Ranking Star Trek Pilots From Every Series Worst To Best

5. Second Contacts And Second Chances, Let's Give This Animated Thing Another Try, Shall We?

Star Trek Lower Decks USS Cerritos
CBS

Although it may be a bit mean to say this, no one truly expected Star Trek Lower Decks to be great. Good, certainly. There was some excellent talent lined up behind the scenes and the show was thankfully not hindered by the lockdown, with the actors able to record remotely. At best, some were hoping that this would be a fun addition to the franchise.

It has become so much more! While there are moments of comedy that seem more at place in Rick and Morty, the show is treating the franchise not just with respect, but with reverence. In the pilot, we are greeted with a shot of Spacedock, followed by the surprisingly lovely USS Cerritos. The animation is superb and the voice talent nails it.

The show is, to quote a famous TrekCulture voice, piss funny - it absolutely smashes the comedy, while honouring what came before. The pilot closes by name dropping not only Kirk and crew, but also poor Gary Mitchell who hasn't been heard off since 1966. Yet none of it feels tacked on and the relationships that are quickly established feel as real as any we have seen before.

The future of Star Trek seems to be in good hands at the moment and as Trekkies, that is a good place for us to be!

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"