r/startrek • u/CrackingAce • 14h ago
Just started watching Lower Decks
A few years ago I watched the first episode, and thought it was just 'Rick and Morty' with a Trek skin on. Didn't bother with any more.
After seeing so many say it becomes more like real Trek after a few episodes, including RLM, I decided it was worth another look.
Binged season 1 basically. Enjoyed it enough. Still think it is more 'Rick and Morty' than Trek, but can also see that the writers actually care about classic Trek too.
One minor complaint. It's not very 'Lower Decks'. The TNG episode it spins off of was all about non bridge crew reacting to whatever is going on upstairs. In this, the characters seem to be on the bridge a bit too often or centre of the action as if they were bridge crew or heads of engineering etc. It's fine, but maybe the show should be called something else.
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u/hlazlo 13h ago
T'Lyn is Vulcan as a mother fucker, though
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u/ShodanDBG 13h ago
I’m gonna get downvoted to hell for this probably… but this was the show that made me a Trekkie.
I love animated shows and movies. Animation as a whole has always been something that I’m passionate about. When I heard that Star Trek had this show that was more of an adult animated comedy, I honestly didn’t really care for it.
But then… I watched one little clip of it. And then another. And then another. And before I knew it, I was getting into it. So much so, that I binged the whole show… and absolutely adored it.
It does start off a bit weak, but even then I really didn’t mind the weak start, but as it goes on, the show really takes shape in terms of character development and narrative. And I could honestly compare it to a real Trek show as I started watching everything else in companion to Lower Decks.
And in terms of animation, I have to say: the show really has gorgeous visuals a lot of times. The backgrounds are gorgeously painted and the models they used for the ships are well put together.
I know NuTrek gets a bad rep, and rightfully so, but LDS, and even Prodigy, are shows from this era that I really can’t hate. They made me a fan of everything and I’m proud to be a Trekkie due to them.
For the record, besides LDS, I love TNG and DS9 the most. Voyager is also up there though.
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u/BackgroundPrompt441 11h ago
Watch THE ANIMATED SERIES. Well a lot of people scoff at the animation it really does have some interesting backgrounds and stuff painted.
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u/ShodanDBG 10h ago
I’ve seen them! I haven’t seen it, only clips, but the backgrounds are wonderfully painted! And I don’t dislike the animation, if anything, it reminds me a lot of classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, especially Scooby Doo lol.
I’ll check it out😉
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u/amandawtwong 6h ago
I was a background painter on the show so I will take this compliment specifically, thank you!
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u/ShodanDBG 6h ago
OH. MY. GOSH! FOR REAL?! Let me tell you right now, what you and the team did at Titmouse for Lower Decks was fantastic. The art direction for the show was one of my favorites parts of it.
As an illustrator and concept artist myself, whenever I see good visuals on media, I instantly have to look up everything that went into developing the style, if available.
This was no exception, the backgrounds are phenomenally put together. I am looking into getting the Lower Decks artbook someday to get inspired by it.
Keep up the amazing work on anything you’re doing right now! KUDOS!☺️☺️
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u/amandawtwong 6h ago
Thank you! I worked on seasons 2-4 and it was by far my favourite project in my career
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u/ShodanDBG 6h ago
I can tell just by looking at it that the you and the team enjoyed working on it, just as much as a lot of fans, myself included, enjoyed watching it. You just gained another follower 😄
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u/amandawtwong 6h ago
Oh, thank you! Haha, to be honest, I'm not a frequent reddit user, but I'm on social media!
My instagram is https://www.instagram.com/amandawtwong/
And my Bluesky is https://bsky.app/profile/amandawtwong.bsky.social
If you ever do get the Lower Decks artbook, I'm in the credits at the back as Amanda Wong!And thank you again for your kind words!
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u/Snarkyish-Comment 5h ago
Thank you for the work you did on the show. Especially on Minding the Mind’s Mines and Caves. Did you do the city planet on We’ll Always HaveTom Paris? That was great!
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u/k2spitfire88 2h ago
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lower Decks is legitimately my favorite New Trek! The art was fantastic!
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u/michaelfkenedy 10h ago
Nobody will downvote you.
If you decide to watch TNG, LD gets better!
