Phasers Set To Stun: Lower Decks S5.E3 The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel

0:01 Space the Final Frontier. Join us for a bold conversation our prime directive to recap our favorite Star Trek shows, both new and old, to engage and debate about all things Trek. Prepare to energize with Phasers Set to Stunt. Hello, listeners, and welcome back to a new episode of Phasers Set to Stun, where we continue to show our love for everything Star Trek in this ongoing series from a film by podcast which focuses on every sector of the expanding Star Trek universe by covering television, movie, animation, directors, merchandise, and much much more. Plotting your course for this final voyage of the USS Cerritos is your Core Trek crew.

1:04 I'm Wayne Whiten, I'm David Burns, and I'm Skoyle Aufman. And today we are talking about the third episode of the fifth season of Star Trek Lower Decks, titled The Best Exotic Nanite Hotel, written by Stephanie Amante Ritter and directed by Brandon Williams Scott. Why don't you give us a short summary of the episode? Sure? Well. The USS Cerritos is Doctor Cosmic Duchess, a moon sized interstellar cruise ship that's plagued by two mini missions. One away team is focused on a glump of Naanites that's beginning to devour as much metal and energy as it can touch. That puts Mariner with her girlfriend Jennifer, which she thought she wrote it up with last season in the lead of to Lyndon, Brutherford and Tendy as they chase as they chase Glumpus before it can replicate to dangerous proportions. The other team is tracking down a rogue admiral who's choosing to have his apocalypse right about now.

2:00 Tame finds Ransom, leading a reluctant Boimler and a frustrated billups deep into the Admiral's temple of dread. This one feels like a bottle episode that's a fun ride from start to finish, with a hint of what might be coming in the future. Well now we're starting to see the beginnings of a season wide plot in this episode. The first two episodes, which we covered in our last podcast, saw the USS Cerritos and its crew thrown into a parallel but similar universe and then helping the planet Tartleus nine adjusts to their new economy, all while Lieutenant Tinney dealt with the depth that she owed to her sister back on her home planet of Orion. We still have quite a journey ahead of us until we reach the finish line. So this is red alert, folks. There are spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen the episode yet, please tumble your way down a snowy mountain to the nearest television set to catch it on Paramount Plus, then come back and rejoin us for the discussion. All Right, what did you guys think of this episode?

2:58 So? I really enjoyed this episode. As Scott said, it felt like more of a bottle episode, even though it's got you know, hints of what's to come in this season. But I love the Boimler, Ransom and Phillips scenes. I found I found that absolutely hysterical in this episode. But one of the things I really enjoyed was the fact that they gave a lot of fans out there they wanted that wrap up with the relationship between Mariner and Jennifer, And you know, because I think was it season three episode trusted sources, I believe it was where they just kind of just you know, okay, we're not going to talk about this anymore. Well, a lot of fans really wanted that, and I love the fact that they went back to do that and they had fun with it in this episode.

3:40 Yeah yeah, I. Mean Jennifer's role. I'll talk about it a little bit later was one of the highlights of this episode for me, especially on a second watch, knowing how she was kind of, you know, going through some some motions to kind of play with Mariner that i'sperately done. One of my first. Favorite parts about this is seeing that it was directed by Brandon Williams. I love seeing his name every single time. I don't mind saying my favorite director on Lower Decks. Yeah, but we had a great conversation with him, and I'd love. To have him back, yes please. Yeah. You know, I completely forgot about that subplot. I had to go back and watch trust the sources, because you know, it completely slipped my mind. But I really liked how it was dealt with in this episode. You know, I feel from Mariner, you know how she had managed it so, you know, trying to avoid and just assume that it was over with that emotional confrontation. I understand where she's coming from, but you know, I liked how they worked it all out at the end. You know, there was another loose thread that they closed again in this season. You can start feeling that that beginnings of the end with it so that they're doing But I'm glad they are doing that because, like you said, David, a lot of people were upset. Yeah, they kind of just dropped it and never brought it brought it back.

