The Best Star Trek Trivia.. SOURCED!

TriviaQ: Who is the only person to have directed at least one episode of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT?
TriviaA: LeVar Burton.

TriviaQ: Who is the only person to have written episodes for TOS, TAS, TNG, and DS9?
TriviaA: Dorothy Catherine Fontana (aka D.C. Fontana).

TriviaQ: Gene Roddenberry married a Star Trek cast member in 1969.  They were married for 22 years, parted only by the death of Gene.  What cast member was his wife?
TriviaA: Majel Barrett.

TriviaQ: Majel Barrett acted in three non-computer voice roles for Star Trek.  One in TNG/DS9, one in TOS/TAS, and one just in TOS.  Name all three.
TriviaA: Number One (TOS’s “The Cage”), Nurse Christine Chapel  (TOS/TAS), Lwaxana Troi (TNG/DS9).  Additionally, she was the voice of the Enterprise computer in TOS, TAS, TNG, and also voiced the Voyager computer.

TriviaQ: This performer has played three different doctors on Star Trek.  Two in TOS, one in TNG.  What’s the performer’s name?
TriviaA: Diana Muldaur (usually known as Dr. Pulaski on TNG)

TriviaQ: This renegade Star Trek character has been in two episodes of TOS (played by Roger Carmel), one episode of TAS (Roger Carmel), and at least one episode of Discovery (played by at least one other actor).
TriviaA: Harcort “Harry” Fenton Mudd.

TriviaQ: Name three different Star Trek series that had the character Janice Rand. (always played by the same actress)
TriviaA: TOS, TAS, and VOY (in addition to Star Trek 1, 3, 4 & 6).  Her final appearance was as Commander Rand on a Voyager episode, first officer under Captain Sulu.

TriviaQ: Name the three core Voyager crew whose performers each played different roles on TNG?
TriviaA: Tom Paris/Robert Mcneill, who played the doomed Academy squad leader.  Tuvok/Tim Russ, who was part of a team trying to steal the ship.  Neelix/Ethan Phillips, who played the ferengi partner of a ferengi who wanted Lwaxana’s hand in marriage. (Tim Russ also had an appearance on Star Trek 7 as a bridge officer of the Enterprise-B)

TriviaQ: This major TNG staff writer hated Star Trek.  He has taken plenty of fan vitriol for not being a Trek fan, some have accused him of “destroying Star Trek” to his face.
TriviaA: Brannon Braga, who also co-wrote Star Trek VII, was a major writer for Voyager, co-dreamt up Seven of Nine, and co-created/wrote for Enterprise. (source: TNG/VOY blu-ray extras)

TriviaQ: According to the Voyager DVD extras, Tim Russ acted in a play in 1976 with a TOS cast member.  Who was it?
TriviaA: Leonard Nimoy.

TriviaQ: Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi on TNG) wasn’t American, she’s British.  Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov on TOS) isn’t Russian, he’s American.  James Doohan (Scotty on TOS) isn’t Scottish, he’s…
TriviaA: Canadian.

TriviaQ: According to Voyager DVD Extras, what Star Trek TNG writer/producer was the one who convinced the rest of the producers to put Deanna Troi in a standard uniform? (hint: it wasn’t Edward Jellico)
TriviaA: Jeri Taylor.  After Seven of Nine joined Voyager, activists called on Jeri Taylor to stop the show from becoming Baywatch.. but Taylor said she supported the alluring borg.  A ship’s counsellor, however, should be professional in appearance.

TriviaQ: The body-molded rubber parts glued to people (usually on the head or hands in Star Trek – such as Spock’s ears or the head of a Ferengi) are called what?
TriviaA: Appliances.  Not just in Star Trek, this is the film industry’s term for them.

TriviaQ: Movies traditionally have three acts.  According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, how many acts does an episode of TNG have?
TriviaA: Five.

TriviaQ: Every Star Trek episode has a section that begins the episode and lasts until the opening titles.  What is that section of the episode called?
TriviaA: The teaser.

TriviaQ: The book “I Am Spock” is Leonard Nimoy’s second autobiography, published in 1995.  What was the name of his first autobiography written in the 70s?
TriviaA: “I Am Not Spock”.

