WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 9, “Lagrange Point”!
Summary
Star Trek: Discoveryseason 5, episode 9, “Lagrange Point”, is the latest entry in the canon ofStar Trekheist episodes. Written by Sean Cochran & Ari Friedman, anddirected by Jonathan Frakes,Discoveryseason 5, episode 9, “Lagrange Point” saw Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her away team disguise themselves as Breen to steal the structure that contained the Progenitors' treasure. It’s a classic heist set-up, with each character having their own role to play, and comedy deriving from the Burnham and company having to keep up appearances as Breen soldiers.
It’s not the first time that aStar TrekTV showhas riffed on classic heist movies. From as far back as the 1960s,Star Trekhas sent characters behind enemy lines to secure some prize or other, be it advanced technology, or to defeat a computer virus. OtherStar Trekepisodes have put the crew in the position of being the marks, having to fight off alien thieves who want to possess their starship. While the majority of theseStar Trekepisodes are sci-fi updates of heist movie archetypes,one classic episode ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineproved that the franchise isn’t above doing a traditional casino heist.
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9Star Trek: Enterprise, Season 1, Episode 19, “Acquisition”
Captain Archer makes unofficial first contact with the Ferengi.
It’s therefore up to Trip to play the role of John McClane (Bruce Willis) inDie Hardand foil the Ferengi heist.
Star Trek: Enterprise, season 1, episode 19, “Acquisition” is a Ferengi starship heist told from the perspective of the “mark”, Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula). When a group of Ferengi disable the crew of the Enterprise NX-01 with toxic gas, they don’t realize that Commander Trip Tucker (Connor Trinneer) was sealed in quarantine. It’s therefore up to Trip to play the role of John McClane (Bruce Willis) inDie Hardand foil the Ferengi heist. It’s a fun episode that finds a creative workaround when it comes to the officialFerengi First Contact inStar Trek: TNG.
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.
Like many earlyStar Trek: Enterpriseepisodes, however,“Acquisition” often feels like a hollow retread of stories done better elsewhere in the franchise. While the set-up is different, “Acquisition” does feel like a knock-off of theStar Trek: The Next Generationepisode “Starship Mine”. There’s a lot of fun in watching Archer and Tucker run rings around the Ferengi villains, but it doesn’t add anything new to the starship heist subgenre ofStar Trekepisodes.
8Star Trek: Discovery, Season 4, Episode 8, “All In”
Captain Burnham riffs on Casino Royale to secure a powerful weapon.
There’s a great deal of potential in a Changeling criminal genius that would have givenDS9’s Constable Odo a run for his money…
Star Trek: Discoveryseason 4, episode 8, “All In”, sends Captain Michael Burnham to an alien casino for a highly important mission. While Burnham and Lt. Joann Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) aren’t there to rob the casino, they do have to deploy some techniques from the heist movie genre. At the climax of the episode, Burnham and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) are pitted against each other in a card game to stop the deadly isolinium from falling into the wrong hands.Burnham loses the game, but like all good heist movie protagonists, she has a contingency plan, and places a tracker on Book’s prize.
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.
On top of the high-stakes card game,Star Trek: Discoveryseason 4, episode 8, “All In” also features another heist taking place in the background. To secure their isolinium, Book and Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) are tasked with catching a cheater that turns out to be one ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Changelings. There’s a great deal of potential in a Changeling criminal genius that would have givenDS9’s Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois) a run for his money, so it’s disappointing thatDiscoverydoesn’t do more with the idea.
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7Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 9, “Lagrange Point”
Burnham and the crew embark on a Breen heist to steal the Progenitors' treasure.
…unlike heist movies, “Lagrange Point” crashes a starship into the scene of the crime.
In the penultimate episode ofStar Trek: Discovery, Captain Burnham leads a covert mission to steal the Progenitors' technology from the Breen Imperium. Armed withtranslated Breen language,Burnham and her team pose as Breen soldiers so they can bring down the Breen Dreadnought’s shields and beam out the tech. As in all good heist movies, there’s comedy derived from theDiscoverycharacters having to keep up the pretense and Book awkwardly asking a Breen soldier out on a date as a distraction is a standout moment.
