Star Trek
From The Infosphere, the Futurama Wiki
Futurama, being a comedy science fiction TV show, is bound to make references to other science fiction works. One of the most famous science fiction franchises is the Star Trek series which is one of the most referenced things in Futurama. Following is a complete list of connections between Futurama and Star Trek. Technically, all of the mentions of Star Trek are considered goofs because of being banned prior to "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
(Image) : Indicates that it has a picture to the right.
Key:
- TOS : Star Trek: The Original Series
- TAS : Star Trek: The Animated Series
- TNG : Star Trek: The Next Generation
- DS9 : Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- VOY : Star Trek: Voyager
- ENT : Star Trek: Enterprise
- Film : Films
- Game : Games
Note: Most of the external links go to Memory Alpha, The Star Trek Wiki
Contents |
[edit] Crew
There have been a number of people who work on both Star Trek and Futurama.
[edit] Voices
- Leonard Nimoy: He is best known for his role as Spock (Apperances, Director, Writer). He appeared as himself in "Space Pilot 3000", "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" and he cameos in Bender's Big Score (non-speaking). (Image)
- George Takei: He is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu (Apperances, Author). He has voiced himself in "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" and Bender's Game.
- Nichelle Nichols: She is best known for her role as Uhura (Appearances, Author). She appeared as herself in "Anthology of Interest I" and "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
- Walter Koenig: He is best known for his role as Pavel Chekov (Appearances, Author, Writer). He appeared as himself in "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
- William Shatner: He is best known for his role as James T. Kirk (Appearances, Other). He appeared as himself in "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". (Image)
- Jonathan Frakes: He is best known for his role as William T. Riker (Appearances, Director). He appeared as himself in "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
- Bumper Robinson: Portrayed unamed Jem'Hadar teenager in "The Abandoned" (DS9). He voices Dwight Conrad in Futurama.
- Sarah Silverman: Portrayed Rain Robinson in episodes "Future's End" (VOY) and "Future's End, Part II" (VOY). She provided the voice of Michelle in Futurama.
- Stephen Hawking: He portrayed himself once and has been mentioned on Star Trek a few times. He voiced himself in "Anthology of Interest I" and The Beast with a Billion Backs.
- Frank Welker: Provided voice of a screaming child Spock in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Film), additional voices in the Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (Game) series, an "alien creature" in "Nothing Human" (VOY), voices in Star Trek: Starfleet Command - Orion Pirates (Game) and Star Trek: Starfleet Command II - Empires at War (Game). He has done many (namely Nibbler) voices for Futurama.
[edit] Other
- David A. Goodman: "Writer" for ENT. He got the job as a writer on ENT because of his writing for the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
- Tim Simonec: "Conductor" and "Principal Orchestrator" for 2009's Star Trek (Film). He has done some musical work on Futurama as well.
[edit] Star Trek in Futurama
Star Trek has appeared in Futurama on many occasions:
[edit] Season 1
- In addition to the setting, part of the original concept for the show was that there would be a lot of advanced technology similar to that seen in Star Trek, but it would be constantly malfunctioning. The automatic doors at Applied Cryogenics resemble those in TOS; however, they malfunction when Fry remarks on this similarity.
- The introduction is reminiscent of Star Trek intros in TOS and TNG. "Space: The Final Frontier..." becomes "Space: It seems to go on and on forever..." It also has similar music and voice-over.
- Leonard Nimoy says that he no longer does the Vulcan salute, "Live long and prosper". (Image)
- It is presumed in this episode it is simply because he has no hands, but the truth behind this statement is seen in the future episode, "Where No Fan Has Gone Before".
- The rows of jars containing heads, with the one jar containing Nimoy's head in front to greet people, is reminiscent of the episode "Return To Tomorrow" (TOS), where the alien minds were preserved in glowing spheres, with Sargon in the one sphere in front.
- We see that Cap'n Crunch is promoted to Admiral. In Star Trek (most noticably TNG) whenever we take a look into the "future", the Captains are always Admirals. (Image)
- A lady from the apartment next to Fry and Bender claims that Bender's thoughts are being transmitted to her cell phone. When she closes the phone, it beeps like the Communicator from Star Trek.
- TOS uniforms were made of velour.
- The Democratic Order of Planets (D.O.O.P.) has a military force composed of men in red uniforms, who are often utilized as cannon fodder.
