Warping through the stars always searching for the next adventure, it’s rare that Star Trek ever comes home to Earth. Through all the series, and highlighted in Enterprise, the third rock from our sun is kinda important in the grand scheme of things but our eyes are always far beyond the stars. So for no particular reason at all – certainly not any recent new series launching – we’re taking a look at Trek’s more Earthbound moments….
Homefront/Paradise Lost
Deep Space Nine Season 4
The Founders said they were everywhere. Now we know they’re on Earth. Recordings revealed a founder during the bombing of a Federation meeting on the home-world and Sisko is recalled. His knowledge and experience with the Dominion is vital to securing Earth against the inevitable war. But while the Dominion may be the enemy, they aren’t Earths greatest threat…
Taking the Sisko away from Deep Space Nine for the rather unique two parter, the story takes place entirely on Earth in a somewhat rare look at life in the 24th century back at home base. We don’t get too much of a glimpse outside of the small set pieces, but having Sisko back living and working on Earth between his office at Headquarters and his family restaurant is a fairly cool thing for the Next Gen era.
Especially as the story is all one big conspiracy with an Admiral manipulating his way towards a coup on Earth…
FAMILY
The Next Generation, Season 4
DS9 wasn’t the first to bring their Captain to Earth for the A story. Following the Best of Both Worlds two parter, bridging seasons three and four with the Borg threat before it was de-escalated, the show went from massive cliffhanger to pausing for some reflection. Captured by the Borg and turned into one of them to help take over Earth, the Enterprise crew were able to bring their Captain back and de-Borgify him so he could get back to work.
Except, being turned into a tool to annihilate your entire civilisation and knowing you’re responsible for the deaths of a stupid amount of people isn’t something you get over after a cup of Earl Grey. So while Worf and his family took the B plot, Picard went to Earth to stay with his brother and get over some family tension with a punch up in the mud before the reality of it all came spilling out. The guilt and shame bringing him to tears and showing a vulnerability his brother – and the audience – hadn’t seen from him before.
An emotionally charged episode, it used the whole idea of being back on Earth to perfectly isolate the captain from his ship to rediscovering himself in the French countryside.
TOMORROW IS YESTERDAY
TOS Season 1
Apparently, flying towards the sun, slingshotting around it and getting away as fast as you can isn’t just a great tactic to escape a baddie. It’s also the best way to introduce time travel to a flourishing sci fi series. Accidentally ending up in orbit of Earth in 1969 thanks to this slingshot ‘time warp’ (not to be confused with the dance), the Enterprise is identified by a NASA pilot as a UFO and in a panic, they beam him aboard to figure out how to undo the potential destruction of the timeline.
Well remembered as the first time Star Trek used time travel as a plot device, the episode is also one of the most fun of the first season. Written by the late – and very much great – DC Fontana, the episode is the first to mirror the real world with the future world within Star Trek and brings a lot of light comedy and action to life as Kirk and Spock essentially engage in a cover up to undo any evidence of them being there before going back home.
TIMES ARROW
The Next Generation Season 5/6
Summoned back to Earth to an archaeological dig, it turns out that there’s evidence of aliens living on Earth as far back as the 19th century. There’s also something else rather unusual that they’ve dug up. Data’s head.
Times Arrow is one of those plots thats best watching rather than a traditionally flippant or sarcastic recap. But the entire premise is Data facing his own mortality and ending up chasing down the reason for his own death. That takes him, by sheer accident, to the 1800’s where he uses local supplies to build basic future toys, somewhat befriends Mark Twain and has Picard and the crew travel back and try and find him and solve the alien mystery.
It also shows that Guinan is alive and well, hiding among the upper class of 1800’s America centuries before the Borg destroy her homeworld giving some insight into why she has such an affection for Picard. The whole episode is a bit silly, a bit contrived, but a lot of fun seeing the Star Trek world clash with San Fransisco on the tail end of the 19th century.
THE ONE WITH THE WHALES
TOS Film Series
Sometimes called The Voyage Home to the layman, The One With The Whales saw 23rd century Earth being accidentally terrorised by an alien probe that forced every ship and outpost in the solar system to lose power as it sucked up all the water on Earth in search of it’s old pen pals who stopped writing back. Long before humanity figured out the alphabet, humpbacked whales on Earth were singing to far off worlds but humanity being careless and selfish led to the species being extinct.
Disgraced Admiral Kirk and his former crew, making a return to Earth in a stolen Klingon ship after stealing, and subsequently blowing up, the Enterprise to bring Spock back to life, have one solution to the problem. Go back in time to before the whales extinction, kidnap some and bring them back to the 23rd century so they can wave hello back to the probe and tell it to stop having a tanty.
After a quick time warp, Kirk and Spock arrive in 1984, park their cloaked ship in Golden Gate Park and go hunting (ethically) for some whales!
In one of the most unique films in the Star Trek world, The Voyage Home is the only of the series to be set in the year it was released, and the only film to date without an antagonist. There’s no bad guys to chase, no villains to defeat. Just a problem that needs solved and all wrapped up in a lesson about treating the environment better. Displacing the crew into a less sophisticated and less refined environment brings several fun moments from Chekov asking people on the street for directions to a nuclear reactor, Scotty not knowing how to use a computer with a mouse and keyboard, and Spock trying, and failing, to figure out how to speak the local lingo.
Taking away the Enterprise, the final frontier, and near everything Star Trek but the characters, it’s just a fun, light and extremely accessible film that thankfully graced ITV’s Christmas schedule for decades so we could all enjoy it every year!
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
- Little Green Men (DS9): Quark, Rom and Nog stuck with Odo in 1947 New Mexico as the core aliens in one of the worlds biggest conspiracy theories. Really fun and playful episode!
- City On The Edge of Forever (TOS): A tragic story and one of Star Trek’s best hours. Alas, it’s a better tragedy, drama or time travel story than a trip to the homeworld (and it gets in all the lists!)
- Futures End (Voyager): Recently listed on the time travel list, so it did get eliminated. Though it is a fun two parter, The Voyage Home did it better!
- Picard Season 2: Yeah, we know. It was a mixed season but some of the best moments were in the 21st century setting. Unfortunately, as an arc it was a season of moments over Earthly encounters.
- Past Tense (DS9): Excellent episode(s). But a little too close to home for escapism these days!
Did we miss out your Favourite Kirk-Spock moments? Get engaged and let us know at Starbase Europa!
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