"Star Trek: Lower Decks" is about to tackle arguably the most sacred of franchise traditions ... with a twist, of course. On one hand, the general setup of two disgruntled alien factions veering precipitously close to the edge of war represents as classic an episode structure as it gets. Famed Starfleet captains such as Kirk, Picard, Janeway, Pike, and more have all had to plunge headfirst into fraught diplomatic relations between warring species and somehow find a way to deescalate tensions as amiably as possible. On the other, well, only "Lower Decks" would satirize this trope to such an absurd extent: featuring alien beings whose only real difference is that, well, one is made up of spheres and the other is made up of cubes.

Never change, "Lower Decks." Never change.

This ongoing season marks the fifth and final installment of the irreverent, yet wholesome animated series (/Film's Jacob Hall heaped...