Cupid's Errant Arrow

 DVD, Lower Decks S1 (Cupid's Errant Arrow)

I remained undecided on the series at this point of the season, in the sense that I still had yet to find an episode to like. On this second run through I've generally enjoyed it a little more, having acclimatised to the warp speech and madcap running around - I'd say that second aspect was actually the best moment in this episode, where the A and B-plots briefly intersect in space and tone: Mariner's legging it after Boimler and his girlfriend, Barb, desperately trying to save him, while passing in the same corridor are Rutherford and Tendi legging it to an office to claim their T88 hand tool, desperate to be the first one there. It's slight in terms of plot intersection, but it also beautifully recalls how some of those old 24th Century episodes would do the same, while one plot ends, another passes by in the same space to end shortly after, and it's these deft nods to Trek tradition that please. Whether they were intentional or not is another matter... but I suspect so since they know their Trek on this series, not something that can be said on the other modern examples. At the same time we do drop back into that need to reel off references to other Trek, a choice I thought we'd moved away from. Even so, it was fun to hear these various suspicions vocalised: Mariner thinks Barb is an alien in disguise, a Romulan spy, a 'salt succubus' (obviously another name for a Salt Vampire), android, changeling, or best of all, an alien in rompers who murders you just for going on the grass ('Justice')! In turn, Barb thought Mariner was: a rogue Holodeck character, a Breen infiltrator, or a parasite ('Conspiracy').

It doesn't matter that some of these wouldn't make sense (does the USS Vancouver have holo-emitters on all decks? Can the Breen exist outside their refrigeration suits?), it's enough that they are all tropes, either specific or general. It tends to be the more subtle references I enjoy more, such as the plot intersection, or Boimler subconsciously being linked with Geordi La Forge and his inability to connect romantically - Mariner accuses him that his girlfriend is actually holographic (as Geordi sort of had in 'TNG' when he recreated Dr. Leah Brahms - funny that she should later show up on this series, but not the last connection to be foreshadowed here), and he even brings Barb a teddy bear wearing Geordi's Visor and uniform as a gift to reinforce the point. There's also the moment Boimler spills beer on Barb that recalls Sonia Gomez spilling hot chocolate on Captain Picard (another character who'd show up later on the series - Gomez, not Picard, though there's still time!), then there's talk of a Transporter clone between Mariner and Boimler as one of the options on her 'wall of weird,' which is even closer foreshadowing since Boimler would get his own duplicate in Season 2, though I'm sure they hadn't planned that far ahead, it's just another well-known story from 'TNG,' so of course it's going to be mentioned. The series remains very focused on 'TNG' at this stage with the Parliament-class USS Vancouver, though it appears to be a much newer vessel than the Cerritos and its California-class, looking much like the Enterprise-D from its carpets, colour scheme and shape of doors.

Saying that, we do get our first, beautiful glimpse of DS9 (assuming it's not a sister station like Empok Nor), though it is a literal glimpse as we see Mariner's old ship, the USS Quito, docked at the station when she recalls an encounter with a shapeshifting alien (which turns into something that looks like a Rancor from 'Star Wars'). It's terrific to see even that external top-half view of the station, and pleasing to fill in a little more of Mariner's backstory, even if it, too, is merely a glimpse (she had big hair then). And even in that scene (whoah, the grey-shoulder uniforms, wahoo!), they're trading gossip about the Enterprise (Data had an evil twin who teamed up with the Borg, although you'd think that would've got around much quicker than the uniforms of that era would suggest since it happened a few years before those were introduced in 'First Contact'). There's also Commander Docent who's PADD password is 'Riker,' a space jump Mariner performs to get to the platform Boimler and Barbara are in (first seen in 'Nemesis,' then 'Into Darkness'), and the whole neural parasite creature that looks very much like those in 'Conspiracy,' though this one's green rather than pink. One of the most fun references is Mariner's wall, with pictures of various species and characters such as the Salt Vampire, Bynars, a surgically altered Cardassian spy (which could be Kira as Iliana Ghemor), Klingon women (which could be Lursa and B'Etor), a whale, a Suliban, what appears to be a Xindi-Reptilian, one of those 'TAS' creatures (was that the Thalosian that gets mentioned as someone she can set Boimler up with, a plant person' - I forget my 'TAS' lore?)...

