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Strange New Worlds season 4 features bizarre cameo from 53-year-old Star Trek series
You won't have seen this one coming.
Jan Thijs/Paramount+
- David Opie
Published: Thursday, 6 August 2026 at 2:00 pm
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**Warning: Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 episode 3.**
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As a prequel to the original Star Trek series that first made Captain Kirk a household name, Strange New Worlds regularly connects with the classic '70s show, often in rather surprising ways.
Still, few could have predicted just how bizarrely the latest episode of season 4 would call back to the past.
Exhausted by all their recent adventures, the Enterprise crew end up on a planet which comes with a rather unusual atmosphere.
Even before landing, the intoxicating effects of its environment hit everyone on board. It turns out the planet makes you high, as if you're on drugs, and we see that effect instantly when the crew start giggling before more wild hijinks ensue.
Trust me when I say you've never seen Federation officers quite like this before, and the same is true of one surprise old-school cameo that comes out of nowhere.
Upon their arrival, our faves watch an introductory video that explains the drug-like effects of the planet and what to expect from the resort they'll be staying at.
There's an animated section which is drawn to resemble the style of the original Star Trek animated series, and even more bizarrely, an unnamed character pops up who looks exactly like Leonard Nimoy's Spock did on the show.
Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in Star Trek: The Animated Series. Paramount+
Is that actually Spock? Ethan Peck's current version also appears in this episode, getting as high as everyone else does, and he looks nothing like the older Spock that Nimoy once played.
So what's going on? Are we high? Apparently not, although this trippy cameo sure gives that impression.
An actual appearance from the animated version of Nimoy's Spock would make no sense here given that the timelines don't add up. There's no time travel as such going on either. But that's the whole point.
Just as the crew are discombobulated by their experiences at the resort, we are too, immediately drawn into this idea that what we're seeing might not be real either.
Beyond that impact, it's also just a neat throwback to a beloved version of Star Trek.
Star Trek: The Animated Series (TAS) originally aired under the title Star Trek, subtitled Created by Gene Roddenberry, from September 8 1973, to October 12 1974.
The show ran for 22 episodes total across two seasons, and most of the live-action stars reprised their roles here too, voicing all your iconic faves. That includes Nimoy by the way.
For many fans, The Animated Series was effectively a fourth season of The Original Series, continuing the adventures of the crew on screen. It's rather fitting then that Strange New Worlds would pay homage to it, as the new show also expands that original story — albeit in reverse.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is available to stream on Paramount+. Sign up to your seven-day Paramount+ free trial.
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Authors
David OpieFreelance Writer
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.
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