Lower Decks: The Trailer

The Lower Decks trailer has, expectedly, split the ol' fandom a few more ways.

Whether it's too much comedy, bad animation, cheap gags or...well...whatever, someone somewhere has a complaint goddamit and we should all pay attention/boycott Star Trek/reminisce about the Golden Age.  

Or maaaaaybe we could give it a chance and see what a full episode is like? Logical? 

I openly admit that comedy in Star Trek is an element I have struggled to understand. It could be the American sense of humour washes over me or that it's just not that funny. I, Mudd, anything with Lwaxana Troi...not a glimmer. In fact the only ones that I can say did raise a smile were the Tribbles duo from The Original Series and Deep Space Nine and the inventive The Magnificent Ferengi.

Lower Decks is going to attempt two very alien concepts to the franchise. Firstly that key animated show that has not been seen since the '70's and then splicing that together with a more adult edge humour. The animation already reminds me of Final Space but I hope it's not just retreading that kind of territory.

Featuring the four main cadets - Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Boimler (Jack Quaid), Tendi (Noel Wells) and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), the trailer also sees a few more angles of the Cerritos confirming further there's definitely no physical way to step between the hulls except through the engines and also, if you're quick to catch it, that there's an Argo stored somewhere aboard as well - could indicate that we're going to see a lot of Easter Eggs in the background to try and catch each week!

The comedy aspect of the show certainly shows through with Biomler interrupted as he recites a fake captain's log in the cupboard and Mariner gets all excited about the new blast shield on the shuttle. Then there's the tasks these guys seem to have to do - the mundane of the mundane including emptying holodeck waste - one of those things that you probably don't consider when you're watching The Next Generation. If Lower Decks hits this right and looks at the bizarre plot holes, bloopers or oddness of some parts that we have taken for granted within the franchise while simultaneously managing not to destroy its credibility (it's a tall order...) then this is destined to be a roaring success. 

But the look, the very aesthetic of Lower Decks looks very close to canon in a bizarre way with a familiar looking bridge set up including three central chairs as well as a Conn and Ops position. Wonder if they'll change the carpet colour each season? Check out some of the background details such as the labelling on the pipes or the look of the ship corridor that echoes the design of the Enterprise-D including wall-mounted LCARS. The detailing on Mariner's PADD for example is equally brilliant and legible - carbon filter maintenance anyone? It is super light on plot details suggesting that each of the ten stories will be independent although there's that moment where we have two of the senior staff are congratulating each other on a "successful second contact" reiterating the Cerritos' less than premier status within Starfleet.

One of the things that fans seem to have latched on to pretty quickly is Rutherford's takedown of a group of cartoon Borg which seem to be viewed through his optical prosthetic. The redesign for Lower Decks has simplified the armour and the detailing there on for the Collective and has managed to keep them instantly identifiable with their glowing eyewear and zombified facial expressions. It may well be that, as we see in the trailer, the background attention to detail is the draw and the big win - even the bridge stations at the rear are labelled Engineering, Environment and Mission Ops.  I have to say that this burst of shots, including some gorgeous teases of a Klingon planet as well as several alien encounters that look to be significantly less than 100% successful given some of the expressions we see here!

The trailer really does lack any cohesive context, instead hinting at humour and the visual aspect of the show rather than attempting to show any definitive storytelling. In comparison to both the Picard and Discovery trailers this is a very distinct shift where both series’ teasers chose to focus on elements of the arcs that were to dominate their seasons. 

This could indicate that Lower Decks is going to be a much easier watch in every respect although i personally feel it would be a detriment to the franchise whole if the characters aren’t fleshed out and fully realised. McMahon’s style is certainly all over this product and lines up with Rick and Morty although you can hope its a bit more family friendly than that series. Will it manage to balance the humour element against the background of a franchise which has avoided such a direct attachment to that genre for decades? It is a risky move but choosing to go into animation rather than live action may pay off and open up the franchise to a new audience in the way that the Kelvin Timeline did in 2009. 

That too was divisive but here we have the franchise’s first real step into the unknown which has already been greenlit for a second series with the first not even on air; that's a lot of confidence in a product that the public have not yet seen.

So whether you think Star Trek has jumped the shark, taken a road it shouldn't travel or are genuinely looking forward to this utterly unique chapter in Star Trek history it's coming...

Excited? Concerned? Done with the franchise? Where do you stand with Lower Decks after seeing the trailer?

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