Second Contact: Lower Decks S01 E01

For 30 minutes this sure crammed a lot in. 

The first episode of Lower Decks isn't perfect, its not even close to being a classic but for once, the Star Trek universe managed to get its comedy almost spot on. I wasn't rolling in the aisles for half an hour but what Mike McMahon and the team have achieved should definitely be applauded. 

Second Contact has a classic Star Trek disease plot that fans will immediately spot is parodying many an Original Series episode but here it’s relegated to the B story while we focus more on Boimler and Mariner. Even the title sequence is a spin on what has come before especially the more relaxed, exploratory Voyager opening although here there’s a suitably Lower Decks twist on your expectations and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Big thumbs up too for choosing the Next Generation font and including episode titles - it’s like being back in 1991 all over again. its the relationship between these two characters which looks to be the fulcrum of Lower Decks with the two of them playing from very different perspectives to meet somewhere in the middle. 

Mariner is the demoted ‘cool’ kid while her foil is the by-the-book and hot for promotion Boimler who here is entrusted with a mission from the captain of the USS Cerritos to watch over his troublesome fellow ensign. Their antics do take us into some understanding of this second contact trope in which they are following up on the initial visit by what you can assume is a much more important starship.

At the core we have a character story in which the two command division ensigns come to the realisation that they're sort of ideal for each other while the medical ensign, Tendi, provides us with the perspective of the new arrival, joining the ship right at the start of the story. Boimler and Mariner do get the best treatment in terms of getting to know their characters while Rutherford (complete with his new bionic upgrade) and Tendi unfortunately fall into the more action-heavy "B" story and suffer to some extent from both the run-time and brisk pace of that segment of the episode. 

Tendi's youthful optimism and naivety are perfectly set to be the officer newbies to the franchise and the show can latch onto but Rutherford seems a bit of a mix of all three with a tint of nerd and action-hero in there for good measure. Of the four he's the one I would like to see fleshed out more in the coming weeks as he does feel underappreciated here even through the date night which turns into a zombie-horror event.

For once the senior officers take a back seat. The four main ones - the captain, her first officer, chief medic and chief of security - are present but in the background and, laughably, taking credit for the solution to the zombie problem even though the lower decks ensemble have more of an impact than they're given credit for - and I suspect this won't be the last time that scenario is played out.

The tonal choices of the two plot threads this week are not exactly suitable for young children with flesh eating zombies and then gigantic (vegetarian) spiders but they also explore the potential that the animated realm can offer over live action and even the things that can be done with CG. This is the most imaginative vista that Star Trek has painted since The Animated Series in the 70's because there are no limitations to what can be done, no stops on who or what can appear - anything is possible from any point in the timeline - now THAT'S a powerful thought.

The jokes might not be belly-laugh inducing but where Lower Decks succeeds in this half an hour is playing with our expectations, dropping in a neat fan-pleasing reference (a VISOR, the Argo...) in a familiar visual style that will seek to attract fans particularly of The Next Generation while still telling that humanising story. It is a delicate balance and at this point it feels that Second Contact is probing the possibilities and seeing what can be done. It is lighter than anything live action in the cooker at the present time with a much brighter visual palette and, for the first time since Enterprise, stand alone episodes that mean we can dip in and out at any time and not feel as though we've missed a massive, essential plot point. This could make Lower Decks the most accessible series for fans to revisit from the Kurtzman era - at least until we get Strange New Worlds.

Is it something that will be accessible to a wider audience too? Maybe not so and it does feel that through the less serious tone, the style of the animation and the period specific setting, this is going to be a niche piece of the ever growing Star Trek franchise. For some it might just be that necessary fix to get them through until Discovery yet either way it's great to see that Star Trek is embracing the unknown and, in an odd way, stepping over its own boundary into new frontiers. I honestly can't see viewers who aren't already fans or at least casual viewers of Star Trek tuning in for this. It's a good avenue for parents to get their offspring of a certain age perhaps wanting to see what else is out there but this does come across as the series which will draw the least amount of fresh attention to this universe.

If we were to stick a rating on here it would be a firm 3.5 out of 5. It's a steady start to the series introducing the main cast of ensigns plus their counterparts on the bridge in a suitably Star Trek way - but there's still much to be worked on to properly find its feet in what could well be the most unique and engaging Star Trek for a generation.

What's your take on this animated foray? Hit? Miss? Maybe?

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