references to Star Trek in South Park

This page is a list of references to Star Trek in the animated TV series South Park. See also List of South Park episodes.

!—WARNING—!

Article below this line is likely to contain spoilers.

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It can be speculated that the regular death of the character Kenny is based on the habit of killing red shirt officers in Star Trek: The Original Series.

Damien

During the Jesus vs. Satan fight, Stan tries to encourage Jesus:

Stan: You know – somebody once said: "Don't try to be a great man, just be a man."

Jesus: Who said that?

Stan: You did, Jesus.

Jesus: You're right Stan! Thank you boys!

Kyle: Wow, did he say that in the Bible?

Stan: No, I saw it on Star Trek.

This exchange paraphrases a discussion William Riker and Zefram Cochrane have in Star Trek: First Contact, where Riker attributes the quote to Cochrane.

City on the Edge of Forever (a.k.a. Flashbacks)

• The title of this episode is the same as that of the classic ST:TOS episode City on the Edge of Forever.
• Sitting in a bus balancing on the edge of a cliff, a kid wearing a red Star Trek uniform as a shirt decides to leave the bus and take his chances outside. Soon a big black scary monster comes out from behind a tree and eats him. This is obviously in reference to the habit of killing the extras in Star Trek: The Original Series who, being security officers, wore red shirts.

Chef's Chocolate Salty Balls

As the festival director grabs Mr. Hankey and throws him into the wall he says "I... have had enough... of you!". This is a reference to a scene from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock where Kirk shouts the same thing to Kruge. See also South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut in which the very same reference is made.

Roger Ebert Should Lay Off the Fatty Foods

This episode is a takeoff on the ST:TOS episode Dagger of the Mind. A few things are especially noteworthy:

• The name of the planetarium is the "Tantalus V Planetarium." Tantalus V is the name of the planet in Dagger of the Mind.
• The planetarium staff uniforms are identical to those in Dagger of the Mind, right down to the emblem.
• The planetarium director is named Adams, as it is in Dagger of the Mind (and the character looks like actor James Gregory who played Adams).
• The planetarium staffer gone mad is named Van Gelder, as in the Star Trek episode.
• Above the door to the planetarium is written "Me transmitte sursum, Caledoni!", which is Latin for "Send me up, Scotsman!" (source: TV Tome) This is an attempt to write "Beam me up, Scotty!"
• Mr. Mackey, the counselor, performs a mind meld on Van Gelder (who is a kid in the parody), just like Spock does on Van Gelder in the original episode. (Nurse Gollum, the school nurse, responds skeptically to Mr. Mackey's suggestion, to which he responds, "Nurse, for a woman with a dead fetus on her head, you're not being very open-minded.")
• At the end of the episode Kyle says to Stan: "Can you imagine it, Stan, a mind emptied by that thing?". In "Dagger of the Mind", Kirk says "Can you imagine a mind, emptied by that thing?"

Spooky Fish

The Cartman, Stan and Kyle from a parallel universe all have goatees. This is in reference to the ST:TOS episode Mirror, Mirror, where Mr. Spock's evil counterpart has a goatee. While Stan and Kyle's counterparts are evil, the Cartman from the parallel universe is good. The vertical line satirizes movie attempts to use one actor for two characters by (badly) splicing two pieces of film together. Though this could also be a reference to the technique used in The Patty Duke Show.

Worldwide Recorder Concert (aka The Brown Noise)

When Ms. Crabtree asks which way to go, Mr. Garrison replies: "Second star to the right, and straight on 'til morning." This line is from the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which in turn paraphrases Peter Pan (see references in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). The bus drives off into the night and disappears in a flash at the horizon, similar to a starship disappearing at warp speed.

Spontaneous Combustion

Stan tries to encourage his dad (Randy):

Stan: Right as Jesus was dying he raised his hand and said "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." (As Stan says this he makes the vulcan salute with his hand.)

Randy: You're right Stanley, you're absolutely right. Hey, that Bible sounds like kind of a good book.

Stan: It ain't bad. You should try reading it some time.

Kyle: Dude, that was Star Trek again! "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." – that was Wrath of Khan!

Stan: Oh – Bible, Wrath of Khan, what's the difference?

Starvin' Marvin in Space!

• The Marklars look quite similar to the Talosians from the original Star Trek pilot episode The Cage.
• The planet Marklar is in the galaxy Alpha Ceti VI. Ceti Alpha VI is a planet mentioned as being destroyed in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Ceti Alpha V is featured in the film).
• The bridge of the CBC ship looks a lot like that of the USS Enterprise.
• Several Star Trek sound effects can be heard.
• Star Trek jargon is used and parodied with the mention of photon torpedoes, deflector shields, tractor beam, negative ionic tractor distruptor, etc.

Hooked on Monkey Phonics

The discussion Kyle has with Rebecca (the homeschooled girl) in her dad's garden closely matches and parodies the discussion Kirk has with Shahna (his drill thrall) in the ST:TOS episode The Gamesters of Triskelion.

Quintuplets 2000

When the circus starts, Cartman says, "Well, Captain, we've reached fag factor five." This is a non-specific reference to the dialogue used when a certain warp speed is achieved in the Star Trek universe.

Something You Can Do With Your Finger (a.k.a. Fingerbang)

Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny start a boy band, but Randy (Stan's dad, who was in a boy band when he was younger) doesn't want him to have anything to do with it.

Stan: I don't understand, just let me go do this one thing and I won't...

Randy: No! Nooo! (smashes the glass of a cupboard)

Randy's line is from Star Trek: First Contact where Captain Picard smashes a glass cabinet when confronted by Lily about his hatred of the Borg. Randy's voice and the sound of breaking glass are taken directly from the movie.

