I’ve gotta be honest, I couldn’t disagree more strongly with the underlying premise of this article that Lower Decks did not
[pay] respect to the source material without tearing it down or belittling it
I always found the humour of Lower Decks to be incredibly respectful to the source material. Like a loving wink to fans of Trek. (Very different from that other recent space comedy show which comes across as a mean-spirited parody of Trek.)
That said, the show they say Trek should replicate, Powerless, was really underrated. As a fan of DC who has been disappointed with most of DC’s live action stuff recently, Powerless was funny and clever and it did indeed poke fun in a friendly way at superhero tropes. It also happens to be possibly the last appearance of Adam West before his passing.
Anyone who tries to say Lower Decks wasn’t respectful of the heart of Trek, just was not paying attention at all.
Yeah. This article reads like an April Fools Day piece.
‘The best part of Game of Thrones, all fans agree, was the stellar ending which perfectly concluded the show by showcasing the characters’ consistent ideologies and habits’,
‘The Simpsons is a show that has managed to somehow get better with every single passing season. And in doing so, its cultural relevancy is as sharp and defining as it has ever been.’
‘Star Trek: Lower Decks has ultimately proven unpopular because of its unconventional choice to depict adventuring through the stars as a morose and dreary affair. The dour, rule-abiding protagonist Mariner’s recurring catch phrase ‘I do not model courage and loyalty to my friends and ideals,’ was a perplexing thing for her to shout at a minimum of 6 times in each episode, unprompted.’
I agree on all counts.
Lower Decks is a five-season love letter to Trek and fandom. It sometimes even manages to hit pretty hard. And the crossover with Strange New Worlds is my favorite Trek episode ever, and I’ve been literally watching Trek since I was a baby (my mom is a big fan, and watched the original series all the time when I was a kid. It was a relief when Next Gen came out, because, yay, new Trek!). “Those Old Scientists” was a joyous celebration of Trek fandom on every level.
As for Powerless, yes, it was massively underrated. It was a tribute to superheroes and how ridiculous they are while still being loving toward them. It was a shame we didn’t get more of that series.
Totally agree with you. One of the things that I love about LDS is that it’s not just by and for fans of the show - that’s more or less a given with any longstanding franchise - but that it’s about fans of the show.
[Spoiler tag here because I’m talking about the most recent episode and I know some people won’t be caught up yet!]
spoiler
My favourite scene in the most recent episode was Mariner geeking out over getting to hang out with Data. It worked because that’s how we’d all react if we got to hang out with Data. ‘Aw, respect. I’d go back for Geordi, too’ was a fantastic line because it was both funny and felt completely real to all the TNG fans.
