Star Trek: Starfleet Academy — Season 1

Streaming on: Paramount+

Episodes viewed: 6 of 10

Starfleet Academy is where legends are made. Everyone from Kirk to Picard once walked these halls as an officer-in-training, yet Star Trek’s latest spin-off marks the first time that we as viewers have spent considerable time in this key location. The timing couldn't be better, because Star Trek is in sore need of new legends following Section 31 and the disappointing third season of Strange New Worlds.

Just like Starfleet Academy itself, the students arrive in the wake of disaster, following a cataclysmic event known as the Burn. As such, this isn’t the perfect utopia that fans of previous shows might be used to. Trekverse screenwriting newcomer Gaia Violo smartly draws parallels between galaxy-wide growth and the personal maturation of this new cohort. Cast highlights include Karim Diané’s pacifist Klingon, Jay-Den Kraag, and Sam, a “photonic” projection played (initially) with comic relief by Kerrice Brooks. Bad boy Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta) intrigues less, although his chemistry with Betazoid Tarima Sadal (Zoë Steiner) captures a yearning rarely seen in Star Trek.

Starfleet Academy looks to the past as well as the future through Easter eggs and the return of actors like Voyager fan-favourite Robert Picardo. With his signature grump and unexpected bursts of opera, you’d think his Doctor might steal every scene, but the one who actually does that is Holly Hunter. The Oscar-winner really makes Chancellor Ake her own: playful, yet commanding when she needs to be. It’s a gift of a performance, even if her shoeless proclivities might irk other officers and sterner fans alike.

It’s too early to group Star Trek’s first dedicated YA series with the other Trek classics just yet, but don’t let CGI growing pains and a few issues juggling the size of this cast put you off. Even Kirk and Picard were students once, and just like them, Starfleet Academy needs a little time to grow before it cements itself as the legend it could be.