“Made for teenagers?”

[Xhiandra]

It quite obviously is, which is why the main characters are hyperactive teenagers who shout more than they speak (Mariner most of all) and much of the humour amounts to sex jokes.
Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it if you're not a teen. You can acknowledge that something was made for younger people and you enjoy it. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Watersluis]

Bleeps aren’t forced on Lower Decks by censors, they’re a comedic choice from the creator of the series.

To be fair, that simply sounds better than admitting one caved to censors so ad revenue would be higher.

It quite obviously is, which is why the main characters are hyperactive teenagers who shout more than they speak (Mariner most of all) and much of the humour amounts to sex jokes.
Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it if you're not a teen. You can acknowledge that something was made for younger people and you enjoy it. Nothing wrong with that.

This title is broadcast at midnight, a very quaint choice for something intended for teenagers.

You have very strange reasons to call something intended for teenagers when those are the things the censor aims to keep from them.

 

[Michael]

^ That's not quite correct, because the show isn't broadcast at all. It drops at a particular time on a streaming service, after which people can watch it anytime they want.

I must say I'm not convinced at all the show is aimed at teenagers, though. As far as I can tell it's pretty clearly marketed to a more adult audience, like many primetime animated shows. Some of the humor is juvenile, absolutely, but I don't see why that would mean it's a show “made for teenagers”. Seems to be more an assertion mostly just made to get a rise out of fans of the show, to be honest.

 

[JoaquinSlowly]

To be fair, that simply sounds better than admitting one caved to censors so ad revenue would be higher.

Picard and Discovery both include swearing that’s previously been disallowed on Trek when it was relegated to network television. Now that it’s on streaming they’re not beholden to the old network censors, and are able to set their own standards to a much higher degree, hence “shit” and “fuck” appearing in those previously mentioned Trek series.

I’m not going to presume bad faith from McMahan when the people in charge aren’t precious about keeping swearing out of Trek, and actively compare Lower Decks in promotion to McMahan’s other work, which often contains uncensored swearing, like the series Solar Opposites. Assuming that McMahan is being deceptive feels fairly arbitrary when there’s no actual indication of a “no swearing rule” from Trek’s higher ups, because it hasn’t been censored in all modern Trek.

^ That's not quite correct, because the show isn't broadcast at all. It drops at a particular time on a streaming service, after which people can watch it anytime they want.

Well said. Also worth mentioning that Prodigy is posted onto Paramount+ at the same time as Lower Decks, and Discovery, and all their streaming originals, including SpongeBob SquarePants movies and shows. The midnight release doesn’t mean anything about the intended age of the audience for Paramount+’s programming.

 

[Watersluis]

^ That's not quite correct, because the show isn't broadcast at all. It drops at a particular time on a streaming service, after which people can watch it anytime they want.

That's a fair point; the dead of midnight numbers I found are probably just about being made available as the day turns.

 

[Mudd]

I don't know any teenagers who'd sit through this.

 

[Sci]

Paramount has always been very clear that Star Trek: Lower Decks is an adult animated sitcom aimed at adult audiences. That some of the humor is not to everyone's taste does not make those who enjoy it less mature than other people.

It quite obviously is, which is why the main characters are hyperactive teenagers

No, that's Star Trek: Prodigy. The cast of Star Trek: Lower Decks are all explicitly commissioned officers who have graduated from Starfleet Academy and are therefore at minimum in their early-to-mid 20s; it is implied that Mariner is in her late 20s or early 30s; and the senior staff all seem to be in their 40s or older.

 

[Watersluis]

@Sci I must say that Carol Freeman does look a fair bit young to be the parent of someone around 30 years old.
But then again, I would assume that in the bright, bright future people remain looking younger for longer.

 

[Mudd]

How do you judge the age of a cartoon woman? She has grey hair. Her daughter's probably in her twenties. So she's presumably middle-aged.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Freeman seems a few years younger than Picard when he took command of the Enterprise. Even if she were in her late 40s, she would be of the right age to pursue the more prestigious postings (in line with US Navy officers) while being old enough to be Mariner's mother.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

Is there any adequate means of saying the show is directed at one audience, not another?

I'm in my early 50s, outside the prized 25-45 male demo. My son is a teenager, being a Trek fan for several years now. Our appreciation for each series lines up very well, including both loving Lower Decks. However, my son tends to be embarrassed by what I believe would be seen as juvenile humor. For instance, he covers his eyes throughout "It's Naked Time," which I think is a Riot.