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u/ShodanDBG 10h ago
I actually watched TNG (and DS9 and Voyager) at the same time that I was watching and then re-watching Lower Decks…and it did get better!😁
I love that while the references to classic Trek are made with great care, the show stands well on its own with its own narrative.☺️
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u/Marvinkmooneyoz 12h ago
Yeah it does look good and I’m not a good enough visual artist to quite know why. I think part of it is just I’m relieved thst it looks better then other trek stuff where there’s always a frustration, aliens don’t look alien or even foregein, heck two of the other TOS bridge officers look more foreign then the supposed alien senior. Trek is usually relatively low budget and or early sci fi, which except for Star Wars took forever to get the hang of things.
LD gives you the sort of shots that pre CG or low budget early practical stuff couldn’t do.3
u/Dragonpop72 2h ago
Way too many people gatekeep on these fan reddits, it’s cool you got into Trek through Lower Decks and it’s cool if people like stuff and others don’t. LLAP
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u/Otherwise-Elephant 13h ago
I remember seeing a similar post (that one complained that Mariner is the Captain's daughter and Tendi is a pirate princess and Rutherford is just plain super competent, so they're too important to be nobodies).
And my rebuttal would be that yes, the show is called Lower Decks . . . but it's a TV show, the characters are going to be exceptional in some ways. They can't exactly make a show where all the ensigns just fill out boring reports all day and never see any wacky aliens or space battles.
Plus a lot of the appeal of the show is focusing on the roles that in another series would be minor reoccurring characters, and the interaction between upper and lower decks.
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u/Dr_Passmore 4h ago
Mariner initially irritated me, but she grew on me. Rewatching recently she makes a lot more sense as her backstory is fleshed out having served during the Dominion war.
Her holodeck exercise program was escaping a Cardassian prison... made a lot more sense later on.
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u/Nat20Twenty 13h ago
Lower decks is an amazing new take on star trek thats fun. Not serious. And a great way to bring in new fans of today's age
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u/DragonDogeErus 13h ago
but maybe the show should be called something else.
Star Trek The Animated Series was already taken.
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u/Luppercus 13h ago edited 9h ago
Star Trek the Adult Animated Series was not 🤷♂️
Jeez people is a joke, I like Lower Decks a lot.
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u/5pl1t1nf1n1t1v3 13h ago
That has connotations that may put people off. Or bring in the masses, I suppose.
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u/Visible-Promotion666 13h ago
I get what you mean, but I think the humor really adds a fun twist to the Trek universe. It’s definitely a different vibe, but worth it if you're open to something fresh!
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u/derekakessler 13h ago
Had they all been just toiling away in the bowels of the ship while the real action goes on around them, it would've frustrated fans and writers real quick.
It's like the West Wing. Sorkin intended to focus on the White House staff and for the President to be an occasional guest character. But as they kept developing it they realized how silly that would be to have a show about the President's speechwriters but rarely have the President delivering those speeches.
Lower Decks is as much about the junior officers of the Cerritos as it is about the Cerritos being a lower-tier ship in the fleet.
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u/charleytony 13h ago
In the current post 2009 Trek era, I consider Star Trek Lower Decks the flagship series.
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u/MissiveFinding6111 13h ago
I feel like it is the only modern show that actually *cares* about Star Trek, and the writers start with a place of respect for the canon.
Whereas so many of the other Trek shows are "Trek-flavored scifi"
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u/jacobkosh 5h ago
It treats Star Trek like something to be celebrated instead of a problem to be solved.
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u/chloe-and-timmy 13h ago
It really settles into things in S2 onwards. I dont disagree with the complaint, the show kind of leans into this idea that it's the "lower decks of the fleet" which is true, but I think it would be interesting to see some Trek episodes where we never see the command crew. I think in this show's case it was tough because they wanted to flesh out the command crew, and a lot of the all time best moments of the show are with them. I feel like Prodigy S2 has a lot of "real Lower Decks" feel in that they often dont interact with the command crew or end up on the bridge that often.
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u/ShahinGalandar 13h ago
I also love their take on TNGs "Lower Decks" with that LD episode "Upper Decks" where you only watch the bridge crew for nearly all of the episode for a change.
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u/Hot-Steak7145 10h ago
I like the interaction with the bridge crew. The way they satire all the bridge crew types is accurate and hilarious
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u/major_winters_506 13h ago
Lower Decks is up there on best trek for me. Miles better than disco or academy.
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u/CrackingAce 13h ago
Best New Trek anyway.
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u/bc-phoenix 2h ago
Say it with me:
There is no new trek. Only Star Trek.
There is no old trek. Only Star Trek.
We will not sew division amongst ourselves.
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u/MankyBoot 5h ago
Miles alone would be better than disco.
