Tag Archives: Noël Wells

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Something Borrowed, Something Green – TV Review

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TL;DR – We delve into Orion culture one dagger to the shoulder at a time

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
USS Cerritos

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

The one thing that Star Trek: Lower Decks has worked hard at is finding that middle line between being a comedic take on the Star Trek universe and being a show that would fit in that universe. While you can see that love in every single Easter Egg [there are so many]. But they don’t always get that balance right. Today, we get a fantastic example of what an episode can be when they walk that narrow line.

So to set the scene, the Lower Decks gang is still getting used to the new world where they are Lieutenant (j.g.). It comes with perks like not living in a corridor and being able to finish all your tasks for the day, but it also comes with responsibilities. For Tendi (Noël Wells), that means going back to Orion because her sister is getting married, and Starfleet wants to make a good impression after an Irion ship mysteriously vanished. Tendi is understandably hesitant, even more so when T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) and Mariner (Tawny Newsome) tag along. But hey, it is not like her sister will get kidnapped just before the wedding? … Right? … Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee – TV Review

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TL;DR – It’s promotion time, and things are changing on the USS Cerritos  

Rating: 4 out of 5.
Romulan wreckage.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

There is only one thing better than a new episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks dropping. That is two episodes dropping at the same time. But if Twovix was the episode where our crew [mostly] got promoted. Then I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee is looking at the fallout of that decision.

So to set the scene, in Romulan space and on a Tal Shiar ship, the crew are busy cleaning up the Reman juice leftover from an interrogation when a strange ship appears and blasts it away. Back on the USS Cerritos, the crew is busy backing up their bunks because they are now all Lieutenant Junior Grades. Well, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), and D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) all got promoted. Poor Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) got left behind, but for how long? Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Twovix – TV Review

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TL;DR – Not all the story worked, but jumping back into this world was still a delight.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
The USS Cerritos approaches the Star Base.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

After a stellar final season of Star Trek: Picard and a stunning follow-up season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, surely there is nothing left of Star Trek in 2023 … right? Well, hold on to your horses because Lower Decks is back and committing to changing one of its core features, changing the tone of the show … okay, not that much.

So to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has been sent on its most secretive mission so far. No one knows why they have been sent to this starbase until the lights turn on and everyone witnesses the joy that is the USS Voyager [Insert theme song here]. They have to escort the now museum ship to its permanent resting place. This should be a breeze, but Jack Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) lets Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) know he is up for a promotion, just as long as he fails spectacularly. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Those Old Scientists – TV Review

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TL;DR – This episode brought a smile to my face from the moment it started till the second those end credits rolled.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode. 

The Strange New Worlds title sequence done in the style of Lower Decks.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Review –

A cross-over episode used to be the mainstay of network television, with some franchises building their worlds upon it. But for every Brooklyn Nine-Nine/ The New Girl moment that is so perfectly placed that it lives on in memes. You have a sea of awkward messes that fail to elevate either side. Star Trek saw this and went, you know what, let’s take this issue of trying to get two different shows with different vibes to work and add the extra difficulty of both shows being a different medium. But does it work? Oh, yes, it does.   

So to set the scene, it is 2381, and the USS Cerritos has arrived at Krulmuth-B to take a regular scan of the portal on the surface. It has not been active since the time of Pike, but you always need to make sure. Ensigns Boimler (Jack Quaid), Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Tendi (Noël Wells), and Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) beam down to the planet to make sure. It was all going well until the portal is accidentally activated when Boimler is posing for a photo and is sucked in before Mariner can grab him. Waking up after being jettisoned, Boimler looks up to see himself in the sickbay of an old Constitution Class ship to see the one and only Captain Pike (Anson Mount) staring down, and well, he ain’t in Kansas anymore. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Hear All, Trust Nothing – TV Review

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TL;DR – A perfect blend of nostalgia and fun.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
The USS Cerritos at Deep Space Nine.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

I have made it clear in the past when looking at Lower Deck’s First and Second Seasons that I have enjoyed this someone irreverent take on the Star Trek universe. However, in those two seasons, while they may have dipped their toes in referencing Deep Space Nine, my favourite Star Trek show, today, they dive in phasers blasting.

So to set the scene, the USS Cerritos is en route to a meeting to support the USS Vancouver and their trade negotiations with the Karemma. But when the Vancouver was diverted for an emergency evacuation of a colony, the Cerritos and Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) had to take charge. Dropping out of warp at Deep Space Nine, Freeman asks the crew to buy her some time, and Ransom (Jerry O’Connell) suggests pretending to be in awe of the pylons or something. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.    

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 2 – TV Review

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TL;DR – A joy to watch each week and one of the strongest full seasons of Star Trek we have gotten in a while.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season 2. Image Credit: Amazon Prime.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

When Star Trek: Lower Decks was first announced, some understandable eyebrows were raised. The last animated show was quietly ditched from canon, and a new show animated in the style of Rick and Morty or Solar Opposites was an unknown quantity. Also, some sectors of the Star Trek fandom are not really known for embracing change (I mean, case and point that one shot of a Ferengi in the Star Trek Discovery trailer). But Season One showed that there was no need to be concerned, and Season Two showed that this might be some of the best Trek.  

So to set the scene, at the end of Season One, the USS Cerritos found itself on the unexpected end of a Pakled attack. While the help of Rutherford’s (Eugene Cordero) computer virus and Shaxs’ (Fred Tatasciore) sacrifice, they could defeat one ship, but not the other three that warped in afterwards. Looking certain doom in the face, all was lost until the USS Titan under the command of Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) warped in. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and her mum, Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis), formed a truce in the aftermath. Tendi (Noël Wells) was sad to see that Rutherford had lost all his memories, and Boimler (Jack Quaid) took a promotion to the Titan. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season One – TV Review

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TL;DR – Super charming and a fun new direction for the franchise.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime subscription that viewed this series.

Star Trek: Lower Decks: Second Contact. Image Credit: CBS Studios.

Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –

When it was announced that the next new Star Trek series would be an animated show that would take a more comedic look at a life aboard a Starfleet vessel, many people treated the news with some hesitation. However, when we got to see the first episode Second Contact, you felt the tone they were going for and how it was able to walk this line between making fun of Star Trek and showing its deep love for the franchise. Well, the full season has finally been released outside of North America, so it is time to dive in and see if the whole run stands up as well.  

So to set the scene, we open in on the USS Cerritos in 2380 (which for those playing at home is two years after the return of the USS Voyager and twenty years before the start of Picard). The Cerritos is a California Class Starfleet Vessel that specialises in second contact, which is the follow-up mission after first contact, not as much glory but still significant. Ensign D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) has just come on board from Outpost 79, and this is her first placement on a starship. Her orientation guide is Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) a very straight-laced command track-captain seat hopeful Ensign. Orientation is soon side-tracked as Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) decides to take D’Vana on a more personalised tour. But as we soon learn Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) has her phasers set on Mariner and is looking for any excuse to boot her off the ship and preferable out of Starfleet. Now from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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