Star Trek is generally pretty cool and relevant. (The worse things are in our world, the more true that sentiment proves to be.) But there’s no denying that Star Trek: Lower Decks has brought a new generation into the Collective. The franchise’s first comedy (and first animated series since 1974), Lower Decks has expertly demonstrated the heart and humanity that’s imbued across this massive universe.
Lower Decks has been so successful, in fact, that in recent months its been spun off into the world of comics (courtesy of IDW). The Lower Decks title has already released six issues, with writer Ryan North and artists Derek Charm and Jack Lawrence extending the show’s irreverent humor, weirdo charm, and deep, abiding love cheesy sci-fi magic. Now, with issue #7, a new team is looking to extend Lower Decks‘ winning streak as Tim Sheridan and Robby Cook launch an all-new story, extra personable arc.
Due out May 14 (the FOC is Monday, April 7, FYI), Lower Decks #7 focuses on the mother-daughter relationship between Captain Freeman and Beckett Mariner. Here, the good captain regales her headstrong daughter with tales of how she was “just like [Beckett] when she was young” and how “mistakes help us grow, blah, blah.” All of that seemingly has everything to with how a young Freeman once “accidentally vanished her whole crew in an experiment gone wrong.” Bad science is no excuse, but at least it’s a good excuse for family bonding!
Ahead of Lower Decks #7, we got the chance to catch up with Sheridan recently via email. There, we talked about his love of the Star Trek franchise, the “resurgence” facilitated by Lower Decks the show, the emotionality of this new arc, working with Cook, and what to expect from the title in the long-term. Live long, totally prosper, and read on.
Check out some exclusive interior art below (courtesy of IDW).
Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: How much of a Trekkie were you beforehand? Do you really have to be that big into the series to craft a Star Trek tale — the franchise just seems so big and available?
Tim Sheridan: I’ll never know what it’s like to craft a Star Trek story without being a fan, because this franchise has been a huge part of my life every day since I was a boy. I grew up in the ’80s when the original cast movies were coming out and spawning a ton of new interest in Trek. There were reruns of TOS, the new TNG show, comics, novels, conventions, toys — it was a golden age and I was very happily there for all of it.
AIPT: I feel like Lower Decks in general has taken off and been a “resurgence” for Star Trek at large. Would you agree, and why do you think that’s the case?
TS: It’s a lot like the resurgence that got me into Trek as a kid. There was a nostalgia that existed among our parents who watched the original series when it first aired or in reruns, and they were passing that down to their kids. It feels like Lower Decks is packed with nostalgic feelings for all of ST, but especially the TNG era. So people my age now have an opportunity to, with this fun, funny, but also very classic sci-fi animated show, pass on their love of it to their own kids. But then, also – and this is going to shock you – good things take off because they’re just good. And the Lower Decks TV show was just very good. It knew when to have a little fun with the canon and when to simply add to it with terrific characters rising in high stakes situations to become heroes.
AIPT: What are the elements that make a good Star Trek story? I think of something like the Next Gen episode “Darmok,” which is weird but deeply human and insightful.
TS: For me, it’s first and foremost about the relationships between the main cast. That’s the stuff we can all easily relate to, no matter which century we live in. But that goes the same for sci-fi. Good sci-fi, which is the foundation of all of Trek, is about masking beneath a cool hypothetical veneer a story that the reader or viewer who is seeing it can personally relate to. All the science and fiction are like spoonfuls of sugar to help down the medicine of whatever we’re trying to say about our current world. Good Star Trek is good sci-fi and good sci-fi is honesty with a point of view.
Art from Lower Decks issue #7. Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: Are there any nerves or apprehension taking over a series that’s been well received? How much do you try to “retain” what the other team/writer was doing beforehand?
TS: I have been internally referring to the task of following both Mike McMahon and Ryan North as the “Megayashi Maru,” the ultimate no-win scenario. But it doesn’t make me nervous because I know I could, as Valeris might say, never replace them — only succeed them. What does make me nervous is making sure that I’m giving fans something they can really enjoy.
Comics cost so much more today than they did when I was buying DC’s Star Trek line in the ’80s for 75¢ an issue, so I want to make sure I’m delivering something fun and of value. As for retaining what’s come before – when it comes to the TV show and Trek canon, we’re under strict orders from Federation President [Heather] Antos to adhere to what’s been established. And, to keep my head in the right space, I’ve (much to my own chagrin) only read two of Ryan’s issues. It’s just too tempting to compare what I’m doing to what he’s done and drive myself up the wall over it. So I’m letting Heather and her team keep me in line with those issues and waiting to dig into the rest until after I’m wrapped on my run; which is an option that’s ONLY available to me, dear reader! You shouldn’t wait to read issues one to six! It’s imperative that you do, otherwise they may never release mine.
Be honest: have I completely Boimler-ed this answer?!
AIPT: The first story seems to focus on the relationship between Beckett Mariner and her mother, Captain Freeman. Why is that dynamic so interesting to you?
TS: It’s the relationship dynamic that’s most exclusive to Lower Decks. And that makes it almost unique within the canon. Sure, we’ve had parent/child relationships, the most prominent being the Crushers — but that dynamic is wildly different, especially since Wesley didn’t report to his mother and rarely messed up. Unlike Mariner, who is a whirling dervish of feral energy being somehow contained in a Starfleet uniform. She seems so wildly different than both her parents that I thought it might be fun to check in on young Ensign Carol Freeman and see just how far, if at all, the apple has fallen.
AIPT: What’s it like working with Robby Cook? How does his style shape or influence what you’re doing and trying to add to this grand universe?
TS: Robby is an absolute joy to work with. I can’t tell you how much comfort I feel knowing that he’s telling this story. It’s one thing to create a blueprint for a house, but a whole different thing to actually build a house – so having someone who has total command of the characters, their environments, their relationships, etc. makes it work like magic, frankly. I dream it up, jot it down, send it through the pneumatic tube to Robby and it comes back fully realized and better than I’d imagined. And on top of all that, he seems like a way nicer person than I; so, technically, I should envy and despise him for that, but no such luck.
Art from Lower Decks issue #7. Courtesy of IDW.
AIPT: What can we expect from this Mariner-Freeman-centric story? Is there a sense how long you and Cook might stay on this book? Do you want this to be a long-term thing or maybe a short-ish arc?
TS: Well, first you should expect that, while Robby knows his onions, I’m still finding my space legs, so in a lot of ways, it’s a weeeird story (weirder, even, than dated references to onions and space legs.) Hopefully readers will forgive me for that, since it feels a lot more like a flashback to an unmade Star Trek: Illinois show than a full-on Lower Decks episode. At its core, though, this is a story about the ties that bind different generations and the moments that test our mettle and help us grow into the people we’re destined to become.
As for how long we’ll be on the book, I can only speak for myself, and all I know is that I’m working on three stories over six issues. I know IDW likes to rotate talent to keep things fresh (and probably make sure the books go out on time!), so who knows but Federation President Antos? But I could be happy writing Star Trek stories in one form or another until The Burn and beyond. I hope I get the chance.
AIPT: If you could tell any Star Trek story in the world without any limitations whatsoever, what would that story look like?
TS: LOL – like I’m going to tell you. NICE TRY.
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about Lower Decks, Star Trek, comics, space travel, etc.?
TS: Yes! And it’s very, very important! The fate of the galaxy may depend on what I’m about to tell you! And it’s this…DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCESSSHHZZZzzzz fzzzzhhzz bedoop [TRANSMISSION JAMMED AT THE SOURCE].
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