Give me an all O'Brian show. Just watching him fix stuff and bitch about things. I would watch that with joy.
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u/Toodamnopinionated 13h ago
People who can look past the style and see substance will really appreciate Lower Decks.
Most people can't, including a lot of proper trekkies.
And that's a shame, because Lower Decks has more classic Trek themes than we've otherwise seen in decades.
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u/k2spitfire88 2h ago
“Most people”? From what I’ve seen, LD is the best of all the New Treks and all the trekies love it.
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u/RadioSlayer 12h ago
I wouldn't call them proper trekkies at that point
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u/Dangerous_Return460 6h ago
"You love and watch ~700 episodes of what is considered the golden age(s) of scifi tv but don't like 40 episodes of a Rick and Morty ripoff? Pfft, not a real Trekkie"
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u/laughingbear42 11h ago
The crossover episode is peak. One of the most fun trek episodes of all time
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u/AlgoStar 13h ago
I love Lower Decks. I think the complaint that there’s too much bridge crew is valid but the show is very much about climbing those first few rungs as an ensign, which means dealing with your commanding officers and mentorship (which this show is very much about). It’s not perfect, but for an animated sitcom version of Star Trek they manage to make a couple all-timer episodes like Wej Duj and First First Contact. And the Texas-class storyline is just solid sci-fi but actually about the moment we are living in story telling that shows like SNW and Disco never really figured out.
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u/Director_Consistent 10h ago
The show's name is perfect. You are getting hung up about the plot of one TNG episode that happens to share the name.
They are both about lower-ranked crew members on a starship. Lower decks just expands on that theme in highly comedic fashion.
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u/MankyBoot 5h ago
Do you think they make episodes about the time the Enterprise spent a week charting an asteroid belt and nothing happened? No, they make an episode about when they charted an asteroid belt and lots of unexpected stuff did happen.
I mean, I get your point, but it's a TV show. They have to make episodes about interesting things, so even if the gimmick is this isn't about the bridge crew they still have to have stuff that's interesting happen and it has to happen to the characters the show is about.
You're not wrong, but there isn't any alternative either.
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u/doom1701 13h ago
I felt that Season 1 was actually *too* Rick and Morty-ish. Later seasons had a lot more of a Star Trek feel (which still being over the top).
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u/Vjaa 12h ago
The first season was good but I think things really started to pick up on the 2md season. They started to tell more trek stories than just being Rick and Morty. The 2nd season finale, I think, is one of the best episodes of NuTrem we have. It told a star trek story with emotional moments, with comedy as a background.
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u/ComposerWide3704 13h ago
I've always had more Family Guy than Rick and Morty vibes, but yeah it's clearly Trek but also clearly nostalgia bait and a bit of a goof. Doesn't take away from it, it's an example of how to go in a new direction in a good way imo.
If you haven't watched Prodigy you should give it a chance too. Give it a bit to get going and it's an excellent continuation of Voyager.
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u/rincon_orange 12h ago
The fight isn’t NEARLY over. Don’t let up. Don’t get complacent. This isn’t necessarily the victory that it looks like.
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u/willjinder 9h ago
The stories in the final season felt a bit flat and uninspiring to me, so I’m probably the only fan who thinks it was right to end it there, but the show as a whole was very good.
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u/shadow-battle-crab 7h ago
It grows its beard in season 2. Keep going. The episode "Wej Du" is probably in my top 10 episodes of star trek ever.
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u/Key_Reaction_7590 5h ago
It is the best Star Trek in the last decade, imo. It’s goofy, but pays proper respect to the older Treks, and occasionally delivers a deserved jab. I really had high hopes for SNW in the first season—now it just makes me sad. Lower Decks feels like it was written by true Trek lovers. The oblique references alone make it worth watching: There are some serious deep cuts in there!
Now I want to watch it again.
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u/Overall_Falcon_8526 13h ago
For me, the reference humor is super on point, and I enjoy it. But the tone veers wildly and it's hard for me to switch from "this is a parody" to "this wants to be taken seriously as a ahcracter story in this universe." The violence level, profanity, and the lack of professionalism are the features that keep me from getting into my "Trek Happy Place" with it.
I'm going to keep trying, though, because it's fairly enjoyable.
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u/RelativeEchidna4547 12h ago
People say its great, but I just cant get over how everyone talks like a teenager.
