S02.E07: Those Old Scientists

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I don't watch LD, so I am asking from total ignorance - is it known that Mariner went through the Academy?  O'Brien didn't. Not every person in a Starfleet crew is an Academy graduate.

Not to go too deep into Mariner's backstory, but Mariner is a Starfleet Academy graduate who serves under her captain mother on a second-tier ship called the Cerritos and has an admiral father.

Despite whining a lot about how Starfleet is stuffy and rule-bound, she is very skilled at various things enough to back up her high opinion of herself. She has gotten promoted to lieutenant but then also gotten busted back down to ensign for unspecified rules-breaking.

I don't get why the notion of a Federation nepo-baby who thinks she's too cool for school is that tough for some to swallow as a possibility.

Focusing on this episode, Mariner's personality was pretty toned down. She didn't really do anything differently from Boimler. The object of her fangirling was different than the object of his fanboying. But Mariner showed about as much obedience to the notion that they should not provide spoilers to the Enterprise crew as Boimler did...more actually. 

Edited August 4, 2023 by Chicago Redshirt

[Quickbeam]

I love Lower Decks and this was a sweet opportunity for that actors to play their voice characters. I’m excited about the next new season dropping in September. I really love how Anson Mount is playing Pike. He’s just perfect. 

[Prevailing Wind]

15 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

I’m excited about the next new season dropping in September.

That may not happen at that time if the strike continues.

[Ceindreadh]

6 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

That may not happen at that time if the strike continues.

AFAIK, the next season of Lower Decks was already completed before the strikes.  At this point, they wouldn't have dropped the trailer if they weren't going to be able to finish it. 

[Prevailing Wind]

44 minutes ago, Ceindreadh said:

AFAIK, the next season of Lower Decks was already completed before the strikes.  At this point, they wouldn't have dropped the trailer if they weren't going to be able to finish it. 

Sorry, I thought we were talking about SNW.

[starri]

3 hours ago, Ceindreadh said:

AFAIK, the next season of Lower Decks was already completed before the strikes.  At this point, they wouldn't have dropped the trailer if they weren't going to be able to finish it. 

Also, I don’t believe animated series are currently struck.  Like soap operas, they’re under a different contract.

[MrWhyt]

On 8/3/2023 at 3:50 PM, tv-talk said:

Lower Decks is a cartoon and intended as a spoof or parody

Lower decks, while being comedy focused, is not a spoof or parody of Trek. 

[tv-talk]

8 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

Lower decks, while being comedy focused, is not a spoof or parody of Trek. 

There are tons of lines in Lower Decks fully intended to poke fun at the many absurdities found in "real" Trek.

[MrWhyt]

42 minutes ago, tv-talk said:

There are tons of lines in Lower Decks fully intended to poke fun at the many absurdities found in "real" Trek.

lovingly poking fun is not the same as a spoof or parody

[marinw]

3 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

lovingly poking fun is not the same as a spoof or parody

Awhile ago I listened to a podcast with the LD show runner, who emphasized that his goal is to have fun *with* the rest of Trek, not make fun *of* it. YMMV

Edited August 6, 2023 by marinw

[Anduril]

This is the episode I had been dreading the most and now I can say I’m glad it’s over and I hope that’ll never happen again. It boggles my mind how people think LD is made by people who love Trek. 

[tv-talk]

19 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

lovingly poking fun is not the same as a spoof or parody

I guess we have different definitions. People who spoof something well generally have fondness for the source material- it's almost a requirement to be good at it. 

[MrWhyt]

12 hours ago, Anduril said:

 It boggles my mind how people think LD is made by people who love Trek. 

there is a difference between loving and worshipping. Star Trek isn't some unassailable property, it can stand to have a little bit of the piss taken out of it now and again.

[Anduril]

52 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

there is a difference between loving and worshipping. Star Trek isn't some unassailable property, it can stand to have a little bit of the piss taken out of it now and again.

It has already been done with galaxy quest. The cartoon always acted like it knew it was a Star Trek show. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

14 hours ago, Anduril said:

This is the episode I had been dreading the most and now I can say I’m glad it’s over and I hope that’ll never happen again. It boggles my mind how people think LD is made by people who love Trek. 

The LD producers are keenly aware of the most minute details of the various series, even their flaws, since they pack each episode with numerous references to live action characters, plots and themes.

To devote as much time to Trek as they do and to have as much knowledge of Trek trivia requires if not love then something in the same ballpark IMO.

P.S. Never say never. For all we know, there is going to be a sequel where it's Rutherford and Tendi's time to go through the portal, or where the SNW crew ends up going to the 24th Century.

[Ottis]

Cute. Pretty gimmicky season overall. Would like more exploration and moral delimmas.