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Star Trek: Lower Decks [Spoilers]

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  • FreakFreak1088 Posts: 4,361Member
    edited October 2020 #92
    I have now watch the final season episode. I was in no great rush to watch it. That is something I can't say for Trek before 09. I had to see it the moment it aired and hating it, if I had to record an episode to watch later for one reason or another.

    While it no secret I don't find the humour in this show funny, this final episode did managed to get me to laugh. But you could see the joke coming from a mile away.
    I did like the introduction of the Titan and final getting to see Sean T design on screen instead of book cover was really nice. Just as shame it was not live action.
    That girl would look really sweet and far better than the designs that have come out in the last 11 years.

    One tiny thing bugged me. If Starfleet uniforms have changed to the version that we see though most of this show and in the flash back for Picard. Why is the crew Titan wearing the TNG Movie and DS9 era uniforms?
    Is this because the DS9 Crew wore a different style uniform to those on TNG in the same era? That easy to explain. The DS9 crew were wearing a uniform to get dirty in. Think of it like a military BDU (something that is worn for wear and tire, but when they in the office environment they ware standard dress uniform.) This would have worked better if Gordi and the rest of the engineers worn something like this in Engineering and I guess we sort of did in Generations.
    Current Trek has been doing this trend in Discovery, with the Starfleet and the Enterprise crew.

    All in all Lower Decks is okay, it not the best Star Trek and it not the worst. It defiantly the best Trek from the last 11 years. The question is, given that we had such bad Trek Shows and movies during that time, our expectation levels have dropped so low, that a mundane show like Lower Decks is thought of as good?
    Post edited by Freak on
  • P5ych0p4thP5ych0p4th476 GermanyPosts: 341Member
    @Freak ... yeah, the thing with the uniformes bugged me a little, too. But it's not like that's unprecedented. The Uniformes in Generations were a wild mix, and there were episodes of DS9 that mixed the Black and Grey ones with the classic TNG ones. And many more such instances. It's usually explained by the tailors simply not working fast enough behind the scenes but I do think here, they just wanted to show Riker the way we hat last seen him.

    As to the quality of the show ... it shouldn't be the only Trek show. It doesn't really work as that since its way to referencial in its humor. Then again, there is no way you could write any of those episodes if you aren't a massive TNG fan ... and that shows.

    Now I don't know the ratings and the critical reception hasn't all that great. But one can only hope, they give Mike McMahan his own live action show or maybe even Kurtzmans post.
  • ViperViper1678 Posts: 717Administrator
    Freak wrote: »
    I did like the introduction of the Titan and final getting to see Sean T design on screen instead of book cover was really nice. Just as shame it was not live action.
    That girl would look really sweet and far better than the designs that have come out in the last 11 years.

    Still don't like the Titan. Never did. Always thought it was a bad design.

  • count23count23361 Posts: 779Member
    What I didn't like about _this_ incarnation of the titan either was the Phaser array had sunk into the hull and turned blue?

    But for all it's faults, nice to see some EU content getting some love in the Prime-verse. Last time we saw that was when Coruscant became the official homeworld of the Galactic Republic.
    Formerly Nadesico.

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  • FreakFreak1088 Posts: 4,361Member
    edited October 2020 #96
    @P5ych0p4th, with the inconsistence with the DS9 Uniform.
    That was easy to explain. with some Starfleet members using the old TNG era uniform and the TNG Movie era uniform. Simple put those that are still wearing the TNG era version have not yet been issued the newer version.
    Yeah, yeah I know they have replicators so that should not be an issues. I will simple put that the code to replicate the uniform just has not reached that ship yet or station yet. :)

    @Viper, I was not a huge fan of it when it first came out, but Sean posted the work he had done on the design here and gave explanation why he did what he did. I think he also posted different concepts he came up with before coming up with the final design.
    With seeing the work and his thoughts behind the design I came to like it more.

    Not sure if the threads is still around as this is going back to around the "Big Crash of 05" on this site and it also changed a lot since then. I also think Aceman did a purge of a lot dead threads back in 2010, to give himself some more space on the server and of course Guerrilla has now taken ownership of the site and domain.
    Post edited by Freak on
  • ViperViper1678 Posts: 717Administrator
    Well, I can certainly understand that. I used to not like the NX-01 and the Universe Class either, but hearing Doug's thoughts behind each ship made me appreciate them more. Still not a big fan of them, but I can see why they were done that way. But the Titan felt like i missed the mark in certain aspects. It's not a memorable design.
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    I have a friend who is super-into this show, and keeps trying to get me into it, showing me clips of it and such. It's just not my thing. I'll admit I like the general visual look of the ships and hardware, but that's literally it. I find the characters and animation style quite annoying, and as with all nuTrek, it seems intent on making fun of its source material whenever it can. But earlier in this thread, MKF brought up the subject of this show referencing stuff we already know about, and bringing on familiar characters. IMO, this is proof that none of these shows can stand on their own merit, without having to use the crutch of bringing back familiar faces that we all know and love, in a desperate attempt to keep or gain new viewership.

    STD was garbage, so they had to bring in the Enterprise and Pike, in a desperate gasp for salvation, and Picard seems bent on introducing as many previous characters as they can - 7 of 9, Icheb, Hugh, and I'm sure more are to come. Again, the show is such garbage, that it can't stand on it's own. The people handling nuTrek have zero idea what Trek is about, what the fans want, or what they're doing. And it shows in abundance. If these shows were any good, they'd have the strength and appeal to be their own shows, without using a crutch.
  • ViperViper1678 Posts: 717Administrator
    I have a friend who is super-into this show, and keeps trying to get me into it, showing me clips of it and such. It's just not my thing. I'll admit I like the general visual look of the ships and hardware, but that's literally it. I find the characters and animation style quite annoying, and as with all nuTrek, it seems intent on making fun of its source material whenever it can. But earlier in this thread, MKF brought up the subject of this show referencing stuff we already know about, and bringing on familiar characters. IMO, this is proof that none of these shows can stand on their own merit, without having to use the crutch of bringing back familiar faces that we all know and love, in a desperate attempt to keep or gain new viewership.

