“Potterversity” Episode 65: “Potter & Trek Part 2 – The Reality Inside Your Head”

We’re voyaging out to the farthest reaches of space and into the deepest recesses of the mind for another look at Harry Potter and Star Trek.

Potterversity regular Louise Freeman, a retired psychology professor and licensed behavioral analyst who previously joined us for two episodes on memory in Harry Potter, contacted us after our Star Trek episode to share another connection that occurred to her. She asks us to consider the famous Dumbledore quotation “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 723) in the context of implanted memories in Star Trek.

We focus on Captain Picard’s life in an extinct civilization on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Inner Light” and Chief O’Brien’s prison sentence on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “Hard Time.” Both experiences take place only in the characters’ minds within a few minutes yet feel like years to Picard and O’Brien. Technically, Picard never leaves the bridge of the Enterprise and O’Brien never serves time in jail – it happens inside their heads but feels real to them and has lasting effects.

We also discuss Captain Pike’s time on Talos IV on Star Trek: The Original Series, where aliens can create convincing illusions either to trap people or to give them a better quality of life, which is particularly appealing for Pike after he becomes severely disabled.

Nog’s time in a Las Vegas nightclub in a holosuite following a traumatic injury on Deep Space Nine’s “It’s Only a Paper Moon” leads us to consider Potter’s ghosts and another Dumbledore quote: “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 214). These “unreal” experiences can have positive or negative consequences and demonstrate the power of escapism not only within these series but also for audiences who feel immersed in them.

Can you think of any other connections between Harry Potter and Star Trek? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at PotterversityPodcast@gmail.com, and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky.