Star Trek: Starfleet Academy Review (Jamil’s Take)

I was skeptical about Starfleet Academy, mostly because so much of NuTrek has fallen flat for me. I wanted to like Discovery so badly, but by season 3 I’d stopped watching. The less said about Picard the better, although season 3 of that show was okay if you turned your brain completely off and simply rode the nostalgia wave. I liked Lower Decks, but it couldn’t hold my attention beyond season 1, and I’ve never even seen Strange New Worlds or Prodigy, although my partner-in-crime Gene has mostly good things to say about them.

I’d begun to accept that, in my middle age, I’d become one of those people– you know, the people who will always look to the past as a golden age that can’t be touched by the new hotness, as Will Smith so artfully put it. But, after Gene and I talked, I promised him and myself that I would do my best to not pre-judge Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, and I would keep my Trek nitpicking (a female Jem’Hadar? Why is The Doctor still around??) to a minimum.

I watched Starfleet Academy with an open mind, and I’m glad I did, because I liked it. I liked it alot actually.

I’m not going to go into every detail of the plot and characters, but suffice to say the show feels like how an updated Trek should feel: true to the ethos of the original, while simultaneously presenting new ideas that challenge the Trek status quo. As someone who unabashedly loves teen/young adult drama television, SA capitalizes on that element of its youthful cast without overdoing it. There’s hints of ego, rivalry, romance and “reasonable amounts of youthful rebellion”. I think my favorite cadet is Sam, who gives a very Tilly-like vibe (she was my favorite in Discovery). I’m very excited to see how this group of young people develop, as they’ve already demonstrated a great level of chemistry. I’m looking forward to their interactions over the course of the season.

The elder statesmen of the crew, namely the captain, the Jem’Hadar first officer, The Doctor and the Big Bad (played just a little too over the top by Paul Giamatti, but it ain’t bad) keep up with the youngsters, managing to be fully fleshed out characters on their own. I really like Lura Thok in particular, and The Doctor is smart-allecky without overdoing it.

The humor also lands very well in general too. One aspect I wasn’t too keen on was the casual swearing though. It’s not that I’m opposed to it, but one of the major problems with Discovery was that there was no tonal consistency–was it a family show or not? Episodes varied wildly in their use of language and graphic imagery. Whether SA sticks with the swearing or not, I just hope that it’s employed consistently so that I don’t feel whiplashed each episode.

All in all, I think Starfleet Academy had a great first episode. I could get nitpicky if I wanted to, but for now I’ll sit back and see where this journey takes us.