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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Wormhole passage, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Publicity still of the interior of the Bajoran wormhole.

An early example of CGI in STAR TREK, the wormhole was created by VFX house Rhythm & Hues. According to a 2012 Gizmodo retrospective, the first computer generated object through the wormhole (in test footage) was a cow: "Back in 1993, it was often easier and cheaper to make things using miniatures because computer graphics weren't quite there yet. But one effect in DEEP SPACE NINE that was computer generated was the wormhole, though the ships moving through were still models. To check the interior lighting conditions on an object passing through the wormhole, the effects company, Rhythm & Hues, needed a test sequence that would move a computer generated model through the path a ship would take. At the time they lacked any Federation spaceship in their library to use. Instead they combined two objects that they did have - a cow and a biplane. 'Aero-cow,' the cow with biplane wings, was the first thing through the wormhole."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys in "Past Prologue", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys in her quarters aboard DS9.

The second episode of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, "Past Prologue" featured Major Kira with significantly shorter hair than in the previous episode: According to Nana Visitor, the change was her idea: "I just didn't feel that Major Kira would style her hair every day. She wouldn't care! I wanted a hairstyle that looked like she just woke up in the morning looking like that."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Avery Brooks and Colm Meaney on the set of "Emissary", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Avery Brooks and Colm Meaney on the Promenade set during filming of "Emissary".

Moving from a recurring role in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION to a regular job on DEEP SPACE NINE, Meaney was initially concerned he would lose the freedom to pursue roles in film. The actor credited Executive Producer Rick Berman with assuring him O'Brien could be written out of some episodes if a role came up that Meaney wanted to pursue: "Well I was very lucky to have a great exec producer in Rick Berman. In fact one of my worries when they offered me DEEP SPACE was that I'd be going to a fulltime role after having just recurred in THE NEXT GENERATION. I could just fcuk off and do what I wanted, but I was a series regular on DS9. Rick sat me down one day and said, 'I promise you, I'll always let you out to do a feature you really want to do.' And over the course of the seven years he did. There were a couple of things he said no to, but they were things I wasn't particularly desperate to do anyway. The important ones I did get to do. They'd write me out of two or three episodes, or have me shoot the last day of one episode and the first day of the next episode. I could do a couple of days in LA and get back to wherever I was shooting movies."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien and Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisko in "Past Prologue", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Colm Meaney as Chief Miles O'Brien and Avery Brooks as Commander Benjamin Sisko in Ops.

Moving from a recurring role in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION to a regular gig on DEEP SPACE NINE, Meaney was initially concerned he would lose the freedom to pursue roles in film. The actor credited Executive Producer Rick Berman with assuring him O'Brien could be written out of some episodes if a role came up that Meaney wanted to pursue: "Well I was very lucky to have a great exec producer in Rick Berman. In fact one of my worries when they offered me DEEP SPACE was that I’d be going to a fulltime role after having just recurred in THE NEXT GENERATION. I could just fcuk off and do what I wanted, but I was a series regular on DS9. Rick sat me down one day and said, 'I promise you, I’ll always let you out to do a feature you really want to do.' And over the course of the seven years he did. There were a couple of things he said no to, but they were things I wasn’t particularly desperate to do anyway. The important ones I did get to do. They’d write me out of two or three episodes, or have me shoot the last day of one episode and the first day of the next episode. I could do a couple of days in LA and get back to wherever I was shooting movies."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Julian Bashir in "Dax", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Siddig El Fadil (Alexander Siddig) as Doctor Julian Bashir testifies in Dax's hearing at Quark's bar.

In his 20s and new to Hollywood at the time, Siddig later revealed that his more seasoned DS9 co-stars helped him through the early days on set: "They been around the block and done a ton of movies. Rene and Armin and Avery had been on all kinds of stuff. And Nana too was in a bunch of different things. And Andy, of course. So I was among really, really safe hands. I was in safe hands on STAR TREK. And anytime I started to lose it, there’d be someone there very carefully, just gently going, 'Hey, you’re cool, everything’s fine, everything will work out. This is not an important thing you’re losing your mind over. Let’s get back to work.'"

