When I was a wee nipper, Friday nights on BBC Two were the highlight of my week. Not only did we get a double bill of The Simpsons, but at 6:45, we got an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Watching this, week on week, I developed a huge fondness for the series, from the touching beauty of "The Inner Light" to the lethal mischief of "Q Who." It's a fondness that's never quite left me, honestly. I love The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, dislike Voyager and Enterprise, and am yet to watch Discovery. However, watching the show as an adult is a far different experience than watching it as a child. For the most part, the show stands as one of the best sculpted television experiences ever made. Occasionally though, it really, really stops making sense in a way that sci-fi never should. I think that Voyager is the worst for this (and believe me, we'll get to that later), but all of the series are gu൩ilty of it at one point or another.
In this list, we've gathered together 30 of the strangest, most bizarre mistakes in Star Trek history. Whether these are plot holes, filming errors, continuity errors, or just plain sloppy work, y🥃ou'll find them here. If you're a trekkie who doesn't mind having their favorite show picked apart, read on! I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did. If you've noticed something we've missed, let us know in the c🍷omments!
30 Star Trek: Enterprise Bre🅘aks Caℱnon
Set many years before The Original Series, Enterprise plays exceptionally fast and loose with Star Trek canon in hugely problematic ways. Firstly, despite it already being established in TNG that Earth was ruled by a one-world government in 2050, in 2051, nation states still abound. Perhaps most obviously, there is the question of what became of the massive Vulcan fleet present in Enterprise. Just 100 years l🐓ater, it seems to have disappeared without a trace and not rebuilt. Wha💜t happened?
29 G🦂eordi Wears A Uniform From Another Dimension
Now, this is something of a big booboo on the part of the costume department. In The Next Generation episode "Yesterday's Enterprise" we see the crew in a parallel universe, where the wars with the Klingons didn't end. The cre✅w are dressed in a very different uniform, which, on 🅺the writer's part, is meant to illustrate just how different this universe is from the standard one. However, at the end of the episode, when the timeline has been restored, Geordi La Forge is still wearing the one from the parallel universe.
28 💛 Klingons Are Captured When Convenient 🃏
It is a fairly well-established idea in Star Trek that Klingons do not like being captured alive. It is believed that this brings dishonor upon them♎, and also, their whole family. Except for when, apparently, it doesn't. We're reminded of this rule again and again, and yet the show doesn't even keep it for its main cast of characters. Worf is captur🐎ed in the episode "Redemption: Part 2," and apparently, that just doesn't matter. It's a bizarre continuity error that really should have been picked up.
27 𓄧 Hugh's Potential Is Never Mentioned Again 🅠
The recovered Borg drone, Hugh, or rather Third of Five, had huge potential. When he was nursed back to health by the Enterprise's crew, Data and La Forge are ordered to work on a computer program that could be implanted in Hugh to wipe out the Borg. However, severe ethical problems sprung up from this, with Dr. Crusher arguing that even though it is the Borg, they 👍would still be wiping out a sentient race. However, despite this crew's scruples, the fact that another Captain with looser morals didn't do this is bizarre. Instead, it was simply forgotten about.
26 Data's Cat Changes Breeds ꦉ 🔥
Ah, Spot. Who can forget Data's cat, to whom he wrote a (fairly nice actually) ode? As well as providing a couple of "aw" moments, Spot served the purpose of humanizing Data, who showered her with affection pretty regularly. There's one issue, however. The cat changed breeds. In the earlier episodes, the cat was noticeably long-haired, but la🌱ter on, changed into a short-haired ginger moggy. There was no explanation whatsoever for this. Maybe it had something to do with dilithium crystals.
25 𓄧 Deep Space 9's Proto-Universe ♌
This isn't even a plot hole, it's just lazy writing. In the Deep Space 9 episode "Playing God," the crew encounter a strange, unidentified mas💮s stuck to a runabout. It's put in the lab and constantly expands, with the crew finally coming to the conclusion that it's a proto-universe. That's not a problem in itself, if it had actually been dealt with. Instead, what do the crew decide to do with it? Take it through the Bajoran Wormhole and just dump it on the other side. It is never spoken of again.
24 Generations: Pica🌼rd's Wasted💝 Time Travel
The Star Trek films are mostly the series' biggest weak points, to be honest. Generations is the one with some of the biggest plot holes of all. In dealing with the film's big bad, Soran, Picard i🌠s allowed one chance at time travel. Instead of going back further and arresting Soran before he can put hꦛis plan into motion, what does he do? He goes back in time to talk to Captain Kirk and convinces him to help him defeat Soran. It makes no sense: why would you squander this incredible power like that?
23 🎉 Kirk's Middle Naꦆme
There really aren't many names more famous in science fiction than James Tiberius Kirk. The helmsman of the Enterprise, his adventures (and seductions) ranged far and wide. The crew of The Original Series were apparently not ones wit🌞h an eye for detail however. In the episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before," we see Kirk's tombstone, but it lists his name as "James R. Kirk." If there's a spelling of Tiberius that starts with the letter R, I sure haven't heard it.
22 🌳 The Holodeck Could Be Easily Escaped
In most respects, the Holodeck seems like a speꦉctacular waste of time. As well as having to employ someone to mop it down once Riker is finished with it, it seems to malfunction almost every time it's used. In several episodes, the crew members who are using it are trapped inside, and have to work out an elaborate escape plan. That seems hamfisted, really. The transporter system can be used on the ship, as shown in other episodes. It's not like the holodeck goes to another dimension, you could just teleport them out!
21 🌠 Scotty Doesn't Remembe🃏r Kirk Dying
Ding-dong! We're back to Generations already! In the episode "Relics" we discover that Scotty isn't dead! He put himself into stasis so as to survive a fatal situation! In the episode, La Forge has to break the news to him that Kirk isn't with us anymore. However, in Generations, we see that Scotty was present when Kirk shuffled off this mortal coil, so given that he didn't apparently suffer any he🅘ad injuries, he should remember iꦇt. Why did he still think Kirk was with us?