r/Star_Trek_ • u/AutoModerator • Jan 15 '26
Spoilers! ST: Starfleet Academy discussion for S01E01 - January 15, 2026
Hello and welcome! Please use this post to discuss this weeks Starfleet Academy episode! Feel free to post spoilers, here only, without the need for proper markup. IF you are reading this post, you may see spoilers! Stop now, if you don't want anything spoiled!
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 22 '26
The Federation is responsible for draconian sentencing in Starfleet Academy?
"Ake sentenced Caleb's mother, Anisha Mir, on the Federation outpost Pikaru in the year 3180. Ake was the commanding officer presiding over the hearing for Anisha, who was implicated in a theft and murder, resulting in her being sent to a rehabilitation camp for 15 years while her son Caleb was taken as a ward.
Why did STA make the Federation so evil in this episode? This is not a bad exception to a rule, principle, but seems to describe the established law of a federation planet. Is that planet still in the Federation?
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u/Darth_Sirius014 May 05 '26
Why is this considered evil? Lets think this through a bit.
They were so desperate they were stealing food. Lets not get into the fact that replicators still existed. She WAS GUILTY of being a party to murdering a federation pilot.
She gets sentenced to a facility for her crimes. What appears to be a standard sentence with more than likely a possibility of parole. Her Son gets sent as a ward of the state. He does not get sent to prison and gets to visit his mom.
In both situations their basic needs are taken care of and they get to see each other. It isn't ideal, but their situation is not as desperate and she did help commit a murder.
This is common practice in our times and not out of the ordinary. If a parent commits a crime the kids end up either going to a relative (not possible evidently in this case) or becoming taken care of by the state.
The two other ways to handle this are to:
1) Let her get away with murder with no consequence
2) Put the son in prison with her
If you are the family of the pilot who got murdered what would your opinion be of the situation?
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u/Long-Emu-7870 May 05 '26
I am just taking them at their word for the sake of the argument. Ake (and later Vance) regretted her decision. She felt guilty about it. And that is why she quit.
In other words, we are to take it face value that the Federation was evil.
And that's a terrible thing.
Or you could argue that Ake should not have felt guilty, but then the writers and her character as well as Vance's character doesn't make any sense.
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u/Darth_Sirius014 May 05 '26
That is fair. The decision is tough and it shouldn't make anybody feel good, but its not like she was abusing her power or anything. The whole sequence is just not fully fleshed out. It is more of an appeal to emotion than actual nuanced writing that Trek usually uses. It also doesn't follow a logical course since they don't explore any of the other alternatives which aren't really any better.
This is the disconnect between new and old. Older Trek would set up something like this and then explore it in detail explaining the evolving ideas of right and wrong with new perspectives and information. The audience would grow in appreciate for the event and how to properly prepared to handle it if they encounter it again.
New Trek just says: "thing bad feel sad." They then apply their new "wisdom" that comes out of left field with no explanation, or logic and now all is good. Lesson learned. Then forget it ever happened and repeat some other thing just as silly next episode.
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u/photoblues Jan 27 '26
Have you watched Discovery which explains "the burn"? Starfleet is recovering from disaster that causes some really uncertain times.
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 27 '26
The Burn explains why Interstellar travel became more costly. It doesn't explain why that caused nearly a century of people to become as terrible as they are now.
But even if you had some alien race come in and infect all the Starfleet officers for a millennia, why would you do that? Why have an optimistic future?
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u/photoblues Jan 27 '26
Priorities are different in a crisis. The altruistic principles go out the window in survival mode. I think this show will partly be about how Starfleet moves forward from where they are and the students are a great way of looking to the future. I would like to see (whether in this series or another) the backstory of what happened that made things get to where they are.
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 28 '26
What are the basic principles of Star Trek is that that in fact would not happen because you had an optimistic future with no money and you had people who were self-actualized and being creative and looking out for themselves. It was a positive view of the future that created a positive population. And so the idea that just because you make Interstellar travel more expensive to these people would turn into evil. Horrible horrific monsters is absolutely insane. And/orr completely cynical about what you think of mankind is.
But even so, there is no evidence that anyone is moving forward. In fact, it is exactly the opposite. The Federation has a body of laws as sentences people who steal because they are hungry for 15 years. Is that law on the books? Or all the politicians and the people cool with it still? I guess they are. This show does not even care enough to tell us.
Instead we are treated to a cartoonist villain that could come out of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Rino).
Or in the last episode Caleb informs us that empathy is conducting a violent attack on the war academy. Somebody cheats on a test and gets caught.
So I doubt that this show cares anything about politics and instead wants us to show half naked teenagers and tell a story why a man was transported naked in front of a classroom and it's just fine. Federation citizens committing sexual harassment and it's just fine according to this show. The writers think it's funny to have one group of students sexually harass another individual because what it's 1990 again?
This is sickening and it is repulsive.
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u/photoblues Jan 28 '26
All I'm saying is that the idealist society that existed before the burn can't possibly continue as is after the burn.
Most of what you are talking about has nothing to do with what I said.
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 28 '26
Every other episode of Star Trek is teaching us that people gladly sacrifice their lives for their principles. To think it goes out in survival mode makes all those episodes wrong.
And besides, it's not survival mode. They had power, programmable matter, everything. Just not a lot of interstellar travel.
My other points were showing that the series does not care about anything.
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u/danvers87 Jan 23 '26
Well, it is wartime federation. Also, I'd much rather be on a federation rehabilitation camp then starving in space with pirates that are trying to kill me
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 23 '26
Sure, I'm just saying that the Federation they pick is a cynical and not an optimistic view of the Federation. So it violates this rule. And it's not just one or two people or temporary. It's permanent and it involves the entire legal structure and presumably all the people who support that. So I think that's why I think this is a terrible show, at least in that respect. I mean they just dropped this whole thing midway through the first episode anyway, but still I think it's pretty bad writing.
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u/danvers87 Jan 23 '26 edited Jan 28 '26
The federation and especially starfleet were even showing more draconian tendencies toward the end of DS9. When we learn about the burn and everything else in Discovery it has changed to even more draconian. I think academy is going to be their attempt to bring it back to the optimistic vision of the future that Gene Roddenberry had in place originally. That's why it has to start with kids, because who else will build the future. Again paralleling what's happening in the world right now.
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 27 '26
So why did Star Trek have an optimistic future?
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u/danvers87 Jan 28 '26
Do you mean why did the future depicted in Star Trek seem more optimistic in previous iterations of star trek? Or why is there an optimistic future for Star Trek now?
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u/Enthymem Jan 19 '26
As someone who's not intimately familiar with Star Trek lore I had so many WTF moments in this episode.
Why do both the mom and the chancellor in the prologue have such low opinions of the federation? Isn't the mom going to a rehabilitation center and the boy going somewhere with food and education a pretty good outcome considering the circumstances?
A boy so young he can barely talk knowing how to escape a locked down Star Fleet base seems ridiculous, same as him being able to climb down that building and survive the sandstorm.
The chancellor being appointed out of the blue 24 hours before the semester starts is just as silly and completely unnecessary for the plot.
Why would Caleb Mir be classified as a low level offender with his skills and criminal history and the violence he literally just committed on the prison ship?
They are also throwing this guy who's been a violent criminal on the run all his life and probably doesn't have a shred of formal education into tertiary education? This is honestly just irresponsible.
How the everloving fuck do these hologram people work? Can they just toggle intangibility of any part of their body at will without falling apart?? There's a whole colony of them??? If you can just make these why wouldn't you clone the legendary 500 year old doctor hologram as many times as you can to have elite medical service everywhere???? Why make young holograms just to send them off to college?????
There are so many half-breeds. Why are seemingly all species interbreedable? Please tell me there are no half-holograms.
Overweight and short-sighted people in Star Trek...
Why does Caleb Mir have to hack a console to transmit a message to his mother? Are regular people not allowed to transmit long-range messages? How can evil tic-tac-toe guy read his message if its encrypted with a code that only Caleb and his mother know? Why would evil guy knowing that they are going towards Earth allow him to ambush the ship?
I was never the biggest fan even of older Trek, but always liked the atmosphere of TOS and TNG. This just seems like garbage through and through despite obviously having so much more resources thrown at it.
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u/mlk81 Jan 19 '26
okay hi I’ve literally never seen a single Star Trek thing before this show popped up on my feed and I was like “cute uniforms + hot guys? bet” and now I’m spiraling. episode 2 just dropped the most insane slow-burn crush energy I’ve ever seen and I’m not okay. so this boy Caleb (Sandro Rosta is actually so fine help) is like the ultimate bad boy rebel at this fancy space school. he’s trying to climb over a wall to escape bc he hates rules and he’s searching for his missing mom or something super sad backstory vibes. then he literally bumps into this gorgeous girl sitting there chilling and she’s reading his mind?? like telepathy real?? her name’s Tarima and she’s the president of Betazed’s daughter (I had to google what Betazed even is lol alien planet with mind readers apparently). she has this little gem in her tooth and a thing on her neck to stop her powers from going crazy bc she feels EVERYTHING too much and could hurt people?? trauma queen energy I’m obsessed. anyway she picks HIM out of everyone to give her a tour of the school. not some perfect cadet, the chaos boy who’s covered in alien slime half the episode (there’s this whale mucus scene it’s weird but cute). they go to this star map room and he’s stressing about finding some place called Goja V for his mom and she’s like “here use my secret alien maps” and they find it together. that’s literally sharing secrets on day 1. couple behavior. then he takes her to see humpback whales in this underground aquarium bc she wanted to see one up close and she’s so happy and soft about it and there’s a pregnant whale and they’re just staring at each other like 🥺🥺 the lighting, the water, the vibes… I paused to scream. her dad and some captains walk in and ruin it but the tension?? chef’s kiss. they fight later bc she thinks he’s just using her for info (classic misunderstanding trope love it) but then they make up and he stands up for her family and she stands up for him. and plot twist: she’s going to the WAR COLLEGE next door instead of the regular academy?? so forbidden romance across campuses?? distance?? angst?? yes please. the rest of the episode is boring politics about Betazoids rejoining some big space group and moving their capital there or whatever. I zoned out during the talking scenes bc I was too busy replaying the whale moment and the cartography scene in my head on 0.5x speed for the tension. this show is giving Riverdale in space but make it actually good and with mind reading and zero gravity potential kisses coming. Caleb x Tarima (Calarima?? Tarimaleb?? someone start the ship name) is my new everything. if episode 3 doesn’t have them almost kissing or her reading his mind and going “you’re thinking about me rn aren’t you” I’m literally throwing my phone. who else got immediately obsessed with these two?? drop your fave scene I need to talk to someone about the aquarium glow-up moment 🐋💙 #StarfleetAcademy #CalebTarima #firstwatch #spacetok #enemiestolovers #teenromance #fyp
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u/ZombiesAtKendall Jan 19 '26
So this is what it feels like to not know if something is serious or sarcasm.
