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Lower Decks Trailer Analysis

While I agree with your overall sentiment that Starfleet will include more "average behavior" than some people seem to expect from these "evolved" beings, I disagree with your contention that Starfleet would be composed more like today's military than NASA. I did the math recently, and even given a fleet of 10,000 starships and an estimated 900 planets (not all "core" planets) and all the "routine" deaths of crew and losses of ships in dangerous situations, Starfleet would need "a lot" of new recruits every year. But given the huge population of the Federation, Starfleet (by my calculations) could be about 100 times a picky as, say, MIT in selecting their new recruits and still meet all their staffing needs. The people going into Starfleet should absolutely be the best of the best of the best ("sir, with honors" - to quote MIB).

That said I agree with the other poster who quoted ""The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play."

As for my own thoughts on this trailer. I was a little disappointed at first, I don't know what I was expecting, but it didn't really get my upon first watch. But a couple of additional rewatches and I really like it. I think it will be a good show. My favorite part is the song about the "blast shields" - it's catchy (like songs about scanning for lifeforms) and shows her fun character.
I agree the second take kinda improves it. However I feel the opening joke with the fake captain´s log felt painfully trite. Something like the toilet paper joke from the start of the first Shrek movie, except done by the iritating girl.
 
I disagree with your contention that Starfleet would be composed more like today's military than NASA. I did the math recently, and even given a fleet of 10,000 starships and an estimated 900 planets (not all "core" planets) and all the "routine" deaths of crew and losses of ships in dangerous situations, Starfleet would need "a lot" of new recruits every year. But given the huge population of the Federation, Starfleet (by my calculations) could be about 100 times a picky as, say, MIT in selecting their new recruits and still meet all their staffing needs. The people going into Starfleet should absolutely be the best of the best of the best ("sir, with honors" - to quote MIB).
I was also basing it on the fact that space travel is a lot more common in Star Trek's time than it is today. It really is analogous to modern day sea travel. Unlike NASA, you have people going into space just to do "menial" or "routine" stuff like serving food, cleaning, or whatever. Now yes, there are likely cases of people doing these jobs doubling up and contributing to the "more important" tasks, particularly on smaller ships just like happens today, but in the end, not everyone in Starfleet is going to have the equivalent of a few PHDs, or even be Academy graduates or even have any post-secondary education. Hell, there is canonical precedent in on screen material for this notion, given Simon Tarses in The Drumhead even said he chose to go the enlisted route as opposed to becoming an officer exactly because he was 18 and not interested in spending years in a classroom.
 
Never seeing the turbo turbolift again is ok by me.

I've already mentally-retconned the roller coaster turbolifts out of existence along with Deck 78 and the Enterprise-E having only 23 decks in FC. Those things are abominations of design even by modern sci-fi standards.
 
I've already mentally-retconned the roller coaster turbolifts out of existence along with Deck 78 and the Enterprise-E having only 23 decks in FC. Those things are abominations of design even by modern sci-fi standards.
I just file it under "early installment weirdness." We all have those.
 
Here's a quick size comparison using 7 decks as a scale bar


2ACKKk7.png


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I'm a big Discovery fan, but even I admit the turbo turbolift makes no sense whatsoever. The thing would probably have to be bigger than a Galaxy class to fit all of that in it, and all of the actual inhabited decks and other equipment.
 
Wasn't that - and the scenes from Discovery - reportedly added in post without the knowledge of the directors?
I don't remember. You may be right. It was around that time that I stopped really following the BTS stuff and just stuck to watching the show. Whoever came up with it, to me it's just such a strange concept to envision. With a few tweaks here and there this could have been an awesome sequence, but they way it came out is just ridiculous.
 
I don't remember. You may be right. It was around that time that I stopped really following the BTS stuff and just stuck to watching the show. Whoever came up with it, to me it's just such a strange concept to envision. With a few tweaks here and there this could have been an awesome sequence, but they way it came out is just ridiculous.

Seems like it might have been one of those things where higher ups demanded "MOAR ACTION!"
 
In the long panoply of dumb and questionable aesthetic choices in modern Star Trek dating back to 1987 those turbolifts are - if not at the very top - a close second.
 
I changed that from the TMP uniforms to the early TNG civilian clothing when I realized I said Modern Trek starting in 1987 but both qualify as cringe-inducing and finish in my Top 3. :)
 
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