# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/323 "2022-08-15T19:02:47Z")
Pretty close! With a bit of _Seinfeld_, too, I think. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/324 "2022-08-15T20:15:58Z")
> [@Dark\_Sponge](#): > > The sleeping in the hall thing seemed weird. Is that ‘canon’? I know, old post, but here’s my headcannon on the subject. In the TNG episode “Lower Decks”, it was established that junior officers have to share their quarters with a roommate. But that’s just on the Enterprise, Starfleet’s flagship, and probably the other Galaxy Class ships. The California Class ships like the Cerritos are older and smaller. Those ships don’t have enough quarters for all the officers, so they are set up almost like submarines, with bunks wherever there’s space for them. That’s where the junior officers are stuck sleeping on those ships. ---
**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:** [August 15, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/325 "2022-08-15T20:29:20Z")
Bunks along a passageway is common on submarines – there are berthing areas that are just dozens of bunks along a passageway that serves no other purpose but for the bunks. I imagine that’s the kind of inspiration they were going for. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/326 "2022-08-16T16:54:33Z")
It also has the plot-serving virtue of providing more opportunities for the characters to talk to each other. The _California_-class ships are definitely smaller than _Galaxy_-class ships like the _Enterprise_-D, but I don’t think they’re older. I don’t believe that’s been established in canon, and at least by appearance, neither looks older design-wise than the other, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/327 "2022-08-16T17:17:38Z")
The implication has been that the _California_-class ships are meant to be baby’s first command for Captains. I can’t remember if they’ve ever implied an older design, but they’re definitely meant to be very low-profile workhorses. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/328 "2022-08-16T17:33:30Z")
From Memory Alpha: > [@](#): > > By the [2380s](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/2380), the _California_ class had been in service for a long time, such as that some examples of the class were beginning to “fall apart”. However, new ships of the class continued to be commissioned. [Starfleet Command](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Starfleet_Command) was reluctant to change the [senior staff](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Senior_staff) of _California_ -class starships. ([LD](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Lower_Decks): “[Cupid’s Errant Arrow](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Cupid%27s_Errant_Arrow_(episode))”, “[No Small Parts](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/No_Small_Parts_(episode))”, “[First First Contact](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/First_First_Contact_(episode))”) > [@](#): > > The **_Galaxy_-class** was a [Starfleet](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Starfleet) heavy [capital](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Capital_ship) [ship](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Starship) [class](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Ship_class) first introduced in the mid [2360s](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/2360s). It was one of the largest and most powerful [Federation starship classes](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Federation_starship_classes) of its time, with many serving in the [Dominion War](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Dominion_War). Starfleet had previously operated another type of [_Galaxy_-class](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Galaxy_class_(23rd_century)) starship in the [2250s](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/2250). ([TNG](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation): “[The Ensigns of Command](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Ensigns_of_Command_(episode))”) _Star Trek: TNG_ starts in 2264, when the Galaxy class is brand new. _Lower Decks_ starts in 2380. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/329 "2022-08-16T19:32:24Z")
It’s not surprising that the California class was produced for a long time; after all, the [Excelsior class](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Excelsior_class?so=search) was the backbone of Starfleet for over a century. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/330 "2022-08-16T20:10:56Z")
Are the hallways really hallways (passages for general traffic around the ship) or an open area between the individual bunks that are all contained in a non-trafficked area? (I don’t recall if we see anyone walking by who is clearly on-duty). The bunks themselves look like they provide more space and privacy than on modern-day submarines. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/331 "2022-08-16T20:57:28Z")
I like to think there are still some Excel hulls operational in the Discovery future ---
**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:** [August 17, 2022, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/332 "2022-08-17T01:32:54Z")
I thought the Archimedes from the season 2 finale was? (edited - I misread what you were saying, so this answer is completely non-sequitor) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/333 "2022-08-17T18:08:16Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > _Star Trek: TNG_ starts in 2264, when the Galaxy class is brand new. _Lower Decks_ starts in 2380. Nitpick - 2364, not 2264. See: [2364 | Memory Alpha | Fandom](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/2364) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/334 "2022-08-17T18:11:35Z")
Yeah, that was a typo, sorry. Obviously, TNG didn’t take place on a ship that wouldn’t be built for another century. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/335 "2022-08-17T19:37:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Obviously, TNG didn’t take place on a ship that wouldn’t be built for another century. This is Star Trek. Not necessarily obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/336 "2022-08-17T19:46:44Z")
Fair. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/337 "2022-08-25T17:36:52Z")
Just watched the first episode of season 3 and really liked it. I really laughed at The site of First Contact being turned into a terrible tourist attraction. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/338 "2022-08-25T21:33:35Z")
Excellent first episode. That poor Botanist though. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/339 "2022-08-25T22:44:59Z")
I love how the whole plot could have been avoided if Mariner had just let Starfleet do its job. Sisko’s Creole Kitchen! Ketracel-white-hot sauce! _First Contact_ theme song! ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/340 "2022-08-26T00:13:20Z")
(Vague spoilers for S3 E1) I loved how that Star Trek Optimism came through in the end. Also how the most awesome of awesome episodes all happened off screen. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/341 "2022-08-26T00:39:57Z")
I can’t stop laughing at the Ketracel White-Hot Hot Sauce. And how much Mariner put in her bowl. ---
**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:** [August 26, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340/342 "2022-08-26T01:05:57Z")
James Cromwell! Love this show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-lower-decks/915340.md?page=18)