Star Trek: Lower Decks

[Raid]

Hmm.

The reaction seems to be decidedly positive, but it didn't grab me at all. The one redeeming feature for me is that the showrunner said they wouldn't do it unless it was considered canon. The showrunner, incidentally, is one of the producers from Rick and Morty, which is high-concept sci-fi comedy done right, so it may well turn out to be decent. I remember my first reaction to The Orville being overwhelmingly negative and that turned out alright.

[Can't think of one]

Looks shit ¬_¬ and it's cannon At least the pishy reboot trilogy isn't cannon...

[Rusty]

Hmm, I actually liked that trailer. Might be ok

[Wrathbone]

The showrunner, incidentally, is one of the producers from Rick and Morty, which is high-concept sci-fi comedy done right, so it may well turn out to be decent.

This is my hope. The trailer has a feel of a less-edgy Rick and Morty, which might not be a terrible thing.

[Can't think of one]

This just came out today on Amazon Prime

[Raid]

Amazing; thanks for the heads up.

[Wrathbone]

Watched the first two episodes. It's... fine? I like the concept and see the potential, but it's a bit too excitable from the start, like it's immediately cranked to 11 when it hasn't earned that yet. The comedy doesn't work as well as it should because it doesn't establish the norms before sending them up. It's a constant stream of "Here's a thing from Star Trek! Let's use it irresponsibly!"

I'll stick with it because it's not a disaster and it could get better, but my early impression is that it's so frantic and garbled and not as funny as it thinks it is that it makes me feel old.

EDIT - I think Rick and Morty is a fair comparison, because although they're different beasts, they are both animated sci-fi comedies. And it also highlights the reason why Rick and Morty works from the get go while Lower Decks struggles: R&M has excellent sci-fi at its core, and the comedy is built around that. Lower Decks (in episodes 1 and 2, at least) has questionable sci-fi, which means the comedy relies on Star Trek references.

[Sly Boots]

I tried it, also watching the first couple, just can't get into it. None of the characters are that appealing, the jokes fall flat and my attention was constantly wandering to my phone throughout. It's a swing and a miss, for me.

[Raid]

I've watched 8 of the 10 available, and my thoughts are pretty similar. There aren't many great jokes in it, and the few that have elicited more than a silent titter have been non-sequitors.

But it does at least feel like a Star Trek production, which is more than I can say for Discovery or Picard. Yes, it relies too heavily on referencing, but at least the characters act like they went through the same academy training as the TNG era shows, even if they're much more inept.

[Raid]

Ok, I'd say the final two episodes were worth watching the rest of the series for, and I hope they're getting another.

Spoiler

It's nice to have a reason to dig this beauty out of storage. I've actually spoken to the guy who designed the Titan (I think it was for the cover of one of the novels featuring the ship); he was always pretty giddy to see his creation being admired, and I'm delighted it's finally made a canon appearance.


I mostly want another season for all of the "Captain Riker's sex barge" jokes that will inevitably feature.

Star Trek as a franchise is so ripe for parody, it's nice to see it happening officially and Lower Decks definitely has promise. They could do with upping the quality of the dialogue and not relying so heavily on referencing stuff for the sake of it. I genuinely think it's a better Star Trek show than Discovery.

[Raid]

Season 2 of this has started, we're getting it a day behind the States this time so it's one episode a week rather than the entire season months later.

[Drarok]

Wish I'd read this thread before we dove in.

Had no idea the season had only recently started and now our binge has come to a grinding halt. Boo!

Fun show, I like it!

[Raid]

So that's season 2 over with, and I've really enjoyed it. I think there may have been one duff episode in there, but as a whole it stands up as a pretty good pastiche while still existing alongside the stuff it's referencing. I still think it makes far too many references to previous shows that don't add anything. Tendi mentions Jadzia Dax in the latest episode, only for the character she's speaking to say she doesn't know who that is, and it makes absolutely no contribution to the conversation except for the asinine expectation that the audience will go "oooooohhhhh!".