    STD was garbage, so they had to bring in the Enterprise and Pike, in a desperate gasp for salvation, and Picard seems bent on introducing as many previous characters as they can - 7 of 9, Icheb, Hugh, and I'm sure more are to come. Again, the show is such garbage, that it can't stand on it's own. The people handling nuTrek have zero idea what Trek is about, what the fans want, or what they're doing. And it shows in abundance. If these shows were any good, they'd have the strength and appeal to be their own shows, without using a crutch.

    I think that is being very obtuse and it's an unfair judgement of the show. The references are nothing more than very quick one liners here and there. The episodes stand on their own, and wouldn't need them to work, at all. This being a comedy show however, it works very well having the references there. Much like Orville, this is a love letter to TNG. It's mostly episodic without a major arc and very much focused on the characters.
  • FreakFreak1088 Posts: 4,361Member
    edited October 2020 #100
    @BolianAdmiral, I can't fault them for having a cameo.
    Just look at all the Trek shows form TNG to Ent. They have all had a cameo to a pervious show in the early seasons.

    Granted that was more of passing the baton to the next show. (Something current trek has not done.) TNG had Admiral McCoy, DS9 it was Picard, Voyager it was Quark. Enterprise had an issue with it being a prequel and set before TOS. So they used the only person they could which was Zefram Cochrane and I though it was a nice touch.

    But those early season after TNG had another cameo in them too. DS9 had Q, Voyager had Ricker & Reginald Barclay and Enterprise had the Borg.
    Like I said I can't fault them for doing it.
    With the exception of DS9 (Riker twin turning was the last cameo) and Enterprise final. All the cameos that appeared in later seasons once the show had been established.

    But I agree the refences and name drops in every episode dose get a little on the annoying side. Okay we get it you know your Trek, but how about you write a good Trek story with humour that fits Trek.


    On a side note, they like to pock fun at classic Trek, but I have noticed they have not done it to Discovery or Picard yet.
    Post edited by Freak on
  • BolianAdmiralBolianAdmiral1114 Torrance, CaliforniaPosts: 2,560Member
    That’s because STD and Picard are both already jokes.
  • darkthunderdarkthunder408 SwedenPosts: 102Member
    IMO, this is proof that none of these shows can stand on their own merit, without having to use the crutch of bringing back familiar faces that we all know and love, in a desperate attempt to keep or gain new viewership.

    Strange. I thought every past incarnation of Trek included at least 1 appearance from a cast member of a prior Trek production. In pilot episodes especially. TNG had a visit from McCoy, DS9 had a visit from Picard, VOY had a visit from Quark, ENT had a visit from Cochrane...

    And then there were several episodes involving guest stars from previous shows. Mostly centered around VOY, who had guest appearances from Barclay, Riker, and Troi. In ENT, Riker and Troi made a brief reappearance in the much-maligned series finale. This isn't really a new thing, to include former cast members in a new show. Hell, hell DS9 brought back Worf who stayed with the show for 4 seasons in addition to his 7 seasons on TNG.

    I certainly have issues with "some" of nuTrek, but Lower Decks isn't one of them. Lower Decks thus far has been the most faithful to the shows that came before, not the least of which being the various references and homages to past Trek. Sure, it's got a bit of a "mouth" on some characters, and behavior may not alwyas align with what we know most characters would behave as. But the Cerritos is also one of the "lesser known" ships in the fleet, and probably not all top-of-the-elite officer material, as we've previously been accustomed to. Other than VOY and DS9, most of Trek has centered on the 'Enterprise', the literal flagship of the fleet. Hardly a good representation of what common officers on ships other than Enterprise might be like.

    Overall, I've been pleasantly surprised at just how good Lower Decks has been, the occasional references not withstanding. Fills me with at least some optimism for the future Strange New Worlds, given how imho badly Discovery was.
  • darkthunderdarkthunder408 SwedenPosts: 102Member
    Sorry, didn't see @Freak 's reply before I made my post.

    "Passing the baton" was certainly the most common cameo by former cast members, but there were of course exceptions such as bringing Worf to DS9 for 4 seasons. And DS9 was doing quite well on it's own, without having to rely on a "crutch" to boost ratings in Season 4.

    Regarding ST: Picard, and having Icheb, Hugh and 7 of 9, makes perfect sense given that the story involved the Borg. Would be rather odd not to include Borg characters that we as viewers and fans are already familiar with. Picard is only 20 years after Nemesis, so these characters would still be alive and kicking, so it's natural that they should be a part of it.
  • FreakFreak1088 Posts: 4,361Member
    edited October 2020 #104
    @darkthunder, your right DS9 rating was doing well. Part of the reason of bring in Worf for season 4 onwards was because it was not just to booster the rating but also bring over the TNG fans that were on the fence of DS9. It was also a last minute decision, which is why we don't really see him in those early season 4 episodes.
    The writers also did not really know what to do with him so it was not until season 5 were Worf really came to the front and stopped being a background character on the show.


    Yeah having Icheb, Hugh and 7 of 9 for the Borg side of the story made sense. It just that story went nowhere. But then the whole plot of Picard does not make sense, so it a mute point.
    Post edited by Freak on
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