We have already recapped and reviewed “Where Pleasant Fountains Lie” and discussed it on the All Access Star Trek podcast. While the episode was light on the Star Trek nods, there are still a few for our weekly deep dive into all the Easter eggs that caught our eyes. In some cases the references are clear, with others it may just be our Trek interpretations; art is in the eye of the beholder.
Obviously… SPOILERS ahead.
Dragon powered
“Where Pleasant Fountains Lie” revealed that Chief Engineer Billups came from a planet with dragons that resembled the mythological winged creatures of Earth, colonized by a society built around medieval fantasy tropes. While Hysperia is new, creatures resembling dragons have been referenced in multiple Star Trek series including Enterprise, The Original Series, and The Animated Series. Captain Kirk pointed one out in a zoo in the TAS episode “Eye of the Beholder.” TAS also featured a mechanical dragon in the episode “Once Upon a Planet.”
Dragons appear to be a major part of Hysperian culture. Billups referred to having pet dragons, and they used “dragonbreath” and “dragonsblood” as technical terms for the engines of the Hysperian vessel Monaveen. And a close look at the ship’s map reveals a space for a dragon on board the ship.
Evil Echos
AGIMUS the evil computer’s one-track mind was focused on getting plugged into some kind of computer so it could build “a whole fleet of murder drones.” We could see his vision of these drones which closely resembled the Echo Papa 607 drones built by the arms merchants of Minos in the TNG episode “Arsenal of Freedom.”
This style of drone appears to be AGIMUS weapon of choice. On the alien planet where he started a 100-year war, there’s a mural depicting the evil computer with his Echo Papa-style drones.
Data’s head
When debating what to do with AGIMUS after they crash-landed their shuttle, Mariner suggests burying him “like Data’s head.” Like any good nerd, Boimler points out “Actually, Data’s head was in a cave,” referring to the time Commander Data’s severed head was found in a cave beneath the city of San Francisco in the TNG episode “Time’s Arrow.”
Just like Seven
In a last-ditch attempt at manipulation, AGIMUS claimed that he had deleted all his manipulative subroutines and wanted to join Starfleet, saying, “I can be the next Seven of Nine. AGIMUS of One!”
Institutionalized
Instead, AGIMUS was brought to the Daystrom Institute—the Daystrom Institute for Advanced Robotics named for Dr. Richard Daystrom, first introduced in the TOS episode “The Ultimate Computer.” Daystrom has been referenced multiple times on many Trek series, but was most recently seen in the Picard episode “Remembrance.” Set a couple decades before, the Daystrom on Lower Decks (above) appeared roughly the same. In Picard, it’s located in Okinawa, Japan, and right before the crash, Mariner suggested they grab some Okinawa ramen after dropping off AGIMUS. As the evil computer was being filed away you can see the Daystrom logo on a sign for “Self-Aware Megalomaniacal Computer Storage.”
Evil eye
AGIMUS soon found himself arguing with the other evil computers at Daystrom. As each activated to join in on the argument one had a familiar logo: the CBS Eye of the CBS Corporation, now part of ViacomCBS. Lower Decks is produced by CBS Studios for ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access).
BONUS VIDEO: Mike on Combs
This episode brought back Star Trek veteran Jeffrey Combs. In a video released today, showrunner Mike McMahan talked about what it was like working with Combs, and how he was the perfect choice for AGIMUS.
For more, see our exclusive interview with Jeffrey Combs.
What did you see?
Spot any new Trek references we missed on Lower Decks? Have a favorite? Sound off in the comments below.
New episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks premiere on Thursdays on Paramount+ in the U.S. and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada, where it’s also available to stream on Crave. It is available on Amazon Prime Video internationally on Fridays. It will debut in Latin America on Paramount+ in September.
Keep up with all the news and reviews from the new Star Trek Universe on TV at TrekMovie.com.
Funny thing is I’m going to Ren faire right now!!
That scene of Agimus with the flames, drones, and multiple arms is reminiscent of a similar scene of the robot Maximilian at the end of the 1979 Disney movie The Black Hole as well.
I thought the exact, same thing, down to the way the devices popped out of Agimus’ back, just in the same way Maximilian appeared in the final scene in the Black Hole!
Haha, they took the virgin nerd trope and turned it on its head!
Agimus creating a war reminded of using automated bots to create division on social media.
I googled what HAL looked like and yes Agimus’ red eye may count as reference..
Heh! I missed the CBS logo. Well done. :) Dragons, by the way, go all the way back to TOS, with “This Side of Paradise.”
I’m thinking there are a lot of hidden references in many of the logos on the “evil sentient computers”…
The logo on the computer one row up and three columns to the right of Agimus looks like it has a subtle variation of the Triforce logo from The Legend of Zelda, just upside down and with the extra diamond on the top. Also, when more are lit up, the computer one row up and two columns to the right of Agimus has the Klingon emblem on it. Did Kronos have it’s own flirtation with evil sentient computers?
The one directly below Agimus also reminds me of something, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Anyone else see any symbols or references taken from other sources?
So, there’s a Wyvern Ops on that ship?
Thanks as ever for the breakdown. I absolutely loved this episode. Time will tell, but based on the last 3 episodes, the show feels to now be at ease with itself and is comfortably balancing humour, action, character development and call backs to Treks past. Looking forward to the rest of the season.