But...canon doesn’t really matter to me. I pick and choose as I feel fit. I went into this show with the thought that even if it doesn’t properly fit into my view of Trek canon, I can at least enjoy it as a comedy. A parody of Trek tropes could be fun. I had enjoyed creator Mike McMahon’s TNG Season 8 twitter account...this could work. I very rarely laughed. This show had a real lack of jokes. Oh it made a reference to so many Trek tropes and was filled to the brim with References to past episodes or props and alien races that maybe only appeared once. But references don’t equal jokes and are no guarantee of a laugh.
I wanted Trek to return to animation. But unlike the original Animated show from the 70s, this show doesn’t go against the grain in anyway. The original was a fairly smart and didn’t play down to kids (they made a genuine Star Trek continuation!), this show does exactly what is expected of an animated show in America. It is geared towards adults, but is basically just a half baked Adult Swim comedy. They have another animated show in the works but it is already being marketed as a kids show. In this country animation is for kids or for crude comedy if for adults. So rare that anything tries anything new. And if it is one thing that is a hallmark of the Kurtzman era, it is taking zero risks or making Trek set apart from any other franchise out there.
Sci-fi dramas are dark and gritty like Battlestar Galactica! Disco and Picard will lean heavily into mimicking those styles instead of trying to capture anything of what once set Trek apart. Animation is for dummies and kids, therefore instead of using the medium to explore Strange New Worlds that would be far harder to do in live action, they just make a show that leans into dumb humor and basically belittles the Trek universe. But hey fandom like being reminded of things they know, and this show, if nothing else, reminds you of any tiny detail Trek has had by cramming in references. From what I can see from fans of this show (and hey, if they like it, good for them), they seem to be super into all those hidden easter eggs and references. If being reminded of things you know excites you, then this is a show built for you. Personally I watched Trek for the stories, the morality plays, the adventure, and the characters. This show lacks all of that...it just isn't for me.
The show might have worked as a comedy if when focusing in on these Lower Deck crewmembers, it made the bridge crew seem genuinely serious and also a lot less seen. Making Mariner the goof-off actually the Captain's daughter puts too much emphasis on the bridge crew. It makes those characters too present in almost every episode. And they seem as dumb as the Lower Deck crew. The whole thing makes Starfleet seem inept and idiotic. I think if it was taking classic Trek story ideas but showing them through the prism of grunt crewmembers who possibly only have half of an idea as to what is actually going on could be quite funny. But they just don't play with that idea at all. The whole series sort of felt like a waste of time.
With a lack of characters to enjoy, goofiness that makes canon moot, and an utter lack of jokes...I found each week something of a chore to sit through. Not a huge chore...at least episodes were only 22 minutes long. But I was never looking forward to it. I honestly don’t know if it is worthwhile to watch beyond this first year. Unless they make some major changes.
NEXT TIME: Discovery Jumps to the Future
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