With every new Star Trek show comes an important question: Does it bring in older Trek fans in with new fans? And Starfleet Academy does a seamless job bringing both in.
The new series takes us to a place fans have always wanted to go: Starfleet Academy. But what makes this show more than just another show in the Star Trek machine is rooted in the joy the young cadets have at being a member of the Starfleet family. That and the show, created by Alex Kurtzman, Noga Landau, and Gaia Violo, uses small nods to other Star Trek stories to captivate its audience.
Much like other stories that Kurtzman has brought fans in the Star Trek universe, Starfleet Academy feels like a breath of fresh air. It is fun, light, and what makes this franchise such a fascinating thing for fans. Fascinating like Spock says…get it?
But Starfleet Academy also doesn’t rely on fans to know everything about the 60 year old franchise in order to enjoy it. Often, Star Trek can feel daunting to a new audience because there is so much history behind it. While Starfleet Academy still has nods to the “Trek” things fans want and love, it is something new and fresh that can be a great starting point for new fans.
The best new cadets
For most of the series, we’re following the lives of the cadets at the newly instated Starfleet Academy. Sam (Kerrice Brooks) is the first of her kind to attend Starfleet just as Darem (George Hawkins) is. They’re mixed in with legacy students like Gensis (Bella Shepard) and Tarima (Zoë Steiner). But the heart of the show is rooted around Caleb (Sandro Rosta), a young man who lost everything to Starfleet but doesn’t really have a choice but to join.
What makes this show work though is the ability to highlight each cadet in a subtle yet captivating way. Some get their own episodes, like the Sam centric episode which is very much my favorite of the series thus far. But out of the six episodes given to press, I was just smiling at their adventures and happy to be attending school with this group of new Starfleet cadets.
Made better by their leader, Holly Hunter
The leader of every good Star Trek show is the captain of the ship. With Starfleet Academy, the captain also serves as the dean of their school: Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter). A character who has seen centuries upon centuries would maybe seem like a stick in the mud but not with how Hunter portrays Nahla. The way she sits in chairs gives even William T. Riker a run for his money.
And throughout the first six episodes, there is an underlying tension between Nahla and Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) that is a fascinating through line for the series. But the moments that really make Nahla shine are when she’s with her cadets, encouraging them, and even helping them pull pranks.
Starfleet Academy is everything that Star Trek should be. It is fun, new, and what we love about this franchise.
(featured image: Brooke Palmer/Paramount+)
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