Star Trek: Lower Decks: Temporal Edict
August 20, 2020 6:58 AM - Season 1, Episode 3 - Subscribe

A terrible, destructive force overwhelms the crew of the Cerritos. No, not that one. Nor that one. Way worse than that one. I mean, really bad. Also, Jack Ransom loses his shirt, and... [cue gladiatorial music from "Amok Time"][what? what do you mean, we can't use it? This is Trek! Futurama got to use it! Sheesh.]

Memory Alpha doesn't have time to put this up, they're already 20 seconds late to reverse the polarity on the plasma injectors:

- They mention going to Cardassia Prime for a peace conference; the Dominion War ended five years earlier with the slaughter of about 800 million Cardassians, so it probably isn't a really fun place still at this point.

- The whole everything-is-timed-recorded-and-evaluated cult of efficiency is, of course, a plague on our world in our time. You'd think that the whole concept might have been discredited after Remmick turned out to be hollowed out by this big bug thing, but noooooooo.

- Scottsdale, huh? Some things never change. (Please note: I know nothing about Scottsdale except that someone I knew in college who was kind of a jerk was from there. [checks Wikipedia] I guess that they've got a lot of art galleries? And some Frank Lloyd Wright stuff? Cool, cool.)

- Ransom's fight with Vindor reminds me a bit of Thor vs. Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok. Man, poor Vindor; he's got a lot of good ideas, but no dice because Vindor. And crystals.

- The Far Future Federation must be some place if Galadriel is a schoolteacher. And Miles O'Brien is a hero, as he should be, although he'd be the first person to hate having a statue.

Poster's Log:

Ransom and Mariner are gonna do it, aren't they? Mariner's mom would have a fit... yeah, I got a bad feeling about this.
posted by Halloween Jack (16 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I didn't dig this one quite as much as the first two, but it was still hilarious. The TOS fight music and choreography was simply perfect.
posted by SansPoint at 11:23 AM on August 20, 2020


It's O'Brien he probably is entombed in the statue for all eternity or something.
Somehow O'Brien must suffer.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:44 AM on August 20, 2020 [10 favorites]


Ransom is totally the Commander Riker of the Cerritos - even down to hiking up one leg like Riker used to do on the Enterprise-D bridge.

Those PADDs must be practically bulletproof, considering how many crewmen used them to hit the alien invaders.

I loved the whole "buffer time" concept - a nod to Scotty's creative way of "padding" his repair time estimates, no doubt.
posted by Roger Pittman at 4:25 PM on August 20, 2020 [1 favorite]


They totally got me with this one... an episode titled "Temporal Edict" that turned out not to be a time travel episode.

I get Futurama vibes from this show at least a couple of times an episode. Right down to Boimler's hair. I consider this a good thing.

I loved the cameo by Log, from Ren and Stimpy. At least that's my headcanon.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:19 PM on August 20, 2020 [3 favorites]


This is the first episode I genuinely enjoyed. I think because it was simpler and more linear. I mean sure, A/B plot like normal Star Trek, but both plots were very simple and it gave room for everything else to breathe.

Unfortunately I hate Brad Boimler and everything about him. The character, the writing, the voice actor, the animation. Just ick. But now that I've identified my dislike I can sequester that and be like "oh it's a Boimler scene, let's just ignore it." You know, like Dr. Polaski. I also don't think it would take me very much to turn him around for me, make him someone I enjoy. The voice acting may be unfixable but the writing is doable. Last week's episode where Mariner engineered a win for him went a long way to humanizing him.

It's Mariner that works for me. Clicks 100%. Her competence, her wasted talents, her wry lines, and yet beneath her perfect veneer she's a little bit of a fuckup. I like her. Her line about "dancing in your blood" had me genuinely laughing out loud. Loved it.

Can't decide if I'm annoyed or admire the restraint in not using the Amok Time music for Ransom's fight scene. They also avoided any Gorn comparison, just let it be its own thing. Probably wise; if the show goes too meta it'll be annoying.
posted by Nelson at 9:45 PM on August 20, 2020 [2 favorites]


Agreed that it's a stronger episode—took its time a bit more, not quite as over-the-top. The fever pitch of the previous two episodes can only be maintained so long before it risks becoming offputting.

I see why you say that about Boimler, Nelson. I think for me the thing that helps overcome that particular Boimler effect is that I liked Jack Quaid (his voice actor) quite a lot in The Boys, which I coincidentally just rewatched season 1 of in preparation for season 2.

I also noticed that, in this one, he showed a glimmer of being able to accept the lower-key lower-decks lifestyle, which may be a good sign for his character not being continually insufferable in the future.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:33 AM on August 21, 2020 [3 favorites]


I loved the cameo by Log, from Ren and Stimpy. At least that's my headcanon.

Big, heavy, wood... it checks out.
posted by Servo5678 at 4:31 AM on August 21, 2020 [6 favorites]


Oh, I forgot to say how much I loved the graffiti. It was such a fun and silly little thing, the kind of casual damage you'd expect from an actual conflict like Star Trek depicts so often. It looked great in the art. Also it was just funny.
posted by Nelson at 8:49 AM on August 21, 2020 [4 favorites]


I loved the cameo by Log, from Ren and Stimpy. At least that's my headcanon.

Big, heavy, wood... it checks out.


It's better than bad, it's good. Just like this show.
posted by juiceCake at 7:08 PM on August 21, 2020 [4 favorites]


"What is the meaning of this intense bass? Are you mocking me?!"
posted by yonega at 11:20 PM on August 21, 2020 [4 favorites]


So I finally watched the first 3 episodes, and I have to say I'm enjoying them quite a bit. I went into them with the perspective that this was going to be more of a comedy vibe. Looking at it that way, it works for me. I like the TNG references I've seen. I'm looking forward to future episodes.
posted by kathrynm at 10:37 AM on August 23, 2020


I was so excited when they said they were going to Cardassia Prime. A second later I was crushed when the plans changed. I hope we see some Cardassians.
posted by obol at 12:51 AM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]


I liked this overall, but my favorite thing by far was Ransom's almost exclusive use of the James T Kirk double-punch technique.
posted by whir at 6:42 AM on August 24, 2020 [4 favorites]


I think for me the thing that helps overcome that particular Boimler effect is that I liked Jack Quaid (his voice actor)

Despite seeing Jack Quaid's name in the credits, I was convinced that Boimler was voiced by former Kid in the Hall Dave Foley. And even now, having watched a Quaid interview with Jimmy Kimmel, I'm not against thinking that he and Foley are actually the same person.
posted by hanov3r at 2:51 PM on August 24, 2020


I was so excited when they said they were going to Cardassia Prime. A second later I was crushed when the plans changed. I hope we see some Cardassians.
posted by obol
it's kind of great how the show goes meta like this, as we experience the same emotions as the crew of the ship
posted by DoctorFedora at 8:00 PM on October 12, 2020


I liked this overall, but my favorite thing by far was Ransom's almost exclusive use of the James T Kirk double-punch technique.

I utterly lost it when Ransom's entire combat technique was made up of Kirk-chops. "Interlocking fingers, and..."
posted by Navelgazer at 11:24 AM on May 1, 2022 [1 favorite]


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