Spoilers Star Trek: Lower Decks 3x06 - "Hear All, Trust Nothing"

[Ghel]

Michael Connelly

You attributed a quote to me that I didn’t say. That was Crewman6, not me.

Doh! Sorry about that!

 

[Commander Troi]

So lovely to see DS9 again! It made both Hubby and I want to go back and watch all the DS9 eps again from the beginning.

 

[Unionized Elf]

And again I will ask: Where is Starfleet's presence on DS9, other than the few officers we saw on the station? If the Defiant was on a mission, why aren't there any backup ships? What happens if the Dominion suddenly decided they were going to send an attack fleet through the wormhole?

Again, we go back to the whole nostalgia. They're trying to mimic early years DS9 episodes, or at least pre-war episodes. You'll note there aren't any ships at the station at all besides the Cerritos and the Karemma ship, just like DS9's first four seasons where you only see ships which have a specific purpose to the episode's story docked at the station. Hell, back then it wasn't uncommon to show a shot of the station without the Defiant docked, but then in the next scene the characters mention the Defiant being docked. The busy station stock shots where there's always a ship docked or flying by didn't start until the fifth season, and indeed that's also when we started getting more consistent about having the Defiant visibly docked at the station on a regular basis.

This episode was about nostalgically recreating the DS9 feel more than it was presenting a realistic depiction of Starfleet's presence in the Bajor sector. I mean, hell, the start of the episode when the Cerritos arrives at the station they play the version of the DS9 theme from the first three seasons as opposed to the one from seasons 4-7, making it damn clear they're intentionally trying to evoke the first half of DS9. Indeed, the sudden arrival of a Dominion attack fleet was a concern on DS9 starting in the third season, yet throughout the entire third, fourth and first half of the fifth we see the Defiant off on all sorts of missions, leaving no Starfleet presence at the station at all should the Dominion come knocking. You can't condemn Lower Decks for making the same oversight DS9 made all the time, especially since Lower Decks is specifically and intentionally mimicking DS9 in this respect.

(Full disclosure: I fully realize that I am taking this way too seriously. This is an animated comedy show that doesn't take things seriously, so why should I? Well...because I'm a realist, and this show isn't really all that realistic.)

That's just it. We're in the third season and the show's format is well known by now. It's a nostalgic comedy which doesn't take itself seriously. At this point, why does anyone expect otherwise?

And really, when has Star Trek ever been particularly realistic?

 

[Christmas Canon Spock]

That's just it. We're in the third season and the show's format is well known by now. It's a nostalgic comedy which doesn't take itself seriously. At this point, why does anyone expect otherwise?

Because it's that immovable object vs. the unstoppable force that Trek (and other properties) are caught between. People want something familiar and safe and secure, and will reassure them during these difficult times. On the other hand, they want something new and exciting and bold and brave that can get the blood pumping.

It's a delicate balancing act that I think comes down to what people prefer in their Trek. Lower Decks is kind of an interesting case because it is full on nostalgia and makes no bones about it, but does have some character beats that feel different and perhaps a little new. So, the nostalgia doesn't always feel so head on. Save for in this episode which was full on nostalgia fest 2022, with special guests in Quark and Kira!

In the olden days this would be the mid-season break with a huge boost to ratings.

 

[Tuskin38]

True, and by the looks of the playful responses from the writers on Twitter the 2381 glasses etc were a production error.

But even then, purely from what’s seen onscreen (ie stardates using the old commonly used method) season 3 should still be 2381, not 82.

Here we go, the reasons M-A isn't going with what Mike and Brad have said according to one of the Admins
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Forum:Year_for_Lower_Decks_S3

M-A Prioritizes what happens in episodes/movies over any writer/producer comments, unless there's nothing on screen to contradict it.

 

[Gilora]

10. Loved it all. Like everyone else, I got spine tingles upon hearing the opening horns of the DS9 theme.

Favorite serious moment: Kira looking out the window at the wormhole. Was she thinking of Sisko or Odo? Probably both.

Favorite funny moments:

"Tacky Cardassian fascist eyesore!"

When Kira climbed up on the bar to get at Quark.

