The richly overflowing world of Star Trek is one that has established itself as a staple of the sci-fi genre ever since it first hit the small screen in the late 60s. It is widely known for its extensive alien races and cultures, the real-world inspiring technology it pioneers, and for being a surprisingly philosophical program that explores morality and ethics at a level still sparsely examined in long-running episodic TV.
While it is also known for being able to accomplish both comedy and drama, something it’s not synonymous with is breaking the fourth wall. It's not inherently in the show's DNA like programs such as She-Hulk or Deadpool. However, there are a scattering of these moments through the franchise. Here are the best examples.
The Animated Series: An Animated Wink
Starting off with a series that often gets overlooked when talking about the impressive amount of Star Trek shows and movies: The Animated Series. This show was Roddenberry’s attempt to tie up all the loose ends of the previously canceled Original Series, giving him a chance to complete the intrepid crew's 5-year journey into the depths of unexplored space. It was far wackier than the original show, animation allowing for some normally impossible scenes to take place. It also made for some strange visuals.
In the episode “The Infinite Vulcan,” Spock is kidnaped on a planet full of plant aliens, but a giant human (and the crew, of course) attempt to rescue him. During a fight with these aliens, the martial arts master Sulu performs a comically brilliant body throw. Kirk later asks Sulu if he could teach it to him. Sulu tells him that the person need to be ‘inscrutable,’ Kirk retorting that Sulu ‘is the most scrutable person’ he knows. This terrible joke causes Sulu to turn directly into the camera and wink, shattering the fourth wall in a confounding way.
The Next Generation: Picard and the Ferengi
The surprisingly powerful Ferengi are incredibly divisive among Star Trek fans, some loving them and other despising them. They were first introduced in TNG as an attempt to take up the mantle of series villain, replacing the Klingons of TOS. It quickly became apparent that they were not main villain material, coming across as fairly anti-Semitic, bumbling, and useless secondary villains that appeared every now and then, often in some of the franchise's worst episodes.
In the episode “The Price,” Picard has his fair share of Ferengi, getting infuriated with their actions until, in one final moment, he looks exasperatedly directly into the camera. This is not just a fleeting moment either. The look lasted a few secnds and definitely deliberate. What makes this even funnier is that Stewart was known as a fairly serious, classically trained actor. He's someone who, when faced with the terrible overacting of the Ferengi, would likely have felt the same exasperation Picard shows.
Deep Space 9: In the Pale Moonlight Monologue
In what many believe to be the best episode of Star Trek ever made, Captain Sisko delivers a captain's log detailing the events of the last few days. In flashbacks, audiences see how he crossed multiple lines (some of which literally make him a war criminal), all accumulating in him being an accessory in two murders. It’s an episode that deals with the emotion consequences of doing what must be done, no matter how bad, to win an impossible war and save millions of lives.
While the monologue starts simply as Sisko talking to his computer, it slowly shifts until he is delivering his lines directly into the camera. It's almost as is he is seeking forgiveness from the audience themselves, people who have grown accustomed to a far less gritty Star Trek where the lines between good and evil are not so blurred.
The Next Generation: Tasha Yar’s Wave Goodbye
In all the various iterations into the franchise, there has been no death so abrupt and unjust as that of Tasha Yar, the Enterprise's head of security in The Next Generation. After getting more and more displeased with what the writers were doing with her character, taking her from a strong and brilliant female offer to that of a sex symbol with little to no substance, actress Denise Crosby decided to leave the show. While Yar’s last appearance was during the episode “Skin of Evil” where she is killed by a talking tar monster, Crosby’s actual last performance with in a previous episode “Symbiosis,” as TNG was filmed, like many other shows, out of order.
In the final scene of the episode, Picard is doing his thing in the foreground, but Yar can be seen in the background. This was the last thing she filmed, and she took the opportunity to wave directly into the camera, saying goodbye to the show and her fans.