5:08 I did connect with that character though, when you're right. I love when things worked themselves out and I don't have to do anything when that When she was trying to make that happen to you, I love it. She was working so hard to make that happen. Hey, I can relate to that. I also got to give it to Stephanie and Monte Rider for the D and D elements of this one. When they started out with Ransom teeing it up as a side quest and the D and D in nerdive me was like, what's this? And then the fact that they had the the nanaxwarm form into a D twenty shaped chaos engine. It's like rolling through town and you can see it kind of making decisions like it'll roll past the crowd, then.

5:54 Ye stop. And come back from munchies. And I was like, oh, man, good to see some that. It was brilliant. I absolutely loved that, and I think at first it was called the Glumpus, Isn't that what they first started calling it with. Absolutely was hysterical. I love it when they come up with names in the show that are just really, that's so silly, but that is so funny at the same time. Yeah, you know, and then Mariner goes as far as to say, oh, it's a how do you say that iron? Yeah, try that easier. Yeah, I gotta admit that. Of the two storylines, you know, I kind of liked Boimler is the best. I laughed all the way through that he's turning probably going to be turning out to be my favorite character of the entire series. I I laughed so hard when he was talking to the lieutenant that had come back from his mission. And it was the performance at that actor of gave. It was so dramatic and you know, my hand I lost my hands. I'm like, yeah, I mean they're going to new ones. Yeah, it was.

7:02 I know. We talked last time about Boemler trying to grow in his record beard. The glacial pace of Boimler's facial hair growth. It didn't look like very much. Some extra lines on the bottom and that's it. So yeah, that'll be nice to get I think. I think another character that I really enjoyed this was Lan's her growth a little bit. You know, she's a Vulcan and but we get to see a different side of her a little bit here. You know, her lover was a crock in the rocks. Yeah, you know, her love of that, you know, you really don't. You didn't expect that, especially coming from a Vulcan. So getting to see her have that fun in that connection to it, I thought that was blessed. Yeah, she's truly now part of the Lower Decks crew.

7:45 I mean she's she's just as important as the main characters. As for as much as we've been going to conventions. To have the autograph there at the end and she's like, this has no scientific purpose. It's no you know, uh, it's it's graffiti or something like that. So like it doesn't do anything. She's like, come in here, She's like, no, I'll keep it to study. So there are so many parts of this episode that I just busted out laughing. And one of the reasons why I loved this episode, but The one that really got me was when Boimwer was just flying down the mountain and he went out of control and then went off the cliff and you just see this extended fall as he falls and falls and.

8:25 The scream he screamed yep. I was hoping that can we get a Goofy scream here? Because I was gonna say he's channeling is Goofy. You know. This episode does confirm though, that there is a overlying story to this season, but the quantum fissures are going to remain a plot points. I'm curious to where they're going with this. The little the little ship, a little ship that looks like Voyager, but it wasn't. I can't remember the name of it now, but yeah, I'm curious as to what they're doing with that. I still have no idea, but you know it should be interesting. Yeah. When that popped up, I was like, Ah, this is what was going to happen this season.

9:08 Okay, cool? Yeah, that opens up a lot of things that can happen, right yeah right, oh yeah. Well, especially with how they're exploring it. It's not just you know, in this universe, we use beggers. In this universe, we all have mustaches in this universe, you know whatever. Usually where we see that kind of evil, kind of opposite universe. And obviously we got a little bit of a taste of something different last time, but now we're going with different proportions. So I mean we could be seeing, like, you know, a ship piloted by koalas or by ducks or by you know, live action or whatever. So they're showing that there's it almost seems like they're kind of bracing us to say, like, we're going to go in some interesting places, so just get ready.

