Spoilers Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x01 - "Second Contact"

[Tim Thomason]

It’s a comedy cartoon, stop taking things so seriously.

I disagree wholeheartedly with this sentiment. Everything in this episode seriously happened, and should be judged on its merit just as any "live-action" Star Trek would be.

Mariner referenced Troi's jumpsuit, meaning Mariner knows about it for some reason. Perhaps we'll find out someday. Otherwise, it's just a sign that the Enterprise-D crew was highly publicized and scrutinized ten to fifteen years after their heyday. That would make sense, given their highly important adventures.

 

[Tuskin38]

and you won’t do so much as even mention it?

That’s what the report post button is for. Maybe they haven’t seen that post yet.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Oh and her string of fan-service references she mentions Troi switching from the bunny suit to the uniform. Because, you know, I'm sure that was a noteworthy event in Federation history that made it into the history books for her to learn about.

There's no doubt those guys were/became celebrities. And they're still contemporary in 2380. Yes, what they wear will matter to some.

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

It was an OK time-waster, I guess. I thought the "classical [music] group" reference was stupid. I still plan to watch next week, though.

 

[Tosk]

It was okay. Some mild amusement to be had, but I am a little disappointed to find out that Mariner acts like that sober as well. Fingers crossed for a little mellowing as time goes on, although comedy characters tend to get more zany and crazy as a show goes on rather than less. So I could be in for some painful times.

Curious to see where we go now that the pieces are set up.

I thought the "classical [music] group" reference was stupid.

It's basically just the same joke as the one from Star Trek Beyond. Which in itself was basically the same joke as the one from Futurama.

 

[thribs]

It was alright. The crew sleeping in the corridor is a bit silly. I’m a bit confused with the Orion girl being an ensign when she said she enlisted. Ensign is a officer rank.
The opening credits was mildly amusing with the ship being hit by asteroids and failing and then just running away from a battle.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Everyone should go to IMDB and rate the episode honestly as they have in this thread. There are only a few ratings so far on IMDB and they’re low, rated by haters who haven’t even seen the first episode yet.

 

[Lorcan Kelly]

I quite liked it. Was hesitant going on but was pleasantly surprised. The intro theme is great and took to most of the characters right away.

 

[eschaton]

I enjoyed it for what it was, and thought it was good for a Star Trek pilot. As pilot episodes are usually worse than the series as a whole, and this was arguably the best Star Trek pilot, it seems to be a positive for the series.

I liked the "twist" that Ensign Mariner is actually Captain Freeman's daughter. It helps explain why she's such a screw-up quite nicely, in that she cannot (despite being intelligent and competent) live up to the lofty expectations of her mother and father (who is an Admiral) and thus at some point says "fuck it" and stops caring about advancing through the ranks or the chain of command. She's arguably a better done Tom Paris. It seems weird Starfleet would allow her to serve on her mother's ship, but I guess it could be excused since this appears to be her "last chance" to make something of herself before getting drummed out.

I also enjoyed that once you get past Mariner everyone on the show appears to be doing their best, whether the bridge crew or the ensigns. The humor comes not from seeing people act like idiots, or be awful to one another, but from absurd situations and weird slice-of-life non sequesters. Otherwise though it's a recognizable episode of a Berman Trek show with an A/B plot and a crew working together to do their best.

One thing i liked a bit less about the episode is so little work was done fleshing out Ensigns Rutherford and Tendi. Rutherford got a B plot basically to himself, but all we basically discover about him is he's a "nice guy" who's all business. Maybe that's the joke - that he's not a very deep character? Seems like thin gruel though. Tendi is basically just the wide-eyed newbie and doesn't seem to have any other personality characteristics in the episode. I recognize that it's impossible to fully introduce the main characters in a 26-minute episode, and they'll probably get "focus episodes" later. At the same time, that's why most pilots are extra long, suggesting that maybe they should have gone with a 50-minute opener to allow for more time for the entire cast to be introduced at once.

 

[ThreeEdgedSword]

Well, that was fun!

