Lower Dorks: A Star Trek Lower Decks Fan Podcast (Aaron and Stavros)

Season 5 is close at hand, but what have the Lower Dorks hosts been up to this whole time with no filler episodes?? Also, what the heck is this about Lower Decks being cancelled?! Listen and find out answers to that, plus reactions to all upcoming Trek, and what we want to see in the future directions of the IP. 

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:51 Why are we bad at podcasting? 6:07 Lower decks cancellation news 18:26 Upcoming Trek: SNW, PRO, S31, SFA 28:50 What do we want to see in new Trek? 40:25 Lower Decks season 5: Air date, episodes, teaser trailer and poster 43:52 Outro

While this Lower Decks episode is all about AIs, Lower Dorks provides a definitely, completely necessary human look at the episode, including close analysis of the power of friendship and dadship, a metaphysical look at prison systems and hypotheses of the metaplot's direction!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:23 Episode synopsis 2:27 Bynar intro, grappler, briefing scene 5:59 Badgey plot 24:53 Agamus/Peanut Hamper plot 44:55 Metaplot updates 46:58 Outro

Klingons and bird people! The Lower Dorks hosts talk about Dr. Migleemo's character rehabilitation, star-studded VO cameos, Klingon foot spikes and more--plus we can't seem to agree on how to spell Bargh's name.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:33 Paramount+ episode description 3:23 Boimler's character status 6:35 Bird people plot 14:41 Klingon captaincy lot 41:00 Final thoughts 43:22 Outro

Things get all shape-y this episode, with discussion about Cubes and Spheres, the latest on Boimler's beard and just how goofball photonic lifeforms can get! Plus, some kinks that only Ransom is into...

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:56 Paramount+ description 3:15 Boimler beard update 4:18 Orbs, Cubes and Zeus progeny plot 24:28 Boimler's book club joining plot 36:14 Final thoughts 38:37 Outro

Take off your pants with the Lower Dorks hosts and phaser some poopy diapers as we discuss everything about caves, Vendorians and conspiracy theories. Just remember that the Vendorians just want us all to get along...

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:10 Episode synopsis 3:31 Director credit 3:54 Planet names 4:51 CAVES 11:18 Vendorians 15:47 Boimler's story 23:34 Rutherford's story 35:03 Mariner's story 40:29 Tendi's story 44:23 What it all means and random theories 48:50 Outro

With fantasy rocks at the forefront of "Mining the Mind's Mines," the Lower Dorks hosts can't help picking on Dr. Migleemo and pontificate about the Celestial Koala's continued appearances.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:21 Legless baby follow up 3:01 Star Trek Day Lower Decks teaser 5:52 Episode synopsis 8:11 The Scrubble 10:46 Scientists and Ransom's rants 12:04 Stevens remains a creeper 13:38 Tendi's science officer subplot 14:41 Dr. Migleemo is the worst 19:56 USS Carlsbad details 21:37 Everyone's rock fantasies 25:14 The fantasy rocks and plot 29:47 Stevens' nightmare from TAS 31:07 The Badders 33:04 The gloves gag 34:36 The crystal fake out, the fight 35:56 Conference room details 38:30 The koala: what does he know? 41:05 Boimler is a robot and the Cerritos's fame 42:45 Mariner's shenanigans recall, Boimler time travel 44:11 Eyebrows 45:41 Outro

Legless baby tweet: https://twitter.com/LowerDorks/status/1565757762520244226

U.S.S. Wayfarer saves the day Star Trek Day clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiGHAOZY1qM

Lower Dorks goes to Deep Space Nine! The hosts are in awe of the sheer volume of details presented on the beloved station, but also can't get enough of Tendi and Mariner's character development.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:34 Episode title and synopsis 2:48 Admiral Buenamigo, the Vancouver and Brown Holes 4:27 Karemma and booze 6:02 Deep Space Nine!! 12:05 Colonel Kira and Ops 16:06 Quark and Quark's Bar 20:12 Bold Boimler's dabo 22:35 Tendi, Rutherford, Mesk and being who you wan to be 28:12 Mariner, Jen and the salon 30:38 Betazoid Casual 32:19 Magic cup 32:49 The future of Jen and Mariner 35:08 Weird party stuff 35:45 Party phasers and self-phasering rationale 39:26 Final thoughts 41:15 Outro

Like K'Ranch's hunt, the Lower Dorks hosts are chasing the Least Dangerous Game with focus on the strangest details, including Chief Lundy's creepyness, Ransom's competence and leg-less babies. Also, do men in the 24th century wax their chests?

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:19 Lower Decks Vegas convention cosplay 4:24 New details on SNW/LD crossover 6:01 Episode synopsis 7:41 Martok's cameo, B&B 10:42 Vendome's promotion 12:51 Boimler's plot 14:10 Chief Lundy's creepiness 15:51 Various references: Springball, Edo, skydiving 18:17 Animation quality jump 20:24 K'Ranch's hunt 25:10 Ransom: Command ability and his shiny lava tubes 30:21 Obscure details: Baby legs, system of government 33:27 Cerritos model changes? 35:36 Outro

Star Trek Las Vegas convention cosplay: - Fan dance Rutherford: https://twitter.com/TrekCore/status/1563624957472428032 - Shaxs/T’Ana naked time: https://twitter.com/SynthNscifi/status/1563637893549084672 - Matt the Beluga and Badgey: https://twitter.com/TrekMovie/status/1563686294290501632

Details on SNW/Lower Decks crossover:  https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/star-trek-lower-decks-jack-quaid-strange-new-worlds-crossover-the-boys-gen-v-1235352527/

We're still in the gap between seasons, but it's the perfect time to talk about how Lower Decks fits in with the five (!) total Star Trek shows currently "on the air"!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 4:04 Lower Decks 9:22 Prodigy 19:53 Discovery 28:35 Strange New Worlds 39:59 Picard 49:23 Consistent production value, opening credits deep dive 1:01:12 How does Lower Decks fit in? 1:07:27 Outro

