Category: Lower Decks

Stardate not given: Ensign Boimler is terribly impressed (with himself) when he’s assigned to escort a Klingon named K’orin to a starbase via shuttlecraft. Ensign Mariner manages to get herself assigned to this mission as well, and to Boimler’s horror, Mariner and K’orin are not just old friends, but drinking buddies. When the shuttle lands, K’orin goes missing, going off to sample the local cuisine (and booze), and Boimler and Mariner must find him and deliver him to his intended destination before his absence becomes an interplanetary incident. Meanwhile, Rutherford explores his career options aboard the Cerritos, only to discover that engineering may be where he fits in best.

written by Chris Kula
directed by Kim Arndt
music by Chris Westlake

Cast: Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign D’Vana Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Dawnn Lewis (Captain Freeman), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Ransom), Fred Tatasciore (Lt. Shaxs), Gillian Vigman (Dr. T’Ana), Jess Harnell (General K’Orin) Tom Kenny (Quimp), Kari Wahlgren (Anabaj), Jessica McKenna (Ensign Barnes), Ryan Ridley (Bajoran), Paul Scheer (Lt. Commander Billups)

Notes: The shapeshifting Vendorian species first appeared in The Survivor, an episode of the early ’70s animated Star Trek, and marks the first appearance of a Vendorian since then.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 57501.4: The Cerritos crew, particularly Commander Ransom, prepares to lay the groundwork for diplomatic relations with Gelrak V, whose people worship crystalline structures. As the all-important meeting draws near, Captain Freeman becomes aware that some junior officers are building “buffer time” into their estimates of how long it takes to accomplish certain tasks, and then goofing off when the tasks are finished quickly, leaving ample “buffer time”. The Captain’s next order eliminates buffer time, leaving an exhausted crew that’s capable of mixing up which containers will be taken to the planet as a gift to the Gelrakians. The resulting mix-up causes grave insult to the Gelrakians, angering them enough to attempt to board the Cerritos – whose crew is too exhausted to put up much of a fight.

written by Dave Ihlenfeld & David Wright
directed by Bob Suarez
music by Chris Westlake

Cast: Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign D’Vana Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Dawnn Lewis (Captain Freeman), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Ransom), Fred Tatasciore (Lt. Shaxs), Gillian Vigman (Dr. T’Ana), Neil Casey (Crewman), Kevin Michael Richardson (Vindor / Gelrakian #2), Sam Richardson (Vendome), Jessica McKenna (Ensign Barnes / Cerritos Computer / Gelrakian #1), Michelle Wong (Admiral), Nolan North (Crewman), Paul Scheer (Lt. Commander Billups)

Notes: Baryon sweeps, once a task that required extended visits to specialized facilities (Starship Mine), can now apparently be performed in mid-flight by someone with as few qualifications as Ensign Brad Boimler. The distant future in which Chief O’Brien is revered as “perhaps the most important person in Starfleet history” appears peaceful and idyllic enough to be even later than the 32nd century in which the Discovery crew find themselves (That Hope Is You, Far From Home).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 57538.9: The Cerritos and the Merced, commanded by a Tellarite named Captain Durango, prepare to tow a massive derelict ship whose crew is long dead, but whose fascinating technology – including a substance that turns inorganic material into living organic material, possibly used by the extinct crew for terraforming. But Ensign Mariner’s constant yawning during the senior officers’ briefing punches all of Captain Freeman’s buttons: she’s ready for Mariner to transfer to another ship. She decides to make Mariner want to transfer by promoting her to lieutenant, with the added responsibilities and workload (and interaction with the senior officers and all of their quirks) that entails. When the alien technology erupts from the derelict, starting to turn both of the ships towing it into havens for unknown life forms, Mariner rises to the occasion. So how can she convince her mother to reduce her back to ensign now?

written by Ann Acacia Kim
directed by Barry J. Kelly
music by Chris Westlake

Cast: Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign D’Vana Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Dawnn Lewis (Captain Freeman), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Ransom), Fred Tatasciore (Lt. Shaxs / Admiral Vassery), Gillian Vigman (Dr. T’Ana), Haley Joel Osment (O’Connor), Eric Bauza (Cerritos Conn Officer), Al Rodrigo (Captain Durango), Paul Scheer (Lt. Commander Billups), Vanessa Marshall (Merced Science Officer), Jessica McKenna (Ensign Barnes / Cerritos Computer)