4th Grade

• The two college guys that are going to help the children build a time machine are wearing T-shirts with the print "Resistance is futile!" and "Yeah, resistance is futile!" respectively, which refers to the line the Borg use before conquering civilizations.
• One of them explains that "When it comes to time travel theory there are basically two schools of thought. The Spock theory is that a slingshot around the sun could create a wormhole in which time could not escape. The Lt. Cmdr. Data theory however is that a magnetic vibration could create a rip in the time-space continuum." Mr. Spock's theory is presented and used in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, while Mr. Data's theory is presented and used in "Time's Arrow, Part I." The time machine built with Timmy's wheel chair employs Data's theory.
• The other guy states that "Time travel is no laughing matter. Four times the Enterprise traveled back in time and four times they almost didn't make it back." The Enterprise crew travels back in time in The Naked Time, Tomorrow is Yesterday, Assignment: Earth and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
• The two college guys stop speaking after fighting about whether there were 72 or 73 original Star Trek episodes. The disagreement stems from the question if the two-parter The Menagerie should count as one or two episodes. The actual number of episodes is 79 not counting the original pilot which was not broadcast on television until 1988.
• Stan manages to convince one of the college kids to make up with his friend by suggesting they build a time machine to go back in time and ask Gene Roddenberry how many episodes there were.

Trapper Keeper

• "Bill Cosby" calls humans "humons", just like the Ferengi do.
• At one point the Trapper Keeper, being somewhat similar to Borg technology, says "We are Trapper Keeper. We are one."

The overall tone of this episode spoofs The Terminator films, the anime feature Akira (i.e., the large mass that Cartman morphs into with Trapper Keeper), and a short scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Wacky Molestation Adventure

The kids take over South Park, and Cartman becomes the mayor. There are no adults around except for some unfortunate travellers. The town is all torn apart and the kids are filthy and travel in groups chanting "nyah nyah nyah nyah!" This is just like "Miri", episode 11 of season 1 in The Original Series.

Kirk beams down with a landing party to a planet identical to Earth finding only children and dilapidated buildings. The children scurry around chanting the same things. Also all of the away team's communicators are stolen and they have no means of communication with the ship for computer data. No one can go on or leave the planet until they find a cure for a disease making the communicators vital. The unfortunate travellers in South Park were looking for a working phone, the male gives a speech with all the children gathered around in the same manner Kirk did. Even the music in South Park is of similar style and goes a note short of playing the Star Trek theme. Not only does this episode pertain Star Trek, but also other classic sci-fi material. The sacrificial ritual of "carousel" is from the movie Logan's Run and the phrase "Outlander! Outlander! We have your woman!" as well as the entire overtone of the children running the city, not to mention that the first encounter is the repair shop, is a reference to Stephen King's Children of the Corn.

Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants

When the military is inspecting Stan's big brown package from Afghanistan, an original series tricorder is used to scan it.

Here Comes the Neighborhood

The kids are playing and make fun of Token for bringing a DVD of The Lion King (nobody has a DVD-player because they're too expensive). Cartman says "Oh, well let me take this disc up to the Enterprise and see if Captain Kirk can decrypt it."

Freak Strike

• Stan, Kyle, and Cartman want to send Butters to a talk show/freak show, and need to attach balls to his chin. Cartman suggests that they ask the "Star Trek dorks down the street", who agree to attach balls to Butters chin in exchange for a special version of Star Wars: Episode I.
• Following the freaks' sabotage of Maury's broadcast, a man in a blue uniform (such as those worn by science officers on the original Star Trek) looks into a viewer much like that used on the bridge of the Enterprise by Mr. Spock and reports that the ratings are falling.

Fun With Veal

During negotiations with the police, Cartman demands a semi-truck for the calves, driven by Michael Dorn in full Worf makeup. Cartman calls him Mr. Worf and makes him call him Captain. Dorn's character was voiced by Trey Parker, although the real Michael Dorn remarked in a later interview that he was a fan of South Park, and he wished they'd asked him to do a cameo.

A Ladder to Heaven

After breaking into the McCormick's house, Cartman (checking for robot guards) waves something that looks like a tricorder around while making a high pitch whirring sound.

The Passion of the Jew

In the beginning of the episode the kids are playing Star Trek away team in a minivan, pretending it is a shuttlecraft which lands on the planet Omega 9. They are all dressed in Starfleet-style uniforms: Captain Cartman, First Officer Stan, Engineer Kenny and "Vulcan Jew Kyle."

Later in the episode, a crazed Mel Gibson can be heard yelling "Qa'Pla", the Klingon word for success.

Pre-School

The teacher who was burned due to the kids' actions in preschool gets around in a futuristic wheelchair. The chair's front panel lights up and beeps once if the teacher wants to say "yes" and twice if she wants to say "no." This is taken directly from the TOS episode "The Menagerie", in which Captain Christopher Pike uses such a chair. At one point, however, another character mistakes two beeps as "yes" twice. This same error is made by dimwitted Zap Brannigan in the Futurama parody of Star Trek.

Follow That Egg

Near the end of the episode when Kyle asks Stan if he really hates his hat, Stan replies, "As a matter of fact, I think it is the nicest hat I have ever known." This paraphrases Captain Picard's apology to Worf in Star Trek: First Contact: "As a matter of fact, I think you are the bravest man I have ever known."

Cartoon Wars, Part II

While preparing to abort the airing of the episode of Family Guy containing Muhammed, the Fox president uses the code, "Zero, zero, destruct". This was part of the self destruct sequence as seen in "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

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