Star Trek: Starfleet Academy - First Impressions

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This review contains spoilers for episodes 1 and 2 of Star Trek Starfleet Academy.

As both a lifelong Star Trek fan and lover of young adult fiction, Star Trek Starfleet Academy seemes tailor-made for me. But while the show nails the futuristic aesthetic of the Discovery era, it stumbles badly where it matters most: the writing.

I was and still am genuinely excited about this show. For one, it’s freaking NEW STAR TREK, and I just can’t get enough. Also, it’s in the “Disco¹ future” which is my favorite show and timeframe. I’m a futurist at heart.

For a first season of any show, let alone Star Trek - and let’s face it ALL first seasons of ST shows were terrible² - there’s a lot to love here. A lot of little seedlings that, under the right conditions, could grow into beautiful flowers.

The Good: Production & Performance

Production value is amazing

The sets are beautiful. The teams did a really amazing job making the new academy (ship) feel not only futuristic but VERY well designed. So many cool details, materials, colors. Everything just flows.

On top of that, everything also feels alive! Probably due to the aforementioned sets, but also all the CGI robots, and extras. It really does feel like a hustling, bustling school!

Great cast

The actors did a great job too, given the material (more on that in a bit). I think a lot has already been said about Holly Hunter as Chancellor Ake. I love her for many reasons, but especially because:

1. She’s not the typical “woman in high places” we’ve seen before (Tough; Basically behaving like a man; Pretty yet not soo pretty that she’s threatening. All so that she’s acceptable to the male audience).

2. Because she’s different, and unapologetically so! She doesn’t fit with what people expect and that’s exactly what we need ³.

The cadet cast comprises of largely unknown actors which is how it should be! Give the next generation a chance to shine. Maybe find the next Leonard Nimoy?
Sure, some performances could be improved, but I expect that will happen naturally as the season(s) progresses.

Overall I’d say the casting is strong. So far, I see quite a few stand out performances in a strong cast. Ok, maybe we didn’t need Stephen Colbert on the show, but I’m OK with him being the announcer. If this is still a job in the future, instead of an AI doing it, then it might as well be someone who’s funny. So, good for him!

Writing for “Beta Test” was better

While I overall disliked the writing, especially for episode 1 “Kids these days” (more on that below), I did enjoy episode 2 “Beta Test” a lot more. Having Betazoids as the main focus of the sub plot, with a genuinely interesting delegation for negotiations felt long overdue. And while the back story (what happened after “The Burn”) maybe needs further investigation, the political side was quite interesting. A common political plot where one side seems to do one thing - being open for negotiation - but then it turns out they really just did it for show and were always gonna say no. Only to have it turned around by an “unexpected” twist by the other party that changes their minds. Loved to see that. And yes, they hand-waved away the reason for why it was happening in the Academy in the first place, but I’m okay with that. It made for an interesting setting.

The Problem: Writing Issues

Where I have my problem with this show so far is the writing. To summarize it: it’s crap!

It’s VERY clear to me that the writers and producers did not know how to write interesting young adults, let alone how to write for women without resorting to stereotypes. And don’t get me started on the plot for episode 1.

Character Stereotypes

ALL cadets are stereotypical characters so far. And the female (assumed) characters more so than the others. The roster includes:

• The “uncertain, shy, almost always crying woman” stereotype
• The “I’m so smart and speak many languages, but am socially awkward” girl
• The “I’m pretty and I know it” cadet
• The “I’m a jock and a complete tool” guy
• The “I’m a loner” guy
• The “Rebel with a heart of gold” guy

There are a few notable exceptions, especially the Klingon. I loved his uniqueness and depth. Someone to watch out for!
Literally got a few chuckles out of me. It was delightful!

Heavy-Handed References & Plot Problems

It doesn’t get better from there. Most, if not all, Star Trek references are “bonk-bonk on the head”. I loved the subtle nods on other shows⁴ - a prop in the background or a passing reference only the people in the know would even recognize. Not so much on this show: it’s loud and in your face⁵! Almost as if the writers and producers had to prove to us that this is still Star Trek.

The worst of the worst is The Doctor. Don’t get me wrong, I love his character and I love Robert Picardo as an actor. Some of the rudeness portrayed in the first 2 episodes can be explained away by having lived 900 (or so) years and lost countless friends over time. However, the lines they had him say were basically one of two options:

1. Heavy handed reference to another show
2. Belittling cadets with badly written “snappy” comments

I did enjoy the opera scenes in episode 2, though. The best of The Doctor!

And finally, the plot. Let me say this right away: Episode 1 should have been 2 episodes - and maybe, at a time where we still got 22-ish episodes a season, it would have been. There was PLENTY of interesting things to do around the new academy and the new ship (love the name “Athena”). We didn’t need a dramatic attack by a villain in the very first episode. As good as Paul Giamatti was as a villain, as weak was the plot. You could basically see through it, it was so thin!
Of course, the cadets without ANY training save the day. Sure… makes sense… 🤦‍♀️ And let’s hand-wave away that with all those explosions and entire parts of the ship getting blown off into space, there were many injuries, and frankly probably a few fatalities (but nooo… the writers hand-waved that away). Nothing to see here. Just move on to San Francisco.

Speaking of San Francisco: Whyyyyy did we need that song??? It reminds me of the Enterprise theme⁶.

What I like to see going forward

With only 2 episodes released, there’s endless potential for what we might see in this (and future) season. What I would like to see is genuine, earned growth in all characters. We need to see them grow as people, and build real relationships that go beyond “crushes” ,“hook ups”, “frat buddies”, and other such stereotypical college things. I also hope the Doctor returns to his previous amazing form and lightens up. Hopefully the writers figured out how to write his, and all the “female” characters, in a more interesting way. I also hope we get to see more of this new universe. Given that the Athena is a ship, I’d say chances are high for this one 😉

Final Thoughts

So where do I stand.
I absolutely hate those Star Trek “fans” that almost immediately and inevitably complain about a show not being “their Star Trek” or maybe not living up to their unreachable (and blinded by rose-colored glasses) ideals of what a Star Trek show should be like. Never been one of them and will not start now to be one of them!

I’m really excited that we got this show. It feels new, it feels fresh. It feels like this could be a great start into another interesting journey into the unknown. The unknown depths of humanity, and the unknown universe. There’s a lot to like about the show, and some things the people behind it hopefully will work on. Couldn’t be more excited!!

As always, I will reserve my ultimate judgment until we have more seasons under our collective belts, because we all know how this goes. It’s gonna be a long road…