Ask a group of geeks what Star Trek series is best, and you'll probably get threats of violence against anyone who says anything other than "Deep Space 9." And I won't argue that DS9 is the Star Trek with the best stories, the deepest themes.
But the series that's the best Star Trek? The best at what it means to be Star Trek---the most Star Trek, if you will? That prize has to go to Lower Decks.
I was excited from the moment Lower Decks was announced. It made immediate sense that there was room for an office sitcom, a show that
lovingly poked fun at the tropes we adored, in the Star Trek universe. But Lower Decks, which aired its series finale this week, went beyond that. It exceeded all my expectations for what a half-hour animated Star Trek comedy could be.
It did what's on the label, of course. This show is hilarious. It's clear that the showrunners and writers are huge Trek
fans themselves, with tons of little references and goodies and very smart jokes for fellow fans to pick up on. Uniquely, the characters themselves are as big Star Trek fans as we are, which you see every time they follow in the Enterprise's trail, or get a visit from a familiar face. There are so many great guest stars on this series, especially from the Next Generation through Voyager era. (If you haven't watched it yet, the penultimate episode of Season 5 is reason enough to watch the
whole series, for several absolutely delightful takes on characters we love, which I want so badly to tell you about but I won't spoil it.)
Yet Lower Decks has as much heart as all the other series, too. The characters are real, sometimes hyperbolic, but caring, passionate, and flawed---and relatable in a way that the usual hyper-competent
Starfleet crews aren't always. They're all struggling with different issues, from Mariner's compulsive insubordination to Boimler's anxious longing for validation to Tendi's conflicts over duty and family. Even Captain Freeman evolves, figuring out how to be a good captain and mom. They're all trying to do better, be better. And find out what the heck "better" even means.
We've had screw-ups in Starfleet before (hi Tom Paris) and people who didn't fit in (love you Ro Laren), but here's a whole crew of them, on a ship that's recognized as second rate. You'd never send the Cerritos on a tough mission when you had the Enterprise available, and the Cerritos crew knows it. But when they're the only ones available for that tough job, they always come through. And sometimes they find solutions that more polished crews with more advanced ships
couldn't manage.
There's a place in Season 5 that's described as a place of second chances for Starfleet folks, and that's what all of Lower Decks feels like to me. It's where you figure yourself out, whether you're one of those titular lower deckers or a seasoned officer who didn't make the cut for a "better" ship. And I love that. And because the
characters themselves are fans, they are keenly aware of what Starfleet means. They want to be part of the greatness of it, to live up to its ideals. They're sharing a uniform with their heroes, and want to do it proud.
To me, Lower Decks is a love letter to all of Star Trek. Sadly, it couldn't have gone on forever, if only because those ensigns and
lieutenants have to grow out of the lower decks eventually. While I wish we could have more, we got five beautiful seasons and I'm going to rewatch the heck out of them, taking comfort in them every time.
Cerritos strong!
And last but never least...
You can tell it's cold out because Charlie stole not only my chair, but my cozy blanket, for nearly this entire week. That's my writing chair, btw. I may never be permitted to write again.
