Since it’s inception, Lower Decks has had multiple cameo’s and revivals over the years with Season Four showcasing some impressive returns from Chaotica himself causing chaos for the Lower Decks crew to Grand Nagus Rom and Lita boarding the Cerrtitos for trade negotiations. But with decades of canon to lift from, who else should take their retro guest spotlight?
Over time Lower Decks has evolved into a more mature show since it’s debut. Sure, at it’s heart it’s still a comedy, but the themes and character development have made that comedy far greater than it’s two-dimensional art style would first suggest and it’s season four finale showed how far it can go when plucking an old reference form Trek’s past to form a whole new story direction.
While several characters have been revived over the seasons, from Kira commanding Deep Space Nine or Will Riker jazzing it up on the Titan, to throw away cameo’s like Elizabeth Shelby at an exclusive event, , the latest season finale ‘Old Friends, New Planets’ used a long forgotten character to answer a season-long mystery in an innovative way for the show by introducing expelled cadet Nick Locarno as the mystery villain behind the destruction and disappearance of starships across the quadrant.
Having a once and done appearance in TNG episode The First Duty, Locarno (who’d become inspiration for Tom Paris, also played by Robert Duncan McNeil) was expelled after the death of a cadet under his command after ordering an unsafe manoeuvrer to boost his ego ahead of graduation. After fellow cadet Wesley Crusher told the truth of what happened, Locarno was expelled never to be seen again – until Lower Decks brought him back as a massive surprise reveal.
Locarno, and his ties to Mariner, weren’t something we’d expected to see. Especially as the lead baddie. Which made us wonder, what other forgotten gems of Trek’s past could show up as Lower Decks gears up for it’s next season?
The Jack Pack
Introduced in Deep Space Nine, the Jack Pack were a by-product of genetic manipulation on the cheap. Julian Bashir was lucky to have had a good surgeon when he was a child, these guys? Not so much. Remarkably intelligent, but with major social and psychological flaws, the quartet of enhanced humans were placed in the care of Bashir temporarily, but soon enough they’d sweep him into their paranoid conspiracies, convince him they could map out the future through statistical probabilities and become a temporary intelligence asset until they proposed the only way to win the war with the Dominion: Surrender.
In fairness to them, they were right. Without manipulating events to bring in the Romulans, or the Cardassian defection, the Federation had very little chance of success and many elements – such as the Breen joining with the Dominion – weren’t on the table at the time. So surrender was the only realistic choice to save millions of lives.
Thats aid, bringing them back an intelligence asset would be a ridiculous mistake on Starfleets part. But there is a crew ridiculous enough to make it work for an episode of two. Jack and Lauren – the psychopath and the deviant – would be a perfect fit when mingling with the Lower Deckers, especially with Sarina, who Bashir healed from her muted state, being the voice of reason. The only downside is that the overly emotional and affectionate Patrick would be missing from the line up as actor Michael Keenan, who had a few roles beyond Patrick in the Trek Universe, sadly passed away in 2020.
The Mirror Universe
Revived and redesigned in Discovery, the Mirror Universe has always been a nice place to reference whether it’s seeing Georgiou’s empire, Terran Archer being swept up in the Empire’s politics or even the 24th century where things got weird under the reign of Emperor Worf and the many incursions between Deep Space Nine and Terok Nor.
For four seasons of Lower Decks we’ve had a couple of hints of the Mirror Universe and they’ve been restrained from dipping into some obvious territory. But like Thanos, it’s inevitable that at some point we’ll see our favourite Lieutenant JG’s cross through the looking glass….
Raffi & Rios
Seeing as the two were main characters in a Star Trek show, Michelle Hurd starring in 28 episodes with Santiago Cabrera starred in 18, this is a bit of a cheat. But there’s still a story to be told here…
Both introduced as disillusioned ex-Starfleet misfits in Picard’s debut season, Raffi and Rios would have their own personal journey’s before being back in uniform by the second season. While we got to see Raffi’s late Starfleet life at the Academy and as Intelligence Operative, and Rios’ short lived stint as captain before deciding to live out his life in the 21st century, there’s still some chance to show the early lives of hopefuls before their Starfleet lives went wrong.
Lower Deck’s takes place in the early 2380’s and going by what we learned in Picard Season 3, both Raffi and Rios would have been active offiers. By 2385 Raffi’s a Lieutenant Commander and aide to Admiral Picard, while it was in 2390 Rios, as executive officer of the USS Ibn Majid, woul;d face a moral crisis that made him leave the service.
Michelle Hurd’s still keen to return to Star Trek, particularly for Terry Matalas’ Legacy concept, though could make a good fit to show a more humorous side to Raffi in Lower Decks. Though maybe it’d be more fun to see a much younger, eager junior officer version of Rios join the Cerritos crew with a cigar and a few jokes in the future.