Having trouble keeping Pandronians and Vendorians apart, or maybe you just haven't watched The Animated Series in the last 20 years? The Lower Dorks hosts have rewatched TAS and cover the biggest references that have appeared in Lower Decks so far.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:16 General Animated Series reactions 2:59 Those Old Scientists (LD: No Small Parts) 4:46 Vendorians (LD: Envoys; TAS: The Survivor) 7:36 Spock 2 (LD: Kayshon, His Eyes Open; TAS: The Infinite Vulcan) 12:24 Pandronians (LD: I, Excretus; TAS: BEM) 15:01 Aurelians/Skorr (LD: An Embarassment of Dooplers; TAS: Yesteryear, Jihad) 18:55 Nasat (LD: An Embarassment of Dooplers; TAS: Jihad) 21:46 Kzinti (LD: The Spy Humungous; TAS: The Slaver Weapon) 30:52 Outro

Season 2 has to come to a close, and Captain Freeman faces a special kind of promotion that the Lower Dorks host cover. Remember to bring your Starfleet beach balls!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:30 Episode synopsis 2:34 Starbase opening details: Ships, Starfleet strata 9:30 USS Archimedes, Captain Sonya Gomez 15:43 First Content and rescue mission plot, plot holes, DARKNESS 35:52 Mariner and Jen! 40:47 Boimler and Mariner's progress, Lower Decker family 46:19 Captain Freeman's "promotion" and Rutherford's unwilling involvement 54:45 Tenderford forever! 59:51 Tendi's progession, who the f**k is Jadzia Dax? 1:02:44 New locations: Captain's Yacht, Rubber Duck Room, Cetacean Ops 1:11:22 Koalas, Bajoran patient 1:12:45 Season 3 wishlist 1:14:51 Outro

TENDERFORD PERSEVERES! When the Warp Core Four (where's T'lynn?) visits Ferenginar, Tendi and Rutherford have a little will-they-won't-they, and we're here for it! We cover the other plot threads too, then discuss what we should call incompetent admirals.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:27 Episode synopsis and title 5:37 Director credit 5:58 Cold open 11:36 Negotiation plot 20:55 Intro to other plots, Ransom's influence 23:45 Ferenginar details 28:35 Mariner's plot 41:24 Boimler's plot 45:19 TENDERFORD PLOT 55:31 Uncle Quark's Youth Casino, Vassery's unpreparedness 57:52 Final thoughts 59:39 Outro

The Lower Dorks hosts resume our in depth chat with Star Trek ship expert Thomas Marrone, discussing the ships of season 3. We only get sidetracked into ship history a couple of times, and ultimately lament the lack of a purchasable California class model. 

0:00 Intro, re-introduction of Thomas Marrone, drink announcement 2:06 Deep Space Nine, "Hear All, Trust Nothing" 9:47 Karemma ship, "Hear All, Trust Nothing" 13:08 Drookmani shuttle, "Mathmatically Perfect Redemption" 16:13 Areore ships, "Mathmatically Perfect Redemption" 23:02 Valdore variant, "Crisis Point II" 29:38 Sovereign-class, "Crisis Point II" and "The Stars at Night" 31:58 Temporal Research Lab, "Crisis Point II" 36:40 Batriss freighter, "Crisis Point II" 43:43 Section 31's Defiant-class, "Crisis Point II" 49:14 Type 15 Shuttlepod, "Trusted Sources" 53:35 Breen Interceptor, "Trusted Sources" 55:54 Texas class, "Trusted Sources" 1:05:44 The Free Spirit, "Trusted Sources" and "The Stars at Night" 1:19:51 All California Class ships, "The Stars at Night," "Mining the Mind's Mines" 1:19:34 Closing thoughts 1:21:39 Outro

Jet and Jen are back, along with the Lower Dorks hosts, who actively despise both! Just, you know, in a really loving way. The hosts also cover Ransom's command style, comment on the possibility of tiny starships, and everything else having to do with The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:40 Paramount+ episode description 5:32 The Cosmic Duchess 8:15 Warp Drive Five 9:01 Boimler cannon fodder plot 34:04 Jeriner and nanite plot 51:24 T'Lyn conspiracy and other stuff 1:01:09 Outro

Everyone's favorite exocomp is back, but the Lower Dorks hosts get hung up talking about possible ancient bird people that seeded avian races throughout the galaxy. Also, f**k Peanut Hamper!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:22 Episode synopsis 1:48 Last time... and opening credits 4:26 Peanut Hamper's escape sequence and SOUND IN SPACE 6:51 Drookmani  8:05 The Areore, their planet, and galactic genetic seeding tangents 15:20 Peanut Hamper's plot and failed redemption 23:28 JG Hertzler cameo 25:12 Quality of the battle animation 27:41 Captivity, Jeffrey Combs cameo and the greatest villain teamup of Lower Decks 31:09 Final thoughts 33:09 Outro

Season 2 is over, but the Lower Dorks hosts have a lot to discuss! Favorite characters have changed, best episode has been chosen and Star Trek's boundaries have been pushed. Also, why are there so many eye patches?

00:00 Intro and Drink Announcement 01:01 Production Values 03:33 Favorite Character 08:58 Visual Updates 10:08 Characters! (Not just Ransom) 11:23 Cameos! 14:30 Animated Series, Phase II 17:42 Best of! (Episodes) 22:41 Your show is bad and you should feel bad 24:04 Joke's on you 28:50 Yeet-Yoinkers 29:32 Pushing Boundries 32:10 Hopes for the Future 36:48 Alien Eyepatch Association 39:48 Outro

Another dual episode drop to start off season 5! The Lower Dorks hosts bring up the Paramount+ episode descriptions, then go to town on them, asking key questions like "Is prime T'Lyn a doppelganger?", "Can V'ger be heard during the opening credits?" and "Where is Billups's sex tape?"

