Mid-Titan: More of Eaglemoss' Unreleased Treasure Trove

Designed for a book cover in the mid-2000s, the USS Titan has since gone on to become almost as iconic a starship as the lead vessels in each Star Trek series.

Eaglemoss did produce a smaller bonus model in line with their regular collection back in 2017 which reflected the original Sean Tourangeau design (2005) for the Pocket Books competition which led to the book cover for Sword of Damocles. 

While Star Trek Online would enthusiastically include the Titan and therefore the Luna Class in its digital universe, the ship would only gain its first onscreen, canon, appearance in Lower Decks' season one finale, No Small Parts.

Featuring a radical new paint scheme and some other alterations for the animated series, the Titan made a big impression, receiving an XL model as part of the Eaglemoss collection. 

But there was more because along with the USS Cerritos and USS Vancouver (and apparently the Yosemite shuttle!), the Titan was to be featured in the Star Trek Universe series of mid-sized starships. This has now been dropped to the world thanks to Master Replicas finding a load of them in one of Eaglemoss' multiple warehouses and it's a blinder.

Doing away with the two tone flat grey colour scheme of the original model, the Lower Decks USS Titan explodes with colour. It retains the darker grey base coat but has the phaser bank arc in a striking blue with the recessed sections of the hull in a light purple/lilac that draws out the detail on the hull.

Comparing the two, the basic primary hull panelling is near identical although the lifeboat hatches are more defined. The paint scheme is the big winner in really bringing this model to life. Reflecting on the original, it might have been accurate but it was incredibly bland. The siing up has meant that lines have been crisped up and the markings especially behind the bridge just sit more prominently.

The number and alignment of windows has also been changed with those at the outer edge of the saucer moved closer to the lip and a second set now added inside the phaser ring where there was only one previously.

Note too that the registry is a more realistic size and less crammed into a tiny space between the phaser bank and the recessed hull detail. Even the NCC code has an added red border which was conspicuous by its absence on the original. Even the navigation lights have been added to the front, port and starboard positions on the saucer making this a superior replica at every step.

Ok, so this is the animated version so it is brighter and perhaps not the way it would be portrayed in a live action series but Eaglemoss have produced one of the most exciting and vibrant ships in their collection with the Titan. 

The pod sitting atop the saucer seems to be a little longer on this edition and has equally received a repainting with the recesses in blue rather than the inset squares. This did bear the navigation lights but only as painted on features while the mid-size version has them as raised elements. It has also gained an upgraded paint job with the panelling itself remaining unchanged in layout.

Moving back along the Titan, the lilac/grey split colouring continues and draws the rear lifeboats and shuttlebay doors out. Eaglemoss have added landing strip detail here as well which was absent previously.  The pylons now bear more lilac than grey and this is where the most updates seem to have occurred. The ridging on the pylons is now painted up and navigation lights added to the tops of the engines.

Eaglemoss retained the painted in warp engine grilles but the front of the nacelles have had a massive revamp as evident on screen. The tips are now slimmer and have lost the split casing in favour of much rounder sections connecting to the translucent bussard collectors.

With the pennants, the wording is more in line with the scale and "Starship" has been added before USS Titan with the red striping extending to the halfway mark. The registry to the rear is now in a more suitable font (as per main hull) with the red edging in place.  In every sense it's a big upgrade that sings of better precision and maybe half a decade of learnings from the series as a whole. 

If you think you can't love it any more, take a look underneath. The underside of the saucer is alive with colour and more rows of windows painted onto the raised panelling. The features once more mirror the original down to the number of lifeboat hatches and the lower sensor platform at the centre. The colours just work here even though there's probably no difference in the way that the panel levels are defined against the original. 

On the smaller version the paint wasn't too heavy so the detail wasn't lost as it had been on the issue six Voyager and it's just built on here. Importantly and something that is new is the separate piece used for the deflector dish. Not just a painted (poorly) circle now, the deflector is an individual section slotted into the front of the hull and the colour seems much more suitable. It's even in a translucent blue just to drive home the point.

