Star Trek: Lower Decks References the Franchise's Most Important Holiday
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1, Episode 5, "Cupid's Errant Arrow," now streaming on CBS All Access.
In Star Trek: Lower Decks' latest episode, "Cupid's Errant Arrow," the U.S.S. Cerritos is accompanied by the starship Vancouver for a joint mission to destroy an unstable moon. This mission is actually good news for Ensign Boimler since it means he will get to see his new girlfriend Barbara Brinson, who works as a Starfleet officer on the Vancouver. While the relationship is fairly new, Boimler is still ecstatic to see Barbara. He's clearly over the moon (pun intended) for her, and it instantly makes Ensign Mariner suspicious.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Start nowMariner confronts Boimler and tells her she doesn't believe Barbara is real. In answer, Boimler compares himself to a fan-favorite villain from Star Trek: The Next Generation, and he even mentions the franchise's most important holiday: Captain Picard Day.
When Mariner first hears about Barbara Brinson, she recognizes she sounds too good to be true -- and she lets Boimler know all about it. She challenges the existence of his girlfriend, believing that she isn't actually real. "Oh, she's real," Boimler replies. "She's as real as a hopped-up Q on Captain Picard Day."
Star Trek fans will instantly recognize this as yet another reference to The Next Generation. Q was a member of the Q Continuum, a powerful race of extra-dimensional beings who could essentially rewrite reality. Q, as played by actor John de Lancie, started out as a villain but over time, he grew some sort of fascination with Captain Jean-Luc Picard that saw him return to the Enterprise-D on multiple occasions. The two would essentially best be described as frenemies.
Boimler's joke references how happy Q would be on Captain Picard Day, a holiday reserved to his favorite Captain. A special event, first mentioned in the Season 7 of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the holidaywas meant specifically for the children who lived aboard the Enterprise. At school, Captain Picard Day was celebrated by the young students, who would make several art projects in honor of the Captain, and he would have to choose a winner.
The episode revealed that this was a yearly event that the children were excited to take part in -- as for Jean-Luc, he didn't care for it all that much. What's more, the event itself is now even recognized by fans of the show, being celebrated on June 16. Now that you know, you'll be able to celebrate in Starfleet style next year.
Star Trek: Lower Decks stars Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner, Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, Jack Quaid as Ensign Brad Boimler, Noël Wells as Ensign Tendi, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman, Jerry O'Connell as Commander Jack Ransom, Gillian Vigman as Doctor T'Ana and Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs. The show premiered on CBS All Access on Aug. 6.
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