buy star trek combadge

• View history

The combadge was a small, multi-purpose communications and universal translation device, which usually took the form of an organization's insignia designed to be worn by the user. By the 24th century , combadges and similar devices were in use by multiple species and organizations, including the Bajoran Militia , and Klingon Empire . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager , Star Trek: Picard )

• 2.1 Primary
• 2.2 Secondary
• 4.1 See also
• 4.2 Background information
• 4.3 Future combadges
• 4.4 Gallery
• 4.5 External link

History [ ]

Section 31 combadge worn alongside two Starfleet insignia variants (2257)

In the 22nd and 23rd centuries, communicators were small, if not bulky devices which needed to be carried or holstered by people using them. Members of Starfleet usually had access to these while away from their ship or were not able to reach a wall mounted intercom . ( Star Trek: Enterprise , Star Trek: The Original Series , Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ) However, unbeknownst to a lot of the Federation , Section 31 had developed and deployed small communicators in the form of the Starfleet delta to its members as early as 2256 . ( DIS : " Saints of Imperfection ") In 2259 , when a time traveling Ensign Brad Boimler was being tended to, Captain Christopher Pike and Lieutenant Una Chin-Riley expressed a distaste for the combadge, preferring the communicator. ( SNW : " Those Old Scientists ")

2350s to 2360s Starfleet combadge

Large scale roll out of small, wearable badges didn't occur to the later 24th century , where they became standard issue among Starfleet crews as early as the 2340s . ( TNG : " Yesterday's Enterprise ") A combadge was considered standard equipment for all Starfleet personnel and taking off one's combadge constituted taking off one's uniform. ( TNG : " Redemption ", " Journey's End "; DS9 : " Tacking Into the Wind ", " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges ")

2370s Starfleet combadge

As a symbol of loss of membership in Starfleet , personnel that had resigned or had been relieved of duty were required to turn in their combadges. Additionally, personnel confined to a brig were not permitted to retain their combadges during their confinement. ( TNG : " Redemption ", " Journey's End "; DS9 : " Paradise Lost ", " Inquisition "; VOY : " Thirty Days ")

Wesley Crusher wearing a silver provisional combadge variant alongside the gold 2360s version

During this time, Starfleet produced and deployed several iterations of their badge which took on different designs. This trend continued to the all the way to the 29th century . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation , Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Star Trek: Voyager , Star Trek: Picard , Star Trek: Lower Decks , Star Trek: Prodigy ) By 2399 , Cristóbal Rios , the captain of a civilian freighter called the SS La Sirena , had access to smaller combadges, called comm pins , in the shape of his ship's personalized mermaid emblem. When necessary, Rios provided them to his passengers. ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ", " The Impossible Box ", " Nepenthe ", " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

Tom Paris with a 2370s combadge alongside the silver 2380s combadge

Different styles of combadges often co-existed in the same era. Similar to Starfleet uniforms , the combadge used by personnel may vary by the ship, the officer's rank or department, or the facility they were stationed on; these were retained even when visiting other Federation locations. ( TNG : " The Child "; LD : " We'll Always Have Tom Paris ", " Kayshon, His Eyes Open "; DIS : " Saints of Imperfection ")

Badge styles and insignias have been known to change rapidly year to year, and older combadges were sometimes retained for continued use or for sentimental purposes. ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I "; PIC : " Remembrance "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

During the Dominion War and its aftermath, uniform and combadge variety was pared down considerably, but the use of different combadge styles and co-existing variants expanded again in the relative peace that followed in the 2380s . This trend continued until the disaster at Utopia Planitia in 2385 , when Federation resources were once again strained. ( DS9 : " What You Leave Behind "; Star Trek Nemesis ; LD : " No Small Parts "; PRO : " Lost and Found "; PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")

A tricom badge used in the late 32nd century

At some point prior to the 31st century , combadges were replaced with tricom badges . ( Star Trek: Discovery ) However, a handful of 2370s and 2380s style Starfleet combadges managed to survive all the way to the 31st century, where many of them ended up in the hands of the Emerald Chain . ( DIS : " Scavengers ", " The Sanctuary ")

Capabilities [ ]

Primary [ ].

