Critic Reviews

Not every joke lands perfectly, but so much of Lower Decks‘ humor is impressively well-calibrated to celebrate this franchise for its quirks, while also poking fun at concepts that are relatable no matter the century, like boring business meetings, professional jealousies, and awkward first dates. It’s not easy, trying to find a new way to sing Star Trek‘s song, but so far Lower Decks has found a way to nimbly balance some tricky concepts and look good doing it.

This may not be the best “Trek” series ever, but based on the first four episodes it might be the most “Trek” series ever. It isn’t a riff on Starfleet shenanigans, it’s the real deal, raw and undiluted.

Season 4 broaches, (and in some cases reintroduces) some of Star Trek's biggest moral quandaries, and faces them head-on with bold and unabashed honesty. Amid drunken adventures, spicy language, and horny co-workers, lessons about trusting yourself and your crew, seeing the best in each other, and embracing life to the fullest are what really make Lower Decks sing.

"Lower Decks" lets the characters remain professionally beleaguered, while they work on the fabric and nature of their friendship. This is a long way of saying that "Lower Decks" is still great. "Lower Decks" has also remained savvy about its obscure Trek references.

All in all, Star Trek: Lower Decks is going out at the very top of its game. While it's devastating to see this series come to an end, it is, at the very least, satisfying to see the series coming to a close on a high note, leaving the audience wanting more.

The five episodes of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5 provided to critics for review showcase a series still operating at the height of its powers. Once again, each episode is a smart, funny standalone adventure in a new cook or cranny of the "Trek" universe, with one overarching storyline loosely tying the whole thing together.

Lower Decks finds a lot about the long-running sci-fi franchise worthy of lampooning, but mostly it’s a fun, imaginative and clever look at this beloved universe from a very different perspective.

There are still the occasional clunkers, and the trick of having characters occasionally shout out overly-excited dialogue bursts is never quite as funny as the writers and performers seem to think, but overall, the show has found its strengths by leaning into character humor when it isn’t poking around the edges of Federation prestige.

The result is a run on track to be among this show’s most hilarious and heartfelt. Star Trek: Lower Decks may not outwardly be what one would expect from the series, but much like its scrappy crew, at its core, it’s Starfleet through and through.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is a hilarious look at the people who make Starfleet run and never get credit. And it’s the first Trek product since The Voyage Home to really do a good job skewering the franchise’s self-important streak.