The build overall is very solid with the main hull in metal linked to the plastic secondary hull, pod and engines. There don't seem to be any evident gaps or dodgy seams either which is very reassuring but also a gut punch since this was to have been one of the later models released. It showed a lot of love for Lower Decks and one of Star Trek's most interesting designs.

As with the engines, the pennants along the sides of the small secondary hull have been reworked and refined to a better scale. Yes, the original was constrictive when it came to the script but lessons have been learned and scale increased to produce one of my favourite models from the whole collection.

Yes, even I'm shocked I've gone that far but it truly is just exciting to look at from every angle and adds that "ping" that a shelf of grey starships might just need sometimes. If you can find one, get it, you won't regret it.

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No Small Parts; Lower Decks S01 E10

This is Lower Decks' first season masterpiece.

As we've gone along each episode has upped the stakes with the final three; Veritas, Crisis Point and No Small Parts really pushing out all the stops to provide an incredible end to this new take on the franchise.

Following on from the revelation that Mariner is Freeman's daughter, Boimler accidentally announces it to the ship just as the Cerritos is called to assist the USS Solvang NCC-12101 commanded by the extremely unlucky and OCD Captain Dayton which in turn leads to a run in with some less than placid Pakleds.

Not to give too much away on this one but it’s epic from start to finish, returning us to Beta III and Landru in the pre-titles sequence before spinning us into one heck of a furiously paced 20 minutes of Trek. What No Small Parts manages to do is sum up the journey of the first season, showing the development of both the characters and the storylines to give us something not too mind-bending but thoroughly engaging which bizarrely melds more than a few pieces of Trek history and fan mythos into canon. 

Each of the four ensigns completes a journey here; Tendi welcomes a new recruit to the Cerritos in much the same manner that we met her in Second Contact although the contrast in character is an interesting one that both provides a comedy twist but perhaps a realistic view that not everyone in Starfleet is a ready made hero. The interestingly named Peanut Hamper is one of the Exocomps fans will recognise from The Next Generation’s The Quality of Life, successfully bringing perhaps one of that show's less well known episodes a little more into the limelight.

Rutherford too completes his own story and becomes something of a hero in himself thanks to his implants that are both a help and a hindrance here as we saw in Veritas. These have been played down quite a bit with only a couple of episodes really utilising the feature and in turn No Small Parts turns the dial up one more point. Of the four ensigns he’s probably the one that has had the least development through the season and in the finale his actions are the most significant. Oh - did we mention there's also an appearance from a rather popular Lower Decks creation in here that takes Rutherford back to the holodeck...should he deactivate the safeties???

Boimler, considering the emphasis placed on him in the first half of the run, seems to slip a little into the background before being picked up prominently right at the end. His journey with Mariner was a major part of the heart of the series and its absence in later episodes only gets more obvious with the comradery shown here but there is a bittersweet end to the tale that perhaps flips on the perceived bullying that was discussed by fans around earlier exploits.

Most of the humour in No Small Parts comes from the uncovering of Mariner’s relationship with Captain Freeman as suddenly ever member of the crew is talking about her, everyone is being overly OVERLY nice and looking for a favour. Check out the lieutenant who is super-keen on his conspiracy theories (Wolf 359 was an inside job! The Dominion War never happened!) as part of this as well as the hilariously tangled conversation that Ransom manages to get himself into between him, Mariner and Freeman.

Beckett Mariner though has been at the very centre of this show since the first scene of Second Contact and is the breathing life, heart and soul of Lower Decks. Intentionally lazy, incorrectly attired, stubborn bordering on rude and the life of the party, the finale gives her a chance to shine as a true Starfleet officer, leading the fight to the very end either by unveiling a s**t ton of contraband weapons or from the bridge of the Cerritos itself.

There is a sense of closure here too in Mariner's life with both mother and daughter realising that they work better as pair even if their opinions are the diametric opposite - it works to their advantage. 

