In this review of Star Trek: Lower Decks #11, the U.S.S. Cerritos is commandeered for a classified mission as the crew attempts to double down on the plot from one of the best movies in the original film franchise.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11
Written by: Tim Sheridan
Art and Main Cover by: Philip Murphy
Variant Cover: Kendall Goode
Page Count: 28 pages
Release Date: September 10, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 begins with Carol Freeman’s Captain’s log as the U.S.S. Cerritos embarks on a second contact mission with the alcohol-loving Laapeerians, a race that the crew had previously established first contact with in the animated series’ second season.
Later, Freeman and Commander Ransom inspect the libations procured from the Orions (maybe it just fell off the back of a garbage scow), but after being reminded of some of his failures, Ransom downs an entire bottle in front of his Captain. Freeman receives a frantic message from the bridge that the ship has deviated from its plotted course, and is heading directly towards a red giant (which is probably bad).
With the crew locked out of the ship’s systems, the bridge descends into chaos where even Captain Freeman is not immune to hysterics. Ransom orders Shaxs to raise shields, but they were somehow already activated (interesting). Lieutenant Commander Billups tracks the source of the override back to Cetacean Ops (those cute little Beluga whales).
Down at Cet-Ops, Shaxs threatens the two Cetacean (is it pronounced set-a-see-en or setayshun?) officers, they basically recap the plot of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home for the bridge crew (that time-travel thing with the Captain Kirk, Spock and the two humpback whales).
It turns out that even with a pregnant whale, there was no way to actually repopulate the species, so Cet-Ops was tasked by Starfleet to commandeer the Cerritos and repeat the Enterprise crew’s trip back to the 1980s, but this time to return with an entire pod of whales (biodiversity). Freeman takes command and orders the ship to “slingshot” around the red giant (of course), using the gravitational forces to…they travel back in time.
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 ends with the U.S.S. Cerritos successfully arriving at the designated time and place. But the crew in (mostly) period-accurate wardrobe, accidentally beam down into the middle of a crowded San Francisco street in broad daylight. Uh oh.
Analysis
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 sets out to fix a four-decade-old plot hole from one of the most endearing Star Trek movies of all time. It’s true that the plan to repopulate the species doesn’t track, (although the whales do save the day by communicating with the mysterious alien probe that had been disrupting systems across the galaxy with its unanswered message).
Writer Tim Sheridan is (possibly) obsessed with whales in science fiction, first with the Gormaganders (space whales), and now a retread of Leonard Nimoy’s environmental comedy masterpiece. Watching the Cerritos bridge crew devolve into hysterics as they face potentially impending doom reminds me that only in Star Trek: Lower Decks could the main characters behave so irrationally, and antithetical to Starfleet protocol and not lose a shred of fan support (is this what we have now become?)
The rapid-fire dialogue, meta references and character obsessions all ring true in Star Trek: Lower Decks #11, although Ransom’s sudden insecurity (and drinking on the job) about his past failings is a surprise. Sure he’s a perfectionist, but as second-in-command of a starship (California Class), would his being publicly acknowledged as a college dropout really rattle his confidence?
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 is more of an ensemble piece than focusing on a single character, or just Mariner and the Lower Decks team, although Captain Freeman takes a slightly larger role in the story. The fact that she again is left out of the loop on her own ship should probably bristle her more than it shows, but Freeman is the consummate professional and the mission always takes precedence (I guess).
Artist Phillip Murphy expertly captures the feel of the animated series style while adding some nice creative touches including that gorgeous opening three-panel sequence of the Cerritos at warp, the exaggerated distress of the panicked bridge crew, the Cet-Ops design, and mimicking the 1980s time-travel effects from Star Trek IV.
Also, that final splash page with the crew materializing in the middle of the street is a shocker. It’s clear that they’re in San Francisco even without the sign (those rolling hills and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background), as well as the “period-accurate” outfits: Shaxs’ Spock-style robe and sash, Boimler as Marty McFly, and Rutherford as possibly part of Run DMC? (Where is the ship’s historian?)
Final Thoughts
Star Trek: Lower Decks #11 is another enjoyable issue with plenty of Lower Decks-style chaos, humor and some surprises in this affectionate send-up of the beloved Star Trek movie classic.
