Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Lower Decks | 5x05 "Star Base 80?!"

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No.	Episode	Written By	Directed By	Release Date
5x05	"Star Base 80?!"	May Darmon	Bob Suarez	2024-11-14

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[u/mdavis360]

Starbase 80 felt like a cross between DS9 and one of those shopping malls where 90% of the stores have vanished.

[u/Treviso → u/mdavis360]

Does that mean we are getting a 5 season Starbase 80 spin-off?

"Starbase 80's for second chances. That's why I love it."

[u/ky_eeeee → u/Treviso]

I could totally see a Lower Decks sequel series, should one ever be ordered, centered around Starbase 80 with the Cerritos making regular appearances to help out

[u/stephensmat → u/Treviso]

My thought? In the alt-universe, Starbase 80 is actually pretty cool. The Captain gets sent there as a reward, rather than a punishment. So in our universe, Boimler and Mariner get promoted, and sent to Starbase 80, to 'whip it into shape'.

Boimler starts 'training' the troops with his new command rules, and authoritative beard.

Beckett goes along, because with her record nowhere else will take her, but her lifetime of contacts and under the table deals give her a long list of IOU's, and she becomes a first class scrounger for what the base needs.

Rutherford goes with them, because a little 'frontier engineering' sounds awesome; making him our new Miles O'Brien, keeping it all running with positive thinking and a roll of duct tape.

Tendi goes along because she'll come unspooled without Rutherford, and maybe the most infamous Base in the Quadrant could use a good Orion connection.

[u/FleetCommanderMeela → u/stephensmat]

The alt-crew seemed to feel the same way about their Starbase 80, though. They talked about Captain Freeman as if she'd died.

[u/Darth_Bombad → u/Treviso]

That did feel like a backdoor pilot, introducing us to a new regular cast.

[u/turkeygiant → u/Darth_Bombad]

Yeah, it had to be. I don't think they would be getting Nicole Byer, Stephen Root, AND Liam McIntyre all in the same episode if they didn't have some special intention, it was just kinda odd that they didn't actually focus too much on them in the episode. Usually in a full on back door pilot its just like one or two members of the regular cast so that you have more time to introduce the new characters, but then it isn't as common to do a backdoor pilot in a half hour cartoon, its more of a thing you see in a hour long procedurals, so maybe they were just pressed for time? Could have been a good place to do a two-parter.

[u/circusofvalyou → u/Treviso]

Wait, a DS9 inspired spin off centered around Starbase 80. Who is going to be Miles O'Brien's crossover character?

[u/Treviso → u/circusofvalyou]

Rutherford would seem like the obvious choice to me

[u/jbrcks → u/circusofvalyou]

Levick

[u/vanKessZak → u/Treviso]

Yeah the entire time I was watching the episode I kept thinking about how good a spinoff about a station full of Star Fleet workers looking for a second chance would be. It’s a good prompt!