******STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!******
Paramount+’s latest Star Trek series, “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” (STSA) has finished its freshman year. Created by showrunners Alex Kurtzman & Gaia Viola, STSA is a mix of old and new elements; with A-list actors, Star Trek veterans and a fresh-faced cast of cadets tossed together in a 32nd century, post-Burn Federation seeking to restore its former glory. Oscar-winner Holly Hunter (“Broadcast News” “The Piano”) headlines the series as Captain Nahla Ake; a 400-year old Lanthanite who is lured back into Starfleet to head up a revamped Starfleet Academy, with an all-new freshman class from a reconstructed Federation.
The Doctor lists his grievances to Ake and Thok, as an “exo-comp” (first seen in TNG’s “The Quality of Life”) just tries to get out of their way, in a ridiculously spacious Academy turbolift that feels like one of Moonbase Alpha’s “travel tubes” from “Space: 1999.”
Captain Ake seeks to find a boy she’d separated from his convicted mother (Tatiana Manslany) years earlier; a harsh decision that led to Ake resigning from Starfleet, and which led the boy, Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), to effectively raise himself in a dangerous part of the galaxy. With the help of her academy staff, which includes no-bullshit, Klingon-Jem’Hadar first officer Lura Thok (Gina Yashere), sardonic 23rd century instructor Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) and the 800-year old holographic Doctor (Robert Picardo), Ake is able to find Caleb and offer him a chance to test himself at Starfleet Academy… or return to prison.
Cadets Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) and Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) get their Starfleet letterman jackets in “Vitus Reflux.”
Cocky Caleb accepts Ake’s challenge, and even makes a few friends, including sensitive Klingon cadet Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diane), rival cadet (and admiral’s daughter) Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard), buoyant holographic cadet SAM (Kerrice Brooks), arrogant shapeshifting Khionian cadet Darem Raymi (George Hawkins), and Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner), an exceptionally powerful telepath (and daughter of the Betazed president) who becomes Caleb’s paramour.
The Athena is docked at the Academy in San Francisco–or is the Academy docking with itself? Here’s hoping the Athena never suffers an antimatter containment breach while docked in the Bay Area…
This new Starfleet Academy is still based in San Francisco on Earth, but the Academy core itself can physically detach to become the starship Athena, and warp off to face various crises and diplomatic missions. It’s an action series convenience that is fraught with both logistical and ethical concerns, as we see during the series. That major nit aside, the show is surprisingly watchable.
S1.E1 & 2: “Kids These Days,” “Beta Test”
I’ve already extensively reviewed these first two episodes in a previous column (Pass or fail? Star Trek: Starfleet Academy opens with “Kids These Days,” and “Beta Test”), so for this column, I’ll give brief recaps/notes on each before moving on with the rest of the season:
“Kids These Days” sees the Academy/starship Athena gathering new recruits from across the galaxy for a new class of Starfleet Academy. Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter) runs into the powerful pirate alliance known as the Venari Ral and its leader, Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti); her longtime personal nemesis, who threatens her new cadets and her ship. Ake and the cadets are able to escape with their wits, but Nus Braka lives…
Note: The best part of this opening episode is the colorful introduction of both Captain Ake (Holly Hunter) and her new cadets; each of whom makes a nice enough impression. Hunter’s eccentric captain is a breath of fresh air for the franchise. Less successful is otherwise talented Paul Giamatti as recurring villain Nus Braka; a half-Tellarite/half-Klingon who chews the scenery like a horde of starved termites at a lumberyard. A cross between TOS’ Klingon Kor and annoying space pimp Harry Mudd, Braka’s over-the-top antics get old very quickly. A fair pilot episode, but not among the franchise’s best.
In “Beta Test,” Caleb (Sandro Rosta) meets and falls for Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner); daughter of the visiting president of Betazed on a sensitive diplomatic mission for his planet to rejoin the shaky new Federation. Caleb learns Tarima’s native telepathy is exceptionally powerful, even for her species, and she’s forced to wear an inhibitor device on her neck. Despite earlier conflicts, Betazed agrees to rejoin the Federation after it’s allowed to replace Earth as the alliance’s new seat of government.