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Julian Bashir in "A Man Alone", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Siddig El Fadil (Alexander Siddig) as Doctor Julian Bashir growing a clone in the infirmary because you have to grow the thing to know who it'll turn into.

In 2013, Siddig described the portrayal of Bashir in the early days of DEEP SPACE NINE as "the anti-hunk" saying that later storylines involving Bashir's genetic manipulation were a (bad) response to the doctor's poor audience reception: "The character was genuinely unpopular in the early days. Because he was not fancy; I mean this is a time where 90210 was at the top of the charts in American TV and this guy was so not the hunk, he was the anti-hunk. ...He was a man of science; he was like half good looking, rubbish at pulling girls. I mean it was all the wrong kind of archetypes."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Siddig El Fadil as Doctor Julian Bashir and Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax in "A Man Alone", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Siddig El Fadil (Alexander Siddig) as Doctor Julian Bashir and Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax in DS9's infirmary.

In 2013, Siddig described the portrayal of Bashir in the early days of DEEP SPACE NINE as "the anti-hunk", saying that later storylines involving Bashir's genetic manipulation were a (bad) response to the doctor's poor audience reception: "The character was genuinely unpopular in the early days. Because he was not fancy; I mean this is a time where 90210 was at the top of the charts in American TV and this guy was so not the hunk, he was the anti-hunk. ...He was a man of science; he was like half good looking, rubbish at pulling girls. I mean it was all the wrong kind of archetypes."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys and Richard Beymer as Li Nalas in "The Homecoming", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Nana Visitor as Major Kira Nerys and Richard Beymer as Li Nalas seated on DS9's Promenade.

Peter Allan Fields (who co-wrote "The Circle") and Michael Piller (who "The Seige") objected to Li Nalas being killed off, following his participation in the trilogy of episodes that began with "The Homecoming". The decision came from Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr who believed the character needed a redemptive death to close his story.

Fields later said "It seemed to me that killing him would send us back to square one. Why go through three episodes with this guy, and then let him die? You're back as if he'd never been around. We could have written the whole thing without him."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax in "Dax", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Terry Farrell as Lieutenant Jadzia Dax on trial for treason and murder in Quark's bar.

Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr said that Dax was originally written to be the archetypal Spock character: "...The wise old owl, the wise old man. And then we realized that she could be the one who's ready to go out and kick anyone's butt, and go out and have an adventure and have fun, and be kind of witty and mercurial."

Behr said that "Dax" as the turning point for how Jadzia Dax was written: "By building the backstory on Curzon Dax in 'Dax', it opened up the whole issue that she is not your usual Trill."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Wormhole passage, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

USS Rio Grande, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Publicity still of STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE's runabout USS Rio Grande.

Built by Tony Meininger and Brazil
Fabrications, the runabout filming miniature was 19.5 inches long from designs by Illustrators Jim Martin and Rick Sternbach who themselves based the general configuration of the ship on John Goodson's Executive Shuttlecraft from STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY. According to Sternbach, the producers initially intended on using Goodson's existing model but ultimately reversed course: "My earliest drawings reflect the major structural elements of his ship, in particular the forward windows, side windows, and entry doors. These would be the first pieces 'frozen’ in the design process, since the cockpit set
had to be finished and filmed before the miniature was completed.”

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn on the set of "Emissary", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Mark Allen Shepherd as Morn in his seat at Quark's (note the lack of replicator and generally unfinished look of the set) during production of "Emissary".

Morn originated as a sketch based on a bulldog which Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore drew on the back of a shooting script. According to Westmore, the Morn mask underwent several revisions to fit alongside the franchise's aliens before it was approved by the producers: "Several heads were made for Morn to appear in DS9: 'Emissary'... some of the heads they felt were a little too far out, that they weren't quite STAR TREK."