“Lagrange Point” was the eighth and final episode ofStar Trek: Discoveryto be directed by Jonathan Frakes.
As always in heist movies, things go wrong for Burnham and the crew as they get discovered by the villainous Moll (Eve Harlow) at a crucial moment. Unlike heist movies, however, “Lagrange Point” crashes a starship into the scene of the crime. It’s one of the more thrilling episodes ofStar Trek: Discoveryseason 5, as it drills down into the urgency of Burnham’s mission, and provides some exciting action sequences and tension thanks to the assured direction of Jonathan Frakes.
6Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 6, Episode 12, “Who Mourns For Morn?”
Quark tries to locate the takings from the Lissepian Mother’s Day heist.
“Who Mourns For Morn?” is the closest thatStar Trekwill get to a Quentin Tarantino episode or movie.
Not every heist movie focuses on the planning and execution of the crime. For example, Quentin Tarantino’sReservoir Dogsis largely focused on the bloody aftermath of a failed heist as paranoia sets in among the crew. Therefore,Star Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 6, episode 12, “Who Mourns For Morn?” is the closest thatStar Trekwill get to a Quentin Tarantino episode or movie.When his best customer, Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd) dies, Quark (Armin Shimerman) becomes embroiled in a criminal scheme to locate the takings of the Lissepian Mother’s Day heist.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.
“Who Mourns for Morn?” is one ofQuark’s bestStar Trek: Deep Space Nineepisodesbecause it demonstrates how resourceful he can be when his back’s against the wall. Morn’s former associates are using Quark throughout the episode, hoping that the Ferengi will lead them to the missing latinum. As ever with Quark, he’s immediately in over his head with the murderous criminals who just want to secure the latinum. However, Quark’s underhanded nature and love-hate relationship with Odo ultimately saves him and earns the Ferengi 100 bars of latinum.
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5Star Trek: Picard, Season 3, Episode 6, “The Bounty”
Picard’s crew steal from Daystrom Station and the Starfleet Museum.
“The Bounty” reveals the Changelings stole Picard’s body, Worf stole Data, and Jack Crusher stole a Klingon cloaking device.
InStar Trek: Picardseason 3, episode 6, “The Bounty”, Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) leads a mission into the heart of Daystrom Station to find out more information about a recent Changeling heist. Worf, Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) and Captain William T Riker (Jonathan Frakes) have to contend with Attack Tribbles, and a highly advanced A.I. security system to secure the information they need.Riker’s friendship with Data provides him with the key to evade Daystrom Station’s security systems, free his old friend and discover what the Changelings stole.
Star Trek: Picard
Star Trek: Picard follows retired Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, twenty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis. The series delves into Picard’s life post-Starfleet, as he navigates a new chapter filled with unresolved past events and new challenges.
On top of the two Daystrom heists, “The Bounty” introduces a third, as Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) and Ensign Sidney La Forge (Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut) also conspire to steal a Klingon cloaking device fromStar Trek:Picard’s Starfleet Museum. So to keep score, “The Bounty” reveals the Changelings stole Picard’s body, Worf stole Data, and Jack Crusher stole a Klingon cloaking device.Such wanton criminality is justified, however, as Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) has limited time to avert the Changeling’s mysterious conspiracy against Starfleet.
4Star Trek: Voyager, Season 5, Episodes 15 & 16, “Dark Frontier”
Captain Janeway dares to steal from the Borg Queen.
By staging the successful heist in part one, “Dark Frontier” gets to confront Janeway with the choice of keeping her prize, or risking everything to save Seven.
“Dark Frontier” is one ofStar Trek: Voyager’s 12 movie-length episodes, centered around a plan by Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) to steal a transwarp coil from the Borg Collective.The transwarp coil will shave 20 years off Voyager’s 75-year mission to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. The first half of “Dark Frontier” concerns Janeway and the crew’s plotting and execution of the heist, as they steal the transwarp coil from a damaged Borg sphere with relative ease. When Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) rejoins the Borg Collective, it becomes clear that the heist is just the start of the story.
Star Trek: Voyager
The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they’ve never faced before.
