Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x10 “No Small Parts” Review

 rating: ***

the story: The secret’s out!

review: It wasn’t just viewers who didn’t know upfront that Freeman is Mariner’s mom. Boimler accidentally found out last episode, and just as accidentally leaked it to the rest of the Cerritos. The result? Now everyone treats Mariner differently, sucking up to score favor with the captain, and of course she hates it!

It’s really the only way the season could have ended, but there are a few unrelated twists, and one related one, that keep it lively. Tendi mentors an exocomp (secret origin from Next Generation’s “The Quality of Life”), who has joined Starfleet, which leads to any number of unexpected developments, while Rutherford gets his best spotlight of the season when he learns there’s a switch in his implant that can change his personality. Eventually the funny bits lead to a sad bit, as well as the sacrifice of the ship’s aggressive Bajoran chief tactical officer, Shaxs.

And Pakleds! Surely the most hilariously pathetic legacy of Next Generation’s second season, the Pakleds blunder their way into be formidable again. 

But then Boimler is promoted and transferred to the Titan. Riker! Troi! Again! No one has shown up in the modern franchise more than these two, and here they continue their impressive stature. Will they be here all next season? Well, where then would be Mariner? And Tendi? And Rutherford? Technically also the canonical first appearance of the Titan, referenced as Riker’s new (and first!) command in Nemesis, and apparently considered quite a prestigious assignment. Of course!

criteria analysis:

>franchise - Riker and Troi! Again!

>series - A fitting season finale.

>character - Big moments for Mariner and Boimler, and yet somehow it’s Rutherford who shines brightest.

>essential - Close!

notable guest-stars:

Jonathan Frakes (Riker, sounding as natural as ever in animated form)

Marina Sirtis (Troi)

Jack McBrayer (Badgey)

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x9 “Crisis Point” Review

 rating: ****

the story: A holodeck program version of Lower Decks: The Movie!

review: For a series that literally a few episodes ago dithered with a “holodeck malfunction” episode, it’s all the more rewarding that doing another holodeck episode lands so successfully. For whatever reason, when a Star Trek series decides to base a whole episode on an actual holodeck adventure (“The Big Goodbye” in Next Generation, “Our Man Bashir” in Deep Space Nine, “Bride of Chaotica!” in Voyager), it’s always a highlight. And now “Crisis Point” in Lower Decks.

The whole episode technically hinges on Mariner and Freeman’s relationship (which leads directly into the season finale), but Mariner chooses to “make a movie” to work out her issues. This allows riffs and hilarious comments on the differences between a Star Trek episode and movie (and a repeated gag involving movie credits). It’s good standout material, which also works in exploring Mariner’s issues.

We also get another standout Tendi subplot, when she finds herself cast as a stereotypical Orion pirate in Mariner’s program. Eventually she stands up for herself in what might amount to the closest we get to the kind of societal examination of the Orions that we got for the Cardassians, the Bajorans, the Trill, and especially the Ferengi in Deep Space Nine.

criteria analysis:

>franchise - Surprisingly, the closest we get to a full-blown Star Trek (movie) spoof we get all season.

>series - Literally only Lower Decks could get away with this.

>character - Mariner finally addresses her biggest problem. And Tendi! In her best spotlight this season.

>essential - Yeah, absolutely. I think this one’s easy to love.

notable guest-stars:

Gary Cole

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x8 “Veritas” Review

 rating: ***

the story: The junior officers stand trial (probably).

review: If Star Trek since 1991 has proven anything, it’s that The Undiscovered Country looms large in the production offices. Voyager revisited it with its Sulu episode, “Flashback,” Enterprise held another Klingon trial in “Judgment,” and now Lower Decks riffs on the trial with “Veritas.”

The whole thing ends with a swerve, but it’s also an excuse to spend quality time with the personality quirks of the four lead characters, out of whom Rutherford finally gets to shine with his implant glitching, leaving gaps in his memory and therefore his testimony.

