Summary
Despite its immense potential, theStar Trekfranchise seems to have forgotten about its most infamous pleasure planet. AlthoughStar Trekis mainly about space exploration and scientific discovery,allStar TrekTV showshave had an episode where the crew is allowed to blow off steam, andno shore leave planet has become more famous in the franchise than Risa. First introduced in theStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 3 episode, “Captain’s Holiday,” Risa has become synonymous with vacation and tourism, although it was only included in a handful of episodes across multiple series.
Over about four episodes,TNGandStar Trek: Deep Space Nineshowed the planet’s status as a popular shore leave destination in the 24th century, with characters likeCaptain Picard (Patrick Stewart), or Worf (Michael Dorn) and Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) vacationing there.Star Trek: Enterprisealso fleshed out Risa’s backstory, showing that it had once been more inhospitablebefore the native Risians had terraformed their planet into a paradise with advanced technology. Risa had enormous potential forStar Trek, but in recent projects, the franchise seems to have sidelined it.
The Complete Star Trek Timeline Explained
Star Trek’s timeline spans a thousand years of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, with alternate realities and time travel galore.
Star Trek Has Forgotten Its Infamous Pleasure Planet Risa
Risa Hasn’t appeared in Star Trek for ages
Aside from a brief appearance inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3, modernStar Trekhas completely forgotten about Risa as a setting for any of its episodes. The planet has been mentioned once or twice in episodes ofStar Trek: Lower DecksandStar Trek: Picard, andDiscoveryprovided two more concrete references to it. These took the form ofbriefly showing the Mirror Universe Risa inDiscoveryseason 3’s “Terra Firma, Part 2” and the character of Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle), a native Risian, in season 4.
Although theEnterpriseepisodes that depicted Risa technically aired afterDS9, the events in them took place chronologically over a century before.
However, noStar Trekmain character has been shown visiting the planet since Worf and Dax vacationed there inDS9’s “Let He Who Is Without Sin…” Although theEnterpriseepisodes that depicted Risa technically aired afterDS9, the events in them took place chronologically over a century before.The lack of Risa in newer andupcomingStar Trekprojectsis disappointing, especially because the franchise now has the ability to expand the planet and make it more interesting.
Modern Star Trek Could Actually Make Risa More Inviting Than Ever
The franchise has better capabilities to depict Risa than before
Thanks to CGI technology and special effects abilities in 2024, newerStar Trekshows could flesh out Risa in ways that weren’t possible in the 1990s. The recent slate ofStar Trekstreaming shows has adopted technology called the AR wall, which consists of large LED screens that allow shows to create enhanced visuals, letting actors see their surroundings unlike green screens, and building more interactive environments without the need to shoot on location.Using the AR wall to depict Risa would be a chance to make the planet feel more real.
While the visuals in the90s-eraStar Trekshowswere cutting edge at the time, the production team often relied on 2D matte paintings for wide shots, and rarely shot on location, instead shooting on sound stages and artificial environments. This didn’t help make Risa feel particularly fleshed out, butwith bigger budgets and better technology like the AR wall, the possibilities for the planet in modernStar Trekare endless. If the franchise brought Risa back, it could finally depict the planet in all its glory.
Star Trek
Star Trek is one of pop culture’s biggest multimedia franchises, spanning multiple movies, TV shows, books, comics, video games, and various other media. The franchise was created by Gene Roddenberry and started with the 1960s TV series starring William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Over the decades, several equally popular series have come out since as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Discovery.