Notes: The alien derelict is very reminiscent of the one found in Beyond The Farthest Star, the first episode of the early ’70s animated Star Trek series. Durango is the first Tellarite Starfleet captain seen in any of the Star Trek series. Vanessa Marshall is a voice well known to fans of animated Star Wars, having been the voice of Hera Syndulla throughout the run of Star Wars: Rebels.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 57601.3: The Cerritos joins the U.S.S. Vancouver in a planetary system where the imminent implosion of one of its moons jeopardizes all life on the planet below. Captain Freeman immediately finds herself tasked with negotiating with the locals, who want the moon left untouched for reasons ranging from superstitions to deeply-held religious beliefs to outright conspiracy theories. The Vancouver is also the home of Lt. Barb Brinson, Boimler’s long-distance girlfriend, who Mariner initially thought was a figment of Boimler’s imagination. Even once she meets Barb in person, Mariner is certain there must be something more to this relationship…something sinister. Mariner’s protests that Barb is way out of Boimler’s league ramps up his insecurities, and while he’s trying too hard with someone he’s already won over, Mariner pursues her theory that Barb is possessed by a parasite, a theory which is both way off the mark and disturbingly accurate.

written by Ben Joseph
directed by Kim Arndt
music by Chris Westlake

Cast: Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign D’Vana Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Dawnn Lewis (Captain Freeman), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Ransom), Fred Tatasciore (Lt. Shaxs / Mixtus II Settler), Gillian Vigman (Dr. T’Ana / Mixtus III Female), Gillian Jacobs (Lt. Barbara Brinson), Matt Walsh (Lt. Ron Docent), Marcus Henderson (Jet Manhaver), Kari Wahlgren (Angie), Lauren Tom (Captain Nguyen), Eric Bauza (Mixtus Farmer), Nolan North (Niko)

Notes: Boimler’s full first name is Bradward. This episode marks the first appearance of Jet Manhaver of the Cerritos, though here he appears to be a lieutenant – an inconsistency that a later episode will chalk up to stray street corn. Rutherford’s engineering tool sounds suspiciously like the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver. During her tour of duty on the Quito, Mariner visited Deep Space Nine (though in later episodes she also says she was stationed at, well, the station).

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Stardate 57663.9: As the Cerritos engages in aggressive negotiations with Drookmani scavengers over the wreckage of lost century-old Starfleet ship, Ensign Fletcher is endearing himself to Boimler and Mariner. Tendi admits to Rutherford that she never completed spacewalk training at the Academy, and he offers her the use of a holodeck training program he’s been working on, which uses an animated interface called Badgey. When the program sticks and Rutherford gives Badgey a swift kick, Badgey’s attitude becomes less “chirpy” and “helpful” and leans a lot more toward “homicidal”. Fletcher offers to take on a major task solo so Boimler and Mariner can attend a social event, but when they come back to check on him, the task isn’t finished, and Fletcher’s explanations for this seem to be constantly in flux. Worse yet, the work he didn’t complete endangers the Cerritos and the entire crew when the Drookmani become even more aggressive in their negotiating tactics, while Captain Freeman tries valiantly not to start a shooting war.

written by John Cochran
directed by Bob Suarez
music by Chris Westlake

Cast: Tawny Newsome (Ensign Beckett Mariner), Jack Quaid (Ensign Brad Boimler), Noel Wells (Ensign D’Vana Tendi), Eugene Cordero (Ensign Rutherford), Dawnn Lewis (Captain Freeman), Jerry O’Connell (Commander Ransom), Fred Tatasciore (Lt. Shaxs), Gillian Vigman (Dr. T’Ana), Tim Robinson (Ensign Fletcher), Jack McBrayer (Badgey), Asif Ali (Asif), Artemis Pebdani (Karavitus), J.G. Hertzler (Drookmani), Jessica McKenna (Barnes / Cerritos Computer), Paul Scheer (Billups)

LogBook entry by Earl Green