- Created by Gaia Violo
- Based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
- January 15, 2026 to Present
- Paramount+
Season One of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy has concluded. This was a show I went into with low expectations. I’m talking very low. I didn’t expect great or even adequate Star Trek. I expected to be entertained. It couldn’t even accomplish that with any regularity. Lacking the depth of story and talent of older of older offerings, it was a slog of trite storylines and mediocre acting with rare exceptions.
Like all young adult shows it was concerned about which characters to hook up and which hook ups comes next rather than being like Star Trek and exploring the broader human condition. You can give the argument that sex and romance is part of the human condition but the romances and relationships have all the depth and nuance of something straight out of middle school.
The show itself felt a strong need to be supported by Trek’s past rather than use a broad Star Trek framework to build its own unique yet Trek connected world like other shows have. Everything from the casting of Robert Picardo to references to Benjamin Sisko all played a part on displaying this as a show afraid to stand on its own.
So much was done to say “Remember that thing you really like from the past? Here is more of it!” Robert Picardo, a fine actor who is perhaps the best part of the show, was probably the biggest and most persistent example of that being the EMH from Voyager. Both on the show and on social media, Picardo gave Academy his all.
Holly Hunter is the most famous person in the show. During her career she’s gotten a lot of praise for her acting but maybe she lost a step or two or it was all hype with no ability to actually deliver with her career thanks to an amazing marketing department. She is regularly outshone by Picardo who is the most famous Trek name in the show despite Tig Notaro being a much more recent player in the franchise. Picardo consistently brought the goods as The Doctor and consistently gave weight and depth to shallow and trite dialogue. Ake comes off as an adult desperate to seem hip to children which is weird and sad.
Jett Reno engages in regular insult humor that seems inappropriate for an educator-especially one trying to teach explorers who will be involved in an organization with a hierarchy. Yes the military aspects of Starfleet were what Gene Roddenberry was first comfortable with and not necessarily rigid or reality based, but the reaches a point where if you disregard it too much it just becomes difficult to believe what you’re watching for the 60 or so minutes of your time you dedicate.
Much has been made about Ake’s style of sitting on furniture. She’s an educator and the head of a school and not only does she try to be cool with the kids as the hip adult but her penchant for flopping on furniture when she’s trying to lead breaks the illusion of authority. You cannot take her seriously as a character.
I have said for quite some time the show’s greatest enemy is just talking about it-either with others or running through it in your head. It has a glossy exterior and looks pretty but much like an apple that can look crisp, once you take a bite you find out of it should have been tossed.
Visually Academy attempts to overload your senses with pretty and cute and cool and it does that providing for a mildly entertaining experience, but once you start to dissect what you saw or even just give a casual thought about it you’ll realize what you saw was not that good. It’s a pretty package for an inferior product.
There was once a level of believability and logic to Star Trek. It may have been a work of fiction, but it was a work of fiction given some thought. Keep in mind everybody in this show is a first year cadet. Training cruises are supposed to be safe things. Do you want to prep somebody for hard action? Then use your world class simulator. Want to teach somebody to investigate a mystery? Use your world class simulator.
It’s one thing to make your cast of characters sound like millennials. It’s a whole other thing to make them sound like the worst type of millennials and that’s what these characters sound and act like. They are self-centered and self-absorbed being wrapped up entirely in their own problems. They are people you wouldn’t want to spend five minutes with because when it gets right down to it their problems are all because of them. These are not the explorers or the discoverers that once populated Star Trek. They are not chasing a dream that can only be found in the final frontier.
Perhaps the issue is the show is written by script writers rather than storytellers. If what they typed was given to be analyzed and graded it would pass on form and other technicals, but they lack the ability to make a genuinely compelling story. Lines like “I just can’t do midday energy before I even put my underwear on my butt” are very millennial but make no sense given that SAM who said it has no actual body.
Characters argue needlessly so the writers can create drama rather than drama flowing from the situation. Ake’s need to help Caleb may sound good on the service but when you just ask a single question wondering then you realize just how this situation was not created in a lapse of judgement but to create the pilot for the episode.
What amazes me is how quickly Lura Thok’s part was reduced in the show. It looked like she was going to be some type of featured character since she oversaw the students. Essentially Starfleet Academy’s vice principal. Add to that she was Jett’s girlfriend. Then she quickly disappeared from stories being reduced to a mention or a voice over a communicator or a five second appearance.
Caleb’s story sounded like it was going to be prominent but after the first two episodes it just kind of went away until they needed a big finale. He began the series but got pushed to the back. His story with Tarima did him no favors. Then again she was less a character and more to serve him.
Tarima claimed huge change but neither the actress or the character conveyed difference. She just kept announcing she was different and becoming upset people were treating her the same. Were they breaking her illusion? Did she want some undefined different treatment? SAM in contrast some difference before and after getting a childhood but still had many of the aspects of character that made her just a slog to watch.
With Jay-Den they had a chance to subvert expectations but instead went with the most human gay stereotype they possibly could. Add to that he’s a boring character and as a Klingon, he has perfect teeth. A hallmark of the species was there not perfect teeth like the Ferengi. Do not get me started on his relationship with Kyle that started seconds after B’avi, who may have been Kyle’s boyfriend, died.
It’s not like you couldn’t tell a story set at Academy. It’s not impossible and it probably would’ve been a good thing for Star Trek to do under previous leadership. This is not character driven with stories never getting below the surface. Genesis sought leadership just to be in charge and Jay-Den was abandoned to die by his family. Jay-Den sort of came to terms with that but Genesis never really grew into being a leader. We really know nothing about school life to see what type of officer they might become.
By the climax, though it was the best of the season, I felt I knew nothing about the characters. A season of 22 episodes offers a time for each character to be introduced but in ten with a large cast it gets tough. So much is just handed to the audience rather than conveyed like the strong bond between the cast. No idea when they got close enough to risk everything or became capable enough to save the federation.
Despite one good episode, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a weak show. It’s a series of missteps and just poor thinking. It’s an over-produced teen drama with a Star Trek name hung on it. For some reason this was guaranteed a season two but I can’t see why.
Warren Watched A Movie 