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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Portalrealm @portalrealm.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Blueprint of the village from "Shadowplay"

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

René Auberjonois as Odo in "Shadowplay", STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1994)

René Auberjonois as Odo with the holographic projector on an unnamed Gamma Quadrant planet.

Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr praised "Shadowplay", calling it one of DEEP SPACE NINE's rare "nice" outings: "When we saw it, we said, 'You know what? You put Odo together with a kid and you've got a winner'. It worked... Every now and then, you have to do a nice, sweet episode which DS9 isn't known for, but now we've done it, and we'd do it again."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The wormhole, STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (1993)

Publicity still of the mouth of the Bajoran wormhole.

An early example of CGI in STAR TREK, the wormhole was created by VFX house Rhythm & Hues. According to a 2012 DEEP SPACE NINE Gizmodo retrospective, the first computer generated object through the wormhole (in test footage) was a cow: "Back in 1993, it was often easier and cheaper to make things using miniatures because computer graphics weren’t quite there yet. But one effect in DEEP SPACE NINE that was computer generated was the wormhole, though the ships moving through were still models. To check the interior lighting conditions on an object passing through the wormhole, the effects company, Rhythm & Hues, needed a test sequence that would move a computer generated model through the path a ship would take. At the time they lacked any Federation spaceship in their library to use. Instead they combined two objects that they did have –- a cow and a biplane. “Aero-cow,” the cow with biplane wings, was the first thing through the wormhole."

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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart as a newly assimilated Locutus in a Borg regeneration alcove.

Stewart said the discomfort of the Borg costume and makeup was an experience that helped inform Picard's state of mind: "The best part about Locutus was that I have something to reference, the drama Picard had to endure, the makeup process for me, which was extremely unpleasant and painful and unsettling. No experience is wasted."

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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg.

Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore credits his son for giving Locutus his signature Borg laser: "My son Michael, who did all the Borg electronics in the eyes and the head, found this little laser that was only one inch long. We mounted it on Patrick Stewart as Locutus. There's that scene at the end of the first part of 'The Best of Both Worlds' where Patrick turns his head and looks directly into the camera with his laser. We had no idea what was going to happen. Boy, the phone rang! Rick [Berman] saw it and said, 'Oh, my God, what a great effect!"

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart as a newly assimilated Locutus surrounded by drones aboard the Borg Cube.

Stewart said the discomfort of the Borg costume and makeup was an experience that helped inform Picard's state of mind: "The best part about Locutus was that I have something to reference, the drama Picard had to endure, the makeup process for me, which was extremely unpleasant and painful and unsettling. No experience is wasted."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg surrounded by drones aboard the Borg cube.

Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore credits his son for giving Locutus his signature Borg laser: "My son Michael, who did all the Borg electronics in the eyes and the head, found this little laser that was only one inch long. We mounted it on Patrick Stewart as Locutus. There's that scene at the end of the first part of 'The Best of Both Worlds' where Patrick turns his head and looks directly into the camera with his laser. We had no idea that was going to happen. Boy, the phone rang! Rick [Berman]saw it and said, 'Oh, my God, what a great effect!"

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf and Elizabeth Dennehy as Commander Shelby in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf and Elizabeth Dennehy as Commander Shelby aboard the Borg ship.

With very little experience in one-hour dramatic television, Dennehy admitted that her first days guest starring on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION were a steep learning curve: "I did not know my lines. I was not prepared enough. And man, my God, was that a kick in the pants... I'll never forget it now. It was, 'Projections suggest that a Borg ship like this one could continue to function effectively even if seventy-eight percent of it was inoperable.' I couldn't get it out of my mouth. I couldn't do it. They had to keep stopping, and finally, I managed to get the line out once, and they made it work."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data and Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data and Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf battling the Borg to rescue Captain Picard.

