Summary

• Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan credits the show's musical score and composer Chris Westlake for the strong emotional connection viewers have with the characters.
• Music has always been an important aspect of Star Trek, with composers like Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith, and Dennis McCarthy creating iconic scores for the various series.
• The music in Star Trek: Lower Decks helps to enhance the emotional impact of the show, making viewers feel a deeper connection to the characters and their stories.

Star Trek: Lower Decks creator and showrunner Mike McMahan knows exactly why Star Trek fans feel such a powerful connection to their favorite characters. The Lower Deckers of the USS Cerritos, the most celebrated Starfleet ship, find themselves in all manner of scrapes as they voyage throughout the galaxy. But Star Trek: Lower Decks also features surprisingly deep character development and friendships.

Lower Decks is the first Star Trek animated comedy, and after 4 successful seasons, the show's main characters, Lt. Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), Lt. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Lt. Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), Lt. D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells), and Lt. T'Lyn (Gabrielle Ruiz) are as beloved as live-action Star Trek characters. The same can be said for the heroes of the CGI-animated Star Trek: Prodigy. Beyond the stellar writing and vocal performances, Star Trek: Lower Decks showrunner Mike McMahan pinpoints the "secret weapon" of Star Trek on Paramount+.

Lower Decks Showrunner Mike McMahan Says Music Is Star Trek's Secret Weapon

Composer Chris Westlake is Lower Decks' composer

In an interview with Seán Ferrick of TrekCulture about Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, showrunner Mike McMahan credits the show's musical score and composer Chris Westlake as the reason why audiences feel so strongly for Mariner, Boimler, and the rest of the USS Cerritos' crew. Read Mike's quote and watch the TrekCulture video below:

I think a lot of the reason people feel on Lower Decks is [because of] Chris Westlake’s music. We really bring it with the music department… He once told me, not to switch to Star Wars, but… [Chris] is the only guy I knew who can do what John Williams does… And I think an episode of Lower Decks has almost as much music as a season of Discovery [in of] how many cues. Like, it’s very crazy. But [Chris] once said that the reason people like the Force is because of John Williams. Because without John Williams’ music, it’s just a guy holding his hand up. But when that score comes in, you start to feel something. And that’s Chris’ job on Lower Decks… I’m in charge of making people laugh, and he’s in charge of making people feel. And then Tawny, and Jack, and Eugene, and Noel, they’re right in the middle of all of that. And so, any time you’re feeling something on Lower Decks, really listen to the music because that’s our secret weapon.

Star Trek on Paramount+'s shows feature a powerhouse lineup of composers. Jeff Russo has been scoring Star Trek: Discovery since season 1, and he also provided the score for Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2 before Stephen Barton and Frederik Weidmann took over and added odes to Star Trek movies in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Nami Melamud is Star Trek's first female composer, and her scintillating music enhances Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and Star Trek: Prodigy while Jeff Russo and Michael Giacchino, respectively, provide those show's main title themes. And Chris Westlake brings heart and feeling to even the most absurd Star Trek: Lower Decks scenarios.

Star Trek's Music Has Always Been Important

Star Trek has had amazing music and composers for decades

Music has always been Star Trek's secret weapon, going back to the theme of Star Trek: The Original Series composed by Alexander Courage. When Star Trek jumped to feature films. Jerry Goldsmith composed an epic score that later became the main title theme of Star Trek: The Next Generation. James Horner's score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains a classic, and it is crucial to the emotion of Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) sacrifice and death.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise were scored by Dennis McCarthy and Jerry Goldsmith, among others, and music is part of the fabric of those series' successes. Musical scores hammer home the emotions of Star Trek's characters and connects them to viewers at home, whether in live-action Star Trek or in animated series like Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Lower Decks, which Mike McMahan understands to his and the audience's benefit.

Star Trek: Lower Decks is available to stream on Paramount+

Source: TrekCulture