a sequel to one of the show's most popular episodes.

Netflix released a brief 30-second teaser, which can be viewed below, with the caption, "Six new stories, but one looks a little familiar. Black Mirror returns 2025."

Something does look familiar: in the clip, symbols appear across the screen. One symbol in particular lights up and turns yellow – the logo from the season 4 episode USS Callister.

USS Callister sees a gifted programmer named Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) who, unhappy with the lack of recognition from his coworkers, decides to simulate a Star Trek-like space adventure. The episode earned four Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Television Movie, with William Bridges and Charlies Brooker taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Writing. The cast includes Cristin Milloti, Jimmi Simpson, Michaela Coel, Billy Magnussen, and Aaron Paul in a voice-over cameo as Gamer691.

Six new stories, but one looks a little familiar. Black Mirror returns 2025. pic.twitter.com/uJmpxEhZH4 March 14, 2024

Season 7 was announced back in November , with Charlie Brooker returning as executive producer, along with Annabel Jones and Jessica Rhoades.

The show took a four-year hiatus after season 5, with season 6 premiering on June 2023. The cast included Annie Murphy, Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Zazie Beetz, and Paapa Essiedu.

Black Mirror season 7 is expected to hit Netflix in 2025. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming your way in 2024 and beyond, or, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to add to your streaming queue right now.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.

Dark Matter showrunner talks helming the adaptation of his own novel: "Why would I let someone else raise my child?"

Dark Matter producer explains what Spider-Man villain The Green Goblin and Joel Edgerton's new sci-fi series have in common

There are two impossibly massive Skyrim mods remaking classic Elder Scrolls RPGs, and both had some extensive, gorgeous gameplay to share this week

Black Mirror premiere recap: 'U.S.S. Callister'

The show riffs on 'Star Trek' with a brilliant story about toxic fantasies

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

As with any short-story anthology, Black Mirror can oscillate between rapturous peaks (“San Junipero,” “Fifteen Million Merits”) and less-impressive valleys. This episode belongs squarely in the former category. Turning a riff on Star Trek: The Original Series into an exploration of fandom and the ways it gets twisted is one of the show’s most remarkable achievements so far. It might be the best episode the show has done.

We start with a straight-faced parody of Shatner-era Star Trek , with Robert Daley (Jesse Plemons) in the captain’s seat. Daley and the rest of the U.S.S. Callister crew are tracking an outlaw named Valdak, who has made off with a precious crystal and now taunts Daley in extremely Khan-like fashion. If you’ve ever watched a male-driven sci-fi story, you probably know how this goes: Daley risks everything to dip into a nearby asteroid field, but succeeds at charging up his ship’s weapons enough to take out Valdak’s ship while commanding cowardly crewmates like Walton (Jimmi Simpson) to buck up.

Valdak escapes his exploding ship to a nearby planet, but there’s no time to chase him right now. Instead, Robert Daley has to go to work at his job in real life. This episode is set in a slightly futuristic world with improved technology, such as the virtual reality multiplayer online video game Infinity . Daley created the code for Infinity but has been pushed aside in his own company by the real-life Walton, who bosses him around with the same cruel condescension that Daley uses on Walton’s video-game counterpart.

Rather than stand up to his bullying cofounder or his catty coworkers, Daley escapes into Space Fleet , a show that greatly resembles the original Star Trek . Daley’s office is adorned with Space Fleet posters, toys, and DVDs, as he shows off to new hire Annette Cole (Cristin Milioti). When Cole notes that the female characters’ miniskirts would be slightly inappropriate for the coldness of space, Daley laughs it off with some deep-cut reference to the Space Fleet canon — just like any nerd who refuses to acknowledge the prejudices and objectifications inherent in his beloved sci-fi silliness.

Cole is actually nice to Daley, claiming that his coding work inspired her to join Callister (Daley’s company is, of course, named after the Space Fleet flagship). But he isn’t interested in her real self. He mostly just wants the lid of her coffee cup, so that he can scan her DNA into his personalized Space Fleet modification of Infinity . That’s right — not only are the U.S.S. Callister crew members based on Daley’s real-life colleagues, but they’re literal clones of them, complete with the same looks, minds, and personalities.

Cole’s real mind does not react well to suddenly waking up inside the Callister . This is the first big turn of the episode, when you realize that Daley was not the true protagonist of this story. That would be the woman he’s now trapped inside his own private video game based off his nostalgic recreation of outdated, sexist genre fare. (Recap continues on page 2)

Incredibly, “U.S.S. Callister” just gets better as it goes along. The episode temporarily becomes a bit of a horror movie, as Cole’s video-game self learns the limitations of her new life. She can’t disobey Daley, because his control over their reality allows him to turn her into a bug monster or take her mouth away or do anything else his twisted mind can dream up if she doesn’t role-play the simplistic Space Fleet scenarios. The worst thing he’s done, apparently, was to clone Walton’s real-life son Tommy into the game. In order to make Walton obey his grotesque role play, Daley made him watch Tommy get sent out the airlock. Simpson’s monologue recounting this event, and how much it utterly broke him, is a great performance.

Chasing Valdak to the surface of a nearby planet brings us back to the Star Trek parody story that started the episode, but now it feels different. The crew is clearly exaggerating their mannerisms to please Daley, even as they constantly exchange uncomfortable glances with one another. When Daley pauses the game to go get his pizza delivery, they all exchange conversation. I particularly love this aspect of the episode, about how the people who make the things we like (even the characters themselves) might have a life and an existence outside the fan enjoying them.

Enjoyment is fairly limited in this video-game world, however. As Walton demonstrates, the video-game characters have no genitals, just senseless flesh mounds. That inspires Milioti to deliver one of the best lines of the episode: “Stealing my p—y is a red f—ing line.” She hatches an escape plan.

In order to defeat Daley, the video-game Cole needs to team up with the real-life Cole. After the former seduces Daley into a skinny-dipping session and steals his remote (essentially the means of production for this bubble world), the crew uses it to log onto real-life Cole’s Cloud account and blackmail her with the sexy photos they find there. Following their instructions, real-life Cole sneaks into Daley’s apartment and destroys the DNA samples he uses to keep the characters trapped. In the game itself, the characters seize control of the Callister and pilot it toward the annual Infinity update, which manifests as a wormhole that can take them back to the open internet.

Daley gives chase, of course, and almost snags his quarry when an asteroid field takes out their engine. Thus commences the episode’s single greatest Star Trek parody: a version of the beloved Wrath of Khan ending where Walton (forced into the Spock role by Daley) goes to fix the engine manually. As he does so, he makes radio contact with Daley. At first it seems like a legitimate Spock-Kirk moment, as Walton heartfully apologizes for being unfair to Daley in the real world. Based on Daley’s reactions, you get the sense that this is all he ever wanted. But then Walton adds, “But you threw my son out of an airlock so f— you to death,” and reignites the engine. The resulting blast incinerates Walton, powers the Callister through the wormhole, and leaves Daley spinning in space. Powerless and without any controls, he’s unable to exit the game, and his real-world self lies lifeless in his chair at home. Daley’s real world and Space Fleet fantasy world finally became one, but not in the way he probably expected. Maybe having honest conversations with the people in his life, instead of forcing them into his own toxic fantasy, could have been a better way of solving these problems.

He’s not too different from a character voiced by Aaron Paul at the end of the episode: another player who encounters the Callister after they reach the open internet. He intimidates them in a manner familiar to anyone who’s ever played online video games, and they speed away, leaving him muttering to himself, “I’m the king of space.”

But who needs a royal title when you have friends, a spaceship, and an entire internet universe to explore?

'Black Mirror' Season 7 Teaser Reveals Six New Episodes & a "USS Callister" Sequel

"Robert Daly is dead, but for the crew of the USS Callister, their problems are just beginning."

The Big Picture

Season 7 of Black Mirror , featuring a USS Callister follow-up, will drop on Netflix in 2025.
The original USS Callister episode featured actor Jesse Plemons in a twisted Star Trek -inspired parody.
Season 7 of Black Mirror may bring back actors Cristin Milioti and Jimmi Simpson for the sequel episode.

Netflix has booked another flight on the USS Callister with Season 7 of the hit dark anthology series Black Mirror . An announcement teaser released today revealed that six new episodes will drop on the platform in 2025 with one serving as a follow-up to the Star Trek parody sci-fi adventure featured back in Season 4. The reveal is one of many to emerge from the Next on Netflix event at the Picturehouse Central cinema and cultural space in London today, and it sets up an exciting new run for the Charlie Brooker series with its return to a fan-favorite setting.

As for what the sequel episode could entail, a short preview reads " Robert Daly is dead, but for the crew of the USS Callister, their problems are just beginning. " In the original installment, which kicked off Season 4, Jesse Plemons played Daly, the embittered co-creator of a massively multiplayer online game who uses the DNA of his fellow employees to run a simulation with their digital clones. Acting as their captain, he takes out his frustrations by leading them aboard the USS Callister, but things quickly go awry when a new hire is brought into the game and encourages a revolt against Daly. Brooker wrote the original episode with William Bridges while Toby Haynes directed.

It's unclear who will appear in Season 7 of Black Mirror , but it seems likely that some of the same actors will be back for the USS Callister sequel. Cristin Milioti portrayed Nanette Cole, the newcomer who helped derail Daly's plan and bring about his demise, while Jimmi Simpson , Michaela Coel , Billy Magnussen , Milanka Brooks , Osy Ikhile , and Paul G. Raymond also appeared throughout the episode. Aaron Paul , who would eventually go on to get a more prominent role in the Season 6 episode "Beyond the Sea," also made a notable voice cameo in the episode, while Kirsten Dunst also made a brief appearance in a background shot of the crew's office.

'Black Mirror' Continues to Be a Netflix Staple

Black Mirror continues to be a fan favorite at Netflix for its stark depiction of the future and alternate realities where technology reaches dystopian levels of advancement. Across its six-season run to this point, the series has garnered six Emmy wins and has sparked a new interest in the possibilities of the anthology series formula. Season 7 hopes to keep the train rolling, coming off a wildly successful Season 6 , which tackled AI through a woman who sees her life being adapted into a prestige television series , imagines an alternate history where astronauts can switch consciousnesses with their replicas on Earth, and depicted a twisted period piece about a starlet constantly hounded by paparazzi.

Black Mirror , and the USS Callister, return to Netflix with Season 7 in 2025. All episodes of Seasons 1 through 6 are available now on the platform. Check out the teaser below.