Brent Spiner recalled a moment that was filmed but cut for being "ridiculous": "I remember Worf and Data beamed over to the Borg ship to grab Picard and bring him back to the Enterprise. There was a moment where a Borg is coming up behind me, and I turn and blast him with my phaser. We shot a version of it where the Borg was coming up behind me and I didn't even turn around.
I just put the phaser over my shoulder and shot it and blew it away. We thought that would be really cool if Data just sensed it and didn't have to turn around. It looked great, but they sent it to Rick Berman and he said,
'That's ridiculous. He can't do that. He doesn't have eyes in the back of his head.' So we didn't use that one."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Lic Picard, Marina Sirtis as Coulselor Deanna Troi, and Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, Marina Sirtis as Coulselor Deanna Troi, and Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher with Patrick Stewart as a partially Borg-ified Captain Jean-Lic Picard in Data's lab.

Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore credits his son for giving Locutus his signature Borg laser: "My son Michael, who did all the Borg electronics in the eyes and the head, found this little laser that was only one inch long. We mounted it on Patrick Stewart as Locutus. There’s that scene at the end of the first part of 'The Best of Both Worlds' where Patrick turns his head and looks directly into the camera with his laser. We had no idea what was going to happen. Boy, the phone rang! Rick [Bermanj saw it and said, 'Oh, my God, what a great effect!'"

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Patrick Stewart on the set of "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart in (partial) costume as Locutus in Data's science lab.

Stewart said the discomfort of the Borg costume and makeup was an experience that helped inform Picard's state of mind: "The best part about Locutus was that I have something to reference, the drama Picard had to endure, the makeup process for me, which was extremely unpleasant and painful and unsettling. No experience is wasted."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990) "The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I & II" Blooper Reel (2013)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, and Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data, and Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher exploring the Borg ship.

Brent Spiner recalled a moment filmed for Part II but cut for being "ridiculous": "I remember Worf and Data beamed over to the Borg ship to grab Picard and bring him back to the Enterprise. There was a moment where a Borg is coming up behind me, and I turn and blast him with my phaser. We shot a version of it where the Borg was coming up behind me and I didn’t even turn around. I just put the phaser over my shoulder and shot it and blew it away. We thought that would be really cool if Data just sensed it and didn’t have to turn around. It looked great, but they sent it to Rick Berman and he said, 'That’s ridiculous. He can’t do that. He doesn’t have eyes in the back of his head.' So we didn’t use that one."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard undergoing assimilation into Locutus of Borg.

According to Stewart, his time in Borg makeup gave him insight into co-star Michael Dorn's demeanor: "The process of attaching all of Locutus's prosthetics to my head and body took about three hours, and their removal at the end of the day another hour; now I understood why Michael Dorn, despite his congenital good cheer, often looked so miserable."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Elizabeth Dennehy as Lt. Commander Shelby in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Elizabeth Dennehy as Lt. Commander Shelby on the surface of Jouret IV.

With little experience in one-hour dramatic television, Dennehy admitted that her first days guest starring on STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION were a steep learning curve: "I did not know my lines. I was not prepared enough. And man, my God, was that a kick in the pants... I’ll never forget it now. It was, ‘Projections suggest that a Borg ship like this one could continue to function effectively even if seventy-eight percent of it was inoperable.’ I couldn’t get it out of my mouth. I couldn’t do it. They had to keep stopping, and finally, I managed to get the line out once, and they made it work.”

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker, LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf, and Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Borg cube interior from "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Four Borg drones in alcoves aboard their Borg cube.

The Borg's appearance was a collaboration between STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Makeup Supervisor Michael Westmore and Season Two Costume Designer Durinda Rice Wood ("Q Who"). According to Wood, the drones were intended to be genderless: "We were trying to make them androgynous. I remember somebody — I think it was Rick saying they shouldn’t be totally male or female. That was part of the scariness of them; you couldn’t work out whether they were male or female."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Borg cube from "Q Who", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1989)

Publicity photo of the Borg cube studio model built by Starlight Effects for "Q Who", later reused for "The Best of Both Worlds" two-parters.

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato was not a fan of the model, saying it was difficult to shoot and ugly: "That, for me, is quite ugly and difficult to light. You're hampered by the fact that when you put the ship in a particular lighting condition, it looks terrible. You then have to redesign and rechoreograph the shot to put it in its best light."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Patrick Stewart on the set of "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Patrick Stewart as Locutus of Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (1990)

Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard not long after his assimilation into Locutus of Borg.

