September of 2019 saw many Star Trek fans shocked and saddened when Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor, Aron Eisenberg, died of heart failure suddenly at only 50 years old. Eisenberg, who played Nog on DS9 for all seven seasons of the series, was an important part of the show, and his Ferengi character eventually became the first of his race to join Starfleet. After Eisenberg's death, there were a lot of fans who called for a tribute to him (and Nog) in one of the new Trek series. Now, that's become a reality, as Star Trek: Discovery has paid an awesome tribute to the actor on screen.
Discovery, which began as a prequel to series to Star Trek: The Original Series, has now gone way beyond Nog's time in Starfleet. At the end of the previous season, the crew had to jump about a 1000 years into the future, and Season 3 has shown that things are a lot different in the galaxy. The Federation (and Starfleet, for that matter) is now a shadow of its former self, while technology has advanced pretty far beyond what Discovery's crew is used to, and the state of relations between the wide variety of races and lifeforms is now a mystery they'll have to catch up on very quickly to do their jobs.
Episode 5 of Season 3 aired recently and showed that one thing has remained the same: the amazing contribution Nog made to Starfleet. In the episode, which featured Discovery's crew finally making contact with Starfleet, the Federation, and being granted the right to continue on working as a science vessel in the fleet, fans were treated to a quick shot of a new ship, which bares the name of the "USS Nog," in tribute to Aron Eisenberg and the beloved Ferengi.
I mean, this is cool, right? While fans had been hoping that we would be treated to seeing Nog as a captain somehow, as seen in the alternate future DS9 episode "The Visitor," this is a similar treat which proves that he continued to make his mark after beginning his work in Starfleet on that show.
At New York Comic Con last year, Discovery's executive producer and co-showrunner, Alex Kurtzman, promised fans that he and his team would "look for every opportunity" to find a way to honor Aron Eisenberg's contribution to the wide-spread Trek franchise, so it's good to see that they were serious about working Nog into the show in some way. About the decision to name a ship after the character, he told Trek Core:
We promised to honor the legacy of both Nog and the late Aron Eisenberg, and it seemed fitting to name a starship after a character who exemplified the possibility of resilience after a period of darkness.Hopefully we’ll see more of the USS Nog as it helps Starfleet build a brighter future.
Lovely. I'd like to think that with this crazy new world Discovery's crew has entered, there would be at least some future need for assistance from those working on the USS Nog, but we'll just have to keep watching to see if the ship created to pay tribute to the late Aron Eisenberg will return at some point.
Star Trek: Discovery airs every Wednesday on CBS All Access, but for more to watch in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our guide to fall TV, and see what's coming to the small screen in the new year!