Even with the humourous tint to the series and this finale in particular, it’s not all laughs to the titles so expect a few surprises along the way. Indeed (SPOILER ALERT), one that you get a hint at early on is the  potential inclusion of the USS Titan. The way in which the battle with the Pakleds is going only stresses further that you’re waiting for someone to show up and they do in style, making the Luna Class FINALLY canon after 15 years. Instantly recognisable to novel readers and collectors of the Official Starships Collection, the Titan is beautifully realised on the screen in magnificent detail both inside and out - because we’re also reintroduced to her captain and counsellor; Will Riker and Deanna Troi both voiced by their original actors, Jonathan Frakes an Marina Sirtis.

Oddly they haven’t been off our screens that long with both characters turning up in Nepenthe on Picard and Riker himself riding to the rescue in the series finally having been reactivated just to help out his old commanding officer and friend. Could we possibly just expect him to turn up and save the day in the finale of Discovery’s third year and complete the trinity???

This season finale is one of excellent standards and a full demonstration that an animated - and lighter-hearted Star Trek series is possible and does work. Lower Decks kept it fast-paced, adventurous, a little risque on occasion, certainly packed a few bleeps in and has proved to be a brilliant addition. Discovery and Picard should be genuinely concerned because the best series out there for fans right now...is this.

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Crisis Point: Lower Decks S01 E09

Episode nine is here taking us deep into the convoluted world of the holodeck and through that very medium into Lower Decks’ take on the Star Trek movies. Cue catchphrase: Warp me!

Seeking a way to help him win over the Captain and secure special training, Boimler boots up one of his holodeck simulations to try and work out what he should say in his interview. In a very Reginald Barclay manner it turns out the resourceful ensign has recreated the entirety of the USS Cerritos down to the smallest detail from the personal logs of the crew.

Still steaming after a run in with her mother and commanding officer, Captain Freeman, for taking the evolutionary course of a planet into her own hands, Mariner decides that hacking Boimler’s programme might help her prove a point and suddenly the four ensigns are watching a full title sequence as Mariner has tipped them into a movie scenario where anything will happen .

Crisis Point is Lower Decks’ love letter to the movies of the Star Trek franchise, beaming in star field titles, one off made up weapons and suitably plot-defined technology alongside the story. The show even drops in a sizeable amount of lens flare and, as indicated by Mariner early on, those movie scale set pieces from a truly cheesy and familiar introduction to the Cerritos in space dock to a spectacular showstopper of a crash land and a final one on one punch up that can only be a suitable climax to any good Star Trek movie?!

At times the episode beers close to bordering on full on parody but skims it just in time to return to a more grounded reality. 

For the most part the entirety of the movie series gets overlooked in franchise history save for the token Khan references (see last week’s review) yet here, even down to The Undiscovered Country’s unique signing off sequence, there’s something in almost every holodeck scene that pulls the franchise towards the 13 move series spanning three crews since the late 1970’s. If you're not a fan of the movies, never fear because there's a rifle-totting Leonardo da Vinci there for your pleasure!

The detail on here is insane with set cues for the enemy ship coming significantly from the Klingons both inside and out, every scene played out to the most extreme level and more explosions than the whole series combined.

This feels like Lower Decks visual, glorious peak and the choice to take a spin on the movies is very, very clever and utilises the overused and over broken holodeck in a new way - what can Boimler learn and at the same time can Mariner, taking on the persona of Vindicta, strike back at Freeman in the only way that she thinks she can straight out win in gory style quoting Shakespeare as would any villain worth their salt.

Vindicta is an amalgam of all those movie villains ever who’ve decided to chew the scenery and overcook it and even in the final two-strike fight we get a mirror mirror twist with Mariner, angrily, openly realising that she’s a lot better than she acts but won’t admit it. Mariner has very easily been the focus for Lower Decks since Second Contact and the bulk of the episode here is quintessentially about her and her demons; feelings of rejection, inferiority and not living up to the expectations of her mother are all confronted providing a cold undertone to balance against the levity of other parts of Crisis Point. My only concern with her character here is how far she takes her actions leading Tendi to quit the simulation and vaporising anyone who happens to get in the way on her path to the Captain. 

There have been rumblings that some fans have viewed the Boimler/Mariner relationship as one where the latter is responsible for bullying her colleague but I would tend to disagree. Beckett Mariner isn’t evil, she’s not bent on making Boimler’s life a continuous living hell but instead is looking for ways to keep herself entertained(?) rather than do what she knows she should be doing and following instruction.

