Poll of the Week: Best TOS Actor Appearance on a Later Series?

[Randal Shayne]

There are an enormous number of inter-series cameos in Star Trek, and more often than not, they’re delightful treats, designed to connect and further flesh out a universe so massive it might otherwise become tangled and unfollowable. Quark and William Riker have enjoyed a number of these appearances, but for this particular poll, we’ll be focusing on those moments where characters from the original Enterprise were featured. Dr. Leonard McCoy’s tour of the Enterprise D is the first of these shown in the pilot episode for TNG, later followed by Ambassador Spock and his attempts to reunite the Romulan people with their Vulcan brothers in “Unification Parts I and II”. The discovery of Montgomery Scott’s shuttle on the Jenolan Dyson Sphere was the focus of the TNG episode “Relics”. Additionally, Sarek (featured in the aforementioned episode, shortly after appearing as a titular character in the previous season of TNG) helped to connect the old to the new, and to pass on a well-known legacy. Finally, in one of the most popular episodes of Voyager, Hikaru Sulu, shown in a memory as the captain of the Excelsior, and Janice Rand, provide excellent background information into Tuvok’s past, while adding some much need variety to the show’s stories.

Of these appearances, which was your favorite? Give us your vote, and explain away in the comments section!