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:33 Paramount+ Episode Synopses 7:05 Opening credits updates 11:40 Dos Cerritos episode discussion 56:28 Shades of Green episode discussion 1:18:18 Outro

Get Decked with the hosts of Lower Dorks! With season 3 coming soon, Stavros and Aaron have made it through a rewatch of Season 1 while sampling several cocktails from Star Trek Cocktails: A Stellar Compendium. In fact, far too many cocktails. Follow along, if your liver is up to the task!

Buy Star Trek Cocktails: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Trek-Cocktails-Stellar-Compendium/dp/1858759684/

0:00 Meta-intro 0:50 Intro and cocktails announcement 3:22 S1E1/Lime Directive 9:00 S1E2/Klingon Bird-of-Prey 13:55 S1E3/Ice Planet 20:34 S1E4/Mind Meld 27:39 S1E5/Q-Pid 33:18 S1E6/Guinan Fizz 42:41 S1E7/Samarian Sunset 50:58 S1E8/Buck's Fizzbin 58:25 S1E9/Distress Call 1:02:59 S1E10/Drink free-for-all 1:10:18 Outro

I hope you like ships, because this episode is full of them! The Lower Dorks hosts are once again joined by Star Trek Online's lead ship artist Thomas Marrone for an in depth look at all the ships that showed up in Lower Decks season 2!

0:00 Intro and thematic drink announcement 2:14 Strange Energies holodeck sequence: Miranda variant, Vengeance-class Romulan ship from FASA, many more... and who owns the rights to TOS era ships? 17:43 Embarassment of Dooplers starbase shot: Andorian cruiser, Daedelus class, Delta Flyers, Vanguard-type starbase fanon 28:50 Mugato Gumato conman ship 32:38 Where Pleasant Fountains Lie's The Monaveen 41:36 wej Duj's Vulcan cruiser Sh'Vahl, Federation member planet navies 49:23 First Contact's U.S.S. Archimedes and realistic space physics 57:56 Season 2's U.S.S. Cerritos redesign and new features: Hull plating separation, rubber duck room, cetacean ops, captain's yacht 1:25:10 Kayshon His Eyes Open's collector ship 1:28:24 Additional U.S.S. Titan details 1:32:12 Outro

Referenced links: FASA: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/FASA Masao Okazaki's Starfleet Museum: https://www.starfleet-museum.org/

One of the strongest episodes for season 2 so far! The Lower Dorks hosts take a fine tooth comb to everything in this episode, from the history of the Pandronians in Trek canon and Andorian last names to Mariner's inability to tolerate Naked Time and Boimler's likely permanent post-assimilation damage.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 0:54 Plot synopsis 1:14 Cold open and "Warp Me" 3:30 Pandronians and the Drill Instructor: Shari Yn Yem 6:54 Jen's last name and Boimler's photo 9:41 List of all seen drills! 12:12 Alice Krige cameo! 12:32 Back to the drills 20:40 Lower Deckers role reversal 22:27 Mariner's Mirror Universe Sim, Invasion of the Body Snatchers 24:45 Mariner's Naked Time Sim 28:10 Tendi's Medical Ethics Sim 29:40 Mariner's Old West Sim 30:41 Boimler's Borg Sim, his Borg name and mental fortitude 38:32 Mariner and Freeman team up, Crystalline Entities 40:24 Black hole TMP FX 41:14 Marc Evan Jackson cameo 42:42 Crate stacking 43:53 Outro

While other Trek shows are in full swing, we're here talking about Lower Decks season 3! We get into a discussion/argument about Warp Core Four's character development, talk cameos and even discuss the seasonal outlier starring Peanut Hamper! Also, one of us continues to get upset at the Boimler hair dye reveal.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:12 Warp Core Four character development 20:05 Arc vs standalone episodes 23:43 Lots of ships 27:07 The outlier episode: A Mathmatically Perfect Redemption 30:10 Cameos: a whole lot 38:15 Favorite character update? 40:51 Favorite gags 45:44 Favorite episode 49:53 Aaron's random feedback: Episodes out of order, Mime-ing the Mime's Mimes details, breakable screens 54:38 Boimler's hair color reveal 55:54 Season 5 announced 56:53 Outro

The Lower Dorks host descend upon Starbase 25 and take a look at everything S2E5 has to offer, from the updated dress uniforms to Rutherford and Tendi's relationship and why Quark's business makes models of ships like the Cerritos!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:08 Episode announce and synopsis 1:46 Ransom's the hero? 2:06 Doopler actor and alien concept 5:00 Rutherford and Tendi have bigger things to deal with! 6:29 Where is Kayshon!?  7:40 DAMMIT MIKE: Who runs Starbase 25?! 9:07 More about Starbase 25 and references found there - Security, parked ships, interior look, barber shop, aviary 15:54 Bar scene references and hypotheses 24:12 Boimler and Mariner make up, abandonment theme 26:21 Malvus and his shop 28:26 Uniforms - Dress uniforms and Cerritos differences 31:01 Model Cerritos, Quark's model business 36:42 Other references: Captain Shelby, Shelby's Number One, Okona 39:40 The message of the ending 40:42 Outro

The Lower Dorks hosts get the scoop on S3E9 and ask if Buenamigo is a badmiral, revel in the look of Starbase 80 and get really upset that literally nobody backs Mariner up when she's in trouble.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 3:06 Plot synopsis 4:26 Project Swing By and the Breen 14:56 Admiral Buenamigo's pet project  19:10 Ship to the rescue trope 20:36 Reporter and the red herring 23:08 Ransom's role 24:36 Mariner's attitude: more red herrings 26:01 Mariner's friends don't help! 27:47 Petra Aberdeen and her ship 29:12 Pie eating contest: Mariner's filling, Rutherford's pie problem and uniform tear, Ponn Farr annual event? 33:37 Starbase 80! 35:19 Other details: Migleemo is still the worst, "On your way, Lower Decks" lieutenant, return of Towel guy, 10 frowns 39:06 Final thoughts 40:22 Outro

Season 2 has begun! Lower Dorks Aaron and Stavros discuss S2E1 Strange Energies, and hopefully don't forget to do holodeck leg day.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:00 Episode, writer, director 3:11 Plot synopsis for this episode 4:37 Cardassian escape cold open 11:29 Opening credits updates 12:35 Ransom episode 15:15 Captain Freeman, Beckett Mariner and Admiral Freeman 25:35 Tenderford's fate 27:38 Medical gun 28:34 Brace for grabbing! and other stuff 29:33 Ransom's sidekick 31:02 Titan tease and jazz terminology 33:03 Outro

We might be in the middle of winter and season 3 is still months away, but that doesnt mean we cant think about it! Pick up a hot cocoa and join the Lower Dorks hosts in reviewing Reddit's season 3 predictions.