Note: “Beta Test” sees the boy from the poor side of the galaxy romancing the First Daughter of Betazed, who has her own issues. It’s as cliché as they come, but it’s buoyed by the actors, and a colorful glimpse of 32nd century San Francisco (Canada for California). Hearing impaired actor Anthony Natale as President Sadal is a nice nod to Star Trek’s ongoing quest for casting diversity (something Star Trek has strove for since 1966), though it does beg the question of why a hearing impaired telepath couldn’t speak through any member of his telepathic delegation, as Lwaxanna Troi often did in TNG.
S1.E3: “Vitus Reflux”
Cadets compete to join an elite team while battling escalating pranks from a rival school (the War College).
Caleb tries to cool things down between Darem (George Hawkins) and War Collegiate Dzolo (Cecilia Lee) as a ridiculous prank war heats up between Starfleet Academy cadets and their rivals in the War College. The pranks go from beaming people out of showers (sexual humiliation) to unleashing rapidly growing plants into dorms. Ugh…
Chancellor Ake herself is fueling the cadets’ prank war by introducing the Starfleet kids to a rapidly growing plant called the Vitus Reflux.
Note: “Vitus Reflux” feels like a filler episode of “M*A*S*H” where Hawkeye and B.J. would prank Major Burns for an entire episode. I’m sure there was an important life lesson to all of this, but I stopped caring. Why did I think (or hope?) that an advanced 32nd century institution like Starfleet would evolve beyond this kind of boring, tribalist, team rivalry bullshit? And as much as I love SAM (Kerrice Brooks), why does a hologram need to take a physical fitness class? It’s like Data doing chin-ups.
S1.E4: “Vox in Excelso”
Jay-Den faces an existential crisis that threatens his species while confronting his past.
In a flashback to his family life on Krios Prime, we see Jay-Den (Karim Diane), his disapproving father Drekol (Martin Roach), brother Enok (Sean Jones) and mother LíVanna (Dorothy Atabong) howl to the skies (per Klingon custom) as beloved son Thar (Tremaine Nelson) succumbs to hunting injuries.
Caleb and Jay-Den face off on the debate stage. The Klingon Empire faces extinction if the surviving houses can’t relocate, and while a suitable planet has been located, the Klingon houses refuse all aid. Caleb argues for Klingon survival, while Jay-Den argues that his species should be allowed to die as it chooses.
The ruler of the remaining eight Klingon houses, Obel Wolcek (David Keeley), an ex-lover of Captain Ake, rejects the notion of accepting a Federation planet for Klingon colonization, though he likes the idea of Klingons fighting for it with honor, instead (with a meekly staged surrender from Federation forces, of course).
Note: In only the 4th episode, we get what is arguably the best live-action Klingon episode in Kurtzman-era Star Trek. It also provides backstory for Jay-Den (Karim Diane), such as his older brother encouraging him to follow his own path, against their Federation-hating father’s wishes. We also learn of the fallout from the dilithium-destroying Burn that effectively ended warp travel for over a century, and how it obliterated Q’onos. The episode’s solution to the Klingon relocation problem allows the Klingons to save face while accepting the Federation’s gift of a world to colonize. Also a nice surprise that Obel and Ake were once lovers. Even if it has no bearing on the story, it offers a glimpse into Ake’s implicitly colorful past…
S1.E5: “Series Acclimation Mil”
Sam sets out to solve an ancient Starfleet mystery and embarks on a journey of self-discovery.
Bubbly holographic cadet SAM (Kerrice Brooks) decides to tackle the 24th century disappearance of Bajoran ‘Emissary’/Starfleet captain Benjamin Sisko (Deep Space Nine) as a school project, and finds that it goes deeper than she imagined. She examines one of the prophetic Bajoran orbs and other artifacts from his life, including a sign from his father Joseph’s restaurant.
A holographic representation of Jake (Cirroc Lofton), son of “the Sisko,” appears to offer SAM some valued insight on his famous father. He also reads passages from his unpublished novel, “Anslem”; the Bajoran word for ‘father.’ The book was first referenced in the standout Deep Space Nine episode, “The Visitor”; one of the best Star Trek episodes ever.
The Cardassian/Trill Professor Illa (Tawny Newsome) offers assistance to SAM, and it’s only near the end of the episode we learn that the professor’s full name is Illa Dax…yes, that Dax.
