Star Trek: Lower Decks (TV Series) Second Contact (2020) User Reviews

A cute start to a promising new series.

[SethaWhenTheWallsFell · 7/10 · 9 August 2020]

I adore Star Trek as a franchise. I enjoy all the series with DS9 being my favorite. As a fan who has enjoyed every iteration thus far I don't have any issues with a series like this existing.

As a pilot I think it did a adequate job setting the tone and giving us enough character beats with the main characters to give us an idea of who they are and what they are about. Obviously at under 30 minutes it was very fast paced and having to introduce everyone nothing got deep but there were interesting kernels in each of the characters that I think can develop into something special.

On the down side, it is a little to frenetic and high octane. I hope it will take some moments to breath and let the characters slow down and not spew their dilaouge at warp 9.5.

The character animation was decent as far as modern shows of this type go but the real star is the ship design. Beautiful attention to detail in animating a TNG era ship. The LCARS interface was spot on, the holodeck was perfect, the external design was beautiful. Wonderful all around.

All in all I quite enjoyed the pilot. I have high hopes that it will get better as it goes along and become something special that lovingly lampoons Trek while actually being Trek. This is a nice diversion between Picard and Discovery.

A diamond in the rough

[bendjowen · 8/10 · 7 August 2020]

It's been slandered by reviews since even the first trailer was dropped and has unfortunately met the fate of Trek fans reviewing things, they all want something new but when they get it they just want Next Generation back.

The show is actually brilliantly made, it drops its viewers off in the middle of the characters stories rather than taking its time to set up. It's beginning is very similar to Rick and Morty's (rather than going out of its way to set up jokes it is focussed and carefully expands the trek universe showing masses of potential)

Second Contact

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 14 August 2020]

Inspired by a Star Trek: TNG episode called Lower Decks.

I guess the producers thought the concept of concentrating on the lowly ranked crew of a Starship will not work as a television series so let's turn it into a cartoon.

Inspired by an animation look that is more Rick & Morty. This is Star Trek aimed at teenagers. I know my teenage son would love this. He likes Rick & Morty.

You might as well forget about the Star Trek television shows. It has to be viewed in its own medium, that of a modern day, cheap looking cartoon rather than an episode of Star Trek in an animation form.

The main characters are the Ensign Boimler (Jack Quaid) a stickler for the rules. Ensign Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is a natural rule breaker who has served on other ships and demoted. They did remind me of the characters from Red Dwarf.

The new crew member on the USS Cerritos is an Orionian female Ensign Tendi (Noel Wells) who gets a tour of the ship from Boimler and Mariner. The ship encounters an emergency when an Officer catches a virus from the planet they have just visited. It makes everyone go rabid with rage.

I liked the concept of a Second Contact where Starfleet goes through all the small print after a first encounter. I liked that the main bridge crew regard the lower deck crew as nothing and ignore their heroics. The Ensigns are left out of the history books.

It is fast, frenetic, childish, silly. The target audience would enjoy it.

Fun Start for Star Trek Comedy

[Johnny_Pappas · 7 August 2020]

It was a fun start with a good cast and we were introduced to some of the main characters that we are going to see the season. The show felt humorous while still sticking to Star Trek conventions. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.

Make it fun

[anonrob-48847 · 6/10 · 7 August 2020]

As a Star Trek fan, this is one tough show to rate!

Think of it as fast, fun and more fast. Everything in the show moves at warp 9 with very little time to soak into any scene or dialog. This is very different from the typical bridge life of commanding officers and their more focused, deeper motivations and actions to obstacles in the usual fashion.

The gags ARE fun and most importantly, they fit the Star Trek Universe rather nicely. For instance, we all know that one guy, or maybe it's you, that would instantly start swinging a Klingon Bat'leth screaming about blood wine and honor. Which, in reality, would of course lead to a visit to sick bay and a lot of explaining to do. Or how any engineer worth their tricorder would never pass up a chance to discuss tetryon-emissions or running diagnostics on faulty mechanical equipment, regardless of what might be going on around them.