0:00 Intro 1:40 Captain Freeman's arrest 3:32 Admiral Freeman's visit and Mariner's abandonment 5:13 Jennifer and Mariner 7:26 Rutherford conspiracy 9:55 Tendi's backstory 11:19 Boimler fails at leadership and learns things about Ransom 14:07 Boimler is genetically engineered 17:16 All four of the main cast end the season with ensign rank 19:56 Badgey vs Peanut Hamper 22:27 Secondary character returns 30:20 Outro

The Lower Dorks hosts attack all three (!) plots in the S2E3 episode, and hopefully only  Rutherford is the one coming out of it all with existential horror. And we didnt even get around to talking about Lt. JG Cody!

00:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:31 Episode synopsis 2:33 The return of Shaxs! 4:25 Everyone hates Jen 4:59 What's going on with Boimler and Boimler's plate? (B plot) 8:51 Tom Paris's PTSD 10:43 Girls' adventure! (A plot) 21:06 Rutherford's curiosity (C plot) 25:26 Paris and Torres: still an item? 26:47 Outro

We're halfway through the season and the Lower Dorks hosts are ready to discuss T'Lyn's first character focus episode! Get ready for a discussion on huge resort drinks, praise for Captain Freeman and a pitch for a Breen lower decker episode.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:37 Episode synopsis 4:34 Director credits 5:47 Lieutenant Junior Grade 6:53 Betazoid characters 19:56 T'Lyn, effects of Bendii Syndrome 40:28 Captain Freeman's finest hour 42:13 Boimler, Security and Relaxation 58:13 Romulans lying in wait  59:09 Metaplot tie-in, Edible Betazoids 1:02:28 Halfway through reflection 1:03:41 Outro

The drought of Lower Dorks is over! With fresh news about season 3 (and a trailer), the Lower Dorks hosts recap everything dropped during 2022's San Diego Comic-Con, along with some other recent Lower Decks tidbits.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:47 Season 3 poster 3:48 Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive 4:05 IDW comic book series 5:42 Ready Room vineyard teaser clip 7:39 Comic-Con coverage overview 8:03 Entertainment Weekly 12:52 Hall H panel 24:45 Season 3 Trailer in-depth look 1:16:23 Outro

Links:

• Season 3 poster
• Lower Decks: The Badgey Directive
• Lower Decks IDW Comic Series
• Season 3 teaser clip (navigate to 30:54)
• SDCC Entertainment Weekly panel
• SDCC Hall H panel
• SNW Panel interrupted by Quaid and Newsome
• Star Trek on P+ tweet about SNW/LD crossover
• Season 3 trailer

The Pakled plot continues in Lower Decks S2E6! The Lower Dorks hosts cover everything there is to know about all 3 plots in this epsode - the Pakled negotiations and spy, the Redshirt Club and cleaning up Science Trash!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:02 Plot synopsis 1:23 The Pakleds - Culture, ships, plot arc and more 7:41 Science trash - Whose trash is it, best items and Tendi's development 17:13 Redshirt Club - Boimler's appearance, imitative command style, improv comedy/command 28:51 Boimler's replicator order 30:23 Ransom and Kayshon, plus the Gift Shop! 31:42 Writing kudos, clean plot resolutions 34:07 Not everything has to be a reference 35:04 The episode's message 36:04 Outro

The Lower Dorks host are excited to discuss the show's best/only Billups episode! Buckle up for a chat about Jeffrey Combs's guest role as Agimus, random details about the Hysperians and even cover the origin of the episode's name!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:12 Episode synopsis 2:24 Source of the episode title 5:35 Billups episode!! And sex jokes 8:50 Hysperians 14:10 DAMMIT MIKE: Why can't we have a dragon? 15:32 Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael 16:14 Jeffrey Combs is back as Agimus! 20:12 Mariner/Boimler relationship 23:18 What's better about phaser rifles anyway? 24:28 Sickbay's window? 25:10 L. Playa and crew deaths 27:09 More food motifs! 29:57 Outro

Lower Dorks are all about the B plot with Ransom and Boimler in this episode, though are very into the Tendi backstory and Orion worldbuilding that came along with the A plot! Be sure to replicate your bonsai tree ahead of listening.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:50 Episode synopsis 3:19 Mystery ship intro 6:58 Girl's trip to Orion wedding plot 45:38 Boimler/Rutherford diplomacy plot 1:01:14 Final thoughts and outro

With a bit of time between season 4's finale and a ways to go before season 5, the Lower Dorks hosts take us back through the highlights of this past season. We discuss the metaplot, character progression for all of the Warp Drive Five, best jokes and episodes, and more!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:31 How did our predictions do? 5:51 Locarno metaplot 10:47 Main character arcs (plus T'lyn! And Ransom!) 45:39 Best gags of the season 58:33 Best episodes of the season 1:07:38 Random thoughts: Chewing gum, Ransom's door chime response, Caitians ate Betazoids, Dominion War memorial and Mariner's trauma, Badgey's wholesome ending, Agimus and Peanut Hamper progression, Goodgey, new plots in season 5, what about Rutherford?, Wrath of Khan re-creation, SHIPS 1:23:41 Outro

Let's all go to Starbase 80?! The Lower Dorks host talk about the ill-reputed starbase and hypothesize about the best way to eat corn dogs, and consider this whole episode to be a Starbase 80 backdoor pilot.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:11 Paramount+ episode description 3:27 Boimler beard update 6:06 Exposition: Wetsuits, scatting 8:22 Starbase 80 18:21 Warp Core Four zombie plot 30:48 Freeman/Ransom nav processor plot 35:55 Beluga squeaks? 37:01 Final thoughts 38:24 Outro

The Lower Dorks hosts love ships, and Season 3 had a lot of them! We're joined once again by Star Trek ship guru Thomas Marrone to discuss all the ships that made an appearance! There are so many ships that we had to split our talk into two episodes, woah!

