As we reported over the summer, there are a lot of friends, family, and general Trek references throughout Star Trek (2009). With the release of Star Trek on DVD and Blu-ray we thought we’d try and hunt down all the cameo’s and visual references to other work by J.J. Abrams and other Star Trek series, along with a little droid friend from another franchise…
Click the images for the full high resolution Blu-ray screen capture of the scenes from "Star Trek"
Star Wars in Star Trek?
Keeping up the tradition of ILM sneaking Star Wars items into the background of Trek (First Contact has the Millenium Falcon in the Borg battle), this time around they snuck R2-D2 into the debris around Vulcan. R2-D2 can be seen tumbling past the left portion of the viewscreen for a split second around 47:39.
Trek winks and nods
Of course, the entire film itself is a nod to classic Trek, but there are a few more subtle props and moments that we find particularly interesting.
Saurian Brandy in the Iowa bar fight
1701-D on Kirk’s survival pack
Caged Tribble in Scotty’s office
Admiral Komack during Kirk’s hearing
Delta shield design in the rings (on its side, in the negative space)
NOTE: Although some may think this a ‘stretch’, in the commentary track of the DVD & Blu-ray, JJ Abrams actually points this Easter Egg out
The Vulcan Lander from First Contact and Romulan Bird of Prey from Enterprise in the belly of the Narada
Cloverfield
And being that this was a JJ Abrams production, there were a couple of winks to his 2008 viral promoted movie Cloverfield.
Slusho in the bar
Tagruato Corporation in the San Francisco skyline
Friends and Family
And the Star Trek movie is chock full of little cameos from friends and family of the current (and past) of Star Trek.
J.J Abram’s father and father-in-law get mixed up in the bar brawl
Joe Quinto (Zach’s older brother) gets to pick on his younger brother as a Romulan
Akiva Goldsman (screenwriter on many projects with J.J. Abrams) as a Vulcan council member
Neville Paige (head creature designer for Star Trek 2009) as a Romulan
Amanda Foreman (Felicity and Alias) as bridge officer Hannity
Rachel Nichols (Alias and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) as Gaila
Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis) as the barracks officer in the hanger
Tyler Perry as Admiral Richard Barnett
Randy Pausch on the Kelvin bridge
A professor of computer science and human-computer interaction at Carnegie Mellon Unviersity, author of The Last Lecture, and life long fan of Star Trek who was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, it was a dream of his to be in a Trek production.
Chris Doohan (son of James "Scotty" Doohan) in the transporter room
James Cawley (Capt. Kirk and founder of Star Trek: New Voyages/Phase II fan films) on the bridge
Jeff Quinn (Spock in early New Voyages epsiodes) in a flashback of the Jellyfish design team
that’s fantastic, I love the fact that R2 is in there and the 1701-D is referenced :) I dont quite understand the delta pattern?
No Westley? I seem to recall hearing his voice…
Awesome!
First
#2:
It was Wesley’s voice, but not his face. Wil Wheton dubbed over the original line in ADR. He never actually appeared on screen though.
I spotted R2-D2, the Tribble, the Saurian Brandy and Randy Pausch while watching it on Blu-Ray, but never really took notice of the other eggs. Very interesting!
At least it gives me a reason to watch it a lot more. ;)
The delta shield in Saturn’s rings is a bit of a stretch.
Wish I could have had an extra part in the movie!
Here’s one I thought was really neat and forgotten!:
In the Jellyfish ship, the shape of the triangular chair against the round silhouette of the windshield makes a shape that looks distinctly like the Vulcan Science Academy symbol.
enterprise crewman actor search:
on the bridge of the E. sitting in the background, is a blonde shorthaired female officer (blue shirt). her screentime is less than a second. can anyone tell me the name? i don´t think she´s listed in the credits…
I bought my Target-exclusive DVD yesterday and I couldn’t be happier! I’m saving my first home viewing for a time when I can really savor it.
The Starship Enterprise it came with never looked better!
6. ety3 – November 18, 2009
Abrams points out the delta shape in the commentary.
When is the price going below $10?
good to have all those together in one article, thanks…fascinating
Just watched the BD features, it shows the plaque stating Enterprise Starship Class, San Fran ship yards…..didn’t it come from iowa? Or was it sorta built there then moved to the orbital yard?
I KNEW that was Jeff Quinn :o)
Nice to see it confirmed.
awesome! I am glad to see that you guys found more than just the R2 one..
There are dozens of other homages to TOS and TNG trek, and evenn later versions of Trek. Months ago there was a detailed thread about these at Trek Today. It makes for interesting reading.
When Kirk is ill in sick bay you can hear McCoy call for Nurse Chapel
R2-D2 in Star Trek does not set well with me…sorry. :)
The delta shield pattern seems just a little bit far-fetched.
Has anyone seen Richard Arnold so far?
The delta shield in the rings’ negative space is a bit of a stretch. I bet you could find that basic shape 20 times in the movie that even JJ didn’t know about.