I feel the lower deck team works well and I can see them thriving off of each other into fun situations into the rest of the season.

It was a fun watch, but sadly I'm going to have to be in the mood to watch this show again. The pace is just a bit much for me and I think anyone who is used to typical Star Trek TV. I can't see newcomers to Star Trek getting into this with so many references and clichés being turned on their heads, but there is some potential for fans who have always wondered about the under achievers that actually keep the ship running.

Also, love that credits font!

I like the tone and the feel.

[axlrhodes · 7/10 · 9 November 2021]

It could do with taking the pressure off the accelerator when it comes to the snappy delivery, but on the whole I found it breezy and entertaining with some nods to the era of Star Trek I love.

A hilarious and promising start

[candidappls · 10/10 · 14 August 2020]

A zombie plague loose on a federation ship, a protagonist sucked off by a suckling space spider and a dramatic challenge of loyalty over promotion and rank -- this show has it all!

Beam me up!

[bwalker-73751 · 7/10 · 17 November 2021]

Rewatch. I thought this was a great introduction for this lighthearted series. We are introduced to everyone, get an idea of the premise of the show and get a very basic story to use to facilitate all of this. What I love most are all the references.

Martok the Klingon with the eye patch? Klingon prison was Rura Penthe? Spock, Genesis, Sulu fencing, Kirk, Troi, Bat'leth .... And more that I forgot!!

From an Older Generation

[janmac_2002 · 10/10 · 7 August 2020]

I am pleasantly surprised at this new entry into the StarTrek 'family'. To concentrate more on the 'workers' below decks rather than our usual shows which have mainly focused on the bridge, medical & engineering. I also appreciated the nod to S.T.O. & S.T.N.G. in the opening monologue...come on...who wouldn't or hasn't pretended to have a bat'leth & pretended to be Worf? This opening episode had everything S.T. is famous for...action, exploration, contact (whether 1st or 2nd), entrige, space travel & a well honed style of story telling. While I was saddened at the length of this pilot, (expecting it to go at least an hour for the pilot), it was fitting, I say this because now I have grandchildren and wish to introduce them to Nanny's favourite show. It's been a long standing joke in my family (3 generations) that if any S.T. show/film is on...I don't move...HaHaHa!!! I noticed closely when the Ensign's were getting to know each other...Boimler was explaining(showing via the 'blueprint')Tendi where they were on the ship. I had never really thought about how many crewmen and workstations there are. We are often told by captain's or other bridge crews as to how many serve aboard the vessel, whether or not there are family's as well. I could rave on, yet alas, I'll leave it there...I truely look forward to the rest of the series. Live long & Prosper

Is this a new low for Star Trek?

[JoviAero · 4/10 · 7 August 2020]

This is rough. They're definitely trying too hard and the humour is very forced. There's a whole ton of things that don't even make sense if they want us to consider this canon, especially the behaviour of some of these lower decks recruits. One drinks on the clock and swings around a batleth and somehow doesn't get immediately fired. (They later reveal that the captain is looking for reasons to fire her too, how was that not it right there?) A cyborg and a trill go on a first date and start to click when a zombie plague breaks out around them, and they barely acknowledge it's happening while they continue talking to each other. Like people literally get eaten beside them while they ignore it and keep talking like the date is more important than the lives around them. That's colder than some of the most ruthless villains in Trek history, but we're supposed to laugh it off and like these guys? Who wrote that?

That's the biggest problem I have with this show besides the forced humour. The characters are painfully unlikeable. The female lead is obnoxious and just yells a lot, jeering her friend to the point you wonder how they even remain friends. The male lead is a nervous, self righteous wreck that wouldn't have passed the entry exams or psychological tests to serve aboard a star ship, no matter how low rank.

I'd genuinely rather watch Spock's Brain, Sub Rosa, or Threshold again. Those episodes are even funnier than this, though unintentionally, but more watchable because they have likeable characters.