0:00 Intro and Thomas Marrone's (re-)introduction 10:56 Drink announcement 13:32 Freeman's fake ship, "Grounded" 15:06 Vulcan playground ship, "Grounded" 18:13 Phoenix, "Grounded" 26:06 Drydock, "Grounded" 28:58 Gary's Space Station, "Grounded" 31:53 Starfleet security ships, "Grounded" 37:37 Akira-class and alien ship, "Grounded" 44:54 Olympic-class, "Grounded" 50:37 Dulaine's orbital lifts, "Least Dangerous Game" 53:22 USS Hood, "Mining the Mind's Mines" 56:47 Dove and other ships, "Room for Growth" 1:05:33 Sampaguita and Delta Flyer, "Reflections" 1:11:59 D'deridex, "Reflections" 1:14:58 Outro

Federation Attack fighter model, Hangar B productions: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/federation-attack-fighter-e8a4ee7b6a7d43218bfad55b64030ff0

The crossover episode is here! The Lower Dorks hosts cover everything about this one, from the intro sequence to apology limericks... and we even try the internet's attempt at an Orion Hurricane!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 3:33 Episode synopsis 4:12 OK, but was it good? 5:16 Frakes's direction 8:28 Animated vs live action and Mariner/Boimler appearances 18:30 Animated opening sequence 23:17 Breaking the fourth wall 28:30 Enterprise homages and the drinks 33:56 Boimler screams in live action, in-universe hero worship 37:58 Pike can't stand Boimler 45:22 One-liners 46:51 Ensign in charge of time portal missions, horonium fuel 49:00 Holocamera from Voyager 50:42 Number one calling herself Number One 51:45 Setlik system, Boimler's possible guilt, Cardassian knowledge 57:05 Commbadge log entries return 58:37 The Riker 58:59 Tritriticale reference 59:31 Nausicaan portrayal 1:01:17 Conversation with Pelia 1:04:19 Enterprise shuttlebay look 1:06:39 Apology limerick and NX-class piece 1:08:38 Pin-up poster and ad astra per aspera continuation 1:12:13 Tech-y-ons 1:13:00 Outro

Orion Hurricane recipe: https://twitter.com/TheScorch1701/status/1683146996826210309

Klingons, Vulcans and Starfleet, oh my! One of the best episodes of the series presents itself near the end of Season 2, and the Lower Dorks hosts are here to talk about it.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:45 Plot synopsis 3:30 Plot A on board the Cerritos 18:03 Plot B on board the Che'Ta' 24:34 DAMMIT MIKE - Klingon blood color 26:19 Back to Plot B 28:11 Plot C on board the Sh'Vhal 36:16 Convergence of A+B+C Plots 38:15 Pakleds comedy and plot 40:54 Cadets and their uniforms 41:54 RITOS shirt 42:32 Quick visual freeze-frame gags 45:02 The Borg Lower Decks 46:24 Will Captain Freeman be okay?! 48:12 Outro

Lower Decks's last episode! The Lower Dorks hosts cover everything from the excellent animation quality, all the Shrodinger Field ships, character sendoffs (especially Ransom!) and hopes for a spinoff that's definitely coming, right guys? Guys?

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:36 Paramount+ episode description 2:47 No opening credits battle change 3:21 New Klingon, her ship, other Klingon stuff 12:45 Shrodinger Field! Briefing, ship alternates and more 34:16 Shaxs/T'ana closure and continuinty 35:44 Boimler and Mariner 42:20 Tendi and Rutherford... and T'Lyn 52:47 Ransom Rant 1:00:40 Dimensional rift, SB80, Captain Freeman 1:07:26 Mariner's sendoff VO and minor character sendoffs 1:14:22 Dual first officers?! And future for Mariner and Boimler 1:17:55 Overall reaction 1:20:00 Outro 

We're between seasons, and it's a fun time to talk about tie-ins! We're joined by author Chris Farnell to discuss the in-universe handbook given to all new crewmembers on board the Cerritos!

0:00 Intro, guest and drink announcement 3:44 Everything Chris Farnell, plus book overview 11:29 How canon is the book, and the Cerritos name history 15:11 The in-text comments, and how do you spell com badge? 18:13 Characters and Equipment sections 55:52 Badgey 2.0 and Starfleet procedure 58:51 Shifts and Elite Force 1:04:36 Shipboard activities board 1:07:39 Cerritos name history 1:12:19 Onboard facilities, with a few digressions 1:33:11 Races 1:37:41 Cerritos Bingo, Boimler's drafting strategy, general Star Trek reflection 1:46:48 Chris gives the pitch for the book 1:47:51 Stavros and Aaron final thoughts, Chris's other works 1:57:37 Outro

The Lower Dorks hosts have a bad experience making their own micheladas, but still manage to discuss the Purple D too much, and worry about the societal implications of giant produce.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 4:02 Paramount+ episode description 4:51 Episode title 5:36 Boimler and Rutherford beard update, the red PADD and micheladas 13:27 Sex jokes 14:34 Data and the Purple D 19:15 Tendi vs T'Lyn science-off! 23:32 The aliens and their planet, other episode references 29:05 Snell! 30:11 Prime directive violations: hair, giant produce, more 33:25 All about T'Lyn 37:04 But was the episode  good? 41:07 Outro

