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Adiós Cerritos
When a still unnamed new animated Trek series was announced in October 2018, I was cautiously optimistic. I could imagine that the Star Trek Universe was big enough for an animated comedy. Well, the first Lower Decks trailer from July 2020 with its focus on swearing, farts, slime, zombies and similarly lame jokes temporarily discouraged me. Still, I was never really concerned that the show could damage the continuity or harm the franchise in any way. This is in part because I underestimated Lower Decks and didn't expect it to be more than a side show, a light-hearted companion to live-action Trek. I never imagined how relevant it would become for the franchise and the fandom and how well it would stack up against the live-action series (irrespective of its canon status).
Lower Decks embraces the traditional optimism of Star Trek like no other recent series in my book. It is free from dystopian aspects as they pervade the settings, the characters and the stories of the modern live-action shows. And as much as Lower Decks loves to comment on the downsides, especially concerning the underappreciation of low-ranking personnel, the series successfully establishes Starfleet as a family. Tendi, Rutherford, Boimler and Mariner may have their disagreements, but they are in it together, and so is the bridge crew - largely without narcissistic solo efforts or hidden agendas. The feeling of camaraderie is as strong here as it hasn't been since 2005.
Character arcs are the spice of modern series of any genre, and the ones of Lower Decks are more consequentially developed and stronger in some regards than those in live-action Trek. Take Mariner's survivor guilt (as revealed in "The Inner Fight") or Rutherford's gloomy back story (that finally comes to light in "Reflections"), which for me work better than Burnham's or Tilly's developments in Discovery. And even though their faces consist of just a few lines, Boimler and Tendi feel almost as real as Stamets or Saru (no offense meant).
I have probably mentioned it in many of my reviews, but I wish to reemphasize how faithfully Lower Decks recreates the world of the 24th century (in-universe) and of the Golden Age of 90's Trek (in real life). Starships, sets and props are reproduced or newly created with loving attention to established details, although everything would be possible. In many ways, this animated series is more authentic than multi-million dollar productions that strive to "update" Star Trek to something more bombastic and sometimes hardly recognizable on the visual side.
In light of its authenticity and of its countless in-jokes it is almost ironical that Lower Decks is the one among the recent Star Trek series that explores the most strange new worlds and overall relies the least on nostalgia.
Lower Decks does have its share of stories or lines of dialogue that are seen by some as mockery of Star Trek, but I think it is in line with how fans have been talking all along. Lower Decks is made by fans (the creators leave no doubt about that), it is made for fans (casual viewers don't get half of the jokes), and it is about fans on a meta level (because Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford are into everything Starfleet). It has its heart in the right place. Thank you very much to Mike McMahan and his team for bringing us this show!
Much of my above praise applies to Prodigy likewise, but Lower Decks has a special place in my heart - because of the characters and the kind of humor that has grown on me. I admit it took a while. Also, Lower Decks helped me through a difficult time in my life when I was recovering from a serious injury and didn't know whether I would be able to return to a normal life again.
Season 5 of Lower Decks will be the last one. I can't imagine this of all series was canceled due to low ratings, to negative feedback or to a lack of story ideas. Maybe we just have to accept that nothing is supposed to last longer than that in an ever-changing media landscape. Still, I am sad to see Lower Decks of all series go. Although I can keep telling myself that Strange New Worlds isn't bad, that Starfleet Academy will not suck and that Section 31 perhaps just isn't for me, I will miss the endearing crew of the Cerritos and I will miss the authentic Trek feel and spirit of the show.
Bernd Schneider
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11 Feb 2025
The Jem'hadar rifle also got used as the basis for both of the Star Trek Enterprise Starfleet rifles before the MACOs and the MACO rifle.
It's easiest to see on the version that's got the more conical muzzle assembly, which got used a lot less often (and is probably just the pulse rifle version of the EM-33 pulse pistols), but is still apparent on the much more often used double barreled version that's got a beam option matching the phase pistols from the upper barrel.Which kind of retroactively explains its presence on Kirk's wall - he's got what could probably be a historical Earth/Earth Starfleet weapon, not one from a species that wouldn't be encountered for most of a century.
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10 Feb 2025
I absolutely love the sonata played in "Latent Image". Do you know if the recording is available anywhere?
