Star Trek: Lower Decks: An Embarrassment of Dooplers
September 9, 2021 8:23 AM - Season 2, Episode 5 - Subscribe

Mariner and Boimler walk into a bar...

Memory Alpha's pagh is weak:

- The Dooplers' defense mechanism kind of makes sense... as long as they don't get angry when they have to defend themselves. Maybe the instant crowd scares away predators and then they de-multiply because there's not enough food and they're all hangry? Eh, it's a theory.

- "Kirk + Spock" It's officially canon, folks.

- Richard Kind plays the Doopler emmisary(s)

- Shelby!

- Pretty sure that the bouncer is one of Em/3/Green's people.

"Okay, I'm sorry I left you on Ceti Alpha. I really thought there was life there."

- Mariner
posted by Halloween Jack (18 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Definitely teared up at the end. Wasn't expecting that, but after last week's... tonal dissonance, maybe?... I'll absolutely take it!
posted by lumensimus at 9:29 AM on September 9, 2021 [3 favorites]


My favorite thing about this one might be its title.

The Doopler character drawing looks so much like Jay Sherman that at first it seemed downright wrong that Jon Lovitz wasn't voicing him, but as the Doopler plot developed, it became clear that Lovitz's manner wouldn't have fit. Maybe he can be the next Doopler we see, the one who's learned to control his own Doopling by being outspokenly egotistical.

I wonder what happens if you doople a Popple while it's…empoppled. Something grisly, no doubt.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 2:41 PM on September 9, 2021 [3 favorites]


“You sure this isn’t a Lore?”
“Meh. A couple might be Lores.”
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:29 PM on September 9, 2021 [6 favorites]


Okooooooooonaaaaaaaaaa!
posted by Kyol at 5:23 PM on September 9, 2021


I HAD THAT BUBBLEBATH
posted by sixswitch at 6:44 PM on September 9, 2021 [2 favorites]


Loved the Ceti Alpha jokes. And that Mariner actually called Boimler out on jumping ship for the Titan without saying goodbye.

But I would like a team episode, with all 4 junior officers.

[That said, where are the non-commissioned Starfleet enlisted members? Why aren't they the Lower Decks crew?]
posted by suelac at 9:45 PM on September 9, 2021


Two shout-outs to TAS: “The Jihad” - not only was the bouncer one of Em/3/Green’s people, but one of the beings in the Aviary was a Skorr (although he MIGHT have been Aurelian, from TAS: “Yesteryear”).

We also got another quick return of our Starfleet Kzinti.

The tiny computer voice counting down to the warp core ejection made my girlfriend spit soda.
posted by hanov3r at 9:52 PM on September 9, 2021 [5 favorites]


I haven’t laughed as hard as when they pulled out the tiny little keys in a good long time

also where’d they get all that budget for the driving-around shots anyway
posted by DoctorFedora at 6:13 AM on September 10, 2021 [2 favorites]


Speaking of the car chase, I always love it when people scream strangely-specific things like "FINE MEN'S CLOTHING!" when speeding past them. I expect some of these lines to enter our household rotation, alongside "STEALEROFMONEYFROMTHECHURCHCOLLECTIONPLATE!"
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 7:45 AM on September 10, 2021 [2 favorites]


"Kirk + Spock" It's officially canon, folks.

I haven't seen anything mentioned in interviews, but also haven't had time to look either. Does anyone know if they even considered making the bar carving be "Kirk / Spock" at all? Perhaps they wanted to and it was vetoed by the higher ups in favor of "+"?

--------------------

Speaking of the car chase, I always love it when people scream strangely-specific things like "FINE MEN'S CLOTHING!" when speeding past them.

"The new Oldsmobiles are in early this year."

--------------------

One thing that I appreciate is like TAS before it, they're not limited by a latex appliance budget when it comes to showing various Federation species. Want to put a Mic Fleetwood Fish Person on screen for a few seconds? You totally can. Along with a dozen other single episode deep cut alien designs.

And for anyone who's been following my stories about my cat Hennessey across various Fanfare posts, he did watch this episode with us, and perked up when T'Ana let out her profane rant at the Dooplers, because he too is a cat who says loud angry things at times (mostly five to ten minutes before meal time, his clock is fast).
posted by radwolf76 at 11:49 AM on September 10, 2021 [1 favorite]


Someone really needs to dub "Can't Turn You Loose" over that car chase scene!
posted by SansPoint at 4:59 PM on September 10, 2021 [2 favorites]


[That said, where are the non-commissioned Starfleet enlisted members? Why aren't they the Lower Decks crew?]

Gene Roddenberry succeeded where Admiral Hyman G. Rickover failed: he created a navy made entirely of commissioned officers.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 3:58 PM on September 11, 2021 [2 favorites]


Chief O'Brien would like to have a word with you about the commissioned vs. enlisted distinction.
posted by Ignorantsavage at 10:07 PM on September 12, 2021 [1 favorite]




Chief O'Brien would like to have a word with you about the commissioned vs. enlisted distinction.

Granted! But it's not like the show ever gave us any other NCOs.

NCOs should be the backbone of the organization. It's nuts that the Trek universe only gives us senior officers, JOs, and redshirts. It's as if the technical career tracks were all taken over by JOs.
posted by suelac at 1:55 PM on September 13, 2021 [1 favorite]


But it's not like the show ever gave us any other NCOs

There were a few others, both active and inactive. Sergey Rozhenko bonded with O'Brien over being NCOs, we had Chief Kelso running the transporter when the exo-comps were trying to save Picard and LaForge, and there was a CPO friend of O'Brien's drinking with him in Ten-Forward while the whole crew was suffering from sleep dep in "Night Terrors".
posted by hanov3r at 2:21 PM on September 13, 2021


There's so much to love in this episode that I think people are missing the MORN! (They almost hitting him while car-chasing through the mall, and then he's passed out at the bar later on.)
posted by Navelgazer at 3:54 PM on May 5, 2022


Quality SKANT content. I've only dug into this series somewhat recently and it keeps being just silly fun. And yes to the strangely specific things they were yelling as they do the Blues-Brothers-in-the-mall thing.
posted by rmd1023 at 6:18 AM on December 30, 2023


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