Black Mirror

An anthology series exploring a twisted, high-tech multiverse where humanity's greatest innovations and darkest instincts collide.

Watch on Netflix

Why USS Callister Is Still the Best Black Mirror Episode

Black Mirror featured high-profile talent and addressed disturbing topics, but it’s the Star Trek-inspired episode “USS Callister” that is the best.

This era of “peak TV” has been incredibly generous to science fiction fans, as they’ve been treated with many great shows thanks to Watchmen, Westworld, Legion, Andor, and The Boys among others. While it’s great to see that modern storytellers are finding ways to re-energize older properties and take them in a new direction, it does feel like there’s been a lack of totally original science fiction ideas. However, Black Mirror has presented a solution to that problem with its dazzling originality. The British anthology television series from creator Charlie Brooker takes the same approach as The Twilight Zone , and introduces a completely new story in each episode. Essentially, fans could look forward to watching a mini-movie with each new installment.

Black Mirror often featured high profile talent and addressed disturbing topics like social media addiction, predestination, fascism, cyberterrorism, media radicalization, and artificial intelligence. There have been many great episodes throughout the series’ run, such as the the inventive choose-your-own-adventure special “Bandersnatch,” the memory-centric drama “The Entire History of You,” the delightful romantic dramedy “San Junipero,” the intense procedural “Hated in the Nation,” and the disturbing techno nightmare of “Five Million Merits.” However, it’s the Star Trek -inspired episode “USS Callister” that remains the series’ best creation thus far.

A Multifaceted Metaphor

Initially, “USS Callister” presents itself as a science fiction adventure that’s almost identical to the original Star Trek series. Instead of Captain Kirk and the USS Enterprise , the USS Callister is led by the brave, honorable, and well-loved Captain Robert Daly ( played by Jesse Plemons ). Daly’s crew celebrates the defeat of their enemy Valdack (Billy Magnussen) in a joyous moment, but it’s quickly revealed to be nothing but a fantasy. In real life, Daly is just the CTO of the tech company Callister Inc. He’s nothing like the version of himself on the USS Callister ; in reality, Daly is a shy, introverted, and socially awkward person who others take advantage of.

Daly shows kindness towards Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti), and begins to develop a crush on her. However, his attempts to flirt with her are constantly thwarted by his overbearing chief executive officer James Walton (Jimmi Simpson). Cole is warned by her coworker Shania Lowry (Michaela Coel) that Daly can’t be trusted, and eventually she learns why. Daly has been secretly stealing DNA samples from all of the office employees to insert their digital consciousness into his simulated reality.

Related: Black Mirror: The Best Performances in the Series, Ranked

Beyond being an interesting take on reality and worldbuilding, “USS Callister” examines the ethics of Daly’s work. Even though he’s not harming a physical presence, he’s still dominating and abusing the consciousness of people that actually existed. Whether it is ethical to do so within a contained environment is the question that the episode poses, as Daly does not show any similarly toxic behavior in reality. However, it’s hard not to root against him after seeing that in the simulated environment he’s willing to force himself on Cole and constantly torture Walton.

Incredible Performances

While the entire cast is phenomenal, it’s truly Plemons who stands out. Plemons is among the best young actors of his generation, as any performer who’s already worked with Paul Thomas Anderson , Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Jane Campion, Charlie Kaufman, and Adam McKay at such a young age is bound to have learned a few things. Plemons does an incredible job at showing that even though they seem completely different, the two versions of Daly are the same. The timidness that Daly shows in real life reflects his anticipation for what he can do in the simulated world next. His conversations with Cole in reality are simple and awkward, yet once he’s captain of the USS Callister , he’s willing to openly attempt to seduce her.

Simpson also gives a fascinating performance that becomes more emotionally effective by the time that the episode concludes and Walton’s entire backstory is revealed. Initially, Walton is characterized as an aggressive, ignorant corporate goon who is only interested in business; ironically, the audience may even feel empathetic towards Daly at first because of Walton’s behavior. However, it’s revealed that in the simulated world, Daly has taken out his revenge on Walton by torturing him and bringing DNA from his son into the mix. Walton is forced to watch as Daly abuses his family.

Related: What We Hope to See From Black Mirror Season 6

However, it’s Milotti who delivers the most emotionally gripping performance in the episode, and one of the finest in the history of Black Mirror ; that’s no small statement considering how many great actors have been involved with the series over the years. She does her best to retain her agency within the simulated sci-fi adventure, and utilizes her knowledge of Daly to trap him out of the system, and inherits his role as the ship’s captain. She becomes an inspirational figure who leads her fellow trapped co-workers into the unknown in search of adventures; even if Daly wanted to be Captain Kirk, it’s Cole who actually showed the perseverance and intelligence of a Star Trek character.

Stellar Visuals and World-Building

While Black Mirror generally finds ways to make each episode feel unique through immersive visuals, Black Mirror is the most stylistically unique entry in the series yet. Much of this is due to the brilliance of director Toby Haynes, who had previously worked on science fiction shows like Doctor Who . His experience creating sci-fi environments made “USS Callister” feel like a fun recreation of classic space opera adventures before taking its disturbing twist.

Haynes also admitted to being a big fan of Star Wars and Star Trek , and included many Easter Eggs; the character Lowry puts on a red uniform before she is killed in an allusion to the running Star Trek gag. Lowry also revealed that “USS Callister” utilized more visual effects work than any prior episode of the show. While a higher budget doesn’t make something automatically better, getting the visuals right was necessary in the case of “USS Callister” in order to replicate what was in the script. The result was an immersive and haunting way of tying in nostalgic sci-fi connections.

an image, when javascript is unavailable

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘black mirror’ director on spinoff potential of “uss callister”.

'Black Mirror' season four director Toby Haynes on the 'Star Trek' and hidden 'Star Wars' homages in the space opera "USS Callister."

By Jackie Strause

Jackie Strause

Managing Editor, East Coast

Share this article on Facebook
Share this article on Twitter
Share this article on Flipboard
Share this article on Email
Show additional share options
Share this article on Linkedin
Share this article on Pinit
Share this article on Reddit
Share this article on Tumblr
Share this article on Whatsapp
Share this article on Print
Share this article on Comment

'Black Mirror': "USS Callister" Spinoff Ideas; Director on 'Star Trek,' Hidden 'Star Wars' Nods

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the season four Black Mirror episode “USS Callister .”]

For those who have seen the new season of Black Mirror , the phrase “Hip, hip, hooray!” has likely taken on a new meaning.

The first episode of the Netflix anthology’s fourth season (now streaming) opens with a Star Trek: The Original Series -familiar scene that carries with it an underlying feeling of dread that viewers of Charlie Brooker’s series have come to recognize. The stand-alone stories featured in the dystopian episodes are often bleak and nihilistic when exploring humanity through techno-paranoia, but “USS Callister ” is the first time Black Mirror has flung itself into space, bringing with it a rare comedic flair and an even more elusive happy ending.

In the first few minutes, viewers are transported into the space opera’s truest parody of the genre and onto the spaceship USS Callister , which is run by a James T. Kirk-like Captain Daly (played by Jesse Plemons ). Daly fearlessly leads his crew into battle, annihilating the threat in their galaxy and celebrating the win with a kiss from each scantily uniformed female crew member while the entire ship offers three cheers of “Hip, hip, hooray!”

It is quickly revealed, however, that the USS Callister and the galaxy it voyages through is Daly’s virtual creation, his own twisted homage to his favorite (fictional) retro TV show, Space Fleet . The episode flip-flops from the real world, where Daly is a tech genius and bullied CTO of a virtual gaming company, to the fantasy one, where his ship is comprised of digital clones of employees who have wronged him in reality. He trapped them there by stealing their DNA and creating virtual copies, though they are fully conscious of the outside world.

On the USS Callister , the quietly disaffected boss abuses his power as captain, creating a hellish life for all who are trapped in the game. It isn’t until the arrival of fiery new employee Nanette Cole ( Cristin Milioti ) that the USS Callister crew begins to stage an uprising, ultimately overthrowing their tyrannical boss under her rebellious lead. Lt. Cole, a coder working under Daly in the real world, steers the ship to safety by exploiting a wormhole in his program. The crew leave their space commander trapped in his own game — the real Daly abandoned in his apartment and plugged into the game with no escape hatch — as they head off into space under their own command to encounter new players (one voiced by Aaron Paul).

The episode, co-written by Brooker and William Bridges, clocks in at 74 minutes, and director Toby Haynes had only 20 days for filming, which took place last January, in a London studio that included a set for the Callister ship, and in the deserts of Spain’s Canary Islands. In the chat below with The Hollywood Reporter , Haynes ( Doctor Who , Sherlock ) goes inside the making of the season four breakout, points out the Star Trek and hidden Star Wars influences and reveals an idea for a TV spinoff: ” ‘USS Callister ‘ is probably one of the best pilots for a space show ever.”

'Black Mirror' Director Explains Hidden "USS Callister" Cameos

The episodes are generally the same in budget, but executive producer Annabel Jones called this episode their biggest feat. Was there anything you asked for that you couldn’t get?

More time to shoot it! ( Laughs ) I think I wanted about three more days of shoot that I didn’t get. We had a script that was running at 73 pages when I first read it. I thought that was a bit long for an hour and wondered if Charlie was going to cut it down. Then he added 15 more pages. It was 97 pages or something like that when we went into shooting, and we didn’t extend the shoot. The schedule stayed the same as if it were for 73 pages. It was really high pressure to get through the high page count. On the spaceship, we were doing 15-page days. But we had this amazing cast. We had to really speed through the casting process, but we found an incredible cast. I knew they always wanted Jesse Plemons for the role of Daly and had rearranged the shoot so it worked for Jesse, and then cast around him.

What impressed you with Plemons while he was playing this tyrant in the fantasy world, and then a completely different version in the real world?

