Temporal Edict: Lowers Decks S01 E03

Undeniably, Temporal Edict brings us the closest to ‘classic’ Star Trek as possible with its two main themes.

Once again running two stories in parallel, Lower Decks sends Mariner on an away mission led by first officer Jack Ransom while Boimler and the crew on the Cerritos are left to repel an attack by the Gelrakians following a "minor" misunderstanding on the planet’s surface.

The planetside plot is strongly reminiscent of The Original Series down to a clever nod to huge alien killing machines stepping out of the shadows at the last minute and the bizarre desire to WANT to be the one who partakes in the near-certain-death battle. Note in there too a couple of Riker-esque leg poses from Commander Ransom and your Trek bingo card will be stamped full just on this half of the episode. 

That said, even the cold open has its boss to The Next Generation with the lower decks officers taking part in their own musical concert, typically classical, until Mariner rocks up on guitar. 

The situation on the Cerritos will be a familiar one to fans who know about Mr Scott’s repair estimates with Boimler revealing ‘Buffer Time’ to Captain Freeman leading to the crew working triple speed to complete their assignments but then failing to repel an alien attack because of the time limits and penalties imposed. 

This one’s more off-the-wall then you'll expect from live action Star Trek with the crew blindly continuing their duties while the captain is manning the bridge solo and also against her own time limits.

Lower Decks certainly has a little more leeway in its narrative to poke fun at its own history and this is the most extreme. The resolution is kind of obvious and logical although it does lead into an unexpected but not unwelcome twist at the end that will have fans giving at least a nod of approval on a couple of points.

Episode three has also continued that Mariner and Boimler are absolutely our centre of attention leaving Rutherford and Tendi again to simmer in the background as part of the ship-board story. For an animated ensemble their development has been minimal while we already have a decent understanding of what drives the two command division ensigns. 

Indeed, Commander Jack Ransom, voiced by Jerry O'Connell, gets a chunk of exploration here, establishing him in the Kirk action role leading the battle from the front but also finding himself in minor conflict/attraction to the more practical Mariner.

I think I'd also now set Lower Decks as a satire rather than an all-out Star Trek comedy and it feels more settled at this point. The call outs to other shows aren't glaring all the time and a second and third watching will potentially highlight things we hadn't noticed the first time.

Temporal Edict also works perfectly in this half-hour format somehow managing to allow development of both character and plot. Mariner is the standout here and her one to one with Ransom is an episode highlight that also shows how McMahan and the Lower Decks team are highly aware of their audience and the expectations. References yes, raise a smile; yes but ultimately we want to see these as "real" people complete with their imperfections on the adventure of their Starfleet career. Regrettably the opportunity to use Tendi as this portal and for the viewers appears abandoned again - maybe next time?

What's your verdict on episode three?

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