The Starfleet combadge was a crystalline composite of gold , microfilament , silicon , beryllium , and carbon-70 . ( TNG : " The Last Outpost ", " Time's Arrow "; VOY : " Hope and Fear ") They were designed for on-board ship communication with other Starfleet personnel when using the internal communication system was impossible or impractical, for accessing the on-board computer when not in an area that the computer is monitoring, for ship-to-shore communications, and for direct communication to another combadge. Combadges also were configured to act as universal translators , often translating in real time. ( DS9 : " For the Uniform "; VOY : " The Cloud ", " The 37's ", " Investigations ") Bajoran and Starfleet badges were also capable of recording a user's personal logs. ( DS9 : " The Ascent ", SNW : " Those Old Scientists ")

As with other subspace technology , combadges emitted subspace readings which could be scanned by ship sensors and tricorders . ( VOY : " Future's End ")

As early as the 2360s , combadges were used as a means of providing personal identification to shipboard computers. Each time a user accessed a specific console , the computer logged the individual's identification to that access. ( TNG : " The Drumhead "). By the 2370s , personnel had their name and serial number engraved on the back of the badge. ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

Combadges were activated by pressing it once and calling out the name or general area of the intended recipient. They could then be deactivated by another single press. Multiple presses on the badge could be used as an attempt to gain the attention of a ship's crew. ( VOY : " Caretaker ")

Due to the size of the combadge, its working range was limited to five hundred kilometers , although a starship could boost the signal to bridge larger distances. ( TNG : " 11001001 ")

A destroyed combadge ( 2371 )

Combadges were often incorporated with numerous security features intended to protect its user and Starfleet systems. They can be set to only be activated by the user it was assigned to, identified by biometric fingerprint data. ( TNG : " The Hunted ")

In emergency situations, a combadge could be modified for use in other applications. It could be converted into a subspace distress beacon , or the tiny power cell could be extracted for other uses. ( DS9 : " Rocks and Shoals ") If the casing of the combadge was ever cracked, an emergency distress signal was emitted, mainly to help searchers locate victims. ( TNG : " A Fistful of Datas "; VOY : " Time and Again ")

Furthermore, a combadge's energy cell can be used to power a makeshift personal force field generator for several seconds. ( TNG : " A Fistful of Datas ") A downside to this is when destroyed by an electrical force, a badge could cause damage to the wearer's clothing. ( TNG : " Thine Own Self ")

Secondary [ ]

La Forge uses a combadge to set transporter coordinates

Although designed primarily as communicators and universal translators , many of these devices served other roles for their users.

Combadges could be used by the transporter as a way to lock on to Starfleet personnel; more generally, the transporter could lock onto any person or object with a combadge attached or nearby, thus making transport faster and more accurate. USS Enterprise -D Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge used his combadge to allow the transporter to beam off an explosive device that the Ansata terrorists planted on the ship during their mission on Rutia IV . ( VOY : " Caretaker ", " Tattoo ", " Investigations ", " The Chute "; TNG : " Justice ", " The High Ground ") When Ferengi briefly took over the Enterprise in 2369 , they were captured by attaching combadges to them and using the badges to beam them into a secured transporter room . ( TNG : " Rascals ")

Gallery [ ]

Appendices [ ]

See also [ ].

• Starfleet insignia

Background information [ ]

The Starfleet insignia pin first used in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan later became a combadge, as Lieutenant Richard Castillo can be seen pressing his and speaking into it in TNG : " Yesterday's Enterprise ". The combadge with the rectangular back was designed for Star Trek Generations and first seen in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine third season premiere episode " The Search, Part I ", before being used continually in the series and Star Trek: Voyager . It also appeared in the four Next Generation movies and in episodes of Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks .

When the combadge first appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation , it appeared to be larger than the prop used in later seasons. It was also referred to as a communicator rather than a combadge by Beverly Crusher in TNG : " The Naked Now " and " Remember Me ".

Future combadges [ ]

There have been two possible future combadges seen in Star Trek .

