Part of what makes Star Trek in all of its iterations so much fun is the endless and varied planets the characters end up on, as well as the aliens that come from those planets. The classic title sequence emphasizes the importance of "strange new worlds" in the mission of the Starship Enterprise. Since then, many new series have been created, and consequently, many new planets discovered. Perhaps it seems more natural to think about relaxation when debating the planet you'd want to vacation to (Risa seems like a nice choice); however, the adventures in every version of Star Trek have always been characterized partly by their wonderful eccentricity. So here are 15 weird planets to keep in mind as you put together your itinerary.

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Sigma Iotia II - Star Trek: The Original Series, "A Piece of the Action" (Season 2, Episode 17)

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If you think that an alien can’t simply be an exact replica of a certain time period on earth, you would be wrong. Case in point: Sigma Iotia II, which is just prohibition-era Chicago, where the (very human-looking) Iotians are all gangsters. There is technically a reason for this: just as the planet was beginning industrialization, it was discovered by the starship Horizon. The Horizon left behind a number of textbooks including "Chicago Mobs of The 20s," off of which the highly imitative Iotians modeled their entire society. LARPing enthusiasts, this one is for you.

The USS Voyager becomes trapped in the magnetic field of a planet where time on the surface passes thousands of times faster than in the rest of the galaxy. When Voyager first becomes stuck, the inhabitants of the planet are primitive humanoids. While a few hours pass on Voyager, thousands of years pass on the surface of the planet, until it has reached a space age. Ever since the primitive aliens first saw Voyager in the sky, the unknown celestial object became an integral part of their culture and inspired much of their innovation and industrialization as the inhabitants of Tahal-Meeroj dreamed of one day being able to travel to it.

Beta Omicron Delta III - Star Trek: The Original Series, "Shore Leave" (Season 1, Episode 15)

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On Beta Omicron Delta III, everything you imagine becomes real. Also called the amusement park planet, this planet is first discovered when the USS Enterprise is looking for a nice place to take shore leave – not suspecting what shenanigans lie ahead. It’s a great place for a vacation; just make sure you don’t start thinking about World War II fighter planes.

Murder Planet - Star Trek: Prodigy, "Dream Catcher" and "Terror Firma" (Season 1, Episodes 4 & 5)

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Murder planet is basically a sentient being/superorganism that senses all your desires and fears, uses those to entice you to stay, and then tries to eat you. However, If you do land and then manage to escape, you'll have quite a story to tell back home. You could also potentially try to communicate with it from space, which would be a unique experience. It's not every day you meet a planet that's also a living being.

Megas-Tu - Star Trek: The Animated Series, "The Magicks of Megas-Tu" (Season 1, Episode 8)

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It may be a bit difficult to reach Megas-Tu, considering it’s in another universe; however, Star Trek has proved that bridging this gap is indeed possible. On Megas-Tu, scientific principles are replaced by magic, matter, and energy with belief. Each inhabitant is also a specialist in a particular form of magic. The appearance of the planet is pretty odd as well: viewed from space, it is referred to as "candy-striped," with pink and red bands.

Rubicun III - Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Justice" (Season 1, Episode 8)

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Rubicun III is a beautiful planet, and its inhabitants, the Edo, are identical to humans, attractive, and physically fit. The fact that they’re all blonde, and pretty much look the same, is a little weird. But they’re so friendly! They believe in free love! And there’s no crime. Surely nothing could be more ideal. However, this idyllic peace comes at a price. Criminal punishment is only enforced in random “punishment zones,” that only the planet’s Mediators know. These zones change regularly, and anyone who commits a crime in a punishment zone–no matter how small–faces the death penalty. This is the planet where Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) nearly gets executed for stepping on some flowers.

Hysperia - Star Trek: Lower Decks, "Where Pleasant Fountains Lie" (Season 2, Episode 7)

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Animals resembling dragons live on Hysperia’s surface. As a result, it was colonized by human Ren Faire enthusiasts who modeled the planet’s entire culture off of the aesthetic of the medieval and renaissance periods; now, inhabitants dress in medieval attire, keep dragons as pets, live in castles, and are ruled by a monarchy. By Hysperian law, if the prince loses his virginity, he automatically becomes king. There’s even a whole ceremony called the Royal Copulation, facilitated by royal guards trained from birth to skip foreplay. As a place to visit, this planet would naturally be best suited to other Ren Faire types who can appreciate its culture.

Omega IV - Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Omega Glory" (Season 2, Episode 23)

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This planet is for anyone who loves ham-fisted political commentary. It features two warring factions, the Asian “Kohms,” who live in traditional-looking villages, and the violent, white-skinned “Yangs,” who are caveman-like, wear animal skins, and are referred to as savages. It is eventually revealed that Omega IV is a world in which the Cold War never ended, and the planet was laid to waste by biological warfare that Earth avoided in its Cold War: “Yang” and “Kohm” come from “Yankee” and “Communist.” The Yangs worship an American flag as part of their religion, as well as a copy of the constitution, whose words they mispronounce so badly they're no longer recognizable. It's all very on the nose.

The Changeling Planet - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "The Search: Parts I&II" (Season 3, Episodes 1&2)

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Changelings are shape-shifting aliens whose natural form is a liquid. Odo (Rene Auberjonois) usually appears as a very smooth-looking human and can turn into anything he wishes to; however, every 16 hours, he must return to his natural liquid form to recharge (though this need is also partly because he has not fully mastered his abilities). On The Changeling Planet, the changelings all melt into each other in one big liquid/ocean called the Great Link. But the real question is: can you swim in it?

The Voth Planet - Star Trek: Voyager, "Distant Origin" (Season 3, Episode 23)

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This is where the dinosaurs escaped to. Or at least one species of dinosaur. The hadrosaur, which lived during the cretaceous period, apparently survived the mass extinction event that killed the rest of the dinosaurs. They lived on an isolated continent, evolved enough over millions of years to form a spacefaring civilization, and then departed Earth before anyone really noticed. Now their descendants, the Voth, live on a planet in the Delta Quadrant and refuse to believe the foolish “Distant Origin” theory that suggests they once came from Earth. Come to the Voth planet if you think it would be cool to meet some dinosaurs who went to space (even if they’re in denial about it).

Talos IV - Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Menagerie, Parts I&II" (Season 1, Episodes 11&12); Star Trek: Discovery, "Light and Shadow" (Season 2, Episode 7)

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Going to Talos IV is so illegal that Starfleet will give the death penalty to anyone who attempts it. A nuclear holocaust killed life on the planet, and now it’s mostly inhabited by the Talosians, incredible telepaths who can create powerful illusions. This became addictive for the Talosians, and they started capturing space travelers to use as the basis for their illusions. The reason that going to Talos IV is illegal is actually precisely because of the illusions’ addictive nature. As a visitor, because of the illusions, it’s impossible to tell what’s real on Talos IV and what isn’t. When Captain Pike (Jeffrey Hunter, Sean Kenney) is severely crippled and disfigured, Spock (Leonard Nimoy) takes him to Talos IV so that the Talosians can use their powers to let Pike live a normal life free from his broken body.

Moab IV - Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Masterpiece Society" (Season 5, Episode 13)

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Moab IV is an earthquake-ridden, wholly barren planet–except for a self-contained human “genome colony” with its own biosphere. The colony itself is lovely, verdant, and created to be a perfect society. Its population is the result of many generations of controlled breeding. Social and genetic engineering fully integrated people with their environment and rid them of disease and disability. Each person is bred for a specific role in the community and trained since birth to fill that role. This “masterpiece society” exists in such a delicate balance that no one is allowed to enter or leave. In general, everything is so meticulously calibrated that even the slightest deviation (such as a person deciding to leave) would result in chaos. However, a disaster such as an impending stellar core fragment might provide you with just the right excuse to beam yourself down there.

Sigma Draconis VI - Star Trek: The Original Series, "Spock's Brain" (Season 3, Episode 1)

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An alien woman (Marj Dusay) beams aboard the Enterprise, waves her hand over Spock's head, and vanishes. It turns out that she's literally stolen his brain; now Kirk (William Shatner) and co. have to find it before Spock perishes. The woman's homeworld, Sigma Draconis VI, is a glacial, pre-industrial planet whose only inhabitants initially appear to be unkempt, savage-looking men who refer to themselves as "Morgs." They don't seem to know what women are, but often refer to "the others," whom they also call givers of "pain and delight." Kirk, McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and Scotty (James Doohan) soon discover that the women (or Eymorgs) live underground in a comfortable and stylish environment. Over time, the women's brains all regressed into the minds of children, and they lost their intelligence. Because of this, they stopped being able to take care of themselves, and their entire society is run by a disembodied brain plugged into a computer. This was done thousands of years before when the people of Sigma Draconis VI still had intelligence. The Eymorgs' old brain died, so they stole Spock's to replace it and act as their civilization's new "controller."

The Demon Planet - Star Trek: Voyager, "Demon" (Season 4, Episode 24)

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This "Demon Class" planet contains a mysterious silver fluid with mimetic properties. Voyager approaches the planet because it is low on deuterium, which the planet has. When Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill) and Harry Kim (Garrett Wang) land on the planet to search for deuterium, the fluid samples their DNA and creates replicas of them with identical memories and personalities -- except, unlike the originals, the duplicates have the ability to naturally survive on the planet. After duplicating the two officers, the "silver blood" gains sentience and wants to duplicate the whole crew in order to populate the planet.

Pollux IV - Star Trek: The Original Series, "Who Mourns For Adonais" (Season 2, Episode 2)

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Pollux IV is where the Greek gods live(d). They visited Earth for a hot minute, then returned to their home planet when humans stopped worshiping them. By the time of the Enterprise, all of them are dead except for Apollo (Michael Forest). Apollo himself does not survive his encounter with the Enterprise, meaning that now the Greek gods and goddesses truly are extinct. However, if you live before the year 2267, can’t get enough of Greek mythology, and don’t mind worshiping a bunch of powerful aliens, Pollux IV could be a good time.