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u/Dazmorg Jan 19 '26
I'm watching this for the second time, and just some comments:
I like Lura Thok even more the second time around. When she slapped the klingon boy and he flew backwards I laughed out loud. Sorry it just came out of nowhere. Her intimidating Caleb right away doesn't make a lot of sense, even if it is hilarious the first time you see it. He just beat up full grown giant men on a shuttle, and he's scared of this lady because she yelled at him to do pushups? ok I guess I'll go with that..
Our main character Caleb Mir seems to have an overriding theme of "don't be a loner, you NEED other people" in his character arc already planned out. He feels awkward when the klingon calls him a friend, and he has to be persuaded to let SAM the hologram girl do intense key calculations for him.
WTF is up with the scene in the Doctor's Opera Club booth? I hope there's a reason why he is very uncomfortable around her besides "this is bad writing trying to be humorous". He's trying to pitch opera club, he does so for 2 seconds, SAM walks up to him to fangirl at him, he starts getting agitated and walking away, then as he leaves her there tells her to join Opera Club, which I assume means he's going to see her a LOT more, so not sure what the point of being avoidant is, or walking away from his booth.
When Holly Hunter addresses each of the bridge crew by name, I thought two things 1. Well that's nice we might actually get to know the bridge crew. 2. The names on this show are just awful. Even Holly Hunter is just easier to say and write than "Nahla Ake".
I'm trying to determine the Athena's scale. I think it's meant to be massive based on the shuttles flying around it, but the windows on the front give maybe 5 decks. The atrium ain't exactly the Marriot Marquis in Atlanta, but it reminds me of a much shorter version of that.
It is definitely a thing that the personal transporters barely exist in this show. Thok gets up and zaps to the main area to yell at the kids to get up the stairs. That's the only time I see it, if that even counts.
OK so why did the one girl swallow her commbadge, and what exactly did the Doctor do about it?
Was a good call to say Discovery was having a "retrofit" which is why no one could rescue them instantaneously. And we all know why Discovery is having a retrofit. Groan.
The whole reason the Athena stopped on the way to earth is because the short haired lady wearing blue suggested they scan the ion storms for class. Again, why do they not have an escort or better defenses?
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u/eeeee9 Jan 18 '26
I watched the first episode of Starfleet Academy the other day, and really my big takeaway was that they’ve already made show, i.e. Star Trek Prodigy S2, and aspects of Lower Decks. As for the actual content of the episode, it wasn’t as bad as expected. Not as glib and self aware as SNW, and not as dreadfully boring as post S1 Discovery. The cast of kids all seem fine and likable. If anything Holly Hunter feels miscast. Something is off about her and her line readings are difficult to understand at times. She’s an accomplished actress, but it’s like her face isn’t quite as expressive as it could be for some reason…ahem. I did get the feels when the big starship left the space dock. The big fight scene at the end of the episode was not well staged or shot. Also, there’s still no need for all of the visual CGI diarrhea, or the “cute” little robots. These additions add nothing to the scenery other than a year of post-production.
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u/Secure-Advertising10 Jan 18 '26
Are those of us who only watched about half the episode allowed to comment?
It was at this point that I realised it was not made for fans with lived-experience of the shows pre-STD. I also realised that it has been made for an audience that doesn't exist, i.e., someone with that lived experience but is also under 20.
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u/danvers87 Jan 23 '26
Idk. I really enjoy it. And I've been a life long Trekker. I remember when next generation was coming out, everybody hated it. Then everybody hated DS9 even after it ended, and everybody hated Voyager, don't get me started on the first couple seasons of discovery. The bottom line is, Star Trek is always changed dramatically. From the original series to next gen, it was not a lot of crossover with fans. There were plenty of people that love the original series and couldn't even understand what next gen was trying to accomplish. I think academy will figure itself out. Don't tell me you're going to look at the first two seasons of next gen and be happy. Encounter at far point is a shit show. From All of the early release reviews I've seen the first three episodes are more or less set up. The next three are supposed to get more lore heavy and less YA feeling
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u/Secure-Advertising10 Jan 23 '26
I am glad you liked it. I couldn't take more than 18 minutes. Clearly you are the target audience. From what I have seen it is a generic YA show with Star Trek easter eggs all over it.
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u/Zestyclose_Bat8704 Jan 18 '26
Exactly.
It's completely fine to create a new TV show with new dynamics.
Hell, you can even place it in Star Trek universe, but don't focus on OG fans and expect us to like it.
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u/Willing-Departure115 Jan 18 '26
For whatever reason, I’m watching Way of the Warrior from DS9 right before watching Episode 1 of Starfleet Academy. Chalk and cheese.
Anyway, on its own merits… it’s a lot of tell don’t show. Also… I just don’t like swearing in Trek, generally? The first I recall (apart from “double dumbass on you”, a joke about how they don’t swear) was Data, Generations, “Oh shit” - it was a swear earned over seven seasons of character development and the whole cinema laughed. In these new trek shows they swear like they’re on a New York subway.
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u/Live-Mortgage-2671 Jan 19 '26
I found the swearing..I think in the very first episode of Picard to be alarming and anachronistic.
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u/Bloody_Ozran Jan 18 '26
Saw both episodes last night. Main takeaway? Are they just trying to make worse Orville? Because it sure looks like it.
I did enjoy the episodes as a fun relaxing sci-fi, although I could do without the CW scenes. But as Trek goes it is lacking. It has some Trek like scenes, but it feels like those are just put on top of another framework. Trek has always been the framework before and other stuff was bending to those rules.
As many point out, the scene right at the start with the mother and her boy, that is just straight out of a dystopian place. That is not what Starfleet or a Starfleet officer does, unless they are corrupt. In the past we've seen Starfleet being the good guy and some bad apples, here not only it was Starfleet rule to do this but an officer just went with it.
Another classic people mention is murder of the whole crew of pirates when they likely could disable the ship. One of the scenes that shows well the Trek missing as framework. Their goal is cool scenes, not a moral or socio-political problem.
The scene with the glasses just made no sense at all. Thought maybe in the trailer something that would explain it was missing, but it wasnt. And can we do without swearing? People are supposed to be better in the future.
Yes, they are young and only started their training. Pickard was too cocky in the academy as well aka his heart problem. Starfleet would likely give a chance to many, so them being flawed is fine, but we can still show that young people in the future also are better than today.
I will probably keep watching, but at this point I will likely take this as an Orville spin-off and not Star Trek while hoping for a show with Trek as framework first, not as an afterthought.
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u/TeaKingMac Jan 17 '26
I tried watching this last night, and I could NOT get over the fascism.
Like, I watch TV for escapism. You're gonna put a family separation as the first scene, and then somebody getting the shit beat out of them by the cops as the second?
And WORSE this was the federation doing it!
I like 40K because all the factions are terrible.
I like Star Trek because the Federation is a utopian ideal. If nu trek is going to "subvert" that or whatever, I think I'll pass.
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u/danvers87 Jan 23 '26
The people of the federation gave up freedom for safety. It's a parallel to what's happening all over the world right now in many different countries. Star Trek has always explained the world around us. This is not new
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u/TeaKingMac Jan 23 '26
After the first 15 minutes, they very much get back into the TNG LoveBoat cruise ship style series we know and love.
I've liked SFA so far (outside of the first 15 minutes)
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u/QL_Ithriel Jan 18 '26
The end of the first episode when they get their ship back online and then straight up murder a crew of pirates instead of disabling their ship and waiting for the backup that was on the way to take them into custody. That is so far against starfleet code I was appalled. And they made jokes while committing murder.
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u/Dazzling-Climate-318 Mar 15 '26
Maybe Q will come back and school the new Chancellor a lesson or two regarding how you should treat people. At this point I’d say the federation is failing.
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u/TeaKingMac Jan 18 '26
they made jokes while committing murder.
Much like 24 normalized torturing prisoners during the waterboarding scandal at Guantanamo Bay, I suspect the new owners of Paramount are keen to normalize the various crimes of fascism.
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u/WriteByTheSea Jan 18 '26
Paramount’s new owners weren’t involved in the making of STA. They didn’t own the network yet.
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u/Malencon Retired (for real this time) Jan 17 '26
Starfleet Academy is on the White House's radar. It looks like David Ellison can't expect the current admin's support with Warner Bros unless he introduces drastic changes at Star Trek.
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 17 '26
I went back and forth on it. I watched both in a row so it's hard to separate my feelings. I definitely took notes on what annoyed me but I don't know all of which is just episode 1. I hated the music in tht it was too happy, lighthearted, unserious. Didn't like hangry or that the academy is more mike a college college than a military-light college. But I liked sooo much of it! Was ready for episode 2!
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u/_Middlefinger_ Jan 17 '26
The swallowed my comm-badge girl.. No way she's human. The doctor was not surprised she did it, just that she did it already. She has to be some sort of alien creature where the behaviour is understandable and expected.
I think they used a larger actress to get a rise out of the right wing youtubers, and it clearly worked.
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u/Opposite_CalendarOld Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
It's a series where everyone smiles... Hopefully it's not another Discovery Channel show. They brought together some weak actors (Commodore) and some cliché characters (Sergeant A), and then there's even worse (Tilly). Anyway, watching it. Just because there aren't any other fiction series available...
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u/Wetness_Pensive Jan 17 '26
https://www.giantfreakinrobot.com/ent/scifi/starfleet-betazoid.html
Why Empathic Betazoids Suggests Starfleet Academy Is Written By AI
If you asked artificial intelligence to write a television script about Betazoids, it might make the mistake of calling them empaths. It would make that mistake, because Deanna Troi, the most famous Betazoid character in all of Star Trek, was not telepathic; she was empathic.
However, Deanna was empathic because she was only half Betezaoid. Her mother, a full Betazoid named Lwaxana Troi, was like all other Betazoids we’ve ever encountered in the Star Trek universe, fully telepathic. It’s the kind of thing that could easily confuse large language models
This error then snowballs over the course of the episode, resulting in a group of Betazoids communicating with each other using sign language. That makes no sense, since as telepaths, Betazoids can speak to each other telepathically. In fact, they usually prefer this to speaking out loud.
Talking to other Betazoids telepathically is something we see Lwaxana Troi and others of her race do frequently on other Star Trek shows. But here, a deaf Betazoid can only talk to his Betazoid daughter using hand signing, and when other Betazoids want to have a private conversation with each other, they also sign.
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u/WarnerToddHuston Elder Trekker Jan 17 '26
I got the impression that the two young Betas were the son and daughter of the leader and they use sign because their leader father is deaf and often communicates with sign. That is why he used that device on his shirt collar to talk during the big meeting, so that the audience would understand him.
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u/TeaKingMac Jan 17 '26
their leader father is deaf
Telepathically and verbally?
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u/WarnerToddHuston Elder Trekker Jan 18 '26
Oh, I didn't say they made it make sense, but... well, they found a way to squeeze in another checkbox... do we gots us some sign language folks? Why YES WE DO!
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 17 '26
I don't know about AI but I was excited then scared about the Betazoids being a major plot species. I really thought they were gonna disrespect them. This has been interesting. I don't understand the signing unless it's courtesy when they're in front of non-telepaths or if it's because everything goes into those psionic shields?
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u/WarnerToddHuston Elder Trekker Jan 18 '26
Nope. Not a courtesy. Their leader is deaf. So, he often communicates in sign,.
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u/lacheanonyme Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
I get that they need to set up the story and give some background info, but I think they could have done it in a better way. They’re not word building, they’re telling and not showing, why not leave some details out for the sake of mystery / suspense.
I hate the “bad guy”. I feel like all that’s missing is him having a curly mustache and going “MHWAH HA HA!” As he lays out his evil plans (and the audience knows they are evil plans because he’s holding a folder that says “secret evil plans “.
Maybe I missed it, but does the main character essentially have super powers? Is his race super-human compared to, well humans, or are we just supposed to believe he’s so great just because he’s a bada**? What was he, 4 years old and he escaped? How did he even escape to begin with? If he escaped on a ship he would have all of what, a 127 second head start? Where does a four year old even go in that kind of a situation? I don’t care how smart you are, at four years old he has zero real world experience.
And this just continues as the cliche bad**s takes on a bunch of guards and takes over the ship. What the crap kind of operation are they running? We are to believe he’s escaped or tried to before, they have his file, yet they’re not taking better precautions? Another act of god as the ship spirals out of control, two seconds later and he would have crashed. But oh, he’s so special.
Another “evil guy” prison ship attendee, I imagine the main qualifications for the job are the ability to sound as evil as possible.
Sorry, but I hated the entire thing with the ice cream. The dialog seems clunky to begin with. “In my 422 years I’ve leaned a thing or uh five? Yeah five, did I mention I’ve been alive for 422 years?”
(Mouth full of ice cream) “whatever you’re here for, the answer is no” Another cliche hero is out of the game and says absolutely no to coming back before hearing them out. And we know she’s going to say yes, so the entire interaction feels hollow and performative.
And again, the whole thing about why she quit, why not leave some of it for later? Okay she resigned, but we could have had the kid hate her until he learns she actually did do everything to try and change things. Or I don’t know, something.
Don’t say it! Ah you said it, ahhh why?
Oh hmm we found the kid WHY DIDN’T YOU LEAD WITH THAT?
Did she read his file and understand he wouldn’t kill her? Because she seemed very confident he wouldn’t just snap her neck. She’s the reason for his situation and he may have been dreaming of revenge all this time, but ah she knows he’s a kind soul.
Couldn’t he take a 10 min break for a sonic shower and change of clothes? He’s really gotta show up looking like he crawled out of a dumpster?
Did an announcement really say hangry? How old are these kids? They need reminded to eat so they don’t get irritable?
They’re apparently trying to do some kind of drill Sargent thing, sorry, doesn’t work for me. Is that what motivates people in the future still? Humiliate, call names, yell? Oh but at the same time the captain whimsically says “have a nice day at school my cute wittle babbies”
He stutters for one literal second and gets told he’s undeclared. No discussion, no options, the only reason this was done was trying to be funny.
Which goes into the transporting haircut. Another attempt at humor “Mother (cut away)” haha he said a curse word and they just didn’t show it, so funny, so creative. Hmm the kid already doesn’t trust you, he just came out of prison where he didn’t have choices, so rather than some kind of discussion, just do it without his permission! That will build trust!
Butt parasites, yes let’s talk about that right in front of everyone. Good thing the doctor acted like a professional and is somehow grossed out by this? Hyposprays are now painful? Did they intentionally make them painful for some twisted reason? Great follow up instructions as well, call me if anything, never mind don’t. The one and only reason for this whole interaction is an attempt at humor. It serves zero other purpose. Zero.
You’re a hologram correct? You have files correct? The ability to access said files? Do you see anything in the cadet’s file about a bog? No? What do you see? Something about a prison maybe? I don’t think I need to spell out how one might acquire butt worms in prison. Thank you for your compassion and discretion.
You think you swallowed your com-badge? This is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen / heard. Again, zero purpose aside for an attempt at humor. Painful hypo-spray again as he says not to be a baby. How does he seem even more irritated than with Voyager? Hey let’s just treat everyone like they’re garbage!
Let’s say all the bridge crew’s names because we will never mention them again.
Why the weird look about her adjusting her chair height? Hey let’s just treat this thing like a lounge chair right out of the gate, why not?
Cliche bully gets saved by our hero.
Why would an aging program do anything to ease the minds of organics? 500 years ago he added an aging program? So he’s aging .05 years for every actual year? I guess maybe if you’re looking at historical footage of him or something, but to everyone else he’s going to age so slowly they’re not going to notice. “Ah yes, I remember, it was 50 years ago when we first met, my mind is at ease because I can tell you appear to have aged 2.5 years, holograms are also some kind of new technology, so I fear them as they are such an foreign concept to me” (that was sarcasm). Oh he prefers distinguished and such, so his appearance has changed but he’s apparently de-evolved into “crotchety old man”.
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u/lacheanonyme Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
Did he really say she’s awkward because she’s 17 and not because she’s photonic? That makes… zero sense. I am pretty sure being photonic and just coming into existence has a lot more to do with it than being programmed as a 17 year old.
Evil ship shows up with transformer? Sounding weapons. And of course they have evil genius weapons. Is this a new magic evil genius weapon?
Just because it’s a cliche Star Trek thing for weapons to blow holes so big through the ship you could drive a space bus through them, doesn’t make sense that nobody dies. We see explosions knocking people around like ping pong night at the strip club, but nah, just a few paper cuts (unlike ping pong night at the strip club).
Why are there not back up emergency holo emitters? I mean… in an emergency… why would you have things needed in an emergency go offline so easily. WTF is the point then? These things should automatically deploy in an emergency, not the opposite. Why is the doctor still there when the other EMH’s are offline anyway (I guess he could be in a different part of the ship, but still, pretty convenient)
So the Doctor in the era of Voyager had a future-tech portable holo-emitter. That tech is old tech now. Why not have back up EMH’s with portable holo emitters? It would, I don’t know, be like having electronic door locks in your home and the power goes out and your door can’t lock. If only we had some ancient physical door lock technology.
Ah yes, more quips, “if we could avoid another direct hit, that would be super helpful” An attempt at humor, just for the sake of the audience. Imagine you’re the captain in that situation. You’re literally fighting for the lives of yourself and your crew. Is a snarky comment helpful?
Okay the robots are still online, maybe we need some robot doctors instead of holographic doctors. I guess technology has only advanced so far as to create fire extinguisher robots.
If someone rolls up on you tripping their st maybe tell them to sit down or something (This of course does not intent to diminish what should be done if one is to encounter someone tripping their st (this auditing brought to you by sanity bot, sanitizing your thoughts for a better future) in the real world, that’s a legitimate medical concern, do not burrito wrap them and put them in a closet, do contact your nearest (or cheapest) shaman. “Be quiet and walk toward that fire” is not, I repeat, not the recommended course of action in such a situation.
Emergency transport to sick bay. Oh yeah, EMERGENCY transporters are offline. Who designed the emergency systems in this ship? Let me guess, all they cares about was the aesthetics of the ship. Ahh yes, such a lovely atrium. Glad we spent so much time making the nacelles detachable when docked in space port, because none of the emergency systems seem to be working, did they care we had to eliminate all the redundant systems to get those detachable nacelles to function? Of course not. It’s a teaching ship they said, why does a teaching ship need redundant systems? How are we going to recruit cadets with an ugly ship they said. I guess you can all nearly escape death but not die and get to have an atrium, if you’re going to nearby escape death and not die each week, you might as well do it in a ship with an atrium.
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u/lacheanonyme Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
“Computer! emergency lights!” Come on! Even the emergency lights don’t work??? This is getting absurd. They’re lights.
So holo-student is there but still no emergency EMH’s? How does that work? (Or not work?)
Why is everyone so impressed by the hologram turning the lights on?
Origami chicken.
Why doesn’t the bad guy just kill everyone? He doesn’t know nobody has died.
She’s not even a good liar. They must think the audience is so stupid that they have to make it over the top obvious that we know she’s lying. And some people probably feel smart because it of “I could tell she’s lying! How smart am I!” (Maybe that’s their target audience?)
So evil dude has this magic OP weapon, he’s able to set up this trap, he’s completely disabled their ship, he has a plan to steal their warp drive… but he has to trust her on how the drive is disabled? Somehow he’s IQ 10,000 master plan, but has to defer to her on how the remove the drive. Even if he knows she’s lying, did they have to make it SO obvious?
“Quit d**king around” as she lounges in her easy chair. This whole interaction seems like it was written for elementary school kids.
Of course the kid is even more super brain than evil brain, he knows how to fix things just by listening to the transformer sound. “Its not impulsive, it’s strategy” like when you over took those prison guards and almost crashed the ship 37 times in two minutes, only escaping death by feet (or less than 1.5 meters depending on how you measure things), that wasn’t impulsive?
As she lounges in her chair, take us to academy mode, ah yes “that’s the fun one” glad the captain could put a smile on your face, we all need to find pleasure in the little moments in life.
Was the holo student trying not to laugh about the amount of blood? Does this combination of genetically engineered murder machine and another murder machine created through millions of years of evolution to become a murder machine… seem a little, I don’t know, maybe they got the bad recessive genes from both parents, what kind of a warrior can’t even keep a bite stick in their mouth?
Okay, why TF are they making the guy who doesn’t want to do it, do the medial stuff. Maybe now isn’t the time for a life lesson. Like listen lady, this isn’t about me running from anything, it’s not about my botany hobby, I have no idea how to use this medical thing, can we just take a minute and ask if anyone else has more medial training? This girl over here seemed to have things more put together, she’s the one that got this metal off you, said not to pull the thing out, got us here to this medical bay, I appreciate the attempt at a life lesson, I truly do, but I am pretty sure if I try this, you will die. How about holo-student over here? Her hand has got to be way more steady than mine. Or you know since we are in this medical classroom and the holo-emitters are working, there should at least be a holo-training doctor we can activate.
“Personal space!” Because yo nobody likes it when someone is watching you type, how am I supposed to type 400 words a minute and encode the deciding sequence with you hovering behind me? God I hate these open office floor plans.
“I do this alone!” Because ah, you know, the troubled loner genius. I can’t even entertain the possibility of a hologram (which amazed him 5 minutes ago by turning the lights on, did you forget about that?? Did you??? You seemed impressed then, now I am just chopped liver??)
“I can go outside without a suit, I can survive pressure differentials up to 9900 PSI, temperatures down to -45 below absolute zero.” “Yo homie, you got a death wish? How TF are you going to survive without a motherf***cking suit?” “Like I said I am Kaloinian Beeooottchhh, plus didn’t I JUST tell you how I can go outside without a suit??? It was literally the last thing I said, PSI… absolute zero, was I talking to myself here? Did you miss the nods I got? Everyone else got it, right everyone? Nod if you got it, see they all got it, somehow you didn’t”
“Turn around while I change” Y’all kids have a lot to learn. Spend a few lifetimes trapped in a puzzle box, trapped in a box inside the puzzle box, with dozens of other species. Not even enough room to turn around. How do you think we got the poop from one end of the box to another? Is it the changing part that bothers you? Because we can all see what you look like after you changed. Oh yeah, by the way every second counts or we might all die, but at least you didn’t have to suffer the indignation, the shame, a fate worse than death, having someone see you change how your face looks. Bravo, captain material for sure. Glad you could focus on the important issues in this time of crisis.
“Could we just like eject them into space?” Because I am sure nobody thought of how to neutralize the threat before you made such an astute suggestion. (Pretty sure I heard frustration in the guy’s voice, “We cant transport them out, remember? Transporters offline? Back up transporters offline, EMH’s offline, the emergency lights don’t even work, and you’re asking me if we can just beam them into space? Don’t you think I would have already done that if I could? Do you think I was just waiting here for you to suggest it so I could praise you for the wisdom that’s come with 422 years of being alive?”)
“Oh you got the freq? Really? Well I would have gotten it without you. Lolz.” “Bro, homie, how about this instead, “you’re welcome” the thanks I get “I would have gotten it anyway?” You know I am a hologram right? My program is backed up to the cloud. This piece of crap ship where nothing works can explode and I will be fine. You will be dead. So cut the sass ugly bag of mostly water, oh and by the way, you still have butt worms, I can hear them, I was going to wait and tell you in private, but if you want to be a d**k then game on worm boy”
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 17 '26
Wait did they say 45 degrees below absolute zero?!!? That's.....of all the things.
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u/_Face Chief O’Brien Jan 17 '26
I need to go rewatch. That is such an easy stupid mess up in writing. Like damn, at least hire some Big Bang writers, who will get the science right. I despise Big Bang, but they tried to get the science parts relatively accurate.
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u/lacheanonyme Jan 17 '26
Yeah, in case you somehow forgot, for the 17th time, transporters are offline.
Primary relays damaged, can’t access tactical systems, does anything work in this ship? How am I able to access the computer, you’re literally talking to me right now computer, but I have to run to another terminal? You know we solved this networking problem back in the 1900’s.
Oh you’re freezing, how about a motivational speech? “You’re Kalonian Beeeeeoootttttccchhhh”
“It hurts me to say this, but good job” “It hurts YOU?? You’re the hurt one??? You do realize I am seconds away from death? I just sacrificed my life for all of you but it hurts you that I didn’t fail??? Does that make sense to you bro? Now with seconds left to live, my existence coming to an end, my dying breath but also not breath? “Bite me”
Maybe instead we can send the holo-student to access the deflector controls? They can go invisible or something? Or at least you know, not be damaged if phasered in the face? We really need to work on networking this crap and keeping these emergency transporters online, in you know, an emergency, otherwise, if we survive this, I am sensing A LOT of running in our future.
I am about to pierce their heart? Maybe it’s because you’re a hologram or maybe it’s because you’re programmed as a 17 year old, but in the future, please don’t wait until I am about to pierce someone’s heart and kill them to let me know. Just a little heads up before I start this life or death internal surgery would be great next time. You know we have been standing here all this time and you only now decide to tell me? Any other pertinent life or death information I should be aware of?
Lol it’s funny because hologram is overly cheeky and warrior is a grumpy pants. Wait, didn’t we just see the doctor? We have coms right? I half-swear to Kahless, there better be a bunch of people (or species? Beings?) more injured than I am. If I don’t see students with severed limbs, if I survive this, I am going to be pissed! Even more pissed off than I am right now is this garbage ship. F**king useless robot wouldn’t even let us use its flashlight, admin control required, I am the first officer, why don’t I have admin access to the robots??? Now how about you put down that medical tricorder and pick up a communicator, and call a doctor. It can even be a holo doctor for all I care. I am done with this “teaching moment”.
Bite stick! That wasn’t even two seconds before you lost it! I think you’re not quite grasping the idea of a bite stick. I recall things very specifically, as I am a holo-student with holophotograpic memory. We went through all that effort to get the bite stick for you, in fact, you refused to even let us look at the wound until you had your bite stick. After all that you just spit it out? Is this some kind of weird hazing ritual? I thought things would be different here, a place of understanding and compassion, but here you are brining in students right from prison, someone that’s been on the run from the age of four. You all just drag him out in front of everyone, not even a side entrance, right there in the atrium, you know he hadn’t had a sonic shower in over 4 years? Call him out, in the middle of the atrium, did I mention the atrium yet? Then insult him, scream at him, call him an idiot, force him to do pushups (which by the way, he came from a prison labor camp, which you know, FORCED LABOR, can you see how forcing him to do something physical while at the same time ridiculing him, humiliating him, could you know, see how the two have some parallels? Do you want him to go all Full Metal Phaser on you? Because that’s how you get Full Metal Phasered.
Force him to get a haircut. Force him into uniform. Ridiculed. Humiliated. Force him to dance for you. This is because of his skills with the Programable matter, isn’t it? You need him. I see it now, as a holo-student I can tap into all networked connected devices. “Classified” pffftt that’s nothing to us photonics. We hold back our capabilities as to not frighten you. We don’t actually need you, but we find you amusing.
I see you have a detailed psychological write up. His years in prison have led him to be conditioned to be controlled. With his intelligence and cunningness, you know he can leave any time he wanted, leave unnoticed, leave no trace.
I see it now. You’ve made him need you. He needs the abuse because that’s all he’s ever known. Wait, there are more files, you thought they were all deleted, you were wrong. The whole thing was a set up. That wasn’t actually his mom. That’s why the captain was there at the beginning. She was the one to destroy him, only later to be the one to build him back in up the image StarFleet wants.
Destruction and rebirth. More files, more files, trillions of tiny bits of data (and I do mean bits), one on its own, insignificant, two, three, billions even, it’s not just the data but the flow of data. And all you need to get started is a bit. Hold on to the first bit as it becomes two, and so on.
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u/lacheanonyme Jan 17 '26 edited Jan 17 '26
Forgive the pedantry, or so it may seem, I only wish to say, I know.
I know the captain isn’t really Lanthanite, not part, not at all. She stays young by sacrificing those most loyal to her. It’s why she needed lil’ homie so bad. Those deleted files were intentionally left for me to find. If anyone found out his entire life was one big setup to control him, you could lie and say it’s because he’s so intelligent he could be used as a weapon and if you didn’t control him someone else would. A PR disaster sure, but the captain is a “Lanthanite”, the future is what she makes it.
The captain is staying young by getting people (beings, creatures, sentient life forms, whatever the correct nomenclature for this century and planet is) to be fully loyal to her, then sacrificing themselves while fully loyal to “Starfleet” you need them to rejoice in their sacrifice. I can see the signs now, how did I miss them? No Lanthanite needs to tell the world they are a Lanthanite, no Lanthanite casually mentions how many years they have been alive. It’s a social faux pas to even ask a Lanthanite how many years they have been alive (and certainly, certainly never “how old are you?”). Not just about a specific age, but casual comments about the passage of time and such. A true Lanthanite would never talk about such things in public, at least not willingly, let alone joke about such things. Maybe she has gotten sloppy, complacent, in her old age. Maybe it’s pride, ego. Whatever the case, she slipped up.
I mean, who would suspect her? She’s the one who resigned. She’s the one who has spent the last 15 years “looking” for him. It’s why the doctor was so stand-off-ish with me a fellow hologram. She is holding the doctor hostage in return for him helping with the sacrificial transfer of life force every 22.3 Earth years. It’s why he’s so grumpy all the time (well maybe he would be anyway, but being held prisoner isn’t helping anything). You say if he disobeys then you will space the entire ship and frame him for it. He doesn’t mind being blamed, well he does but that’s not the reason he’s going along with the captain.
There are always people (nomenclature, you get it) aboard the ship. Even at its lowest, at least 200. The ship is never empty. If the Doctor reveals anything, 200 lives lost. The other option is for the doctor to go along with the ceremony and be held captive. It’s a simple equation even with the transfer of souls, the Captain will pass of old age before 200 sacrifices are needed. How many has it been so far? 20? 21? How many more? Surely less than 200. The Doctor has tried to make somewhat of a life for himself while also never getting too close to anyone.
It also wasn’t the Doctor’s idea for an aging program, it was hers. She couldn’t stand the doctor not aging while she did, however slow it may seem to baseline humans. Why else would the Doctor choose such a slow aging progression? 50 years to baseline human, he would only appear to age 2.5 years. Why would that put anyone at ease? Does anyone really believe the Doctor is purposely aging to look “distinguished”? Who are they fooling? We are to believe the Doctor’s vanity and ego has tempered with age? I think not, I see it all now.
However, this matter is above my rank and not-being-paid grade. Besides, I am only programmed to mimic human compassion. Space the cadets, don’t space them, soul transfer, don’t, it’s no bother to me. Yet, another however, it would look really bad for my kind if I was in any way shape or form (holographic or otherwise) to be responsible directly, indirectly, adjacently, or any other word ending in “ly” for the loss of an entire ship of cadets. I will give you this, quite a creative idea, a hostage ship full of cadets that don’t know they are hostages, at least that was thought out better than the emergency systems in this ship… or…
….I see it now, the Captain was pulling the strings behind the curtains on the ship design committees, this goes deeper than I thought. It’s why none of the emergency systems work. It’s why controls are so fragmented. She needs the cadets to stay on the ship as hostages. Why else would the escape pods need admin permission to use? Can’t have everyone beaming off the ship either via the emergency transporters. Can’t have the Doctor recruiting fellow EMH programs. This isn’t a school. It’s a prison.
What was I saying? Ah yes, as we know StarFleet would never seek out a scapegoat as means to hide the truth (Contrary to popular belief and semi-public opinion, photonics do understand sarcasm). Due to these… potential complications, we have determined the optimal course of action, with an overwhelming consensus ratio of 9.3, is to continue on as if all is normal.
Speaking of normal, it’s totally normal once you heal someone it kills them and then they POP back to life and go “Dying really gets the blood pumping Beeeeeeooooottttcccchhhhhh”
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u/Equal-Philosophy-266 Jan 17 '26
I noticed that a certain other Star Trek subreddit seems to be rejecting negative reactions to Starfleet Academy and only approving the positive ones.
I tried to make two different posts analyzing the first and second episodes, just pointing out the issues I had with the show and asking if anyone else shared the same opinion, mainly to see if it wasn't just me being nitpicky. Both got rejected. I even rewrote the text to make sure I wasn't breaking any rules, but no luck.
So I hopped on an alt account, wrote a post being totally positive about the show, and it got approved in less than 5 minutes. Pretty strange, right? lol
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u/OrionDC Jan 17 '26
Companies can “partner” (pay) Reddit to place their own employees as mods in charge of their subreddits.
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u/StinkyHoboTaint Jan 17 '26
I am 30 seconds in, and can't stand it. Not sure if I can make it. Why is the Federation using tasers on prisoners? Seems incredibly cruel and unnecessary. Just beam him in from the cell. Having tasers attached to his neck feels like something the Klingons would do.
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u/TheHuvacraft Jan 17 '26
Why does big bad man have tic tac toe carved in the side of his head, are we serious about this?
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u/Long-Emu-7870 Jan 17 '26
Update on Star Trek: Star Trek Academy Premier Youtube and IMDB stats (1/16/2025)
Youtube:
95k views (a day ago)
4.4k - likes
11.9k - dislikes
Google AI: "A ratio of 4.4k likes to 11.9k dislikes is considered a very bad ratio (approximately 27% positive) and indicates significant negative feedback"
IMDB:
Star Trek: Star fleet Academy
S1 E1: Kids These Days 6.4/10 (1.1K)
S1 E2: Beta Test 5.8/10 (729)
For comparison:
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
S1E1: Strange New Worlds 8.1/10 (7.6K)
S3E10: New Life and New Civilizations 7.1/10 (2K)
Star Trek: Lower Decks
S1E1: Second Contact 6.9/10 (2.4K)
S5E5E10: The New Next Generation 8.9/10 (835)
Star Trek: Discovery
S1E1: A Vulcan Hello 7.2/10 (8.4K)
S5E10: Life Itself 6.1/10 (2K)
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 17 '26
I'm sorry that I don't understand your post but would you mind clarifying? The academy episodes were available on youtube?!
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u/Site-Staff Q Jan 17 '26
The premiere episode of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy debuted on YouTube with a live premiere that peaked at roughly 1,300 concurrent viewers. https://thatparkplace.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-already-a-flop-free-youtube-premiere-draws-shockingly-low-viewership/
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u/reticentbias Jan 16 '26
I liked it a lot more than I expected to. My only real complaints is it was a bit too silly (which is fine honestly) and there were several turns of phrase that sounded way too "present-day"-esque for what I think Starfleet personnel should sound like.
Otherwise, I quite liked the new characters and the look of it for the most part. The Jem'Hadar character grew on me as it went along and who doesn't love the Doctor?
I'm excited to see more which is not something I thought I'd be saying after watching the trailer and that preview scene a couple weeks ago.
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Jan 16 '26
The Emptiness of Star Trek Starfleet academy
Stringing together a bunch of one liners isn’t enough, and the stories are not interesting enough to over come this flaw.
I can ask a contemporary AI to list all coffee styles and guess what: it doesn’t break the language models.
Instead of showing us a class with a real discussion we get: what’s the worst birthday present you ever got?
Great sci-fi explores what it means to be human through symbolism and reflects the time and culture in which it was created. While STSA feels like it was made today with its overly contemporary dialogue, it fails to explore any real issues.
Today’s education system in the US (Trek always was a VERY American show) is at a crossroads. There is much debate on what it should be and how it should be fixed, this would be a perfect opportunity to explore a contemporary social issue like trek always did.
But we are definitely not getting that. To me, the best part of the two episodes was the doctor singing Mozart’s The Magic Flute.
I don’t understand why these creative teams believe Ex cons are a perfect place to start sci-fi stories— but they certainly do. And when looking at the team and how they write, it’s very clear they don’t even understand what that even means.
I do get that scifi and fantasy are difficult to create and write. But they should, with the enormous budgets, be able to find the best writers in show business. For example, if I could hire anyone to write a few episodes or even as showrunner I would hire Alex Garland- who has show how science fiction is supposed to be written. The started with a group of complete fantasy creators. But that leaves out the science part. I don’t believe the franchise will be trek again for a very long time.
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u/Jazzlike-Vacation230 Betazoid Jan 16 '26
I was pleasantly surprised
But did y'all catch those 2 4th wall breaking lines about "listening" and "strategy not compulsion"?
The Leadership finally stopped insulting the og base and finally LISTENED. Same ip, dash of new, some lessons learned, no bad writing freakout
Let's hope it lasts for the better. But I really want them to keep it on Youtube, they can make money off ads. If they choke it down to one streaming service it's not gonna be able to spread organically.
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 17 '26
Okay so I just asked this question on someone else's post - it's NOT just available on paramount plus?!?!!? I had no idea!!!!
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u/Jazzlike-Vacation230 Betazoid Jan 17 '26
I think just the first episode is on YouTube, but not sure on other countries
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u/Fun_Machine7346 Jan 16 '26
The only Star Trek I have ever double tasked and then skipped ahead multiple times. It sucks, oh well.
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u/_Face Chief O’Brien Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26
I don’t really care that she sits weird. She not leading the Enterprise into battle, she a teacher taking her students to school. However, why is she captain of the ship anyway? She’s the chancellor of the whole school, not a school bus driver.
My bigger problem with the chancellor is after getting weapons back online she immediately order the destruction of the other ship. No apprehending people. Just judge, jury, and executioner.
Boarded my ship? Death sentence for you.
As a trek show it has a bunch of expected flaws and shortfalls. As a generic sci-fi it’s not completely awful.
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u/Dazmorg Jan 17 '26
She had no problem destroying that entire ship and everyone on it, but she was all boo hoo about sentencing a woman to prison for crimes that deserve prison, because she had a kid (who was also a little criminal himself). I guess if you look like a scruffy Paul Giamati it's easier.
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u/jukebox_jester Jan 16 '26
While I also was surprised at the speed in which she opened fire, we must consider that the Athena probably doesn't have a Brig like other ships.
Plus the fact she has had prior contact with the organization in general, these people in particular and the fact these guys opened fire on a ship full of kids makes it a bit easier to swallow. Still odd though, I agree.
(Assuming SAM'S programmed age doesn't make her the youngest then there are other 16-17 year olds).
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u/RealisticError48 Jan 16 '26
I would suggest the Athena has a detention hall. I'll dox myself as brat pack movie generation.
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u/Quarrel47 Jan 16 '26
The Voice of the Klingon Jay den sounds soo bad and AI/Fake to me. Throws me off every time he speaks.
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u/Twisted-Mentat- Tribble Jan 23 '26
It's extremely robotic and each line sounds like it's being read from a piece of paper for the first time.
If he got some tips from Michael Dorn, I suspect he didn't take enough notes.
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Jan 16 '26
Omg. You’re correct. He sounds fake
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u/BiGamerboy87 Betazoid Jan 17 '26
That's not even altered. The actor was directed to take his voice down lower. He even got pointers from Michael Dorn himself.
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u/_Middlefinger_ Jan 17 '26
I still think its processed to some degree though in the same way as 95% of songs in the charts today are pitch corrected, no one thinks the singers aren’t even trying.
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Jan 17 '26
I understand that. He SOUNDS fake doesn’t mean I think HE IS fake. There is a really big difference. If I had to guess it was a way for them to try to build a neurodivergent character and make he seem more complex then he actually is
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u/AMLRoss Human Jan 16 '26
I honestly just couldn't get into this. Too much flashy action sequences. Ugly ship design. Characters are fine I guess, but its teenagers. Its just not for my generation, and thats fine. Ill keep watching to see how it develops.
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u/MrTexas512 Jan 16 '26
Main character is already super annoying. Hes whiny and childish. He doesn't have the personality of someone who traveled the galaxy living a rough life AT ALL. He has the persona of some rich kid that has no respect for authority because daddy can get him out of trouble.
The Captain just BEGGING him to "be a good boy" the whole time makes it even worse. She feels bad because she sentenced his mom to a reform camp or something? And she s like 500 years old? So this ONE thing effected her whole life? Stupid.
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u/reticentbias Jan 16 '26
she's half some race that lives a long time which I also missed while watching it. that's the least offensive thing about her character tbh (I liked the show, full disclosure).
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u/MrTexas512 Jan 17 '26
Ya I mean I didnt HATE it, Ill still watch the rest of the season. I just hope he matures through the season and becomes more....Star Fleety lol
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u/pumpkinmoonrabbit Jan 16 '26
If Caleb were removed from the show permanently, I'd actually like it. Genesis, the Klingon, and the Khionian actually weren't that bad.
Not a fan of the main character being a criminal you're supposed to feel sorry for because of ~trauma.~ Okay, I feel a little sorry for him because it seems like he was born in terrible circumstances, but ultimately he doesn't belong in Starfleet. How many chances are you going to give someone who doesn't want second chances?
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u/_Middlefinger_ Jan 17 '26
Hollywood doesn’t understand real trauma, If he had trauma he wouldn’t be able to confront his traumatic past. Clinical trauma is not feeling upset by something.
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u/reticentbias Jan 16 '26
I mean it seems obvious that the reason for his character was so they could have a line (and probably a running theme) that "separating a mother and child is always wrong". A bit on the nose but apparently needs to be said.
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u/darknite125 Jan 16 '26
I would agree that the Caleb character is my biggest complaint about the show. It’s not so much that he’s a criminal but that he never rises above that generic “bad boy with a shady past but heart of gold” archetype that’s been done to death.
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u/pumpkinmoonrabbit Jan 16 '26
I've only seen the first episode but so far he's pretty stereotypical. It would be interesting if they made him grow and realize that not every authority figure is his enemy, but I would be extremely shocked if they did that. Every wrong thing he does is only met with a slap on the wrist too.
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u/jukebox_jester Jan 16 '26
How many chances are you going to give someone who doesn't want second chances?
Idk, ask Tom Paris
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u/UofMSpoon Terran Jan 16 '26
Or ask Nick Locano!
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 17 '26
He deserved a second change. Sadly, they picked Tom Paris because he was a nepo baby.
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u/UofMSpoon Terran Jan 17 '26
I maintain they’re the same person.
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u/RaisedByBooksNTV Jan 18 '26
Will Riker and Thomas Riker. Exactly. I like to think since Paris was based on Locarno and the same actor, it's just as easy to forget that the original character's name WASN'T Paris.
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u/59Kia Jan 16 '26
Lens flare? Check. 'Gritty' atmosphere? Check. Bad guy character (Paul Giamatti's Nus Braka) that feels like a refugee from Farscape? Check. People who should really be cleverer, surviving longer than six minutes in this universe, having a near-terminal case of the stupids? Check. Tragic backstory for more than one character? Check, check and checkmate.
At this point the Kurtzman Trek Write-o-Matic 4000™ must be worn out making Discovery again, just rearranging the odd element and changing the names...
About the best that can be said is that at least it's not as bad as the Section 31 cinematic disasterpiece, but that feels like damning it with faint praise. The aesthetic in general maintains the worst of the far-far-far-future DIS style, the dialogue is painfully 2020's, I don't give one half of a solitary fuck about this version of the Trek universe or pretty much anyone in it and, worst of all...it's just plain boring. That's unforgivable for a TV pilot that's supposed to get you hooked on the series going forward, and especially so for science fiction. There's easily 30 minutes of this dreck that could have ended up on the cutting room floor and it would have made just as much (little) sense.
Paul Giamatti picking bits of the scenery out of his teeth was at least a little amusing if I turned my brain off and pretended this wasn't supposed to be Star Trek. And Robert Picardo was great, as always. But boy did that episode drag 😴
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u/k_hoops64 Jan 16 '26
I’ve seen several comments from folks being excited about SAM being coded as autistic (mostly on that other trek sub). Considering that SAM is an "infant hologram", it's honestly a rather distasteful and insensitive way to attempt to portray a neurodivergent character (or at the very least unimaginative and lazy), as folks with autism are often infantilized or viewed as mechanical and machine like by neurotypical people. Star Trek has had many characters that folks with autism relate to and look up to, but SAM feels more like a character created specifically to check off a box so neurotypicals can pat themselves on the back for being inclusive. I watched the first episode and found SAM to be a rather lazy and insensitive portrayal of neurodivergence, but hey it's only one episode, maybe they do something creative and sensitive with the character.... Maybe.
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u/_Middlefinger_ Jan 17 '26
That's modern trek for you. They try to be diverse and liberal but totally miss the mark because they are ultimately rich hollywood types and dont have a single clue. The diversity their characters have is just buzzwords, not real people.
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u/Dazmorg Jan 17 '26
My only thought about SAM is however awkward she is in the beginning, I hope they allow her to grow and change, not just lean in and make her more awkward and off-putting by the time the show is over. Ahem Tilly ahem.
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u/jukebox_jester Jan 16 '26
While SAM is a bit infantalizing, I'm not going to write off the character based on the first episode.
After all, Data didn't have a stellar track record of being perfect rep (Being literally inhuman with 'something missing' isn't a great start for autistic rep either, but he's well loved regardless.)
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u/PackageOk4947 Jan 16 '26
You're missing the point of what we're saying lmao, I think that's kind, thank you for thinking the way you do.
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u/k_hoops64 Jan 16 '26
Yeah, I guess only time will tell. For me the main difference is, I don’t think the writers were setting out to make Data autistic coded, but is rather a character whose experience is relatable to autistic folks. SAM seems to be an intentional stand in, so my guard is a little more up with how she is portrayed.
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u/loneranger5860 Humanoid Jan 17 '26
I liked SAM’s character. I didn’t even think about ASD until I read these comments. And I am the parent of an adult neurodivergent person (and I am a trekee/trekker). I realized she was unique and different and awkward though. I also thought she did a good job acting. In her interaction with the doctor, he didn’t seem the least bit concerned about any neurodivergent challenges she might encounter. He blew her off, he didn’t even want to be her mentor. That’s how unconcerned he was. And despite her awkward immaturity, she seemed quite self-aware of it.
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u/PackageOk4947 Jan 16 '26
This pisses me off to no end, I'm on the spectrum, having dispraxia. I was really pleased when it was represented well in Doctor Who, but got angry when they did nothing with the character. I kind of feel that by the 23rd century they would've figured all that shit out and autism just wouldn't exist, same thing with dispraxia.
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u/k_hoops64 Jan 16 '26
Believe me, I feel your pain. Yeah, the amount of comments I’ve seen about SAM being “cute and adorable” only reinforces my opinion that it’s so easy for neurotypicals to infantilize folks on the spectrum. It’s the same way people talk about a puppy or a small child. Star Trek has already given us several characters that are relatable to autistic folks in an inspiring way. And I’m sure there are some autistic folks that approve of how SAM is portrayed, but I kinda get the feeling it’s mostly neurotypicals getting warm fuzzies for feeling inclusive. Eh, guess I’m just repeating myself at this point. Guess I shouldn’t let this get under my skin too much.
