This may not be very esoteric to some, but one of my personal favorites is that the transporter operator in the TNG episode Second Chances is Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American astronaut in space.

And then this fantastic behind the scenes photo during the shooting of that episode, where she is visited by Nichelle Nichols. Mae credits Nichols’ Uhura as the inspiration for becoming an astronaut and I imagine it had to be dizzying to get to be on Star Trek and actually meet her hero in the flesh.

But even if you already knew all that, another interesting piece of information is that this was the first and only time Jemison acted. She appeared as herself in several different documentaries over the years (including one alongside William Shatner), but she never acted again… until 2023. 30 years later, she got a second acting credit as the voice of an out-of-control phone app in Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

Mae Jemison has become one of MY inspirations in life.

That the Christopher Pike character from The Original Series was played by Jeffrey Hunter

His portrayal in this role appeared in the first episode to be filmed in the 1965 pilot episode of the series. This episode was rejected at first and a new first episode was reshot and recast with William Shatner.

The Christopher Pike character was reimagined by reusing the footage of the original pilot episode in the later episodes of ‘The Menagerie’ in 1966. The Christopher Pike character in the beep chair from these episodes was played by a different actor.

In later years, the Christopher Pike character was often referenced in later movies and as a main character in the modern series ‘Discovery’ and ‘Strange New Worlds’ where he is played by Anson Mount.

The original actor Jeffrey Hunter would never live to see any of this fame or notoriety of his original character because he tragically died in 1969 from a movie stunt accident when he was 42 years of age, four years after he had appeared as the original Christopher Pike. He never lived to see the fame and popularity of the Star Trek franchise or the character that he had originally played.

It’s one of the saddest things I ever discovered about the actors and people that were part of the whole Star Trek franchise.

For me it’s that the current king of Turkey Jordan, Abdullah II was an uncredited extra in Voyager.

Nurse Chapel = Number One = ship’s computer = Lwaxana = Gene’s wife = Majel Barrett = First Lady of Star Trek

Maybe it’s that the first interracial kiss on TV between Uhura and Kirk was only “allowed” to air because William Shatner purposefully went cross-eyed directly at the camera when filming the ‘alternate takes’. He knew that if there was a viable alternative, then the studio would use it.

He simply made sure there wasn’t one.

Nana Visitor was pregnant with Alexander Siddig’s baby during the filming of DS9, that was the reason for Kira being pregnant with Kirayoshi

Gene Roddenberry, Spock, Scotty and McCoy, were all WW2 veterans, as were other regulars.

ITT: people who think the viggo story is esoteric and those who do not. Both are responding accordingly. Fascinating

David Gerrold did not write the “no tribble at all” line and hated it. He also thought Shatner was a dick, which is why tribbles keep hitting him in the head in the scene where he opens the quadrotricale bin- Gerrold was up above throwing them at him.

I highly recommend his book on the making of The Trouble With Tribbles. Aside from being of interest to Star Trek fans, it is the best book on the TV industry ever written. It still applies today.

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Trouble_with_Tribbles_(reference_book)

Alexander Siddig, Doctor Julian Bashir is the great-grandson of…

Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal (Arabic: محمد أحمد بن عبد الله بن فحل; 12 August 1843 – 21 June 1885) was a Sudanese religious and political leader. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi and led a war against Egyptian rule in Sudan, which culminated in a remarkable victory over them in the Siege of Khartoum. He created a vast Islamic state extending from the Red Sea to Central Africa and founded a movement that remained influential in Sudan a century later.

“My great-great-grandfather fought in World War I.”

“Cool, mine was a messianic figure who freaked out the British so much that they destroyed his tomb and threw his bones into the Nile.”

The Picard Maneuver and the Riker Maneuver.

Pull down your shirt and swing your leg over the chair.

James Doohan was missing the tip of one/some fingers on one hand, so he always stood off centre from camera so he could hide his hand behind his body.

This one is pretty well known: Ashley Judd’s first on-screen kiss was with Wil Wheaton in the TNG episode “The Game.” Ensign Lefler was also briefly in “Darmok.”

How do you have an infrared kiss what the fuck