He is such an incredible actor. It was such a pleasure to work with him. He’s Texan, he has this kind of cool, easygoing demeanor. He just does it. He doesn’t worry, and that kind of influenced the whole cast. And to see Jesse, who is one of the nicest actors I’ve ever worked with, play such a tyrant — he at times really struggled with being that harsh. But then at other times he would say things and I would be like, “Where did that come from? You scared me there.” ( Laughs ) He would say, “Well, that’s what Daly would do.” Jesse also offered up the idea to shave his head. We had to make all this very quickly, and you are sometimes reticent to do anything too radical, because you don’t want to make a mistake and blow it. They were a little nervous about him shaving his head, because you can’t unshave it. But, when do you get an actor of his stature to offer to shave a bald patch into his head? This is a gift — you need to accept it and go with it. That’s the integrity of Jesse and his kind of art, that he’s willing to do that. He changed his whole look, and it changed him. We shot the thing in two parts, and I think when we got to real-world Daly, he was, in a way, easier to talk to and easier to bond with than when he was being Captain Daly. Captain Daly is kind of this terrifying asshole who is all-powerful. Real-world Daly is downtrodden, and in a bad way. You wanted to give him a hug, even though he’s pretty twisted. [Jesse’s] just a great, great actor. I miss these guys. It’s been over a year. I’m so in awe of that cast.

'Black Mirror' Delivers a Timely Female-Led Season 4

They spoke about how they bonded as a cast during filming. Did you feel that with their performances?

I think they bonded very quickly. We hired the right people. From the supporting cast to the main, they all play more than one role. It’s very rare to get a bunch of characteristics like that, so everyone felt a bit lucky. I felt lucky that we had a spaceship and that we had this cast. I had this idea in my head that they would have to look iconic in their faces, and I felt really pleased with the spread of the guys that we found. Cristin Milioti is one of the most incredible talents I’ve been lucky enough to work with. I like to shoot in order; I like to watch how the actors are performing, and that informs how I’m going to film it. But on the first day we had cast sickness, so we had to do all the third-act stuff in the first two weeks. The first week of the shoot, we turned the shoot on its head, and Cristin had to do all her heavy-lifting stuff, but she just came in and nailed it every day. Everyone had to do it in about two or three takes, because that was all they had. When Jimmi Simpson is doing that amazing speech about his son being thrown out the air lock, he got one take at that. It was a 17-minute take, but he nailed it. You could be doing that over and over again for a whole afternoon. It really brings out the best in people, I think, when you’re under that kind of pressure. But we were dealing with this fantastic source material. The conceptualizing was second to none. The character development. Everything elevated off the page so well; it just flowed as we filmed.

What were some of the challenges about making it clear to viewers when they were in the real world and when they were in the game?

One of the stylistic things I tried to do with the show as you go through was with the camera: when you are in Star Trek mode, it’s very locked-off; in the real world, it’s very handheld. Building a shot logic like that really helps you to navigate where you are in the story. Then as we get into the story, the handheld comes into the Star Trek mode. On the planet when Daly gets the call for his pizza, it starts off on a tripod and then when he pauses the game, the shot is unlocked and then is handheld, and that moment is the collision of the two worlds in one shot.

This is Black Mirror ’s first space story. How big of a Star Trek fan are you, and how did you strike that balance of putting in enough Easter eggs but also keeping this a Black Mirror original?

I’m probably a bigger Star Trek fan than Charlie is. As a kid, I was a super-geek for all things sci-fi on TV, particularly Doctor Who . I knew the original ‘60s Star Trek show very well. I was such a fan that I’m kind of reverential about it, so I was happy to play fast and loose with this version. I knew stuff that Charlie didn’t know, which is why we put Michaela Coel in a red outfit. Michaela had to be in a red outfit because she’s the first of the crew to get killed. On Star Trek, the guy in red always gets nailed. [Daly is also wearing red on the ship.] I knew those layers of detail, so I made sure those were elements in there. I’m not even sure I ever communicated that to Charlie, but it was just something that had to be. He’s so smart in detail and on the integrity of the concept. That’s what was impressive. Charlie and Annabel are very particular, but you really start to speak their language after a while, and it’s such a pleasure to work with them. Every meeting you have with them, you always spend the whole time laughing. It was one of the most stressful projects but also one of the most fun. I hope it happens again; it was a magic moment.

The crew of the USS Callister in 'Black Mirror' are shown inside their spaceship, each member attentively seated at their battlestations, focused on the view ahead from the ship's front.

Of all the episodes this season, this one ends up being the most timely. Brooker wrote it before the U.S. election, and you filmed it in January. He and the cast have spoken about how the real world seeped in, given the power theme and takedown. How did that influence filming?

There was so much in the air. I have American friends, and I had been to Thanksgiving while I was prepping it; they just had their head in their hands. We were reeling from Brexit . It was an interesting time. We’re going through a lot of big changes and surprising shifts in the direction our countries, so there was a kind of kinship with the American cast. Even though it was written months before, some of the feelings in there are very real. What’s really interesting is how the whole abuse of power, with the sexual harassment thing that’s just come up since earlier this year, is really profound and kind of ground-shaking, and it holds some relevance there too. Because it is creepy what Daly is doing and it is an abuse of his position, but whenever you’re looking at the abuse of power it’s funny how one thing leads to another. If the [Harvey] Weinstein thing had happened, would Trump have gotten elected president? I don’t know. These shock waves in the news have left an imprint.

Brooker and Jones thought the world could use some cheering up when they made this season. That was long before the sexual harassment reckoning, which this episode speaks to by having a woman overthrow a tyrant. How relevant is this story right now?

It’s really refreshing and wonderful. It just wouldn’t have felt fresh if that wasn’t the case. That’s what I felt when I first read the script. All my expectations when reading those first pages were turned on their head by the end. Anything where I thought I had seen it before was turned on its head, and that was the strength of the writing. And then the fact that you get Cristin , who I think is an incredibly powerful actress, who is an intellectual force; it was just so thrilling to see her embody that so thoroughly.

Plemons researched Star Trek and its star William Shatner pretty heavily, watching old episodes and videos. How do you think he will like the Daly character?

It comes from a place of love. Clearly, Daly is such a fan that he is mimicking the way that his hero speaks. It was also a very fine balance about how Shatner-y we were going to get. We brought in a voice coach. We worked it very carefully. Jesse would say, “You let me know if you want to turn the dial up on Shatner.” We did it one or two times where he went full Shatner , like when he says “Fire” in the opening. That’s straight out of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . I love those movies. I’m quoting my heroes. So it comes from a place of love. We’re not punching down, we’re punching up.

How 'Black Mirror' Took on Online Dating With "Hang the DJ"

The best part about these episodes is the twist. What should viewers look out for the second time around, when they revisit it after knowing the premise?

I’ve seen it so many times that the details are all there for me. I think the performances are really far out, and when you’re watching the characters who aren’t necessarily the leads, they’re hilarious even when in the background. I love a cast that is that consistently on it. I can watch those performances over and over. There are also three Star Wars references. I don’t know when I’m going to do sci-fi again, so I try to put everything in there. One of the references is when Cristin wakes up in the medical bay, the way the lights came on was a reference to Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One trailer — the shot that never made the movie, when Felicity [Jones] is standing up and the lights come on in sequence. That was an eight-page scene that we had to shoot in a day. Then, the tube that Jimmi goes into when he reactivates the engines of the spaceship, I wanted that to look like the tubes of the Bepsin in Cloud City in Empire Strikes Back , the tubes that Luke Skywalker falls down inspired that. And there’s one line when Daly has just turned Michaela into an alien where he says, “Take that thing to the bridge.” That’s the same line they say about Chewbacca when they are on the Death Star in A New Hope . So there are the three Star Wars references, along with the endless Star Trek ones.

Last season, “San Junipero” became a cultural phenomenon, and Brooker has already predicted “USS Callister” would have that similar impact. How does that feel?

I still haven’t watched “San Junipero ” all the way through because it’s too good. I couldn’t watch it because it scared me about doing this project! I just hope people don’t switch off halfway through this. I want to make sure it’s gripping enough that people watch it all the way through and enjoy it, and punch the air when that music comes in at the end. One of the greatest things about this episode is down to the orchestrated score. Everything we did was on a movie scale, with no money and the shortest time span. It’s people knowing their craft so well that we’re able to get it done, and I was there for the recording when we had the orchestra. It was one of the best possible moments, when they recorded the music for the end credits. I challenged him and said, “If people aren’t punching the air when this music comes in, I want my money back.”

Why 'Black Mirror' Offered More Escapism With Season 4

Brooker always predicts technologies. How far away are we from this episode happening?

I had a go on the VR for Resident Evil, and I had to get out of it as quickly as possible. I was walking through this space and just the mood, I was terrified: zombies start jumping out at you and start eating you. I’ve never been so scared of a form of media like that since I was a kid. It’s really affecting. I think we’re so close. Whether we can put it on our temple, I don’t know about that. But PS2, they’re almost there.

Do you think there is a world where there is a sequel or Black Mirror crossover potential with “USS Callister”?

I was talking with Louise Sutton, who produced this and “Metalhead,” and she cooked up a brilliant idea of spinning it off into a TV series. I’d love to do a TV series of “USS Callister” — it’s probably one of the best pilots for a space show ever. And I made it! So I’m keen to see it as a TV series. I think Charlie might revisit it as a Black Mirror . Whether I’m the one to do it, I don’t know. Being a fan of the show as much as I am, and being a part of making it, I’d love to work with that crew and cast again. It’s a gift for a director.

Milioti has already said she would jump at the chance to spin this off into a series. Would you have to find a way to keep Plemons’ Daly around?

That’s the fun of it, isn’t it? That’s what this idea is. There is this brilliant idea that he is still alive, and his attempted murder gets pinned on someone. Whose fingerprints do they find in the apartment? There’s so much you could do. Fingers crossed, you never know.

'Black Mirror': How Jodie Foster and Rosemarie DeWitt Made Their Story Personal

What did you think of “USS Callister”? Tell THR in the comments below and head to Live Feed for more show coverage.

THR Newsletters

More from The Hollywood Reporter

John oliver mocks fox news reporter for asking “dumbest question ever” on tv, kim kardashian booed at tom brady roast, tom brady roast: kevin hart, jeff ross, bill belichick, will ferrell and more joke about gisele bundchen, deflategate, crypto failure, tom brady takes issue with jeff ross’ joke about robert kraft during netflix roast: “don’t say that s*** again”, john cho doesn’t think of his ‘sympathizer’ cameo as meta, but understands if you do, abc news president kim godwin exits network.

USS Callister

Edit source
View history

USS Callister is the first episode of season four of Black Mirror . It was written by Charlie Brooker & William Bridges and was released on December 29, 2017.

1 Short Summary
2 Full Summary
4.1 Production
5.1 Episode Stills
5.2 Trailer

Short Summary [ ]

Capt. Robert Daly presides over his crew with wisdom and courage. But a new recruit will soon discover nothing on this spaceship is what is seems.