The future combadge most commonly seen throughout the Star Trek franchise was a delta shield outline backed by two vertical gold quadrangles, depicted in several possible futures as early as 2390 . This combadge has been seen in TNG : " All Good Things... ", DS9 : " The Visitor ", VOY : " Timeless ", and VOY : " Endgame ". This advanced combadge finally appeared in the prime timeline in 2378 during the finale of Star Trek: Voyager , when it was brought back in time by a future version of Kathryn Janeway from the year 2404 . That future combadge was left behind in 2378 alongside other anachronistic future technology that aided in Voyager 's early return to Earth fourteen years early. ( VOY : " Endgame ") Years later, a similar looking combadge with streamlined upgrades and silver coloring appeared in Star Trek: Picard , as Starfleet 's standard issue combadge during the 2390s .

Also seen in Voyager was a 29th century combadge. This is a "winged" arrowhead, similar in style to the insignia found on a 24th century starship hull. It has been seen in the episodes VOY : " Future's End ", " Future's End, Part II ", and " Relativity ", used by Starfleet officers aboard the timeship the USS Relativity .

In TNG : " Future Imperfect ", a different future combadge was shown in a holodeck simulation, but it was later revealed to be a part of a fake portrayal of the future used to deceive William Riker . It was comprised of the delta shield and three rectangular strips behind it signifying rank , doing away with rank pips. In TNG : " Parallels " the same combadge was seen again alongside rank pips in an alternate quantum reality , but not from the future. The backing strips were colored either gold, silver, or black depending on the rank of the wearer; admiralty had a starred gold delta with silver backing strips.

External link [ ]

• Combadge at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

• Cell Phones & Accessories
• Accessories
• Chargers & Power Adapters
• Portable Power Banks

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Star Trek Next Generation Bluetooth Communicator Badge and Wireless Charger with Built in Powerbank for Wired and Wireless Charging with Starfleet Illuminated Logo

About this item.

• STAR TREK COLLECTIBLES & DAD GIFTS: Now with Bluetooth V5 for longer playback time and a new Silver Metal Delta plating to protect the paint against wear and tear. The latest Star Trek TNG ComBadge is much more than a prop scaled replica; its everyday useful features make it the coolest Star Trek collectible in the Delta Quadrant. As seen in Nerdist & Mashable reviews; the Star Trek ComBadge Chirps when you receive phone calls and when you use voice commands. The perfect high tech trek gift!
• GREAT GIFT FOR STAR TREK FANS | This Star Trek Wireless Charger is much more than just a convenient way to charge your phone or tablet. With an Illuminated Starfleet logo that looks beautiful when the device is charging this wireless charger is a great gift for Sci-Fi fans looking for a unique Star Trek collectible.
• Presenting the Star Trek the Next Generation Bluetooth Communicator Badge! Since its debut in 1987 the TNG Communicator Badge has been a sought-after future tech we all wish we had. Now available, a few centuries early, connect to your phone, tablet or computer to enjoy hands and ear. The Star Trek TNG ComBadge features an accurate on-screen matte gold with black outline & silver delta plate. High quality ABS & Zinc materials.
• EXTRA FEATURES FOR CHARGER| Charge 3 devices at once! Charge one device wirelessly and another device via USB. The Illuminated Star Fleet logo lights up with a backlit LED when charging or when you press the check battery button to let you know when your device is being energized! Turn off the LED while charging, if desired, by holding down the side button until the LED is OFF.
• 💯LICENSED PRODUCTS: All Fametek products are officially licensed, hold incredible quality, and make amazing memorabilia for the men who have everything! Buy today; it is entirely risk-free! Check out all our FAMETEK Licensed products on Amazon

• 🎁 STAR TREK COLLECTIBLES & DAD GIFTS: Now with Bluetooth V5 for longer playback time and a new Silver Metal Alpha plating to protect the paint against wear and tear. The latest Star Trek TNG ComBadge is much more than a prop scaled replica; its everyday useful features make it the coolest Star Trek collectible in the Alpha Quadrant. As seen in Nerdist & Mashable reviews; the Star Trek ComBadge Chirps when you receive phone calls and when you use voice commands. The perfect high tech trek gift!
• 👨🚀 THE COLLECTIBLE THAT DOES IT ALL: The Star Trek Communicator connects to all phones or tablets that have Bluetooth (any modern phone) with Bluetooth version 5 for longer range and extended payback time. It features a built-in Microphone and Speaker for phone calls and music playback. Strong magnet backplate so no holes in your clothes! | 2 hours constant music or phone usage / 48 hours Cos-play “Chirp” mode.
• 🎶 HIGH QUALITY SOUND | Plays the classic Star Trek TNG ComBadge chirp sound effect when you press it for Cosplay, when you receive phone calls or enable Siri, Google, Cortana or Alexa! With 30 to 300 foot Bluetooth "Badge to phone" range you can keep your phone in your pocket while you make phone calls, listen to music or use voice your voice assistant.
• 📱 Presenting the Star Trek the Next Generation Bluetooth Communicator Badge! Since its debut in 1987 the TNG Communicator Badge has been a sought-after future tech we all wish we had. Now available, a few centuries early, connect to your phone, tablet or computer to enjoy hands and ear. The Star Trek TNG ComBadge features an accurate on-screen matte gold with black outline & silver delta plate. High quality ABS & Zinc materials.

