by Nick Ferro, Managing Editor
A new Star Trek series has just wrapped its first season, so naturally, Nick is back on his BS to tell you about how much he just LOVES Star Trek! Right? …RIGHT??
To quote Ensign D’Vana Tendi of Lower Decks, “Yes, that’s correct.”
I won’t pretend that I have loved all of the offerings “Big Roddenberry” has created over the years. If you go back and read my previous reviews you will find that, while consistent with my views, I have been willing to drag the franchise when it doesn’t meet my expectations. However, with a new show like Starfleet Academy there comes an uglier conversation that has plagued the internet before the first trailer was even released. I won’t get too into the weeds regarding the “Not My Star Trek” crowd as I don’t believe they deserve the attention they so desperately crave; however, I will say that I am more willing to understand some of the concerns held by the fandom in anticipation of Starfleet Academy, because I had them as well.
Right off the bat we were given the poster of the show with a bunch of “sexy 20-somethings” laying on the grass in a very “90210 of the 32nd Century” kind of way. This was a wild and unconventional image to use to promote a new series. Especially, considering that many fans were in the same camp as me, thinking the franchise had finally found the perfect balance of 90s Trek and modern day storytelling, between Prodigy, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks. But as a great Star Trek podcaster once said, “Star Trek is a place to tell stories.” I was not going to allow my own preconceived notions, of what a simple poster’s implications might mean, get in my way. So, I buckled up and went into the 90-minute series premier with my breath held, fingers crossed, and enough hope to fill a starship.
Starfleet Academy takes place post Star Trek Discovery season 5 with a galaxy starting to heal after the traumatic events of “The Burn.” 100 years ago the Burn left the galaxy unable to travel at warp speed, effectively cutting off every planet in the Federation from each other. With the Federation reformed and Starfleet resuming its primary mission of exploration and humanitarian aid, a new batch of cadets is needed to fill in the ranks. Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) asks retired captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) to come out of retirement and become chancellor of the newly reopened Starfleet Academy. If an Admiral doesn’t approach a “retired” captain about a job in a Star Trek property, does it even count as a Star Trek property? Nahla Ake is hesitant to accept the role because of an incident that happened 16 years prior, when she sentenced a woman named Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany) to prison for being involved in a robbery turned homicide when her partner Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) killed the Starfleet officer on duty during the heist. The event caused Mir to be separated from her son Caleb (Luciano Fernandez in flashbacks, Sando Rosta as an adult) who escaped Starfleet custody and has been on a mission to rescue his mom from prison ever since. Ake, unable to locate Caleb after years of searching, felt that the extreme conditions of post-Burn society did not represent what Starfleet and the Federation stood for, so she resigned her commission. But Vance has found now found Caleb and promised Ake that if she returns to Starfleet, Mir would be granted asylum, and she would be given all the resources needed to help fix the family she tore apart.
A lot of set up, I know, but quite frankly they do an outstanding job in the pilot episode of providing you with the necessary information while never letting up on the pace. This pilot exceeded my expectations in such a way that I have it ranked on my personal list of “best Star Trek Pilot of all time.” Which, I know, not a really high bar to step over. Most Trek pilots are overly long, poorly paced, and full of character introductions. This pilot was essentially a mini-movie, and I had an absolute blast! It doesn’t hurt when your main character is Holly Hunter and your main villain is Paul Giamati either. These two veteran actors fit into a Star Trek like a “catsuit” on Mirror Universe Kira. Hunter plays every bit of Ake as the venerated starship captain despite her diminutive stature next to the imposing and scene chewing audacity of Giamati’s Nus Braka. And yet despite how imposing and determined Ake is, as a half Lanthinite (long lived free spirit type of alien) she is playful and impish when she needs to be. She fills the role of captain and headmaster in a way that would make Dumbledore blush. Which is the next point I’d like to make.
Starfleet Academy is essentially “what if Harry Potter but in space.” As a show that is centered around a school, naturally there are teachers and students. The stories that are presented often have a key learning moment with true character growth, whether it be learning to be a leader through school sports or understanding the effects of post-traumatic stress through theater. Every time this show makes an attempt at centering itself as a school drama with a sci-fi twist, it succeeds. The officers of the traditional Star Trek show act as our teachers (I will get to them later) but the real stars are the students. As I mentioned, Caleb Mir is our lead from the student perspective. Rosta really brings the show together with his charm, his smarm, and those pythons he calls arms! His unwillingness to be enrolled in Starfleet is always on the surface, but as the season progresses the writers make sure to never make him unlikable. He may be there against his will, as a way to stay out of prison and find his mom, but underneath the bravado he very much has found a family in his classmates. The two that helped him the most with this are Betazoid Tarima (Zoë Steiner) and Klingon Jay-Den (Karim Diane). Jay-Den offers Caleb friendship and that of a brother while the stunningly gorgeous Tarima is the “girl-at-the-war-college next door.” Their relationship is very much a standard teen drama romance, but because it is with a Star Trek twist, there is more to mine in terms of understanding emotions, empathy for others, and communication in relationships.
What I love about this show is how Star Trek is finally getting back to the idea of a true ensemble cast. Despite Nahla Ake and Caleb Mir being our “leads” they are not always the main characters of every episode. My biggest complaint about Discovery was that it was the Michael Burnham and Saru show and there was never a real chance to get to know the majority of the other crew members. In a lot of ways Discovery was following suit with shows like Star Trek the original series, and Star Trek Enterprise, where there were two or three main characters and the rest of the crew was given very little to do outside the occasional away mission. Starfleet Academy, however, is following in the footsteps of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. My only concern is that they may not ever get the chance to reach such greatness due to the shorter seasons and lack of longevity that new Star Trek shows have had to suffer in the last ten years. A great example of this is a late season character moment with SAM (Kerrice Brooks) the holographic character. She started the series as the plucky, wide-eyed cadet who saw the good in everyone and everything and was literally born yesterday. Due to plot development in episode eight she needed to go through a transformation that, if done in a series with more than ten episodes, would have given the show space to explore that change. But instead, it is barely brought up in episode nine and in the finale they attempt to use it as the crux of an emotional moment between her and fellow cadet Genesis (Bella Shepard) that unfortunately falls incredibly flat. Star Trek just needs longer seasons, especially if they are going back to an ensemble format.
Despite the short season, the writers really make the most of their time, giving every character a chance to have the spotlight. I want to tell you about my favorite character but for the first time in a long time, there are too many to choose. I love SAM for her bubbly personality and endless optimism. She reminds me of both Tendi and Rutherford from Lower Decks. I love Jay-Den for being a Klingon who is interested in healing and science rather than being a warrior. His relationship with Caleb gives him plenty of chances to show his “Klingon-ness” in this fresh take on a Klingon character, despite being the “fish out of water” like Worf. I love Nahla Ake for her unconventional casualness and disdain for formal wear… or shoes. I especially love her warp core pajamas! Come on Star Trek Shop, why can’t I buy those yet?!
But just like the students in the show, the teachers offer some excellent favorites as well. Lura Thok (Gina Yashere) the half Klingon, half Jem Hadar first officer struck me right away as someone I was going to love. Her no nonsense attitude and drill sergeant demeanor added a level of levity and strength to compliment Ake’s softer touch. I assume it was due to budget and the makeup requirements, but sadly she seemed to disappear for most of episodes in the second half of the season and her lack of presence was sorely missed. Making up for Commander Thok’s absence though was Jet Reno (Tig Notaro) reprising her role from Discovery. At first, I thought she was underutilized, but by the end of the season (especially the finale) she plays such a huge role that sneakily walked away as an MVP. Also returning is Robert Picardo, reprising his role as “The Doctor” (or as I like to call him: Doc Holo-day) from Star Trek Voyager and Prodigy season two. Using the fact that he is an immortal hologram has allowed the show to share a connection to past iterations of Star Trek in a way that grounds the show for long-time fans of both the series and the character. His relationship with SAM is also something that I was happy to see explored and despite the rushed nature of the season, acted as one of many appreciated “passing of the torch” moments this season.
I could go on and on regarding all the amazing characters that I haven’t had a chance to mention or the guest actors or surprise character pop-ins from previous Star Trek shows but I won’t bog you down or spoil any surprises. Just know that each and every one of them were fantastic and it is a rare treat for me to not have a single qualm with either an acting choice or a character dynamic that stood out as jarring.
I think the goal of this new series was to bring in a new audience while also appealing to the fanbase. I personally think they succeeded as this show has been in the “top ten most watched” on Paramount+’s home screen for eight of the past nine weeks (something Strange New Worlds was not able to do). If you are a fan of shows like Dawson’s Creek or The OC and are willing to give sci-fi a chance, you will be rewarded. If you are a fan of Star Trek Deep Space Nine or other 90s era Trek and the ideals of Starfleet then I think you will be rewarded. If you are a fan of great acting from young and experienced actors alike, you will be rewarded. But most importantly if you want to see Paul Giamati devour and entire set full of scenery over the course of several episodes and give us one of the most deliciously chaotic villains in Star Trek, you WILL be rewarded.
Rating: Loved It
Star Trek Starfleet Academy is currently streaming on Paramount+
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