There are many cast/crew links between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the long-running cult sci-fi show Star Trek. Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder) played Quark in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for seven years. Dominic Keating, who played Blair in the episode 3.12 Helpless, later went on to star in Star Trek: Enterprise as Lt. Reed. Jennifer Hetrick, who played the teacher Ms. Moran in 3.05 Homecoming (whom Buffy asked for a reference) played the girlfriend of Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Buffy writer Jane Espenson wrote an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called ‘Accession’. Star Trek has also been referenced numerous times in Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- In 1.12 Prophecy Girl, upset by Giles’ reserve, Xander says:
“Calm may work for Locutus of Borg here, but I’m freaked and I intend to stay that way.”
He is referencing Star Trek’s emotionless cyborgs from the episode ‘The Best of Both Worlds’. Locutus was the name given to Captain Pickard (Patrick Stewart) when he was captured, and ‘assimilated’, by the Borg.
- In 3.05 Homecoming, Cordelia woos the nerds at Sunnydale High by saying:
“Are you kidding? I’ve been doing the Vulcan death grip since I was 4.”
In 3.15 Consequences, Cordy calls Wesley, “Giles the next generation” in a reference to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
- In 5.04 Out Of My Mind, Buffy says:
“You’re like my fairy godmother and Santa Claus and Q all wrapped up into one… Q from Bond not Star Trek“.
- In 5.03 The Replacement, the two Xanders say, “Kill us both Spock” - a reference to a Star Trek episode where Kirk is split two - one being good and one bad.
- In 6.04 Flooded, the nerds vote with the Star Trek Vulcan salute, which is the same salute that Cordelia used to impress the ‘geeks’ in Homecoming.
- In 6.09 Smashed, Spike tells the nerds, “You can play holodeck another time” - he means the virtual reality technology used in Star Trek.
- The nerds compare Buffy’s time loop in 6.05 Life Serial with an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called ‘Cause and Effect’:
Andrew: “I just hope she solves it faster than Data did on the ep of TNG where the Enterprise kept blowing up.”
- In 6.15 As You Were, Buffy says. “they’re like really mean Tribbles”, referring to the popular, but quick breeding, pets on board the Starship Enterprise.
- After her visit to the nerds’ ‘lair’ in 6.12 Doublemeat Palace, Willow says that they had numerous pictures of the “Vulcan women from Enterprise“. She’s referring to Jolene Blaylock, who played T’pol in UPN’s Star Trek show.
- The episode 6.17 Normal Again is similar to the season five episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine called ‘Far Beyond the Stars’. In that episode, Captain Benjamin Sisko imagines that he is a science fiction writer living on 1950s Earth and writing about a station full of aliens called Deep Space Nine. He hallucinates that the people he knows in the 1950s are futuristic aliens and is thrown into an asylum.
- In 6.19 Seeing Red, Andrew references Star Trek: The Next Generation when he discusses who’s boss of the nerds:
“Warren’s the boss. He’s Picard, you’re Deanna Troi. Get used to the feeling, Betazoid.”
Also in that episode, Xander realises that the nerds had love poems in their lair written in Klingon.
- In 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, we learn that Andrew learned Klingon (a language in Star Trek) from a dictionary in two and a half weeks.
- In 7.18 Dirty Girls, Andrew hilariously confuses Faith’s murder of a volcanologist with a Vulcan:
Andrew: “Nobody was immune to her trail of destruction. Not friends, not family, not even the most pacifist and logical of races…”
Amanda: “What the hell are you talking about? I thought Faith killed a volcanologist.”
Andrew: “Silly, silly Amanda. Why would Faith kill a person who studies Vulcans?” - From Sense and Sensitivity:
Cordy: “Mr. and Mrs. Spock need to mind meld now.”
Related episodes: 1.06 Sense And Sensitivity, 1.12 Prophecy Girl, 3.05 Homecoming, 3.15 Consequences, 5.03 The Replacement, 5.04 Out Of My Mind, 6.04 Flooded, 6.05 Life Serial, 6.09 Smashed, 6.12 Doublemeat Palace, 6.15 As You Were, 6.17 Normal Again, 6.19 Seeing Red, 7.07 Conversations With Dead People, 7.18 Dirty Girls
Comments on this trivia
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Hostile on May 2nd, 2005 at 3:59 pm
That’s a really impressive list, but I think you missed a major one: we see Faith killing a Spock look-a-like in Dirty Girls, season seven.
Jess on May 19th, 2005 at 10:21 am
Of course - and it’s my favourite one! I’ll add it in now.
George Kaplan on June 26th, 2005 at 6:49 pm
We can add Harry “The Mayor” Groener to the list of actors who have appeared in both Buffy and Star Trek. In fact, he’s been in the “Tin Man” episode of Next Generation, Voyager’s “Sacred Ground,” and Enterprise’s appropriately titled episode “Demons.”
mairceridwen on August 6th, 2005 at 4:43 am
Andrew’s confusion of Vulcan and Volcanologist is hilarious. I almost peed myself.
Wynter on January 31st, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Andrew’s line “Check the viewscreen Uhura” to Angel (in Damage) is a reference to Star Trek. Uhura was the communications officer on the Enterprise, in Star Trek: The Original Series and the first six movies.
Wynter on July 25th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
There’s another reference to Star Trek in Hero. Cordelia mentions “the bald Star Trek guy”, which is quite obviously meant to be Patrick Stewart.
Meghann on April 25th, 2008 at 5:09 am
Jess,
From Sense and Sensitivity:
Cordy: “Mr. and Mrs. Spock need to mind meld now.”