Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Trek: The Animated Series — The Next Generation
Well, we have a new Star Trek series. It has been quite a while since we’ve had a full animated Star Trek series. We’ve had a couple of animated shorts but not a full animated series since 1974. Frankly, I don’t know why they waited so long to take the animation route. For one thing, there are a lot more story possibilities with animation versus live action. You don’t have to budget for shooting on location. You don’t have to hire extras to mingle around in the background. You don’t have to budget for props or effects. You can focus on the story and the voice performances then leave the rest to the animation team and sound crew. Animated sci-fi should be where much of sci-fi flourishes.
Star Trek: Lower Decks brings us the story of the lower-ranking crew members who don’t get all the glory, serving on a ship that doesn’t get any of the glory. The U.S.S. Cerritos is a second-contact ship. The first contact ships get the glory of seeking out new life and new civilizations, boldly going where no one has gone before. The second contact ships get the paperwork signed, make sure the spelling of the planet is correct, and all that. The series follows a group of ensigns whose rank is so low they bunk in the hallway instead of having quarters assigned to them.
