RTR Blog: Andrew's Lower Deck Predictions

It feels like it has been a lifetime since I sat down and wrote my predictions for the Picard series back in January. Who could have predicted what a wild and rocky year we would have way back then, when our biggest worries were how CBS was going to handle the Jean-Luc Picard character. I was almost certain that we were going to get Star Trek Discovery season 3 in the spring and then Lower Decks in the fall, but as we hit the dog days of summer, we are about to embark on twenty three straight weeks of new Star Trek!!

First and foremost, I think that an animated Star Trek show is an excellent idea! When I first heard that they were doing an animated show, I thought that it could be a great opportunity to dig into elements of the series that would typically be too expensive to shoot. Bizarre aliens (potentially quadrupeds, bug like, or plant based!), huge battles or wars and travelling to planets that would be far to expensive to construct. When it was later released that it was a comedy based show like Rick and Morty I had three thoughts 1) I have never watched that particular show, but know that it is known for being extreme 2) It would probably use low brow humour to lure in new fans and 3) It will probably laugh AT Star Trek rather than WITH Star Trek. This all makes me very nervous, as the trailer and subsequent TV spots have done little to quell those fears. I am using all of my cognitive energy to stay positive, but a third Star Trek show that alienates the fans and dumps on cannon, is the last thing the community needs. So without further ado, here are my predictions for Star Trek: Lower Decks....

The Characters 

       We will get lots and lots of who we don't like and very little of who we do. This seems to be a running theme with new Trek; the writers can write interesting characters, but they are typically left in the background, while they jam some annoying character down our throats. We saw this in ST:DISCO, where we were constantly barraged with Michael Burnham, Tilly and Spock while other characters like Detemer, Airiam and Bryce were barely mentioned or only seen in the background. Worse still, if the fan base really liked a character, like Lorca, Georgieu, Airiam or Culber, they killed them off pointlessly. All of the trailer and promotional material revolves around Ensign Mariner, who, to me, just seems annoying. Bouncing around being loud and painfully unfunny. Almost everyday I see a clip of her putting the blast shield up and down, up and down....if this is the best they've got, I am definitely worried. More so, I have a sinking suspicion that the "main" crew will all be really well written and interesting, but we won't see them that much, leading the fan base to ask the question "Why did you saddle the show with this Lower Decks gimmick?". Not to pick on Discovery, but this exact thing happened with this show. They went out of their way to make the first officer the show, only to realize that it doesn't work. We have spent years associating the shows with their captains at the helm, and so when you try and put others front and centre, everyone spends their time craning their neck to see what the Captain is up to. Don't believe me? How many people preferred Lorca, Georgieau and Pike over Michael Burnham? Oh yeah, everybody.

The Stories

       I think that the stories will be fine, but eventually get hamstrung by the gimmick of having only following the Ensigns. There is a reason why over the course of the seven season of The Next Generation, there was only ONE episode that focused on the lower deck crew. It's because it's not that interesting most of the time. I am almost certain that they are going to start off great, looking at the daily comings and goings of life on the lower decks before swiftly running out of ideas and forcing reasons for the lower deck crew to interact with the main crew and to be part of the action!

The Ship/Locations/Look/Feel

        This is one thing that I am pretty sure they are going to nail perfectly! They have had so much push back about the blue uniforms on Discovery and the lens flares on Picard, they are going to just give us what we want! I can already tell from the trailer that the show will look beautiful, but I think that they will go the distance to make sure the uniforms, the sounds, the planets and everything else are all amazing and will scratch every Trek fan where they itch. Setting the show slightly after TNG (the most successful Trek), and building slightly on that universe is a brilliant move and will no doubt be the thing that everyone likes the most about the show. 

The Comedy/In jokes/References

        One thing that New Trek loves to do is self reference itself. Youtube is filled with Trek fans that painstakingly go through every episode and point out the call backs, references and nods to old Trek shows. I think this trend will continue with Lower Decks, and that we may even be lucky enough to have some great cameo appearances from Trek alum, that they have snuck in to surprise us! As for the comedy, I don't think that it will work for Star Trek. I know the kind of comedy that they are leaning towards, the Rick and Morty, Family Guy shock comedy that is super hyper and in your face. I don't think that it will blend well with your average Star Trek fan, who is used to more subtle, clever humour that is sprinkled in amongst a good story. Sadly I think that the show will too often make fun of the Trekisms that we all hold so near and dear, and rather than get a laugh from a hardcore Trek fan like myself, it will more feel belittling and insulting. I also highly doubt that it will draw in fans of other shows like Family Guy, because without the deep Trek knowledge, the jokes will fall flat or not make sense. 

In Closing

       I am super excited for Lower Decks, and I want so badly for it to be a great addition to the Star Trek universe! That being said, I don't think that it will be, and will more than likely be shelved after one season. An animated show is a great idea, and using the ensigns of the show is a great idea, and having it be a comedy is a great idea, but that doesn't mean it is going to work. I am not the first person to point out that this show is not aimed at anybody. If you are a fan of zany cartoon humour, there are so many other shows that probably do it better and are not limited to Star Trek jokes. If you are a kid, it is probably too vulgar for your parents to allow you to watch it. And sadly if you are a die hard Star Trek fan like me, you are probably too sensitive to laugh when a show takes the piss out of something that you love and devote so much time to. In the end, only time will tell, and this is an instance where I will happily admit that I'm wrong if none of these predictions come true, hell, I will ever write an apology post if it is great; that being said, if you don't hear much from me in the upcoming weeks, be sure to listen when Matt and I do our end of the season retrospective. It will be right around Canadian Thanksgiving, which is quite fitting, because I think we will roast this show like a turkey!