One episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation predicted main plot points of both Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG ushered in a golden era for the Star Trek franchise. Captain Picard and his crew soon became almost as popular as the characters of Star Trek: The Original Series, and TNG laid the groundwork for much of what came after. Many elements (and characters) introduced on TNG would play a role on DS9 and Voyager, including two important references in the same episode.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 8, “The Price,” the Enterprise hosts several delegates who wish to bid on rights to a supposedly stable wormhole. Discovered by the Barzan people, this wormhole could provide a stable way to travel vast distances across the galaxy. The negotiator representing the Chrysalians, Devinoni Ral (Matt McCoy), finds himself drawn to Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) and she shares his feelings. The two embark on a passionate romance, which takes up much of the episode’s runtime, as the negotiations continue in the background. The wormhole itself serves as a precursor to DS9, and a Ferengi shuttle connects to Voyager.

Star Trek: TNG’s “The Price” Features A Wormhole To The Gamma Quadrant

The Bajoran wormhole in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine remains the only truly stable wormhole in the Milky Way Galaxy.

The wormhole at the center of the negotiations in “The Price” connects the Alpha Quadrant to the Gamma Quadrant, just like the Bajoran wormhole in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Since the Barzans do not have the means to control the wormhole and the space traffic that would use it, they have decided to auction it off to the highest bidder. The Federation bids for the right to control the wormhole, as do the Caldonians and the Chrysalians. When the Ferengi learn of the wormhole’s existence, they insert themselves into the bidding as well.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the wormhole turns out to be a “proverbial lemon,” just as Captain Picard feared. While the Alpha Quadrant side of the wormhole seems stable, the other end moves locations. When Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) travel through the wormhole to investigate, they end up in the Delta Quadrant, not the Gamma Quadrant. They determine that the Alpha Quadrant side of the wormhole will eventually become unstable as well, rendering the wormhole basically useless.

Star Trek: TNG’s “The Price” Also Features A Ship That Gets Lost In The Delta Quadrant

Star Trek: Voyager season 3, episode 5, “False Profits” serves as a sequel to “The Price.”

When Data and Geordi take a shuttle into the wormhole, they offer to share any information they find with the other delegates. The Ferengi, however, insist on investigating for themselves, and Ferengi officers Arridor (Dan Shor) and Kol (J.R. Quinonez) take their own shuttle into the wormhole. Data and Geordi soon detect strange readings, and they urge the Ferengi to return with them back to the Alpha Quadrant. The Ferengi refuse to listen and find themselves stranded in the Delta Quadrant when the wormhole moves to a new location.

The USS Voyager will find itself in a similar predicament in the premiere of Star Trek: Voyager, when the powerful Caretaker sends the ship to the Delta Quadrant. Later, in Voyager’s “False Profits,” Voyager encounters Ferengi officers Arridor and Kol (Leslie Jordan), who have declared themselves gods on a primitive planet. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and her crew stop the Ferengi, and Arridor and Kol travel back through the unstable wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant. It will take Voyager a few more years to find its way home, but “False Profits” serves as a nice callback to Star Trek: The Next Generation.

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  Star Trek: The Next Generation

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  Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

  Cast

  Patrick Stewart
  , Marina Sirtis
  , Brent Spiner
  , Jonathan Frakes
  , LeVar Burton
  , Wil Wheaton
  , Gates McFadden
  , Michael Dorn

  Release Date

  
  September 28, 1987
  

  Seasons

  7

  Showrunner

  Rick Berman
  , Michael Piller
  , Jeri Taylor

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  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

  Cast

  Avery Brooks
  , Rene Auberjonois
  , Cirroc Lofton
  , Colm Meaney
  , Armin Shimerman
  , Alexander Siddig
  , Nana Visitor
  , Michael Dorn
  , Nicole de Boer
  , Terry Farrell
  , Andrew Robinson

  Release Date

  
  January 3, 1993
  

  Seasons

  7

  Showrunner

  Michael Piller
  , Ira Steven Behr

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  Star Trek: Voyager

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  The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they’ve never faced before. 

  Cast

  Kate Mulgrew
  , Robert Beltran
  , Roxann Dawson
  , Jennifer Lien
  , Robert Duncan McNeill
  , Ethan Phillips
  , Robert Picardo
  , Tim Russ
  , Garrett Wang
  , Jeri Ryan

  Release Date

  
  May 23, 1995
  

  Seasons

  7

  Showrunner

  Michael Piller
  , Jeri Taylor
  , Brannon Braga
  , Kenneth Biller