# Animated Star Trek Comedy coming **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 25, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502 "2018-10-25T16:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/1 "2018-10-25T16:28:48Z")
Star Trek Lower Decks is coming to CBS all Access from the head writer of Rick & Morty Mike McMahan. I can see this be good if it it’s handled well but…wow can it really be a piece of garbage if not. I’m not sure there is any in between. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/2 "2018-10-25T16:44:36Z")
A sitcom? Ugh. Is it going to be in the Original universe, or the Reboot Universe? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/3 "2018-10-25T16:46:44Z")
I pay little or no attention to whatever “Star Trek” is doing any more. It’s not really Star Trek, so it’s a bit of a waste to follow along. ☹ One can certainly imagine a comedic version of Star Trek, centered on the doings of the “lower decks”. But, in a way, isn’t that just a way of saying that they intend to make a TV version of Scalzi’s “Red Shirts”? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/4 "2018-10-25T16:47:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > A sitcom? Ugh. > > Is it going to be in the Original universe, or the Reboot Universe? It’s probably going to be in the Fuggedaboutit Universe. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/5 "2018-10-25T17:21:07Z")
They could make it a _Sienfeld_ clone. Plot points could include the Jerry character always breaking up with his girlfriend of the week over the minor bits of makeup that they (traditonally) used to represent aliens. “_She’s got Bajoran nose!_” ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/6 "2018-10-25T17:23:16Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > I pay little or no attention to whatever “Star Trek” is doing any more. It’s not really Star Trek, so it’s a bit of a waste to follow along. ☹ Agreed, I get all the new _Star Trek_ I need from _The Orville_. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/7 "2018-10-25T17:58:44Z")
I’m pretty surprised they’re willing to taint their franchise in this way. Hardcore fans are likely to view it as an abomination and the Star Trek name isn’t going to draw a tonne of viewers who like animated comedy. I agree that The Orville is doing what fans would want from a comedic/lighthearted version of ST. High minded principles but done by “normal” people. Anyone know what style of animation they are going with? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/8 "2018-10-25T18:41:31Z")
I remember Star Wars nixed their parody show and they had completed a whole season. It was made by the Robot Chicken guys and just sits on a shelf because they were afraid it would spoil the brand by making fun of it. I think it can work if it is just funny. If it makes fun of Star Trek’s silliness constantly it will just make Star Trek as a whole seem silly. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/9 "2018-10-25T21:16:48Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I’m pretty surprised they’re willing to taint their franchise in this way. Hardcore fans are likely to view it as an abomination and the Star Trek name isn’t going to draw a tonne of viewers who like animated comedy. I don’t know—maybe you’ve been sleeping for a while—but Paramount started tainting the franchise with that awful Rod Stewart title song to _Enterprise_, and it has just gotten worse with the splintering between the idiotic “Kelvin Timeline” of the J.J. Abrams/Paramount Films producted kind-of-a-reboot-but-not-really-‘cause-we-have-Leonard-Nimoy and the CBS-produced _Discovery_ which ostensibly is in the original show universe even though absolutely nothing looks or works like the original show, even accounting for improvements in production design and special effects over the almost six decades between the shows. So, at this point a _Married With Children_-style sitcom set on the _USS Enterprise_’s lesser known sister ship, the _USS Indolent_, is not really out of field at this point. _Star Wars_ has its _Holiday Special_ to be embarrassed and angry about but the now-owners of the _Star Trek_ properties seem to be competing with each other to produce the worst possible _Star Trek_-themed properties in quantities that aren’t excusable as cocaine-induced oversights. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/10 "2018-10-25T22:53:06Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > So, at this point a _Married With Children_-style sitcom set on the _USS Enterprise_’s lesser known sister ship, the _USS Indolent_, is not really out of field at this point. If only they would cast Nikki Cox\* in the “Peg Bundy” role… \*who both guest-starred in an episode of TNG and starred in a _Married With Children_-style sitcom as the “Kelly Bundy.” She could play the same character. (The TNG one, not the _Unhappily Ever After_ one.) ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/11 "2018-10-26T02:35:19Z")
