Lower Decks

An excellent episode, and study into the complexities of being a leader, and a member of a team. Also, as a former Naval Officer, the tension between the senior officers and lower ranks (albeit still junior officers) was realistic, with the usual dramatic licence. But great to see a break away from the usual 'Wardroom' perspective of every other ST episode.

Unusual episode which shows what has probably very unintentionally been illustrated throughout the series and really throughout every Trek series; namely, the hierarchical class distinctions between executive officers low ranking officers. In addition to being interesting because of the latter, while Next Generation as a whole has loads of heart, "Lower Decks" is one of a relatively small number of episodes that is a bona fide tearjerker. Fantastic writing and acting.

I'm pretty sure I'd only seen parts of 'Lower Decks' over the years, and seeing it in its entirety was an eye-opener. A creative look at the lower-level officers that populate the Enterprise, it also reframed the main cast (those all-too-familiar faces we see from week to week) as administrative department heads. Yeah, it's kind of a workplace episode. And as each character achieves clarity throughout the story, a fluffy ending is almost guaranteed; that is, until a late-hour plot twist turns that right on its head.

Highly potent stuff.

9/10

We spend time with a group of lower ranked Enterprise crew members.

This is a strong episode with a novel idea that has some good character moments.

The obvious hook is seeing everything and everyone from a different perspective. This could have been gimmicky if the character interactions are not as strong as they are.

I personally do not find them hugely interesting as individuals, but the interactions with each other and the main characters are great. The highlights include Lavelle with Riker, Sato with both Picard and Worf, and all their interactions together. Sato easily has the best arc, especially as it follows up an intriguing story in 'The First Duty'. It ends very strongly and all feels rather poignant.

One of the best aspects is that it makes the show feel more than just the main cast every week with a load of extras thrown in to make up the numbers. The concept of Enterprise being a functioning starship with an actual crew is more plausible because of 'Lower Decks'.

This episode starts with a ridiculous level of unprofessionalisn from the Starfleet officers, literally talking about who is going to get promoted in TEN FORWARD where they can obviously be overheard. Add in Dr Crusher trying to be friends and gossip with her direct report and this is a failure of Management 101.

Beyond that, the episode is extremely well written and I had some flashbacks to my own early career, worrying about what my boss thinks of me and over reacting to every interaction. A great point of view episode from the junior officers, and a very moving ending to the episode make this a Top 10 in the series for me.

This has spinoff written all over it and I guess the upcoming animated series Lower Decks is doing just that albeit with more humor.