In fact her relationship with Boimler tends to try and lighten him up although it more often than not has taken a turn for the worse and required some lateral thinking to sort it all out. Crisis Point isn’t quite at the level of last week’s Veritas but it’s agenda is different and allows a Trek series to explore the facets of its big screen offshoot. Even the phasers are bigger this week with Shax’ phaser bazooka stepping up the firepower just as the rifles did for First Contact.

Also for the first time we have some form of cliffhanger and notion that this story is going to be continued in the series finale thanks to Boimler’s choice to (illegally) use the crew’s personal logs to create his holodeck programme. For one person the secret is out...

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Veritas: Lower Decks S01 E08

Second week in a row, this series has nailed it.

Given that last week was the best thing so far, Veritas once again raises the bar that bit further for the increasingly impressive Lower Decks.

Landing us right into the action, our four ensigns are under questioning from Imperium Magistrate Klaar of K'Tuevon Prime in regards to a series of incidents aboard the Cerritos while their senior officers are held in some form of suspension beam.

Revisiting the courtroom/flashback formula that was most prominent in Deep Space Nine's Rules of Engagement, Veritas unusually places all the main cast in one location and focuses all of its half hour run time to one single story and flip me does it pay off in every sense. By design the very feel of the room screams Klingon courtroom from the shrouded figure sitting in judgement to the circular dais on which the crew give their testimonies through the Horn of Candar. 

Veritas 100% plays on fans' knowledge of The Undiscovered Country and  Enterprise's Judgement before whisking that rug briskly away and you might only catch some of the clues on a rewatch just as I did making further notes for this piece..

Each ensign is called to relate their own evidence taking us back to recent events once more filled with a myriad of Star Trek easter eggs and Actual Funny Moments that make this easily the most watchable series to date. Favourite one here - Earth's just all about vineyards, wine and seafood restaurants and positively the most boring place in the Galaxy. 

The episode highlights how much or little the lower decks team get to know about what is going on. Mariner and Boimler blag being late to the bridge during a red alert situation, Tendi unwittingly ends up kicking ass as part of an undercover mission into Romulan space while Rutherford suffers memory blackouts placing him in increasingly more bizarre and dangerous situations.

The brilliance of Veritas is in absolutely maxing out on the strengths of the different characters and it feels like McMahon's team have finally clicked with what this series is and where the main cast are most successful. Dropping the cues in is working more seamlessly and who says that Roga Danar isn't more of a badass than Khan?

Tendi's naivety leads her from cleaning cat fur off the conference room chairs into battle with Romulans with her testimony cleverly tweaked to censor delicate information (but not that precisely) and sees her being extremely proficient in the field. Rutherford has his implants "borrowed" by Shax and Chief Engineer Billups leading him into Vulcan space, a starship museum (spot all the references in there!), aboard a stolen Romulan Warbird and the  ability to skip in and out of events here means we also get a Gorn wedding (including camcorder wielding guests. Added bonus with the immortal fan dance distraction distinctly poking fun at a certain sequence in The Final Frontier. This truly left me breathless and I know there are references in there I've not even touched on that will have your Trek mind spinning for ages and definitely demanding a second or even third play through.

OK....so the biggest and most hotly anticipated drop in has to be from John De Lancie's Q appearing a couple of times during the episode, demanding to continue the trial of humanity, playing games with the senior staff, placing them as human chess pieces.  It's not hugely important to the plot but it does mark the first true crossover appearance with the rest of the franchise, meaning this is the fourth series that Q has now stepped into - and even for the few moments he's there it makes an incredible impact on the show, elevating an already decent episode into the best of the year.

You can't help but love this one for the twists of the story plus the plethora of links to other Trek shows, even back to a certain salty looking woman from the Early Days and a rather identifiable shuttle craft. Veritas - and I use this word in its fullest context - LITERALLY has everything from a great, new story to recognising almost every corner of its past. If this is what we're going to be getting then lets hope Lower Decks is here for many years to come.

