Tig Notaro joins list of comedians to appear on Star Trek
By Adam Sokol
Comedian Tig Notaro, who will be on season 2 of Discovery, joins a long line of comedians to appear on Star Trek throughout the years.
Filming just started on season two of Star Trek: Discovery and among the many announcements that have come out is that comedian Tig Notaro will have a reoccurring guest role. Tig Notaro, famous for both her standup and her Amazon Prime show One Mississippi, will be playing Chief Engineer Denise Reno of the U.S.S. Hiawatha. Notaro will be the latest comedian to appear in Star Trek, but she certainly isn’t the first.
Family Guy and American Dad creator Seth Macfarlane was such a fan of Star Trek that he lobbied the makers of Star Trek: Enterprise to appear in the series. He got his wish and was a character named Rivers in two episodes. His love of Star Trek continues in his newest show, the sci-fi comedy-drama series, The Orville.
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Voyager had two comedians guest star throughout its run. On the two-parter Future’s End, Sarah Silverman played SETI scientist Rain Robinson. The episode is also famous for featuring a 90’s San Fransisco that looks even more 90’s than the 90’s did at the time.
In addition to Silverman, Voyager also had comedian Andy Dick who played an EMH Mark II so neurotic and jumpy it wouldn’t surprise me if Starfleet had to discontinue that particular EMH over repeated and costly malpractice lawsuits.
Star Trek The Next Generation had an episode featuring two comedians. In his quest to understand humor, Data turns to comedian and frequent TNG guest star Whoopi Goldberg’ Guinan. They enlist the help of a hologram comedian played by Joe Piscopo. The quest fails as the only thing that understands humor less than an android is a hologram of Joe Piscopo.
Next: Star Trek: Discovery releases season 2 behind the scenes trailer
Of course, who could forget when Iggy Pop played the Vorta Yelgrun on the DS9 episode The Magnificent Ferengi. Pop is not a comedian but deserves to be mentioned just because of how awesome both he and that episode were.