Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1, Episode 11 – “Asylum”Star Trek V: The Final Frontier introduced a controversial planet that Star Trek: Prodigy confirmed still exists in the 24th century. In Star Trek: Prodigy‘s midseason 1 premiere, the teenage crew of the USS Protostar finally make contact with Starfleet when they dock at CR-721, the furthest relay comm station on the edge of Federation space. Dal R’El (Brett Gray), Gwyn (Ella Purnell), and their friends meet Lt. Barniss Frex (Eric Bauza), a Denobulan like Star Trek: Enterprise‘s Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) who’s the sole inhabitant of the space station.
When the Protostar’s crew, who are wearing Starfleet uniforms, meet Barniss Frex, the Denobulan automatically fears that they’re there to replace him, and that Starfleet is sending him “somewhere worse… Where am I going this time? The Gamma Quadrant? Oh no, not Nimbus III!” Nimbus III was the so-called “Planet of Galactic Peace” in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and it was used by Sybok (Lawrence Luckinbill) as the staging ground to lure the USS Enterprise so that he could hijack the starship to find “God” on the planet Sha Ka Ree. Frex’s distress at being sent to Nimbus III means the “Planet of Galactic Peace” is still likely being used by the United Federation of Planets, if not the Klingons and Romulans as well, but Nimbus III is actually “worse” than being alone on a relay station bordering the Delta Quadrant.
Why Star Trek’s Planet of Galactic Peace Failed
Nimbus III was established as a joint effort by the Federation, the Klingons, and the Romulans as a model to foster mutual peace and understanding. The “Planet of Galactic Peace,” as it was billed, was located in the Neutral Zone and hosted a representative from each galactic power. St. John Talbot (David Warner) was the Federation diplomat, General Kord (Charles Cooper) repped the Klingons, and Caithlin Dar (Cynthia Gouw) was the Romulan of the group. They were based in Paradise City, a shanty frontier town populated by the ragged denizens of Nimbus III and other aliens who holed up on the planet.
Ultimately, Nimbus III was a dismal failure. The backwater planet was a galactic dead-end instead of a beacon of hope for unity between the Federation, Romulans, and Klingons. But Sybok found an army that he could control to do his bidding on Nimbus III, and the “Planet of the Galactic Peace” had enough significance that conquering it would bring the Starship Enterprise to the rescue. In the 24th century, Nimbus III’s location was verified by star charts in Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: Voyager, but Prodigy is the first time it’s been mentioned since Star Trek V. Amusingly, in Star Trek: Prodigy, Barniss Frex keeps referring to CR-721’s location as “the Final Frontier,” which is a sly shoutout to Star Trek V‘s subtitle.
Star Trek Has Brought Back Sybok But Will He Appear In Prodigy?
Star Trek: Prodigy name-dropping Nimbus III is the latest unexpected credence given to Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. The William Shatner-directed Star Trek movie was a low point for the film franchise, and for many years its events were simply ignored. However, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds shocked Trekkers by bringing back Sybok, the Vulcan half-brother of Spock (Ethan Peck) who embraces his emotions to nefarious ends and married the space pirate, Captain Angel (Jesse James Keitel). Sybok is practically a lock to appear on Strange New Worlds, but could the mad Vulcan also appear in Prodigy? With Star Trek: Prodigy bringing in a slew of legacy characters, it’s not out of the question that Sybok could be referenced or even appear through various creative means even though Spock’s brother has been dead for nearly a century.
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.
