Spoilers My second favourite episode is "Those Old Scientists".

[Neb Lleb]

I feel that Season 2 of Strange New Worlds is also really damn good, continuing the genuine modernisation of Trek started by the first whilst creating new opportunities for interesting stories, and my second favourite episode of the show overall comes from this season: "Those Old Scientists".

"Those Old Scientists" is the comedy episode, a la "Spock Amock" the season prior, which is also masterful. It also doubles as a crossover with another Trek show, the canon adult animated parody Lower Decks. Before I rewatched the episode, I actually decided to watch the first two episodes of Lower Decks and... It's a show I respect more than I do love. I admire that Mike McMahon knows his stuff and set out to make a Star Trek show that just so happened to be an adult sitcom rather than an adult sitcom that bares the Star Trek name like I was expecting. I also dig that LD actively tries to be a genuine part of the franchise, down to bleeping the moments when characters use hard Colourful Metaphors in nice contrast to the edgy nihilistic Game of Thrones rip-offs of its two contemporaries (Discovery and the Chabon era of Picard). However, I can't help but feel like I'm watching an inferior copy of Red Dwarf, even though I admit it does get funny from episode 2 onwards. It's clear that the show is carried by stars Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid, as they are the heart and soul of the show, and they're fantastic with what they're given. And it's because of Newsome and Quaid's talent, coupled with the loving humour and fun situations, that I find "Those Old Scientists" to be so much fun.

This is one of the best "Fish out of Water" stories ever told on Trek. Ensign Boimler and Lt. Mariner's trip to the 23rd Century is made to be as fun as humanly possible for fans of either respective show or both. What makes it work for me is the contrast between the whacky, self-aware nature of Boims and Mar-Mar and the straightlaced Trek nature of the SNW gang: Neither presence overpowers the other, both balance eachother out, and both get their time to shine here comically speaking, with even the uptight Spock giving us some good jokes in the form of his rather happy behaviour. Jack Quaid and Tawny Newsome steal the show however. They not only work in the live-action format, but they give it their all with some of the funniest lines and moments in all of Trek, with great chemistry with the main cast. I also really love the canon nods here, from Boimler's future knowledge often leading him to worry that he's jeopardising the timeline to the NX-01 and its legacy being key in saving the Lower Decks. It's all so much fun, and to be honest? That's what matters sometimes.

 

[Smear-Gel]

It's cliche but "finish the first season the first 3 episodes dont really sell the show perfectly" is pretty true for Lower Decks. Even if I'd say they get retroactively better after you get sold on the show. That being said the show is carried by the cast, and I think they did well in creating new iconic characters for other shows to play with down the line.

I would also say Those Old Scientsts is top tier, close to the top of SNW for me. It even ends up being a story about Lower Decks taking its philosophy and injecting it into the SNW era. One of compassion and understanding and looking beyond what initial impressions have you to believe of something or someone, especially as it relates to the aliens in Trek. Carrying that over to an era where everything is strange and new and so people had their guard up as it relates to the different factions.

 

[Neb Lleb]

It's cliche but "finish the first season the first 3 episodes dont really sell the show perfectly" is pretty true for Lower Decks. Even if I'd say they get retroactively better after you get sold on the show. That being said the show is carried by the cast, and I think they did well in creating new iconic characters for other shows to play with down the line.

I would also say Those Old Scientsts is top tier, close to the top of SNW for me. It even ends up being a story about Lower Decks taking its philosophy and injecting it into the SNW era. One of compassion and understanding and looking beyond what initial impressions have you to believe of something or someone, especially as it relates to the aliens in Trek. Carrying that over to an era where everything is strange and new and so people had their guard up as it relates to the different factions.

Since I have no problem with non-trad Trek (Enterprise is my favourite of the franchise), Yes. I would watch more episodes of Lower Decks. Sure, I respect it more than I love it, and Red Dwarf is way better, but it is a fun little time with great acting and comic chemistry. As someone who largely despises modern western animated television, I was shocked by how I was giggling during the second episode "Envoys", and so I wouldn't mind watching another episode.