- M5438 is based off various Non-corporeal species in Star Trek. (Image)
- Zapp confuses Poker with Chess (a Kirk analogy).
- Zapp Brannigan's character was inspired by Captain Kirk from Star Trek. To create the character, the writers imagined what it would be like if William Shatner himself, not James T. Kirk, were the captain of the Enterprise. (Image)
- In the DVD commentary to this episode, Zapp was described as being "40% Kirk, 60% Shatner."
- The idea for Zapp's first officer, Kif Kroker, was based on the idea of Spock hating his captain, yet being dependant on him and doing his every whim.
- There is the use of a Captain's log, complete with star date.
- Brannigan's Law is the equivalent to Starfleet's Prime Directive.
- At the The Hip Joint, Fry meets a woman from the 21st century who asks if he remembers "when those cyborgs enslaved Humanity?" This is a reference to Star Trek: First Contact (Film), when the Borg attempt to assimilate Earth.
- Trisolians live in a liquid state and refer to humanoids as "Solids". This is quite similar to Changelings from DS9. (Image)
- Fry finds a "Mr Spock Collector's Plate" with a picture of Spock on it.
- Bender screaming at the universe is like a scene from Star Trek Generations (Film).
- Leela's bathing suit looks very like the one worn by Jadzia Dax in the Let He Who Is Without Sin... (DS9) (Image)
- The Klaxon alarm sounds when Zoidberg escapes from the lobster trap.
- A door opens with the hatch noise used in Star Trek.
- The mother ship is similar to old Star Trek ship models.
- Fry includes Captain Janeway and Uhura in a list of science fiction heroes.
- Omicron Persei 8 appears to be influenced heavily by Qo'noS, home planet of the Klingons on Star Trek.
- A variant of Three-dimensional chess, Three-dimensional scrabble, is played by Lela and Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth. (Image)
[edit] Season 2
- Bender gets an Emotion chip, similar to Data's in Star Trek.
- DOOP is explicitly compared to the United Federation of Planets by Hermes in the quote "Or like the Federation from your Star Trek Program".
- The "Neutral Zone" in which DOOP's temporary headquarters are located may be a reference to the Neutral zone between the Romulans and the Federation. (Image)
- When the Planet Express Ship comes into the new station, a riff on the theme of DS9 can be heard.
- The laser Zapp uses to cut the ribbon has settings of "Stun", "Kill" and "Hyperdeath™", a reference to Phasers from Star Trek.
- The Brain Slugs could be an indirect reference to the slug-like young Ceti eel that Khan uses on Pavel Chekov and Clark Terrell in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film). (Image)
- Although in that case, they enter through the ear, but still affect the brain.
- The entire episode, particularly the mating season and the ritual arena combat between Fry and Zoidberg, is based on "Amok Time" (TOS). (Image)
- When Zoidberg asks Amy to take the rubber bands off his claws (in a somewhat sexy manner), Amy's retort is "Fool me seven times, shame on you. Fool me eight or more times, shame on me." This line is a reference to a line in "Friday's Child" (TOS).
- The national anthem of Decapod 10 is the same music heard during the fight scene between Kirk and Spock from "Amok Time".
- The traditional Vulcan weapon used in the Kal-if-fee, the Ahn-woon, is shown as one of the weapons Fry can choose from.
- "Claw-Plach" also sounds a lot like "Qapla'", the Klingonese word for "Success."
- The Decapodian frenzy looks like the Great Link of the Changelings.
- Flexo, Bender's "evil" twin, has a goatee like the mirror Spock. (Image)
- The car Malfunctioning Eddie mentions in his television ad is a Plymouth V'ger, a reference to the major plot device in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film). A sentient life form known as V'Ger that turns out to be NASA's Voyager 6 deep space probe and also a reference to the Plymouth Voyager minivan.
- Amy's compact makes the Star Trek communicator sound effect when it opens.
- Captain Musky is a tribute to Christopher Pike. (Image)
- His introduction music is from TOS.
- The Planet Express Ship moves in a manner similar to Star Trek's Warp drives.
- The Professor shows Cubert a Universal Translator device, which is similar in manner to Star Trek's Universal translator.
