By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Mike McMahan joined the legions of Star Trek fans who mourned the premature cancellation of Lower decksits flagship animated comedy that has always been the best part of the NuTrek era. In a recent interview with TrekMovie, he confirmed that he plans to bide his time and, with the help of those same fans, make a serious effort to eventually bring his series back. This would do more than bring back a murder comedy…the return of Lower decks would, in many ways, save Star Trek from the most pernicious enemy it has ever faced: Paramount.
In this same interview, Mike McMahan pointed out that the end of Lower decks isn’t the end of the franchise’s new content, mentioning how excited he is to see Section 31, Starfleet Academyand other seasons of Strange new worlds. Why, then, do we boldly proclaim that it will take the return of Lower decks save Star Trek? Frankly, we don’t need the telepathic powers of a Betazoid to know that. Primordial executives have no idea what they’re doing with this beloved franchise.
The Future of Star Trek
Let’s start with an important warning: Strange new worlds is a near-perfect show, and we join Mike McMahan in his enthusiasm for it. However, the future of the entire franchise cannot rest on the well-toned shoulders of Ansom Mount’s Captain Pike, and it is important for Paramount to focus on future productions to keep the franchise healthy. Unfortunately, everything we know about current productions points to the dire need for something, anything, to save Star Trek from its current creators.
Section 31 seems like a creative misfire for many reasons, including the fact that a planned series around the Oscar-winning actor Michelle Yeoh was suddenly downgraded to a TV movie that no one really cares about. Once it’s released, it’ll be hard to thrill to a cast of new characters we’ll likely never see again. And like many Trek fans, we’re not entirely comfortable with the idea of ​​the franchise’s Section 31, as such a rogue, wet-work-intensive Starfleet organization seems contrary to all fundamental idealism of the franchise.
Starfleet Academy has built a pretty awesome cast, but ultimately it’s a spin-off of Discoverya series that turned off so many fans that Paramount prematurely canceled what was once its flagship series. Beyond that and an untitled Desk-type series, only known production on the horizon is a similarly untitled Star Trek origin film featuring humanity’s first encounters with aliens and the formation of the Federation. Considering that we have already discussed this subject with First contact And Businessit’s obvious that Paramount is willing to cannibalize its beloved shows and movies in a desperate attempt to create a new blockbuster movie.
How Mike McMahan can save Star Trek
All of which brings us to why Mike McMahan’s plans might be the only thing that can save Star Trek. Now that Paramount has made it clear that we will never get the Star Trek Legacy shows that everyone wants, Lower decks remains the only NuTrek content ready to consistently interact with our favorite classic characters. After all, this is the show that brought back everyone from Garak to Bashir to Tom Paris to the TNG bad boy on which it is based.
And even if you don’t like Mike McMahan’s sense of humor, it’s always been clear that Lower decks was made by people who grew up as fans of Gene Roddenberry’s hit franchise. These writers consistently manage to tell new stories while delving into old traditions in a way that does not disrupt the existing canon. It may not seem that difficult on paper, but when you look at all the upheavals happening in Discovery and even Strange new worldsit’s easier to respect the hard work that goes into each image of Lower decks.
The return of this series could save Star Trek. In fact, it increasingly seems like it’s the only thing that can do it. Although we look forward to the laughs that Tawny Newsome will bring to her upcoming live-action Trek show (the aforementioned film Desk-like series), we can’t wait for her to return to voice the rebellious Mariner. Judging by the multitude of mistakes Paramount has made with this franchise in recent years, it’s clear they could learn a thing or two from Mariner about breaking the rules, especially if it means firing us (like Lower decks so often) during the golden age of Star Trek.
Source: TrekFilm
