Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 4, Episode 2 - "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee"

Summary

• Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 2 pays humorous homage to classic moments from Star Trek: The Next Generation, including a recreation of Crusher and Troi's aerobics scene from "The Price."
• The recreation of the TNG scene in Lower Decks highlights the outdated portrayal of female characters in TNG, where they were often reduced to discussing men while working out.
• The episode also references the TNG episode "Qpid" with a Robin Hood holodeck program, showcasing the show's love for the Star Trek franchise and its devotion to including obscure references in every episode.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 2 references two classic moments from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Lower Decks season 4's premiere kicked off with a loving tribute to Star Trek: Voyager, incorporating many of Voyager's craziest villains and concepts across the USS Voyager and the USS Cerritos. Lower Decks season 4, episode 2, "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee," contains two particularly hilarious references to iconic (and somewhat notorious) moments of TNG.

In the first scene of Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4, episode 2, Commander Jack Ransom (Jerry O'Connell) and Lieutenant Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) are doing aerobics together in the gym of the USS Cerritos. This scene recreates the classic moment from the TNG episode "The Price" where Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) do aerobics together and discuss Troi's new romantic interest. In a later scene in "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee," Dr. T'Ana (Gillian Vigman) and Shaxs make use of a Robin Hood holodeck program, directly referencing the TNG episode "Qpid."

Crusher & Troi’s TNG Yoga Returns In Star Trek: Lower Decks

The scene with Dr. Crusher and Counselor Troi from TNG's "The Price" has become somewhat infamous in part because of their ridiculous leotards, but also because it caters so obviously to the male gaze. Because of this, the scene underscores an element of TNG that did not age well - the female characters often got short-changed when it came to storylines. In an interview with Variety from April 2023, Gates McFadden references this specific scene when talking about TNG. She says: "I felt that we were lacking in of a very strong female presence. Our only scenes, usually we would be, you know, working out and talking about men somehow." Hilariously, Lower Decks recreates the TNG scene almost beat for beat, as Twitter @gaghyogi49 points out below:

Lower Decks pokes fun at the Dr. Crusher and Troi moment by having two of the most seemingly masculine characters performing stretches in the silly-looking leotards. By having Ransom and Shaxs be the ones to recreate this scene, Lower Decks perfectly calls out the more problematic elements of the TNG moment.

TNG’s Robin Hood Is Also In Lower Decks’ Holodeck

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Qpid," the omnipotent being Q (John de Lancie) attempts to help Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) with his romantic relationship with Vash (Jennifer Hetrick). Q transports Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D to a medieval English setting where they take on the appearance of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Picard fills the role of Robin Hood and is tasked with rescuing Vash's Maid Marian from Q's Sheriff of Nottingham.

Whether or not the holodeck program mentioned in "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee" is a recreation of Picard's adventure or not, the scene is certainly a reference to "Qpid." However, unlike TNG, whatever T'Ana and Shaxs are getting up to in the holodeck seems to be better left to the imagination. From the number of often-obscure references in every episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, it's clear the creative team behind the show loves the Star Trek franchise just as much as the most devoted fans.

Star Trek: Lower Decks season 4 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.