This ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ Episode is Now a Sneaky Sequel to ‘Strange New Worlds’
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has a big courtroom drama episode coming. But it actually connects with a non-courtroom episode of DS9.
Paramount is all in on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With about a week to go before season 2 begins, marketing has gone from trickle to deluge. We’ve seen trailers. All ten episode titles are out in the world. And the entire first season of SNW is now free to watch on YouTube.
But arguably the biggest reveal comes from a mixture of all these things. Recently fans were given a glimpse of one scene from the show’s second episode, “Ad Astra Per Aspera”. In it, we see Enterprise’s First Officer Una Chin-Riley on the stand.
Last season, Una was arrested for being an Illyrian, a race of beings who genetically modify themselves. As you may know, gene modification is a major Federation no-no. Due to centuries-old nasty Eugenics Wars back on Earth, no one in the Federation may alter their DNA unless it is for life-saving reasons. Even then, the rules are strict.
As an Illyrian, Una does have altered genetics. Keeping that fact from Starfleet lands her on trial. And in “Ad Astra Per Aspera” it looks like we’ll see the results of that trial in full. And while there is a long, wonderful history of Star Trek courtroom episodes, there’s another episode that “Ad Astra Per Aspera” seems to more directly connect with.
“Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”
Doctor Julian Bashir spends much of his tenure on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine seemingly without a care in the world. He’s a brilliant physician on the frontier of space, inventing cures for diseases no one in the Federation has even heard of before. He loves it! In fact, he’s so upbeat that it kind of annoys the people around him.
And while he grows to have a lot of exterior life complications thanks to war with both the Klingons and the Dominion, Bashir’s inner turmoil does not come to the fore until the season five episode “Doctor Bashir, I Presume?”
The episode features Doctor Lewis Zimmerman (Robert Picardo) creator of Star Trek: Voyager‘s Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH). He intends to make a new long-term holo-doctor based on Bashir.
Unfortunately, Zimmerman asks Bashir’s parents to come to Deep Space Nine. And Mr. and Mrs. Bashir accidentally reveal Julian’s secret–he’s genetically modified.
Courtesy of CBS Television
A New Star Trek Continuity
To make a long story short, Julian Bashir plans to resign from his commission with Starfleet in order to avoid both he and his parents going to jail. However, Captain Sisko and Bashir’s father strike a deal with Starfleet to allow Julian to remain a part of Starfleet. Julian shows no signs of Khan-like megalomania and he’s very much needed while the Federation is at war.
But the most interesting moment in “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” comes from an interaction with Julian Bashir and Miles O’Brien. When Bashir insists he must resign his commission, O’Brien says things might be okay. And specifically, O’Brien says there has not been a trial related to genetic modification in over a century.
Fun fact: the upcoming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode “Ad Astra Per Aspera: is set around the year 2260. “Doctor Bashir I Presume” is set in the year 2373. In other words, the trial O’Brien mentions is, in all likelihood, Una Chin-Riley’s.
Courtesy of CBS Television
What Does This Mean For Star Trek?
The interesting thing about “Ad Astra Per Aspera” is that it does not have to change Star Trek continuity much at all. All it probably will do is set a precedent for why Bashir gets off so easy a century later.
We assume Una Chin-Riley is ultimately cleared for duty because we see her on the Enterprise and in uniform in the trailer for episodes we’re assuming occur after “Ad Astra Per Aspera”. However, we also know that a century later augments still are not a part of the Federation.
Our best guess for how things will connect between Una and Julian is related to the pragmatism of Starfleet. Although no one says it, Julian is likely given leniency because Starfleet is at war with the Klingons and the Dominion.
In Una’s time, the Klingon War is not that far in the rearview mirror. And with Gorn spreading closer to Federation space, the chance of a war on multiple fronts is high. In other words, we suspect Una’s return to duty will have very little to do with kindness or open-mindedness. On the contrary, she likely will return to duty out of necessity and a fear of something far more dangerous than Illyrians.
Courtesy of Paramount Plus
Connecting Strange New Worlds to Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds loves an homage. Many of its first season episodes make nods to Star Trek: The Original Series. Heck, the season finale is a nearly beat-for-beat remake of “Balance of Terror”.
If SNW plans to keep connecting with the show’s past, it’s good for the creators to connect with shows other than the original. Easter eggs are great! And it’s cool seeing how this Enterprise will eventually become James T. Kirk’s.
But if “Ad Astra Per Aspera” actually does connect with “Doctor Bashir, I Presume” then we’re seeing how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has ripples that impact the Federation for centuries to come. The Easter eggs say “care about our show because it references the other shows”. But this courtroom episode may just say “care about our show because it impacts other Star Trek shows in ways you won’t expect”.