- Bender's announcement that "in the event of an emergency, my ass can be used as a floatation device" is a reference to the movie Star Trek: Insurrection (Film), in which Data says "in the event of a water landing, I have been designed to serve as a flotation device" upon resurfacing in a lake.
- The noise that is heard when the Colonel switches the tourist information screen on is one of the many sound effects used from TOS.
- The console above the bed Leela is on when she is being examined looks like the vital signs monitor used in TOS. In Star Trek, they are also placed above the beds.
- The name of this episode comes from "The Trouble with Tribbles" (TOS).
- "Roddenberries" are a reference to Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry.
- "Type M" planets are a reference to Star Trek's "Class M".
- Zoidberg examines human Bender with a device that looks like a medical tricorder.
- There is mention of the Pasadena Star Trek convention.
- Fry’s story is a reference to logical paradoxes often expressed in TOS lore.
- TOS cast member Nichelle Nichols appears in this episode wearing her Star Trek costume. (Image)
- The interior of the school bus used by the Vice Presidential Action Rangers is based on various Star Trek ships.
- The gangs of savage children and adolescents are similar to "Miri" (TOS).
[edit] Season 3
- The Femputer is similar in appearance to Landru from "Return of the Archons" (TOS). (Image)
- Other episodes to have similar themes (computer ruling society) include "The Paradise Syndrome" (TOS), "The Apple" (TOS), "A Taste of Armageddon" (TOS) and "That Which Survives" (TOS).
- During Zapp's performance of "Leela", itself a parody of William Shatner's spoken word songs, one man exclaims, "He sickens me!" This is a reference to a quote from William Shatner in an outtake from Star Trek. Upon hearing his producer telling him how to deliver a line, Shatner responded, "Please don't tell me how to do it. It sickens me."
- The running gag about Bender yelling "abandon ship!" is similar to what Picard yells out several times in "Cause and Effect" (TNG) (in which the Enterprise is caught in a time loop and explodes several times)
- The chimney cover looks exactly like the Cardassian Airlocks on DS9.
- Leela's logical paradox echoes the logical paradox that Captain James T. Kirk submits to the computer "Landru" in "The Return of the Archons" (TOS).
- The Hypospray Bender uses is modelled after the ones on Star Trek.
- Free Waterfall Sr. failed to stop the oil tanker with a ring of protestors because spaceships can move in three dimensions, a fact he forgot to consider; in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film), Khan lost a battle for the same reason.
- In "Operation -- Annihilate!" (TOS), Spock describes a similar line of planet-wide cultures being destroyed by large single-celled flying parasites. The crew later surmises the parasites are brain cells that are somehow interconnected to make up a large intelligent brain.
- During the Emmy Awards, one of the categories awarded included the "Best Product Placement." Of the three placement nominations, the first was entitled "Star Trek: The Pepsi Generation," showing a still image of Spock holding a can of Pepsi. It is also a reference to the fan film of the same name.
- Phasers are used in "Phaser Eye Surgery".
- The music heard while showing the Nimbus is reminiscent of the theme to Star Trek.
- The Martians use the same symbol as the alien race possessing Data in "Masks" (TNG). It can be seen in the chamber where Kif is going to be killed and in one of the ships leaving Mars.
- Bender lands at "Fisherman's Worf", named after the TNG character Worf.
- The concept of a peculiar time distortion is the main plot of "We'll Always Have Paris" (TNG).
- There is a Star Trek debating forum called OldTREK-vs-NewTREK.web on the Internet. The TOS fan claims Kirk could kick Picard's ass. The TNG fan argues that at least Picard could admit he was bald.
- The Blernsball Hall of Fame exhibit to honour "players who broke the various colour barriers", shows a green alien, a purple alien, and the half black and half white alien from "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" (TOS). (Image)
- Not having any seatbelts is poking fun of Star Trek's lack of them.
- Fry pushing Enos out of the way of an oncoming car could be a reference to "The City on the Edge of Forever" (TOS).
- The table top in the diner has a USS Enterprise insignia (also used as a logo for Star Trek). (Image)
- The end of the episode, when Bender loses his head in the past only to have it recovered in the next scene 1,000 years later, is a parody of the same thing happening to Data in Time's Arrow (TNG). (Image)
- This episode provides an alternate explanation for the Roswell incident similar to Little Green Men (DS9).
