# Star Trek Lower Decks **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [July 14, 2020, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340 "2020-07-14T21:53:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/263 "2021-10-14T08:19:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > and the fact it’s somewhat related to Discovery and Picard, absolute garbage shows, amazes me. Come now, _Picard_ had some very good parts. Anything with Seven, Rios, Raffi, Jean Luc, Troi-Rikers, Jurati, Brent Spiner…actually anything just not related directly to the season arc. And season 2 seems to be _Tapestry MK2_. On the other hand ST DISCO outside of the time when Lorca and Pike were center stage has sucked great big donkey balls and the latest trailer seems to be an indication of doubling up on the element we detest. By the way, did anyone notice that the Valeris cosplayer Vulcan was posted to Starfleet against her will, almost like a military reservist might be sent to the regular forces? Maybe that finally explains the relationship between Starfleet and the planetary exploration forces/militaries? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/264 "2021-10-14T17:04:16Z")
I’m loving this show. But why are seasons only 10 episodes long? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/265 "2021-10-14T21:55:45Z")
Because that’s the modern model. Shorter, higher-quality seasons. I personally think it’s usually a pretty good trade-off. I’d rather be left wanting more than slog through multiple filler episodes. … I thought S02E10 was a bit of a let-down from S02E9 - but only because “wej Duj” was one of the best _Star Trek_ episodes of _any_ series, while “First First Contact” was merely one of the best episodes of _Star Trek: The Next Generation_. Seriously, how does a quasi-parody series manage an episode that’s genuinely more dramatically thrilling and emotionally engaging than any of the serious versions have for decades? And note to J.J. Abrams - _no one got shot_. Thrilling space action for a _rescue mission_, with _no_ combat. And note to pretty much every other current creator, _Star Trek_ or otherwise: genuine character conflict that’s organic to the characters and not just there for the sake of having conflict, which means it’s actually emotionally engaging for the audience, and its resolution is genuinely cathartic. One caveat: the system’s sun _just happens_ to release an unpredicted solar flare that _just happens_ to hit the unstable planetoid made of technobabble, which _just happens_ to strike the other Starfleet vessel at the _exact moment_ it’s approaching the planet…_groan_. The odds against _all_ of that lining up that way are _literally_ astronomical. Still…I’ll suspend disbelief to get the rest of that episode. A couple more caveats, I guess. I was enjoying having genuinely optimistic and humanistic Star Trek back, and then…Rutherford’s implants are apparently part of some sinister conspiracy (is _he_ the Section 31 black ops embed on the ship? Wasn’t it established in the episode they were mentioned that the rumor is they sometimes don’t even know they’re Section 31 plants until they’re activated?). Ugh. But that does have a pedigree in TNG, and even moreso in DS9, so, ok. Also, Captain Freeman is obviously the victim of a conspiracy within Starfleet to frame her, and possibly spark a new war with the Klingons, which, again, ugh. But, again, there’s a pedigree for those sorts of stories in TNG and DS9, so…ok, I guess. We _really_ need a Season 3 now, though. ---
**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 14, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/266 "2021-10-14T22:35:04Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > One caveat: the system’s sun _just happens_ to release an unpredicted solar flare that _just happens_ to hit the unstable planetoid made of technobabble, which _just happens_ to strike the other Starfleet vessel at the _exact moment_ it’s approaching the planet… _groan_ . The odds against _all_ of that lining up that way are _literally_ astronomical. Still…I’ll suspend disbelief to get the rest of that episode. Whenever it seems too improbable, a Q did it. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/267 "2021-10-14T23:13:14Z")
Loved the cetacean sexual harassment! ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/268 "2021-10-14T23:26:36Z")
Um…phrasing? * * * Also, I almost forgot - call back to the Cosmic Koala from S01E04! Since Boimler saw it while technically dead, I wonder if that’s who/what Lt. Shaxs had to fight at the Black Mountain when he died…or if Boimler nearly ascended… (I think the latter is more likely, but more likely still is that the call-back was just a throwaway Easter egg). ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/269 "2021-10-14T23:36:24Z")
Also loved that they brought back Sonya Gomez as Captain of the Archimedes. She’s come along way from spilling hot chocolate on Captain Picard shortly before first contact with the Borg! ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/270 "2021-10-15T01:40:15Z")
There was active cussing at the SimHouse when the ‘…to be continued’ appeared on the screen. best.cliffhanger.ever ~ even if we all know it will work out. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/271 "2021-10-15T06:58:49Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > , I wonder if that’s who/what Lt. Shaxs had to fight at the Black Mountain when he died…or if Boimler nearly ascended… I really hope the explanation for Shaxs return is given as…the Packleds beamed him and his captors out before the explosion, he was kept as a PoW while being believed to be KIA, until Riker and the Titan rescued him ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/272 "2021-10-15T09:17:51Z")
