WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 1, Episode 4, "Moist Vessel," now streaming on CBS All Access.
Star Trek is a franchise centered around Captains, steadfast leaders who command a crew and carry out Starfleet's mission to the far reaches of the galaxy. But new animated series Lower Decks, true to its nature, does things a little different with its Captain, Carol Freeman. Played by Dawnn Lewis, who previously voiced animated characters on shows including Futurama and The Simpsons, Freeman is in a unique situation for the franchise. She's a bit pompous and overblown, and committed to keeping things ship-shape at all costs, but that instinct is challenged by her role as mother to the show's main character, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome).
In the most recent Lower Decks episode, things came to a head for Freeman, as she promoted her daughter and, then, bored her with the minutiae of officer duty in a ploy to get her to transfer off the ship. But when push came to shove, the mother and daughter were able to see eye to eye and save the day, even if that eye contact lasted for mere minutes.
Lewis spoke to CBR about her history with the Trek franchise, the unique dynamic between Freeman and Mariner and what we can expect from Lower Decks for the next six episodes.
CBR: What were you told about the character of Carol Freeman when you initially auditioned for Lower Decks?
Dawnn Lewis: Nothing! We didn't know anything. They came to us with an ultra-secret project, telling us to sign an NDA to even receive the sides. When we got the sides, we were all animals! I am some sort of captain bird or something. All I knew was it was a sci-fi show in space. Lots of people were in the booth directing us. When I went into the audition, I decided to create an authoritative character. She sometimes had fun, but for the most part she was stern and uptight.
There was a shortlist of people for each role, and I'm incredibly grateful for anyone I worked with on an animated project who recommended me for Lower Decks. I had actually done Rick and Morty, which [Lower Decks creator] Mike McMahan had worked on. But I don't think I ever worked with him specifically before this.
What was your history with the Star Trek franchise before your work on Lower Decks?
My love for Star Trek goes back to when I was a tiny kid. My brothers and I would sneak around at night when we were supposed to be asleep and watch it. My mom was out at night school, so we would sit in front of our TV set, which was 13 inches and in black and white. We would cover our heads in sheets and blankets to try to muffle the sound as we watched the show. And I fell in love!
I fell in love with Nichelle Nichols; she was beautiful, smart and capable. She could fight just like anyone else. All I wanted to do when I grew up was to become some Star Trek alien where I'd have to put on makeup and fake teeth. It was a goal I never got to fulfill, which emotionally crushed me until they hired me as Captain Freeman. My life is good again!
How do you approach playing Freeman, especially in her role as Captain?
There's a certain tone to the Federation, specifically to those on staff. Everybody is very serious and important. What everyone does is vital on a starship. No one gets to slouch and phone it in. So when you take that approach and you see that there are characters who phone it in like Mariner, that rubs against the entire grain of what Starfleet is supposed to be. That makes it easy for me to be over the top at times. I'm supposed to be the authority and stick to people who are also supposed to be the authority and clearly are not.
To that point, episodes 3 and 4 focused on Freeman and her feeling that the Cerritos is not taken seriously and the crew is insubordinate. What do you see as her part in the madness that we see every week?
I don't think Captain Freeman thinks the Cerritos is the clown ship of the Federation. She thinks the ship is a very, very vital component to the mission of Starfleet. Until Beckett came on board, she knew her crew was doing the best that they could. She would go to bat for any of them. I'd compare her crew to the Bad News Bears. We may be a ragtag group, but we get the job done.
Unfortunately, Beckett's presence is that little seed of rebellion and unorthodox behavior that is now infiltrating her crew. And Freeman is panicked by it. She's an element that she cannot allow to thrive. She's infecting everyone, and Freeman can't go for that at all. She's inherited an element that makes the gossip about the Cerritos true.
Freeman goes all-out to get Mariner to transfer from the Cerritos in Episode 4. When her daughter confronts her about it, she replies, "I'm being a Captain," to which Mariner says back, "No, you're being a dick." What's your take on the tactics Freeman takes this episode?