- Dr Julian Bashir thinks he may have been sent back to become his own great grandfather in "Trials and Tribble-ations" (DS9).
- This episode also references Star Trek in general as Leela claims she will have the last of the ship fixed in ten hours. Farnsworth, in the classic fashion of Star Trek, reduces that to eight hours.
- The warning alarm has the same sound as the Enterprise.
- This episodes opening Title Caption is "Please turn off all cell phones and tricorders". Tricorders are from Star Trek. (Image)
- God thinking in binary and the remains of a computerised space probe that collided with God references the Star Trek episode "The Changeling" (TOS), in which an alien space probe collided with an Earth space probe and gained god-like powers in the mixture as well as being confused about its identity.
- The stock exchange space station shows stock abbreviations including, amongst others, KIRK, GORN, and Q.
- There is a space-rail car labelled "Wrath-of-Conrail", a reference to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film) and Conrail. (Image)
[edit] Season 4
- When changing scenes on the holo-shed, the sound of beaming is used.
- The episode appears to be a parody of "Unexpected" (ENT), in which Charles Tucker III becomes impregnated by a female Xyrillian through physical contact while on her ship's holodeck.
- The mission on which Amy stows away is "delivering pain medicine to the hive mind of Nigel 7." This may be a reference to Rigel VII.
- Amy's calendar lists "Hang with Walter Koening" on Sun 28 before she switches to "motherhood mode". The name is spelled incorrectly on the calendar. Walter Koenig played Chekov in TOS.
- The toilet has a stun and kill setting like phasers.
- The Holo-Shed parodies the Holodeck, and also its frequent malfunctions turning holograms "real". (Image)
- The Holo-Shed is programmed in BASIC because the writers were amused by the idea that in the Star Trek universe any simulation one wants to experience has already been painstakingly programmed.
- The "History's Greatest Villains" characters gone real Evil Lincoln, Jack the Ripper and Professor Moriarty also appear in various Star Trek productions as Abraham Lincoln, Redjac and Professor James Moriarty.
- The crew is later treated in the "Sickbay and Horta Burn Ward" by Dr. "Veins" McGee. A deleted scene includes a line by Veins where he exclaims: "Dammit Zapp, I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker!". (Image)
- The computer on Warden Vogel's desk appears similar to the personal computers used in TNG.
- Omicron Persei 8's palace exterior is inspired by the Klingon home world of Qo'noS in Star Trek.
- Zoidberg's mentioning of the gangster and cowboy worlds is a reference to Star Trek.
- The idea of a computer upgrade replacing a "male" personality with a "female" one also appeared in "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" (TOS).
- The romantic glow is a reference to the anomaly from "All Good Things..." (TNG).
- A Klingon embassy can be seen in the background, they are a famous alien species in Star Trek. (Image)
- When the Execubots arrive, the Red Alert sound from TOS is played.
- Fry says "Live long and prosper" and does the Vulcan Salute to Seymour when they first meet.
- "Rascals" (TNG) has the crew reverting to younger versions of themselves.
- The therapist uses a tricorder. The sound it makes comes from the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) library computer.
- Young Zoidberg resembles one of the evolved microbes around Spock's casket
- The Planet Express spaceship's high beams accidentally destroy the Deep Space 9 space station. (Image)
- In the commentary, the production staff comment that this does not mean they disliked DS9 and they thought it was one of the best Star Trek series, "especially when Worf got there".
- Leela reads the titles of stories from the book "A Child's Garden of Space Stories". One of these stories is "Charlotte's Tholian Web", a reference to "The Tholian Web" (TOS). The cover has a picture of a Gorn. (Image)
- The essential plot of the main characters growing younger and being saved by the oldest among them is from "The Counter-Clock Incident" (TAS).
- Scruffy wears a Scottish outfit and plays the bagpipes at the funeral - a spoof of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film), Spock's funeral, complete with Scruffy playing the bagpipes like Scotty did and the casket being shot into space.
- This episode bears similarities to "The Tholian Web" (TOS), in which Kirk is mistakenly presumed dead. Uhura sees him calling for help and thinks she is losing her mind.
- In "Frame Of Mind" (TNG), commander Riker is caught in a situation much like Leela's. He's rendered unconscious by aliens, and in a dream that's becoming increasingly weird, he start to question his own sanity, as nothing is what it appears to be.
