Spoilers Star Trek: Lower Decks 1x01 - "Second Contact"

Discussion in 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' started by Commander Richard, Aug 5, 2020.

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Rate the episode...

  1. 10 - Excellent!

    34 vote(s)
    14.0%
  2. 9

    38 vote(s)
    15.7%
  3. 8

    75 vote(s)
    31.0%
  4. 7

    37 vote(s)
    15.3%
  5. 6

    19 vote(s)
    7.9%
  6. 5

    11 vote(s)
    4.5%
  7. 4

    10 vote(s)
    4.1%
  8. 3

    4 vote(s)
    1.7%
  9. 2

    3 vote(s)
    1.2%
  10. 1 - The lowliest lowest grade possible.

    11 vote(s)
    4.5%
  1. Mage

    Mage Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Make it a running gag. Everytime the Enterprise is seen or mentioned, they want to talk about the captain, but something comes up before they mention the captain by name and every viewer gets frustrated by still not knowing who it is. :D
     
  2. ThreeEdgedSword

    ThreeEdgedSword Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    Agreed. Well, not just totally minor characters... for example, this would be a chance to actually explore Ro some more. If they have to use legacy characters, that is.
     
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  3. Shon T'Hara

    Shon T'Hara Commander Red Shirt

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    I liked Slightly More Competent Fry and Lots More Self-Confidence Leela, but Only Occasionally Sociopathic Bender didn't do much for me.
     
  4. Tosk

    Tosk Admiral Admiral

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    Oh well, my bad I guess. Sorry UssGlenn. :)
     
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  5. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    One thing I didn’t comment on was the dialogue, I found it really crisp and to the point. Nothing felt wasted.
     
  6. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    As far as Mariner goes, she reminds me of Kumar from Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. An obviously gifted screwup who hasn’t grown up yet.
     
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  7. Tuskin38

    Tuskin38 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I noticed a tiny animation error in my second watch through. The first time Boimler is in the ready room, his reflection in the window isn’t mirrored. The Captain’s is though.
     
  8. Michael

    Michael Good Bad Influence Moderator

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    I noticed in the clip of Tendi cleaning the conference room and that Ten Forward scene at the end of “Second Contact” that the reflective surfaces on the bar and the tables didn't reflect the characters at all. Which wouldn't have been as jarring had they not drawn reflections for all the glasses and bottles.
     
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  9. Campe

    Campe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I honestly related a lot to Mariner. Maybe not so much the gifted part, but certainly was a screwup in my 20s and early 30s and took a long time to grow up.
     
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  10. Agony_Boothb

    Agony_Boothb Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Any word on international distribution?
     
  11. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    No word yet.
     
  12. Tuskin38

    Tuskin38 Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Nothing other than 'news soon'.
     
  13. Jadeb

    Jadeb Commodore Commodore

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    This is hard to rate. I’m thinking 7, but I’ve given 7s to All Access Trek I enjoyed less. I liked watching this more than I expected.

    The zippiness, the sense of fun, the self-contained story, the love it showed for the franchise — all very appealing. Maybe it will wear out its welcome with time, but I’m finding it very welcome right now.
     
  14. Orphalesion

    Orphalesion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It's also very natural. It's how people talk.
     
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  15. Gepard

    Gepard Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I enjoyed that. Didn't adore it, but it was about as much fun as I've had with modern!Trek in a while. Ensign Whats-Her-Face being the daughter of the ship's captain and an admiral has some potential.

    The premise felt a bit odd for a pilot episode -- watching a crew full of officers go mad would carry a bit more weight if we actually knew some of these people from prior episodes, but I get that the senior staff aren't the focus here -- but it got the job done.

    Random thoughts:
    • I like the shuttle designs
    • That warp core looks like it owed more than a little bit to the Into Darkness design
    • The Catian doctor seems like she might be a lot of fun; I hope we get to see more of her soon
    • I would have preferred if the senior staff were depicted more in line with what we saw in TNG/DS9/VOY, i.e. totally buttoned up and sober, so that the goofy tone was a cultural difference between upper and lower decks. It just didn't work for me to see the first offer copping the same kind of attitude as the main characters after he got back to the ship. I would find the silly stuff funnier if I felt like it was running in the background of a totally typical episode of Berman-era Trek. Which I think is what they were trying to go for, but it came off too broad and over-the-top.
    • The aliens definitely felt like something from Rick and Morty, especially the giant herbivore spider that R̶i̶c̶k̶ Ensign Mariner let "eat" M̶o̶r̶t̶y̶ Ensign Boimler. That's not a bad thing; I like seeing weirder aliens in Trek.
    • The hero ship is also growing on me after seeing it in context. I'd still close those gaps in the warp pylons and shorten them up a tad, but she looks a lot better in motion than I'd expected.
    • The opening credits are great too. I loved the jab at the Voyager opening credits with the Cerratos clipping the spire on the ice planet. For a split second, I thought they were using the rejected Dennis McCarthy TNG theme. I think it would have been a good fit!
    8/10, definitely interested to see more.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
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  16. BillJ

    BillJ The King of Kings Premium Member

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    Agreed. Though for all its imperfections, it is the most fun I’ve had with Trek since Into Darkness.
     
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  17. Orphalesion

    Orphalesion Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The one thing I found a bit too goofy was the lower decks personnel sleeping in the corridors. I mean I know it's a comedy show, and they probably have at least some sort of glass/polymer/whatever screen they can lower over their bunk to get some privacy/shut out noise and light, but it still seems pretty silly.

    Though silly sleeping arrangements aren't going to ruin my enjoyment of the series/
     
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  18. Campe

    Campe Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I might be misremembering, but I kinda got the idea that the junior officers slept in the hallway in TUC. At the very least they had bunkbeds.
     
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  19. Lord Garth

    Lord Garth Admiral Admiral

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    They had bunkbeds. None of them were sleeping in the hallway.

    If you're thinking of what I think you're thinking of: Kirk, Spock, and company found Yeoman Burke and Samno not asleep, but dead in a corridor. High stun at close range. Courtesy of Valeris.

    "First Rule of Assassination: Kill the Assassins."
     
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  20. Gepard

    Gepard Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Since it appears one of the running gags will be just how pathetic this ship and crew are, "a big deal for the ship" could very well mean the guest star is D-list. Oh wow, Nella Daren is here you guys!
     
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