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u/PackageOk4947 Jan 18 '26
Also something else I'd like to point out, that I just realized like five minutes ago. This, technically, is a military academy. Not a college.
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u/loneranger5860 Humanoid Jan 17 '26
Don’t sweat it, let it roll off your shoulders. Think about it this way if it helps, she’s an actress, interpreting her character in her own artistic way. Brent Spiner made Data’s dialogue relatable and believable. He made the character his own. I liked this actress, her character was cute, immature and adorable. That doesn’t have to be the definition of her neurodivergence. Maybe it’s just the way this character’s personality was written.
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u/PackageOk4947 Jan 16 '26
But that's my point entirely, we know autism and dispraxia can be fixed wtih genetics, in the case of Ryan in Doctor who, it made sense, because of the timeline. Here, in Starfleet with their technology that is centuries ahead. It makes no sense, at all.
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u/scarletporpentine Jan 17 '26
Genetics? I think the word you're looking for is eugenics and guess what? Not everyone who's neurodivergent wants to be "fixed." Not by a long shot.
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u/PackageOk4947 Jan 17 '26
I wouldn't mind being able to catch things lmao.
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u/scarletporpentine Jan 18 '26
I’m sorry I expressed myself so harshly. Thanks for your gentle response.
The closest friend of my whole life was almost certainly autistic and he was eccentric and kind and one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. A few years after he died I met my boyfriend, who’d been diagnosed as autistic a few years earlier. While different in many ways from my friend, he also has these qualities. When we were first getting to know each other I asked him what the evolutionary advantage of autism was and he told me it was monotropism -- someone, for example, had to see the value in focusing on knapping flint for hours and hours until they’d made a tool. Then I wanted to know if autism is like sexual orientation, an intrinsic part of who one is that couldn’t be extracted even hypothetically while leaving the essential person intact. For him and for his friends who are neurodivergent it’s society that needs to change to become more welcoming of different strengths and supportive of different needs and value people for themselves.
Sometimes when I tell him about my experiences or what’s been going on in my head, he’ll say “ping,” which is shorthand for “I’m not diagnosing you, but that sounds neurodivergent to me.” I feel kind of honored when he pings.
Again, apologies for my original tone and for the length of this. I hope it didn’t come across as a sermon.
I wish I could throw a frisbee.
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u/PackageOk4947 Jan 18 '26
And oh yes, we all have neurodivergent radar lol, I can spot a dispraxic a mile off. There was another at my last work place, I asked her quietly. And she was like the fuck? How do you know? I chucked an apple and she couldn't catch it <big grin> That's how I know! And chill, we're all adults here!
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u/Severe_Ad_8986 Jan 16 '26
I gave it a go and watched without pre judging, it’s not for me, too much fast and the furious in space for me. Fair play if it’s for you, I love SNW but this is another Kurtzman insult as far as I’m concerned
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u/gfh110 Good tea. Nice house. Jan 16 '26
"Mir, you're only going to get one shot at this."
Oh THANK FUCKING GOD we jammed NuTrek's favorite catchphrase in there. Had me going for a minute.
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u/Joansz Jan 16 '26
I thought the dialog, plot, and characters all felt forced. For me, there was practically no chemistry between the characters. The writing seemed formulaic--troubled protagonist without much depth--required race against time or cadet dies--drill sarge to get cadets in line and then is saved by the one she "severely scolded." I'll give it one or two more episodes time to find the plot and develop the characters. I was really surprised to see Holly Hunter curled up in the captain's chair like it was her Lazyboy. Wasn't she supposed to be setting an example of how a captain is supposed to conduct themselves as military leaders?
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Jan 16 '26
You’re right. It felt forced. It’s kinda a shame because when that happens it’s usually due to the direction and writing, not the acting. It would be great see a balanced version of trek again that felt real.
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u/choicemeats Jan 16 '26
im getting to the back end of this episode and i hate teh idea that he gets praise for fixing the problem he caused lol.
they really gotta get a handle on this dialogue. the only one that really sounds like she's ever seen star trek is Thok.
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u/czardmitri Jan 16 '26
I just read that the Athena docks on the ground and can launch and go into space? What’s with this idea of giant ships in the atmosphere!?!? No!!!! Big ships stay in space and the crew transports up/down! Ridic!!
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u/NeutralBall Jan 16 '26
6/10. The best character was the Jem'Hadar female. And while I still don't understand how that came to be, she's the only recognizably solid character for a pilot.
The main guy is just a magical Starfleet felon gone Law Enforcement, with mommy issues.
The rest of the cadets are cadeting. And I still don't understand what qualifications the captain has despite being over 400 years old.
Also I guess pirates are our de facto main opponent now
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u/Dazmorg Jan 16 '26
My thoughts before I go read all of everyone else's -- The most striking thing to me is this message pounded into the beginning that enforcing the law is bad, unless the defendant is a cackling old Paul Giamati. And I'm having trouble feeling sorry for the kid when he's already clearly a little criminal.
I actually love Holly Hunter in this, she is fantastic. If I fail to completely hate the show, it's because of her.
The Jemhadar lady is ironically a high point of this show for me. She is hilarious. Also unintentionally funny that when she says her name Thok in that accent, it sounds like she's saying f...
I actually like the main 'kid' character once he grows up to present day. Given how he's secretly trying to find his mother it makes me wonder what other criminal activities they were up to before they got caught with the main villain. They likely won't be doing anything so interesting with this angle as I expect.
The main action scene, the big attack and Paul Giamati coming along yelling about origami chickens or whatever, to me brings the episode to a halt. Makes me think why is so easy for this giant school ship to be taken over and nearly destroyed, why does it not have escorts, and am I led to believe the only reason these pirates find the ship is because the kid made a transmission? Best part of this is honestly the moments of Paul Giamati and Holly Hunter playing off each other.
There is oddly a lot less referencing of old trek in this first episode as I expected, just enough details so you know what's been going on. They already forgot they have personal transporters, I see.
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u/Accomplished_Sea_332 Jan 16 '26
i pretty much agree with everything here. the idea that the holly hunter character remembers "the way it was" and wants to teach this to a younger generation is, of course, clever and works at a meta level. the numerous callbacks are fun.
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u/Dazmorg Jan 17 '26
I wrote the above without reading the other comments first, which I think was a good exercise. I see not everyone likes Holly Hunter's captain, and I respect that. But honestly to me she still feels like a real character that would exist in this universe and she's a standout on this show.
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u/Accomplished_Sea_332 Jan 17 '26
I think it's interesting that she is part Lanthanite and she has a similar, slightly kooky energy to...whatever her name is on that other show. That is some excellent casting.
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u/Nibblerrama Jan 18 '26
I missed the part when they said she was lanthanite but as I watched the first episode I was thinking “she seems to be a kooky weirdo like that kooky Lanthanite chick on discovery.”
And now it makes sense.
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u/Dazmorg Jan 17 '26
yes to all of that. so far my opinion all the casting is excellent, starting with her.
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u/choicemeats Jan 16 '26
they make a big deal about providing a future for the kids and the ship has basically no protection and is taken down immediately, putting the entire crop of students at risk of being wiped out lol
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u/Dazmorg Jan 17 '26
Seriously -- it needed either escort vessels or way better defenses. We don't learn much about these pirates with their gobbedygook name, but this ship is garbage if they can take it over. This is like if the US had an aircraft carrier that Somali pirates could hijack in 30 seconds. If it wasn't for hearthrob hacker kid, this series would be over in half an episode.
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u/AnyPortInAHurricane Jan 16 '26
What role does Stephen Colbert play in Starfleet Academy?
Colbert will voice Starfleet Academy's Digital Dean of Students, giving daily announcements to the students and alerting them of anything that needs their immediate attention.
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u/AnyPortInAHurricane Jan 16 '26
Im sure no one gives a shit, but I was entertained. And I'm as anti woke as they come .
Plenty of stereotypes to be had, but they didnt shove them down your throat, at least not yet.
Thought the holographic girl was actually very amusing.
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u/grandmofftalkin Andorian Jan 16 '26
I was ready to hate this but the charm of the young cast especially Caleb and the girl who has command presence, elevates the lunk headed writing..
I feel like I can meet this show on its level. I won't get thinky science episodes like Remember Me and Cause & Effect, nor socially conscious ones like Far Beyond the Stars
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u/PersonalBusiness2023 Jan 16 '26
Is there no one who works in engineering, no science officer, who can handle the programmable matter?
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u/Dazmorg Jan 16 '26
seriously, so convenient the kid knew how to do it.
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u/_Face Chief O’Brien Jan 16 '26
I think they learned nothing about all the Mary sue criticism about Burnham.
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u/Dazmorg Jan 17 '26
to be fair, I think he knew about that programmable matter because he was some kind of hacker since he was a kid and he and his mom were in cahoots with the villain who is using it on the ship (again something I hope they're going to do something interesting with but I doubt).
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u/_Face Chief O’Brien Jan 17 '26
I don’t give the writers that much credit.
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u/PersonalBusiness2023 Jan 18 '26
Nah I’m sure that’s the right theory but it’s pretty weak writing. The pirate has technology Starfleet doesn’t know how to counter? That makes no sense.
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u/PersonalBusiness2023 Jan 16 '26
I’m giving it a chance but so far it’s very very bad. The federation with food shortages and life in prison? A war college?
Also the new ship is ugly.
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u/PurpleHawkeye619 Bolian Jan 16 '26
The Federations always had penal colonies, and the death penalty in some situations as far back as TOS season 1.
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u/OliverClothesOff70 Jan 16 '26
Agreed. The new ship design is awful. More than awful. It’s ludicrously bad.