9:52 Yeah, yeah, and you know the sky's limited with that too. And it is, by the way, Wyane, that ship was the Uses Endeavor, Oh thank you, thank you, and it was commanded by Captain Trefell. If you noticed they were using the next and raking. Uniforms, I didn't notice that. Yeah, that was awesome. It was odd though, I mean, is there a little bit of a time difference there? She shouldn't be wearing those uniforms, right, So what's that all about. I don't know. Things going on. It's gonna get wacky. Their features in the hands of an admiral that's in charge of milking space. Whales, Okay. Another thing, when I lost it with Admiral methods, I don't want to go to store bays eighty Yeah. Yeah, that would be the spinoff shorts we get from this afterward Starbase eights things do.

10:40 Yeah, And we've talked so much, especially when we were reviewing the next Generation, about admirals and how they seem to go wrong, and look at this episode really put that center stage right there. And that's that's one of the best things the Lower Decks does is they take these silly bits of star Trek and throw them right into your face, you know. Well, And it's great timing that Dave, you and I had just recently talked about Apocalypse now on a film forty five right, yep. So it finally gave me the context to appreciate that so much more. It does, You're right, absolutely, And I didn't think of it that way, Scott. So that's that's a good bring up. Man. What I love about Lower Decks is the fact that can have so much fun and it could just make you laugh and I'm talking belly laugh, and you get so many tidbits of stuff and you know, eyster eggs, all kinds of stuff from all the different worlds of Star Trek, but you still get good meetings and characters.

11:36 In each episode you get you get something you care about, and you get somebody that was pulled out of these characters. And I feel like Boymoer in this one, you really get to start to see his path. Growing more and more. You know, he's becoming more confident because as you know, when he when he's you know, ongoing his side quest here, he thinks that he's there to you know, do all the dangerous stuff, that he's going to get hurt, when in fact that wasn't the He was actually invited because they actually respect him. You know, they know that he makes good decisions, and when they say that to him, it kind of catches him off guard. But I really love. That about the show, how it just brings those things out in these little characters.

12:16 Yeah, they're pushing through his own misconceptions. Yeah right, It's like Ransom has had this faith in then the entire time, but he just never let himself see that or believe that. Right, So when he's finally getting through that's it's unlocking a lot of his potential. I think we're seeing a similar thing with Mariner, where She's just like, Oh, so if I just come out and start talking about these things, then it'll it'll help me get a little bit further, Like if I use communication, that will help. And yeah, so I like that early on in the season they're doing a lot of that unlocking of their potential so that we can see a lot more happen with the. With the rest of the series, and I think that was part of the plan.

12:58 But I'm guessing they're kind of rushed a little bit since they know they have to wrap everything up in this final season. But I'm glad that they're doing that in giving the fans that because, as you all know, we all love to see character development in the characters that we love Two Star Trek. You know, you want to see that growth, that story arc, and we're really starting to see that these characters shine. Yeah, and you know another thing along with the growth disclosure as well. Yes, you know we got to have that. You know, we didn't get that for years with the Next Generation, and I feel that we're going to get that with this show. I know. It was like, I don't think they knew exactly when they were making this the show is going to be this final season. But I still feel that we're going to get some satisfaction faction of seeing the characters grow and become good officers, which is good closure for these characters that we.

13:47 Followed absolutely and who knows down the road, we may get some live action with these characters. I think we're fantastic. I to be honest, I really don't think this is the last we'll see, no bes, I really don't too popular. Yeah, yeah, exactly, Yeah, we'll see more. I know we won't. All right, So, now that we've given our opinions and thoughts on the episode, let's take a look at the characters themselves. Which character you think shines the most this week? David, I kind of let it out of the bag a little bit ago. It's Boimler seeing him grow some more again. You know, he thought he was just being a red Shirt, and it turned out that he actually was important and he was picked for the very reason.

14:28 I'm glad to see he's getting the respect that he deserves and he's realizing that with confidence. Scott, I'm going to give my vote to Jennifer this week for staying with the illusion so that Mariner will finally give the closure to the relationship and just having fun with the character. Props to Lauren Lapkis for her role, for her voice work on that. I think it was very well done, and I think it's one of those where on rewatch you see how she was kind of messing with Mariner. Of the entire time. I just think that was well done. Yeah, what about you, Wayne.