Arfidor & Kol
Throughout the many multiple references in Lower Decks, one thing is clear; the writers love Voyager. Even to the point of giving the ship a whole episode to itself as the now museum ship is filled with exhibits from it’s weirdest adventures. But there’s one comedy duo that was missing in the line up.
In the episode False Profits, Voyager stumbled upon two Ferengi scientists from The Next Generation that got lost traversing an unstable wormhole. Having landed on a primitive world, Arridor and Kol gave up their science careers to use their technology to become overlords of the locals. In the end, rumbled by Voyager, they use the wormhole, which Janeway planned to get her crew home with, making it more unstable as they run from the good guys.
Where they ended up? No one knows. But maybe we could if the Cerritos found them…
Captain Bateson
Like any good meme, the joke that Frasier and Cheers were just holodeck programs has been run into the ground. Even to the point that it came up on the official Star Trek twitter account!
Back in the day Cheers, Frasier and various Star Trek shows were all filmed within ridiculously close proximity and there were crossovers aplenty, such as Bebe Nueworth turning up as a sexually charged alien in The Next Generation, to Kate Mulgrew turning up in Cheers as Sam’s girlfriend. The connections were so many that even the Frasier cast would perform a Voyager parody as part of Star Trek’s 30th anniversary. Well, all but one cast member….
For all the actor crossovers, only one would barely have any screen time. As Kelsey Grammer appeared as a time displaced captain who’s ship would be at the centre of a time loop in Next Generation episode Cause and Effect, he’d barely be on screen for a minute as a thankful Captain Morgan Bateson, while his Cheers and Frasier cast mates would have full on starring guest roles.
If there was anyone better suited for a Lower Decks revival, Kelsey Grammer is the right fit. Aside from also being famed for his voice-over work as Sideshow Bob in the Simpsons, he’s also the leading man in another highly promoted Paramount+ show, the Frasier revival which could make for some fun cross promotion opportunities!
About the author
Delta Quarter Promotions & Citations: September 2026
Throughout it’s entire existence SFC has grown, evolved and thrived due to the commitment and passion of our officers and crew. Keen members can make a huge difference within their unit or the fleet as a whole, and we like to ensure members are rewarded and recognised for all they bring to the organisation. Starting this year, we're opening every new period within the fleet celebrating those who have made an impact and engaged in being a positive influence in their unit or in Q2 overall. And while we're getting in a little bit earlier, we'd like to introduce our Delta Quarter awards. While promotion is one of the most visible awards available to members, one of the most vital are our commendations. Commendations are a formal recognition awarded to members of Quadrant 2 who have shown commendable service and […]
What If…. the Whales Were Never Extinct?
Fondly remembered as the lightest, more comedic entries in Star Trek's film offerings, The Voyage Home is the story of an alien probe coming to Earth to talk to it's whale pen pal, a little bit miffed that they've not had a letter in a while. In the 21st century, those pen pals – Humpback Whales – had been hunted to extinction. Meanwhile, Kirk and his disgraced crew were on the way home to stand trial and through some time warp shenanigans, take a stolen Bird of Prey back to the 20th century, kidnap some whales, and take them to the 23rd century to save the day. The charges against Kirk were a fairly big deal. Previously Kirk had stolen a soon to be retired Enterprise, went against orders and along with support from his long standing command crew barged […]
[Retro Review] The Doomsday Machine
Responding to a distress call from the USS Constellation, the Enterprise race to the rescue but they arrive too late to save the day. Coming under fire from an alien entity, the Constellation has been heavily damaged and with only one survivor within it's charred shell; Commodore Matt Decker... Still in shock from the attack, Decker isn't able to say if it was an alien ship, or a creature that tore his ship apart. It doesn't take long to track the aliens flight path. It's not from around these parts, entering the Galaxy and on course towards populated areas that would undoubtedly be next in it's devastating path. Beaming on board with an away team, Kirk aims to try and get whats left of the ship back up and running while getting Decker to safety. But during the transit, the […]
Under Pressure: ‘Orders Of Magnitude’, Strange New Worlds S4E08
Boarding as a hero and legend, Admiral Joe Reeger arrives, take command and leaves Pike stranded as he leads the remaining Enterprise crew on an urgent mission. With a visiting (again!) James Kirk picked out as first officer, Reegers mission and motivations come into question and puts Kirk's leadership to task... Writers: Alan B McElroy Director: Sharon Lewis One thing about season four that's been a highlight through some uneven episodes is how it's guiding it's characters form our first contact with them in this series, and how we originally met them sixty years earlier. While it's been more obvious with Spock's pivot towards being closer to his logical side, we've had Chapel make the choice to become a permanent part of the Enterprise and Scotty's move towards being the 'miracle worker'. Even Pike seems to be on the […]
Days of Our Unreal Lives: ‘Like Chronitons Through The Hourglass’, Strange New Worlds S4E07
Waking up in sickbay with a comical bandage on his head following a shuttle accident, Pike quickly notices things are a bit off. The lights are too bright. The medical staff are behaving oddly with dramatic pauses aplenty. And he's fairly certain space madness isn't a genuine diagnosis. As the hour continues with devious secret siblings, dramatic feats of medicine and family drama aplenty, Pike is drawn further into the strangest of all worlds; the soap opera. Writers: Dana Horgan and Bill WolkoffDirector: Anna Dozoka Soap opera's are mental. And for a theme it's even more mental than it seems. But considering soap opera's are basically just overly dramatic premises with long lost relatives you'd never before heard of, absolutely insane scenario's that make Maggie Simpson shooting Mr Burns seem normal and plot twists so insane you genuinely have to […]
Star Trek Day 2026: Celebrating 60 Years of the Final Frontier!