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Much Ado About Boimler: Lower Decks S01 E07

Impressively episode seven ties all the plot points together in just 25 minutes.

With Freeman, Ransom and Shax on a secret away mission, the Cerritos receives a stand-in captain, Ramsey, who turns out to be Mariner's best mate from the academy. While that's all developing, Rutherford uses Boimler as his guinea-pig for a transporter upgrade but ultimately renders him slightly out of phase and continuously sounding (loudly) like he's mid-materialisation.

Add another element into the mix - Ensign Tendi's genetically engineered dog called, erm, The Dog and you'll be wondering how all of this can be packed into such a short amount of time when live action Star Trek can barely contain itself within an hour (or 42 minutes as it got to with Voyager!!!).

I thought last week's was a turn of comedic genius with the introduction of the legend that is Badgie yet Much Ado About Boimler feels like it dials that up at least another notch.

Noticeably separating the Mariner/Boimler partnership, leaving Rutherford to his own intents and purposes and teaming Tendi up with Bradward adds a little spice to the Lower Decks mix after seven weeks. Predictably, fills out the background of Beckett Mariner even further.

In Much Ado..., both lines of the story actually carry a decent amount of weight and we see that Mariner actually is a decent officer but would rather work out all her kinks, stay relaxed and work it all out below decks rather than on the bridge where she would probably be incredibly effective as we see here and have seen in previous red alert situations. Mariner's ineptitude throughout is, apparently, a front to keep her from receiving a second, third and fourth pip - she was the top of the class at the academy but we've still to uncover just what moment turned her away from a career to the top.

Ramsey also brings her own crew including a Vulcan and a Trill...and, I might be wrong but is the third member of her team the same race as Jaylah from Beyond? For the last couple of days I've been trying to work out if they're the same race. If you have an answer to that, let me know.

For Lower Decks this seemed a much more somber tale and character piece while Boimler's takes us into a spin on Section 31.

Assigned to The Farm to recover, Brad encounters other Starfleet officers who've been on the bad end of intergalactic science as he's taken aboard the very un-Starfleet looking USS Osler NX-75300. There's a delta radiation case (spot the Pike wheelchair), two crew merged together and...Anthony! Round of applause for the show this week by somehow managing to pull in Threshold and give it comedic dues after a good 20 plus years of bashing from fans. 

The variety of characters on the ship s incredible, led by one officer who is both undergoing accelerated growth and reverse aging at the same time - is Division 14 exactly what it seems, controlled by a dour Triexian (that's the same race as Arex from The Animated Series so be VERY excited!!!) - or is there something else going on? 

Hammed up to the max, the patients are sufficiently over the top and desperate to get away from the USS Osler which, shock horror - is The Farm (or is it...?) and everything  looks to be all doom and gloom. 

Tendi's engineered dog is both cute and also pant-wettingly terrifying in a B-movie horror sort of way with some very out of character traits that you wouldn't find in your average Earth-bound canine. Suitably this is played more into the background of the episode and gives Tendi a reason to be on the Osler with Boimler. The Orion seems to be the voice of reason here but doesn't have quite the same calming effect that Mariner would displaying her naivety (also explains why she'd create The Dog in the first place!)

Rutherford cleverly ties this arc in with the Boimler thread. Responsible for the ensign's initial medical issue, he's also key to help wrap this one up. Close your ears for this bit if you haven't seen it but...doesn't that alien at the end look incredibly like the ones that unfolded themselves at the end of Encounter at Farpoint. This may well have been intentional as a nod to long term fans and if so it's a huge piece of continuity to play out 33 years later. 

Much Ado About Boimler is an episode stuffed full with hat tip references (babysitter Jellico-type...), action, fun, bizarre characters and decent exploration and use of all of the main foursome. If I recommended last week then this one has the full package from start to finish and doesn't underuse a single second - bravo to the writers here because there are a few tips they should hand over to the guys on Picard and Discovery...

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Terminal Provocations: Lower Decks S01 E06

Dammit Lower Decks I bloody laughed this week. 

