Star Trek: Lower Decks

When I was reviewing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I said that I haven't liked a Star Trek show since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.  That was an incorrect statement.  I liked Star Trek: Lower Decks.  The thing is, I found Lower Decks to be entertaining.  I just wish it were better.

I think they were attempting to thread a needle between being funny and being Star Trek.  Everyone in Starfleet has to be competent.  Thus, none of the Lower Decks people are complete screw-ups.  They may let their enthusiasm lead to them making bad decisions, but they are all bound for promotion.  That is the main flaw in the show.  None of them will be in the Lower Decks forever.  They will all be highly respected members of a crew somewhere -- even Boimler.

Thus, they missed the point of their own premise.  Support crew for star ships may not always be support crew.  The premise - at least in my mind it should be - is how do star ships function?  They function with a long time staff doing these tasks.  People who can follow orders.  People with very specialized skills that do not translate into other positions.  This would be a much better show.  It shouldn't have been about young "up and comers" just waiting for their big break.  Those ensigns can pass through, but it should not have been about them.  It should have been about the career engineer that knows the warp core backwards and forwards, but cannot make the replicators work.

It was a fine show.  I enjoyed it.  A few of the characters (Mariner and Boimler) were just about right.  They just needed to fill it out with older veterans who have seen a few things.  People who just couldn't pull things together to get promoted.  People envious of Tendi and Rutherford who come in and are super capable that they get promoted.  Those would be the true "Lower Deck" staff.

Yes.  I am THAT guy.