Sixty years ago the world was introduced to a sci fi series that planted a seed of adventure, imagination and inspiration that would blossom into a juggernaut of media. After launching with the Man Trap on September 8th in the United States, the series would later grow into a pop culture icon spawning 9 Live Action Series, 3 Animated Series, 13 Feature Films & more including Streaming Events, Shorts and a huge amount of offshoot media across games, comics and books. With generations of fans discovering new era's and new adventures for decades, today we celebrate not only that first flight of the USS Enterprise and it's original crew, but an entire franchise that continued to grow, evolve, building a world of adventure, inspiration and hope for a better future! As we celebrate Star Trek at 60, we'd love to hear how […]
Related
A Fistful of Undercover Operations
Occasionally when exploring the wonders of deep space, our heroes of Trek have been summoned to - or by sheer accident - become another person to fulfil their mission. Whether it's O'Brien mixing with gangsters or Picard becoming a mercenary, Star Trek's filled with episodes where our favourite explorers have to become someone else to save the day.... FACE OF THE ENEMY The Next Generation Season 6 Waking up on the Warbird Khazara, Deanna Troi finds herself in a bit of a pickle. Kidnapped and surgically altered to take the place of a Tal Shiar Commander she finds herself led by her handler, N'Vek, to lead a secret mission after the Commander had been killed. Out of her comfort zone, Troi has to convince the crew she's the real deal despite the ships skipper knowing something's not quite right.... In […]
A Fistful of Down To Earth Adventures
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 […]
A Fistful of ‘Spirk’
We've been spoiled with Spock in the past few years with Discovery introducing a younger iteration of the character long before he became the refined man of logic that made him famous, and continued that story through Strange New Worlds and his time under Captain Pike's command. As Strange New Worlds continues, giving more history to the original series line up and the early meetings of Spock and Kirk as it makes way for the beginning of the Kirk era, we thought we'd look back at some moments that made the partnership one of the most popular combinations in science fiction. JOURNEY TO BABEL TOS Season 2 Spock's got a bit of an issue with sharing. Secret brother who was shunned. Secret sister who's fate was classified. And despite trusting the Enterprise crew with his life, it was clearly only […]
A Fistful of O’Brien
Entering the Star Trek world as an unnamed extra with a few bits of dialogue, O'Brien soon became a fixture on the Enterprise D as it's transporter chief before moving to Deep Space Nine to head up engineering and operations on what was thought to be a backwater outpost before it became one of the most strategically important stations in the quadrant!As the only enlisted or non commissioned officer to feature in the main cast of any Star Trek show to date, O'Brien stands as the only working class hero in the Star Trek universe with a vast and varied career taking from the front lines of the Cardassian war as a soldier, to the front lines of the Dominion War as an engineer, retrofitting DS9, keeping the Defiant from blowing itself apart, and even sniping Dominion troops. All in […]
A Fistful of Justice
Although it's one of the worlds most legendary science fiction shows, Star Trek has always dabbled with format and genre's, all dressed up behind deep space adventures. Whether using the holodeck for a touch of fantasy, or diving into the horrors of war through Deep Space Nine's run, the variety of story telling never seems to fit one mould. But out of all the different tales told in the wonderful world of Starfleet, one that always promises to deliver is the court room drama. This month we're diving into the most captivating of Star Trek's courtroom drama's with a Fistful of Justice! AD ASTRA PER ASPERA Strange New Worlds, Season 2 One of the most modern examples of Strar Trek's court room drama saw Pike's own Number One, Una-Chin Reilly, under court martial for a serious breach of Starfleet regulation […]
A Fistful of Sisko
In the past few years, Star Trek has made several nods to it's past. But while The NExt Generation and Voyager had their continuations, Deep Space Nine continued to 'black sheep' of the family with it's history and name drops being few and far between. Until Academy when we had an entire episode based around the legend of Starfleet's most complex captains. Starting his show as a widower and single parent, Benjamin Sisko started his time in Star Trek as a reluctant hero turned religious icon who's become a prime figure in Bajoran history, the Federation-Dominion war and much more. If you missed his series, first of.... why?! And also, if you want a quick intro - here's our Sisko top five to see what the fuss is all about. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzBkvzPoofQ IN THE PALE MOONLIGHT Season 6, Episode 13 Lets […]
