Review Text
When the Cerritos loses its navigational system and the capability for warp drive, they must travel to the nearest starbase for repairs, which happens to be the dreaded Starbase 80 — the place Mariner was unjustly banished to by her mother over a misunderstanding, and to where Mariner swore she would never return. It's the worst of the worst places, allegedly. Its reputation precedes itself, which is a big part of the problem here, because the episode's depiction of this starbase doesn't live up to (or down to) that reputation, and probably never could have.
Previous seasons of Lower Decks have started slow before picking up steam. I'm hoping this season is one of them, because "Starbase 80?!" is yet another disappointing, run-of-the-mill outing featuring plenty of shouted mayhem pitched at the elevated LD tone, but nothing that feels like it holds any character or storytelling value. On board SB80, we meet a few characters, including Commander Kassia Nox (Nicole Byer), who is cheerful and amiable and wants to help (and be helped) by the lower deckers who are visiting. Also, chief engineer Gene Jakabowski (Stephen Root), who has a strange penchant for being everywhere on the station seemingly simultaneously, and who sends Freeman and Ransome on a winding, wild goose chase for ... himself. Talk about your shaggy dog stories.
SB80 represents the lower decks of Lower Decks — although I'm pretty sure we've done that idea before — but nothing about it feels like it's as awful as Mariner made it out to be. Her constantly referring to it as "cursed" seems manufactured out of nonsensical thin air when you consider Trek is full of alien encounters that are weird and strange and whatnot. The music does all it can to sell an eerie tone, and the plot has everyone eventually turning into zombies with glowing green eyes for unknown reasons. Mariner is convinced it's because of the "curse," but it's actually because of something the Cerritos crew unwittingly brought with them: an anaphasic lifeform ("Sub Rosa" waves hello) who doesn't intend any harm but nevertheless turns everyone into a drooling idiot who groans and licks the walls. This hearkens all the way back to the pilot, which featured a similar zombie virus. It's a shame to see the series repeating itself so blandly. Just as then, the heightened lunacy is more exhausting than funny.
Along the way, we get a 2260s-retro tour through the space station, which includes a scene in the infamous decon chamber, food vendors instead of replicators (which includes Chad the Friggin' Corn Dog Guy, who figures inexplicably into the plot's conclusion), and a pre-holodeck-era video arcade. Some of these ideas are mildly amusing, but that's about as enthusiastic as I can be about them. Nox is revealed to be an El Aurian with fight skills for no real reason other than to mention El Aurians and have a fight sequence. The plot's details, involving the beluga whales and the business with the combadges, are serviceable. The anaphasic lifeform is named Clem, and apologizes for his error, and hopes his bosses are as forgiving as Starfleet is, because, he says, "They can be real dicks." Yawn.
That's kind of where I am with this season overall. Given that the Cerritos brought this craziness with them, I'm a little confused at what specifically makes Starbase 80 so infamous. Sure, it's run-down and crawling with critters, but it's staffed by a crew of scrappy underdogs, so Mariner should've felt right at home.
Previous episode: A Farewell to Farms
Next episode: Of Gods and Angles
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14 comments on this post
Jeffrey's Tube
Good episode, though trifling. The art direction was especially good. So many little references everywhere.
I just don't have more to say.
Karl Zimmerman
Well, that was different.
Something about the vibe of this episode made it feel like a backdoor pilot to a new series. Perhaps it was the introduction of the el-Aurian officer, who was slotted into "main character" mode pretty neatly? Perhaps it was the extended introduction of a new setting, which felt a character of its own. Regardless, something about the episode felt "very special" after four episodes of filler.
There were a lot of callbacks here, from the doctor infected by the Tarchannian virus to the anaphasic lifeform infecting the beluga to the numerous TOS/ENT references with antiquated technology and uniforms. Yet I felt like this episode wasn't really relying on fan callbacks to tell the story, and was doing something new we hadn't seen in Trek before.
The A/B structure here was also relatively subtle - so subtle I didn't notice it while watching. The main thrust was clearly related to Mariner's arc accepting that though she was at her lowest when she served there, that didn't make Starbase 80 cursed itself. The "B plot" was the wild goose chase of Freeman and Ransom trying to find the chief engineer. Though this was mostly just filler, I did like the little touch Freeman had at the end, recognizing that the base was a bunch of scrappy underdogs, just like them.
