Lower Decks is an American adult animated science fiction television series created by Mike McMahan for the streaming service CBS All Access (later rebranded as Paramount+). It is the ninth Star Trek series and debuted in 2020 as part of executive producer Alex Kurtzman’s expanded Star Trek Universe. The franchise’s first animated series since Star Trek: The Animated Series concluded in 1974 and also its first comedy, Lower Decks follows the low-ranking support crew of the starship Cerritos in the 24th century. (Wikipedia)
S P O I L E R S
Lower Decks principally follows four Ensigns viz. Beckett Mariner, Brad Boimler, D’Vana Tendi and Sam Rutherford. Apart from Tendi, who is Orion, the rest are humans. Mariner is ostensibly the main character and initially comes across – unfortunately – like a bit of an arrogant Mary Sue (i.e. she seems to be able to do anything) and considering her low status is constantly breaking the rules. Worst still, we subsequently discover that Mariner is a Starfleet version of a “nepo baby” as her father is an admiral and her mother is the actual captain of her ship. How did Starfleet’s standards drop so low???
Thankfully, the folks behind Lower Decks are very aware of Mariner’s personality flaws and her friendships with Biomler, Tendi and Rutherford eventually turn her negative traits into positive ones. Still, that does not mean that many will be triggered by what appears to be more pandering to the ‘woke agenda’ in modern storytelling. Given, Mariner’s character arc is worth the journey, albeit it may get annoying at times. In addition, this series is a sitcom and thus, should not be taken too seriously, with its reference point, clearly Rick and Morty.
For the Trekkers out there, the series is chock full of Easter Eggs and guest appearances from the crew from The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, but of course in animated form. References to The Original Series and Enterprise are regularly dropped in conversation so there’s something for everyone here. So far, three seasons have been completed (30 episodes) with a fourth season to come soon. Time to beam aboard! Recommended!!
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