SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 - If Star Trek has taught us anything, it’s that sentient computers are never a good idea. In the preview for this week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks, it looks like Mariner and Boimler are about to learn that lesson first-hand.

“Where Pleasant Fountains Lie” is the seventh episode of Lower Decks season two, and features the return of fan-favorite franchise actor Jeffrey Combs in his first Star Trek role since appearing as the Andorian Shran in Star Trek: Enterprise. Combs provides the voice for an evil computer that is set free when Boimler and Mariner’s shuttle crash lands on an alien planet, marking his ninth Star Trek role (10th if you count 2003’s Elite Force II video game). Boimler has clearly studied his Starfleet history, because when the AI announces, “I am free,” he exclaims, “Ah, crap, it’s the evil computer. We’re not supposed to interact with it.” Mariner’s reply? “Evil computers are so chatty.”

The official ViacomCBS description for the episode hints at further drama aboard the USS Cerritos, telling how “Lt. Commander Billups must prove his engineering abilities to an old adversary.” As for the episode title, it’s a quote from Shakespeare that references the goddess Venus’ attempts to seduce the beautiful Adonis. How that echoes this week’s Lower Decks is something that will only be revealed when the episode streams on Paramount+ on Thursday. In the meantime, you can catch the preview at the official Star Trek on Paramount+ Twitter page, and you can catch a refresher course on all of Jeffrey Combs’ memorable appearances in Star Trek at StarTrek.com.