The most recent episode ofStar Trek: Lower DecksSeason 3, “Room for Growth,” was released for streaming on Thursday, June 07, 2025. Along with the new episode ofLower Decks, there was also a fresh entry in the ongoingStar Trekaftershow,The Ready Room, hosted by Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher onStar Trek: The Next Generation), released. In the episode,Ready Roomguest star Tawny Newsome, who plays Ensign Beckett Mariner of theU.S.S. Cerritos, revealed that during production for “Room for Growth,“Lower Decksseries creator Mike McMahan was inspired byRob Reiner’s adaptation of a Stephen King novella,Stand by Me.
Stand by Meis the 1986 movie adaptation of King’s novellaThe Body, published in the 1982 collectionDifferent Seasons. Set inCastle Rock, Maine, a recurring fictional location in King’s work, the story follows a quartet of boys who undertake a journey to locate the corpse of a fifth boy.
The big screen adaptation, directed by Reiner, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Wheaton co-starred in the movie as Gordon “Gordie” LaChance, the twelve-year-old version of the character who serves as the story’s narrator. Interestingly, one of the other four boys, Vern Tessio, was played by Jerry O’Connell, an actor who now appears onLower Decksas Commander Jack Ransom, part of theCerritoscommand crew.
Rounding out the cast of the movie was Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp and the late River Phoenix as Chris Chambers. Meanwhile, Kiefer Sutherland portrayed the teenage version of John “Ace” Merrill, a local bully, and John Cusack played Dennis “Denny” LaChance, older brother to Gordie.
The ‘Stand by Me Episode’
In theLower Decksepisode “Room for Growth,” the circumstances for the journey undertaken by three of the four beta shifters are considerably less macabre than the motivation shared by the boys inStand by Me. Ensigns Mariner, Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid), and D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) are not attempting to locate a corpse – this isn’tStar Trek III, after all. Instead, they’re attempting to enter their names into a computer to ensure they will be successful in an upcoming room lottery.
However, just as a rival gang pursues the protagonists inStand by Me, the beta shifters have competition inLower Decksas they attempt to reach the object of their quest: delta shift! These rivals were introduced inLower Decksseason 1’s “Terminal Provocations.”
