Lower Decks

DVD, TNG S7 (Lower Decks)

When I first saw this I thought it was all a test, and in a way I was right. The episode itself was a test of the series' sophistication, how far it had come, if it had come far enough for the world it had created aboard the Enterprise to be real enough to carry the story instead of relying on the main characters. It's not like they abandoned the regulars in exchange for a cast of unknowns, but they struck a finely judged balance between the characters we're used to seeing and a mix of new ones and familiar faces. To begin with, I thought the episode would have been punchier had more, or all of the main roles of the story been filled with people like Ogawa whom we knew as a recurring background face. Two of those, Miles and Keiko O'Brien, would have been potentials, but they'd already moved to DS9. That was before the ending, which is surprising and unexpected, and showed that as well as reaching the point of maturity in its world, 'TNG' had also learned to take the uncomfortable way out sometimes. I don't know whether the 'DS9' series had rubbed off on its sister show, already so different and trying much that was new, but whoever gets the credit, this was 'TNG' at full power.

For a story that is mostly people talking in the bar, people talking round the poker table, and people talking… at every point on the ship, this succeeded in allowing us to see 'behind the scenes' of day to day life aboard, not just any starship, but The Starship, the flagship of the Federation. Many issues that may not even have been considered were you to take the episodes generally, are given an airing. The best explanation I can make is that it was a continuation of the Academy that we'd seen in 'The First Duty,' assisted by having Ensign Sito along, but without being a direct sequel, another chapter in her and other such cadet's lives. What makes it more special than simply being a look into the inner workings of the command structure, is her story playing out, that meant so much and comes down so heavy on the conclusion. Yet even then it's so well handled, the scene with Worf joining her friends at the table, that it plays on more than one level.

We're kept almost as much in the dark as the lower officers are, not allowed to know the plan, or even see who the mysterious visitor is that was beamed aboard the Enterprise, we're shown the door just as he's materialising. This makes the tough moments Ensign Sito goes through so much harder to take - chewed out by Picard; taught a physical lesson by Worf. But her troubles aren't played out in isolation, and her fellow officers, her friends, really make a believable group, each having their own hangups, whether it's Lavelle and his belief Commander Riker hates him, Ogawa's difficult period with her fiance, or Taurik's failure to see eye to eye with Geordi. Alexander Enberg preempts his most famous character of Vorik the Vulcan of 'Voyager,' by playing Taurik, and getting the mannerisms and perspective of the race down pat. Even down to subtle detail as when he straightens up as Worf sits down at his table, or his inability to understand that La Forge doesn't need his every suggestion to be acted on immediately!

Seeing the story from minor participant's viewpoints was a brilliant device because it gives us a new view of the main characters and how they come across to those that serve under them. I loved Ben and his ability to be completely casual with 'Will' and the other senior officers because he's a civilian bartender, even joining them for a game of poker! That was another brilliant scene, although the more I thought about it, the more strange it seemed that the chosen pastime on the Enterprise is a game of money and gambling for acquisition, but money doesn't exist in the 24th Century. So were they playing for points or replicator privileges? Whatever, it was smartly intercut for a great scene between the seniors and juniors playing separate games. It also becomes part of the build up to the finale of the series, and the most important moment of Picard realising they are his family, because we're seeing most of the senior staff playing, and we generally don't see them together like that unless it's at a briefing with the Captain.

If the ending shocks, I was further impressed that they even managed to snick in the discussion of racism with the Cardassian and Sito able to openly discuss the issue because they both have the same goals. At first I didn't buy that Joret Dal could be a member of the military, yet wanted peace, but with the varied number of his race we've seen on 'DS9' it shouldn't be a surprise. And he was right, peace was what his world needed. I wonder if the line about ambitious Guls taking over the military was a direct point out to Gul Dukat? He hadn't risen to quite the prominence he would enjoy in the mid to later seasons of 'DS9,' but he was probably the best example of the plague of Cardassia. And that was another level of enjoyment added to the episode: the linking to the 'DS9' world. Not overtly, it's only Bajor that's mentioned, but talk of Federation spies, or sympathisers, with secret missions, was all still pointing to the tensions that continued between the race and Starfleet, without standing on the toes of the writer's of that series or constraining them in any way.

A funny moment for me was in realising after I watched the episode (checking out Memory Alpha), that Riker was talking about one 'aye' was enough to Lavelle, not one 'eye' as I thought he'd meant - the guy swings round on his chair, that's where the misconception came from, not that I was expecting Lavelle to wink at his Commander! I appreciated the gik'tal coming to mean 'To The Death' in Klingon as it became an episode title for 'DS9' that featured Worf heavily. One thing we didn't see was Nurse Ogawa's promotion Beverly had promised her. It would have taken away from the Lavelle promotion, and that was really about the absent Sito for whom it might have been, so they made another good call there. What works so well is in the warmth given to Sito (even down to Picard risking the treaty by launching a probe to find out what happened to her), by people that had a right to resent her, and another example of the better future Roddenberry envisaged, where people are given another chance to make up for past indiscretion. And how often do we hear the Captain addressing all Starfleet officers aboard his ship! I respect this episode for trying a different format and for taking the risk in not having the main cast front and centre. However much 'TNG' learned from 'DS9,' this episode may have helped that other series to come to the point where recurring characters could have as much prominence as any in the main titles, and a great precedent it set, leading to some of the best Trek ever.

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