The 10 Funniest Moments from Star Trek: Lower Decks … So Far

It’s time for the scrappy crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos to resume their misadventures: Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 3 is now streaming on Paramount+.

To celebrate the launch of the animated comedy series’ latest season, and the return of ensigns Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford, we’re revisiting our favorite gags, lines and sarcastic Vulcan salutes from the show’s first two seasons. And remember: Every season, every episode, and every laugh of Lower Decks is available to stream on Paramount+.

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Keep scrolling to read about the 10 times Lower Decks proved it’s one of the galaxy’s funniest shows.

In the Season 1 episode, “Moist Vessel,” Captain Freeman scolds Mariner for being disrespectful. Rather than apologize, Mariner doubles down, and gives what Freeman calls a “sarcastic Vulcan salute” on the way out the door.

We’d like to see Mariner try this stunt in front of T'Lyn, the Vulcan from the Season 2 episode, “wej Duj.”

Let’s appreciate that Lower Decks devoted an entire episode, Season 1’s “Cupid’s Errant Arrow,” to Mariner not believing Boimler could have a girlfriend.

The situation was set off by the hilarious moment when Mariner first saw Barbara Brinson run into Boimler’s arms, and cracked, “Computer, end program.”

Mariner’s overaggressive push of an Andorian named Jennifer in “Cupid’s Errant Arrow” is a fan favorite. Jennifer would go on to become a recurring character voiced by Lauren Lapkus.

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Shaxs’ “Please, please let me shoot their warp core” plea in the Season 1 episode, “Terminal Provocations,” is arguably the Cerriotos’ chief of security’s most quoted Lower Decks line. And, honestly, curse Starfleet diplomacy, Shaxs had been good the whole month: Just let him shoot the warp core just this one time!

In the Season 1 episode, “Much Ado About Boimler,” the titular ensign goes from chanting along with would-be mutineers to ratting out everyone. The 180-degree turn is funny – and true to the character: Boimler just isn’t cut out for mutiny.

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Even though Lower Decks is Star Trek canon, it doesn’t shy away from poking fun at Trek content that has come before it. See: “Crisis Point.”

In the Season 1 episode that pays tribute to the Star Trek films, the U.S.S. Cerritos crashes. When Chief Engineer Billups regains consciousness, he worries his fellow crew members are lost. But it turns out catastrophe was averted because, prior to the accident, Rutherford initiated a rapidly repeating emergency transport sequence, and beamed the rest of the crew to safety. When Billups says what Rutherford did just isn’t possible, the ensign explains that the rules for beaming are, um, a bit fluid in the movies.

In the Season 1 finale, “No Small Part,” Boimler leaves his communications device on while distributing art supplies to the children of Beta III. The bridge overhears him mock Mariner for receiving “sweet little captain kisses” from Captain Freeman, aka Mariner’s mom.

Suddenly, Freeman beams Boimler and Mariner aboard. The scream Boimler lets out when he realizes what’s happened is one of the funniest cold open moments in the series.

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Have you ever noticed that the Star Trek franchise likes to ponder the nature of the universe and other big thoughts? The writers of Lower Decks have, apparently!

In the Season 2 episode, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open,” Mariner joins an away team tasked with categorizing a collection of rare items. The crew members are greeted by a keeper of the collectibles who’s not impressed with their punctuality. “About time, Starfleet,” Chairman Siggi notes sarcastically, “What’d you do, stop to debate the human rights of a robot?”

The fact that this could be a reference to several different Trek episodes makes it one of our favorite meta jokes from Lower Decks.

Tendi and Mariner spend the entirety of the Season 2 episode, “We’ll Always Have Tom Paris,” fighting for their lives as they try to track down a feline-centric family heirloom belonging to the Cerritos’ own Dr. T’Ana.

When the scratching post is destroyed, Tendi is distraught. But it turns out T’Ana didn’t care about the heirloom: She just wanted to play in the box it came in!

Star Trek fans first met Armus on Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s an entity that was created from all that was evil and negative within the Vagrans. For the purposes of Lower Decks, however, Armus is the perfect target for a prank call!

In Season 2’s “The Spy Humongous,” Mariner swipes a submanifold casting stone, and she and her fellow ensigns use its voice-transporting powers to, yup, prank-call Armus. It’s hard to think of anyone in the Star Trek universe that had it coming more than this infamous villain.