Note: It’s understandable some might accuse this episode of shameless fan service for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, because it is, and that’s okay, since DS9 was so often overlooked in its original run. Kerrice Brooks, with her wide-eyed wonder, channels every DS9 fan’s fondest wishes. Although Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) doesn’t cameo in the episode, he’s ably represented by actor Cirroc Lofton as the hologram of Benjamin’s adult son Jake Sisko, who has an inspiring talk with hologram SAM. Actress/writer/Trekkie Tawny Newsome (Star Trek: Lower Decks) appears as Illa Dax; yes, the same Dax who was Benjamin Sisko’s best friend(s) when the symbiont resided in the bodies of Curson, Jadzia and Ezri. This puts a nice cap to the episode, even if it doesn’t ‘solve’ the mystery of Sisko’s disappearance (which was never the point). If I have any nits with “Series Acclimation Mil,” it’s the boring, bar-hopping, glitter-vomiting shenanigans of the other cadets; a B-story that does little for the overall episode, save for Jay-Den striking up a relationship with War College cadet, Kyle (Dale Whibley).
S1.E6: “Come, Let’s Away”
During the cadets’ first training mission on an abandoned ship, they encounter a dangerous enemy.
Captain Ake assembles cadets of both Starfleet Academy and the War College in a joint training exercise on the abandoned derelict starship Miyazaki (presumably named after animation director Hayao Miyazaki). Once again, the unwise choice is made to send the Athena off into space.
Vulcan War College cadet B’Avi (Alexander Eling) is killed when the Miyazaki is boarded by rage-zombie scavengers called the ‘Furies’; an unimaginative rehash of the “Reavers” from the TV series “Firefly” (2002) and its spinoff film, “Serenity” (2005).
To save her friends, Tarima has to unleash her full psionic power to destroy the Furies. We also learn her previously unchecked powers blew out her father’s eardrums. She is deeply traumatized by this action, even though it saved her surviving classmates. Holographic SAM is also left damaged and glitching, as well.
Note: While this is an important episode of the series (illustrating how the cadets deal with real danger and trauma) it is not one of my favorites for several reasons. First, it shamelessly and unimaginatively rips off the Reavers from “Firefly.” Second, it heralds the return of hammy recurring villain Nus Braka, whom I can’t stand. Third, it reinforces my opinion that an Academy doubling as an active duty starship is a foolish gamble to take with kids who aren’t yet ready to deal with such challenges. For example, you wouldn’t send first-year West Point cadets into a war zone. I wish the Athena would permanently dock in San Francisco, dismantle its engines, and leave any dangerous missions to actual Starfleet officers aboard active duty ships.
S1.E7: “Ko’Zeine”
During a school holiday, cadets return home and must choose between family expectations and dreams.
Caleb and Genesis remain on the abandoned Academy campus during its version of Spring Break. The two of them get into various “Lower Decks”-style shenanigans, while wisely avoiding a romance, since Caleb still pines for Tarima, who’s still recovering, following her trauma aboard the Miyazaki.
Fearing his classmate is being kidnapped, Jay-Den accidentally steps into a transport portal opened to the Khionian system, where a reluctant Darem faces a royal wedding which will end his Starfleet career.
With Jay-Den present, Darem goes through with the wedding–which is halted by his almost-bride, Kaira (Jaelynn Thora Brooks).
Note: A dull episode hurt by unimaginative direction by Andi Armaganian, whose largely static camera doesn’t add much energy or excitement. On the storytelling side, the arranged royal wedding of Darem is equally uninteresting. Frankly, unexpected weddings were already a trope in Star Trek well before this episode. I also wondered why Darem and other Khionians didn’t revert to their natural, scaly appearance in their home system? Do all Khionians permanently cosplay as humans, even at their own weddings? We also see Darem’s undemonstrative parents, but they never speak–a wasted dramatic opportunity. On the plus side, I liked the platonic friendship between Caleb and Genesis. As one with close friendships to many women other than my wife, I appreciated that they didn’t ruin things with an awkward kiss (or worse).
S1.E8: “The Life of the Stars”
A visiting instructor uses unorthodox methods to help cadets process their emotions at the Academy.
Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman), a native 23rd century Discovery veteran, agrees to help the cadets overcome their lingering trauma by staging a production of Thornton Wilder’s “Our Town” (1938); a famously minimalist play centered around everyday, small town life.
Still off-balance from her Miyazaki experience, we see a drunken Tarima (Zoë Steiner) alone in the atrium. There, she comes on to Caleb, who correctly refuses her intoxicated advances. Well done.
SAM is recalled to her home planet for repair, where she learns her glitching matrix stems from her limited memory pool with which to deal with her trauma aboard the Miyazaki. The Doctor (Robert Picard ), whom SAM hero-worships, reluctantly agrees to be her ‘father’ and supply her with a lifetime of memories to repair her. The Doctor’s reluctance to help stems from his own loss of a holographic family he had aboard Voyager (“Real Life”). After their shared ‘life experiences’ (digitally created and embedded over two weeks) SAM and the Doctor become genuine family.
Note: Even as a former community theater veteran, I wasn’t really into the “Our Town” subplot of the episode, but I really loved the central story of SAM seeking repair from the photonic “Makers” of her home planet Kasq. It’s delightful to see the previously aloof Doctor finally reciprocating the adoration SAM has shown him since their first awkward meeting in “Kids These Days.” That reciprocation is now hardwired into both characters, as their relationship shifts from mentor/student to father/daughter. Robert Picardo and Kerrice Brooks are terrific, too; love when he makes goo-goo faces at ‘baby’ SAM in her crib. The voice of the Makers is supplied by Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor (“Serenity,” “The Martian”). This my favorite episode to date.
S1.E9: “300th Night”
As the year ends, Caleb must choose between his old dreams and his new life at Starfleet Academy.
Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) pilots the Athena under Capt. Ake to look for Caleb and his school chums, who’ve stolen a shuttle to look for Caleb’s mother, after SAM helps Caleb locate secret messages sent from her since he was a boy.
Hotheaded Darem gets his nose bloodied after arriving with Caleb, SAM and Genesis on the Venari Ral-annexed planet of Ukeck.
Note: Ukeck is yet another generically seedy world filled with heavy smoke lighting and extras clad in dark cloaks, capes and the occasional masks. A nearly identical planet appeared in Star Trek: Picard, as well as several Disney+ Star Wars streaming shows (“Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Skeleton Crew”). This was a too-predictable setting for the big reunion between Caleb and his mother Anisha, played by Tatiana Manslany (“Black Orphan,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”).
Caleb and his friends are rescued by the Athena, where the Doctor takes a look at Anisha Mir (Tatiana Manslany), who is soon reunited with the woman who sent her to prison and separated her from her son.
Meanwhile, the Venari Ral have weaponized the wildly dangerous Omega particle (VGR; “The Omega Directive”) and have set up a massive minefield around Federation territory. Entry by only one ship will set off the minefield and create another Burn–disabling warp drive galaxy-wide once again.
Note: How did the Venari Ral set up a sophisticated minefield across all of Federation space, in all three dimensions so quickly? It would take centuries, if it were even possible. Even at a reduced size from its heyday, the Federation is still hundreds of light-years across in three dimensions of space, so why not simply fly over or under the surrounding minefield at any point? Then again, such “two-dimensional thinking” is an issue that dates back to TOS Star Trek, with its equally ridiculous Romulan and Klingon neutral zones. Space is really BIG, folks…
S1.E10: “Rubincon”
An old enemy’s return forces Nahla to confront her mistakes in a mission to save the Federation.
Jett Reno is the MVP of the episode, as she takes command of Athena’s escaped saucer, while Capt Ake is taken by the Venari Ral in the captured atrium section.
Damaged in the Venari Ral’s attack, the glitching Doctor’s aphasia somehow allows him to device a means of deactivating the minefield by stabilizing its Omega particles. SAM rushes to the bridge and quickly goes to work…
Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) stages a show trial for the crimes of the Federation through its proxy, Captain Ake. She is later rescued by the Federation fleet after the Omega minefield is deactivated. With the help of Caleb, Ake also refutes Braka’s entire case against the Federation (a bit too easily), and wins the grudging trust of Anisha Mir. The galaxy is saved, and Caleb stays with Starfleet, knowing his mother is free.
Note: Things are tidied up a bit too neatly in this underwhelming season finale. It’s never explained how the damaged Doctor somehow managed to stumble upon a means to stabilize Omega; a physics riddle plaguing the Star Trek universe for 800 years, while Anisha Mir’s truce with her former jailor (and her son’s commanding officer) is born of mutual security rather than genuine forgiveness. On the plus side, acting-captain Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) owns the hell out of this episode, as she commands, teaches, and mentors her cadets–helping each of them to enhance their strengths while recognizing their weaknesses.
End of Season 1.
Summing It Up
The ten episodes of Starfleet Academy’s first season offer a nice mix of nostalgia and progression. New characters mix seamlessly with legacy characters, such as the Doctor (Robert Picardo) from “Star Trek: Voyager” and Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) from “Star Trek: Discovery.” There’s been a couple of clunkers, but the remainder have been enjoyable enough, with a one or two being exceptional. This is more or less the same quality ratio of most Star Treks, though it feels less forgivable now, due to the much shorter seasons and theatrical-quality production values of modern streaming TV. There’s little room (or tolerance) for filler episodes these days.
Captain Ake accompanies SAM and the Doctor to the holographic Kasqian home world, where the Doctor gives SAM a life history in order to better prepare and cushion her from future trauma.
Oscar-winner Holly Hunter gives us something genuinely fresh in Captain Ake, an eccentric, 400-year old Lanthanite who likes to walk around barefoot, but can easily stare down the worst of the galaxy. She gives able support to her less-experienced but capable younger cast mates, too. Gina Yashere nearly steals every scene she’s in as Academy disciplinarian Thok. Holographic SAM (Kerrice Brooks) is absolutely adorable (possibly my favorite character), while brooding hotshot Caleb (Sandro Rosta) seems to be following the career path of young Jim Kirk from the reboot Star Trek movies. Avoiding a dull rehash of TNG’s Worf, Klingon cadet Jay-Den (Karim Diane) wears a skirt, loves birdwatching, and is seeing a guy from the rival War College. With this interesting mix of characters, a foundation has been laid for some good Star Trek stories. Now, let’s move on to some of the show’s less successful elements…
Cadets SAM, Genesis, Tarima, Caleb and Jay-Den prepare for an impromptu production of Thornton Wilder’s famously minimalist play “Our Town” for their instructor Lt. Tilly in “The Life of the Stars.”
Without Romulans, Klingons or Borg, the series new antagonists are a collection of space pirate planets called the Venari Ral, led by Nuk Braka, who’s played by Oscar-nominee Paul Giamatti (“Sideways”). Giamatti’s aggressively hammy Braka is only slightly more subtle than your average “Batman” villain from 1966. Conceptually, I’m also not a fan of the Academy’s core detaching and becoming the starship Athena just so the series can maintain an action-adventure quotient. It puts these new cadets in unnecessary danger (see: “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”). The show can explore intriguing ideas without the ship-in-danger clichés. While action has traditionally been part of Star Trek’s DNA, I was hoping this show might be more like Star Trek’s answer to “The Paper Chase” (1973) instead of a phasers-firing classroom with warp nacelles. Then again, most of the people writing and running new Star Trek have probably never seen or even heard of “The Paper Chase.” So be it.
After saving the galaxy, Captain Ake tasks Caleb with attending an honorary dinner for his girlfriend’s dad, the Federation president. He’d rather do menial labor…
Typically, season 1 ends with another Federation-threatening peril (another overused modern Trek cliché) that is quickly resolved through some technobabble, while annoying bad guy Braka is put on ice (permanently, I hope). With all that out of the way, perhaps this new series can finally go where no Star Trek has gone before to become a true academia-based series. Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) gave a glimpse of how this might work in the season finale (“Rubincon”), when we saw her truly teaching. It’s a long shot perhaps, but with Holly Hunter leading an able supporting cast, it’s certainly possible. As is, the show is watchable and colorful, if a bit formulaic. Yet there’s a nagging feeling it could be something truly great if it chooses to be. More “Dead Poets Society,” and less “Beverly Hills 90210.” The essentials are all there.
While season 1 of “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” gets a respectable B-, I’d love to see the show’s writers and creatives really push for an A+ next season.
Where to Watch
“Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” is available to stream exclusively on Paramount+.
