Gregory Marston

This show is about as ridiculous a version of a space adventure as I have seen recently. You have a world-threatening crisis, which allows the writers to assemble a space crew that is perfectly heterogeneous crew (sexually and racially) in every way EXCEPT for age. You have a single adult supervisor and a group of beautiful and self-absorbed 20-somethings. Every time there is a major crisis there is continual banter and complaining between this largely narcissistic crew about how they are feeling and the latest reason for them to be butt-hurt over the lamest and inane reasons. Even the Captain is continually mulling over a past space tragedy and her decision to leave her daughter on Earth. SPOILER ALERT***Would humanity put such a psychologically traumatized and tormented leader with obvious PTSD in charge of such a critical mission? The plot is flawed in other ways. The lazy writers want us to believe that only a few days after they are awakened from a long, hyper-sleep, there is a major mutiny was started by the second-in-command? That this crime was resolved, with no consequences, and just a very short time later the second-in-command then tries to murder the commander? Really? That you have a crew made up of many novices AND with no command structure, except ONE ADULT to run everything? No second mate? No third mate? Mostly the young crew who mainly moan, groan, whine, yearn, bunk together and seem to question every command, even though they have no experience. How can you run a ship or space vessel this way? It’s so unrealistic that it can’t be believed on any level, no matter how hard you try. There is a difference between creating drama because of bad decisions/mistakes/hubris - then just making the same, insanely dumb “space blunder” as if it didn’t just happen on the previous episode. For instance we have two episodes in a row where they visit a uncharted world for the very first time and yet they maintain weak germ or infestation protocols. I mean the Apollo 11 crew was in quarantine for over a week and the moon had no atmosphere or water! Yet on two separate episodes they used the lack of proper procedures (wearing a mask) as the basis for a crisis. As if they wouldn’t learn to do it better the second time! The writers also overuse the cliche move of exploring a new planet by immediately splitting the team into two or even one person sections, who don’t stay in communication between each other for hours on end, and they only give ONE PERSON a gun (the Captain). Of course, the one guy who is left by himself on the planet FOR HOURS is kidnapped and taken over by an alien. That doesn’t mean you can’t explore the structure of “being on the bottom” - I.e., the lowest- ranked people on a space ship or space adventure series. They have a story to tell. This interested area is explored very well in the latest Star Trek animated series “Lower Decks”. This next season can improve and fix this show, but I doubt it. They went for the cheap thrills of a mutiny, hard bodies and hormone-fueled space sex in the first season. What next?