STAR TREK: Lower Decks (First Impression)

I suppose an alternative title to this post would be, "Oh yeah, I have a blog." 

I've been keeping busy working on some other writing and posting videos on the channel, but it seems I'm definitely due for a post here. Might as well talk about some Star Trek stuff.  

To be honest, my feelings have been pretty mixed with the CBS All Access shows from the past few years.

I'll admit I haven't fully caught up with Discovery, so I can't give a more formed opinion on that show yet. I had some issues with certain characters in the first season (mostly how Burnham was handled) and I couldn't really get past their interpretation of the Kingons. However, I did like the visuals, Michelle Yeoh, Saru, the Mudd episodes and some aspects of the Mirror Universe.

So far, it seems the second season is better (?). When I get fully caught up I may do a more fleshed out post or video. 

I only watched one episode of Picard. I know people have been upset about the contractions with canon and established character motivations. I think are problems, but I tried to watch the show on its own merits. Based on the first episode, my friend Gimli and I felt no strong desire to watch more. 

So now I guess I should talk about the two episodes of Lower Decks I viewed. 

I like Rick and Morty. I like Star Trek. I think these two have some overlap for sure. When I heard about a Trek show in this style I was actually kind of excited. From what I watched, it as mostly what I expected. 

The characters seemed reminiscent of how many Trek fans would react if they found themselves in Starfleet.  They'd be geeking out and making references and namedrops. I know I probably would. The more adult and self-referential humor was pretty charming to be honest. I found myself smiling through the episodes, but not really laughing that much.

My friend Dan reviewed the episodes and pointed out a problem he noticed. There weren't many jokes. While this didn't bother me that much in these two episodes, as I enjoyed the overall production and performances, I did kind of agree with him. While I think these episodes are fine, this show can't rely on references and Easter eggs for very long. There needs to be stronger original narrative and more jokes relating too it. 

It's still early though, and I found much of the first season of The Orville to have similar issues. Now I can't wait for season three (my favorite "Trek" show right now, to be honest). In comparison to the other Trek shows of the last few years, this was pretty enjoyable. Maybe I was just happy to see something not super dark thematically (and darkly lit), being very different than Discovery or Picard. 

I'll probably watch more of the season. I'm curious to see if other people enjoyed it. There are certainly better Trek parodies out there, but this one needs to build more on its own story.