STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS: SEASON ONE is the first animated Star Trek series in almost 50 years. It focuses on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships, the U.S.S. Cerritos, in 2380. Ensigns Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome, Space Force), Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid, “The Boys”), Ensign Samanthan Rutherford (Eugene Cordero, Kong: Skull Island) and Ensign D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells, “Master of None”) have to keep up with their duties and their social lives, while the ship is being rocked by a multitude of sci-fi anomalies. The Starfleet characters that comprise the ship’s bridge crew include “Captain Carol Freeman,” voiced by Dawnn Lewis (“The Rich & the Ruthless”); “Commander Jack Ransom,” voiced by Jerry O’Connell (“Billions”); “Lieutenant Shaxs,” voiced by Fred Tatasciore (“American Dad!”); and “Doctor T’Ana,” voiced by Gillian Vigman (“New Girl”).
For in-depth thoughts on Star Trek: Lower Decks – Season One, please see my colleague Martin Sexton’s review from its original streaming release here.
Video Quality
Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Complete First Season comes to Blu-Ray with a vibrant transfer that largely looks quite excellent. Colors are bright and bold throughout the season with some excellent nuance from episode to episode due to the adventures on deck. The series really knows how to utilize various hues when the crew members travel to these planets to make second contact. This is an immaculately clear presentation free of any dirt or debris, which is to be expected from a brand new series. Fine lines and details are crisp and maintained well without any bleeding. There does not appear to be any issues with banding. Star Trek: Lower Decks establishes its rich visual style and sharp presentation for this inaugural season, which looks great on Blu-Ray.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with an appropriately lively DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio lossless soundtrack. Dialogue is given priority in the track with a crisp, clear presentation in the center speaker that subtly creeps into surrounds during moments where different environments are being engaged. Music is incredibly immersive with stings accentuating certain scenes in the rear channels. Sound effects from creatures and other kinetic moments provide a nice punch in the low end that is appreciated. The show employs a good use of environmental effects that are directionally accurate within the mix. All in all, this is an excellent audio presentation that suits the show well.
Special Features
- Lower Decktionary
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- Joining Starfleet: A six-minute look at the origins of the series with the creative team which explores finding new voices in this franchise, honoring the original source material, the guide book for the series and more.
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- Aliens Among Us: A seven-and-a-half-minute dive into the various aliens featured on the show and the difficulty in bringing all of them to life in the sophomore episode. There’s some fun trivia about character names and performances in here.
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- The Animation Process: A eight-minute look at the efficiency and creativity needed to put together an episode of Lower Decks. This gives you good detail on the step-by-step process of creating an episode.
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- The Main Titles: A seven-minute immersion into the creation of the episode’s title sequence from the graphic design work to the new theme created for this entry into the franchise. There is some nice commentary about how pivotal the opening credits are for establishing the tone of the series.
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- Art Design: A five-minute look at character design and some of the artistic elements that help give the show its personality.
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- The Holodeck: A six-and-a-half-minute interview with the cast and creative team in which they reveal what Holodeck experience they would like, how characters use it, and the therapeutic ways it plays into the lives of the characters.
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- Division 14: A four-minute catch up with Division 14, who is tasked with dealing with all the unexpected mishaps. There are many funny moments to explore in this one as you hear the team discuss figuring out how far to go with it.
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- Deck Dynamics: A five-minute dive into the class division between the upper and lower deck, and how their dynamic fuels many of the storylines throughout the season.
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- The Music of Lower Decks: A six-minute exploration of how this series uses traditional themes to create something new for this series, along with the in-story movie featured in the series. It is worthwhile hearing the differences between scoring for animation versus live action, and comedy versus drama.
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- All In The Family: A six-and-a-half-minute big-picture look at the evolution of the crew and their relationships over the first season and how Lower Decks fits into the Star Trek mythology.
- Full Length Animatic: A full-length version of the episode “Second Contact” is provided in rough animatic form.
- Deleted Animatic: Two minutes of unused material from two episodes are provided here at its most basic stage.
- Crisis Point – The Rise of Vindicta Trailer: A minute-and-a-half parody trailer for the in-episode movie featured in episode nine. This is really well done and quite funny.
- Faces of the Fleet: A pretty substantial 25-minute featurette in which the cast and crew conduct a deep dive into the performers that bring to life the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos. Not only do you get further information on the characteristics of each character, but you gain insight into what specifically each performer brought to the voice role. This is one of the best supplements on the disc.
- Hiding In Plain Sight: An eight-minute look at all of the really clever Easter eggs that the creative team sprinkled throughout the show with freeze-frame commentary from the team to give some more context. There is so much blink-and-you-miss-it content in this series that you will be thankful for this one.
Final Thoughts
The idea to try to inject some more fun into the Star Trek franchise is a good one, and Lower Decks is a solid first step in a new direction. The series finds the hilarity in the material while also paying respect to everything that has come before it. There are moments where it feels like the series is trying to find its sea legs, but these ten episodes provide a lot to enjoy here with a lot of potential for the show to improve even further. CBS Home Entertainment has provided a Blu-Ray for this initial season that sports a stellar A/V presentation and some really entertaining special features. If you are a fan of Star Trek or just a fan of adult animation in general, this show is worth your time. Recommended
Star Trek: Lower Decks – The Complete First Season is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: CBS Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
