We’ll get to all the glorious Star Trek: First Contact references in a minute. First, it’s imperative we talk about how the previous episode of Lower Decks “First Contact” was titled First Contact and had nothing to do with the 1996 film, but this episode not titled First Contact was, at times, entirely centred around the 1996 film. Maybe the writers were having a little fun with us.
Listen to our latest episode below as we explain…
Listen To This Episode:
The most fun reference to the First Contact film in this episode was their use of the Jerry Goldsmith music. Boimler and crew arrive in Montana at the site to find the statue of Zephran Cockran described by Geordi in the movie. Geordi apparently left out the theme part that had been built around it, including a hologram of Zefram Cochrane himself taking riders on the inaugural launch of the first warp-capable spacecraft. And they even got James Cromwell to lend his voice.
For the uninitiated, this isn’t the first instance Cromwell has reprised his role as Cockran. He occasionally appeared in Star Trek: Enterprise as Zefram Cochrane as well.
Synopsis Of “Grounded”:
Mariner enlists her friends on a rogue mission to exonerate her mother, as Captain Freeman faces a military tribunal for the destruction of Pakled Planet.
To these podcasters, what made this episode enjoyable was the scope and scale of the adventure. The premise was simple: Mariner endeavours to save her mother. But all the different locations and characters the crew meets along the way are what gave it the forward momentum it needed.
Yes, there were some great subtle nods to the First Contact film, but that was merely icing on the space cake. References do not a good episode make, animated or otherwise. Sometimes good science fiction is simply a character needing to get from point A to point B, having to utilize ingenuity in order to accomplish that mission. Hopefully, the rest of the season does follow suit.