• GREAT GIFT FOR STAR TREK FANS | This Star Trek Wireless Charger is much more than just a convenient way to charge your phone or tablet. With an Illuminated Starfleet logo that looks beautiful when the device is charging this wireless charger is a great gift for Sci-Fi fans looking for a unique Star Trek collectible. You can even Turn OFF the top LED by holding down the power button while charging! Press once to turn back on and double press to power down!
• THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING | The Star Trek Wireless Charger with Backup Battery Pack and Illuminated Emblem allows you to charge your phone wirelessly at 10W, 2/A . You can also charge your phone or tablet via USB-A or Type-C at 3A for faster charging while on the go! It’s built-in Backup Battery allows for true portability, meaning you can charge wirelessly (or wired) without being plugged into a power source. The rechargeable Lithium-ion Battery is recharged via the supplied Micro USB
• PHONE AND ANDROID COMPATIBLE | Don’t worry anymore when you misplace your charging cable! With technology you are able to wirelessly charge any phone or tablet that has that wireless charging capability as well as iPhones 8 and up! Charge any device via your USB cable at the same time as your wireless charge!
• EXTRA FEATURES | Charge 3 devices at once! Charge one device wirelessly and the other devices via USB-A and Type-C. The Illuminated Emblem lights up with a backlit LED when charging or when you press the check battery button to let you know when your device is being energized! Turn off the LED while charging, if desired, by holding down the side button until the LED is OFF.
• Compatible with iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 11 Pro & Max, iPhone 12 Pro & Max, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max ,iPhone XR ,iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy S23, S22, S20,S10, S9, S9 Plus, Note 20, Note 10, Note 9, Note 8, Galaxy S8, S8 Plus, Razer RAZER Phone 2 Samsung Galaxy S10 / S9 / S9 plus / S8 / S8 plus / S7 / S7 edge / S6 edge plus / Note9 / 8 / 5 ; 7.5W FAST charge is compatible with iPhone Xs / iPhoneXR / iPhoneXS Max / iPhoneX / iPhone8 / iPhone8 Plus

What do customers buy after viewing this item?

Product information

Looking for specific info, product description.

Introducing the Star Trek the Next Generation Bluetooth Communicator Badge! Now with a more accurate on-screen gold color, silver plated delta and Bluetooth V5 that increases range and playback time! Since its debut in 1987 the TNG Communicator Badge has been a sought-after future tech we all wish we had. Now available, a few centuries early, connect to your phone, tablet or computer to enjoy hands and ear. Features: Star Trek TNG Bluetooth ComBadge Officially-licensed Star Trek: The Next Generation merchandise On-screen matte gold / silver finish Zinc plated Delta Symbol Plays classic communicator chirp sound effect when you press it Connects to your phone or device via Bluetooth Built-in microphone for hands-free calling with noise cancellation One button answers/ends calls, plays/pauses audio, or accesses Alexa, Siri, Google Now, or Cortana Listen to texts or emails hands and ears free Play/pause functionality for music or audio books etc. With Star Trek Wireless charging pad with backup battery & Illuminated Logo! Unclutter your space and simplify charging with the Star Trek Wireless Charging Pad. FameTek’s design for an efficient and high-speed charging at 2A for wired connections or standard.