A story, not so brilliant; B story - absolutely classic. I could leave the review there but that would be horribly unfair on something that will be attached to Treklore for a long time to come. Attempting to recover some long-forgotten Starfleet scrap (nice touch that it's NCC-502 and an Antares Class freighter utilised in the remastered Original Series), the Cerritos is stuck in a dispute with the Drookmani (badass Gorn-wannabes) who also want to lay claim to the junk. 

Meanwhile our beloved ensigns are watching one of their peers chug from the replicator and getting nacho cheese stuck in the Chief Medical Officer’s fur. Among their number is the highly popular all round great guy, Fletcher who, while trying to be the highly popular all round great guy that he is,  manages to create a malevolent lifeform just because he wanted a quick win while Mariner and Boimler sneaked off to watch the Chu Chu in the ship’s bar. A fabled event that we will probably never see and therefore create huge fan lore around, 

Anyway, this creation goes on a rampage sucking in and utilising anything it can get its multiple claws on before its utilised to inadvertently save the ship. Enjoyable it is but the hunt to eliminate this creation isn’t super memorable. Boimler and Mariner’s friendship is made out to be all that more solid here with them double-teaming to save the day so there are signs of character development even if the stories are standalone. 

Hats off too for the mention of the Q, potentially aligned with the news that John De Lancie will be guesting as the omnipotent one in a future season one episode albeit briefly. Heading up to the bridge the inanity of Lt Shax's repeated begging to fire on the Drookmani echoes the multiple occasions that Worf was belayed by Picard and then when the chance finally does come it’s impossible for him to take action due to the substantial damage the Cerritos has taken while Captain Freeman has attempted the more diplomatic Starfleet approach.  The secondary story however eclipses that with the introduction of Badgie. 

Now what we have here is a thread which revisits Tendi’s recent graduation and that she never passed her zero-G training. Of course, equally tech nerd Rutherford has a solution with his handy holodeck training programme (cue a select list of characters featured in The Next Generation) all led by his created avatar, Badgie. 

With his introduction and  coupling this with a malfunction, you have all the right ingredients for a Star Trek size catastrophe as Badgie transforms into a psychotic killing machine chasing the pair across a Bajoran marketplace and up the side of a freezing mountain. The story of these two underlings within the main cast of Lower Decks cemented a few things for me and their utilisation of both Tendi and Rutherford was much better with one assisting the other at least with all the best intentions. 

It's clear to me now that Tendi represents the young, new fan of the franchise; the entry point we all used to get aboard the Cerritos in Second Contact but for the last few episodes I’ve felt - and noted - that shes felt at a loose end and without purpose. Terminal Provocations revitalises the Orion ensign offering her to the audience as the one seeing this all as a new experience and a gateway to other things. 

Rutherford is set in as the nerd, the tech geek in the group and on reflection to Cupid’s Errant Arrow, this was starting to be evident although both he and Tendi seemed to be sharing traits as they scanned and battled to get their own T-88 tricorders. 

Terminal Provocations is a season highlight and a surprising twist in that Tendi and Rutherford had the better storyline this week. Badgie is inspired even down to his loading time and sweet-saccharine personality that grates from its loveliness. Surely he’s going to be in demand to turn back up at some point in the future?   

McMahan’s series is growing each week with the brilliance of taking an average scifi plot and spinning an outlandish twist on it. This week’s has been partially successful with the killer assortment of parts being totally eclipsed by a shiny combadge with a personality. Its this kind of line that Lower Decks is excelling at - that bizarre element that only an animated series could get away with making relevant. In the live action shows this would be laughed off the screen yet the very nature of Lower Decks especially its ability to take a cheeky wink at its own past hits the mark. 

Terminal Provocations really is two extremes - a rather steady A plot which works to further the relationship of our two, clear, main characters while the B plot explores those crazier possibilities with aplomb. Truth be told it felt like the series was trying to build on its comedy elements over the scifi concept that was instilled in the franchise over 50 years ago. What I also love is the balance between new and recognising that lengthy TV and movie heritage. 

Unlike some of the novels, Lower Decks sprinkles in just a touch of references that are relevant to the story and the conversations such as this week’s holodeck listing or the inspired cold opening discussing warp engine sounds. It’s kept to a respectful level that importantly doesn’t overshadow the idenity of the show yet brings it into the established fold and canon. 

