Lower Decks is, in a word, refreshing. The new animated show, available on CBS All Access, is a welcome break from all of the seriousness and darkness of today. The show is the latest installment of Star Trek, following two seasons of Discovery and one season of Picard. Both previous shows were dark and very plot-heavy, for which they were both criticized and praised. Lower Decks is neither of these things, instead being an upbeat, largely character-driven comedy about the absurdities of life in a sci-fi universe.
The four main characters are all ensigns, a first for Star Trek, which has only ever focused on the senior staff before. The title of the series is an homage to an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7 Episode 15, in which the focus is taken off of the main characters and five new characters, four ensigns hoping for a promotion and their civilian bartender friend, are introduced. This is indicative of a trend in the series, as most of the jokes in the first few episodes are inside jokes for already existing fans. This can make it difficult to enjoy for someone who doesn’t understand the references, at least in the first two or three episodes. However, the more niche references are easy to miss for those who don’t understand them, and the more blatant ones are either funny on their own or more likely for someone who has never watched Star Trek to understand, through cultural osmosis. They start to thin out around episode 4.
The animation of the series is incredibly smooth and beautiful, especially for a style that has in other shows mostly been used for visual comedy. No two characters look alike, and the movement is fluid and lovely to watch. The pacing of the show is quite fast, especially at first, which can take a bit of adjustment to get used to. Each episode follows an A, B, C plot structure.
The main source of comedy in the series, aside from references, is the fact that the ship the four main characters serve on is a sidelined ship, sent to do menial tasks and falling apart at the seams. The opening sequence is a riff on the Next Generation intro, showing the ship flying through various beautiful space phenomena and breaking down or getting sucked into black holes, or running away from a fight. The characters must do thankless tasks onboard the ship, as the senior staff carry out mundane missions above deck. The relationships between the characters are also a great source of comedy, as although the four are a group, so far they have been split into two partnerships: Mariner and Boimler, and Rutherford and Tendi. Mariner and Boimler have opposing personalities, as Boimler is incompetent in hands-on scenarios and insists on following all the rules, and Mariner rejects authority and is calm and competent on missions. This leads to comedic clashes, especially when they are placed into absurd situations. Rutherford and Tendi, on the other hand, have similar personalities. Tendi is new on the ship and excited to be working out in space as a scientist, and Rutherford is an eager engineer who loves his work. They mostly generate comedy together through their shared excitement and the shenanigans they collaborate on.
The senior staff are minor characters, but are still great when given a chance to shine. Captain Freeman is Mariner’s mother, which becomes both a source of comedy and heartfelt character growth during the series. She is very career-oriented and wants to earn her place in the history books. Commander Jack Ransom is a sort of parody of Commander William Riker from Star Trek The Next Generation, constantly acting very self-confident and putting his leg up on things. Lieutenant Shaxs, the chief security officer, is a Bajoran man with incredible strength whose solution to every tactical problem is to either eject the warp core or blow up the opponent’s warp core. Doctor T’ana is the Chief Medical Officer, and is the classic Star Trek grumpy doctor archetype. She is also a Caitian, a species that last appeared in Star Trek: The Animated Series in 1973-74. In my opinion, she is a sort of revised Doctor Pulaski, the short-lived doctor from Next Generation season 2.
The callbacks and name-drops in the first few episodes are both incredibly blatant and incredibly enjoyable for those in the know. Captain Freeman’s shelf in her office is filled with objects owned by other captains, such as a baseball and a model ship. The characters reference characters and episodes both iconic and obscure, such as Mariner’s excited speech in episode one, mentioning many beloved characters, and the references in episode 5, from the large pictures of whales on Mariner’s conspiracy board to her suggestion of the Suliban as the episode’s villain. There are even references to other sci-fi shows, such as the Kaelons that briefly appeared in episode 2, a nod to the Orville, and the ascension in episode 4, a reference to Farscape.
Lower Decks is a lovely series, with humor that can be enjoyed both by longtime Star Trek fans and those just looking for something to occupy their time, with great characters, beautiful animation, and messages of friendship in a time where it is sorely needed. I highly recommend this series. Each new episode releases on Thursdays, and can be accessed on CBS All Access or Amazon Prime Video.