But the biggest surprise? Q! Really! John De Lancie, no stranger to vocal performances, provides the voice and everything! He’s not nearly the lead element, but it’s still fun to have him around, not the least because Q is no stranger to trials (first and last episode of Next Generation, “Death Wish” in Voyager). 

criteria analysis:

>franchise - The sixth Star Trek movie is revisited! Again!

>series - With a distinctive, and unexpected, Lower Decks twist!

>character - Finally Rutherford is getting to showcase his potential (even if it revolves around that implant of his).

>essential - Maybe not, but it’s still good fun!

notable guest-stars:

John De Lancie (Q)

Kurtwood Smith (who also appeared in Undiscovered Country and Voyager)

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x7 “Much Ado About Boimler” Review

 rating: ***

the story: Boimler’s caught in a weird transporter effect while Mariner reunites with an old friend.

review: Just when it seems Lower Decks is caught in a rut, “Much Ado About Boimler” comes around. Just in time!

Rutherford has another close encounter as the source of Boimler’s mishap, having tweaked the transporter, which leaves Boimler partially phased. But Tendi gets more mileage in an unrelated subplot when she bioengineers her own dog...which she hilariously screws up because as an Orion she has no real idea what dogs are supposed to be like. Anyway, good to see her get some material, and arguably one of the most successful uses of the animated format this season.

Of course, Boimler’s predicament is what can be termed classic Boimler at this point, and leads him (and the dog) to D-14, a Starfleet medical anomalies division that of course exists (based on all available evidence from every other series and their many, many medical anomalies). The effect is to thrust Boimler into a “land of misfits toys” for the episode. It’s the good kind of franchise insight that’s Lower Decks at its best, and it’s played out perfectly.

Mariner’s old friend is now a captain, so of course this is another opportunity to explore Mariner’s career choices. It might have felt repetitive, but like everything else this episode it still works.

criteria analysis:

>franchise - For the valuable addition of D-14 alone to Star Trek lore, this episode’s valuable.

>series - The best strengths of Lower Decks are in full display here.

>character - Which of course means its cast of wacky characters, with the first real highlight for Tendi.

>essential - The kind of episode I could easily bump up in value later. We’ll see!

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x6 “Terminal Provocations” Review

 rating: **

the story: Another junior officer totally screws up.

review: Weirdly, I’m actually feeling less patient these days with modern Star Trek that feels too much like classic Star Trek. The second episode of Discovery’s third season, “Far From Home,” for instance, has a subplot that would have substantially played exactly the same way in nearly every other TV incarnation of the franchise, and now this, the second time in this inaugural season of Lower Decks, I find the results to be a little too standard. This is the “holodeck malfunctions” episode.

It would actually be a little more interesting than that, since Rutherford and Tendi are the lead characters in that half of the episode, based off of Rutherford creating Badgey, an instructional aide much like the paperclip from Microsoft. But it sort of becomes far more about Badgey’s glitch descent into cartoonishly murderous intent than any real insight into Rutherford, Tendi, or their relationship.

Boimler and Mariner, meanwhile, have a friend who turns out to be a huge screwup, which is the source of the holodeck malfunction. I was actually hoping he’d at least turn out to be a secret agent of the aliens the crew desperately tries to contend with (as represented by J.G. Hertzler, most familiar to fans as Deep Space Nine’s one-eyed General Martok; he’s the other bit of fun casting this episode features, along with Jack McBrayer as Badgey, just the opening salvo of a tide of familiar voices in the second half of the season).

criteria analysis: 

>franchise - Casual fans might enjoy the animated version of the holodeck trope.

>series - Boimler and Mariner’s friend is a sort of cautionary tale, and his fate will in hindsight foreshadow the end of the season.

>character - I don’t think any of our the four main characters particularly shine this time.

