Starbase 80?! (episode)

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

Warning!

This page contains information regarding Star Trek: Lower Decks, and thus may contain spoilers.

For the starbase itself, please see Starbase 80.

Ransom uses too much disinfectant gel while Mariner gets paranoid about curses.

Summary[]

Teaser[]

The USS Cerritos travels through warp after finishing up a mission on the ocean planet Piskes IX that has left the lower deckers aside from Lieutenant junior grade Beckett Mariner exhausted. Much to her friends' surprise, Mariner displays an unusual upbeat attitude and enjoyment of the mission and bioluminescent seaweed. "I -- I don't know, I guess I'm just starting to enjoy missions without trying to fight the system or whatever. Doing granular science is what Starfleet's all about, and wow, I sound like a real Boimler right now," explains Mariner, pleasing D'Vana Tendi with how far she's come.

A red alert calls the crew to the bridge with Brad Boimler and Sam Rutherford being shirtless as they were still changing at the time of the red alert. Commander Jack Ransom reports that the ship has dropped out of warp due to a navigational malfunction. Lieutenant junior grade Kimolu in Cetacean Ops reports that the navigation processor's spitting out random coordinates and they had to drop out of warp because the Cerritos is flying blind. Lieutenant Matt adds that it keeps shocking the water just before the two beluga whales are shocked by green energy. Captain Carol Freeman orders the processor shut down and is less than pleased as the ship is supposed to be at a captain's conference on Casperia Prime in 24 hours and she's hosting their first scatting battle.

Needing to repair the nav processor, Ransom asks Boimler about any starbases in impulse range. To the shock and horror of the crew, Boimler reveals that there's just one: the infamously terrible Starbase 80 which is the worst starbase in the quadrant. The second closest starbase is Deep Space 6 which the Cerritos would reach in 400 years at full impulse. Desperate not to return, Mariner suggests sending out a distress call and waiting for help to arrive, but Freeman refuses as they need a nav processor. Freeman orders Boimler to set a course for Starbase 80 at full impulse, causing Mariner to sink to her knees and let a long drawn out scream of despair.

Act One[]

After docking, Mariner desperately begs her mother not to make her go back, reminding Freeman how she had banished her to the station. Freeman has no more desire to visit SB80 than her daughter, recalling how her alternate reality self ran it, but promises that they'll be in and out as fast as possible. Just as Freeman states that she's sure it won't be that bad, Ransom brings the news that the station's transporters aren't safe for organic use so the crew needs to rub down with some kind of gel first. "Ha! See? The curse begins," insists Mariner.

In a decontamination chamber, the crew rubs decontamination gel over their bodies with Boimler comparing himself to T'Pol. Mariner continues to insist that the station is cursed, having seen regular smart people turn into total buffoons through mysterious forces after spending too much time here. Mariner tries to warn Ransom not to use too much gel, but he ignores her warnings.

Boarding the dilapidated station, Mariner continues to be skittish, fearing that she could fall into an open ditch. The crew is greeted by Commander Kassia Nox -- wearing a Starfleet uniform similar to the one worn on the Enterprise NX-01 -- who believes that the Cerritos is a repair ship finally sent to help them by Starfleet. Freeman clarifies that they were forced to SB80 by a malfunction, and that they need a new navigation processor. Nox guesses that they have a processor or two in storage as long as the crew doesn't mind an older model, but as the Cerritos isn't exactly cutting edge either, Freeman figures that it should probably be fine. Nox suggests that her Chief Engineer can help them and he's down on level 15. Freeman orders her daughter to help with any station repairs while she and Ransom go and get the processor, but Mariner just wants to go back to the ship, forcing her mother to make it an order.

Rutherford complains about the systems on the station being old and weird when he was hoping for something new and exciting. Surprisingly, Nox reveals that she had volunteered for this duty rather than being banished to SB80 for some kind of a crime. In Engineering, the crew are sucked upwards to stand on the celling as a result of problems with the gravity plating. As a result, the station's personnel use a fireman's pole upon entering Engineering and ladders to reach their stations. The room also has old wall comms, and Nox explains that the base hasn't experienced many upgrades since the 2260s. There are also food vendors all over the base such as a corn dog stand ran by Chad rather than replicators. Nox tells Mariner and Boimler that they've actually found that the absence of replicators has livened the station's culinary scene.

