'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Gets Release Date On CBS All Access; USS Cerritos Revealed - TrekMovie.com
By: Jessica McKenna, Tawny Newsome (TrekMovie. com)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
| July 1, 2020 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff
Finally, there is news on new Star Trek headed to CBS All Access, with the first season of the first animated comedy from the franchise.
Head back to the 24th century in August
Today CBS announced Star Trek: Lower Decks will arrive on CBS All Access on Thursday, August 6th. Following the premiere, new episodes of the 10-episode first season of the half-hour animated comedy will arrive each Thursday.
CBS also released a teaser art poster today, giving fans the first look at the USS Cerritos, the central ship from the show. The poster features the new tagline for the show: "Rarely going where no one has gone before," which is a riff on the premise of the show set on a ship that specializes in "second contacts."
You may notice that the digital teaser image is styled to look like one of those fold-out posters you would get from magazines, including creases.
And CBS has provided an updated summary of the show:
Developed by Emmy Award winner Mike McMahan ("Rick and Morty," "Solar Opposites"), STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet's least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos , in 2380. Ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, and Tendi have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, often while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies.
Pictured (l-r): Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, Boiler, Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Freeman, Ensign Barnes played by Jessica McKenna, Tawny Newsome as Ensign Mariner, Gillian Vigman as Dr. T'ana
The Starfleet crew residing in the "lower decks" of the U.S.S. Cerritos , includes "Ensign Beckett Mariner," voiced by Tawny Newsome, "Ensign Brad Boimler," voiced by Jack Quaid, "Ensign Tendi," voiced by Noel Wells and "Ensign Rutherford," voiced by Eugene Cordero. The Starfleet characters that comprise the ship's bridge crew include "Captain Carol Freeman," voiced by Dawnn Lewis, "Commander Jack Ransom," voiced by Jerry O'Connell, "Lieutenant Shaxs," voiced by Fred Tatasciore and "Doctor T'Ana," voiced by Gillian Vigman.
Pictured (l-r): Tawny Newsome as Ensign Mariner, Noel Wells as Ensign Tendi, Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, Jack Quaid as Ensign Boimler
Last week it was announced that Lower Decks will air on CTV Sci-Fi in Canada, as well as be available for streaming on Crave. It hasn't been confirmed, but it is likely the Canadian premiere will be timed to the premiere in the USA, as it has been for Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Discovery . International distribution outside of the USA and Canada for Lower Decks has not yet been announced.
UPDATE: Animated announcement
CBS also released a brief animated version of the announcement on Twitter.
Rarely Going Where No One Has Gone Before
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An animated comedy series with 30 minute episodes?
A Star Trek sitcom?
A Trekcom?
Still no word on Discovery's season 3 premiere date, but this starts August 6th. I guess they can produce animated shows from home.
What say you Trek fans?
Not feeling it.
I dunno. I'll watch it if it makes me laugh. I can't get enough of humorous, feel-good distractions these days, to help take my mind off of the sickeningly idiotic mess that the world has turned into.
It does sound kind of funny.
It might be enjoyable. Then again, it might suck. I'll give it a chance, though, with full knowledge that it's not meant to be serious Trek.
I'd watch out of curiosity. I know it's meant as a "lighter" trek series. But I'm not sure if I would be able to get into it.
Reminds me of the old Star Trek: The Animated Series. That was a good series in its own right. Doing something like that with different, but otherwise "known" trek characters or stories might be good. Like a series focusing on the Capt. Calhoun character from the Star Trek novels.
What - the Simpsons meets the Jetsons?
Hummmm. I'd probably pass on this one.
Guess it takes care of the social distancing thing though.
I'd much rather someone do a mini-series on Heinlein's Citizen of the Galaxy.
That was called 'Futurama'.
I think if this was a reboot of the original animated Star Trek series I'd likely watch. As it is, it's likely going to be a huge miss for the franchise. I could be wrong though, Warner Brothers keeps churning out Teen Titans and other comedic takes on their Batman franchise, who knows, maybe CBS can cash in on some of the kid market that was lost to Netflix.
Or maybe a series focusing on the continuation of Capt. Kirk's adventure after ST: TMP? Or if they did a continuation of the Kelvan Trek universe using the same actors (except Anton Yelchin of course)?
I stand corrected - er well ah sit corrected anyway.
I have been downloading DS-9 from BBC America so I can watch the episodes in chronological order, as that is the way they have been broadcasting them of late. Did this with Voyager and the story lines made much more sense.
Adding Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine gave that show a kick in the butt that it sorely needed. Kes just didn't cut it.
Kes was a neglected character. With her newfound mental abilities, she could have been pretty awesome. But those abilities only seemed to show up when it was convenient; they never seemed like a permanent part of her. The writers didn't seem to know what to do with her.
She wasn't overly interesting to begin with. She seemed bland. Sometimes Vulcan-like in her portrayal. She seemed to be more eye candy, but not nearly as much as Seven. She was cute with Neelix, but that was about it. And I always took issue with the 9-year lifespan of Ocampans too.
I thought she was interesting, or had the potential to be so. Yes, I think she was meant to be eye candy, but a series of really bad wigs was probably working against that. I thought the relationship with Neelix was a bit creepy, TBH. As far as the short lifespan, it would have been interesting to see if, once not provided for by the Caretaker, the Ocampa regained their neglected physical and mental abilities, including the reported longer lifespan of their ancestors.
