TV You Might Have Missed 11 — Star Trek: Lower Decks

The main characters of Lower Decks (L-R):
D'Vana Tendi, Sam Rutherford, Beckett Mariner, and Brad Boimler.

The Star Trek franchise's first first comedy, Lower Decks focuses on one of Starfleet's least important starships, the USS Cerritos. Unlike previous Star Trek series, whose principal characters are typically starship captains and other senior officers, Lower Decks focuses on the missions and adventures of the "lower deckers", low-ranking officers with menial jobs, while the captain and other senior staff appear as supporting characters.

I first heard of this on Scott's Self-Indulgent Movie Podcast. Scott had never watched any Star Trek of any sort but had the cultural understanding of the show. He enjoyed this animated series so much that he binged the whole thing. We had to try it. By Episode 4 we were hooked. Part of the fun is the references to other Star Trek shows that the lower decks gang toss around. Part of it is the friendship between the lower decks gang. And, finally, part is the wackiness and humor. As for the rest, go read Scott's review. Here's a key part that drew me in.

Lower Decks basically handles a movie-level problem every episode as the main thrust or A plot, often with direct homages to the Star Trek movies themselves. Action scenes are quick and feature everything from hand-to-hand combat to space battles and hell they can destroy a moon or a planet if they want to without obvious green screen work. Meanwhile the secondary storylines, either the B or C storylines, are the equivalent of a sci-fi workplace comedy where one character is trying to impress a superior, deal with some interpersonal conflict, or essentially an episode-long joke.

But because it's a comedy, the life or death stakes often have a silly bent to them. For instance, the recurring villain the Pakleds are deadly serious when encountered in combat but are also...complete morons whose hierarchy is based on hats.

This captures the gist of the thing. We've caught up with all four seasons and are eagerly awaiting the final season which will begin streaming in October. Give this a try.

TV You Might Have Missed 7 — Wellington Paranormal

Sergeant Ruawai Maaka of the Wellington Police enlists the aid of Officers Minogue and O'Leary to tackle paranormal events in New Zealand's capital city. The mockumentary follows these kiwi cops as they investigate cases such as the demon possession of a teenager, a noise complaint at a haunted house and a blood bank robbery.

What the description above misses is that the whole thing is done with deadpan humor as the cops clearly don't have the faintest idea what "paranormal" involves. They don't believe in ghosts, think that a wolf in jeans is just like dressed up dogs on YouTube, and are baffled by crop circles.

Partway through the first episode I felt echoes of Flight of the Conchords and, sure enough, Jermaine Clement is a creator. I haven't seen What We Do in the Shadows, having been assured by my girls that it is way too gory for me, but this is a spin-off of that, which makes sense.

So Much Fun: Lupin, Only Murders in the Building

Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers, played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, who share an obsession with a true crime podcast. After a murder in their building, the three neighbors decide to start their own show that covers their investigation of the murder.

We were attracted to this by seeing Steve Martin in the ad. We've watched two episodes. It is clever and funny and the performances are great. Somehow it is like a throwback to the old murder mystery shows while being thoroughly modern. If you haven't heard of this, try it out. The first season of six episodes is on Hulu, with a second season in the works.

 

Lupin is a French mystery thriller series starring Omar Sy in the role of Assane Diop, a man who is inspired by the adventures of master thief Arsène Lupin. The first part, consisting of five episodes, is subtitled Dans l'ombre d'Arsène (In the Shadow of Arsène), referring to the primary character's inspiration. The series became the most-watched non-English series on Netflix.

A lot of people know about this one but we've liked it so much that if you are waiting to try it out, just jump in! It was recommended to us a lot of times but we had other things we had to finish first! Now the time has come and it was worth the wait. 

Omar Sy, Paris, and a crusade to redeem his father's reputation (tarnished at the hands of an evil millionaire, of course) are a combination made to please. We fell in love with Omar Sy in Intouchables, a movie I've pushed a lot around here. His charm and talent are undeniable and a pleasure to watch. I'd read and enjoyed the whimsical tone of the Lupin mysteries, a French series that ran long ago around the same time as the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. These mysteries only slightly intersect with those long ago tales, but the tone is the same — whimsical, ingenious, and Lupin (or Diop) always wins. Paris is almost another character because it adds so much atmosphere to the show.

Two seasons of five episodes each are on Netflix, with a third season in the works.