Beckett is a young adult who thinks she knows everything and her parents can teach her nothing. As a parent, you go from their hero to an annoyance to the biggest idiot they've ever met until they get enough maturity until they realize what you've been saying to them actually has value. Then, all of a sudden, you become intelligent again. Freeman and Mariner are at that point in their relationship. Mariner's been skating on all these other ships. She's been everybody's problem, and now it's Freeman's turn.
There's also the added element of them being mother and daughter in this experiment. Mariner wants to continue to do what she's accustomed to doing, even though she's very good at what she does. She downplays it to have a devil-may-care attitude to whatever she does. But she knows she also has a bit of latitude because the Captain is her mother. Freeman can't not be her mother. You always push the envelope when your parent is involved. In the same episode, you also see them working together to get out of a dilemma. You see a hint of what could be there in terms of cooperation between the two of them, only to watch it disintegrate again by the end of the episode.
There's another interesting exchange during the episode where Mariner accuses Freeman of treating her like a child. Freeman replies that she'll stop doing that when Mariner starts acting like a mature Starfleet member. That was a great look into their relationship and the way they view each other.
Yep! Even as a young adult, someone trying to find their way and establish themselves, you know right from wrong. It's like being the preacher's kid. Your parents stand for one thing, and all you want to do is smoke cigarettes and do everything they've told you you can't do your whole life. Now that you're in a position to make choices for yourself, that's all you want to do. Between Mariner's mom being a Captain and dad being an Admiral, she's lived a life of respect, excellence and commitment to their roles in Starfleet command. So she's like, "If I have to hear one more time about how amazing my parents are, I'm gonna be sick in my own mouth!" [Laughs]
She wants to be her own person. On the one hand, she knows she's a problem. But on the other hand, she wants her parents to be proud of her. Mariner's fighting her own personal battle. It's like your mother becoming your homeroom teacher. "I was getting away with murder before you showed up! Now all the teachers know to go to you." [Laughs]
What's your favorite thing about playing Freeman?
...You can see from this particular episode that Freeman is a leader, but she's also got a sense of humor. I love that. She's got a sly side to her and knows how to play the game. She can say to Mariner, "You think you can play the game. I wrote the game!" I love how she can be a mama bear, how she can stand up and speak up for [her crew]. She may speak badly about them, but they're her crew. But once the Admirals leave the room, she'll be like, "Why did you embarrass me like that?!" [Laughs]
As someone who knows Trek, what makes Lower Decks such a different show?
Working on Lower Decks, we get to see a humorous side that we don't get to see in other Trek series. We deal with a lot of similar material in that humanity is still at stake, but we also see more of the human level of the people tasked with handling these issues. Not everybody works at 100%. Not everybody is there for the same reasons. Not everybody cares the same way. We don't all get to it the same way. But when the time comes, we all pull together. In the other series, everyone is usually on the same page for the same reason with the same intentions and effort. Everyone is rising to the level of what Starfleet is supposed to be. The Lower Decks crew is not that. [Laughs]
It's like we combed together whatever was left of humanity in order to get this job done. We've got ne'er do wells, funny people, excited people, and we're still going to make this work. And that reflects society today. We've got some of everybody, doing their best and coming together to make this work for the better, hopefully.
We have a little over half a season of Lower Decks left. What can we look forward to from Freeman for the remaining six episodes?
Captain Freeman is a badass. You don't want to cross her. Right now, you've been seeing her buttons pushed but there are a few episodes where people try to cross her, and you don't want to do that, you really don't want to do that. You get to see her heart and commitment, and you get to see that she knows how to handle Beckett. Beckett's going to get handled! I don't know how long it's going to last, but she's going to get handled. [Laughs]
Star Trek: Lower Decks stars Tawny Newsome as Ensign Beckett Mariner, Eugene Cordero as Ensign Rutherford, Jack Quaid as Ensign Brad Boimler, Noël Wells as Ensign Tendi, Dawnn Lewis as Captain Carol Freeman, Jerry O'Connell as Commander Jack Ransom, Gillian Vigman as Doctor T'Ana and Fred Tatasciore as Lieutenant Shaxs. The show premiered on CBS All Access on Aug. 6.