The latest Star Trek merchandise tie-in is a commemorative plate featuring Tom Paris from Lower Decks season 2
The upcoming Tom Paris commemorative plate from Star Trek Unlimited
JULY 25, 2021 - Fans of Star Trek: Voyager were treated to an unexpected surprise when the trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks season two debuted this past Friday during the Paramount+ Comic-Con@Home panel. Adding to the many shout-outs to other Trek series that Lower Decks has become known for, it was revealed that Voyager helmsman Tom Paris would be making an appearance, albeit in the form of a commemorative plate owned by Starfleet history nerd Brad Boimler. In a tense scene set in a Jeffries tube, Boimler carries on a conversation with the plate, with actor Robert Duncan McNeill reprising his role as Paris.
But before fans had time to even catch their breath from the news, it was revealed that the commemorative plate would also be making an appearance in the real world as a licensed product, thanks to new licensee Star Trek Unlimited. According to the official announcement: “No plate ever made depicts Lieutenant Paris in quite as much detail as this. Look at him! That friendly face, that welcoming thumbs-up, and that enigmatic smile which says, ‘Come on, Universe. Show me what you've got!’”
After the news broke, McNeill admitted on Twitter that it was a hard secret to keep. After Star Trek Unlimited joked that their alternate design features Paris in lizard form from the Voyager episode “Threshold”, he also added a tongue-in-cheek response: “We all did things when we were young that we’d like to forget…”
We all did things when we were young that we’d like to forget…🖖😬🪐 https://t.co/Az82docAs6
— robert duncan mcneill (@robertdmcneill) July 25, 2021
Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan admitted on Twitter that the plate is a callback to a series of Star Trek: The Next Generation plates that were first released in 1992. Like those plates, the Tom Paris plate is a limited-edition release. You can pre-order it at StarTrekUnlimited.com starting August 11th, 2021.
Jack Brown is a contributing writer for Daily Star Trek News on the Roddenberry Podcast Network. Jack teaches at a small film school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and also helps to manage his wife's career as a novelist and speaker. In his spare time he writes fiction, cooks, and watches classic movies.
