The first episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy showed viewers how the venerable institution gets back to its former glory in the 32nd century. And episode one contains one of the biggest Easter eggs in any Star Trek project, ever. At the Academy, we see a “Wall of Honor,” filled with hundreds of names from Trek’s past. Some are legendary and some are very obscure. And some of them, we really don’t know why anyone would remember them 800 years later. But hey, that’s why we call it “fan service.” Here’s every name we spotted on the Wall of Honor with our standard Starfleet issued magnifying glass and which Star Trek era they came from. (Yes, we include the ones that reference real-world creatives!)
Star Trek: The Original Series
The names of almost the entire crew of the original Federation starship Enterprise from TOS are included, as they should be. Spock is listed as “Ambassador Spock,” his final rank as seen in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot. Pavel Chekov is listed as Commander, and Scotty is listed as Captain, a rank we knew he earned from the TNG episode “Relics.” Dr. Leonard McCoy’s name appears as Admiral, a rank we know he received thanks to his cameo in the TNG pilot. And Nyota Uhura is listed as Captain Uhura, meaning she achieved that rank at some point after Star Trek VI. Dr. Christine Chapel also gets a nod, as does a character who only appeared in a handful of episodes, Commander Janice Rand.
As hard as we looked, we strangely did not see the name of Captain Hikaru Sulu. Although, we can’t imagine it wasn’t there somewhere. And, of course, James T. Kirk features prominently. But it says “Admiral Kirk,” not “Captain.” Starfleet demoted Kirk from Admiral to Captain in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and he died with that rank in Generations. Did James Kirk return to life in some form in the intervening years? The third season of Picard certainly hinted it was possible.
The Star Trek Feature Films
Several characters from the feature films have their names pop up on the wall, including the refit Enterprise’s temporary Captain, Willard Decker, from The Motion Picture. From The Wrath of Khan, we get Captain Clark Tyrell (Paul Winfield), who commanded the Reliant. Another out-of-left-field name is Midshipman First Class Peter Preston, Scotty’s nephew, who died during Khan’s attack in that film.
The Captain of the Enterprise-B John Harriman (Alan Ruck) from Generations is there, as is his navigator, Demora Sulu. Yes, that’s the daughter of Hikaru Sulu. We learn thanks to this wall that she eventually made Captain herself. Oddly missing is the Vulcan Lt. Saavik, who appeared (played by two different actresses) in Star Trek II-IV. We know from Picard season 3 that eventually Starfleet names a ship after her. But no name on the wall? Odd.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Almost all the names of the entire Enterprise-D/Enterprise-E bridge crew appear on the wall, including Admiral Picard, Captain Riker, Captain Worf, Admiral Beverly Crusher, Commander Data, and Commander Deanna Troi. We didn’t notice Geordi La Forge’s name. But we also can’t imagine his name isn’t there somewhere. The name of security chief Tasha Yar, who died on duty at the end of season one, can be found as well.
Perhaps the most puzzling TNG era name included is Wesley Crusher. Starfleet lists him on the wall as “Lt. JG Wesley Crusher.” But Wes was only ever an acting ensign on the Enterprise, and he left Starfleet in his final year at the Academy without graduating. He went on to become a Traveler, a time-traveling being who explores the cosmos. His listing as Lt. suggests there is more we don’t know about Wes’ story.
Other TNG names that appear on the wall are Captain Sonya Gomez, who appeared in season two as an ensign, later showing up as a Captain Gomez in Lower Decks. Also appearing on the wall is Lt. Sito Jaxa, a Bajoran officer who died going undercover in the episode “Lower Decks.” And there’s Captain Rachel Garrett, the Captain of the Enterprise-C, from the fan-favorite episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” Surprisingly, not included in Commander Ro Laren, who died heroically in Picard season 3. Not so surprisingly, the names of TNG season two CMO Kate Pulaski isn’t there, as the franchise forgot she existed as soon as she left. Another obscure name is Cadet Joshua Albert. A member of Nova Squadron, he died tragically offscreen in the episode “The First Duty.”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Almost all of the names of the main Starfleet crew from Deep Space Nine appear, including Captain Benjamin Sisko, Dr. Julian Bashir, Miles O’ Brien, and Dax. Although, we only see the name “Dax,” and don’t know if it’s Jadzia, Ezri, or even Curzon Dax. As for the omissions of Kira Nerys and Odo, they were not Starfleet officers, so they wouldn’t be listed. And especially not the Ferengi bar owner Quark.