All this is fine, but it's not the story, though the situation itself did make me snort occasionally. Didn't like the slightly gory transformation into a dangerous creature from Mariner's story, nor the need for nudity, even if, like the worst swearwords, Boimler's full nakedness was covered up, but it's the tone and the intent that makes it uncomfortable, when watching Trek should give you that comfort. It's what often takes me out of the episodes, even more when you consider how close the tone is to the ultimate comfort food of 'TNG,' it's more jarring and cynical - in an episode where you have two such Starfleet-loving people as Rutherford and Tendi who think each ship has a unique smell and are excited about processors (were the 'fluidic' processors meant to reference Fluidic Space from 'Voyager'?). I'd have much preferred if they could have done humour or action without the need to take it to a nastier level - actually I'd have preferred if it was serious animation with the occasional humour (like 'TAS'), but that's beside the point. The little parasite hanging onto the back of Boimler's head was quite funny, oddly, in connecting to the nastiest, goriest episode of old Trek ever made, so they didn't go mad on that bit and it worked. The episode was running along quite nicely until Jet shows up and drops a swearword in as a matter of course and then it jolts you out of this world that you could almost have thought was that of 'TNG.' But I loved the whole mission (which could be the C-plot since it had very little screen time), the Captain 'allowed' to come aboard the Vancouver by its superior Captain, to assist in the destruction of a moon.

It didn't make Starfleet look too good (again), when you have Captain Nguyen be so condescending - it's not that we haven't seen such characters before (I always think of Hobson), but I don't think there was a moment where we got to know her and saw her brilliance and why she should be the best of the best - rather Captain Freeman solves the problem (a little too easily, but it is funny), showing she's just as good, which makes sense, but we could have competition without it seeming like certain officers feel they're better than others, which surely isn't the Starfleet way. But the aliens being so easily satisfied was funny, as was the revelation that the red variation who didn't want the moon destroyed, claiming it would affect his civilisation, consisted of a civilisation of just two: he and his wife! (It could be pointed out that moving a small group is no better, which is what 'Insurrection' was all about, if not for the fact he's obviously just trying to benefit himself and has no real reason or need to stay there). I felt they could have referenced 'Progress' from 'DS9,' but I don't know how, it's just that 'TNG' tends to be the focus even if other series' get their mentions (Boimler describes Jet as a 'Kirk sundae with Trip Tucker sprinkles,' so even 'TOS' and 'Enterprise' were included). Another moment that didn't sit quite right was Rutherford and Tendi stealing a bag each of T88s from the Vancouver. I'm sure if it had merely been one tool each to give to the other it would have come across as sweet, but a pile of them made them look criminal no matter how imbecilic or unfair Commander Docent came across - he, too, wasn't the best example of Starfleet, engineering things to get transferred to the 'easier' ship where things aren't so epic. Don't Starfleet officers want to sign up for that life?

I will say the tableaus of Rutherford and Tendi's imagination where they win the competition and return to their respective departments with a T88 to the adoration of their colleagues was very funny (I can't imagine Dr. T'Ana bowing to anyone!), and generally I did like the mix of simple interpersonal stories with a big science mission, teaming up with another starship (which went a bit better than last time when their competing caused both ships to go all 'Masks'), and it was nice to see Mariner and Barb bond over their experiences with poor Boimler. It was also good to finally hear 'in canon' that his first name is Bradward, just as we got that little bit of career knowledge about Mariner, so they are gently and gradually introducing more information about our characters, and doing it in the way it was done in the Berman era when they had so many more episodes to make and you didn't need major revelations every week, but would slowly get to know the characters. That's one of the better things about first seasons, which are generally weaker for not having got themselves together yet, and it's only right that 'LD' should ape that since that's the era they're invoking. Now they just need to rein back on the gore, swearing and inappropriateness and it would be a lot better. Visually, at least, I love the style and beauty, especially of the space shots. I wonder why there was no teaser this time, it goes straight into the opening credits?

I now recognise the voices well enough to know when regular cast are playing guest characters, Fred Tatasciore is very notable, as is Eugene Cordero, and I'm not sure why they don't try harder to disguise their voices - it is a bit strange that they wouldn't simply have other people to do the stock minor roles, but it must be a budgetary thing, though of course even that's a relic of 'TAS' when James Doohan and Majel Barrett would do most of the guest roles. It doesn't take me out of it (any more than other choices do), but I keep looking out for any recognisable names and it's surprising they hadn't done that when you consider how often they get 'legacy' actors to reprise roles from Season 2 on. There was Nolan North who played Niko (the guy who's actually a 'shape-changer' monster creature), who I assume is the actor of the same name with a small role in 'Into Darkness' as a USS Vengeance bridge officer, but I don't know if animation acting rules are different to live action and whether or not you can have the same name or have to have a different one. I think what's grown on me about the series is despite the overacting and whizz-bang, jack-in-the-box tone, it tended to move more towards the traditional Trek style as it went on. It still isn't quite working, but with the hindsight of future episodes which got to the level of genuinely good Trek, despite the flaws, I can see the seeds of things I like and can disregard the rest.

**