Lower Decks? (No, it's stacked fairly highly)

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by Qonundrum, Jul 11, 2019.

  1. Qonundrum

    Qonundrum Vice Admiral Admiral

    Where to begin on this one... apart from some unexpectedly pleasant plot twists, which I won't spoil here.

    Nitpicks are few and far between, and harder to get wound up about because even the storyline is fresh and new.

    Yeah, Riker has his underwear in a knot over the new guy, citing he's too eager to please. Troi states they're alike - and without having to namedrop "The Best of Both Worlds" where Riker is reminded that like how Shelby was, Riker too was eager to please.

    And Bev - really, she claims she has no idea what it's like to rush into a relationship? Um, hello!! Earth Galaxy Fifteen universes calling Beverly, just last week you were getting shagged by a ghost, were more than quick to resign and hop into bed with it, and didn't care it was terrorizing your family lineage for 800 years to the point you were forgiving of it maybe half an hour after zapping it with the phaser!!

    The bartender - this is another first, where a double agent exists in a good way since he's getting to deal with both sets of crewmembers: the experienced and the eager lower ranks who get to hear all the juicy gossip.

    Indeed, the poker scenes' cuts made by the director were also first rate.

    This episode is genuinely and deservedly one of TNG's most creative, robust in detail and nuance, and finely produced. Easily in the top 10, the actual position of which may vary from person to person. Like the taste of Soylent Green but in a more palatable way.

    Taurik (the Vulcan guy) loves looking into ship performance, but unaware that unknown variables could cause problems. (Though to be fair, how did he get classified information from the academy that hasn't been made public but given how cadets can be would be more than public by this point? ) His bigger role is also to inform the audience that (I'll let the episode speak for itself.)

    Picard even agrees to engage in his own
    Kobyashi Maru and violate a treaty by launching a probe into Cardassian space. How cool is that! In other episodes and even movies, he's got that prime directive stick so firmly lodged he says other people that were killed were better off! That is how brazenly beautiful this 7th season entry is, even Picard gives a bleep about his crew.

    I also liked the interchange between Sito and Joret Dal. Like Kirk and the Klingons but on a muchgrander scale. And while the episode is open-ended, I do not really believe Joret would send false intel to the Federation just to pull a ploy that would get poor Sito (just another Bajoran to him as they both share unpleasantries AND epiphanies while in the shuttle) killed. It is a shame, almost a D-word shame, that Joret didn't get some time in DS9. Taking it in an optimistic direction, Joret and Garak might have been another robust double act. After all, look at Joret as he gulps while in the briefing room/observation lounge in one key moment:

    Which suggests she may have been a prisoner as a child, long before getting into Starfleet Academy. Or she was a firsthand eyewitness.

    I'm not sure who got the best dialogue - whether it be Taurik, Sito, Picard, Joret, or the bartender. So much of it is so good.

    Loved the ending, as bartender contrives a good way to get Worf to visit the eager lower ranks.

    But this is season 7 - it featured new lows for the show but also put in new highs. "Lower Decks" is one of those highs.

    Highly recommended.
     
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  2. trekshark

    trekshark Captain Captain

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    Always liked the episode
     
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  3. Mutai Sho-Rin

    Mutai Sho-Rin Crusty Old Bastard Moderator

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    One of my top ten for TNG. There is a “Little Moment” after Sito departs where Worf is standing alone in the shuttlebay and you can see his body twisted in anguish. Wordless wonder.
     
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  4. Bry_Sinclair

    Bry_Sinclair Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I wish there had been more episodes like this, looking at life onboard from the POV of the "little people".
     
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  5. Prax

    Prax Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    In this episode, Sito is a full ensign, and has been for a while. Is it ever explained why Wesley is still a cadet in later episodes?
     
  6. Nyotarules

    Nyotarules Vice Admiral Moderator

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    He went travelling?????
     
  7. Laura Cynthia Chambers

    Laura Cynthia Chambers Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    A real relationship, not one where she literally gets sucked into it against her rational will. Although Odan might have something to say about that...
     
  8. Mutai Sho-Rin

    Mutai Sho-Rin Crusty Old Bastard Moderator

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    Wrong thread. How’d that happen?
     
  9. Laura Cynthia Chambers

    Laura Cynthia Chambers Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Beats me. Can someone move it to the right one?
     
  10. gakelly

    gakelly Commander Red Shirt

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    The poker scenes were cringe worthy. The TNG writers think you are a good poker player if you simply try to bluff every single pot.
     
  11. Mutai Sho-Rin

    Mutai Sho-Rin Crusty Old Bastard Moderator

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    Can't move a single post within a thread. I could delete it if you like or just leave it there for posterity.
     
  12. Laura Cynthia Chambers

    Laura Cynthia Chambers Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Can you just delete it? I'll post it on the right thread...

    Cancel that, it does refer to this article. See the fourth point on the original post...
     
  13. trekshark

    trekshark Captain Captain

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    Wasn't she a year or two ahead of him at the academy?
     
  14. GulBahana

    GulBahana Commander Red Shirt

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    I remember being convinced that some of these characters would be on Voyager. They don't usually spend that much time on multiple guest stars.
     
  15. Prax

    Prax Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I thought they were both seniors, and forced to repeat their senior year.
     
  16. trekshark

    trekshark Captain Captain

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    Taurik basically was although not as a regular
     
  17. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Locarno brought Wesley onto Nova Squadron early, because he was Wesley. They were practicing maneuvers for the graduation ceremony, but it wasn't Wesley's graduation
    Note he says "advance" to the next year, not graduate with your class
     
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  18. Nakita Akita

    Nakita Akita Commodore Commodore

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    I liked the episode except for that part.
    So Wesley, who we know did perfect in his classes, has to hang around and take the classes again?
    What's the point in that?
    No wonder he is a little pissy when he goes back to the ship for vacation later.
    It would have been better if he had been sent for water sanitation work on Saturn station for the year. ( I guess they don't do that in Trek though)
     
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  19. Ar-Pharazon

    Ar-Pharazon Admiral Premium Member

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    Taurik & Vorik were twins maybe?
     
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  20. Prax

    Prax Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    There was a terrible incident on the Enterprise that Taurik got caught up in. Taurik was allowed to change his name for his own protection, and transfer to another ship. He chose a name that was a different as he could imagine by Vulcan standards: Vorik.