This has been a very rocky revival era for Trek, with Discovery and Picard forgetting that Star Trek is supposed to be about hope and going downright nihilistic (not to mention copying each other with each doing a season about a potential AI apocalypse) and so far it seems this first episode of Lower Decks is the worst yet. Instead of taking advantage of being a comedy and going for a lighter tone, it goes for Rick & Morty style shock humour that really doesn't work in this universe.

It's disappointing as reading how much the showrunners loved TNG and wanted to pay homage to it made it sound like this had the potential to be the best show in the Kurtzman era yet. I don't know how the writers are justifying their love of Trek with this weird mess. Probably would've played better as a fan fiction or a non canon web series.

Boldly going where Star Trek hasn't gone

[jkovalik-772-412534 · 10/10 · 8 August 2020]

Great first outing for Lower Decks. The show gives us glimpses into Starfleet life that we haven't seen before. I am looking forward to future episodes.

It's Really Bad

[iansyard · 1/10 · 6 August 2020]

If you're expecting that irreverent comedy and sharp jokes of the likes of Family Guy, King of the Hill and Futurama in new animated show Star Trek Lower Decks, then seek your nearest Dark Star and jump in. Unfunny, annoying goofball characters takes Star Trek into the toilet.

Great start! Lots of potential.

[nickster05 · 10/10 · 6 August 2020]

This episode is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for this show! It's funny and fast-paced, self-aware and exciting. The characters are all really fresh, especially Mariner. There's so much to explore within the potential already established, I am eager to see where this show goes. Although it plays better to a Trek fan, I think anyone can pick up this ep and have a blast.

Can't wait for more!

This is a good pilot

[marianthenightman · 10/10 · 10 August 2020]

I don't know how they managed to get away with the classic style of the ship,aliens and inigorms which makes Discovery to look like a big mistake from the past,but i'm glad,i hope i will never see the Discovery's visual style of the ships and aliens being used again .I'm not a fan of FUTURAMA or RICK AND MORTY(honestly,i think that show is a stupid animated version of BACK TO THE FUTURE),but i like the humor.The only thing i don't like is the animation style of the characters ,i would prefere something like JUSTICE LEAGUE or JUSTICE LEAGUE ACTION animated series ,because i like to see more sexy (and not naked) characters.I also i still don't understand why they not used the best ship class they can use (which is Prometheus class)and they opted instead for another ugly ship,which is almost as ugly as U.S.S. Discovery .I'm still waiting to see a chinese or an american native captain as the lead character and i think the episodes should be much longer ,they should have even 45 minutes ,because everything looks like a show watched on Fast Forward speed.

Pretty dull

[muchobliged · 5/10 · 7 August 2020]

I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn't funny. The characters were either boring or extremely annoying and I can't remember any of the characters names. The plot was very dull. The only thing that got a chuckle out of me was 'banana, hot', the rest just fell flat. I expected the show to be smarter with the Star Trek stuff. I hope the rest of the season will be better, though.

Blazing fast...

[WKYanks · 8/10 · 14 August 2020]

Well, that was interesting...

The music made me think of Stargate.

Not bad, maybe even better than I was expecting.

I don't look at this like a normal trek episode.

I like the "A-plot" being conducted in the background as these characters are kind of watching from below. My animated reference in Trek was 'The Animated Series', so I had to "catch up" with the speed of it, but when I did I kind of enjoyed it.

I'm still tuning in...

It's a start

[danielcgrimes · 5/10 · 7 August 2020]

Its fairly ok, i managed to laugh a few times. It's absolutely not star trek though. All the characters talk exceptionally fast, barely giving enough time to understand whats happening or sometimes what they're saying.

Better than Discovery

[ciobi-51179 · 10/10 · 21 November 2022]

Well, i like this episode although i would like it more the see Mariner being naked and sucked by a baby alien instead of Boimler. The action is ok, the sense of humour is great, the ships look weird, but i think it is ok, the characters are great, even if i hate the haircut of Tendy and i would have been thrilled to see the new Trill as being part of the main cast and i think Boimler is a very creepy guy. Sincerely, i don' understand whi they changed the greatest Star Trek uniform which is the ones from Star Trek First Contact and the new ones are waaay too similar with the uniforms wearing the pre-First Contact.

