On 6 August, 2020, we were introduced to the USS Cerritos, a California-class Starfleet vessel, in the Star Trek franchise’s second animated series, Lower Decks.

Written by the series showrunner, Mike McMahan, we are introduced to the crew as they go about conducting a Second Contact with the inhabitants of the planet Galar. Ensigns Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner (Tawny Newsome) run into problems on the surface while a strange virus infects the ship. So we get a bit of a zombie story while Boimler tumbles from one incident to another on the planet.

While filled with lightning-fast jokes and Trek trivia, both superficial and deep cuts, the series is also undeniably Trek, delivering a smart story laced with lots of humour even as it introduces us to this new ship and crew.

Deep cuts for the episode include a reference to Gary Mitchell (Where No Man Has Gone Before), an introduction of a Caitian doctor, a species last seen in The Animated Series, classical music (like The Monkees), and there are visual references including space suits akin to the ones seen in First Contact (fitting as this is the era the series is set). Not to mention all the obvious nods to the franchise with namechecks and familiar phrases being bandied about.

And I love that Boimler records logs about everything, something he’s made fun of for.

We get to meet Tendi (Noel Wells), a new Orion ensign, science division, and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), engineering division.

And while the Lower Deck characters are the main drive of the series, we also get to meet a new command crew headed by Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), Mariner’s mother, First Officer Ransom (Jerry O’Connell), Security Chief Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore), and Dr. T’Ana (Gillian Vigman).

Envoys was written by Chris Kula and first aired on 13 August, 2020.

The episode opens with a bit of a nod to The Next Generation’s The Child before introducing a transdimensional being who is exhausted by Mariner pretty quickly.

Rutherford tries out other departments to see where he best fits in an effort to help out Tendi. Comedy ensues as well as the belief that Starfleet has a place for everyone, and supports and lifts each of its members.

Boimler continues to struggle with his self-confidence issues while Mariner continues to prove she’s the ultimate bad-ass when they serve as envoys to a Klingon, K’orin (Jess Harnell), a Klingon that Mariner has worked with before. When K’orin steals their shuttle, the pair have to go after him, and Boimler wonders how much he can actually offer Starfleet.

There’s a horgon, a reference to General Chang, a visual nod to TNG and the Kelvin timeline, dress uniforms, and a few deep cuts of alien species. Khitomer and Section 31 get namechecked. It’s full of references while delivering a fun story.

In the end, both Boimler and Rutherford learn where they belong, but it’s an absolute delight watching the journey.

Temporal Edict first aired on 20 August, 2020. It was written by David Ihlenfeld and David Wright.

Buffer time is at the heart of the episode. It’s the actual time something will take and the buffer time built around it – thanks, Scotty. Discovering it- thanks, Boimler- it’s been eliminated, and things aren’t going well on the Cerritos because of it.

Is buffer time essential to a well-running ship?

And things start to come to a head between Mariner and Ransom when they head out on an Away Team mission.

Boimler hums the theme to The Next Generation, a solid Kirk trope reference and the O’Brien reference to close out the episode… gold.

Lower Decks, with just one episode proved that Trek can be funny, after three episodes proved that it was also Star Trek. I am going to love revisiting this series.