The Cerritos is working alongside another Starfleet vessel to relocate a ship which never reached its destination, carrying a cargo of terraforming material.

One of the joys of Lower Decks is watching the setting up of things that could go wrong, because on this show, if it can go wrong, it will. It’s like the opening scenes of Casualty where someone’s up a stepladder, playing with live electricity… it’s just a matter of time before ‘boom!’ This week, we witness a very volatile hold of material that converts inorganic material into life, and sure enough, that genie is let out of the bottle.

Ensign Mariner gets to spend enforced time with her mother, Captain Freeman, and it’s easy to see how the latter’s domineering character has created a rebellious daughter. I don’t however believe that Mariner would be quite so disrespectful in official company, and would probably deserve to be kicked off the ship. As it is, she’s tasked with waste removal from the Holodeck – ewww, people use it for that! – and promoted to lieutenant to show her what a more senior role entails.

Boimler has less to do this week, beyond trying to be a bad boy, with Tendi getting the secondary plot. The Orion wants to be liked, but accidentally disrupts a religious ceremony of spiritual enlightenment. She makes a new best friend in Haley Joel Osment’s Lieutenant O’Connor, though this is fairly short lived.

Verdict: Enjoyable enough, but we’re only four episodes in and the same resolution to the ship-wide disaster is being repeated already. And enough with some of the bratty attitude. 6/10

Nick Joy