I don't normally do trailer reviews/overviews on this blog. At least, not since I moved over to Blogger. Even on Wordpress I usually tried to avoid talking about trailers just because they sometimes misrepresent what a movie or TV show is going to be. Mostly because the trailer, particularly the initial teaser trailer, is made before many things are finalized for the movie or show, like dialogue, special effects and music. And so things can change between the time when the trailer was made and when the movie is released or the TV show starts airing. But I decided to make an exception for Star Trek: Lower Decks, the upcoming animated Star Trek series created by Mike McMahan, one of the writers on Rick and Morty.
To be honest I have been skeptical about Lower Decks. I mean, don't get me wrong, the concept is cool and has lots of potential if it's done well, but it's an animated show by a creator who has never worked on Star Trek and has been a comedy writer his entire career. I have never seen Rick and Morty but what I've heard about it has led me to believe that I just wouldn't enjoy it because the humour is weird and disturbing enough that I just wouldn't understand it.
As long time readers of this blog know, humour is something I have great difficulty with due to my Autism. As a result there are many comedies that I don't or can't enjoy because I don't understand the humour. Which is why I tend to prefer comedies where the humour is secondary to the characters and the story or is just one piece of the whole puzzle. That way even if I don't understand the humour, I can enjoy the show or the movie on other levels. Which is why I love The Orville and why I absolutely loved Community because while I didn't always get the humour, both shows have elements that I could latch onto and enjoy them on that level.
The trailer for Star Trek: Lower Decks is awesome. I didn't understand the humour, especially the visual gags, and I haven't seen a character that has stood out to me as a character I could connect to as I have in previous Star Treks, such as Data. I'm intrigued by the premise of the show though and from what I've seen of it in this trailer, yeah I'm about 70% onboard with it. That remaining thirty percent will hopefully come when the show actually airs and I see the characters in the context of the show. And who knows, maybe once I see the jokes that I saw in the trailer in context of the show, then I could be completely onboard with the humour of the show.
Over the last few months as CBS has unveiled more and more about this show, I've had numerous conversations with my buddy Aaron about the show's concept, the animation style and certain design elements that I thought wasn't great and could be improved if this show is to stand out, not only against the live action Star Trek shows and the previous Star Trek animated show, but also against the numerous animated shows that are exactly like this, but with different settings like Rick and Morty and Disenchantment. Like the ship, the U.S.S. Cerritos, for example. When Aaron showed me a still image of it, I hated it. Just looking at it at a standstill it looks uninspired, lazily designed and just a hodgepodge of previous Federation starships when there's no reason for it to be such a hodgepodge since the designers don't have to be limited by a visual effects budget, it being Animation. But when I saw it in action AND saw the interiors in the trailer, it looks a thousand times better and I was able to better appreciate what they were doing with it because for me my like of a starship design is 50% interior design and 50% exterior. If I can't imagine myself living on that ship by looking at the interior of the ship then it's very hard for me to like that ship. No matter what franchise or series the ship is from.
The animation style is also a little too cutesy for my taste, almost like Disney was animating the show rather than whatever animation studio was hired. But I think that's just what I'm used to in animated Television versus what Television animation is like these days. Animation these days isn't as visually dark as it was in the '90s, even on shows like Spider-Man: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series where the aesthetics were a lot brighter than they were in shows like Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles, which were much darker in tone and in aesthetics due to the nature of the shows. As the show goes on the air and I watch it the character designs and the colour choices for the overall animation style have the potential for me to really like them, but just based on this particular trailer and the still images that CBS has released, it's a little strange and over the top for an animated Star Trek series to me.
As I said, the characters, based on both this trailer, and their descriptions on Wikipedia, aren't really standing out as characters I'm going to like or even connect to on any level. That doesn't mean that once the show gets going and if I like it, there won't be a character I can connect with, it's just right now there isn't. But maybe, when I see them in action there will be.
As I've said many times before I don't want to dislike these shows and movies. But, I know my tastes and preferences and when shows, books, movies and comics don't fit into those tastes and preferences then I have a harder time enjoying them. But, because this is Star Trek, I am willing to give it a little bit more leeway than I would anything else, whether it's something I already like or is something brand new.
Based on this trailer alone Star Trek: Lower Decks is nothing like any other Star Trek that has ever been produced. And honestly, we shouldn't expect it to be, because as I said in my review of Star Trek: Picard season 1, wanting every Star Trek series or movie to be the exact same as all the other Star Trek shows and movies is what will kill the franchise, not some writer or producer who wants to carve a new path for the series.
As I said, I have my misgivings about this new animated Star Trek series based on the premise and who created this show. That doesn't automatically make it bad or good. It just means that due to several factors, Lower Decks has a lot of hurdles to overcome. It's also not going to be for everyone. One of the things that I said to Aaron during our many discussions on this topic is that because McMahan is the creator and the showrunner and he comes more from a raunchy comedy background, particularly the more disturbing elements of Rick and Morty, this series might not appeal to as many Star Trek fans as CBS hopes. Also, because it's an animated series on a streaming platform (in the U.S.) that not as many people subscribe to, it's going to have struggles that an animated series on Nickelodeon, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network or Netflix might not have. I have my fingers crossed that it's going to be good. After all Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was different than Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation were and while it wasn't as successful when it was on the air, it's become one of the most popular Star Trek shows of all time in retrospect, so maybe Lower Decks will have a similar story to tell in twenty-seven years?
This was absolutely a great trailer. I just hope it doesn't let the comedy get in the way of good storytelling, because at the end of the day that's all I want from a Star Trek show. Good storytelling. I'm not rating this trailer, but it does have me interested and somewhat excited for the show when the pilot airs in 13 days. And yes, I will have a review of that pilot episode up the very next day as it'll be airing in the evening on August 6th on CTV Sci-Fi Channel. I'll also be back tomorrow for my movie review of Star Trek from 2009. Later.
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