- In "Night Terrors" (TNG), counselor Deanna Troi find herself floating in outer space (much like Leela) in one of her dreams. Slowly the recurring dream takes its toll on her mental health. In the end it turns out the "nightmares" was caused by aliens attempting to communicate with her.
- In "Demon" (VOY), the Voyager crew discover a biologic substance that can make replicas of humans/aliens based on a few strands of DNA, much like the Fry replica in Leela's dream.
- Universe 1 (and Farnsworth saying that all alternate universes are "evil") is similar to the Mirror universe in Star Trek. (Image)
- Star Trek also has other Alternate timelines and Parallel universes.
- As Fry drinks more and more coffee the effects of the caffeine make him more and more agitated until the 100th, when he relaxes into a calm Zen-like state, albeit moving at several hundred times normal speed. This scene is a reference to (amongst other science fiction works) "Wink of an Eye" (TOS). The hummingbird he sees is particularly reminiscent to a time-slowing scene in Star Trek: Insurrection (Film).
- Kif is imprisoned on Commander Riker's Island, it is a pun on the Commander from Star Trek and the actual prison named Riker's Island.
[edit] "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" (4ACV11)
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This episode is almost entirely based on Star Trek which is why, due to amount of references, this section is dedicated to the one episode. All episodes referenced are from TOS. Pictures of the entire cast are throughout:
- The episode featured the voice talents of all of the TOS cast, with the exceptions of DeForest Kelley, who had passed away and appeared as a non-speaking character, and James Doohan, who refused to be a part of the show (in fact, the original title was going to be "We've Got Everybody Except Scotty"). The episode also featured a brief voice appearance by Jonathan Frakes.
- A character created to replace James Doohan as Montgomery Scott in the cast was named Welshie. He (or more specifically, the actor who played him) was killed, dismembered, and vaporized by three separate blasts from a cloud creature named Melllvar. This is reference to the Redshirt.
- The title of this episode parodies "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
- In the commentary, David A. Goodman, the writer of the episode, notes his pride in having included a large number of references to the original series, particularly those items which he claims "the people on the internet" had not found on their own.
- "Shatner's Log" is a play on the captain's log. The line "The impossible has happened" is the same line given in the opening log in the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before".
- After the regular Futurama Opening sequence, the Planet Express Ship is shown flying across a backdrop of stars; this is similar to the opening sequence seen at the beginning of every TOS episode.
- The music being played during this sequence is also similar to the music used for the TOS opening. This classic Trek star backdrop is used throughout the episode.
- Zapp Brannigan says, "Bring in the accused," a line taken from the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Film).
- Fry enters the courtroom in a robotic wheelchair that emits beeps for communication identical to the one used by Christopher Pike.
- They mention the Star Trek wars, a period of war on Earth. It is mistaken with the Star Wars trek, a vast migration of Star Wars fans.
- The Planet Express crew is charged with visiting the forbidden planet Omega 3, for which the penalty is "twelve concurrent death sentences." Similarly, Talos IV, the planet to which Spock took Christopher Pike in the two-part episode "The Menagerie", parts I and II, is a forbidden planet in the Star Trek universe, punishable by death under Starfleet General Order #7.
- According to the video Nichelle Nichols plays, Star Trek evolved into a religion, called the Church of Trek, in the 23rd century; this may be a reference to the fact that the events of TOS occurred in the 23rd century.
- A sign in front of the Church of Star Trek: "Ceiling of the Christine Chapel Closed for Renovation", refers to Dr. McCoy's assistant, played by Majel Barrett, in addition to being a reference to the Sistine Chapel. (Image)
- The Star Trek "priest" orates: "And Scotty beamed them to the Klingon ship, where they would be no tribble at all", referring to the events of "The Trouble with Tribbles". The crowd chants, "All power to the engines!"
- The crowd is dressed in the traditional uniforms of TOS. (Image)
- Two people in this crowd have the appearance of the black-and-white aliens from "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield".
- The Church's influence caused Germany to be briefly renamed "Nazi Planet Episode Land" (referring to the episode "Patterns of Force").
- "He's dead, Jim!", one of Leonard McCoy's famous lines, is repeated during a scene when Trekkie virgins are thrown into a volcano.