TriviaQ: As Star Trek became increasingly popular in the 1970s from its re-runs, Roddenberry was hired to do a new Star Trek series.  He called it “Star Trek Phase Two”, but a movie came out in 1977 that ended the “Phase Two” plan.  Name the movie.
TriviaA: Star Wars.  Paramount said, “We need us some of that.”  Phase Two was scrapped and one of its episode’s teleplays was padded out into a movie: Star Trek – The Motion Picture, and many of the new Phase Two characters were later introduced in TNG (slightly altered).  Decker became Riker, Ilea became Troi, etc.  (source: “I Am Spock”)

TriviaQ: According to “I Am Spock”, the news of what family tragedy reached William Shatner on the set of the episode “Devil in the Dark” during the Horta-taming scene?
TriviaA: Shatner received a call on the set that his father (whom he was very close to) had died.  But he shelved his sorrow, ignored everyone’s encouragement to go home now, and finished shooting the scene anyway.  After the scene was shot, he took several days off.

TriviaQ: As of 1995 (the publish date of “I Am Spock”), what was the highest grossing Star Trek movie? (“ST7 Generations” was 1994)
TriviaA: Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home.

TriviaQ: According to “I Am Spock”, who attempts to take the accolades for every compliment paid to Leonard Nimoy?
TriviaA: Spock.  Spock was Nimoy’s involuntary alter ego from 1966 until the day Nimoy died, whether Nimoy was on camera or not.  Actors playing Spock since Nimoy can only _play_ Spock.  Nimoy actually _was_ Spock.

TriviaQ: According to “I Am Spock”, the hundreds of starfleet crew people watching the video of the klingon ship’s destruction near the beginning of Star Trek: The Motion Picture were not actors, but they did have one unusual trait in common.  What was it?
TriviaA: They were all Star Trek fans, recruited as a surprise at a 1978 Star Trek convention.  “Anybody who wants to be in a scene in the movie can be!”  Nimoy wrote it’s the only scene in that movie that he likes because the camera was turned around back on the fans.

TriviaQ: According to Nichelle Nichols on the TOS Blu-Ray extras, the studio was undecided whether to use the historic interracial kiss, or to just have Kirk embrace Uhura.  Both versions were shot.  What TOS actor forced the studio to use the kiss?
TriviaA: William Shatner.  The shoot was running late because Shatner was requiring that the kiss be shot a dozen ways (with an ulterior motive to make them run late).  The director suddenly realized how late they were.  They only had time for one take of the embrace version.  And during that take, Shatner crosses his eyes.  Nobody saw it until the next day reviewing dailies.  They could only go with the kiss or bring everybody back in to re-shoot the scene.  Nichols says the suits in the room stood up and said, “Let’s air it with the kiss, and the Hell with what the South has to say.”

TriviaQ: According to TOS Blu-Ray extras, Nichelle Nichols wanted to leave the show after the first season, but this famous reverend convinced her to stay because of her respectable role for black women.
TriviaA: Martin Luther King, Jr.

TriviaQ: According to “I Am Spock”, what beer company put up billboards of Spock drinking their brand in the 1970s without Nimoy’s consent, or being paid for using his likeness?
TriviaA: Heineken.  His ears started out droopy and in the last frame stand proper and erect.  “Heineken refreshes places other beers can’t.”  It led to Nimoy filing a lawsuit against Paramount, which held him out of Star Trek – The Motion Picture until it could be resolved.  Spock’s character was replaced with a new vulcan science officer, whom they kill off in a transporter accident in a late script draft so that Spock can be in the movie after all.  Rand did nothing wrong!

TriviaQ: According to “I Am Spock”, Spock’s original skin color wasn’t a yellowish-green.  In the earliest camera tests (not in an episode), what color was it?
TriviaA: Red.  But the studio already felt he looked too Satanic with the ears, so a change was ordered.

TriviaQ: According to “I Am Spock”, one of the scenes in Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home was entirely ad-libbed.  Which scene?
TriviaA: The “where are the nuclear wessels” scene was shot with the camera hidden.  Koenig and Nichols were the only actors.  The cop, the other passerby, the woman who gave them vapid directions – none of them actors.  The cop was assigned to the shoot for security.  The rest were just San Francisco citizens who didn’t know they were being filmed, and were accustomed to seeing people dress and act weird.

TriviaQ: Nimoy was invited to be in the first part of Star Trek VII.  But other than having ‘marquee value’, Nimoy saw no reason for Spock to be in the movie and turned it down.  Consequently another TOS actor lost their role in ST7.  Who was it?
TriviaA: DeForest Kelley.  Scotty and Chekov replaced Spock and Bones.  They didn’t want Kirk & Bones without Spock. (source: “I Am Spock”)

TriviaQ: Nimoy invented the Vulcan Nerve Pinch.  When he presented it to Roddenberry as an idea for how vulcans could resolve conflict non-violently, he demonstrated it on another TOS cast member.  Who was it?
TriviaA: Shatner, whom Nimoy reports in “I Am Spock” went lifeless to the ground in a most convincing performance.

