The following article discusses the fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks and Old Treks.
There is no such thing as “dead” in it Star Treka sprawling, timeless opus that has evolved in spite of itself over almost sixty years. What started out as a corny spaceship and fistfights for atomic-age kids and their parents has turned into all that (gestures all around). That’s why I don’t write many obituaries Star Trek: The Lower Decks despite being the last of its fifth season. Given Paramount’s fluid leadership at the moment, I can easily imagine this decision being reversed in the future. So it’s goodbye for now, not goodbye.
Lower decks Season five picks up not long after the end of season four, with Tandy still paying off her debt to the Orions. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to suggest that the status quo is reaffirmed right after it’s given, you know it’s happened other times. Cerritos’ crew then descends into the high-minded, mean-spirited, but heart-pounding regulars we’ve come to expect. Of course, I’m sworn to secrecy, but episode five — whose title is the single biggest spoiler — is the highlight.
I’ve seen the first five episodes of the season, and as with any sitcom, there are a few misses between hits. One episode in particular tries to get old school Frasier the plotline, however, falls flat given the subtlety of the characters in question. thankfully Lower decks manages to carry a weak performance behind the charm of the central cast. Unfortunately, in trying to give everyone a grace note, some characters you’d expect to get more attention are instead pushed to the periphery.
You can feel it Lower decks it is strained against its own destiny. A show about people at the bottom of the ladder can’t climb very high. Correctly, both Mariner and Boimler are using this year as an opportunity to mature and grow. I won’t spoil the greatest running back of the season, but their growth comes in very different ways. If there’s one downside, it’s that the show still relies heavily on energy-sapping action sequences to resolve its episodes.
But that’s a minor gripe for a show that’s grown from the expected class clowning of the Trek universe to its most joyful interpretation of its spirituality. I’ve always loved, when the chips are down, Lower decks ignores the flavor of many new Treks. The show is a joy to watch and something they wish for the rest of the franchise.
I’m looking for a way to describe Lower decks Target audience for years, but it just hit me now. This is a show written by people who grew up watching Star Trek in the VHS era. The creator, Mike McMahan, is only four years older than me, when he was still a teenager The Next Generation aired. So he would come across Deep Space Nine and Voyager for the first time, everything else would be revealed through retakes and tapes.
You can almost follow that timeline of discovery Lower decks every year he worked, he expanded the range of hat tips. Of course we got parodies of the first two Trek movies in the first season — both of which were ever-present on Saturday afternoon TV when I was a kid — but we don’t get the nod until season three. First Contact. as Enterprise ran out of gas, you can feel McMahan and her delving into the behind-the-scenes lore and convention gossip about the series that followed.
If you have seen You’ll see gags about Harry Kim’s preaching, something the character would never think of Voyager. If you’re well versed in Trek’s behind-the-scenes drama, you’ll know why, and why it’s funny to nod off now. But that’s not the only subtle jab that pokes a sharp elbow in the ribs of key figures from the series’ creative team. I’m sure if you haven’t seen them all, Reddit will have compiled a master list half an hour after each episode lands on Paramount+.
I won’t go into theories about what makes a popular and successful show so popular Lower decks ends (it’s money, it’s always money). But as we’ve seen countless times before, it’s not that difficult to bring a successful animated show to life when wise bosses prevail. Hell, even McMahan said he’s up for it and even has some spin-off ideas in the works. But for now, let’s raise a toast lower decks, cartoon that became a cornerstone of modern Star Trek.
The first two episodes of the fifth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks will arrive on Paramount+ on Thursday, October 24, with an additional episode dropping each week for eight consecutive weeks. The series and season finale will be broadcast on December 19.
