10 Most Meta Star Trek Moments

7. Musk Motivation

Elon Musk
Wikipedia

Star Trek: Discovery has made something of a mission statement of staying current in the ideas and messages that it depicts. The inclusion of Adira in the third season spoke to the rising acceptance and integration of non-binary people in society, while the relationship and family unit that they share with Stamets and Culber represents the changing views on family in the world.

Back in the first season, Elon Musk was referred to in dialogue, which is unusual for Star Trek. In context, Captain Lorca asks Stamets if he would like to be remembered in the same breath as the Wright Brothers, Musk or Zefram Cochrane, or if he would like to go down in history as a failed scientist.

This episode was released in 2017. By this time, SpaceX was nearing completion of the first two of their satellites that would sit in a low Earth Orbit, offering satellite internet to the people below. The SpaceX launch would soon follow, where a Tesla was flown up into space. Musk has been one of the leading voices in the renewed interest of space flight and exploration, with a particular emphasis on reaching Mars. Including his name in this episode was unusually meta for Star Trek.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"