10 Star Trek Episodes That Completely Ignored Convention

by Sean Ferrick

1. If Memory Serves

Star Trek Pike
CBS

If Memory Serves is a second-season episode of Star Trek: Discovery, which begins with a 'previously on Star Trek' montage. Now, while there had been plenty of 'Previously ons' in Star Trek's history, they hadn't shown two different incarnations of the same character, from two different shows before.

What this means is that, for the first time on television, Star Trek showed two different established main actors playing the same role, albeit more than fifty years apart. Jeffrey Hunter appears, via archive footage, as Captain Pike. Anson Mount then plays Pike in the episode proper. The Cage and Star Trek: Discovery are tonally about as far apart from each other as night and day, but this inclusion spoke to the audience, reminding them that it is all part of the same Star Trek.

Using archive footage has been done in Star Trek before to great effect, particularly in Trials And Tribble-ations, but If Memory Serves manages to tool the footage in a way that brings the audience in on the joke while honouring the differences as well. The only thing missing from the episode was a photo of Bruce Greenwood or Sean Kenney, and the set would be complete.

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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"