8
votes
Star Trek: Lower Decks S03E01 - "Grounded"
Link information
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- Title
- Star Trek: Lower Decks | Season 3 Premiere | Full Episode | Paramount+
- Authors
- Paramount Plus
- Duration
- 24:49
- Published
- Sep 1 2022
I think Lower Decks might be the best Star Trek series currently running. As my wife likes to remind me as we watch it, there are tons of Easter eggs for fans hidden throughout the show.
Being animated makes things that would be impractical or prohibitively expensive to do on a live action show possible. And it makes some of the goofier aspects of Star Trek a bit more believable.
Strange New Worlds is good, but it has a lot of characters we already know. It feels the most like a continuation of the original series in spirit more than anything else that they’ve done since 1969, though.
Same for Discovery, which reuses a lot of characters from previous shows/movies. It’s also very self serious, which I’m not a huge fan of.
I think the characters on Lower Decks are the best of the new crop of shows. Almost all of the characters on Lower Decks are new, well fleshed out, and fun.
Do you think its worth watching for non-trekkies?
I have a co-worker who loves it and he's never watched any of the other shows or movies.
Thanks. I may have to give it a shot. I never got into the earlier Star Trek stuff (besides a movie or three), and I'm not really interesting in trying to dive into the whole thing...but this seems pretty approachable.
No don't, I'm honest to God here to tell you that you should watch star trek TNG episode 1 "encounter at farpoint" instead. You must not miss your chance to naively experience an era of wonder which 80s trek represents! The first season of that series is very rough but there are some really clean expressions of certainty and thought. So many of the corniest star treks are completely earnest, completely careful explorations of life and human intention. Please do not be tempted by the cartoony nonsense that has emerged to fill the void these beautiful series left in their wake
Cartoony nonsense is fine. If someone clicks with the style of humor in Lower Decks--they'll have a good time. I think Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager are the triforce in regards to good television, but slow-burn morality plays aren't for everyone.
Very much so. I’m not really a veteran of Star Trek who’s watched all the shows like some others, knowing only relatively little of the lore. So I didn’t really get a lot of the Easter eggs they sprinkled in. Nevertheless, it was overall hilarious, and had its fair share of awesome and heartwarming moments. In fact after seeing DS9 show up in the season 3 trailer, I got inspired to start watching that and am loving it.
The first season is available for free if you're a Prime Subscriber in the states. Paramount Plus also gives out a free month code every month, and you can use one after another after another if you so choose. (The most recent one is NACHOS, per the Beavis and Butt-Head revival.)
I think if you enjoy sci-fi, then you’ll like it. You might miss some jokes but it’s pretty accessible.
I'm not sure if this is a controversial opinion or not, but I've been really enjoying The Orville and would probably say it's the best modern Trek around, even if it is only a spiritual successor. Despite a more satirical first season, from mid-second season it really hits its grove, with that same character driven vibe and deep exploration of complex current cultural issues that I loved in TNG, Voyager, etc.
I'd be interested to know if you've seen it and how you think it stacks up if you have, Picard too.
I agree with you! The Orville being the best "Trek" show on right now is a pretty commonly held opinion among my social circle, so you're not alone. I haven't actually watched much post-Enterprise Star Trek other than Lower Decks (which I adore), the first couple episodes of Discovery (which was enough to determine it was in no way, shape, or form intended for me), and the first episode of Picard (which cemented in my mind that my love affair with live action Trek is officially dead forever).
I know a lot of people who’ve said the same thing. I’m not a huge Seth MacFarlane fan, so I haven’t enjoyed the three or four episodes of The Orville that I’ve seen. I do see why people like it though. It’s the closest thing to a Star Trek comedy I’ve seen since Galaxy Quest. You can definitely tell that the people making it really do love Star Trek.
I liked season two of Picard a lot more than the first one. I thought the first one was a bit uneven but I think they found their footing mid-way through the second season. All of the time travel and Borg stuff is pretty fun. But like I mentioned in a different comment, it reuses a lot of characters from previous shows. I’m intrigued to see what they do with the final season.
One of the things that sets Star Trek apart is (was?) that it doesn’t just focus on a core group of people (like Star Wars does with the Skywalker family). It explores all sorts of different nooks and crannies of the universe.
Thanks, interesting insights! That's really interesting re. Picard, I found almost the exact opposite; I thought the first season was a refreshing change of pace after Discovery, and found it started to grate on me with season 2, with me giving up with the scene in the car between Jiradi and Raffi after Gynan.
Regarding The Orville, I'd give it a little more time if you've got the stomach for it. It really does hard pivot around the start of season 2 in terms of vibe, getting a lot more character focused and giving some of the farcical characters actual motivations and character growth rather than just "drunk pilot", for instance. I enjoyed it in an I enjoyed Spaceballs: The Movie kind of way, but by season 2 I was enjoying it on it's merits as a 'proper' Trek.
Orville is pretty good, I think that Strange New Worlds is probably the best of the new Trek shows in that it's the most original flavor vibing in space. It's got prequel problems, but it doesn't try and break the premise of Boat in Space visiting planet of the week. Maybe Discovery and Picard will be appreciated after the streaming boom, similar to Enterprise being recognized as, kinda sorta okay?