15:09 Yeah, well, you know, it's really hard to choose in this episode because there were a lot of characters that did get center stage. You know, Marner's story was great, just like what you said to Lynn, another good one. But for this week, David's reading my notes because I said formula for pretty much almost the same reads as you know, the way he's grown into his Lieutenant Rink. He's quickly becoming a good officer. He really is. You know, Ransom and Bilps revealed why they needed him because he's dependable, he's reliable, he's wiry. You know, he realized all those things and it was a really boost in his confidence and it helped him defeat the admiral Admiral Milius, you know.

15:51 Plus you know I chose him that scream yep. You know, it's funny the fact, remember we talked about the Lower Deck's episode of Star Trek the Next Generation and how much we all loved that episode and you got to see a side of Star Trek. You got to see a side of a ship that you never got to see. It's so wonderful that they took that concept and turned that into this animation that we get to see, and how it has just grown and makes you fall in love with these characters and seeing them grow and become these officers. Because what if we've seen these kind of characters with like the Card or Riker or any of them when they were young and in Starfleet.

16:32 How fantastic would that have been to see them when they were first starting their careers and growing, you know. So it's really neat to get to see this kind of stuff, and you know, these creators packed themselves on the back because they're doing a fantastic. Job with it. Well, we know that the Card, you know, he was a little crazy in his youth than he had wild, so I think he would have fit pretty good with these these characters for sure. All Right, if you had to choose to be any character that you're in this episode, which one would it be? And why? So? My choice this time will be uh Rutherford, because he's good choice basically helping to drive a D twenty through the streets, oh yeah, and figuring out how to stop the swarm. It just looks like, I don't know, I mean, yes, do you want to be in the middle of that mess? Probably not. But then again, it was like this like a gyroscope kind of thing that was like, you know, stable in the middle of it the whole time, not like he's tunneling around in a wonder on a washing machine or something. And if they had worked, if they had worked out how to kind of like talk to the nan, I would have been I don't know, they convinced some interesting things I could have Dave, what about you?

17:44 So I'm going to take a little page out of your book, Scott, and I'm going to pick Jennifer in this one just for the mere fact that I'm sure when we were all younger, we had some kind of situation where the relationship didn't go as good as it went it should have went, and it was broke off and we never really got that and that coclosure that we wanted. So the fact that Jennifer actually gets that and you don't realize it at first that she's in on it. She knows that they broke up. She's just playing with Mariner. So I absolutely love that, and that they still become really good friends at the end. I respect that, and that's I'd love her character in this Wayne, what about you, Well. I'm going to choose to lend you know, I said before that the way she's integrated herself with the crew, but you know, even though she's a Vulcan, she seems to be having the time of her life with them.

18:32 It really is. I love how she saved the day in this episode, you know, against the Nanites by playing those vibe tubes and then that final scene with the autograph. I mean, we all relate to that. I just love that. I just love that scene. That was my probably the whole thing, my single favorite little bit from the episode. Yeah, all right, now comes my favorite part where we dive deep into the episode and see if we can't pull out any Easter eggs. Of course we can. It would be lower decks without them. Yeah, did you guys find any Easter eggs? The one about them using the Nick generation uniforms? Uh, the uses endeavor? I saw that one. I believe there was like the black body suits that we're talking about that was in a Chain of Command Part one.

19:20 I think. I think that's really all I picked up on. Wayne. I'm sure you pick up on Ton. Well, I had I had one pilot just that. The Admiral Millius apparently his name is a reference to the screenwriter of Apocalypse Now, oh John Millius? Okay, yeah, I never made that connection. I get neither. Yes, it has to be. That's pretty cool, Scott, Wayne, what about you open up the rest of the chest? All right, Well, this is the first time that we get to see the Gallamites, and they are transparent skulls. This race was mentioned many many times on Deep Space Time, but we never got to see him. Lieutenant Dax had data a Captain Bidet who was a Jelinite. Axcume me a Galamite getting my shows mixed up to get there? Uh?

