Star Trek: Lower Deckshas the honor of going where noStar Trekshow has ever gone before. According to creator Mike McMahan, as the first comedic series in the long-running franchise,Lower Deckshas had a difficult time walking the line between what’s appropriate to include in the franchise and what might be perceived as going too far for the traditionalist fanbase.
Star Trek: Lower Decksactually has another distinction under its belt: it’s the firstStar Trekanimated series since the original cartoon aired way back in the ’70s. Starring talent such as Jack Quaid, Tawny Newsome, Noel Wells, and Eugene Cordero, the series’ conceit is that it followsthe lower decks crew of a Starfleet ship. Previous entries of the franchise focused on dramatic adventures of the bridge crews; senior officers in control of important flagships in Starfleet.
RELATED:New Star Trek Sequel Removed From Paramount’s Release Calendar
There have been challenges in adaptingStar Trekas a modern, adult animated show. Sitting down withThe Hollywood Reporter, McMahan acknowledged that he and the writers walk a fine line when it comes to raunchy humor. Referring to one memorable scene in particular where Mariner walks into an orgy, McMahan says, “The comedy has to be unexpected and has to be funny, right? I’m very often being like, ‘OK, if we’re going to do a raunchy joke, it has to be a raunchy joke that has its origins inStar Trek.’” It was important that the raunchy jokes fit within theStar Trekuniverse, which takes place in a future where humanity is more socially liberated,female empowerment is common, racism does not exist, and society is not quite as shocked by sex and nudity. So, McMahan says that they decided to make a joke of Mariner being particularly uncomfortable because of Boimler’s involvement, rather than just because of the sexual content in the scene. McMahan says, “I literally was like, ‘Put Boimler on the countertop spread eagle.’ Of course, that’s the thing that everybody lost their minds over, but narratively, it made sense. That’s probably where it got away from me slightly. I just got too in the weeds on what we needed structurally to have happen there.”
Still, McMahan argues that sex is “part of the DNA ofStar Trek” and always has been, saying, “But you know, there are TNG episodes of a whole orgy of frozen naked dead people, you know what I mean? It’s not something that hasn’t been inStar Trekbefore. It’s funny, the sex stuff — even if we’re being very careful about it — tends to ping people as not feeling likeStar Trek, which I find to be crazy, because everybody was f****** onStar Trek.” He particularly takes issue with fans placing older characters on a pedestal and making them appear as chaste, adding, “That’s not what any of these characters were. They were human. They were characters, they had heart, they had problems. They were the best of us, they were ethical and moral, but at the same time, they had feelings and they felt like real people to us.” He references Captain Kirk (Star Trekicon William Shatner), who has had a reputation for bedding alien women, even if, due to the constraints of the time, this was only ever by implication. He also referenced laterStar Trekshows, once standards eased, being more upfront about the topic, and recalledStar Trek: The Next Generationandroid, Data, calling himself “fully functional.”
McMahan’s concerns are understandable.Star Trek: Lower Decksis canon to the widerStar Trekuniverse, which fans are very protective of. In fact, the characters will be making theirlive-action debut inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, where their voice actors will be portraying them. In that light, McMahan would want to maintain fidelity with other projects in the franchise.
Star Trek: Lower Deckspokes fun at the franchise affectionately, and the writers clearly show care in making it so that the humor makes sense in the context of a wider universe. The issue of sex as comedy is just a microcosm of that. These characters would have a very liberated attitude toward sex, and their comedic perception of it may be quite different from a modern viewer’s. In acknowledging this, McMahan and his writer’s team show that they are approaching the material as fans themselves.
Star Trek: Lower Decksis now available on Paramount Plus.
MORE:Star Trek: Ranking the Most Liked Alien Races of the Franchise