- This death is described as "the manner most befitting virgins." This may be a reference to the episode "Arena", in which the Metrons tell Kirk that he will settle the conflict between the Enterprise and the Gorn "in the way most suited to your limited mentalities."
- One of the Trekkies being executed is wearing a shirt that reads, "Beam Me Up, Scotty. There's no intelligent life here." This is a popular bumper sticker slogan.
- All the tapes of Star Trek are fired out of a ship on a torpedo, and land on the forbidden planet Omega 3, just as Spock's body was ejected onto the Genesis at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film). Similarly, the Genesis planet became a "galactic controversy" and a forbidden planet by the time of the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Film).
- Fry talks to Leonard Nimoy, asking him if he remembered the episode where he "got high on spores and smacked Kirk around". He was referring to "This Side of Paradise".
- When Nimoy's head leaves the shelf, Jonathan Frakes' head moves forward to exclaim, "Yes! Front row!" Frakes played William Riker, first officer in TNG. This is a reference to the fact that he had never accepted a promotion on the show or in the TNG film series up to that point. (He would eventually rise from Commander to Captain in the series' final entry, Star Trek: Nemesis (Film).)
- Nimoy to Shatner: "Bill, you are, and always shall be... my friend," a reference to one of Spock's lines to Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film) and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Film).
- The landscape of Omega 3 features the mountainous Vasquez Rocks, where some episodes of TOS are filmed. They are shown on several occasions throughout the episode.
- Various sets from the series can be seen on Omega 3, including (in order of appearance): "Spectre of the Gun" (incomplete Wild West buildings), "Who Mourns for Adonais?" (Greek ruins), "Bread and Circuses" (TV backdrop of the Colosseum), "The Gamesters of Triskelion" (the three disembodied brains of the Providers), "The Ultimate Computer" (the M5 computer), and "The City on the Edge of Forever" (The Guardian of Forever).
- The Star Trek actors' ship was pulled down to the planet surface, where they were given youthful bodies and everything was provided for them. This is similar to what happened to Zefram Cochrane in "Metamorphosis".
- Fry asks Walter Koenig to repeat something with his Russian accent, and then to say "nuclear wessels," a line from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Film).
- Melllvar, like M5438, is based on various Non-corporeal species.
- Melllvar speaks lines reminiscent of the "God" that resided behind the Great Barrier from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Film) such as "It is I" and "You doubt me?" (Paraphrased as "You doubt my power?").
- Bender's comment about Melllvar being a cheesy effect is obviously a reference to the bad special effects in TOS.
- The entity zaps Scotty's replacement (named Welshie), who happens to be wearing a red shirt. This is a play on Apollo zapping Scotty in the episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?". It is also similar to events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Film) in which "God" zaps those who doubt his power.
- Melllvar gives Leonard Nimoy his body back by enveloping him, much in the same way that the Companion rejuvenated Zefram Cochrane in "Metamorphosis".
- Melllvar says he watched the episodes over and over, especially the five with the energy beings. These may include "The Squire of Gothos", "Metamorphosis", "Day of the Dove", "The Lights of Zetar", "Wolf in the Fold", "Errand of Mercy", "Charlie X", "And the Children Shall Lead", and/or "Return to Tomorrow". The vampire cloud from "Obsession" has been suggested, but it was a gaseous entity, and not strictly an energy being. Melllvar's incomplete memory for Star Trek trivia was part of the joke.
- During Ambassador Sarek's Trivia Challenge (named for Spock's father Sarek) one of the questions asks who Kirk left on Ceti Alpha V (as seen in the episode "Space Seed"). Shatner stands up and screams "Khaaan!" as he did in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Film).
- During the trivia contest, the prize money's unit of currency are Quatloos, the same currency used by the Providers in "The Gamesters of Triskelion".
- One of Kirk's lines in Melllvar's script states that he loves his ship like a woman. This sentiment is taken from "The Naked Time".
- In one of Spock's lines in Melllvar's script, Leonard Nimoy reads, "Fascinating, captain, and logical, too," playing off the fact that Spock frequently uses the words "fascinating" and "logical."
- Bender works inside a Jefferies tube on the Planet Express ship with the same camera angle as was often used on Scotty.
