# Let's make a list of the in-jokes in the new Star Trek! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 9, 2009, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832 "2009-05-09T05:59:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/61 "2009-05-18T02:19:14Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > It’s also the planet that Kirk kills Mitchell on in the other continuity. [Indeed.](http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/episode/68664.html) I am surprised. TOS usually named planets in the standard fashion: _Starname planet number._ as in Ceti Alpha IV. Why use a planet from TOS, especially one that was hot and arid as an ice planet? MAybe they were marooned in the arctic region. 😕 And no mention in TOS if it being near enough to see Vulcan as a sphere. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/62 "2009-05-18T02:21:12Z")
It’s said somewhere on Memory Alpha that they chose Delta Vega for name recognition and just ignored that it was near the galactic barrier. > [@Claire\_Beauchamp](#): > > I never saw the animated series, never read any novelizations – the only Kirk-related things I’ve seen were TOS and the movies – and I already knew that Kirk’s middle name was Tiberius. I would almost swear that we learned that at some point in the series, that it was not new information when it popped up in the movies. Obvs I could be wrong, but … to me it’s pretty common knowledge. Nope. Never mentioned in the original series. it was first stated in the animated series, and along with Sulu’s first name, Hikaru, it wasn’t official until stated on the big screen in _The Undiscovered Country_. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/63 "2009-05-18T02:42:46Z")
The dialogue at the end between Young Spock and Spock Prime: Young Spock: You lied. Spock Prime: I … implied. mirrors a similar exchange between Spock and Savaak in Wrath of Khan: Savaak: You lied. Spock: I exaggerated. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/64 "2009-05-18T02:46:43Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > I’ve never figured out why security and engineering were given the same colour. Fanwank: Starfleet’s security branch may have begun life as a specialization within Engineering. Makes sense - Starfleet was always an exploratory organization first and foremost. So, when they first went out in space, the weapons systems would have been very much an afterthought. _Someone_ needs to be trained to run the things, but no one thought they’d be used often at first, so they just grabbed the guys who’d already been trained to operate and maintain complicated high-power shipboard systems - the engineers. After Security became a separate specialization, they kept the old Engineering colors out of tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/65 "2009-05-18T03:14:53Z")
Trivia: In TNG, Data was supposed to wear blue since he was the science/Spock character. It looked so terrible with his makeup that they made a high enough rank so he could wear gold. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/66 "2009-05-18T03:43:26Z")
Actually, they just changed his position from “science officer” to “operations manager”. Anyone at any rank can wear any of the three colors. > [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Fanwank: Starfleet’s security branch may have begun life as a specialization within Engineering. Makes sense - Starfleet was always an exploratory organization first and foremost. So, when they first went out in space, the weapons systems would have been very much an afterthought. _Someone_ needs to be trained to run the things, but no one thought they’d be used often at first, so they just grabbed the guys who’d already been trained to operate and maintain complicated high-power shipboard systems - the engineers. > > After Security became a separate specialization, they kept the old Engineering colors out of tradition. Nothing so complicated – engineering and security are both [operations](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Operations_division) or support positions, which is why they wear the same color. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/67 "2009-05-18T04:08:21Z")
In **This Side of Paradise** , Kirk calls Spock a computer in order to piss him off enough to start a fight (that Kirk loses naturally). Which nicely mirrors Kirk’s “I bet it doesn’t even _compute_ for you.” ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/68 "2009-05-18T04:19:11Z")
Small thing here, but I’m just kinda surprised it wasn’t mentioned before: In the scene when McCoy is “smuggling” Kirk onboard the Enterprise, and the two are in sickbay, I swear he called out for something and mentioned the name “Nurse Chapel.” Did anybody else hear this? Frankly, I’m kind of surprised there wasn’t a cameo appearance by Majel Barrett somewhere in the flick. I know she wasn’t in prime health by the then (and died soon after filming had wrapped up), but from what I do know about her, I would have thought she’d have climbed out of her deathbed and wrestled the specter of death to the ground in order to make it to the set if even for just a fleeting shot somewhere in the story. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/69 "2009-05-18T04:25:39Z")
Yes, he addresses Nurse Chapel and you can hear somebody respond to him, too. Also, Majel Barrett was the voice of the Starfleet computer. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/70 "2009-05-18T04:26:43Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > Frankly, I’m kind of surprised there wasn’t a cameo appearance by Majel Barrett somewhere in the flick. She did the computer voice. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/71 "2009-05-18T04:37:04Z")
> [@Aesiron](#): > > Nothing so complicated – engineering and security are both [operations](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Operations_division) or support positions, which is why they wear the same color. Ah, I stand corrected. Shame - I was rather proud of that fanwank. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/72 "2009-05-18T05:17:04Z")
I would have sworn Kirk’s middle name was mentioned in the Original Series; probably in the episode where they visit the planet with the modern-day Roman Empire. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/73 "2009-05-18T08:33:19Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I would have sworn Kirk’s middle name was mentioned in the Original Series; probably in the episode where they visit the planet with the modern-day Roman Empire. Actually, wasn’t there an early episode where his middle initial is given as “R”? I don’t remember if it said what R stood for. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/74 "2009-05-18T12:33:36Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I would have sworn Kirk’s middle name was mentioned in the Original Series; probably in the episode where they visit the planet with the modern-day Roman Empire. Yes, this is my memory as well. Much is made of Kirks middle name being Roman in that episode. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/75 "2009-05-18T12:58:50Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Actually, wasn’t there an early episode where his middle initial is given as “R”? I don’t remember if it said what R stood for. The tombstone in _Where No Man Has Gone Before_ also has the year of his birth, but I’ve never been able to read it. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/76 "2009-05-18T13:19:13Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > Actually, wasn’t there an early episode where his middle initial is given as “R”? I don’t remember if it said what R stood for. It was shown in a gravestone in the second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” And no, nobody said what the “R” stood for. I figured that it was short for “Roman Emperor Dude.” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/77 "2009-05-18T13:46:16Z")
One scene in the Romulan vessel, when Spock is kneeling down (to brain-rape a dying Romulan) and Kirk is kinda crouching behind him with the zap-gun. I \*swear \*that mirrors an early publicity still for the series. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/78 "2009-05-18T17:38:53Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Yes, this is my memory as well. Much is made of Kirks middle name being Roman in that episode. Do you mean in **Bread and Circuses**? [Here’s a transcript of the episode.](http://www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/43.htm) His middle name is never mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/79 "2009-05-18T18:09:45Z")
Tiberius is only mentioned in the animated episode _Bem_ and _The Undiscovered Country_. James R. Kirk was a production error that has been fanwanked to be an inside joke between Mitchell and Kirk. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832/80 "2009-05-18T18:30:11Z")
[Crow T Robot] Mitchell! [/Crow T Robot] I loved everything about the movie, with the minor exception of the casting for Kirk. He seemed just a bit too much “brooding rebel guy in NSYNC or Backstreet Boys” and less swashbucklingly confident. But maybe that’s because he’s the alternate reality “dad died tragically” Kirk. I was a bit disappointed in Pike’s wheelchair also, I was hoping for some ultra-cool hovering glowing super-chair that still went “boop” for yes and “boop boop” for no. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-make-a-list-of-the-in-jokes-in-the-new-star-trek/495832.md?page=5)