Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5, Episode 7 - “Fully Dilated"Star Trek: The Next Generation’s USS Enterprise-D and Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) are back inStar Trek: Lower Decks, and apparently,Star Trek Generationsnever happened for this version of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s (Patrick Stewart) Galaxy Class starship.Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 7, “Fully Dilated,” continues the USS Cerritos' mission of plugging holes that lead to otherStar Trektimelines.A new rift in dimensional space briefly brings an alternate universe purple USS Enterprise-D into the Prime Timeline.
InStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 7, “Fully Dilated,” Lieutenants Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), D’Vana Tendi (Noel Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) undergo aStarfleet surgical procedurefor an away mission to Dilmer III, a primitive pre-warp civilization. During their mission to rid Dilmer III of debris from the purple USS Enterprise-D that could violate the Prime Directive, the Lower Deckers encounter the severed head ofLt. Commander Data, who Tendi reactivates. Butthis Data lived a different life fromStar Trek’s Prime Timeline android.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Brings Back Data & TNG’s USS Enterprise-D LIke Star Trek Generations Never Happened
Time Isn’t The Fire In Which The Purple Enterprise-D Burns
Apparently,Star Trek Generationshas not happened yet in the purple dimension where the purple Lt. Commander Data is from, if it ever will.Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5 takes place in 2381, ten years after the events ofStar Trek Generations.Not only didStar Trek Generationssee Captain Picard meet Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), and witness Kirk’s death, but the Galaxy Class USS Enterprise-D was destroyed by Klingons, with the saucer section crash landing on Veridian III.
Star Trek Generations Ending & Kirk’s Death Explained
Star Trek Generations not only passed the torch to the cast of The Next Generation, it also revealed the ultimate fate of Captain James T. Kirk.
However, in the alternateStar Trekpurple dimension, the USS Enterprise-D was never destroyed, and it’s ten years later when it happened inStar Trek Generations.Data also died inStar Trek: Nemesis,which took place in 2379, just two years beforeStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5. But Data is alive and well in the purple dimension, soStar Trek: Nemesisnever happened either. Data is also still a Lieutenant Commander, which indicates Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is still First Officer of the Enterprise and hasn’t become Captain of the USS Titan.
How Star Trek: Lower Decks' Purple Dimension Is Different From TNG
Star Trek: The Next Generation Is Still Happening In The Purple Dimension
The most likely explanation forStar Trek: Lower Decks' purple dimension is thatStar Trek: The Next Generationis still happening in the alternate reality, and their time isn’t current with time inStar Trek’s Prime Universe. If Captain Picard ever commands a purple USS Enterprise-E, it would be because the Enterprise-D is destroyed, but it’s possibleStar Trek Generations doesn’t happen at all in the purple dimension. It’s also possible none of theStar Trek: The Next Generationmovieshappen or occur considerably later in the purple dimension.
Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) notes in her Captain’s log that the purple Enterprise-D was fighting"a clone of Tasha Yar, or something,“so the purple reality also has events that never happened in the Prime Timeline onStar Trek: The Next Generation.
Curiously, the purple Lt. Commander Data tells Lt. D’Vana Tendi that his head has been severed before, and the android recounts the events of theStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 5/season 6 two-parter, “Time’s Arrow,” when Data and the USS Enterprise-D crew time travel to 19th century San Francisco.Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 7 is actually the second instance when purple Data’s head is severed from his body. ButData and purple Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge(LeVar Burton) are still best friends, so it’s nice to see some things don’t change regardless of alternate timelines.
Brent Spiner Plays TNG’s Data Again In Star Trek: Lower Decks
Spiner Has Reprised Data Since Star Trek: Nemesis
Brent Spiner returning to voice Data inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5 is a welcome surprise. Spiner is iconic as the beloved android, and Brent is among the biggestStar Treklegacy guest stars ever onLower Decks.Spiner also joins Jonathan Frakes as Captain Will Riker and Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi, as well as Q (John de Lancie), asStar Trek: The Next Generationcast memberswho have appeared onStar Trek: Lower Decks.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Cast Guide: Who Voices Each Character In The Final Season
Meet the Lower Deckers and bridge crew of the USS Cerritos as Star Trek: Lower Decks warps into its fifth and final season on Paramount+.
Even more delightful is Brent Spiner is playing the original Data fromStar Trek: The Next Generation, albeit a version from a purple dimension. After Data’s death inStar Trek: Nemesisin 2002,Spiner has played the classic Data only a few times inStar Trek: Picardseason 1. In a dream sequence, Brent played Data playing poker with Jean-Luc on the USS Enterprise-D inStar Trek: Picard’s very first scene and he made more appearances throughoutPicard’s series premiere, “Remembrance.”
The USS Enterprise-D returned inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, fully rebuilt by Commodore Geordi La Forge.
Brent Spiner played the dying Data inStar Trek: Picardseason 1’s finale, as well. In hisPicardappearances,it was evident how difficult it now is for Brent to play the android who doesn’t age.Star Trek: Picardseason 3 solved this problem byresurrecting Data in a new synthetic bodythat ages, which allows Brent Spiner to play Data without attempts at de-aging. ButStar Trek: Lower Decks' animation allows the Data fromStar Trek: The Next Generationto return just as fans remember him, although he’s from a purple alternate reality.
Will Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard Appear Before Star Trek: Lower Decks Ends?
Captain Picard Would Be The Ultimate ‘Get’ For Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5 is the final seasonon Paramount+ for the animated comedy, and there are only three episodes remaining to fulfill perhapsthe biggest guest voice on fans' wish list: Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Certainly, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner were huge ‘gets’ forStar Trek: Lower Decks, but Patrick Stewart’s Picard would be the ultimate guest star. InStar Trek: Lower Decks' 2381 timeframe, Picard would either be in his waning days as Captain of the USS Enterprise-E, or he has newly been promoted to Admiral to lead the United Federation of Planets' Romulan supernova relocation mission.
Picard could appear on Star Trek: Lower Decks to give the Cerritos the benediction Captain Freeman and the Cerritos deserve.
BecauseStar Trek: Lower Decks is such a loving tribute toStar Trek; The Next Generation’s era, andTNGin particular, Captain Picard appearing on the show would be a fitting milestone to close out on. The USS Cerritos is ever on the cusp of change, with Mariner and her Lower Decker friends receiving promotions from Ensigns to Lieutenants, whileCaptain Carol Freeman is perpetually fighting for respect for her California Class starship. Picard could appear at theend ofStar Trek: Lower Decksto give the Cerritos the benediction Captain Freeman and the Cerritos deserve.
Meanwhile,Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5, episode 7’s purple Data and USS Enterprise-D were an ingenious way for the animated show to deliver a slice of classicStar Trek: The Next Generationwithout breaking canon. In Mariner’s own words, purple Data’s appearance onLower Deckswas great, and everything one wants it to be. Perhaps in the future, audiences can find out Trek: Lower Decks' purple dimension whereStar Trek: The Next Generationcontinues and whereStar Trek Generationsmay never happen.