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

No customer reviews

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

• The Original Series
• The Animated Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds
• Lower Decks
• Star Trek Movies
• TrekCore on Twitter
• TrekCore on Facebook

Or, they try to. And okay, it turns out the gratuitous beaming was for good reason, story-wise, because in the instant that the pair attempt to beam back to the bridge, Discovery plunges through time, and only their mid-transport timing protects them from the ship’s time-hopping. Everyone else aboard Discovery is experiencing “regular” time travel, as it were, unaware of their movement and remaining “of the time” they jump to.

Everyone, that is, except for Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp), who thanks to his tardigrade DNA infusion all the way back in Season 1, the scientist is bouncing through time like the rest of the crew — but he’s mentally aware of the jumping remains “himself” like Burnham and Rayner.

Like “Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad,” this is another episode about time shenanigans centering on Stamets and Burnham (and now also Rayner), but it doesn’t feel like a repeat of the same story so much as a deliberate permutation on a theme. Discovery , the show, is revisiting its past just the same way Burnham revisits her past self here; in both cases, the future versions have grown and changed in ways their past selves could never have imagined.

Who could have guessed, watching the series’ seventh episode, that original showrunner and creator Bryan Fuller would leave after just one season and a majority of the show would end up taking place in 32nd century? Not me, that’s for sure.

(As a side note, I was hoping one of the pasts they visited would be the “Magic” situation, just because come on, who doesn’t want to see what a time loop within a time loop looks like?)

It takes them all a few time jumps to figure out what’s going on, and a few more after that for all three of them to rendezvous. The second jump takes them back to Discovery mid-construction, sitting in dry dock at the San Francisco Fleet Yards, the Golden Gate Bridge framed nicely in a missing bulkhead section. (Both Star Trek and The Room have one rule: If you’re in San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge must be visible at all times!)

Next jump is to the Season 2-ending battle with Control, and finally with three jumps there’s enough of a pattern visible for Rayner to identify what’s going on and what, exactly, is causing it. First, each time they jump Burnham and Rayner always return to the ready room – the place where they beamed themselves out of time — and second, that little mechanical spider that’s been crawling around the ship since it first detached itself from Adira’s uniform is a Krenim chronophage (yes, those Krenim ) left over from more lawless times  when paralyzing a ship by having it randomly cycle through time was a thing that apparently people did.

After a few more jumps, including one where a past version of Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) happens to save Rayner’s hide, he and Burnham land on an empty, dusty Discovery , abandoned by everyone except the one person who can’t leave: Zora (Annabelle Wallace). Listening to “Que Sera, Sera” and convinced that she’s dreaming, Zora explains that in this future, Discovery remained stuck in its time paralysis long enough for the Breen to get their hands on the Progenitor’s technology.

It’s a bleak future to visit, but it’s also very fortuitous that they did, because Zora is able to quickly do the math necessary for Stamets — who they finally meet up with in the next time jump –to figure out how to get them out of this. Just build a chroniton stabilizer and squish the bug with it, easy peasy!

And all Burnham has to do is get a component for it from her quarters without being seen. Not so easy as it turns out, as she runs into Book (David Ajala) who is very much in love with Burnham during this time period — and keen to show it. And she, as we all probably suspected, is still very much in love with him and gives herself a brief moment to indulge in that fact.

In their final final jump — this time to early in Lorca’s captaincy — Burnham runs into her much angrier and more jaded younger self; a Michael Burnham who is so barely out of prison that she still doesn’t even have a combadge and who flat-out does not believe this woman in a strange red uniform who claims to be her. Why? Because there’s no way anyone would ever make Michael Burnham a captain .

After a fight in a thankfully empty corridor, our Burnham ends up victorious and heads to the bridge… where she needs to convince everyone that they should listen to her and do something you never really want to do with a warp engine going at maximum speed: intentionally break the warp bubble and slam yourself back into the effects of general relativity.

Flashbacks are a tried and true way for shows to bring back departed characters, so the choice to include Airiam (Hanna Spear) on the bridge makes sense and is nice for audience members who miss her. What doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to me is how her presence is used (which is a bit of an unfortunate parallel to her death for me – or at least the impact it was supposed to have).

Burnham knows she needs to convince the crew that she really is herself and that she really is from the future, but instead of, I don’t know, showing them her combadge which is full of 32nd century bells and whistles and exotic alloys that haven’t been invented yet she… convinces Airiam that they know each other because Burnham knows Airiam would sacrifice her life to save the ship? Then someone blurts out a “No she wouldn’t!” like that’s not the first thing any appropriately heroic Starfleet officer would do?

