Lower Decks Is Cooler Than The Starship Enterprise

For five seasons, Jerry O’Connell has voiced Commander Jack Ransom on Star Trek: Lower Decks, and he’s preparing for his final voyage as First Officer of the USS Cerritos. Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 is the final season of creator Mike McMahan’s animated comedy on Paramount+. Star Trek: Lower Decks’ series finale streams on Thursday, December 19, on Paramount+.

Commander Jack Ransom had the inevitable job of overseeing Lieutenant Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), but Ransom and Mariner arrived at a better working relationship after she accepted her promotion and new responsibilities. As Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 continued, Ransom took an interest in Lieutenant Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) as well as using his unorthodox methods as First Officer to hone the Cerritos’ other lower deckers into working together as Starfleet Officers.

Related

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 Cast Guide: Who Voices Each Character In The Final Season

Meet the Lower Deckers and bridge crew of the USS Cerritos as Star Trek: Lower Decks warps into its fifth and final season on Paramount+.

ScreenRant had the pleasure of chatting with Jerry O’Connell about his immense pride in being part of Star Trek: Lower Decks, his favorite moment playing Commander Jack Ransom, being married to another Starfleet First Officer, Rebecca Romijn of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Jerry considers Jack’s possible future as Captain Ransom when Star Trek: Lower Decks ends.

Jerry O’Connell Explains Why Star Trek: Lower Decks Are ‘The Cool Kids’ Of Star Trek

“We’re Almost Like The Cool Kids Of Starfleet.”

ScreenRant: The last time we saw each other was at Newport Beach, at the Lower Decks premiere. Was that the first time you got to see the show with an audience in a packed theater?

Jerry O’Connell: Yeah, that was super fun. You know, I think we did one convention in Chicago, and we’ve done Comic-Con. I don’t think we showed episodes at Comic-Con, but, yeah, it’s always special to see it with everybody. I go to a lot of cons, mostly with my wife [Rebecca Romijn]. My wife does signings at cons, and it’s so fun. It’s so funny. I feel like [Lower Decks is] such a cool show to be a part of, especially in the Star Trek community. I feel like we’re the cool kids in Star Trek. I can’t explain it. I just feel like I have Starfleet street cred being in Lower Decks.

I really enjoy the fandom. You know, I went to a holiday party with my wife. And a lot of people recognize my wife, my wife plays Una on Strange New Worlds. But some guy came up to me, and he was like, ‘Hey, man.’ Like, everyone was sort of crowding around my wife and a bunch of Trekkies were talking to her about her show. And some guy just came up to me and went, ‘Man, I gotta tell you, Lower Decks is the best, and I’m so bummed that it’s ending.’ That’s what I love about Lower Decks. We’re almost like the cool kids of Starfleet. I’m so proud to be a part of it.

Yeah, Strange New Worlds, the Enterprise, it’s like the mall. But you’re like a speakeasy. You’re the cool underground thing.

Jerry O’Connell: I can’t wait for Starfleet Academy, by the way. It’s going to be awesome. But there’s something so cool about being a part of Lower Decks. And it’s got everything to do with Mike McMahan. It’s got everything to do with our cast. I’m so proud of it. And as season 5 comes to a close, I can’t be sad about it, you know? I’m just… it’s beyond being proud of something. It’s feeling cool, and that’s all we yearn for in life is to be cool. And Lower Decks really scratches that itch for me.

Jerry O’Connell Reveals His Favorite Commander Jack Ransom Moment

“Double Fisted Kirk Punch!”

I’d like to talk a little bit about Commander Ransom because I think Ransom is such a great character. We get to see more shades of him in “Upper Decks,” which flips the script. It focuses on the bridge crew. What I liked about it is that exciting things happen in the Cerritos to the upper and lower deckers. The Cerritos is actually the most exciting ship in Starfleet, if you think about it, on all levels.