Full Summary [ ]

Captain Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) and his crew are aboard a spaceship, the USS Callister, trying to defeat their arch enemy Valdack (Billy Magnussen). They destroy Valdack's ship, but he escapes. The crew celebrates, Daly kissing both female crewmates.

The real-life version of Daly is Chief Technical Officer at Callister Inc. The company was co-founded by Daly and James Walton (Jimmi Simpson), the company's Chief Executive Officer, which produces the multiplayer game Infinity, in which users control a starship in a simulated reality. Daly is treated poorly by his fellow employees, who appear identical to Captain Daly's crewmates. New programmer Nanette Cole (Cristin Milioti) praises Daly's work on Infinity, but the more assertive Walton interrupts to take her on a tour. When Daly returns home, he opens a development build of Infinity which is modded to resemble his favourite television show Space Fleet. As Captain Daly, he berates the crewmates, strangling a subservient Walton, who eventually takes his apparently-expected position as Daly's footstool.

After employee Shania Lowry (Michaela Coel) warns Cole to beware of Daly, he takes a disposed coffee cup of Cole's and uses her DNA to replicate her consciousness within his development build. Cole awakens aboard the USS Callister, confused and distraught. The crew is kind and welcoming; Lowry explains that they are digital clones of Callister Inc. staff members. Cole attempts to escape the ship but is teleported back. She refuses to cooperate with Daly's commands, so he removes her facial features, calmly explaining that she won't die, but will sightlessly, continuously suffocate. Eventually, she relents and takes her position at a console.

The crew embark on a mission in which they apprehend Valdack but spare his life. After Daly leaves, Cole finds a way to send a game invite containing a message for help to the real-world Cole. The real-life Cole asks the real-life Daly about the message, and he dismisses it as spam. Daly enters the game to interrogate his crew, and transforms Lowry into a monster when she defends Cole. Once he departs, Cole identifies a distant wormhole as an uplink to Infinity's next update; she surmises that by flying into the wormhole, the firewall will delete them and they will die. Walton is very hesitant to help; he explains that Daly once recreated his son Tommy within the game, and threw the boy out of an airlock to punish Walton. Daly vowed to repeat it as often as necessary to secure Walton's compliance. Cole promises they will destroy the lollipop containing Tommy's DNA, eventually gaining Walton's agreement to help the plan.

When Daly next arrives, Cole plays fully into her role and convinces him to take her on a mission to Skillane IV alone. She strips to her underwear and runs into nearby water; Daly reluctantly follows her in, leaving behind the omnicorder which allows him to control the game. Based on a plan of Cole's devising, the crew teleport the omnicorder onto their ship, and use it to access sexual images of Cole on her PhotoCloud account. They use those photos to blackmail the real-life Cole into ordering a pizza to Daly's apartment, then breaking-in to steal the DNA samples when he answers the door. They teleport Cole onto the ship using the omnicorder. As Daly returns to his body on Skillane IV, he discovers the crew are attempting to escape to the wormhole. He commandeers a crashed spaceship to pursue them through an asteroid belt. The Callister collides with an asteroid, disabling the engines, allowing Daly to close the distance. Walton repairs the engine manually, knowing that it will incinerate him, but not kill him. This allows the the ship to accelerate into the wormhole, which closes before Daly can traverse it.

The crew reawakens in an updated, but non-Space Fleet version of Infinity with re-humanized Lowry and Valdack. The firewall has detected Daly's modded build and locked his controls, rendering him physically unable to exit the game as it is destroyed around him. Meanwhile, the crew continues their adventure with Cole leading them, after interacting with an annoyed real-world user "Gamer691" (Aaron Paul).

Jesse Plemons as Robert Daly
Cristin Milioti as Nanette Cole
Jimmi Simpson as James Walton
Michaela Coel as Shania Lowry
Billy Magnussen as Valdack
Milanka Brooks as Elena Tulaska
Osy Ikhile as Nate Packer
Paul G. Raymond as Kabir Dudani
Hammed Animashaun as Pizza Guy
Tom Mulheron as Tommy
Aaron Paul as Gamer691

Notes and Trivia [ ]

Kirsten Dunst (Jesse Plemons' fiance) makes a cameo appearance in this episode as a Callister employee.
Gamer691 is voiced by Aaron Paul.
Jesse Plemons (Robert Daly) and Aaron Paul were famous working together previously on American TV show "Breaking Bad". They later returned to their roles (Todd Alquist and Jesse Pinkman, respectively) in the film "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie".
The two planets named in this episode are Rannoch and Skillane, which were the surnames of Jemima Sykes' killers in White Bear .
In Black Museum , one of the exhibits is the lollipop with Tommy's DNA in the assimilation machine.
There's a poster for the fictional video game Skinned Alive (similar to the one seen in Playtest ) in Robert Daly's apartment.
The dating app that Elena is briefly seen using will later appear in Hang the DJ .
Michaela Coel previously appeared in Nosedive as the check-in manager who refused to let Lacie Pound on the plane.
In Men Against Fire Raiman mentioned she grew up on a farm and here we see Robert drinking Raiman brand milk.
Bandersnatch first references Space Fleet briefly in an article in the Sun newspaper, where it reveals that the third chapter of the series has just been released(during the events of the 80's segment of the story). Later during the present day segment, the UKN news ticker reveals that the cast of Space Fleet has reunited to appear at the Emmys.

Production [ ]

Co-creator Annabel Jones disclosed the following information about the episode: "USS Callister is a space opera. The challenges of trying to create that world, and obviously getting to play with the genre, opened a whole new opportunity. But I think we’ve put a clever spin on it. It’s a romp – it’s big and ambitious with lots of CG. It’s an absolute visual feast and really high octane. There are obviously more unsettling, poignant and slightly more melancholic moments, but at the same time, it is a romp. It’s such a treat for a filmmaker to be making a film this epic."

Gallery [ ]

Episode stills [ ].

Trailer [ ]

1 Carrie Lamasse
2 Black Museum
3 Nish Leigh

Den of Geek

Black Mirror: The Star Trek References in USS Callister

The Black Mirror episode, “USS Callister,” has clear nods to the original Star Trek series that combine nostalgia with obsession.

Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
Share on email (opens in a new tab)

There’s no mistaking the likeness of the USS Callister from the season 4 Black Mirror episode of the same name to the iconic USS Enterprise from the original Star Trek series of the 1960s.

Robert Daly’s vintage collection of all six seasons of the fictional Space Fleet series may exceed Gene Roddenberry’s three years of swashbuckling space drama, but the recognizable references to the source of inspiration deserve a closer look. Upon careful examination, here are the most obvious homages.

The Captain Kirk demeanor

Jesse Plemons’ performance is admirably distinct as he enacts both the more confident captain of the Callister vessel and the downtrodden CTO of the Callister company, but when he’s in character as Captain Daly, he’s almost channeling William Shatner as James T. Kirk. While Kirk may not have gone so far as to embrace all of his female crew members in a celebratory kiss after each mission, one trademark move that was hard to miss was Captain Daly’s delivery of the line, “Fire!” as he commanded his weapons officer to disable the villain’s ship, fist clenching under his chin with dramatic punctuation. Classic Kirk!

It’s no surprise, then, that Plemons had a dialect coach to master the signature voice. In an interview with THR , episode director Toby Haynes explains, “Jesse would say, ‘You let me know if you want to turn the dial up on Shatner.’ We did it one or two times where he went full Shatner, like when he says ‘fire’ in the opening. That’s straight out of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . I love those movies. I’m quoting my heroes. So it comes from a place of love.”

Ad – content continues below

Uhura and 60s fashion

There’s no doubt that Michaela Cole’s communications officer, Shania Lauer, is directly modeled after the pioneering performance of Nichelle Nichols as Lieutenant Uhura in the original Star Trek , right down to the long, fake eyelashes. According to Coel in speaking with Digital Spy , “The eyelashes weighed a ton each. The costume was no respecter of your bladder. If you needed to pee it was like, well, you should have done that an hour ago.”

As soon as the new crew member cloned from Nanette Cole’s DNA arrives, her beehive hairdo makeover is immediately apparent, referencing the 60s origins of Star Trek and apparently Space Fleet as well. Daly does, after all, tell Cole that the show is from “before your time; before my time actually.” And while the midriff-baring uniforms aren’t directly modeled after anything from Star Trek , the mini-skirts are definitely recognizable as well.

Phasers, tricorders, and transporters

The technology of Star Trek has been imitated by legions of space dramas that came after it, both on television and in film, and Black Mirror isn’t about to break that trend. Even though helmsman Packer points out to Cole that their guns don’t work, Daly’s very tricorder-like omnicorder is instrumental in the crew’s eventual escape plan. And of course the de-materialization of the away team as they head to the planet is so ingrained in our collective cultural memory, no explanation of the transporter is needed. Hyperspace becomes white space and photon torpedoes turn into photon volts, but it’s all a familiar lexicon.

A favorite tongue-in-cheek use of technology, however, comes from Lauer as she acclimates Cole to her new position as science officer just after Daly has tortured her into compliance with his obsessive fan drama. As Daly asks Cole for a signal triangulation, Lauer whispers to her, “It’s any button. They’re all the same.” One can’t help but think of how earnestly Star Trek crew members likewise operated their nonsensical instrument boards.

Character likenesses

Is the villain Valdack exactly like the most infamous of Star Trek villains, Khan Noonien Singh? No, but the similarities are certainly there. Jimmi Simpson’s sycophantic Walton is meant to be more worshipful of his captain than anyone on the Enterprise , but his doubtfulness echoes both Bones’ “Dammit, I’m a doctor…” speech patterns and Scotty’s “It’ll tear the ship apart, captain!” a line which Walton mimics exactly in the opening sequence of the episode.

And while LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge isn’t from the original series, Dudani’s cybernetic enhancements remind viewers quite a bit of the blindness-conquering visor from Star Trek: The Next Generation . One might even conclude that Tulaska’s blue skin is an homage to the original series’ Andorians or maybe even the infamous green-skinned Orion femme fatale, Galia, reprised by Rachel Nichols in the 2009 cinematic re-imagining.

The red shirt

The fact that Lauer and Daly are the only ones wearing red uniforms is no mistake. The “red shirt” has become synonymous with imminent death ever since the original Star Trek famously depicted anonymous, red-uniformed away team members facing their inevitable demise at the hands of alien enemies. Although Lauer doesn’t exactly die, she is the first of those the audience meets to be turned into an alien creature and disposed of, and of course, Daly’s doom, although not predictable in the least, is foreshadowed expertly by the color of his officer’s jacket.

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

Haynes explains, “I knew the original 60s Star Trek show very well. I was such a fan that I’m kind of reverential about it, so I was happy to play fast and loose with this version… which is why we put Michaela Coel in a red outfit. Michaela had to be in a red outfit because she’s the first of the crew to get killed. On Star Trek , the guy in red always gets nailed. I knew those layers of detail, so I made sure those were elements in there.”

As televised space dramas have evolved on television, a common vocabulary has emerged, and it all started with Star Trek . While the dark elements of Robert Daly’s power trip are pure Black Mirror , the obsessive fan culture surrounding a favorite classic sci-fi series is recognizable to any devotee of the multitude of Star Trek iterations. When viewers see Daly using fandom to conquer his insecurities, they see themselves, and that’s exactly what Black Mirror does best: act as a dark reflection of our own fallibility.

Michael Ahr | @mikescifi

Michael Ahr is a writer and multimedia producer at Den of Geek with a focus on science fiction television. Elsewhere, he teaches video production to high…

Stranger Things Season 5
Deadpool and Wolverine
The Batman 2
Spider-Man 4
Yellowstone Season 6
Fallout Season 2
The Last of Us Season 2
Entertainment

7 best Star Trek parodies, ranked

A space crew stand on a planet in The Black Mirror's USS Callister episode.

For more than 50 years, Star Trek has been an institution, especially among the nerds of America. The original Star Trek series has spawned various movies and additional shows in the years since it aired, and those shows have been met with various levels of acclaim and criticism.

7. Star Trek: Lower Decks

6. The Muppet Show – Pigs in Space

5. Animaniacs: Star Truck

4. the orville, 3. futurama: where no fan has gone before, 2. black mirror: uss callister, 1. galaxy quest (1999).

Alongside all of these more faithful series, though, there have also been a number of parodies of Star Trek , its tropes, and the world it’s set in. We’ve gathered seven of the very best of those parodies for this list, which range from TV episodes to entire movies.

Why not kick this list off with a show that allows Star Trek to make fun of itself? Lower Decks follows the support crew on a fairly unimportant interspace vessel as they try to manage their personal lives, even as they deal with all sorts of sci-fi invaders.

The best stand-up comedy on Netflix right now
If you have to watch one Star Wars movie this May the 4th, stream this one
7 best Nicolas Cage sci-fi movies, ranked

As this list proves, Star Trek has become such an institution that it can be effectively parodied from dozens of different directions, but this show, which plays with the series’ tropes while offering a new perspective on the action, is a delight from minute one, and is still going strong after its fourth season.

6. The Muppet Show – Pigs in Space

The Muppets may not be as widely beloved today as they once were, but Pigs in Space was once a regular segment on The Muppet Show. The segment was flexible enough that it could parody any beloved sci-fi property, but Star Trek was undoubtedly a mainstay.

This was underlined by the fact that Captain Link Hogthrob seemed to be a pretty overt Captain Kirk riff, and Miss Piggy’s ship was called Swinetrek. Still, Pigs in Space was not particularly biting. Instead, it was the kind of sweet, earnest parody that the Muppets were so often great at.

When the Animaniacs got a chance to invade their favorite TV show, they didn’t miss an opportunity to cause plenty of havoc. Star Truck follows the rascals at the show’s center as they meet characters like Dr. Squat and Captain Kork while also delivering the kind of jokes that only hardcore fans of both shows would fully understand.

If you’re a Trek fan, you probably loved this episode, which also gave Maurice Lamarche the chance to do pretty impeccable impressions of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly.

When Seth MacFarlane set out to create his own version of Star Trek , many people were alarmed by how genuine and sincere it seemed. The Family Guy creator has long been a megafan of the series, and while The Orville has elements of parody, it also seems to be a loving tribute to the show that spawned it.

The show featured notable guest stars from various Star Trek shows, and also captured the spirit of the planet-of-the-week adventures that made the original Star Trek so widely beloved. While it’s certainly jokier than the original series, The Orville is ultimately a loving tribute to what made Trek great.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this Futurama episode is that the show manages to reunite almost every member of the original cast to deliver voice performances. The episode imagines that the crew of the Planet Express stumble upon a planet where the entire original cast of the series is alive and well, having been revived hundreds of years after the show’s original run.

The notion of giving these actors a chance to live in a far different future than the one their show imagined was brilliant enough, but all of the actors brought their A-game to these versions of their actual personalities.

Not every Black Mirror episode is as sharp and compelling as USS Callister , which is both a parody and a critique of the entire Star Trek ethos. The episode follows the crew of a Star Trek -esque ship as they’re tortured by their captain. Eventually, we begin to realize that this entire world is a virtual reality, and the entire crew are avatars for co-workers of a single isolated man.

USS Callister is specific in its references to the original Star Trek , but it’s also a pointed critique of the misogyny that could underlie much of what that original show tried to achieve, and more crucially, of the show’s many fans who totally misinterpret its message.

One of the great parody movies of any kind ever made, Galaxy Quest is set in a universe where a show like Star Trek was a phenomenon when it first aired. Now, the cast assembles for reunions, but have grown to hate one another. When real aliens recruit them based on the belief that they are actually the characters they played on the show, they’re forced to prove that they have what it takes to be real heroes.

Thanks to a great ensemble cast that includes Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell in standout performances, Galaxy Quest is genuinely funny. What has helped it endure, though, is that it’s also one of the more earnest movies on this list, and it manages to balance those tones beautifully.

Editors' Recommendations

The best Star Wars shows on Disney+
7 most underrated Star Wars villains of all time, ranked
10 best movies of 2024 so far, ranked
10 best movie quotes of all time, ranked
7 best 2010s fantasy movies, ranked

Fight scenes are the backbone of any action movie and come in all different shapes and sizes. Fight scenes can be loud, violent versions of controlled chaos, as evidenced in the John Wick movies. They can be smaller in scale and confined to one space, like the elevator sequence in Drive. Martial artists such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan proved that the elaborate choreography of hand-to-hand combat can be as graceful and poetic as a dance.

Whatever your preference is, fight scenes have a way of wowing the audience through brutal, visceral actions. Stunt teams and choreographers continue to raise the bar on what's possible in an action movie. To honor these cinematic sequences, Digital Trends ranks the best fight scenes captured in action movies. 7. The one-take stairwell sequence in Atomic Blonde (2017) Atomic Blonde | The 10-Minute Single Take Fight Scene in 4K HDR

Film noir is among the most instantly recognizable genres in cinematic history. Defined as a heavily stylized take on a classic crime story, film noir is characterized by its striking black-and-white cinematography and complex, morally ambiguous stories about troubled men, whether they be detectives, investigators, boxers, or everyday citizens. At its core, film noir is about how easy it is to fall victim to tragic circumstances.

The genre enjoyed its height during the 1940s and '50s. Since then, film noir has fallen out of fashion, and while modern neo-noir movies exploring similar themes are common, they aren't anywhere near as influential as they once were. Still, at its height, film noir produced some of the all-time best classics ever seen in American cinema. From classic tales of revenge and power to tragic melodramas about fallen heroes, these are the best film noirs. 10. The Killers (1946)

Neil Gaiman is among pop culture's most famous and revered writers. In fact, he's one of the few whose mere name can provoke some sort of reaction in the average person, even those who aren't avid readers. Gaiman is behind some of the most recognizable titles in the modern age — seminal comic books like The Sandman and novels like Coraline all come from his brilliant mind.

Logically, many of Gaiman's works have been adapted for the big and small screens. From great shows on Amazon Prime to underrated fantasy films, the best shows and movies based on Gaiman's literary work are popular with fans and critics alike. They effortlessly capture the magical complexity of Gaiman's oeuvre, ranking among their respective genre's best efforts. 7. MirrorMask (2005)

Entertainment

Where You've Seen This Actress Before Her Badass Black Mirror Episode

Now that Black Mirror has returned with its fourth season, you should prepare yourself for one wild ride. One of the best episodes is "USS Callister," a parody of the original Star Trek . . . with a Black Mirror twist, of course.

The hero of the piece is a woman named Nanette Cole, who may look like a tiny, wide-eyed ingenue, but is actually a brilliant badass, played by the wonderful Cristin Milioti. The actress is perhaps best known for playing the titular mother on CBS's long-running sitcom How I Met Your Mother . She became so popular with viewers that her storyline was be a big part of why fans were so unhappy with the final season and series finale episode. HIMYM aside, she's been in a variety of other projects as well.

After HIMYM , Milioti starred on NBC's short-lived (but adorable) sitcom A to Z , Hulu's continuation of The Mindy Project , and FX's second season of Fargo , playing Molly Solverson's cancer-stricken mother.

Milioti has also appeared in a handful of movies, notably playing Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in The Wolf of Wall Street . Milioti is also a celebrated Broadway actress, appearing on stage in That Face , Stunning , and Once , for which she earned a Tony nomination.

Black Mirror

Black Mirror : 'Arkangel' Mines the Horror of Helicopter Parenting

Directed by Jodie Foster, the second episode of Season 4 taps into the anxieties of raising children.

Sophie Gilbert and David Sims will be discussing the new season of Netflix’s Black Mirror , considering alternate episodes. The reviews contain spoilers; don’t read further than you’ve watched. See all of their coverage here .

David, I loved “USS Callister”—it’s my favorite of all the new episodes. You’re smart to observe how it starts with this mopey cliché of a lonely coder, encouraging you to sympathize with him, and then flips it on its head, showing the darkness of his walled-in fantasy world. It’s also interesting how the technology in the episode appears to nod back to “White Christmas” and its cookies. Black Mirror seems as compelled by the idea of the carbon-copied soul as ever, but if it was surprisingly bullish about the concept in “San Junipero,” “USS Callister” reinforces the argument that humans are too frail to be trusted with such godlike powers—that they’re inevitably going to abuse them.

I was excited for “Arkangel,” which combines a potent premise—see what your kid is seeing!—with Jodie Foster, who directs, and Rosemarie DeWitt, who stars. But it feels like one of those lightbulb ideas of Charlie Brooker’s that sputters and dies in the execution, a bit like last season’s “Playtest.” The episode opens by illustrating every parent’s worst fear: Marie (DeWitt) gives birth to a baby, Sara, and for a few frantic seconds she believes the baby is dead, until she hears it start to cry. A few years later it happens again when Sara, now an adorable 3-year-old, disappears at the playground, sparking a neighborhood-wide search and an emotional meltdown from Marie until she’s found. The tension is excruciating in these moments, and the lo-fi, indie feel Foster gives the episode captures the terrible ordinariness of the situation.