After reading some of these posts, I expected Mariner to annoy the shit out of me, but she didn't. She's obviously a highly talented know-it-all with a couple of self-boycotting flaws. A brat acting out, but with her heart in the right place. Obviously, there's room for character development. But having your mom for a captain and daddy the boss of your captain must suck in her posiion.

Are we sure she is supposed to be the protagonist though? To me, it seemed that was Boimler. The story was told more from his perspective, and I suppose we are going to witness his ascent (or at least attempts at it) to command.

Loved all the TNG shout outs (Deanna Troi? She went from jumpsuit...)
Btw., is this Ransom guy a shout-out to Voyager? Maybe he's a realtive of crazy Captain Ransom?

 

[Visitor1982]

It was OK. I'm not really into cartoons and certainly not comedy cartoons. It was a bit over the top. Didn't laugh once. So don't know if that's a good thing. Not sure if I'm going to watch all ten episodes. At the end of the day it's just not my cup of tea and that is fine.

 

[Michael]

And yet, @Michael, a user can post an expletive-filled rant in response to another user …

No, I'd rather they not. When I asked to stick to discussing the episode and not other posters – twice no less – I meant everyone, not just you or anyone else specifically.

@Crewman6 replied to a post where you attacked them (at the same time as I posted my first warning), so I gave them a free pass this one time, even though that kind of language most certainly isn't appreciated and won't be ignored beyond that.

Again, @everyone, quit the personal attacks. And if you're feeling attacked, hit the Report button, don't derail the thread with further attacks.

 

[cooleddie74]

Okay, this was both dumb and very, very entertaining.

I want to see more.

 

[Skipper]

Good thing this isn’t real life then. We’ve seen trek characters in the past act similarly to other characters.

This. No one, absolutely NO ONE acts in a scripted movie/tv show as in real life. And even in the so called "reality television" people behavior is influenced by the camera.

 

[frankieteardrop]

I rated the episode a 7.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It's a good introductory episode that gives us a feel for the personalities and temperament of the four main characters and some of the bridge crew. I laughed out loud a couple of times, which I honestly wasn't expecting to do, and it's refreshing to get a more lighthearted take on the franchise.

Mariner's tendency to be a motormouth didn't bother me here, but I could see it wearing thin after a few episodes. At any rate, I'm looking forward to what comes next.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Boimler appears to be gay (or bi) given his predilection towards an all-male nude Olympics holoprogram. Nice subtle representation.

Boimler's holoprogram was the warp core. It was the woman, Mariner, who has the all-male olympics holoprogram.

 

[Joanna McCoy-Kirk]

It's basically just the same joke as the one from Star Trek Beyond. Which in itself was basically the same joke as the one from Futurama.

I worship Futurama, especially the Star Trek parody "Where No Fan Has Gone Before". I would not compare ST:LD to Futurama. What joke from Futurama are you referring to?

 

[cooleddie74]

A solid 7. If I had to push it, 7-1/2.

Also, I love the reference to Gary Mitchell in the closing moments. This may be goofy Trek but it clearly embraces the history of the entire franchise.

 

[brandnewfan]

I don’t get why a few people are being so down on it.

It wasn’t spectacular but it was decent. Besides that, you can’t go into this taking it so seriously. Yes, it’s canon, but you also need to have a different mindset when you approach this show.

Bottom line, not everything is for everyone. You’re not obligated to watch or even enjoy ever Trek show.

 

[Campe]

It was fun. I wasn't completely WOWED nor did I really expect to be. The characters are entertaining and its not as goofy as I expected it to be. The opening titles was a lot of fun turning the old Star Trek adage on its side. I chuckled a bit at places but never full-on laughed. I like the character relationships as expressed so far. And honestly, we all know the 4 leads. We've all either been them or know them in real life, whether its talented and lazy, overeager or just in over one's head. It's all pretty relatable. I do love the fact that <looks it up> Mariner is the Captain's daughter. Wasn't seeing that coming. That'll create some interesting tension for sure. I think I'm just over zombies, so that in itself brings it down a peg for me. I give it 6/10.