Rutherford determines that the gravity stabilizer is simply working in the wrong direction, but when he tries to contact Commander Andy Billups for help, he hears incoherent moaning and is shocked by his combadge. Rutherford guesses that Billups simply ate a bad breakfast burrito and heads off with Nox to check out the old station schematics. Mariner recalls that Billups only eats hot cereals, but Tendi dismisses it as Billups just working on his pickiness. Mariner insists that it's the curse again, but Boimler dismisses it, particularly because Billups is still on the Cerritos. Accepting this, the three leave, not noticing as Cerritos crewmembers with green glowing eyes and moaning like Billups enter Engineering, looking and sounding like zombies.

In the Operation's Center, Freeman and Ransom find the klaxon going off and Gene slumped over one of the consoles who they fear is dead at first. After suddenly springing awake, Gene explains that he must've dozed off and he lacks the tools to reroute the alarms microcircuits. With the help of a tricorder, Freeman fixes the problem in a matter of seconds. After learning that they're looking for the Chief Engineer for a navigation processor, Gene identifies the Chief Engineer as Jackobowski who can probably be found in the arcade. SB80 doesn't have any holodecks, so the Chief Engineer spends a lot of time in the arcade. Gene hands Freeman a stained map to the arcade which is located on level 33 before falling asleep again.

Passing through the station's concourse, Boimler notices a lot of hostile Gatherers and Nox explains that SB80 hosts the largest number of Acamarians outside of Acamar III due to an old negotiation hiccup that surrendered half of the station to their authority. "Yeah, this place is basically controlled by a knife gang," quips Mariner. While the station personnel have been hoping that Starfleet will renegotiate the treaty, Nox guesses that it's low on the diplomatic to-do list. Mariner is alarmed to see Rutherford running his fingers over chunky sauce at one of the vendor booths, calling it cursed sauce because its uncovered and unrefrigerated.

Reaching the messy storage room, Rutherford exhibits zombie-like behavior as he moves around the room, falling over on a pile of station records. Mariner instantly believes that Rutherford has fallen victim to the curse with an adjacent room containing more people acting strange with glowing green eyes. After one man looks up from licking the floor, Tendi admits that maybe there really is a curse.

Act Two[]

Freeman and Ransom discover that the turbolifts are 23rd century models that use handles to activate voice command. Freeman tries to send them to the arcade, but instead the turbolift takes them on a wild ride to the maintenance labyrinth. Once they exit the turbolift, it finally heads for the arcade. Freeman refuses to call the Cerritos for help, declaring that Starbase 80 got the better of her alternate universe self and it won't do the same to her. Freeman admits that she's still worried about the fate of her counterpart.

In the concourse, cursed Starfleet personnel chase people who are still unaffected along with other strange behaviors such as licking the floor. Tendi tries to call Dr. T'Ana, only to see her amongst the cursed personnel. Nox notices that everyone affected are Cerritos crew while none of the Starbase 80 personnel are affected. Mariner insists that it's because SB80 is already cursed, but Nox is sure that her doctor can get to the bottom of this, pointing out that Mariner doesn't really have another choice but to go to him.

Navigating the labyrinth in search of Jackobowski, Freeman and Ransom discover Gene with his head stuck in a tube. Gene explains that he had gotten stuck while trying to fix an oxygen leak and they use the decontamination gel that Ransom's covered in to pull him free. Complaining that they just seem to be wandering around the station fixing things, Freeman asks where the Chief Engineer is. At Gene's request, Freeman and Ransom fix the oxygen leak and he leads them to a staircase that will take them 30 stories up to the arcade, something that Ransom is far more excited about than Freeman.

Mariner and Boimler have to restrain Rutherford as he keeps trying to lick the walls, only to discover that Tendi is now affected too. Boimler tries to call Ensigns Mackler and Gorm for help, but both are afflicted as well. Station doctor Harrison Horseberry arrives to help them get Boimler and Tendi to sickbay. Horseberry explains that his half-alien appearance is from getting a Tarchanne parasite from sharing a toothbrush with one of his colleagues. The confused doctor discovers no pathogens, biochemical phenomena, or Tarchanne parasites which he always checks for just for fun in Rutherford and Tendi. Mariner goes to call for evac, but Nox snatches Mariner's combadge from her and smashes it, yelling that Mariner will get it too. Declaring that she knew that Nox was up to something, Mariner attacks the other woman.

Act Three[]

Nox easily throws Mariner off of her, revealing that she's an El-Aurian and knows how to fight. Recalling that Guinan's an El-Aurian too, Mariner asks if Nox is 400 years old, but Nox states that she's only in her 30s and she pays attention. Nox easily counters Mariner's attacks, explaining that she was only trying to protect Mariner. Nox had realized that the Cerritos crew became afflicted when they used their combadges, explaining why SB80's crew is unaffected. The station's crew are goofy and eccentric, but they're not licking walls like the Cerritos crew. The difference between the two is that SB80 uses old wall comms, not combadges. Boimler falls victim to it just like Rutherford and Tendi, proving Nox's theory correct, but also meaning that the curse is from the Cerritos, not Starbase 80.

Ransom and Freeman arrive at the arcade where they find Gene playing one of the games. One of the Acamarians outside reveals that Gene is actually Lieutenant Gene Jakobowski, the station's Chief Engineer. Gene apologizes for the subterfuge, explaining that he's been asking for Starfleet to send someone to help with the repairs for months and he couldn't miss a chance to get help with fixing the alarms and the oxygen pipe. Gene promises to give them the nav processor if Freeman and Ransom help him to clear out the Pyrithian bats in subsection 5. While Ransom refuses, Freeman is more sympathetic to Gene's predicament. Just like Starbase 80, the Cerritos isn't the flashiest ship, so it's easy for Starfleet Command to ignore. Apologizing for not being fair to Gene today, Freeman agrees to help him get the bats.

Returning to the concourse, Mariner and Nox hide from the rampaging Cerritos crew. Mariner believes that she messed up, explaining that getting kicked off of the ship and sent to Starbase 80 was her rock bottom. Returning to the station made her feel like she was that person again and if Mariner had been on her game, she would've seen what was really happening. "Hey, this isn't rock bottom for anyone. Starbase 80's for second chances. That's why I love it. We're not perfect, but that's why it works," explains Nox, giving Mariner a new appreciation for the starbase. In order to find the source of what's piggybacking off of their combadge signals, Mariner steals Jet Manhaver's combadge and scans it with her tricorder which reveals a biological energy signature. Nox realizes that the Cerritos' comm logs can tell them how this all started, but Mariner points out that they're all back on the ship which will be full of cursed crew, but Nox states that they can get through that with the help of two of her biggest weirdos.

Mariner, Nox, Horseberry, and Chad race onto the Cerritos where Mariner urges caution until the ship's self-destruct sequence keeps mysteriously turning on and off which is caused by Billups licking the bridge console. Racing through the corridors, the group is blocked by a door repeatedly opening and closing due to Livik chewing on the wires on the other side. However, this is a frequent malfunction on SB80, so Nox is able to wedge the door open for long enough for them to pass through using a metal tray. Finding a mass of cursed crew in the way, Chad lures them away using his corn dogs. As he's pilled on by the crew, Chad yells at the others to go and he'll be okay. Reaching the bridge, Mariner subdues Billups and shuts down the self-destruct sequence. Nox isolates the source of the combadge signal, revealing that it's coming from Cetacean Ops.

In Cetacean Ops, Matt emerges from the water and fires green energy into a nearby console. Mariner admits that Matt was on the recent away mission to Piskes IX and Horseberry discovers that Matt is being possessed by an anaphasic lifeform. While the lifeform appears to have spread throughout the entire Cerritos crew, its central mind is in Matt's body. Everyone is licking and touching the walls because they're like the entity's fingertips reaching out in the dark. Grabbing some rope, Mariner attempts to restrain the possessed Matt, but gets captured by his energy tendrils. Nox saves her, but they both get captured by matt and fall under the entity's control. Declaring that some problems need an old-fashioned bonking, Horseberry hits matt in the head with a nearby fishing net. Matt throws up the lifeform which Horseberry quickly covers with a bucket. Throughout both the ship and the starbase, the Cerritos crew return to normal.

Horseberry is able to build a stable vessel for the entity which reveals his name to be Clem and apologizes for the trouble that he had caused. As Clem was never truly hostile, Nox welcomes him to stay at Starbase 80. Clem is like the lower deckers: a junior officer trying to prove himself to his superiors. Clem had possessed people to prove to his superiors that he is capable of communicating with corporeal species. However, Clem had become overwhelmed by the number of mind merges and took over too many people. As a result, Clem became spread too thin and lost control, causing the chaos that had ensued. Nox calls it a win for everyone as they're now communicating, but Clem only hopes that his bosses will see it that way as they can be real dicks. Clem's possession of Matt was the source of the Cerritos' navigation problems and exorcising him from Matt has now solved those issues.

Even though they no longer need Starbase 80's help, the Cerritos crew help the starbase with their much needed repairs. In particular, Rutherford finishes his earlier work and fixes Engineering's gravity plating, restoring proper gravity to the compartment. Mariner hopes that fixing all of Starbase 80's little problems will make up for her being such a jerk, but Nox knows that Mariner was just watching out for her friends and hopefully now she understands that Starbase 80 is really just a bunch of scrappy underdogs which Mariner understands. "Wait, has anyone seen the captain? Uh, someone told her we don't need the repair materials anymore, right?" Mariner realizes.

In the labyrinth, Freeman and Ransom capture bats and load them into a cage. With a final massive bat left to capture, Ransom insists that Freeman doesn't have anything left to prove and they need to get out of here. However, a slightly deranged Freeman tells him that her alternate self must've failed at this, and she won't. Declaring that no giant bat is keeping her on this station, Freeman ignores Ransom's protests and goes after the giant bat while he yells warnings to her.

Log entries[]

"Base commander's log, supplimental. With the anaphasic entity contained Dr. Horseberry was able to set up a stable vessel for it to inhabit."

Memorable Quotes[]

"What are you talking about? That was fun."
"Hmm. Well, you don't have a fever."
"Oh, stop, stop. Sure, it was a lot of work that old Mariner would've definitely hated, but, hey, that algae glowed in the dark."
"Oh! I love bioluminescence too. Mariner! I never took you for a seaweed girl."
"Mm, not when you phrase it like that, I'm not. I -- I don't know, I guess I'm just starting to enjoy missions without trying to fight the system or whatever. Doing granular science is what Starfleet's all about, and wow, I sound like a real Boimler right now."
"Yeah. Uh, cool as hell."
"You've really come a long way, Mariner. I find it inspiring."

- Mariner, Tendi, and Boimler discussing Mariner's sudden change in attitude

"Mr. Boimler, are there any starbases within impulse?"
"Yes, but you're not gonna like it. The only station within reach is Starbase 80"
*shocked gasp*
"Damn, Starbase 80?!?"
"That's the worst starbase in the quadrant!"
"No, no, I am not going back to that hellhole. I'm a positive person now. I love algae."

- Ransom, Boimler, at least one unknown Cerritos crewmember, and Mariner about the Cerritos' single terrible option

"Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..."
"Are you gonna do that the whole way there?!?"
"...oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..."

- Mariner and Ransom

"Check me out. I'm a total T'Pol over here. Mare-Bear, get my back."
"Not if my life depended on it."

- Boimler and Mariner in the decontamination chamber

"Come on, you can't really believe in curses."
"I didn't used to, but I've seen it. A regular smart person spends too much time here and somehow, through mysterious forces, they turn into a total buffoon."
"That's a little unscientific."
"Can science explain Q?"
"Probably."

- Rutherford, Mariner, and Tendi argue about the supposed curse of Starbase 80

"Wow, that's a lot of growling and glaring."
"Fun fact: SB80 actually has the largest population of Acamarians outside Acamar III due to an old negotiation hiccup that surrendered half the starbase to their authority."
"Yeah, this place is basically controlled by a knife gang."
"We've sort of been hoping Starfleet might renegotiate the treaty. But I guess it's low on the diplomatic to-do list."

- Boimler, Nox, and Mariner about the hostile station inhabitants

"Rutherford's cursed! He's got the 80!"
"There's gotta be a rational, scientific explanation..."

- Mariner and Tendi after Rutherford begins to act strangely

"Okay, maybe there's a curse."

- Tendi after seeing Starfleet personnel acting like zombies

"Should I call the Cerritos for help?"
"No. This place got the better of my alternate universe self. It won't do the same to me."
"You're still worried about that?"
"Yes!"

- Freeman and Ransom as they wander through the station

"Um... What -- What is happening with your doctor?"
"Oh, yeah, he gets that a lot. He's British."
"Does he have one of those Tarchanne parasites that mess with your DNA?"
"I used to have one. I got it from sharing a toothbrush with one of my colleagues. How did you know? I was told it was hardly noticeable."
"Yeah, it was... it was a little noticeable."

- Mariner, Nox, and Horseberry discuss the doctor's strange appearance

"Holy [bleep]. How are you so good at fighting?"
"I'm El-Aurian. I think I know how to fight."
"Wait, like Guinan? What, so you're, like, 400 years old?"
"No, I'm in my 30s. But I pay attention."
"A young El-Aurian is just a regular person!"
"I'm trying to protect you."
"Sure doesn't feel like it."

- Mariner and Nox face off

"Have you noticed your crew only starts acting weird after using their combadges?"
"So?"
"So, what if that's why your crew's affected and ours isn't?" "Everyone here's acting weird as [bleep]."
"They're goofy and eccentric, but not licking walls. We don't have combadges. We use old wall comms. That has to be it."
"Boimler just contacted his ensigns. And he's fine."
[Boimler begins acting like everyone else]
"Oh, [bleep]. Oh, my God, you were right. It's the combadges. But that means the curse is from the Cerritos?"

