Let's get right to the point. "Starfleet Academy" is a weird "Star Trek" show. Since the main characters are the equivalent of college students, it's pitched at a YA audience, with a lot of modern humor and stylistic choices that are very out of the norm for "Star Trek." At the same time, the show was clearly created by people who love the '90s era "Star Trek" shows, and there are tributes and Easter Eggs to the older series in every single episode. They also bring back Robert Picardo's hologram doctor character from "Star Trek: Voyager" as one of the instructors at the Academy, along with Jet Reno (Tig Notaro) from "Star Trek: Discovery." So ultimately, I'm not sure which audience is going to respond best to this.
"Starfleet Academy" is set in a distant future era, at a point in the "Star Trek" timeline where the Federation is slowly rebuilding after a major cataclysm called The Burn. Starfleet Academy, the storied institution that trains Starfleet officers, is being recommissioned, with a new Chancellor, Nahla Ake (Holly Hunter), and an eclectic incoming class. These include a pacifist Klingon, Jay-Den (Karim Diané), an overconfident Khionian, Darem (George Hawkins), the daughter of an admiral, Genesis (Bella Shepard), and the first sentient photonic cadet, Series Acclimation Mil, or Sam (Kerrice Brooks). However, the main protagonist is Caleb Mir (Sandro Rosta), a criminal and fugitive, who has personal history with Nala Ake. His options are either prison or school under her supervision, so he picks school.
Because this is a show about the cadets in an academic setting, a lot of the episodes revolve around teachable moments, school activities, and teen drama. Caleb quickly falls for a lovely Betazed named Tarima (Zoë Steiner), who attends a rival school called the War College (yes, really). And you can probably guess some of the hijinks that follow from there. There's also a recurring villain, the terrorist Nus Braka, who is played by Paul Giamatti in scenery-chewing mode. He's half-Klingon, half-Tellarite, and all ham. In keeping with "Star Trek" tradition, the tone is also frequently super-earnest and brimming over with optimism to the point where it can be overbearing. The more irreverent humor doesn't gel well at first, possibly trying to take inspiration from the animated "Lower Decks" more often than it should. There's a character who vomits glitter if he eats too much potassium, for instance.
However, over the course of the first season, things steadily improve. It helps that the characters are all very well-constructed, even if some of the actors are a little green. Veterans like Holly Hunter and Tig Notaro do a lot to pick up the slack. It also helps that the show is trying to push ahead and show us new aspects of the "Star Trek" universe, even as it indulges in a lot of nostalgia. Nala's first officer is a brusque but loveable half-Jem Hadar, half-Klingon officer, Lura Thok (Gina Yashere). Jay-Den was raised in the Klingon culture, but is considered an oddity for being more interested in medicine than warfare. Sam is probably my favorite of the youngsters, a recently created being who has been programmed to act like a teenager, and act as a bridge between her non-corporeal species and the Federation.
Also, once you get past the first few episodes, "Starfleet Academy" turns out to be very much a "Star Trek" series. Most of the problems are solved through diplomacy and science, though flashy pyrotechnics are also pretty common. It's a much talkier show than it appears at first glance, as interested in building its characters and their relationships as it is with throwing common "Star Trek" challenges their way. I found the more touchy-feely approach was often a hindrance on a show like "Discovery," but it fits "Starfleet Academy" better, because all the learning and growing is a major part of the premise. The first season definitely has its ups and downs, but it grew on me, and I expect it'll keep on improving in future seasons.
Established "Star Trek" fans should take note that this is definitely for an older crowd than "Prodigy," with as much casual cursing in it as any of the other Paramount+ "Star Trek" shows, and significantly more onscreen sexuality. Honestly, it's all very tame, but this is "Star Trek," so I feel some of my fellow nerds might need some warning.
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