Star Trek: Lower Decks

Lately I have been on the hunt for some adult cartoons (I hate having to type those two words out, it just sounds awful) and have found it to be an immense struggle to find anything of quality. With the majority of western adult cartoons being painfully similar to the rest and not offering anything new. I've gone through a lot of different ones lately, trying pretty much anything I come across even if I feel I'd hate it. Star Trek: Lower Decks is a cartoon that I have heavily avoided for the longest time. I have been a big fan of the Star Trek series over the years, of course being a major fan of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. With appreciations for the other entries despite not finding them that engaging. I haven't watched the newer attempts at the franchise, however, and don't think I will attempt to do so anytime soon.

What kept me away from Star Trek: Lower Decks, however, was the surprising, and rather strong community of Star Trek fans. A group of people of varying ages and backgrounds that absolutely adore Star Trek and the unique perspectives it has to offer. The Next Generation was a utopian dream that explored the idea of humanity reaching a point of traversing the galaxy in attempt to learn and observe the various lifeforms and worlds that may be sitting around in space, with a prime directive to never interfere with their development, but log and observe. The other series showing a different, more political and beaurocratic stance on this process but still very much enjoyable with a unique set of characters that each add to the ways in which stories can be told.

Star Trek ultimately becoming a symbol of hope in which people flocked to in search of something with adventure, but also positivity. Still with strong challenges faced, but a set of characters that prevail and push forward together utilising their strengths, always keeping in mind the outcome of their actions upon others. Something very different to the science fiction genre which often features violence and high tech used for the purpose of destruction. I can understand why the Star Trek fanbase can be so vocal, and why they appreciate all the franchise has to offer. The outrage over Star Trek: Lower Decks seemed justified to me, as Hollywood does have a poor experience in looking after beloved brands. Well, I finally decided to give it a go now that the outrage has died down a bit.

One thing the Star Trek franchise often failed to explore was the many faces that often come and go within the scenes. People constantly walking through hallways and doing things. Though Star Trek has always been more about the people of importance; those actually pulling the strings. Sometimes there would be episodes that may explore a more lower ranked individual, but these seemed few and far between and often held the intentions of highlighting the difficulty of the work of those in higher-up positions. It seemed a bit strange how little impact those in the background seemed to have, as every episode reached a conclusion without their input. As if they suddenly disappeared in times of struggle. In the case of The Next Generation, for example, the Enterprise is actually a massive spaceship capable of splitting into two, yet we see so little of it outside of the main operational rooms.

Star Trek: Lower Decks tried to bridge that gap and display the lives of those who live, well, in the lower decks. The workers that seem to have relatively mundane jobs but still make a big impact. At a glance, it makes sense as to why a studio would want to pursue this idea with a comedic stance, but also from an animated one due to the risk and budget of something live-action. And this isn't the first animation to appear within the Star Trek franchise, so that in particular isn't anything to justify complaints. Though I would argue that Star Trek: Lower Decks does suffer from the modern western animation style, of which just resembles Rick and Morty. With much of the comedy to follow in that direction also. Though I haven't found that side of things too annoying either.

While one might notice the more adult humour that certainly won't reflect the style of their favourite Star Trek shows, as well as the animation style that is far from unique, the stories themselves actually feel like Star Trek still. Our characters get engaged within a wide variety of drama both slow and fast-paced, full of adventure and sticking to some of the roots of the other Star Trek series. I found myself noticing similarities to The Next Generation, while also seeing similarities to Deep Space Nine. Much of this was due to the awareness of Star Trek characters and races and sticking true to them, albeit slightly exaggerating them for the cartoon and comedic purposes. But I haven't found myself minding this at all. I think it works well enough. So here I am unsure as to what much of the original outrage was all about. I see character growth and challenges faced, the same Star Trek foundations seen elsewhere, but without the reliance on older, more famous material to get by.

Admittedly Lower Decks is a bit more tolerable as an adult cartoon due to the focus more on characters and story without such an emphasis on vulgarity. It doesn't feel like it is endlessly trying to throw out jokes and compete for my attention. Though still with the cartoonish elements that keep things going.

I did see the Picard television series which just failed to catch my attention and keep me going, but I certainly wouldn't compare it to Lower Decks. Lower Decks sort of manages to stand on its own, probably as a result of the fact it is animated and thus given a bit more freedom to pursue different environments and ideas again without the struggles of modern televion budgets. It has the ability to be darker, funnier, and with more exploration. Each of things balancing out the other in some manner. A big problem with modern attempts at Star Trek is the pursuit of something completely serious, which struggles to work when everything feels dark and void of the optimism that propels the characters in the television series of the past forward. This sort of serves as a counter to those, in particular the Star Trek movies which were quickly hated for distancing themselves so much.

I suspect the same thing happened here with Lower Decks, which tried to do something a bit different but was met with instant criticism. While I understand that many don't want the Star Trek franchise to completely change, I know that nothing can bring back the magic of the television shows of the past. Having been made under different conditions as a result of numerous factors that just cannot be copied now. And after all, do we really want the same thing over and over? Would we really appreciate the older material as much if the same quality was just endlessly thrown out every year? Marvel fatigue is evidence that fans do get bored of repetition.

Despite not minding Lower Decks and finding it to be a light-hearted take on the more serious attempts at Star Trek, The Next Generation still remains at the top for me. Perhaps it's time for yet another watch of it, too.