Lower Decks: Grounded

Star Trek: Lower Decks has returned for its third season, and its first episode back, "Grounded," is a strong reminder of why this show was so beloved before most of us Trekkers became the Distracted Boyfriend meme whipping their heads toward Strange New Worlds.

Mariner is determined to do something to help Captain Freeman out of legal jeopardy, and enlists her friends to help her. They soon find themselves on a quest to hijack a theme park ride to reach the Cerritos... and that's before the plan begins spiraling out of control.

This episode was a great reminder of the powerful alchemy of Lower Decks. At the base, it tells character-driven Star Trek stories that are just as legitimate as any other series in the franchise -- they're just shorter and more light-hearted. "Grounded" is not just a romp, it works because we've actually grown to love these characters over time, and they care about each other even more than the audience cares about them. So yes, they get to riff on Star Trek III and have it matter, risking and sacrificing anything because someone they care for is in trouble and needs help. Yes, the comedic capper on it all is that they didn't actually need to do any of that, but the adventure still feels valid.

But it's Lower Decks, of course, so that Star Trek III-inspired adventure is peppered with references -- particularly to another film, Star Trek: First Contact. That's another part of the alchemy of Lower Decks: the show can endlessly reference existing Star Trek for laughs (check out that news report crawl at the start of the episode), but you don't actually need to know any of that to enjoy the thrill ride. (Literally a thrill ride this week!)

If you do know the references, though, you see that the humor is coming from people who love Star Trek as much as you do. It's not diminishing Picard at all to twist his years spent in a vineyard into Boimler's family raisin business. It actually dovetails with First Contact's soft message about hero worship to depict an entire theme park built around Zefram Cochrane. (James Cromwell thought it was all fun enough to be worth coming back to voice the character himself.) And it's basically what real Trek fans would do to imagine a vacation using a real transporter, having Tendi and Rutherford plan a globe-hopping day that includes a lunch stop at Joseph Sisko's restaurant, because of course you would!

With as many jokes as fly at you in the typical Lower Decks episode, it's tempting to describe it as an anarchic assault to try anything for a laugh. But in fact, the show is very carefully managed and orchestrated, and I instantly realized how much I missed it. I give "Grounded" an A-. I'm excited to be getting more of this for the next two months.