- Nox and Mariner figure it out while fighting

"Oh, I can't believe I messed this up."
"You didn't do anything."
"Getting kicked off my ship and being transferred here -- that was my rock bottom. Being back made me feel like I was still that person. If I'd been on my game, I would have seen what was happening."
"Hey, this isn't rock bottom for anyone. Starbase 80's for second chances. That's why I love it."
"I mean, when you put it like that, I'm kind of into Starbase 80."
"We're not perfect, but that's why it works."

- Mariner and Nox discuss Starbase 80's real purpose

"We need to get to the bridge. Let's use caution..."
"Self-destruct sequence activated."
"What?!"
"Self-destruct sequence aborted."
"Oh, thank God."
"Self-destruct sequence activated."
"What the hell is happening on this ship?"
"Forget caution! New plan: reckless abandon!"

- Mariner, the Cerritos computer, and Nox as the self-destruct keeps turning on and off

"You have whales?!"
"They do stellar navigation, and they also throw really crazy parties."

- Nox and Mariner in Cetacean Ops

"Stop! Doctor's orders! I've studied the most advanced medicines in the quadrant, but some problems need an old-fashioned bonking!"

- Horseberry finds a low tech solution to the problem

"Oh, Doc, how'd you do it?"
"Um, uh, complicated doctor stuff."

- Nox and Horseberry

"Chad lives to dog another day."

- Chad is unharmed

"My designation is Clem. I am sorry for the trouble I caused. Thank you for not destroying me."
"No problem, Clem. Welcome to Starbase 80."
"I can't believe you're letting it stay here."
"We'll be fine as long as Clem doesn't try to inhabit anyone."
"I will not."
"Why did you possess anyone in the first place?"
"To prove to my superiors that I'm capable of communicating with corporeal species."
"Hold up, so you're, like, a junior anaphasic alien?"
"Correct, but the amount of mind merges overwhelmed me. I took over too many hosts. Spread myself too thin."
"But now we're communicating, so it's a win for everyone."
"I hope my bosses see it that way. They can be real dicks."

- Clem is interrogated by Nox, Boimler, Mariner, and Rutherford

"Yeah, maybe fixing up all your little problems will help make up for me being such a jerk."
"You were just watching out for your friends. And, hopefully, now you see we're just a bunch of scrappy underdogs. Arf, arf." "Now that I can understand."

- Mariner and Nox after the Cerritos crew helps with repairs

"Wait, has anyone seen the captain? Uh, someone told her we don't need the repair materials anymore, right?"

- Mariner realizes that they forgot something

"You don't have anything more to prove, Captain. Let's get out of here!"
"No! The alternate Freeman must have failed at this, and I won't! There's still the big one!"
"But it won't even fit in the cage!"
"Yeah, not with that attitude it won't."
"How about I just forge the signature?"
"No giant [bleep] bat is keeping me on this goddamn station!"
"Look out for the claws, Captain! The claws!"

- A reluctant Ransom aids a nearly deranged Freeman in her attempt to catch the bat

Background information[]

Title[]

This is the first Star Trek episode to have both an exclamation and a question mark in its title.
The title was erroneously listed on Paramount+ and partner streaming services as "Star Base 80?". [1]

Sets and props[]

Among the objects in the starbase's shop: a mirror universe bulletin board, and Admiral Mark Jameson's wheelchair from TNG: "Too Short A Season".

Costumes[]

Among the clothing in the starbase's shop: the gangster hats that James T. Kirk and Spock wore on Sigma Iotia II in TOS: "A Piece of the Action", [2], Enterprise NX-01 caps labeled NX-01, dress uniform caps from the alternate reality, at least two copies of Ruk's clothing from TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", a Klingon Defense Force uniform from the 2260s, a "Monster Maroon" jacket with obvious damage, a giant pile of TOS era red shirts, and one of Dr. Katherine Pulaski's medical uniforms.

Continuity[]

This episode marks the first full onscreen appearance of the infamous Starbase 80, which has been mentioned numerous times throughout the series as a running gag. A portion of the base was briefly seen in the Season 3 episode "Trusted Sources".
A Vastam-class warbird from Star Trek Online is featured on the side of the Romulan arcade game cabinet. [3]
El-Aurians, Acamarians, Tarchannen parasites, and anaphasic lifeforms were all species previously featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The treaty involving the Acamarians mentioned by Commander Kassia Nox is likely a reference to the events of TNG: "The Vengeance Factor".