Review: 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Remains Fan-tastic Fun in Season Two, Now on Blu-ray

Trekkies, or Trekkers as the most fervent call themselves, originally sprang up in the late 1960s, a time period when most of the country was obsessed with civil liberties and America's involvement in the Vietnam War.

The bizarre world of science fiction fandom was alive and well in the mid-20th Century, and Trekkies were not simply a part of it, they evolved it. Devotees hoarded in the streets to collect autographs, packed the newsstands with fan fiction and even held sit-ins and marches of their own, not to protest US involvement in Southeast Asia but the fact that the series faced cancellation.

Though the original iteration of Star Trek, the network television show, ended, the faithful persisted. They watched the reruns and they demanded more. The franchise not only continued it proliferated in many varying directions. And the multitudes of fan spread like a contagion.

"Star Trek: Lower Decks" is a notable iteration of this sprawling franchise because it's tone is so fancentric. Developed by Mike McMahan ("Rick and Morty"), this adult animated comedy series is probably the most meta and self-reflexive spawns in Kirk and Spock's lineage, following not god-like heroes in their quest through space but the lowly support crew of one of Starfleet's least important ships, the USS Cerritos.

This show is a homage for the true fan, those who carefully watch each frame for an reference, an Easter egg, a tribute, a flashback or a moment of specialized knowledge.

In the second season of the series, the happy family bonding moments between Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome) and her mother Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) that finished off Season One have ended. They have been drowned out by the minute to minute concerns of being a Starfleet officer, issues such as finding your crewmate has turned into a giant narcissistic head or a green scorpion creature. (Ensign D'Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) really needed to stand up for herself, but this was taking it a little too far.)

Likewise the overwhelming thrill that Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) felt when he was promoted last season has dissipated -- even though he left the USS Cerritos to work on the USS Titan, a honor that would allow him to serve under the legendary Captain William Riker. Ultimately, Boimler struggles to connect with his new crew mates. Too bad he can't work on both ships at once... Or can he?

In the Star Trek universe all kinds of fantastic things are possible. Things like Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) inexplicably coming back from the dead. This is a all consuming mystery for Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) And though he's obsessed with finding answers, he may regret them when he finds them.

Thought the crew of this starship is great at dealing with sci-fi stuff, things like the Ferengi and the Pakleds, they're terrible at dealing with their feelings.

The fast paced action and stunning space vistas of this fan-favorite animation are best displayed by the crisp line and vivid colors of Blu-ray, now available from Paramount and CBS Home Entertainment, and including over an hour of special features -- featurettes, animatics, commentaries and more.