Spoilers How literal is LD in your headcanon?

[Tim Thomason]

So an M-113 Salt Vampire actually shows up on the ship 100+ years after they’ve gone extinct and there was no way for it to get aboard?

Yes. It turns out they were wrong in The Man Trap about their extinction. This has already been hinted at by their inclusion in a Starfleet Science video (Ephraim & Dot), and, noncanonically, various adventures in Star Trek Online. The M-113 creature in TOS was smart enough to get on board, so it stands to reason that others might be even more clever in their travels through the galaxy.

A drunken officer cuts off the limb of another with a Klingon sword and there’s no consequence?

Sort of. Just sliced his leg pretty badly. Probably an easy fix in the 24th century, but still a dangerous occurrence. There's a reason why Mariner remains an Ensign, and Boimler (in that very same episode) refuses to report on her actions.

Cmon guys, I don’t care how much enjoyment we get out if the show. None of it is meant to be taken seriously in the context of the larger Trek universe and continuity. It’s ridiculous. That’s what makes it fun.

McMahan says it counts, that it's all Star Trek, and that was his assurance to create the show. TOS, TNG, DS9, Discovery all had ridiculous, comedic episodes meant to be good fun. LD just has more on average than the others. If we suddenly start to discount LD episodes for jokes, then we have to throw out the Tribble episodes, I, Mudd, Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad, most Ferengi episodes, half of the DS9 mirror arc, some of the Reg Barclay stuff, and much more.

 

[Michael]

First scene, first episode.

I think you might want to rewatch that. No limb was cut off.

 

[Vger23]

I think you might want to rewatch that. No limb was cut off.

it’s really not that important to me to be honest. I’m certainly not going to do a rewatch.

Apologies if I misremembered.

 

[Vger23]

Yes. It turns out they were wrong in The Man Trap about their extinction. This has already been hinted at by their inclusion in a Starfleet Science video (Ephraim & Dot), and, noncanonically, various adventures in Star Trek Online. The M-113 creature in TOS was smart enough to get on board, so it stands to reason that others might be even more clever in their travels through the galaxy.



Sort of. Just sliced his leg pretty badly. Probably an easy fix in the 24th century, but still a dangerous occurrence. There's a reason why Mariner remains an Ensign, and Boimler (in that very same episode) refuses to report on her actions.



McMahan says it counts, that it's all Star Trek, and that was his assurance to create the show. TOS, TNG, DS9, Discovery all had ridiculous, comedic episodes meant to be good fun. LD just has more on average than the others. If we suddenly start to discount LD episodes for jokes, then we have to throw out the Tribble episodes, I, Mudd, Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad, most Ferengi episodes, half of the DS9 mirror arc, some of the Reg Barclay stuff, and much more.

I’m just going to imagine it in its own separate “canon” universe then, kind of like Kelvin. As we all know, canon doesn’t mean “prime continuity/universe.” It’s a universe where massive amounts of unrealistic, stupid, inane, yet entertaining stuff happens.

That makes me happy, and keeps me out of foolish arguments!

 

[Tim Thomason]

I’m just going to imagine it in its own separate “canon” universe then, kind of like Kelvin. As we all know, canon doesn’t mean “prime continuity/universe.” It’s a universe where massive amounts of unrealistic, stupid, inane, yet entertaining stuff happens.

That makes me happy, and keeps me out of foolish arguments!

You're free to do whatever you what, but just a heads up, people have used similar arguments to dismiss Discovery, Picard, Enterprise, TAS, even TNG back in the day. As time goes on, Lower Decks will only solidify its place in the canon and, I believe, references to and from will only increase. It doesn't help that Lower Decks is a reference-heavy series, meaning it's placing itself into continuity by constantly referencing Kirk, Picard, Worf, Roga Danar...

 

[Vger23]

You're free to do whatever you what, but just a heads up, people have used similar arguments to dismiss Discovery, Picard, Enterprise, TAS, even TNG back in the day. As time goes on, Lower Decks will only solidify its place in the canon and, I believe, references to and from will only increase. It doesn't help that Lower Decks is a reference-heavy series, meaning it's placing itself into continuity by constantly referencing Kirk, Picard, Worf, Roga Danar...

I’m not dismissing anything. I watched every episode of LD and will continue to do so with a big smile on my face.

I just don’t, for even a second, consider it to be literal. It’s a silly cartoon for fans to enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s also nothing that can be said that will change my position on that one. I’d save the energy if I were you!

 

[fireproof78]

I’m just going to imagine it in its own separate “canon” universe then, kind of like Kelvin. As we all know, canon doesn’t mean “prime continuity/universe.” It’s a universe where massive amounts of unrealistic, stupid, inane, yet entertaining stuff happens.

That makes me happy, and keeps me out of foolish arguments!

I think that's perfectly reasonable.

 

[BillJ]

I guess splitting things into a multiverse isn't a big deal anymore? Some folks scream bloody murder when folks treat Discovery and/or Picard like that.