One thing the episode wasn't, however, was funny. But I didn't think it was even particularly trying to be funny, unlike some of the earlier episodes this season, going for more of a spooky vibe.
On the whole, I think it's my favorite episode of the season yet, because it was trying to do something somewhat new/different in a season which has thus far been full of pretty stereotypical Lower Decks adventures. Hopefully, the season will close strong, as we only have five of these left.
episodenull
Jammer's last sentence hits on my one big issue with the episode, that is Mariner would have caught on to SB80's chill vibe during her first deployment there. Of course, Star Trek is a franchise where nobody under the Federation's aegis can actually be incompetent or corrupt or evil, and any apparent villainy is just a mild misunderstanding. Even the knife gangs on the lower decks were nice once you met them! It's all a bit silly, and not in a good way.
It's a trend I've noticed in a lot of recent "lightweight" fiction, e.g. Only Murders in the Building. Evil isn't *that* evil, malice is not *that* malicious. I long for the days of fiction with fun baddies who were unrepentantly bad. Would it have killed the writers to make Starbase 80 a genuinely terrible place?
Extra Bread
I feel like they did the right thing by ending the show with season 5. They're running out of gas. This isn't my favorite Star Trek series but I still enjoy it. However, I haven't felt like this unengaged in a season of Star Trek since Enterprise season 2. I really have nothing to say about this episode. I almost forgot it was on today.
Lawrence Bullock
I think I so desperately need escape from the nightmare we're in these days that I will like any Star Trek related episode and forgive any multitude of sins of commission or omission.
It was fine. It wasn't laugh out loud but I don't care. And this is the last season. I think I'll take what I can get. Even in heaven they don't sing all the time.
Christ, I sound bitter.
Ned
Its a haunted-house episode. With the moral of don't pre-judge others. A fun episode :-)
Tim C
I had the same thought as Jammer watching this one - "I really hope this season is going to have some bangers in the back half". I had *one* laugh out loud moment (and it wasn't exactly a gut-buster) which was Ransom absolutely loving the decon gel, because of course he would.
It's really frustrating, as I found the mash-up of old TOS and ENT styling to be such a fun setting for an episode. It feels like a wasted opportunity of a premise, just like the episode where they visited DS9.
Joseph B
Hang in there guys ... I have it on very good authority that the last three eps are *corkers*.
I agree, though, that it's pretty evident that they are stumbling through the first part of this final season. I think they would have been much better off just doing six 45 minute episodes in lieu of ten thirty minute eps.
damned7
Meaningless, hip and zany fluff, as this show has always been, with some bright spots here and there.
Chrome
I enjoyed the whole spooky vibe of the episode; it felt very much like a haunted house or carnival (in California). Mariner blames everything on a Starbase 80 curse, when everyone on that station is just a bit needy, and the real problem stems from the Cerritos itself. It’s a good enough parable which makes fun use of Star Trek lore. Speaking of lore, are they referencing ENT “A Night in Sickbay” again?? There are the bats as well as the strange bio-gel they need to rub on themselves for decontamination.
Nicole Byer brought a lot of pep and believability to Kassa Nox, while Stephen Root (News Radio, and many other things) brought a memorable charm to it all. The English guy playing Dr. Horseberry was also had his amusing moments and certainly stuck out as unusual.
I’ll go 2.75 stars. Any episode that can make one nostalgic for ENT must be pretty good.
wanderer2575
Apparently, Priority One for the writers is coming up with puns and other cutesy phrases for episode titles.
Trek fan
Three stars, or maybe a high 2 1/2. It held my attention with its amusing oddness and unusual end. Nothing special but more memorable than the rest of this monotonous season.
Jeffrey's Tube
I think "lower decks" as a concept just has limited life in it. The characters' journeys still have a lot of life left in them but they need to progress beyond "lower decks" and actually start doing important things. An animated sequel series starring these characters but with a different premise and a different title could go another five years and feel fresh for sure.
Really the end of last season was probably the climax for the whole idea of "lower decks." I mean, what could top that? What is there left to explore or to say about being "lower decks" in Starfleet?
CT Phipps
Honestly, I hate the idea of Starbase 80 just being another version of the Cerritos. We don't need a bunch of scrappy underdogs after already having a ship of scrappy underdogs. Can we actually have a place where the genuine jerks of Star Trek go?
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