>essential - Nope.

notable guest-stars:

Jack McBrayer (Badgey)

J.G. Hertzler

Star Trek: Discovery 3x2 “Far From Home” Review

 rating: ***

the story: The crew of the Discovery winds up in the far future.

review: Honestly, in hindsight I would probably prefer this being the season premiere and “That Hope Is You” coming second. “Hope” is a kinetic, exhilarating episode, against which it’s hard for “Far From Home” to compare. It’s the same basic story with a resolution that’s so abrupt it’s almost disappointing, when the crew finds Burnham on the other side of a mysterious hail. In “Hope” we have no idea when Burnham was going to reunite with them. Here we’re quickly told she waited a year. Unless the third episode glosses over that year, that’s another awkward jump.

And because it becomes so inevitable, it’s just going through the motions, and there’s no single compelling narrative in the whole crew to keep things interesting. There’s a half-hearted Stamets and Culber thing happening (neither character deserves to be eternally relegated only to that relationship, and Stamets in particular is far less interesting when he’s not being a caustic engineer, a glimmer of which we see opposite Reno). Saru butts heads with Georgiou (whose best moment quickly redeems the episode just before the last minute), and encourages Tilly. And this is all kind of odd, since some of the best stuff last season was getting to see this exact crew being brilliant in group settings. 

By the time they’re learning the harsh realities of the far future, there’s a space pirate making things incredibly uncomfortable for them, and Georgiou gets a pitch-perfect comeuppance for him, the first time I personally have found Mirror Georgiou pitch-perfect. I mean, if ever there was a good use for her it was exactly this moment. So there’s that!

criteria analysis:

>franchise - I’m going to say there’s precious little here to interest general fan interest.

>series - It was probably necessary to see how the rest of the crew made it to the far future, certainly, and perhaps the whole experience proves how necessary Burnham is to the series.

>character - Mirror Georgiou in a true shining moment.

>essential - As it plays out? Not especially, it seems.

notable guest-stars:

Michelle Yeoh (Mirror Georgiou)

Tig Notaro (Reno)

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x5 “Cupid’s Errant Arrow” Review

 rating: **

the story: Mariner is convinced Boimler’s girlfriend can’t be real.

review: Well, I guess it had to happen. “Cupid’s Errant Arrow” is the first episode of Lower Decks that didn’t really work for me.

Everything about it feels like the series at its most basic level, in fact everything we’ve already seen...again. The worst part is that for the first time, Boimler is reduced to being the butt of the joke rather than actively participating in it. In fact, it’s kind of a whole episode that’s theoretically about him but instead is about Mariner’s desperate attempts to uncover the truth about his girlfriend.

Tendi and Rutherford get a subplot about how much better everything is on another ship, but they learn it comes with a price, that the crew there is under immense pressure...because they experience big wacky events all the time. Except literally every episode of Lower Decks has pivoted around big wacky events, too. And therein lies the danger of the series: calling too much attention to the fact that it doesn’t really follow its own premise.

In fact, the other subplot is another big dramatic Starfleet mission the crew of a third-rate Starfleet ship is...still involved in. I mean, I get that this is an animated series in an era where big wacky events are expected to happen every episode, and that half of Lower Decks is the funny version of Star Trek. But there have to be some limits. Even Orville frustrates viewers just expecting funny Star Trek, because as often as not it’s actually trying to...just be Star Trek(ish). 

Anyway, there’s nothing that particularly stands out this episode. You might call it the one where the creators were finally done enjoying how great the original idea was and then just took it for granted.

criteria analysis:

>franchise - If you’re already a Star Trek fan there’s little to gain from watching this one. Except that one alien who was fighting for the right to inhabit a whole planet with his wife. In context it’s the best bit of the episode, and nothing you would ordinarily see in the franchise.

>series - Which I guess I’ll use as the reason to watch Lower Decks this episode. It’s a great punchline, however deeply buried it is in everything else.

