TREK REVIEW - Lower Decks 5-1 - 5-2

Catching up on the old Trek reviews with a quick rundown of the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. I'm going to miss this show, which, while very much for die-hard fans, has been a real pleasure throughout and maybe the best of the relaunch-era series. The other contender for that is Prodigy, which I will also catch up with reviewing as soon as I can feasibly fit it in.

5-1 - "Dos Cerritos"

The season kicks off with an entertaining story that balances two entirely separate plotlines, one of which is fairly personal and small scale and the other which will have repurcussions for the whole season and the entire universe.

It's clear from the outset that this is going to be the Multiverse season, and while Trek has played with parallel universes plenty, this is its first time really delving into the concept. Everything is doing multiverse adventures now, so it's not surprising that Trek is having a go as well, and that Lower Decks is the series to do it. "Dos Cerritos" has great fun with this, sending the Cerritos through an interdimensional rift to meet its alternative self, commanded by Captain Becky Freeman. Tawny Newsome is clearly having a blast playing her character's aggressive, authoritarian other self, and it shows how much Mariner has grown as a character; in spite of being more like her earlier, more rebellious self, she's far more mature than Captain Freeman. The more assured alt-Boimler is pretty fun, but the most interesting is the heavily-augmented alt-Rutherford, who has forsaken his humanity so that he doesn't have to feel the loss of Tendi. The funniest pairing, though, is the two indistinguishable T'lyn's, who hate each other nonetheless. 

The other plotline follows Tendi as she takes on her role as the Mistress of the Winter Constellations. This strand has plenty of action but also works well as an exploration into Tendi's character. I like her pirate crew and love how we're seeing more and more of Orions who want to do something more fulfilling than violent piracy. Including the Blue Orions from The Animated Series - stupid costumes and mispronunciation of "Oreeon" and all - is another fun instance of Lower Decks taking the odder elements of TAS and celebrating them.

Callbacks: 

• The title sequence has been updated again. The title itself has been given TNG-style whooshy effects, while the big space battle is now ludicrously busy with the hand of Apollo, the Tholian Web and ruddy V'Ger all joining in.
• We get another visit to a Collector ship, this time owned by an alien with a weird metal thing running through his face ("It's prescription!") He's the same species as Palor Toff from TNG "The Most Toys," one of the strangest looking chaps to appear on the series.
• Mariner and T'Lyn play Kal-toh, a favourite of Naomi Wildman on Voyager. Boimler isn't happy Naomi made the "30 Under 30" list, and that she's "Like ten years old." If this is accurate, this places this season in 2382, meaning the entire five seasons take place over about two years.
• Becky Freeman does the same sarcastic Vulcan salute to Mariner as Mariner did to her mum back in season one.

Fun for me: One of Tendi's pirate crew is called Astrid. That's a great name (if you don't know, it's my daugter's name).

Sexy Trek: Not gonna lie, angry alt-Mariner with a riding crop is hot.

5-2 - "Shades of Green"

These first two episodes were released together originally, and appropriately this is basically the second half of a two-part story, at least for Tendi's ongoing storyline. Her adventures on and around Orion are easily the better part of the episode. A space race is a cliche, but a fun one, and it's hard to beat hitching a ride on a comet to get to the finish line. 

The other plot, on new Federation member Targalus 9, is good fun, but not as successful. It's interesting to see how a civilisation might dismantle its plurocratic society so that it can mesh with the Federation, and although everything seems ludicrously oversimplified here, it's fun to see the uber-rich of the planet desperately trying to stay relevant. Boimlers "bointers" are pretty funny and aren't overused, and we get the beginnings of his beard - well, fuzz - as he tries to emulate his alternative reality counterpart.

The C-plot, seeing T'ly trying to get closer to Rutherford and doing the logical yet entirely wrong thing is sweet. While it's wonderful to see Tendi back on the Cerritos where she belongs, it's a shame we don't get more development of this friendship. Still, the various plotlines dovetail nicely at the end, making for a satisfying episode.

Callbacks: 

• The Orions use archaic solar sailing ships for their races, much like the Bajorans once used, as seen on DS9 "Explorers."
• The socks Tendi offers D'Erika look like the space dog from TOS "The Enemy Within," an iconic little alien.

Alien life forms: 

• The Orion Queen has a dragon-like bet called a blazzard, which looks and sounds quite like the stock monsters that turned up on The Animated Series.
• The Targalans have really long ears and tie them up on top their heads. Given that they have orange skin and were super-capitalist, maybe they're related to the Ferengi.

Hmmmm: Surely a planet doesn't have to ditch money overnight to become a Federation member? We've already seen that the Ferengi are maintaining their way of life in spite of petitioning for membership, and we've heard of the Bank of Bolias a few times on DS9.