According to Stewart, his time in Borg makeup gave him insight into co-star Michael Dorn's demeanor: "The process of attaching all of Locutus's prosthetics to my head and body took about three hours, and their removal at the end of the day another hour; now I understood why Michael Dorn, despite his congenital good cheer, often looked so miserable."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Brian Markinson as Dr. Boyce, Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel, and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M'Benga in "Off Hour", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Brian Markinson as Dr. Boyce, Jess Bush as Nurse Chapel, and Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. Joseph M'Benga in a frozen sickbay.

Taking on the role of Boyce, Markinson was well-versed in the character's history: "He has some fantastic lines... especially the famous one about telling things to your bartender that you won’t tell your doctor.”

Markinson is a veteran of the franchise himself, having appeared as various characters in STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION, DEEP SPACE NINE, and VOYAGER: "I’d never say no to this franchise. Who knows where they’re going with this. I’ll return anytime if they’ll have me.”

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Brian Markinson as Dr. Boyce in "Off Hour", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Brian Markinson as Dr. Boyce in the Port Lounge of the Enterprise.

On taking on the role of a legacy character, Markinson enthusiastically compared STRANGE NEW WORLDS to MAD MEN: "What a gift to throw that uniform on with that insignia, to step onto this magnificent set they've built. I sort of equate it to MAD MEN. I did a season and a half of MAD MEN, and you walk into this time capsule, and so 90 percent of the work is done for you. It's the same thing walking onto the bridge of the Enterprise, or e walking through those hallways. Every space you walk into, it's remarkable.”

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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Photon torpedo prop from "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Photon torpedo prop from "Level Five Transporter Accident" created by Walter Klassen FX Studio.

STRANGE NEW WORLDS prop master Emily Hyde said that creating a practical photon torpedo for the actors (and puppets) to interact with was an honor: "As a technician it made me think outside the box and factor in elements I never would have thought of previously. We also made a proxy torpedo to work with our puppeteers and director in advance of the build being ready so that we were able to rehearse and sight everything in advance."

Hyde also explained how the torpedo made it into engineering in the first place: "For those of you who were curious why a torpedo was in the middle of engineering, is because it was having diagnostics run on it. We did actually build in a side port for cables and a playback screen computer however ultimately decided it took away from the scene."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Photon torpedo prop on the set of "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Practical photon torpedo prop (crushing puppet Scotty) on the set of "Level Five Transporter Accident".

STRANGE NEW WORLDS prop master Emily Hyde explained how the torpedo made it into engineering in the first place: "For those of you who were curious why a torpedo was in the middle of engineering, is because it was having diagnostics run on it. We did actually build in a side port for cables and a playback screen computer however ultimately decided it took away from the scene."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Photon torpedo prop from "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ethan Peck as Spock in "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Ethan Peck as Spock in an emotional moment with puppet T'Pring.

Regarding Spock's kiss with a puppet version of T'Pring, Peck said the scene drew more spectators to the set than usual: "People came to set to be like, 'Oh, what? That’s so what?’ And there were like people that weren't normally on set there to watch because they were so curious about it. And, you know, again we played it really sincerely, and I think that’s what makes it sort of funny and strange and interesting."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ethan Peck as Spock in "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Ethan Peck as Spock alongside side a puppet-ized Captain Pike on the bridge of the Enterprise.

According to Peck, he was taken aback upon first reading the script: "We've gotten a few episodes over the years where I'm like, 'Really? Are you sure? Are you serious?' And this is definitely one of those. And then the puppets showed up on set, and it became very

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Puppet Captain Pike in "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Puppet version of Captain Christopher Pike on the bridge of the Enterprise.