To that end, I think being able completely appreciate Lower Decks requires a certain amount of life experience and seasoning.

 

[Commander Troi]

I don't know any teenagers who'd sit through this.

I showed "Strange Energies" to a friend's 19 year old, and they loved it. They did't get all the jokes, but wants to see more.

FWIW, I'm 53 and don't give a hoot what demographic something's aimed at. If I like it, I like it.

 

[fireproof78]

I never understood demographics. It's like the meme around Lego sets for a while saying ages "4 to 99" and then people joking that at 100 you no longer can play with Legos. It's a stupid, extremely arbitrary limit often aimed to create an exclusionary feel of elitism rather than finding enjoyment in the product. Kind of like Radar always liking Grape Nehi over alcohol in M*A*S*H. Tastes differ, regardless of age.

 

[Sci]

I never understood demographics. It's like the meme around Lego sets for a while saying ages "4 to 99" and then people joking that at 100 you no longer can play with Legos. It's a stupid, extremely arbitrary limit often aimed to create an exclusionary feel of elitism rather than finding enjoyment in the product. Kind of like Radar always liking Grape Nehi over alcohol in M*A*S*H. Tastes differ, regardless of age.

I mean, yes and no? On the one hand, sure, it's ridiculous to treat enjoying or not enjoying a work of art as a form of gatekeeping or elitism. On the other hand, art is a form of communication, and we do need to adjust how we communicate for the audience. Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is clearly not designed for children; Brian Henson's The Muppet Christmas Carol is clearly not designed primarily for adults (although adults may enjoy it). So it's a balance.

 

[shapeshifter]

I am not the target demo and I love it and so does my grandpa, though he thinks it could use more fart jokes.

 

[fireproof78]

I mean, yes and no? On the one hand, sure, it's ridiculous to treat enjoying or not enjoying a work of art as a form of gatekeeping or elitism. On the other hand, art is a form of communication, and we do need to adjust how we communicate for the audience. Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange is clearly not designed for children; Brian Henson's The Muppet Christmas Carol is clearly not designed primarily for adults (although adults may enjoy it). So it's a balance.

Fair point. I guess more my point is people going "I'm not the target demographic" as some sort of measuring stick. I'm not explaining this very well. I guess understanding the target demographics makes sense in order to understand the intended message. But, I more look at it as did I enjoy it, rather than "Am I in the target demographic?"

 

[Sci]

Fair point. I guess more my point is people going "I'm not the target demographic" as some sort of measuring stick. I'm not explaining this very well. I guess understanding the target demographics makes sense in order to understand the intended message. But, I more look at it as did I enjoy it, rather than "Am I in the target demographic?"

Which is totally fair. Adults are more than capable of enjoying works of art intended for children, for instance -- Hook is one of my favorite films -- and people from one community can enjoy works created primarily for members of other communities.

 

[Atrili]

I think some of the best pieces of young adult media are when the content is good enough to stand on its own at a surface level, but with buried references that only adults get. The original Shrek movie did a great job layering its comedy in this way and I think Lower Decks does as well. It's entertaining enough just at a base level, but it's constantly winking at long time fans with tons of references to the rest of Trek. They've done a good job with it so far.

 

[Greg Cox]

I think some people (like Greg Cox, surprisingly) use the word Millennial to refer to those born in the new Millennium, rather than those who "came of age" around the beginning of the new Millennium.

I confess: I long ago lost track of which generation is which. I just know I've seen curmudgeonly older fans gripe that the new shows are (gasp!) "made for millennials."

 

[Sci]

I confess: I long ago lost track of which generation is which. I just know I've seen curmudgeonly older fans gripe that the new shows are (gasp!) "made for millennials."

Broadly speaking, Millennials would be those persons born from circa 1980 to circa the late 1990s. The very youngest Millennials, under a fairly generous definition of Millennials, are of the traditional age to graduate college by this point; the eldest Millennials are around 40 years old, and most Millennials are in their late 20s or 30s. The majority of college students today would be the eldest Zoomers (also known as Generation Z).

I think a good rule of thumb is this: If they were young when either 9/11 OR Obama's election happened and they can remember either event, they're probably Millennials; if they were too young to remember either 9/11 OR Obama's election, then they're probably Zoomers.