Bajorans rule!

Kira is still on the station (quite expected) and a colonel (another stagnating career!)

I'm thinking that Kira is a full Colonel now and was a Lt. Colonel in season 7 of DS9. Reason: when she received a temporary Starfleet commission to go undercover with Garak and Damar, Starfleet gave her the rank of Commander which is the equivalent rank of Lt. Colonel. Full Colonel and Captain are equivalent ranks.

 

[StewMc]

Here we go, the reasons M-A isn't going with what Mike and Brad have said according to one of the Admins
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Forum:Year_for_Lower_Decks_S3

M-A Prioritizes what happens in episodes/movies over any writer/producer comments, unless there's nothing on screen to contradict it.

It's hard to argue with some of that logic to be honest. Guess it will take someone specifically mentioning the year in an episode before any changes on MA.

 

[Turtletrekker]

It's hard to argue with some of that logic to be honest. Guess it will take someone specifically mentioning the year in an episode before any changes on MA.

Since "Memory Alpha" is the thing that actually exists in universe, I would love to see them poke fun at this on the show with a line like "oh, how does memory alpha always get this stuff wrong?"

 

[The_Baroness]

Quark sounded off I thought, but was please that Morn sounded exactly the same

 

[F. King Daniel]

Despite the (dumbass) inclusion of franchised Quark's on Picard, that series is canonically years away, it seems too much of a stretch that Quark already has twenty(!) franchises a mere 2-3 years after DS9 Season 7.

His brother is the bloody Nagus!!!!

 

[SantaEddie74]

His brother is the bloody Nagus!!!!

And considering he we see Ferengi symbols in neon signage in Boston on Earth in 2399 it's not out of the realm of possibility to say that Grand Nagus Rom's affections for and deep ties to the Federation have helped expand the Ferengi Alliance's business ventures to a vast degree since the end of the Dominion War. Not just his brother's bar becoming a franchise but it appears Ferengi have even set up business on the central world of the Federation itself.

 

[Sci]

And considering he we see Ferengi symbols in neon signage in Boston on Earth in 2399 it's not out of the realm of possibility to say that Grand Nagus Rom's affections for and deep ties to the Federation have helped expand the Ferengi Alliance's business ventures to a vast degree since the end of the Dominion War. Not just his brother's bar becoming a franchise but it appears Ferengi have even set up business on the central world of the Federation itself.

Twist: Grand Nagus Rom being a social-democrat and the Federation being a socialist society, Ferengi businesses are welcomed on Earth now because they're all run as worker-owned co-ops with generous profit-sharing packages for the employee-owners.

 

[Commander Troi]

Twist: Grand Nagus Rom being a social-democrat and the Federation being a socialist society, Ferengi businesses are welcomed on Earth now because they're all run as worker-owned co-ops with generous profit-sharing packages for the employee-owners.

"Make it so!"

 

[Q'OrnamentalDeqor]

And at risk of the ire of the usual anti-woke response, enough with random girls liking Boimler. Can we get some guys into him, too? (This is mostly facetious.) I was kind of hoping that cadet he was set to mentor at the end of Season 2 might have had a crush on him. It might be interesting to see how Brad handles such a thing.

Doesn't need to be facetious at all.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Loved it. Better DS9 than most of about the last 4 seasons of DS9 itself. And I absolutely loved the parody of the DS9 open.

Although given the title, I'd have expected Garak to show up.

I wonder if Armin had his Ferengi teeth on when he recorded his lines?

According to Armin himself on the commentary track, he wore the teeth that were made for him for about the last month of shooting DS9, after the original set was stolen. He said he felt he couldn't get into the character properly (or do the voice right) without them. It was also mentioned that there were one or two places in which whoever did the post-production audio softened the effect of the teeth, not realizing that the effect was intentional.

Nana also mentioned that she was glad that her animated alter-ego was back in the first-season boots, and went on to explain that the high heels of the later season were because somebody objected to the way she was moving "like John Wayne" in the first season. And Tawny explained that the tag, with Mariner, Quark, and Kira in Quark's, was written because she'd complained that Mariner never actually made it onto DS9, and she was a big DS9 fan.