Now that some time has passed, it’s fair to say that Star Trek: very Short Treks was the worst thing that Star Trek ever created.
Star Trek isn’t a comedy, in fact, it is the opposite of such an idea. The thing that makes Star Trek work, that single, underlying element that makes every Trek film or show worth remembering is its willingness to tackle dynamic and difficult questions. It’s a morality play on a screen, and it works like that.
It fails as a comedy, and while some fans love Lower Decks, it remains a divisive show. But it’s at least made with the intention of capturing some of those moments, just a more lighthearted approach to it. Star Trek: very Short Treks however had none of the redeaming qualities of Lower Decks.
Instead, very Short Treks presented itself as a comedy but watching it was a true Shakespearean tragedy. The entire series was devoid of any logic or sense, and the forced humor that each episode brought just didn’t make sense.
Star Trek: very Short Treks should be purged from this reality
Spock doesn’t emote, but he does understand emotions. He knows right from wrong, so seeing him show off deformed and mutilated corpses for a lark doesn’t make any sense. But someone thought that was pure gold. Then we get the mucus-covered debacle that was Jonathan Frakes’ last outing (for now) as William Riker.
Let’s not even talk about the finale (above), which is essentially a comedy video from 2007. All we needed was the Nyan Cat GIF to complete the gag.
Things like the Animated Series and Short Treks were bad enough, for varying reasons but this was a debacle that would make Gene Roddenberry roll over in his grave. It was so far from Trek that it can’t even be a parody. It felt like Trek was trying to be “cool” and “edgy” in an attempt to go viral.
But the only viral thing you can say anyone got from watching these disastrous shorts was a desire to vomit.