A Positive Look At: Star Trek Lower Decks

[McAvoy]

If anything, it's nice to have something that can poke fun at Trek without coming off as disparaging towards the property or its fans. It laughs with us, not at us.

This is it right here. This is basically for fans who love Trek but aren’t above poking fun at it. It comes from a place of love, not hate. If you perceive the show attacking what you love, you probably need to step away. Life’s too short to be so serious about what’s a fictional universe.

Which is why everyone who has seen Galaxy Quest who is a Trek fan considers it a Trek movie. And a damned good one too.

Exactly. Interestingly, I see Galaxy Quest as doing this precisely right, while Lower Decks is fumbling the ball, dropping it on the ground, and then accidentally kicking it out an airlock when it goes to pick it up. There are some crucial, crucial differences.

Yeah... Apples and Oranges dude.

[Al-1701]

So, this episode had some interesting feline facts. First, we saw a Kzinti in the background in the bar. I think this was also the first time we saw the Doc's tail. While were facial features aren't lynx-like, her short tail is specific trait of the Lyrans from Starfleet Battles.

I'm fairly certain that she was labeled as a Caitian, which are kinda related to Kzinti (or flat out expy-Kzinti, depending on your point of view).

I think Caitians were the Felinoid species that M'Ress was (the catwoman bridge furniture from TAS).

youtu.be/Si-ZVWuQDHk

And I've remembered that she has at times shown a longer tail (which is why the short tail seemed new). I just wish the Starfleet races would get some love. Particularly in the animated medium, you could get Hydrans and Jindarians.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

This episode was largely predictable, but fun. Well-crafted things you can anticipate are always better than a "surprise" like Game of Thrones season 8. That said, this episode kind of awakened my pervy side. >_> Might have to commission some fanart later since there isn't enough of it on my go-to- site...

[Dman]

Where were you when the Pakleds defeated Captain Janeway?

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Well, certain fetishists will be very happy with this episode. =X

[Makeshift Python]

Making the Pakleds for this show what Kingons and Borg were for TOS and TNG respectively is such great idea that fits in with the conceit of a show about underdogs.

[Al-1701]

And they show how they could be a legitimate threat. They're just smart enough to use the technology they capture, but not smart enough to think better of it. Like, any other race would think bombing Earth is absolute insanity, especially only a few short years after the Dominion War. Yet, the Pakleds think making a big boom happen on the capital will cause damage to the enemy which is a good thing.

How they portray the Pakleds reminds me of the scene from Babylon 5 where Franklin and Alexander show Sheridan the control unit they discovered. Franklin talks of the bombing of San Diego. How it was done by people who got their hands on technology they didn't understand, couldn't build themselves, but had every intention of using. In the post-Dominion War era, the Pakleds are ironically in the best position to do the most damage because they don't know any better.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I think what makes Lower Decks so wonderful is it's ability to utilize the underused, to capitalize on unspent potential. That's really the whole core of the "second contact" concept, and seeing what B-list starfleet members do. It's so satisfying to see a show devoted to following up on the game-changing technology-of-the-week that Voyager just put in a pile with the other unused super-technology, but in a loving way.

The Packleds are a great example of that. Just because somebody is a fool, or laughable, doesn't mean they're not a threat. Sometimes a trained sniper isn't nearly as dangerous as an idiot playing with a gun.

[Dman]

"Did his kingdom come?"

The long awaited Billups episode! it was very much not what I expected. Although I must say a bunch of Ren Fair types colonizing a planet with actual dragons sounds pretty cool.

I was worried about a return to status quo in the first few episodes, but the last 3 episodes have proved that while the story is episodic, the characters are moving forward.

Boimler continues to get put on situations where season 1 Boimler might have screwed things. But he keeps rising to the occasion up and coming out with the win. It's great.

On the other hand, the dangers of Starfleet seem to be starting to take a toll on Tendi. Kinda expecting her to leave in the season finale if Rutherford "dies" again.

Just one thing missing from a very good episode. A resolution to the Mariner/Boimler conflict. Some acknowledgement that Boimler has improved a lot while they’re eating ramen. Or her just telling Ramson that he’s ready for the “big stuff”.

[CharlesPhipps]

I mean why is Ransom taking Mariner's advice over Boimler's?

I loved that last episode, though.

The female guard was surprisingly expressionable for a bit character.