Bottom Covers Ending Season 5

Spoilers to be followed by “Star Trek: Lower Decks.”

Well, that’s all friends. “Star Trek: Lower Decks” has officially concluded its fifth and final season. Sayonara, USS Cerritos, has been a truly unforgettable five-year mission.

It hurts because it doesn’t feel like “Lower Decks” necessary to finish here. The show is reportedly ending due to behind-the-scenes developments at Paramount, from being cut due to the company’s planned merger with Skydance to “Lower Decks” reaching its limit as a Paramount+ premium.

That’s why the series finale of “The New Next Generation” balances an open ending with leaving things different enough. Captain Freeman leaves the Cerritos and Ransom becomes the new captain, with Boimler and Mariner as his two seconds in command. Rutherford abandons his implant, while Tendi and T’lyn’s friendship as scientific co-directors continues to blossom. (Another problem with the “Lower Decks” finale here: There’s not enough time with T’Lyn, the show’s very welcome straight woman, in the main cast.)

But every time something dear ends, you should not only cry, you should also celebrate that did exist. “Lower Decks” ran for 50 episodes and never hit a downward slope. In fact, it refused to settle for being a mere parody of “Star Trek,” but was instead lovingly earnest that feels at home with the rest of the property’s long history. The fifth season of “Lower Decks” maintained the good streak (at /Film we classify it as one of the best television series of 2024). Ending here keeps Trekkies’ fond memories of “Lower Decks” as fond as possible.

Now that “Lower Decks” has completed its run, there’s one thought I can’t escape: It might be the most consistently good “Star Trek” show of all time. Oh, sure, “Deep Space Nine” was more ambitious (and had many more episodes, twice as long). There are other individual seasons of previous “Star Trek” shows that I would also rank above “Lower Decks”: season 1 of “The Original Series,” season 5 of “The Next Generation,” etc. But operating on the 26-episode, season-long model, the old “Star Trek” series would inevitably have some flaws. “Lower Decks” never did, nor did any individual season cause a downturn.

Instead of running out of steam, season 5 even brought back some of the show’s best episodes. “A Farewell To Farms” featured the Klingon-centric episode of Trekkie Dreams. “Fully Dilated” had a familiar premise (Starfleet officers visiting a pre-warp planet and mingling with the locals), but it hit the ground running, with strong characterization, humor, and drama. You almost wonder, wistfully, what the writers of “Lower Decks” could have done in the model of longer seasons. But again, sometimes it’s better to just accept what you have.

“Lower Decks” flies out having secured its place in “Star Trek” history, from featuring classic episodes to some of “Trek’s” most important characters, like Beckett Mariner herself (not to mention her unforgettable voice actor , Tawny Newsome). Not bad for a show that could have easily backfired on itself, inappropriately mixing the “Star Trek” formula with humor when, in practice, it struck a perfect balance and never lost it.

“Star Trek: Lower Decks” is currently streaming on Paramount+.