TriviaQ: Nimoy proposed the hand gesture that vulcans give in greeting and parting (with the ‘V’ fingers).  He gets the hand gesture from the holy men of which Earthly religion? (source: “I Am Spock”)
TriviaA: Judaism.  The hand symbol forms the Hebrew letter Shin, which stands for “Shaddai”, a name for God.  Priests make (what became) the “Vulcan Hand Salute” while reciting the Priestly Blessing in formal ceremony.

TriviaQ: According to Nimoy’s “I Am Spock”, what usually-wild animal (known for its resistance to harsh/cold climates) hair was used for Spock’s eyebrows?
TriviaA: Yak.

TriviaQ: According to Nimoy’s “I Am Spock”, what year did filming begin on the first pilot, “The Cage”?
TriviaA: 1964. (December 12th)

TriviaQ: Nobody dies in this Star Trek movie.
TriviaA: Star Trek IV.  As Nimoy puts it in “I Am Spock”, the movie’s only villains are Circumstance and a Lack Of Information.  This is a unique quality among Star Trek movies – and might be unique within the sci-fi movie genre.

TriviaQ: In Star Trek, what are ‘George’ and ‘Gracie’?
TriviaA: Will accept the answer ‘whales’, but technically all shots of the whales in Star Trek IV were puppets except for two brief stock footage shots of whales surfacing towards the end of the movie. (source: “I Am Spock”)

TriviaQ: “Kobayashi Maru” is the name of the no-win scenario Starfleet Academy put their cadets through in the 23rd century.  What is the scenario named after?
TriviaA: The name of the ship in distress in the scenario.

TriviaQ: In “I Am Spock”, Nimoy mentions a scene in Star Trek VI that he unintentionally played completely out of character.  Which scene was it?
TriviaA: The “have we outlived our usefulness to Starfleet?” scene between Spock and Kirk had the subtext “have we outlived our usefulness to Star Trek?”  Nimoy said it was himself talking to Shatner more than it was Spock talking to Kirk.

TriviaQ: According to TAS Blu-Ray extras, D.C. Fontana (lead staff writer) banned what word from EVER being spoken in the building?
TriviaA: ‘Cartoon’.  She said, “we don’t make cartoons.  And that’s the last time the word will be spoken here.”  The idea was to do with TAS what live action TOS could not (TAS wasn’t limited by budgets for sets or aliens having to be played by humans).  It was never intended to be exclusively for kids.

TriviaQ: According to TAS Blu-Ray extras, originally only Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley were hired to be voices in The Animated Series.  Nimoy held out until they brought on the rest of the cast, except one member.  Of the original ‘Enterprise 7’, which cast member isn’t in TAS?
TriviaA: Walter Koenig.  Lt. Arex Na Eth sits in Chekov’s place next to Sulu in TAS.  But Koenig did write one of the TAS episodes (“The Infinite Vulcan”).

TriviaQ: This usually-background member of the TOS ‘Enterprise 7’ gets their only big episode in Star Trek TAS.  They take the captain’s chair of the Enterprise.
TriviaA: Uhura.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, what technological innovation/plot device for the show’s era was invented by Roddenberry to compensate for his post-TOS policy: NO TIME TRAVEL IN STAR TREK EVER AGAIN.
TriviaA: The holodeck.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, what US President visited the set during a shoot simply because he was a fan? (and because he can)
TriviaA: Ronald Reagan.  Other political fan-visitors included Al Gore and Colin Powell (who was carrying THE ‘Football’.. you know, just in case).

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, which Next Generation producer was a holdout against casting Patrick Stewart as Picard?
TriviaA: Gene Roddenberry.  Gene went as far as to circulate a memo that said “Patrick Stuart’s name will never again be mentioned in connection with Star Trek.  I do not want him!”  And after finally yielding, Gene had Pat do a screen test with a toupee.. then had to yield on the toupee, too.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, Gene Roddenberry was against adding humanity and depth to one of the main characters.  He said the character is like John Wayne: always correct, no doubts, no regrets.  Which TNG character was it?
TriviaA: Jean-Luc Picard.  Gene related this simile after rejecting a script everybody else liked.. one where Picard experiences a holodeck program that explores his greatest fear: becoming an admiral, no longer able to captain a vessel.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, this performer was fired after season 1 because of their conflicts with the head office over sexism in the scripts.
TriviaA: Gates McFadden.