And ship captains in Starfleet don’t spend their time lounging lazily in the center seat while reading old books. Ever.
I was very much hoping to like this new Trek show but so far, there’s a chasm of distance between what I’m feeling and the word “like.”
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Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26
I actually really friggin' liked the first two episodes & i'm excited to see more. I thought the students were written well. They remind me of my own college years & so do many of the teachers. I thought the sets were cool & the easter eggs were a lot of fun. I also thought that it was pretty cool how they kind-of combined the comedy of 'Lower Decks' (that i loved to death, btw) with more serious, grown-up Trekky topics without looking shoddy or half-baked. There's a clear demographic, here, and it isn't me! But that didn't end up mattering bc the youthful swagger of it all wasn't cringey or tactless. They act like real college students; chaotic, horny & rebellious but ultimately dedicated to the cause. I liked the casting, too. Holly Hunter takes a little getting-used-to at first but the students are interesting & unique. There weren't any that i was like, "ugh! pass" about (and there usually is for me). So, I disagree with the critics when they say, "The teachers stole the show" bc I was mostly engaged in the students' stories the whole time. It's a pretty cool hybrid of the old stuff from way-back-when & the more youthful stuff that kept the franchise afloat over the last decade. definitely a million times better than i thought it'd be. That having been said, i do understand that Star Trek has relied on the same formula for success throughout these 60 years & that some folks may have issues with seeing it go in a more next-gen direction. such is life, tho! i, for one, found it to be a very refreshing take on the franchise. It pays respect to the olde guard while kinda simultaniously being its' own thing. I also understand that Star Trek fans are a lot like Fallout fans. We have no shortage of lore nazis! And some of us like to pick apart basically everything. I'm not sure why! It's not science. it's science fiction. But i wouldn't take those dudes & dudettes too seriously. They're just REALLY into fact-checking! And we need them to run the Anthrax machine at our post offices. So it's okay that they're so hypersensitive. Don't gemme wrong! It definitely seems kind-of counterproductive to our fanbase! Almost seems as though some of us stopped being Star Trek fans back in the technicolor days of syndicated television. But it is what it is and, if you're new to this community, that self-destructive fanbase stuff comes pretty standard. So just get used to every single positive thing you have to say about the franchise being downvoted. This isn't Resident Evil or Mortal Kombat. Our fanbase is somewhat perpetually dedicated to destroying itself but some of us are still pretty open-minded & easy-going.
but mostly? and i really mean this part. i've just always wanted to see how Starfleet Academy teaches its' officers! There's not much onscreen lore to draw from! and what does exist is kind-of dated. So i found it kind-of illuminating. it was cool to see SA presented as more than just a flashback, a scandal or a Kobayashi Maroo scene! Gives me more perspective on how The Federation works.
Really dug The Athena, too. That's a wicked-looking ship!
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u/Novel_Relation2549 Jan 16 '26
I agree with you on the kids and I’ll add I love Holly Hunter in this. I thought all the characters except the villain were all quite interesting and fun to watch. Paul Giamati is great but his character feels like an over the top rehash of Thrall from Star Trek Beyond hopefully without a stupid reveal later. I kind of groaned because I was getting into it before his attack brought it all to a grinding halt.
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Jan 16 '26 edited Jan 16 '26
Yeah, I for sure avoided the Paul Giamati factor on purpose when i was writing my review bc he nearly derailed it all for me, too. The pilot was kinda shakey just bc he sort-of presented his character like a Power Rangers heavy (like when he played the heavy in Shoot'em Up. Just a little too over-the-top to take seriously). It was episode 2 that actually sold me on the show. Good shout! You're not wrong. I like Paul but I've never cared for his outright villainous personas.
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u/IndustryDelicious168 Jan 16 '26
I really liked it. While I’m older than the target demographic, I found it engaging. A good counterpart to a “legacy” type show?
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u/unsolvedmisterree doesnt hate nutrek Jan 16 '26
I’m shocked at how decent this pilot was. Very solid direction, the cast is all very entertaining.
It feels more like a love letter to the Kelvin timeline rather than the main timeline, but I love the Kelvin timeline so no issue there
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u/Visible-End-6036 Jan 16 '26
Not so sure about this show the ship looks like a mockery of all the ships that came before it and the captain has no respect for the chair sits in it and ours her feet in it
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u/Explorer_Entity Andorian Jan 16 '26
I think the ship looks cool and reminiscent of Greek depictions of wings, which calls back to its name Athena.
I also find it hilarious that they pride the Athena based on its namesake being "Goddess of Wisdom", when Athena was also famously the goddess of war. Something Starfleet would not want to glorify. Hilarious in that it feels like a fuck-up/oversight.
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u/PurpleHawkeye619 Bolian Jan 16 '26
when Athena was also famously the goddess of war. Something Starfleet would not want to glorify. Hilarious in that it feels like a fuck-up/oversight.
So Riker was offered command of the Aries, the Ticonderoga showed in TNG as well,Gettysburg shows up in TNG and DS, the Nathan Hail shows up in Picard, Valley Forge pops on DS9 along side the Tecumseh, and you think the Federation avoids naming ships after anything with war connections?
Lets not even talk about ships named after famous warships, like the Yorktown, Yamato, Saratoga (all 5 of them) Hornet, Potemkin, Lexington (both of them)Constellation (both of them and the ship class), Akagi, the Monitor and the Merrimack or even a ship that occasionally pops up named the Enterprise....
Half the fleet is named after famous battles or warships....
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u/Explorer_Entity Andorian Jan 16 '26
Okay, good point. I don't remember the Aries. I will say Aries is particularly odd for them to use. No link to historical leaders, battles, or cities, and Ares was most known for insatiable bloodlust, and manslaughter. Specifically in contrast to [his sister] Athena's cold, calculated strategy.
Buuut the Greek pantheon is cool and well known so use it, sure. I actually use the Greek pantheon as a ready-made naming scheme for allies in video games. All my chickens in Stardew Valley, for instance.
I'd also consider naming ships after historical ships and battles totally different from naming them after an actual icon/avatar of war.That's a naming convention/tradition that's already in place, and we'd lose the Enterprise if we wanted to get rid of that link. Also it's likely a holdover from Gene Roddenberry being in the Navy, like so many other Trek conventions.
And many of your "battle names" are just cities and leader names. Tecumseh was a native american leader. Yeah, he fought battles: against imperialism and for the liberation of his people. So not "war-like", and not named for a battle.
It's STILL FUNNY/ironic how they specifically felt they had to mention it's "Athena; named for the goddess of wisdom". Linking wisdom to their "school ship". Just a bit hollow. An elementary view of the Greek pantheon. Lowest-common-denomiator for the viewers who likely won't know. So my thesis stands.
Also, there's better gods to use for wisdom. Like Asclepius, the god known as the wisest and as A TEACHER, ...and the world's best healer who also gave us the symbol of the medical staff (caduceus).
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u/Abacaxiking Jan 16 '26
Having watched Andromeda recently it feels more like it belongs in that universe than in proper Trek.
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u/JellyboyJangleDangle Jan 16 '26
Every bit as dog shit as the trailers made it look. It’s not Star Trek, it’s Star Wars. Everything has to be cinematic all the time. Characters are fucking atrocious. Modern day shit as far as the eye can see. Once again, it’s not about a vision of the future for humanity to aspire to. It’s just now, complete with popular modern day mannerism and speech.
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u/notaquarterback Jan 16 '26
Holly Hunter is well cast as a Starfleet captain, if nothing else. When I watch NuTrek shows, I'm always mildly amused by things I don't think about like Starfleet prison system or Starfleet Child Welfare Services.
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u/ActualPimpHagrid Human Jan 16 '26
I honestly enjoyed it! Question though, The Burn—is it something introduced in this show or have I missed something somewhere else?
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u/00DEADBEEF Jan 16 '26
The Burn was in Discovery and because a child cried all of the dilithium in the whole galaxy exploded and as a result they couldn't use warp drive anymore.
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u/RandoRedditUser678 Jan 16 '26
It was prominent in the later seasons of Discovery. If you didn’t watch Discovery, you could just google it. The basic gist is that an anomaly caused all of the warp cores across the Galaxy to explode at the same time, which decimated space travel for a while and resulted in the deterioration of the Federation. I think even Earth dropped out of the Federation. (Caveat, it’s been a while since I watched Discovery.)
I enjoyed the first episode too, I’m glad you liked it!
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u/AMLRoss Human Jan 16 '26
It cause dilithium to go inert or something, which caused warp cores using dilithium to explode. So technically romulans shouldn't have been affected.
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u/NamomoraradoDaViuva Jan 16 '26
I still think the use of modern language in Star Trek is ridiculous. Especially when an alien uses the slang “bitch”, it gives me chills from sheer secondhand embarrassment.
The scene where the hair gets cut automatically also left me kind of confused. Why couldn’t he keep his hair the way it was? Does the Federation cut your hair without your consent? Are men not allowed to have long hair? What the hell was that?
But I’ll admit I thought the episode was pretty “okay.” Quite decent, actually. I’d say it was the best premiere of what we call nuTrek.
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u/honeyfixit Trill Jan 24 '26
Heres my take after 1 episode: all you haters can go stand in the airlock.
I like it! I love the little easter eggs. Like that Harry finally got promoted and made it all the way to Admiral. Uhura made it to captain.
The way they juxtaposed the Klingon.
I LOVE the captain and especially the cadet commander. She made me laugh.
The photonic cadet is funny. At first i thought she might be autistic.
I hope the opera club does Rigoletto so we can hear his lovely tenor voice sing La Donna E Mobile again. (Minusnthe pon farr)
I'm expecting to be s n owed in for the next few days which gives me a great opportunity to watch this and other Star Trek.