Black Mirror 's 'USS Callister' Is Much More Than a Star Trek Parody

Black Mirror 's Universe Coalesces

Black Mirror ’s ‘Playtest’ Brings Fear to Life

After this playground panic, Marie elects to try “Arkangel,” a new kind of electronic chip wired painlessly into Sara’s brain that allows her mother to see what she’s seeing, to pinpoint her location at any time, and to blur out things that might elevate Sara’s cortisol levels, like a local dog who barks when she walks past. Again, the technology nods back to “White Christmas,” in which people can blur out other humans they don’t want to see, and where convicted criminals like Jon Hamm’s character appear with a bright red aura to signal their potential danger to the community. In “Arkangel,” Marie and the Arkangel installer repeatedly emphasize how safe the technology is, how it’s been tested, and that all it signifies is an increased sense of security.

But it’s obvious from the start that things can only go wrong. Brooker and his co-showrunner Annabel Jones excel at capturing the shiny, pristine allure of new products: the ritual unboxing of an unopened device, and the tiny endorphin kick that comes from sliding off the packaging and switching it on. The Arkangel comes with the requisite tablet and serene notification chimes, but it has other implications that aren’t so soothing. Sara’s bullied at school by friends who call her a “chiphead”; it’s implied that her device stunts her emotional growth, since anything stressful or harmful is blurred out of her field of vision, including her grandfather’s heart attack. And Marie gets too attached to her new omniscience, which leads a therapist to tell her to turn it off. But her maternal desire to keep tabs on her child is stimulated again when a teenage Sara (Brenna Harding) begins to sneak out.

From here, the moral of “Arkangel” becomes increasingly obvious, and fairly ponderous. Acting out is a normal part of human behavior, it preaches, and parents who deny their children the freedom to experiment will end up losing them. Far more interesting to me was the episode’s subtext about what kids already have access to. When young Sara’s chip is turned off, a kid in her class shows her hardcore porn and execution videos on his iPad with disturbing nonchalance. Later, in her first sexual encounter, Sara mimics the women she’s seen in pornography, horrifying her mother, who’s turned on the long-dormant Arkangel device to find out where her daughter is. The impact of this kind of instant access to adult imagery is as novel as the implant is, and as unclear. But the episode seems more concerned with lining up a tidy parable about helicopter parenting than peeking into the prospects of the nearer-present.

Stylistically, “Arkangel” is deliberately muted, set in a nondescript EveryTown USA rather than the shiny, isolated glass mansions of episodes like “The Entire History of You” and “Nosedive.” While other Black Mirror episodes have become Insta-friendly dystopias, situated in pastel-colored paradises with picture-perfect details, “Arkangel” is notable for its humdrum aesthetic, more like the hometown a soldier returns to in “Men Against Fire.” Teenage Sara wears bland, baggy clothes that feel like a throwback to a different era; her friends watch “vintage” films like The Breakfast Club for kicks. If Black Mirror is set in one distinct universe, as Seasons 3 and 4 seem to suggest, the cities of the future remain fairly removed from each other, visually. But their technology, at least, intersects. When Marie rewinds the footage from Sara’s optic feed, the scene resembles the way “grain” memories are replayed in “The Entire History of You.”

We’ll inevitably all disagree on which Black Mirror episode is the best, but the ones that seem to gratify fans the most tend to allow some goofiness into the premise. “USS Callister” was no less enthralling or psychologically rich for playing around with monsters and riffing on the ’60s format of the space series, and the joke buried at the end of “San Junipero” was a Belinda Carlisle song. But episodes like “White Bear” and “Shut Up and Dance” are unrelentingly bleak, and “Arkangel,” if less nightmarish, didn’t offer much in the way of consolation. What did you make of it, David? And how do you interpret the ways in which the Black Mirror universe has taken shape?

Read David Sims’s review of the next episode, “Crocodile.”

International edition
Australia edition
Europe edition

Black Mirror's meditation on Star Trek: reinforcing Trekker stereotypes?

The USS Callister episode is a brilliant take on Star Trek homages, gaming and toxic geekery, but it does little to change the unfair image of Trekkers

Spoiler alert: this blog contains spoilers for the USS Callister episode of Black Mirror, season four

W hen Lucille Ball first signed off on a new show called Star Trek more than 50 years ago, she mistakenly thought it was a celebrity-focused travelling variety show. She stuck with it despite its very different premise and it has since become the pop sci-fi staple that cannot die.

Unfortunately, the stereotypes associated with Trekkies persist: gross, mouth-breathing, socially inept dorks who, while aficionados of Star Wars and Marvel and video games have achieved mainstream acceptability, remain in the proverbial parental basement, perennially acne-ridden and laden with involuntary celibacy.

Forgive me if I sound defensive, but Star Trek is something I’ve loved for years and while I recognise it’s “just a TV show”, it’s helped me get through a number of rough patches in my life . I don’t claim to be the biggest (or most knowledgable) expert in the world, but as a regular panel moderator at Trek conventions and host of Engage: The Official Star Trek Podcast , I’ve interacted with a great number of extremely passionate fans. So believe me when I say: #NotAllTrekkies.

The vast majority of well-integrated-into-society fans who, sure, may know a few phrases in Klingon, are usually self-aware (and self-confident) enough to shrug off the “Get a life” epithets that were first hurled our way by (twist!) William Shatner himself on Saturday Night Live in 1986 . Moreover, the Star Trek parody film Galaxy Quest is adored by most Trekkers , as its ribbing is gentle, its admiration for our enthusiasm is sincere and, importantly, the story of “real” Star Trek-like actors beamed up into an actual interplanetary adventure is gripping and hilarious.

Most Trek parodies go over well, especially the references and in-jokes that Seth MacFarlane has incorporated into his work for years. MacFarlane’s bonafides were proven last year when he launched The Orville, a curious show that is, let’s face it, the most expensive fan film ever made .

The Orville: Penny Johnson Jerald, Seth MacFarlane and Peter Macon in the space adventure series

The best way to describe The Orville is to picture Seth and his buddies watching an old The Next Generation episode while getting high on a couch, and not just shouting jokes but somehow entering the show , man! That sort of strangeness is what drives the plot of the just-released Black Mirror episode USS Callister. And trust Black Mirror to take a typical Star Trek homage and make it dark.

I should say that as an episode of television (or short feature, or whatever you want to call 74 minutes of well-produced, mid-budget entertainment distributed via Netflix), USS Callister is quite good. The performances are captivating, the premise is sharp, the twists are good and, as with most of Black Mirror , there is a disquieting effect that comes from gazing directly at such bleak, dark human impulses.

The problem is that it pins its hideousness on a defective, angry Trekkie. At first he seems sweet and shy, but beneath the facade he is worse than the monster from Room . Jesse Plemons is the co-owner at a software company that has designed a futuristic, immersive VR multiplayer game. He’s the egghead engineer, and his slick, bullying partner (Jimmi Simpson) is the face of the operation. His day at the office is a barrage of slights and disses, and we initially feel quite sorry for him. But the joke is on us. When he goes home each night he plugs into a personalised version of the game and (just like Lieutenant Reg Barclay in the The Next Generation episode Hollow Pursuits) his co-workers all adore him in a simulated environment. And that simulated environment is a just-this-side-of-legal-fair-use replica of Star Trek.

The twist is that “Space Fleet” is not a simulated environment. Plemons’ “Captain Daley” takes DNA from the co-workers who have wronged him (which, we’ll learn, can sometimes be women who just got noticeably creeped out by his staring) and he uploads a digital clone into the sealed game matrix. They are real and there (or at least feel that they are), and Daley, quite aware of his new forced playmates’ anger and fear, is brutal and cruel.

Props to writers Charlie Brooker and William Bridges for knowing their deep lore Trek – this goes beyond photon torpedoes and warp drive. When Daley brings the new girl (Cristin Milioti) to the ship, he punishes her by “removing her face” just like the powerful man-baby Charlie Evans did in Charlie X (season one, episode seven.) But the suggestion that inside every Trekkie lurks a closet sadist is just a little bit insulting.

The episode’s twist pulls the rug out from “sympathy for the dweeb,”, becoming instead a showcase of very toxic online male behaviour – what if the omnipotent imp Trelane from The Squire of Gothos (season 1, episode 17) were a gamer? While I personally don’t know one end of a joystick from the other (do they still use joysticks?) I recognise that multiplayer chatter can notoriously be cesspool. However, I also know that the vast majority of players are just normal people engaged in a harmless leisure activity and not harassers and trolls.

Further, Daley is shown as a complete sexual novice. When his co-workers “re-appear” in the simulation, their sex organs are smoothed over, as with an action figure. This is maybe just a joke about obsessive nerds and their dolls, but it’s also a further dig at perceived Trekkie social ineptitude. All this said, it’s still pretty amazing that this 50-year-old show (which has an amazing new iteration you should be watching) continues to get used as a trope. Black Mirror’s version of the costumes, sound effects and flickering panels are really top notch. And when I eventually get to live out my dreams of being Captain of a Federation starship, I can assure you I won’t be such an ass about it.

Black Mirror
Jesse Plemons

Comments (…)

Screen Rant

3 star trek ships have crossed to & from the mirror universe.

Many Star Trek characters have met their Mirror counterparts but 3 starships have also crossed over from the Prime and Mirror Universes.

Mirror Universe featured evil versions of Star Trek characters, with starships rarely crossing between universes.
Star Trek: Enterprise revisited Mirror Universe with USS Defiant, while Star Trek: Discovery explored it with USS Discovery.
ISS Enterprise appeared in Mirror Universe, where Spock implemented reforms for a more peaceful way of life.

Three Star Trek ships have crossed between the Mirror Universe and the Prime Universe. Introduced in the classic episode of Star Trek: The Original Series , "Mirror, Mirror," the Mirror Universe is a dark parallel reality featuring evil versions of Star Trek's characters. Although the Mirror Universe has popped up on several Star Trek series since its introduction, starships rarely make the jump between universes. In "Mirror, Mirror," it was a transporter malfunction that caused Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his USS Enterprise crew members to end up in the Mirror Universe, but that's not the only way characters have traveled between the two realities.