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07 Feb 2025
The funny thing about the "small cosmetic details" of Qo'noS One from Star Trek VI is that those details actually are meant to differentiate the Chancellor's ship from other K't'ingas, which one would expect of a martial culture that has always been big on accolades and decoration like the Klingons.
Visual effects supervisor Bill George stated as much in both the January 1992 issue of American Cinematographer and Charting the Undiscovered Country: The Making of Trek VI.
"The model needed to be repainted anyway, so I proposed that we make it look very distinct from those in the first film, especially since it was one of the few models we could alter to look new for this show. We did some research into military costuming, and came up with the concept that when these ships return victorious from battle, the Klingons build some sort of epaulet onto their wings or paint a new stripe on. We painted the model brown and red with gold highlights, then added golden etched brass epaulets on it, based on some of the helmet designs we'd seen. It contrasts nicely with the Enterprise, which is very smooth and monochromatic and cool, while this Klingon ship is very regal and ostentatious and warm."
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06 Feb 2025
One of my favorites of your designs. Could easily be a predecessor to the Miranda line.
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03 Feb 2025
As soon as young Mirror Georgiou reunited with her family, I thought "Alright, how long before she gratuitously kills her family, because everything has to be gratuitously evil in the Mirror Universe." Surely enough...
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02 Feb 2025
Thanks for the hint!
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01 Feb 2025
One note: with the way engineering hull tapers into the shuttlebay, I think that the two rearmost windows on either side of the hull in the top view should follow that curve - the way they do in Masao's version.
On a more general level, I've always disliked how the original concept had TMP era swept pylons, and I'm glad to see them gone in the latest revision. -
31 Jan 2025
And there are a few new tweaks to it.
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29 Jan 2025
This is my favorite
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29 Jan 2025
When we place TMP, TWoK, Galaxy Quest and ST VI on top, the order in which we arrange the rest may be - for me - random.
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Jörg identifies the Paintings and Photos in Picard's Study in PIC season 1 in a new article.09 Feb 2025
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I have improved two more of Jörg's oldest TNG observation articles with more references and better pictures: Observations in TNG: "Home Soil" and Observations in TNG: "When the Bough Breaks".02 Feb 2025
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Just a quick note that I have added the ships and other facts from "Section 31" to various pages of the site.01 Feb 2025
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Final update to the EAS Fleet Yards: high-resolution orthos of Asia class, Eclipse class and Asia refit.27 Jan 2025
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Here is my full-spoiler review of "Section 31" with Michelle Yeoh. The comments are open, as are the guest reviews. Please share your opinion on the streaming movie. Anyone who thinks it doesn't suck?25 Jan 2025
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Here is a new list: All Star Trek Movies Ranked. Feel free to post your personal order in the comments.17 Jan 2025
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I have added more columns to the Episode Master List, such as "Air date" and "Episode ID", which allow to sort the episodes and movies in still different ways.10 Jan 2025
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Proud to present the configurable Episode Master List of all currently 907 episode/movie reviews at EAS, with links to the review pages and pictures. I may add more columns and more filter functions in the future. The script is linked from each episode index page, such as the one of Lower Decks and should facilitate finding a particular episode a lot. Note that the default series order is EAS-specific (the same as they appear in the menu). As I mentioned, its is possible to add more options but that will require external data I don't have yet.04 Jan 2025
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Happy New Year 2025! I haven't prepared new content yet, but here are some highlights from 2024 you may have missed. There is an article identifying the Chinese Writing in Noonien Soong's Labs. Jörg explores The History of the Betazoid Emblem. All Fleet Charts are up to date (for the first time in years). Also, be sure to check out many new images in the Starship Gallery. And as always, the Starship Database is complete with all designs from the latest seasons (DIS, PRO, LOW).01 Jan 2025
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There are several new observations by Jörg, more references and better pictures in the article on Observations in TNG: "Clues".30 Dec 2024
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Two more of the oldest TNG Observation articles have been upgraded: "Angel One" and "11001001": better pictures, more references, some additions.27 Dec 2024
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Merry Christmas! I wish all of you and your families joyful and peaceful holidays. The season 5 updates to the database are complete with the Lower Decks Alien Ship Classes.24 Dec 2024
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The Lower Decks Starfleet & Federation Ship Classes have been updated with references from season 5. I have also added a write-up on the controversial question whether DIS Klingons exist in our universe or not.23 Dec 2024
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I am going to add all ships from Lower Decks season 5 to the Starship Database. As a first step, here are the Lower Decks Multiverse Ship Classes.22 Dec 2024
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Lower Decks ends with a spectacular finale that includes various weird transformations, among which one is particularly shocking and may constitute a paradigm shift in continuity matters, depending on how we look at it. Don't read on if you want to avoid a major spoiler. Here is my review of LOW: "The New Next Generation".19 Dec 2024
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Another old article by Jörg with more references, better pictures and some corrections: Observations in TNG: "Devil's Due".15 Dec 2024
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14 Feb 2025
Here's a comparison of the hull of the USS Enterprise-D (using the 6-feet model) in the original ⬆️ and remastered ⬇️ versions of #StarTrekTNG's "Galaxy's Child". This is one of the closest shots we ever get of this part of the saucer on the show.
