I've never been so conflicted about a Star Trek series. It somehow manages to both pander to Star Trek fans while at the same time making fun of Star Trek fans. It walks the line between paying homage and crapping all over the series the came before. It doesn't do this subtly either - they'll pause and stare into the camera as they're doing it, almost daring you to hate them for it. The frustrating thing for me is that I think this is the most promising Trek series on the air currently. The last couple episodes of season one were excellent. If they just leaned into those types of stories more and stopped trying to be a meme-a-minute chuklefest it could be truly great. In this way I think it suffers from a similar problem as the Orville, but MacFarlane managed to at least tone down his constant dick-and-fart-joke humor a bit in season two. Lower Decks seems to be going in the opposite direction.
The nature of fandom is that you have to absolutely love something to make fun of it as much as this show does.
All these things make it one of the better Trek series in my book (I absolutely love this show, as does my wife and youngest son, it is appointment viewing for us). It was about time someone took some of the starch out of Trek's proverbial shorts. Especially with the dull live action shows CBS has given us to date.
I never felt Lower Decks craps all over Trek. It holds it on a pedestal. It's Star Trek nerds living on a ship in the Star Trek universe, nerding out over everything they come across and talking constantly about their heroes.
There's a fine line between a wink-wink-nudge-nudge sendup and making an absolute mockery of the Star Trek universe, and I feel like LD takes too much pleasure in hurdling past it. Cleaning out the holodeck cum filters? A naked Boymler grabbing his asschecks and spreading out his asshole for everyone to see? A cat doctor that's obsessed with playing in a box (cause she's a cat, get it? hurr durr.) Some of the stuff they do is actually laugh out loud funny, I just wish the satire would be a bit smarter and more subtle, and less bashing the audience over the head with references and shock value.
I've been a huge Star Trek fan since 1975, when I was four years old. I've never once felt the show was making a mockery of Trek.
Fan since '66. Love lower decks. It lovingly makes jokes about a franchise I've been lovingly been making jokes about for most of my life.
I think especially in this day and age you’ve got to be able to laugh at oneself and not take things too seriously and I think that’s what LD is doing. Sure some of the humour is low hanging fruit, but I think it’s acknowledging certain truths and they deploy it well. It’s not like the show is just one big fart gag. It’s well paced, intelligently written, so when they do drop something in like Naked Time, the absurdity of it can make it a standout moment. I think it also speaks well of the health of Trek currently - that it's comfortable enough to poke fun at itself and to be well received for doing so.
I think it does both. It has a reverence for Trek but it's also not afraid to call Trek and by extension fandom on their bullshit. People have been speculating on this since 'The Perfect Mate' when Riker said he was going to the holodeck after Kamala got him all hot and bothered. Roddenberry would have been absolutely fine with this.
What's really funny about this is that this Trek isn't that far off from what people actualy do in reality. Lower Decks is the first Trek show that is the closest to depicting the 'Real World' as we know it. (with Starships and Space Travel thrown in to confuse the PC Police) It just takes it too a whole new level. I've known several folks who wouldn't have hesitated to drop their drawers and spread their legs if given the same circumstances. While the LD characters are obviously over-the-top, they certainly don't act any different than many people do today. (they just do it in space)
I think it's an extraordinarily UNEVEN show (meaning, one week I'm giving an episode a 9, the next I'm giving it a 3) which is very frustrating to me.... ...but I don't view it as "crapping all over Star Trek" in any way whatsoever. I think it's nothing but a Trek love-fest. I'm not sure where that perception comes from at all. Can the OP expand on that a little?
I mean, a question is, "Do you take Star Trek to be something that should be handled reverently and with the seriousness of depicting real events?" Then, you probably aren't going to enjoy this show. "Is Star Trek full of gangster planets, tribbles, and ludicrousness that gets highlighted?" Then you will love this show.
Try since the first time we see a holodeck in Encounter at Farpoint...or maybe even back in TAS. The holodeck is for porn.
"Yes, the people of the 24th century have discarded their squeamishness about sex." -Gene Roddenberry, probably
No clue. I stopped watching three episodes into this season, but will binge the rest of it soon(-ish). I've been told from someone who knows my tastes that I'll probably think most of the rest of the season is "ehh..." but one of them I'll really get a kick out of. I assume I'll know it when I see it.
I used to be meh on the show but now love it. I feel like they are writing Mariner better. She is still a rebel but she could be annoying in season 1. All I know is I look forward to it every week when it's on.