Star Trek: Enterprise revisited the Mirror Universe with season 4's two-part episode, "In a Mirror, Darkly," which saw the return of the original USS Defiant. Star Trek: Discovery 's characters aboard the USS Discovery also visited the Mirror Universe in the show's first season. In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors," the ISS Enterprise made its first appearance since its introduction in Star Trek: The Original Series. In the Mirror Universe, the authoritarian Terran Empire rose instead of the United Federation of Planets, and Starfleet is comprised of warships like ISS Enterprise that conquer and subjugate other worlds. Here are 3 starships that crossed over between Star Trek 's Prime and Mirror Universes.

I'm Glad Star Trek: TNG Never Did A Mirror Universe Episode

The uss defiant in star trek: enterprise, star trek: the original series season 3, episode 9 - "the tholian web" & star trek: enterprise season 4, episodes 18 & 19 - "in a mirror, darkly".

Although Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's USS Defiant would become the more famous ship to bear the name, there have been multiple ships named Defiant , including a 23rd-century Constitution Class starship first seen in Star Trek: The Original Series . In the TOS episode, "The Tholian Web," the USS Enterprise was sent to locate the Defiant , which they found trapped between universes, with its entire crew dead due to apparent insanity and mutiny. In a conflict with the Tholians, the Defiant was pushed through a spatial hole to an unknown destination.

The final destination of the USS Defiant was revealed in Star Trek: Enterprise's Mirror Universe two-parter, "In a Mirror, Darkly." The Defiant both traveled back in time and crossed into the Mirror Universe. The Mirror Universe Tholians then began to salvage the ship, but Commander Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) of the ISS Enterprise NX-001 plotted to steal the Defiant and use its advanced 23rd technology to install himself as Emperor of the Terran Empire. Archer commandeered the Defiant but en route to Earth, Lt. Hoshi Sato (Linda Park) poisoned Archer and took command of the Defiant, declaring herself Empress.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine later introduced the Defiant Class USS Defiant, and the Mirror Universe had its own version although neither crossed universes.

The USS Discovery in Star Trek: Discovery

Star trek: discovery season 1.

Star Trek: Discovery season 1 spent five episodes in the Mirror Universe after Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) manipulated the starship and crew back to the alternate reality he originated from. Previously unknown to the Discovery's crew, Lorca was actually from the Mirror Universe and intended to use Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to gain access to Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and her ship. Lorca altered the coordinates for Discovery's spore drive, knowingly taking the ship into the Mirror Universe.

In the Mirror Universe, Michael Burnham was the adopted daughter of Emperor Georgiou and plotted with her lover, Lorca, to kill her mother.

Once in the Mirror Universe, Discovery's crew had to masquerade as their evil counterparts as they searched for a way to get home. Burnham eventually discovered Lorca's ruse and thwarted his plan before Emperor Georgiou ultimately killed him. Lorca's betrayal deeply affected Burnham and the rest of Discovery's crew, and their time in the Mirror Universe greatly cost the Federation. When Discovery returned to the Prime Universe nine months after they had left, the Federation/Klingon War was going badly, but Burnham and Georgiou helped bring the conflict to an end.

Michelle Yeoh will reprise the role of Emperor Georgiou as the star of the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 made-for-streaming film.

Star Trek’s 10 Most Evil Mirror Universe Characters

The iss enterprise in star trek: discovery, star trek: discovery season 5, episode 5 - "mirrors".

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 sends Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery on an intergalactic treasure hunt for the powerful technology of the Progenitors , the creators of humanoid life. As part of their search, the crew of the Discovery finds a wormhole that leads to a pocket of interdimensional space, where they find the abandoned ISS Enterprise. The 23rd-century starship became a lifeboat for refugees fleeing the brutal Mirror Universe. According to a plaque on the ship, Mirror Universe Spock (Leonard Nimoy) implemented a series of reforms for a more peaceful way of life after his encounter with Prime Universe Captain Kirk (William Shatner).

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 filmed its ISS Enterprise scenes on the redressed USS Enterprise sets belonging to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Although Spock was killed for his beliefs, he inspired others to set out in search of a better life. Despite an undoubtedly difficult journey, at least some of the refugees from the Mirror Universe's ISS Enterprise made a life for themselves in the Prime Universe. One of the refugees, a woman named Dr. Cho, became one of the seven scientists who helped hide the Progenitors' technology. She placed her clue on the ISS Enterprise, which remained undisturbed for centuries. Star Trek: Discovery season 5 has revisited several storylines from Star Trek's history, and the return of the ISS Enterprise serves as a nice shout-out to the Star Trek series where it all began.

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Enterprise, & Star Trek: Discovery are all available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star trek: enterprise, star trek: discovery.

Hi, what are you looking for?

TREKNEWS.NET | Your daily dose of Star Trek news and opinion

New photos from Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 4 “Face the Strange”

Star Trek: Discovery "Under the Twin Moons" Review: Clues among the moons

Star Trek: Discovery 502 “Under the Twin Moons” Review: Clues among the moons

New photos from the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5

First Photo from Star Trek: Section 31 revealed, legacy character confirmed

New Star Trek: Discovery posters revealed ahead of final season premiere

Star Trek: Discovery 506 “Whistlespeak” Review: Decoding the Relationship Between Faith and Technology

Star Trek: Discovery "Mirrors" Review: Navigating Reflections

Star Trek: Discovery 505 “Mirrors” Review: Navigating Reflections

Star Trek: Discovery “Face the Strange” Review: Embarking on a Temporal Odyssey

Star Trek: Discovery 504 “Face the Strange” Review: Embarking on a Temporal Odyssey

Star Trek: Discovery "Jinaal" Review: One step forward, two steps back

Star Trek: Discovery 503 “Jinaal” Review: One step forward, two steps back

Star Trek: Picard — Firewall Review: The Renaissance of Seven of Nine

From TNG to Enterprise, Star Trek VFX Maestro, Adam Howard, shares stories from his career

Strange New Worlds director Jordan Canning talks "Charades," the versatility of the series & fandom

Strange New Worlds director Jordan Canning talks “Charades,” the versatility of the series & Star Trek fandom

‘Star Trek Online’ lead designer talks the game’s longevity, honoring the franchise, and seeing his work come to life in ‘Picard’

Gates McFadden talks Star Trek: Picard, reuniting with her TNG castmates, InvestiGates, and the Human Condition

Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating talk Enterprise and how they honor the Star Trek ethos with Shuttlepod Show, ahead of this weekend's live event

Connor Trinneer and Dominic Keating talk ‘Enterprise’, their relationship with Star Trek in 2023 and their first live ‘Shuttlepod Show’

57-Year Mission set to beam down 160+ Star Trek guests to Las Vegas

57-Year Mission set to beam 160+ Star Trek guests down to Las Vegas

John Billingsley discusses what he’d want in a fifth season of Enterprise, playing Phlox and this weekend’s Trek Talks 2 event

Veteran Star Trek director David Livingston looks back on his legendary career ahead of Trek Talks 2 event

ReedPop’s Star Trek: Mission Seattle convention has been cancelled

56-Year Mission Preview: William Shatner, Sonequa Martin-Green and Anson Mount headline this year's Las Vegas Star Trek convention

56-Year Mission Preview: More than 130 Star Trek guests set to beam down to Las Vegas convention

New photos + video preview from Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 6 “Whistlespeak”

New photos + video preview from Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors”

2023: A banner year for Star Trek — here’s why [Op-Ed]

‘Making It So’ Review: Patrick Stewart’s journey from stage to starship

The Picard Legacy Collection, Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Complete Series box sets announced

54-Disc Picard Legacy Collection, Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Complete Series Blu-ray box sets announced

Star Trek: Picard series finale "The Last Generation" Review: A perfect sendoff to an incredible crew

Star Trek: Picard series finale “The Last Generation” Review: A perfect sendoff to an unforgettable crew

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds arrives on Blu-ray, 4K UHD and DVD this December

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Hegemony” Review: An underwhelming end to the series’ sophomore season

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 finale “Hegemony” preview + new photos

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 209 “Subspace Rhapsody” Review: All systems stable… but why are we singing?

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds “Subspace Rhapsody” preview + new photos

Star Trek Day 2021 to Celebrate 55th Anniversary of the Franchise on September 8 with Live Panels and Reveals

Paramount+ Launches with 1-Month Free Trial, Streaming Every Star Trek Episode

Paramount+ To Launch March 4, Taking Place Of CBS All Access

Paramount+ to Officially Launch March 4, Taking Place of CBS All Access

STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS Season 2 Now Streaming For Free (in the U.S.)

[REVIEW] STAR TREK: SHORT TREKS “Children of Mars”: All Hands… Battle Stations

Star Trek: Lower Decks – Crew Handbook Review

‘U.S.S. Cerritos Crew Handbook’ Review: A must-read Star Trek: Lower Decks fans

New photos from this week’s Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 finale

Star Trek: Lower Decks “The Inner Fight” Review: Lost stars and hidden battles

New photos from this week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks

Star Trek: Prodigy begins streaming on Netflix on Christmas day

Star Trek: Prodigy begins streaming December 25th on Netflix

Star Trek: Prodigy lands at Netflix, season 2 coming in 2024

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 sneak peek reveals the surprise return of a Voyager castmember

Star Trek: Prodigy canceled, first season to be removed from Paramount+

Revisiting “Star Trek: Legacies – Captain to Captain” Retro Review

The Wrath of Khan – The Making of the Classic Film Review: A gem for your Star Trek reference collection

The events of Star Trek: The Motion Picture to continue in new IDW miniseries “Echoes”

Star Trek: The Original Series - Harm's Way Review

Star Trek: The Original Series “Harm’s Way” Book Review

William Shatner’s New Book ‘Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder’ Review: More of a good thing

Star Trek: Infinite release date + details on Lower Decks-themed pre-order bonuses

‘Star Trek: Infinite’ strategy game revealed, set to be released this fall

Hero Collector Revisits The Classics in New Starfleet Starships Essentials Collection

New Star Trek Docuseries ‘The Center Seat’ Announced, Coming This Fall

Star Trek Designing Starships: Deep Space Nine & Beyond Review: a Deep Dive Into Shuttlecraft of the Gamma Quadrant

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Illustrated Handbook Review: Terok Nor Deconstructed in Amazing Detail

Robert Beltran Is Officially Returning to Star Trek as Chakotay on ‘Prodigy’ + More Casting News

Robert Beltran Says He’s Returning to Star Trek in ‘Prodigy’

John Billingsley Talks Life Since Star Trek: Enterprise, Going to Space and Turning Down Lunch with Shatner and Nimoy

Star Trek: Enterprise Star John Billingsley Talks Charity Work, Upcoming TREK*Talks Event

Review: Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Episode 5 “Mirrors”

Star Trek: Discovery picks up immediately where “ Face the Strange ” left off, as our protagonists track their quarry’s ship to a hidden, interdimensional pocket of space that holds a few surprises for them and the audience.

