Lower Decks Season 5’s Starbase 80 Easter Eggs Explained

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of “Star Trek: Lower Decks.”

“Star Trek: Lower Decks” season 5, episode 5, “Starbase 80?!,” follows the U.S.S. Cerritos as it becomes stranded in space due to a mysterious navigational malfunction. With only impulse engines operational, the ship has no choice but to visit Starbase 80 for help. Starbase 80 had previously only been mentioned in hushed tones among the Cerritos’ crew, as it is said to be cursed. At the very least, it’s the worst place to work in all of Starfleet, even worse than the Cerritos.

When the crew arrives, they find the “Star Trek” equivalent of a long-ignored truck stop. Starbase 80’s crew members wear uniforms that are two centuries out of date, while the station’s diplomatic liaison, Cassia Knox (Nicole Byer), reveals that its technology hasn’t been updated since the 2260s. That, Trekkies might instantly recognize, was the decade the original “Star Trek” series took place. (“Lower Decks” takes place in the 2380s.)

Of course, having that much older “Star Trek” technology lying around gives the creatives behind “Lower Decks” total license to drop in whatever Easter eggs they want. The power core of the station, to site one notable example, is surrounded by large, boxy control panels that are lifted directly from the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise as it looked in 1966. There are also a lot of multicolored buttons and switches, while the exteriors are painted red, just like in the original show. Moreover, as seen in the picture above, the denizens of Starbase 80 don’t use chest-worn communicators; rather, they talk using wall-mounted telephone devices … just like Captain Kirk once used. They even emit the same naval whistle noise when activated.

Those are but a few of the many details that Trekkies will notice. There are many more.

In order to visit Starbase 80, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos has to deconaminate. This involves entering a large decontamination chamber, stripping down to their underwear, and slathering their bodies with a shiny antibacterial gel. Boimler (Jack Quaid) even notes that he’s being “a total T’Pol” with the gel. The decontamination chamber was, Trekkies will recall, one of the more notorious details in “Star Trek: Enterprise.” On that series, characters would have to decontaminate after away missions in an identical fashion, giving the showrunners an organic excuse to get the actors in their skivvies. T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) was the comely Vulcan Subcommander on “Enterprise.”

When the Cerritos crew arrive at Starbase 80, the latter’s crew is still dressed in the indigo jumpsuits seen on “Enterprise.” The uniforms are clearly an anachronism, even on “Star Trek,” although it’s possible the crew of Starbase 80 adopted the 200-year-old uniforms merely for a laugh.

Starbase 80 itself is, thanks to an old treaty, partially controlled by a species known as the Acamarians, which fans of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” can tell you were featured in the episode “The Vengeance Factor.” This has been the first time Acamarians have made an appearance on “Star Trek” since that episode. They don’t factor into the central plot of “Starbase 80?!,” but it’s nice to see them again all the same.

Elsewhere, early in the episode, Lieutenant Tendi (Noël Wells) visits a uniform store, and a quick perusal of their wares reveals Kirk’s jacket as seen in “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” as well as another red uniform from that era. There’s also that weird, white dentist-looking uniform from “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” a Klingon costume from the original “Star Trek” series, a very revealing outfit worn by the Edo in the “Next Generation” episode “Justice,” and, most hilarious, a big pile of bloody red shirts.

Other Easter eggs from that same costume shop include Kirk’s Nazi hat (!) from the “Star Trek” original series episode “Patterns of Force,” those weird leathery “helmets” worn by security officers in “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” and other props and tchotchkes that only the most hardcore Trekkies will be able to identify.

There is also a scene where Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) and Commander Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) have to ride in a turbolift, and they note that it is the old twist-handle type, commonly seen in the original “Star Trek.” The twist-handles on the Enterprise’s turbolifts were only sporadically used, however.

Likewise, the station’s doctor is a professional named Harrison Horseberry (Liam McIntyre), and half of his body has been altered by alien DNA, making his skin a deep indigo with glowing blue veins snaking all over him. He does explain that he was once infected with an alien parasite. This is a reference to the DNA-altering Tarchannen parasite that infected Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) in the “Next Generation” episode “Identity Crisis.” That’s a pretty easy one to spot for Trekkies, though.

Notably, Cassia Knox is an El-Aurian, the species of Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) on “Next Generation.” Dr. Soren (Malcolm McDowell) in “Star Trek Generations” also belonged to the species. El-Aurians can live for many centuries, but Knox is only 30, making her the youngest El-Aurian ever seen on “Star Trek.” That, too, however, is a fairly easy one to spot.

Chime in, Trekkies. What else did you see?

New episodes of “Star Trek: Lower Decks” premiere Thursdays on Paramount+.