This scene is the one fumble in an otherwise great episode. Two minutes after this weird “I know you and here’s a generic hypothetical that applies to most people in Starfleet to prove it,” Airiam sees Burnham’s fancy holographic combadge and openly gawks at it. See, easily convinced! That would have worked and it wouldn’t have required the show to reexamine the hollowness of Airiam’s death without correcting its mistake.

The fact that Burnham doesn’t have anything better or more personal to say to or about Airiam except “You died, sorry that happened,” underscores just how undeveloped she was as a character. Why bring that up again? But hey, Burnham’s tactic works, and I suppose that’s what really matters here.

Meanwhile, past-Burnham and her era’s Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon) show up in engineering, phasers drawn, to try and stop Stamets and this weird guy they’ve never seen before from doing whatever it is that they’re trying to do to the ship. Rayner, solidifying himself as a solid gold example of a favorite character trope of mine — Grumpy Guy who’s a Secret Softie — defuses the situation by being brave as hell (he walks right into Burnham’s drawn phaser) but also emotionally astute.

He doesn’t just tell Burnham personal facts he couldn’t have known if he were really a stranger, he tells her with conviction that she really does deserve to be here on Discovery…  something that sinks to the core of who she is and what she’s battling in this moment in time.

The plan succeeds: the time bug is proverbially squished, and Discovery and her crew are all right back where they belong, minus the six hours they lost during all the jumping. Unfortunately, those six hours were long enough for Moll and L’ak to catch up with them and leave again. Did they find anything, or did they get sick of looking at seemingly empty space and leave? We don’t know yet, so tune in next week.

Which brings us to the beginning of “Face the Strange” — see, I can jump through time too! — when we see Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis) acquiring the bug in the first place. While the Progenitors’ technology is enormous in its power and implications and Moll and L’ak are willing to do just about anything to find it, their motivations seem strictly personal.

Sure, if the way Moll takes revenge on the guy who sells her the chronophage is any indication, they’ll get some personal satisfaction out of seeing the Federation burn, but more than anything they’re in it for their freedom. Freedom from someone or something, certainly – though who or what we still don’t know – but, given the themes in “Face the Strange”, I’d guess freedom from their pasts might be the real goal.

OBSERVATION LOUNGE

• “Face the Strange” is a reference to the David Bowie classic “Changes.”
• This episode is a spiritual sequel to Star Trek: Voyager’s “Shattered,” a similar final-season tale which saw Chakotay bouncing through different eras of Voyager adventures.
• Discovery’s time jumps include visits to the ship’s transit through the Red Angel wormhole (leading to the ship’s crash-landing in “Far From Home” ), a time when the starship was under construction in the San Francisco Fleet Yards, the battle with Control ( “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2” ), Stardate 865422.4 (during Osyyra’s takover in “There Is A Tide…” ), an unknown date nearly 30 years into the future, a period in early Season 2 (shortly after Jett Reno’s rescue in “Brother” ), a point ahead of the Season 4 premiere after Burnham was promoted to captai), and the encounter with past-Burnham which takes place just ahead of “The Butcher’s Knife Cares Not for the Lamb’s Cry” (denoted by the reference to a still-alive Ellen Landry ).

• Retrofit into corridor after Season 2’s set updates, the passage to the left-rear of Discovery’s command chair returns to its Season 1 “blue blinkies” configuration.
• Captain Pike’s broken wood-and-glass conference table returns to the ready room set during the first time jump, a good touch from the set decoration department.
• We’ve seen the San Francisco bay many times in Star Trek history… so just where in the heck was Discovery’s dry dock located?
• A Krenim chronophage — or “time bug” — snared Discovery in a time bubble, from the species behind Star Trek: Voyager’s “Year of Hell.”
• Season 3-era Reno’s drink of choice is a Vesper martini, served ice cold — and she tells Rayner that he can buy her a drink “at Red’s,” the onboard bar and lounge set added to Discovery during its 32nd century upgrades (though not introduced until Season 4).
• While the ready room set was not built for Discovery until Season 2, the second time jump confirms the room existed as part of the ship’s original construction… but in a continuity goof, the 32nd century version of the Starfleet emblem remains on the Discovery ready room floor in each different time period, instead of the old version seen in Seasons 1 and 2.

