WARP FIVE: Jerry O'Connell on Being Number One as Jack Ransom

Welcome to Warp Five, StarTrek.com's five question post-mortem with your favorite featured talent from the latest Star Trek episodes.

In Star Trek: Lower Decks' fifth season, the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos has been stuck dealing with subspace potholes that have been popping up all over the Alpha Quadrant.

In "," Lieutenant j.g. Mariner notes, "On other ships, it's the command crew that gets into trouble, not like, random lower deckers," before throwing in how their commanders are nothing like Kathryn Janeway, James T. Kirk, or Benjamin Sisko.

StarTrek.com had the opportunity to talk with Jerry O'Connell about the Cerritos' command crew, his himbo character Jack Ransom, being married to fellow first officer Rebecca Romijn, and more!

On His Traumatizing First Contact

Star Trek has always been prevalent in Jerry O'Connell's life with constantly airing reruns on television while he was growing up.

As O'Connell recalls it, "The first real memory of Star Trek that really was seared into my memory was in , the second Star Trek movie, where they put the bug in Chekhov's ear. That messed me up real good."

O'Connell then divulges, "It's so funny because my wife works on and the head of security is La'An Noonien-Singh. But every time I'm around [Christina Chong], I haven't told her this. All I think of is that weird bug that went into Chekhov's ear and I'm like, 'You got to watch yourself around these Khans.' I'm not kidding. I really think about it. It really messed me up as a kid."

On "Upper Decks"

In "Upper Decks," the senior command crew gets to dominate A plot line of the episode while our lower deckers are relegated to the B plot line indulging in some pumpkin carving while they rest.

"This has been such a fun episode for me because anyone who's a fan of Trek knows that the Bridge is where all the action happens," comments O'Connell. "That's where all the decisions are made. That's where the grown-ups hang out. That's where the buck stops, it's on the Bridge."

"Lower Deckers get to have fun," O'Connell jokingly continues. "They have no pressure on them, they get to hang out. It's a party. They're always getting drunk down there. They're allowed to have fun because they have no responsibility. It's about time that we have a Lower Decks episode that takes place on the Bridge, and I'm hoping this leads to a spin-off, Upper Decks."

On the Layers of Jack Ransom

After spending five seasons with his character, O'Connell reflects, "Man, I think I can say that Ransom has been the coolest, most fun character I've ever played."

Addressing the junior officers' perception of Jack Ransom, O'Connell states, "He's not just a himbo, he's not just an alpha first officer in Starfleet. He doesn't just have good hair and muscles. There's a depth there. There's an allegiance to Starfleet, there's an allegiance to his Lower Deckers. There's an allegiance to his ship. There's an allegiance to his captain, and there's a depth there that Mike McMahan, our creator, has always given me to play. Even when it may not be there on the page, I know I'm playing it. It's just such a fun, deep character to play. I've enjoyed playing him these last five seasons, and I hope I get to keep playing him."

"It's just so fun being a part of the Cerritos," adds O'Connell. "At first, when I came onto Lower Decks, it was like a joke like, I'm on the Cerritos. I'm the first officer of the Cerritos. It's like a joke. But I have to tell you, now after five seasons, I really, I love the Cerritos. I love that ship. I love everything about it. I think I feel like I know every nook and cranny of it. It's a great ship. I'm not even saying that in a joking manner. It's a great ship. I'm really proud of it and I think it's the best ship in Starfleet."

On His Star Trek Experience

O'Connell has nothing but praise for his fellow cast mates and the creative minds behind Star Trek, but especially Star Trek: Lower Decks series creator Mike McMahan, and the fandom that has supported the show.

Teeing up the series finale, "The New Next Generation," airing December 19, O'Connell revels, "I got to tell you, first of all, the finale of Lower Decks is the best. Thank you to the fans. Thank you to Alex Kurtzman. Mike McMahan really labored over this finale. He toyed with it. He messed with it, he tinkered with it. He fixed it, he changed it. Shout out to Mike McMahan. I just want everyone watching this to know before you write something about Mike McMahan on Reddit or on a message board, he really cares about you so much. He really thinks about you so much. Give him his flowers, people. He works, he lives, he breathes Star Trek and Starfleet."

"Thanks for all your support for these last five seasons," O'Connell continues. "It's been so fun. What a fun ride. I'm sure it's not over. It's never over in Starfleet. I'm around. I go to cons with my wife. It's super fun. Come and see us."

On His Series Finale Viewing Plans

Before wrapping, O'Connell treated us with a glimpse into his series finale plans in his household.

"Midnight. December 19, Lower Decks finale," O'Connell divulges. "I'm going to be watching it with my wife and I'm just going to tap her on the knee. Oh, first of all, we have a chair in our living room. I'm going to step over it Riker style. Leg is going to come over the chair. I'm going to sit down and I'm going to tap my wife and my wife is going to look at me and I'm going to go, 'Honey, look at me....'"