A cinnamon-flavored episode is here, with the Lower Dorks hosts enjoying some Jack Daniels Cinnamon Spice Tennessee Fire while musing about Ransom's cinnamon-scented churro wife, amongst other elements of S3E4.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:50 Plot synopsis 2:35 Writer credit 4:15 Goopy 5:11 Minooki, masks and ship transformations 9:02 New warp core animation? 9:52 Billups's breakdown and Shaxs besting Migleemo 11:07 Maquis!? 13:27 Space towels 14:28 New ships and edosians 18:42 Puppy torture room 19:45 Holodecks and Geordi hate 25:08 Swamp time, Doopler, hydroponics and Orion beatings 29:04 Deflector room spins 31:42 COME 32:47 Delta shifter details 33:26 Ransom's churros 35:18 Basic problem solving, Bold Boimler and everyone's demise 36:19 TNG's Lonely Among us sensor room 38:03 Advancements in relaxation engineering 38:51 Rutherford and his anger 39:57 Overall thoughts 40:56 Outro 

The Mysterious Threat is finally coming into focus, but the Lower Dorks hosts are all about the details revealed about Mariner's past in the penultimate episode of the fourth season!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:09 Episode synopsis 4:21 Writing and directing credits 6:15 Cold open 11:36 Captain Freeman and co B-plot 30:08 Mariner's backstory A-plot 43:45 Metaplot hypotheses 52:05 Random other details: Bynar dialog, Lucarno's ship 54:26 Outro

Lower Decks has a comic! Hosts Stavros and Aaron are joined by Star Trek Lower Decks comic series artist Chris Fenoglio to discuss everything about 2022's Lower Decks comic miniseries, and Stavros has a few too many inane opinions about capes and castles.

0:00 Intro and drink announcements 3:29 Details on the comics, Chris's introduction 5:45 Our comic book experience, Chris educates us 15:04 Art style 21:07 Catullans and Stavros's torpedoed theory 25:10 Cover art tease on issue #2 30:12 The skant's triumphant return 34:39 Plot discussion 40:47 The cape and Boimler's association 45:31 Would the Qvanti ruse work? 48:38 Yentoa castle is a castle 50:46 The Barclay chair and other details 56:16 Dracula's Cape and castle 1:01:12 Mariner and the MSD spread 1:05:34 Rutherford and the not-exocomp 1:08:10 Ransom and his office 1:13:50 Freeman and her commbadge log entries 1:14:32 Dr. T'ana and Shaxs 1:19:16 Qvanti and other alien designs 1:20:00 Reworking aliens, new CGI and Star Wars? 1:25:36 Stavros's wrong opinions about collars 1:26:00 Holodeck sets (Enterprise bridges and ships!), Dixon Hill office 1:34:43 Sequels in the works? 1:35:34 Looking like the show 1:40:21 Outro

Dealing with promotions is the name of the game in this week's episode of Lower Decks, and the Lower Dorks hosts are in the weeds, discussing Boimler's performance, the out of hand hazing ritual and the intrinsic coolness of ringworlds.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:51 Episode synopsis 3:40 The ringworld and Captain Freeman 12:24 Boimler's mission 27:03 Anomaly room and Mariner/Tendi/Rutherford's haze 43:52 Final thoughts 45:52 Outro

Season 3 is back and we're here to eat raisins! Lower Dorks hosts cover everything from S3E1, from catching all the details from the newscaster announcements in the cold open to asking why autopilot sucks. Also, is the mystery of Boimler's hair finally put to rest??

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:15 Plot synopsis 1:36 Warp Core Four 2:00 Star Trek IP intro on Paramount+ 2:57 Newscaster details 5:46 Lower Decker's place in the Pakled plot 7:46 Admiral Freeman, his friend and the Golden Gate Bridge 9:59 Opening credits changes 10:45 Boimler's raisin farm 11:53 Sisko's Kitchen scene 13:44 Transporter facility 16:16 Bozeman theme park, Gavin, music and Cochrane 24:10 Boimler's logs 27:40 Drydock guards gag 28:32 Autopilot issues 29:41 Captain Bateman and Tuvok 32:03 Mariner handed off to Ransom 33:45 Phasers clean stuff again 34:45 The end of Captain Gavin? 36:14 Lower Decks' Phoenix model 36:44 Where's the season going? 37:12 Outro

One last episode before season 5 starts airing! This time we take a deep dive with all the Lower Decks pre-season marketing, including the Star Trek Day 2024 exclusive clip, the season's teaser trailer and an in depth look at the season's full trailer!

Episode sequels continue in Season 3, and now it's Boimler's go! We cover everything from wanting our own Knickknac episode to the Boimler psychological trauma resolution and Tendi's new character development.

00:00 Intro and drink announcement 00:55 Episode synopsis 01:13 Episode opening 04:27 About the writer 05:43 Back to the Opening 06:14 Stavros goes on about clothing again 07:30 Still more opening 15:18 Voice actor planet 17:08 Tenderford adventure time! 31:18 Boiminer Soul Searching time! 41:35 Safety Protocols 45:01 Cliffhanger, Sans Sylvester Stallone 48:53 Final Thoughts 54:56 Outro

The Lower Dorks hosts are very into the last episode of the season! We talk about Locarno and how he makes for an awesome villain, panic at all the cool new ships that we wish we had time to talk about (especially the Orion ones!) and lament the changes to Tenderford. And how many towel-clad lower deckers ARE there, anyway?