>character - Since it’s really a Mariner episode, it’s worth watching for that, including a flashback scene that’s kind of fun.

>essential - Not essential. Nope. Move along home!

Star Trek: Discovery 3x1 “That Hope Is You, Part 1” Review

rating: ****

the story: Michael Burnham lands in the 31st century, where she learns the Federation has collapsed.

review: At this point, even though I liked them, I’m quite willing to view Discovery’s first two seasons as mere prelude. That’s exactly how sensational this season premiere is. It’s the birth of a whole new era. It’s a classic. Period.

It’s also Michael Burnham carrying the entire episode, alongside new costar Book (David Ajala) (yet to be determined if and how he relates to Craft in the similarly excellent Short Trek “Calypso,” produced prior to Discovery’s second season, and itself a prelude, to this season). Both are black, marking the first time in franchise history a whole story is led exclusively by black actors, building on Uhura’s legacy, and Deep Space Nine.

Book is a complex character, but as the episode progresses we learn he’s squarely in the Star Trek tradition. Much of  “That Hope Is You” looks like Star Wars (which fans have been claiming newer Star Trek increasingly looks like since the Kelvin films began, and which has been just as consistently nonsense), but Star Trek is still Star Trek, no matter what it looks like, as true in 2020 as it was all the way back in 1966, when NBC wanted Gene Roddenberry to compromise his vision, and he stubbornly clung to his demonic Mr. Spock and his big ideas anyway.

The Andorians have their biggest spotlight since Enterprise as Burnham and Book navigate this introduction, and that’s nice to see. We meet an Indian character who has been upholding the legacy of Starfleet almost singlehandedly in his sector, which is a thing that has happened since dilithium became scarce a few centuries earlier, making it difficult to maintain regular direct contact (perhaps a criticism of virtual relationships such as we have with the internet). He’s actually the best part of the episode, the first character we see, the embodiment of the hope Burnham believes in because she had it just this morning as a tangible thing, and what Book keeps so guarded because he doesn’t find it easily elsewhere.

(Hey! This is mere geeking out, but there’s an alien from Morn’s species in the episode. Morn was Quark’s most famous patron in Deep Space Nine. He doesn’t get any lines, either!)

This is an excellent spotlight for Burnham, still considered by disgruntled, grumpy fans as “that mutineer,” as well as for Sonequa Martin-Green, who gets to play well past Burnham’s usual Vulcan reserve thanks to a healthy dose of a special truth serum. It’s worth celebrating that sequence alone!

But the whole thing is executed perfectly. It really is Discovery’s crowning achievement to date.

criteria analysis:

>franchise - Star Trek going boldly into its future (complete with a nod to why time travel isn’t expected anymore, either, with a nod to the Temporal Cold War).

>series - Discovery goes boldly ahead as well, finding and seizing a sensational new opportunity.

>character - Very possibly destined to be the single best Michael Burnham spotlight the series produces.

>essential - All that and it keeps the moral heart of the franchise alive and well. Literally could not ask for more.

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x4 “Moist Vessel” Review

rating: ***

the story: Freeman tries to alienate Mariner by promoting her.

review: The one thing Lower Decks hadn’t really done in its first three episodes was really emphasize what its concept was really supposed to be, the idea that it followed around junior officers doing truly mundane work. There were a lot of riffs on traditional Star Trek tropes (which really suggests this was a crew of complainers rather than a ship that did less interesting things than any other characters we’ve followed), and sure, we saw our main characters, the junior officers, doing routine work, but never to the point where it seemed they were really that different from the command staff.

But here’s Mariner to save the day again!

If “Temporal Edict” was a Boimler spotlight, “Moist Vessel” is Mariner’s, putting a hard focus on her relationship with Freeman (her mom), who has decided she’s had enough of Mariner’s lax attitude and will do anything to get her to request a transfer.

(We also get a subplot with Tendi concerning a colleague “ascending,” a spiritual development that’s interesting.)