TriviaQ: According to writer Ronald D. Moore on the TNG Blu-Ray extras, what TNG performer came up to him in the hall on Moore’s first day and said simply that their character needed to “fight and f— more”?
TriviaA: Patrick Stewart.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, what is Patrick Stewart’s favorite TNG episode?
TriviaA: “The Inner Light”. (where Picard goes back in time – mentally – a 1000 years and lives a full life)

TriviaQ: This semi-major TNG character’s age is estimated between 600 and 650 years old by Memory Alpha (a website of canon Star Trek data).  Who is it?
TriviaA: Guinan.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, the writers for Star Trek 7 spent over a year on the script (Moore & Braga).  Upon completion, the same two writers wrote this TNG episode in only two weeks.  They agree the episode turned out better than the movie.  Which episode?
TriviaA: “All Good Things…” – the series finale.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray ‘writer roundtable’ segment, which main character of TNG was the hardest to write for?
TriviaA: Deanna Troi, particularly in the first few seasons.  Roddenberry believed that future humans wouldn’t need counselors because they’re so adjusted.  Then he puts a counselor on the ship.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, the United States Air Force Academy used which TNG episode to teach its cadets about honor?
TriviaA: “The First Duty”, where Wesley decides to rat on his friends so that a dead guy can save face.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, Brannon Braga ripped off the Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” to write which TNG episode? (hint: “Nightmare at 20,000 feet” was also redone as a segment in Spielberg’s “Twilight Zone: The Movie”.  The segment with the monster on the wing of the airplane that only one man could see)
TriviaA: “Realm of Fear”, where Barclay confronts his fear of the transporter.  In related trivia, William Shatner stars in the original Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” in 1964.

TriviaQ: What TNG episode does Patrick Stuart play opposite his son?  With Pat as Picard and Pat’s son Daniel as Picard’s son?
TriviaA: “The Inner Light”.  Patrick Stuart adds that he thinks it was Daniel’s first TV appearance. (he was wrong.  Daniel Stuart was in the “Shaka Zulu” TV series in 1986 per IMDB)

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, this major staff writer never had formal training in writing.  He was a mailman and a Star Trek fan.  He wrote “The Bonding” and submitted it directly to Paramount.  No agent.
TriviaA: Ronald D. Moore.  He went on to be one of the core TNG writers, he co-write Star Trek VII, was a core writer for Deep Space 9 once TNG went off the air, and a few Voyager episodes after DS9 went off the air.  If you’re an aspiring writer, this is possibly the best Trek trivia out there.  It’s not supposed to happen this way in the industry – as a hard rule.  In 2022, Moore is still a major name in the field, producing multiple series to streaming services.  His shows “For All Mankind” and “Outlander” are both quite popular, relatively speaking.

TriviaQ: In TNG’s Blu-Ray extras, the ‘writers roundtable’ participants agree that the worst line ever written for TNG was “It’s just not like him to take his own life.”  Name the episode that line is in.
TriviaA:  “Eye of the Beholder”, where an engineer throws himself into a plasma stream while experiencing delusions.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, the show was going under in its 3rd season.  Continual battles between Roddenberry, Pillar and the writing staff alongside low ratings.  One episode turned the corner, and the show’s popularity began to rise rapidly.  Which one?
TriviaA: “The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1”.  The cruel cliffhanger at the end of S3 left the geek-verse gabbing all summer long, leading to the show’s best ratings since the pilot with “The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2”.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, this performer BEGGED Roddenberry to be on the show, no matter how small a role.  They would be living the dream if they could only be on Star Trek.  Roddenberry made them a semi-regular cast member.
TriviaA: Whoopi Goldberg.  Her, LeVar Burton and Wil Wheaton were the only Star Trek fans on that crew.  Whoopi in particular looked up to Uhura as a kid.  She credits Uhura for instilling in her the dream of being more than what society had told her a black woman could be.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, which actor called a meeting during a season 1 episode and explained to the other actors that “we’re not here to have fun.”
TriviaA: Patrick Stewart.  And for the rest of the series, the other actors teased him, never letting him forget that “we’re not here to have fun.”  He did finally loosen up, and credits the others for teaching him that it’s okay to have fun at work.

TriviaQ: According to Brent Spiner on TNG Blu-Ray extras, who is the worst actor Spiner has ever worked with in his life? (hint: an uncommon companion to Data)
TriviaA: Spot the Cat.  Whenever he saw Spot’s name on the call sheet, he knew he was in for “a very long day”.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, which guest star liked to be left alone in a dark, small room between takes? (ideally the size of a closet)
TriviaA: Stephen Hawking.  He liked to sit in small, dark rooms alone so he could think.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, Data’s original skin color wasn’t white.  Nor was it Battleship Gray, which was the second camera test.  What color was his skin in the first camera test? (hint: mix red and white with a hint of yellow)
TriviaA: Bubble-gum Pink.  Bright and shiny.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, which TNG episode caused TV affiliates to be swamped with phone calls reporting there was something wrong with the broadcast?
TriviaA: “Cause and Effect”. (the time-loop episode) Brannon Braga adds that audiences today are more accustomed to unorthodox story structures.

