10 Star Trek Episodes That Completely Ignored Convention
8. Crisis Point
Star Trek: Lower Decks is both a self-aware parody of the franchise overall and a sweet love letter to Star Trek itself. Each episode is so full of easter eggs and nods to previous stories that it's a wonder the writers ever have a chance to write a plot to wind around them. However, wind they do, and each of the show's first ten episodes has their own self-contained story to enjoy.
Crisis Point is the closest that the show comes a slide-show presentation of the various depictions of Star Trek. There is even a credit sequence within the episode as well. Mariner uses the holodeck to create her own story, set in their own universe, even though it is clearly a rip-roaring ride through the greatest hits of the franchise.
One of the most loving examples of the gentle ribbing it gives includes the over-the-top long shots, electrical discharge, and numerous lens flares as they pan past the USS Cerritos inside the Starbase. This is a reference to the Kelvin films, acknowledging the overuse of each of those tricks in the trilogy. The entire episode plays like the franchise turning the fans, cheekily saying 'we know, we know' and warping away into more comedy.