 

[SolarisOne]

Let me put it this way: I'm a lot more comfortable with LD being 100 percent literal canon and in the original Prime continuity than DSC, PIC, or even most of TOS.

 

[donners22]

I may be in the minority, but I don't really have a Trek headcanon. Stuff happens on screen - sometimes it contradicts other stuff on screen, sometimes it's particularly silly or nonsensical. Trying to consolidate it all would give me a headache - I just try to enjoy it.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Technically it was just a stabbing.

More of a slicing.
IIRC, the Orville had a crewman get a leg cut off for a laugh.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

First scene, first episode.

Yeah, but no amputation. (I see it's been addressed already. )

 

[Boris Skrbic]

Star Trek has always had lighter episodes with silly and ridiculous elements, many of which weren’t even meant to be funny, but the question here is much narrower than that. Put differently, would a writers’ room under Rick Berman as executive producer have accepted LD (2380) as literal mapping of live action to animation from as late as NEM (2379), or the PIC writers’ room for one of their flashbacks into the early 2380s?

Since I am in fact watching LD under the usual and officially confirmed premise that it’s canon, it’s only natural that I compare characters and situations with their analogues on either side of the timeline, and therefore wonder how much of the show (if any) would be taken seriously. Does the Titan look as depicted? Sure, why not? Could any of the characters show up in live action? Probably, given the reasoning behind having them resemble their voice actors.

Is there a starship where ensigns bunk in a corridor, record fake captain’s logs and play-attack one another while making constant references? The Cerritos probably exists, but I have a strong feeling most of the situations would be filtered out by the PIC writers’ room: not necessarily contradicted outright, just not referenced, because they are not the kind of thing expected to be seen in live action, as opposed to a show which so obviously follows in the tradition and format of prime-time animated comedy.

 

[Relayer1]

It's just too silly. It could have been comedic without being ridiculous.

It could also have been funny, which would have been nice.

 

[fireproof78]

More of a slicing.
IIRC, the Orville had a crewman get a leg cut off for a laugh.

Hiilarious...

Comedy is highly subjective.

 

[Vger23]

I guess splitting things into a multiverse isn't a big deal anymore? Some folks scream bloody murder when folks treat Discovery and/or Picard like that.

So I have two choices:

1. I can consider it a fun little cartoon based on the world of Star Trek that is not meant to be taken literally or seriously, perhaps in its own little canon universe, and I can enjoy it that way.

or

2. I can allow other fans, who because of their extreme appreciation for it, insist that this is a literal and “in-continuity” set of adventures that “really happen” (whatever that means in a fictional universe) shape my thinking into accepting that this is indeed the case, even though it goes against everything I feel when I watch the show...and not enjoy watching it.

I’ll take what’s behind door number one if it allows me to happily keep watching.
Not sure why anyone would even bother arguing that.

I’ve seen people (not everyone but some) put PIC and DSC into other multiverse buckets as a way of discrediting them...and that’s not what I’m doing. I’m just saying that unless I think of it that way, I’m not watching it. Others would say the opposite; “I’m not watching (insert disliked series here) because it’s not legitimate / in-continuity Trek.” I’m saying I WILL watch and enjoy because I consider it a derivative production, played for laughs and chuckles only, and having nothing to do with the continuity or universe otherwise.

I’m not even claiming it makes any logical sense that I feel that way. But...it is what it is.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I don't really do Headcannon. All are welcome. From the highs of The Inner Light to the lows of the Alternative Factor.

 

[Vger23]

I don't really do Headcannon. All are welcome. From the highs of The Inner Light to the lows of the Alternative Factor.

I don’t do headcanon either.

But I can definitely judge something as being out of continuity with something else.

LD, in my opinion is absolutely official Star Trek. It just doesn’t take place in the same “reality” or continuum as the live action series.

Casino Royale is unquestionably canonical, official James Bond. Buts it’s clearly not in the same continuity as Goldeneye or Die Another Day.

 

[The Wormhole]

IIRC, the Orville had a crewman get a leg cut off for a laugh.

Now you must pay a tithe to the coin jar.

Is there a starship where ensigns bunk in a corridor, record fake captain’s logs and play-attack one another while making constant references?

1) Sleep in the corridor? Why not? The idea's already been done in a serious setting in the novels long before Lower Decks was ever dreamed of, a novel written by a writer who actually did work on Enterprise. I don't see why this would be such a hard concept to believe. If anything it's one of the more realistic things seen on Star Trek ever.
2) Record fake Captain's Logs? Yeah, people get into all sorts of foolishness on their free time.
3) Play-attack each other? Again, all sorts of foolishness in their free time, and we've seen similar things happen in the other Treks. I mean Worf once beat up Morn for no reason other than to score a date with a girl.

 

[SolarisOne]

If anything it's one of the more realistic things seen on Star Trek ever.

It does add a layer of realism. In real navies, at least for enlisted folk, communal berthing is the norm.