Otherwise, cool! I watched it 3 times in the theatres and never spotted R2… stupid droid! I spot Gaila nightly in my dreams. Mmmmm.
R2-D2.
What did you expect? This movie was nothing more than Abram’s lame attempt to remake “Star Wars” using Roddenberry’s characters!
He had to stick R2 in there somewhere!
I know where he should have stuck it. The same place he should have stuck the rest of this ill conceived abortion!
The 1701-D bag isn’t an homage to TNG, if you notice during the shuttle boarding scene, the shuttles are all lettered ie 1701/D. It just means he has a survival pack from the D shuttle.
The R2 D2 insertion is great! Reminds me of the sly placement of Miss Piggy on one of the huge V-ger models used for the flyby sequence in TMP. In fact, if my memory serves, Vader may be in there somewhere as well. Fun stuff.
@23 – i don’t agree. I believe that its actually ILM that did that because they exist because of star wars. They like putting in star wars easter eggs in all the movies they work on.
I mangaged to find R2D2 without freeze framing. I also saw the tribble for the first time.
I actually saw James Cawley earlier than i did in the theater. When i saw him the first time he was just standing there. But now i saw him shortly before walking to the back of the bridge where i saw him originally.
Does Jeff Quinn really count? If that screen cap posted above is the best there is, you can’t really see his face. I’m not sure that counts.
Lord Ravenwood
You have the collective permission of the thoughtfully minded and courteous fans on this site to step into the nearness jettison tube. Hit the red button once you’re comfortable. 3 1/2 second later….pwoosh!
(We get it. You’re an unyielding Talifan. If you’re not going to post anything constructive here…might I suggest aintitcool.com. You’ll find the posters there more in synch with your narrow perspective.)
Ok I got like 5 of them. I feel pretty good about myself, I usually never pick up on those.
Why would you hide a delta shield in Saturn’s rings in a movie that is littered with them? That’s like saying “Hey, there’s a bat symbol in the shadows of the Dark Knight!”
Here’s one I haven’t heard anyone else mention: when we are told that the Transporter is now operating, we see the logo for the transporter used in the signage of ST:TMP. It was in the signage sticker book out out in 1980. It was very obvious and cool.
#29 – It might be like the hidden Mickeys at Disneyworld. If it was intentional, then the movie is probably littered with many of them.
BTW- Finally I have seen R2D2. Only five viewings and I spent a good deal of time looking for it last night in the scene. I am relieved to get the time mark. (and I love that the big battle is at the “47” minute mark as well) — BTW, why did they put Winona on shuttle 37 instead of 47?
#14, just because a ship is built in a certain location, that does not mean it will necessarily be registered there. Look at the example of the RMS Titanic. She was built in Belfast, yet had Liverpool emblazoned on her stern. This is because she was registered at the Port of Liverpool.
I surmise that the Enterprise was built in Iowa and registered with the San Francisco Fleet Yards. In which case, showing the Enterprise being built in Iowa is not in fact a breach of any pre-existing ‘canon’, not that you said it was.
You forgot one. Richard Arnold is one of the Romulans working on the Red Matter in the back ground.
I’ve heard about the Millennium Falcon in FC’s big battle scene but still can’t find it. Is there a screen capture available somewhere showing that?
Oh, and Scotty’s tribble must be sterile… or he’s not feeding it.
#34
http://www.eeggs.com/images/items/1465.full.jpg
No lightsaber duel?
I remember back in 2001 that there was a Enterprise Model on one of the Coruscant Background scenes on SW episode 1. However I was never able to get where it was on the movie.
Not sure if it’s an ‘Easter egg’ or not, but some of the names of the shuttles as the cadets are assigned to their ships are “Moore”, and “Gilliam”.
The Delta Shield is a bit of a stretch.
#9 — I thought I saw Diora Baird (minus the green skin) on the bridge. I wonder if we’re thinking about the same blonde crewmember.
I am sure someone already found this one;
Barracks Officer: Vader, USS Hood. (Reference to Darth Vader and the fact that he wore a hood in Star Wars.
Kirk: They didn’t call my name.
heck, i always thought KELVIN was a nod to they Clancy brown Character in LOST.
Here is something interesting I noticed. During the bar fight, one of the cadets is pushed against a table. There is a blonde sitting there TEXTING. Just goes to show that its not a fad. :-P
Lord Ravenwood,
Please go away. You are nothing but an immature troll…and a bad one at that.
#45
Agree!
Isn’t the Enterprise D supposed to be in a shot of one of the Star Wars films?
Dutch world champ boxer Lucia Rijker has a cameo as a Romulan comm officer on the Narada. Most Dangerous Woman In The World – wouldn’t want to cross her! :D
#6 – Lol! The EXACT same words went through my mind when I looked at the photo.
#9
I think that’s Jolene Kay as Lieutenant Adams.
Here is her official site and it looks like she meets your description.
http://www.jolenekay.com/
Also in there is W. Morgan Sheppard as Vulcan Science Council Head Minister when Spock turns them down.
Any other confirmed cameos?