Anyway, what this means is that Freeman tries two very different ways to achieve this. The first is to assign Mariner the very worst tasks. This doesn’t work because Mariner finds a way to enjoy them.

Then Freeman stoops even lower. She promotes Mariner!

This is actually the best element of the episode, in which we discover all the mundane duties Mariner is suddenly required to perform as a lieutenant, which are typified by the boring meetings she’s forced to attend. As viewers we’re conditioned to view meetings as dramatic events in which unique perspectives and brilliant decisions are the point. But meetings are meetings. So through Mariner we get a better sense of what being in Starfleet is probably really like.

criteria analysis:

>series - An excellent use of the central premise.

>franchise - Ever find yourself romanticizing Starfleet? Watch this!

>character- Mariner’s worst nightmare is career advancement. Apparently she’s successfully worked against it for years!

>essential - Insofar as we get to laugh about an admiral pronouncing “sensor” funny. Would have been a bigger statement by deciding something about Mariner and Freeman’s relationship.

notable guest-stars:

Haley Joel Osment

Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x3 “Temporal Edict” Review

 rating: ****

the story: Boimler accidentally reveals to the captain how most of the crew functions by padding out their work time.

the review: If there’s a potential breakout episode among the first three of the series, it’s this one. I loved the Boimler/Mariner dynamic in the first two, but separating them turns out to if anything be even better.

Mariner is the best character in the series, but her story in “Temporal Edict” is the weaker, generally speaking, of the two. The effect is to set up a potential romance with Ransom (his biggest spotlight so far) as they square off in an “Arena” riff. So I’m not really going to focus on that (though pending future developments this could become more significant).

Instead: the Boimler Effect, folks.

Boimler’s best moment in the episode is when everyone else is freaking out and struggling to perform routine tasks for n the time allotted by Freeman (and now I know the captain’s name; previously, for me, she was better known as “Mariner’s mom), which for Boimler is no big deal at all, as he strolls the halls of the Cerritos (and maybe I know that now, too! it wasn’t until this, Discovery and Picard that I actively demonstrated in these reviews having to learn basic facts in Star Trek, because these are “real time” reactions where all the previous ones are retrospective; there was legitimately a time I had no idea what a Cardassian actually was, and that was when I was actively engaged in the franchise and expected to know these things by my family, in which I was the resident “expert,” which as this side note expands I assure you is all the more accurate now than ever before).

Anyway, Boimler’s whole thing is that he loves serving in Starfleet under its standard operating procedures. He’s the picture of a generic officer, which because we’ve...never seen this before (the closest is Harry Kim, but even he tried desperately to prove himself to Torres and Paris right from the start in Voyager). He loves going by the book. 

And...basically no one else does. He loves it so much it’s easy for him. When it’s just Mariner in contrast, it looks like he’s weird because she’s so awesome (generally speaking), but set against...everyone else, you realize, this guy’s like the Vulcan of Starfleet officers. Which because he isn’t Vulcan makes him all the more fun to follow.

So imagine his reaction when his biggest victory turns into his biggest defeat: by convincing Freeman to lax the rules (for everyone else), he actually sends the message that everything he stands for...is an impossible standard that no Starfleet officer should ever be held to. And gets that distinction named after him: “the Boimler Effect.”

Anyway, the whole thing feels like the best statement of the series to date, very close at the very least to some of the best of the Short Treks. I could very well bump it up to classic status at a future date, depending on how much better the series itself could get.

And then, just because this is the episode that keeps on giving: there’s a wonderful nod to Miles O’Brien at the end.

Okay, okay, I talked myself into it: This one’s a classic.

criteria analysis:

>series - Well worth watching as a fan of Lower Decks itself.

>franchise - A wry commentary on being a Starfleet officer.

>character - Boimler fully in the spotlight.

>essential - A truly defining moment for him, in fact.

notable guest-stars:

Jerry O’Connell