Lower Deck Episode Discussion - Television Tropes & Idioms

It seems to me that there are two separate types of episodes being conflated in Lower Deck Episode:

An episode centering on a secondary recurring character. Episodes about Skinner, CSM, and the Lone Gunmen in The X Files; many many episodes from The Simpsons (Krusty the Clown, Apu, Ms Krabappel, and Grandpa Simpson come to mind, although I'm sure there are dozens more).
Episodes centering on the sort of people who aren't even secondary characters, but are usually taken for granted by the show: the junior officers in Star Trek The Next Generation's "Lower Decks," the janitors in Babylon Five's "A View From the Gallery."

To me, only the latter constitutes a true Lower Deck Episode (after all, it was the Star Trek The Next Generation episode from which the name is taken), and the former is...I don't know what to call it, but something else. But I'm not the one who originally created the entry. Agree? Disagree? — Devils Advocate

Agreed, but I can't think of another name either. — deltab

Gus : I'll take a stab at filtering the entry, based on this definition:

An episode focused primarily on the "flat" characters, often using their point of view to give an outsider's perspective on the central plot or characters. The fifth-season Babylon 5 episode "A View from the Gallery" took the idea to its logical extreme by focusing on janitors on the space station, characters we'd never seen before and never saw again.

cf. "Lower Decks", Star Trek: TNG episode 167.

"Lower Deck" episodes usually arise when the crew is behind on their film schedules and have to shoot two episodes at the same time.

Compare to: A Day In The Limelight

Further, I'll propose that A Day In The Limelight would be about the following:

A character, not the lead, gets the primary focus for an episode. This can be used to give the lead a rest, both for the actor and for the audience. It can also be used to explore the possibilty of an expanded role for Recurrer or secondary character.

"Harm's Way" from Angel season 5 is an example.
"The Zeppo" from Bt Vs season 3 is another example, where Xander gets the limelight.
Hey Arnold! deserves props for having several stories where a secondary character is spotlighted ("Timberly Loves Arnold", for example).
The X-Files did a number of A Day In The Limelight episodes later in its run, including "Zero Sum" (focused on Skinner), "Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man" (CSM), "Unusual Suspects", "Three of a Kind" and "Jump the Shark" (Lone Gunmen).

Compare to: Lower Deck Episode

Nick - I don't think there needs to be a subdivision, but A Day In The Limelight could probably have two subdivisions - regulars and recurrers. Some (the more frequently used type) feature characters who are regulars, but don't usually get to lead an episode - "The Zeppo", episodes of The Next Generation starring La Forge or Work, for instance. Others (less frequently) feature recurring characters, like the Lone Gunmen episode - and these are sometimes (often?) a Poorly Disguised Pilot

As a semi-interesting aside, one could consider the concept of Lower Deck series as well - those where the characters are smaller cogs in a larger machine and the ultimate bosses are He Who Must Not Be Seen, only referred to.

And now my mind's gone blank and I can't think of any! Though, The West Wing, I believe, was originally envisaged this way, with the President only meant to be an offscreen presence, though it was eventually altered to include him - notice, though, that Bartlet has a much smaller role in the first few episodes than he got later on.

Devils Advocate : Looks good to me, Gus. You might also cross-reference the two (with a "Contrast with..." or "Not to be confused with..."). On the TNG episode, you might add a brief description to provide another example for readers not familiar with the episode. ("...focusing on the junior officers, recently graduated from Starfleet Academy, serving aboard the Enterprise")

Good call, Nick, on the regular vs. recurring character distinction for A Day In The Limelight. A very specific subclass of the one featuring a regular character would be the Good Troi Episode.

Gus: I pulled the trigger on this.

Silent Hunter: Quick point on "Love and Monsters", it was deliberately a Lower Deck Episode, because they were making 14 episodes in the time available for 13. There will probably be another one in the third series, for the same reason. Not sure which one though.

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