Even non-Star Trek fans are aware that 2017’s Black Mirror episode “USS Callister” was very clearly an homage to Star Trek: The Original Series. And, in Season 7’s new episode, “USS Callister: Into Infinity,” there are plenty of additional shout-outs to the classic Star Trek, especially when the episode gets into its final act.
But, among all the somewhat obvious Star Trek Easter eggs — like the transporter, the music cues, the way the ship looks, et al. — there’s also one very sneaky, but much more on-the-nose Trek Easter egg tucked into the background. And this Easter egg isn’t about The Original Series, but instead, a direct connection to the 1990s heyday of The Next Generation.
Spoilers ahead.
After Nanette (Cristin Miliot) learns from Walton (Jimmi Simpson) that a digital clone of Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) is literally running the entire virtual reality game, she finds herself in a recreation of Daly’s garage, back when Walton first recruited him. This garage is decked out with all kinds of Space Fleet memorabilia, including a comic book-esque standee of “Captain Storm,” who we’re told is the heroic leader of many of the Space Fleet adventures. Also of note, the knife that plays a crucial role is certainly meant to evoke a d'k tahg, while one of the sidearms is seemingly styled to look like Stun Guns from Space: 1999.
But the one Easter egg that will matter more to hardcore Star Trek fans is an actual Star Trek spacecraft, tucked away on Daly’s shelves. Because casually just sitting there, among faux-VHS Space Fleet tapes, is a 1992 Star Trek: The Next Generation Shuttlecraft Goddard toy.
Some may not remember this toy, but if you were, say, 11 years old when this toy was released by Playmates, you totally remember it. After Playmates got the license to create Next Generation action figures, the first vehicle for those action figures was the Shuttlecraft Goddard. This ship had lights and sound and was able to seat several of your TNG action figures at the same time. It was named for the real-life rocket scientist, Robert H. Goddard, and in the 1992 TNG episode “Relics,” this is the shuttle that Geordi and the crew gave Scotty after he reappeared in the 24th century after having spent several decades inside of a transporter.
This last detail is perhaps the ultimate Easter egg because, in a sense, this Black Mirror episode deals with a similar dilemma that Scotty had in “Relics”: how to use technology to preserve his soul and essence and store all of that digitally.
So, even when Black Mirror is satirizing Star Trek with its whole USS Callister world, there’s still a little bit of real Star Trek right there, with a deep-cut reference that actually makes total sense.
