Summary: Lower Decks certainly is a different take on Trek, and a very different kind of parody from the likes of Galaxy Quest and The Orville. The humor is pure Rick & Morty, which definitely triggers a bit of cognitive dissonance and will take getting used to. I hope I am able to get used to it, though, because I think this can be good if I can get past that.
Long version: As far as I’m concerned, CBS picked a very good time for Star Trek to come back. I’ve always loved Star Trek, and this seemingly unending nightmare we’ve been in since 2016 has made me appreciate it all the more. And now we’re at the point where there are THREE different Treks being shown at the same time, which takes me back to those heady days of the '90s and the TNG-DS9-VOY-ENT era.
I was skeptical of this from the moment I heard about it. The “Lower Decks” episode of TNG is one of the show’s best, and the idea of a show about a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears ensigns doing the scrub work on a Starfleet vessel seems like a decent premise for a show to me. And I’m very open to Trek satire. I love Galaxy Quest, I’ve heard great things about The Orville and have enjoyed the few episodes I’ve watched (never enough time, and books always take priority), I thought Redshirts was brilliant. And even Trek proper has always been great at not taking itself too seriously - see "The Trouble with Tribbles" or "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" or any other of the many lighthearted episodes. But the idea of Rick & Morty humor with a Trek parody didn’t seem like a good fit.
That being said, despite my low expectations, at the moment the show started I had all sorts of warm feelings stirring. They absolutely nailed the TNG aesthetic, and that is apparently enough to provoke some powerful emotions.
...and then it crashed right into R&M humor, with one of the leading ensigns busted for recording a fake captain’s log in a broom closet, which segued into the other ensign who caught him messing around with a bat’leth while rhapsodizing about the beautiful shade of blue of the Romulan whiskey she’s been drinking.
The juxtaposition just didn’t work. I like R&M well enough, but it’s never been my favorite show, and I just couldn’t get it to mesh with Trek.
As the episode went on, though, things improved. The surface level humor didn’t fit right, but what was underneath it felt right to me. I refuse to classify things as “not really Star Trek”, and absolutely fucking despise all the gatekeeping that goes on around Discovery and Picard as “not really Star Trek.” Star Trek should, above all else, be inclusive - I’m aware of the irony of saying what Trek “should be” while decrying gatekeeping, thank you - and everyone is free to define what Trek “should be” for themselves. But to me it’s about humanism and optimism and challenging oneself to grow and be the best one can be, and underneath the R&M humor Lower Decks had that. (For the record, I think Discovery and Picard are both great, I’m not a fan of the Abrams movies, and if I had to pick a favorite series I’d go with DS9 while mouthing “sorry” to TNG.)
I plan to watch more. If this works for me, it’s going to be an acquired taste - the humor just doesn’t mesh. But I’m hopeful.
UPDATE: Watched episode 2, and I'm happy to report it's growing on me. Going in ready for the Star Trek/R&M juxtaposition in a way that only experience could prepare me for, it was much easier to roll with it. It helps to think of it not as a Star Trek spoof, and instead think of it as a 24th century television program that cadets at Starfleet Academy might get together and watch while high.
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