Terminal Provocations, for all its averageness in the Boimler/Mariner plot does stand above the rest so far but only due to our shiny friend Badgie. Is it a sign that gimmicks and one offs could be the key winner for the show? I’d rather it isn’t and we keep with interesting stories and that twisted lower deck perspective on those big missions.  

But what did you think to episode six? Did it break out of the confines of Star Trek seriousness or was this a big mistake? Let us know below!

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Errant Cupid's Arrow: Lower Decks S01 E05

Slightly below par last week but bouncing straight back with an episode that plays to a great set of classic sci-fi topics!

Errant Cupid's Arrow makes a lot more sense as a title by the end of what is a rather fast paced 30 minutes of Star Trek.

Assisting the flashy USS Vancouver on a mission to relocate part of a civilisation from their soon-to-be-demolished moon, Boimler has the chance to introduce Mariner to his new girlfriend. Of course, she has to be an alien, a parasite, something that's 100% intent on killing the by-the-book ensign and Beckett is out to discover precisely what's going on and cover her friend's back at the same time.

Running through a series of typical mishaps and surveillance, Mariner's paranoia actually comes across as a little on the stalkery side as she initially gets in the way before Bradward (not Bradley) Boimler also gets jealous of Barb Brinson's relationship with another of her crewmates from the Vancouver.  The instant belief that Boimler's girlfriend has to be a changeling, a Suliban or some other form of dangerous lifeform plays to the franchise history especially Conspiracy from The Next Generation, the Dominion war and several - if not many - classic 60's stories such as The Enemy Within and Whom Gods Destroy to name just two.

There are some fantastic cross-references in here on Mariner's wall as she plots together the threads that must indicate something's up so watch out for transporter duplicates, shapeshifters and whales in that bit. Nice little trip back to Ensign Mariner's past to demonstrate her over the top suspicions complete with First Contact style uniforms, along with a familiar starship design...and just a hint of a place it's docked at...!

It's an amusing story at the least that does push more into adult territory than we're used to by the end. Once more though, it's Mariner who receives the most development - a flash to her past, more understanding of how her mind works and perhaps an indication that there's a through and through Starfleet officer in there.

On the other side of Errant Cupid's Arrow we have Rutherford and Tendi obsessing over the Vancouver's sexy T-88 tricorders and the chance to get one.  Now, bit of a spoiler, while the end chase is a little crazy, I actually understand Lt Cmdr Docent's reasons for his actions. Being on the front line, being the ones dealing with the red alert situations and all the imminent dangers must take a toll and for once it seems we get to see the result even if it is taken to a more extreme level. Good on you, Lower Decks for touching on one of those very unanswered - and untouched - subjects.

I think Errant Cupid's Arrow may not be Nobel prize-winning literature but it makes you think yet it even manages a little twist and more in one half an hour slot. The difference between Mariner and Boimler is perfect however while we did get to see more of Rutherford, aside from a couple of nuances both he and Tendi are almost the same character. I still don't get the spark there, I don't see the brilliance of the pair and their competition for the tricorder as a particularly Starfleet quality - seeking a physical item over a friendship - but it does remind us that these guys are seriously into their tech (as we'll see more next week). 

Episode five feels more settled in terms of the structure of the A and B stories, establishing the four characters early on then splitting them into pairs to run each of the week's threads.  The situation that is being dealt with on the bridge plays only slightly into the two pieces with the senior staff feeling very much like a tack-on this time, being revisited to tie in the reason for Brinson and Docent to be around for the "main" tales. Captain Freeman has to be one of the least disciplined commanders in Starfleet, taking very little s**t from anyone including her peers or whiny aliens wasting time (let's just blow up the damn moon).

Overall, Errant Cupid's Arrow has a steady pace with two clever twist endings that convinced me this show has a lot to give. If we'd not even been privy to the events on the bridge that wouldn't have had any effect on the rest of the episode and just having two elements means that the run time isn't pushed and trimmed to the max.

Thoughts on episode five? Still working for you?

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