• Burnham gives a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nostalgic smile when Stamets hands her a 23rd century Starfleet communicator, retired after the crew upgraded to 32nd tricombadges in Season 3’s “Scavengers.”
• Saurian officer Linus (David Benjamin Tomlinson) appears in the Season 1 time period, indicating he boarded Discovery long before his first actual appearance in Season 2’s “Brothers.”
• Former Discovery cast members Hannah Cheesman and Ronnie Rowe, Jr. return as Airiam and Bryce, Julianne Grossman returns as the original voice of Discovery’s computer. (While Cheesman portrayed Airiam in Season 2, the role was actually portrayed by Sara Mitich in Discovery’s first season.)
• I forgot just how much Airiam moves like C-3PO. Might have toned down that arm placement there in that wide shot if it were me, yikes.
• Discovery’s viewscreen may be an open window to space, but it features blast doors which can be closed as necessary.
• The future time period Burnham and Rayner visit is reminiscent of the alternate future setting in “Calypso,” where Zora and Discovery sat abandoned for nearly 1000 years. Zora even believes she’s having “another dream” when the officers arrive, perhaps hinting that the events of “Calypso” may have been one of Zora’s dreams — as the “Zora-point-of-view” shots mirror moments from that  Short Trek  tale.

• This episode marks the first time we’ve seen Discovery’s original hull and nacelle configuration since its big 32nd century upgrade in “Scavengers.”
• Even living “outside of time,” it’s curious that Stamets can jump back to a time period before his tardigrade DNA injection occurred.
• Stamets’ tactics for clearing engineering get less and less sophisticated as the episode proceeds — going from making up specific problems with the spore drive containment field to just shouting “I’m grumpy!” It works.
• “Hey Paul, let’s show ‘em how a couple of old dogs still know the best tricks!” Whoever gave Rayner a used copy of a dictionary of idioms from 1962, I thank you for your service.
• Rayner’s hand gets the “Timescape” treatment, aging uncomfortably fast while he squashes the time bug — though thankfully avoiding those awful long fingernails.
• Rayner surmises that Burnham must be the first person in Starfleet to captain a ship she first boarded as a prisoner. He’s probably right, but if we allow for a few technicalities I’d put Seven of Nine in that rare club as well: she’s imprisoned very quickly after boarding Voyager , and while she doesn’t hold a Starfleet rank at the time, she does command that vessel for over a month during the events of “One”.

Even with all the time jumping and the temporal-relativity-heavy plot, “Face the Strange” is a straightforward hour of television that confidently knows exactly what it wants to do – both in terms of the story and the characters. There are almost no extraneous moments, but the episode doesn’t feel rushed or overly full. The pacing is great: quick enough that we get to jump through a lot of different time periods, but relaxed enough that there’s room for smaller moments of comedy and character work.

The pacing and placement of the more emotional moments is especially effective, with characters examining and confronting their past and present selves in a way that’s emotionally resonant but also truly moves the story forward both at the episode and season levels.

A frequent frustration I have with Discovery is that the emotional beats and plot beats feel like they’re competing with each other for the same space, but with “Face the Strange” it feels like the show has finally figured out a way to have them work together and compliment one another.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 returns with “Mirrors” on Thursday, April 25.

• DSC Season 5
• Face the Strange
• Star Trek: Discovery

Related Stories

Interview — sonequa martin-green on burnham’s “face the strange” encounter, star trek: discovery review — “jinaal”, new star trek: discovery photos — “jinaal”, search news archives, new & upcoming releases, featured stories, lost-for-decades original star trek uss enterprise model returned to roddenberry family, star trek: lower decks cancelled; strange new worlds renewed for season 4, our star trek: discovery season 5 spoiler-free review.

TrekCore.com is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with Paramount, CBS Studios, or the Star Trek franchise. All Star Trek images, trademarks and logos are owned by CBS Studios Inc. and/or Paramount. All original TrekCore.com content and the WeeklyTrek podcast (c) 2024 Trapezoid Media, LLC. · Terms & Conditions

.

.

, .