Two things I noticed. - The dolphins were probably a reference to _Seaquest DSV_. - The Rubber Ducky room is a reference to the in-joke graphics Mike Okuda used to embed in the ship schematics. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/273 "2021-10-15T11:55:11Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > - The dolphins were probably a reference to _Seaquest DSV_ . > - The Rubber Ducky room is a reference to the in-joke graphics Mike Okuda used to embed in the ship schematics. _SeaQuest DSV_ was also the first thing I thought of when I saw the dolphins. And it may have been meant as a partial reference to that. But [“Cetacean Ops” is actually a previously established element of Star Trek canon](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Cetacean_Ops). It’s mentioned in dialogue in an episode of TNG, and in another episode Geordi mentions dolphins being on board. And the official, quasi-canon blueprints for “the D” released in 1996 contain a full cetacean navigation lab and cetacean lifeboats. The blueprint book was relased three years after SQDSV premiered, so the cetacean lab there could have been a reference to Darwin and the _SeaQuest_, but “Yesterday’s Enterprise”, the episode where Cetacean Ops is mentioned, aired three years before SQDSV premiered. ---
**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 15, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/274 "2021-10-15T11:56:22Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > - The dolphins were probably a reference to _Seaquest DSV_ . > **[Star Trek: TNG's Enterprise Had Dolphin & Whale Crewmembers](https://screenrant.com/star-trek-tng-dolphins-whales-crewmembers-navigation/)** > > Star Trek TNG's Enterprise had a unique crew. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/275 "2021-10-15T12:00:04Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > It’s mentioned in dialogue in an episode of TNG, and in another episode Geordi mentions dolphins being on board. I think I did know that, and I also considered that it’s a reference to Voyage Home, which is likely why there is a Cetacean Ops at all. But it was them talking that makes me think it’s more overtly SeaQuest connected. Though I am open to the idea that it has nothing to do with it at all. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/276 "2021-10-15T13:40:20Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I think I did know that, and I also considered that it’s a reference to Voyage Home, which is likely why there is a Cetacean Ops at all. But it was them talking that makes me think it’s more overtly SeaQuest connected. Though I am open to the idea that it has nothing to do with it at all. _Star Trek: The Voyage Home_, from 1986, firmly establishes in canon that in the Star Trek universe, at the very least humpback whales are fully sapient and can communicate psychically with Vulcans and…by some means with…whatever aliens sent the probe. The technical manual I referenced above and other sources indicate that the Cetacean Ops section uses cetaceans for navigation, which would seem to indicate they have _some_ means of communicating with the humanoid crew members. It seems perfectly logical that if cetaceans in the Star Trek universe are fully sapient, some might want to join Star Fleet, and Universal Translators would eventually enable routine communication with humans. I think there are probably at least some elements of a feedback loop between SQDSV and the Star Trek franchise - they’ve got a largely overlapping fan base, and there was a lot of fanspec when SQDSV was on the air that it was in fact part of the Star Trek timeline. But Cetacean Ops as depicted in “First First Contact” seems to have a lot more in common with the Cetacean Ops of the TNG technical manual and blueprints than the “moon pool” and Darwin of the _seaQuest_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/277 "2021-10-16T12:35:02Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Loved the cetacean sexual harassment! I liked their suggestions for first aid, “Keep him wet!” ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/278 "2021-10-16T13:46:46Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > It seems perfectly logical that if cetaceans in the Star Trek universe are fully sapient, some might want to join Star Fleet, and Universal Translators would eventually enable routine communication with humans. Shades of Brin’s _Startide Rising_… ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/279 "2021-10-16T14:20:47Z")
Larry Niven (who wrote an episode of Star Trek: The Animated Series) also had intelligent dolphins in his Known Space novels. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/280 "2021-10-19T21:10:41Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Because for me Paramount+ is a virtual streaming wasteland. Well now that the season is finally over I got my free seven day subscription to Paramount+ and binged Lower Decks season 2 over the weekend. Very good, as expected. Little to add other than I am really enjoying how they actually seem to be developing characters rather than just letting them stay stagnant. Comedic parody or not, they pay attention to plotting just enough to give it heft. But re: P+ I did realize that they have Comedy Central content, which reminded me of [Ugly Americans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_Americans_(TV_series)), which I remember sorta liking but I didn’t catch parts of the second season and I didn’t remember loving it enough to ever pay Amazon to catch up on it. So I guess I’ll give that a try again in my remaining few days. Still not worth the price they are charging for their no-add subscription though. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/281 "2021-10-19T21:45:58Z")
Oh and to expand on that a little, I sorta like that they seem to be suggesting a budding romantic relationship between Mariner and Jen. While they may be throwing a curve, setting up a short-lived fling or some kind of love triangle, I think I slightly prefer Mariner & Boimler as a Kirk & (neurotic, self-aggrandizing)Spock pairing. Bff who seek their romantic entanglements elsewhere would be a better set up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2021, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/282 "2021-10-20T00:41:34Z")
So, who gave Rutherford his implants? Section 31? Too obvious. I’m guessing Romulans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340.md?page=15)