But the fact that "Those Old Scientists" can please fans of both Lower Decks and the mainline outings is a testament to its quality as work of spacebound humour and as a Trek story overall. "The writing on it said "This is a Time Portal"." XD

 

[Turtletrekker]

It's cliche but "finish the first season the first 3 episodes dont really sell the show perfectly" is pretty true for Lower Decks.

I have to disagree with that. The first episode was everything that I wanted the show to be going in. However, I'm a Trekkie lifer. However, I was watching The Gallifrey Gals on YouTube reacting to LD and they were sold on the show and were articulate as to why they were sold on the show, after the very first scene.

 

[Neb Lleb]

I have to disagree with that. The first episode was everything that I wanted the show to be going in. However, I'm a Trekkie lifer. I was watching The Gallifrey Gals on YouTube reacting to LD and they were sold on the show and were articulate as to why they were sold on the show, after the very first scene.

I think the second episode "Envoys" is a much better introduction to Lower Decks, personally. "Second Contact" made me realise going in that the show was just a poor man's Red Dwarf (albeit the crew who aren't our stars are still alive and characters say "*bleep*" instead of "smeg"). I even said as I watched "Mariner is Lister, Boimler is Rimmer". "Envoys" however made me realise that despite the RD similarities and being inferior, the show was doing its best to be faithful and authentic to the Trek universe and was also actually genuinely funny. There were moments that actually made me giggle and Boimler and Mariner grew on me as protagonists.

EDIT: So basically, yeah. I'd happily watch Lower Decks again. It's not great, but it's a solid sitcom and admirable effort.

 

[Smear-Gel]

I have to disagree with that. The first episode was everything that I wanted the show to be going in. However, I'm a Trekkie lifer. I was watching The Gallifrey Gals on YouTube reacting to LD and they were sold on the show and were articulate as to why they were sold on the show, after the very first scene.

Im kinda partially triangulating other people's takes on this to be fair, Second Contact was my very first Star Trek episode, and while I knew the Trek vibe, I didnt really have any problems with it from a pure enjoyment standpoint. Though the Mariner/Boimler dynamic does feel a bit cliche in the first episode before the show recontextualizes it. That being said even for me I would say the show really settled into things with Moist Vessel, that's where I saw things truly click in terms of going beyond just comedy to also having stories I could be engaged with. Because honestly, comedy is pretty secondary for me in terms of the LD magic, the magic of that show is in the characters and their stories. It's why the best season finale of the streaming era is First First Contact, that's a finale from show that has an extremely good cast and knows it.

But I was also around for the early reactions (I basically started watching Trek YouTube immediately after) and respect the people that had the foresight to know that there was something special there rather than writing it off just because they felt burned by Discovery and Picard.

 

[DonIago]

TOS (heh) is really quite an accomplishment, not just in how well it works, but the fact that it works at all. If you'd told me three years before the episode aired that a couple of characters from an animated series would crossover to a live-action one, I would have been blatantly dubious, and even when I heard the episode was being made I had a lot of doubts as to how well it would work.

I still only have the first two seasons and haven't even watched all of S2 yet, but this is easily my most watched episode of SNW. Even knowing all the jokes by now, it's still a joy to watch, up there with "Trials and Tribbleations".

 

[Neb Lleb]

Im kinda partially triangulating other people's takes on this to be fair, Second Contact was my very first Star Trek episode, and while I knew the Trek vibe, I didnt really have any problems with it from a pure enjoyment standpoint. Though the Mariner/Boimler dynamic does feel a bit cliche in the first episode before the show recontextualizes it. That being said even for me I would say the show really settled into things with Moist Vessel, that's where I saw things truly click in terms of going beyond just comedy to also having stories I could be engaged with. Because honestly, comedy is pretty secondary for me in terms of the LD magic, the magic of that show is in the characters and their stories. It's why the best season finale of the streaming era is First First Contact, that's a finale from show that has an extremely good cast and knows it.

But I was also around for the early reactions (I basically started watching Trek YouTube immediately after) and respect the people that had the foresight to know that there was something special there rather than writing it off just because they felt burned by Discovery and Picard.

Well, you'd be happy to know that I did watch another LD story, "I, Excretus", and I've been converted. It's just a really damn likable show. I even chose Mariner's hallucination of Shaxs from the "Naked Time" holo training sim as my profile pic here, it's that funny.