20:11 Those vibe tubes that Delenn plays were previously seen on the first season Next Generation episode Will Always Have Paris was played by a musician in the Cafe de Autiste, and then, of course Formula miss mentions the Galaxy's child whale when Admiral Wilius mentions it. Of course, that's from the the TNG episode Galaxy Child. And finally, I'm not really sure if this is an easter egg. I think it was just a little wink weak nod here that they were giving. But Phillips orders something on the planet called a Silurian Colada, and I think that's that's just a little bit of a hint to the Silurians from Doctor Who Nice.

20:56 Some good wins in this one, for sure. Yeah, I think we've said this kind of thing before, but I'll just echo, like, there are so many deep cuts that go way over people's heads, but they're so tailored to the Star Trek fan base obviously, so I would just I would just ask if you're a Star Trek fan, obviously you're listening to this show. Otherwise you know, why are you here? I mean, thanks for being here, But you know, maybe it's not left turn. But if you know someone who is into Star Trek and you whatever their connection to the universe might be, it's worth suggesting this because little tiny cuts like this will just get it'll get one laugh, but it won't be the only one that you have. There are so many others to be unpacked, you know, even if they're not necessarily a fan of animation. It's part of the charm of this, it's part of the vehicle of it that they're able to do so many more things without limitations that they'd have in the physical world. So definitely pass it on to something it's got something for everyday.

22:04 Yeah, I definitely agree. You know, I've noticed a lot on the presence of the Star Trek fan websites and on Facebook that some people just they won't watch the show, they won't acknowledge it because it's animation, and that's, in my opinion, is a really really wrong, because you know, they have spent over the last five years to really try to integrate this into the Star Trek universe perfectly, and it does it. Just because it's animated doesn't mean it's it's not part of the Star Trek lorry. It is, it's worth watching. All you're doing is not allowing you to have to watch something good. You're not giving yourself the chance to see something a good part of Star Trek.

22:48 Give it a chance. There's fans like that in Star Wars two who don't want to watch the Clone Wars or Rebels or any of that, and you are just not doing yourself any favors here because all this animation is fantastic and it is part of these worlds. Yeah, and so that's it for this set episode of phasers such as stunts look at Lower Decks Season five, episode three. We'd like to open a channel to our listeners and hear just what you thought about the most recent episode and the season in general. Who knows, we might even mention you on a future show. Of course, you can email us at a film by podcast at gmail dot com, find us online at a film by Podcasts dot com, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

23:35 And if you're looking for exclude more exclusive content or swag, you can join our Patreon and find out what incredible gems are hidden within. One more thing I'll add in here, just another extra fans of Lower Decks, fans of Star Trek, if you're new to this. We discovered last season I think it was there's a site called titmouse stuff dot com that has a great set of shirts that are dedicated to Laura Decks and I wanted to call it out this time because there's a T shirt design by Jack Quaid. Oh okay, the Latest. As the Latest dropped, they have a lot of mystery stuff that's coming out. It's a it's a great shop. So if you're a fan of Star Trek, fan of the show, go in check it out.

24:20 There's more to be revealed. It's not the first shirt that's been designed by the crew. I think Tony Newsom also had a drop with their T Shirt Club. Essentially, I think it's too late to send up for that now, but keep an eye on the site and you know holidays are coming up. It's a great places stock up. There's great designs on their. Term and our friend Brandon who directed this episode is also mentioned that when we interviewed him exactly absolutely check it out. Thank you Scott and David for joining me and the listeners for another fascinating episode. Next week we take a look at episode four, which is titled a Farewell to Farms. We look forward to returning to the of the serretas again next week for Phaser Set to Stunt