Quark’s nephew, Lt. Nog, the first Ferengi in Starfleet, made the cut however. Sadly, it seems he never advanced in rank. Elim Garak, the Cardassian tailor/spy from DS9, is listed as Ambassador Elim Garak, suggesting he became a Federation diplomat of note after the Dominion War. The crew members of the U.S.S. Valiant also appear, including Dorian Collins, Karen Farris, and Riley Aldrin Sheprd. The Vulcan Admiral T’Lara from the episode “Rules of Engagement” appears, suggesting she had an illustrious career.
Star Trek: Voyager
From Voyager, we have Admiral Kathryn Janeway as well as Captain Chakotay. We know from Prodigy that Starfleet promoted him to Captain. Lt. Commander B’Ellana Torres and Lt. Tom Paris’ names also appear. Sadly, it seems that Starfleet never promoted them after the finale of Voyager. After serving seven seasons as an Ensign, we learn that Harry Kim eventually earned the rank of Admiral. Justice for Harry Kim at last.
The name of the Vulcan Tuvok also appears, listed as Captain Tuvok. We see Captain Seven of Nine’s name, acknowledging her commanding the Enterprise-G at the end of Picard season three. Samantha Wildman, a recurring Voyager character, also gets a nod. Neither Neelix nor Kes gets their names on the wall, as neither of them was ever a Starfleet officer.
Star Trek: Enterprise
The earliest series in the Trek timeline, Star Trek: Enterprise, has several names from the NX-01. We noticed Admiral Jonathan Archer, Lt. Cdr. Hoshi Sato, and Cmdr. Charles “Trip” Tucker III.
Star Trek: Discovery
Most of the crew of Discovery is still alive and well in the 32nd century. But the names of some fallen heroes from the crew of Michael Burnham’s ship (and ships from her era) are visible, such as Cmdr. Ellen Landry and Admiral Cornwell. We spotted Captain Phillipa Georgiou’s name as well. The most shocking name from Discovery is Dr. Hugh Culber. After all, he is presumably still alive at the time of this series. The impression we got is that this is a memorial wall. Hopefully, Hugh is ok out there.
Star Trek: Picard
We noticed but one name from Star Trek: Picard. That was Cristóbal Rios, former Captain of the non-Federation starship La Sirena, and later Captain of Starfleet’s U.S.S. Stargazer.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Of the characters from Strange New Worlds, we only really see Captain Christopher Pike. The other character names shown were prominent on TOS originally, like Dr. M’Benga. It makes sense that Paramount hopes to conceal the ultimate ranks of characters like La’An Noonien Singh and Erica Ortegas as well as Una Chin-Riley until the SNW finale.
Animated Star Trek (Lower Decks, Prodigy)
The Wal of Honor is not limited to live-action Star Trek series. From Lower Decks, we see Beckett Mariner (now promoted to Commander), Captain Carl Freedman of the Cerritos, Admiral Alonzo Freeman, and Captain Amina Ramsay. From Prodigy, we noticed the name Zero the Third. Is this Zero from Star Trek: Prodigy? Seems very likely.
Star Trek Creatives
The “filler” names on the wall are littered with various real-life directors, writers, and actors from the franchise. We noticed franchise creator Gene Roddenberry’s name (of course) as well as prolific Star Trek novelist Peter David, who passed away last year. There aren’t many actors from Trek, but Lower Decks’ Tawny Newsome and Jonathan Frakes are both listed. Frakes’ inclusion probably has less to do with his role as Riker and more to do with the fact that he’s directed over thirty Star Trek episodes, and two feature films.
Finally, we noticed a name that says “Capt Lucy A…” The rest of the name is cut off. We think this refers to Lucy Arnaz, the married name of TV icon Lucille Ball. Via her company Desilu, Lucy funded and fought for not one, but two Star Trek pilots. Without her faith in Gene Roddenberry’s concept, the entire franchise wouldn’t have happened. We’d like to think this “Captain Lucy” is the “Mother of Star Trek” herself, Lucille Ball.
As the series progresses, we’re sure to get more close-ups of the Wall of Honor. And no doubt, other legendary names fromStar Trek’s glorious past will appear. For updates, keep watching this space. It’s the final frontier, after all.