It’s a different kind of Star Trek, but it's genuinely Star Trek now. When Lower Decks premiered, I gave it a negative review, and I want to correct that assessment. My earlier reviews were accurate about those initial episodes, but I feel they haven’t remained static; particularly in Season 3, the show has evolved into something far more significant than just another animated sitcom or Star Trek spoof. It's finally starting to capture the essence of what Star Trek should be—the ultimate compliment a fan can offer—especially given the abundance of “NuTrek” currently available, yet few other shows, even the live-action ones, truly embody that spirit. Okay, Strange New Worlds isn’t terrible either, but I'm eager for their eventual crossover with this series! Initially, many fans and myself struggled to understand how an exaggerated animated parody could feel more like Star Trek than another show about vineyards. But it does, and it’s much more than a simple imitation. Roddenberry once described Star Trek as "Gulliver's Travels in space." Of course, Gulliver's Travels has always been a satire and a parody—a commentary on the society of its time. And to circumvent censorship when critiquing contemporary society, authors often disguise their message by portraying it as taking place on a distant island or planet that just happens to resemble modern civilization. However, thanks to both Jonathan and Gene, this trick is so well-worn that no studio executive would be fooled by it anymore, which explains why the other NuTrek shows don’t feel like Star Trek. Lower Decks takes advantage of its status as an animated parody—the assumption that it won't be taken seriously—to fly under the radar and subtly insert critiques about contemporary issues (even if it’s primarily a critique of NuTrek itself) within layers of jokes, Easter eggs, and fourth-wall breaks. It’s literally “lower decks,” meaning they remain inconspicuous among shows with larger budgets and bigger stars, and they are deliberately counting on that. Once I understood this, I began to absolutely love the show. This explains why it initially leaned more heavily into parody, but starting with recent episodes and this season, they've gradually dropped the pretense and begun presenting genuine stories and messages beneath all the obvious silliness.

Source on TMDB