‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ Retro Recap – ‘Lower Decks’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

If one were to take a look at the main character of just about any story involving a ship and its crew, one would notice quite the fascinating constant. In that, the vast, vast, vast majority of them… center around the ship’s captain and their senior crew. And if by chance… it focuses on a junior officer, they don’t stay junior for all that long since they quickly find themselves thrust into leadership during a time of crisis. Making them part of the norm. Which isn’t a terrible thing by any means. Because we love seeing great leaders do great things or see great people reach their potential. But these stories do forget an important fact. In that… there are far more people aboard that ship than just the captain and the senior crew. There are cooks, noncommissioned officers and junior officers going about their day, and they have lives and stories to tell as well.
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But to date, only a handful of stories have taken the time to focus upon those stories and the Star Trek Universe is guilty of this as well. For so many of its stories rarely leave the bridge to see what life on a starship is like. But that all changed during season seven of Star Trek: The Next Generation. For the next episode in the series, ‘Lower Decks’, finally took us off the bridge to spend time with four young ensigns and one of Guinan’s employees in Ten Forward. Which made, for a fascinating episode. One that informed us that life outside the bridge, was vastly different. For instance, Ben’s journey, the Ten Forward attendant, informed us that not everyone wants to join Starfleet in the 24th Century. That some are content with just seeing the stars from lesser roles without the worries and pressures that come with the uniform and that was fascinating to learn.

Not to mention, our time with Ensigns Lavelle, Sito, Turik and Ogawa… offered up some amazing perspective on how things really run on a starship and likely a ship in real life. Wherein, the stresses of the bridge crew are near nonexistent aboard the lower decks. Since these officers, who were oft in the dark about the details we the audience are privy to, were worried more about performance and rank and a chance at their future in Starfleet. Not to mention, they did their jobs to a tee, knew better than to question what say, Data or Worf would challenge because they understood, they were at the beginning of their career and they needed to earn that right. If anything, this was just refreshing to watch through and through and truly adds depth to the entire franchise and it also served to remind us… of the dangers that accompany being a junior officer in Starfleet.

Since this episode also featured a harrowing sub plot involving Ensign Sito, who worked to redeem herself from the events of ‘The First Duty’ by agreeing to a risky escort mission with a Cardassian operative who had grown tired of war. And what made this so harrowing… was the sheer fact that Sito lost her life in the line of duty. Something that has happened before in this franchise since junior officers are the front line, but it had depth here. Because we finally saw ensigns and junior officers as more than just fodder or throwaway characters there to fill in the blanks for a plot. They were people here, and they helped to remind us truly, that a ship is run by people, even in real life, and they all have hopes and dreams and plans for tomorrow, and their loss is also important if that occurs. All of which made for an incredible episode when all is said and done.

One that defied convention since this was perhaps, one of the first mainstream stories to explore life on a ship away from the top brass and one… that reminded us of the wonder and quality of The Next Generation. Because not only was this top-tier storytelling, but it was supremely influential in nature regarding the future of Star Trek. Since this episode would serve as the inspiration for the wildly popular and critically acclaimed spin-off, Star Trek: Lower Decks. And Star Trek: Discovery focused upon someone other than the captain for several seasons before Commander Michael Burnham of the U.S.S. Discovery, became Captain Michael Burnham of the U.S.S. Discovery. All because someone asked the perfect ‘what if?’ question in the writers’ room and ignited a discussion that would lead to an iconic episode in the final year of an iconic series. Until next time.

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