Spoilers Star Trek: Lower Decks 5x06 - "Of Gods and Angles"

[matthunter]

Starfleet tech rollout is either slow or we're back to the Cerritos not getting the latest kit, since really Wesley Crusher invented the handheld tractor beam way back in TNG S1. OK, handheld is pushing it (repulsor beam hah!) though there is a pic of him supporting it with his palm (and other arm to steady).

It was bigger, but given the intervening time period miniaturisation should be trivial. Given Geordi's praise for it (even if he was intoxicated - and not Chief Engineer - at the time) you'd think they'd have put it forward as a concept for wider use.

 

[Will_Carter]

tarfleet tech rollout is either slow or we're back to the Cerritos not getting the latest kit, since really Wesley Crusher invented the handheld tractor beam way back in TNG S1. OK, handheld is pushing it (repulsor beam hah!) though there is a pic of him supporting it with his palm (and other arm to steady).

I took it as Olly having scratch built it herself rather than using an off the shelf model or design.

Also miniaturization isn't always trivial. So condensing the thing down into something similar to a handheld phaser is actually noteworthy unless proven otherwise in my opinion.

 

[matthunter]

Also miniaturization isn't always trivial.

Runabouts seem to work perfectly well when shrunk to only a few inches long.

 

[Will_Carter]

Runabouts seem to work perfectly well when shrunk to only a few inches long.

I mean... ya? But at the same time I am not entirely sure that process is replicatable in a consistent manner. If nothing else i don't think the bajoran prophets would be willing to let starfleet borrow their house for shennanagins like that.

 

[Qonundrum]

This is already my favorite episode of the season. So many funny parts and I'm 14 minutes in. Also, T'Ana is in it longer than just a minute.

Finished the episode. That felt like classic Lower Decks. I'm generous, so that's my first 10 of the season.

I resemble those remarks!

I should have written everything down that worked, but I'd run out of storage space on my device what with only having 393,216,042,047 bytes of storage space left and all, and one letter is one byte and all. So I'll have to remain condensed, like that tin of soup that, when you open it and the can opener goes brr-brr-brr-brr-brr and then all the cats come running because Pavlov taught them to salivate every time they hear the can opener open their tin of pate kitty plop...

Ronald B Moore threw me for a loop - nice touch!

Love the new crewmember! I was expecting some references to Apollo and Beefaroni, but was pleasantly surprised that they didn't go directly into that well and skirted around such barrel-scrapings instead. (Hmmm, is that why the opening credits show the Apollo hand as homage? Double-winner in that regard.)

I agree that the cubes and orbs aren't the most original, but somehow they just fit into the proverbial pegboard of this show and work wonders, used really well. Especially as photonic life forms. That sort of twist is Lower Decks to a T.

The cubes forming a bigger cube had some great verbal gags, complete with the "how original" over both factions combining as such that had me howling, plus the most visual gag being an old Windows 3D screensaver running within the mass of cubes... the orb's internal mass reminded me of a great Android game, "Osmos". Shame it's no longer available-- oh wait, it is back!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!!!! /antsy-induced-digression

Oh yeah, even the "Romeo and Juliet" subplot worked. I did think of the Okona episode briefly, only this eppy is far better constructed and doesn't feel as cliché-ridden. Big plus.

The night in the brig -- can't believe (I forgot her name as well) was being all Mariner in that regard, but I loved the parallels between her and Mariner too.

And the offspring making a doody tops it all off.

Easy 10/10.

Still can't believe this is the final season. Yeah, it started strong, took a dip (but still had some neat ideas), but this and the previous episode definitely feel like high points were reclaimed. And there's more episodes to come.