8 Ups & 1 Down For Star Trek: Lower Decks 5.8: Upper Decks

9. UP and DOWN — Upstairs, Downstairs (With Turbolifts)

According to the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, Lower Decks — the seventh season episode of The Next Generation — was partly inspired by writer Ronald Wilkerson's "love of the BBC classic Upstairs, Downstairs". Stairs are a rarity in space, as Ransom reminded us in Starbase 80?! There's certainly no class system in Starfleet and the Federation either, except for the one which has been replaced by rank.

By its very nature, Lower Decks has focussed on the 'downstairs'. It was certainly a great idea to reverse the impetus of the premise and go 'upstairs' (up the turbolift) for an episode. What goes on with the higher-ups when the lower-downs aren't looking? Or, to quote T'Lyn, "Perhaps our commanders are the leads of their own stories when we are not observing them". It is, however, no doubt a great idea that could have been had a lot sooner.

Then again, proper preparation is a luxury — an impossibility — when cancellation is thrust upon you. The switch in perspective to the bridge crew would have worked well in previous seasons, but it's also a bit late for that now. Judging the episode by its own merits, and not just its place in the larger shape of things, Upper Decks is a success. It's only a positive — an UP — that we got to spend more time up there with the senior staff.