The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover episode with Star Trek: Lower Decks almost featured a surprising Vulcan-related cameo. In Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 7, “Those Old Scientists,” Ensigns Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) find themselves in the past on the USS Enterprise of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). Hijinks ensue as the Enterprise crew works to get Boimler and Mariner back to their own time period. “Those Old Scientists” is not only hilarious but also acts as a love letter to everything Star Trek, as Boimler and Mariner geek out about getting to meet legendary Starfleet heroes.
The final moments of the crossover feature a delightful scene of the Strange New Worlds crew in animation that almost included the appearance of a Vulcan sehlat. Bear-like beasts often kept as pets by Vulcan children, sehlats have only appeared a couple of times in the Star Trek franchise. During TrekTalks 3’s “Those Old Scientists” panel to raise funds for the Hollywood Food Coalition, the writers of the Strange New Worlds crossover, Kathryn Lyn and Bill Wolkoff, joined Tawny Newsome and director Jonathan Frakes to discuss the episode. When asked if there was anything that didn’t make it into the final episode, Lyn and Wolkoff had the following to say:
Kathryn Lyn: “A sehlat. Bill and I had an animated sehlat at the end that got cut. Which is a Vulcan— we all know what a sehlat is. We’ve spent the last year trying to get a sehlat back into Strange New Worlds.”
Bill Wolkoff: “The sehlat that could have been.”
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Spock And T’Pol Both Had A Pet Sehlat
“Vulcan children are never late with their sehlat’s dinner.”
Despite their six-inch fangs and aggressive nature, domesticated sehlats are a popular pet for Vulcan children. In Star Trek: The Original Series, season 2, episode 10, “Journey to Babel,” Spock’s (Leonard Nimoy) parents visit the USS Enterprise. Spock’s mother Amanda (Jane Wyatt) reveals that the young Spock had “a pet sehlat he was very fond of.” Although Amanda describes the sehlat as a “fat teddy bear,” Spock is quick to point out the creature’s six-inch fangs. The second episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series, titled “Yesteryear,” features the first appearance of a sehlat, revealing Spock’s pet was named I-Chaya.
In Star Trek: Enterprise, season 4, episode 7, “The Forge,” Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) and Sub-Commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) must travel across an inhospitable Vulcan desert. During their trek, Archer and T’Pol are chased by a wild sehlat, and T’Pol reveals that she had a slightly smaller domesticated one as a pet. At Archer’s shocked reaction, T’Pol points out that he has his beagle, Porthos, but Archer replies that he doesn’t have to worry about Porthos eating him. The sehlat briefly seen in “The Forge” only appears at a distance and its design was based on I-Chaya from “Yesteryear.” Although we didn’t get to see the sehlat in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover episode, hopefully, one of the Vulcan teddy bears will make an appearance in a future Star Trek project.
- Cast
- Melissa Navia , Babs Olusanmokun , Ethan Peck , Jess Bush , Celia Rose Gooding , Rebecca Romijn , Bruce Horak , Anson Mount , Christina Chong
- Seasons
- 2
- Streaming Service(s)
- Paramount+
- Franchise(s)
- Star Trek