Give up preconceptions, relax, and enjoy

[TARDIS_Tech_Support · 8/10 · 9 September 2022]

This isn't like any other series, and yet it's an homage to every other series. It's messed up, sexual, gross-out, and anti-authoritarian comedy. But the execution is pretty amazing. The attention to detail from ships to sets to aliens to history of the prior series', is great throughout.

Do I wish it was more grounded? Yes. But then you run the danger of becoming The Orville, which is both too comedic and not comedic enough. Going full-throttle toward comedy with only elements of serious science fiction was definitely the way to go for a successful spin-off series. I feel it was either go all-out, or just not do the series at all.

Rick and Morty if they couldn't write

[OfficerOinks · 1/10 · 7 August 2020]

When I first heard they were creating a Star Trek cartoon I was extremely excited because animation as a medium is amazing there as so many things that you can do in animation that are either impossible or just look cheesy in live action. Coming off a high from watching TNG for the first time I was fully prepared for an introspective well written cartoon that had some fantastic writing but instead what I got was more akin to brickleberry. This is not something I wanted, needed or even enjoyed. This is NOT Star trek, this is a cheap cartoon made to grab a few dollars from a new streaming platform.

Terrible

[Chuck_EM · 1/10 · 10 August 2020]

There is absolutely no intelligence or humour evident in this show. The animation is okay, but the writing, direction, and overall production is horrible.

Star Trek: The next hope

[Janju76 · 4/10 · 6 August 2020]

So the episode begins very much like you would expect from a star trek episode, with a log entry, but then very quickly gets side tracked. A lot of stupid stuff happens that is unnecessary and not funny in the least. The show has a few moments, like when they look outside the ship and see space at warp speed together with great music, when you get a glimps at what star trek should be.

The core of this show seems to be to try to make fun of star trek in a very bad way. I am not sure if the people involved know star trek actually or just read some articles about it on wikipedia or something. The feeling that a lot of people have is that the nerds who made star trek are now replaced by jocks who now bully us even with our fiction.

Star Trek could be funny, but you still have to stick to canon and some rules of the universe to a degree.

It also seemingly wants to annoy the fanbase intentionally with stuff like "blue romulan whiskey". I really don't know how all of this will turn out.

At this time i think the show still has potential, but the first episode was a very mixed bad with a lot of "psydo-progressive leftist Tropes" in it. The first episode feels like this is another show with a very annoying black woman lead. Just like another show nobody likes.

Waiting for the next Episode.

It's like let's make an unfunny Rick and Morty.

[grilljon · 2/10 · 13 August 2020]

This episode was bad and it's a spoof of star trek but in the star trek universe. There is very little to like about this garbage fire.

Busy Intro

[Hillius · 5/10 · 20 March 2021]

A few of the reviews of the overall show made this sound like it could be a fun Star Trek related romp. Not really a fan of Family Guy as so many others have mentioned, I felt like this was more related to the Total Drama Series type action and humor, but way over the top.

The show does come right at you at warp speed and I agree the intro is very nice,. A lot of humor in the show. some hit and some miss, very few full on face palms, but as a life long Trek fan I doubt I'm the target audience. It can be a bit juvenile.

This was very much a female driven first entry with some great characters, but none of the male characters got hardly any development and were instead used as props and gags. Even what I'm guess is the first officer was out of commission throughout and we didn't get any intro.

Some funny parts, some unnecessarily gross aka Renn and Stimpy style if you can recall. Some claimed a good connection between TNG and this series, although what connection I observed, was little more than name dropping at the very end. Kind of a meh first, but I'll watch a few more.

It's just not at all funny, and so it's boring.

[OftenCriticalGuy · 3/10 · 28 August 2020]

I literally never even cracked a smile on this one. It had lots of voice actor energy for the characters, but the characters were ... dumb? Like, 90s sitcom dumb and uninteresting. I was hoping it would be good. Oh well. Alex Kurtzman was involved, what would one expect? Decent writing? Naaaaaah.

p.s. - the starship design is really boring looking, too