Lower Decks Crossover Episode

But, LD and SNW are aware of this.

 

They'll strike a balance. Whether or not hyper-picky Trek fans like the outcome is something else entirely but they know what they were asked to do and I doubt it'll be as bad as some think. It rarely is.

 

Honestly, I don't get why so many are getting hung up on the "tonal differences" between SNW and Lower Decks and fearing this episode is doomed to fail because of them. The other Treks have done comedic episodes with tonal differences that have clashed with the usual more serious fare. Certainly DS9's Ferengi episodes have a very noticeable tonal difference compared to episodes like Duet or In the Pale Moonlight. DS9 fared that tonal clash just fine. Even if this episode were SNW going full hyperactive slapstick like the typical Lower Decks episode is, so what? It's one episode, the previous one and the next one will undoubtedly be something more SNW's traditional speed. The show will proceed along just fine as will the rest of the franchise.

This seems like a lot of handwringing over a complete and total nothing burger.

 

So, typical fan reaction then...

 

Of course. It may be a new year, but we're still the same old Trek fans we've always been.

 

How could anyone not be?

 

I can’t speak for others, but the tonal shift I refer to isn’t one of ‘played-for-laughs vs. serious’- SNW has already done plenty of played-for-laughs (and done it well, IMO). I’m talking about the things that make me not enjoy LD and make it not feel like Trek to me. The characters on LD behave not like future society Starfleet officers, but like modern gen-z’ers in an office sitcom. That’s what doesn’t square with me.

 

The point being that they will make adjustments based upon that recognition. Yes, LD is treated like an office sitcom and SNW more seriously. So it will adjust accordingly because the framing device is different.

 

Well yeah, it's a comedy.

 

Would that be the swashbuckling/western stylings of TOS, the uptight officers of TNG and VOY, the imperfect almost everyman officers who understand the need for grey areas in DS9 etc etc

There is no singular definition of the future officers and it make plenty of sense that there would not be a homogenised society where everyone had the same personality - some of them are going to be a group of loveable dickheads

 

The "aw, shucks, let's just do whatever and if it really causes problems we'll apologize our way out of it" cowboys of ENT. Which, admittedly, made sense for the era of history. And at least incidents like those in "Cogenitor" were held up as disciplinary lessons for officers who were seen to go a step too far. But still.

22nd century cowboys. Yeehaw, you alien mo-fos!!

 

And I don’t expect or desire any such homogeneity, but I know when a character doesn’t feel plausible as a Starfleet officer and that’s what I see when I watch Lower Decks.

 

The showrunner has said to take the events of Lower Decks as an exaggeration and not the true to life events in-universe.

 

That’s good to hear. Hopefully, the live action sections of the episode will reflect something within the established SNW tonal range.

 

We have so many examples of officers being childish/eccentric/lecherous and so on over the years that whilst they may have had their characterisations turned up to 11 the underlying traits still feel in line with what we have seen before

 

Yeah, but it's one thing to have an officer get out-of-line once in a while and quite another to have the entire cast of officers be constantly out-of-line.

 

It's part of the framing device, an office sitcom existing at a hyper pace. Not a literal presentation of officers.

 

I get that in the abstract but, in practice, how do you reconcile a presentation steeped in non-Starfleet behavior with a story ostensibly about Starfleet? I have no frame of reference for where the characters can reasonably go because the frame of reference I'm being told to apply is being wantonly ignored as sitcom tropes require.

 

I mean, my frame of reference is a comedy. Comedies exist in a hyper state where ridiculous things happen and abound, and misunderstandings lead to shenanigans. Brooklyn 99 is probably my most recent example, though my preferred is MASH. To quote MASH the "antics can become quite antic." Any one of them could be hit with conduct unbecoming an officer, insubordination, destruction of military property, and even adultery under the UCMJ. Does that stop me from enjoying the show and use of gorilla suits? Nope!

The characters of Lower Decks show some measure of growth within the scope of the show, but they exist to grow and even poke fun at some of the Starfleet conventions that fans would be more familiar with.

 

Ok. So, how do you crossover MASH with Band of Brothers?

Right. And the difference between that and SNW is that in SNW, they would be.