Jerry O’Connell: I like to think so. I mean, it’s about time that we had some storylines that focused on the bridge. I mean, let’s be real everybody. You want to know what’s happening on the bridge. That’s where the action is. I know the show is called Lower Decks, and everybody thinks that’s where the action is. Trust me, the action is happening on the bridge. That’s why every Star Trek show up until this point has revolved around the bridge, where the decisions are made, where the higher command is, where the buck stops, and it’s about time. Look, it was inevitable that Lower Decks was going to have a show that revolves around the upper deckers. And the fans wanted it. Everybody wanted it. And here we are. So, you’re welcome.

Thank you. I think my favorite Ransom moment was season 2 when he became the psychic god from the strange energies. I love that he became like a classic Star Trek villain. What was your favorite Ransom moment from the five seasons?

Jerry O’Connell: There was a moment when I knew Lower Decks was going to be different than any other Star Trek show. It is when, I don’t remember the alien that I fought, but Ransom fights an alien. And Mike McMahan, in our recording session, said, ‘Hey, we don’t have a lot of time for this, but can you just scream out, ‘Double-fisted Kirk punch?’ Because we’re going to have you punch like Captain Kirk in The Original Series.’ And I have to tell you, I thought it was one of the funniest things I had ever heard anyone say in my life.

And so we spent about an hour of me yelling, ‘Double-fisted Kirk punch!’ And then Mike McMahon was so exact. He was like, ‘Right now, do it when you’re throwing it.’ Then he was like, ‘Okay, now say it like you’re getting ready, like, it’s a wind-up,’ And that’s when I knew Lower Decks was going to be different than, forget about animated shows, than any show. You know what I’m saying? It’s like nothing that had ever been done.

My favorite episode is the finale episode. To me, as a high-ranking officer in Starfleet, it is everything that is important about being a part of Star Trek.

Jerry O’Connell Ponders Commander Ransom’s Possible Future As Captain

Jerry Would Love To Outrank His Wife, Rebecca Romijn…

With the finale coming up, at some point, Commander Ransom will become Captain Ransom. When that day comes…

Jerry O’Connell: How do you know that?

I don’t. I’m extrapolating into the future, I feel like this is going to happen. When that does happen, would you want him to take over the Cerritos, or would you want him to get his own ship? And would it be California Class?

Jerry O’Connell: That is an incredible question. It’s funny, I’m all about the Cerritos. I live with someone who’s all about the Enterprise. And I guess the Enterprise is sort of… It’s the Mall of America of Starfleet. Everybody wants to get there, you want to get promoted. Everybody wants to be on the Enterprise. But love the Cerritos. My heart will always be the Cerritos. I gotta tell you, if there’s another crazy crossover and Ransom gets to sit on the Enterprise with Una and Pike and all them, it’ll be okay to go visit. Yeah. It’s fun, you know, but I’m really all about Cerritos.

I love that ship. I love our crew. I think it’s the best ship. And forget about the California Class. I think it’s the best ship in Starfleet. I love it. That said, it would be incredible if Mike McMahon ever allowed me to become a Captain, because I live with a First Officer. I mean, in real life, IRL, I live with the First Officer. Rebecca Romijn, Look it up. We’re married. Una Chin-Riley on Strange New Worlds. We are of equal class right now. We are both First Officers in Starfleet.

It would be so much fun if I outranked her. I know Lower Decks is coming to a close, but if Mike McMahan and Alex Kurtzman and the bosses of Starfleet right now could somehow find it in their hearts that I could outrank Una Chin-Riley, that’s all I ask for.

About Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5

In Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5, the crew of the USS Cerritos is tasked with closing “space potholes” – subspace rifts that are causing chaos in the Alpha Quadrant. Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi, and Rutherford … if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries, and scariest of all: their own career aspirations. This upcoming season on Paramount+ is a celebration of this underdog crew who are dangerously close to being promoted out of the lower decks and into strange new Starfleet roles.

Check out our other Star Trek: Lower Decks season 5 interviews: