Parent reviews for Star Trek: Lower Decks

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March 24, 2022
Gory Violence and Poor Role Models
I am a huge Star Trek fan with two Trekkie kids, 7 and 10. I won't show this show to them. The reasons are:
Excessive gore. There is just no reason at all to show characters being decapitated, having their visible organs exploded across the room, and the like. It does nothing to add to the stories and is played for laughs. This show fluctuates between TV-PG and TV-14 in its ratings, and it earns every bit of it.
Poor conduct by "hero" characters. In Star Trek, Starfleet officers are supposed to be moral exemplars who model good behavior. Yes, there are occasionally "bad egg" officers, but the stories in other shows turn on them receiving their comeuppance. Here, it is the lead characters who lie, slack off, act insubordinate to superiors, treat subordinate crew members with manipulative disrespect, and treat alien life without the proper respect that should be accorded to all sentient beings. This crew acts like an unprofessional group of malcontents.
OK, so that's the kid-focused part of the review. As Star Trek? It's hit and miss. Certainly better than the current nightmarish live-action shows, Discovery and Picard. It has oodles of referential fan service and I would say about 50% of the plots end up resembling classic Star Trek stories. If anything, the show's problem is one of tone. Is it trying to actually be Star Trek or is it trying to be a hip spoof for cynical Rick and Morty fans? It's hard to do both well.
Watch Prodigy instead. It's both a better show for kids and a better Star Trek show overall.
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August 21, 2021
Situational but please check it out!
Some episodes are a bit much for kids in general. My son is very mature for his age, he thinks it's funny and likes it, I chose the episodes.
Some jokes are inappropriate by most metrics but if you talk to your kid and explain it, it's less innuendo than they slipped into cartoons a few decades ago when I was a kiddo
I'm watching Fairly Odd Parents with my kid and I'm like
Yo..
Really? For kids?
Lol
And that's the thing. Most of the inappropriate jokes will go over their head
It was situationally a little scary for my son who is younger than 10, I'd say if your kid is smart and you're fairly liberal with what they watch, 8+ is fine.
There's a lot of positive attributes to the show including diversity and acceptance intolerance and I don't feel like humor negates those things rather I feel like lower decks continues the trend of Star Trek staying ahead of the times. The representation in that show is very positive and there's literally no consumerism in the Star Trek universe most of the time
They even bleep the swear words..
I just want any parents looking into it to give it a shot because I believe it can have a positive impact over a lot of empty cartoons that might be more "appropriate"
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June 3, 2021
lol
great show
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June 3, 2021
great kids shows wrong rating
This is a teen friendly show that deals with real problems it should be rated tv 14 but their is violence but you dont have to like star trek to like this
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May 25, 2021
Great show for kids
This show may be violent but it is pretty kid friendly
My 11 year old son isaiah loves this show
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March 17, 2021
Hilarious.
You don’t need to be a Star Trek fan to appreciate this fabulous cartoon.
It has ever so mild references to gore, sex, alcohol. (You see more in the simpsons)
The characters and their interactions with each other are great, definitely one for the kidult and kids.
Yes it could have better role models , but if the son says this or bojack horseman ... I’m afraid it’s this EVERY TIME.
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October 22, 2020
Female lead is terribly annoying
Mariner is one of the most annoying female leads I have ever seen in my life in an animated series. Everything else is mediocre?