'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Episode 9: Mariner uses the holodeck to recreate some classic movie magic
'Star Trek: Lower Decks' has made light of several of its television series, from the original series, to 'The Next Generation' to 'Picard' and everything in between, but they've been relatively light on the movies, especially the recent films meant to reboot the franchise. They're about to rectify that, as a simple trip to the holodeck turns into something much more as soon as Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) gets her hands on the deck's programming. Get your popcorn ready, because the lower decks crew are going to the movies.
The preview for the next episode shows Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) showing off a new simulation he programmed - a facsimile of the upper decks crew on the bridge with pre-programmed responses for how the crew would respond in real life. Deeply proud of this accomplishment, Boimler undoubtedly wished to use this simulation as further preparation for important missions up on the bridge. However, it's not long before Mariner puts her own spin on the situation, feeding a quick-written script into the holodeck programmer to turn an ordinary day on the bridge into a dramatic movie experience, starring, of course, herself.
The movie, entitled 'Crisis Point: The Rise of Vindicta' sees the show immediately go into a widescreen movie format, complete with JJ Abrams' trademark lens flares. The movie appears to feature some sort of crisis that brings the crew of the USS Cerritos in conflict with the battle-ready Vindicta. The dark-clad Captain, who is "Vengeance Personified", is played by none other than a version of Mariner herself, though a version that really enjoys hamming up the role in a manner reminiscent of some of the more classic 'Star Trek' villains.
Naturally, Boimler isn't happy about this turn of events, but he's got no choice but to see the rest of the movie play out. For a full episode, 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' will be poking fun at the various films in the franchise's history, though Boimler should perhaps be keeping a wary eye out. After all, any episode dedicated to a holodeck simulation is only a hair's breadth away from going terribly, terrible wrong - just ask Badgey.
You can watch a preview for the episode here. This episode of 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' airs October 1, on CBS All Access.
