10 Times Star Trek Broke The Fourth Wall

Star Trek has been around long enough to be meme-able to a fault, and one of the most enduring memes is that of ‘The Red Shirt’. Jokingly applied to the legions of unnamed crewmen from security and engineering sent on away missions with their plot armoured officers, the red-shirted human shields serve as a way to communicate the peril of the situation without damaging anyone whose name is in the opening credits.

Understandable then is the reaction of Ensign Chekhov in Star Trek Into Darkness when asked to don one. Following an assault on Starfleet Headquarters by the enigmatic John Harrison, Captain Kirk and his crew are tasked with covertly following Harrison to the Klingon homeworld and executing him without trial.

The ethics of such a mission understandably ruffle the feathers of several of Kirk’s officers and this, alongside the loading of unscannable and experimental torpedoes, is enough to warrant Chief Engineer Scott’s resignation. Needing a new officer in engineering, Kirk decides to promote Chekhov to the role, and his first duty is to put on a red shirt.

In a subtle nod to fans in the know, actor Anton Yelchin pulls a face somewhere between distinct shock and mild terror, as apparently everyone in-Universe knows what the red shirt entails as well. Although all characters manage to make it through the events of the film, despite Kirk’s own brief fatality, this is one fourth-wall smashing moment of levity amongst a film with some pretty hefty moral baggage.