Do we all love Lower Decks because we don't take it seriously???
- Thread starter ED-209
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I suspect one part of the positive experience of watching LD comes from the episodic idea --- not that it's purely a old-fashioned weekly-TV-adventure, but because it's just sometimes easier to develop character and long story arcs piecemeal through finding stories in each week's scenario, rather than starting from a major story arc and finding ways to reverse-engineer it into weekly chunks (something a lot of show struggle with in our modern 10-episode-streaming-season world (including PIC and DIS to some degree.
I also think LD does a nice job of making the meta-story, of season arc, or whatever, about the characters and not as much the mission --- the mission shapes them, but the narrative endpoint is a character one, not a universe-saving one. I imagine it's just a lot harder to figure out how to make ten episodes lead to the conclusion of the galactic threat and the reconciliation of two characters or something like that.
Alternatively, I think LD says "Mariner need to let other in in order to grow" and then finds ways to have her encounter that challenge through each monster/alien/incident of the week. By no means do I think this is all there is to it, but reflecting on the thread, that's the thought that came to mind. That also should not be construed to mean I think DIS or PIC completely fail at storytelling, but I think they do give themselves a bit of a handicap by wanting to tell a big, accessible-to-all-viewers story. And in that regard, presuming a smaller, mostly fan-filled viewership probably did help!
I also think LD does a nice job of making the meta-story, of season arc, or whatever, about the characters and not as much the mission --- the mission shapes them, but the narrative endpoint is a character one, not a universe-saving one. I imagine it's just a lot harder to figure out how to make ten episodes lead to the conclusion of the galactic threat and the reconciliation of two characters or something like that.
Alternatively, I think LD says "Mariner need to let other in in order to grow" and then finds ways to have her encounter that challenge through each monster/alien/incident of the week. By no means do I think this is all there is to it, but reflecting on the thread, that's the thought that came to mind. That also should not be construed to mean I think DIS or PIC completely fail at storytelling, but I think they do give themselves a bit of a handicap by wanting to tell a big, accessible-to-all-viewers story. And in that regard, presuming a smaller, mostly fan-filled viewership probably did help!
It's like a cross between Futurama and Final Space, I think.
It's overflowing with it, absolutely agree.
Just because it's a comedy doesn't mean we can't take it seriously. The character interactions are often very well done and affecting.
The characters are the best part of Lower Decks.
The most relatable set of main characters in Star Trek, in my opinion.
Rutherford is my hero.
I genuinely wish I could find my way to this, but I absolutely can't. LD is cute (sometimes) and makes me smile every once in a while, but it's so ridiculous, out-of-place and over-the-top that I can't even come close to thinking of it as anything other than a mildly intriguing, well-natured jab in the ribs for Star Trek fans.
I know I'm in the minority on that, and I wish I could feel differently, but I've never encountered a Trek franchise product I care less about. It doesn't mean I don't like it (I watch it faithfully)...but I can't find my way to caring about it at all. It's a mildly amusing little distraction. But that's my problem...not the show's.
No shame in any of that and well put. For me, also, it's a mildly amusing distraction, but then I'd describe most TV I watch in the same way.
I think I'm quite connected to LD because it's been a palliative during the pandemic. In Saigon we've had two very strict lockdowns so far and my watching of either season of LD seemed to coincide with both. It became one of the bright spots in the week to look forward to.
Yes, that totally makes sense. In a way, it's a fun escapist show that provides a nice 30 min of distraction from the real world. It's one of the things I can definitely resonate with...because DSC and PIC have come on a little strong, and it just rips me back to the real world too quickly when all I really want to do is have some fun escapism.
I took the Pakled threat seriously and adored it.
Sorta like how Tasha and Data ____ing in a tree in "The Naked Now" was crass, but later episodes built something robust out of it... the same goes for the Pakleds and it does fit their M.O.... in some ways they're not unlike the Borg, too.
That said, it's still a loose parody - it's straddling a fine line between comedy and drama and doing so admirably. IMHO, YMMV.
Granted, I found PIC season 2 to be fairly great because
they took "First Contact" plot points and other elements and made something fairly solid from them as well that's largely hit the right spots for me. Some nitpicks are inevitable, the biggie being that mostly almost zero attempt to make them speak in cadence and inflection that suggest a future time rather than mirroring modern day so completely - right down to colloquialisms they should otherwise no nothing about, much less use them as that defeats the purpose of the "fish out of water" trope, but I digress - but it's all still handled far better than the 1996 campfest movie (IMHO, YMMV.). Never mind TOS, DS9 and VOY went to then near-modern-day Earth too, with varying results, so it's a staple of Trekdom to do it. That, and Q's definitely getting some awesome treatment that feels true to his character while being deeper. Not unlike how TWOK did the same with the TOS crew for the movies 15 years later. The same but expanded upon in a way that feels authentic.
I love Lower Decks because it has heart, soul, and everything I enjoy about Star Trek.
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