Seven rejoining the Collective was all part of a plan by the Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) to gain a better understanding of humanity. By staging the successful heist in part one, “Dark Frontier” gets to confront Janeway with the choice of keeping her prize, or risking everything to save Seven. Janeway opts for the best of both worlds, giving chase in the Delta Flyer instead of returning to Voyager with the transwarp coil. It’s a thrilling episode that reflects how much the Voyager crew have come to love and value Seven.
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3Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 6, Episode 18, “Starship Mine”
Captain Picard does the original “Die Hard on a starship.”
All the beats fromDie Hardare present in Morgan Gendel’s script, from the lavish party crashed by terrorists, to Picard crawling through Jefferies tubes.
Captain Picard got his wish to avoid a formal dinner when he becomes trapped aboard the USS Enterprise-D with a gang of thieves inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 6, episode 18, “Starship Mine”.The original version ofDie Hardaboard the starship Enterprise, it’s a thrilling episode that allows Patrick Stewart to be a resourceful action hero. All the beats fromDie Hardare present in Morgan Gendel’s script, from the lavish party crashed by terrorists, to Picard crawling through Jefferies tubes.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew aboard the USS Enterprise NCC-1701D as they embark on interstellar explorations, seeking out new worlds and civilizations.
Where Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) was using a hostage situation as a distraction to steal millions of dollars, the thieves in “Starship Mine” have no such big distraction. They’re there for the dangerous trilithium resin, pure and simple, and are thwarted by Picard, who rather coldly blows up the departing ship by stealing the trilithium resin’s control rod.Star Trek: The Next Generationseason 6, episode 18,“Starship Mine” is the best example of Patrick Stewart’s abilities as an action hero, which presumably led to theTNGmovies doubling down on this aspect of Picard’s character.
2Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 3, Episode 4, “The Enterprise Incident”
Kirk and Spock go undercover among the Romulans to steal a cloaking device.
“The Enterprise Incident” is full of thrilling moments, from Kirk and Spock’s brutal fight to the Enterprise facing down the Romulans in the episode’s climax.
The originalStar Trekheist episode is “The Enterprise Incident”, in which Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) leads a covert mission to steal a Romulan cloaking device.Cloaking devices are controversial inStar Trek, but this doesn’t detract from Kirk’s gloriously convoluted heist inStar Trek: The Original Series.While Spock (Leonard Nimoy) seduces a female Romulan Commander, Kirk disguises himself as a Romulan to steal the cloaking device and bring it aboard the USS Enterprise.
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek follows the U.S.S. Enterprise on its five-year mission to explore the galaxy, led by Captain James T. Kirk and First Officer Mr. Spock. The crew confronts a variety of challenges, including Klingons, Romulans, and genetic supermen, as they search for new life and civilizations.
“The Enterprise Incident” is full of thrilling moments, from Kirk and Spock’s brutal fight to the Enterprise facing down the Romulans in the episode’s climax. It also showcases a different side of Spock’s personality as he lays on the charm to seduce the Female Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville). The fact that the audience don’t know thatStar Trek: The Original Seriesseason 3, episode 4, “The Enterprise Incident”, is a heist until halfway through only adds to its considerable charms.
1Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 7, Episode 15, “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang”
Star Trek does Ocean’s 11.
There’s a palpable joy in watching theDS9cast let their hair down for one last job before the show’s epic ten-part finale.
Star Trek’s most overt riff on the heist movie is its best, as thecast ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineget a chance to do their own version ofOcean’s 11. In “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang”, a rogue holographic gangster takes over Vic Fontaine’s club, forcing theDS9crew to defend Vic’s by means appropriate to its 1960s setting. The best option to oust Frankie Eyes (Robert Miano) from the holosuite program is a good old-fashioned casino heist with the crew playing various movie archetypes.
“Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” fulfilled a long-time ambition for Ira Steven Behr to do both a caper episode ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nineand have Avery Brooks sing in the show.
The placement of “Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang” inStar Trek: Deep Space Nineseason 7 is crucial, as there’s a palpable joy in watching theDS9cast let their hair down for one last job before the epic finale. It’s one of the most enjoyable hours in the history ofStar Trek, and celebrates the family atmosphere that Captain Sisko has cultivated aboardDS9over the past seven years. There’s no better example of this than the whole crew instigating a huge casino heist instead of going for the simple solution and rebooting Vic’s program, robbing the hologram of his agency.