We've also learned after we recorded this episode that the ship Mariner pilots in this episode is a new ship type is a small version of the Steamrunner class, the Sabrerunner! Aaron still doesn't like it, though.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:29 Episode synopsis 2:30 Orion battleship aside 4:43 Directing and writing credits 7:13 Last time on Lower Decks 7:57 Starfleet Academy flashback 16:05 Locarno and his fleet 31:30 Mariner's escape and the genesis device 42:20 Locarno's galactic message and other lower deckers 45:21 Freeman, Tendi and the Orions subplot 54:37 Sarcastic Steamrunner (Sabrerunner) computer voice aside 56:30 Tendi cliffhanger! 1:01:29 End of season brief thoughts 1:04:15 Outro

With Mariner doing what she does best (being a rebel), Boimler doing... Boimler things (screaming) and the addition of a Kirk sundae with Trip Tucker sprinkles, it's all the Lower Dorks hosts can do to join the conversation and talk about killer Roombas.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:21 Writer and Director credits 4:17 Episode synposis 5:12 Cold open, sonic showers, Mariner vs Jet 9:10 Lieutenant Kayshon and Tamarians 11:13 Boimler on the Titan  15:36 Aaron's tentacle character 16:10 The Collectors and related references 19:02 Excalbian diorama and Lincoln 19:53 Flying Roombas, robot arms and incorrect predictions from the trailers 21:02 Carrying puppet Kaython 22:12 Kelpian on the Titan? 23:31 Pakleds plot  25:24 What's going on with Boimler? 29:43 Boimler's return 31:14 Puppet rays and Kayshon's prospects 32:55 Outro 

Season 3 draws to a close with one of the strongest episodes of the season! Revelations include Towel Guy's name, Badmirals and only a few Star Trek non sequiturs!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:49 Episode synopsis 2:25 Episode title origin 3:28 Douglas Station exterior shot 4:46 Mariner's archaeology 10:33 Admiral Buenamigo and his motives 18:33 The Texas Class 21:27 The Lower Deckers react, Towel Guy, Boimler's imitations, phaser maintenance 26:27 The California/Texas challenge, crew readiness, command staff 32:34 Rutherford's conspiracy 35:09 The last battle, Maximum Warp Me, Shaxs's defining moment 43:35 California finale: Names, paint jobs and more 50:25 T'Lyn makes her appearance 55:08 Rutherford's obliviousness 55:52 Final thoughts 58:48 Outro

It's a little known fact that the Lower Dorks hosts are TTRPG afficionados... and with a Lower Decks themed expansion to Star Trek Adventures coming out this summer, it's a perfect time to talk about it! Don't know what a TTRPG is, or why you should care? We talk with Modiphius experts on the project (Project manager Jim Johnson and writer Al Spader) to fill in the blanks! (We also do play a fill in the blanks game in this episode too).

0:00 Intro and guest introductions 8:54 What is Star Trek Adventures? 12:30 New to the Lower Decks TTRPG experience, range of content in STA 19:00 Lower Decks Campaign Guide details, celebs, narrative focus 29:36 Collaboration with Paramount, getting the Lower Decks flavor 41:28 Al's favorite contributions 44:08 Random elements in the Campaign Guide 48:08 Other Lower Decks STA content: crew packs, Lurkers standalone adventure, mission briefs 58:10 Sandbox elements, courtroom dramas 1:07:18 Game: We build our own Lower Decks mission brief! 1:17:00 Outro

Modiphius site: https://www.modiphius.net/

Lower Decks Campaign Guide: https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/star-trek-adventures-star-trek-lower-decks-campaign-guide

Listing off all the references we spotted during the job fair is only PART of what the Lower Dorks hosts discuss during this episode, which turned out to be one of the better offerings of Season 3. Rutherford doesn't get Tuvixed!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 3:22 Episode synopsis 4:31 Towel guy 5:20 Kirk and Spock's cinematic chemistry 6:45 Pod plant callback 8:00 Sequoia shuttlecraft 9:23 Red Rutherford and more info on Rutherford's background 11:14 Punkford/Rude Rutherford, Sub Rosa, speaking style gag, okey dokey origins 15:52 Kicking doors and karate chops 16:56 Red Rutherford's outfit 19:43 Racing ships and the race 23:38 Medical skullcap reference? 24:49 Rude Rutherford's death 25:51 Conspiracy hypotheses 28:57 Tulgana IV 29:48 List of booths and race references 42:13 Boimler goes ape-sh*t 43:49 17 test attempts 44:32 Boimler in the brig and Ransom's reaction 45:06 Ransom's orders and Starbase 80 46:10 Nagus staff and Petra's offer 48:30 Final thoughts 50:37 Outro

The hosts of Lower Dorks are joined by Thomas Marrone, Lead Ship Artist on Star Trek Online, to have a drink and discuss one of the main characters of Lower Decks... the U.S.S. Cerritos! Prepare for a nerdy deep dive.

• 0:00 Intro and drink announcement
• 2:00 Initial reactions
• 7:17 Fitting into Starfleet ship evolution and the California Class's role
• 13:25 Master Systems Display and ship layout
• 32:22 Shuttlebay and shuttlecraft
• 40:44 Second contact mission, division stripe and repair bay
• 50:02 Residential hallways, squash courts and holodecks
• 57:25 Star Trek power and the Cerritos
• 1:00:48 Lounge/bar and mess halls
• 1:05:17 Intro credits and ship as a character
• 1:07:37 Outro

Throwback to Those Old Scientists are full on in this episode that features Mugatos and their various other pronounciations, and the Lower Dorks hosts are all over it! Don't miss the new DAMMIT MIKE segment.

00:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:08 Episode synopsis 3:10 Denobulans! 3:55 Everything Mugatos 4:24 DAMMIT MIKE: Why make Mispronounciation of Mugatos Canon?! 6:37 Back to Mugatos 8:04 Mariner's history fakeout 10:33 Aussie Tellarite and blood 11:11 Rutherford/Boimler team up and their solution 16:46 Tendi's medical coat 17:41 What is Kayshon's job?? 19:23 Bronze pineapple 20:03 Alien scammer and tractor factors 22:30 Billups snubbed, again 23:03 Starfleet black ops 23:40 Parks shuttle names 24:23 Kzinti return! 25:42 Board game introduced: Diplo-math 26:53 T'ana and Shaxs: an item? 28:31 Outro

Only two episodes left! The Lower Dorks host talk about this episode that's chock full of guest stars and awesome animation! Remember to never promote your Harry Kim, but promote your Boimlers as fast as your Vendome.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:36 Episode Paramount+ description 3:04 Boimler Beard Update 4:00 Warp Drive Five intro 5:55 William Boimler, multiverse and the Anaximander 14:55 T'Pol guest star! Plus Curzon 18:32 Garak and Holo-Bashir guest stars! 21:50 Harry Kims guest star! 23:52 Lily Sloane guest star! 25:23 The Beagle and her mission 29:22 The Khwopians 31:38 The multiverse danger solution, was the episode good? 36:47 Character development in the last episode? And other hopes and nonsense 39:15 Outro

This is not a Halloween episode, but maybe it should be! The Lower Dorks hosts discuss everything about the third to last episode of Lower Decks, including the whole reversal concept, Ransom's switcheroo and... France for some reason.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 3:31 Paramount+ episode description 4:45 Pumpkin carving, Boimler Beard update and metaplot 9:07 Upper decks concept, the setting and space cows? 15:25 Shaxs and sidebar on animation 21:00 Dr. T'Ana and Nurse Westlake 24:31 Billups 29:44 Ransom 34:16 Freeman and Stevenson... and Paris 45:40 T'Lyn's dunk 46:47 But was it good? 48:34 Outro

Season 4 is here! The Lower Dorks hosts cover everything from the first two episodes, including T'Lyn reactions, the fate of the macroviruses and the usual hero worship for Ransom and Rutherford.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:25 Episode synopses

Twovix 4:59 New opening credits 7:26 Boimler holodeck sequence 9:49 T'Lyn 12:08 Voyager secret mission and station 14:33 Voyager appearance and detail 17:34 Macrovirus plot 26:16 Twovix plot 33:59 Promotions and Ransom, plus trailer edits 36:34 Mysterious threat epilogue

I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee 44:49 Romulan cold open and title discussion, plus bloodwine 46:36 Shaxs and T'ana's relationship, plus the stretchy scene 48:25 Boimler apartment shopping plot 55:39 Rutherford Promotion (and Tendi) plot 1:00:58 Menagerie (with Mariner and Ransom) plot 1:13:00 Last minute observations 1:15:39 Outro

In the last episode  before Season 4, the Lower Dorks hosts take a look at all all the cold opens from seasons 1-3 and talk about which ones are the best per season and which one is the best overall!

0:00 Intro 1:52 Season 1 drink 2:59 Season 1 cold opens, ranked 11:17 Season 2 drink 12:41 Season 2 cold opens, ranked 26:12 Season 3 drink 27:29 Season 3 cold opens, ranked 34:00 Top overall cold open from Seasons 1-3 39:31 Top overall drink flavor 40:40 Outro

Season 4 is coming soon, and the trailer is out with Comic-Con! Lower Dorks host take a shot-by-shot look at the trailer and dissect it for the smallest details.

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 2:16 In-depth look at Season 4 trailer 49:22 Outro

Season 4 trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCQwncbQx04

Lower Dorks hosts Stavros and Aaron discuss everything they know about Lower Decks season 2. They scoured the internet for all the juicy nuggets of information (and paid completely too much attention to every shot in the trailers) so you don't have to!

• 0:00 Intro and drink announcement
• 2:11 Season 2 Official Trailer
• 32:48 Social Media Teaser Trailer
• 36:52 Season 2 Teaser Trailer discussion
• 43:00 Two Weeks Left Social Media Trailer
• 50:42 Comic-Con @ Home panel
• 53:03 Other interview nuggets
• 1:01:43 What don't we know that we're excited about?
• 1:06:42 Outro

Sources:

• Season 2 Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxdKo0eXUKY
• Social Media Teaser Trailer: https://twitter.com/StarTrekOnPPlus/status/1414630642407460864
• Season 2 Teaser Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSLcErfzHuc
• Two Weeks Left Social Media Trailer: https://twitter.com/StarTrekOnPPlus/status/1420791231865446403?s=20
• Comic-Con @ Home panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRxhSEN4LLQ
• Trekmovie interview: https://trekmovie.com/2021/05/13/interview-mike-mcmahan-talks-lower-decks-season-2-star-trek-easter-eggs-and-coordinating-with-prodigy/
• Collider interview: https://collider.com/star-trek-lower-decks-mike-mcmahan-interview/
• Screenrant interview: https://screenrant.com/star-trek-lower-decks-jack-quaid-interview/
• IGN interview: https://www.ign.com/articles/star-trek-lower-decks-mike-mcmahan-reveals-his-favorite-trek-episodes-ever
• Inverse.com interview: https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/startrek-lowerdecks-season-2-release-date-trailer-cast
• TrekCore interview: http://blog.trekcore.com/2020/12/mike-mcmahan-shares-new-updates-on-star-trek-lower-decks-season-2/
• Comicbook.com interview: https://comicbook.com/startrek/news/star-trek-lower-decks-season-2-riker-uss-titan-return/

Lower Dorks unite! In the first episode of the Lower Dorks podcast, Aaron and Stavros take a look back at what made Season 1 of Star Trek Lower Decks so good in preparation for Season 2's debut in August!

0:00 Intro and drink announcement 1:06 Why does this show exist, and why do we love Lower Decks? 5:48 Mike McMahan's fingerprints 8:20 Aaron's favorite character: Commander Ransom 10:15 Mariner's depth  13:45 Stavros's favorite character: Rutherford 14:53 Boimler's likeability and growth 21:46 The Cerritos: aesthetics and functionality 29:43 Rutherlips and professional support 33:01 Cameos - Frakes, Sirtis, J.G. Hertzler, Kurtwood Smith 40:42 Favorite jokes from the first season 46:08 Favorite referenes from the first season 49:19 Season 2 wishlist  56:11 Uniforms reaction, jacket tucks into pants! 1:01:08 Rewatching pros and cons 1:05:30 Outro