Potential, yes. But the writers never really developed her as a character.
She actually looked good in episodes that featured her with long hair.
I suppose it had its moments.
I think the short lifespan was the natural trait of the Ocampan species. But it was said their mental prowess declined from lack of use. Having Kes slowly regain and develop that ability over time being away from the Caretaker or her people, rather than having it suddenly flare up out of control might have her more interesting.
My thoughts exactly. I remember feeling bad for Jennifer Lien because of that.
There was one episode where it was mentioned that the Ocampa used to live for longer. "Cold Fire", maybe?
The writers missed something else about the Ocampa. If each female Ocampa only has one pregnancy (as we're told), unless there are a lot of multiple births, the species would die out in pretty short order. They'd reduce their numbers by roughly half each generation.
I'll have to check. Kes once claimed no Ocampan ever lived past age 9. Although, 1 Ocampan who worked with the Caretaker's partner claimed to be 14.
That's why I took issue with the Ocamapn lifespan. But it's assumed Ocampans only live for 9 Sol years.
Hmmm a Star Trek comedy cartoon, I'll probably give the first episode a shot when it comes out but I can't say I find the concept interesting.
Not so sure about this one. Not crazy about the animated format, and humor is something Trek was always wise to use sparingly. Comedy was not generally their forte. I mean, their attempts at comedy gave us Neelix.
At least Neelix was an interesting character who had a few good storylines.
"Trouble with Tribbles" anyone?
It looks more cartoonish than animated. Star Trek: The Animated Series worked as an animation.
Neelix worked when he was trying to be a serious character. When they tried to use him for humor, he became the Jar Jar Binks of Trek.
Ok, "Trouble With Tribbles" was funny, but mostly in a campy sort of way, but that was the 60s for ya. I thought the humor in the rest of Trek was done better, with a lighter hand. When they tried too hard, like with Q or Ensign Tilly, it could get annoying (although I thought both definitely had their funny moments).
The exceptions, in my book, were Quark and Odo. They were a hoot, and they never really overplayed their hands when being humorous.
I haven't seen TAS. Please don't take my Trek card!
Fair enough. Although, Jar Jar of ST might be a bit harsh, Lol. I tend to think Neelix was genuinely an affable individual. But he had a tragic past which he covered up with a possibly exaggerated lightheartedness and cheeriness. You can see how his past experiences really bother him when his sunny disposition showed cracks.
Humor in Trek was mainly reserved for the "lighter moments." Usually the banter between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. But when it was used during an episode, it was used sparingly and at the right moments, which enhanced the episode, rather than being the focus of it. "Tribbles" was the opposite." It was more comical with moments of seriousness. But it was the exception rather than the norm and it worked because of that. But it was a really good episode too.
Q is arguably the best secondary character to come out of Trek. When Q was being more comical, you can tell he was having fun with the crew, especially Picard. Plus John DeLancie's and Patrick Stewart's chemistry was awesome, which made the comical moments as enjoyable as the serious ones. Remember the TNG episode, "Tapestry?" One of the best episodes of TNG as well as great character builder episodes for both Picard and Q.
That's an example of exact opposites working well together. They may have "hated" each other, but they also acknowledged their friendship in very subtle ways. They definitely played off each other quite well.
You're forgiven. TAS might be hard to find, as it came out almost 40 years ago. But the series was quite good in its own right (despite the limited animation quality of the time) and even won awards too. It definitely carried on TOS well in story and spirit. By chance, have you seen the fan produced Trek series on YouTube: Star Trek Continues (previously called Phase II & New Voyages)?
For the most part, I actually like Q, and I loved John de Lancie in the role. I'm not sure anyone else could have done it so well. But I also ground my teeth right along with Picard every time Q showed up, because really, he's just a troll with omnipotence (or seeming omnipotence).
Q has gone all the way from james t kirk to picard.
I would say he is omnipotent enough,,, lol
As did I.
I doubt anyone else could have as well.
That was part of his charm. Especially since it contrasted with Picard's seriousness. But that's what made their chemistry work so well. But if you'll notice, when Q showed up, he did have a lesson for Picard & crew hidden under his "trolling." That made his appearances and the episodes he was in all the more powerful. The TNG series finale really tied it all in quite well with Picard & Q.
"Jean-Luc, sometimes I think the only reason I come here is to listen to these wonderful speeches of yours." ---Q to Picard, "True Q" (S.6, ep. 6)
Well, Picard was quite the orator.
I hate him. Well, not the character, but the concept of the character, the idea of it. The god-like omnipotence thing is more fantasy than science fiction. I'm not fond of full-blown magic in Star Trek.
It's on CBS All Access. I think they have everything but the JJ movies now.
There did seem to be limits to his power, and he was subject to sanctions for using it counter to the continuum's wishes. But yeah, the whole idea could be a little deus ex machina - ish.
That he was. Especially when he cited Shakespeare to woo Lwaxana Troi.
There have been other "omnipotent" characters in Trek. But Q pulled it off the best.
Thanks for sharing. I don't have CBS Access. Although I might get it at some point for the Trek series. But I do have TAS on DVD.
Give them time.
I read somewhere that they intentionally hired writers with comedic backgrounds, so it might not be completely lame.
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