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14 Feb 2025
I love my daily #StarTrekTOS bridge overhead display and #StarTrekTNG right-handed phaser research! :-)
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14 Feb 2025
Kirk and Spock's wordless reaction shots as Dr. McCoy goes bonkers in #StarTrekTOS' "The City on the Edge of Forever"↖️↗️ were taken from earlier episodes, namely "The Naked Time"↘️ (during the restart explosion) and "Dagger of the Mind"↙️ (as Van Gelder enters the bridge).
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14 Feb 2025
#StarTrekTNG's "The Bonding"↖️↗️ and "Booby Trap"↙️↘️ only feature the much more common left-handed type 2 Cobra phasers. The former ↗️ is the first time that more than one type 2 Cobra phaser is seen on screen at the same time.
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14 Feb 2025
Here are all the bridge overhead displays seen in #StarTrekTOS' "The City on the Edge of Forever". No surprises, no new images, just some familiar displays and "some element’s emission spectrum" on the left. :-)
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14 Feb 2025
I am currently researching the appearances of left-handed and right-handed type 2 Cobra phasers in #StarTrekTNG's "The Hunted" and I can already say that this is the motherlode of right-handed phaser appearances, I will write about the phasers in this episode for days... :-)
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13 Feb 2025
So far, I assumed that only #StarTrekTNG's "The Ensigns of Command"⬆️ featured a colourful assortment of isolinear chips in contrast to the normal yellow, blue and green ones. Now I found a second appearance of those uncharacteristically multicolored chips in "The Hunted"⬇️. They will soon be gone.
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13 Feb 2025
The familiar pearlescent painting, which was originally seen in Worf's quarters in "Peak Performance"↖️, appears for the first time in Geordi's quarters in "Galaxy's Child"↗️. It will alternate between Data's ("Silicon Avatar"↙️) and Geordi's quarters ("Aquiel"↘️) in future seasons.
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13 Feb 2025
The left-handed type 2 Cobra phaser, which would appear in most of the #StarTrekTNG season 3-7, #StarTrekDS9 season 1-3 and #StarTrekVOY season 1 episodes, finally makes its debut in "The Survivors", where only Worf is seen with the phaser on the away missions to Rana IV.
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13 Feb 2025
There's an interesting trend that happens in some late season 1 episodes of #StarTrekTOS: Bridge overhead displays that originally appeared on the smaller Science + Communications displays ("A Taste of Armageddon"⬆️) start to appear on the wider port overhead displays ("Errand of Mercy"⬇️).