Rick and Morty was an absurd extension of two Back to the Future characters, so maybe an absurd extension of ST could be fun. I always wondered about all the crew that we never see - clothes need tailoring, and washing, kids need playgroups and teaching. And what’s the dating scene like for single people on the enterprise, it must suck, right? Do 15% of the kids on board look like William Shatner? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/12 "2018-10-26T02:38:22Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I don’t know—maybe you’ve been sleeping for a while—but Paramount started tainting the franchise with that awful Rod Stewart title song to _Enterprise_, and it has just gotten worse with the splintering between the idiotic “Kelvin Timeline” of the J.J. Abrams/Paramount Films producted kind-of-a-reboot-but-not-really-‘cause-we-have-Leonard-Nimoy and the CBS-produced _Discovery_ which ostensibly is in the original show universe even though absolutely nothing looks or works like the original show, even accounting for improvements in production design and special effects over the almost six decades between the shows. So, at this point a _Married With Children_-style sitcom set on the _USS Enterprise_’s lesser known sister ship, the _USS Indolent_, is not really out of field at this point. _Star Wars_ has its _Holiday Special_ to be embarrassed and angry about but the now-owners of the _Star Trek_ properties seem to be competing with each other to produce the worst possible _Star Trek_-themed properties in quantities that aren’t excusable as cocaine-induced oversights. > > Stranger I appreciate your deeply held feelings about theme songs and reboots but it really is a completely different thing. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/13 "2018-10-26T03:10:01Z")
If its going to be the dumb forced humor I’ve seen in the Discovery S2 trailers…ugh… BUT I could watch a Robot Chicken Star Trek all day…and maybe the Rick and Morty writers could pull it off. I just don’t know if there’s enough material to maintain that kind of thing for 30 minutes. Robot Chicken is 12 minutes long and Rick and Morty is about Rick and Morty and their family. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/14 "2018-10-26T05:53:09Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > that awful Rod Stewart title song to _Enterprise_ Uh, while I agree with the rest of your post, I loved the use of “Faith of the Heart” for _Enterprise_. The stupid variations on deep, profound orchestral music that were used for _DS9_ and _Voyager_ were nothing but sleep-inducing. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/15 "2018-10-26T08:17:30Z")
The concept is certainly more interesting that most recent Star Trek has been, and it could be entertaining so long as it doesn’t completely disrespect the franchise. I’d need to see a trailer before I made a full judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/16 "2018-10-26T11:53:00Z")
Open-minded here. As mentioned above, the first thing I thought of was _Red Shirts_. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/17 "2018-10-26T12:21:25Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > I appreciate your deeply held feelings about theme songs and reboots but it really is a completely different thing. No, no it isn’t. _Star Trek_ hasn’t had a decent outing since _DS:9_. Everything since then has been progressively worse, some by orders of magnitude. This animated series looks like it could make a clean break from the dreck and be a fresh start for the franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/18 "2018-10-26T13:03:36Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No, no it isn’t. _Star Trek_ hasn’t had a decent outing since _DS:9_. Everything since then has been progressively worse, some by orders of magnitude. This animated series looks like it could make a clean break from the dreck and be a fresh start for the franchise. Only if it uses [”One Way Ticket to Pluto”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z6hBGr_GauM) as the title music. It is long past time that someome just puts the entire _Star Trek_ franchise out of its collective misery. From trying to revive itself by bringing back a 78 year old actor for nostalgia value to an animated comedy series to whatever the fuck they are trying to appeal to with _Discovery_, it is more done that a chicked fried steak. There are plenty of other science fiction-y/space opera properties out there begging for adaptation. _Known Space_, Asimov, Heinlein, Harry Harrison…and sure, whoever adapts them will almost certainly bowdlerize the source material but at least it will be something new. _Star Trek_ ran out of steam so long ago it has become a painfully unfunny self-parody of reinvention. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/19 "2018-10-26T14:56:29Z")
Well, in fairness, there are plenty of things the _Star Trek_ franchise **could** do that would be fresh and innovative. But any chance that they will is so remote, you’d have to send someone across the galaxy via a wormhole to find it. Or something. :rolleyes: But, of course, one can say the same about the _Star Wars_ franchise, the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ franchise (especially minus Johnny Depp!!), and several others. Still, _Star Trek_’s horse seems to be good and thoroughly dead and beaten. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502/20 "2018-10-26T16:52:38Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Well, in fairness, there are plenty of things the _Star Trek_ franchise **could** do that would be fresh and innovative. But any chance that they will is so remote, you’d have to send someone across the galaxy via a wormhole to find it. Or something. :rolleyes: > > But, of course, one can say the same about the _Star Wars_ franchise, the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ franchise (especially minus Johnny Depp!!), and several others. Still, _Star Trek_’s horse seems to be good and thoroughly dead and beaten. I’d watch a new, good Star Trek show. But Hollywood has shown that they are incapable of making one any longer. I stuck it through all of Voyager, god knows why. “Sunk costs”, I guess. Or inertia. I wanted to see if they’d write a good ending. What a fool I was. I learned my lesson and bailed on Enterprise, but just not soon enough. eta: I forgot, there IS a good new Star trek show. It’s called The Orville. Eliminate some of the poop jokes and it would be a great show. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/animated-star-trek-comedy-coming/823502.md?page=2)