Accoridng to Executive Producer Henry Alonso Meyers, the writing team worked hard to make the offbeat story feel like a genuine episode of STAR TREK: "Yes, we were going to have fun. Yes, we were going to do all of these things, but if it doesn't feel like STAR TREK, what are we doing? That was what we had to hold to throughout the entire episode. I mean, one, we had not done a transporter accident episode yet, and we felt like this was an opportunity to do a transporter accident at a level which it had not been done before in STAR TREK."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ethan Peck with the puppet cast of "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Ethan Peck with puppet versions of Captain Pike and Lieutenant Ortegas on the set of the bridge of the Enterprise.

According to Peck, he was initially disappointed that Spock did not take on puppet form in the episode: "l guess I was a little bit disappointed, but also I was the one that got to act with all of them. No one else got to act with the puppets."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Ethan Peck as Spock in "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Ethan Peck as Spock launching a puppet-ized Captain Pike at Orion invaders.

According to Peck, he was taken aback upon first reading the script: "We've gotten a few episodes over the years where I'm like, 'Really? Are you sure? Are you serious?' And this is definitely one of those. And then the puppets showed up on set, and it became very real."

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Carol Kane and puppeteer Ingrid Hansen with puppet Scotty and Pelia from "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Carol Kane and puppeteer Ingrid Hansen with puppet Scotty and Pelia from "Level Five Transporter Accident".

Accoridng to Executive Producer Henry Alonso Meyers, the writing team worked hard to make the offbeat story feel like a genuine episode of STAR TREK: "Yes, we were going to have fun. Yes, we were going to do all of these things, but if it doesn’t feel like STAR TREK, what are we doing? That was what we had to hold to throughout the entire episode. I mean, one, we had not done a transporter accident episode yet, and we felt like this was an opportunity to do a transporter accident at a level which it had not been done before in STAR TREK.”

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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Ethan Peck with puppet T'Pring (and two puppeteers) on the set of "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Ethan Peck with puppet T'Pring and two Jim Henson Creature Shop puppeteers on the set of "Level Five Transporter Accident".

According to Peck, he was initially disappointed that Spock did not take on puppet form in the episode: “I guess I was a little bit disappointed, but also I was the one that got to act with all of them. No one else got to act with the puppets."

The actor admitted to being taken aback upon first reading the script: "We’ve gotten a few episodes over the years where I’m like, ‘Really? Are you sure? Are you serious?’ And this is definitely one of those. And then the puppets showed up on set, and it became very real.”

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Puppet Pelia from "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Puppet Pelia from "Level Five Transporter Accident".

According to Jim Henson's Creature Shop creative supervisor Jason Weber, the collaboration between STAR TREK and the Henson company was a natural fit:
"There's quite a Henson presence at Dragon Con, Comic-Con, all of these things, and of course STAR TREK is there too, so there's always been this mutual admiration between our cultures, if you will. To be able to finally jump in and work with them was an amazing experience. We had a blast."

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Reposted by Star Trek Shots

Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Jim Henson’s Creature Shop's puppet cast of "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Puppet versions of the cast of STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS from the episode "Level Five Transporter Accident".

According to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop creative supervisor Jason Weber, the collaboration between STAR TREK and the Henson company was a natural fit: "There’s quite a Henson presence at Dragon Con, Comic-Con, all of these things, and of course STAR TREK is there too, so there’s always been this mutual admiration between our cultures, if you will. To be able to finally jump in and work with them was an amazing experience. We had a blast.”

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Star Trek Shots @startrekshots.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Ethan Peck with puppeteer Donna Kimball as T'Pring on the set of "Level Five Transporter Accident", STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS (2026)

Ethan Peck with puppeteer Donna Kimball as T'Pring on the set of "Level Five Transporter Accident".

According to Peck, it was a challenge to do otherwise serious scenes with the puppet performers: "The challenge is not looking at the puppet and thinking, ‘I’m looking at someone’s hand inside of a sock, like an elaborate sock,’ It’s very easy to be kind of pulled out by like, ‘I’m acting with a puppet right now,’ and I’m doing something really serious and heavy, and so I had to be really careful not to let any of those thoughts infect my work.”

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