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New Article: Paintings and Photos in Picard's Study - Jörg identifies the Paintings and Photos in Picard's Study in PIC season 1 in a new article. Identification of Picard's paintings and photos in PIC season 109 Feb 2025
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Update: Observations in "Home Soil" and in "When the Bough Breaks" - I have improved two more of Jörg's oldest TNG observation articles with more references and better pictures: Observations in TNG: "Home Soil" and Observations in TNG: "When the Bough Breaks". Observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Home Soil"02 Feb 2025
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"Section 31" Database Updates - Just a quick note that I have added the ships and other facts from "Section 31" to various pages of the site. Index for the starship database at EAS, the definitive reference for Star Trek's ships01 Feb 2025
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Final Update to EAS Fleet Yards - Final update to the EAS Fleet Yards: high-resolution orthos of Asia class, Eclipse class and Asia refit. Asia-class starship - designed by Bernd27 Jan 2025
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Review of "Section 31" - Here is my full-spoiler review of "Section 31" with Michelle Yeoh. The comments are open, as are the guest reviews. Please share your opinion on the streaming movie. Anyone who thinks it doesn't suck? Section 31 synopsis and review25 Jan 2025
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New Ranking: All Star Trek Movies Ranked - Here is a new list: All Star Trek Movies Ranked. Feel free to post your personal order in the comments. The ranking of Star Trek movies according to yours truly17 Jan 2025
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30 years ago (well, a few months later because we had to wait for the tape), and my arguably most intense Star Trek pilot episode experience still today. (caps from Trekcore)16 Jan 2025
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New Episode Master List - Proud to present the configurable Episode Master List of all currently 907 episode/movie reviews at EAS, with links to the review pages and pictures. I may add more columns and more filter functions in the future. The script is linked from each episode index page, such as the one of Lower Decks and should facilitate finding a particular episode a lot. Note that the default series order is EAS-specific (the same as they appear in the menu). As I mentioned, its is possible to add more options but that will require external data I don't have yet.04 Jan 2025
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Happy New Year! - Happy New Year 2025! I haven't prepared new content yet, but here are some highlights from 2024 you may have missed. There is an article identifying the Chinese Writing in Noonien Soong's Labs. Jörg explores The History of the Betazoid Emblem. All Fleet Charts are up to date (for the first time in years). Also, be sure to check out many new images in the Starship Gallery. And as always, the Starship Database is complete with all designs from the latest seasons (DIS, PRO, LOW). Index for the starship gallery at EAS - only the best diagrams, photos and screen caps31 Dec 2024
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Update: Observations in "Clues" - There are several new observations by Jörg, more references and better pictures in the article on Observations in TNG: "Clues". Observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Clues"30 Dec 2024
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Update: Observations in "Angel One" and in "11001001" - Two more of the oldest TNG Observation articles have been upgraded: "Angel One" and "11001001": better pictures, more references, some additions. Observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Angel One"27 Dec 2024
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Update: Lower Decks Alien Ship Classes - Merry Christmas! I wish all of you and your families joyful and peaceful holidays. The season 5 updates to the database are complete with the Lower Decks Alien Ship Classes. Listing of all alien starships in Star Trek: Lower Decks24 Dec 2024
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Update: Lower Decks Starfleet & Federation Ship Classes - The Lower Decks Starfleet & Federation Ship Classes have been updated with references from season 5. I have also added a write-up on the controversial question whether DIS Klingons exist in our universe or not. Listing of all Starfleet & Federation ships in Star Trek: Lower Decks23 Dec 2024
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New Page: Lower Decks Multiverse Ship Classes - I am going to add all ships from Lower Decks season 5 to the Starship Database. As a first step, here are the Lower Decks Multiverse Ship Classes. Listing of all alternate universe ships from Star Trek: Lower Decks season 522 Dec 2024
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Review of LOW: "The New Next Generation" - Lower Decks ends with a spectacular finale that includes various weird transformations, among which one is particularly shocking and may constitute a paradigm shift in continuity matters, depending on how we look at it. Don't read on if you want to avoid a major spoiler. Here is my review of LOW: "The New Next Generation". Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 episode guide and reviews19 Dec 2024
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Update: Observations in TNG: "Devil's Due" - Another old article by Jörg with more references, better pictures and some corrections: Observations in TNG: "Devil's Due". Observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Devil's Due"15 Dec 2024
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Review of LOW: "Fissure Quest" - Read my review of LOW: "Fissure Quest", an enjoyable detour to a ship with surprising crew members, of whom some work better for me than others. In any case, I am looking forward very much to the promised "gigantic finale"! Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 episode guide and reviews12 Dec 2024
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45 years ago: world premiere of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". The movie set standards that are still valid today, and without which today's Star Trek couldn't possibly exist. 45 years ago: world premiere of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". The movie set standards that are still valid today, and without which today's Star Trek couldn't possibly exist.07 Dec 2024
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