Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3, Episode 4, “A Space Adventure Hour”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds just confirmed an ancestor of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) hinted at in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. In its third season on Paramount+, Strange New Worlds has already explored several different genres, from romantic comedy to horror. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, “A Space Adventure Hour” delivers a classic holodeck story complete with a 1960s-set murder mystery.
In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 4, Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) assigns Lt. La’an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) to test out new holodeck technology aboard the Starship Enterprise. While Lt. Scotty (Martin Quinn) works to keep the rest of the ship’s systems up and running, La’an channels her inner detective, eventually recruiting Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) for assistance.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Confirmed Spock’s Ancestor Is Sherlock Holmes’ Creator
Spock Really Is Related To Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
When La’an first enters the holodeck, Spock is there to ensure the computer system is working properly. After La’an orders the computer to run the program, she marvels at the lifelike nature of her holographic surroundings, reveling in the chance to step into the shoes of her favorite fictional detective, Amelia Moon.
Before departing the holodeck, Spock looks to La’an and says, “Well, as my ancestor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, would write, ‘The game is afoot.'” This confirms that the creator of Sherlock Holmes is indeed Spock’s ancestor, just as the half-Vulcan first suggested in Star Trek VI.
Since Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek, is a full Vulcan, this must mean that he is related to Conan Doyle through his human mother, Amanda Grayson.
In The Undiscovered Country, Spock quoted one of Holmes’ most famous phrases, saying, “An ancestor of mine maintained that if ‘you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'” While this merely implied that Spock was a descendant of Doyle, he confirms it in Strange New Worlds season 3, episode 4.
Strange New Worlds Continues Star Trek’s Long History With Sherlock Holmes
TNG’s Data Developed A Particular Fondness For The British Detective
Star Trek has a long history with Sherlock Holmes that began with Spock’s shout-out in Star Trek VI. However, Star Trek’s most significant reference to Holmes comes courtesy of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), who develops a fascination with the famous fictional detective and his stories.
Data discovers Sherlock Holmes in TNG season 1, which eventually leads him to take on the role of Holmes to solve a mystery on the holodeck in season 2’s “Elementary, Dear Data.” With Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) as his Dr. Watson, Data’s Holmes faces off against a Professor Moriarty (Daniel Davis) whose existence threatens the entire Enterprise.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ “A Space Adventure Hour” has clear parallels with TNG’s holodeck episodes like “Elementary, Dear Data,” while also acting as a love letter to the entire Star Trek franchise. The episode includes numerous references to past Trek, including the shoutout to Sherlock Holmes and the man who created him, Spock’s ancestor, Arthur Conan Doyle.
