‘Lower Decks’ Series Finale “The New Next Generation” Review, Plus Mike McMahan Interview

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Well, they have effectively compartmentalized the damage to canon with the rift stuff.

Without spoiling too much, let’s just say I agree with Cool Boimler on this one.

Still it’s a fun romp and I like the riffs and easter eggs. Give us more!

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Except Moopsy. Everyone loves Moopsy.

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I had never watched startreck and i loved lower decks. I did know enough to get some of the basic references, but im sure some went over my head.

In all i think LD was a good starting point for me. I enjoyed the humor and how it didn't take itself too seriously.

I've since tried another series (enterprise since it's the first chronologically) and its fine though i do wish it was a bit more fun. I'm hoping I'll enjoy some of the other iterations a bit more, and am looking forward to rewatching lower decks once I get back to where it's at in the chronology.

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It could have gone on for longer though. They had more plans. The finale shows they had tons of options.

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Definitely don't watch chronologically. Enterprise is the last show I would use to get anyone into Star Trek. Even the original animated series would probably be better lol

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The rift stuff only affects the future. Everything that happened in Lower Decks is still fully canon

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I started watching Enterprise recently feeling the same way you do, and it's honestly not that bad. The way they talk to each other and the overall vibe is VERY Next Gen, and it's interesting how they're 100ish years in the future while TOS is 200 years in the future, so their technology and even uniforms look almost exactly halfway between our tech and stuff and what we see in "traditional" Trek. The theme song though is definitely whack

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You might like The Orville, too.

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You misundstand me. I'm probably one of Enterprise's biggest fans. It's just not what I'd recommend for someone getting into Star Trek. It's tone is different, and the roots of the franchise aren't easy to see if you don't know to look for them. I wouldn't recommend Discovery as a first show for the same reason. Strange New Worlds though is an excellent option.

I've actually personally been getting a friend into Star Trek through Lower Decks and DS9. Once she was hooked, telling her there was a Lower Decks crossover in SNW got her onboard there as well. Now we're kind of watching everything simultaneously lol

data1701d (He/Him)

I met someone who actually got into TNG because of Lower Decks.

data1701d (He/Him)

It depends. The Cerritos is passingly mentioned in Prodigy, which suggests at least one version (probably ours) of the Cerritos is in the prime timeline.

data1701d (He/Him)

My joking theory is they did the weird Rutherford implant removal to make his live action costume easier.

Andy

I largely reject the notion of "canon".

Others can enjoy canon if they like, but stories don't need it, and plenty of great ones have well known, obvious paradoxes.

I'll just add the famous Dwayne McDuffie piece on this, "Six degrees of St. Elsewhere". RIP McDuffie.

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I did really like it the first 2 seasons were great, & i thought the 3rd was a bit overly serious but still enjoyable.

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Lol okay that makes sense. Maybe I'll try jumping around a little more instead of powering through enterprise. Any recs on which to start with?

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Strange New World, despite being a prequel, is a great place to start. Deep Space 9 is also really good for learning about Star Trek, and it's probably the best written overall. You could also watch a Best of the Next Generation marathon. I'd recommend that over watching the whole thing, because TNG really shows it's age sometimes.

The most important thing to remember is that most Star Trek shows take a little while to get off the ground. They usually find their feet around season 3 (that's when Riker grew his beard).

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Okay cool, i appriciate the recs its kind of fun knowing there's so much content to go through & such a huge base of fans

data1701d (He/Him)

Yay to season 4.