This was an odd year for TV, with a bunch of shows that started strong and then just didn’t have the hold to keep me, but then we found a higher level of quality this year than many of the past, which has led us to a slightly longer list this year.
So this year, we will look at all the shows we reviewed last year, SEE HERE, and pick our Top 15 of the 35 shows we reviewed. For a show to count, it needed to end its run or season in 2024.
Animation is a form of filmmaking that is often related to second-tier status, something just for kids. This is done by both the organisations giving out awards and the guilds promoting their members’ work. However, they are not second-tier films; in many ways, animated films push the frontiers of filmmaking and what is possible, and they should be championed for their work.
Animated films can be hand-drawn, stop/clay motion, or computer-generated; it does not matter, but all of them show the unique techniques of hundreds of artists that bring the work to life.
We looked at the films that hit us in the feels with emotions in our last awards. Now it is time to pivot hard to the other side of the spectrum and look at the films that were a riot of fun. So today, I take a moment to champion those works that brought joy, whether through upbeat action, one laugh after another, or that silliness that brings a smile to your face.
However, I note that this might be the most subjective of all the lists because what people think is funny can vary drastically.
TL;DR – I am sad that our time with Lower Decks is over. However, I am glad that it went out on such a high note.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
The USS Cerritos
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
One of the many wild swings this new era of Star Trek undertook was jumping back into the animated world with a show that would be more farcical and self-referential than ever before. Playing off one of the most famous episodes of The Next Generation, Lower Decks rode the line between being a love letter to Star Trek fans and telling a good story in its own right. Now we have come to its final episode, and the question is: did they stick the final landing?
So, to set the scene, after William (Jack Quaid) poured all the rift energy into his universe, our Prime-Star Trek world, there was only one chance to stop it. Well, after Boimler (Jack Quaid) has had an acceptable freakout, he lets Captain Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) know, and while Starfleet Command would have preferred any ship but the Cali-Class USS Cerritos to be the ones to fix it, time is not on their side, and the Cerritos is already near the Klingon border. The only problem is that The Federation might not be the first one to find the rift. We will be looking at the episode, season, and probably series as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – It has been a long time since an episode of Star Trek made me audibly explain, but that was this week’s outing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
I honestly can’t believe that today’s episode of Lower Decks is potentially the second last one that we will ever get. There is just such a wealth of joy here that I am sorry to see it go. While this final season has been a bit hit-and-miss for me, I was hoping that it would end the season on a high. Well, after last week’s Fully Dilated and today’s outing, I think they just might do it.
So, to set the scene, all the way back in Season Two’s Kayshon, His Eyes Open, our Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) got duplicated by a transporter accident, and William Boimler (Jack Quaid) was created. Thought dead, we know that William was recruited into Section 31, but we were wondering what he has been up to. Today, we discover that he is the captain of the USS Anaximander and part of the mission to find out why quantum fissures between universities have been opening all over the place. His crew are full of dimensional castaways, but when there is a chance to find the people doing this, the question is, how far will William go?We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – This episode feels like a love letter to the crew of the USS Cerritos, and as such, it was honestly moving in a way I was not expecting.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
One of the things that has always made Lower Decks stand out in the vast landscape of the Star Trek Universe is that much of its focus is not on the command crew of the ship. Of course, they are all still there, but they are more side characters and foils for our core cast. Over time, those lines started to blur as we had space to explore characters more, and the Lower Deckers spent more time on the bridge. However, today, we put that all aside to give a love letter to the crew of the USS Cerritos.
So, to set the scene, in the Buhgood Feeding Grounds around the rings of Bhungar V, the USS Cerritos crew are steeling down to explore an old Earth ritual, Halloween. As Tendi (Noël Wells), Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz), and Boimelr (Jack Quaid) all dig into their gourds in a carving session. Mariner (Tawny Newsome) got stuck in painting. All the good things only happen to the bridge crew, which, as fate will have it, is who we will be following today. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – This might be one of my favourite episodes this season because it nails its premise.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
There are a lot of episodes of Lower Decks out there, and not all of them work for me. Their best combination is wherein they balance their deep Star Trek knowledge and in-jokes with telling a compelling story in their own right. Today’s episode is a good example of just how to do that.
So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has found another of those pesky subspace ruptures and has been tasked to close it off. However, before they can do that, the crew discovers a Starfleet signal on a nearby pre-warp civilization. Not wanting to breach the Prime directive, they beam Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Tendi (Noël Wells), and T’Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) down in disguise to destroy/retrieve anything before it can contaminate the culture. The only problem is that this planet is living under a slight time dilation, so all Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) and Boimler (Jack Quaid) need to do is stand at the transport controls, wait a couple of seconds and beam them back. What is the worst they could do in just a couple of seconds …? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – It is a solid, fun episode that makes the most of its silly premise.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
There are many ways in which Star Trek Lower Decks can shine, and one of the best of them is when they decide to go on a deep dive into the lore to find something to explore. Sometimes, that can be expanding on Orion culture for the first time since Enterprise, and other times, it can be a love letter to Star Trek’s fondness for caves. Today, we dive all the way back to the era of Those Old Scientists, with some demigods and a fight over angles.
So, to set the scene, the USS Cerritos has been positioned next to the Veraflex Nebula for weeks as it hosts peace talks between the Orbs and the Cubes, the photonic species that live there. It is hard to get people to talk when they complain that the ship has too many edges or that article ten is wrong because ten has an o in it. But as this goes on, Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is put in charge of an ensign, Olly (Saba Homayoon), on their last chance and gets some home truths when one of the diplomats turns up dead. They have to investigate because they are not high enough status to arouse suspicion, which, of course, went down as well as you would expect it to. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – A weird little fun episode that gets to put the cap off the running joke of Starbase 80
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
One of the recurring jokes on Star Trek: Lower Decks is that no one ever wants to get transferred to Starbase 80. The very joke of it is enough to put a pause on any dubious activity. We have known how bad it was since way back in Season One and now it is time to find out if the legacy lives up to the reality.
So, to set the scene, after cataloguing a bunch of algae on the ocean planet Piskes 9, the USS Cerritos was meant to head to a Captain’s Conference on Casperia Prime. However, after a navigation malfunction, the ship had to drop out of warp because they were flying blind. That is no problem. There is a Starbase they can reach by impulse. The only problem is that base is Starbase 80: Insert creepy music here. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR – Crack out the Bat’leths and open the good Bloodwine casks because it is time to visit Qo’noS
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ streaming service that viewed this episode.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Review –
When you have been watching shows for quite a while, you pick up telltale signs that something big is about to happen. One of those is the lack of a Title Sequence. Wait, the cast names not on the backdrop of a coming calamity of Borg, Tholians, Klingons, Romulans, Pakleds, oh and is that V’ger? But instead, it was on a warm sunset in Qo’noS. Well, you know something big is about to happen.
So, to set the scene, we are on Qo’noS, and Captain Ma’ah (Jon Curry) has been sequestered/banished to labouring work on the family farm. He is making Bloodwine (from worms, most likely Gagh) and raising Targ. He stubbornly avoids the comm call with a Federation signature. But if Mariner (Tawny Newsome) is one thing, it is persistent. He is stuck because the one who stripped him of his captainship is now the one who decides if he can get it back. Although Boimler (Jack Quaid) does know a lot about Klingon Bureaucratic minutia, and the Ritual of J’ethurgh is right there. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 