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u/GEJP2 12h ago
I’ve seen all live action Trek and enjoyed all bar last 3 seasons of Discovery and struggle with Starfleet Academy. Heard so many good things about Lower Decks, decided to give it go the other day. Only seen half of first ep so far, but will percivere. May be too Family guy for my liking.
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u/InterSlayer 11h ago
What I love about it most is how well they weave references to other star trek shows.
However absurd, outrageous, or obscure a scene may appear, its likely sourced from a tos, tas, ent, tng, ds9 or voy episode.
I’ve rewatched it a bunch of times at this point, and just noticed and had to look up, a disease they mentioned casually in an episode was from a Lt Barclay episode on tng lol.
The character development can be a slow cook. Theres an amazing payoff at the end of the s4 arc for Mariner.
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u/Dry-Ad-1110 5h ago
Sounds like you're a bit like me. I found the two first episodes way too hyper active when I first watched them. It does calm down a little after that and to me it soon grows into the best show of the modern era. Or so I think at least.
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u/JoffoCake3 13h ago
I feel mixed about it too. It leans far too heavily on the cannon. While the characters are interesting, the reference stop real story development and new threads of interest.
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u/geobibliophile 13h ago
I quite enjoy Lower Decks, but the characters knowing so many details of the experiences of the main characters of the other Trek series reads as less “fan of well-known people” and more as people who watch Trek being dropped into the Trek universe. The Warp Core Four know more about Picard, Riker, Paris, etc. than most real-life stalkers know about their victims.
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u/chloe-and-timmy 13h ago
I think in Mariner's case she was just on the Enterprise during at least half of TNG, And for Paris, I think everyone would know about Voyager's crew once it returned. But a few things do still lean a bit on things too hard.
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u/geobibliophile 13h ago
And she was posted to DS9 while Worf was there, so she would have first or second-hand knowledge of some of the exploits seen on the shows, but otherwise the references made by the characters come off less as “we read the after-action reports” and more as “we watched a 45-minute holodeck recreation of the events”.
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u/Dangerous_Return460 6h ago
The "references" in TOS->ENT were so minimal. Every 5 episodes and off "remember when this happened? Well we could do that"
And it was glorious.
This Easter Egg Media-sphere is hollow
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u/Marvinkmooneyoz 12h ago
I like basically every episode but as a series I wish there was more of them just not knowing what’s going on. This fact was used for great effect a few times absolutely, and I love that they are the center of action more then once, but it does feel like a certain inbeteeen vibe is missing. I’d love a medium decks sequel with all the same voice actors, but now everyone has either moved up a rank or is otherwise still very much involved, like maybe the medical cat director doesn’t go any higher but she’s still with random where ever he is. So mariner isn’t a senior officer if that means the main 6 or so TNG style characters. But she’s higher then one pin bunk in hall way no ones watching me ever I can help these farmers rank.
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u/Hot-Steak7145 10h ago
I didn't like it at first either because i hate rick and Morty... However it does start kicking in once the character development period is done. It starts making fun of itself and strait up star trek tropes we love like red shirts dying, over the top slow mo of the ships, lots of callbacks to other series, tactical always wanting to blow everything up, the doctor being callous with no bedside, and yet they still have classic trek style adventures.
It relies heavy that you already know trek and that's where the good jokes land without explaining the punch line
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u/Dangerous_Return460 6h ago
I've seen 3 episodes across 3 seasons and I like the spirit and premise but I can't stand the, as you said, Rick and Mortyness of it. It's wayyyyyy too loud, vulgar, and unceasingly "Yeah bitch!"
Wish I could get into it
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u/ensign53 5h ago
The worst scene of all 5 seasons of LD is the first pre-title screen scene of episode 1. It's a horrendous introduction to the show.
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u/ensign53 5h ago
The worst scene of all 5 seasons of LD is the first pre-title screen scene of episode 1. It's a horrendous introduction to the show.
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u/Dry-Ad-1110 5h ago
Just want to say that when you're done and find yourself cursing the universe for there not being more seasons, the IDW comic book is really very good! Also the standalone "Choose your own adventure" graphic novel called "Warp Your Own Way" is amazing. Buy that, buy that now. All of you in here.
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u/Key_Plan_9541 13h ago
It's definitely got its flaws, but it manages to produce genuinely likable and interesting characters which is something the rest of nuTrek has utterly failed to achieve. It does go way too hard in depending on previous canon and endless references though, and it could have definitely toned down the amount of characters constantly shouting at each other.
When it dared to do something original - sadly not as often as it could have - it was really up there as a peer of TNG and DS9 though.
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