TriviaQ: According to TNG Blu-Ray extras, writing staff and cast were never together.  Writers avoided cast members because the actors always wanted to change lines, infuse new story ideas about their characters, and so on.  But the entire writing staff came down to the set one time in 7 years to see one scene be shot.  Which scene? (hint: it’s the only scene where the writers would be safe)
TriviaA: The final scene in the series finale, “All Good Things…”.  It wasn’t just Picard joining the poker game for the first time; all the writers and producers were there, just off-camera, for the first (and last) time.

TriviaQ: Voyager’s creators originally intended the show to focus on a character other than the captain, but during development it ended up Janeway-centric after all.  Who was the original crew member the show was supposed to primarily focus on?
TriviaA: Tom Paris.  They were inspired by the season 7 TNG episode “Lower Decks”, and wanted to do the show from the perspective of someone other than the captain.  (source: Voyager DVD Extras)

TriviaQ: According to Voyager DVD extras, Robert Picardo had no interest in playing The Doctor.  What character in the cast did Picardo most want to play?
TriviaA: Neelix.  He wanted to do comedy and didn’t think The Doctor was funny in the least.  It took a couple episodes before he said he settled into the role and “got” The Doctor’s character.  He came to love it.

TriviaQ: According to Voyager DVD extras, Neelix’s eyes are based on what real world animal?
TriviaA: A lemur.

TriviaQ: According to IMDB trivia, what Voyager character was going to be axed instead of Kes to make room for Seven?.. that is, until People Magazine named the actor Sexiest Man of the Year between seasons 3 and 4. (sorry Kes)
TriviaA: Ensign Harry Kim.  He was originally supposed to die from the attack by Species 8472 at the end of season 3.  (note: the source for this trivia is IMDB – which cites no sources.  The official story on Kes’s departure is quite different.  Also, IMDB trivia can be user editable.  But it’s so very believable that I will parrot it here)

TriviaQ: What Star Trek actor performed the first televised kiss between an Asian male and an African female?
TriviaA: Garrett Wang, in the episode with the planet of the Sirens, “Favorite Son”. (Source: Voyager DVD Extras)

TriviaQ: According to Voyager DVD extras, all core cast members went through a rigorous series of call backs for their roles, except one cast member whom the producers settled on after just one reading.  Who was it?
TriviaA: Robert Picardo (The Doctor)

TriviaQ: According to Voyager DVD extras, Robert Beltran isn’t technically a “Native American”.  Ethnically, what nationality is he?
TriviaA: Mexican.  Though as he points out: his ancestors were mostly Aztec, and there is almost no ethnic difference between an Aztec and a Native American.

TriviaQ: Which Voyager cast member was the producers’ second choice?  A full day of shooting on “The Caretaker” episode was done with a different person in the role.  It didn’t work out and they called in choice #2, and reshot everything.
TriviaA: Kate Mulgrew (Janeway).  The first actor had a thick French accent.  Other than it “not working out”, no specific reason is given for this actor being fired after one day of work on the set. (Source: Voyager DVD Extras)

TriviaQ: According to Voyager DVD extras, of the ten core cast members on the Voyager crew (including Jennifer Lien), who were the only two Star Trek fans? (before being cast)
TriviaA: Tim Russ and Garrett Wang.  Jeri Ryan only learned what a borg was after she’d gotten the job.  Ditto Roxann Dawson with klingons.

TriviaQ: What Voyager episode does John de Lancie play alongside his son Keegan?  With John as Q and his son Keegan as Q’s son, Q. (this question is worth 0.3 points)
TriviaA: “Q2″.

TriviaQ: What nickname did Q Junior give to Icheb?
TriviaA: “Itchy”.

TriviaQ: What was Jeri Ryan’s bra size during Voyager?
TriviaA: 40DD.  By 2020 it had fallen to 32D.  And in 100 years she won’t need a bra.  (source: bodysize.org, celeb health magazine, and national geographic)

TriviaQ: Which Star Trek series has three cast members that could have the nickname “Bob”?
TriviaA: Voyager.  Robert Picardo, Robert Duncan McNeill, and Robert Beltran.