Thanks to some sciencing from Paul Stamets ( Anthony Rapp ) and Sylvia Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ), Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) has a way to find where Moll ( Eve Harlow ) and L’ak ( Elias Toufexis ) are. Apparently, there’s a wormhole hiding in plain sight near where Discovery lost track of the criminals’ warp signature.

This wormhole is too small for a Crossfield- class ship to fit through, so Burnham and Cleveland Booker ( David Ajala ) – the latter of whom is on a mission to rehabilitate Moll, if possible – take a shuttle and see what’s on the other side of the wormhole’s aperture. Find a surprise, they do indeed, as the I.S.S. Enterprise , the evil version of the heroic Starfleet ship, is nestled in the wormhole – albeit without its crew, which apparently evacuated the vessel at some point. It’s beaten to hell and serves as a refuge for Moll and L’ak, whose own ship was destroyed by the interdimensional pocket of space’s destructive environment.

Discovery writers sure can be sneaky! They’ve been foreshadowing the appearance of a Constitution -class for the last two episodes; remember when Gen Rhys ( Patrick Kwok-Choon ) and Commander Rayner ( Callum Keith Rennie ) both remarked the Connie was their favorite ship? As we’ll see, this isn’t the last bit of foreshadowing that comes true in this episode.

“How did it end up in interdimensional space?” “I don’t know. Must be one hell of a story.” – Book and Burnham upon seeing the I.S.S. Enterprise

Astute viewers will recognize an often-used cost-saving measure in the annals of Star Trek history: the reuse of sets from another concurrent show. (Seriously, rewatch TNG , DS9 , and Voyager and you’ll be surprised how often props and sets are reused between those shows.) As Burnham and Book explore various halls and rooms, including the bridge and sickbay, the familiar surroundings seen in Strange New Worlds are subtly transformed by Mirror Universe iconography. While nods to the iconic starship Enterprise are always appreciated, our initial reaction to this surprise location—admittedly tinged with pessimism—is that it’s of course it’s the Enterprise . A practical move, perhaps, to keep expenses in check. By Grabthar’s hammer… what a savings.

Finding the ship deserted sure is strange, and Burnham and Book ascertain Moll and L’ak are in sickbay, presumably with the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle. But first, the pair check out the transporter room, which holds some strange items, such as blankets, children’s toys, and a locket that holds a picture of two people, which Burnham inexplicably decides to take with her. Moreover, the dedication plaque of the I.S.S Enterprise tells the story of the ship and its crew: the Terran Universe emperor seemingly tried to make changes to the way things were done in that evil universe, and the Enterprise escaped and picked up refugees who were trying to flee the Terran Universe and enter the Prime Universe.

One of the leaders among those on the Enterprise was a Kelpien, who Burnham deduces must have been the Mirror Universe version of Saru, and that the crew must have fled the Enterprise once it got stuck in the interdimensional pocket of space. Is it just us, or does this sound like a potential episode of Strange New Worlds ?

Burnham, Book, Moll, and L’ak face off in sickbay, where Burnham makes a startling connection between L’ak and a particular dilemma he is facing. The criminal pair hope to use the Progenitor treasure to clear L’ak’s Breen blood bounty. Yes, L’ak is Breen, that enigmatic and masked species from Deep Space Nine . Neato!

The rest of the episode bounces between what’s happening on the Enterprise , and flashing back to how Moll and L’ak first met and became romantically involved. Moll, the courier, would do business on the Breen space station on which L’ak, a member of a royal Breen family, was posted. The two connected over L’ak’s recent demotion and efforts to fight the embarrassment that came with it.

Over some time, the two became nearly inseparable, and L’ak even took the bold step with Moll by showing her his face – a big deal in Breen culture, as keeping their masks on allows them to retain their true, semi-transparent form, and not the solidified appearance we’ve seen on L’ak. Their relationship is tested when L’ak’s superior (and uncle), Primarch Ruhn ( Tony Nappo ) decides to interrupt their courtship. L’ak doesn’t take kindly to being asked to kill Moll, so the Breen turns on his own people, earns a Breen blood bounty, and flees with Moll. The pair now share a goal: earn enough latinum to retire on an (unnamed) fabled planet somewhere in the Gamma Quadrant, free from the trials and hardships of the courier life.

Suffice it to say, “Mirrors” is most memorable because it casts a welcome light on the shadowed backstory of this season’s main villains. Moll and L’ak are now a relatable pair, star-crossed lovers who are hell-bent on earning themselves a happy ending. As much as we don’t want to see the Progenitors’ tech get into the wrong hands, who now doesn’t want to see everything work out for Moll and L’ak?

Anyway, the quartet still need to get off the Enterprise , but the shuttle on which Burnham and Book arrived is destroyed by the turbulent pocket of space. With mere minutes to spare before the Enterprise is destroyed by the wormhole’s tiny aperture, Book and Moll share some last-minute words about their shared relationship with the late Cleveland Booker, and how Book hopes Moll makes the right choices regarding her quest for the Progenitor tech. Burnham, meanwhile, engages in a melee with L’ak, and the Breen ends up injured and inadvertently relinquishes control to Burnham of the next map piece in the Progenitor puzzle. The courier and disgraced Breen end up escaping the ship in a convenient Terran warp pod, leaving the chase between our heroes and enemies for another day.

“If we hit it precisely with a sequential hexagonal pattern, it should stay open for approximately sixty seconds. But once it collapses, it’s gone for good.” “Why hexagonal?” “Doesn’t matter… it’ll work.” – Adira ( Blu del Barrio ), Rayner, and Stamets as the crew finds a way to get the wormhole aperture bigger. We think this line from Stamets is reflective of the evolving working relationship between the results-orientated Rayner and the crew, and how this relationship is getting better the longer Rayner is first officer.

Burnham devises a novel way to signal her first officer for help in getting the Enterprise through the aperture: a pulsing tractor beam emitting from the Enterprise , shot through the wormhole’s opening, in a numerical sequence featured in a famous play from Kellerun culture. Rayner is then able to lead his crew to devise a way to pull the Enterprise into normal space.

The sequence where Rayner is faced with command of a ship tasked with the near-impossible rescue of his captain is the best of the episode. It’s no secret Rayner was knocked down a few pegs after his demotion and reassignment to Discovery , but that lack of confidence and inner angst is demolished thanks to Rayner listening and working with his bridge crew to save the Enterprise . Plenty of lesser-known bridge officers get a say in how Discovery could help the Mirror ship, and lightning-fast decision-making shows Rayner back on his game.

The last element to note about this episode is some emotional trouble Doctor Hugh Culber ( Wilson Cruz ) is having. Tilly provides an outlet for this angst. Culber explains the experiences he’s had in the last few years – namely dying, coming back to life, and being a Trill host – really put into perspective the intellectual journey he is on in the face of the Progenitor’s quest. Tilly helps him realize he isn’t only experiencing an intellectual quest, but a spiritual one. This conversation is just another instance of Discovery setting up some wild expectations for what the crew might ultimately discover at the end of the season – something beyond the bounds of science, perhaps?

Even though their prey gets away again, Burnham and her crew have the next clue in the Progenitor puzzle, and it is hiding in the I.S.S. Enterprise ’s sickbay. Hidden in the map piece Burnham grabbed from L’ak is a vial, which Stamets will analyze soon. Burnham learns the crew who escaped from the I.S.S. Enterprise ended up in the Prime Universe and were able to start new lives. A Terran scientist aboard the Enterprise , Dr. Cho, ended up being a branch admiral, and we’re meant to assume she was one of the scientists on Dr. Vellek’s team hundreds of years ago as they studied the Progenitor tech. Dr. Cho then hid her piece of the Progenitor puzzle aboard her old ship as a symbolic gesture of her ability to find freedom in a new universe.

Discovery continues its final season with another thumbs-up episode that serves an important lore-building role in the franchise. Seeing the Breen again is a joy, especially since we were staring at one the whole time and never knew it. And how striking was that Breen space station where L’ak was based? Another important note for Star Trek historians is that now the Mirror Universe Enterprise is in the 32 nd century, and stationed near Earth thanks to Joann Owosekun and Keyla Detmer piloting the ship back to Federation space. Will we see that ship again this season?

As the Progenitor puzzle deepens, so do the emotional stakes for our crew, exemplified by Culber’s introspective journey, the subtle reignition of Book and Burnham’s relationship, and Rayner’s triumphant return to leadership. We’re now at the halfway point in this season, so there’s still plenty of time for surprises, emotional consequences, and expectation-setting for this eagerly awaited treasure.

Stray Thoughts:

Hopefully, you’re watching this episode with subtitles on, because goodness is it hard to hear what masked Breen says.
The Mirror Universe version of the U.S.S. Enterprise was last seen in the Original Series episode “Mirror, Mirror,” albeit this wasn’t the Strange New Worlds version of the ship. Likewise, the Terran version of Spock, whom Booker asks if Burnham ever met, was in that same episode.
How did Adira conclude they were the one who brought the time bug aboard Discovery ?
Why didn’t Burnham and Book try talking down Moll and L’ak before diving into the room with the holo-projected doubles?

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+ , this season stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Captain Michael Burnham), Doug Jones (Saru), Anthony Rapp (Paul Stamets), Mary Wiseman (Sylvia Tilly), Wilson Cruz (Dr. Hugh Culber), David Ajala (Cleveland “Book” Booker), Blu del Barrio (Adira) and Callum Keith Rennie (Rayner). Season five also features recurring guest stars Elias Toufexis (L’ak) and Eve Harlow (Moll).

Stay tuned to TrekNews.net for all the latest news on Star Trek: Discovery , Star Trek: Prodigy , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , Star Trek: Lower Decks , and more.

You can follow us on X , Facebook , and Instagram .

Kyle Hadyniak has been a lifelong Star Trek fan, and isn't ashamed to admit that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek: Nemesis are his favorite Star Trek movies. You can follow Kyle on Twitter @khady93 .

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *