Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is the latest series in this streaming era of Trek. It is set in the 32nd century, after the time jump of The Burn that was introduced in Discovery. The Federation has decided to reopen the San Francisco campus of Starfleet Academy, which has not seen a class of new recruits in 120 years. To head up the Academy as Chancellor, Admiral Charles Vance (Oded Fehr) has tapped 422-year-old part-Lanthanite Captain Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), who had resigned from Starfleet 15 years earlier in disgrace. At the time, Nahla was in charge of arresting pirate Nus Braka (Paul Giamatti) for the murder of a Starfleet pilot during a heist gone awry. She had promised Braka’s accomplice, single mother Anisha Mir (Tatiana Maslany), that she would be lenient as she only got mixed up in the situation trying to provide food for her 6-year old son Caleb. However, Nahla had Anisha arrested and sent to a rehabilitation camp, and Caleb was to become a ward of the Federation, before he escaped, living on his own, resorting to a life of crime, while trying to reconnect with his mother. After 15 years of searching, Nahla finally finds Caleb (Sandro Rosta) when he is arrested for his latest scam. She offers to commute his sentence if he joins her new Starfleet Academy class, which he reluctantly agrees to.
In addition to the Earth campus in San Francisco, the U.S.S. Athena serves as the primary classroom for the new recruits of Starfleet Academy. Caleb soon meets his fellow cadets, which include Klingon Jay-Den Kraag (Karim Diané), an aspiring medical officer who doesn’t really have the warrior spirit of a Klingon; Khionian alpha male Darem Reymi (George Hawkins), an aspiring captain from a wealthy home world who is often at odds with Caleb, especially when they are assigned to be roommates; Dar-Sha Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard), a smart, ambitious aspiring captain who is daughter of an admiral, and grew up on starships; the ever-cheerful SAM (Kerrice Brooks), the first Photonic (aka holographic) cadet who is just 4 months old, but feels 17. And rounding out the main group is Betazoid Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner), the empathic daughter of the president of Betazed, and cadet at the rival War College, who forms a quick connection with Caleb.
Helping to run things are Nahla’s no-nonsense Klingon Number One, cadet master Lura Thok (Gina Yashere), 900-year-old holographic teacher the Doctor (Robert Picardo, reprising his role from Star Trek: Voyager), and human instructor Jett Reno (Tig Notaro, reprising her role from Star Trek: Discovery).
I had never seen Star Trek: Starfleet Academy before checking out this digital release. I had only heard all the negative reviews of the show, many seeming to refer to the show as “woke”, so I went in with low expectations. However, as I made my way through this first season, I struggled to find any basis for these complaints. If anything, Discovery was a far more “woke” series. Right from the start, the series puts the viewer in the middle of the action. Paul Giamatti is a bit campy and over-the-top as the part-Klingon/part-Tellarite villain Nus Braka, but I found him to be both sinister and fun to watch. Nahla is also not your typical captain. She can often be seen sitting sideways with her feet up on her captain’s chair. But she serves as a strong mentor, especially to Caleb, for whom she still feels a bit guilty.
The series has a lot of humor to it, which I really enjoyed. Tig Notro’s Jett Reno was my favorite part of Discovery, and I was thrilled to see her back again in this series. The show does a nice job of blending college-style storylines—such as Starfleet and the War College engaged in a prank battle—with more typical Starfleet type missions, often with the cadets needing to come together to save the day. Some of the episodes can be hit or miss, but I still enjoyed the series. Overall, the first season tells a complete arc, covering the first year of these students at the Academy. The first season also gives each of the main cadets an episode that delves into their backstory, providing viewers with more insight into the characters and their motivations. Some of these, such as the one for SAM, are quite creatively shot.
CBS/Paramount has currently released this first season of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy on Digital, and it likely will be coming to disc later on. I was sent a digital code redeemable at Fandango at Home for this review. Fandango at Home offers the series in 4K, while Apple still doesn’t offer any TV shows for purchase in 4K. The look of the series is a bit different from the previous expanded Star Trek Universe shows, shot in a 16:9 aspect ratio, rather than a more cinematic scope. There is also more use of handheld cameras to put the viewer in the middle of the action. The 4K quality is stellar, with a crisp, clean picture and an excellent level of detail throughout, especially in faces and textures. The audio track is fully immersive, especially during the more action-packed sequences where the ship comes under attack. The rattling and explosions really fill the room, and you feel like you are right there on the ship with the cadets.
The release also includes some bonus material—oner an hour of behind-the-scenes featurettes with the cast and crew, a gag reel, and three deleted/extended scenes.
What’s Included:
Specs may vary by provider
Episodes: (10:20:00)
- All 10 episodes of the season:
“Kids These Days”, “Beta Test”, “Vitus Reflux”, “Vox In Excelso”, “Series Acclimation Mil”, “Come, Let’s Away”, “Ko’zeine”, “The Life Of The Stars”, “300th Night”, “Rubincon” - 2160p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles: English
Extras:
- First Year (52:58)
The cast and crew discuss the premise and vision of the series, the different aspect ratio and camera style of the series, the humor, the characters and their looks, casting the series, and more. Includes concept artwork, audition & behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producers Gaia Violo (creator), Alex Kurtzman (co-showrunner), Olatunde Osunsanmi, Noga Landau (co-showrunner), hair department head Ryan Reed, makeup department head Shauna Llewellyn, prosthetics department head Brandi Boulet, costume designer Avery Plewes, and stars Holly Hunter (“Captain Nahla Ake”), Paul Giamatti (“Nus Braka”), Sandro Rosta (“Caleb Mir”), Karim Diané (“Jay-Den Kraag”), Kerrice Brooks (“SAM”), Zoë Steiner (“Tarima Sadal”), George Hawkins (“Darem Reymi”) & Bella Shepard (“Genesis Lythe”). - Mario Magic: Props (15:38)
Property Master Mario Moreira gives viewers a look at many of the props uses in the series, including young Caleb’s animatronic toy bear, the badges, SAM’s theremin, a Klingon guitar, a Starfeet antique transmitter, an orb ark, phasers, and more. - Gag Reel (4:28)
Fun with the cast as they flub/forget lines, make each other laugh, and dance on set. - Deleted/Extended Scenes
- #101 Deleted Scene (1:18)
As Nahla and Lura ride in the turbolift, Nahla asks Lura why she chose the Academy. - #104 Deleted Scene (:25)
Nahla and Laura ask Vance for permission to go the edge of the sector. - #108 Extended Scene (4:27)
Extended cut of the montage of The Doctor and his daughter growing up, while the cadets perform lines from Our Town.
- #101 Deleted Scene (1:18)
Final Thoughts:
I went into Star Trek: Starfleet Academy blind, only knowing that there were lots of negative reviews. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the show and actually quite enjoyed it, dumbfounded by the negativity. The series is a lot of fun and entertaining, mixing classic Trek-style and college-drama storylines. The first season tells a complete story, and the series already has a second/final season in the can, which I will definitely check out. I hope the second season is as solid as this one. The digital release of season 1 looks and sounds great, and includes some entertaining bonus material. There will likely be a disc release later on. For those who want to check out the show before a blind buy, season 1 is also currently streaming on Paramount+
