Star Trek: Lower Decks, created by Mike McMahan and airing five seasons on the Paramount+ platform from 2020 to 2024, unexpectedly faced its biggest legal battle due to an iconic t-shirt worn by Captain James T. Kirk. This beloved animated comedy, which received a 93% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was recently the subject of a 344-page art book titled "The Art of Star Trek: Lower Decks," written by Megan Treviño and published by Penguin Random House.

Brad Winters, a producer of Star Trek: Lower Decks, shared a quote alongside a photo of Ensign Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) wearing a white sweater with the phrase "Go climb a rock" on it in a post on the Bluesky platform. Winters stated, "Nothing in all of Lower Decks has been a bigger legal hurdle than the approval of this t-shirt." This shirt referenced a similar outfit worn by Captain Kirk in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. In the film directed by William Shatner, Kirk was called to command the USS Enterprise-A after returning from a camping trip in Yosemite National Park, and he wore this t-shirt in memory of his failed attempt to climb El Capitan.

In the ninth episode of the second season of Star Trek: Lower Decks, titled "wej Duj," Ensign Boimler wore the same t-shirt and a malfunctioning jet boot to spend one-on-one time with a senior officer aboard the USS Cerritos, attempting to climb El Capitan on the holo-deck alongside Ensign D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and Dr. T'Ana (Gillian Vigman). A user named @neko_designer on Bluesky responded to Brad Winters, explaining that "Go climb a rock" is the brand and registered trademark of Yosemite Mountaineering School and Guide Service.

This trademark situation may have led to copyright issues for Star Trek: Lower Decks. However, like William Shatner in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, the series managed to legally clear this joke. Considering the countless jokes, callbacks, and Easter eggs that come from the vast structure of Star Trek canon, it's quite surprising that "Go climb a rock" faced the biggest legal challenge.

Nevertheless, Boimler's dressing in Captain Kirk's t-shirt was a charming and perfect tribute to William Shatner's often-criticized Star Trek film. Therefore, despite the legal delays, having this joke in the series was absolutely worth it.