- The starship fires down on Melllvar, as the Enterprise did on Apollo's temple in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" and Vaal in "The Apple". As in TOS, the beams are shown leaving the ship in diverging directions, but somewhere in between they converge so that both strike the target at the same time, in the same spot. The music from this scene is a remix of the incidental music from The Doomsday Machine".
- The consoles on the star ship explode at critical moments, as happens throughout the series and movies.
- The Planet Express ship is pulled by a ray that resembles a giant green hand, much like the giant green hand that grabbed the Enterprise in "Who Mourns for Adonais?".
- In one line, Nichols refers to kissing Shatner in "Plato's Stepchildren" as something "heroic" she had done. While this was meant to be comedic, this actually was mildly heroic, as well as dangerous, as it has a debated claim as the first interracial kiss on American TV.
- Melllvar forces the Planet Express crew to battle the Star Trek cast to see who is better. This is very similar plot-wise to "The Savage Curtain".
- Melllvar and Fry's list of episodes featuring armed combat to the death included 19 ("Arena"), 46 ("The Gamesters of Triskelion"), 56 ("Spectre of the Gun"), 66 ("Day of the Dove") and 77 ("The Savage Curtain"). Interestingly, they do not mention episode 34, ("Amok Time"), which features one of Star Trek's most famous fights to the death.
- During their fight to the death, the Star Trek cast and the Planet Express crew are only to use "whatever they can find." Kirk and the Gorn were put in a similar situation in "Arena".
- The music during the fight scene resembles that first used during Kirk and Spock's fight in "Amok Time" and reused later for many fight scenes in the series.
- Shatner rips his shirt, as he did in nearly every Kirk fight scene in TOS.
- When discussing their battle plan, Shatner remarks "Wasn't there an episode where I threw my boot at the enemy?" To which Nimoy replies, "You mean Doohan?" This is a reference to rumours that there was friction between William Shatner and James Doohan. However, they had renewed their friendship when Shatner cared for the ailing Doohan, who was dying of Alzheimer's and finally succumbed to it on 20 July 2005.
- Bender finds a Tommy gun similar to those seen in "A Piece of the Action".
- Nichelle Nichols distracts Fry and Bender with her famous fan dance as seen in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (Film).
- The line "There's no right way to hit a woman" is from the episode "Charlie X". Shatner's subsequent attack on Leela ("the wrong way") parodies Kirk's often-used but pointlessly acrobatic combat style. During their fight, Leela lifts a large rock over her head to strike Shatner, as Kirk was menaced by Gary Mitchell in "Where No Man has Gone Before."
- Fry strikes Dr. McCoy with a two-fisted punch, used commonly in the series.
- Nimoy attempts to use the Vulcan nerve pinch (unsuccessfully) on Bender. He should have realized that an attempt to use the nerve pinch on an android would be futile; in the episode "I, Mudd".
- At the climactic moment in the battle, when Leela is holding the rock above Shatner's body, she pauses in the same position in which Spock pauses when he holds the piece of transporter equipment over Kirk during his fight with Kirk in "This Side of Paradise".
- Shatner persuades Leela not to kill him by explaining to her that "this is exactly what Melllvar wants! We're just pawns in his diabolical game of checkers!" This is similar to the moment in "Day of the Dove" when Kirk persuades the Klingon commander Kang to cease the hostilities because they are just pawns in a game being played out by an energy being who feeds off violence. His mixed metaphor is an allusion to the fact that Kirk frequently uses metaphors involving board and card games.
- Fry remarks that Melllvar is "just a child," the same as Spock said of V'Ger in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Film), or Kirk said of Trelane in the episode "The Squire of Gothos". Melllvar being chastened by his energy-being mother is a parody of the climactic scene of the latter.
- Melllvar's Mom is based on Trelane's parents.
- When the battle ends, Shatner and Leela are shown making out, mocking Kirk's many relationships with women.
- When Leela tells the crew to "lose some weight," you'll see that the three main cast members are posed in the same areas as the people standing next to them. Shatner next to Leela in the captain's chair, Fry sitting at the communication desk with Nichols behind him, and Bender standing with his hands behind his back the same way Nimoy is posed.
- When Fry powers up the Planet Express ship, the buttons make beeps like the ones on the original series Enterprise.
- When the combined Star Trek cast/Planet Express ship tries to lift off the planet surface, it is too heavy. This is a reference to the episode "The Galileo Seven", in which the damaged shuttlecraft cannot bear the weight of its entire crew.
- A starship that resembles the Romulan Warbird from "Balance of Terror" combined with a Klingon battle cruiser de-cloaks (using visual effects similar to the de-cloaking effects on Star Trek) and fires on the Planet Express ship.
- George Takei quotes a self-destruct code, similar to but not exactly matching the Enterprise self-destruct sequence seen in the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" as well as in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (Film). The code causes Bender's head to explode.
- Fry's speech to Melllvar regarding moving out of his mother's basement is a reference to William Shatner's appearance on a Saturday Night Live skit where he tells obsessive fans to "Get a life" and move out of their parents' basements.
- Kirk's speech "I wonder, my friends, was he really such an evil energy gas?" mimics the musing orations that Kirk gives at the end of many episodes.
- The line, "You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend," is from the episode "Balance of Terror," which, as Melllvar corrects Fry, was episode nine of the series. Fry thought it was episode ten, which is actually "What Are Little Girls Made Of?".
- The last line in the episode (spoken by Shatner) is, "Let's get the hell out of here." This same line was used by Kirk at the end of "The City on the Edge of Forever."
- The ending credits feature a song that musically evokes the Star Trek fanfare, and plays back images from the episode; the last image is Kif Kroker in a parody of the famous "Balok puppet" from the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver", and whose image was the last seen in the ending credits for the entire second season of TOS. (Image)
[edit] Films
- Cell lasers are supposed to be Tholian web lasers, in reference to Star Trek.
- For the Kroker/Wong marriage ceremony, the wedding singer plays the Klingon battle theme, to mark the start of nuptials.
- Francine wears an Earpiece from TOS.
- At the Space Demolition Derby, both with one-man ships stylized after Star Trek inspired designs, George Takei's head flies a NX class and Scott Bakula flies an Ambassador class ship. Takei destroys Bakula's ship and exclaims "way to kill the franchise, Bakula." (Image)
- Device for detecting life known as the "Spock-a-scope".
- "Make it so" is a quote from TNG.
- The "Delivery Boy's Log" is a parody of the Captain's log.
- The Botany Bay casino is a parody of SS Botany Bay. (Image)
- When Leela is talking of cuddly animals, she mentions Tribbles.
[edit] Comics
- Leela uses Interprize rent-a-ship. All ships available are modelled on the various Enterprises from Star Trek.
- There is a Captain Kirk-like character in the camp.
- The uniforms used in the holo-shed simulation resemble those from Star Trek.
- The caption, "Keep on Trekkin'", could be a reference to Star Trek.
[edit] Other
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- Star Trek sound effects and music are often used in the show. See individual episodes for more info.
- In the second commentary of "Hell is Other Robots", it is revealed that Bender was originally going to be based on "super-nerds" Spock and Data.
- In the commentary of "My Three Suns", it is revealed that Matt Groening has never seen Star Trek. It is also joked that David X. Cohen is never not watching it.
- Stories about "Where No Fan Has Gone Before" appear in Star Trek Monthly issue 93 and Star Trek Monthly issue 105.
- "Whispers" (DS9) is the favourite Star Trek episode of David X. Cohen, who says he finds it has "a slightly Futurama-esque storyline."
- The Futurama exhibit, which Futurama was named after, was visited by Benny Russell while at the New York World's Fair in July 1940 in the novelization of the episode "Far Beyond the Stars" (DS9).
- There is a unused title caption which says "Now hiring Gorns and Tribbles". These are both species from Star Trek. (Image)
- The Wristlojackimator could be based on Tricorders.
- It is stated in several commentaries for Futurama that the character Cubert Farnsworth is loosely based on Wesley Crusher. David X. Cohen says the character was intended to parody "annoying" characters such as Wesley, who many fans would like to "punch in the face" except in Cubert's case, he actually would be punched.
- In Futurama, there is an element called Chroniton, Star Trek also has Chronitons.
- The word "Futurama" can be heard in the 2009 Star Trek film. It is unclear if this is coincidence or intentional, but the strange wording of the sentence implies the latter. The part in question (out of context) is "...angry future-Romulan..." which does nearly sound like the word "Futurama" is there.
[edit] See also
- Category:Star Trek for more articles to do with Star Trek.
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